Page 52 of The Curse of Indy Moore (The Cursed Duology #1)

Where Indy Is Offered Hope

At The Grand Tempest Archives, Otis gathered the attention of practically every artificer in the local area.

They must have suspected he assisted Mr. Hawthorne on my case and went to slither their way into his good graces.

Mr. Hawthorne took to his rescue, basking far more in the spotlight, while Professor Kumir had gone missing.

I went in search of her since I would much rather wander the aisles than be caught in the claws of the ravenous artificers' floors below.

Although the last time I went off alone, I was chased by a dog.

I weaved in and out of the shelves, discovering a section on seafare.

I knew nothing about sailing but picked up a book to flip through the pages.

The book detailed worlds across the sea with deserts that stretched for hundreds of miles and jungles so thick one, could hardly walk through them.

Worlds beyond worlds that felt unreal, but these books depicted so truthfully.

“Have you ever been on a boat? ”

Cursing, I dropped the book.

“My apologies, I didn’t mean to sneak up on you.” Professor Kumir took a step back, allowing me to lean over to retrieve it.

Settling a hand over my racing heart, I slid the book back on the shelf. “It’s alright. I’m a little jumpy after the previous incident here.”

“Ah, yes, the dog. Rooke wrote about it.” She had six books hovering behind her in a perfectly neat stack. “How did your visit to Hawthorne Manor go?”

“Great, actually. The Hawthornes were nothing but kind.”

I followed her into the aisle, where she leaned against the railing to peer at the floor below.

Mr. Hawthorne poured over the books artificers offered.

They wore amicable smiles that would have fooled me when I first arrived.

Now, I understood they wore masks to step in a world built to crush them the moment they showed an ounce of truth.

“Did you find anything?” I asked.

“Quite a bit, actually. Our theory holds merit. You have always been the key to your curse, Indy, but now you may be the cure as well.” She held out a hand, and one of the books floated over.

“We’ve found over a dozen curses where the curse-bearer changes, and they use that change to throw the curse back at the demon. ”

“Meaning I may have to do the same.”

I joked about throwing a curse at Carline but never expected that would be the route to take.

I leaned my side against the railing to face Professor Kumir. “How could I possibly go about that? I’m no artificer.”

“That is where we artificers come in. Rooke may be able to make an enchantment to help. This particular enchantment could focus your will enough to have momentary control over your wolf form. However, I doubt we can give you much more than a few minutes. Most of the work will be up to you. Rather than thinking about attacking her, imagine you are breaking her enchantment. You are aware that demons don’t require runes, yes? ”

I nodded. Carline had never done anything similar to artificers. She commanded power entirely. Changes came into being because she willed them to, making the prospect of fighting her all the more daunting.

“That means there are no runes to ruin, and that is why so much of breaking a demon’s curse is this.” She held up the book and gestured to those around us. “Recording what we know is the only way to defeat any demon, and even then, we could be entirely off base.”

“Thanks for the pep talk.”

“I am not saying this to disillusion you. Rather, I am fairly confident we are making headway. Have you noticed?” She waited for a response that I gave in a shrug. “Your tail,” she said. “When did you last have it?”

I laid a hand on the base of my spine, where the tail appeared more often than not…until it didn’t. Truthfully, I hadn’t thought of it, just like I didn’t think much of my ears, but the tail was gone.

Professor Kumir held up three fingers. “You have been without it for three days, and for the last two, I had Rooke monitor your sleeping patterns. You have shifted ten minutes later than usual and returned ten minutes before dawn. You’ve already done something against her.”

My heart skipped a beat. “But what? I haven’t done anything different.”

“Are you sure? What happened three days ago?”

“That was the day Mr. Hawthorne and I went into town.” Where he pretended to be my partner so I wouldn’t be humiliated, but I avoided sharing those details. “We did some shopping and went to the ocean.”

“Go on.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Your tone says he told you about it.”

Her eyes sparked mischievously. “He mentioned that you were having fun shopping, even if you would claim otherwise, and it was your idea to see the ocean.”

I thought back on the day, how confident and happy I felt, regardless of Carline’s attempts to make me feel otherwise.

