8
“Equal loss?” I ask, still unable to open my eyes in fear of throwing up all over the place. Hasan gently rubs circles against my palm with his thumb.
“I didn’t hear enough to know the terms, but every curse has them, whether intentional or not,” Jacques says. I slit my eyes open to see him still sitting on the floor, probably dizzy as well. He wasn’t the one doing the spell, but he went on a ride-along with me. “Some curses are straightforward in a sense, cast out of anger. Others are set in place to teach others a lesson.”
“I’m not following,” Thomas says, pacing back and forth.
“I think it means people who cast a curse because they feel wronged don’t really have an intention other than causing pain,” Gemma says. “While others are set in place to prevent something from happening and can be avoided.”
“Right.” Jacques gives her a nod. “Cursing an object that’s not meant to be moved from a sacred site…you won’t get cursed if you listen and don’t take the object.”
“But how does that relate to us?” Gil asks.
“From what I heard”—Jacques leans forward and blows out another candle—“this curse was cast with both in mind. Out of anger and also to teach a lesson. To know what real pain feels like.”
“Real pain?” Hasan echoes.
“Ace,” Thomas says quietly. “If Ace dies, it will be real pain. Ace dies, and the curse will break.” He shakes his head. “That’s worse than being cursed.”
Jacques meets his eyes. “Exactly.”
“There has to be another way,” I say, and slowly sit up. My head whirls and all I want to do is sleep.
“Being cursed isn’t so bad,” Hasan tries, though out of all the guys, I think he’s the only one who truly enjoys the benefits of being a gargoyle. That man was built for battle, and having superhuman strength suits him.
“It’s not,” Gil agrees, not able to look me in the eye. I know how bad he and his twin long to feel the sun on their faces again. “With the charms, we’re able to at least go out into the real world.”
“Only at night.”
“Like a vampire,” Gemma suggests, nodding enthusiastically. “And vampires are hot.”
“Not in real life, they’re not,” I add sullenly, letting out a breath. At least I know a way to break the curse, though I’m not about to throw myself into oncoming traffic or anything. But if the magic will break because of heartache…then there has to be another way to chip away at it.
“So…about that movie,” Jacques says, standing. He’s eager to change the subject because he thinks I’m going to fess up and tell the guys we don’t have much time to figure this out.
“Right. I’m in the mood for something funny.” I push my hair back and bring my legs up, resting my head on Hasan’s shoulder. Gil picks up the remote and turns on the TV. No one bickers over what to watch, which goes to show how tense and distracted we all are. Halfway into the movie, I get an alert on my phone that the motion sensor in the front of the house was triggered.
Hasan shoots up, fists balled, ready for a fight.
“Hang on,” I tell him, impatiently staring down at my phone, waiting for the app to load and show me the footage. “It looks like an animal.”
Thomas goes to the front window and pulls the curtain back. “Raccoon.”
“Dammit,” I say with a shake of my head. “Those things are pests.”
“I think they’re cute,” Gemma says.
“Yeah, real cute when they’re digging in the trash.”
“Want me to kill it?” Hasan offers, and Gemma balks.
“No,” I say. “I’m sure they’ve been here longer than I have. We’re surrounded by farmland and woods.”
“We could eat it,” Hasan suggests.
I wrinkle my nose. “People don’t generally eat raccoons. Maybe we’ll go hunting another time.” I shake my head. “Okay, no. I’m not for killing animals when I can go to the grocery store and get what I need.”
Hasan laughs and sits back down next to me. “I told you I can keep watch better than your cameras.”
