The Cursekeeper

The Call

Song is, "The Call" by 2WEI, Louis Leibfried and Edda Hayes. I put the lyrics at the end of the chapter.

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As Arthur watched Aynaet run down the stairs, he closed his eyes and sighed in mild frustration. Something real fishy was going on and he was going to find out what it was. He looked at Rose and Babd with a serious expression.

"Alright, look," he said, holding his hands up. "I know somethin' is goin' on so why don't you tell me what it is, you two?"

Both the Goddessess of Death glanced at each other, then Babd walked to Arthur and patted his head. "You'll know in time, don't be so impatient," she said before opening the panel on the sphere. "What kind of adjustments did she-"

"Don't treat me like I'm an idiot, woman!" Arthur snapped. "I want answers!"

Babd arched a brow at Arthur, then she sighed before going back to messing with the panel. "You can ask questions, Arthur, but I may or may not answer them. Oh Aynaet, you little stinker," she chuckled before taking out a tool kit of her own to fix whatever Aynaet did. "That girl is far too adamant for her own good."

"Why the hell did Aynaet marry Mallacht in the first place?" Arthur spat out.

Rose sighed and brushed a strand of hair from her face. "Let's just say...she took a gamble and lost," she explained.

Arthur's head snapped in Rose's direction. "What'd you just say?"

"I said, "she took a gamble and lost."," Rose repeated.

Mr. Morgan felt his blood run cold and he was almost certain his heart stopped. That's what Lilly said in one of her prayers.

Lilly took a gamble and lost, and she didn't think Arthur would forgive her for it.

"Fuck..." he thought. "No, Lilly can't be the queen. There's no twin flame between Aynaet and me. That confirms she ain't Lilly."

Arthur felt the need to convince himself that it was impossible for Aynaet to be his wife, but if she was, it would definitely answer a lot of questions...like the sex doll. Apparently the thing had a name. It was Allan. Arthur was still trying to wrap his mind around that one, and while it was flattering, it was still creepy.

But if Lilly was the queen, the sex doll made sense, but if she was the queen, why didn't she say anything?

As Arthur contemplated the reasons why Lilly would keep something like that from him, O'Callaghan walked up to him with Rose. "Are ya okay?" Rose asked.

Arthur felt like he couldn't breathe all of a sudden and he wobbled before plopping on the ground, everyone clambering around him with concern. "What's the matter, laddie?" Sir Jack asked.

"I, uh...I dunno," Arthur lied. "I got light headed...feelin' anxious."

"Cernunnos, check Arthur's health lines," Lugh said.

O'Callaghan fussed over Arthur's well being while Rose dug around in her satchel. "I got just the thing fer that," she said, pulling out what looked like a cigarette and a blue rectangular container full of fluid with a mechanical mechanism on the top. She put the cigarette in her mouth and lit it, then she puffed and held it out to Arthur. "Smoke this."

"What is it?" he asked, grasping it and sniffing it. It was...very strong, whatever it was, then he squinted an eye when he realized the smell was very familiar. "Really? You're givin' me marijuana?"

"Yeah. What of it?" Rose croaked before exhaling, coughing a little. "It's medicinal."

Arthur huffed. "Fiiine..." he grumbled before puffing on it. He immediately coughed and wheezed before almost falling over from his fit of hacking. "Wha...what..."