Chapter 36
Thirty-Six
Rose
I wake up with the events of last night replaying in my head over and over.
Hank croaks from the little terrarium I made for him, and I drag myself out of bed. “Morning. I hope one of us slept well.”
The frog looks at me, utterly unconcerned with the drama unfolding around him. Must be nice.
I head to the bathroom, hoping a long, hot shower will clear my head. Last night after Ash came back from the woods, he told us what Jasmine said, the way she talked about me like I was the cake at a fat guy’s birthday party.
They all wanted to hide me away, lock me in a room somewhere until they could deal with Jasmine. And I promptly told them where they could shove that idea. My magic is stronger now. I can fight back.
After my shower, I pull on jeans and a warm sweater, tie my hair back, and head to class. Immediately I notice that something is wrong.
As I round the corner, I catch a bit of the conversation between a couple of students stopped in front of me, and I slow my pace to listen.
“Harry said Thorne wasn’t the only one missing last night. Mickey and Kim were gone too. Didn’t come back to their rooms.”
“But they found Thorne,” a boy points out.
“Yeah, and not the others.” One of the girls looks around nervously. “And I heard that three of the Blood Moon coven members are gone, too.”
“What is the headmistress doing about it?”
“No clue. I tried to see her this morning, but that weird guy Ollie, who’s always hanging around now, said she’s going to be in her quarters all day and is not to be disturbed.”
They notice me then, and all conversation stops. I keep walking, pretending I didn’t hear anything, but holy shit.
I’m supposed to be heading to Charms and Talismans with Professor Solmanus, but a reckless idea comes to me. If Jasmine is picking off Blood Moon Coven members, there must be evidence somewhere. And if she’s holed up in her in rooms, her office would be empty.
It’s stupid. Beyond stupid.
I change direction, heading toward the administrative wing, and take the stairs two at a time to where the headmistress’s office is located.
A place I’ve unfortunately come to know well, thanks to the Wickersly sisters.
The hallway is deserted, most faculty members either teaching or in their private quarters.
The door is locked, of course, but I press my palm against the wood, feeling for the magical wards. Complex, but nothing I can’t handle now. I close my eyes, let magic flow through me, and push.
Gold light spreads across the door, finding Jasmine’s wards. I feel them resist, then bend, then snap as my magic overwhelms them. The lock clicks. I slip inside quickly, shutting the door behind me.
Where to start? I move to the desk first, trying drawers.
All locked. I use my magic again, this time more carefully.
The center drawer slides open, revealing nothing but standard office supplies gathering dust. Guess Jasmine isn’t one for admin work.
Strange for the headmistress of an academy, but nothing incriminating there.
I survey the room, looking for anything out of place. A large bookshelf dominates one wall, filled with books, along with all the other books stacked precariously all over the office. There’s really nothing here.
But then I notice a part of the wall behind her desk that doesn’t quite match the rest. I carefully run my fingers along the edge.
There’s a faint seam, barely perceptible unless you’re looking for it.
A hidden compartment. I place my hand against it, feeling for magical locks again.
This time, the wards are stronger, more intricate.
I take a deep breath, accepting the power that flows more easily now, after all those training sessions with Ash. I invite it, and direct it, unraveling Jasmine’s spellwork thread by thread until I feel the final one give.
The wall panel springs open.
The smell hits me first, and I gag, covering my mouth and nose with my sleeve as I peer inside.
The compartment is small but deep, like a hidden closet.
Shelves line the sides, holding various objects.
I recognize a charm bracelet I’ve seen Mickey wearing.
And a red moon pin that all the Blood Moon Coven members wear.
Personal items. Trophies.
My stomach turns, but I force myself to keep going. On the middle shelf there’s a leather-bound book. I carefully lift it out, noticing with a gag that the cover is sticky and gross. I don’t want to think about what might have made it that way.
I open it, and immediately wish I hadn’t. The pages contain detailed illustrations, anatomical drawings of the human body, but with magical annotations. Diagrams showing how to extract magical essence from various organs. Instructions on preparation, consumption, preservation.
It’s a cookbook. A fucking witch cookbook.
The pictures are horrifically clear. One illustration shows a ritual circle, a body splayed in the center, with detailed notes on cutting patterns. Another depicts a witch consuming what looks like a heart, inked lines showing a flow of magic from the organ into the eater’s body.
I shut the book as I try not to vomit.
My hand bumps something on the bottom shelf, and it rolls forward. Several small white objects clatter to the floor. I bend down to look, then stumble backward in horror.
Bones. Human finger bones, small and delicate. And teeth. At least a dozen human teeth.
“Oh my God.” I can’t help the words that escape my lips as I scramble away, my back hitting the desk.
I need to get out of here. I need to tell the others. I force myself to breathe, to think. I have to put everything back exactly as I found it, or Jasmine will know someone was here.
