Escaping Her Curse—Completed

Chapter Thirty-Five

Jessie didn’t know how to feel as it gazed at her with its yellow eye and big smile. Now that it had established that it was friend instead of a foe, she felt unsure of how to proceed. It had given her its name, though that was all it could say. Still, the fact that it could talk and understand her made her uneasy as well as intrigued.

“Rascal,” she said as it sat down on the floor next to her, clearly pleased to hear its name from her lips. “Uh, well? I’ve never had a conversation like this before. Honestly, I’m not sure what to say really.”

“Ras…cal…” it said confidently.

“Yes, I see,” she mused. “Are there more like you? That roam around the grounds?”

Rascal nodded.

“Do they share in your sentiments about how you feel about me?”

It looked at her and tilted its head to the side.

“Oh, sorry. Do they also want to meet me? Like how you’ve come into my room now to talk with me?”

It nodded eagerly. “R-R-Rasss…”

Jessie smiled back at the creature. “Don’t strain yourself. Tell me, Rascal, were you really a dead thing before coming to be this way?”

Its smile seemed to waver for a moment before it looked up at her with interest. Rascal then reached out very slowly and placed its leathery, long fingers on the back of her hand. In a flash, Jessie saw a man in an alleyway. He was tall and skinny, but dirty and clearly malnourished. He looked no older than his mid-twenties. Another man entered the frame, and Jessie immediately recognized him to be Michael. There was a flash of silver, and then the first man bent over, letting out an anguished scream. He slumped to the ground, and before he even stopped moving, she watched Michael drag the man away, out of the frame in her mind. Everything went black until a scene unfolded before her. The first man, who had been stabbed by Michael, was lying in a cage, one she recognized from the old building that was Michael’s laboratory. The man was writhing inside the cage, his body deforming, breaking apart, and snapping unnaturally. Michael was in front of the cage, wielding a darkness in his hands, and then once he stopped, the former dead man transformed into the hulking creature that sat before her now. The scene ended, and Rascal removed his fingers from her.

Jessie stared at the creature, tears forming in her eyes. What it had shown her was horrific and brutal. She had watched Michael murder the man in order to perform a horrible ritual on him.

“I’m so sorry,” she breathed.

Rascal shook its head. “Rassssss…callll.”

The creature didn’t want her sympathy, but she wasn’t exactly sure what it did want. “What are you trying to tell me, Rascal? Hmm? Is it about the others?”

It shook its head.

“Alright. Then, is it about Michael and the building?”

Rascal nodded.

Her eyes widened. “Did he–did he murder all of you?”

It nodded, and there seemed to be a profound sadness in its one eye. Jessie found herself captivated by its ability to express itself even while being an unnatural creature.

“Do you want revenge on Michael for killing you?” she then asked softly.

Rascal seemed to frown and think about what she had asked. It then looked up at her with determination and shook its head once.

“Do you want justice?”

Its smile grew wide in a supernatural way. However, before she could continue questioning the creature, it tilted an ear to the air and listened. Moments later, it dashed out of the room, closing the door quietly. Jessie was at a loss until she heard distinct footsteps walking down the hallway, clicking as they went.

“So, Rascal doesn’t want them to know that it spoke to me,” she mumbled to herself, the wheels of her head turning.

Settling back into bed, she stared at a fixated spot on the wall, carefully going over the short yet insightful conversation she’d had with the Wanderer. She felt differently about them after watching Rascal get brutally murdered and wanted to know how many more there were. They had, afterall, been people before Michael had altered their lives forever. Jessie then remembered the comment he’d made earlier about not finding enough corpses. Perhaps he had resorted to murder out of necessity. The question about whether Bossman knew what was happening popped into her head next. She surmised that he had to know exactly what was going on. Bossman wasn’t the type to sit back and let others do what they’d like without his approval.

Jessie was exhausted as the lanterns began turning on, alerting the Undergrowth that a new day had begun. She’d barely slept, and she felt burdened with the knowledge she’d received. It gave her a greater sense of weariness for Bossman and Michael. She couldn’t and wouldn’t trust anyone in the Undergrowth, and her conversation with Rascal had solidified her decision.

“Good morin’ miss,” Rosy said, as she came through the door with a tray. “Today ya’ll be eati’ in bed, lucky, eh?”

“Good morning, Rosy. Thank you. How have you been?” Jessie replied, setting the tray on her legs.

“Been fine, miss. Yar door, I noticed weren’t locked,” she then frowned. “Did, uh, anythin’ happen lass night?”

Feigning ignorance, Jessie shook her head. “No, I slept wonderfully, actually. I was a little nervous to be back in this room, but I was surprised by how quickly I fell asleep.”

Rosy studied her for a moment before nodding absently. Jessie wasn’t sure if the woman bought her lies, but she didn’t really care. No one would believe her if she said she made friends with the Wanderer.

It didn’t take her long to finish her breakfast and then get ready for the day. Michael had wanted to see more of her magic and see if he could utilize it more for his own purposes, which Bossman had agreed to, so she was expected to be ready for him. She was dressed in a light and thin linen dress. The air in the Undergrowth was warmer than it had previously been, which made her wonder if the outside world was getting more sunshine these days. Though she hadn’t stayed in the Undergrowth for long, she already missed the golden rays of warmth.

Michael picked her up and escorted her to his laboratory. She noticed that all the cages were gone, as were the animals and creatures inside of them.

“Where did everything go?” she asked, curious.

He raised an eyebrow at her. “Cleaned up for ya, thought ya might appreciate it.”

Jessie only nodded, not believing that to be the truth. He brought her to a small desk and gestured for her to sit. On the desk were pieces of papers with large symbols drawn all over them.

“Do ya know what these are?” he questioned gruffly.

She shook her head.

“Have ya ev’a seen anythin’ like ‘em before?”

“I haven’t,” she replied.

Michael sighed and rubbed his eyes with his hands. “K. Well, tha’re magic symbols. Ya can make magic by usin’ yar powers to conjure it. So, picture it in ya mind, an then–”

His words were cut short as a brilliant purple-y, blue light shown all around her. It then began twirling and spinning until it created a person-sized tornado up to the ceiling. The magic made its way up, collecting itself into a ball just below the ceiling, before moving to the center of the building. It then began dripping droplets of water onto the floor, puddling into a thin line. The magic disappeared once the spell was over, but the water remained. Michael stared at her with his mouth open.

“What are ya?” he barely managed to ask.

“What do you mean? You said these were magic symbols. That means that they’re created for magic users to use. I decided to use it.”

“Well, yeah, but ya said ya’d never seen one before.”

Jessie nodded with a shrug. “I did what I thought you wanted me to do, which was to use it.”

Michael shook his head in disbelief. “That wazzah high level spell ya jus used. I struggle wit those. I thought ya’d use an easier one. But, damn. This–this changes e’erythin’.”

She wasn’t sure how pleased she should feel about the news. Michael seemed elated, but this only made Jessie feel more trapped in whatever role she’d been assigned by the two. She didn’t want to impress them. She didn’t want to be anymore useful than she apparently already was to them. However, now that hope seemed dashed, especially with the way that Michael was grinning at her.

“I gotta idea, Jess,” he said, his eyes sparkling mysteriously.