The Curse (H. Academy Series #1)
Chapter 46: Claustrophobia

My limbs went on autopilot.

I headed for the door, my hand already on the handle.

“Wait!” Thar grabbed my arm and pulled me right back. “Jade, you don’t know what’s out there!”

“Let. Me. Go.” I tried to shake him off, but he was too strong.

“Stop. Just stop.” Thar pulled me closer and grabbed my other hand, which made me feel caught, captured. “You don’t have a protection spell with you. You don’t have any potions. Stop.”

Rationally, I knew he was right. He’s always been right. About everything.

But-

“Thar-” I cried, tears flooding my eyes, and desperation creeping into my voice. “I have to- I have to go.”

“Yes.” He held me still. “But you need protection first. And a plan.”

I swallowed the pain in my throat. Alright. Alright.

Thar’s grip on my arms loosened when I stopped trying to move. He let me go.

“Okay?” He asked, eyes still too dark for my liking.

“Okay.”

He stepped away from me in an instant, and for the next two minutes, he opened every damn drawer in his room, including the ones under his bed. The room turned from a clean, empty place to a dumpster, with dry plants, vials, jars and books scattered everywhere. I couldn’t stay in one place, so I paced back and forth. Thar threw his phone my way.

“Call everyone.” He went back to creating a protection spell from some dry leaves. “Everyone.”

I went through his contacts, desperately searching for my friends’ names, but he didn’t have their numbers. Of course. Why would he? Tears stung in my eyes again, and I already stepped towards the door, when Thar took the phone.

“I’ll do it.” He said. “Put the leaves in your pockets.”

“We don’t-” My voice shook. “There’s no time.”

“Jade.” Thar put the phone on his ear. “Leaves.”

I nodded and walked to the table while he called someone.

“Darth? Where are you?”

I stuffed my pockets with dry leaves, feeling stupid. Why would this protect me from anything?

“There’s going to be an attack.” Thar spoke into the phone. “Right now.”

My throat bobbed.

“We need to remove the curse. Now. Right now.”

Why the fuck was I still here?

“Thar...” I murmured, my legs itching to start moving.

His forehead wrinkled, “Darth? Darth, what’s going on?”

My eyes widened.

No.

No.

When Thar looked at me, his eyes were full of panic.

I was out of the room before he managed to react. No one, not even Goddess herself, could stop me as I burst through the door and stumbled through the hallways. I didn’t even care. Not one single rational thought occupied my brain.

If I could reach them a second sooner, I would.

I ran down the stairs, hearing Thar shouting my name somewhere behind me. The school suddenly came alive with lights and shouting and commotion, but the outside world barely grazed me. I had only one thing on my mind.

Find them.

Warn them.

Help them.

Somewhere behind me, I heard other teachers leaving their chambers, rushing in the same direction as me. After I left the building and found myself in the backyard, I heard and saw nothing for a few seconds.

The grounds of the Hunt Academy were completely shrouded in darkness.

It was unnatural; as if black clouds settled over the grounds. I blinked a few times, eyes adjusting to the darkness. Then, I saw it.

And it was a sight to behold.

Something black and dark and oozy crawled over the main building, disappearing within the cracks between windows, devouring plants climbing up the walls.

The black ooze crawled over the main building like ants; determined and deadly.

It was going to devour the building. And I had to go in there.

For a second, I stood and stared, dumbfounded.

Then, faint screaming reached through the buzzing in my ears.

My limbs moved. I entered the main building through the backdoor, opposite of the ooze. A palpable sense of unease hung in the air. The once familiar hallways were now cast in an eerie, flickering light, the bulbs sputtering as if struggling to stay alive. There was a distant cacophony of screams and shouts, coming from somewhere beyond.

My heart raced, each beat echoing in my ears as I followed the dimly lit corridor. The air was thick with tension, and the pungent odour of ozone lingered. Dampness seeped through every crack and crevice. It was a nauseating combination.

I breathed in and opened up my senses, prepared for the sudden flood of sensations crawling under my skin. Magic was so damn strong that I stumbled back, hand grabbing one of the statues lining the hallway. Fear wrapped around me like a suffocating shroud.

I turned the corner when someone grabbed my hand.

I screamed.

Amma screamed.

Her flashlight blinded me.

“Shit!” I shouted, then put both of my hands over my mouth.

“Jade!” Amma put the phone down. “Where- I have been looking-”

“What are you doing here?” I searched her pale face, looking for wounds. “Where is everyone?”

“I-” She looked around, flashlight illuminating the walls. “I thought about it. What you said. And the reasoning just didn’t fit. The whys. So I figured it out. More students. He needed more students to complete whatever ritual he’s doing. That’s why Winston Academy students came-”

“We have to move.” I grabbed her hand, the magic around us turning denser. “We can’t stay in one place.”

“I have stuff. Ingredients. Spells. Weapons.” She removed her backpack off her shoulder. “A bunch.”

“You’re amazing and I love you.” I pulled her with me down the hallway. “We need a quiet room.”

“Thar’s training room is shielded.” Amma said, but her voice cracked. “Morta’s not answering her phone.”

Pain gathered in my throat, “She’s fine. We have to move.”

As we moved forward, the occasional burst of panicked cries reached us. The hallway stretched ahead, seemingly endless. My senses were on high alert, attuned to every sound, every movement. The flickering lights cast erratic shadows on the walls, playing tricks on my mind. I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were being watched, that danger lurked just beyond our field of vision. The fear was no longer an abstract concept; it was tangible, a pulse that resonated through my veins.

The screams, the flickering lights, the dense, moist air – it was as if the very fabric of this place had been tainted by the intrusion of something malevolent.

