by Casey Morgan
I watched with interest to see what the scrying would reveal. Both Angie and I recoiled when we saw the image projected in the water. Drew was falling over and over again.
It was no new sight to me, and I had explained to Angie previously. However, one glance up at her face told me that hearing about it and seeing it were two completely different things for her. Her hands covered her mouth in a gasp.
Headmaster Thorn snapped his attention to her. “Care to explain, Ms. Birch?” Although it was posed like a question, Thorn meant it as a demand.
“It’s just, it’s just that...” Angie could barely manage to get out an explanation. “That’s how Drew died. Although he was a lot younger, he fell out of the attic window of our childhood home.”
Headmaster Thorn sighed at the information. He had only been here for ten minutes maximum, but he was already acting like he had been dealing with the issue for hours. Before I could voice my annoyance, he opened his mouth.
“It seems that Ms.Thrushmoor has a death curse placed upon her,” he explained. “Most likely by Drew. I think it goes without saying that he’s in some sort of trouble.”
“He is?” Angie asked.
“Almost certainly. If Ms.Thrushmoor can’t figure out how to help him, the curse will pull her closer and closer to her own death. Afterward, Drew’s soul will be gone forever.”
Tension hung in the room with a weight that I had never experienced before. It was silent except for the noise that Headmaster Thorn made as he moved about the clinic collecting the same green liquid that Nurse Harpy had tried to feed me earlier.
He approached the bed and grabbed my chin with his right hand, squeezing my jaw so my lips parted. With no mercy, he shoved the spoon full of vile liquid into my mouth. The disgusting and putrid taste spread over my tongue quickly, and I felt like vomiting.
“Don’t even think about throwing it up,” the Headmaster warned. “This will keep the vertigo and visions at bay for the time being.”
I forced myself to swallow what was left in my mouth. It crept down my throat, and I ended up coughing and wheezing in an attempt to get the sticky feeling out of my system.
Through gasps and sputters, I asked Headmaster Thorn, “What do I do?”
His eyes widened, and his lips spread into a wicked grin. “Have you forgotten that I want you gone from Ironwood? You failing this trial will get you out of here for good. Much more effective than expulsion.”
With a few bouts of laughter, Headmaster Thorn left the room. Although I could feel the vertigo starting to fade, my stomach still clenched with fear.
Angie and I made eye contact, and we both knew that we were running out of time. We had to figure out what happened to Drew and fast.
Chapter Five
Almost immediately after Headmaster Thorn left, Nurse Harpy dismissed both Angie and me from the office. When I reminded the crone that I was tied to the bed, she cackled to herself and then went to untie me. Her fingers were cold and clammy. I could feel their lack of warmth through my clothing as she undid my binds. The entire time I couldn’t stop looking at her gouged-out eye.
Angie had to tap my shoulder to snap me out of it when I was finally released. I held onto her shoulder as we left the clinic. I continued to rely on her until we made it out of the building and outside to the student common area.
The fresh air was more than welcome. I breathed in deeply and smiled as the stale air from the nurse’s office was banished from my lungs. After a few steps I found that I was now rid of the vertigo and able to walk without a problem by myself. Angie smiled when I let go of her arm and stretched out a bit. However, we both decided that a slower pace was warranted on our way back to our dorm.
“Feeling better?” Angie asked me.
“Yeah, I really am!”
“You had me worried, passing out in class like that.”
I sighed. “Poor Professor Goldwin, we always cause some sort of trouble in that class.”
We both laughed. Although in the moment, my fainting and her uncontrolled shifting were not things to laugh at, the memory of the short professor running around trying to control students was enough to make at least the thoughts of the past somewhat entertaining to reflect on.
We were about halfway back to the dorm before we ran into trouble.
Trouble went by two names: Jasper and Cade. The moment that they saw the two of us they rushed over, worry clearly painted all of their faces. I forced a smile on my lips as they finally made it over to where Angie and I were standing.
I knew that they were going to ask about what happened and if I was okay. I just didn't want to tell the boys every single detail. I knew that if they knew about the death curse then they were going to worry endlessly about it and then try to protect me.
Protection was nice, but too much of it was suffocating. I definitely did not need the two of them babying me either.
“Ruby,” Jasper breathed. “Are you okay? You had me so worried.” With one aggressive glare from Cade, he retracted and tried again. “You had us so worried,” Jasper corrected. “Both of us.”
I laughed a little. “I’m fine, really. It was just a dizzy spell.”
I felt Angie hit me lightly on the shoulder and state expectantly. She was waiting for me to explain. I did my best to convey with eye contact that I did not want the two of them to know all the details, but Angie only looked more and more impatient. Eventually, to my dismay, she took a deep breath and opened her mouth to tell the boys.
“Angie,” I whispered. “I don't—”
She cut me off, “Don’t be ridiculous, Ruby. They might have information or advice. We’re not in a position to not take an opportunity.”
I sighed because I knew that my roommate was right. Unfortunately, two souls were at stake, and to Angie, both of those souls were important. I didn't care to explain, and Angie already decided that she would, so I let her rattle off as many of the details about our situation as she deemed necessary to the two boys.
