Chapter 12

“Okay, so we know where she hid them,” Cameron backed away from the painting. “Now how do we get them?”

“Well, it’s a hidden room, how do you get into a hidden room?”

“Well in movies, there is usually a secret lever you pull to open it.” Cameron mused.

“Like what?”

" Usually they’re disguised as something ordinary, like a book or a wall light.”

Okay, well since we’re in the hallway a book was out of the question. Glancing around the walls, the light fixtures were too high to be used as a lever. As a last-ditch effort, I ran my fingers around the frame, looking to see if maybe there was a button also hidden within the pattern. Nothing. The pentacle is the only thing out of the ordinary with the portrait.

“I guess she didn’t do it the old fashion way.” He commented.

Maybe she hid the room using magic. It would make sense, that way they would be safe from non-witches. Stepping back, I raised my hands towards the wall, trying to think of a spell that would open the door.

“Door locked and hidden from prying eyes.

A hallway wall as your disguise.

Reveal to me the room behind.

Allow me entrance as your locks unbind.”

As I uttered the last line of the spell, a loud creak echoed around us. We watched in awe as the portrait swung open revealing a cupboard filled with old hand bound journals surrounded by cobwebs.

“Okay, help me grab these, but be careful we don’t want to ruin them,” I said to Cameron, grabbing as many books as I could.

We brought them all to my room, laying them softly on my bed and before long all 9 journals were there. They were bound in leather, pages yellow with age. The cupboard they were in smelled overwhelmingly of must and dust, and the smell transferred over with the journals. Looking at them, I couldn’t help but think that Amelia probably bound all of them herself. Infusing each one with her own personal energy. Cameron looked over them pointing out how each one was labeled with a year.

Doing some quick math I realized, “She kept a journal each year from the age of 10.”

“Okay, what does that tell us?” He asked, stretching his neck.

“Well, she died at 19,” I started thinking out loud. “And she was with her boyfriend for 2 years…”

Running my eyes over the cover of each book, I looked for the one with the right year. 1687, 1680, until finally I found the one labeled 1690.

“This is the journal that will tell us about the beginning of her relationship,” I explained.

“How is learning about their relationship gonna help us break the curse?” Cameron asked, taking the journal from my hands.

“1-With a generational curse like the one she cast,” I started looking for next year’s journal. “She would need to tie it to something. 2- He broke her heart; betrayed her,” I continued. “It wouldn’t surprise me if what she tied it to was significant to their relationship.”

I began reading the journal in my hands while Cameron flipped through the other.

“What am I looking for?” He questioned. “What kind of thing would she tie it to?

“Um, something like a long-lasting physical object…” I trailed off thinking. “Or a recurring event like a comet.”

He nodded, listening as we continued to look through the books. We sat side by side in my window seat reading as the sun set. I don’t know when exactly we fell asleep but next thing I knew I was waking up to the sun in my eyes. Sitting up a sharp pain ran through my neck and muscles as I stretched. Looking to my right, there was Cameron asleep, head leaning against the wall. Amelia’s journal was forgotten in his lap, probably dropped sometime in the night. The sunlight most likely would have woken him up already if not for the curtain he somehow used as a blanket.

Picking up my phone I checked the time, my alarm hadn’t gone off, so we had time. Placing my hand on his shoulder I started to lightly shake him awake.

“Cameron, wake up,” I whispered, my throat too sore to try and speak louder.

He woke up slowly, squinting his eyes against the light of the sun as he turned to look at me.

“Hey,” He greeted me, voice thick with sleep. “What happened?”

He tried to stand up, but the curtain prevented him from moving much. This of course in his half-asleep daze caused great confusion for him.

“We fell asleep.” I stood, further stretching my muscles. I struggled to stifle a laugh, deciding that since he didn’t ask, I wouldn’t say anything about his current predicament. It took him a few moments to untangle himself, once he did, I made my way out of the room.

