Page 35 of Curses & Keys (Curses & Gods #1)

PHAEDRA

S tone scraping against stone echoes across the chamber as a door opens to the right of the altar, revealing a dark-haired man wearing a light grey suit.

Mathias is a blur as he positions himself next to the stranger.

Jamison swiftly steps in front of me, while Gatlin sprints from the back of the room to stand beside us both.

“I mean you no harm,” the stranger states firmly. “We’ve been expecting you.” There’s an underlying note of excitement in his tone.

“Let’s just say your intent is lost when you present visitors with a table full of harmful objects,” Hawthorne interjects in a hard voice.

“None of them are designed to permanently kill a supernatural, only to dissuade them from exploring further,” the man insists. “Besides, they didn’t hurt her. Did they, Dr. Galanis?”

Having heard enough, I step between Jamison and Gatlin to face the man. “Who are you?”

Eyes glued to the newcomer, Mathias reveals his identity. “Rupert Evanston, vampire.”

The stranger glances over at Mathias. “Dr. Rupert Evanston. Archaeologist and, yes, vampire. Although that hardly matters.” Dismissing him, he turns to me. “We’ve waited a long time to meet you.”

Rupert then motions to the passageway behind him. “If de Vere will kindly use his magic to light the way, I’ll take you to meet the rest of our society.”

Jamison glances at Mathias, who nods at his unspoken question, then he tosses a small ball of light at the torch near the door.

Fire immediately catches, lighting the passageway with a small glow.

Gatlin, our protector, stalks through the door first and grabs the lit torch.

Jamison catches my hand in his and walks through with me in tow.

Looking back, I see Hawthorne enter, then Mathias. Rupert closes the door behind us all.

“Follow the passage,” he tells Gatlin, who moves cautiously forward. “In about fifteen meters, there will be a small alcove on the right with a stone pedestal. In its center stands a bird. Turn it to the left.”

Gatlin huffs in irritation but says nothing. It doesn’t take long to reach the alcove. After following Rupert’s instructions, the pedestal slides to the right, opening another dark passageway.

Jamison lights another torch, and we walk for an additional ten minutes.

“The passageway ends at a wall. It’s biometric, though. Once we’re there, I’ll move to the front and open the last door,” Rupert calls out to Gatlin.

My nose twitches in the cool dry air. They’ve gone to a lot of trouble to hide themselves. If I hadn’t known Letz, I’m not sure I would have trusted anyone enough to follow them through this maze. You could hide a body down here, and nobody would ever find it.

The group halts, and Hawthorne positions me in the curve of his body right before Rupert slips by us, as if he doesn’t want the vampire touching me.

His hand warms the curve of my hip, and I shift closer, wanting to feel his body against mine.

I look up past his strong jaw and lips that beg to be kissed to find his green eyes staring down at me, and I lick my lips, wondering what his lips would feel like on mine.

A spark flares between us, and the air grows heavy with tension.

Rupert shouts, “Voilà!”

Startled, I turn. The stone barrier slides open to reveal a series of steps. Reluctantly, I lift my hand from Hawthorne’s chest, but he immediately captures it in his, keeping the two of us connected. Damn, this man makes me weak in the knees. How am I supposed to focus?

Thankfully, the stairs lead up to a circular chamber filled with wooden pews but the air remains cool and dry, like the passageway. Confused, I glance around and see plastered walls. Are we above ground or not?

“This is where we conduct our meetings,” Rupert says, coming to stand in front of me.

His dark eyes are alight with excitement and a glint of curiosity.

“Letz and I started this journey and society together. Along with another, whom I’ll introduce in a second.

It’s my honor to meet you, Dr. Galanis, and to introduce you to our members. ”

“What is the name of your society?” I ask, following the instructions Letz murmured in his last moments.

“The Keepers of the Cursed,” Rupert replies with a broad smile. “Now that formalities are over, let me introduce you.”

Letz said they had sixty members. Doors slide open along the walls, revealing men and women.

The scent of their magic fills the air, replacing the musty smell.

Walking into the chamber, they find their seats amongst the pews except for one.

A familiar man, fierce-looking with a full head of hair, strides confidently down to us.

Jamison inhales sharply. “Henry?”

The man flashes a wry smile. “Hello, Jamison. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you earlier.

Had to follow protocols.” His gaze moves to me.

“When I was younger, I dabbled in ancient history and landed a job at the Vatican along with Letz and Rupert. We started this society, and for years, I was able to indulge myself. Unfortunately, my family and the bank needed me more, but I serve whenever I’m needed.

Plus, my position allows me to guard the safe deposit box.

It’s nice to officially meet you, Dr. Galanis. ”

Unnerved by all the supernaturals staring at me, I move a little closer to Hawthorne. “Phaedra, please. I’m here because of Letz. It was his dying request.”

Rupert looks at Henry, and a sad expression crosses both of their faces. “This isn’t how we wanted to welcome you, but we know Letz would have been thrilled to see you here.”

Henry’s arm sweeps out to indicate the rest of the room. “These are the members of our society. Given the circumstances, we’ll forego individual introductions, but they would love to ask you a few questions, if you don’t mind?”

Sixty might not seem like many, but when you thought you were the only one for thousands of years, this feels like a small army.

Exposed to supernaturals in a way I never expected, I have to wonder what the gods will think of this.

I didn’t tell these supernaturals or lead them down this path.

And technically, the work they do protects humans without exposing themselves to them. It follows the rules. Right?

Unease fills me, but at the same time, I’m curious to know about this society that claims to follow in my footsteps.

