"Where do you think you're going?" Brutus sneered. "You just got here. Stay a while."
"I'd rather not."
"What's the matter, Taryn? Scared?" Behind him, I saw two burly men like Brutus, Matt and Brock, snickering.
"Not in the slightest. I just don't have time to waist on losers like you."
The two goons behind Brutus stared at me with wide eyes and inhaled sharply. Apparently, not many people were willing to stand up to Brutus like that. He didn't scare me though...much.
"Excuse me?" Brutus scoffed. "What was it you just called me?"
"Aw, does the little loser need hearing aids?" I mocked. "I think you heard me, Butt-head."
Brutus was fuming. His entire face had become red with anger and his breathing was becoming heavier. Maybe August was right, I really did need to learn when to keep my mouth shut. "How dare you disrespect me like that!"
"I'm sorry. Did I hurt your feelings? Allow me to make it up to you." I grabbed a glass of whiskey off the nearest table and threw the liquid in his face. I was tired of being pushed around by this over-grown bully. August had warned me not to make any enemies and to keep a low profile, but screw it all. I wasn't going to take this anymore. "That ought to teach you not to mess with me anymore. You may enjoy using me as a punching bag, but you will regret it if it continues."
"Yeah? And what is a scrawny thing like you gonna do about it?" He took a threatening step forward and it took everything in me not to retreat. He was at least a foot taller, and looming over me like that brought back memories from my past that I'd worked so hard to bury.
"She may not be able to take you, but she's not alone."
I didn't dare to take my attention off of Brutus. He was known for striking when one's back was turned. The voice sounded vaguely familiar though. That accent...but who was it? My mind wasn't exactly focused at that moment, okay? Don't judge me.
"Who's this punk?" Brutus turned to the two behind him but they only shrugged in response, looking as baffled as the rest of us.
"Pardon my rudeness."
I groaned once I finally recognized the voice. What was he doing back here? Now I'd have to get us both out of this mess. Preferably without tangling with Brutus and his gang.
"My name is Magnus. I do not feel as if my full name is needed, since it seems there is a fight quickly approaching and you will soon not be able to remember it."
This time I did to look at the boy, dumbfounded. How could he stand there in front of Brutus, Matt and Brock and sound so sure of himself. There was no way he could take on all three. Not to mention that he'd basically said I was too weak to take them on myself. Although it was true, I still found myself trying to contain my anger.
Brutus just laughed. "Do you really want to try your luck? Be my guest. Heck, I'll even have Matt and Brock stand down for the fight. Just to even out the odds a little."
The two goons pouted at their rotten luck, they weren't keen on the idea of sitting out a fight, but they dutifully backed away.
Magnus shook his head. "That would just take all the fun out of this little squabble. If it is a fight you are looking for, at least give me a bit of a challenge."
It was my turn to laugh. "You're kidding right? You can't take on all three by yourself! What are you even doing here? I told you to go back to the convention."
Magnus shrugged. "Something just didn't seem right about the situation. First off, you were far too cryptic for a simple cos-con role-play. Secondly, the one who had me follow you didn't seem at all pleased that I had brought back hardly any information at all. After that, they left the party entirely and I haven't seen them since."
I frowned. Who would possibly want me followed? Who wanted what information about me? None of this made any sense.
"Are you two done yet? Brock is getting bored." Brutus brought our attention back onto the gang.
As I turned back to the bully, I caught a glimpse of someone watching us from the window. It was still raining outside, but it didn't seem to bother whoever was out there. They also did nothing to conceal the fact that they were clearly watching me. My mind began to race. We had to leave. Now. Suddenly Brutus and his goons didn't seem nearly as intimidating or important.
"Sorry boys," I grabbed Magnus' hand and pushed past the three gang members. They were so shocked they did nothing to stop us. "I'm afraid something else has come up and we will have to postpone the beating for a later day. Please accept my deepest apologizes."
