The Living Curse: Book One of The Living Curse series (6 page)

             
“That’s right,” he began, a little surprised at how quickly she came to that conclusion, “before his death, the Great Warlock encased all of his power into an artifact called the Relic.  He did this to preserve his power, just in case magical knowledge was lost through time.” he said with admiration.  “He also developed spells that could increase your power, but not as much as the Relic.  The spells are extremely complicated, and few have ever been successfully completed.”

             
“But, I thought the Relic was just a myth,” Mira started, turning to look at her, “isn’t it?” she finished.  Nameh didn’t answer, but instead looked at the boy, waiting for his reply.  The silvery light from the window caught his golden hair, making the color even richer than before.  It hung down his forehead with a gentle curl; he brushed it aside and continued.

             
“Few but the Vine know about its existence, and the stories have faded and twisted so much that many do believe it’s only a myth.  We still have some of the original texts from the Great Warlock; they tell coded clues about where to find it, but no one can decipher them.  Unfortunately, the Guild is getting almost as close to finding it as we are.

             
“Do you know what the relic looks like, or what it does?” asked Nameh, carefully hiding her excitement behind a lazy, uncaring expression.  He breathed deeply, clearly tiring of explanations.

             
“The Warlock had an amulet that he never took off, it was all that was left of him after he was killed, they never found his body.” he paused, “Well, that, and the golden arrow that pierced his heart.  The arrow is now at the center of the Vine building, and they say that if you touch it, you can still feel the Warlock’s heart beating.” he said with an intrigued smile.

             
The group sat in silence for a moment: the girls taking in all they had just learned, and the boy waiting in anticipation for a response.  Nameh saw him lick his lips and glance about the room.  She wondered why she, only one person, was so important to him and the Vine.  She asked him as much.

             
“Only those who are strong enough can bear the Mark, as you know.  Unfortunately, the tainted world we live in is weakening our race.  People willing to even try are becoming scarcer and scarcer.  It could be the whole, death if you aren’t strong enough thing, and whatnot.” he said, amused at his own concept.  Mira, who had been quiet for a few moments, finally spoke up.

             
“I’m going to try.” she said simply, with an air of determination that few would question.  Apparently, Max was one of these few.

             
“I’m not trying to pressure you into anything.” he said hastily.  “I’m only here to tell
her
that she’s needed, but I’m not going to stop
you
, either.” he finished.

             
“Good.” she replied simply, “Because you couldn’t, even if you wanted to.”  A faint smile appeared at the corners of her mouth.  When Nameh had met her, this wasn’t something she would even consider saying, but she had become more abrasive, in a pleasant way.

             
“Alright,” started Nameh, with an edge to her voice, “Mira’s getting marked, and then we’re leaving for the Vine.  It’s settled, enough talking.  Let’s go get something to eat.”  She could see the effect of her words on Max.  He seemed amazed at how lightly she handled the subject, not knowing that her mind had been made up even before they had met.  She got up and crossed the room to the door, swinging it open with too much force, knocking it against the wall.  She grabbed the coat she had flung on a nearby chair and quickly pulled it on, buttoning it up the front.  She became aware of the two others staring at her.  She felt that perhaps neither of them were entirely used to her behavior, which was both laid back and erratic at the same time.

             
“Are you coming, or not?” she said with a grin.  She spun on her heels, the tendrils of hair that had fallen out of the knot trailed in her wake.

             
He stared, dumbfounded, after her as Mira followed.  Mira gave him a small shrug as she passed, indicating that she was always this irritatingly calm.

Chapter Seven: New Experiences

             
The girl walked purposefully down the sidewalk, her friend bobbing up and down in an attempt to keep up.  Max trailed behind a few steps, not sure how he would fit into their dynamic.  It was something he wasn’t used to, being out of the loop. 

             
After he had gotten over the initial shock of meeting women with such strong personalities, he began to enjoy their company.  He had been raised in a world where women were proper and soft spoken, but this had often bothered him.  He found the games that they played and their fickle emotions extremely irritating.

             
He was lost in thought and recollection of years past when he realized that they were both glancing back at him expectantly.  He parted his lips slightly, not sure what to say.  They caught his misstep, and laughed silently, enjoying the joke at his expense.

             
“What?” he asked, not sure he wanted to know.

             
“I was just saying, ‘If you’re lost in thought, don’t say anything.’  Which worked out much better than I had hoped.” she turned to her friend, “I wonder what he was thinking about.” she said.

             
“You know, I
am
still standing right here.” he said.  He shot them both a look that was as familiar to his face as the features themselves.  He cocked his head slightly and furrowed his brow.  He narrowed his eyes, and the corners of his lips curled upward like the edge of a paper in flames.  The taller girl in front of him gave a reaction he hadn’t expected; most girls either giggled or ignored him in frustration.  Her eyes flicked across his face, studying and analyzing the action in a split second.  Had he not been paying close attention, he would have missed it all together, for at the next moment, the look passed and she resumed her earlier sense of bemusement. 

             
“Of course, I never talk about people behind their backs, only to their face.” she said in earnest.  As an after thought, she added, “Or, if I do, I tell them about it later.”  She seemed utterly unconcerned about this, as if she thought this were a normal social habit.  Her friend only smiled, and turned back toward him.

             
“It’s true, you know.  She’s not joking.” she said with a glimmer in her eyes that he thought came from memories, now rushing to the front of her mind.

