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A large star, circled with symbols I can't understand, dominates the floor. Dusty books and jars clutter the room. The eeriness is overwhelming, and the air smells damp.
“What is it?” I ask aloud, staring at the mysterious star.
“I don't know, I've seen that symbol before, though,” she tells me.
“Where?” I ask, trying to remember it.
“Satish, he used to draw something similar in the barn, but I don't know what those symbols are, I've never seen those before,” she answers. I step into the star, bending to look closer. The moment I touch one, the temperature plummets and whispers fill my head.
Suddenly, ghostly figures appear, their swirling forms create a vortex of chilling presence around me. “Nova!” I call out, jumping up, only I hit some sort of wall.
The whispers are unsettling, like the walls are alive and breathing, whispering secrets. A wall of ice-cold air prevents me from leaving and my eyes widen as I take in hundreds of ghostly faces, all crowding around me, every direction I turn I find more, panic rising in my chest.
A scent of rotten flesh and bones, and another like burning firewood, fill my nose. The ghostly figures are skin and bones, their gaunt faces twisted in anguish and despair. Eyes wide open and mouths gaping in fright as they scream and chant, I cover my ears, the noise growing louder and louder, making my head pound, the increasing pressure has me screaming.
Whispers float around me, “You shouldn't be here.” The words are a chilling accusation, “You… the curse-bearer.” The spirits reach for me, their touch as cold as their intent. The swirling forms of see-through figures create a vortex of chilling presence around me, and a chorus of whispers fills the air.
The whispers pierce my ears like a form scratching a chalkboard. The ground shakes beneath my feet, the windows rattling. The walls lined with overflowing shelves, shaking, the contents spilling onto the floor; books covered in dust and cobwebs, jars and containers of dried herbs, preserved insects and animals falling from shelves. The whispers are now just a humming sound, like a hive of bees, and it feels like it is crushing against my skull.
“Temperance!” Eziah's voice forces its way into my head, adding to the pressure. I scream in agony as I try to answer, yet my tongue feels thick in my mouth, my words, and thoughts becoming jumbled as they are consumed by the words from the figures that surround me.
The walls begin to peel and crack, dark patches spread over them like an infection spreading, eating away at the flesh of the manor, the whispers grow louder, like a wave that's trying to consume me.
A hiss cuts through the whispering voices, “Leave!” The command, full of malice and anger, sends a jolt of terror down my spine. “You can't be here, you'll curse us all.” I realize then that I am trapped, alone with spirits fueled by anger. Nova’s fear echoes inside me, her howls full of the terror that grows within. She screams for Shadow to come forward to help, yet she is dormant while Nova is awake, and she can't reach her. I feel it in every breath I draw, an icy chill that threatens to freeze my lungs. “Cursed blood.” I try to make sense of their words, but nothing makes sense.
The spirits no longer hover; they penetrate, an onslaught of whispering anger that feels like a thousand ice-cold needles pricking my skin. The room spins, faster and faster, until the boundaries blur into a whirl of terror. A searing pain explodes in my chest, ripping a terrified scream from my throat. The cry dies in the darkening room, the echoes drowned out by the vengeful spirits’ assault.
“What do you want from me?” I scream the question, clutching my head, the pressure inside my skull becoming too much. “Justice,” they chant, their voices rising in a harmony of anger. “Go back to the pits of hell,” they scream.
Confusion and terror wash over me. “What do they mean?” I try to ask Nova, unable to comprehend their rage. Shadow appears in my mind, her presence a thin thread of hope amidst the chaos. But her message is clear.
“Run! You need to get out before they trap you here,” her voice barely audible, just a mere whisper in the cacophony of voices. But how? I am trapped, the storm of their magic locking us in the star’s boundaries.
Panic overpowers me, and I gasp for air that no longer seems to exist. I crumble, my knees hitting the cold floor as I try to block out the spirits with my hands over my ears. The door pounds, the sound a faint echo over the roar of their hollow voices. Nova, long gone, having been forced to retreat, only Shadow’s whispers remain, her voice floating away as the chants grow louder, their voices echoing as my vision tunnels. “Eziah….” my voice travels, I feel the coldness as they start swarming me, moving through me, each one feeling colder than the last, suffocating and freezing my lungs.
With a crash, the door swings open. Dominic and Kyan rush into the room, Eziah following closely behind. Their expressions mirror the fear in my heart as they peer around.
My eyes meet Eziah's and his eyes widen. “No!” he gasps, rushing forward, and I blink, just as I see Dominic reach for him, his panicked voice booming through the room.
“Eziah, no!” But he's too late, Eziah steps into the star, reaching for me. An unseen force throws him back, his body crashing into the wall. His groan of pain is lost in the chaos, but it’s the most terrifying sound of all. As his form crumples to the ground, the bond I share with him ripples. Eziah sits up, and I feel my eyes rolling in my head.
“They’re killing her,” Kyan says from a distance. A cold hand grips my heart, the truth in his words colder than the ghostly figures around me. His hands glow as he chants, his eyes turning a demonic black and the room ripples as his aura shifts. The ghostly figures react to him; his canines protrude when suddenly, he speaks, chanting in a language I don't understand and suddenly the ground is rushing toward my face, my body slumping on the ground as I struggle to suck in a breath.
With a last-ditch effort, Dominic grabs Kyan's hand. The combined strength of their powers creates a surge of energy that clashes with the ghost's relentless assault. I feel my consciousness fading, the world around me becoming a distant echo. The last thing I remember is the soft glow of their magic, and Dominic and Kyan's voices booming through the place. The power of their magic warming me, but it's too late, and the darkness claims me and swallows me whole.
ChapterThirty-Three
Eziah
Her fear has me jolting awake, my heart hammering against my ribs. Instantly, my head turns to find the other side of the bed is cold, empty. “Temperance?” I call out into the quiet room, my voice filled with panic. The emptiness echoes back, swallowing my words.
I leap to my feet and race to the bathroom; the cold marble under my bare feet sends shivers up my spine. I fling open the door but find nothing except silence. “Temperance!” I yell, my voice echoing throughout the manor. I sniff the air, trying to catch her scent, but there's nothing. Just the faint smell of vanilla from the candles she lights before bed.
Desperate, I run through the halls, throwing open doors of bedrooms, the library, and the kitchen, each room as empty as the last. My heart feels like it's about to explode out of my chest as I feel her fear, her pain. It's almost tangible. It's like a vice around my chest, squeezing tighter with each passing second.
“Temperance, where are you?” I call out again, reaching to see if I can find her through the mindlink. But it's quiet, disturbingly so. I freeze, my heart hammering in my chest when a bloodcurdling scream pierces the silence. Her scream.
I spin on my heel, searching for the direction it's coming from. Suddenly, doors fly open, and Kyan bursts out of his room, looking as panicked as I feel. The manor begins to shake, windows rattling in their frames. It’s as if the entire house is alive. Marabella emerges, her face white as a sheet. “The kids,” she gasps, racing towards her son's room with Jonah hot on her heels.
