Author's note: revised to correct, as per treestar55's review. Thanks.
Chapter 11: The Black Rose Curse
Finally, after his fingers were turning to prunes for spending too much time soaking in the tub, Mark decided that it was time to dry off, and put on some clean clothes. Obviously, he couldn't stay in the bathroom forever. After all, he was a man, and he had responsibilities. He had a farm to run. On top of that, he had an impressionable cat boy, and a stubborn wolf man who refused to eat his veggies, to take care of. The thought that he might not need to worry about Vaughn's veggie intake any longer, in the near future, tugged at his heart. But he shrugged it off, or tried to anyway. He couldn't wallow in self-pity forever, he decided. Mark straightened his shoulders, and steeled himself. Yup, he was a grown man after all, and he had responsibilities.
Mark walked into the kitchen, and found it almost clean. Han and Shea were still working, and chattering between themselves, as they were cleaning the kitchen. He didn't see Vaughn.
"Han, Where is Vaughn?" Mark addressed the boy. He saw the opened letter on the kitchen counter, and fought the urge to read it.
"He went to Chelsea's farm", Han answered.
Mark's shoulders fell. Of course. What did he expect? Then he heard someone rang the doorbell.
He opened the door, and found Trent standing on the other side.
"Doctor Trent? This is a surprise. What brings you here?" Mark greeted Trent.
"Hi Mark", Trent shoved his hands into his pockets. "I was just walking in this area, and I thought I would visit your farm"
"I see...er, would you like to come in?"
Trent looked at Mark closely, and frowned. "Are you okay?"
"Oh, yeah I am fine...I just have a headache", Mark said weakly.
"Well then, why don't you come to my place? I will give you something for the headache. You have not seen my new apartment, have you?" Trent smiled at him.
"Okay, but I can't stay long. I will have to start dinner soon", Mark closed the door behind him, and followed Trent.
"This is a nice place you have here, Doctor Trent", Mark said as he sipped his tea. The doctor's apartment was small, and sparsely furnished, but it was very clean and neat. The biggest furniture in the room was a massive bookcase, overflowed with different sizes of books. Mark looked around the place with awe. With three guys living in the farmhouse, their home would never get this tidy, he thought.
Earlier, Trent had given Mark a small pill for his headache. Then Trent had made a very fragrant tea, which he served with chocolate and strawberries. Looking at the chocolate, Mark's eyes had grown bigger, and he had quickly popped a piece into his mouth. Afterward, his head had definitely felt a lot better. He sipped his tea again. He didn't know what kind of tea it was, but he decided that he really like its soothing perfume.
"Please, call me Trent. More chocolate?" Trent held out a box filled with dark chocolate. He was smiling at Mark.
"Ah...I...I..no...", Mark started to feel a little dizzy, "ugh...I don't feel good...". He felt as if his head was spinning, and his eyes were getting heavy. What's happening to me? He wondered, as darkness closing in, in and around him.
When Mark opened his eyes next, he realized with panic that he was tied to a heavy, large chair. "What the...?"
"You are awake. Good. Now we can start", Trent glanced at Mark with his dark eyes.
"Trent? What's the meaning of this?" Mark's stomach turned into knots.
Trent started pacing around the room. "He was right, you know. You and Vaughn were the ones who had been foiling my plan. Because you didn't want Elli to come back! The germs, the mold...they are too many of them!"
"What? What are you talking about? What germs? Who is Elli?" The hair on the back of Mark's neck stood. Trent seemed a little unhinged, he thought.
"My wife! She is gone because people, people like you, who brings the germs in. And the germs got her in the end," Trent was breathing hard as he ranted. But then suddenly, he calmed down. "But it doesn't matter. Finally, I have found a way to bring her back, and you are going to help me".
"Gone? As in...she left you?" Mark still couldn't follow the mad man's logic. Trent slapped him hard.
"Don't ever say that! She would never leave me. She is dead, you idiot! Dead! The germs ate her alive. They killed her!"
Mark's mind was racing. The black rose, he thought. Could it be...?
Trent saw the conclusion in Mark's face, and nodded. "Yes, finally you figured it out, didn't you? I created the black rose curse. I needed to harvest the negative energy...", Trent ran his fingers through his dark hair. A slow, chilling smile formed on his face. "You know, rage, pain, desperation. The usual".
"So it's you! You are the warlock, the one who had been provoking all those creatures, making them hurt innocent people". Mark's eyes flashed.
"Oh, save your breath. They are not innocent! They killed my Elli! I am going to use their negative energy to open a doorway to The Other, and bring her back!"
Mark eyes were opened wide with horror. "What do you mean bring her back? You can't do that!" He gasped. "Souls can only find peace when they enter The Other".
"Trent, listen! Listen to me" Mark pleaded. "I am sorry that you lost her. Really, I am. But you can't bring her back. She won't be the same Elli. If you bring her out of The Other, it will be the same as if you are torturing her. Her soul will never be at peace. Don't do this! If you love her, don't do this to her! Souls can only come back to this realm today, on Hallow's Eve, for one day. Other than that they would be in danger".
