The Keeper's Curse (26 page)

Emmy
froze again, like when her mother had told her story. This was not
a subject she wanted to discuss in detail, especially with
Breckin’s girlfriend.

“
I’m fifteen.” It was all Emmy could think of to
say.

“
Yes, I’m not saying it’ll happen
now
, but I’m willing to face the
fact he might leave me one day. For you.”

Emmy
couldn’t keep the smile from her face. Talented, beautiful Rozelyn
was jealous of her, even if it wasn’t necessary. “He doesn’t think
of me that way. Trust me, I keep searching through his head, and I
can’t find anything.”

Now it
was Rozelyn’s turn to be unable to suppress a smile.
“Really?”

“
Really. It’s you he’s crazy about. He likes me, but not in
any special way.”

“
Well, Breckin is a bit ... clueless on that sort of thing. It
probably hasn’t even crossed his mind to think of you like that.
That might change.”

Emmy
didn’t respond. It filled her with both joy and terror imagining
him feeling the same way about her, but it would probably be better
if that never did happen. The idea that she might one day say his
name the way Rozelyn did did not help the case to stay, so she
pushed it aside. That was for another day.

At the
moment she had to deal with the fact that she was carrying around
his soul, which was more than enough for now.

Chapter 16

Surprise Letter

As they
began their tread towards the hospital, the pain in Emmy lessened.
By the time they reached the grounds, her insides practically
purred. Rozelyn gripped Emmy all the way back, and Emmy let her.
She was too exhausted to fight her off.

“
I’m not going to take off if you let go,” Emmy said,
gesturing to her arm.

“
You left him.” It was almost a hiss. “I can’t trust you, and
now neither can he.”

“
You’re being melodramatic. I’m sure he understands – anyone
would have reacted the same way I did.”

Rozelyn threw Emmy’s arm down violently and took a step
towards her, so close she could smell Rozelyn’s sandalwood soap.
“You
aren’t
anybody else. You don’t know him like I do. You don’t know
how vulnerable he is.”

Emmy backed away, all but tripping over her feet. “Would
you
relax
?”

But she had already triggered Rozelyn’s anger again. “When
his uncle took him in, it took Breckin a year before he even
began
to start trusting
him. Noah told me about all the weird things he used to do, like
sleeping outside, too scared of Noah to sleep in his room. How he
hid food all over the house in case Noah starved him. How he would
have random panic attacks.”

If Emmy
hadn’t been so horrified, she would have begged Rozelyn to stop
talking. This was none of her business, and she knew Breckin
wouldn’t appreciate her saying these things about him behind his
back.

“
There are still things he keeps to himself about what
happened with the Crows. I know because I’ve heard him waking up
thrashing and screaming, and when I sneak up on him, he flinches.
But he’d rather suffer on his own than tell me because he’s that
terrified that if I know everything, I’ll leave him. I’ve been with
him two years, and he still doesn’t trust me.”

“
So you’re putting all that pressure on
me
?”

“
I’m just trying to make you understand – he only sees two
kinds of people. He sees people like Rhoan, who’re sadists that
enjoy hurting him. And then he sees his father, his mother, and
Becca. People who leave. And you left.”

She
didn’t respond; the point had been made: Emmy was a self-absorbed
little brat who didn’t care about anyone but herself. Emmy wanted
to point out she also changed her mind, but thought better of it –
she hadn’t come back for Breckin, after all. Her heart contracted
at the idea of her mother’s disappointment when she found out Emmy
had stayed.

It was
just after noon, and the corridors which had been nearly deserted
that morning were now filled with patients and their
families.

The two
girls panicked when they came to Jade’s room and found it empty.
Emmy was on the verge of tears when Milo ran into her and informed
her nothing was wrong with Jade. She had just been moved to make
more room on the main floor.

“
I’ll take you to her myself,” he offered.

“
So how’s Jade?” Rozelyn asked, as the three of them made
their way.

“
She’s doing fantastic. She woke up about half an hour ago,
actually. The Eldoir and her friend – the short girl – helped her
up to her new room and the three of them are in it together. She’s
a strapper – she’ll heel fast.”

Both Emmy
and Rozelyn sighed in relief, their argument forgotten.

Milo led
them past the psych ward, which Emmy couldn’t help but notice had
few visitors. The rooms were for the most part unoccupied with the
doors open for any passerby to see. She vaguely remembered Milo
mentioning once that mental health wasn’t high priority.

The next
level was the hospital wards, for the more stable patients. Milo
tried to chat with Emmy about how her arm was, and if he should
make another appointment, which she said yes to while only half
listening to him. She could hear arguing at the end of the
hallway.

“
I can’t believe she didn’t tell me all this!” Jade’s voice
echoed down the hall. “And honestly, I’m a little insulted you
didn’t tell me, Crawford! Gabe didn’t tell me either!”

“
I was just trying to protect you, Jade,” Breckin said, trying
to calm her down. “I’ve only ever told people I had to
tell.”

“
Is that why you can’t seem to die? Remember all those
attempts on your life when you moved here? I remember once, the
rumours were a sword went right through you and came back out
without cracking your skin.”

“
Yes, I remember. It freaked me out, too.”

Emmy
said, “Maybe that’s because you’re a freak.” She stood in the
doorway, her arms across her chest.

Breckin
and Jade jumped, their faces tightening in shock. She realized then
that they hadn’t thought she was going to come back.

The first
thing Emmy did was examine Jade, who indeed looked much better. The
bruise already started yellowing and her cheeks were flushed
pink.

