Curse of the Egyptian Goddess (10 page)

“I’ll never get used to it. So, am I free?”

Cade shook his head. “You put me in a tough spot here. It doesn’t feel right to just let you walk. You’re dangerous even if you’re not a murderer.”

“Calvin’s in town to help me break the curse. That’s honestly why I went to Egypt and New York.”

His forehead seemed permanently creased when he nodded. “You just see that he does. I don’t have to worry about finding him in a body bag next, do I?”

“No. He’s immune.”

“What do you mean immune?”

“He’s cursed too.”

“Jesus! You two deserve each other,” he declared, smoothing out his hair with his hands. “As promised, I’m dropping the charges against you.”

“And you can do that? Just like that, it’s over?”

“Yep. I was only charging you with obstructing justice. No one at the department thinks you’re a murderer. You don’t have the strength to inflict that kind of damage for one thing. But see that you get this taken care of.”

“Yes sir.” I smiled at Calvin who waited just outside the door with a dozen roses. I wanted to laugh when Cade left and sidestepped to avoid touching him.

“He believes you then?” Calvin asked anxiously.

“The truth has set me free. Thanks for the advice.”

“Good. Now let’s go live happily ever after. We’ll get a cabin in the woods or the mountains and then I’ll play kill the snake once a week. We can do this.”

I tried for a smile. “You’re pretty optimistic.”

“I’d rather go through hell with you then live in heaven without you.”

“All right. We’ll do it. There’s just one thing I have to take care of first.”

****

Two days later…

All day, I’d sensed a storm coming as the dark clouds rolled in over Madison like shadowy memories from my past. The overcast sky faded to black above me while I sat in my car and chain-smoked until I felt like vomiting.

“You have to face it. You’re never going to be able to move on until you do.”
The reminder of Calvin’s words gave me the push I needed to get out of the car, though my body trembled. I hadn’t had a drink in a week.

As I stared at the quiet estate, an eastern wind snuck across the yard with an icy bite. I rubbed my shoulders and forearms that were overridden with goose bumps even underneath my long black sweater. The very blood in my veins seemed chilled.

With a deep breath, I put one foot in front of the other until I met my father’s ghost in the yard. He smiled and tried to hug me, but his limbs passed right through me. He pulled his hands back to rest on his heart and then he blew me a kiss.

“I’m sorry, daddy. It’s my fault you’re dead.”

“It’s all right.” His faint voice drifted into my ears like an echo. “Your answer is in the house.”

He pointed toward the house but I couldn’t look away. Stunned that he could talk, I mentally kicked myself for not coming sooner. I could have been talking to them for years. They could have helped me. They could have told me what to do!

He pointed again and I hesitantly turned toward the dark house. The image didn’t seem as haunting as it had only minutes before.

“What’s in the house?” I asked, but when I turned back, he was gone.

Curiously, I made my way to the front door and went inside. A flickering light pulled me to living room where I found my mom’s ghost. She sat in her rocking chair near the fireplace and when I walked into the room, she smiled. “Welcome home,” she said in a faint, soft voice that reminded me of those nights she sat up telling me stories.

I could feel the heat from the fire warming my skin. “I’m sorry, mom. I stole the necklace from the dig site and it’s my fault you and dad are dead.”

“I know. Seshat bestowed a great gift onto you when you put on the necklace.”

“Gift?”

She bowed her head, sympathy and sadness in her eyes. “It wasn’t meant to be a curse.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Your answer is in the attic.”

I didn’t look away for fear that she’d disappear. “Don’t go, mom. I love you guys so much and I miss you terribly.”

“I love you, Cleo,” she said before she faded into nothing along with the fire.

Tears blurred my vision as the warmth of the fire receded and my skin prickled with a new chill. I wrapped my arms around my body, feeling as alone as I had after their funerals. They were gone again, but they’d come to me for a reason. I owed it to them to follow their direction.

I walked through the house slowly, trying to wrap my mind around what my mother had said. How could Seshat have bestowed a gift on me? As far as I was concerned, it had been a definite curse from day one. All the pain, the screaming, and fighting for breath couldn’t possibly have been a gift. What was I missing?

When the attic door creaked open, I flipped on the light switch in the large room. Hefty boxes stacked three high ran across the back wall and a few odd furniture pieces sat further in. A thick layer of dust covered every visible surface.

“It’s going to be a
long
night,” I mumbled before I took a deep breath.

Instead of plunging into the task, I lit a cigarette and walked down the row of boxes, looking for a clue. All were labeled
Mom
or
Christmas,
but when I made it to the end of the line, I spotted another box on top of an old dresser. The unlabeled carton was the size of a laptop. I stared at it while I finished my smoke.

The answer I sought was a way to end the curse, but what if I received an answer to a different question? What if it told me how many people I’d actually killed? Whenever I was unconscious, I always worried about people touching my necklace and dying without me even realizing it or acknowledging them. Or what if the answer told me how much pain my parents went through when they died? Dozens of questions ran through my head before my cell phone rang.

The ringtone bounced off the walls, sending chills down my spine. I had the phone opened and at my ear in three seconds. “Hello?”

“You’re packed…except for your bedding.”

I smiled at Calvin’s eagerness. “You packed everything already?”

“Well you’re not exactly a pack rat. All you have here is clothes. We won’t need anything else.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear you’re going to let me wear clothes.”

“On special occasions,” he teased. “Are you coming?”

