Falsified (Tarnished Book 2)

20 The Crow's Curse

 "Jaiden?" Simon began to speak when I glanced up at him. "What happened?"

Sighing, I hugged my waist and tightened my hold over myself. "Kay," I called his name. I saw him catch my eyes. "Remember what I told you on our voyage that I feared myself?"

"I recall, but what are you getting at?"

"It appears I underestimated what was happening to me." I hid my eyes from everyone. "I know what curse that Old Crow placed on me. He played on my frustration when I was a child. Why did he wait?-He wanted it slowly to take over any common sense I possessed to fight him with."

"Hold on, kid. Are you saying he did this before he brought you here?" Zelme joined the conversation.

I nodded. "Any time I got angry enough; I brutally took lives. I could not stop myself because I did not care to. The people I murdered with my gift were lowlifes who preyed on the weak. The last time I remember was in Pythagoras when I lost hope of ever being an ounce of the person I was."

"What did you do?" Judas asked when I glanced up at him. "Don't tell me it was like what happened aboard the Ebony."

I almost forgot he saw me go crazy and kill the captain of that ship. I stared at the ground. "It was worse than the Ebony. I, I was spaced out when I bashed his head in with my fists. I could only feel my fists hitting him, but then nothing."

"He placed that curse then." The Grove King added. "It gradually strips away at the conscience inside you whenever something upsets you. Each time that anger flares inside you, it becomes more primal."

"Is there a way to dispel this curse?" I asked while already knowing the answer. I glanced in his direction. "You said earlier it was impossible to tell which curse he placed, but what about now?"

The Grove King sighed and got up from his throne. "There is one way, but it falls on you. I knew he might do something, but this curse, it goes beyond what I can do. If you want this curse to end, then you need to accept the emotions inside you."

"What kind of solution is that?"

"Believe me, I wish there was a pleasant answer. It feeds off what you refuse to accept, Jaiden. You need to face either the emotions you refuse to feel, or they will build until they take you over."

I have been avoiding them, but I wanted to wait until this nightmare was gone. If continuing like this will lead to being overwhelmed by the anger in me, then I need to stop holding it in. I am mad and frustrated. The ground under me began to crush under the force of my body. "Fine, but that means I won't be able to stop myself. Are you prepared to stop me?"

Kay and Simon noted the curl in the corner of my mouth. Simon strode over to me and my eyes fell on him. "Jaiden don't do this. If you go all out, then,"

My smirk faded. "I know, but if I don't that Old Crow wins. Besides, I brought this on myself."

Kay ran at me and struck jaw. It ached. "I hate that you constantly fight this battle on your own, we're your friends."

The destructive power of mine vanished around me when I noticed there were no injuries on Kay's hand. "I hate that I can never protect what I hold dear, but then again, that was what Alric would have said. I tried to be my brother but look where that has gotten me." I hugged Kay and his muscles tensed along his shoulders. "I am not that strong. Everyone sees strength in my gifts, but the real force behind them is weak. Because of you and Simon, I forgot my fears even if only for minutes at a time." I retreated from him and his eyes stunned. "Fears of many forms reared their heads in my mind, but that dark place in my head grows whenever I choose to ignore them. If I lose, then I fear what I leave behind."