Seduction (Curse of the Gods #3)

“Shouldn’t you be carrying her?” I asked pointedly, as Emmy struggled to get Evie out of the cart.

Dru glanced at them, and then shrugged. “I suppose.” He managed to squeeze himself out of the cart through the other door, before pulling Evie free and lifting her into his arms. “You,” he narrowed his eyes at me, sticking his head back in through the door, “you need to follow us—you can’t wait here.”

“Sure,” I lied. “I’m right behind you!”

We were in a densely populated area of Soldel, lots of small hut-like dwellings bunched close together. Dru seemed to know where he was going: he moved with purpose, which gave me a surge of confidence that he was really going to get her help. I moved with them for a few clicks, wanting to make sure that they were almost inside before they noticed me gone. Relief hit me as I saw that one of the huts we were moving toward had a small healer symbol above the door. It was a simple emblem: the crossed arms with clenched fists on the end to show the power of a healer.

I turned to bail, but my feet froze. There was one thing I needed to check first. “Are you sure this healer is going to help a dweller?” I called out to Dru. “Sols don’t usually care that much about whether or not we die.”

Evie was most probably injured because of me, and I needed to make sure that she would be taken care of before I disappeared. Dru paused, before turning back slightly to see me better. Some of the sheet had fallen off Evie and I couldn’t stop my gasp. She looked terrible, hanging limply, her pale skin red and splotchy. There were angry weeping sores scattered over every inch of skin that I could see, and it looked as if half of her bushy hair was gone. I had to swallow hard multiple times to keep the contents of my stomach from erupting. At my side Emmy had her hand pressed against her mouth, her face a chalky white as she stared.

Had I actually done that?

“I know this healer.” Dru looked semi-serious, his usual joking fa?ade fading. “She will help if I tell her to.” I must not have looked convinced, because he hurried on. “She’s going to be fine. Right now I’m keeping the dweller unconscious, which will help with the shock and pain. She shouldn’t remember any of this when she wakes.”

“Is that your gift?” I realised that I had never even wondered what Dru was capable of as a sol. They were almost always gifted in something. I would have guessed that his was weight-lifting, or dweller-shot-put. You know, something which required biceps as big as thigh muscles.

He was turning away again, and I was glad to see that he did not take lightly the urgency of healing Evie. I was sure he wouldn’t answer my question, but to my surprise he did call back to me, “Yes, I am gifted with Psyon. I can dull the senses. Cloud the mind. Manipulate the brain waves.”

Something creepy would have been my second guess … so that sounded about right.

Emmy dropped her hand then, her breathing heavy and ragged. “She’s going to die. Those burns, they’re … they’re so bad, Will.”

I took a step toward her, my arms wrapping around her shoulders, as I pulled her into a tight hug. “Dru said she would be fine. We have to believe that he knows the capability of this healer. I need you to go in there and make sure that they don’t treat her like a dweller. Lie if you have to. Tell them she’s sleeping with the chancellor’s grandson and he would be pissed if she died.”

Emmy let out a strangled laugh. “Not even a lie, so should be easy to sell.”

Not a li … Oh, gross. Nobody needed to be that dedicated to a cause, even a good cause.

Emmy started walking then, only to suddenly realise what I had said. “Why will I have to make sure Dru and this healer don’t slack off on Evie? Where are you going, Willa?”

She had her school teacher voice on again. I was obligated to answer. “I need to track down a god.” My voice lowered on the last word. “I think he knows something about what is going on with my blackouts, and the fire, and a tonne of other things. He won’t visit when others are around though, so I need a moment alone.”

She stared me down for a few tense micro-clicks, and I tried not to squirm like I was lying. Because for once, I really wasn’t.

“Is this god an Abcurse?” she finally asked.

I shook my head. “No, they’re all in Topia. For … reasons.”

Emmy brushed that away like she really didn’t give a shit. “If there wasn’t so much going on I would have realised earlier how weird it was that they let you out of their sight.” Her eyes got really huge then. “You’re out of their sight, Will! The link … how are you not dying in pain right now?”

She lurched toward me, hands held out in front of her as though she could stop the pain just by touching me. I was the one now to wave her concerns aside. “That’s why I have to find this god. He did something to temporarily transfer the link, but I don’t think it worked. Or it didn’t work very well, anyway. So now I have a god to find, and a pair of balls to kick.”

Some of the worry and fear eased on her face then as she shook her head at me. “Never change.” As she turned away to head into the healer hut, I heard her call back over her shoulder. “And please try not to get yourself killed.”

Where was the faith?

As soon as they were out of sight, I turned and hurried along the path, searching for a secluded place. The streets were fairly empty, but there were still plenty of doors and windows—all of which could easily be looked out of. Cyrus was a monster, taller than the Abcurses, with an ego to match. He would draw attention easily. The last thing I needed right now was more trouble or attention.

A darkened, stone-lined alleyway caught my eye, and I hurried toward it. It seemed to grow gradually darker the further back it went, which would hopefully mean that there were no sols living within. It also turned cooler as I ran along, and I felt that pang in my chest at being there alone. If Siret had been there he would have made a joke and woven me into the tightest sweater ever. My boobs would have been popping out, but my nipples would have been hidden. They really liked me to keep my nipples under wraps.

When I felt like I was about halfway along the alley, I stopped and leaned back against the cold wall, mentally shouting out for Cyrus. I had no idea if he would still be able to hear me in this way, or if there was any connection between us, but I had to try.

Cyrus, you bastard of the gods, get your ass here now! You’ve really fucked up this time, buddy! You have no idea. No idea what I’m going to do to you. I don’t know either, yet, but it’s going to be bad. Really bad! It’ll be the worst you’ve been in trouble since you were a damn kid and your damn mother caught you looking up the skirts of the other gods, or whatever you did to get in trouble. Never mind, I just realised you were never a kid. That explains the lack of child-like innocence in your eyes. Eyes which I’m going to repeatedly stab just as soon as you get your ass over here!

My rant went on and on, and I kicked out at the wall while calling him every curse name I could think of.