Heir of the Curse Read online

  Having her as a mother was more than a little strange, as at the end of the day when everyone else was gone, Red was just Red. What the world around us didn’t see was that she never turned off the part that made people worship her. She was always in control and always looking for a way to make life better for everyone in Elder. I was pretty sure no matter what I ever did in life, I was never going to live up to that.

  I spent most of my childhood trying to learn from her and understanding that I would never be able to do things as well as she could. It wasn’t that she was mean or didn’t try to raise me. It was just that she had the highest expectations of anyone I ever met, and those expectations were placed on me too. When I reached fifteen winters, it was best to be on my own, but that didn’t mean I never saw her. I made sure to visit the village at least once every moon cycle. And one thing that never changed was Red, until now.

  I wasn’t exactly ready to talk to her again after our last conversation, but I needed to, for Grace’s sake. One thing that didn’t change over the winters was the tension between us. Red still couldn’t see that she raised me right, and I was strong enough to stand on my own.

  Red continued to wash the dishes, and I just stood there watching her. Life wasn’t easy growing up in her shadow, but because of her and all she taught me, I didn’t fear to live in the forest alone. I didn’t fear my friends or the curse that was taking more wolves every day. I knew I was strong enough to handle that, even if she didn’t see that.

  Red was the strongest person I had ever met, and that said a lot. There were many dignitaries and leaders she worked with over the winters, and as a child, I was there for a lot of meetings. I could tell just by looking that if no one understood the power in her, Red didn’t care. Her life was about Elder and making our kingdom better. She never flaunted her strength, but I always saw it. It was strange to see it fading. It was weird to see her as just a human.

  Slowly, I approached her hut. One thing I knew well was you never tried to surprise Red because if it was possible to catch her unaware, any surprise could be deadly. She didn’t hit to maim or injure; she hit to kill.

  Red didn’t look up as I neared the door. I knew from experience, the door would be unlocked. Why would the most powerful person in Elder need to lock her door? If anyone actually tried to attack her in her own home, they wouldn’t come out alive.

  Without knocking, I stepped into the house I was raised in. The place was small yet larger than my own home by the addition of the two bedrooms. I didn’t need a bedroom since I was the only person living in my hut. Red’s was also cleaner. Typically, not a thing was out of place, nor was there a speck of dust. She didn’t keep anything personal around her house. Yes, there was a blanket on the couch, but it wasn’t made for her or given to her by someone special. There were no pictures on the wall or trinkets on the counters. I guess that much rubbed off on me as my house was similarly plain, but at least, I had the excuse of having only lived there for three winters, not twenty-five.

  “Did you forget something when you left?” Red asked, not turning around from the sink where she continued to scrub away.

  I walked over and stood beside her. It felt like only yesterday I was looking up to her, and now I was more than a full head taller than her. I took up the dry dishcloth and held my hand out for whatever needed drying.

  “I talked to Micco yesterday.” That was partially true.

  “Mmm-hmm,” Red replied as she continued to wash. She was always like that. She never took the bait to start a conversation even though she knew perfectly well that I wanted her to.

  “He said the wolves are getting worse, and Elder kicked all the wolves back to the forest. He doesn’t have enough food, homes, or supplies for all the people that returned.”

  Red just continued to wash as I talked. She didn’t try to explain or tell me what would be done. One thing that was always Red was that she never lied, or sugar-coated anything. She was always truthful and honest to a point. It was hard to accept as a child, but as an adult, I appreciated her honesty.

  She wasn’t going to offer help or a solution, so I kept talking.

  “He mentioned that the last time the curse came, a group turned into wolves and didn’t turn back to human. He said that the curse would only affect those that were human, not wolf.”

  Still no input from Red.

  “Is that true?”

  “Yes,” she replied as she finished rinsing the last dish. I took it from her and dried it before stacking it in the same pile with the rest of the dishes.

  “So that’s the solution, right? They turn into wolves while we brew a new cure.”

  Red never told anyone how she broke the curse, but I had to imagine it was with the help of the witches. While there were few witches left in Elder, there was still some left. They had grown fewer over the winters, but were always around somewhere, if you could find them. While Red wasn’t a witch, I was pretty sure that if they made the cure the first time, she could get them to do it again.

  “It doesn’t work like that,” Red chided me as she opened a cupboard and took out a loaf of bread. Reaching for the serrated knife she used to cut bread, she went to work making nice even slices.

  “Then tell me how it works,” I pleaded. If Grace was going to give up her human life, I wanted to be finding an answer for her, and the sooner, the better.

  Red stopped cutting her loaf of bread and turned to me. She eyed me over like she was contemplating what to tell me.

  “It wasn’t a potion. I don’t know how it works exactly. I can’t explain, but it wasn’t something that can just be made. It was something deeper, different. Something I can’t make,” she admitted as she watched me carefully for my reaction.

  I tried not to let my mouth fall open in shock. Red was the savior. She cured the wolves. She brought peace to Elder. And she didn’t know how to do it again.

  “Please tell me you’re kidding.”

  Red never kidded. I knew that much, but I had to hope with her new attitude that maybe there were jokes going on too.

