Cursed by Malignant Magic (Once Upon A Curse)

Chapter 29

Chapter

Twenty-Nine

A t sunrise the next morning, the forest hummed with a sort of tense expectancy, as if it shared in my mission's urgency. Leaves whispered secrets to the wind, rustling about while I prowled through the underbrush, ever watchful for the right creature to serve as my unwitting ally.

"Come on," I muttered under my breath, darting my eyes from shadow to shadow. "Where are you, little bait?"

Ehuna would have my hide for being so flippant about my dangerous plan for the giant bird. But I didn’t want it to see me and fly back to Tannin with the news that I was still alive and on the move. Not if I wanted to catch him by surprise.

A crack of a twig had me freezing mid-step, my ears pricked. A flicker of movement caught my eye—a small deer, its coat dappled with patches of sunlight that filtered through the canopy.

I crouched low, moving with a predator's grace, closing the distance between us. My heart thrummed in my chest, each beat a drumroll leading to the moment of action.

Legacy's blue eyes and fiery hair flashed in my mind, stoking the embers of determination within me. Every step forward was in honor of her memory.

"Sorry, friend," I breathed out as I drew closer to the deer.

With a swift motion honed by countless hours of training and more than a few scuffles, I struck with my dagger across its neck. The deer collapsed, a clean kill. No suffering—a small mercy. Its potent lifeblood soaked into the forest floor, releasing a pungent aroma sure to tantalize even the most discerning of “little birds” and lure the beast from the sky.

It was a strange thing to feel both triumph and regret over such a necessary act.

I dragged the deer behind me and dropped it in the center of a clearing, my muscles protesting, and got to work. Skinning it wasn't glamorous, but I'd learned long ago that survival often meant getting your hands dirty.

When I was an orphan living on the streets, I’d had to quickly learn to cook rats to survive. My first time hadn’t worked out. My second time didn’t either.

The third time, I came prepared with a rusty bucket. I named the rat Dinner. I never got around to eating it, though.

I’d run off with it to a secret spot behind an old shack where the walls shielded me from the wind. I’d watched the other orphans enough times to sort of know what to do next. My hands shaking from hunger, I’d gathered some twigs to start a fire with my flint, skinned the rat with my only knife, and skewered the rat on a metal rod I’d scavenged.

Just as the aroma of roasting rat began to fill the air, I realized Dinner and I weren’t alone. Another orphan had followed his nose straight to us, a burly kid with cheeks perpetually red from the cold and a mean streak as long as the river.

Without a word, he’d lunged forward and snatched the skewer. With tears streaking down my face, I watched helplessly as my hard-earned dinner became a prize for someone else.

My stomach had growled so loudly, mocking me for my failure.

Catching and cooking a rat had seemed like the hardest part. I’d had lots of practice since then keeping my Dinners for myself.

But today, I’d gladly share it with the giant bird.

I laid the deer hide aside, set up a spit over a hastily built fire, and skewered the carcass with a stick I’d sharpened on the way here while my plan had taken root.

Striking flint to steel, I coaxed flames to life, watching them catch with satisfaction. I adjusted the spit, ensuring the deer would cook evenly, releasing a plume of savory smoke into the sky. It twirled upward, a fragrant beacon that I hoped would prove irresistible.

"Come and get it, feathered fiend," I said, stepping back to admire my handiwork.

The scent of roasting meat soon filled the air, rich and inviting.

"Let's hope your nose is as big as your wings.”

I prepared the rest of my trap, then, perched like a shadow in the grove, I counted the heartbeats that thudded against my rib cage. My fingers twitched at my sides, eager for movement, but I tethered them with an iron will.

Patience, Collie.

But patience had never been my virtue, and yet here I sat, playing the most dangerous waiting game of my life. The anticipation was a tangible thing, crawling up my spine and prickling at the base of my skull.

A breeze flirted through the trees, whispering secrets I strained to hear. Every rustle, every snap of twigs set my nerves alight.

