A strange peculiarity || Enoch O'Connor

chapter twenty nine

Leo awoke with the feeling that aomething was wrong, very wrong. For one thing, it felt like something was pressing down on his chest and restricting his breathing, and the other? Jeanette was missing.

"Jenny! Jenny no!" He choked out, Alice was by his side in an instant, worried about the boy she saw as a brother. His breathing began to get worse.

"Mel! Come quick, Leo can't breathe!" Alice bellowed across the flustered group. The winged girl ran over at once, leaving Aimee and Stephan to stare after her in surprise. Melanie paled at the sight of Leo, his cheeks flushed from lack of oxygen, his eyes dark and his breathing rapid. Too rapid.

"This is dark magic." She muttered, pushing Leo's head back, opening his airways a little more. It did almost nothing to help him. He began to choke. "There isn't anything I can do."

Leo gasped for breath. "Jenny!" He managed, they all knew that the girl would know what to do, but she had gone and even Enoch didn't know where she was or why she had left them. Miss Eagle's peculiars felt lost, Jeanette had provided them with a sense of security that they had taken completely for granted. She always seemed to know what to say and what to do. Alice and Melanie exchanged worried glances.

"She's gone Leo, we don't know where she is." Alice finally told him.

"No!" He choked out, probably thinking the same thing they were, Ethan had taken his best friend. The pressure was encroaching on unbearable.

"Leo calm down, if you don't... everything will be okay." Melanie told him gently, she couldn't bring herself to say the words 'we may lose you' even though they had little hope for him.

"What's going on?" Voices began to merge into one in audible babble and Leo began to panic as black spots appeared in his vision. He managed to make out Cameron staring at him in confusion.

"I promised... never... again." Was all Leo managed to work out from what Cameron had said.

"If not... lose him." Melanie answered worriedly, Cameron never replied, but Leo felt a sudden lightness inside of him, he felt the pressure disperse and peace restored. His eyes began to close.

And then someone was shaking him awake. "How do you feel?' He stared bleary-eyed at Alice, who grinned at him hopefully. He mumbled something incoherent to her, causing her to laugh and help him into a sitting position.

"What happened to me?" He asked, Cameron sat down on his other side.

"Ethan, he put a spell on you, I think he was going to appear and play hero, I helped you instead." He replied, Leo frowned.

"He wouldn't..." He murmured without conviction.

"He would Leo, whether he loves you or not, he's using you. You're just a pawn in his game." Cameron told him, Leo looked down at his hands, biting back tears, he had known this deep down, but he had so hoped it wasn't true. "Besides, it had his name written all over it."

"What do you mean?" Alice asked curiously.

"When we learnt magic, we never learnt how to cover out tracks, which means he all but signed his name on it." Cameron replied, sighing heavily. "Only the girls figured out how to do it."

"Is that how none of us has been able to find Evie?" Leo asked weakly, Cameron just nodded.

"We've tried so many times, and got nothing." He told them. "I'm sorry Leo, but what ever had corrupted my cousin probably will never let him go."

^^^
Jeanette walked silently through the rubble, stepping over piece of debris after piece of debris until she found what she was looking for.

She knew where the wights wanted to go, that had become obvious to her now, she just had to check whether the guardian was still alive.

The hideout was in ruins when she got there, whether that be because of bombs or wights, she wasn't sure, but she entered anyway. It was only the first few rooms that were unusable anyway. The more important rooms, in the centre of the house, they stood intact, and as she went into the library, she felt cold air course through her and felt the sting of death in the room.

She was too late, the pinicle of the resistance was gone. Everyone was gone. She was too late. Lying amongst torn up books and blood-stained furniture, she saw the twisted, mangled body of the guardian, they had the key to the library of souls now, and she knew they knew where to find it. For they had Ethan. A chill ran through her bones, and she turned to see a projection stood there.

"Thought you'd be here?" He was smug, he was always smug.

"Do you have any idea what you have done?" She whispered, she couldn't bring herself to speak.

"Saved us." He answered. She laughed, not her usual light chuckle, the was dark, full of venom.

"You've killed us all." She replied, her eyes dark, she could barely stand to look at him anymore.

"Oh you're so wrong Jenny." He said softly, she shook her head, her eyes boring into his as she glared at him.

"I hope they kill you slowly." And then she walked straight thtough him and out of the room. She felt betrayed, upset... angry. So angry.

The others, they would be in danger now, he might as well have signed all of their death warrants.

Could there be any saving peculiar kind now? Or maybe the world wpuld be better off without them, they were an old and dying race anyway.

She didn't like to think this, but how could she have hope now that she knew the truth? How could she hope to save the others when she knew there was no saving them, that the likely hood of them winning would be minute. That peculiardom was doomed?