Page 35 of Castle of the Cursed
Then pain explodes at my throat, as my skin rips open.
I wheeze as blood rushes to the wound in my neck, my veins like straws feeding Sebastián. My entire body feels like it’s being drawn in through his mouth.
My eyes roll to the back of my head, my skin burning like it’s on fire. My arms and legs go limp with sleep as black spots overtake my vision, and I remember the ocular migraine I thought I was getting on the subway.
Except it wasn’t a headache at all.
Dread churns in my stomach as black smoke spreads through the room, and if I had any oxygen left, I would scream. The dark plumes infect every particle of air, until they swallow the walls, and I’m no longer in la Sombra.
I’m enveloped in an inky night. Nothing else exists, and as I start to wonder if I’m floating in outer space, I see the glimmers of two stars.
A childlike being steps forth from the shadows, his silver eyes cutting through the dark, and I recognize a young Sebastián.
Beside him is a wooden box his exact size. It’s rattling, like something inside wants out.
Young Sebastián wrenches it open at once—and out bursts a furry blue beast the size of an adolescent grizzly bear.
Sebastián growls. So does the blue bear. They circle each other.
The beast attacks first. It strikes at Sebastián, but the young shadow is quicker and sinks his fangs into the creature’s furry blue arm. The bear cries out and stabs Sebastián’s neck with its claws.
“Ah!” Sebastián pulls away, massaging his neck, and the bear limps back, licking the wound in its arm. But before it’s gotten far, the shadow boy pins the creature down, and he bites into its hide again, this time to feed—
The scene blinks, and an older Sebastián is wrestling the blue bear, which is still alive and has grown bigger than him.
They quit fighting when an older being who looks like he could be Sebastián’s father enters the space. His gaze is frostier than the deadliest snowstorm. “When you did not kill this beast as a child,” he says, “I assumed you were waiting for it to grow plump, so the blood in its veins would be richer and its fur would be large enough to fashion yourself a new cloak.”
Sebastián doesn’t say anything. He is stoic, his expression a mask of neutrality, but his fists clench at his sides.
“It is time for you to prove me right,” commands his father. “Drink.”
Horror breaks through Sebastián’s face, and he takes a step back. “I cannot.”
“Then starve.”
The scenery blinks, the lights flickering off and on. Sebastián and the blue bear are emaciated now, and they seem sluggish and tired. The older being returns. He studies his son without pity. “You have failed me” is all he says.
In a heartbeat, his arms are around the bear’s neck.
“No!”
Mustering all the energy he has left, Sebastián rushes at his father like he can stop him. But he’s barely gotten to his feet when he hears the sound of the bear’s neck snapping.
“Fail me again,” warns his father, “and the consequences will be worse.”
The scene blinks again, and now the air is deep purple, cut out with thousands of black silhouettes. It looks like an army of shadow beasts is fighting against beings with tails.
One of the shadow beasts is particularly swift with his meals, disposing of bodies like he’s crushing soda cans. He fights in a cloak of blue fur—
The memory cuts out, and my bedroom comes back into focus. Sebastián’s jaws have released me.
My knees give in, and I slide to the floor, gasping for oxygen. As the smoke dissipates, I see him clearly.
The shadow beast’s incisors have grown into pointy fangs, and they’re dripping with my blood. It rolls down the sides of his mouth and smears his chin.
His silver eyes are round and cloudy. “You are alive,” he whispers, licking his lips like he’s savoring my taste.
My heart pounds, proving his point.
