The Curse

“Hey!” I yell as I take off into a sprint, before I could reach Lianna my surroundings change. I find myself back in the stone room that held Alica, I look around, but I do not see her anywhere. “Hello?” I ask as I rub my arms. The sound of the large wooden door being slammed open startles me, I jump and turn around. A man with a blackbeard, and grey streaked black hair stands in the threshold. He is clad in a long a black coat, with black boots to match. His cold brown eyes focuses on me, “It’s time witch.” Those were the only words that left his mouth, before two other men came in from behind him. The both grip my arms and drag me out of the room, I struggle in their grasps. “W-What the heck is going on!?” My chest tightens with fear. Neither of the men would answer me, my heart is beating so fast that it began to hurt. In the distance I see a small crowd, they separate to create an opening for the men and myself. The tree from my dreams comes into view, on is long trunk a noose hangs.

My eyes widen in fear, my struggling grows. “N-No! I-I’m not witch! Let me go please!!” I yell, but again none of them paid no mind to me.

The two men holding my arms hoist me up onto the wooden perch below the noose, the one in the long coat slips the noose over my head. I begin to hyperventilate as I look over the crowd, “Alica Paine, you were charged with the murder of Gideon Gravedon, age six months, and for the witchcraft against your master. By the order of Judge Calter, you are sentenced to death by hanging.” The man in the coat’s deep voice rang over the crowd’s murmuring. I look at him in shock, “I-I’m not Alica!!” I yell fearfully. “Do you have any last words witch?” He asks. Words that weren’t my own fell from my lips, “I-I’m sorry that I could not protect my second baby from death’s cold hand, a-and I am sorry for what I am.” My voice was raw and hoarse. Without any warning, the perch had left my feet. A sharp cry wakes me up, I sit up and pant heavily. My shirt sticks to my body with sweat, I take a shaky hands through my hair and look at the clock. It reads six-thirty in the morning, I swallow the lump in my throat. Without warning, my aunt bursts into my room, metal baseball bat in hand. “What’s wrong!? Did someone break in!?” She yells. I blink and grab my glasses putting them on.

“N-No on is breaking in Aunt Lucinda...I just had a nightmare i-it’s alright.” I reply breathlessly. It’s so hard for me to catch my breath for some reason, my aunt looks at me for a moment. Slowly her blue eyes widen in shock, “Callum honey, where did you get that bruise on your neck from?” She asks. I prod my neck gently with my fingers, I wince a little. The skin around my neck feels very tender and raw. I spring out of bed and look at the mirror hanging on my wall, sure enough a dark purple bruise ringed around my neck. “I-I um...I-I fell yesterday, it’s okay.” I mumble as I prod at the bruise again. There is no way that dream caused this, it was just a dream! “It wasn’t a dream boy, it was your future.” Lianna’s cold voice whispers in my ear. I shudder and look over to my aunt, “U-Um...y-you can go now Aunt Lucinda, I’m okay I promise.” My voice sounds shaky. My aunt nods and leaves my room shutting the door.

I lean my head on the mirror and close my eyes, how is that my future when the guy called me by Alica’s name? A cold laugh causes my muscles to tense up, “Oh it will be your future. You’re not protected by Carrington’s ward, what I started will be finished.” Lianna whispers in my ear again. My body begins to buzz with that unknown feeling once more, as the day rolled on I began to feel more and more paranoid. Lianna’s words kept repeating themselves in my head, what does she mean by Carrington’s ward not protecting me. “Bynx might know…” I mumble tiredly. I decide to go back to the museum by myself, Adeline deserves a day off from all of this witch business. Dizziness washes over me, I have to stop for a moment to make sure I don’t fall out on the ground. “Hey! You’re Callum right? The boy who was at the museum?” Bynx’s loud voice startles me for a moment, I turn around and see him standing just a couple inches away from me. I try to calm my wild heartbeats, I take in his appearance and relax a little. He must be walking to work.

“A-Ah yeah, that’s me. Are you on your way to work?” I ask as calmly as I can manage. Bynx smiles and gives me a nod, “I sure am! Are you on your way to the museum too?” He asks. I just nod and rub my neck, the bruise still hurts a little. Bynx’s face scrunches up with concern, “Hey...are you alright? You don’t seem too hot.” He asks. I rub my face and sigh heavily, I must look worse than what I think I do. “I’m just...tired man, it’s alright.” I mumble as I turn back around.

When we get to the museum, Bynx clocks in and takes me to where Lianna’s book is, which is being kept in a glass case. “I told my dad about you last night, he said that he would love to answer any questions that you have.” Said Bynx. I just nod my head and stare at the book, the page it is opened to is the blood curse spell. I squint my eyes and try to get a better look at the words, ‘With these words I do bind myself to thee, and with my blood this bond shall last for an eternity. Even after your final breath.’ I shudder at the words. “Hello, my name is Damien Calter. My son told me that you had some questions about Lianna Paine?” Said a deep voice from behind me. I jump and turn around. A man about the same height as Bynx stands in front of me, he shares Bynx’s black hair, but it’s not long like his sons. “U-Um...y-yes I do. I was wondering if you could tell me more about this blood curse thing.” I say with hesitation.

The man gives me a smile, the edges of his eyes crinkle with happiness. “Ah yes the blood curse, when it comes to a curse like that, it takes a strong amount of power to keep it in place.” He explains. I nod my head to show him that I am following along with his words. “Though, there are many different types of blood curses. There are the ones that just bind someone to another person, then there is the one where you can switch bodies with the person you placed the curse on.” The switching part throws me off guard, my dream hits me like a train. “How...How would one know if they had a blood curse placed upon them?” I ask hesitantly.

