Breath of Yesterday (The Curse Series) Read Free Page B

lifted the bandage on Payton’s chest. I noticed his worried face as he gingerly traced the length of the stitches, and I saw his relief when he realized that the stab wound hadn’t reopened.
    “ Daingead! How handy it was to be invulnerable,” he cursed, then added with a whisper and a hint of regret, “And immortal.”
    Cautiously, I knelt beside my love and caressed his forehead. He was pale, his face distorted with pain. Slowly his eyelids started fluttering, and he opened them with a groan. I firmly pressed him down with the flat of my hand.
    “Payton, stay still, mo luaidh .”
    Sean stood up in obvious relief at the sight of his little brother moving. He shook his head in mock outrage.
    “Brother, my brother. Seems to me you can’t hold your liquor anymore. How much exactly did you have to drink last night? You’re staggering around like a drunk person.”
    “He wasn’t drinking at all last night,” I explained. The fact that Payton wasn’t even trying to get up had me worried again. He really was in a bad way.
    “Could you try to lie on the couch? Maybe we should get you to the hospital. You’ve been feeling miserable since this morning.”
    “No, no, I’m all right,” dismissed Payton, struggling to his feet. I could feel Sean’s skeptical eyes on my back as I dragged Payton to the couch.
    “Ciod tha uait?” Sean asked.
    I gave him a puzzled look. Why would he speak Gaelic? Was he trying to hide something from me? I didn’t have time to dwell on it. Payton asked for a glass of water, and I hurried into the kitchen, glad to be of use and forget about my worries.
    When I returned, the brothers were engaged in a heated debate. I understood very little Gaelic, and what I heard just sounded like two dogs barking at each other. Still, I could tell that for once they weren’t in complete agreement.
    “What’s the matter? What are you talking about?” I inquired. But both of them ignored me.
    They flashed their eyes at each other angrily, until Payton held out his hand and dragged me down to the couch with him. He quickly kissed me on the lips and gave his brother a warning stare. Sean turned away sullenly.
    My mood started to sour. Did these two really think they could get away with jerking me around? Something was up—I was sure of it—and with all the authority I could muster, I demanded they tell me what it was.
    “You two are going to tell me right now what’s going on! Why are you being so secretive?” I asked.
    Sean completely ignored me, inspecting the tips of his shoes instead. Payton remained doggedly silent, too. If there was anything I had learned from these pigheaded Scots during the past couple of weeks, it was that I would never emerge the winner in an argument. Furiously, I jumped up and slammed the kitchen door behind me. This helped soothe my anger. Probably, I admitted to myself, I was only irritated because I was so very worried about Payton when in fact he seemed perfectly all right. At least that was what I thought when I heard a heated curse in Gaelic coming from the living room, where he continued arguing with Sean. Feeling mellower already, I took out the rest of my anger on the stupid chili pot.

    Payton stared angry holes into the door that had just slammed shut behind Sam. Sean didn’t say a word but fixed his gaze on his brother.
    Finally, Payton rubbed his hands over his face as if to wash away the horror that had taken ahold of him.
    “Are you sure?” he asked in quiet disbelief.
    “No, I’m not. But I know what I’ve heard.”
    “How is it possible that she has the power to do this?” Payton said.
    “Don’t forget who Nathaira was! Maybe she carried her mother’s strength inside her. And remember that her mother was powerful enough to put all of us under a curse for two hundred and seventy years!”
    “How come you never told me this?”
    Sean couldn’t take Payton’s accusing eyes any longer, and he sank into the armchair.
    “I didn’t want to