✔Secrets of the Amulet | ONC 2023 (The Bloodbound Series)

2. Cursed Library👻

Pink clouds resembled cotton candy in the sky that brisk fall morning. Petrichor wafted in the air from last night's thunderstorm, and stray bits of debris and broken branches swept down the barren road.

Trees shed their golden and crimson leaves around him as Everett crossed the sidewalk downtown. Storefronts were turned into a festival spectacle that time of year with fake cobwebs draped over railings, twinkling strands of orange and purple lights cast soft glows over the buildings, and Jack-o Lanterns could be found almost everywhere shaped into all kinds of spooky faces.

A gust of wind stirred fallen leaves around him and nipped at his face. He tugged his brown robe with gold trim closer, brushing his fingers over his family's crest wrought into a pendant in a silvery shade with white antlers curved out from the top.

Everett couldn't stop thinking about his encounter with the vampire last night. Freckles. It was such a stupid nickname, but the way Kieran had said it made him blush like a moonstruck schoolboy. He raked a frustrated hand through his short, tousled burgundy hair, plucking out a crunchy leaf and tossing it aside.

As the library came into view, Everett dug into his robe's pocket for the key and climbed the concrete stairs to the entrance. Once he unlocked the door to step inside, a sinister sensation trickled across his gooseflesh-ridden arms. Something was wrong.

Burnt pumpkin pie mixed with sulfur wafted in the air, and Everett wrinkled his nose as he followed the unsavory stench. He disregarded the spellbooks piled up from the dropoff bin. Normally, he'd work on returns or find a cozy place to catch up on his reading, but he knew what that miasma meant.

Black magic.

"Rowena?" Everett called out for the ghost as he raised his wand to illuminate the dimly lit library with silver embers. Could ghosts perform magic? He'd never questioned Rowena or any of the other ghosts that haunted the library about it, but he figured it wouldn't be possible to cast spells without a proper body. He thought about calling out the names of the other ghosts, but deep within his unsettled heart he knew it wasn't a ghost responsible for that black magic.

Everett marched onward with false confidence, maneuvering through the towering bookshelves with familiar ease before he found the source of the stench. Remnants of black magic hung in the air like small, faded thunderclouds.

Sudden movement on the opposite side of the bookcase made him freeze. He pressed his back tightly against the shelf, crouching low as he prepared a defensive spell, and awaited his attacker to strike. Thankfully, nobody popped out of the shadows to kill him.

Curiosity urged him to creep toward the bookcase and pluck a few spines out, giving Everett a glimpse of the other side. A pair of eyeballs stared back into his very soul, and a scream tore through his throat as he jolted away from the shelf.

Magical energy pulsed around his body with the defensive shield he conjured around him on instinct. Heartbeat throbbing against his chest, legs numbed with fear, Everett forced himself to tip-toe around the shelf. Nothing prepared him for the horrendous sight.

A bodiless head was perched on one of his rolling carts, turned to face the exact position he'd peeked through. Everett reeled back, clamping a hand over his mouth. It couldn't be real. Someone had to be playing a cruel prank on him, right? Despite how he tried to rationalize it, Everett knew that the head belonged to someone human.

"Everett!"

The young wizard whipped around and sent a spell of hellwind that knocked over the little display the kids created. Rowena's ghost appeared before him. Something troubling washed over her rigid face as she pointed toward the head.