The Curse (H. Academy Series #1)
Chapter 9: Demon-Hunting Study Group

Morta threw five books on the table in my room. Why and how my room became the official meeting site was beyond me. I looked over the names of books. History of demons. Sigils and other important symbols. Invoking a demon. Banishing a demon. Advanced Black Magic.

“Advanced Black Magic? Just because I can create magical tweezers doesn’t mean I’m ready for advanced magic.” I pointed out.

“Oh, well, if you first learn fractions, division won’t be a problem.” Morta shrugged and threw herself on the red leather armchair in the corner.

“Or, you won’t understand fractions because you can’t divide jack shit.” I suggested, to which Morta waved away with her hand.

“Okay,” Amma showed up on the doorstep, “I’ve got coloured pencils, highlighters, chalks, lots of blank paper and a ruler.” She put the bag full of stuff next to the table.

“Are we in kindergarten?” Morta arched her eyebrow.

“We need to be prepared! This is a lot of books and we don’t know anything! Why am I only seeing books about demons and black magic?” Amma looked over the table suspiciously.

“Because we’re fighting a demon with black magic?” Morta answered, causing Amma’s gaze to turn distraught.

“It’s honestly no wonder you failed so many subjects. Make yourself useful and get us intros to everything.” Amma shooed Morta with her hand and began tidying up the table.

“Where did all this sass come from?” Morta asked but got up.

“You may be at home when it comes to insults and dark, death-related stuff, but studying is my area.” Amma took out the blank papers and placed them in the middle of the table. Morta mumbled something, probably insults, on her way out, but Amma didn’t budge.

“Okay, how do we do this?” I asked, admitting her superiority. She was a valedictorian in high school. If someone was able to find hidden secrets and dangerous information, it was this girl.

“I am going to read this book,” Amma lifted Sigils and other important symbols, “find anything I can about that pentagram of yours and see whether something like that has ever happened before. Once Morta comes back with an Intro to Black Magic, you’re going to read that and practice.”

“I can do more than that.” I suggested.

“We don’t have time to gather information, you need to start practicing immediately. It’s like trigonometry, Jade, you have to learn while you calculate.” Amma handed a white chalk to me.

“What do I do with this?”

“Until Morta returns, you are going to draw those symbols from your notebook in front of all the doors and windows on this floor.” Amma commanded in her teacher tone.

“That’s a good idea.” I turned to that immediately, taking the white chalk and walking over to the windows.

Autumn leaves covered the ground outside, colouring everything in yellow, orange and red, making this place livelier than it truly was. When I first learnt I would be coming here, I thought I would learn more tricks to help me through my life. Slowing down aging, removing cellulite, getting A’s in college and stuff like that. Little have I known I would actually be hunting down a demon. Or whatever it was that attacked us.

Thar was pretty clear in the class when he said white magic was effective against demons. Thousands of years of history proved him right. Yet, white magic didn’t help with the black ooze in the main hall.

Perhaps something much more dangerous was going on.

Something none of us understood. Tapping into it felt wrong, almost naive. Thinking that we could handle whatever came our way was the exact kind of superior thinking I wanted to avoid. Still, it seemed like we had no other choice.

My mind drifted away as I drew the symbols, trying not to remember how it felt to be surrounded by the black ooze, while students and teachers around me screamed and begged for my help. I didn’t want people to rely on me. I felt like I wasn’t adequate enough for such praise.

While I thought about my own misfortune, I caught sight of Leon, sitting on the bench outside, his face buried in his hands. Frowning, I called fort my magic and wrote on the window-sill.

You okay? Words appeared on the bench next to him and he lifted his gaze, as if sensing where my magic came from. His face was pale through the window and his usual smirk was gone, replaced by deep concern with a hint of fear. Quickly, he took out a paper out of his leather satchel and wrote back.

How is any of this okay? The message I wrote was gone, replaced by his retort. I felt his pain, because it mimicked mine. We were all together in this mess, no matter how much his girlfriend hated me. Pardon, ex-girlfriend.

Do you want to come up? I didn’t really think my proposition through. A light smile appeared on his face as he wrote back.

Any other day and I’d be all over this, but I’m gonna have to refuse. There’s stuff I gotta deal with on my own.

