The Curse of Thorns

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The moment they stepped inside, Briar felt a shiver run down her spine. The interior of the hut was like something out of a nightmare. Bones and skeletons littered the floor, casting eerie shadows in the dim light. Alongside the bones were rows of cabinets filled with potions, some of them broken and in disarray. Crystal balls glimmered ominously from one cabinet, while another overflowed with mystical amulets.

Brooms lay forgotten in a corner, covered in dust. It was clear that the witch didn't bother with mundane tasks like cleaning. Cobwebs draped everything in sight, giving the room a sinister atmosphere.

In the center of the room, towering over the flickering flames of the fireplace, stood a chair crafted from weathered wood. It was an odd sight among the horrid surroundings. Leaning on the wall beside the fireplace were three skeletons with rotten flesh still attached to them.

"It is disgusting." Briar controlled herself from puking.

"My nanny used to tell us that Baba Yaga's hut is enchanted," Leon said. "It's only ugly on the outside and once you enter, it is a whole different world. Treasure chests full of gold and diamonds and rubies. And that's why people are dying to come here."

"Well, it's ugly on the outside and as well as the inside," Briar said.

"Only the good rumors about Baba Yaga are false," he looked at the room with disappointment. "I was expecting to see her lavish lifestyle."

"Let's forget about it and look for the book," Briar said taking a deep breath to steel herself for the task ahead. She glanced around the cluttered room, feeling a bit overwhelmed by the chaos before her. "Where do we even begin?"

She looked up at the ceiling and screamed. Suspended from the ceiling were heads, their hair tied with ropes to form a grotesque chandelier of sorts. Each head bore a wrinkled face, their eyes shut tight, and their lips twisted into unsettling grins.

She pointed a trembling finger upward. "What are those?"

Leon's face went white. "Deadheads," he muttered, his voice tinged with unease

Briar squinted at the wrinkled faces dangling above. "Are they... alive?" she asked.

"Relax," Leon reassured her. "There's nothing to fear. The heads are dead."

Briar's gaze darted around the room, but everywhere she looked, she was met with disturbing sights. The anxiety coursing through her veins refused to decrease, her heart racing and her hands trembling uncontrollably. "We need to find the book. I can't stand being in this place any longer."

"I'll search over here," Leon offered, indicating the right side of the room. "You check the other side."

Briar nodded and headed toward a small bookshelf tucked away in the corner. She carefully examined each book, flipping through their pages one by one. None of them seemed to match the description of the Ancient Book of Spells that the forest fairies had described.

After replacing the books on the shelf, she turned to Leon. "Did you have any luck?" she asked, hoping that he had found something useful.

"Look at this." Leon held up a small wooden wand with intricate carvings. He twirled it around, playing with it.

"Leon," Briar marched to him angrily and snatched the wand from him. "We are here for the book."

"Briar," he said, reaching for the wand again. "I stumbled upon this while searching. It might come in handy. Let me keep it."

"No," Briar replied firmly. "We're here for the book, not to play with random objects. Haven't you learned your lesson in the garden?"

"Oh, come on," Leon said with a laugh. "It's just a harmless wand. it's not going to eat us."