The Elucaen Curse

Ch. 9

As our feet crunched it way against the cobble-stoned path, the sun has began it descent under the velvety dark of the night, painting the sky mixtures of a soft orange hue and pomegranate pink.

"What's your story? Where are you from?" Luka suddenly spoke.

The sound of his voice had radiated against the quiet whispers of nature, and the startling words made me looked at him in surprise.

The second his steel gray eyes made contact with my electric blue ones, they held a sense of curiosity to them, as if he was trying to figure out what kind of person I was. 

"Where I'm from?" I stammered. A hint of panic flashed through my veins as I struggled to find an answer. I obviously couldn't talk about the human world, so I decided to go with the next best choice: my Elucaen heritage.

"Well, my Mom is Almerian, but my Dad is Gallian, so I guess I'm half like you."

"Where were you raised?"

"Where do you think I was raised?" I asked, hoping he wouldn't give an indecisive answer.

"Gallia, right? Seeing how we first met there?"

"Yes," I lied.

It was a terrible lie, but I hope I wasn't a terrible liar. 

In the time that we've acquired through our walk towards the headmaster's office, I soon found out quite a few facts about my new companion. Luka revealed he had a sister that also went to this school, so of course I imagined her to be just as blessed in the gene pool. He talked about her for quite a while, so I assumed they had some sort of a special relationship. It wasn't a surprise when he revealed they rarely fought.

While he talked mindlessly, my ears listened intently yet my mind began to wander to the more important matter: breaking the curse. My birthday was in March, which meant there was barely eight months left until the curse claimed me as another of its dreadful victims. Eight months till Mortema presumably regained all her strength and power. And in the course of that eight months, I will be trained to channel my Elucae, a part of me that wasn't deem for exposure until a week ago.

A cough soon knocked me back to the realm of reality. "What were you daydreaming about? Your expression seemed...baffled," Luka said in an intrigued manner.

I quickly shook my head. "Nothing, nothing at all."

"Well, you should be glad I'm willing to share my life with you; most girls would kill to hear it, you know," he responded smugly.

"Do I seem like most girls to you?" I retorted.

"Honestly? You're quite the opposite."

"That's funny, because you sound exactly like most guys to me, so cut it with the cockiness."

"Well...this is it. If you just go straight from here, you should see a pair of double doors on the left," Luka informed, gesturing to the hallway on my right.

Despite his shameless flirting, I really wouldn't have gotten here without his help. "Thanks, I really appreciate it," I replied earnestly.

"Then I would appreciate it if you can give me another chance as well. You don't know the whole me."

"I'm not sure I want to find out," I admitted.

"In that case, you better look forward to it."

"To what?" I asked, suspicion evident in my tone.

He smiled as he started to walk in the opposite direction. "Because I'm going to prove you wrong."

"I highly doubt that," I muttered to myself. I came to this school with a sole purpose in mind, and I could not afford to be distracted; it was my life on the line.