“Can I come?” Neru asked, not losing a single step next to him.
“What?” Gabe was surprised by her question.
“Well, it’s just,” Neru struggled with her words for a moment.
“Nothing this exciting ever happens to me.”
Gabe smiled at the notion that his life seemed exciting to Neru.
All summer as he trained for his tests, he had thought about how boring his daily routine was.
“I’m not sure that's a good idea.” Gabe tried to dissuade her as they approached Michael’s office doors.
“Michael isn’t expecting me.
Honestly, I have no idea what his reaction will be when he sees me.”
“Oh,” Neru replied, clearly disappointed by Gabe’s response.
“I’m sorry.
You understand, don’t you?” Gabe asked softly.
“Are you kidding me?”
Gabe’s heart sank as he heard Sophie’s voice shout from behind him.
“Oh God,” Gabe groaned.
“I knew it!” Sophie exclaimed.
“Sophie, please,” Gabe pleaded, turning around to look her in the eyes.
It only took a second before he saw the glimmer of red again.
Her auburn hair flared out all around her face as she quickly approached them.
“Neru, get out of here!” Gabe shouted, seeing Sophie was not in her right mind.
“Oh no, no, no, my darling Gabe.” Sophie bellowed, venom dripping from her lips.
As Neru turned to run, Sophie raised her hand and without hesitation muttered, “Paralysis.”
Neru froze where she stood, unable to move.
“Sophie, no!”
Gabe shouted, running to Neru’s side.
“Oh my god!
What is wrong with you?
Why would you ever cast on someone like that?”
“You made me do it, Gabe!
I warned you.
We are meant to be.”
Sophie said in a callous voice, no remorse present.
“Sophie, you’re crazy!
Just stop and think about this for a minute.
Have you ever done anything like this before?
Of course not.
I know something has to have happened to make you act this way.”
“Shut up, Gabe!
You can’t talk to me like that!” Sophie screamed, clearly becoming overwhelmed by her anger.
Michael’s door opened.
A moment later he and Uri were in the hall, trying to make sense of what was unfolding before them.
“There, Sophie, how about you explain to Michael what’s going on?
Tell him how casting on other students isn’t crazy and see if he agrees with you.”
Gabe pressed the unraveling Sophie.
“I mean it, Gabe!
You better shut up!” Sophie screeched.
“What is going on out here?” Michael demanded.
“Sophie has lost it!
That’s what!” Gabe replied, glaring back at the girl he had come to care so much for.
“I warned you.”
Sophie shouted.
She raised her hands.
Looking directly at Gabe, she started to say, “Offendo un-.”
“Somnus.”
Before the spell could completely leave Sophie’s lips, Michael had stepped in with a sleep spell.
One moment Sophie was preparing to cast shock wave on her beloved and the next she hit the ground, a lifeless pile.
“Uri, get her inside.” Michael commanded as Gabe stood there, speechless.
His mouth still hanging open in disbelief at the thought that the girl he loved was willing to cast on him.
“Gabe, are you alright?” Michael asked as he walked over to examine Neru.
But Gabe said nothing.
“Uri, come back out here when you’re done.
I need you again.”
Michael bellowed.
Walking to Gabe’s side, Michael put a hand on his shoulder and tried to bring him back into reality.
“Yes sir?” Uri said, exiting Michael’s office.
“I need you to take this poor girl to the infirmary.” Michael requested, motioning to Neru’s frozen form.
“Neru.” Gabe finally said, breaking his silence.
“Her name is Neru.”
“Yes, of course,” Michael added.
“Can you take Neru to the infirmary?”
Uri nodded.
The next minute he was carrying the tiny body of Neru without much effort.
“Gabe, we need to talk.”
Michael said, grabbing hold of his arm.
Without a struggle, Gabe allowed Michael to usher him into his office.
Only feet away, he saw Dina and Raimie asleep on cots.
Across the room, Sophie slept on the couch.
She looked once again like Gabe’s peaceful angel.
Her skin glowed a soft pale white.
Gabe wished he could freeze this moment.
“Are they alright?” Gabe inquired anxiously.
“I’m afraid not.” Michael replied solemnly.
“What’s wrong with them?”
Michael looked down at the ground for a moment and then directly into Gabe’s eyes.
“They’re cursed.”
Gabe couldn't help but gasp.
“Cursed?” Gabe felt his hands trembling as the word slipped past his lips.
“Yes, Gabe.” Michael confirmed.
The darkness of the reality settled over them like a black cloak.
“I don’t understand.
What do you mean cursed?” Gabe shook his head as he struggled to make sense of what Michael was telling him.
“Maybe we should sit down.” Michael said, motioning to the side chairs near the couch.
The last thing Gabe wanted to do was sit and have a rational conversation about Sophie being cursed.
Gabe glanced over and saw her sleeping peacefully.
The rage she had been frothing with in the hall moments earlier was completely gone from her face.
Overwhelmed by the idea of Sophie being, as Michael put it, cursed, Gabe decided he would in fact like to sit while talking to Michael.
