Page 16

Chapter 16

An Internship in Curses

A lone in my suite, I poke listlessly at Ethel’s toe beans, their charm lost on me. Her purring fills the silence as I lay curled on the bed.

Natalie has gone to talk to Fiona, but what’s the point? She’s clearly closed-minded about ‘outsiders’ and won’t be swayed. Which means I’ll have to go home and wait for the Madsens to find me.

I shudder. My arm twinges where Freddie’s bruising grip wrapped around it. If the other Madsens are anything like him and his bloodthirsty dog, I don’t want to think of how that will go.

What do I do if they come for me? Try to convince them that my ability to see curses is unreliable, and they’re better off leaving me to live my sad, ordinary life?

I roll onto my back.

No. I can’t leave. More than the fear of the Madsens, I can’t return to my empty basement suite and normal life. I’ve had a glimpse of what living in CSAMM with Natalie would be like—witnessing magic, living in these halls, surrounded by mysterious rooms and corridors begging to be explored—and the threat of leaving punches a hole in my heart. I don’t want to ignore the part of myself that’s somehow connected to curses, even if it’s scary, and even if logic tells me I’d be safer pretending all this doesn’t exist. I can’t recall ever having a sense of purpose like this—the feeling that I have something important to offer. The feeling of being needed . The community I’ve wanted since landing in Vancouver is within reach, if only I can figure out how to show them I’m worthy enough to stay.

And, yes, I’ve never felt like this about a girl before. Natalie’s cute smile, her warm and protective touch, the way my heart flips every time she looks at me…

Now I’m about to leave this all behind. Because of bagpipes.

My phone rings, and I sit up. Ethel scurries between my pillows.

It’s Hazel—and she wants to video chat.

“Crap,” I whisper.

She’s going to notice this isn’t my room.

I could reject her call, but I desperately need the comfort of talking to my best friend right now.

I frantically scan for a backdrop. The exposed brick is nothing like the soulless white paint in the basement suite, the bedding is green, and not even the inside of the closet or the bathroom would pass. It’s all too damn cute and cozy.

Resigned, I prop my phone against the plush, silky pillows. I’ll have to make something up to hide the truth.

Putting on a smile, I answer. “Happy New Year, bestie!”

Hazel’s hair is a mess and she’s in an oversized t-shirt. She probably just woke up.

“Akemashite omedetō gozaimasu!” She waves mochi at me, a sticky rice cake we gorge on at her house every January. The familiar blue shade of her bedroom wall is at her back. A pang of homesickness hits me—it’s the first time I’m not there to eat mochi and celebrate the New Year with her.

She takes a bite and says through a mouthful, “I’m eating twice as much on your behalf.”

“Aww, thanks.”

Her brow furrows. “Where are you?”

“It’s…” Though I want to spill everything that’s happened, Fiona’s warning to tell no one has a chokehold on me. Panicked, I spew the first plausible story that comes to mind. “A vacation rental. There was a leak and the basement flooded, so I’m here until they fix it.”

Hazel groans. “What a way to kick off the year. Is your stuff okay?”

“Everything important.” I hold up Ethel. She squirms and bites my fingers.

“Aww, hi, sweetie,” Hazel coos. “Did you get ripped away from your home?”

Ethel meows in protest, and I put her down.

“Things good with Sean?” If we linger on this topic, my feeble lie will crumble.

Hazel gives a mushy, bashful smile. “Yeah. We’re both at home this week, so we haven’t seen much of each other, but we’re back on campus tomorrow.”

I grab Ethel’s feather toy from the foot of my bed for something to do with my hands, dragging it around so she chases it. “I can’t believe classes are already starting. I still haven’t recovered from finals.”

“I know. But I decided I’m going to apply for the co-op program this term,” she says, the words gushing out, “which means I’ll get a summer job at an actual software company!”

I grin. “That’s amazing! No more cinnamon bun baking.”

Hazel bounces in her desk chair. “I want to get on board with a renewable energy company.”

A knock rings out. “Katie? ”

I freeze. Cold panic shoots through me at the sound of Natalie’s voice. So much for concealing the truth.

Hazel’s mouth falls open, and her voice rises an octave. “Oh—my—God. Are you at a girl’s place? You big liar!”

“I’m—it’s not like—”

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me!” She jumps to her feet and paces like this is all too exciting for her to stay still.

I consider telling Natalie to come back later, but I’m doomed to answer Hazel’s questions either way, so I bring my phone with me to the door.

She’s standing there with that damn black t-shirt clinging to her in all the right places, her hands in the pockets of her tight jeans, her hair cascading over her left shoulder… and that smoldering gaze.

My heart launches into a frenzy, and I swallow hard. “Hey, I’m just video chatting with my friend. Um, this is Hazel. Hazel, Natalie.”

Natalie leans in so she’s in the frame with me.

Hazel’s mouth opens. Some kind of implosion is happening inside her.

Yes, Hazel, this is Doctor Natalie Zacharias. Except she isn’t really a doctor, or a vet, or a normal human being.

“Hiii! Nice to finally meet you, Natalie.” Hazel’s word choice and that teasing tone make heat rush into my cheeks.

“You too.” Natalie lifts a hand, smiling politely, then turns to me. Since she’s leaned closer to see the phone, our faces are inches apart, and there’s a second where all cohesive thoughts leak out of my head.

“When you’re ready, meet me…?” She points in the direction of the lounge, obviously not wanting to say much in front of Hazel.

