Shadow Market

Chapter Nine

"So, how did you learn all this? You know, sense your human." I asked, breaking the awkward silence.

He smiled but didn't look up from his work. "My mother was a courtesan, and a lot of her clientele were not human. She used to bring me here while she worked I basically grew up in the market. I had a lot of free time."

"Wow, that's interesting. Where is she now?" 

"Dead." His voice was clipped so I took that as I had rather not talk about it.

The awkward silence had returned with a vengeance. I walk around his workspace, looking at all the weird shit—half of the stuff I had never seen before. I pick up a bottle but accidentally knock the whole row over. Thankful they didn't break.

Cassius was there in a blink, straightening the bottles. "Sorry," I mumbled, "I just feel useless. Watching you work while I do nothing."

Some emotion, maybe empathy, flash across his face. "Here, I have something you can help me with."

I smiled and eagerly followed him over to the work table. He handed me a mortar and pestle full of blue flowers. "Crush these up into a fine powder."

I got to work and was glad to feel useful. We fell into a rhythm. "I never had anything to do with the supernatural before all this; it was kinda a rule of mine." 

"Really? I thought since you and Dante were...friends that you would be more used to such things as this." 

I snorted. "No, me and Dante have different hobbies you could say."

Cassius nodded, seemingly satisfied with my answer, though I could sense his curiosity lingering. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Cassius spoke again. "It's interesting how our paths cross with the supernatural, often when we least expect it. Fate has a strange way of weaving our lives together, especially in places like the Shadow Market. Everyone here has a story, a reason for being drawn to the supernatural."

I paused in my grinding, looking up at him. "And what's your story, Cassius? Besides your mother, I mean."

He hesitated as if weighing whether to share more. Then he sighed a weary sound. "Let's just say I've made some choices that can't be undone. Choices that led me to a life intertwined with magic and secrets."

The air felt heavy with unspoken words, and I decided not to push further. Everyone had their burdens, and it wasn't my place to pry. Instead, I focused on the task at hand, trying to do my part to break the curse.

As we continued working, the atmosphere between us lightened a bit. Cassius seemed more relaxed, perhaps appreciating the distraction from his usual solitude. The ritual took time, each step precise and deliberate. Cassius guided me through the process, explaining the significance of each herb and symbol, which fascinated me. It was like getting a crash course in the arcane, and despite the circumstances, I found myself intrigued.

Finally, after what felt like hours, we reached the crucial part of the ritual. Cassius carefully took the powdered blue flowers from me and mixed them with other ingredients in a small, ornate bowl. He chanted softly; the words were foreign yet soothing as he poured the mixture onto my arm. The mark began to shimmer, and I felt a strange sensation, like pins and needles, crawling over my skin.

For a moment, it seemed like the curse was lifting. The mark faded slightly, and I dared to hope that this would be the end of it. But then, the glow from the mixture flickered and dimmed, and the mark on my arm flared back to life, darker and more prominent than before.

Cassius frowned, his brows knitting together in concern. "That's... not supposed to happen."

Panic surged through me. "What do you mean? Why isn't it working?"

He shook his head, clearly troubled. "The curse is stronger than I anticipated. There must be something binding it more tightly to you than we realized."

I felt a cold sweat break out on my forehead. "So what now? We did everything right, didn't we?"

Cassius looked down at the remaining ingredients, his face pale. "It seems there's a deeper layer to the curse, something that ties it not just to the souls but to your own life force. This isn't just about collecting the souls; it's about you, specifically."

"You got to fucking kidding me!" I screamed, "Life is always shitting on me; just when I thought I had a way out of this life, I get cursed. And not just a normal curse!" The tears well up in my eyes, but I bat them away. Crying never solved anything.

Cassius remainder quiet during my meltdown. Which was probably for the best. After several deep breaths, I asked. "So, what do we do? How do we break it?"

Cassius sighed, his shoulders slumping. "I don't think we can. I am sorry, Lene."

The weight of his words hit me like a sledgehammer. I felt the air leave my lungs, and for a moment, I couldn't speak. The room seemed to close in around me, the shadows on the walls growing darker and more oppressive.

"So my only option is to find all the souls before Viktor," I whispered, shaking my head.

Cassius looked at me with a mixture of pity and frustration. "This curse is ancient and powerful, tied to forces that go beyond what we understand"

I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms."There has to be something.." I said to myself.

 Cassius nodded, though he looked unconvinced. "Perhaps there is. But it will take time to find it, and we don't have much of that left. Viktor is closing in, and Dante... he's out there, alone, trying to gather the souls. If he fails, or if Viktor catches him—"

"I know," I interrupted, the reality of the situation crashing down on me again.