The Broken Curse (30 page)

Cristos appears beside me and takes me in his arms.

"Get her out of here. Get as many of the children as you can." Cristos nods, and the last image I see is my mother's beautiful violet eyes locking on me. But they're knit together. I watch her fall, as she's attacked from behind by a group of at least five demons.

"Wait!" I yell, but within a blink we're back where we started. Cristos and I pause at the exit from the courtyard. Lights flash, strange noises, like banging and a grinding sound.

Everyone moves so fast and with such strength that the room vibrates with energy and power. The walls start to crumble, the canyon falling in on itself. My eyes search the battlefield for Ari and Kara, but Cristos grabs my wrist and starts tugging me into the castle.

"We can't leave them," I cry.

"I don't have a choice. We have to get out of here, Eury." Cristos lifts me again, and I don't have the strength to fight him. Before I know it, we're at the edge of the swamp.

The portal shines, the barrier just barely visible. It waits for us, and I fight against Cristos's hard grip to get free. I just want to save my friends. I can't leave.
 

I whimper. "We need Ari." But Cristos steps into the portal, with my dead weight in his arms.
 

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

return

By the time we're dropped on the other side of the portal, heavy tears stream down my face in rapid succession. Cristos holds on to me, his arms firmly around my waist. I let him comfort me, hold me as we get back to earth.

The first face I see is Atee's. He's sweating profusely, his eyes drawn together and pinched. I don't know how hard it is to open and hold a portal, but from his appearance, he's beginning to struggle.
 

"Ryder." My dad runs to me and replaces Cristos as my holder. I look over my shoulder and see Cristos walk towards the bleachers. He's holding his head in his hands, and then he sits down, folding into himself.
 

"I knew you'd make it." He kisses my forehead and ushers me towards the benches on the opposite side of the gym. When Junior notices us walking close, he jumps up from his seat and wraps me up.
 

"He's been worried sick," he whispers in my ear.

"How have
you
been?" I ask back, looking him up and down as if I haven't seen him in weeks.
 

"I just can't wait to see her." He smiles at me, no doubt in his voice, and my stomach lurches. I just pray that she makes it back here. Guilt rises in the back of my throat, acidic and unwelcome. I should've stayed and waited for everyone. If anything happens to her, I'll die with grief.

"Are you hurt? Professor Onassis left us with medical supplies."

"I don't think so." I stop and feel my body, bending and stretching it out. "I'm just sore everywhere. Maybe a broken rib, but you can't repair that. I'm good." I pause and look around the quiet gym.
 

The group from Louisiana jumps out of the portal. They huddle together around Nikias, who's lying on top of one of the bleachers. Nobody is crying or asking for help, so I just look away.

Atee is still in the center of the room, holding his hands up for the portal. Cristos sits on the opposite side of the room, still looking at the ground. And then there's my dad, Junior, and me.

"Where's Professor Onassis?" I ask my dad, but after a moment of him not answering, I look to Junior. Both frown at me, afraid to tell me what's going on. "Where is she?" I yell out at the two of them.

"Sweetie—"

"Just tell me where she is!"

"They think she had a heart attack. She's at the nurse's office."
 

I don't listen to the rest of what he says. I ignore the yells behind me and sprint to the Administration Building. The doors are locked when I get there, but I slam my fist against the window and jump through the small rectangular opening.

A woman yells at me as I run through the hall, but I ignore her too. I walk into the one room with yellow light and see her. Cece lies in the bed, hooked up to a monitor that beeps consistently.

"Cece?" I step towards the bed, but the sight of her makes my chest ache.

"Eury, is that you, dear?"

"It's me."

"Miss, you can't be in here." The nurse barges into the room and tries to stop me from seeing Cece. She grabs onto my bicep and tugs me backwards, away from Cece.

"She's okay, Ingrid. Let her stay." I look back, and the nurse nods, releasing my hand from her grip. She shuts the door and leaves us be. "Well, come sit." Cece lifts her hand just a bit and pats the bed. The oxygen plugged into her nose makes her voice nasally. It's weak and shaky. She doesn't look good; her eyes can barely stay open for more than a second.

"What happened?"
 

"They said it was a heart attack. I'm on the machines, but it won't be long now." A sob breaks from my lips. I cover my mouth with one hand and take her hand in mine with the other. "We knew this was going to happen."

"I didn't know it would happen so fast."

"Tell me about the war." She turns her head, and it flops on the pillow. Her violet eyes have lost their sparkle. Her chest rises and falls at strange increments, and I'm scared I only have minutes before she leaves me.

"A lot of people died…" My voice trails as the reality of the day hits me. I cover my mouth again and lean on the bed, trying to contain my outburst. "Nobody else is back yet. I don't know what has happened."

"Who is your soul mate?" Cece smiles, just two dimples popping up, and her strength gives me courage to stop crying.

"It's Ari."

"Oh, how wonderful. How did Orpheus take the news?"

"He killed his father."

"Don't cut him out of your life. I'm sure it's hard on him to learn that all these years he's been lied to. You love him, too. Make it right."

"I'll try, but I think he hates me. I didn't even recognize him in the Underworld."

"He'll get better if you let him." I nod. "And Linus?"

"He was wonderful. You would be so proud of him." Cece lifts a hand and coughs into a piece of cloth. She tries to hide it from me, but I notice the red splotches as she tucks it into the bedside.
 

"I'm fine. Tell me more. Tell me a story." Her voice is so soft, it's hard to hear her. She sounds childlike. My heart hurts. I squeeze my lips shut and bite on my lower lip to stop myself from crying.

