The Living Curse: Book One of The Living Curse series Read Free

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    Nameh let out a small sigh, and looked slightly frustrated.  Mira hardly ever gave her a hard time, but this time, she was really concerned.  “Fine, I’m going to show you something, but you have to promise not to tell anyone.”
    “ Nameh, it’s me, I’m not going to tell anyone.” she said, almost laughing.
    “No, I’m serious; you’re probably going to think that I’m crazy.  I don’t care how messed up you think I am, you can never tell anyone.” she said, with a firm tone.
    “Alright, I get it.” Mira said warily.
    Nameh sat slowly down on the bed, gaining the composure to show Mira what she had never shown anyone else, dared never show anyone else.  She lifted her right foot so that it lay on her left knee, angling it so that her friend could not see the bottom.
    “Okay, so don’t freak out.” Nameh said, trying to urge calmness into her.  She turned her foot to reveal the silver-gray mark on the heel.  She winced as Mira’s eyes went wide, and her mouth fell open.  She breathed in, ready to say something, but she was cut off.
    “Now, remember how I said don’t freak out?” she said with a weak smile.
    “Don’t freak out?  Are you kidding me, when did you do-” she stammered for the words, “that!”  She pointed a delicate finger at the mark as though it were a plague.
    “I’ve had it for about a year” she said carefully, retaining her calm.  Mira began to rant, and Nameh tuned out.  She let her head tilt back against the wall.  Suddenly, she wanted to get out, she was feeling trapped again.  It wasn’t because of Mira; she was just being a good friend, worrying about her when she did something stupid. 
    She longed to feel her muscles work as she lunged into battle, to feel the burn on her heel as she summoned strength, magic, and healing.  They told her it was a side effect of the Shask, to want to fight, but she knew better.  She had always wanted to fight.
    Battling the Harpy in her dream had reminded her of the feeling she had missed for the last two weeks, but she sensed that someone had been watching her, and she thought it unwise to leave the academy.  She had thought that the mark might let Mira be at ease when she went out fighting; it was, after all, for protection.  She was wrong.
    She tuned back in to hear Mira say, “That’s a magic mark, Nam. They’ll throw you out if they find that!” Nameh couldn’t help but smirk, as her friend called her Nam.  She only used that nickname when she was saying something she really meant, or when she was trying to get through to her.  Mira went on, but she didn’t truly yell at Nameh, she never really did; she just had to be the voice of reason in her life because she had none of her own.
    “I don’t care anymore.” she said simply.  “I’m already stronger than everyone here with the small amount of magic I have, and I’m learning more.  It’s not dark magic, Mira; you know I would never do that.  I want to fight, and I’m not getting a fight here.  I’m done training…” she pulled courage from the Shask, “I’m going to join the Vine.”
    Mira only stared.  Her lack of words was even more painful than anything she could ever say.  She knew she was feeling hurt; she should have shared her plans with her friend earlier.  Mira had learned to conceal her emotions more over the past few years Nameh had known her, and it served her well now.
                  “You’re… leaving ?” She stared in disbelief.
                  “Not forever, I’ll come back to see you.” she pleaded with her to understand.  Mira was silent again for a moment, trying to comprehend the blow she had just received.  Suddenly, everything seemed to click, and she looked up at Nameh.  Her eyes held a confidence and a certainty that seemed foreign even to her. 
    “I’m going with you.” she said definitively.
                  Nameh’s eyes were wide; this was not the answer