The Strongest Curse Master

"Are you kidding?" I asked, even though I knew she thought she had seen Dee3 die.

Meanwhile, Mandy and Janice glanced at me with a calmness that would have induced fear in the pre-awakening me. They did not know what I knew, so I shrugged off their glares and continued with my plan. I had to sacrifice a couple of hours of my precious time to get Matthews on board for this.

"No, I am not kidding. Dee3's body dissipated right before my eyes, leaving two mortal-tier curse cores behind. She is dead. What do I do?" Lyra frantically asked. She hadn't mourned enough for Dee3, yet her brain was already in crisis mode. The only person she trusted to help her get away with murder was her father, but she did not want to drag him into this. So, she had no choice but to turn to her baby bro.

"Did anyone see you kill Dee3? Check if there are any cameras in the surroundings," I advised, while the glare of the girls grew colder, not liking my reaction and response, one bit. Especially, Mandy, who thought Dee3 was Ace's friend. How can he be so indifferent about her death? Also, why does it seem like Lyra knows more than her? Did her crafty nephew lie to her?

"I didn't kill Dee3, I said she died because of me," Lyra shouted, correcting her brother. "Nobody saw us because it all happened in the artificial domain we fought in earlier this morning. That bitch Sonia ambushed us in the parking lot by the mall and killed Dee3 who tried to help me. I shouldn't have revealed all of my moves and antagonized her this morning. Otherwise, she wouldn't have come so prepared, and I could have defeated her before anyone got hurt. This is all my fault. But I wonder how she knew where to find me. Was she following me the entire time?"

"That's what I have been trying to teach you all along. Imagine if you were out with your friends or worse, our family? If only you had stuck to my rules or just ruthlessly finished what you started this morning, maybe Dee3 would be alive right now talking about her new coffee table," I whispered, adding to Lyra's guilt and fears. Only to have Mandy repeatedly slap my shoulder hard in disbelief. I made no effort to stop her as it barely tickled. But she stopped in a mix of confusion and astonishment, observing Dee3 arrive by the poolside through the side yard and rest on the lounger under the shade.

"..." Lyra choked on her tears as she was overwhelmed by guilt and regret. She wished she had a time machine so she could have done things differently. Unfortunately, even in this magical world of curses, going back in time was a myth that not only many believe in but tried to achieve and failed.

"It's too late to do anything now, just come back—" I said, deciding to come clean when she returned home, but Lyra impatiently cut in midway, declaring, "No, I can still get revenge for Dee3. I will cut that bitch Sonia into thousands of tiny chucks, mix them with concert, and make five different concert blocks using them. Then throw each one of those blocks in one of the five oceans. Let me see her regenerate from that."

"No, you can't do that unless you want to be on the run as a wanted Curse criminal for attempting to kill a C.I.B. trainee agent. So, just come back home. I will help you take revenge on her some other way," I tried to talk reason with Lyra without revealing that Dee3 was not actually dead and it was all a ruse I put into motion to teach her why my rules were necessary.

"No, Ace, I'm already a wanted Curse criminal. Sonia said she would pin Dee3's death on me and throw me into a dark dungeon for the rest of my life before she ran away," Lyra informed and continued to tell him her plan, "It will be hard for me to find Sonia and kill her before the authorities arrive so for now I will ditch my phones, credit cards, and head down south to cross the broder. Don't worry, I'll find a secure way to check on you guys. And once when Sonia becomes cocky thinking she not only got away with a murder but ruined my future, I will return and bury that bitch in all five oceans. Until then, sayonara, baby bro."

"Lyra, why does it sound like you have been planning this for a while now?" I said, feeling that Lyra did not just come up with this plan on her feet.

"It's a plot for a screenplay I am writing. The female lead kills her abusive husband and escapes down the southern border, where she finds the love of her life, a handsome southern gentleman, rich yet humble and hard working, trying to open a beverage factory in the exotic foreign land despite challenges from the local government and goons when actually he is the infamous vigilant protecting the locals from the tranny of the courpt authorities and greedy goons alike—" Lyra narrated the screenplay she was writing and for a moment forgot the matter at hand until, I cut in saying, "Aren't you supposed to be drawing comics and not writing screenplay?"

"Who says a comic artist can't write a screenplay?" Lyra remarked and then asked, "Ace, do you know how to hotwire a 2010 – 2013 Mini Cooper? The videos on the web don't show how to get into the car. They all start from within the cabin. Ah, this is so frustrating."

"Lyra, just return home. I will help you prove your innocence. If you run now, you will only be legitimizing Sonia's claims. Sis, don't act rashly, just come home," I said, getting up from the pool, planning to rush to Lyra's side and drag her home before she does something stupid.

"What about our parents? Will they know?" Lyra asked, revealing the real reason why she wanted to run away was because she couldn't face her parents. Getting trouble was not new to her, but a murder suspect, now that was not something she could get away with acting cute and good.

"No, this is a matter that doesn't concern the Mortal World. They will not be involved. So, just return home and act like nothing happened," I said, hoping this would be enough to persuade Lyra to come back home.

"What about Dee3? Didn't she just sign a lease with us? What do we tell Mom and Dad?" Lyra asked, leaning against the pink Mini Cooper she was planning to steal and head down the southern border.

"Oh my god! Could you just shut up and come back? We can go over the details here, in person," I yelled, losing my patience. Somehow, I felt like it wasn't me who was teaching Lyra a lesson, but it was she who was teaching me a lesson.

"Geez, you act like you are being framed for a murder you didn't commit. You are not, I am," Lyra shouted back, louder. It was fine as long as it helped her cope and return home safely. I wanted to go and get her, but I felt the ride back home would allow her to reflect on everything that happened today.

"If you had just stuck to my rules, you wouldn't be in this mess to begin with. But no, you didn't. Why would you? Lyra Lander knows the best. Look where that attitude got you. So, just shut up and bring your ass home. Otherwise, I will hunt you down and force you to attend a tea party with Lilith's undead pest army," I warned, showing Lyra that I could shout louder. 'Fuck! Why can't she just do what she is told for once?'

"Oh, I would like you to try," Lyra dared her baby bro, feeling provoked.

"Fuck it, I am coming over and am bring dad with me," I said, playing Lyra's kyptonite.

"I will be home in five minutes. But you'd better be prepared to tell our mom why she was short twenty bucks last month at the mall when she remembered counting it in her purse the other day," Lyra threatened and hung up the phone.

"You stole twenty bucks from your mother's purse?" Dee3 asked me in shock even though she had helped him loot the Sceret Base Wolfric.

"No, I didn't steal it, I just borrowed it without her knowledge. There is a huge difference," I corrected, embarrassed by my pauper past self. In his defense our my parents were to cheap to give him an monthly allowance forget weekly.

"Ace, I think you just figured out the politically correct definition for stealing. Congrats," Janice remarked with an amused smile. She found this information hilarious considering he spent 100 billion dollars without a second thought.