“Yeah.” I smashed the cigarette under my foot and sat down in an old chair, pulling the box onto my lap. “I’m almost done.”

“All right. I’ll see you soon.”

I closed the phone and opened the box. Inside I found a green notebook and a dozen photos. I picked up the pictures and regarded them one by one; all were of me and Calvin. We looked happy and carefree like normal kids except for the last few when we wore our golden necklaces. We were both frowning.  

No way were the necklaces a gift.

Setting the box on the floor, I replaced the photos and sat back with the notebook. Its worn edges appeared vaguely familiar and after minutes of deep thought, I remembered it was the one I’d used to write my story for Seshat. It had been missing since right after I finished it.

Anxiously, I tore open the cover and started reading only to gasp in horror.

Chapter 12

The Curse

by Cleo Patrix

After writing down the account of Apep and Bast, Seshat committed the tablet to the earth to bless it. Then she flew back up to the clouds and grew very sad.

“I record all these great events but I will never have an amazing story of my own,” she told her pet python.

“Write your own ssstory,” the serpent said.

“Alas, my existence is not one filled with adventure.”

“Why don’t you bessstow your own giftsss onto an earthly item? Let a human create a ssstory for you.”

She smiled and kissed the snake’s head. “You’re right. I shall grant one human the gift of the written words and whatever they write shall become truth.” Seshat waved her hand and created a silver box with two golden necklaces inside, one for Bast and one for Apep. “I will hide my great tablet inside Apep’s necklace and it shall urge the human to write a magnificent story. When their story becomes truth, all will hear of my grandeur.”

“Sssuperb idea.”

Seshat imbued the necklace with her gift and returned to Earth to bury the necklaces above the tablet somewhere deep within Egypt.

Many, many, many years later, a little boy and a little girl were chasing a little red bug in Egypt. 

I couldn’t read anymore. The story came back to me so fast that my breath caught in my throat. Instantly, I knew how to break the curse, but I also knew I had solely created it. I remembered it all more clearly now. My mother hadn’t died days after touching the necklace. She didn’t die until after I finished the story.

Self-loathing tunneled into the pit of my stomach as I thought about my parents and Calvin and all the others who had suffered or died at my own hand. I had written it all because I wanted to be a great storyteller like my mother. It was only supposed to be a story!

My eyes bulged when I collapsed onto the floor, gasping for breath. My muscles failed me as guilt and shame and hatred filled me to the brim. I could barely breathe.
I didn’t deserve to breathe.
All the innocent people who cared about me were dead.
I should be dead too.

When my phone rang again, I threw it across the room where it shattered into pieces. I screamed, pulled at my hair, and scraped my nails across my arms until I drew blood. I kicked and hit the floor until my muscles ached, and then I lay silent, staring at the dusty wood floor.

“We love you, Cleo. Go and break your curse.”

I turned toward my mother’s voice, but she wasn’t there. “How can you still love me? I’m a monster. I killed you!”

“We will always love you, Cleo,” I heard my father’s voice say.

Moisture filled my eyes and I cried into the dirty floor until I had nothing left. Like a zombie, I finally pulled myself up and grabbed the notebook. I made my way to my car and drove home, knowing Calvin would hate me when I showed him the story.

I doubted he would still want to break the curse. Rightly so, he would probably say I deserved to go through the hell I’d made for myself. It was all true. I deserved the torture I received every week.

Lightning flashed in the sky before I walked into my apartment building, feeling numb. When Calvin met me at the door, I handed him the notebook and sat down on the sofa to stare straight ahead. He deserved to know. He deserved to see me for who I really was–Apep–I was the serpent who represented all that was evil.

I didn’t turn to see his expression while he read. I couldn’t bear it.

After what seemed like an hour, he pulled a chair directly in front of me and stared into my eyes. “You…did this to us?” he asked softly.

I nodded through the painful admission and closed my eyes. They popped back open when I felt his lips on mine. “What are you doing?”

“I don’t care that you did it. It happened, it’s in the past. We know how to break the curse now and that’s all that matters. It’ll all be over soon. No one else will die.”

He wrapped his arm around me, and I gave his shoulder the remainder of my tears. I didn’t know how he forgave me so easily when I couldn’t even forgive myself, but I was grateful. I felt silly when I dried my tears. I should have known that Calvin would forgive me. What else would the sweetest boy in the world do?

An instant later, his tongue plunged deep into my mouth and his hands twisted in my hair. In one swoop, he laid me back on the sofa and straddled me while he kissed me wildly. Every other thought faded in my head as I kissed back, matching his passion. My heart raced when I pulled at his shirt. He threw it off and bared his strong, muscular chest, and then he picked me up and carried me into the bedroom. After he laid me on the bed, he stood back to remove his pants.

It didn’t take him long, but a few of my senses came back during the interim. His necklace stared at me, making me feel anxious, and I wanted to be rid of the curse more than ever. I didn’t want to start our lives under the black cloud. We could start fresh. We could be free.

I didn’t get a chance to say anything before he jumped on me and started kissing my neck. “Calvin,” I cried.

“Don’t stop me,” he begged, leaning back to look into my eyes. “I swear to God I can’t take it anymore. I need you, Cleo. I want you so bad.”

“I know and we will… Let’s break the curse first. We’re right here with the necklaces. We’ll do it and then we’ll have our own Fourth of July celebration. It’ll just be a little late.”

After a deep sigh, he threw himself onto his back beside me. “All we have to do is put the necklaces together, right?”