With shaking hands, I return the book to its shelf.
I use the edge of my sweater to pick up the bones and teeth, trying not to think about who they belonged to, and place them back on the bottom shelf.
I step back, making sure everything looks untouched, then use my magic to seal the compartment again.
Just as the panel clicks shut, I hear footsteps in the hallway.
Shit.
Shit.
Shit.
I look around for a hiding place. The desk is too small to crawl under, and there’s nowhere else. The door handle turns. I dive behind the thick blackout drapes just as the door swings open.
Jasmine enters, singing a song. Not just any song, like Mary Had a Little Lamb. Nope, she’s singing the creepiest song possible given the circumstances.
“Little witches, one by one,
I’ll eat their hearts till I am done.
Power grows with every bite,
Their magic mine by darkest night.”
I don’t dare breathe.
Jasmine rummages through her office, and I hear books thumping down onto her desk. I risk a peek.
Her movements are jerky, uncoordinated. She keeps twitching her head to the side, as if listening to someone I can’t see. Her eyes are wide, the yellow irises almost glowing.
“Not enough, not enough,” she mutters to herself.
I bite my lip to keep from making a sound. She’s completely unhinged.
Jasmine suddenly freezes, her head whipping toward the hidden compartment, and my heart stops. Did I leave something out of place?
She approaches the wall, running her fingers along the seam just as I did. For a moment, I think I’m caught. Then she laughs, a sound that nearly stops my heart, and turns away.
She grabs a book from the shelf, then leaves as abruptly as she arrived, still singing her macabre rhyme.
I count to thirty before sliding out from my hiding place. My legs are shaking so badly I can barely walk, but I make it to the door, listening for any sound in the hallway, then slip out and speed-walk away from Jasmine’s office as fast as I can without actually running.
By the time I reach my dorm, I’m out of breath and covered in cold sweat. I throw open the door, relieved to be in the relative safety of my own room.
Only to find it already occupied.
Soren lounges on my bed, one arm behind his head. Drake paces by the window. Lucien stands by my desk, arms crossed. And Ash is leaning against the wall, expression murderous.
“Where the hell have you been?” Soren asks, his casual position at odds with the anger in his voice.
“I—” I start, but Lucien cuts me off.
“You missed class. When you didn’t show up, Soren contacted us.”
“We’ve been looking everywhere for you,” Drake says, his voice tight. “With everything that’s happening, Rose—”
“What were you thinking?” Ash pushes off the wall, green eyes flashing with anger. “Do you have any idea how dangerous—”
“Let me talk!” I interrupt, throwing my hands up to shut them up. “I can explain.”
They all go silent, but their expressions speak volumes. It’s almost funny that these four powerful, dangerous beings, who can barely stand to be in the same room, are now united in their collective disappointment in me.
“I went to Jasmine’s office,” I admit.
“You what?” Drake looks horrified.
Soren sits up abruptly. “Are you insane?”
“Probably yes,” I sigh, sinking into my desk chair. “But I found something. Something bad.”
I tell them everything, all about the hidden compartment, the personal belongings of the missing students, the grimoire with its horrific illustrations, the bones and teeth. As I speak, their expressions shift from anger to disgust to rage.
“She’s eating them,” Lucien says flatly when I finish.
“We knew it was a likelihood,” Soren adds. “Sometimes rumors aren’t just rumors.”
“Madness,” Ash says. “It drives the practitioner insane.”
“She’s already there,” I say, remembering her twitchy movements, the way she spoke to empty air. “She was singing a song about eating witches.”
Drake moves to stand behind my chair and touches my shoulder. “You could have been killed.”
I reach up to touch his hand. “I’m sorry I worried you guys. All of you.”
“If she’d found you there—” Ash stops, his eyes dark.
“I’m careful, I am, but you’re right, I got lucky,” I admit. “It was stupid and reckless. But now we know for sure, beyond any doubt, what we’re dealing with.”
Lucien’s expression softens slightly. “And you won’t do anything like this again without backup.”
It’s not a question. I nod anyway. “I promise.”
The vibe in the room relaxes just a little.
“So what do we do now?” I ask.
Ash pushes a hand through his hair. “We need a plan. Jasmine won’t stop. She can’t stop, she’s too far gone. And she wants you most of all.”
Drake’s grip on my shoulder tightens protectively. “We won’t let that happen.”
“No,” Soren agrees, standing up. “We won’t.”
Lucien nods once, decisively. “Then we end her.”
They’re all looking at me now, waiting for my response. I think about the bones I found, the people who have already died. About Jasmine’s sinister song and her promise to consume me next.
“Okay,” I say. “We’re doing this.”
But how we’re doing this, how we take down a witch more powerful than any of us, remains to be seen.