Page 123 of A Thousand Cuts

They’d caught the stalker and he was locked away and unable to cast, so who was…

The bed started shaking underneath them, rattling against the floor. Liam’s eyes snapped open and Fix wanted to die at the fearhe saw in them again. They hadn’t even gotten a full night of peace. Not even one.

“Daddy,” Liam called out to him, holding on to the bed, and Fix broke the curse, rushing to take him into his arms.

“They’re back,” Liam said. “Why are they back? He’s gone. They got him. Why are they back?!”

The TV mounted to the wall on the other side of the room flickered on and the volume climbed until Fix couldn’t hear himself think.

He broke the curse and Liam buried his head in Fix’s chest, shaking it frantically.

“No, no, no, no,” he chanted, his entire body trembling with fear.

The armchair in the corner slid toward the door and slammed into it before rushing to the other side. The sound of wooden legs dragging on the floor made Fix’s skin crawl.

He broke that curse too.

Liam wailed in anguish and the windows started vibrating.

Fix broke the curse.

Liam screamed and the lightbulb shattered into pieces.

Then it clicked.

“Liam, honey,” Fix said, gripping his shoulders, desperately trying to get through to him. “I need you to calm down, okay? I know it’s hard, but I need you to listen to Daddy’s voice and breathe deep.”

“Can’t,” Liam gasped, clawing at Fix’s arms as he tried to get them around his body again. He tried to crawl into Fix’s lap.

The bedding flew off the bed and stuck to the ceiling.

Fix broke the curse. It felt like it stopped a bit slower. Like it faded out instead of shutting down like it usually did.

“Honey, I need you to try your best to calm down,” Fix said again.

“They’re back, Daddy,” Liam wailed. “They’re back.”

The contents of Liam’s bag flew all over the room, Liam’s notebook landing next to Fix.

One after another he broke the curses as his mind spun.

He couldn’t believe he hadn’t made the connection before. He couldn’t believe it had taken him this long to figure it out.

It was so fucking obvious.

The door to his room slammed open, then closed, then open again. Liam clutched at Fix’s shirt, crying and shaking.

Fix broke the curse.

“What the hell is going on in here?!” Ash bounded into his room, sleep-rumpled and annoyed, followed closely by Black, who looked like he hadn’t slept in about three days anyway.

“Black!” Fix called, breaking the curse with one hand while trying to hold Liam to his chest with the other. “Grab Liam’s notebook. Write down all the curses you see.”

Black rushed to do as he was told, eyes wide and curious as he took in the scene in front of him. A sudden screeching noise ripped through the air, deafening them all.

Fix broke the curse while begging Liam, “Honey, please, I need you to do everything you can to calm down. I know you’re scared but you’re my good boy and you’re so strong. You can do this for Daddy, right?”

Liam’s fingers clawed at Fix’s chest as he whimpered, struggling to breathe. The pillows behind their backs hardened like concrete blocks.