“Oh no! You can’t do that!” Dr. Sloan paled and dropped my hand as if burned.
I blinked a few times at his vehemence. “Why the hell not?” I asked.
He shook his head firmly. “The curse has been a part of you for too long. I can’t imagine how you’ve survived, but you have, and your body and psyche have incorporated the curse into your development, your very being. To simply break the curse now would destroy you.” I could tell he meant it.
Well, crap. “Then how do I get rid of it?”
He thought about that for a long moment. “Your best bet would be to get the person who cursed you to withdraw the curse.”
Like that was likely. Anybody who was willing to put a death curse on a little kid wasn’t likely to be the merciful sort. If they’d admit to it in the first place. After all, death curses are a felony—attempted murder.
“What if the person dies?”
He gave me a penetrating look that was fraught with disapproval. “Ms. Graves—”
“I’m not going to do anything,” I assured him. What was it with people today? Did I look like a murderer? Wait, I had fangs and glowed in the dark, so I probably did. Hell.
I hurried to reassure him, “The kind of person who uses death curses doesn’t usually live a nice, quiet life in the country, Dr. Sloan. If whoever cursed me dies, do I? Or does the curse unravel after their death?”
He tapped his lip thoughtfully with his index finger. “You’re assuming whatever being cursed you can die. Most divine and semidivine beings are immortal or the next thing to it. Still, I would guess it would unravel. Most curses do.” He turned to Warren. “I don’t suppose you have a digital camera? I would love to take a photograph of this, see if I can find anything out about its origins.”
Warren shook his head no. “Sorry.”
“Not even on your cell phone?”
“Nope.”
“I have one in my office.” Sloan looked at me. “Do you mind? You’ll wait here?”
“I’ll wait.” He scurried out, moving with remarkable speed for such an old guy. Then again, he was probably more excited than he’d been in over a decade. For an academic like him, this was big stuff. As soon as he was out of hearing range, Warren rose and shut the door. He turned to me. “Not exactly the essence of tact, is he?”
I laughed. “No. Not really. He doesn’t seem to get that while this is just a mental exercise for him, it’s life or death to me.”
Warren’s eyes darkened, his expression sobering. “He’s one of the best in the country, maybe even the world.” Warren settled back in his chair. “And he’s tenacious. Once he goes after this, he’ll keep after it. If there’s any kind of solution, he’ll find it.”
“So I just have to stay alive.”
“That would be preferable, ” he said drily.
I laughed. “I know it sounds weird, but talking to him actually made me feel better.”
Warren leaned forward so fast his chair made a thunking noise.
I hurried to explain. “Seriously. I’ve always wondered, ‘Why me?’ How could all this shit keep happening to one person? Now I know. It may not change anything that’s happened, but at least I know it’s not my fault.”
“No one ever thought it was.”
It was a nice thing for him to say. It was not, however, precisely true. Get a few drinks in people and they’d let all sorts of things slip out. As my dear gran always says, “A drunk man says what a sober man thinks.” More than once I’d been accused of “manufacturing crises” so that I could be the center of attention, as if I’m some sort of desperate drama queen. No. So no. I don’t even like being the center of attention.
I must have let the silence drag on too long. Warren said, “All right, no one sane ever did.”
I laughed again, my mind going back to identify the particular folks he was insulting. Still, it was probably time for a change of subject. “So, when is your lady friend going to conference in?”
“She should have logged in by now.” He glanced at the time indicator on his computer screen, his brows furrowing with worry. “If it’s all right with you, I’d like to give her a call. She planned to drive to her office to call and probably just got caught in traffic, but—”
“Go for it. Do you want me to step down the hall so you have some privacy?”
“Do you mind?”
I rose from my chair. “Of course not. In fact, I think I’ll go grab a can of pop. Would you like one?”
“No, thanks.”
I closed the door behind me and started walking down the hall. I hadn’t quite reached the vending machine area when I heard Dr. Sloan call out, “Celia, wait. You’re not leaving, are you?”
I stopped and turned around, letting him catch up with me. “No. Warren’s making a call. I figured I’d get myself a drink.”
“Ah.” He offered me the book in his hands. “I found this on my shelves and thought it might interest you.”
I took the white leather volume. It was quite slender, probably not more than a couple hundred pages. Most texts have a lot more heft. The title appeared in silver foil letters on both the spine and cover: Man’s Experience of the Divine.
“There’s a chart in the first chapter of the various divine and semidivine beings, demigods and so forth, that might be useful for you. You can keep the book if you like. Consider it a thank-you for bringing me in on this and an apology for my being . . . insensitive.” He gave me an earnest look. “I realize this is your life, but this curse is simply extraordinary. The first one of its kind I’ve seen on a person. A live one, anyway.”
I gave him a wry look. “That’s one way to put it.”
He gave a sheepish laugh. “I did it again, didn’t I?”
“It’s all right.” I meant that. He really was trying to help, and I needed all the help I could get.
“Thank you for being so gracious. Now, if you’ll hold your hand still, palm out, I’ll take a few pictures.” He held out a camera phone. “With your permission, I’m going to share them with some of my colleagues. If there’s a cure for this, one of them should know of it.”
“That’s very kind of you.”
“Yes and no.” He gave me a conspiratorial smile. “Posting these may help you, but it’ll definitely give me bragging rights. You have no idea how jealous some of my colleagues are going to be.”
I switched the book to my other hand and moved to a spot where the light was better. Holding my hand palm up, I let him take half a dozen photographs. When he’d finished, he tucked the phone back in his pocket. “There’s one more thing I think you should know.” He looked uncomfortable and I just knew I was getting bad news.
“What?” I tried to sound casual and failed.
“Until yesterday the mark was invisible, correct?”
“Yes.”
“You encountered something magical that changed that and was powerful enough to injure both you and the other woman?”
“Yes.”
He sighed. “Then I’m sorry to say, there’s a very good chance that whatever happened affected the curse. It could mean that you encounter problems less frequently or that the threats are less intense.”
Sounded good to me.
“Or it could be the exact opposite.”
No shit.
“Given what you’ve said about your past, I greatly fear that you’re going to be facing more and greater dangers now. I’m very sorry.” He was all earnest now, no longer just a scholar with an interesting puzzle to work on. It’s never fun to be the bearer of bad tidings.
“It’s all right. Thanks for telling me. I’ll just have to be very careful.”
“Please do. I’d hate to see anything happen to you. Now, I have to go. But I promise I’ll look into the matter thoroughly and I’ll contact you through Warren as soon as I find out anything that might help.”