Cursed by Malignant Magic (Once Upon A Curse)

Chapter 6

Chapter

Six

F or once in the last few days, voices didn’t wake me. Unfortunately, that didn't mean it was a pleasant awakening.

When a bucket of frigid water splashed onto my face, I gasped and flailed, instantly leaving sleep behind. When my eyes snapped open, cold water flooded into them, making me blink rapidly.

I shook my head vigorously, splattering droplets across the room as the last of my tightly woven braid unraveled completely. My hair cascaded down over my shoulders in a chaotic tangle, each strand heavy with water that dripped and trickled down over my skin, sending shivers through my body.

I glared fiercely at the three people standing in front of me—two helmeted figures and one the same man I had elbowed just yesterday after he threw me in here. Of course it had to be him.

The man's lips pulled back, revealing a menacing grin that looked more like a snarl. Droplets of clear liquid slithered down the side of his wooden bucket and onto the ground.

A sense of relief washed over me as I realized it was just water he had doused me with. In my line of work, things could always be worse.

"Can I help you, fool?" I spat.

“Why are you here?” the man demanded.

Either I told the truth and they realized that I was no use to them and killed me, or worse, I lied and told them that I was a scout and they would torture me for information that I didn’t have. No matter what happened, torture or death or both were the only things I had to look forward to.

With that in mind, I decided on a mixture of a lie and the truth. “I’m a scout. I was snatched by some giant bird. I’m sure your people saw it.” I laughed, unable to help myself. “If they have eyes, they did see it.”

The guard snorted. “You really expect us to believe that you just happened to stumble onto our camp?”

I shrugged, startled to find that it actually eased my pain a little. "I don't care what you believe. It's the truth."

Or most of it anyway. Truth adjacent.

The men snickered, but the one in the back said something to someone standing outside the door, and the two helmeted figures grumbled as they left the room.

"Fine. If you're not lying, it doesn't mean that you'll get out of here. Someone else has to make that decision," the man said, and he left too.

I tilted my head as I looked toward the door when it slammed behind them. Who was standing behind that door? Whoever they were, they were clearly someone in a position of power if they could order the guards about in such a way.

"You shouldn't have told them you were a scout," a female voice said.

I jerked, startled out of my haze. The chains around my wrists rattled, biting painfully into my skin. I was used to discomfort, as all soldiers were, but not like this. It had been a long time since I’d felt this bone-deep ache, and I couldn't say I’d missed it.

I turned toward the hole in the wall on my left. My head pounded from my rough landing and my none-too-kind treatment thereafter, but I was at least reasonably sure that was where the voice had come from.

Mostly sure.

"What?" I said.

"You should not have told them you were a scout. It will not go well for you."

I raised my wrist, or tried to. My wrists hung above my head to the sides, my shoulders aching from the position. No chains cuffed my ankles, although the shackles for them lay in the far corner of my cell, as well as a collar with a short chain. No doubt a reminder of how my situation could be worse.

"Things are not going overly well for me right now," I pointed out.

A soft mutter of agreement came from the other side of the wall. I couldn't see her, but it didn't take a genius to figure out that she was chained up as well, or at least contained in the cell next to me. Whoever she was, she was just as stuck as me, and yet she had decided to speak to me. If she hadn't spoken first, I would never have known she was there, but now that she had, I appreciated it.

I had spent so much time alone, or with no one bothering to speak to me, that I hated silence and the lack of companionship. Considering what a nuisance I was most of the time, it had kept my circle of companions small because most people couldn't put up with me for very long.

The only good thing about being chained up in adjoining cells was that whoever the girl was, she was stuck with me.

The girl fell silent, as if contemplating. I let my head fall forward, closing my eyes in an attempt to ease the pounding within.

It was another few minutes before she spoke again. At least, as far as I could tell.

"That is true, but they will think you know something, that you're a spy. They'll torture you for information."

I flinched. I was self aware enough to know that I was not the bravest person out there, and I couldn't hold out against torture forever. Sure, I was petty enough to tell them to shove it for a few days, maybe longer, but I wasn't prepared for any kind of real pain. If it came down to it, I feared what I would say.

I couldn't give up Ehuna. I wouldn't.

I gritted my teeth and took a deep breath, reaching for my magic, my fingers twitching. My magic was too volatile to lash out with unless I absolutely had to, but I certainly couldn't take the chance of trying to shoot at the chains. Given how the last few days had gone, I would no doubt end up blowing a hole in the wall and still not end up taking out the chains.

Besides, they didn't know that I still had my magic even without my gauntlets. Until they did, I had a better chance at getting out of here, even if I was taking a risk by waiting. But what other choice did I have?

Once again, I was faced with two bad choices. One—I used my magic to get out of here and let them know I still had magic. Something that they would almost certainly want to know more about, and I had never let anyone else know about that. Not even Ehuna.

Or two—wait and hope I could come up with a plan to escape before I was tortured or killed. I might be able to gain more information by waiting, or I might get myself in so deep that I could never get myself out.

Hardly a choice at all.