Cursed to the Bone

14. Spirited Away

A knock sounded from the doorway. Blake grinned and waved as I looked up. "Heya. How's it going? You're not pushing yourself too hard, are you?"

"No. Just taking a break."

"What are you looking at?"

"Headmaster wanted me to take a survey."

"Ah. Hey, um, how do you feel about Professor Lacroix?"

That was a random question if ever I heard one. I shrugged. "I don't know. I like him well enough. Why?"

Blake shrugged, too. "I thought I might ask him for help with my senior project. You get to spend a lot of time with him. Think he'd help?"

"I don't see why not. He's offered to help me and he is a professor." I climbed to my feet, legs still wobbly. "But I should take this to the headmaster before it gets late."

"All right." Blake grinned and slapped the doorframe. "See you in a bit."

The morning of initiation came upon us as I was roused from a comfortable slumber by Blake. Naomi was awake, too, and looked as sleepy as I felt. But Blake? She didn't look like she'd been asleep at all. She was bright-eyed and brimming with excitement. Ugh. She was either a morning person or she and the seniors had gotten up way earlier to set their devious plots into action.

"Initiation, remember?"

It was impossible to forget, but I didn't think it would be so harsh. We were ushered out in our pajamas, given no time to change or grab shoes. I thanked the Goddess I was wearing a sweater to bed because the morning air was damp and gave rise to goosebumps.

It was only us girls on the forest path, grouped up like cattle. We weren't allowed to use magic or speak, either. The seniors stood around us, silent, dressed in black robes with carved, wooden masks.

"Welcome, ladies, to initiation!" One senior stepped forward, dragging a sack, and pulled her mask and hood off. It was Jessica Garcia, her flawless black hair rolling free. I wondered if she knew a spell that made her hair so perfect. "I know you're cold and your feet might hurt, but remember our history and be thankful for the opportunities you have today. Our ancestors were not so fortunate."

It was quiet a moment as the weight of her words settled. I was too cold to care and it took everything in my power not to use the Warmth spell—consequences be damned.

Jessica opened the sack and passed out a bunch of white robes. "Put on your robes. Leave any clothes you don't want ruined here."

Uh-oh. By the looks of the robe, my scar, in all its hideous glory, would be on full display. As much as I wanted to cover my neck, though, sweatshirts with high necks were hard to find. Reluctantly, I tugged my sweatshirt off and changed. The linen robe was thinner than my sweatshirt, but longer than my shorts. It would do.

Like clockwork, seniors stepped forward to bind our wrists with scratchy rope. I wasn't sure who tied my hands, but they did it harshly until the rope was tight to the point of burning. Then they moved on to another student.

If that wasn't bad enough, the blindfolds came next. Jessica stopped before me with a blindfold, mouth opening until her stare fell to my neck. Her face scrunched so overtly I couldn't stop myself from covering it with my bound hands.

"Do you mind?"

"Sorry," Jessica whispered, averting her stare. It might have been because she felt uncomfortable, but she didn't say anything else as she tied the cloth around my eyes and at the back of my head.

The cloth was sheer enough that I could make out figures, but not enough that I could really see. It was beginning to feel like the start of a bad story and I didn't like it one bit. I supposed, though, that the seniors wouldn't just let anything happen.

"Vera," a voice whispered beside me. I assumed the hand that nudged my arm belonged to them, and I was pretty sure it was Naomi.

"Yes."

She didn't speak again.

"I'll remain here with the group until the last of you is taken down the path," Jessica said. "You'll be led, one at a time, to our destination. You're not in any danger, but we're required to stop if any of you feel unsafe. If so, just tell your senior and they'll help you remove your bindings and escort you back to the school. Otherwise, stay on the path."

More than anything, I wanted to claim my curse made this too hazardous and go inside for some much-needed sleep. It would be so easy. The only thing keeping me there, I supposed, was what Naomi would think.

"For now, silence."

The group of us stood in an eerie quiet, listening to the creaking forest and the crunching of dry leaves as freshmen were randomly spirited away. Someone tugged at my hand and pulled me with them. I followed, hesitantly, but they were moving so fast I had to hurry to keep up. Everything was fine until we moved from the path onto wet grass.

Alarm bells rang in my mind and my insides twisted with warning. We were supposed to stay on the path. Jessica has just said it. I ripped my hand from the senior's and reached for the blindfold. "I'm done."

Before I could lift the thing, something stuck me across the face. I crumbled to the ground, seeing squiggles and stars, and the person yanked me into their arms. I wasn't super heavy or anything, but hauling me off the ground was no small feat.

"Let me go!" I screamed, or tried to. My voice didn't come. A spell, surely. Fussing against them, I stabbed my nails into whatever I could grab onto. The girl hissed and warm liquid sank beneath my nails. Blood. But she still wouldn't let go.

Time to kick it up a notch. I pressed my hands to whatever skin I could grab and cast Shock the same way Professor Waters had. Well, I tried to. Lightning popped at my fingers, visible enough to see through the blindfold, and burned into my flesh. While it hurt, a lot, it must have hurt my assailant just as much because I hit the ground as she shrieked. Just as I slid the blindfold down, I had barely a moment to register the narrow boot that struck my face.

Then I was falling, my vision spotty. It was a longer fall than expected. That was a bad sign. I braced myself for pain and screamed as I slammed into something hard. Wood? My left side felt like I broke everything. Something creaked above me and slammed shut. A lid. An unnaturally rapid dusting of dirt fell atop it. A coffin, I realized.

Someone was burying me alive.

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