Free Seduced by Lies by Alex Lux

this hour?" she asked in her sleepy voice.
    I slid out of bed and pulled on jeans. "I'll check."
    Drake stood on our porch, his face a mask of grief. "You and Rose should come to the infirmary. Curtis is dying."
    When I went back to get Rose, she was already dressed. "I heard. Let's go."
    The small room was crowded when we arrived. Father Patrick and Bishop Sarlo were already there, discussing something in hushed tones. Ryder was absent, which was a good thing for him. Paul sat in a chair by Curtis' bed, and I was sure he hadn't left all night.
    Sam and Drake arrived. "Sorry it took so long," Sam said. "We had to find someone to watch Ana." She walked over to Curtis. "How are you feeling?"
    "At peace," he said, smiling.
    Just then, Professor Shaw walked in, still wearing a suit and tie from his trip. "Forgive me for being gone so long. I got back to the country as fast as I could." He gripped Curtis' free hand. "I'm so sorry this has happened to you."
    It was good to have him back, though he was looking particularly worn out.
    Curtis cleared his throat, and we all fell silent. "Thank you for coming," he said. "I fear I won't last long."
    Paul sucked in his breath. "I can't lose you. Not yet. Should we…" he paused. "Should we marry? Father Patrick can perform the ceremony now."
    Curtis shook his head. "I love you, but I won't tie you to a dead man. I want you to promise me you'll live a happy, full life, in my memory, and for yourself."
    I felt like we were intruding on a private scene, but these were our friends, our extended family and, if Curtis wanted us here, we'd stay.
    Before Paul could respond, he was interrupted by shouting coming from outside.
    It was 3 a.m. Any loud noise was cause for alarm, plus we had kids in different dorms sleeping.
    Ocean, who hadn't been as close to Curtis as we had, stormed into the room. "You guys have to come. There are people outside screaming and, I think they're picketing us. They have signs, poorly written and misspelled signs, saying things like 'dye freaks'—spelled with a y, by the way, and 'mutants are evil.' Some of them look armed."
    I pulled away from Rose. "I'll take care of them."
    Ocean looked at everyone, and her eyes fell on Curtis. "I can't believe they're doing this now of all times. I can use the water in the lake to drown them."
    Ocean was a powerful witch and had control over the water element. She really could drown them if she wanted.
    Curtis sat up in bed. "No. Please, don't. The people just don't understand. They're scared. Please, help me up."
    I hesitated, once again torn between doing what I thought was right, and doing what was good.
    His eyes, sunken into his hollow cheeks, pleaded with me. "Please, help me."
    And so I helped him, and with Paul supporting him on the other side, we all walked out into the warm summer night together.
    I knew this was a bad idea, but I felt powerless to stop him when this was essentially his dying wish.
    A decent-sized group had gathered outside the mansion, led by that creepy meth head, Billy, the guy who'd been watching us in the woods.
    We walked in short shuffles toward the gate where the people swarmed, and a piece of rotten fruit hit me in the chest. The bastards were throwing shit at us. I couldn't believe it.
    Billy noticed Rose and shouted to the group. "There she is!" He pointed at her. "There's the demon. Her kind killed my sister."
    The crowd became one being, roaring and raising its fist in anger.
    Curtis raised his hand to call for attention, but his voice was too weak to be heard over the screaming. I lent my voice, but it wasn't enough.
    Then Curtis called out, "Am I a monster? Am I a monster?"
    The people stopped and listened.
    Curtis leaned against me, his body giving out, his skin tinged with red, and yet more pale than before. "We are different, it is true," he said through shallow breaths. "But you have nothing to fear from me or my friends."
    "Your kind killed my sister," screamed Billy.
    "And your kind