The Curse of Betrayal (24 page)

“You brave girl.” He pulls the back of my head toward him, and I lean against his chest, my legs starting to feel wobbly. He bends down and presses his lips to mine in a melancholy way.
 

“Cristos needs us,” I tell him, breaking the kiss, as two heavy guys approach us, attacking me first. I beat one, but the other lands a kick on my thigh, which surprisingly hurts more than anything else I’ve felt. I don’t know whether it’s the adrenaline leaving my body or just the sheer pain of it, but I scream in agony.

I collapse down to the ground but quickly force myself to get back up, knowing I have to keep going. Ari growls at the guy, swiping his leg so the guy falls to the ground. He lifts the guy and throws him against the gym wall, cracking the brick siding.

“I don’t care if you want to fight; I’m getting you out of here.” Ari grits between clenched teeth. He’s panting, but he lifts me into his arms and cradles me, my head against his chest. He sprints towards the gym and literally runs so fast he walks up the entire wall. He places me up on the roof, where I’m safe and then jumps down, landing in the midst of another fight.

Ari and Cristos tag team a group of black clothed people. Ari grabs onto Cristos hand and they both disappear and then reappear behind the group. Ari swings Cristos, holding each other’s arms, so his leg slams someone in the face.

They’re moving so fast, it’s hard to tell what’s going on. Ari jumps so high in the air with a guy in his arms that it looks like he’s flying. “Watch out!” I yell as I realize that someone else is coming towards him.

Cristos must hear me because he appears next to Ari and brings him back to ground level. The two work together and finish off the group, throwing and moving them around, until they’re all just dark heaps on the ground.

 
It’s clear that the attackers guys are outnumbered and out-skilled, and I notice most start to run into the woods, away from the school. A few students chase them, but I think the fight is ending. I turn and see that most everyone else is standing around, waiting.
 

I spot Cristos laying in the fetal position a few feet away. Before I know it, Ari’s by my side again on top of the gym, asking me all these questions. “Cristos is hurt.” I silence him, pointing to his body on the ground.

“Damn-it. Come on.” He takes my hand and leads me. We both jump off the building, hands intertwined, but my leg is still burning. I land awkwardly, and Ari must note my discomfort because he swears under his breath before lifting me into his arms again so I’m cradled. He sprints us the rest of the way to Cristos, who’s now face up, staring at the sky.

“You good?” Ari asks as he reaches his hand down to Cristos.

“Good as new,” Cristos groans. Ari helps him up and Cristos stretches body, moaning where it hurts. But he’s smiling through it as if it’s just another day.

“Thanks for helping me out there.” Ari nods over to him.

“Any time.” He smiles at the both of us.
 

Ari stands me up on the bloodied ground but wraps his arm around me to hold me up. I stare at the tons of bodies scattered about, sprawled across the ground. I start feeling better, knowing it’s over and that we’re okay, until I see teachers bring out their weapons. Professor Nike walks out first, emerging from the student center. He has a long blade in his hand, and with each step, he twirls it between his fingers, a smug grin on his face.

“Don’t look,” Ari bends low, whispering softly in my ear. I look up at him in question, but a scream erupts from a student a few yards away from me, getting my attention. I look towards the noise, but my eyes never make it there.

Instead, I see Nike among the injured masked people. He bends low to the next victim, whispers something in their ear, and then waits for their response. After he nods, he stabs his sword into their heart. I swear, the second he does it, my own heart skips a beat as if I was just stabbed.

I’m horrified, but I can’t look away from the terrifying scene. Blood spills out of all the bodies, running in streams down the quad. The already red snow turns darker and it has a chilling effect.

“Do you ever listen, Eury?” Ari scolds me and twists my neck around so I’m not looking anymore. I cower into his chest, my body shaking with fear and utter disgust.
 

As the adrenaline leaves my body, the pain starts flooding in in long swells. My eye stings, my ribs prick, and my leg throbs. I know I’ve been hit a lot, and at the time, it didn’t really hurt, but now it’s unbearable. I whimper as the pain gets worse as each second passes. Ari must hear me struggle, because he bends down towards me, looking me up and down.
 

