Cursed by Death

by Basia Pike

  It wasn’t until we were almost there that the cave entrance became visible. I became anxious as we neared.

  “Guys, what’s the plan, then?” I asked, forcing them to stop.

  “There is no plan,” Jamie said, shrugging, and Dakota laughed.

  “Dominic and Genevieve have got you frightened, haven’t they?” she asked, a glimmer of amusement in her eyes. I shrugged and followed them as we continued to head for the cave entrance.

  Dakota turned back to face me and gave me a small nod, which I returned. It was dark as we moved closer together and into the cave.

  “Elijah…” Dakota whispered

  “Yeah?”

  “Have you got your magic? We could do with some light.” I sighed and put my father’s ring on. As soon as the ring went onto my finger, I felt a surge of power throughout my body.

  “Illumina,” I muttered, and a dim light surged around us, lighting the thin path leading deeper into the hillside, and the dark, damp stone walls that surrounded us.

  “Much better,” Jamie said. We stuck close and carried on. There was a foul smell in the air. Dripping water echoed around us, and now and then sounds of scuttling filled my ears and then stopped. I hoped it was rats.

  We turned a corner; up ahead we could see the path widening. Dakota was breathing heavily in front of me. We walked into a large room adorned with treasure and jewels, sparkling from my light.

  Pieces of parchment and ink lay on a small desk to one side, a glass containing what looked like red wine next to it. Someone lived here, no doubt about it.

  “Guys, I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

  “Oh don’t be such a wet lettuce,” Jamie said.

  “Someone lives here. We’re breaking and entering,” I argued.

  Dakota gave me a puzzled look and I nodded my head in the direction of the table. Her eyes widened and I took another look. There was a pair of yellow eyes staring at us from behind the table.

  “Jamie...” I said, my voice shaky.

  “Would you give it a rest, Abbott,” he interrupted.

  “Jamie!” Dakota squealed his name and he turned to her. She was pointing at what seemed to be a goblin. The creature had off-yellow skin, a wrinkled face, and couldn’t have stood much higher than two feet tall. The eyes that had been staring at us were yellow and cat-like.

  “Who enters my cave?” the creature asked, in a quiet but creepy voice. His nose was hooked and unusual, with warts all over it.

  “We don’t want any trouble. I’m here because a map that’s been in my family for a long time led me here.” The creature advanced toward Dakota, who had spoken. He was staring at her, his eyes narrowing.

  “What are you?” he asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, I know you’re not a vampire. If you were, you’d be dead by now. You’re not those weird inventions they created called humans. So what are you? Witches?”

  Dakota nodded.

  “I’ve met a witch before. She was a nice woman. Vampires, on the other hand, are evil and wretched.” The creature muttered as he moved closer to Dakota. Jamie stepped in front of her and the creature seemed to only just notice him.

  “You…” He pointed at Jamie. “Are you a witch too?” he asked, his eyes narrowing again. He nodded but remained still as the unusual creature advanced closer. Dakota pushed Jamie out of the way and walked towards the goblin, pulling the map out of her pocket.

  “Have you seen this before?” she asked, showing him the map. He looked at the map and shook his head.

  “Why would you have a map to my home?”

  “That’s what we don’t know. What’s your name?”

  The creature looked at her his eyes wide in shock. “M-my name? No one’s ever asked my name before. It’s Kul. What’s yours?”

  “Dakota. It’s nice to meet you.” She held out a hand for him to shake, and he eyed it before taking it. His hands had long gangly fingers, with long nails for his size. A grimace came across his face, which I was sure was supposed to be a smile.

  “Please, guests, have a seat.” He gestured to the rocks around the cave room, which had cushions. I took a seat next to Jamie and Dakota.

  “Would you like something to drink?” he asked.

  “No, thank you,” Dakota replied, and he looked at Jamie and Elijah.

  “No thanks,” we said in unison. He made a grumbling noise and poured himself a glass of wine. I believed it was best to leave the talking up to Dakota, as Kul seemed to have taken a shine to her.

