Chapter 11

The man who drove us woke me up and kicked us off just at the entrance of the village. Every building was colourful and pristine. Andrew seemed to be taken away by this too. Ever since we got out of that cursed cabin, Andrew had become quiet once more. He seemed to be fighting something internally, and I tried not to care, but it was too hard.

“What’s wrong?” I began.

Andrew cut me off by asking, “What mountain is it?”

I looked around at the massive mountains surrounding us and felt lost. Their massive presence was intimidating, and still, I did not want Andrew’s curse to become worse. I felt the curse and knew exactly which mountain it was. The mountain was the strongest looking one. The trees on half of it were burned down, yet the trees remained where the cave was. Almost like a barrier. If I lied to Andrew again I could never forgive myself.

I pointed to the mountain and said, “It’s over there.”

Andrew’s face became less solemn, yet I could still tell that he was battling something deep inside. We walked over to the mountain and found a trail that was barricaded off by signs and fences.

“It looks unsafe. Perhaps we should find another way.” I said.

Andrew hopped underneath the fence and continued down the path without ever looking back at me. I sighed and climbed over the fence. I ran up to join him, ignoring the pain that was returning to me. The path up the mountain was treacherous. Sometimes there were boulders that would block the path, but Andrew never ceased moving forward, he would simply go around every blockade. I had asked him multiple times if he wanted me to carry him, but he always denied me with silence. As we walked along the twisty path, I found many flowers that I had gathered. They all varied in size and colour, and after an hour of hiking, I managed to collect over a dozen different flowers. I silently wished that I hadn’t forgotten the messenger bag in the shed. We had been starving as of late, and that was definitely not helping my healing process. 

After a while, Andrew finally spoke and he asked, “Are we going the right way?”

I felt incredibly disappointed. I had hoped that he might say something different, but clearly, our relationship is only holding on by contract. I turned my head toward the pull of the immortality curse. 

“We have to cut through these trees. The path doesn’t lead towards the curse.” I said as I pointed upward. 

It was steep, and it was clear to me that Andrew was struggling as we climbed. It was so steep at times that I had to use the trees to pull me up, Andrew pushed himself off them. Then suddenly Andrew fell. Luckily I caught him, but he only returned the favour with a scowl. At this point my patience had run out. I suddenly sprouted my wings, and we flew into the sky.

“What the fuck!” Andrew swore in terror.

Yet I didn’t care to listen to his whines. This guy had been mean to me for a day, even after I had saved him a number of times. It was time for him to be grateful to me and tell me what the hell was bothering him. I was done being the nice guy. I brought us to a rocky cliffside on the same mountain and lightly threw him to the ground.

“What the…Vita?” Andrew asked.

I lowered myself to the ground, grabbed the flowers from my pockets and threw them at his face out of pure rage.

“Why do you have to keep on bitching around and demanding that I bring you to the curse when that’s what I’m doing already? I understand that you are upset, but can’t you at least be nice to me when I’m trying the best I can to help you? What the hell is wrong with you?! Say it right now! What’s got you so riled up that you can’t even be nice to me when all I have done is help you?”

After a pause Andrew choked, “Will’s dead!” 

My eyes widened.

“Your best friend? The guy who called you a girl? How could he be dead? We just saw him.” I asked profusely.

Andrew then began to explain everything.

Andrew finished up his work and packed all the important files he thought he would need in his messenger bag. He exited his office and for some reason he didn’t see Will anywhere. Usually Will was standing right outside of his office when it was time to go home, yet he wasn’t there that day. Andrew stopped one of his colleagues passing by in the hallway and asked, “Have you seen Will Hale? Did he leave already?”

His colleague looked at him confused and quirked her brow.

She asked, “Who’s Will Hale?” 

Andrew was shocked. He had assumed that because of how close everyone in this building was, surely Will, the most extroverted person he knows, would have at least been acquainted with everyone in the office. 

“Well, I gotta go. Good luck finding your friend.” She said leaving Andrew behind.