"Shut up! You are lying!" The warlock screamed. "You don't know how it feels to lose somebody you love! You don't how it feels to be useless, watching the one you love suffer and die!"
Trent raked his fingers through his hair once more. Calm down, take a deep breath, he told himself. This was an important moment. He needed all of his concentration. He looked through the door into the other room, and nodded.
"It's time Mark. I just need a little more negative energy. Since you and Vaughn kept breaking my spell, I have decided that you will give me the rest of the energy that I need. It's fair, don't you think? And oh, you will like this..."
Trent smiled at Mark, "I have been working on the spell to make it even more powerful. Anyone who touches the spell will be infected by it himself. Pretty smart, huh? So if Vaughn is trying to free you, he is going to be in for a big surprise!" Trent chuckled. "Although, by the time he found you, it might be too late. I have increased the strength of this curse multiple times. I don't know whether you will be able to survive it, Mark. If you don't, please let Elli know that I am coming for her soon".
"You...you will never get away with this!" Mark barked.
Trent merely smirked, as he muttered something to himself, and raised his open palm towards Mark. A black rose surfaced from his hand, snaking its way towards Mark's throat. "Mark", the warlock said, "Scream for me".
And Mark did scream, as the rose planted itself on his throat, its thorny stem wrapping, serpent-like, around his neck, shoulder, chest, arms and so on. Mark felt his body burning. The pain was unbearable. Almost. He started to convulse.
Then there was a loud, breaking noise, as a man clad in black, kicked open the apartment door. He was followed by a panther and a jungle man.
Trent swore.
"That's him! That's the warlock. I recognized his voice!" Han cried out.
"Then get him!" Vaughn yelled, as he rushed towards Mark. Han lunged at Trent only to be blasted by an invisible force. He crashed into the ground. Shea circled the warlock warily, his knife drawn, looking for an opening.
Meanwhile, Vaughn reached his hand out towards the black rose in Mark's throat.
"No! Don't touch it!" Mark shook his head, writhing in pain. "Don't touch it, or you'll get it too!"
But Vaughn ignored him, and closed his palm around the rose. He gasped. The rose suddenly unattached itself from Mark's throat and started to snake up Vaughn's hand, then to his arm. Everywhere the rose touched, his skin felt as if it was on fire, painful as hell. The black rose climbed all the way to his shoulder and proceeded to wrap around his chest. Vaughn fell onto the ground, screaming in agony. He tried to pull the rose off him using both of his hands, but it wouldn't even budge. Both Mark and Vaughn were now covered with the black thorny stem of the rose.
"Vaughn, you idiot!" Mark hissed with pain. Why didn't he ever listen to me, Mark thought.
Vaughn's scream distracted Shea for a split second, and it was enough time for Trent to blast him with a powerful energy blast, sending Shea slamming into the wall.
"The more, the merrier", Trent said, as another black rose appeared in his palm, curling, and flowing, towards unconscious Shea and Han. Then a blast hit him hard, vaporizing his spell, and sending him flying sideways.
"I don't take kindly to warlock who cursed my favorite teddy bear", The Witch Princess said with a cold voice.
Trent gasped. As he staggered onto his feet, a second blast hit him. He cursed. He needed to get out of here, he thought. Then, Mark gave him the opportunity.
"Princess! Princess!...pl..please save Vaughn", Mark pleaded. "The curse...is...is...strong. He could die!"
Trent blasted the apartment window to make his escape. The Princess Witch wavered for a second. She would like to catch the warlock, and make him suffer for what he had done. But at the same time, she could see that if she had done that, Mark and Vaughn would have died from the prolonged contact with the black rose curse. It would be too late for her to save them, and she did owe them for saving Brownie, her teddy bear.
Finally she decided. Two round spheres of light rose from her palm, and rocketed towards Mark and Vaughn. Both of them shuddered in relief as the curse was melted away.
"Now we are even", the Witch Princess spoke to Mark, and she disappeared in the next heartbeat.
Shea groaned as pushed himself up. Then he reached for his hunting knife to cut the rope that bound Mark. Mark tried to stand but fell onto the ground instead, beside Vaughn who was still gasping on the floor. Mark felt weak, as if all his strength had been drained out of him.
"Why didn't you listen to me? I told you not to touch it!" Mark rasped at Vaughn, slapping Vaughn's arm weakly, breathing hard. They were lying on the floor, side by side.
"Because I can't stand seeing you getting hurt! I had to do something to protect you!" Vaughn snapped back.
"Idiot! And because of that you got hurt! You almost died!" Mark hissed.
"I don't give a damn!" Vaughn hissed back.
"Well I do...ugh..." Mark's voice faltering, as he started to slip out of consciousness.
End of Chapter 11