  “What do you know about the Creaturae?” she asked. The goblin’s cat-like eyes shifted towards a corner of the room and then back to Dakota.

  “Why do you ask?” he said.

  “The vampires are after it because they want to destroy humans.”

  He shook his head. “That makes no sense. They created humans for food!”

  “Yes, but we’re from the future. A future where vampires are a minority in the world.”

  “It sounds like a good future,” Kul said, jumping down from the rock he was perched on.

  “It is. They want to regain their hold and kill off humans,” I said. He looked at me as if noticing me for the first time.

  He pointed his finger at me. “What’s your name?”

  “My name’s Elijah.”

  “I’m supposed to protect it,” Kul grumbled under his breath, but I caught it.

  “You’re supposed to protect the Creaturae?” I asked, and Kul jumped.

  “Oh no, oh no, oh no! I can’t tell anyone. She told me never tell anyone.” He ran around raving about not telling people.

  “Kul, calm down,” Dakota said, and at hearing her voice he settled.

  “We want to protect the Creaturae too. That’s the reason we’re here. There’s a group searching time for it so they can revert back to a world controlled by vampires.” He nodded and then walked towards the corner he’d glanced at earlier when it was first mentioned.

  My heart beat fast as I watched him. Were we about to find the Creaturae? He came back holding a small golden box.

  “Is this the Creaturae?” I asked as Kul handed it to me.

  “It’s part of it.”

  “What do you mean part of it?”

  “The Creaturae was split into three pieces. There are three identical boxes, hidden each with a piece inside. I have one piece to protect.”

  I looked at the box and opened it. It held a locket with a large sapphire stone in the middle. I assumed the stone had been split and placed in three pieces of jewelry. I passed it back to the goblin, who was watching me carefully.

  “Has anyone else asked about it?” I asked, and the goblin shook his head.

  “Do you need it?” Kul asked, looking at Dakota now, who glanced at Jamie.

  “Yes, it would be safer.” She then glanced at me.

  “Was it the witch that told you to hide it?” I asked, and Kul nodded vigorously.

  “She told me I would be one protector.”

  “Do you know who else is protecting it?”

  He shook his head. “No. She said it would be a secret. No one can know. I shouldn’t have told you,” he said, his shoulders slumping.

  “I think she would have been okay with us knowing, as we only want to protect it,” Dakota assured him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

  “I think it’s safer if you keep it.” He held it out towards Dakota and she took it. “I would like to move on from here. There are too many vampires.”

  “Do many vampires venture into your cave?” she asked.

  “Sometimes.”

  “What do you do?” she asked. It didn’t seem like this little goblin could protect himself from vampires. He peered towards a crevice at the back of the cave.

  “Golem deals with them.” I stared at the crevice and wondered what Golem was.

  “Who’s Golem?” Dakota asked, her voice tremulous.

  “Well, he’s a golem,” he said as though it were obvious, and
Dakota stared at him blankly.

  “You know … a stone person.” She looked towards the crevice at the back of the cavern. “You can meet him if you would like. Golem, come and greet our guests!” Kul said, not giving us a chance to argue.

  He rushed towards the back and suddenly the rocks of the wall moved! A giant stone man appeared from out of the rocks and stood towering over us with bright green eyes like emeralds.

  “Smash! Smash!” a slow and deep voice said, and a huge rock club came down at us, narrowly missing Jamie.

  “NO! Bad golem. These are our guests!” Kul jumped onto his club and climbed up onto the creature’s face.

  “Do you hear me? Bad golem.”

  The golem’s shoulders slouched. “Bad golem,” he repeated and then slunk back towards the wall. Kul jumped off of him and landed nearby. Golem crashed down onto the floor, making it shudder, and sat there with his head in his hands. A strange deep noise came from him.

  “There’s no need to cry!” Kul said, tapping his foot. “Sorry, we’re not used to having welcome guests,” Kul said to Dakota.

  “No problem. What’ll happen to him if you move?” she asked.

