Cassandra Reed and the Curse of Mordred
Chapter 5
The Torture Curse
Cass's first breath of freedom was brief.
The hallway in which she found herself reminded her much of any other hospital she had seen in the real world – too bright lights, pristinely bleached tiles, and a pervasive undercurrent of dread.
Her room, it turned out, was one of many. Doors stood at attention along either side of the endless hall like little toy soldiers awaiting their orders. Brass nameplates hung from little nails in the center of the door.
Curiosity overcame caution as she tip-toed to the nearest door.
Lupine Polyjuice Recovery. How odd.
Questions stacked upon questions, but she did not have time to consider further as the sound of voices echoed across the linoleum.
Her heart leapt into her throat as her head turned back and forth, searching for an exit. Wizarding hospitals did not need to adhere to rules about exit signs, apparently.
A doorknob clicked, leaving Cass with no option but to leap toward a shoddy looking door – the only one without a nameplate.
It opened with a moaning creak to reveal a dark and narrow stairway.
Ominous, but she had made worse choices in the last twenty-four hours.
The door swung shut behind her, latching with a click just as the voices emerged from further down the hall.
Cass crouched in silence as the voices drew nearer.
Then stopped.
Her breath froze in her chest, waiting for the door to inevitably open. Her ankle ached, and she cursed her earlier fall in the alley.
The voices continued, the mindless chatter of work and petty frustrations reminding Cass of conversations she had with her own coworkers at the publisher.
It felt like a lifetime ago.
She needed to get out of here.
Cass chewed on the inside of her cheek. Either she waited it out in hope that they left, or she could find another way.
She glanced down the stairwell, eyes still adjusting to the dark. It seemed to curve, leading toward unknown depths.
Hell, maybe she'd find a dragon down there.
Weirder things have happened.
Hoping she would not regret her decision, Cass descended.
It took surprisingly little time for her to arrive at the bottom, where a plain wood door allowed tiny slivers of light to pass beneath.
She held her breath, listening.
Silence.
Blessed, silence.
The door opened without a sound as she stepped into the dimly lit room.
More like a hall, really. Tall stone arches stretched to either side, leading toward two sets of grimy windows that looked as though they had not been cleaned in the last century.
Hope surged in her chest. Nestled between the windows was a door.
An exit.
Freedom.
A shoe scuffed along the floor, and the hope sputtered in her chest.
Shit.
She was not alone.
Two men in drab cloaks stood on either side of the exit. They looked as started as she at her entrance.
Cass threw on an apologetic smile. "Oh, so sorry. I thought this was the loo. I'll jut be –"
"Well, look who it is, Jimmie." The taller of the pair grinned, sending a chill down Cass's spine. "And we didn't even have to try."
Cass backed up, hand grasping for the doorknob. "I think you've made a mistake." She stuttered as they drew closer. "I'll just be –"
"Cassandra Reed."
Her blood froze.
The man – the wizard, she corrected - pulled something from the side of his cloak.
A wand.
So much power in such an innocuous thing.
The wizard stepped forward. "You're coming with us."
Cass spun, throwing open the door as she sprinted toward the stairs. But before she could get more than a step a bright light illuminated the space.
"Incarcerous!"
Wham!
Cass slammed into the ground, rough rope slithering around her ankle and up to her knees. It tightened as she struggled, biting into her flesh.
"No!" She gasped. No no no!
Another spell uttered as she was dragged across the floor by some unseen force, stopping just short of the wizards.
She rolled onto her back, readying to try and defend herself.
Apparently, danger made her an optimist.
"Our boss wants a word with you." The tall wizard stalked closer with a confidant swagger. A scar cut across his face, looking all the more dangerous in the flickering lamplight.
The shorter one remained silent, but the too-eager look in his eyes sent Cass into a panic.
She was helpless.
And no one knew where she was. There would be no Orion to save the day. Not this time.
What a fool she was.
"Why." She croaked. "I didn't do anything."
"Didn't do –" The first wizard laughed. "Did you hear that, Jimmie? She says she didn't do anything."
He crouched beside her, stale breath causing Cass to choke. "You took something, and we want it back."
"I don't have anything."
"You have the sword."
"Are you kidding?" Cass stared at the man agape. "If I had a sword, I'd shove it in your ugly face!"
She wished she could have called it courage. Desperation, however, made her stupid.
She was weaponless and magicless. What else did she have but words?
"Oh, it'll take some coaxing. But, boss will get it." The man grinned. "Not sure if you'll survive though. Sorry."
The nonchalant shrug told her just how sorry he was.
"Come on, Jimmie. Let's get going."
The wizard raised his wand, and the world seemed to slow.
They were going to kidnap her.
Kill her.
And all she could do was lie there and wait.
A warmth bloomed in her chest. New, but familiar.
Cass raised her hands before her, feeling foolish but for the power surging through her veins.
She was not helpless.
She was not magicless.
Not anymore.
If she was going to be cursed, she would make it earn its keep.
Pinpricks of light danced around her fingertips as her heart thudded.
She felt strong. Sure.
She was power.
"Fuck off." She growled, thrusting the power toward the wizard.
His eyes widened. "Stupe—"
A jagged spear of blue light shot forward, slamming into his chest and sending him careening back.
He did not even scream as his body twitched and sizzled before going completely, utterly still.
For a moment, there was silence but for the soft crackle of still-smoking skin. The smell of burnt hair churned Cass's stomach.
Oh, god.
He was dead.
The bindings on her feet had loosened. Cass tried to stand, only to fall to her knees as her arms shook. Every muscle, every pore, ached as though her cells had been wrenched in two.
Whatever she had done had taken everything out of her. It was worse than having run a marathon.
She couldn't move. She couldn't run. She couldn't –
"Crucio!" The remaining wizard shouted, furiously slashing his wand through the air.
Cass's world went white as her mouth opened in a silent scream.
Pain.
Her mind could not fit anything else in it but that word.
It was her world, her thoughts, her everything, as a thousand knives drove into her spine, her heart, her lungs.
Over and over again, she was bathed in fire.
Then, as suddenly as it began, the pain stopped.
Cass gasped, arms curled around her head.
She looked up to see a figure standing before her view of the dead cultist.
The other wizard still stood, the fury on his face warring with a look of…
Fear.
"This is quite enough." Professor McGonagall said, voice sharp as a blade. "Petrificus totalus."
The wizard collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud, falling out of Cass's view.
The Headmistress turned toward Cass, her lips pursed in a thin line.
"Miss Reed," she began with an outstretched hand. "Are you ready to listen?"