Page 6 of Soul Bound (Cursed Descent (MistHallow Academy) #2)

6

LUC

Draven storms off, creating a small ice storm in his wake. “Well, he is big mad.”

“With every right,” Tilly chides me. “Whatever this is, it’s scary as shit.”

I nod grimly, my earlier annoyance fading as the gravity of the situation sinks in. “Props to death boy, he knows his shit. Whoever that was, it isn’t just scary, it’s fucking terrifying.”

Tilly gives me a searching stare, clearly seeking sincerity. But I can give credit where it’s due when the chips are down. Whoever had control over that undead army has some serious mojo.

“We’d better follow him,” Vex says wearily.

We hurry after Draven, who’s already opening the door to the South Tower. He practically has smoke coming out of his ears, he is that enraged.

“We can’t just barge into Night’s office and start making accusations.”

“Watch me,” Draven growls, not slowing his pace.

Tilly grabs his arm, forcing him to stop. “Draven, wait. We need to think this through. If Night really is involved in something sinister, we can’t tip our hand too early.”

He glares at her for a moment, then his expression softens slightly. “Yeah, that makes sense. I’m just so fucked off. No one should have that kind of power over the dead in this realm.”

“I get it,” I offer up, knowing a Hell camaraderie moment when I see one. “It’s unsettling.”

He turns his stare to me and nods. “Yeah, it’s fucked up.”

“We need more information,” Tilly says. “Maybe we should talk to Blackthorn first? He might know something about what’s going on.”

I nod in agreement. “She’s right. Plus, we still need to report back. Assuming we aren’t going back down there again?” I have to ask because right now, I just don’t know what the fuck is going on.

Draven takes a deep breath, visibly trying to calm himself. “Okay. Blackthorn first. But then we confront Night.”

We change course, heading to Blackthorn’s office instead. The halls are bustling with activity, and the heavy scent of food drifts down from the dining hall, signalling lunchtime. We’ve been fucking about underground for over four hours.

As we approach Blackthorn’s office, I feel like we’re being watched. I glance over my shoulder, but the corridor behind us is empty.

Vex knocks on the heavy wooden door. There’s a pause, then Blackthorn’s voice calls out, “Enter.”

We file into the office, finding Blackthorn seated behind his massive desk. He looks up from a stack of papers, his eyebrows rising as he takes in our dishevelled appearance.

“Well,” he says dryly. “I take it your expedition was eventful?”

Vex closes the door and Tilly grunts as something drops from the ceiling to land on her shoulder. “Oh, hey, Chaos,” she murmurs, petting the Araxi. I give it the side-eye. That thing is still a violent piranha with fur.

Tilly pulls out her notebook. “We got the sketches of the runes, sir.”

Blackthorn leans forward, his eyes gleaming with interest. “Excellent. Let me see them.”

Tilly hands over her notebook, and Blackthorn flips it open, studying the sketches intently. His brow furrows as he examines each page.

“These are interesting,” he murmurs. “Not quite what I expected. They are very basic, but that just makes them more complex. It’s fascinating.”

Vex nods along.

I have zero clue. Hell doesn’t have runes.

“What do you mean?” Draven asks, his impatience barely contained, probably thinking the same as me.

Blackthorn looks up, his expression grave. “These runes are definitely ancient, predating the written word, but even with my admittedly limited knowledge of ancient druidic runes, they seem… incomplete.”

“What?” Tilly asks, scrunching up her nose. “Incomplete, how?”

Blackthorn shakes his head slowly. “This last one, see?” He stabs the page, and we all lean forward. “This is easier to read than the others. It came after.”

“After?” I ask before anyone else can. “How is that possible? Are you saying the Druids came back to add more?”

“It is entirely possible. If the original curse was weakening, or they figured something was off about it…” He waves his hand dismissively.

I hear Tilly gulp loudly next to me. I stare at her, wondering what she is thinking.

“These runes, while the first part of the curse, they appear to be a part of a much larger, more complex ritual.”

“What kind of ritual?” Vex asks, his voice low and wary.

Blackthorn sighs heavily. “Who can say? Like I mentioned, all of this predates the history books.”

“How can you be so sure then?” I ask.

He points again to the last rune. “This one. The newer one. It says, in a nutshell, to be continued .”

“Ah,” I say, nodding. “That is pretty conclusive evidence.”

He chuckles. “Indeed.”

But when I feel Tilly’s gaze on me, I feel a chill run down my spine. The look in her eyes is full of fear, and I remember what we did on that altar. From the looks on the others’ faces, they’re thinking the same thing. Was that part of the bigger ritual? Another part of the to be continued ?

Tilly’s voice trembles slightly as she asks, “Professor Blackthorn, is there any way to know what the full ritual entails? Or what it’s meant to accomplish?”

Blackthorn leans back in his chair with a thoughtful expression. “Without the complete set of runes, it’s impossible to say for certain. But given the power we know is contained within the cursed ground, I’d wager it’s something monumental. Perhaps even world-altering.”

“There were other runes,” I say, and lean over the desk to flick the notebook. “We found these first. Some Guardian guy told us it was the curse.”

Blackthorn shoots to his feet and leans his fists on the desk. “Guardian guy?”

“Xanthos,” Tilly says. “I believe he is my ancestor.”

“Really?” Blackthorn says. “And you say he was a Guardian? Did he tell you that?”

“Yeah,” I say. “He pointed out the runes and then fucked off.”

Blackthorn gives me a stern glare, and I smile innocently.

“There are apparently four of them. The original Druids who cursed the ground,” Vex says carefully, his entire tone warning us not to mention the other one.

And that’s when everything falls into place, making my blood run cold.

Draven feels the spike in the room and glares at me, his expression changing to one of interest as he studies my face.

“Yeah, so that is all,” I say. “If you want to have a look at the other runes while we shower and grab some food, then head to afternoon classes, that would be awesome. Shall we meet in the library later to discuss?”

Blackthorn gives us all a suspicious look but sits back down. “Very well. Five o’clock.”

“Got it,” I say and quickly usher everyone else out of the room before Blackthorn can call us back inside to interrogate us further.

“What did you—?” Draven asks immediately, but I shake my head, cutting him off.

“Nothing,” I say. “I just really need a hot shower and some food.”

“Same,” Tilly agrees. “Let’s meet again in half an hour in the dining hall.”

I give her a quizzical stare, looking for any changes to her basic structure, before I smile and flame out. I can’t see anything damned or Hell-ish about her, but time will tell. I would hate myself until the end of time if the ritual Vex did with our blood turned her into a Succubus. It is, quite possibly, the worst thing that could happen to her. And us.