  “This is Golem’s cave, not mine. The witch brought me here to live with him and protect the part of the Creaturae together.” He looked over at the rock man fondly. “But goblins aren’t supposed to live in caves. It gets rather depressing after a while. You would do me a favor by taking it.”

  She nodded and placed the amulet around her neck, tucking it into her cloak. “Do you know where any of the other pieces may be?” she asked.

  He shook his head. “No, but if you keep that piece safe, no one can complete the Creaturae.”

  She nodded. “Thank you for your help, Kul, but we must get going.”

  “Oh. You don’t want to stay for dinner?” he asked, and we all exchanged uncertain glances. There was no way I could eat in this hellhole.

  “We must get back to our time, but thank you for your help. I hope we meet again someday.” Dakota held out her hand, and he shook it vigorously.

  “Yes, thank you,” Jamie said, holding his hand out.

  I thanked him as well, and we headed back through the dark tunnels. Once out in the daylight, I took my ring off, and stowed it safely in my pocket.

  As my eyes adjusted to the light, something hit me in the face. I could hear frantic voices around me fading into the distance as I hit the ground.

  28

  My head was searing as I woke to the sound of dripping. My eyes flickered open. The pain in the back of my head was excruciating. I tried to lift my hands to it, but they were tied.

  “Elijah…” I recognized Dakota’s voice.

  “Dakota? Where are we?”

  “Bloody vampires caught us.”

  “What? How?” I opened my eyes again and focused on where her voice was coming from. I could see her to my left, tied to a chair.

  “I don’t know. They’re questioning Jamie now about why we’re here and what we are.”

  “Do you think Dominic and Genevieve told them? They’re the only ones who knew we had gone to the cave.”

  She shrugged. “It’s possible, but we could have been followed.”

  “What about the—?”

  “Don’t worry. I still have it, but I’m not sure how long for.” I nodded as a sudden cry filled the cave.

  “They’ve been torturing Jamie for over an hour.”

  “If you both turn, could you break out of here?” I asked, and she nodded to a tiny window that led to outside.

  “It’s still daytime. We can only turn at night,” she said. I could see the slight daylight seeping in through the barred window.

  “Any idea where we are?”

  She shook her head.

  The door clicked open and a bloodied and battered Jamie was dragged into the room, his clothes torn. He was sat on the chair to the right of me and bound.

  The man who had dragged him in was deathly pale, with black hair and blood all over him. A tall, pale woman in a dark red dress that brushed the floor as she walked followed behind. She moved with an air of grace towards me.

  “Which one will be next?” she asked in a cold voice. She licked her lips as she stared at me. Her eyes were a blood red that matched her lips.

  “Seraphina, stop toying with them and bring one out.”

  Seraphina? I knew that name! She was one of the Cureliva.

  “Fine, this one,” she said, pointing at me. I was relieved. If they took Dakota, they would find the Creaturae.

  The vampire that had dragged Jamie in cut my bindings and pulled me to my feet. I was free long enough to slip my father’s ring back on. The man gripped my arms behind my back and led me into a small dark room stained with blood.

  The vampire who had dragged me in threw me to the floor. My head ached, and I reached to touch the back to find it was sticky with blood. I remembered hitting the ground before blacking out outside the cave.

  “Leave us,” she said in an evil tone. I was alone with Seraphina Cureliva. I couldn’t deny I was scared. She was staring at me with dark red eyes as she circled me.

  She bared her fangs. “Who are you, and why are you here?” she asked.

  I stared at her with steely determination. I had no intention of telling her anything.

  “Going to be as difficult as your friend, are you? I hope you don’t taste as bad as him.” I couldn’t help the slight smirk that crept to my lips. You’ve got no idea. She advanced toward me and then sank her teeth into my neck.

  She latched on with fervor but pulled away screaming. Her eyes were bright red again; she fell to the floor writhing in agony. The vampire that had brought me in rushed back into the room, his eyes wide seeing her writhing in pain.

