Page 66 of Heir to a Curse

“That’s because demons follow him through. Monsters.” Except not now. The door was closed. I didn’t think he’d be back. Not with having so little energy left to renew the wards. He would probably close the door to his little sanctuary and never open it again. Eventually the door would give out. My breath caught again, and I felt tears rolling hot down my cheeks. “He’s gone back. Behind his wards. Waiting to die.” It could take decades, I thought. Time ran differently over there. But it didn’t ease the helplessness I was feeling. “It feels like when Sofia told me she had cancer the second time. For a few minutes I thought she’d beat it like the first one, but the doctors said there wasn’t much hope…”

“We can break the curse. Do you know what the curse was?”

“His family condemned him for not helping them win a war. But he didn’t have the power. They thought he was some sort of magical being that would descend like a god to wipe out their enemies. In reality, he’s more of an artist, plays music that touches the heart, brews a wicked cup of tea, and seems to be destined to be stuck with me.”

She sat up and looked at me. “No one is stuck with you. You’re great.”

“I have spent many past lives fucking up,” I pointed out.

“Um, that’s what it means to be human.”

“Fucking up all the time?”

“Yes. Live and learn.”

I sighed. If only it were that easy.

“Did he tell you how to break the curse?”

“He said maybe if his family forgave him.”

“But those who cursed him are all dead, right?” She seemed to think on that for a while. “What if it doesn’t have to be them?”

“I told him I forgive him. Sofia was my family. It didn’t change anything.”

“Blood relatives,” Addy said. “What if we can get his blood relatives to forgive him? There’s got to be some sort of ceremony or ritual in their culture somewhere.”

I waved a hand. “You have seen the family tree etched in the shrine, right? The family is huge.”

“Not really. As old as they are, it’s my understanding that a lot of them were wiped out, else the tree would be so large it wouldn’t fit in the shrine at all. Maybe if we focus on the head of each branch?”

Had any of my past selves done that? I couldn’t recall. At least if there had been any real attempt it wasn’t in my memory anymore. “Okay, but how do we do that?”

“Can you pinpoint your guy and where in history he might be?”

I squinted at her. I could actually. I had his name, his title, and all the traces back to him were carved into the wall of the shrine. “What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking I have a kid who is really good at research.”

“Sure, use the crotch demons.”

“Hey they ought to be good for something. We just have to find leverage. Something to offer the family in exchange for them doing an official ‘I forgive him’ sort of thing.”

“He didn’t really do anything wrong,” I reminded her.

“But the curse isn’t focused that way. And our goal is to break the curse. Not debate the validity of it.”

“You don’t think I’m crazy?”

“You are crazy,” she said. “But I’m okay with that.”

“I could offer the furniture they want,” I said after thinking for a minute. “There was a long list they wanted. It’s just stuff. I’m sure Zhao would be willing to bargain. He offered money for it, why not something more valuable to me and less to him?”

“That sounds like a plan. Let me get the kid gathering info. You contact Zhao then. Let’s see if we can break this curse.”

“Yeah?” A tiny speck of hope sparked in my heart. Was there a chance?

“Yes. Now, maybe you can get up, shower and come to the main house with me?”

I looked down at myself, still in the robe, though thankfully the important parts were covered. But I’m sure I stunk. “I’m a bit rank,” I admitted.

“And the room smells like sex,” she added.

I could feel the heat rise to my cheeks.

“And not like you’re taking yourself in hand sex…” she whispered, her gaze focused on that little dragon statue on the table.

She smelled that he’d been here? My stomach flipped over and I sat up. The spark of hope flaring into a fire at the idea that maybe, just maybe he was real, I wasn’t insane, and we still had a chance to break the curse.