Chapter 16

Aurora was sitting in the school library, researching for her history project, when she stumbled upon an old yearbook. As she flipped through the pages, she came across a picture of a group of students from 10 years ago.

One of the students in the picture caught her eye. He was a boy with messy white hair and piercing blue eyes. He was smiling, and his eyes seemed to sparkle with mischief.

Aurora wondered who this boy was. She turned the page over, looking for a caption or a name. And then she saw it: "Liam Blackwood, Class of 2014".

Aurora's heart skipped a beat. Liam Blackwood? She had never heard of him before. But there was something about him and the name that seemed familiar. As she continued to stare at the picture, Elijah walked into the library and spotted her. "Hey, what's up?" he asked, walking over to her table. Aurora showed him the picture. "Who's this?" she asked.

Elijah's eyes widened as he looked at the picture. "That's Liam Blackwood," he said. "He was a student here 10 years ago. But...he disappeared." Aurora's eyes widened in shock. "Disappeared?" she repeated.

Elijah nodded. "Yeah. He just vanished one day. No one ever found out what happened to him." Aurora felt a shiver run down her spine. There was something about Liam's story that seemed...off. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she knew she had to learn more about him. "Let's dig deeper," she said to Elijah, her eyes gleaming with determination.

Elijah nodded, a smile spreading across his face. "there's no way we could find out anything about him" he said "But I'm with you," he said.

Together, the two of them set out to uncover the truth about Liam Blackwood. But as they delved deeper into the mystery, they began to realize that some secrets were better left unspoken... Little did she not realize early that Caspian had that same surname.

As Aurora and Elijah dug deeper into Liam's past, they stumbled upon a shocking revelation. Liam Blackwood, the boy who had disappeared 10 years ago, was none other than Mrs. Jersen's son.

Just then it dawned on her that: Caspian Blackwood and Liam Blackwood could be related to Mrs. jersen.

Aurora's eyes widened in shock as she read the article about Liam's disappearance. "Elijah, look at this," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Elijah leaned in, his eyes scanning the article. "Whoa," he breathed. "Liam Blackwood is Mrs. Jersen's son? Does that also mean," he said before she interrupted, "Caspian is also her son"

"OH MY GOD!" Elijah exclaimed with fear gripping him like never before, it was too shocking to behold.

Aurora nodded, her mind racing with the implications. "These changes everything," she said. "Mrs. Jersen's motives, her behavior...it all makes sense now."

Elijah's eyes narrowed. "You think Mrs. Jersen's been using her powers to cover up Liam's disappearance?" Aurora nodded. "I do. And I think she'll stop at nothing to keep the truth from coming out." As they continued to investigate, they uncovered more shocking secrets about Mrs. Jersen's past and her connection to the mysterious cult. But they also realized that they were getting closer to the truth and that Mrs. Jersen would do anything to silence them at once, they had to keep it secret. The stakes were higher than ever, and Aurora and Elijah knew they had to be careful. They were playing with fire, and they didn't want to get burned.

Aurora and Elijah stood outside Mrs. Jersen's office, their hearts pounding with anticipation. They had finally gathered enough evidence to confront Mrs. Jersen about Liam's disappearance.

Aurora took a deep breath and pushed open the door. Mrs. Jersen looked up from her desk, a hint of surprise on her face.

"Ah, Aurora and Elijah," she said, her voice dripping with sweetness. "What can I do for you?" Aurora stepped forward; her eyes locked on Mrs. Jersen's. "We know about Liam," she said, her voice firm.

Mrs. Jersen's expression faltered for a moment before she regained her composure. "I don't know what you're talking about, please," she said, her voice icy.

Aurora smiled, a fierce glint in her eye, she had the courage. "Don't lie to us, Mrs. Jersen," she said. "We have proof that Liam was your son and that he disappeared under mysterious circumstances." Mrs. Jersen's face turned white with rage, and for a moment, Aurora thought she saw a glimmer of something else - something dark and sinister. "How dare you," Mrs. Jersen spat, her voice venomous. "You have no right to dig into my past, to expose my secrets."

Aurora stood her ground, her heart pounding with fear. "We have every right," she said. "You've been using your powers to cover up the truth, to keep Liam's disappearance a secret. But we're not going to let you get away with it."

Mrs. Jersen's eyes flashed with anger, and for a moment, Aurora thought she saw her raise her hand as if to cast a spell. But then, something seemed to hold her back.

"You're meddling in things you don't understand," Mrs. Jersen said, her voice dripping with malice. "You're going to regret this, Aurora. Mark my words."

Aurora stood tall, her heart pounding with fear. But she refused to back down. She knew that she had to expose the truth, no matter what the cost.

"We're not afraid of you, Mrs. Jersen," she said, her voice firm. "We're going to keep digging until we uncover the truth about Liam's disappearance."

Mrs. Jersen's face turned white with rage, and for a moment, Aurora thought she saw her lose control. But then, she seemed to regain her composure and a cold, calculating smile spread across her face.

"We'll see about that," she said, her voice dripping with malice. As Aurora and Elijah left Mrs. Jersen's office, they couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. They had confronted Mrs. Jersen about Liam's disappearance, but they knew that they had only scratched the surface of the truth.

As they walked down the hallway, they noticed a figure watching them from the shadows. It was Scarlet, her eyes gleaming with a mixture of curiosity and malice.

"Well, well, well," Scarlet said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Look what we have here. The dynamic duo, exposing secrets and causing trouble wherever they go." Aurora rolled her eyes. "What do you want, Scarlet?" she asked. Scarlet smiled, a cold, calculating smile. "I want to show you something," she said. "Something that will change everything."

Scarlet led them to a hidden room deep in the school's basement. The room was filled with strange artifacts and symbols, and Aurora could feel a dark energy emanating from them.

"What is this place?" Elijah asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Scarlet smiled. "This is where Mrs. Jersen performs her dark magic," she said. "And this is where Liam's disappearance is connected to."

Aurora's eyes widened as she looked around the room. She saw a series of symbols etched into the walls, symbols that seemed to match the ones they had found in the library.

"What does it mean?" Aurora asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Scarlet smiled. "It means that Mrs. Jersen made a deal with a dark entity to gain power," she said. "And Liam was the sacrifice she made to seal the deal." Aurora's eyes widened in horror. "That's impossible," she said.

Scarlet shrugged. "Impossible or not, it's the truth," she said. "And now that you know, you're in grave danger."

Aurora felt a chill run down her spine. She knew that she and Elijah had to get out of there, and fast. But as they turned to leave, they were confronted by Mrs. Jersen herself.

"Welcome, Aurora and Elijah," Mrs. Jersen said, her voice dripping with malice. "I see you've discovered my little secret. Well, now that you know, you'll have to be silenced."

Aurora and Elijah exchanged a terrified glance. They knew they were in grave danger, and they had to think fast if they wanted to get out of there alive. Scarlet set them up.