“Don’t worry about me.” Your response is given reflexively, without thought. “I’m fine. Never been better.” And to lend truth to that statement, you smile at him, but you know it doesn’t quite reach your eyes.

Dorian doesn’t ask you again. He doesn’t call you a liar. What he does is grasp you by the arm, turn you to one side and swat your backside firmly half a dozen times.

You bite back a yelp, because the mini spanking is over quickly and while your backside stings, it’s not unbearable pain. You can’t help but reach back and give a quick rub to your bottom when he releases your arm.

“Don’t lie to me,” Dorian warns, his voice low.

You give him an apologetic, half-wry smile and nod. “Noted.” You glance towards Grant, whose eyes are wide and he takes a step back. Your smile turns more wry. “We all have people we need to answer to.”

Grant’s eyes grow moist and he dashes the back of his hand across them, before asking, in a soft voice, “What’s going to happen to the people who were killed while the curse is active? The ones who came back to life?” His voice drops to a whisper as he asks, “What about Martin and Paul?”

Truthfully, you don’t know. This situation is so far removed from your experience, it’s impossible to predict what kind of outcome there’ll be. But the worst-case scenario is the far more likely one and that’s what you tell him. “Nature will take its course. What was dead will return to death.” You speak with certainty that you don’t have, but you won’t give hope when you can’t guarantee it. There’s a reason you never told Mary she could live again. False hope or hope that’s ripped away hurts far worse than no hope at all.

More tears well in Grant’s eyes and he lowers his head as tears trickle down his cheeks. He looks desperately like he needs something else to focus on, so you try to give him that. “Can you direct us to the site the statue was?”

Grant nods, but although he follows you and Dorian to your car, he doesn’t speak as he gets in and buckles up. He stays quiet as you and Dorian get in and buckle up and then only speaks to direct you to the site in low, listless tones.

You can feel it before you reach it. Maggots writhing under the surface of fruit that appears fresh and ripe at first sight. Pus seeping from a hot, fevered wound. Pictures form in your mind of a heart pierced by a poisoned blade and then carved into two pieces, before being locked away inside wooden prisons.

As Dorian pulls up and parks at the site, you glimpse two men standing there already, their postures tense and ready. Like they’re warriors. When you glimpse the guns holstered at their waists, that only cements your impression of them.

Almost as soon as the car stops, you unbuckle and get out of the vehicle. You walk towards the two men and extend a hand in greeting. “My name is Anubis. I’m a spirit guardian.” You introduce yourself.

“Walter Crow Horse.” He reaches out and grips your hand in a firm grasp, then wraps his arm possessively around the other man’s waist. “This is my husband. Ray Levoi.”

Ray looks you over and then shakes his head. “You’re a spirit guardian? You just look like a kid.”

Walter doesn’t respond verbally to his husband, but his possessive grip becomes firmer; almost possessive. “Are you here to help?” he asks you.

“If I can,” you answer. “I’m going to do my best to break the curse. But when the statue was destroyed, it allowed the curse to spread over a much larger area. It’s no longer contained.”

Ray winces visibly and lowers his head.

Grant moves forward, to your side. With his arms wrapped around his torso, he speaks in a hollow voice. “When the curse is broken, everyone who died and came back to life will die again. That includes Martin and Paul.” His breath hitches slightly.

A stab of remorse goes through you, but you hide it pretty well. You think.

“I’m sorry, Grant,” Walter says quietly. “But one of our colleagues, one of our friends, has already been hurt, perhaps killed, because of this. We have to consider how many people might suffer if the curse is allowed to run unchecked.”

Grant opens his mouth, like he wants to argue, but before he can say anything, the earth begins to tremble and shake under your feet.

Two caves erupt from the ground. This isn’t something you’re responsible for, at least not consciously. But you can sense that the two pieces of the poisoned heart reside one in each cave.

You take a step forward, but an invisible barrier prevents you from advancing further. You can’t retrieve the heart yourself. But when you look at the three men, you can see two silvery, thin lines that connect from Grant to one cave and from Walter and Ray to the other. “Go into the cave you feel drawn to. Bring me out the object you find in there.” That’s all you can say. Your throat closes over, preventing you from giving them anymore hints or help.

You watch as Grant enters one cave alone and Walter and Ray enter the other, walking side by side.

Now, all you can do is wait.