Andrew peered into Will’s part of the office and saw that only one person was in it. 

“Did Will Hale go home?” 

The person looked at him confusedly and asked, “Who’s that?”

Andrew exited the office building feeling infuriated. Clearly, they were pranking him. Andrew thought to himself that perhaps Will left early to go on a date with his girlfriend, whom he constantly talked about. Andrew reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny box with a beautiful chrysoprase ring. The ring had the last name Amery embedded into the interior of it. It was truly a beautiful sight. Suddenly, a person asked, “Woah, that’s pretty. Is it for your girlfriend?”

It was Will.

Andrew scoffed. “Did you get our colleagues to prank me by saying they don’t know you?” 

Will laughed, “Yeah, I did! Was it funny?”

Andrew’s frown lowered even more, then he questioned, “So where did you go?”

Will smiled and said, “To get my girlfriend some roses because it’s our anniversary.” Will shoved red roses into Andrew's face.

“Pretty right?” Will asked with a giant grin.

Andrew lowered the flowers from his face and chuckled.

“Yeah, they’re pretty.”

Will walked with Andrew down the street, and they talked continuously. Will had asked Andrew what the ring meant, and Andrew explained how he was planning to propose to his girlfriend. He explained that the ring was passed down through his dad’s side of the family. His grandma had kept it safe for Andrew for years until, on her deathbed, she gave him the ring and told him, “This ring holds great importance in the family, and it is to only be given to your true love.” 

Will gasped when he heard this. 

“You're going to propose? Please tell me I'm going to be your best man!” 

Andrew smiled. “You will be my only man, you're my only friend, haha.”

The two of them giggled and conversed until they reached the front door of Andrew’s apartment. Suddenly, Will’s face grew ashen, and he slammed the door open.

“What was that for? I thought my door locked automatically. Is it broken?” Andrew asked.

Will completely ignored Andrew's questions and stormed into the apartment building and up the stairs leading to the loft. Andrew followed back in utter confusion. Suddenly, the sound of soft, familiar moans echoed in his ears. Laying in his bed alongside his girlfriend was another man. Andrew hadn’t even begun to process what was happening until his body was already moving. He pushed the furious Will out of the way, and he grabbed both the man and his girlfriend by the wrist. 

“Andrew dear? It’s all a misunderstanding.” His girlfriend said with a slight grin. 

She always smiled when she lied.

He threw the two out of his door, not caring if they were naked or not.

“We’re done. Never show your face in front of me again.” 

Then the door slammed. Andrew huffed, his lungs never catching air. Will ran to his aid and hugged him tightly.

“It’s because we fought last night, right? She wanted to move away, but I told her I didn’t want to. Is it my fault?” Andrew asked with a thousand tears running down his cheeks. 

Will hugged him tighter, and without Andrew’s acknowledgement, Will’s eyes glowed a bright white.

“No! It’s not your fault! It’s never your fault!”

That night, Will invited his girlfriend over to Andrew’s house, and they all hung out together. Will did everything in his power to make Andrew smile, yet it was impossible.

“Now that I think about it, everyone always looked at me funny when I talked to Will. They never acknowledged his existence. In restaurants he would always tell me he didn’t want anything, but he was always a hungry guy. So it was strange to me. Was he not eating in person because he knew he could not be seen? He’s a ghost, isn’t he!? He’s not real!” Andrew broke down.

I hugged his little fluffy body and tried to remember the time I met Will. Will had this unusual aura about him. It felt icy and cold. It did not feel the same as the ghost's aura we met yesterday. The ghost felt like wind.

“No. I think he’s an angel.” I spoke quietly.

We sat there for what I hoped would be eternity. If we stayed there, then I wouldn’t have to betray Andrew, yet of course he still wanted to continue. As we walked, I began to share my story.

“Jayin is the one who made the eyes in the sky. He watches me because I'm his only slave. He’s one of the six lords in the Underworld, he’s second in the Underworld’s hierarchy, right under the emperor. He is the main general of the emperor of demons, yet he usually acts like the emperor’s army is his own. He’s the one who broke my horn. He’s the one who killed me.”