  “What have you done?” He ran towards me, and went to bite me, but writhed in pain the moment the blood touched his lips. It wouldn’t kill them, but they would be incapacitated for a while.

  I had no intention of finding out for how long. I stood and grabbed the keys in the male vampire’s pocket and headed back to the cell. Jamie was passed out slumped to one side. Dakota’s eyes widened as she noticed me.

  “Resolueret,” I said, pointing my hands towards Dakota. The ropes dropped off. I did the same to Jamie and caught him as he slumped to the floor. He groaned at the impact.

  “Sana,” I chanted, but nothing happened. “Why aren’t you healing?”

  Dakota rested a hand on my arm. “I don’t think the healing works on werewolves.”

  “Jamie! Can you walk?” I asked.

  He grumbled and I signaled to Dakota. “Take one side. Let’s get out of here!”

  Seraphina appeared in the doorway, blocking our path out. Damn, she was strong to have recovered so quickly.

  “Not so fast. Who the hell are you, and why is your blood so vile?” she asked.

  “You want another taste?” I asked. In a flash she had her teeth at Dakota’s neck only inches from the Creaturae. “Not sure you want to do that,” I said.

  Her eyes narrowed. “You can’t trick me. She has the same foul smell as him.” She pointed at Jamie.

  “Prohibe,” I said, moving my hands towards her. An invisible force moved her away, but she walked through the magic. Shit! She was too strong for me. If only I wasn’t just drawing it from the ring!

  “Dakota! Quick, get Jamie out of here.” She headed away as I tried to slow Seraphina down. Only a meter away from me, I broke the spell and tried to strike her with my dagger. She blocked the strike effortlessly.

  Her dagger was drawn so quickly I didn’t see it, and she sliced my arm open. I screamed in pain, holding my arm.

  “What are you?” she asked, but I ignored her as she approached me again. I needed to get closer to the door. She was fast, and before I knew it she had the dagger against my throat, pressing lightly, drawing blood.

  Think, Elijah, think!

  The most powerful spell I could think of came to my mind. One I’d never used. />
  “Occidere,” I said, waving my hand at her. She screamed in agony and writhed on the floor. It was the death spell, but it wouldn’t kill a vampire. I didn’t know how long it would incapacitate her, so I sprinted out of the room.

  “Clauditis,” I chanted, locking her in. It wouldn’t hold her long, but it would be better than nothing. I ran to catch up with Jamie and Dakota. Something tripped me on the way and my face hit the floor. The vampire who had been aiding Seraphina jumped to his feet.

  I held my hands up again and muttered, “Prohibe.” The vampire looked at me in shock as he was held against the wall. Thank God he wasn’t so resistant to my powers.

  “What the hell is this?” he shouted.

  “Somnum,” I said, and the vampire lost consciousness. I let him fall to the ground and ran for it. I sprinted up the stairs and rounded into a long dark corridor, where Dakota was struggling to help Jamie out of the castle. I ran to help her.

  “What happened to you?” she asked.

  I shook my head. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

  She nodded, and we headed towards a source of light ahead, peering around the corner where the light was coming from to see about ten vampires wielding swords stationed around the entrance hall.

  “I can’t hold off that many,” I whispered to Dakota. There was no sign of any other exit.

  “What time is it?” I peered around the corner again.

  “I can’t tell.”

  “I can try and turn,” she said, pulling the Creaturae off of her neck and passing it to me. I put it around my neck.

  She focused, and I backed away from her, holding Jamie. As Seraphina rounded the corner into the hallway and locked eyes on us, Dakota morphed into a wolf. I watched Seraphina’s face drop.

  “Put him on my back,” she growled, bending down for me to lift Jamie. “You get on too! Quickly!” she shouted, and I jumped on, holding Jamie in place.

  “Come on, Jamie, try to hold on.” He grumbled but placed his arms around Dakota. She sprinted around the corner and through the entrance. The looks on the vampires’ faces were priceless. Utter shock painted on every one.

  Seraphina, however, seemed to have got over the shock, and chased after us. As Dakota ran out of the door, I could hear her orders: