The Broken Curse (22 page)

"Is this the big goodbye?" Dad asks as I sit beside him, replacing the pair. The bleachers are hard, and for the first time, I notice how annoying it is to sit on them. My butt aches. I want to run away, but I know I'm just making excuses.

"I don't know what to say," I admit, averting my eyes and awkwardly laughing under my breath.

"You don't have to say a single thing. You're coming back here, and you're going to finish your curse, and then you're finally coming home." My dad reaches towards me and picks up my shaking hand. His thumb traces circles over my palm.

"I am." I nod in reassurance. "But in case—"

"No, Ryder." My dad holds up our hands in front of him to shut me up. "I love you. And you will be safe. You will come back here, because if you don't, you're grounded. And you're never leaving my sight again. So be fast, but be safe. And, again, I love you."

"I love you, too." I circle both my hands around his neck and bury my face in his shoulder. "And, I promise, I'll be back. And you can even ground me." I laugh since I've never been grounded before. But I'll be grounded for months if we can just pull this off and come home safe.
 

"Go say goodbye to Junior. I'll be right here when you get back."

"Okay, you better be." I kiss his cheek that's covered in gray stubble and then find Kara and Junior leaning against a wooden door on the side of the bleachers. They're making out, erotic noises coming from their corner, and I almost don't want to stop them, but I do want to say goodbye. I have things I have to say before I go.

"Junior, I need you." I shut my eyes and inch forward. I tap his shoulder, and Kara jumps backwards like I scared the life out of her.
 

"Sorry," she giggles as she steps backwards from Junior. She untangles her hand from his bright purple mohawk. "I'll give you a few." She kisses Junior one more time right on the lips and then walks off. But, I only see Junior. I hug him tightly, and he hugs me back, squeezing me until I can't breathe.

"I'll miss you while you're gone."

"Listen," I say and take a breath. "I need you to know a few things."

"Just stop." He holds up his hand and steps back from me, his eyes pinched and trained to the ground. "Kara won't stay here, and, honestly, I can't make her. I don't want her mad when she goes down there. She's in the right mind frame."

"No," I say, shaking my head. He completely got the wrong idea. "I'm trying to talk about Dad."

"Oh…" he says, the recognition dawning on him.

"If I don't come back, I need you to take care of him. Move into my house with Kara—he won't say no. Cook for him, keep him company, make him date random women. Introduce him to new people, make him talk to Atee and build a relationship there. Just make sure he doesn't get depressed. Keep him happy."

"Of course I'll do all of that, but you're coming back. You all are. I know it. I can just feel it."

"I hope so, but Junior, this isn't a joke. There's a major threat, and I can't guarantee anyone will be safe. I know I can trust you to do these things."

"Okay." He pulls me against him and holds me. "I promise."

"Thanks," I say, but the old familiar feelings of a panic attack start to come on. I step back away from Junior and face the wall. I practice my breathing, in and out, counting to eight, but my heart starts to pick up.

"You're having one?" Junior asks. I feel his hand on my shoulder, and he spins me around towards him.
 

"I…can't…" My breaths are harder to come by. I feel the sweat start to make its way down my back.
 

"Ryder. Hey." Junior grabs my face between his hands and makes me look at him. "You're good. You've got this." I shake my head at his words. I can't protect people when I'm freaking out. It's been months since I had an attack. Why now? Why the most important day of my life?

Tears start to form behind my lids, knowing that I'm letting myself down. The shakes get me, making my body jiggle and vibrate. I run my hand over my top lip and wipe the sweat.

Junior pulls me into him, my face clashing with his chest. "Listen," he whispers as he holds me against him. I try to listen, but all I can hear is the drumming of my way-too-fast heart in my ears.

"Listen," he says again, pressing my head harder against him. It's then that I hear the faint, slow, melodic beating of his heart. It breaks through my inner panic, and as I count the beats of his heart, I feel my own start to slow to a normal pace.

"There you go." I feel him nod but I don't want him to let me go. I feel safe with him holding me. He's known, comfortable. I don't want to lose that feeling.
 

"Don't," I cry out when his arms loosen around me. But he doesn't listen to my words. He pushes me back, still holding my shoulders as my body comes down from the panic inside me.

"You're okay. You don't need me anymore."
 

"I do," I whisper, not wanting to admit it to him.

"You're so strong. I believe in you."

"I don't believe in me."

"Then fake it. Make them believe in you and then that's all that matters. We all trust you. No matter what, you have me."
 

After composing myself, I find Cece with Atee sitting in the exact spot I left her. I sit beside Atee and, absently, he places his arm around my shoulders. He doesn't even stop his conversation, yet he welcomes me without thinking.

"I hope I can get them past the swamp, but I just can't guarantee it. I haven't made a portal to the Underworld in hundreds of years."

"If you visualize it, doesn't that make it easier?" Cece asks him.

"It does. But, it's just hard to remember."

"We have to do whatever we can to give these kids an edge," Cece says.

"What's the problem?" I ask to them both.

"There's no problem," Atee quickly answers, turning and facing me. "I'm just trying to get you guys as close to the castle as possible."

"But, I don't want to land close to the castle. I have to get to the blood, right? I have to find the Originals' blood first or else Hades will know something is up."

"That's true. You're going to have to split up then." Atee thinks out loud. "If you don't, he'll notice you all go to the blood. Do you know where it is?"

"Linus and I know the room. We can split off, get the blood and meet them in the courtyard where the altar is."

"Okay. I'll drop you right after the swamp, that way you don't have to deal with taking the ferry. From there, you can split. Who from your group knows how to get to the courtyard?"

"Ollie does." I look across the gym at Ollie surrounded by people. Dimitri and Magdelina crowd him, laughing as if they're just on a lunch break, not traveling through a portal to save the fate of the world. I know he can lead the group to the courtyard.

"Ari will go with you and Linus."

"Why?" I ask back to Cece.

"You need someone to protect you."

"What about Linus?"

"You and Linus both have visions. You need an actual protector, and honestly, I don't think both your men should be together. Ollie is the leader of the army, and Ari will lead you and Linus."

"Okay," I answer, nodding my head.

"It's time," Atee states, rolling his neck in a backwards circle and cracking it. "I've got the image in my head. I'm ready to make it now. I can hold it indefinitely, but I don't want to lose my thought."
 

I nod and run to my friends, gathering everyone.
 

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

traveling

"We're going now," I tell my group of friends as I approach them at the end of the bleachers near the door. Lisa comes to my side and takes my hand, an unusual display of affection from her. I look down at our joined fingers and smile, but it's short lived.

"We've got this," Mikey says as he and Carter teleport behind me, as if proving that they can fight. Each of them places a hand on my shoulder in support. Martin and Shane walk forward, their heads bowed as if they're afraid to make eye contact with me.

We all stand together near the door. We wait for Kara as she says her final goodbyes to Junior. I look over, and Junior has her head in his hands, their foreheads touching, their eyes shut. I can't hear what they're whispering, but I don't want to. I think my heart would crumble into thousands of pieces.
 

Kara unglues their heads and kisses Junior on the mouth. He kisses her back, using so much force that she bends backwards and clutches to his chest to hold her up. She giggles as they separate, but it's empty. Her voice is hollow. She looks up at him, runs her hand along his jaw and then walks towards us.

"I'm ready," she says as she takes my lonely hand in hers. I watch as Junior retreats to the bleachers and sits beside my dad. He wraps his arm over my dad's shoulder and nods at me in a silent understanding.
 

I take a deep breath—one that travels deep into my lungs and fills me to the brim with anticipation. And then I let it all out, pushing my worries, my insecurities and my fear out of me. I nod to myself. I can do this. We can do this together.

We turn as a unit and walk towards Atee. Along the way, we pick up the rest of the people who stand on the edges of the gym. The teachers walk behind Ari, Ollie, Cristos, and Dimitri. Behind them are the group from Louisiana and the siblings. It feels like there are a lot of us, all grouped together in one room—but I'm not willing to lose a single person, including Nikias and Nikon, despite their crap attitudes.
 

Linus huddles by Atee with Cece near the middle of the gym, and I feel like the air was kicked out of my lungs. I want to say goodbye to Cece and thank her again for everything she's done leading up until this point. But at the same time, I don't want to intrude on their personal moment.
 

She must sense me watching her, like she always does, because she turns back and sees me. She waves me over, and I look at my two friends by my sides, Kara and Lisa. They nod and urge me to go to her—Kara shoves me forward with her hand. So I do, stumbling over my trembling legs.

"I just wanted to say goodbye. In case…you know." I stop about a foot away, not wanting to linger. But the urge to hug her takes over, and I close the distance quickly, tears beginning to blossom, my chest constricting.

"There will be no 'you know.' I've always believed in you. You are wonderful." She brushes her fingers across my cheek bone, and my heart feels like it melts from her warm gesture. "You will be perfect, and I know you will come back whole."

"Thank you. I don't know how to thank you enough. I promise when we get back, I'll tell you every day for the rest of my life how grateful I am to have you in my life."

"I just want to hear it one more time." She shushes me, grinning, her violet eyes shining. "But not until you get back. I'll be here waiting, and as long as you come back safe, I can die a happy woman."

"You're not dying anytime soon."

"Sweetie, it's okay. I'm ready. As soon as you're safe, I will be fulfilled."

"I love you," I tell her as I hug her one last time before we go.

"I love you, too, strong, beautiful, magical Eurydice." She pushes me back from my shoulders and looks me up and down as if trying to memorize the way I look. I take a moment to do the same, engraining her image in my mind and using it to fuel me through my journey.

"Let's go," Linus says as he takes my hand and pulls me from his mother. I want to object, but I know we have to go. And if I say goodbye to her one more time, I won't want to leave.

I sneak a glance over my shoulder as we come up to Atee, and Cece is staring at Linus and I, tears streaking down her face. Her sisters step behind her and hold her, lending her comfort she needs. I quickly turn away, not wanting to see her so torn up. It hurts me.

"I've got it ready. Step back," Atee says a little briskly. Everyone opens up backwards into a semi-circle around my brother. Linus doesn't drop my hand, and I reach for Kara, not wanting her out of my sight.

Suddenly, a small, black circle appears and expands in the middle of the floor. At first, it's just about a foot across in each direction. But the longer Atee doesn't move, the larger the hole becomes. In just a few minutes, it's at least six feet wide.
 

"It's done," Atee bites out, gritting his teeth, his face pinching together. I look from my left to my right at a bunch of scared faces widely staring at me. I know in that moment that I have to be the leader. I have to do this for them. Before I do it alone, Ari and Ollie walk up to me from behind.
 

I nod to them each in thanks. Linus must recognize their presence because he lets go of me and walks backwards. Ari stops on my left and takes my hand, Ollie on my right. We step up to the portal, the tips of our toes hanging over the side of the blackness.

"Let's do it," I say.
 

And then we drop.