Chapter 22
Wren
“Are you really sure the suit is necessary?” Hart asked reasonably as they walked, leaves and sticks crunching under his expensive loafers and grating on Wren’s frayed nerves.
Echo nodded their bulbous head frantically. “Very necessary. There might be unknown contagions connected to this drug,” they said, voice muffled by their suit.
Wren watched Black stride over and peel the corner of the hood up to say, “What kind of contagions?”
“AHHH!” Echo yelled. “A brEACH! A brEACH!”
Black stared in bemusement, having no idea what he’d done wrong as Echo began spraying disinfectant on themself and spinning in circles.
“Now, now. We just need to be calm about this,” Hart said. “A calm mind brings inner strength.”
“Why does this guy talk like a walking quote book?” Heir grumbled as Saint rushed over to try and help calm Echo.
Wren caught Avery signing from where he was hovering awkwardly next to Midas, who had his arms crossed, decidedly unimpressed with the whole scene. “Are secret missions always like this?”
Wren clenched his jaw. In other circumstances he might have enjoyed this. His family and Teddy’s coming together, and the natural chaos that ensued. But with Teddy in Kellan’s clutches he could only feel agitation and the desperate desire to move.
There were too many delays and all these people were slowing him down.
“I know you want to get to him fast, but we have to be smart about this,” Trace whispered to him, as if sensing his thoughts. “You shouldn’t take off on your own.”
Wren blinked at him. “How did you know?”
Trace gave him a wry smile. “Because it’s what he would have done for you.”
Wren fought the tears that wanted to fall.
“I also know that he would kill me if I let you go off half-cocked to rescue him,” Trace said. “He left this trail for you because he trusted you to save him, so let’s do it properly, huh?”
“Are you sure you’re a deadly curse specialist?” Wren asked. “You seem to like giving advice.”
“Having a best friend like Teddy rubs off on you, I guess. Which totally kills my mystique.”
“You’re all calling him Teddy now,” Wren said, and Trace offered him a smile.
“Damir never felt right,” Trace said. “Now we know why.” Wren snorted a small laugh and Trace smiled. “Let’s round them up and get moving again.”
Wren nodded, and together they managed to get them all back on task and following the trail. It would have been easier to send Blu and Sable scouting ahead, but fear of them running into any dangers had Wren keeping them close, so mostly it was up to them to spot the clues Teddy had left them.
Please hold on, he begged him in his mind over and over. I’m coming.
“There are more seeds over here—AH! My beautiful face!” Ash cried out as he hit the ground face-first with a thump.
“Did you not notice the nuisance curse?” Heir drawled, walking over.
“Isn’t that your job to call out, asshole?” Ash grumbled, glaring and rubbing his nose.
“It seems we’ll have to watch our step and keep our eyes peeled for any extra curses along the way,” Hart mused, glancing around. “At least this means we must be on the right path, which is encouraging!”
“Is no one going to help me up?” Ash complained.
Trace walked over to offer him a meaty hand while Heir seemed to follow a vine along to its source wrapped around an exposed tree root. He opened his duffel bag and pulled out a hefty axe, twirling it in one hand to get a good grip before raising it over his head.
“Wait!” Wren said. “What are you doing?”
Heir gave him an annoyed glance. “What does it look like?”
“Destroying nature like a dumb deforester?”
“That’s how Heir breaks curses. He literally breaks them,” Saint said.
Wren frowned.
“It has other roots,” Heir said, growing impatient. “I’m sure it can lose one.”
“You have another ball. I’m sure you can lose one too,” Wren shot back.
Avery placed both hands over his mouth, scandalized, and Black cackled like it was the best joke he’d ever heard. The rest of them were caught between stifling laughter and pretending they hadn’t heard.
“We need to pass through,” Hart said, ever the mediator. “It seems unavoidable if this is the method with which Heir breaks curses, Wren.”
Wren set his jaw and looked away, knowing Hart was right. “Fine.”
“Finally,” Heir grunted, and then there was the heavy sound of chopping wood.
Wren cringed and walked farther away, waiting for it to be done and not looking directly at it when they passed.
There were more obstacles of the same variety. Small things meant to deter or send people in the wrong direction. Heir dealt with them all the same way, his axe doing the talking and sweat building on his body.
The whole group was growing antsy, however. Every time they had to stop. Every time they had to circle back around to find the real trail with the seeds. Every swing of Heir’s axe and curse he spat out like this was annoying to him.
Wren could taste the tension in the air growing and could feel it in his own chest, scratching, gnawing.
“This is taking forever,” Ash complained off the back of another set of inventive curse words.
