Chapter three
908 Words
Chapter Three
Clara’s POV
“Let go of me!!!” I shouted, twisting violently as the guards dragged me down the corridor.
Their grips were iron tight, fingers digging painfully into my arms. No matter how much I struggled, they didn’t budge. The walls blurred past me, torches shinning like they were mocking my helplessness.
I was thrown into the principal’s office once again.
Mrs. Toria stood waiting.
Her expression was carved from stone cold, unyielding, unimpressed. She folded her arms slowly, eyes narrowing as if she were looking at a misbehaving child rather than a terrified student who had just witnessed something impossible.
“What,” she asked calmly, “were you doing in the forbidden zone at such an odd hour of the night?”
Her voice was sharp, controlled, and dangerous.
It was obvious Mrs. Toria did not tolerate nonsense.
Unfortunately for her, neither did I.
“That’s immaterial right now,” I snapped, jerking my arms free from the guards. “I just told you, I saw my stepmother in the forbidden area. She was dressed in black, chanting something I couldn’t understand!”
Mrs. Toria’s brows furrowed, not in concern, but in irritation.
“And so?” she interrupted. “She disappeared?”
The dismissal in her tone crushed something inside me.
“I…... I guess so,” I muttered, suddenly exhausted.
She stared at me for a long moment, as if weighing a decision that had already been made.
“You are not serious, young girl,” she said finally. “And I warned you to behave.”
She turned sharply to the guards.
“Take her. Lock her up.”
My heart dropped.
Before I could protest, they seized me again, hauling me away as my voice echoed uselessly through the halls.
And just like that, I was placed under house arrest.
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The room was small. Bare. Silent.
Too silent.
I sat on the bed, knees drawn to my chest, staring at the locked door. My mind raced faster than my heartbeat.
If I stayed here, more students would disappear.
I could feel it.
Heights Academy wasn’t waiting anymore, it was feeding.
I need to get out, I thought desperately. I need to stop this.
“Thinking of escaping?”
The voice slithered through the air like smoke.
I froze.
Slowly, I raised my head.
My blood ran cold.
Standing before me, leaning casually against the wall as if she belonged there, was my stepmother.
She smiled.
Not the warm smile she used to fake at home, but something twisted, sharp, and cruel.
“Hey, little brat,” she said mockingly, walking closer. “It’s not everywhere you get to show off how much of a genius you are.”
“What...… what are you?” I whispered, my throat dry.
She chuckled.
“There’s more to this school than you know,” she continued softly. “And you’d do well to keep your mouth shut.”
Then she leaned close enough that I could smell something rotten and ancient clinging to her.
And just like that....
She vanished.
“What?!” I screamed, scrambling to my feet.
My hands shook violently.
I had always known my stepmother was wicked.
Cruel...
Heartless.
But this?
Being a witch had never crossed my mind.
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“Don’t be scared, Clara.”
The voice was gentle and familiar.
I looked up.
The spirit girl hovered before me, her presence calming despite the terror still rattling my bones.
Relief flooded me, and I smiled weakly.
“Can I… can I at least know your name?” I asked softly.
She returned my smile.
“Dora.”
The name settled strangely in my chest.
“Follow me,” she said.
She turned and passed straight through the locked door.
I hesitated.
Then, heart pounding, I stepped forward.
And passed through it too.
My breath caught in shock.
Dora led me through corridors I had never seen, walls shifting like they were alive, until we entered a room that looked so unreal.
Ancient. Sacred. Heavy.
“What is this place?” I asked, scanning the glowing symbols etched into the walls.
“Watch with your eyes,” Dora said firmly, “not your mouth.”
Suddenly, the wall shimmered.
Images began to move.
I watched as a young girl was dragged out of a dormitory late at night. She was beaten mercilessly. Bruised. Broken.
I clenched my fists in rage.
“That’s.....” I began.
Dora raised her hand, silencing me.
The visions continued.
The same girl, older now. Pregnant looking so weak. Lying in a hospital bed.
Then.....
My stepmother appeared.
Invisible to everyone else.
She struck the woman again and again until her body went still.
Dead.
The images vanished.
Silence fell.
“Clara,” Dora said quietly, “the girl from the school is your mother.”
My knees buckled.
“And the woman giving birth,” she continued, “was also your mother.”
My chest burned as tears spilled freely.
“Your mother possessed extraordinary powers,” Dora went on. “Powers your stepmother desperately wanted. She believed killing her would transfer those powers.”
Dora looked straight at me.
“But she was wrong.”
I swallowed hard.
“Because,” Dora said, her voice filled with reverence, “you inherited everything.”
The truth crashed into me like a storm.
I wasn’t just a target.
I was the reason.
- Writer