"Thank you." If this is the last time I get to talk to her, she needs to know how much I love her and how thankful I am for her. "You saved us all. You've been there for me the entire time. I can't even thank you enough. You're more than a mentor to me. I love you."

"Any second…" Her eyes flutter shut and her head lolls to the side. I reach for her wrist and feel a very faint pulse, caressing. She can't die yet. I didn't say enough!

"Nurse!" I jump from the bed and call down the hall again. Nobody answers. The only noise is the echo from my yells. "Nurse!" I sprint up and down until I find the woman in the break room.

She looks up from her magazine. "What is it?"
 

"She's fading. We have to do something. Come!" I grab the woman's hand and pull her down the hall with me. The monitor isn't steady anymore. The beats are far apart and then rapid.
 

"Cece, it's me. Don't leave me yet. Okay. You're fine. You'll get better. Come on." I cry as I clutch Cece's hand on the cot. I search her wrist for a pulse, but I don't find it this time. I reach for her neck that is covered in sweat, and her pulse completely gone.
 

"Help her!" I scream at the nurse.

"She's gone, sweetie. There's nothing I can do."

"She can't be gone! She's the strongest person I know." I drop my head on her frail leg and cry into her blankets, clutching them. I hear the nurse page someone from the phone on the white wall. I don't want to believe that this could happen.

She's a god. She can't just die from a heart attack. She's stronger than that. This can't be happening. We have to do something. Kara can fix this. I know she can. We can just bring her back.

"Ryder." My dad comes over to me, his chest rising and falling fast like he just ran a marathon. He picks me up into his arms, my body limp. I sink down into my dad's arms, and we fall to the ground, leaning against the cot.

I bring my knees into my chest as my dad holds me around my shoulders. A heavy sob explodes from my chest; and then after that, I can't control what's happening to me.

My entire being aches with loss. Questions and doubt float through my brain when I think of what my life will be like without her. At first, I think it's just sick joke, but when I look up at her sleeping, still body, I can't deny what I see. She said she could allow herself to die now that we accomplished what we had to.

I didn't say thank you enough to her. She saved my life in numerous ways, and I wasn't enough to save her. She couldn't just hang on for me. She could've had a few more days, or weeks. Maybe all she needed was someone to stay with her, by her side.

"I know you want to stay here, but they need you at that portal."

I don't have any emotion left in me. My brain shuts down, blocking any more thoughts from entering. It's like white noise in there. I can't handle this. I've lost too many people in my life.

My body physically hurts. My eyes burn from lack of tears, despite the fact that I could cry for the rest of my life. I stand up, and my legs wobble beneath me, weak.
 

Dad holds my hand as we leave Cece behind. My dad says something in leaving to the nurse, but I don't have the energy to listen. We walk out of the building and into the warm night. The training center is fuller when we step through, but I still don't see Kara and Ari.
 

Ollie leans against the bleacher by Cristos, who is now joined by his brother Dimitri. Ollie's laughing, which is strange in context with what's going on. I'm almost mad that he can laugh after what we've all been through. Our eyes clash as I look at him, and he squints his at me.
 

I stomp over to him and grab his shoulder. I pull him with me out the training center doors, and he rolls his eyes as I let him go. The tension hangs in the air between us, but I ignore it.

"Why are you laughing?"

"'Cause Dimitri said something funny."

"Well, stop. People have died. This isn't a joke."

"You don't think I know that this isn't a joke? I just had easily the worst day of my life. Don't talk to me about loss, Ryder. Don't try to make this better. It's not going to be better. Ever." He turns his back and crosses his arms over his chest. I prefer this emotion over his laughing in the training center. I touch his back softly, and he whips around to face me.
 

"What?" he snaps.

"I wanted to say sorry."

"Sorry?" He laughs manically. "The man who should've been saying sorry is dead, so my score is settled."

"I don't want you to go away."

"What do you expect me to do?"
 

"Stay. I still love you. You're one of my best friends."

"Yeah, that's not going to work." He shakes his head and runs his hand through his hair. "The guy I've been fighting with for my entire lifetime won. I can't stick around and watch your happy ever after. I'm the loser."

"You're not." I grab onto his forearm, but he yanks it back, like my touch is fire. I step backwards and fold my arms over my chest, not wanting to cross a boundary.
 

"I can't do this. I love you, but I hate you. I can't be around you until I can sort through my emotions. It's not fair."

"I know, but you can't just leave. What if I need you?"

"You have your soul mate. Just forget about me."
 

After a final look at me, he turns on his heels and walks back into the gym. I take a second to breathe, to relax, and then when I enter the gym, he's gone, along with Dimitri.

"They left?" I ask Cristos, who's left sitting alone again.

"Yeah."

"Did they say how long they'd be gone?" I sit down beside him and lean back against the bleacher behind us. It's not comfortable, but I don't want to leave this area until every last person is back.

"No. But I'd guess a while."
 

"Where is he?"

"He's coming." Cristos looks over at me and nods. If Cristos and Junior are so sure they're coming back, why aren't they here yet?
 

It feels like we've been sitting around for hours. Dad helps people as they return to the gym. He's got all the medical supplies Cece left on a bench, and he bandages and fixes each person.
 

Lex comes through the portal, but he doesn't stop. He sprints right out the doors, the wind the only thing I even felt. I want to follow him and console him, but he's faster than me, and I know he'll be long gone by the time I even find his trail. All I can picture is Alexius' eyes staring at me, dead.

Professor La and Professor Elytis come back together with one other woman. The woman is crying and both Professor La and Elytis hold her, letting her cry on them. I wait for Professor Orntean to come in behind them, but it's clear that they don't expect him to follow.