“Do you want to take over?” Heir snapped, veins bulging in his arms.
He was the wrong person to challenge, as Ash drew himself up and met the threat with a grin. “Maybe I do.”
Heir’s hand tightened around the axe handle and Ash cracked his knuckles.
“Okay, okay, calm down,” Black said. “We all know Ash would smoke this tree trunk. Literally. There’s no need for all this male posturing.”
“Uh, excuse me?” Saint said. “You wanna bet on that?”
“Why would we need to bet?” Midas signed, bored.
“Exactly,” Black said.
“What did he say?” Saint demanded, scowling. “Just because his face is a work of art doesn’t mean it can’t be defaced.”
Avery of all people hopped in front of Midas with one wobbly finger pointed out. “If you do, I’ll, I’ll…do something about it. When I work out what that is. Just you wait!”
Midas glanced down at him in surprise.
“Ooh scary,” Heir mocked. “I’m shaking in my boots over here.”
Avery flushed and Midas scowled, moving him aside gently and squaring up to Heir alongside Ash.
Trace came to flank Heir in answer, silently crossing his arms in a tense standoff.
Black squeezed himself between Midas’s and Ash’s hips and held up his glittery fists. “Bring it on, Thing Dumb and Thing Idiot.”
“H-hey,” Echo spoke up. “That’s mean.”
“Why did we bring a child along on this mission?” Trace asked, looking down his nose at Black. “Shouldn’t we have dropped him off at daycare?”
“My foot won’t feel so childlike when I shove it up your ass—”
“Can we fucking stop!?” Wren exploded. “Teddy is out there with a creepy psychopath and you’re all here arguing about who has the bigger dick. I should have gone alone. Taking you all was a mistake!”
“He’s our family too,” Saint said. “Just because you fucked him first doesn’t give you ownership over him.”
Wren strode over to him and shoved him in the chest.
It felt invigorating to finally release all his pent-up frustrations.
Saint recovered and shoved him back. Hard.
“Wait,” Hart said. “Wait, everyone. Something seems wrong.”
“What’s wrong is these idiots,” Ash spat.
“Fuck you,” Heir spat back, throwing the first punch.
Chaos erupted and Wren tackled Saint to the ground. They rolled around, both trying to get the upper hand. Leaves stuck in Wren’s hair and dirt got in his mouth.
“IT’S A CURSE!” Hart yelled.
They all ignored him, anger replacing any logical thought and drowning out Hart’s words.
Music started to play as Hart lifted a portable speaker over his head.
They all paused in various poses of insanity.
Black holding a fistful of glitter over Heir’s eye while Ash had him in a headlock.
Midas and Trace fisting each other’s shirts with Avery awkwardly poking Trace in the back with a tiny stick.
Echo covering the visor for their eyes so they couldn’t see.
And Wren was pinning Saint to the ground while Blu tried to peck at him.
“Everyone needs to calm down,” Hart said. “We’re all under the influence of a curse. Just…stay where you are and concentrate on the music.”
He began rummaging in his bag for his supplies, and Wren shook his head, trying to clear the angry fog. There was something else that was more important. What was it?
In the next moment a mirror was shoved in front of his face and he saw the vacant dishevelment of his own person.
“Think about your real purpose. Teddy. You’re looking for Teddy,” Hart coached him.
“Teddy,” Wren repeated, seeing a dark cloud lift from him as rational thought returned.
He gasped as Hart held up a photo and burned it quickly.
“Hart,” Wren said, voice wobbling. “I’m sorry, I—”
A hand landed on his shoulder. “It’s okay, Wren. Just breathe.”
He walked off to break the rest of the curses, leaving all of the cursebreakers sitting in various states of shock and shame.
“How did you resist it?” Avery asked.
“I’ve had experience with curses that alter your usual…
self.” He cleared his throat, but Wren saw his discomfort.
He still wasn’t completely over what had happened to him.
“I recognized the signs and didn’t let it take hold.
A curse like this can only latch on when you’re already feeling heightened emotions.
The more you give in, the stronger it becomes. ”
“The more important question is how did it affect us?” Heir said.
“We’re living in the new age. You must have gotten the memo from Nexus that cursebreakers are no longer immune to curses,” Ash said.
“That was fascinating,” Avery said.
“For you, perhaps,” Trace said. “Not so much fun on this side of the fence.”
“They made it seem like it was rare. ‘Carry on as normal’ were their words,” Heir said, still disquieted.
“You’re surprised that the institution played down the seriousness of the risk to our safety for their own gain so they didn’t have to deal with dissent in the masses?” Wren asked.
Heir frowned.