The Broken Curse (16 page)

I'm knocked backwards, and my head hits the bleachers hard. My vision blackens but I try to push past it. I hear someone in the distance, but it's all a little fuzzy. I turn my head and see Kara's face peering down at me.

"Hey, you there?" she asks.

"Please tell me Dimitri is dead."

"Sorry to be the bearer of bad news," Dimitri says, his face appearing before me.
 

"Screw you," I spit out.

"Give her some room guys." Lex grabs my hand and pulls me so I'm sitting up. My head spins a little, and I grab onto the hard seat to ground myself. My eyes focus, and I see everyone staring at me.

I don't want to be weak. I can't take it. I don't want these people to look at me like they're sorry for me. I jump up from the bleachers, ignoring the pain in the back of my head. I run from the gym.

Finally, I push out of the doors of the gym and sprint until I'm behind a tree in the courtyard. And then I sink to the ground and bury my head in my hands. I hear yelling from behind me, but I ignore it.

"Ryder, are you okay?" Ollie asks. I don't look up. I just slowly nod my head. "What did he do?" He grits his teeth, grinding them, and his voice sounds strained.

"Nothing. He just proved how weak I really am."

"You're not weak." Ollie's arms circle me as he sits beside me. He pulls me onto his lap, and I nestle into his chest like the coward I am. I couldn't even beat someone like Dimitri: how can I hope to kill Hermes? The seriousness of my weakness gives me a much needed reality check.

"We're never going to win this," I admit, defeated.

"Of course, we are. You know what to do."

"Stop saying that." I push against his chest and hit him with anger. "I have no idea what I'm doing."

"Ryder, when it comes down to it, you do. You have to trust your instincts and stop second guessing yourself."

"How can I not second guess myself when the world is completely falling apart and I'm left to deal with it? I'm not strong. I'm not fast. I can't take on a god. I'm useless. I'm the worst person to deal with all of this."
 

I completely fall apart in Ollie's arms. I use him to anchor me to the ground and soak up my sorrow. My eyes feel like deserts as tears cease to form in me. I just can't do it. I don't want to break down, but my body is in pain.
 

"I have to get back to the training center." I back away from Ollie, stand on my own, and wipe my face on the sleeve of my jacket.
 

 
"More people just arrived from the Louisiana school for Nephilim. We should go meet them."
 

"I don't know if I can meet anyone else."

"You have to. Just smile and nod."

"I'll meet you there." I can't handle smiling right now. I don't believe in myself and I'm worn down. I just need a minute to think.
 

CHAPTER NINETEEN

dream surfing

I walk back to the training center and act all day. I don't have a partner, so while Martin and Lisa play with their abilities, I sit and watch. It's not as bad as it seems because I know places they can improve and when Lex and Alexius aren't around, I might be able to help.
 

My back and neck ache from my fight with Dimitri, so it's probably better that I just sit and observe for the rest of the day. Lisa and Martin get into a really good groove, working with each other.
 

I look over when Lisa and Martin discover that her air can help his fires grow. Lisa stands behind Martin as he creates a small fire on the floor. Lisa throws an orb of air at the flame, and it explodes into a full raging fire.

Lisa jumps in glee, yelling at how awesome that was. She leaps into Martin's arms, and he spins her around in a circle. She giggles, and it's funny because the pair are about as unlikely as they come.
 

After the big breakthrough, things start to slow down. It's almost time for dinner, and I sit on the bleachers while everyone else starts to funnel out towards the food. I shoo everyone along.
 

"You sure you don't need anything?" Alexius asks as she gathers her jacket from beside me.

"I'll meet you all there soon."

"We did good today," she says, nodding her head at me as she pauses in the doorway.
 

"Tomorrow will be better."

"Yes, it will."
 

The door clanks shut, and I let out a sigh of relief. Finally, I am alone again. I get off the bleachers and lay on the linoleum floor. I cover my head with my arms and try to think through my emotions. All I see are images of my friends' gravestones in my mind. My body relaxes into the hard ground, and I fight my brain to stop overthinking.
 

"My mom sent me to get you."

"Of course, she did."

"What's going on?" Linus crouches down and lies beside me, our toes and fingertips just barely touching. I don't move to look at him, just continue to talk through my limp arms.

"Just trying to relax for a minute…in peace."

"I guess I ruined that, huh?" I don't answer. I knew from the second I met him that I'd like him. He is Cece's son after all. But he spent most of the day with Kara and Shane, so I didn't get a chance to actually get to know him. "I know a thing or two about pressure, you know."

"You do?" I let my arms fall to my sides, and I turn to look at Linus. I don't think I'll ever get used to his exotic appearance. His white hair is so jarring against his tanned skin. Even in the darkness of the gym, his violet eyes shine bright like flashlights.

"My mother is Cece Onassis, great visionist. You try living up to her legacy."

"Seems to me like you've done a pretty good job."

"Well, that's interesting."

"What?" I question back, frowning at him.

"Everyone told me you didn't have a heart, but I'm pretty sure I just got a compliment." I swat him on the shoulder with my hand and laugh. He's easy to talk to, just like Cece.

