Breaking the Curse

Chapter 40

"MOM! She's just a kid!" Eyes fell on Sabastian again. He stood up, defending her.

"I know you know it too, V," he continues, his eyes beginning to water.

"Why in God's name are you still defending her? She could have gotten all of us killed. She knows that you have power now! Do you not realize how stupid you sound!" Simon screams at his younger brother.

"But she hasn't! She's had every chance, but she hasn't. She cares about-."

"SHE DOESN'T CARE ABOUT YOU! GET THAT FUCKING FANTASY OUT OF YOUR HEAD, SABASTIAN!" Simon raises his voice at his brother even louder. The disappointment on his face can be seen from miles away.

"She could have killed you and V, or worse, returned you to the witch. Do you want to be stuck inside that nightmare place again? We have to get rid of her, fast." Ellis screamed, moving closer to V in an attempt to protect her; V is also shocked, but she remains silent.

"Well, I'm not freaking surprised, Ellis; all you ever care about is your V, right? Your fantasy girlfriend. Let me have a little empathy for Liny!" Sabastian spat back. He moved toward the door and started to leave.

"Sebastian!" Margaret says, trying to grab his arm. "You can't go out there alone, not when she's out there too!"

"STOP MOM! You act like she's some kind of fucking monster! The real monsters are YOU, planning to murder a child with a history similar to mine, or worse, The real monsters are YOU." Fury continues to fill Sabastian's eyes. "You cheated on Dad and are still blaming him for the divorce, not even BOTHERING to tell Me and Simon for years that you cheated on him in the first place. Keeping such a hurtful secret like that proves Liny isn't the only one without dirty secrets here!" The room goes quiet again as he begins to open the door to leave.

"What??? Is that true, mom? You cheated on Dad?" Simon expresses his disappointment to his mother quietly.

His mom nodded. Simon starts to get a mental breakdown; since the divorce, he always blames his father and thinks he is the monster who broke his family in half, but the truth is he is not.

"So-- since now we are sharing secrets, little brother, I want to tell you something: Alice is still alive," Simon said, looking at his little brother.

"Is...Is that..true?" Sabastian says to V quietly. V doesn't move; she just nods her head to Sebastian, and that is enough to answer his question. His face twists in anger and tears stream down his face as he slams his fists.

"Look, babe, I'm sorry we-."

"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP!" Sabastian pulls his arm away from his mom and heads upstairs and slams the door, and everyone knows he's upset.

"Do what you want, kill her for all I care, but I just want you all to know, she's just a kid, just like the rest of us," Sabastian says finally, slamming the door shut behind him, leaving the adults and teens to stand there paralyzed in shock.

Back at Liny, She's violently shaking right now. Maybe V found the bracelet and knows exactly what it is, or maybe it's still sitting there on the counter where she left it. Either way, Liny begins sprinting to V's house, with the bright moon in the night being her only light to guide her way.

They can't find out. They can't. They can't find out. He can't find-Next thing she knows, someone grabs her by the throat, pulling her into the back alley. She was too shaken up and panicky to use her self-defense techniques in time, and as they crushed her against the wall, she realized this person's tactics were similar to Agent Malcolm's. It must be him. "Agent Malcolm! I'm so sorry! I have something urgent; I think the boy..." Suddenly, her hands are tied behind her back with rope, and the man's hood falls. This was not Agent Malcolm.

This was a homeless white man, probably in his 60s, with Meth-damaged teeth.

The combat skills were probably picked up in the war.

"Ah, you know about the guy in the black suit too, huh, princess? Give me another reason to cut your pretty face in half." Liny squirms as his hand reach up to her skirt, pulling at her underwear.

The man cups a hand to her mouth, shushing her, and begins to unzip his own pants. With shaking hands, Liny realizes she can't reach for her pocket knife with her hands, as they are tied right around her back, and the only option would be to use her powers. This is the first time she used her power without Master Sovan's permission, but she was not about to sit this one out and get assaulted.

"I can't believe I let my guard down in a state of panic." Liny thinks, directing her energy toward the man. The man is about to grab her inappropriately again when his hand begins to burn.

She smirks, kicking him in the stomach as he screams in pain. His clothes continued to burn upward, and he was wearing flammable items that caught fire quickly. He continued to burn and burn in front of Liny's eyes.

"That's prep for the fire of hell, motherfucker!" She spits at him as he continues to burn to the ground. Blood began to ooze from her three-mark scars on her wrist once more, but she let it. She enjoys the view in front of her way too much. It's been too long since she let the blood run free. Remembering to stay calm and cool, Liny exits the alley.

"Time to get her bracelet back. I have to cover up this mission, no matter the cost." She took off running toward the valley's end and then saw him. Sebastian stands there, shocked, with tears in his eyes. He seems paralyzed as he stares between the dead man, burned to a crisp on the floor, and Liny, tied up with her hands behind her back. The two of them stare at each other like deer in headlights.

"Liny... you... you just killed a man," he stammers, clearly in shock.

"Sebastian! Wait, I can explain I-." The cold sensation in Liny's neck returns, stronger than ever, even stronger than before. This is bad, really bad. Something is very wrong with the Nether Realm.

Liny snaps up at the sound of Sebastian falling to the floor, passing out from the combined effects of the shock and the previous ordeal. This mission is about to get a lot tougher.