“A death curse?” Cade asked. “I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but that sounds awful.”
“And dangerous,” Jasper added.
Angie sighed, “We’re well aware. So, do you two have anything that could help us? Advice? Manpower? An artifact, maybe?”
The two shifters seemed to go into deep thought, no doubt searching all corners of their minds to see if they had anything at all that could help. I could tell that both of them were worried, there was no question about it. I almost felt bad that I didn’t want to tell them earlier. It’s natural to be worried about someone that you care about after all.
Cade looked up with a crestfallen expression, and Jasper followed in suit. The latter spoke up, “We don’t really have anything. Things such as ghosts and the undead aren’t really our forte.”
After that statement, they both looked over at me. The mention of the undead might’ve been what cause it, or maybe because I literally had a death curse on me, but I could’ve sworn that they looked at me somewhat distastefully. I felt insecurity creep through me. Were my succubus powers wearing thin?
“I mean…” We all turned our attention to Cade, who suddenly decided to speak up. “We could talk to Jacob.”
“Jacob Savannah?” Jasper asked, clearly taken aback.
“The one and only,” the alpha answered. “His mother is a powerful shaman in Nigeria. He has probably learned a thing or two about visions and dreams from her.”
Confusion welled up in my chest. I didn’t know much about Jacob, but I did remember very well that he fought Cade for the alpha position. The fight was fearsome, so I was shocked that Big Boy was suggesting that we work with him.
“You two fought,” I chimed in. “Are you sure he’s going to want to help us?”
“Why wouldn’t he?” Cade asked, giving me a confused look.
“Aren’t you two enemies?”
He laughed. “No, no, no, not at all! Shifters challenge for the alpha position all of the time! If
I hated every single person that I fought, I would have no friends left.”
It made sense, so I didn't question his mindset. However, him mentioning the position of alpha made me start to worry about my own position. I was technically also an alpha since Angie swore to me as one. I wondered if I should tell him about it. Would Cade be upset if he knew that I was one too?
Angie must’ve been able to tell that I was in distress because she lightly placed her hand on my shoulder. I looked over, expecting to meet her gaze. Instead, she looked straight ahead at the boys with an impatient smile. They both seemed to still be talking about the issue, but Angie was running low on patience.
“Boys!” she interrupted, “Ruby and I are going to go back to our dorm now. She needs to get some rest.”
“But—” Jasper tried to argue
“You can both be on your way now.”
The two of them reluctantly left, both of them shifting uncomfortably in place for a few seconds beforehand. Once they walked away, we made our way back to the dorms. It was moments like those that I was reminded of how thankful I was for Angie.
The rest of the walk to the dorm was uneventful, but we did find a note taped to our door. Angie took it, and we settled down, each on our own beds before she decided to read it out loud.
“Is it bad news?” I asked, already expecting the worse.
Angie hummed in indifference. “Kind of. It’s from Professor Goldwin. He wants his wand back tomorrow morning so he can use it for the Magic Freezer Presentation at the end of the week.”
I groaned. It made sense, it really did, but I couldn’t help but be upset over it. It was his wand, and I was only borrowing it, so it was completely understandable that he wanted it back. There was just too much going on at once. With the addition of the wand being taken away, it all just seemed so overwhelming. I almost felt as if I was drowning.
“What should I do, Angie?” I asked, “I can’t use magic without the wand.”
Angie responded, “Honestly, why don’t you try and use your succubus necklace? People use jewelry as a focus point all of the time.”
I had considered it before, but never actually tried it. I nodded at Angie and centered myself on my bed. I placed one hand on the moonstone necklace and closed my eyes. I took a few deep breaths and tried to focus the energy in my veins, trying to force magic to flow through the necklace.
I could feel the magic and energy forming in my chest and streaming up my neck. It was definitely going to the necklace, but after it reached it, it just disappeared. It seemed that the necklace only sucked in the magic. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get any magic to leave through it.
After a few more minutes of trying, I gave up. With an exasperated sigh, I threw my hands up and fell onto my back.
I could hear Angie getting up from her bed and making her way over to my bed. Soon she was standing over me, concern painted on her face. She looked rather anxious and fiddled with something in her hands.
“So, Ruby,” she started, “you’re my best friend, so I trust you, okay?”
Confused, I sat up to meet her eye level. “Okay? You’re my best friend too.”
“I actually have Drew’s focus point from when he was alive.”
“You do?”
“Yeah. I couldn’t offer it to you before since Drew would’ve thrown a fit. But considering the circumstances, he can’t really protest.”
“Angie... Are you sure you want to lend it to me?”
“You have to promise,” she continued, “You have to give it back as soon as you find a new focus point or as soon as Drew comes back. Can you do that?”
“I promise.”
Angie smiled at me and stopped moving her hands around. She reached her right hand out, and I met her halfway. She dropped a ring into my outstretched hand and sat down next to me. I looked down at the ring with fascination. It was a simple band-style ring with only a small tiger’s eye bead in the middle of it. I slipped it onto my right ring finger and smiled. It fit perfectly.