“Are you all right, Eury?” I shake my head back and forth. I’m not okay. How could I be? Ari effortlessly cradles me in his arms.

“Why did he do that?” I tuck myself into him and cling onto his neck like it’s home.
 

“He can get the truth out of people. Apparently, they deserved death. Nike doesn’t kill for no reason. They deserved it. They killed people, too,” Ari says. “It’s over now. You’re safe, baby.” He rocks me back and forth, rubbing my back in soothing circles as he walks us towards shelter.
 

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

bandaging the broken

“What is going on here?” Ari asks as he storms into the administration building. I’m still cradled in his arms like a baby, but his voice pulls me back to reality. My leg is pounding through my entire body, so I know the second he puts me down, I’ll collapse. I can tell by the looks the teachers give me that I’m not welcome here, but there’s no way I’m leaving. I’m with Ari and I’m staying—for good.
 

“Who’s this?” a teacher I don’t recognize asks, pointing his eyes in my direction with disdain.

“She’s with me.” Ari looks down at me admiringly. “What is going on?” Ari asks again, making an emphasis on each syllable. His voice is harsh and angry and even takes me off guard.
 

“We’ve been attacked by demons,” Professor Nike announces. “None of the attackers in the courtyard had any useful information. They apparently didn’t know who was commanding the attack.”
 

“Why?” another teacher asks. It’s strange, but all of the teachers seem more scared than the kids lingering outside. They must know something more than us. That thought frightens me since I know absolutely nothing.
 

“Anyone have a theory?” Professor Nike asks as he paces in the back of the room.
 

“I saw Hermes here,” I whisper, remembering his face and how I was unable to tell what side he was on. If I had to bet now, he’s on the attacking side. I mean, he works for the devil and all, but he was nice to me before. If he wants me, he could have taken me in Hell, so it must be for a different reason.
 

“What, baby?” Ari asks softly, making me blush at the moniker in public.

“Hermes. He was here.” I look up to Ari, meeting his cloudy green eyes.

“What’s she saying?” a male teacher asks, looking at me with mean eyes as if I’m nothing but a nuisance to him.
 

“I said, Hermes was here,” I speak loudly and with more authority.

“What do you mean he was here?” Professor Onassis cuts through the whispering. I didn’t even realize she was in the room until now. She’s so small and frail that I didn’t see her lurking in the throng of teachers. She smiles at me reassuringly, but I can tell she doesn’t quite believe me.

“I saw Hermes. He was wearing the same dark clothes as the demons, but I couldn’t tell which side he was fighting for,” I explain to the room of my elders.
 

“How do you know it was him?” Professor Elytis asks me, his eyes soft since he knows me from class. At least someone is giving my theory merit.
 

“I’ve met him before. I’m sure it was him.” I make an emphasis on it so they know I’m not lying. “He wasn’t wearing a mask.” I make Ari put me down on the ground so I’m standing on my own. I don’t want to seem childlike in a room of old gods who are far more superior to me.
 

The instant my feet touch the wood floor, my legs wobble, making me stumble forward. Ari catches me as if he expected it. So I stand on one leg, using Ari as my crutch. Even though it pains me, I feel more like an adult, standing among the teachers. Ari looks down at me, nodding his head admiringly at my braveness.

“Well, let’s go down there and kill them all!” a teacher yells, making the others whisper and converse amongst themselves. The whole room erupts in an uproar of hysteria and plan-making. I glance up at Ari who looks pensive as he takes in the entire situation, and then his face changes, becoming severe.
 

“Shut up!” Ari yells to the group. They quiet immediately, obeying him. “Why would they attack us here…now?” Ari tries to piece it together. He tries to be the smart one, the responsible one in the group.

“What’s changed?” someone asks from the back of the room.

“Me,” I whisper to myself, thinking it has to be my fault. My mom knew the attack was coming. Why didn’t she warn the teachers or help us with the demons. “It’s me,” I speak up.

“No, it’s not you, Eury.” Ari pulls me to his side and wraps his arm around my shoulders protectively, but I know what he really means—shut the hell up.