We didn't stick around to hear their response. I dragged Magnus through the pub and into the back employees room. I knew there was a door back there somewhere. There had to be. An emergency exit. Anything.
"I beg your pardon, but where are we going?"
"I'm getting you out of here." I said.
"Wonderful. Are we returning to the convention then?"
"You are."
"So you aren't from the convention." He looked proud. "I was right!"
"Perhaps you do make a fairly good Sherlock Holmes." I smiled.
Magnus grinned.
We made it out the back door and halfway back to the convention before I noticed the stranger from the window earlier, following us. I didn't mention anything to Magnus. I wasn't sure how long his bravery would hold out and I really didn't want to find out. The last thing I needed was a grown man freaking out.
"Ah, my brother would have loved this." His voice and expression were wistful, as if his brother was no longer with him.
"Your brother?" I shot another glance behind us. Our pursuer was gaining. It wouldn't be long before he caught us. I had to get Magnus back the convention before that happened.
"Yes. He used to love this kind of thing. Of course, he preferred to watch as someone else played the role. He was not one to be known for his bravery." Magnus chuckled at the memories of his brother. "Unfortunately, my dear brother has been MIA for quite some time now. Mother believes him to have run away to join the military, just as my father had, but I do not believe so. Alfie was far to meek for that. He simply did not have the stomach for war. Anyone who spent more than five minutes with him would know that. I think Mother just tries to make herself feel better about his disappearance by creating these stories since no one has been able to locate him."
I froze, slowly turning to look at the odd, British boy.
Magnus frowned. "Are you alright? It appears as though something has begun to trouble you?"
"You don't say," I breathed.
The blonde hair, the innocent wide-eyed look, the British accent...how had I not pieced it together earlier.
"You look like you've just seen a ghost." My thoughts were forced back into reality as our stalker appeared behind me. I cringed at my own stupidity for letting us get caught as I slowly turned to face the new intruder. I was met with an impish grin and mischievous storm grey eyes. The boy cocked his head as he looked down at me since he was at least a foot taller.
"Are you Taryn Bauer? The girl everyone keeps talking about?"
"What's it to you?"
The boy held up his hands in innocence. "I was simply asking. I mean to do you no harm. My only intention was to talk."
"Oh I'm sure." I rolled my eyes in irritation. "Everyone stalks the people they want to talk to from the shadows. Coming right out and introducing yourself has become far too old fashioned."
His grin widened. "You catch on quick. So are you Taryn Bauer? Or aren't you?"
Before I could answer, Magnus stepped in. I tried to tell him to back off, that I could handle this, but he wouldn't listen.
"I am sorry, but where I come from, a man can not just sit by while watching a lady be harassed and do nothing." He faced his new threat boldly. There was no way this was my Alfie's brother. That kid had no backbone at all, but Magnus didn't seem to be deterred by anything. The new guy stood watching with amusement. "I'm afraid I am going to have to ask you to leave this young lady alone."
"Is that so?" The grin never left the boy's lips.
"It is. If you would be so kind as to leave, we can avoid any unnecessary injuries."
The boy laughed. "You can't be August? I heard he was overly protective of his girlfriend, but you two hardly look the perfect couple."
I quickly shook my ahead, horrified that he thought this guy was my boyfriend. "There's no way he's my boyfriend!"
"I most certainly am not this August. I do not even know of anyone by that name. What a silly name. Who in their right mind would name their child after a season?"
"Magnus-" I tried to cut in but the new guy interrupted.
"Magnus? Is that your name? Now that suits you much better."
Magnus looked taken aback by what he must have assumed was a complement. "Why thank you. However, I must insist you leave this young lady alone."
"You know," the boy put a hand to his chin as if in deep thought, "I can't help but notice that you haven't used her name once. Do you even know this girl?" When Magnus hesitated, he knew he'd gotten it right. "Why are you so keen on standing up for someone you don't even know?"
"It's a little thing we like to call, chivalry. Though it appears you have none yourself." Magnus replied hotly.
