The Curse ✔️

Chapter 44: Betrayal

I didn't sleep that night.

The clear night sky turned cloudy during night, and lighting flashed outside, each thunder strike shaking me awake. My mind was cloudy, too, and nothing made sense anymore.

Why now?

Why would he evacuate us now? Why not right after the attack that killed eleven students? Why now that Winston Academy students arrived? Something was missing. A titbit of information. A piece of the puzzle. There was something I wasn't seeing.

When morning came, my father called for an emergency meeting in the main hall and said the school was to be evacuated by nightfall. As expected, no one decided to stay. Well, only a few lunatics such as myself. My father seemed satisfied.

After the emergency meeting, Amma and Morta went straight to their rooms to pack. I lingered, trying to catch Thar and ask him if he knew anything more.

When he exited the main hall, I ran after him, "Wait a second. Wait. We need to talk."

"Not now, Jade." He said under his breath without slowing down. "Your father requested to see all of us."

"Teachers?" I kept running after him. "Why?"

"I think he wants us to stay here." Thar turned the corner, and I realised we were in one of the narrow hallways leading to the bathrooms, where no one could see us. "Come up with a plan."

"To fight demons?" My voice sounded just a bit jaded. "Or summon them?"

Thar faced me, expression hard, "Don't. We have no idea what's going on."

"But you're staying, right?"

"Yes." He met my gaze. "And you are leaving."

I raised my eyebrow, "Fat chance."

"Jade." Thar's shoulders slumped. "We've got what we wanted. The students are being evacuated."

"Actually, it's voluntary." I put my hand on my hip. "And I volunteer to stay."

"Don't be an idiot."

"Hey!"

"I'm serious." Something sparked in his eyes. "If I'm going to stay in a demon-infested school, I don't need to worry about your safety on top of all."

While I appreciated his concern, maybe even revelled in it, he was not going to dissuade me.

"I'll stay in my room. It's shielded."

"Jade..."

"Don't." I took a step back. "I don't trust my father and I'm not going to do as he says, even if it seems like he's concerned about us."

Thar's shoulders slumped, and he pursed his lips. He was trying to think of ways to convince me to stay, but he realised soon enough there weren't any. I had made my decision. I was going to get to the bottom of this.

"I'll meet you after the meeting." He said. "And then we'll discuss it."

I nodded, satisfied with the outcome.

The rest of the day passed by in a blur of second-guessing. Morta avoided me for the most part, but Amma kept glancing my way whenever we'd meet in the bathroom. Morta was stubborn; she was pissed off for her own reasons and she let it spill into everything else. But Amma was smart, and she knew there were too many unanswered questions. Despite it, she kept her course, and by the late afternoon, she was ready to leave.

As the clock ticked 8PM, my unease grew.

And despite my resolve, I packed my stuff, too. Just in case.