Chapter Forty-Seven Shall my sister be
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
Shall my sister be
IN THE DAYS FOLLOWING RUSH, I stayed in my dorm.
I had a fever that anchored me to bed, leaving me tossing and turning with horrible dreams of limbs being torn and rope-wielding figures pursuing me.
Luke was dead, and others had died that night: Pete and the three Sigma members caught in the onslaught of the swamp creature.
Yet somehow, my dreams trailed again and again to Kasem, to his figure in the swampy waters of Westfield, to his brown eyes and the red veins lining them as he nearly drowned in the water that night.
My fever was vicious. I dreamed he lay next to me, his lips brushing the tip of my ear, his mouth suckling my fingertips, tasting every inch of me until I was warm and aching all over.
But then the dream became a nightmare, and Kasem’s figure morphed into vultures pecking at my flesh, pushing me against the tree, gnawing and consuming me.
I woke, trembling, to the sound of my phone ringing.
“I heard there was an accident on campus,” came Louisa’s voice from the other side of the line. The news had already spread. I coughed into my sleeve, clearing my throat and shifting to sit up.
“They contacted some parents and family members of those affected,” Louisa said. “I’m surprised you were one of them.”
“I—I hadn’t planned to be. But yes. I was there.”
“That’s not like you, Sianna. You’re making me worried. Is everything okay? Did I upset you with what I said about the fire?”
Again, I coughed, briefly muting the phone so Louisa wouldn’t become more worried or insist on me seeing the nearest spiritual guide. Though, with ghosts and wraiths haunting Westfield’s campus, that might actually be a good idea.
“I’m fine. I was just curious.”
“Curiosity without caution is a dangerous path. Especially if it leads to you breaking school curfew and nearly getting killed over some party in a swamp.”
“Is that how Westfield’s framing what happened?” Not as a hazing gone wrong but a simple party in the swamp by rebellious college students.
“Just be careful,” Louisa said. “And get some rest. You don’t sound well.”
At my bedside, the switchblade remained. When the call ended, I picked it up, closing the mechanical hinge as I examined it. There were answers within its crevices, a story woven in whatever timeline it had originated from. Maybe this could be the answer to breaking Kasem’s curse.
I tried to channel into its past, but my fever had drained most of my energy, and all I could muster were faint glimpses into time—the night of the stabbing, the blade stored in a display in the History Department, and then members of Alaster’s side of the family parading it around like a trophy.
When I’d nearly recovered from my illness, the weeks that followed were an endless cycle of classes and piano lessons, electives and preparing for exams before the last days of November bled into the holidays.
My roommate was living at Rose House with her boyfriend. At this point, she’d taken most of her things, leaving only a small box at the door labeled TAKE/DONATE. Inside the box was a leather satchel with over-the-shoulder straps.
I placed the blade inside the satchel, slinging the bag over my shoulder before calling Jojo.
He picked up on the first ring.
“Do you have Honey’s number?”
“What?”
“Just text it to me and meet me at Angelica’s office.” I coughed into my sleeve and hung up.
When I arrived at Angelica’s office, she and Vivian were waiting. Jojo and Honey were with them too, and to my surprise, so was Kasem.
My heart raced at the memory of the shed, of our kiss, the taste of him, our bodies pressed against each other, his gentle touch. Seeing him after that night—and after another spent dreaming about his touch, desperate for him to hold me, to kiss me again, to taste me—was close to torture.
And here was Jojo too, watching me with his warm brown eyes. I couldn’t meet his gaze. I couldn’t look at either of them.
“What’s this meeting about?” Angelica said. She frowned, watching me. “Are you sick, Sianna?”
“I’m feeling nearly better,” I lied.
“Let me get you some tea,” Vivian said.
“I know a good incantation for mild colds,” Honey offered.
It was strange to hear them all talk about magic like it was something so utterly casual.
“I’m not a member of Theta,” I said. “Are you allowed to talk to me about magic?”
“You rushed, so as long as you’re in the process of becoming Theta, we are able to speak freely,” Honey said.
“We usually do an incantation on those who don’t end up becoming members, to give them hazy memories.
Besides, everyone here is familiar with affinities.
That’s not something we need to keep secret. ”
At my side, Jojo yanked off the knitted sweater he’d been wearing and pulled it over my head.
