Hero's Curse Read Free Page B

particular interest in surveillance and law enforcement technology. I’ve never heard of a device that could do this to an electronic image. I have a mobile broadband plan and card, so I pulled up my laptop and started surfing the web. I couldn’t find anything about a device that could mess with an electronic image this way.
    I looked for news of any technology or medication that could keep a person from being able to leave a city—nada. I looked up articles on hypnosis to see if this could explain what had been done to me. Every article I found said a hypnotist couldn’t make a person do anything against his will. All the people who do stupid things in public while hypnotized are volunteers; subconsciously they want to be the focus of attention even if it means they look like fools. I was certain my subconscious didn’t want to stay in Salt Lake City.
    Normally, I would have researched more on hypnosis. What would hypnotism do to a hot woman in a bar who was tempted to say “yes” but for rational reasons said “no”? Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to waste on that interesting question.
    Alright, what kind of monster turns into granite when exposed to sunlight? I finally got something. According to Wikipedia, trolls are creatures out of Norse or Scandinavian folklore. When exposed to sunlight, they turn into stone. They are also called Jotunn or giants. God damn it! This didn’t make any sense—fairy tales? I scanned other websites; they all confirmed sunlight was deadly to trolls.
    Twenty-four hours ago, if someone had told me trolls existed, I would have laughed right in their face. Even now after I’d killed one, chopped off its head, and watched it turn into stone, I still didn’t believe in fricking fairy tales.
    The articles that described Norse trolls also discussed Scandinavian witch doctors and shamans. According to the Urban Dictionary, a Geas was a curse used by Norse witches. It could be used to make the victim do pretty much anything the witch wanted. Every instinct I had told me this was bullshit. Cold hard logic said fairy tales and magic spells were real.
    I didn’t know why I had been cursed, but I had a pretty good idea who was responsible. I have enemies with access to the best hackers and databases who’ve been looking for me for years. My cover identity was unbreakable by any normal means, but I hadn’t accounted for magic. How in hell do you stop a witch from finding you?
    I looked for ways to break spells. I found a website that said if I placed St. John’s wort, sage, and sweet flag in a sachet, lit candles, and said a poem about lemons, salt, and water I’d be free of any curse. I had difficulty believing it would be that easy. From then on, I tried to filter out the sites that looked like they had been put up by adults who slept with stuffed animals. If the webpage had any kind of unicorns, pretty flowers, or cute elves, I figured it didn’t have useful information. Despite my efforts, I still had to spend hours looking at all kinds of pastel colored crap. I learned the essence of magic was getting in touch with your feelings.
    This was awful; I would have been less pissed if B had put a bullet into me. Most of the people who want me dead have good reasons. Making me read this drivel was unforgivable.
    I found other sites by people I would have labeled as nutty religious fanatics just a couple of hours ago. “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live” was often prominently displayed. Unfortunately, according to these same sites, killing the witch didn’t always break the spell. It looked like I’d have to question B before I killed him.
    I’ve been in this situation before, where I’ve wanted to incapacitate someone dangerous. I’ve studied martial arts all my life but I’m not that big, strong, or fast. I’m five foot nine and weigh one sixty-five. I’m fit and coordinated, but no more than any other reasonably athletic guy who has a lot of time to work out. I don’t