  “I wish I could, really. I just don’t have an answer. It wasn’t something I could do a second time. All I can do is try to keep everyone safe.” Red shrugged and went back to slicing her bread.

  I had no idea what to say to her. She never told me how she saved everyone from the curse, but I assumed it was some grand secret. I wasn’t expecting that she didn’t know how.

  Red finished slicing the loaf of bread as she placed the pieces on a plate. She took the plate to the table before she returned to grab butter and jelly. I followed behind her, unsure of what to do.

  “So, if Grace turns into a wolf, it might be forever?” I finally found words to keep our conversation going.

  Red gave me a sad nod.

  I felt anger building in me again. It wasn’t fair. Why did Grace have to give up her life? Why couldn’t she have a normal life? Red said she was keeping everyone safe, but what she really meant was that she was keeping the tree people safe. Grace wasn’t being kept safe; in fact, she was giving up her life to keep the tree people safe too. The wolves had to sacrifice everything, and the tree people just complained and hid in their trees. I had no doubts. Red was protecting the wrong people.

  “What are you doing to keep everyone safe?” I finally asked. “Are you helping Micco feed and house the wolves? Are you helping him build a fence? Are you helping him track and cage up the cursed wolves?”

  Red bit her lip as I added more and more to my complaint. She understood my point. She wasn’t keeping Elder safe; she was keeping the tree people safe. The lazy tree people that asked her to put her life on the line time and time again. The ones that only found time to complain about the wolves but never help them. Those tree people.

  I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. The curse wasn’t her fault. I knew that much. And yelling at her wasn’t going to change anything.

  “Are your friends going to turn into wolves?” Red finally asked, knowi
ng I was holding my anger at bay.

  “Grace is. She doesn’t feel safe at the village with the wolves and doesn’t want to be a monster.”

  Red nodded in understanding.

  “But it isn’t fair.” And that was my problem with the whole situation. Grace was giving up everything, and it was likely to be for the rest of her life.

  “Life is rarely fair,” Red replied like she knew more than she was letting on.

  I had seen Red love the wolves. She cared for them even as she made helping the tree people a priority. It was her that wanted to bring everyone together. She cared for Micco and everyone in Elder. I stared at her more and tried to see it. Why wasn’t she doing more for the wolves? Why was she just letting them be taken by the curse? She broke it once, and I had no doubts she could do it again.

  Red lifted up the plate of bread and offered me a piece. I took one and covered it with jelly as I sat down at the table with her.

  “The only thing I know about the curse from the last time is that your friend is correct. In her wolf form, she will be free of it. The curse strikes those in human form, forcing them to turn into monsters. The witches called the curse a spirit snatcher as everything that made the wolf human would be gone.”

  I couldn’t see that happen to Grace or Nikkan, no matter how much of an idiot he was being.

  “And if she blacks out and changes not on her own? She’s cursed then?”

  Red shook her head. “The last time, the curse took weeks. People didn’t turn into monsters night after night. It took weeks of occasional losses of memory. As long as she can remember every night and every change, she should be free of the curse. As long as she can change permanently before the first time she blacks out, she can avoid the curse,” Red explained.

  “And can never speak to a human again,” I added.

  Red shrugged. “I would have chosen the same thing if it had happened to me. I’d rather live my life in silence than kill those I love.”

  I studied Red as she took a bite of her bread. She had never mentioned anyone before that she loved. I was the only family she had, and we weren’t technically related as we didn’t share blood. There was never a person in her life that I could say she loved. Micco had been her friend over the winters, and I didn’t doubt he had a crush on her, but she didn’t seem to notice.

  We sat in silence and ate the bread she had. There was nothing more we could talk about. The curse was back. Grace was right, and soon my friends would be gone while we fought to find an answer without them.

  Red didn’t order me to stay as I stood after finishing my breakfast with her. She didn’t beg either. She understood the truth. I was responsible for myself.

  As I neared the doorway, I turned back to her.

  “I’ll stay safe.”

  Red nodded her head and gave me a strained smile.

  “Don’t worry mom; I learned from the best.”

  I gave her a grin, and she just shook her head. It was true. If Red could survive as long as she had as the Red before she defeated the curse, she was the best one to learn from. It wasn’t like I wanted to put my skills to the test, but I felt safe in the woods. It was home.

  Without a second glance back, I made my way into the woods and began my jog home. My mind was processing what she had told me about the curse and no cure. There had to be something I could do, and I wasn’t giving up, it was just a bit of a shock. Red was the hero of Elder, and she didn’t have an answer. I wasn’t used to that.

  It didn’t take long to figure out someone was following me, but from the steps, I already knew who it was. There was only one human that could run as stealthily as my mother.

  I changed my course slightly to pass one of the larger trees on my run home. I knew where every tree and sapling stood and which ones I could climb, hide behind, or take a few branches from to take home as firewood. This was my home and my woods. I ran past and caught the lowest branch of the tree I was aiming for, pulling myself up onto the hidden branch as quickly as I ran. I waited as the quiet follower ran past, underneath the tree I was now sitting in.

