The Ritual of Blood and Bone

Chapter Fifty-Eight

I meant to do a bonus chapter on Thursday or Yesterday for my YouTube challenge, but didn't get a chance. I planned to do a double update today instead but unfortunately got called into work. So, the bonus chapter will come tomorrow instead <3

Seraphina's body stills, her mouth completely dry. Her breathing is loud in her ears and lightning hums through her veins, making her skin tingle.

A deep scraping screeches behind her, making her cringe. Slowly, she turns to face it, her eyes widening as a giant black shadow grows before her, the darkness creeping along the corridors and up the old bookshelves. 

There is no shape to it, but as it moves, deep claw marks are slowly, painfully, carved into the wooden beams.

"Seraphina?"

She spins on her heels, her eyes wide, as Juliet appears behind her. 

juliet's mouth drops open in horror, her whole face going pale.

"Run!" Seraphina shouts, racing towards her.

A deep, bubbling growl ripples through the air behind them as Seraphina grabs Juliet's arm and pulls her away. 

The air shifts behind Seraphina's back and she feels something sharp skim her back, only millimetres away from her skin. She pushes Juliet ahead of her and spins around to face the shadow, her hands burning with sunlight.

The determined scream dies in her throat, replaced with a confused whimper. She lowers her hands, the light in her palms dimming.

There's nothing there. The library looks completely normal. The candles flicker with their usual warmth, there are no odd sounds or chilling silences. Seraphina frowns and turns to Juliet, whose head is tilted in confusion.

"Were we running?" she asks.

Seraphina opens her mouth to reply, but nothing comes out. Juliet touches her head, her frown growing deeper.

"What?" Seraphina finally asks.

"I..." Juliet trails off, looking into Seraphina's eyes. "I don't know." She shrugs casually and makes her way back to their table.

"Are you coming?" she asks casually. Seraphina swallows the lump in her throat and nods her head, forcing on a smile.

"Yeah, I forgot a book, I'll be back in a moment."

"Okay," Juliet says cheerily.

Seraphina takes in a sharp breath and walks back towards that aisle. Again, everything is normal. The air is pleasantly warm, there are no funky death smells, and the candlelight flickers with its warm golden glow.

It's like nothing happened.

Did anything happen? 

Fog clouds Seraphina's mind, making her feel strangely heavy. She's about to turn away when her eyes find the wooden collum. Slowly, she steps towards it, her breath hitched. Carved deep into the wood is a long, splintered scratch.

She reaches out with trembling hands. Her fingers graze the rough wood. She shudders, feeling nausea churn in her belly. That cruel laugh echoes in her mind, the sound distant, like a fleeting memory. She snaps her hand away sharply and steps away from the collum.

A thud behind her makes her squeak with fear and spin on her heels.

Resting on the stone floor is a book. Seraphina walks over to it and stares down at the faded, black leather. Slowly, she kneels down, unable to take her eyes off the strange lettering. Embroidered in what looks like pure, melted silver, the twisting, elegant letters are like no language she's ever seen before. Not that she's ever seen any other languages.