Once again, I took deep breaths and tried to focus all of my energy into the area that the ring rested on. Instead of the energy being sucked in, it was projected out. I opened my eyes to see a small beam of light bursting from the ring.
The moment the magic was released, I felt a strange shiver travel through my body. It felt as if I was suddenly stripped down and thrown into someone else’s clothes. I didn’t feel the need to tell Angie about the sensation since she was being generous by letting me use the ring.
“It worked!” she said with a grin.
I smiled too. The ring would do for now.
Chapter Six
The fuzzy feeling of a dream was back, but I wasn’t active in it. I knew that my purpose was only to watch, and I contently remained in my own head as my subconscious continued to dream.
A little, redheaded boy was being led by a middle-aged woman. At first sight, this seemed particularly normal until I realized who the little boy was. It was unmistakably Drew as a boy. I could only conclude that the middle-aged woman holding his hand was his mother. The air was tense and seemed to swallow everything besides the two of them and the path they took. I could tell that Drew was nervous. His free hand gripped his pant leg tightly and he was biting his bottom lip.
I turned my attention to the mother. Her lips were colorless and pressed into a hard line as she continued to walk. Her heels made loud clicking noises as they slammed down on the hardwood floor of the hallway that they were walking down. Eventually, the hallway came to its end and revealed a large wooden door. The mother pushed the door open with her other hand and turned to face Drew.
“Mom?” he whined.
She cut him off by ruffling his hair and placing a kiss on his forehead. Without another word from either of them, she turned on her heel and left. Drew cautiously peeked his head around the corner and tentatively began walking inside the room. I followed behind him and flinched when the door slammed closed.
I didn’t have time to pay it much mind as I stood across the room from a terrible and intimidating aura. Drew could feel it too, as his spine straightened, and he looked around frantically trying to gauge whether or not there was a feasible means of escape.
I concluded that the man towering over young Drew was none other than Mr. Birch. His eyes creased and pulled down his brow down towards his nose. His face screamed sternness. I felt that if I were to tap on his pale skin, I would hear the same noise that I would if I tapped upon a stone.
Drew slowly dragged his feet towards his father. His path was clear as the only way to reach the intimidating man was to follow the opening between the lofty bookshelves that towered over him.
Mr. Birch didn’t move from his spot even when Drew stood directly across the desk from him. His eyes only reacted slightly, the corners tilting upwards.
“Mother said that you asked for me, sir,” Drew spoke up.
“I did,” Mr. Birch responded. “I wanted to express my feelings in regards to your work with magic.”
I could almost feel the worry coursing through Drew’s veins as he awaited what his father would say next. We both watched as Mr. Birch bent down and opened a drawer in his desk. He brought out a small box. It was then that I noticed the awful and imposing aura that I had felt earlier wasn’t from Mr. Birch himself, but it was from whatever was inside of that box. Drew seemed to sense what was inside, but he didn’t say anything.
“I have been most impressed with your progress.” The father raised his eyebrows. “You could say that I’m almost proud.”
Although he didn’t make any verbal indication of it, it was clear that despite the awkward and heavy atmosphere, Drew was happy to hear his father’s words. However, the young boy’s gaze still lingered on the box. The stare intensified as Mr. Birch opened it and took out a silver ring.
My heart dropped at the sight. It was the same ring that Angie had given me that night.
“It’s time for you to have a focus point.”
“T-The ring?” Drew stuttered.
Mr. Birch nodded his head and held out the ring towards his son. Drew recoiled out of instinct. Suddenly, his thoughts flooded into my head. This ring, according to his memory, was rumored to have a curse on it. Both his grandfather and one of his uncles had succumbed to an early death. Drew whole-heartedly believed that if he took that ring, the same would happen to him.
Mr. Birch seemed to catch on quickly to Drew’s concern. His straight-lined mouth turned downwards into a scowl. He pushed the ring forward.
“Having this ring is an honor!” he bellowed. “If you won’t take it, then your sister will!”
“No!” Drew responded.
Without another beat of hesitation, Drew ripped the ring away from his father. I felt the determination well up inside of him. He made a vow by taking that ring. There was no way that he was going to let Angie die.
I felt a strange pull on my consciousness. There was an unknown force pulling me backward. Before I knew it, the world in front of me disappeared as my body fell out of the Birch’s library and back into my room. The sudden awakening from the dream that I was a part of left me staring at the ceiling of my dorm room for a long period of time.
A voice pulled me out of my funk. “Ruby?” Angie called out, “You awake? We need to get going to the potions classroom.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m up,” I responded.
I swung my legs out of bed and began to get ready. As I pulled my clothes on and began to find my books, my mind wandered back to the dream. It obviously had a lot to do with both Drew and Angie. However, I wasn’t sure whether or not I should tell her. It would keep her in the loop, but other than that, there wouldn’t be any benefits to her finding out. I decided that if, and only if, things escalated, I would then tell her.
As soon as I was done getting ready, both Angie and I headed out of the dorm. I made sure to grab Professor Goldwin’s wand. The trip down to the potion’s classroom was rather quick. As we walked, I kept repeating the thank you speech that I had planned out. Borrowing the wand really did a lot for me, I was able to gain a lot of confidence because of it.