A Curse so Wicked (Cursed Bloodline #1)

Prologue

M y mommy presses a kiss on my forehead before tucking me into bed. "Goodnight, sweetie."

"Night, Mommy. I love you."

Beaming at her, I wish this good day will never end. Today, I had fun. Mommy didn’t leave like I feared she would. Instead, I woke to milkshakes and pancakes, and then we went to the park and McDonalds. This is the best day because my mommy is here with me again.

“Mommy, please don’t leave again. Please don’t leave me,” I whisper, fearful all of a sudden.

"Oh, my sweet, sweet Hailey. Mom is a little sick. She can’t control it. But you forgive her, don't you?”

I hate it when Mommy cries. She is so, so pretty, and I hate to make her sad.

“I do, Mommy. I’m sorry I made you cry.”

She takes a deep breath, wiping away the tears with the palm of her hand before her gaze turns more serious. "Listen to me carefully, Hailey. You are the most perfect thing I know. It's not your fault that I'm crying. I'm crying because I love you more than anything. My precious baby.”

"I love you too."

"Night, sweetie." Mom stands up and flicks off the light beside the bed.

I close my eyes. "Night, Mommy," I say, hearing her close the door.

I squeeze my eyes tight, wishing for a dream to come. This time, I want to dream about my mommy and daddy. It's been more than two years since he died, and I'm afraid I'll forget his face. Mommy says I look like him, and that I should just look in the mirror to feel closer to him, but I don’t think we look the same. He had a beard, and I don’t. His eyes were bright blue, but mine are green.

Mommy doesn’t know this, but I keep a picture of the three of us under my pillow, just so he can always be with me.

I always hope for the dreams to visit me, waiting patiently to dream about Mommy and Daddy. When they don’t, I try to force them to come by thinking about the stories of how they first met and their wedding. Sometimes, I forget about Daddy, and Mommy tells me about him. Those are my best bedtime stories.

A loud tap pushes me out of my thoughts. I open my eyes in fear as I hear another one.

My eyes trail to the window as I hear my name being called over and over.

"Hailey. Hailey." I hear a whisper.

Pulling my blanket off, I get out of bed and tiptoe slowly toward the window.

"Hailey, come to me." The intense voice makes me shiver. The window is already open as I poke my head out. It's dark outside.

At first glance, everything is blurry. I blink to refocus my vision and notice a figure stepping out of the darkness.

"Hailey, come outside." This time, the voice sounds clear and familiar, like I’ve heard it before.

But when?

I can't remember.

"Who’s there?" I ask, trying to sound brave, but on the inside, my heartbeat is racing. I wipe my sweaty palms on my pajamas as I swallow the lump in my throat.

"I'm a friend. I need to talk to you."

"I don't know you, and I'm not allowed to go outside after dark." Debating whether to disobey my mommy's orders and sneak a peek outside, I sit on my bed.

'You love to defy your Mommy and you know it,' says a little voice in my mind.

"I'm afraid to go outside," I add.

'It never stopped you before. You’re too curious to not do it.'

The voice had a point.

When Mommy realized I love reading books, and not the kids’ section books but the history and magic books, she banned me from doing it. Guess what? That didn’t stop me. If anything, it made me what to read them even more, and I did. I couldn’t help it. I love reading books, especially the books in my granny's library. It's the coolest library I’ve ever seen. It has all kinds of books, even ones passed down through generations. Magical books. Books about my family history. History that my mommy doesn’t want me to read.

Letting out a huff, I give in to curiosity once again.

Tiptoeing across the carpet, I leave my room and walk into my mommy's room. Walking past the open door, I stand straight, and only when I see her peaceful form deep asleep and hear her soft snoring do I stroll out of the room and downstairs.

Carefully, I open the back door and head outside. Just as I make it to the backyard, I see a glimpse of the figure leaving. Deciding to make a run for it, I call breathlessly, "Wait! "

Making it closer, I stop in my tracks as the figure pauses and turns around. Female. Older than me, maybe younger than Mommy.

Looking at her even more closely, I find her eyes shine green in the dark. Green, like mine. Her hair is redder than mine, wavy and beautiful. A bit like Mommy's.

"Who are you?" I ask, edging closer, feeling a deep need to know about her.

"You shouldn’t have come." She sighs suddenly.

"What do you mean?"

"Your mom would be angry."

"My mommy is asleep. I checked," I say proudly. "You look like Mommy. Are you her sister?"

I don’t know if Mommy has a sister, but that would be so awesome. Sometimes, it can be boring just me, Mommy, and Granny.

"No, I'm not," she replies softly. "I'm here on a super important mission, and I need your cooperation. Can I get your help?" I nod as lightness spreads in my chest. It sounds so important and mysterious, and I love it. Maybe it has to do with magic. Or my grandmother's books. Or my mother. "But you need to promise me you would keep it quiet."

"Like a secret mission?" I can't erase the smile on my face .

"Yeah, like a secret mission."

"I promise. I promise!" I jump with joy.

"Okay," she says, bending down and taking my hands in hers as she looks up at me in distress. "In a few years, a man will come to you with an offer."

"What offer?" The pain in her voice makes this more curious.

"One that seems too good to refuse. But you have to, okay?" Her serious expression makes me nervous as I try to wriggle my hands free.

"My mommy says that all men are bad and that I should stay far, far away from them," I blurt out.

"You should listen to Mom, okay? No matter what, don’t agree to anything he has to offer you,"

"You said Mom. Do you know her? Is she your mommy too?" I’ve always wanted a sister.

"I'm not your sister," she says firmly.

"Then who are you?"

"It doesn’t matter. I need you to promise me. It's for your safety."

My safety?

"If you are neither my aunt nor my sister, it doesn't leave many options. You look too much like me, but I'm cuter."

"Have you ever been told that you talk too much?" The stranger frowns.

"All the time. Grandma says it's part of my charm."

"I can see why," she says dryly.

“I know a lot of things, that’s why. I know about our history with magic, and I know that we can’t use it because we are cursed.” From a young age, Granny told me all about our heritage, but Mommy didn’t like that, so she stopped. That was about the time I started to read more.

“You do know a lot,” she says, impressed.

"Am I going to get my magic? Please just tell me that."

"I'm sorry, I can’t."

"Okay," I reply in a small voice.

"Repeat after me. 'I won't talk to a strange man who asks for my help and promises me a fake future'.”

I repeat it without knowing what it means.

"Good. Now, I need to give you something to hold on to."