Being with Mr. Hawthorne was a part of it, absolutely, but much of it came from feeling…

accepting, excited even, to buy so mething nice.

Those dresses, now hanging in my closet, had an unexpected meaning.

They were reminders that I could go out and buy a dress that made me feel good without guilt.

It wasn’t the end of the world. It wasn’t greedy, and maybe… maybe I did deserve them.

“Is that what you think caused my change?” I asked.

“I do. You wanted something, and for once, you admitted to it.”

“How could it be so simple?”

“I would argue it isn’t, seeing as you’ve struggled to do that all your life.

We theorized Carline went after you due to your loyalty to your family, but she used your unfilled desires for the curse.

So long as you leave those desires unfulfilled, she will use them against you.

Accept what you want, and I imagine her control will wane.

” Professor Kumir laid a hand on my arm, where she gave an affirming squeeze.

“I am not saying that will be easy, but you are the key. We found the door for you, but it is your duty to open it.”

Professor Kumir left to join the countless artificers surrounding Mr. Hawthorne. Most turned her way, but one looked at me: Mr. Hawthorne. In that moment, I envied him so. Had he always wanted without guilt? The other day meant so much to me but must have been normal to him.

What was it like to walk into a store and not fear every price tag?

To walk about and never mourn the loss of coin, to never weigh the worth of everything you ever bought, to not feel greedy and ridiculous for gazing through a window at something you wanted?

It sounded so trivial, and yet, that was what brought my world crashing down.

The other day was my first time experiencing any of it, and I was grateful, albeit scared.

Scared that these feelings would fade. Scared that I’d return to my life and forget all I had learned, about myself most of all.

Would this be enough to stand against Carline, and could I hold strong for the rest of my life?

Professor Kumir put a stop to the chaos surrounding an exhausted-looking Otis.

She went to the front desk with him and Mr. Hawthorne in tow, leaving behind the remaining artificers, hungry for the next big achievement.

I joined them downstairs, relieved to have made it to Mr. Hawthorne’s side before any of the artificers noticed me.

Together, we left the archives to return to Ivory House, where the artificers went to their study.

They locked themselves in for the remainder of the day.

Slate and Miss Beamy followed me around, much to the cat’s chagrin.

She was exceptionally upset when Slate landed on my shoulder.

It was odd feeling the bird there while I cleaned, but the both of them were a welcome presence.

I couldn’t risk doing nothing or being entirely alone.

My mind wandered, conjuring far too many possibilities.

Some of them ended with joy, with me returning to Ivory House, of all places.

Others, I saw myself as a wolf wandering around Carline’s cottage, waiting for the next soul to steal.

Later, Mr. Hawthorne retrieved me to explain he would work on an enchantment in the coming days, which meant I’d see him even less.

He’d spend every hour in the office. I had the urge to ask him not to bother, to instead come sit with me in the library, where he could share his favorite books.

Come with me into the gardens, where we could lay under the sun and talk about anything other than my potentially imminent demise.

Let’s return to the beach to walk across the sand hand in hand.

My breathing stuttered, and it took all my willpower not to take his hand now, just to know what it might feel like.

“You’re showing excellent progress, so I’m confident with that—and my brilliance—you will come out of this entirely unscathed,” he proclaimed at the door to my enclosure, his smile one of his usual confidence.

Behind him, the sun cast the pale haze of dusk. Miss Beamy jumped onto a windowsill, where she glared at Slate perched on my shoulder. Mr. Hawthorne occasionally glanced at the bird, and I wondered if he was jealous that Slate had taken an unusual liking to me.

“Yes, the professor told me that I’ve been shifting later,” I said while reaching up to stroke under Slate’s chin.

I didn’t want to go into that room, to spend hours out of my own body, trapped in darkness. More time wasted when I should be enjoying what little I may have left .

“I was quite shocked when she noticed,” he said.

“But it’s still not enough.”

“We could go on another shopping excursion.”

That got a laugh out of me. I wanted another excuse for us to spend a day together, but when I caught sight of the dark room beyond the open door, I found myself muttering, “I don’t know if I can do this.”