"How very noble of you, but you see, I've come to speak to the girl. Yet all I've seemed to accomplish is an argument with you that I seem to be losing. So if you don't mind, I'll just finish my business with the girl, and then I shall be on my merry way."
Magnus looked skeptical but he didn't fight it. The boy nodded and quickly stepped around Magnus so that he was once again facing me. I was too weirded out by the whole situation that I didn't even think to retreat a few steps as the boy was standing far too close for comfort.
"Are you Taryn Bauer? The girl who broke the curse between the Bauer and Ingramen families? The girl who put both Isis and Colton behind bars? The girl who not only destroyed her family's curse, but also escaped the fairytale curse she was confined to for an entire year?"
Seriously, how did people keep knowing about that? I hadn't told anyone. None of us had. We all had agreed that it was for the best if we just kept certain past experiences to ourselves. I mean, people already thought I was crazy. They didn't need any more proof that I was.
I took a deep breath before answering. "I am."
The boy nodded but didn't smile this time. "Don't ask questions, don't even acknowledge that I was here. If they ever found out I was talking to you, I'd be a dead man walking."
I raised a questioning eyebrow. What was he going on about? Of course, if he was somehow tangled in with Isis and Colton, that explained a lot. She tended to attract some very strange people.
"There are people looking for you. Dangerous people. If you thought Isis and Colton were rough to deal with, you have no idea what's coming. Look, if I can find you this easily, it won't be long before they do too."
"Who is 'they'? Who's after me?"
He didn't answer my question which only heated my temper. "Isis may have had powerful magic, but their magic is doubled that in power. Your only chance to beat them lies within the curse."
"Shut up for just a second." I stopped him before he could keep talking. "If this person is as dangerous as you say," he nodded, "then why are you supposedly risking everything to tell me? And another thing, in case you got the story wrong, I destroyed the curse. It's no more. Poof. Gone. Whatever it was that you needed in there can't be found."
The boy shook his head. "You escaped the curse which is all well and good, in fact I applaud you and your abilities to do so, but it's not destroyed. Only an act of magic can completely destroy it, and since you seem to lack any sort of magic abilities, and I'm sure Isis didn't do it for you, the curse is still very much alive. They only problem is finding it."
No. He had to be lying. The curse was broken. August and I had destroyed it. Hadn't we? Thinking back on it, there wasn't a time I remembered that actually proved we did destroy the curse. Sure we'd escaped it and forced Isis and Colton back out with us, but had we truly destroyed it for good?
"So why exactly do you need my help? If the curse is still living as you say, why don't you just go and get whatever it is you need. There is no way you'll ever make me go back there." I paused and shot a glance at Magnus who seemed to be completely oblivious to what we were talking about. "I lost a very good friend there. I'm not willing to risk that again."
The boy sighed as if he were expecting this argument from me and was hoping to have avoided it. "Because we're all trapped, Taryn. You may have escaped the curse and returned most of the character's memories, but that doesn't mean we're all free. Some of us weren't as lucky as others." He gave me a pointed stare, referring to my escape. "You're our only hope of ever having a real life again. Right now, we're all tied to a single leader. A leader who'd rather see us all dead than release us. They treat us like animals, with absolutely no respect for us as human beings."
"So wait, you're telling me that you're one of the characters from the curse?"
He nodded.
Wow...how had I not picked up on that before? I was losing it. Of course he was a character. It only made sense. That's how he knew so much about what happened. Just when I thought I had finally put all of the magic and stupid fairytales behind me, it came crashing back in like a bad dream. Hey! It's the Sanity Hotline. Just calling in reference to the fact that you were becoming too sane with a normal life. We've subscribed a double dose of crazy that'll fix that right up for you.
"We need your help, Taryn." Any trace of his previous smirk had been forgotten. His eyes pleaded with mine in a desperate attempt to gain my help. "Set us all free. Bring us back home."