“Warm clothes, rest, and medicine work just as well,” he said, his pointed words meant for Honey.
“He’s right,” Angelica said. “An incantation is a bit faster. But it’s temporary and won’t beat the infection unless you get to the root of it.”
I shrugged the sweater off, moving away from Jojo.
“I’m assuming you being here means you’re going to help us break the curse?”
“You sounded sick on the phone. Of course I was going to come.”
“That doesn’t answer my question,” I said.
I wanted to tell him about the binding ritual and how we needed him for it. But I couldn’t beg for his help again. Not with Kasem nearby.
He sat away from our group. The chair he’d grabbed was turned backward, and he slouched with his legs spread apart, his arms crossed over the top of the chair. Dark shadows lined his eyes, and his hands had a faint tremor as he reached for a glass on the table and took a drink.
I withdrew the switchblade from the satchel.
“This was the attempted murder weapon,” I said, holding it up.
Honey looked surprised. She glanced at Kasem, who nodded. It seemed that he’d already told her my suspicions, but hearing it from me made it sink in.
“Are you sure?” Angelica asked, taking it from my hand and examining it. “I’ve seen this before.” She glanced between Jojo and Kasem. “Doesn’t this belong to your family’s collection?”
“It’s from Alaster’s side,” Jojo corrected. “It’s a knife that belonged to Confederate General Winhall.”
Jojo took the knife from Angelica, turning it in his hand.
He recounted how when Winhall had occupied campus, Kent and Duncan had defeated him in a battle.
“The story goes that after they killed the general and his troops, they had to burn all of their items, but Duncan asked to keep a souvenir of their victory.”
I stared at him, not surprised that he knew so much about its history but in awe that, finally, after all this time, he was helping. Even if only a little.
“I said I would try,” he whispered, meeting my gaze. “I’m trying.”
“I know,” I said. “Thank you.”
But Kasem was watching us. All of them were.
“There’s a collection of artifacts from the school in each of the university buildings,” Jojo added, handing the blade back to Angelica and addressing the room again. “There was a traveling exhibit too, and the blade was in the library before it was displayed in the School of Fine Art building.”
“Do you think it’s a relic?” I asked Vivian.
Everyone was quiet for a moment, letting my words sink in. In the time since encountering wraiths here at Westfield, somehow it had never occurred to us that a wraith of General Winhall could be loose on campus and connected to everything.
Vivian frowned. “We’d have to perform a summoning or ask a spirit who may have recently crossed from the realm of the living into the dead to see if they can contact its former owner.
Even when a wraith moves on, they have a connection to their relic.
It’s why the relic must be destroyed—so they have nothing tethering them to the realm of the living.
I did that with Danny’s journal when I possessed Sarah, and we’d have to do that with the general. ”
Kasem raised his hand. “I vote not to summon ghosts of Confederates.”
“Duncan was an abolitionist and loyal to the Union,” Honey corrected.
“But the blade belonged to Winhall,” Kasem said. “So wouldn’t it be his relic, not Duncan’s?”
Honey looked uncertain. “If Duncan kept it as a ‘souvenir’ of the Union’s victory at Westfield, maybe it belonged to him after.”
“It’s hard to tell. But an incredibly powerful relic, one that might belong to a wraith as old and bloodthirsty as Winhall, might be most closely tied to its original owner,” Vivian said.
“So even if Duncan saw it as a war trophy, if Winhall became a wraith and was tethered to it, unless a banishment ritual was performed, it could still be Winhall’s relic.
That said, it’s entirely possible that Duncan may have become a wraith too, and made it his relic. ”
Jojo was noticeably silent throughout the latter part of the exchange. I turned to him, waiting for the historical fact-checking that he was undoubtedly brimming to share. But he crossed his arms, glancing at his watch.
“I have a meeting right now. The board of trustees are visiting campus.”
Honey sighed. “Are my parents coming? They said they weren’t, but they’re always changing their plans last minute.”
“I doubt it. I didn’t see them among the Board’s attendees. Just a few names of the bigger donors.”
He shot me a look, a soft light coloring his expression. “Be careful,” he whispered, leaving the office with a quick glance at his brother and a nod at everyone else.