A sound came then—a distant thrum that grew louder, more insistent. Wings. Huge, powerful wings beating the air into submission.

My pulse quickened, and I clamped down on the surge of adrenaline threatening to unseat me. I tightened my grip on the hilt of my dagger, the cool metal grounding me. With my other hand, I traced the invisible lines of magic that laced the clearing, ready to weave them into defense or offense—whichever the bird would invite first.

The flapping grew closer.

My muscles coiled, preparing to launch at a moment's notice.

The shadow descended like a cloud of doom blotting out the early morning sun, and suddenly an eerie half light bathed the clearing. I squinted skyward, my pulse beating into my throat as the giant bird plummeted towards me, its talons outstretched like the fingers of fate itself.

I shifted my feet on the forest floor, every sense tingling with the electric charge that buzzed in the air.

As the bird swooped lower, I sprang aside, rolling under its vast wing, so close I could feel the rush of wind that followed it. Dirt and leaves clung to my cheeks, but I scrambled up.

With a squawk that rumbled through the canopy, the bird circled back, its eyes fixed on me, black and unblinking. They held intelligence and cunning.

I twisted as I dodged another dive, the ground quaking beneath the force of its missed strike. Magic pulsed at my fingertips.

I flung a hand out, casting a net of shimmering tendrils toward the beast. The magic ensnared one clawed foot, but the bird was relentless, tearing through my magic with a shriek that set my teeth on edge.

Ehuna would have scolded me for underestimating my opponent. But then, I never did like taking lectures.

I conjured a barrier just in time to deflect a wing buffet. The impact resonated through my bones.

The bird reared back, preparing to unleash another assault. It lunged, and I met its charge with a burst of speed, sidestepping a razor-sharp beak aimed for my head. I countered with a bolt of my own power, striking the bird's underbelly.

The bird faltered, a sign that my magic had hit true.

"Come on, big guy…or girl," I panted out as I braced for the next attack, "let's see if you can keep up with me."

I cast a glance at the traps I'd laid out. They were simple pits covered with foliage, but to the bird, they might as well have been invisible.

I darted between the trees, my steps light despite the heaviness in my chest, leading the bird on a chase.

The bird screeched, a sound that sent shivers down my back, but I didn't falter. I skipped narrowly away from talons that could shred me to ribbons, my pulse pounding against my throat.

I dashed towards the first trap. A quick leap, and I cleared the hidden pit just as the bird swooped in. With a bewildering crash, it fell through the leaves and branches, its cries turning from anger to confusion.

"Ever heard of a thing called gravity?" I wiped a bead of sweat from my brow.

I readied myself as the bird thrashed against the magic net below, eventually clawing its way free. By now, it had to be fatigued.

My hands crackled with the raw energy coursing through my veins. As the bird regained the sky, I feigned weakness, stumbling back, my breathing ragged. I needed it to believe it had the upper hand.

It dove, a streak of shadow across the sun, and I waited until the last possible moment before rolling away, another trap ensnaring one of its massive wings.

The bird flailed, disoriented, its wing caught tight in the invisible web of ropes and nets I'd conjured. Its eyes blazed with embers of hatred. But even those flames seemed to flicker with uncertainty as I moved toward it.

Its free wing beat the air, stirring a gale that threatened to uproot the very trees around us. The giant bird reared back, its beak poised like a lance.

I leapt—not away but toward the beast, my body coiled tight.

The bird hesitated—a fatal mistake.

I spun in the air, drawing on every scrap of magic, every last drop of will. My hand, aglow with an inner fire, struck true. A terrible crack sounded, like thunder following lightning, as my magic surged into the bird's chest.

For a heartbeat, all held still.

Then the giant creature fell to the ground. Dead.

I dropped to my knees in front of it, its defeat a bitter taste on my tongue. Without the bird hunting me, spying on me, I could better carry out this mission. Without it, I might just stand a chance.

Legacy , I thought, wiping a stray tear from my face, I've won another day without you.