Cameron silently followed suit, walking behind me as I went downstairs to start breakfast. I pulled out some eggs and bread to make some breakfast sandwiches. Cameron sat at the counter still half asleep by the looks of it. Breakfast didn’t take long to make, sliding a plate in front of him I grabbed another and went to mom’s room. The apple I had given her the other day was gone. Its core sat in the trash can nearby. She was awake again and lying in bed, staring at the ceiling as tears dried on her cheeks.

“Morning, Mom,” I say quietly, putting the plate down. “Here’s some breakfast.”

“Thank you.”

The words were so quiet I thought I must be hallucinating. But I wasn’t, they were real. A weight was lifted from my shoulders hearing her voice, rough and hoarse, after what seemed like years of silence, though it’s only been weeks.

“You’re welcome.” I smile, turning around to leave. “Get some rest.”

When I walked back into the kitchen, Cameron had eaten most of his sandwich and seemed much more awake. Sitting next to him I picked up the sandwich I made myself. He waited only a moment or two before breaking the silence of the early morning.

“How’s your mom doing?” he questioned, taking another bite.

“Actually, she’s doing better,” I said. I still couldn’t quite believe it.

“Oh yeah?”

“She thanked me.” I couldn’t contain the smile that pulled at my lips.

I ate my food quickly and headed upstairs to my bathroom to brush my teeth and hair. Soon after, Cameron joined me. Thankfully, I had an extra toothbrush. Leaving him in my bathroom, I swiftly got dressed for the day. I felt bad that I didn’t have any clothes for Cameron to change into, and unless he wanted to be late, he didn’t have time to go home and change. Then I remembered that I hadn’t given him back the t-shirt and sweats he lent me. They were washed and everything. I just kept forgetting to bring them to school. Who would have thought they’d come in handy since then? Lucky for Cameron.

Opening my dresser drawer, I pulled out said garments and knocked on the bathroom door.

“Hey, I’m leaving the clothes you let me borrow on my desk,” I said through the door. “They’re clean, freshly washed and folded.”

I didn’t wait for a response, setting the clothes down. I grabbed Amelia’s journals and went downstairs to wait. Sitting in the kitchen I flipped through page after page hoping to find what we needed, then I came to a page that wasn’t just writing. There in black and red ink was a drawing of not just Amelia’s necklace but also a black onyx ring that looked familiar.

“Lucky me, that you still had these clothes,” Cameron said coming down the stairs. “Did you find something?”

“Maybe,” I replied, motioning for him to come closer. “Let me see your ring.”

He looked at me like he didn’t quite understand what was going on, nonetheless he took off the ring that has sat upon his finger since the day I met him and handed it to me.

Setting the ring on the page I was able to look at them side by side, and the level of detail Amelia documented was amazing. Not a single thing was out of place or missing. The ring was in pristine condition despite its age, like it was as new as the day it was made.

“Where did you say you got this from?” I asked, handing it back to him.

“It’s a family heirloom, why?”

I was about to respond when my alarm went off. I told him I’d explain on the way, and we grabbed the journals and our bags and left for school.

“So, what’s up with my ring?” he asked once we settled into a familiar pace.

“Amelia gave Evan that ring as a birthday present after they got together.”

“So?”

“So, she spelled it.” I opened the journal to the same page as before to show him.

“She connected the ring to her necklace so that they would always know if the other needed them,” he read.

“Though she wasn’t able to tell him about it,” I commented. “He most likely just thought he had amazing intuition.”

“That’s how you found me when we got separated during the fire,” I realized.

“That’s how I knew you needed me in the cafeteria?”

I nodded. “It’s because of the ring. Onyx is a protective stone, she wanted to protect the one she loved.”

“Well, that’s sweet.” He paused. “Until you remember that he all but sent her to her death.”

“I’m more surprised that your family kept the ring,” I commented. “After Evan died, the story behind the origin of the ring was probably lost along with what exactly the curse was.”

