The Curse (H. Academy Series #1)

Leon and I almost slammed straight into the ooze, and we staggered back in the last second. But when we turned around, the black ooze has already taken the way we came from. Fire exploded from Leon’s hands, but the ooze went straight through it.

The entire building shook. The wooden doors caught fire. The walls cracked.

It poured from everywhere. Every single particle in the building was suddenly heading towards us.

“Leon!” I cried and dropped on the floor. “Keep it burning!”

“As long as I can!” He grunted, but the fire hissed and licked the ooze, slowing its momentum.

Magic pounded through me. I let it control me. It knew what to do. It moved in circles, wild and unstoppable, taken off the leash. A tornado of black magic circled us, stopping the ooze in its tracks. My head began to hurt immediately and my limbs shook, but I let it happen.

“Come on, come on, come on.” I gritted my teeth, pushing forward with everything I had.

The ooze slammed into my magic, and my magic responded with another strong push.

We came to a standstill.

“Keep it going!” Leon was standing next to me, his hands spread out, burning all the way to his shoulders. “I can push through.”

I had no time to draw a protection circle. No energy to focus on the demon still lurking somewhere around me.

We were stuck.

Fear rippled through me and my strength wavered.

“Oh, come on!” I strained against the ooze. “Fuck you! Come and fight me like a man!”

“Jade.” The fire was still bursting from Leon’s hands, and I noticed his fingertips were charred. “Don’t provoke a demon!”

“Come on!” I repeated, every inch of my body tensing.

More black ooze piled on top, adding its strength to the group, thrusting through my magic. A scattered cry left my lips. Sweat covered my forehead and my neck. Blood pooled in my brain and out through my nose, even my organs feeling the strain. Magic tore through me from the inside out.

I couldn’t do it.

“Jade.” Leon’s voice changed, making me look up. “Keep it at bay. I can push through.”

His eyebrows were furrowed, jaw taut, and a sheen of sweat glistened on his forehead. He narrowed his eyes on the target, and every ounce of energy seemed focused on that final push. Fire took his arms, dangerously close to his torso, to his cheeks, his hair.

But the ooze right in front of him gave way.

I pulled myself off the floor, focused on keeping the circle around us safe.

“Come on, come on, come on.” I chanted, adrenaline pounding through me.

The magic emphasizer on my palm burned.

Heat rose in the middle of the magic and ooze tornado. We would burn alive before it touched us. We would be crisp and yummy for it to consume. Anger coursed through me, awakening amidst the chaos.

“Is this how demons operate?” I shouted into the air. “Sending your little soldiers after your enemies instead of facing me yourself? Come out! Let’s- let’s make this fucking fair!”

A chuckle rippled around me, freezing the very blood in my veins.

“Fuck, Jade!” Leon shouted. “I’m breaking through!”

And he did. Right in the middle of the ooze, where the fire hit the strongest, a light came through. And with that, some air.

“Holy shit!” Someone shouted from the other side. “What the fuck is this?!”

Not someone. Thar.

“Thar!” I screamed. “Help!”

His magic joined in, tearing at the walls of the ooze, creating a hole in the middle of it.

“We have to jump through!” My legs desperately wanted to move. “Leon-”

But he was focused on his magic. Fire burned his skin almost as fast as it burned through the ooze.

“It’s coming from all directions!” Thar shouted from the other side. “I can’t- It’s too strong!”

The hole began to shrink again.

“No!” I shoved the ooze with all I had, but it caused a sharp metallic sting on my tongue.

Blood.

“Jade, listen to me.” Leon said, and I strained to look up. “You have a second. You have to jump through.”

“Thar!” I yelled, eyes glued to Leon and the fire burning around him.

“Jade.” Leon met my gaze. “I can’t leave without stopping my magic.”

“And if I leave, the ooze will devour you.” My teeth gritted. “So, fuck off.”

“Listen to me!” His voice cracked, and the neutral expression gave way to absolute panic. “We can’t keep this up anymore. If we stay here, we’ll both die.”

He was right.

“Motherfucker!” I cursed the demon, whose presence still itched my brain, “Come and get me alone! One on one, asshole!”

“Stop!” Leon yelled, making me look at him again. “Just- just go through. I’ll keep the hole open for you. You can jump. You can pass through.”

I buried my feet into the ground, “No.”

“Come on!”

“No!” I shouted, my lips beginning to tremble. “Fuck you!”

He opened his mouth-

“I flipped this entire building upside down to find you!” I spat, anger lacing my tongue like venom. “You could at least appreciate it enough to try to survive!”

He closed his mouth, jaw tensing. His blue eyes gained an orange glow as the fire around him burned. I saw the resolve in his expression. I saw the precise moment in which he made a decision.

“Leon-” I warned and strengthened my magic.

In a second, fire switched to his right hand. The left one dropped. He took a step towards me. I screamed. My magic wavered. His left hand wrapped around my waist. He pulled me up. Fire burned through my skin one second. And the next, I was flying through the air. Fire and ooze danced before my eyes as I screamed and screamed.

I dropped on the ground, my ankle twisting, my head banging against the floor. Hands pulled me up. I shook it off and ran towards the swirling ooze tornado. Pain coursed through my ankle.

“Leon!”

The ooze stopped moving abruptly. It splashed on the floor, turning into ash the moment it touched the ground. I stopped in my tracks and held my breath.

It all stopped. Magic ceased. Like- like it was dead.

All except for the few splatters on Leon’s hands, neck and face.

The scream that tore through my throat was the loudest sound I’ve ever heard. It reverberated through my ears and my skull and my very soul.

Thar’s hands were around my body, pulling me back the moment I began to run.

“Stay away!” Leon put his hands in front of him, his face distorting with pain.

The ooze crawled over his skin, spreading all over it, eating through his flesh, making its way to his chest. I tried to shake Thar off, but he held me with his entire strength.

I unleashed all of my magic at once, cocooning us once more in a veil of darkness.

Thar’s grip around me loosened and he staggered back.

“Just stop!” Leon dropped on his knees, and his face turned pale, the ooze gathering over his chest, eating its way towards his heart. “Fucking stop! Don’t touch me.”

“Fuck you!” I stepped forward, tears falling into my mouth. “I hate you!”

Leon let out a chuckle, right before the veins in his neck and arms and face turned black.

The ooze reached his heart.

His hands dropped by his sides. Eyes turned hazy. Lost.

His body thudded when it hit the ground.

He was dead.