The Assassin's Curse

Chapter Eight- Part 1

JESSE

"What happened to... to Lluna?" I stutter.

"What?!" Romeo flies right into my face. "You're about to die and you're worried about the stupid llama?"

"Don't call her stupid!" With a heaving effort, I raise one of my hands and punch him in the face, my hands radiating with pain.

"Ugh!" Romeo claps his hands and the chairs supporting Petra and I disappear, leaving us to fall to the ground.

"Ow!" Petra cries. I wait to feel more pain, but my freshly-stone lower half remains numb. What is more concerning, though, are the bits of cobble that break off my body from the impact.

"Jesse!" Petra runs to my side.

"Well," Romeo dusts himself off, "if you really must know, I simply poisoned the llama while you were asleep one night! You should really take better care of your pets, seeing how they tend to end up."

My shoulders slump and my breath becomes shaky. I vaguely hear Petra yelling at Romeo to take it back, but he's right.

I couldn't save Lluna, just like I couldn't save Reuben. My head pulsates in pain as I feel stone creep along the edges of my head.

I can't even save myself.

"Jesse! The ghast tear!" Petra points above my head, where a golden glow is forming. I grab it, and the golden ghast tear materializes in my hand. I toss it to Petra and she runs to a nearby crafting table. "Just hang in there while I craft these into the Restoration potion!"

I nod, then turn to Romeo, who's floating above me with a cross expression.

"You are much more resilient than you look," Romeo snarls. "The curse should've consumed you by now!"

With a great effort, I stand and smile. "Shouldn't you know by now that I don't give up easily?"

"D'argh!" Romeo swoops down and pins me to the wall.

"Ah!" Cracks of stone are falling from my body as Romeo slams me against the wall again and again. He's shouting incoherently with rage, but an idea begins to niggle at me.

Romeo said that the Gauntlet was the source of his power now, so I just need to get it off of him and we'll be in the clear!

Romeo throws me to the ground, knocking the wind out of me. I struggle to stand as Romeo cackles at me.

"Don't you ever learn?" he sneers. "You've tried to fight me again and again and again, and yet you fail. You've never done anything by yourself- even when you were a powerful adventurer, you couldn't take the Old Builders down without the help of your friends. How do you alone plan to defeat ME?"

I smile. "Wouldn't you like to know."

I charge and bowl Romeo over. With the weight of my almost completely stone body on him, he flails around beneath me, apparently too shocked to teleport away.

"Say goodbye to your gauntlet," I say, grabbing the gauntlet.

"No!" Romeo and I grapple for control of the gauntlet. My fingers are getting too stiff! I start to panic and try to grip the gauntlet even harder.

With a great effort, I give a final yank and wrest the gauntlet from Romeo's hand.

"Aagh!" Romeo's appearance begins to change to his true self. I sit up slowly and draw my sword.

"Wait! Wait, give me another chance!" Romeo cries, bracing for the impact.

"I'm so sorry it had to end this way," I say, plunging my sword into his chest. As Romeo dies, inventory explodes all around me, seeming like it will never end.

"Is he dead?" Petra yells from the crafting table. "That could stop the curse, right?"

"Wrong- augh!" I yelp as pain enveloped me. I fall to the ground, my head spinning.

"Jesse!" Petra cries. "Just hang on, I'm almost done!"

"Hanging... on..." I groan. I feel the stone creep farther and farther into my face. With the adrenaline from the fight with Romeo, I'd almost forgotten just how painful the sped-up curse was.

I try to crawl towards Petra, but my legs are becoming scarily still. I must be becoming encased in diorite, like when Soren died! I think, panicking.

"Petra!" I cry, flailing my arms on the ground "Is the potion any more done?"

"I'm placing the last ingredient, Jesse!" Petra calls. "Then I'm running over to you!" Her voice sounds strange. Like it's coming through a tunnel.

I try again to crawl to Petra, but I collapse and fall on my face. I can't move!

"Wee wee wee!" I raise my head in surprise. I know that sound...

"Reuben?!" I yelp. He's... dead! Yet there he is, right in front of me. Glowing. I sit up and get a better look at him, and standing right next to him is Magnus and Soren. Also glowing.

"It's time for you to go, Jesse," says Soren, pulling me to my feet.

As I stand, Reuben jumps into my arms, begging to be pet. My laughter mingles with Reuben's oinks, but on the edge of my consciousness, I hear another sound. A sound of grief, fear, and... love.

Slowly, I set Reuben down and look back up at Soren.

"Come on, Jesse, we don't have all day," Magus says, grabbing my hand.

I pull it away. "What if I don't want to?

Oooh! We're almost done! I decided to post the last chapter in two parts, and the second part will be posted later today. I promise it'll be up... later. All good things to those who wait!