Monster King

Chapter 24 - Curses

The familiar scent of rotten Cotton candy barged into my nostrils. Ah, the wonderful scent of monster lane. How I didn't miss it. 

We passed a group of Harpies on our way to the bar. Their bodies were sprawled out and limp, lying on top of one another like needy kids in the cold. Pink dust was sprinkled over their mouths and caked in with their feathers. A pit formed in my stomach and I couldn't take my eyes off them..

To think, they're only here because they didn't want to submit to the Guardians. Now look at them. Strung out and lying with the trash. I guess I can't blame the Guardians for the drugs. They had a choice to make themselves after all. Then again, it might've been an easier choice if they still had their homes.

I looked back to Nick, whose heterochromia eyes glazed over this place like it was just another day. At what point does stuff like this just become normal? That's when the thought came in, normal. Besides Nick's battle craze, for all intents and purposes. He was normal. 

"Hey Nick, do you suffer from the curse? Of the light Guardian at all?" I asked.

His icy blue eye glanced at me, but it was only for a moment.

"No, not really. My curse was shifted at a young age."

I stopped.

"What? How did..?"

"Arrow was partially right. It's almost impossible to change a Guardian's curse. From what I was told, a wizard was able to do it. Granted, he wasn't able to delete it, only shift it."

"What? Wait, do you know who?" 

He stopped walking.

"That wizard was mysteriously murdered when I was found to be clear by doctors. I'm sure you can use your imagination about why it was never figured out. And why mages are almost non-existent."

"What? You're kidding?"

"Wish I was cheekless."

I grumbled and he started walking again.

"Wait, so shifting the curse? What do you mean by that? What did he shift it to?"

"My mother."

His voice was like venom that sent a chill down my spine.  He didn't even have to tell me to shut up, his voice alone clamped my mouth shut.

"As you can probably tell. He's a bastard, and that damn love Guardians a bastard too! So when I'm strong enough, I'm gonna rip those bastards limb for limb! Then I'll make them grow it all back and start again by ripping out their eyes! And then I'll-"

Nick proceeded to sing about his torture methods for the guardians for the duration of our walk. The random passersby and assumed thugs of monster lane all kept their distance. A sense of unease and fear gripped every patron around me.

 It was honestly maddening, it had been a while since I was in a crowd. And the deeper we walked in monster lane, the more souls I connected too. The feeling of dread, desperation, hate, sorrow, lust. It was like I was drowning in it. I desperately gasped for air and glanced around at the people. The souls were so loud, I couldn't even tell where they were coming from. 

"Why won't everyone just shut up.." I panted out and grabbed my head.

A flash came into my mind. I was sitting at my desk, and the laughter of my classmates filled the room. My heart bashed against my chest as their voices felt like knives sliding into my brain. The vision left and I saw boots Infront of me, but they weren't Nicks.