The Heir Of Dreams And Curses

Where I learn how to resurrect the dead

When Risa said it had been Jake to trash the house, two things became suddenly clear in my mind.

One --- he did not care whether we found out it had been him. Maybe, he even wanted to be found guilty. He wanted to send us a message.

Two --- he did not break out of his prison cell. That meant there were spells he could do distantly, in places where his body wasn't. It sounded like a very complicated magic, perhaps dark magic.

I told my friends as much. Everyone agreed with my suspicions.

Raegan added, "I don't think he could be as powerful as to do a long distance spell. Looks like we were right and the curse stopped being a family curse and affected Jake."

I put my cup of tea back on the table with maybe too much strength.

"I do not agree," I said. "Jake just can't be... cursed. It's what he's always wanted, to get more powers. When could that have happened? The last time we saw him, he hadn't been cursed. From that moment on, he's always been in prison."

"I get why you're defending him," Jeff pursed his lips. "I really do. With time, he could have become a brother to you like he was a brother to me. But think about it --- this would explain things."

"If anything," Risa suggested. "We can tell Flora that we think he's cursed. That way, she'll agree that it could have been Jake who sent somebody to kidnap Alice too. We could start looking for her!"

"And if Jake really is cursed," I said, though I doubted it, "we have the destroyer onyx at least."

"I thought you were against using it," Raegan said.

"I only said I'd rather die than having a piece of my soul destroyed," I arched an eyebrow. "Maybe other people feel differently about it."

"From what I hear," Kai said. "Seems like your friend doesn't value his soul very much."

When we walked out of the place, a journalist approached me. I wanted to groan, but couldn't. Everyone would have seen me on television.

In the Aether realm, everything can be watched on the TV as soon as it's recorded. All of the news in the magazines are written with speed letters, which are are fast as your usual SMS.

If I made any false move with the journalist, no one would have edited it.

"We're here to talk about the vanishing of Alice Wilson," the journalist said to an invisible camera. Magic cameras often were invisible. "As you all know, the leader of the Senate Thomas Johnston has accused this young man here, Patrick Winter, of her murder."

I coughed into my hand. "Ryan Barnes," I said. "My name is Ryan Barnes."

"Well, Ryan Barnes, any comment on what happened?"

I looked at my friends. I didn't want to say something that I considered a lie, but they thought it was the truth and expected me to say it. I owed it to Flora, and to Alice. Once the truth about the kidnapper was out, people could start looking for her.

"Alice Wilson is my friend," I said sharply. "And she's not dead. My former friend Jake Kingston kidnapped her. I know this from a spell, the Emphatic String."

"Jake Kingston is in prison," the interview said. The look on his face was disgusting. He thought I had slipped, and he was enjoying it.

"Yeah, well, he sent someone to do it," I said. "The Emphatic String showed me as much. Jake is cursed by an ancient and evil jinx that feeds on your bloodlust while it amplifies your magic."