Cupid & The Cursed Cup (WAYHAUGHT)

Chapter 16

"N, I'm not meant to be here," Waverly said, backing away, her hands pressed against a stone cold wall for what little safety it could provide. "I'm...you nearly strangled me."

"A precaution," Nicole replied, her eyes drinking in Waverly's body. "If you're here you must be in league with those who want to poison me against those I love."

"I'm not. I'm on your side. But, I can't be here. Not with you."

"Be gone then," Nicole roared. "I have no time for your games. You're not who you appear to be. You are an imposter in need of having its heart ripped from its body."

"No, I am. I miss you. N, if you're in there. I really miss you."

Nicole's eyes flashed amber. "Waverly, please, I beg you, get out now. I can feel the darkness growing."

Waverly felt someone shaking her. "My child, wake up. Waverly, wake up." Auntie's voice pulling her from the dream.

"I...I couldn't stop it," she said, looking at a sea of concerned faces. "It was pulling me in. It wants me there with her."

"That's how the curse works," Auntie explained. "It seeks out those who are closest, offering them for slaughter. It picked you knowing it had a good chance of succeeding sensing how new you are to all this. Imagine how N would feel knowing she killed what she loved. Imagine the pain it would cause her. That's what the curse feeds on. It would devour her remorse, feed on the pain created in her soul with each life taken. We won't let it win."

"But, how can I be killed in a dream?" Waverly asked, desperately trying to fathom the strange world in which she now ran. "How could I feel N's hands on my neck? How can I taste champagne? Or, be in a meadow with a tent. It's real. How can it all be real?"

Auntie took both her hands. "There are many worlds. N has shown you the play world, the world beyond the waking dream, the world that allows us to drop all the assumptions of who we believe ourselves to be as we walk about this world with our eyes open. Her tent world is a Garden of Eden, if you like, one in which she can reveal to you the love she has in her heart. There are so many other worlds in which we can play, at the invitation of our demigod. You are in for a treat, my child."

Waverly dropped her eyes. "There was a club, with other demigods, I think. Their eyes shone like N's. Purple."

Auntie laughed. "Okay. That's for younger folk. I have not been invited to that one, although it shows N trusts you enough to take you somewhere like that. These places you visit are sanctuaries for N to retreat to as the need arises."

"But, why do her eyes change? You know, go purple."

"Because of wormwood," Auntie replied. "It's the herb of the gods. It restores sanity, when this world seeks to suck it from their veins. Nicole uses it to forget the time she was imprisoned. A scar on her soul that nearly destroyed her."

Waverly listened to Auntie's explanations, nodding, still completely lost as to how this new life operated, a new life she would have to call hers for now. "I had no control," Waverly said, after some moments' contemplation. "What if I get sucked into another world tonight, when I sleep? What if I get dragged back to that prison cell? What if..."

Auntie squeezed her hands. "Nan will place a protection on you. She will stop N from dragging you to her. For your own safety."

"I want to help her," Waverly replied, pulling her hands away. "I want to be there for her. I...I just don't want her killing me that's all."

"Nan's protection means the curse won't be able use N to lure you in. But, you must be careful. N has already demonstrated this curse is stronger than any she's encountered before. We're dealing with the darkest magic, the oldest knowledge."