We descended to the basement and went for Thar’s training room when another flashlight blinded us and we stumbled backwards, clinging onto each other.

“Jade?” Thar’s face appeared behind the light.

He was with Darth. He was pale. Distraught.

“Hi.” I mumbled. “We need your training room.”

“You cannot just run away like that!” His voice cracked, and his expression gained a shadow I’ve never seen before. “I thought- I thought you went in through the front door-”

“I’m not an idiot.”

“Come on.” Darth spoke behind him. “They’re closing in. I can feel them. We need to get inside a shielded room.”

His words made me look around and focus on my senses.

Unease crawled under my skin as the magic in the air turned more palpable.

Amma grabbed my arm and pulled me to the training room.

Thar burst through the door, “Grab a chalk. Anything you can write on. We need to reinforce the shields.”

“I’ll get ingredients from my office.” Darth disappeared down the hallway. “To break the curse.”

“Give me your phone.” I told Amma.

“Why?”

“You have photos of my dad’s notebook, right?”

“Of course.”

“There might be something useful.”

“Good idea.” Thar was already burning sage and frankincense on the table, the thick smoke taking over the room.

Amma gave me the phone, then walked to the table and grabbed a chalk.

“This.” Thar flipped open one of his notebooks. “Draw it anywhere. Floors. Walls. Especially near the entrance.”

I went through her gallery, unable to determine which was my father’s notebook and which Demonology homework. I recognized the spell written in the unknown language, though, but didn’t know what to do with it. My heart felt stuck in my throat, not even beating. Lost and unfocused, I went through her contacts and tried Morta again. Each ring felt like a stab in the heart. No answer.

“Are you sure this room will hold?” I asked, the phone still pressed against my ear.

“It should.” Thar finished burning the sage, and now mixed other ingredients in a bowl in front of him. “It’s black magic protection. The same as around my room, the same as yours.”

Amma stopped drawing on the floor and looked up, “You gave that spell to all students.”

“Exactly.” Thar said. “If they used it, their rooms should be safe. Or safer.”

“We should have stayed in our rooms.” I breathed, the ringing in my ear unbearable.

Another thought crossed my mind.

Did my father know?

Did he know I’d either be in my room, Thar’s room, or Thar’s training room?

Did he know I’d be safe if I chose to stay in the school?

I pushed those questions away and went through the rest of the contacts.

I called Leon, my hand shaking as I pressed the phone against my ear again.

Just answer, you fucking asshole. Just answer your damn phone.

He didn’t.

“I have to go.” I breathed. “I have to find them.”

“Jade...” Thar looked up from the table.

But Leon and Morta weren’t answering, I had no idea where Eugene and Dean were, I even kind of wanted to save Bella, and I couldn’t do anything while stuck in this room.

The door behind me burst open, “We have a problem!”

Eugene and Darth stood there. Darth carried a bunch of jars and papers in his hands. Eugene was covered in sweat, his face flushed and his hair half-wet.

“What’s going on?” Thar asked.

“The black ooze covered all the windows.” Eugene inhaled deeply, like he’s been running. “We’re closed in. We can’t leave the building.”

My legs almost gave out. My throat closed in. The smell of sage and frankincense turned too strong, and I couldn’t breathe.

“Where are the rest?” Thar asked. “Lorenia, Lange?”

“Leading the students this way.” Darth put the jars and papers on the table. “There’s- there’s no use fighting the ooze.”

“What do you mean?” I found my breath again. “The students aren’t cursed! Just tell them to fight!”

“Magic attracts the ooze.” Darth went through the papers. “Moving undetected is safer if you can’t kill it. Which they aren’t strong enough to do.”

“If we’re stuck here...” Amma’s voice trailed off, the chalk in her hand shaking. “How are we going to get out? The protection spells won’t last forever!”

“We’ll need to move out.” Thar mushed the ingredients in the bowl. “Reclaim the building. Room by room.”

I swallowed, “We won’t be able to save them all if we move room by room.”

“We already haven’t saved them all, Jade.” Eugene whispered. “Half of the main hall is covered in black ooze. At least two dozen students didn’t make it out of the room.”

I stopped that sentence from fully reaching my brain, because I knew it would just make everything harder for me in the long run.

“Okay, okay.” I shook my head, my brain refusing to accept our reality. “We need to clear the hallways.”

“Exactly.” Thar stood next to me. “We have to clear the way for Lange and Lorenia and the other students. Here, we can take off the curse and fight the demons for real.”

I was itching to get out of the training room, start moving, start finding my friends.

“I’m going.” I headed for the door. “Eugene?”

“Yes.” The boy followed me immediately.

“I’m going, too.” Thar said. “Darth, can you handle the curse on your own?”

“Of course.” Darth said. “Ammelise can stay with me.”

“Wait!” Amma shouted, stopping us in our tracks. “Take something, take weapons.”

“What is a knife going to do against demons?” I asked.

“Nothing, but it’s still a knife.” Amma opened up her backpack and took out a whole bunch of weapons. “You might need it for other stuff.”

When we simply stared at her, she raised her head, “I stopped by the kitchen on my way here. Who wants an axe?”

“That’s a meat cleaver.” Thar murmured.

“Me!” Eugene raised his hand.

“One small axe for Eugene.” Amma gave it to him. “Jade.”

I shrugged, “A knife, I guess.”

She gave one army knife to me, which I had nowhere to put, but folded and gripped anyway.

“We also have to change.” Amma nodded, realising my concern. “Put on pants.”

In a minute, we were ready to go, and every fear I’ve kept at bay for the past ten minutes rushed right back to my front lobe.

I took in a deep breath and left Thar’s training room.

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