Emmy
burst into tears. “I’m sorry, Jade, I’m so sorry,” she cried,
taking a few long steps over to her bed and throwing her arms
around her. The shock of a spontaneous hug from Emmy sent Jade
tumbling back into her pillow, taking Emmy with her. Jade squeezed
her tight, patting her on the back.

“
Hey, it’s okay, honey, I don’t blame you. It was my mistake,
I didn’t follow the plan. I should have stopped fighting
them.”

“
That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard!” Emmy wailed. “It
was my idea.”

“
You had no idea those – those
things
would be there.” Jade took
Emmy by the shoulders and pulled her back to face her. “Breckin’s
been telling me some interesting things while you’ve been gone,
though.”

For the first time since she entered the room, Emmy and
Breckin made eye contact. She shook her head, annoyed at him. This
scrawny, quiet boy had wreaked havoc on her life, and she wasn’t
even mad at him. The lines were back on his face, worried and
tense, with a tilted head waiting for a response from her. He
wasn’t anxious because she quite literally held his life in her
hands – she heard it in his head – but because he didn’t know how
she would take the news. He wanted, quite badly, acceptance from
her. He wanted her to
like
him.

“
You’re an idiot,” she was all she said, before getting up off
Jade’s bed and, very slowly, gave him a hug. It was the most
awkward hug she had ever had to suffer through. Breckin tentatively
put his arms around her in return, but kept her at a distance, so
their bodies weren’t quite touching.

When he
mercifully pushed her back, he said, “So, your name is ‘Emmy’,
huh?”

She
couldn’t breathe when he said her name. “Yeah, but you can keep
calling me ‘Lana’ if you want to.”

Great. Because I do.

Then go right ahead.
The expression
on his face indicated he had received her message.

“
Right then,” Jade said loudly, breaking the moment. “Now that
that’s out of the way, can someone please fully explain to me what
a soul transplant is?”

***

Jade’s
parents arrived minutes after hearing she had woken up. The reunion
was loud and tearful, the most excitement emanating from Vera. Jade
grew tired of assuring her visitors she really was fine, even
suggesting that she should go to school the next day, something
everyone was against.

Despite
their joy, Emmy couldn’t help but notice Persephone never came back
to visit. Milo had said she helped Jade to her new room, but she
hadn’t been there when she and Rozelyn had showed up. Whenever she
brought this up, Jade would hastily look away and Breckin would
seemingly grow a pulsing purple vein in his throat, so she finally
let the issue go.

It was
only the next day, when Emmy and Jade were alone in her hospital
room did she ask again.

“
Persephone got ... very defensive,” Jade said, picking at the
loose threads of her bed sheets, “when Breckin asked her how she
knew about the Keeper’s Curse. They really had it out when you were
gone.”

This was
what Emmy had been afraid of. “It is a little weird though, isn’t
it? That Persephone knows?”

Jade
pulled too hard on the thread, ripping a hole in the sheet. “It’s
weirder that she didn’t tell me. We’ve been friends for years, Em.
She’s never shown any interest in the thirteen books or Breckin for
that matter. Why did she feel she had to keep this from
me?”

“
Because of exactly how Breckin reacted. We can’t start
accusing her of anything yet. I know it looks bad, but there’s no
way that she’s –”

“
In league with Thoreoux?”

The
interruption was not from Jade. The voice was a dry, soft voice,
and Emmy knew who would be standing behind her before she turned
around just from the sudden cold draft in the room. Cyrus stood in
the threshold with an unreadable expression on his face, his eyes
locked on Jade.

Emmy was
on the balls of her feet in a flash. “Stay away from her.” She
jumped in front of the bed, the metal frame digging into her side.
“Or I’ll break every bone in your body.”

Cyrus
only stopped staring at Jade after a couple of seconds, and then
decided to acknowledge Emmy’s existence, as if he had a delayed
reaction. She readied herself for him to laugh at her, but he
tilted his head instead.

“
How is she feeling?”

“
She’ll be fine,” Emmy snarled. “Do you want me to get a
doctor?”

“
That won’t be necessary.” Before she could respond to him, he
was gone.

How dare
he just walk away from her? Emmy stomped into the hallway, feeling
more angry than sensible, and chose to ignore Jade’s protests for
her to stay.

Cyrus
stood out starkly in his usual black clothing against the bland
ward, making it easy for Emmy to spot him. They were the only two
in the corridor.

“
You think I don’t know that it was you?” Emmy bellowed. He
kept walking, not turning around or acknowledging she had spoken.
“You sent those monsters after me, didn’t you? Was it because I
didn’t listen?”

“
I told you to stay away from him,” Cyrus said, not turning
around. Although his voice was loud, he sounded tired.

“
Well, next time you try to kill me,” Emmy shouted, “come
after me yourself, you coward.”

This was
the wrong thing to say. Cyrus froze, jerking his head around, his
eyes crackling with silver flames. His long legs strode back
towards her, moving twice as fast as he had been moving before.
Emmy tried to move, but she was petrified by his gaze, rooted to
the ground.

“
You’re – calling –
me
– a – coward?”

The
moment came when he was in arms reach of her, and he pushed her
into the wall. It didn’t hurt, but it was very
deliberate.

His face was just inches from hers when he spoke again, his
voice ghost quiet. “Do you have
any
idea what I’ve done for you, you ungrateful,
stupid girl?”

Emmy shut
her eyes, too afraid to look at his face. “Someone will walk by any
minute now.”

He pushed
his body closer to her, crushing her further into the wall. Her
hands shook so badly it took her a moment to notice he had grabbed
hold of her left one, wrapping his fingers around hers. She felt
something crinkling between them. He pushed the something into her
hand and let go of her.