The tension in the mansion felt heavier with each passing day. The air itself seemed unfriendly, the shadows within seemed darker, and the whispers were louder. Charlotte sat at her desk, the journal opened in front of her, its pages revealing more secrets and half-truths. Her fingers went over the faded ink, her heart pounding as everything seemed to be falling into place and it was looking clearer.
The journal showed that the Hargrove curse wasn't as simple as a ritual requiring a single sacrifice. It spoke of a bond between two chosen individuals, both tied to the family's legacy and the curse's origin.
Charlotte's mind raced. The secret notes and symbols all pointed to a shared connection between her and Evelyn. The realization made her stomach turn.
She closed the journal and relaxed back in her chair, looking at the cracked mirror on her desk. It had been silent since the horrible and scary vision, but its presence still scared her.
"What are you hiding?" she whispered to the mirror.
The room was silent, but a small rustle sound of leaves outside her door made her jump.
Evelyn had been acting strange since the night Charlotte followed her to the hidden chamber. At first, Charlotte thought it was guilt, but now she wasn't so sure. Evelyn seemed weaker, her face looks faded, her movements became slow.
Charlotte found her in the library, sitting by the fire with a blanket placed over her shoulders.
"You don't look well," Charlotte said carefully, sitting across from her.
Evelyn looked up, her eyes bloodshot. "You think I don't know that?"
There was a difference in her tone, but it was filled with something else, fear.
"Is it the curse?" Charlotte asked, her voice softer.
Evelyn's gaze shifted to the fire. "It's not just me, Charlotte. It's us. We're both part of this."
"What do you mean?"
Evelyn hesitated, then pulled up her clothes to reveal the scar on her arm—the same one she'd shown Charlotte before. But now, the scar seemed to shine slowly, beating like a heartbeat.
"It's getting worse," Evelyn said, her voice shaking. "And it's not just the scar. I can feel it inside me like it's... eating me alive."
Charlotte's throat tightened while trying to swallow her saliva. "Then we need to stop it. There has to be a way to break this curse without anyone getting hurt."
Evelyn gave a suspicious laugh. "Do you really believe that? This curse has been with our family for centuries. It won't let us go without a price."
Later that evening, Charlotte found Jack in the study. He was standing by the window, looking out at the dark part of the estate and admiring the beauty.
"We're running out of time," he said without turning around.
Charlotte approached him cautiously. "Evelyn's getting worse. She says we're both connected to the curse. What does that mean?"
Jack turned to face her, his expression was serious. "It means the curse doesn't differentiate. You and Evelyn are both pawns in this game. The ritual requires balance—two lives connected, one to break the curse and the other to..." He went off, his jaw tightening.
"To what?" Charlotte asked further.
Jack sighed. "To pay the price."
Charlotte's stomach turned. "You're saying one of us has to die?"
Jack's silence was enough to answer her question.
As the night approached, the mansion became alive with activities. Doors were opening and closing on their own, and the small sound of footsteps sounded loudly in the empty hallways.
Charlotte tried to maintain her focus on the journal, but the whispers in her room became louder.
"Charlotte..."
She looked around, her heart racing. The shadows in the corners of the room were just becoming larger, stretching, turning, and slowly moving closer.
"Stop it!" she shouted, her voice shaking.
The whispers stopped sounding, but the shadows didn't stop the movement. They became darker, and heavier until they began to take shape.
Charlotte froze as a figure came out from the darkness, its form tall and covered, with eyes that burned like charcoal.
Before she could scream for help, the door opened suddenly, and Evelyn rushed in.
"They're here," Evelyn said while trying to breath well, her face filled with terror and fear.
Charlotte didn't need to ask who. The shadowy figure jumped at them, its form shifting and twisting like smoke.
Charlotte took a candlestick from her desk and threw it at the figure, but it passed through the shadow as if it were made of air.
"Run!" Evelyn shouted, holding onto her arm.
They ran very fast down the hallway, the shadows pursuing them with super speed. The walls seemed to close in, the air growing colder with each of their steps.
"This way!" Evelyn pulled Charlotte into a hidden passage behind a tapestry.
The narrow staircase went downward, and the shadows stayed at the entrance as if the passage was protected.
When they reached the bottom, Charlotte fell awkwardly against the wall, her fast breath were now making her chest vibrating.
"What were those things?" she asked.
Evelyn shook her head. "I don't know, but they're tied to the curse. They've been watching us, waiting for the right moment."
Charlotte shivered. "How do we stop them?"
Evelyn pulled out a torn page from the journal. "This might help. It's part of the ritual instructions. But it's incomplete."
Charlotte took the page, her hands shaking. The symbols and words were familiar, but they didn't make sense on their own.
"We need the rest of the journal," she said.
Evelyn nodded. "And we need to find out who's controlling those shadows. Someone is controlling everything happening, and they won't stop until the ritual is complete."
As they walked back to the main part of the mansion, the air in the mansion became very cold. Charlotte had an awkward chill in her body system, and she stopped walking immediately.
"Do you hear that?" she whispered.
Evelyn listened, her eyes completely opened. The whispers were back, but this time, the shadows were not the ones whispering sound. They were coming from the cracked mirror in Charlotte's room.
"We have to go back," Charlotte said, her voice firm.
Evelyn hesitated. "Are you sure? What if it's a trap?"
Charlotte clenched her fists. "We'll never find the truth if we keep running. Whatever's in that mirror, it's connected to the curse. We need to face it."
They went back to the room together, the whispers were becoming louder with each step they took. When they opened the door, the mirror was shining, its surface was looking like flowing water.
Charlotte took a deep breath and moved closer. Her reflection in the mirror looked back at her. The reflection smiled, its eyes filled with anger.
"Welcome, chosen one," it said, its voice sounding in the room.
Charlotte's heart pounded as the reflection reached out, its hand pressing against the glass.
Before she could react, the mirror scattered without the touch of a human, and darkness covered the room.