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“What thing?” Malik snaps, pushing off the wall he’s leaning against.
“The creepy-ass dead chick that rose from the water and chased us back to the house.” Felix’s voice cuts through the silence, and my heart jumps as I turn around, seeing him walking down the last few stairs. His eyes cut to mine, and I feel both settled and uneasy as he watches me.
His eyes drop from mine first, turning toward Malik. “Shit was fucked, bro. She came out of the water and looked like some Samara orThe Grudgeshit. Her bones were cracking, and she was all contorted as she chased us through the woods. When I say shit was fucked,shit was fucked.”
Blaire shivers. “That sounds really creepy.”
“It was,” I mumble, my blood warming just being in Felix’s presence.
“So, what did you find?” Vera gestures to the oversized folder in my arms.
I slide the folder open, my eyes glancing at the notes I read last night.
“Basically, I read some doctor’s notes about this woman named Agnes, who was either batshit crazy, possessed by a demon, or a combination of both. I didn’t get that far. All I know is, the town hated her and wanted her dead, and I think… I think she stayed in the room we were in last night, at least for a little while. Her friend, Sarina, was the woman who slit her wrists, I believe. And whether she went crazy herself, or something happened, I don’t know. But she killed someone in that rec room, which explains the blood splatter.”
“What happened to this woman, Agnes?” Vera asks softly. She doesn’t understand; she didn’t read the stories that I did last night. Agnes wasn’t a good woman. If anything, she was cursed, a woman of black magic and pure evil.
“I didn’t get that far…” I whisper.
“Well, keep fucking reading,” Atticus snaps, snarlier than I’ve ever seen him.
“I think we need to go back to that side of town.” I look up at everyone, seeing equal measures of displeasure. “I hate to say it, but I also think I need the book from the school. I think it’ll have answers.”
“Hazel! You didn’t even want to touch that book,” Piper says with narrowed eyes.
“I don’t! But I don’t know how much I can find from patient records! I just think”—I sigh, bringing my hand through my hair—“it all is just too much. I don’t think I can do all of this.”
The seat beside me sinks, and I glance up, seeing Vera as she sets her hand on my back. “I’m sorry. I’m the one that started all of this. I think what you’ve found is good, and whatever you think we need to do, we will. Just let me know where to start.”
I take a deep breath, closing the folder, knowing I need to dive back into it, but not now. I’ll do it tonight, when I can digest every word in silence.
“I need the grimoire from the school, and then I think we need to go back to the asylum. I’m sorry.” I wince. “I can go back there myself. If no one wants to go with me, I will understand.”
“We’re going,” Felix snaps.
“Let’s get this over with, then,” Malik says, standing from his chair.
“Want me to stay back?” Atticus asks from the chair, getting comfortable.
“You’re coming, fucker,” Felix growls, snatching him by his shirt and pulling him up. They have a tense moment before Felix steps forward, and they do the bro hug that has me rolling my eyes. “How’s the arm?”
“No surgery,” he sighs. “Just a long-ass time in this fucking cast. Thing already itches.”
Felix nods, and they start walking up the stairs.
I go over to my backpack, shoving the folder back in and zipping it closed.
“Hazel.” Piper’s voice comes from the chair, and I see she’s the last one here, her eyes tired, wrapped in Levi’s sweatshirt he wore the night before. “It’s going to get worse, isn’t it?”
I bite my lip and then give her a nod. “I think so, Pipe.”
She nods, shoving off the couch. “Have you thought about taking your things out? Doing any protection spells, or banishing spells, or whatever else kind of spells you can do?”
I’ve thought about it. I’ve honestly thought about taking everything out that I promised I’d never go back to, but I can’t. Because the last time I played with magic, the darkness overtook me, and I ended up risking everyone. My grandma says not everyone can handle the magic. My family thought it was good that I put it away. There has to be a way to help, to fix this, without resorting to magic.
I shake my head. “No, Piper. I’m not doing magic.”
She smiles sadly and shrugs, as if she knew that would be the answer. “I just thought I’d ask.”
