Cupid & The Cursed Cup (WAYHAUGHT)

Chapter 12

Nicole's body went limp, Xavier hoisting her in his arms, Waverly watching as everything unravelled before her eyes. This was all her fault, she realised. If I'd stayed home, she thought, she would not have been injured. Rosita and Robin approached, seeing Nicole in Xavier's arms, the pair running off towards the graveyard to get whoever had done this to her, avenge their friend.

They laid Nicole on Waverly's couch, her breathing becoming shallower, her hand gripping her side, agony written across her face. Waverly stood watching. "What do we do? X, what do we do?"

"She needs Nan. I can carry her, but she's in a bad way."

"My car. Will she be OK? She's a demigod right. Demigods don't die."

Xavier stared at her. "Waverly, she gave part of her life force to save you. She hasn't had time to recover fully. That's why she's like this. It'll be touch and go."

"No, she has to. Can you lift her to my car? Hurry, please."

"Waverly, you must prepare yourself. If this is the will of the gods then N will have no choice but to accept her fate."

Waverly felt the tears coming. "She's not going to die. She can't."

Xavier lifted Nicole from the couch, the cry she let out telling them she was in a lot of pain. She tried to mouth something, her head falling back. The streets were quiet as they sped through the city out towards the countryside. Xavier pointed out the turns as they approached, Waverly having a vague memory of what the farmhouse looked like. As they reached the final corner, she spotted the buildings, hoping they were in time, hoping Nicole would survive.

Nicole's breathing had been shallow for most of the journey, her eyes remaining closed, her lips moving without saying anything, repeating something over and over.

"X, what's she saying? She's trying to say something."

"It's her final prayer. I taught her for when the time comes. She knows she's near the end."

"No," Waverly shouted, putting her foot on the accelerator. "She's going to live."

Nan was waiting by the door as the car pulled up. They extracted Nicole from the back seat, gasping, her eyes opening wide. She's still with us, Waverly thought, as they carried her inside and up the stairs to the bedroom where they had spent their first night together. Nan switched on the light, gently unbuttoning Nicole's leather waistcoat, revealing a bloodstained shirt. Lifting it, the three looked at the wound. Large black veins spreading out from a puncture hole in her side.

"That's old magic," Nan observed, shaking her head. "I can perform an anti-curse, but she's weak."

"Whatever you can do, it will be enough," Xavier replied. "Waverly we need to let Nan do her work. Come, let's go to the kitchen."

"I'm staying. I'm not leaving her."

"This is not for your eyes," Xavier insisted. "Nan needs to work alone."

The last image Waverly had of Nicole was of her eyes rolling, crying out as Nan began her work. Waverly could hear the screams as she sat at the kitchen table, unable to think, unable to touch the tea Xavier had made for her.

"Nan is the most experienced in this," Xavier explained, helping himself to biscuits from a jar. "If anyone can save her it's Nan."

"I don't understand. How can a demigod die?"

"Part human remember. If the human part is damaged beyond repair they have no choice but to give up this life, return to the higher realm."

"I can't lose her. I don't know why. But, she's a part of my life now. I don't know what I'll do if she isn't in it anymore."