"How do you control your visions?" I want to know more about myself. I hope that tomorrow he can practice with me, teach me his tricks, help me discover more about my ability. I assume that's why Cece brought him here.

"Super power focus." I lift my hand again, and he flinches backwards. "I can show you sometime if you want. Just promise you won't hit me." I laugh.

"How?"

"Has my mother taught you nothing? I'll just take you into a vision with me and show you around."

"That's possible?"

"Anything's possible. But, yes, it is. Maybe sometime you can take me into one of yours."

"Now?" I'm eager to get started. I want him to help me. If he can come into a vision with me, and we can actually communicate inside, he may be my best bet to finding answers and understanding them.
 

"Well, we are expected in the dining hall."

"We can make it fast." I sit up and pull him up with me so we're sitting cross-legged, face to face. Our knees bump, and I scoot back an inch or two to give him some room.
 

"Do you want to come into one of mine, or me go into yours?" Linus looks just about as excited as I am; his eyes dance. He takes my hands in his and lightly holds us together, connecting us.
 

"Mine. I'll try to show you the Underworld."

"I'd be delighted."

He shuts his eyes and his brows furrow together, pinched right between his eyes. He lowers his head like he's bowing it, and his hands clench onto mine hard. It's almost like he's falling into a deep prayer or meditation.

He doesn't move again.
 

I close my eyes and picture the scene where I'm on a hill, overlooking the battle in the Underworld. I picture Hades' smug face, and Hermes disfigured body. I picture the dead faces and the weird canyon-like desert landscape. I feel the heat and humidity like it was right in front of me.
 

Then we drop.

I land hard on my left ankle. I tumble forwards and catch myself with my hand on the desert-like ground. There's dust circling me, and I cover my mouth with my hand so I don't breathe anything in.

"Linus?" I whisper out into the dark room.
 

"Over here!" He's trapped beneath a broken table, the flat top covering his shoulders to his knees. I run to his side and lift what feels like a thousand pounds to free him.

"Are you all right?"

"Your entry was rough. Is it always like that?" He stands and dusts his entire body down. His gaze roams the room as he tries to figure out where to go. "Have you been here before?"

"No." He walks towards the far wall across the room from us, and I quickly follow. "I tried to get us to the battle, but we ended up here."

"That's okay. Your subconscious affects your visions. We're obviously here for a reason, so let's explore." Linus leaves the room we began in and walks through the corridor.

"I normally don't do this." I catch up with him and match his steps.

"What? Explore? How else do you see what you're supposed to do?"

"Usually the dreams just show me."

"Well, your dreams have been especially easy on you. I'm guessing since I'm here we're being given a difficult one. You're sure this is the Underworld?"

"Positive. It has this feeling that's only its own. Anger lives in the walls here."

"I feel that, too." Linus turns a corner, and I see the valley. This is the scene from the dream I had when I saw Kara and my friends die. This is where I wanted to go. He holds his hand in the air, and I step into it, but it effectively stops me from moving forward.

"I've seen this."
 

"You have?" I ask Linus as he freezes, watching the scene. I've never been here before. I can see the hill from my previous dream, but from this vantage point, it's not familiar. Plus, the scene isn't at all like I saw the first time.

"Watch."
 

I'm standing in the middle of a clearing with Ari and Ollie by my side. This must be right before I make a decision. There's an altar before me.
 

Linus is there, too, standing not too far behind me. His face is drawn together in a scowl, his hands clenched by his side. His shirt is torn and dirty, and his jeans have holes in the knees. Alexius and Lex are behind him, both on either side, making a triangle with their three bodies.

Next to them stand Dimitri and Cristos. With them is a group of four people who I've never seen before. The Louisiana couple with the children are standing with them, so maybe they know each other.
 

In the middle of the field, my best friends all stand with their hands clasped together. Lisa and Kara stand in the center of the group with Mikey, Shane, and Carter surrounding them. They look intense, focused, and ready to kill. They're lethal.

Suddenly, the air changes. I feel it deep within my bones as the thickness grows and the heat rises. Hades emerges from behind where my dream self stands, and behind him is a large group of evil gods.

They double our army in size. They're bigger and stronger and probably faster. They each have dark red eyes and glare at the group. They stop right behind Hades, waiting for his command. Behind Hades, Hermes emerges. I watch my dream self tense up with rage, just as I do where I stand.

I pull something out of my pocket, and suddenly, we're kicked out of the vision. I reach for Linus, and he reaches for me; together, we fall. For the first time, I'm not alone when the blackness attacks me.

Linus stares at me as we are dropped back into the training center. We're in the same spot as before, knee to knee, face to face, holding each other's hands. Nothing has changed on this end. The lights have dimmed, and it's obviously darker outside. I don't speak.

I think back on what we just saw, but really it wasn't much at all. I wish there had been more. I wish I could've seen something that would tip the scales. But I didn't. Nothing really happened other than seeing that Hades does, in fact, have a sizable army ready to murder us.

"We have to get to the student center, but we're going back later." Linus stands and then reaches down towards me, pulling me onto my feet. He sprints to the door, and I follow him, wanting answers.