The Curse ✔️

Chapter 47: Constant

Thar went ahead, checking each corner for the black ooze. Eugene was behind me, keeping the sage burning and checking the protection spells I drew on the walls and floors. We also lined everything with salt. The basement was safe enough for now, and we've made it up the stairs to the main floor of the building with ease.

Up there, however, the magic became much stronger.

I kept my senses open, even though it drained more energy than I anticipated. I also kept checking for something other than the ooze, hoping I'd catch some student's or teacher's energy.

Thar was right. I should have come to practice more often.

Eugene was in much better shape than me, which made me painfully aware of my own weakness.

With a sigh, I pressed the chalk into the wall, and scribbled the symbol.

All my life, I've thought someone's power exclusively depended on how fast and how hard you could hit. But there was something in Thar's patience that ultimately made him stronger than most mages I've met.

"How do you do it?" I asked, making Thar halt, then move again.

"How do I do what?" He touched the walls, his fingers tracing the intricate panelling.

"Keep your senses open." I finished the drawing on the wall and squatted. "My head hurts so bad."

"You're focusing on all magic around you." Thar closed his eyes, fingers pressed on the wall. "This place is full of it. You're wasting your energy on it. Instead, focus on the change. Find the current vibration in the air and let your senses get accustomed to it. Like your eyes get accustomed to darkness. Then, detect only the changes."

With the chalk still in my hand, I tried to do as he said. Magic bombarded me immediately, making my head spin to the point of having to sit down. I took in a shaky breath and tried to swim through the sensations.

"Breathe through it." Thar said. "Let it calm down."

It was harder than it sounded, and it made me strain through it all, but it became easier after a few seconds. Not easy. Easier.

"It takes practice." Thar continued down the hallway.

"Come on, Jade." Eugene offered a hand. "We have to move."

I let him drag me back up, and we followed Thar.

There were no windows in the hallways, and it made me even more claustrophobic. There was also a possibility that any room with a window was swarming with black ooze. The idea of seeing our exits covered with demonic entities made the fear return.

We did not have a plan. Not really.

We were planning one step at a time, and the final question – how we were going to get out of here – was still unanswered. Could we reclaim the school before the black ooze conquered us?

Where was my father?

I doubted he just disappeared.

The vibration in the air stuttered, making me stop.

"Thar." I whispered, and he stopped too.

It was weird.

The black ooze was constant; it's strength pulsing, moving in straight direction, like wind. This felt like it was moving sideways. I wished I didn't remember what it reminded me of.

"Guys?" A familiar voice reached us from around the corner, from the hallway leading to the library.

My heart dropped, "Morta?"