I’m sorry, I know everything that happened is a lot to take in. I wrote. Frankly, I didn’t want him to be alone. If I were alone, I’d go mad at this point. Empathy was the least we could all offer to one another.

Can I take your invitation and use it some other time? I chuckled at the words, but I also needed some fun in my life. Leon probably wasn’t the best person to turn to, but Morta was too morbid and Amma too ambitious, I needed someone grounded.

Only if you bring a bottle of witch’s brew.

Leon smiled at my words and waved towards the window. I waved back and he walked away. After everything that happened, I didn’t have enough strength in me to worry about my reputation. Plus, saving the school had to count for something.

I drew the symbols under all the windows and proceeded to the doors, interrupted by Morta.

“I brought backup!” She pointed behind her with her thumb and Dean walked in, carrying at least a dozen of books. “And all the intros.”

“Hi, Eugene and I wanted to help, but he’s busy training with Professor Lange. His affinity finally showed and it’s fire. Which means he might be of more use if something attacks again.” Dean’s lime-coloured eyes seemed darker and his caramel skin was pale, despite its colour. A man that usually looked so colourful and alive was suddenly gloomy.

This was taking its toll on all of us.

“Do you have an affinity?” Amma asked. Her face turned red the moment she saw him, but she kept the dominance in her voice strong. Apparently, nothing stood in her way when it came to studying.

“Yeah, water.”

“Great. Find a book and start practicing.” She commanded and returned to reading. The book was in her left hand and the notebook under her right. She was already taking notes. Which made me imagine what this would look like if only Morta and I did it. Probably half-assed.

“But, I can help you read?” Dean suggested, his expression puzzled.

“Do I look like I can’t read?” Amma’s blank expression was hilarious.

“If I were you, I’d just listen to her.” I returned to drawing the symbols under the door. Morta walked past me and slouched back into the armchair, interrupted by Amma’s raging voice.

“Do not even think about sitting down. You’ve a minute to name all the things you’re good at.”

“Uh, weird fetishes, pretending I care-”

“Magic, Morta!” Amma shouted.

“I don’t have an affinity if that’s your question.” Morta grimaced.

“Then, pick a book and start reading. Invoking a demon, perhaps.” Amma offered a book.

“Girl, you need to take a chill pill.”

“No!” Amma put her book down and stood up, catching our attention. “You can pretend like this doesn’t affect you, but I won’t. Fifteen of our classmates died yesterday because we weren’t properly prepared. Now, I can’t do much magic, but I can read and highlight and make notes. If there’s a slight chance that could help, I’ll do it. And you better do your part, Morta, because this school is just as much yours as it is mine!”

Without another word, Morta swallowed and got up. To my surprise, she walked over to the table and grabbed Invoking a demon, a blank paper and a pen. In utter silence, she began to read.

After I finished up drawing symbols in my room and the hallway, I proceeded to Morta’s and Amma’s room. Both rooms were incredibly similar to mine, except Amma’s was much lighter, with soft, beige sheets and tapestry covered in moss-coloured plants and all kinds of animals. Morta’s was a complete contrast, with its deep purple sheets and curtain-covered windows, outlined with dark, almost black, wood.

In no time, we were all completely engrossed with our tasks. I read the Intro to Black Magic, learning about things I knew how to use, but never knew why and what they were called. There was even a theory of dark witches’ and demons’ common ancestor, which was intriguing.

Amma and Morta scribbled down pages and pages of notes, talking quietly amongst themselves when they found something interesting.

“Where can I practice?” Dean asked after he skimmed through the book on water affinity.

“Bathroom?” I suggested. “But don’t ruin the tub!”

“So, basically,” Amma said suddenly, “white magic comes from the elements and black magic comes from the witch or mage, right?” Morta and I nodded. “Does this mean that a white magic user would run out of magic sooner? Considering it’s hard to keep channelling all the time.”

“Well, Professor Lange said that witches that have an affinity have it easier.” Morta answered. “As you may know, Elemental Magic was one of the rare subjects I passed.” She looked at Amma pointedly.

“We know you’ve got potential, Goddess of Death.” I murmured.

