Free A Curse Awakened: A Weird Girls Novella by Cecy Robson Page A

towel, her crackling voice hoarse with regret. “Because bad things happen to good girls who stand against the dark ones.”

Chapter Eight
    We gave Nieve’s grandmother every last dime in our pockets and silently whispered our thanks to the cousin we’d found too late in life. We didn’t speak again until we returned to our car. As much as we wanted to stay, we couldn’t help her. But we could still help Danny.
    The people gathered near our sedan quickly scattered. Dirty, blood-smeared women, I supposed, had that effect on them.
    I yanked open the rear car door and hurried inside. “Shayna, text Danny and let him know we’re on our way.”
    She whipped out her phone from her pocket and buckled herself in before sending the text. Taran peeled away from the curve and toward the back roads leading to Route 22. “Okay, this whole thing wasn’t batshit crazy or anything.”
    “No, not at all,” I muttered.
    Taran stopped at the light. “What I don’t get is if Nieve’s half dead, then what the hell were we talking to?”
    I shrugged and slumped in the backseat, suddenly unbearably tired despite the anxiety racing through my bloodstream. “Near as I can figure, I think it’s a fragment of what remains of her.”
    Shayna turned around from the passenger seat to face me. “Do you think we can help her? I mean, she helped us and she wasn’t even, like, totally real.”
    Emme played with her palms. “I don’t think anything can help her, Shayna. From what I can tell, she has a week at most. I’m surprised she’s held on this long.”
    I leaned my head back, trying to get comfortable. My unease at finding Nieve in her ailing state and my anxiety over the fight we still faced with the vamps made it impossible. “She seemed so thin when we saw her. But I never would have guessed her condition was related to illness—or whatever has caused her slow death.”
    “You mean
who
ever.” Taran peered at me through the rearview mirror. “You know Griselda or her hell spawn did this to her. Nieve admitted as much when we spoke to her—so did her grandmother.”
    “I think you’re right. If she had more time, maybe we could …”
    My voice trailed off at the sight of the misery edging its way along Emme’s gentle features. “She doesn’t have the time we would need, Celia.”
    Yeah. And neither did Mr. Matagrano.
    All was quiet except for the hum of the tires against the road and the rock ballad playing on low volume through the speakers. “You know what I think?” Shayna said after a while. “I think Nieve’s been waiting for us to come along.” She smiled softly at Taran’s quizzical stare. “It’s not such a crazy thought, T, when you consider how she came to us.”
    Taran focused on the road. “Maybe. Maybe not. But like Emme said, there’s nothing we can do for her now. God willing, the poor thing will find her peace soon. In the meantime, the goddamn night isn’t over yet.”
    “It’s sure not.” I leaned my head against the glass, trying to figure out a way to find Danny’s dad. The locating spell wouldn’t work without Mr. Matagrano’s fresh blood. And the poor man probably had none to spare with Giovanna …
    My eyes closed without permission. I hadn’t expected to doze, much less dream. But I did.
    I walked through a white haze as a soft breeze swept my long hair against my bare breasts and shoulders. Despite my toned muscles and flat stomach, I hated being naked. Nakedness represented vulnerability.
    And I refused to be vulnerable.
    But there, wherever there was, wasn’t a place to fear. The sense of peace and safety that drifted with each soft caress of the breeze lulled my fears and assured me that I was protected. I thought I was alone until the hulking form of a tall male stepped through the thickening haze.
    My eyes widened, but they didn’t help me see. This man wasn’t really a man, he was more like a shadow, if shadows could manifest into a physical form. He chuckled and