The world stayed quiet for a moment.

“I hate him.” Andrew said bluntly. 

I laughed, and Andrew smiled.

“I’m serious. If I ever saw him, I would punch him square in the face. That fucker deserves death!”

Seeing Andrew’s enthusiasm, I couldn't help but laugh. Such a cute little red rabbit saying these words was truly the best of comedy. Then all of a sudden, my gut dropped, and we were standing at the entrance of the cave. Andrew seemed to see my complexion and was confused.

“Is this the place?” He asked.
My heart beat so rapidly that I felt like I was going to die. I could only nod to answer him. As we walked down the steep cave our footsteps echoed. We arrived at the curse. It stood powerfully and enigmatically on its pillar. The cave was cold. White, mysterious lights were embedded inside the walls that illuminated the cave. Andrew looked at the curse and hopped toward it. 

He asked, “What do I do now?”

My face was cold and ashen. My heart beat so loudly that I swear it was impossible for Andrew not to have heard it. Andrew noticed my expression, then suddenly his face grew cold in response.

“What’s wrong?” Andrew asked after he jumped onto the pillar. He was only a few centimetres away from touching the object.

“Don’t move!” I screamed.

Andrew froze with fear.

“I was lying! Jayin sent me here to find a curse worse than mine so I could become free. I wanted freedom, Andrew! I never would have guessed that I would come to care for you so much. I’m so sorry. The immortality curse will make you immortal. It will make your life so much worse! Get away from it, please!” I begged as I flew towards him.

Andrew didn’t know what he felt besides utter betrayal. He moved slightly back, and before he could even see, he was flown half way across the room. I tumbled to the ground, holding the curse in my hands. The immortality curse slowly melted into my hands, and I heard screams. 

Andrew watched as I screamed then fell to the ground with a thud. His whole world had become shambles. Like a broken mirror, his mind couldn’t find the pieces to fix his reality. He felt rage and horror as he watched the one who saved his life so many times betray him, then save him once more. Then all of a sudden, a tall man appeared from a massive eye on the ground. His black hair reached down to his lower back, and a large smile spread across his face. Andrew immediately felt an intense feeling of dread. His emotions were so wildly spreading all around that before he could even piece together who was in front of him, he heard a giant smash, like glass falling to the ground. He watched as his body grew. His body had returned to what it once was, he was human once more. He leaped towards my limp body at the feet of the man with black hair with an insane amount of speed. He grabbed me tightly in his arms and backed far away from the man. The man stood with a quirked brow. 

“What’s wrong? Why don’t you give me what belongs to me?” He asked.

Andrew held me tighter and swore, “Fuck no, you arisocratic slave owner! You can take you and your weird eyes elsewhere!” 

The man's smile still did not cease, and his expression grew cocky.

“What authority do you have over me?” He asked. 

Andrew felt a sensation from his right, and he dodged. A giant hand had appeared from the wall to the right and had tried to grab hold of Andrew. The man clapped his hands. 

“Woah. That was better than my brother's reflexes!” 

“I know who you are! You’re Jayin, aren’t you?” Andrew yelled in terror.

Jayin smirked. “Indeed, I am. I’m glad to hear that my little Vita has been talking about me. Did he also tell you how I took his heart from him, then replaced it with a demon’s heart that I made him kill? When demons die without hearts, they remain without them, but how could I make Vita suffer without a heart to race rapidly alongside his pain?”

Andrew leaped out of the cave without looking back. This man was bad news! Without even a second going by, I disappeared from Andrew’s arms. Standing beside him was Jayin holding me. He looked insanely calm and full of himself. Andrew quickly threw a punch at Jayin, and it actually landed. Except Jayin did not react in pain, it was instead Andrew who responded with agony. Jayin’s face felt like stone. 

Jayin smirked, “Thanks for the help. Now my little Vita’s curse is more useful.” 

Then, in a flash he was gone, and Andrew was left in the trees.