Damien hums in thought, “I would suspect that they begin to have dreams of the person they are bound too’s life. Though most times the person with the curse tend to feel that other person’s pain.” I unconsciously reach for my neck, Damien’s brown eyes flick to my hand and he arches his left brow in question. “What’s wrong with your neck? Did you hurt it?” He asks curiously. I laugh nervously and moves my hand away from my neck. “W-Well you see...I...I had this strange dream last night. Instead of Alica being hanged...i-it was me sir.” I reply softly. Damien and Bynx’s eyes widen in shock, I look down and rub my arm.

“Will you be willing to step into my office Mister Gravedon?” Damien asks when his shock wears off. I blink and nod, he turns around and motions for me to follow him. Mister Calter’s office, wasn’t as big as I thought it would have been. His small brown oak desk stood by the wall, a black leather chair sat behind it. He takes the chair behind his desk and points to one of the wooden ones sitting in front of him. I take a seat in one of the them and cross my legs, “May I see your necklace Mister Gravedon?” He asks. I unclasp the chain with shaky hands and hand it over to him. He holds it up to the light and lets out a low whistle. “The magic surrounding this is very strong, it’s a wonder how you didn’t feel it when you first got the necklace.” He says. I rub my neck and shrug, “I’ve had it since I was born. So, I guess I just got use to over the years.” I reply nonchalantly.

Damien nods, I shift uncomfortably in my chair. “This magic appears to be fresh though, has there been a ward placed on this object?” He asks. I shrug my shoulders, the word ward reminds me of Lianna’s words. “U-Um...i-in my dream, I saw Lianna Paine, she said something about Carrington’s ward not protecting me.” Damien nods again.

“It seems to me that Old man Carrington had gotten another witch to place a ward on the necklace to keep his future relatives safe. Though now, it appears to have worn off. Tell me how long have to been here in Salem?” He asks. I hum to myself silently, “I’ve been here since July sir. Though things didn’t start to get weird until here recently.” I reply absentmindedly. Damien nods and stands up from his chair, he gives my necklace back to me. I clasp the chain back around my neck and watch him move around the office. He stops in front of a bookshelf and pulls out a brown scrapbook, Damien walks back over to his desk and reclaims his seat. He opens the book and pushes it in front of me. I lean closer and see a letter from Carrington Gravedon to his wife Katherine.

A Letter From Carrington Gravedon

My dearest Katherine,

These past months have been driving me mad, I cannot sleep, nor can I eat. Everywhere I look I see her, I see that horrible woman’s face in every dark crevice of the house. I can even see her in our sweet daughter’s face, I do believe that Lianna has placed a spell upon me my love. For every time I close my eyes all I see is her and Alica, not our daughter mind you. They haunt me Katherine, I hear them argue. Lianna demands the girl to replace my soul with her own, while Alica refuses to do so. I know I may regret this, but I’ve decided to hire a local witch to place a spell upon our daughter’s amulet. I am afraid that if I don’t do this, then she will be in grave danger. Sometimes I can hear Alica in my dreams, she warns me of her mother’s horrible plans. I do not wish to believe it my love, but I can’t help but to believe that Lianna is trying to bring her daughter back to the land of the living.

She is trying to allow her daughter’s spirit to replace mine, if she succeeds in doing so my love. I just want you to know, that I love you, and I am sorry for all the mistakes I have made in our marriage. I pray to God that you forgive me for my stupid mistakes. This maybe my final words to you, I love you.

Sincerely, Your Loving Husband

I read the note one more time, “So...Carrington thought that Lianna was trying to bring Alica back? Why?” I ask confused. Damien takes the scrapbook back and closes it, he leans back in his chair. “In some other notes from Mister Gravedon, he talks about the nightmares that began to plague him. At one point, he had a similar dream compared to yours. He had talked about how the Marshall, Peter Bartley, had taken him from the Salem steeple to the hanging grounds of Alica Paine. When Peter had asked him about his final words he had uttered the words that had left Alica’s mouth. ’I-I’m sorry that I could not protect my second baby from death’s cold hand, and I am sorry for what I am.’” My blood runs cold.

I look down and shift uncomfortably in my seat again, “I-I said that too...i-in my dream that is.” I reply quietly. “Oh dear...ohh dear...Callum I think you may be in danger.” Says Damien as he stands from his chair again. I look up at him and chew on my bottom lip, “Now that the ward is broken, nothing is keeping Lianna from finishing what she had started way back when.” He continues. My heart thumps wildly in my chest, “Callum, you need to destroy the amulet. It’s the only one you can end the curse.” He repeats Alica’s words to me. I grip the ruby pendant and swallow the lump in my throat. “I-I can’t do that, it’s been in my dad’s family for generations. He’d kill me if did anything to this thing.”

Damien stares at me silently, he’s beginning to unnerve me. “I suppose, that I could get my wife to place another ward on it. She is a Wiccan after all, I can also see if she can find away to break the spell.” He finally speaks. I rub my arm nervously. “Will the ward stay long?” I ask.

Damien sands his hands together and frowns sadly, “I’m afraid not. You are too close to where the spell was originally casted, so the ward only last a couple of days.” He replies with a matter of fact tone. I nod, I unclasp my necklace once more and hand it over to him, “I’ll come by tomorrow to get it okay?” He takes it from me and nods. I stand up and shift my weight. “Callum, I assure you that you can trust me, this kind of stuff is sort of my specialty.” He says reassuringly. I nod and turn to leave his office, “That man cannot save you. Even with the ward, I’ll still be in the shadows watching and waiting.”