Embers & Spells

13 – Ticket to Hell

Things at school rapidly returned to normal, as if nothing brutal happened to one of the students. I guess fear easily fade, if given enough time. The once full-on chattering about Claire’s attack was replaced with the next Michaelson’s High Queen. Seniors had been looking forward to it, as if it was the only thing memorable they could pack.

Me, on the other hand, took a step back from being too friendly with Inigo. Guilt seemed to sneak out on me, unwanted thoughts started to grow quickly inside my head. I had no idea what to do anymore. The world I was living in was too much for me, as if there were no room for dragon-witches to live. It felt like being different was like being a weed in this beautiful garden, and the likes of me was the first one to be plucked out to make the world a better place.

It was freaking unfair.

Instead of running toward my Physics class, my feet led me at the top floor, to where the auditorium was. I used to frequent the place whenever I wanted peace and quiet. But instead of finding peace and quiet, I saw bullies.

My footsteps faltered, hearing their mockery toward a guy who they were pinning against the wall. Moments like these that I usually snap my finger. The guy that the three students were bullying turned his head toward my direction, his eyes meeting mine. I remembered how Agatha looked at me when she was being harassed in the street, with no one turning her way to help. I knew the guy. His name was Perry. His grandma was friends with Erin. They lived two blocks from our house.

One of the bullies, who was twice his size and had a buzz cut, slammed his arm across Perry’s neck, forcing the air out of him. My hands balled into fist then, anger taking over. I was about to walk toward them when someone held my arm, stopping me.

“Let me handle it,” Inigo said, eyes shot toward the guys.

He wasn’t a fan of  bullying as well. From the stories I have heard of him, he was against it.

Inigo walked toward them, easily taking the spotlight.

“Is everything okay here?” he asked, matching the bully’s height.

“Yeah, then you came.” They snickered, giving him a look. “Why don’t you run along, pretend you saw nothing, and be the good boy that you are.”

“I can do that,” Inigo said. “But first, you have to let him go.”

“And who are you to tell me what to do?” Buzz-cut guy asked, stepping closer to him. “You wanna exchange roles with this f*****g retard?”

I hoped I could see Inigo’s face but his back was on me and I could only imagine the rage in his eyes. I saw it in his memories, how he turned into the beast he was.

“You wanna try that?” he asked, tone low.

Buzz-cut guy chuckled, followed by his two minions, who sounded like hyenas. If he only knew he was challenging the alpha, he sure would second think his actions. The bully pushed Inigo, and the moment he touched his shoulder, he suddenly got slammed against the wall. Inigo flipped the scene, the bully was now the victim.

Buzz-cut guy tried to gasp for air while Inigo pinned his arm to his neck, doing exactly what they did to Perry. “Now, tell me, what does it feel? Is it good? Wanna bet with your boys how long before you passed out?”

He suddenly looked massive compared to them and that distracted me for a second. The other students tried to peel him away from Buzz Cut but Inigo wouldn’t budge. I forced myself to meddle, before he killed someone with bare hands.

“Inigo,” I called out, motioning for Perry to go. And he did, grabbing his bag tossed to the floor and flee the scene. “That’s enough already.”

They all looked at me. I kept my gaze at Inigo and slowly, he loosened his hold to Buzz Cut. He motioned his hand, gesturing for them to leave. The two students ran without a second thought, while their leader, glared at us first before walking away.

“That could get you into trouble,” I said.

“Not meddling and letting them bully that guy would give me trouble sleeping at night, for sure.”

Wasn’t that how I exactly feel when I saw Agatha being harassed? Wasn’t that the reason I step in and use my power, to make them see how evil they were to others? To give them the taste of their evilness.

“Besides, I could tell, you’re a second away from meddling, too,” Inigo added, narrowing his eyes on me. “So, I’d rather be the one in trouble than you. You seem the kind who don’t want a bad record on her profile.”

I shrugged my shoulder. “What are you doing here, anyway?” I asked.

Inigo smiled. “I saw you ditching class, so I figured, I’d do the same. I’m not in the mood to tolerate the Math Wiz’s proud face.”

We both laughed and headed toward the entrance door of the school’s auditorium.

****

I had been staring at the white book for more than an hour now. Sleep and me had become enemies, that I rarely got it despite me being exhausted. After school, I flipped the pages of the book again, looking for spells and rituals that could help me.

Inigo and I, we weren’t any different. We were both trying to survive, blending in with the human world. Killing him now had an advantage, since he didn’t have the same strength he would have on full moon. But every time I touched the 7-inch glass dagger, guilt gnawed at my chest, eating me up.

I couldn’t do it. I didn’t know how to.

Grammie Nah said she would help me free Erin from the devil. But almost two weeks had past and I heard nothing from her. Our spells had no effect on them. They were immune into it, as they weren’t part of the same nature we were living in.

The more I waited longer for somebody to help me straighten the mistake I did, the more Erin suffered under Set’s hands. Why would she need to pay for my sin when she did nothing wrong? It was unfair for her. I had to act. Now.

It was two in the morning, the moon was hidden away by the thick clouds. I rode my bicycle toward Tip Café, knowing that the school building that was ruined by fire was still standing tall. It was one of the oldest school, one of the tallest as well, its roof top surpassing the tower bell from the churches in town.

I made my way up, gripping tightly my bag. Only one guard manned the place during this time, and it was so easy to cast a spell on him. I made my way up, getting out of breath by the time I reach the roof top.

Looking up, I wondered if there really was someone out there bigger than the rest of us who was watching me fail my life. But I didn’t have time dwelling on that. There was one way for me to take now. Hell.

Pulling out the red candle I got from Erin’s drawer, I took a deep breath, trying to muster up the courage of what I was about to do.

“Fos,” I whispered, lighting up the red candle with a spell. Taking out the glass dagger, I once again took a deep breath as I sliced my left palm. The moment the sharp rigged glass tore my skin, blood oozed and my breath hitched as tears rapidly filled up my eyes.

I hummed the spells I memorized from the white book, mustering up the force of nature, feeling in the coldness of the earth. Shiver ran down my neck, as I desperately wanted for this to work. I hovered my bleeding palm to the candle, letting the blood dripped toward the fire.

It sizzled, emitting black smoke, telling me I was doing the spell right. Before I could even talk myself out of it, I composed myself, disregarding my bleeding hand and looked ahead of me. I saw tiny, dotted lights over the dark horizon, a faint sound of cars reaching my ears. While the red candle continued to emit dark smoke, I walked toward the ledge, suddenly feeling a force of wind going against me.

I didn’t dare looking down. I looked over my shoulder, making sure the red candle was still lighted. As long as it had fire, I could go back to human world. It was my only ticket to hell and back, hopefully, with Erin.

I closed my eyes. I should do it.

The searing pain in my palm distracted me a bit but I had to endure it. After a beat, I let myself fall.

My arms flung as I gasped for air, my foot leaving the ledge.

Strong arms grabbed my waist then, forcefully pulling me in roughly, the intensity knocked us down to the cold ground. My heartbeat skyrocketed, fear quickly morphed into despair.

I saw a bucket hat fell beside to where I lay, my head hitting the cement quite hardly.

“What the f**k- ” a voice instantly rang out, his raspy and angry tone made me shiver. “Were you thinking?!”

On top of me was someone I had never expected to see, let alone be a witness to my insanity.