Cursed (Cursed Superheroes #1)

I shake my head. “Then why has my life been so perfect?”


“You think perfection like that doesn’t come with a price?” he asks with an arch of his brow.

“I…” I have no idea what to say. While he might be crazy, he does have a point. I’ve often wondered how my life got so perfect. Plus, I can’t help but think about how my mom said that there was a time where life wasn’t so great for my family. “But I never asked for perfection.”

Pity fills his eyes. “Yes, but someone close to you did and at your cost.”

I swallow hard, not wanting to believe any of this, but every part of me is screaming that he’s telling the truth, as if I’ve suddenly become a living lie detector.

“What’s going on?” I ask, pressing my hand to my forehead as the room begins to spin. “Why am I cursed? And what price do I have to pay?”

“You’re cursed because someone in your life was very greedy.” He remains by the door, either to block my way out or keep his distance from me.

Keep his distance from me? Where did that thought come from? Why would he want to keep his distance from me?

“As for the price you have to pay,” he continues with hesitancy. “You’ve already paid it.”

Confusion swirls in a hazy cloud, just like the room. “But I can’t remember anything?” I whisper hoarsely, my heart pounding in my chest.

Something terrible happened to me…

Something awful…

But I can’t remember….

Don’t want to…

“It’s your mind’s way of coping with the pain,” the stranger explains as I struggle to breathe. “Don’t worry. It’ll get easier.”

“What will?” I ask, gasping for air.

I feel so out of control…

So needy…

My body and mind desire…

Something…

“The curse,” he says, inching back through the doorway.

“Wait!” I stumble to my feet, not wanting him to go, but for a reason I can’t comprehend.

I need something…

I need something from inside him…

“I thought the curse was over?” I stumble toward him, the need inside me growing. “That what happened to me…” My body involuntarily shudders. “That whatever happened to me was the price I paid?”

He shakes his head, growing tenser the closer I get to him, as if he’s afraid of me. “Not that curse. I’m talking about the curse that saved you.”

My skin dampens with sweat, my hands desperate to reach out and grab him, feed the thirstiness burning inside me. “What do you mean… Saved me from what?”

“Saved you from death.” He takes a step back, his hand moving for his pocket. “The curse was supposed to kill you, Remi. The man that grabbed you at the party—he was there to kill you.”

My skin grows ice cold as memories flicker through my mind of what the man did to me. But as vomit burns at the back of my throat, I hastily shove the memories away into the deepest part of my mind. “Then why am I still alive?”

“Because I brought you back.”

I wrap my arms around myself. “You revived me?” But deep down inside, I think I might know the answer.

He didn’t revive me. He changed me. I can feel it in my bones, my heart, my blood, my soul… I press my hand to my chest. My chest feels empty, but my heart is there, pounding.

“Something’s missing?” I murmur, confused yet not.

“Yes, it is.” He pauses, taking a deep breath. “Your soul is gone. In order for us to save you, we had to trade your soul for your life.”

“My soul is gone…” I massage my aching chest, shaking my head. “No, this is all a bad dream… Really, I passed out drunk at the party… I’m going to wake up soon and be in my bed and it’ll be my birthday.”

The stranger looks at me with pity. “Your birthday’s come and gone. And I think you know I’m telling the truth. About all of this.”

I shake my head in denial. “No,” I whisper. “You’re lying.”

“Then what’s that hunger building in your chest?”

I press my hand to my chest instinctively. “I don’t know.”

“It’s from the new curse,” he explains with a strange hint of sadness in his tone. “From now on, it’ll always be there. But we’ll teach you how to harness it and use your powers for the greater good.”

“Who are you?” I whisper, unsure whether to run forward and feed my hunger with him. Or run the hell away. “And what power?”

“We’re an organization destined to save and rehabilitate special individuals such as yourself for a top secret superhero program,” he prattles off the information, as if he’s had this conversation a thousand times. “But you’ll learn more about that later. Right now, we need to feed your power before you lose control and I end up a snack.”

“You’re fucking crazy.” I let out a sharp laugh, but the noise gets lost in the sound of my thundering heart.

Feed.

Kill.

Take.

Feed.

Kill.

Take.

I step toward him, ready to do… Well, I’m not sure. But he rushes out of the room, withdrawing a gun from his pocket.