“Anyway, if a witch has an affinity for earth, it’s easier for her to channel magic when she’s close to earth. Same goes for all other affinities. Therefore, the strongest might be spirit, because it literally feeds off the energy of other witches around. That’s also why spirit witches tend to do tarot readings and such, everything regarding other people is simpler to them, like reading emotions and subtle nuances of behaviour.” Morta showed off a little and we didn’t interrupt her.

“But, what happens if a witch runs out of stuff connected to her affinity? Like, what would a water mage do in the desert?” Amma asked.

“He could still channel the energy around him. There are some witches that don’t have an affinity. They are by far the weakest of all, but they can still use magic.” Morta shrugged.

“I assume not everything has energy equally strong?” Amma seemed to be onto something and I closed my book, paying my full attention to them.

“That’s what you learn in Intro to Potions and Healing Magic.” Dean peeked out of the bathroom, his face entirely wet, but a huge grin circling it.

“Like, magic plants, right?” I asked.

“Yup, some are stronger than others. Remember that lust charm.” Dean winked towards Amma and her face reddened.

“You can do some sick shit with mandrake.” I said. “My mom is a potion maker with an affinity for earth, I know a thing or two.”

“Could you use herbs as a backup defence plan? If other energy ran out.” Amma asked.

“Sure, fill your pockets with herbs and you can create small protection fields without using too much of your magic. Of course, it wouldn’t be nearly as strong as the protection spell Jade drew on your windows, but it could come in handy if things went awry.” Dean explained.

“Yeah, but try sticking a mandrake in your pocket. It’s probably going to turn on you and give you away to your enemies.” I puffed.

“Screw the mandrake, you wouldn’t have enough space in your pockets for all the plants you’d need.” Morta said. “Which is why herb magic is fucking useless.”

An idea popped into my head.

“But you could sow the herbs into your clothes.” I said out loud.

“Now, that’s an idea.” Dean nodded. “You’re smarter than you look, Jade.”

“Thanks?”

“Wait, it works that way?” Amma lifted her head. “What about the symbols Jade used on the windows and doors? Could we draw those on our clothes?”

“Technically.” Dean said after a moment of thinking. “Yes. That might work.”

“We draw the symbols on our clothes and sow in the herbs.” I mumbled. “We could create a demon-proof shield.”

“I vote we do that.” Morta jumped in. “But keep in mind that those symbols aren’t all-powerful. Jade managed to repel the black ooze because she reinforced the symbols with black magic. None of us yield that.”

“But it does something. I mean, they help, don’t they?” Amma’s eyes begged for positive feedback.

“Yes,” Dean nodded, “the symbols definitely help.”

“We’re never going to learn anything.” I whined as I realised, we were just figuring out what magic was. Learning how to take on a demon was far beyond us.

“I don’t like that attitude, missy.” Amma raised the pink highlighter as a warning. “We are going to study all day long. And whatever we don’t understand, we’ll ask the teachers.”

“I’m going to put on coffee.” Morta looked like she was in pain when he got up.

“It’s going to take us months, Amma.” I said, knowing I was right. We may have all the ambition in the world, but there was no way to bring out magic to perfection in a few days.

“Well, we need to get better, not best.” Amma shrugged. “I suggest that Jade begins drawing the symbols on the insides of our jackets.”

I sighed and got up, taking the book with me. Amma was right, but knowing there was no way to stop this was infuriating. We had to rely on teachers to defend us and they didn’t want to share information. They didn’t even want us present while discussing the matters. I caught Morta in the hallway while I walked over to the wardrobe containing our coats.

“Amma’s way is good, but it’s slow.” Morta murmured.

“I know, but there’s not much else we can do. We don’t even know what that thing was.” I took out coats from the hangers.

“We could find out, you know?” A mischievous grin danced on her black-painted lips.

“I mean, I could ask my dad, but I doubt he’d tell me. Is your mother coming to the school?”

“She’s in Vatican with the Arch Mage, but my thoughts were somewhere along the line of not asking anyone anything.”

“What do we do?” I silently accepted.

“Break into the main hall, take a sample of the black ooze? Listen in on our teachers’ precious council? Lots of things we could do.” Morta took a sip of her coffee, black like her entire demeanour.

“We do both.” I nodded.

“Deal.”

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