“You got it,” I say, breathless.

She leaves, shutting the door softly. When I look back at the phone, Hazel’s face is so gleeful that I can’t help letting out an embarrassed laugh. She definitely thinks I’m at Natalie’s place because we hooked up last night—and I’m going to have to roll with it if I want to avoid spilling the truth.

Hazel claps her hands to her face, pulling her cheeks down like she’s absolutely dying. “I can’t believe you’re hooking up with a doctor ! This is amazing. You two are adorable together, and she’s so into you.”

I don’t know what to say to that, but she’s clearly misreading Natalie’s body language.

Still, I can’t help the flutter at her reaction.

As I flop onto the bed, Hazel’s tone shifts to something more critical. “What’s the deal with her, then? Did she un-dump you and take you on another thrifting date?”

I grimace. She wasn’t impressed when I told her Natalie took me curse-hunting and then dropped me off at home and didn’t speak to me again. Which is fair.

But after last night, I get why Natalie did it. She didn’t want to bring me into a world that has the Madsens in it.

“I think there’s a lot we don’t understand,” I say vaguely.

“Curses? Exploding dolls?”

To avoid looking at her, I run my palm over the duvet, smoothing it out. Although Fiona told me not to share anything about this place, Hazel already knows about curses, so I can’t exactly backtrack. Maybe I can share some information. “Don’t repeat this to anyone, but there was a… situation last night.”

“Uh-oh.”

“I ran into a guy who’s…” I glance at the door and drop my voice. “…looking for cursed objects too. He knows what I can do and tried to get my help. He and Natalie got into a fight.”

Hazel gasps. “Are you serious?”

“Natalie thinks he’s going to be persistent about trying to contact me again.”

“Um, that sounds stalker-ish. Have you reported him? ”

Her suggestion is so startlingly normal that it takes me a second to process it. Do Shadows count as authorities? For the purposes of this conversation, I’m thinking yes. “Yeah. They’re on it.”

She sits back in her chair. “God, that’s so creepy. I’m sorry you have to go through that. I’m here if you need me, okay? I’ll fly out and stay with you.”

I smile. “Thanks.”

At the thought of her flying out, homesickness wells up all over again.

Hazel finishes her mochi slowly, deep in thought. “So some random guy wants your help looking for curses, but Natalie doesn’t?”

“I know!” My voice pitches higher, a little too loud, earning a disapproving glare from Ethel. I huff. “She’s concerned about my safety, but if she can work with curses, why can’t I? I can handle it.”

Talking about this, the secrets loosen around me, light and freeing, like peeling out of a tight dress.

“Maybe you need to prove to her how useful you could be,” Hazel says.

The crushing failure returns like a boulder on my chest. I rub my face and say into my hands, “She made a test to see if I could pick out a curse again. It sucked. I picked the wrong object.”

There’s a pause. I drop my hands to find Hazel’s mouth hanging open.

“She made—wow—I have so many questions.” Her gaze darts around, her mind clearly whirring. “You probably just have to hone your skills. I bet this sort of thing takes practice.”

I shake my head. “It doesn’t matter. There was one test, and I failed it.”

She raises an eyebrow. “Giving up? That doesn’t sound like you.”

I glare at her, the accusation igniting a spark of defiance.

She returns a cheeky smile before reaching out of the frame and coming back with another mochi. “There are other ways to test a person’s abilities. ”

I chew my lip, her faith in me inflating my shriveled sense of hope. Her co-op application comes to mind. “Like the real world? Working in the field is more valuable than writing exams, right?”

She grins, a glint of excitement in her brown eyes. “You should go with her to find a curse again. Next time she gets a call-in.”

I want to share her enthusiasm, but the realist in me wins. “She won’t let me.”

“Insist on it. Follow her. Whatever it takes. You know what I plan to do if my co-op application is rejected? Apply for internships anyway.” Her voice rises passionately like it does when she talks about career plans. Her mochi sits forgotten between her fingers, her face pressed close to the camera.

I let out a breath of laughter. “Inspirational as ever.”

She leans forward. “For my app project last term, I needed access to corporate emissions data that wasn’t available online. I knew the government had it, and I wanted to use it. The prof told me not to reach out because I had no business contacting them as a student. But I did anyway. They gave me the data and asked if they could see the final app. So, was it worth going around the prof and proving my idea? Yeah. It was.”

A nervous tremor goes through me. Hazel has always been bold when it comes to academia, doing whatever necessary to achieve her goals. In high school, teachers loved her and were exasperated by her in equal measure. I was never that bold—but I’ve seen what it’s gotten her.

If Fiona won’t let me use my ability, should I go around her and the others to prove I could be useful?

Hazel’s story is inspiring, but this is different. This is about something more perilous than academic ambition.

Security risk… Dangerous mistake… Fiona’s doubts about me hiss in the back of my mind .

But she’s wrong, and I can’t let her decide my fate. It’s time to find my version of an internship and show these witches what I can do in the real world.

I have to tag along with Natalie to the site of a curse.

My pulse quickens at the potential danger. This could backfire spectacularly. If I fail again, that’s it. I’ll have to accept that I’m meant to stay hidden while more capable people protect me from the Madsens.

But I’m going to do everything in my power to be more than that.

I’m just sorry it had to come to this. Sorry I have to take such drastic measures to prove myself. But if I don’t, I’ll have to leave Natalie and CSAMM behind. And the threat of that is worse than what any curse could do to me.