             
“So, are you going to walk with us, or just straggle behind like a lost puppy?” she asked with her characteristic sarcastic twinge.  His eyes looked upward, as he pondered the statement for a moment.

             
“Definitely lost puppy.” he replied at last.  With a fluid motion, she turned to face forward, giving a small shrug.  They walked on in silence for a few moments longer, until the taller of the girls turned on her heels suddenly, and walked toward a small restaurant.  The look of the place puzzled him: it seemed like a completely ordinary and human restaurant, and he could sense no magic about it.  The windows had a strange film over them from years of poor cleaning, and the walls were crumbling at the corners.  The lines in the parking lot that they now crossed were hopelessly faded, and cracks splintered out from the edges, creating several large fissures in the ground.  A faint smile came to his face as he thought about what his mother’s impression of a place like this would be.

             
“Is this…” he began the question that formed in his mind, trailing off.

             
“It’s just a restaurant.” she said simply, “They have great fries.” she finished.  Clearly, she hadn’t realized that his question hadn’t been related to fries at all, but to why there seemed to be completely clean of magic.

             
“No, I meant…Isn’t this just a human place?  I can’t sense
any
magic, so unless they have really strong shields, it must be.” he said with a hint of uneasiness in his voice.

             
“What, you only eat at magical restaurants?” she asked with a laugh.  “The humans have mastered the magic of fat, sugar, and salt.  That’s something that even the best of the Upperworlders simply neglect.”

             
“Actually, I’ve only ever eaten at Upperworld restaurants.” he said, almost embarrassed now of something he could have been proud of in another situation.  He instantly saw the surprise on their faces; it seemed that this was not an abnormal practice for them.  He had heard rumors of the very different food humans ate.  The food of Upperworlders consisted of many exotic things, which were easily exchanged through magic, and were nourishing to the mind, and the body.  Although he had always been intrigued by the differences in culture, his mother had always been very strict about staying away from the humans.

             
“So, you’ve never had…like a burger?” asked the shorter of the girls, a mix of surprise and pity on her face.

             
“No, I haven’t.” he replied, amused at their mock-horror.

             
“Well, we’ll just have to fix that right now.” said the other girl in a tone that was not to be argued with.  They reached the restaurant, and to his surprise, passed the door.  The first of the girls approached a line of cars that snaked around the side of the building.  Although he had never eaten at a human restaurant, he was relatively familiar with the idea of a drive through, and this action confused him.

             
“Isn’t this the-” he began, a quizzical look on his face.

             
“Yeah, it’s the drive through.” began the shorter girl with a sigh, “It’s something she likes to do.  Almost every time.  We walk through, and usually, they serve us anyway.” she finished.  The look on her face was wrought with disapproval, but there were clear undertones of enjoyment that had been suppressed.  He wondered if she always thought she had to act so non-condoning.

             
“Why live by pointless rules that other people lay down?” she asked, with genuine belief in her words.  After this, he was silent, afraid to ask any more questions.  They waited in line behind the other cars, and more approached them from behind.  He was now self-conscious, glancing at the drivers of the cars and wincing at the attention being drawn to them.  They inched slowly toward the window, watching colorful bags and cups being handed through it to people in the cars ahead.

             
They reached the window, and the taller girl ordered for herself and her friend.  She ordered a salad and fries for each of them, a strange combination for what he knew of human food.  No stranger than walking through the drive through, he supposed.  She turned to him next, her dark eyes catching the strange light from the window. 

             
“You want a burger, then right?” she asked.

             
“Sure, I guess.” he said, with his hands in his pockets.

             
“Alright, so he’ll have a burger and fries.” she conveyed to the girl on the other side of the strange wall.  “Oh, and a coke.” she added.  They waited to approach the next window, as instructed.  When they reached it, the girl handed the cashier a ten dollar bill before he could say anything to object.  She handed the food through the window with no great courtesy, closing it promptly afterward.

             
“I could have paid for my food.” he said more defensively than he had intended.

             
“No way.” she said, “I’m totally buying you your first human meal.  Stick with us, and it won’t be your last.” she said.  Her voice held a likeable charm to it, and a sincerity that convinced him that he probably would stick with them.  They crossed the old parking lot again, bright with mid-morning sunlight.  Sitting down at a picnic table with peeling red paint, they unwrapped their impromptu brunch.  He was slightly uncomfortable at how intently they watched him eat the first bite of his meal, but he enjoyed it nonetheless.  He now believed what she had said about the humans and their use of fat, sugar, and salt.  The food was delicious, but sat very heavily with him.  Obviously seeing this on his face, the girls next told him that this was why Guardians didn’t endorse fast food.  It wasn’t the best pre-battle choice, they told him.

             
“By the way,” said the shorter of the girls, “I don’t think we’ve actually introduced ourselves.  I’m Mira.”

             
“Nameh.” said the other girl, sparing the formalities.  “Oh, and just so that you know, we don’t usually eat fast food.” she said, indicating the salads.  “But every now and then, you just need some French fries.”  She said this almost poetically, as if her words had been deeper than they actually were.  The conversation evolved, and changed subjects, flowing more easily than he anticipated.  They began to discuss Guardian training, and how long they had been fighting off the record.  Nameh told him that she had been ‘vigilante fighting’, as the Guardians called it, for several years, and that Mira joined her on some occasions.  He admitted that he had only begun about a year ago, shortly after receiving his mark.  At the mention of the Shask, a pensive look crossed Nameh’s face, deepening her features.