Kursed

Chapter 1

I knew it was a bad idea the second we set foot here. But as it goes, adults never listen. They think they know better than the rest of us, even though from this level, we can see the pathway much clearer.

Puffs of vapor shot from my nose as my foot crunched ankle-deep into the white cold. I groaned. Great. I hated snow. Couldn’t they have chosen a place where this stuff didn’t exist, like Hawaii? My parents called out to Peni as she squealed with excitement, darting from their arms.

It was cold here, but not enough for my lashes to freeze in spikes like they did back home.

“I’m going in,” I called out over my shoulder without looking back. I was never one for living out in the country. I loved the city and the smoke and lights. Out here, well, nothing happened. Nothing but cows and horses and crap.

My head sunk lower and I rushed into our new home. I didn’t care how the snow crunched under my boots, I was just glad to be out of it.

“Honey, I’m home!” I shouted. My pack slid from my shoulders and I tossed it into a couch covered with a dusty white sheet. How long did Gramps leave this house unattended? I knew that he’d moved out ages ago when Grams passed, but come on, he could afford the pond 100 acres from here.

My face screwed when another puff of vapor shot from my mouth. “Hey, it’s cold in here!” Couldn’t Dad have hired someone to prep the house before we showed? I clicked my cell’s flashlight.

Stomping the ice from my feet, I sauntered to the fireplace and whooped. It was bigger than me! I could easily hide my magazines from Mom on the mantle. As for Dad, I had no idea where I got my tall gene from. I heard that it ran through our family, but it dated some generations down the line—maybe from the guy who had built this shack with his two hands or something like that.

I snorted with a toss of my hair.

“I’m going to pick my room, you go ahead and build snowmen out there without me.” I knew they wouldn’t hear me. Outside with their laughter and squeals.

It was weird how a house like this would be out in the middle of nowhere. Whatever great—to the power of ten—grandpa was thinking, I have no idea. Maybe he hated people? I laughed aloud as I took two stairs at a time to the rooms.

It was kinda stupid, really, to have only the four of us move into such a pad. I mean really. According to Dad, it had, what, fifteen rooms, library, two kitchens, two dining rooms, four dens, a few offices, and a drawing room? Whatever that is. I don’t even know how to draw. Oh, yeah, and a dance hall.

I smirked. Maybe while Mom and Dad go out on their cruise with Peni, I could have a huge Halloween rave?

My whistle echoed down the long hallway, my footsteps sharp against the wooden planks. The carpet runners had been rolled and stacked against the dark walls. Something caught my eye and I stopped to look at it.

My whistle pitched to a higher note as I rocked back on my heels. So this was how the old guy looked like, you know, the one who built this house with his own sweat and blood?

Okay, so I wasn’t exaggerating when I said he lived ages to the tenth power. His clothes were stiff and his collar stiffer. I couldn’t imagine a man dressed like that would get his gloves dirty—maybe he had servants or slaves, or whatever, to do his dirty work.

As I rolled my eyes, a glint along the top of the frame caught my gaze. After squinting through the dim light, the fancy written letters flared to life: the kurse, every 5th to date.

“Hmp.” My eyebrow wrinkled high. “Whatever that means, and you don’t even know how to spell.”

I shook my head and marched by each room, slamming the heavy doors open. They all looked the same through my flashlight. I groaned.