“If the blade is a relic and we attempt to summon Duncan, we might also be at risk of waking the general,” Angelica said.
“A wraith that has already manifested as corporeal in the living world is dangerous. But one that has been forcibly awoken can be deadly. It comes with the risk of becoming cursed.”
Startled, I spun to face Angelica.
“Wraiths can cast curses,” I repeated.
“Anyone who can channel both the realm of the living and the dead can. A curse is an incantation on one’s lineage, both the living and the dead, as well as those not yet born.”
All the pieces came together. A wraith, whether it was Duncan or Winhall, had likely cursed the Saint James family all those years ago. And if it was Duncan, then it would explain why Alaster, his descendant, felt it was his duty to inherit the estate. He’d had the knife, after all.
The realization sank in for all of us, and a curious light settled into Angelica’s expression.
She gave Vivian a questioning look. “Is it so?”
“I believe it may be,” Vivian said. She turned to me, her eyes bright.
“We’ve been consulting with the other ?nhye, trying to understand why your powers are connected to Kasem’s lifeline and the curse.
We believe that the night you saved Kasem and he became a wraith, the two of you may have cast an incantation, one so powerful that it bound your powers to his lifeline.
Not a curse but an oath, a divine promise of what may come to pass.
That is why your powers are bound to him, and that is why this will not end until either the curse is fulfilled or broken.
Your powers and his future hang in the balance of your oath and his family curse. ”
Kasem and I exchanged a look, both of us at a loss for words. That night had been so fleeting, and yet I remembered how in that moment, when he’d asked me to stay, I’d promised him a future—a future in which he’d receive his inheritance.
“If we’re able to track down the wraith and use the knife to banish them, that could free Kasem’s future bloodline from the curse’s hold.” Angelica turned to Kasem. “Did your side of the family have any history with this blade at all? Do you know?”
“It’s like Jojo said. It belongs to Alaster’s side. I think our dad wanted to get rid of it at some point, but he was overruled by the Board.”
“Our safest bet is to speak to a soul who’s recently crossed to the other side,” Vivian said.
Angelica sighed. “None of this is safe. All of us are in danger if this wraith is behind the curse and the terrors happening on campus. And with Sigma and Theta infiltrated by its presence, if we are to find the owner of the relic and attempt to banish it, we might be fighting a larger battle than we are capable of. Who knows what they’d do to stop us from breaking the curse? ”
From where he sat, Kasem shifted in his seat. He’d been distant since the night in the swamp, and even now, he wouldn’t look at me.
“All of this is because of our family,” he said. “And the closer we get to finding answers, the more dangerous this all becomes.”
“It’ll be over soon.” I was trying to be optimistic when I jumped in, but my words were heavy. “What about Jay?” I asked, turning to the others when once again, Kasem ignored me. “He’s out there. If Pete didn’t care about students dying in his attempt to kill Kasem, Jay won’t either.”
December 7 was only a few weeks away, and knowing Jay—and now Alaster—they’d probably make their next move soon.
Kasem answered, but he addressed his words to the others, refusing to meet my eyes.
“I’ll handle him. You should just focus on your training with the ?nhye. If they can help you with your powers, it won’t matter whether the curse is broken or not.”
I tried to stifle my anger at how dismissive he was being. But I couldn’t help the tinge of frustration that slipped into my voice.
“No, I can help with this. I’ve made so much progress already with Vivian and Angelica.” I glanced at Honey. “Assuming there won’t be many more rush activities with Theta.”
She looked uncertain. “I heard you were rushing for both. That’s a dangerous game to be playing.”
“Which is why she should focus on ?nhye,” Kasem interjected. “She doesn’t have enough control of her affinity to keep dividing her efforts like this.
“And you can’t control your wraith form,” I snapped. “You should be preparing for the binding ritual, not risking your life more.”
Honey cleared her throat. “I think for now, we should focus on summoning a recently departed spirit so we can send a message to the owner of the dagger.”
I sighed, returning the blade to the satchel.
“Let’s do it in the morning, before the sun rises and the veil between realms is weak,” Angelica said. “Better than at midnight, when we’d have to also deal with bloodthirsty creatures in the swamp.”
And so we departed, gathering everything we’d need for a summoning of our own.