The Curse ✔️

Chapter 13: Intro to Potions

I aired out the hallway for the fifth time since we began this goddess damned project. The stench of herbs and compost was so strong that I feared my nose would stay permanently wrinkled. Amma ferociously stirred the greenish concoction in the cauldron and skimmed through the pages of her notebook, a bewildered expression on her face.

"These make no sense." Morta read the notes I copied from my father, wholeheartedly ignoring Amma's attempts at finishing our project. "Half of it is in Latin, and as you all might know, I failed Latin. And the other stuff is just names of stuff I never heard of. What the hell is a dancing plant?"

"Maybe you should help me instead of reading that thing!" Amma called for help and I jumped to her.

"Eh, I failed Intro to Potions, I wouldn't be of much use." Morta returned to reading the notes.

"What did you put in this?" I squinted at the thick, greenish liquid, trying to keep myself from breathing in.

"I literally followed the instructions Professor Lorenia gave us!" Amma's voice was outraged, her green eyes turning darker and I saw the witch in front of me for the first time since we've met.

"It says it's supposed to be of light pink colour." I stared at the concoction. "This is not pink."

"Maybe we should just throw it out and start anew." Amma sighed and dramatically threw her hands in the air, dropping her notebook on the floor and letting the liquid devour the ladle.

"Jade! Jade, Jade!" Morta's eyes enthusiastically widened and I immediately forgot about the project. "Look!"

She tapped the book with her finger and pointed to the familiar drawing. A pentagram, with one point painted black. The blood in my veins stopped flowing.

"What the hell?" I inspected the drawing. My father never said anything about this. Of course, he knew I had it on my wrist because it happened the moment I was born, but I never told him about the point blackening.

"What does it say?" Amma peaked over my shoulder.

"Solvo malitiam." As soon I said the words out loud, a gush of cold air entered the hallway. Ice flowed through my veins, gnawing at my bones and my flesh. My magic responded and I felt it drawn out of my skin. A sleazy, liquid sense crawled up my skin. The same one I felt in the main hall before the black ooze attacked.

"Oh, my Goddess!" I shouted as I realised. My hands worked faster than my mind and I grabbed the pen, scribbling over the words as fast as I could.

"What? What?!" Amma shrieked next to me.

"The lighter, someone, fast!" I tore the page out while Morta leaped over to her bag, throwing all content out. The slimy feeling grew stronger, pulling at my magic, dragging it out of my flesh. Not understanding any of it, I lit the paper on fire and watched the letters burn.

"Get me salt!" I demanded once again. My magic calmed down and the prickling sensation of a possible attack ceased, but I wasn't about to risk it. Fortunately, Amma had a bottle of salt nearby because she used it for the potion. I scooped the ashes of the page and mixed them with salt.

For some reason, salt was a strong bad energy repellent.

"What just happened?" Morta's icy eyes more frozen than usually.

"I think we just avoided an attack." I murmured, still feeling my raging heartbeat. I collapsed into the chair next to the window, trying to enjoy the magic-free air.

"There's a lesson somewhere in this situation." Morta put her finger on her chin and casually dropped herself on the chair next to me.

"What the hell, girls?! This is an obvious sign we need some help! I get that you," Amma turned to me, "are hell-bent on solving this mystery all on your own, and that you," she turned to Morta, "generally don't give a shit about who lives or dies-"