"What sort of creature are you?" Fina asked
"A nun" It replied
The nun moved to the painting and touched it.
"Pretty, isn't it?" He asked without looking at them. "Lots has died trying to figure it out. A hundred years worth of secrets. It's like opening a dark well. You don't know what is beneath until you go deep into it. I don't think you are looking for the book. I think you are just curious. It's new. Exciting. Adventurous. You want to know what's hidden underneath. Curiosity kills the cat"
"It's not just curiosity" Shelly Jefferson said
"It is. You are young. You don't know what you are playing with. A fire interests a little kid until he gets burnt. He learns to stay away from it the next time he sees it. This is like a game to you three. When you find the book, what do you intend to do with it?"
They all look at each other.
"But I know you won't stop until you find it. I have seen the enthusiasm in those eyes before. Exactly like yours. The green one"
Fina frowned.
"How do we get out of here?" Zo asked shakily.
"You are not getting out." The nun said, turning back to them.
"You are never going to leave. You are trapped"
The nun snapped its fingers and three deadly black snakes appeared in front of him. The snakes had tiny legs like that of a centipede.
"Attakisthemusus" Attack them!
The snakes hissed wildly and lunged at them.
Shelly Jefferson pushed Zo away and hit the snake with her wooden wand.
Fina dragged Zo behind her.
"Don't move"
Zo nodded shakily.
"CMANTUSBLAKUSSNAKUS DUVIUS"
The portal opened and closed.
Fima eyes widened.
"Oh. Weak spells don't work here" The nun said.
"AYUNUP ESTERIDUS MANIFSA !" Fina said
The closed walls crumbled, throwing bricks everywhere.
The snakes lunged at them again but they were already running toward a stair.
The stair have no banister and a fall could really be fatal.
Shelly and Zo were in the front, not even a glance behind them.
The snakes moved more faster and one of them wrapped itself around Fina's leg making her fall from the stairs.
"Fin!" Zo shouted
Shelly pushed her to a corridor where they hid.
They remained still and quiet as the snakes passed them.
Zo heart jerked wildly as they heard the nun footsteps.
Shelly Jefferson swallowed painfully. Her heart pounded so hard against her ribs, she was afraid it could crack.
The nun passed them without a backward glance and then stop suddenly.
Zo and Shelly sucked in a breath as the nun turned slowly.
"CMANTUSBLAKUSSNAKUSDUVIUS!"
Fina repeated three times and the portal opened, dragging the snakes into it.
"NO!" The nun shouted and ran towards Fina.
"Go! Remember the teleportation spell!" Fina shouted
Shelly dragged Zo away.
"We can't just leave her" Zo said
"Clark is smart. I think she's more worried about you" Shelly said
Fina ran through corridors, opening different doors, going deeper and deeper and deeper into an unknown destination.
The nun was still chasing her. Her right ankle hurts and her shoulder blade were on fire but the adrenaline kicking in her doesn't make her body care.
She had to get out of here.
Fina ran into a dark room, trying to open a door but it was locked.
She pushed against the door but it didn't even bulge.
The nun footsteps were clearer now, getting more closer and closer.
When she heard the lock turning behind her, the lock she was trying to turn snapped and she pushed open the door and ran in just as the door behind her opened.
Everything switched.
She was in a dark room. So quiet that she could hear the sound of water drops and her heartbeats.
Then, she heard it.
The scream.
The exact one as her dream.
Another scream.
Silence.
Footsteps.
The footsteps was getting closer now.
Fina moved to the door and listened carefully.
Silence.
Then, the turning of a knob.
As she prepared to face whatever was behind that door that has been hunting her for years, everything shifted again.
She felt dizzy, trying to maintain her balance.
She was in the library. It was quiet. No one was there. A light flashed in front of her and she moved towards it.
The light cleared and a 'Welcome to Elfina' was written on the wall.
As Fina raised her hand to touch it, everything shifted again and she found herself trying to maintain her balance again.
She was still in the library. The door opened and Zo walked in.
"Fin?"
Fina smiled.
"Oh my God, Zo. I'm so happy that you are-
Something dropped on her shoulder blade and it took a while for it to settle in as she stared at the red stain on her body.
Another drop.
As she looked up, a shower of blood suddenly began to rain on her.
The next thing she knew, she was drowning.
Fina surged upward to catch a breath of air into her lungs but something pushed her back into the blood. Someone…
She willed every part of her to concentrate on the spell in her mind. Just like Mr Walker had told them.
"TELEPORTASCLASEFELISTUS"
Everything shifted but she wasn't in teleportation class.
She was standing in the midst of a hallway.
Scream.