Chapter 6

Sparks of Rebellion

Jasmine's POV

I awoke to a chilly, silent room. I was battered all over from head to toe and could not remember anything that occurred in my mind last night. I lay on a simple bed with thin blankets and kept muttering to myself, "I am not broken.". I will not be outdone by this." I slowly sat up, shaking off the pain and the humiliation that wrapped around me like a wet cold shroud. My head was a jumble of other people's and my thoughts. I was Jasmine again, alive, but at the core of me was Aria—seething with anger for revenge.

I hurled my legs off the bed and upright, hearing every creaking step on the bare hallway. I whispered to myself, "I must be strong. Tomorrow, I'll know." I passed a wall mirror. I looked at myself, and I growled, "Jasmine, or Aria, does not matter. I will fight back."

I walked along the hallway and noticed two maids quietly talking outside two shut doors. I stopped and overheard.

"Did you hear the book in the study?"

"Yes, I did. And why, to yourself, do you wonder? It has an unusual note. It is possibly about Alex," said the other.

I jammed my hand into my chest. "That symbol," I panted. I wanted to hear everything. I edged forward so I could listen to every single word.

A guard appeared around the corner. "Jasmine, are you all right?" he asked, noticing me stiffen.

I forced myself to smile. "I'm fine. I'm just tired," I lied, trying to sound natural.

The guard worried. "You don't sound right. Do you need help?"

No, I answered curtly. "I just want to rest a little longer." He nodded, but I could see that concern had crept into his eyes.

I had a few more steps ahead in the dark, long hallway. Every step was also carried by my stubbornness. I needed to find out something about the symbol and the book. I had a half-door open before me. I heard a subdued conversation inside. I remained stationary, I took a deep breath and opened the door very slowly.

There were two men with subdued conversation inside.

"Ours is an occult ritual," one of them panted. "It will provide us with sufficient power. But be warned, the curse has to be broken."

"Broken the curse?" parroted the other, his voice slightly quivering. "I couldn't help but question whether Alex ever considered the price."

I leaned against the wall, into darkness. "I have to write this down," I panted. I dug into the fold of my sleeve produced a small notebook and wrote as quickly as I could: "Ledger, forbidden rituals, curse, symbol."

I stepped back and shut the door softly. My heart was pounding. "I've got to get that ledger," I instructed myself firmly. "It's the key to everything."

I was by myself at the moment in a short corridor at the rear of the big room. The walls were bare and my steps carried muffled sounds. I stopped when I overheard the voice of another deal in a room that was close to me. I crept forward silently close to the sounds until I could overhear distinctly.

"It is not some rash mark on the book," one said authoritatively and convincingly.

It's the mark of the old curse," a second speaker interrupted. "It ties dark ritual magic to the Alex clan."

"Then we don't say anything to them," warned the first. "If people get even the slightest idea about what we do, it will open doors to them.".

I leaned my head on the chill wood of the door. "Everything," I gasped. I added in my head to the end of that: "Find the ledger, learn about the curse." Resolve washed over me. I wasn't the shattered woman they'd thought they had overthrown.

I returned to my room and sat on the bed. I was talking softly. "I am in Jasmine's body, but I am still Aria. I will find out what Alex is hiding from me, and I will have my revenge." I fumed over the shaking hands and growled, "I will not let this get the best of me."

I stood up and went over to a little table where I had some of my belongings. I opened the drawer and took out an old photo of myself as a young man—a reminder of what my life had been like before this. "I will have my revenge for every tear," I vowed to myself. "I will gather all the secrets and all the clues until the truth comes out.".

I stopped when the door was knocked. I quickly hid my notebook under a pillow and went to the door. It was a maid whose face ran with worry.

"Jasmine, you have to come with me," she growled. "You are summoned by the master to the study."

"Okay," I replied, doing my best to be cool while a typhoon was brewing inside me. "I'm coming."

As she led me down through winding corridors, I tried to focus on what we had discussed some time back in the book. "Do you think anyone suspects that something is amiss?" I whispered to the maid.

She glanced around the room cautiously before responding, "No one suspects yet. There is a rumor, and some of the servants are frightened. Be cautious, Jasmine."

"I will," I assured her. "Thanks."

I entered the study and there he was. His face was stern, his eyes unyielding. "Sit down, Jasmine," he growled.

I sat in front of him with a pounding heart. "What do you want, Adam?" I asked, my voice as smooth as I could make it.

He leaned over the table and whispered. "You have to tell me something. There are rumors. I need to know what is true."

I stuttered. "I—I'm not keeping secrets," I stammered, each word wrung out.

Adam's eyes were unsettling. "Then tell me about these rumors. About the book and the rituals. I've seen you prowling around the campus at night.".

I didn't screw up my response. "I only walk so that I can think. Sometimes I have to be alone." I turned and went then, my head reeling. Whatever he told me was always a reminder that I was going to have to watch myself.

He continued, "Jasmine, if you are hiding something from me, it will not be good." His voice was threatening, but I could detect a strand of worry beneath it that I did not want to recognize.

I took a breath. "I apologize if I have frightened you," I stammered. "I simply require time to get used to things. I assure you I am doing nothing unpleasant."

Adam's eyes flamed with anger, but he made no further challenge. "Make sure you do not harm. I do not brook insubordination.".

I took a deep breath as I left. "I must be sneaky," I said to myself. "Every step, every look must hide my mission." I returned to my bedroom and reopened my book. I read my comments again and added one more sentence: "Find the ledger. Find the symbol. Break Alex's curse."

I sat for hours repeating everything that came to me aloud so my mind could be cleared. "I have a plan. I am going to investigate. I am going to ask everyone who has something to tell about the rituals. I am going to unmask all the secrets which are hidden behind these walls." I could hardly raise the beating of my heart while saying it out loud, "I will not break. I will have my revenge."

I took one last walk-through of the house that night. I slipped down a dim, vacant corridor and stood in front of a door that was usually closed. I leaned back against the door and listened, and I heard indistinct voices.

"This symbol—it is our key," one voice spoke softly.

"Yes, it keeps us bound to the curse. Without it, our power is gone," another voice said.

I took hold of the door and whispered, "I need to learn more." I stepped back, promising to return the next day when I would be more prepared.

I sat on a low stool in my quarters and gazed out of the window into the courtyard, blacked out. I softly spoke to myself, "Tomorrow, I will find the ledger. I will have a confrontation with those who hide things. I will not let fear overwhelm me." My words were a promise to my broken self that still raged deep inside…