Walking over to the side chairs, Gabe sat in the seat closest to her.
Leaning forward, he scooped up Sophie’s hand.
As he held it, he began to pat it gently.
Gabe contemplated Michael’s explanation for Sophie’s behavior; he remembered the red ember like spark in her eyes.
“Michael, her eyes.” Gabe could not bring himself to finish the sentence.
He and Sophie had grown so close over the summer; he was not willing to say she resembled a demon.
“What is it, Gabe?” Michael urged.
When Gabe continued to sit silent, Michael pushed once more.
“What about her eyes?”
Taking a deep breath, he decided he had to tell Michael.
He wasn’t sure, but he thought it might help Sophie in some way.
“Red…” he final stated, gulping.
“When she got angry, I saw them flickering red.”
Michael sighed and hung his head low.
“It wasn’t her.
You have to understand that.” Michael whispered desperately.
“I don’t understand.
How can it not be her?
She knew me.
She knew about us.
It was her, Michael.”
Gabe insisted.
Michael leaned closer to Gabe.
“Part of her is there of course, but she is not in control.
It’s the curse.”
“Wait, I don’t understand.
You have to explain to me what you mean by she is cursed.” Gabe pleaded.
“She has come in contact with something or someone that has taken control of her faculties.
She may seem like she is still Sophie in most ways but as time continues she will seem less and less like the girl we all love.” Michael explained.
“How could she possibly be cursed?” Gabe inquired.
“We started noticing the erratic behavior with Raimie and Dina.
With Sophie exhibiting the same behaviors, we knew it had to be something they had in common.”
Michael explained.
“Something they had in common?
Like what?
They ate the same thing or what?” Gabe wished he understood more.
“Not exactly, but I think I know what it is.
Raimie and Dina had traveled to Iron Gate to pick up some artifacts.
Sophie has come in contact with those same artifacts.
Uri and I had started to suspect Sophie might have been infected as well, but we didn’t know for sure until just now.”
Gabe felt an intense rage welling up in him.
“Uri knew about this?” Gabe snapped angrily.
“Neither of us knew anything for certain Gabe.
It wasn’t until things heated up between Raimie and Dina we started to suspect the artifacts.”
Michael insisted.
“You mean the artifacts you asked her to work with in an effort to keep her away from me?” Gabe exclaimed.
“Gabe, I didn’t know.”
“So you don’t deny it!
You had Sophie put on that job to keep us apart.
Does it really piss you off that much to see us together?” Gabe allowed his anger to guide the flow of his words.
“It’s not that I don’t want to see you two together.
You don’t have all the details.
The Oracle made it quite clear to me that your relationship with Sophie would lead to you leaving the manor.”
Michael said, trying to plead his case to Gabe.
“Really, Michael?
First off, whatever happened to all of this being my choice?
Maybe Anthony was right and you never really give any of us a real choice.”
As soon as the words left Gabe’s lips, he regretted saying them.
No matter how angry he was at Michael, one thing he could not deny was how much this man cared for him.
He had saved Gabe’s life by ending one of his dearest friend’s lives.
Gabe was disappointed he let his frustration get the better of him.
Michael sat back in his seat, his face not displaying any reaction to Gabe’s words.
He simply sat there in silence, looking at Gabe.
Gabe wasn’t sure if he needed to apologize or simply move on and hope Michael would forget his words.
At last he continued.
“You know how the Oracle is.
According to Uri, she told Sophie that the two of us were meant to be.
Does it make sense to you that she would tell Sophie we are destined to be together and then turn around and tell you Sophie is going to drive me away?
The Oracle is not right in the head.
Everyone knows she likes to play with people’s minds.”
Michael continued to sit in silence, displaying no emotion.
Gabe quickly began to think he probably should have gone with the apology instead of continuing down the same path.
“I’m just saying what everyone else already knows about her.”
Gabe added, trying anything to get past the uncomfortable tension.
“I know exactly what she does, Gabe.” Michael replied in an even and hushed tone.
“However, none of us can deny she has ability—a gift.
She led us to you after all.
You do realize the trackers were within hours of finding you.
That’s how close it was.”
Gabe remembered back to that night he had arrived at the manor.
Glancing over at Sophie, he could almost envision her back on the side of the road, battling those demons to save his life.
These people had tried to protect him and nurture him, but all he seemed to focus on were the things that annoyed him.
“You’re right.” Gabe whispered, relenting his anger.
“I just want to know how to fix Sophie.” Gabe demanded.
Michael looked down at his clasped hands.
“Uri and I were discussing that before we heard the commotion in the hall.
I’m afraid it’s not going to be easy.”
“Nothing ever is in this place.” Gabe muttered.
“Honestly, Gabe, I need you for our plan to work.” Michael said.
“Of course!” Gabe quickly replied.
“Well, I can’t depend on you until we fix whatever is going on between us.”
“What?”
“It’s clear there is tension between us.
Uri has expressed to me some of the frustrations you have been feeling.
Unless you can trust me completely, the plan we have will not work.”