Cursed by Malignant Magic (Once Upon A Curse)

Chapter 1

Chapter

One

T aunting the Caputo Royal Guard was a good way to get a blast of magic in the face.

But here I was, pushing their buttons as always. How could I resist? They hated me, and I considered most of them to be pampered nobles who just wanted to lord their status and their limited power over anyone they considered “beneath” them.

As someone who had been powerless once, I considered it my civic duty to make them as angry as possible whenever I could. Considering my temperament and smart mouth, it wasn’t difficult.

The one on the left sighed through his nose. “Listen, rat. You know full well you aren’t allowed into this part of the palace without an invitation unless you’re a High Mage.”

His head jerked toward my uniform at the insignia on my arm that was very clearly not the golden pauldron of a High Mage.

“I’m not a rat. I’m a collie,” I said innocently, eliciting groans from both of them.

Most of the guards knew my name because of how often I made trouble for them, but the play on my name amused me. After all, with a name like Collie, either I made fun of it or someone else would.

“What are your orders?” The one on the left spoke slowly as if he were talking to a child.

I was significantly younger than most of the other Battle Mages and definitely younger than the guards, but I was not a child. I wanted to bristle, but instead, I tapped the tip of my finger on my chin and tilted my head, pretending to think.

“Honestly, I’d tell you if I knew. I can’t seem to remember. I just know I’m supposed to be right here. ” I pointed straight down, the sigils on my fingers flashing and the gauntlet on my right wrist twisting with the movement.

The guard on the left glanced down at the ring of crystals on my gauntlet, the large black stone shining just behind my knuckles. Guards didn’t have magic; that was why they were guarding the gates and not standing on the front lines. I hated to break it to him, but no gauntlet, no matter how shiny, would give him magic.

“Not even General Ehuna’s pet is allowed through here. Now, go.”

“I’m named after a dog. It shouldn’t surprise you that I’m someone’s pet,” I mused, not offended at all.

Better to be a pet who got to see some action than some poor sap who had to deal with the likes of me while guarding the gates.

Although, judging by the look on General Ehuna’s face right now as she approached from the other side of the gates, she wasn’t overly happy for me to be her pet. Not furious, but with the kind of resigned irritation that I had grown used to.

Honestly, what had she expected, having pulled me from the streets and trained me? I did what she said, and I owed her my life, but there was only so much I could do about my natural disposition.

“Collie,” she said through the bars. “I should have known that I couldn’t trust you to stand here at the gates without causing trouble.”

“Yes, you should have,” I agreed cheerfully.

Both of the guards stepped aside as the gates opened, their staffs clicking on the cobbles as they bowed to General Ehuna.

As I mentioned, the guards didn’t have magic, but that didn’t mean they were unprotected. Battle Mages like me had imbued their staffs with lightning, and I spoke from experience when I said that lightning packed a hell of a punch. I even had the scars to prove it.

General Ehuna motioned for me to follow her, and I fell into step behind her. Technically, a Battle Mage like me should have been on the front lines with everyone else because we so desperately needed more people for this war, but no one could stop General Ehuna from calling back a soldier.

Especially when it came to a little gremlin like me who loved to cause chaos.

“Collie. All I asked is that you wait for me and not cause trouble.”

“Whose definition of trouble are we talking? I didn’t hit anyone, I didn’t get shocked, and I didn’t spell anyone. Actually, I consider this encounter a win.”

“I’m sure you do,” Ehuna muttered.

She clamped one hand on the back of my neck as we walked away from the inner courtyard and into the city. I wouldn’t intentionally walk away from her, not in terms of getting away, but I did have a habit of getting distracted and wandering. By holding on to me, she made sure she didn’t have to chase me down. She was pragmatic like that.

I was sure Ehuna and I made quite a pair, not that anyone in the market paid any attention to us. They had seen us together often enough not to be bothered by how much she dragged me along.

She was far taller than I, with sigils painted neatly on her brown skin in white that flashed when she moved. I wouldn’t have been surprised if she’d been born a noble, given how carefully they were painted, not shoddy like mine because I’d barely been able to afford to have a drunk ex-Battle Mage paint mine in a back alley when I was a kid.

Mine were black, dominant on my pale skin, but glowed purple and blue when I reached for my magic. Pretty, and even a little goblin like me appreciated pretty things.

The only thing even remotely similar about the two of us was our hair, and even that was a stretch. Her hair was thick, pulled back in a series of thin braids around her head like a crown, whereas mine was much finer, coiling down my back in a single long braid that rested naturally between my shoulder blades.

But the biggest difference were the streaks of silver in my hair, shining like moonlight amidst the darkness of the rest of it.

I lifted my head to sniff the air, and Ehuna's grip tightened on the back of my neck, making me cringe. Her long fingers dug into my flesh almost hard enough to bruise, the cool metal of her gauntlet brushing against my neck.

She would not let me go anywhere, and she was strong enough to stop me with little effort. Our difference in size was rather ominous, and I knew for a fact that she could manhandle me if she wanted to. Thankfully, she hadn’t yet decided that was necessary.

Not yet, at least.

Unlike me, Ehuna was left-handed, so the gauntlet on her left wrist was for attacking, with the one on the right as a shield, the opposite of the way I wore mine.

Or would have, if I'd had a proper gauntlet for the left, instead of a thin leather bracelet studded with glowing stones. A little bit better than nothing, I supposed.

