The Curse ✔️

Chapter 34: The Devil's Trumpet

Eugene and I stood on each side of the door and Amma was squatting by the cardboard. The smell of the herbs overwhelmed my nostrils when she moved the cardboard, and I appreciated a little nature in these dark hallways.

"There's a protection spell around the main hall." Eugene put his hand on the door handle. "I don't recognize it, but I think it keeps the ooze inside dormant. Once we walk in, it might come alive."

My heart thudded, "Just what I needed to hear."

"You can step inside the circle." Amma said, making me look at her. "Just don't erase the runes."

"What about the plants? What if I accidently move a leaf or branch?"

"It's okay, plants can move." Amma stared at the cardboard. "But be careful when you hold the jar. If you erase even a dot, we're screwed."

My palms immediately began to sweat. I wiped them off on my skimpy dress and grabbed the other handle.

"Wait." Eugene took his phone out, gaze sliding across the screen. "Okay, Vice Mage Montgomery just left the party and he's returning to his chambers. Morta saw Lange entering the teachers' quarters and Thar is still at the party, a drink in hand."

My heart thumped at the thought of him drunk.

"Let's hope he doesn't go looking for me." I murmured.

Eugene raised an eyebrow, "Does he look for you often when he drinks?"

I ignored the question and squeezed the round door handle, "I'm ready when you are."

"Ready." Amma grabbed the edges of the cardboard.

Eugene nodded.

He and I pulled each side of the double door open. It screeched against the tiles like it's been closed for years and not mere weeks. My senses opened up on impulse, and wintriness trickled down my spine. Terrified to look inside, I glanced at Amma instead and caught her staring ahead, eyes wide and clear, lips parted, and gloved hands clutching the cardboard.

"It's all black." The words slid off her lips. "Infinitely black."

Then, I glanced inside.

The entire main hall, from the high double ceiling to the floor, was completely covered in the dormant black ooze. Amma was right; its black was so deep and dark it almost looked like you could step inside it. Under the light of the moon coming through the broken windows, it shimmered. Marble. It looked like marble; frozen, unmoving, cold. But not dead.

Never dead.

I felt its magic crawling up and down my shields, probing, touching, looking for something. Energy coursed through my veins, desperately wanting to shake this slimy feeling off.

Without a word, Amma pushed the cardboard inside the room, touching it only with the tips of her fingers, like she thought it became contagious the moment it entered the room.

"Jade." Eugene whispered.

"Alright." I nodded, heart thudding in my throat. "Okay."

I pressed on the cardboard with my right foot, scared it would break under my weight. When it didn't, I stepped right behind the glass jar in the centre of the pentagram. My skin grew clammy and sensitive. Fear wrapped itself around my body, squeezing breath out of my lungs.

I squatted, careful not to touch the runes drawn around me. Amma put her heart and soul into each line on the cardboard. It would be a shame if my nervousness ruined it all. It would also be a shame if demons ate us because we screwed up the spell.