Cameron nodded in agreement and before we realized it, we made it to school. As the day started, I took every chance I could to read Amelia’s journal, there had to be an answer somewhere in these pages. I made it halfway through the book by the time lunch came. The cafeteria was fixed sooner than anticipated so I sat at an empty table waiting and reading. Nobody paid attention to me, finally after so many days of side eye stares and not so quiet whispers, it appears that I was old news.

“Find anything?” He sat down across from me, no food this time, only Amelia’s journal.

“No,” I sighed, shutting the pages in front of me. “You?”

“I think so,” opening the journal to a marked page, he slid it across the table. “So, turns out the day Evan first told Amelia he loved her was during a total eclipse.”

“The universe saw that our love shined so bright that we dared even outshine the sun,” I read aloud.

“Eclipses are a recurring event, is it possible she tied the curse to an eclipse?”

“Very,” I answered, “Do we know when the next eclipse is?”

Pulling out his phone he typed something into it before looking up.

“3 days.”

“That’s what she meant.” I stood up and started to rush out of the cafeteria.

Cameron’s footsteps echoed behind me, “What who meant?” He asked.

“Go grab your bag.” Was the only answer I gave him, leaving to my locker and grabbing mine.

Backpacks in hand he and I walked out of the building, my mind was racing a mile a minute, trying to connect dots to blank spaces.

“Wynter, what’s going on?” he asked, almost demanding an explanation.

“Take me to that clearing in the woods,” I told him.

“Why?” He asked, exacerbated.

“Trust me,” I said. “Just do it, please.”

Taking my hand, he breathed out a small ‘okay’ before leading the way. We didn’t say anything while we all but ran to the line of trees. Pushing away branches and leaves we made it to the clearing. It felt familiar just as it had the first day. Why?

“Wynter, what is going on?” he asked again.

“I had a dream of her casting the curse, but I can’t remember it,” I breathed out looking around the clearing. “Amelia has been telling me that I’m running out of time.”

“That’s ominous,” he smirked. “Running out of time for what?”

I turned to him, eyes wide, hoping he could provide the answers that would allow me to finally connect the dots.

“She tied the curse to an eclipse. We know that.” I felt like tearing my hair out. “We know there’s a curse, but we know nothing else about the kind of curse it is.” Pausing I took a deep breath. “Talk me through Amelia’s last day. Act as though I am Amelia,” I said as an idea struck.

“Uh…you told Evan you were a witch and were fleeing for safety,” Cameron said. I nodded, allowing him to continue. “He says he’ll go with you but actually outs you to the town.”

“Yes. And I’m heartbroken that the man I loved so truly could betray me so easily,” I added.

“In that heartbreak, you latch on to the one emotion that hurt the least: anger.”

“My family escapes as I’m taken by the town and tried—’’

Instantly I was back in my dream that first night, tied to the stake they planned to set ablaze. Looking around, I recognized where I was. In the crowd, they bring forth Evan Mikhale. His blond hair made my heart freeze—I had seen him before. I’d seen him at my doorstep demanding I let him in. And then, just like before, I recited the spell that would place the curse.

Just as fast as I was back in my dream, it was gone. No more villagers, my hands were not wrapped in rope, and I was safe, but he wasn’t. I didn’t realize I was crying at first.

“I know the curse,” I choked out.

Cameron was there in an instant. “What are you talking about, Wynter?” he asked, wiping my tears like he had done before. God, it felt like I was always crying, but this time these tears weren’t for me and my loss. They were for him, unless I could save him.

“This is where she died,” I breathed out. “This is where she burned.”

I heard him let out a quiet gasp as what I was saying sunk in.

“And I remember the incantation she used for the curse.

“My love stands here before me.

Once he kneeled on bended knee.

His betrayal of Morgan blood.

Shall curse his family for years to come.

Each generation if a Mikhale loves a Morgan, when the moon leaves the sky, Until the curse is broken a Mikhale boy will die,” I recited, no emotion behind the words. My voice cracked at the end.

“What does that mean?”

“It means that I have three days.” The words tasted bitter in my mouth. “I have three days to break the curse because if I don’t, you’ll die.”