"I know you're hungry, but we're busy. You can get something to eat at the barracks once we've finished with our meeting."

I shook my head, thankful her grip on me allowed me to do that. “It’s not that. I mean, I am hungry, but food isn’t what I’m smelling.”

Ehuna stopped, pulling me with her. Her brown eyes narrowed down at me. She turned her head, tension in every line of her body as she looked to the tower.

I was only mostly sure that was where we were going for whatever important meeting she dragged me along to since nobody bothered to tell me anything. I was expected to show up and follow Ehuna to wherever we were going without question, although that second part didn't always happen.

Still, not knowing whatever important meeting we were going to gave me an edge because I didn't care where we were going. I only knew that I smelled magic, and I wanted to find it.

The scent of magic grew stronger by the second. It smelled not quite right, but it was hard to put exactly what was wrong with it into words.

"Are you sure?"

I frowned. "Sure about what?"

Apparently, that was the wrong answer because her hand tightened on my neck, hard enough that the leather of my armor creaked.

"Yes, I'm very sure it's magic." I could also smell sticky buns and cooking meat, but everyone could smell that.

I was the only human who could smell magic, as far as I knew, and much more accurate than any dog could ever be. Hence the reason why half-feral little me was allowed to run roughshod in the military. I was useful, and right now, I shook with anticipation.

"We have a meeting," Ehuna muttered under her breath.

She was clearly talking to herself, not to me.

"Say it's my fault. We both know they're going to blame me anyway," I pointed out.

"They" being whichever important military folk Ehuna was taking me to meet. Most everyone as high ranking as Ehuna thought I was a terrible soldier, which I was, and hated me. If I were to be blamed, I might as well get to track down the magic I could smell, that hummed in my bones, that called to my own magic. I shoved it down with something verging on panic.

The shouts of playing children drowned out what Ehuna said next, and she dragged me toward an awning out of the main path before she repeated herself.

"Can you tell if it's ours?"

I shook my head, resisting the urge to cross my arms. She still had me by the neck, and if I mouthed off, she would shake me like a terrier with a rat. She already knew the answer to this question, so why bother asking?

"You know I can't. But I know it's magic," I said.

A particularly strong gust of wind blew the scent of magic into my nostrils, and her hand tightened like I would pull free of her grip and give chase.

I frowned. "I can't tell you whose it is, but it smells strange. Musty, like it's been bottled or something. Not fresh."

Bottled magic wasn’t uncommon, but it was rare enough that it would warrant a bit of attention. Magic was so rare that it was constantly in use, so the fact that it had sat long enough to smell musty to me seemed suspicious.

My certainty was enough for Ehuna. She sighed once, so softly I almost couldn't hear it over the noise of the crowd. Her gaze lifted to the sky, and she nodded, her expression resigned. Whatever meeting we’d had would have to wait.

The muscles in my calves clenched in anticipation of what she would say next. I knew that look. I’d seen it often enough, and now I only had to wait for the words to come out of her mouth.

"Fine. Go find it."

I whooped, grinning widely. Despite the seriousness of the situation, I was more excited than anything else. I wasn't good at much, but I was better than anyone else at this, better than any dog, and no one could do what I did. Ehuna was the closest thing I had to family, and I wanted to show her that I was useful, that I was good at this one thing at least.

My nose twitched as I followed the scent of magic in the air. Normally, the scent of magic enticed me, a sweet aroma reminiscent of fresh-baked bread and strawberries, beckoning to the power that flowed through my veins.

But this time, it smelled bitter and acrid, burning the back of my throat with every breath. Yet I kept sniffing, determined to follow the scent to its source. I wouldn’t give up until I found it.

Pushing my way through the bustling crowd, I paid no mind to the feet I stepped on or shoulders I brushed against. I had grown up as a thief and normally had clever feet, able to dart between people without ever even touching them, but not this time.

The magic coursing through the air made me stagger and stumble, my head pounding as it mingled with my own power. It was a heady tangle, enough that I struggled to focus.

And then suddenly, the magic burst higher within me, a bright spot of intense energy and pain. Without hesitation, I took off running, my boots crunching against the hard stone pavement.

Ehuna called after me, but I ignored her pleas as I pushed through the crowd, following the pull of magic like a fish hooked on bait.

As I slowed to a cautious walk, I eyed the building in front of me warily. The scent of magic burned my throat and turned my stomach, causing my gauntlets to glow with an eerie light.

But it wasn't the usual color of my power—something was very wrong here. I knew it in my very bones.

Still, it was far too late to turn back now. If there was magic in this place to be found, I would find it.

The door was cracked open, as if someone had stepped out for just a moment and thought they would be back before the flies and the breeze could bother anything inside. There was no one nearby when I looked both ways to check, and my fingers twitched uneasily.

Considering the amount of people I'd had to shove through in order to get through the market, I would have expected there would be at least a few people milling about, rather than this dead silence. Instead, there was only the tantalizingly bitter scent of magic and the open door practically begging me to step inside.

"I shouldn't," I mumbled, a verbal confirmation of what I already knew.

My head said not to fall for this trap, but my curiosity whispered that I would never be able to walk away from this much magic. Besides, Ehuna had sent me to find it, and I couldn't give up this close to it.

With that in mind, I was obviously going inside, but Ehuna would already be furious with me for taking off without her. She would flay me alive if I just walked into what was so obviously a trap.

So instead, I slammed my elbow into one of the windows, then boosted myself through it into the obvious trap.