  Sera’s dark hair bounced as she ran. The recent cut to chin length was the main reason I could hear her. Her steps were silent, but her swaying hair that didn’t seem to fit in a ponytail wasn’t as quiet as her feet. I could hear the hair swish in the wind. And there was her scent. I knew she was human.

  Sera kept running like she was following me, though I knew otherwise. I wasn’t down there to be followed. She’d soon figure out that I wasn’t farther ahead.

  After she left my view, I could hear her stop. I hopped down from my tree and leaned against it as I waited for her to backtrack.

  “Why are you following me?” I asked when I knew she was close enough to hear me but not be seen.

  Sera walked out from the trees, not pretending to be shy that she was caught.

  “I was ordered to,” Sera replied. She had the same honest tendencies as Red.

  “Because she thinks I’ll do something to get in trouble?”

  Just like Red. She sent a babysitter to keep track of me. Nope, she didn’t think I was grown up yet.

  “Because she cares about you,” Sera replied with a huff.

  “If she knew me at all, she’d know I was perfectly capable of taking care of myself. Go back to her and help out where she needs you,” I told Sera. I had seen Red and knew she needed the help more than I did. Sera stayed precisely where she was.

  I pointed with my finger back the direction we had come from, but Sera just stared at me. Typical Sera, she listened as well as Red did.

  “Go on. I don’t need to deal with your snark and sarcasm. I have enough to deal with.”

  And I did. I was the one that had to tell the wolves they could live as wolves for the rest of their lives until the curse was broken, and by the way, there’s no way to break the curse. Not exactly the job I wanted, but I wasn’t about to keep it from them. They deserved to know their fate: be taken by the curse or be a wolf for the rest of their lives.

  9th March

  My quiet simple hut was far from being quiet since Sera came back with me and stayed with Grace and me. She wasn’t really invited, but she took no as well as my mother did. Strong personalities seemed to be a requirement for being the Red. No matter what I said to her, she was determined to stay, and I knew enough to not waste my breath trying to get her out.

  Sera didn’t leave me any alone time with Grace to let her know what my mother had told me. Grace took it better than I expected. She only had one request—that we spend her last day as a human enjoying it. Sera seemed to like that thought and eagerly joined in making plans on how we could spend Grace’s last day as a human. I fell asleep listening to them debate what were the best activities.

  The sun had just risen, and they were already back at it, chatting away, planning their perfect last day. Grace and Sera found that they actually got along great and had more in common than either of them knew. Prejudices had kept them from ever talking before, but I had a feeling it was different now. Sera seemed to understand Grace better now that she knew what Grace was giving up to protect everyone. Just like Sera, Grace was thinking of all of Elder.

  I pretty much stayed out of their chatter. It wasn’t like they needed my input anyway. Within only a few short moments of meeting, they figured out that their shared love of food meant I was a terrible host.

  “There’s a baker in Azren that has the best tarts, every flavor,” Sera gushed. Graced licked her lips.

  There was no way the food at my place was going to compare to all Sera was describing to her. I could cook when needed, but I preferred my life to be outside and not spent at a stove. Actually, I think Nikkan cooked more than I did, so I really didn’t have much to offer them.

  “If you guys promise to stay here and pack, I’ll run back and get us supplies,” Sera said, wagging her eyebrows at the word supplies. We all knew she meant food. She hadn’t stopped complaining at my diet of bread and dried meat
since she came the day before.

  “I thought you weren’t allowed to leave me alone,” I replied. “And with a dangerous wolf.”

  I motioned to my dangerous wolf, Grace, and she gasped and swatted at my arm. She put on a fake pout as she looked from me to Sera.

  “The curse only happens at night,” Sera scolded me. “And look at Grace. She’s as far from being a rabid beast as you can get. In fact, I think maybe you and I are closer than she is.”

  Grace nodded with the pout still on her face.

  “We’ll stay here,” Grace assured Sera, probably just to get the treats Sera had been telling her about since the moment she arrived. I raised an eyebrow at Grace but said nothing as Sera nodded and ran off into the woods.

  Sera didn’t wait for us to say more. She was probably afraid we would leave without her, or maybe she really wanted to get going on our day. Either way, I was alone with Grace, at least for a little bit.

  “Are you sure you want her to come with us? She’s not exactly a fan of wolves,” I asked, knowing Sera was too far away to hear our conversation.

  Grace smiled shyly.

  “I like her,” she said quietly.

  I nodded. The version of Sera Grace was seeing was someone to like. She was laughing and giggling. Sera was telling Grace about the world Grace had always longed to be part of, and it was just what Grace needed to hear to be distracted from real life. I personally wasn’t used to Sera being friendly or agreeable, but Grace deserved to have whatever last day as a human that she wanted. It was her party, and I wasn’t going to let my opinion of Sera interfere with that.

  “Okay. Then let’s get our bags packed and be waiting for her.”

  Grace nodded as her cheeks returned to their normal color.

  I dug under the basket I had all my clothing in and found the two sacks Nikkan, and I used when we went on trips. I shook them both out and, thankfully, found them empty of anything gross or embarrassing.

  “Here,” I said as I handed one to Grace.