“No questions about my past.” When he agrees, I motion to the people surrounding us.

“Okay.” Hawthorne squeezes my hand, reminding me of his presence, and some of my apprehension eases.

Henry steps to the side and raises his voice. “I know we’re all dying of curiosity. Dr. Galanis has graciously agreed to answer our questions. Nothing personal.” His amber eyes return to me. “I’ll go first. What do you do when you can’t remove a curse?”

Heads swivel toward me, and I almost sigh in relief at the innocuous question. “It depends. Sometimes, I change the curse into something…milder. Other times, I take the object back to my place to study it further. In my experience, all curses can be removed, but some take longer.”

Hands shoot up across the room. I motion to the young woman in the front row. Based on the faint notes of sandalwood and cinnamon, she’s a mage.

“Can you give an example of changing the curse?” she asks with a tiny frown.

Nolan Westgate’s collection pops into my mind.

“Are you familiar with the painting of Dorian Gray?” When she nods, I continue.

“I changed the curse. The painting will no longer be able to call forth the demon who created it. Instead, it will trap the individual in the painting for two weeks. Once released, the painting will go dormant again.”

Excited chatter races across the room.

“Ingenious,” Rupert murmurs from beside me. “Next question.”

A shifter stands in the third row, gold eyes flashing. “We have a few pieces that we’re stuck on. Why are some curses so difficult to unravel?”

I think about it for a minute. “Curses are made of magic, which can be as simple or complex as you want it to be. The type of magic used to create the curse is important, as well as the level of power and experience of the user.”

An older man stands in the back row. “Is it true that the curses do not affect you?”

“Yes,” I reply without further elaboration. The room goes silent. “Next question.”

A grey-haired lady slowly stands. “Why do you do this?”

“To protect humans,” I tell them, wanting them to understand the truth. This isn’t about them. “Supernaturals create these objects, and humans have no defense against them. Although a great deal of my effort protects supernaturals too.”

Disapproving murmurs and low tones echo across the chamber.

“Any more questions?”

Hands raise, and I call on a young man.

“Are you single?” he asks with a grin. Several people chuckle.

I open my mouth to answer, but Gatlin’s gruff voice beats me to the punch. “No personal questions.” I flash him a grateful smile.

Not wanting to leave them without expressing my gratitude, I turn in a circle to look at all of them.

“For thousands of years, I’ve walked this earth, making it a safer place.

This is my sole purpose and reason for existing.

Not once did I question the supernaturals who created the cursed objects.

Nor have I ever wished them any ill will. I simply did the job I was given.”

The chamber is silent. “Honestly, I never thought anyone would notice. This entire time I’ve thought myself invisible to the rest of the world.

When Letz told me about your society, I was shocked, but for the first time, I felt seen.

I felt like the work I’ve done is important.

That I matter in the grand scheme of this world. ”

“I didn’t know you existed, but the fact that one supernatural would care enough to join me in this endeavor blows my mind. Sixty of you… There are no words to express my gratitude for the work you do here,” I admit with a shake of my head.

“And if you’ll let me, I’d like to help you with some of the more difficult cases,” I offer with a tentative smile. “Between us, we’ll make the world safer for both humans and supernaturals. Thank you.” I see the approval appear on their expressive faces, and I can’t help but beam in return.

The room relaxes, and the questions continue for the next hour. What was the most difficult piece? Which race creates more of the objects? Can I remove a curse from a plant? That one was intriguing to me as I’ve never tried it. On and on they ask until I’ve covered most of their questions.

After they finish, Rupert raises his hand and the doors slide open, letting all the people out. Once they’re gone, he turns to me. “Well done. Let us give you a tour and show you some of our more difficult pieces.”

Jamison flicks a hand toward Gatlin, who again takes the lead.

Rupert leads us into another bright hallway.

“Are we above ground?” I ask, motioning to the walls.

He smiles but says nothing. I guess they don’t want to share all of their secrets either. I search for clues, but there’s nothing to indicate location.

We enter a room full of objects that reminds me of my vaults at home. Except they are much neater. Instead of piles of trinkets, they have carefully labeled bins.

Several individuals stand behind a table with a few pieces in front of them. Familiar magic wafts from the items. Tangy and sharp, the curses embedded in them are complex and intricate. I point to the most complex one.

“Sometimes a curse is layered.” I tap the brooch in front of me.

“This one was specifically designed to trap someone in their worst nightmare. That takes a tremendous amount of magic to create. Different spells layered on top of each other to sleep, to dream, to change the dreams into nightmares, to find their worst one. So you have to attack each spell one at a time.”

I show them how to identify and separate the spells, then I remove the curse from the brooch.

Moving on to the next piece, I have them practice while I help.

As I’m bent over, a strand of hair falls into my line of sight.

A hand appears. In a blur, it’s gone. Startled, I look up to find Mathias’ obsidian gaze staring at the man in front of me.

“Keep your hands to yourself,” he orders before releasing him and tucking my hair behind my ear. He moves back to Jamison’s side, but his eyes never leave the man in front of me.

“Sorry,” the man smoothly inserts. “I didn’t realize.”

With a frown, I open my mouth, but he’s already dismissing me. “Thank you. I understand how to break the curse now.”

Rupert clears his throat. “Let’s move on, shall we? There’s something important we need to share with you.”

He opens the far door, and we follow him through. Traversing the hallways, we end up at a blue door encased in magic spells and biometric scanners.

I raise an eyebrow at the level of security and flick a glance at Gatlin, who is scowling at the door.

It swings open and reveals the Temple of Hephaestus.