“It has to be. I’m the only change recently,” I realize. My heart drops like it’s sitting on the tower of terror without wearing a seatbelt.
 

“I think she’s right, dear.” Professor Onassis’ voice is full of emotion. Her eyes are drawn together in thought. She refuses to make eye contact with me, but I know she pities me.

“Shit,” Ari mutters to himself, running his strong hand through his dark hair as he understands.
 

“My mother was here. She knew the attack was coming,” I tell the group of teachers. They look at me as if they’re trying to decide whether to off me right here and right now as a sacrifice.

“I think I read about this,” Professor Onassis says under her breath, but I hear her soft voice. “Give me some time.” Professor Onassis pushes past the teachers and runs out of the room like a crazy person. Some teachers stay behind, but after Professor Onassis leaves, most disperse. Ari whisks me out of the room, helping me walk as I hobble around.
 

We round a corner towards the stairs, and when we get away from the teachers, Ari lifts me into his arms. The realization that this is all my fault weighs heavy on my mind. I lean against Ari and let him control me. My brain can’t even handle a simple decision right now. I’m fully dependent on him.

Ari brings me straight into the bathroom of my dorm room and has me sit on the tiled counter top. I’m in my gym clothes, but he quickly rips them off so I’m left only in my sports bra and running shorts. I look straight ahead at Ari, because I don’t dare glance back at myself. I’m nervous to see my condition. I do see the purple and green bruise on the front of my thigh that’s swelling quickly and ugly and it terrifies me.

The bruise is the size of Ari’s hand and the shape of a shoe. He lightly brushes his fingers against it, and I wince. After giving me a reassuring smile, he focuses on my face, cleaning my wounds. My left eye and cheek throb like something’s inside, trying to break free from my skin. Ari places an ice pack over my cheek, and I hiss at the coldness. I wither. “You could have warned me,” I groan, but he still holds it there, refusing to let go.

“You’re going to swell.” He fixes a few more things on my shoulder and neck and then helps me back into my room. Before I lie down, he has me sit on the bed and wraps a thick ace bandage around my stomach. It pinches like a hundred stinging bees, making my heart speed with worry. I gasp and try to catch my breath.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers as he tries to slowly bandage me.

“Just do it fast.” I want to get the pain over with instead of drawing it out. He finishes up like I asked and then plants a wet kiss on my forehead.
 

“I’m so sorry this happened to you.” Regret is all I hear in his voice.

“You protected me.” I give him a small smile—the biggest I can form, which isn’t much. I have to grind my teeth to hide the pain.

“Ryder, are you in here?” A voice calls from the hallway. Kara storms in, bandaged from head to toe. She runs right in front of me and stops next to Ari. “Are you guys okay?” she asks me, but before I can answer, Ari speaks up.

“She has some broken ribs, her leg is messed up, and I put stitches under her eye. She’s okay, though.” He looks down at me and brings my hand up to his mouth, kissing the top softly. “I have to go figure out what to do next. Take care of each other.” Ari says to the two of us in leaving.
 

“Okay,” I moan, raspy and broken.

“Don’t leave this room. I’ll be back soon.” He comes back to my side and kisses me square on the lips. I reach a hand up and pull him into me, wanting to kiss him forever, but he pulls back and winks at me before leaving.

Once Ari is gone, Kara asks, “Are you really okay?”

“No,” I whimper honestly. I look over at her and catch sight of her black eye and cut lip. I pat the bed next to me so she can sit since she’s not in prime condition either. But before she sits, she locks our door so nobody can bother us.

“It was so horrible,” Kara cries as she crawls into bed with me. I lean back against my pillow, but it burns to be propped up. I tug the pillow out and lie flat on the bed so my leg doesn’t ache and my head feels better, but the position only makes my ribs protest. Kara takes the wall and lies on her side so her arm, which looks broken in a bunch of places, is up on top of her instead of under, where it would be crushed—again.

“I think it’s my fault.” I can barely hold my composure together.

“Don’t say that. It’s okay.” She comforts me, reaching her good hand out to me.
 

“Thanks.” I teeter on the edge of consciousness, but the dark wins over. I fall and fall fast, but with the welcomed darkness, the pain dissipates.