Reaching the top of the stairs, Nina questions my behaviour. 'What is going on with you, Magnus?'
'We have to search your room,' I tell her.
'My room? What for?' She asks, puzzled.
I check for any prying eyes and, satisfied with the privacy, take Nina's hand, lead her into her room, and shut the door behind us.
Unzipping my bag, I hand her the book of spells and hexes. 'Magnus, where did you get this? Do you know how much trouble we can get into for having this?' Nina scolds, giving me a stern look.
'Yeah, I know. I'm just borrowing it for a while. I'll return it later,' I assure her.
'You shouldn't have it in the first place,' Nina admonishes.
'Nina, I took it to help you,' I explain.
'How is this book going to help me?' She asks, giving me an odd look.
'Look here and read this part,' I instruct her.
Nina hesitantly reads aloud, 'Items such as relics can summon ghosts and demons. Some may even have the ability to curse someone. These could be items such as a voodoo doll, a small statue, or symbols drawn or made from twine or other materials. They are usually placed under the victim’s pillow or bed.'
She looks up from the book, staring at me with confusion. 'Okay, and what's this got to do with anything?' She asks.
'We should search your room for any relics, just in case,' I suggest.
Nina bites her lip. 'Why would someone purposely curse me like that?' She asks solemnly.
'I don't know, but we should at least rule the idea out,' I tell her.
Nina nods, closes the book, and places it in my bag, and we search in her room.
We meticulously search Nina's room, combing through every nook and cranny in hopes of finding any hidden relics or symbols. Nina and I peer under her pillow, sift through her bedding, and inspect every inch of her room, but there are no obvious signs of anything that could be the cause of a curse.
'Nothing here,' Nina says with a hint of frustration.
'Here, move aside. I'll lift your bed,' I suggest, walking over to the large piece of furniture. With ease, I raise the bed, revealing a space beneath it. Nina clears the boxes of clothes underneath, but again, we find nothing.
'Maybe check in the boxes,' I suggest, and Nina starts to toss aside the items in the boxes.
Meanwhile, I return the bed frame to its original position, lift the mattress, and scan the bed frame.
'Nothing,' I report to Nina, who looks equally disappointed.
As Nina stands up, ready to explore other options, a sudden, loud knock at the door startles us. In the midst of the unexpected disturbance, Nina slips on an item on the floor. Reacting quickly, I grab her with one hand, pulling her towards me, and we both tumble onto the mattress, our faces mere inches apart.
The door swings open abruptly, revealing Zak, Flint, May and Josie standing there in shock and surprise, with Nina and I caught in a compromising position, gaze at them with wide eyes and hastily state, 'This is not what it looks like!'
The room falls into a brief, awkward silence as everyone processes the unexpected scene. Nina and I quickly disentangle ourselves, straightening up and attempting to salvage a semblance of composure.
Josie looks around the room. 'So, it doesn’t look like you two are having a full-on make-out session to the point it has totally made a mess of Nina’s bedroom,' she laughs, surveying the scene with playful amusement.
Flint chimes in, 'So, which of you are going to explain this situation?' His eyes dart between us curiously.
Nina and I point at each other, eliciting more laughter from the group. 'Well, we can’t tell you how we ended up like that. You will just have to take my word for it that it's not what it looks like,' I tell them.
'What do you mean you can’t tell us?' Zak growls, his eyebrows furrowing in suspicion.
Nina glances at me before addressing the others. 'Because our Luna said we aren’t to tell anyone else,' she confesses.
Zak presses further, 'Who else knows about whatever this secret is that you are keeping from us?'
'All our parents know, and then us two,' I reply truthfully.
Zak frowns. 'So, our parents all know about whatever it is, but we aren’t allowed to be let in on it?' He expresses his annoyance, shared by the others.
'Correct,' I answer.
‘That would be about right,’ May simmers.
Josie smirks and crosses her arms. 'If you don’t let us in on what is going on, I will tell everyone about you two making out,' she teases, a sparkle in her eyes.
Nina gives me a worried glance, not wanting rumours to surface while she is with Moss.
'Fine, get in here and shut the door behind you,' I grumble, conceding to the pressure.
The group enters the room, and I quietly shut the door.
The room is filled with curiosity and concern as everyone finds a spot, sitting on boxes scattered around Nina's room. Nina and I settle on the mattress. I grab the book of spells and hexes, handing it to Zak first.
'We were searching Nina’s room for any relics someone may have hidden here,' I reveal, gauging their reactions.
'Relics? And why am I holding a book of Spells and Hexes?' Zak asks with an expression of worry.
'I can’t shift without it causing immense pain. So, we had a witch named Yiselda come and see if she could figure out why,' I explain, hoping to shed light on the mysterious circumstances.
'A witch?' Josie exclaims in amazement.
'Yes, there’s a secret coven that still exists. Yiselda clearly stated that I can’t shift without it causing immense pain because of a curse Nina carries,' I disclose, revealing the secret.
'Nina’s cursed?' The collective shock in their voices resonates through the room.
'Yes, we don’t know what kind of curse or how it affects her, but it’s affecting me. We can't break the curse without knowing who cursed her or what the curse is. So, Pipsqueak and I broke into the town’s library and snuck into the secret forbidden room to research curses. This book was the only one I had come across so far that might be helpful,' I continue, getting them up to date.
'Wait, wait, wait, hold on a minute! There’s a secret room in the library? And who is Pipsqueak?' Josie interjects, her disbelief evident.
'Yes, the library keeps all the forbidden and banned books there. It was like a military operation to get in there without being caught. Pipsqueak is a friend from school. You all know her,' I clarify, as they stare at me, remaining confused.