凱薩琳在風雨之中飛向天際
暴雨將至,烏雲翻滾,層層向著海平線壓去,雷電時隱時現,銀藍色的閃光穿梭於靜肅的夜空,唯有上弦月凍結在夜幕之中。
在床上的布蘭琪感到一陣強風吹過臉頰,她揉著惺忪的雙眼望向窗邊,卻看到她的姊姊凱薩琳正鬼鬼祟祟地站在窗沿。
兩人四目相接,電光在天際劃過,布蘭琪驚愕地發現,凱薩琳竟只剩一隻腳,她驚呼出聲,猛然從床上跳起。
「閉嘴!」凱薩琳壓低聲音。
「妳在幹什麼?妳為什麼要把另一隻腳放在窗外?」布蘭琪這才注意到,姊姊背著後背包,看上去像是要逃跑。
「我只是——」
「妳要逃跑嗎?」布蘭琪提高音量,直指凱薩琳。
「小聲點!妳想吵醒布萊克女士嗎?」
「妳要逃跑?」這次布蘭琪壓低了聲音,挑高了眉毛。
「當然沒有,我為什麼要逃跑?我要睡覺了。」凱薩琳白了她一眼,直接跳進被窩。
布蘭琪看向被隨意丟在地上的後背包,準備跑去看個究竟。她點燃蠟燭,準備上前查看,卻被凱薩琳制止。
眼見事情難以隱瞞,凱薩琳慌忙中背起後背包,但不小心甩到了布蘭琪的頭。
「噢⋯⋯」布蘭琪捧著下巴,皺眉看向凱薩琳。
「對不起,妹妹。」凱薩琳很少叫她妹妹,更別說道歉了。
就在布蘭琪疑惑不解之際,凱薩琳突然施下咒語:
「Ad lectum revolare, Tegmen te leniter breviterque vinclabit.」
布蘭琪立刻退回床上,蠟燭隨之熄滅。她本想尖叫,卻被凱薩琳迅速堵住嘴,隨手拿了床邊的玩偶塞進她的口中。
一瞬間,布蘭琪瞥見凱薩琳身上似乎有個倒五芒星的刺青,但夜色太暗,無法看清。她想詢問卻因嘴中塞滿玩偶而無法出聲,只見姊姊深吸一口氣,看了自己最後一眼,拿起飛天掃帚,就在風雨中消失得無影無蹤。
布蘭琪一時還沒反應過來,直到凱薩琳頭也不回地離去,她才意識到自己被拋棄了。以前她至少還有姊姊,現在真的什麼都沒了。
凱薩琳的那聲「對不起」,原來是為了拋下她的道歉,而那聲「妹妹」,竟是她們永別前的最後敬稱。
凱薩琳的咒語下得不重,布蘭琪很快就掙脫了束縛的棉被。她本想騎上掃帚追出去,但學校有規定,低年級學生禁止夜間飛行。
她猶豫片刻,拿出小精靈送給她的追蹤毬果,她去床上找凱薩琳的頭髮,把它纏繞在毬果上,頭髮瞬間消失,代表毬果已經鎖定目標。布蘭琪打開窗戶,念誦咒語,輕輕將毬果吹送出去。
布蘭琪往後一仰,栽在了枕頭堆,迷茫地看著天花板。她該去通知布萊克女士嗎?還是靜待姊姊自行歸來?她知道,若是告知校方,加上之前的事情,凱薩琳肯定會受到嚴厲的懲罰,甚至可能被退學。
還是她現在該等凱薩琳自己回來?她總是不按常理出牌,而布蘭琪猶豫著,或許假裝不知情才是最好的辦法。
當追蹤毬果快追到凱薩琳,並且鎖定她的位置時,卻沒辦法再靠近一步,彷彿有一層透明的牆阻擋它繼續前進,追蹤毬果只得散發花粉來鎖定位置,它的花粉沿著某種球狀物體散開,彷彿受到了磁場的隔絕。
那晚的暴雨直接拍打在凱薩琳的臉上。她瞇著眼睛,在狂風暴雨中終於找到目的地。
地面有著和她身上的刺青一樣的倒五芒星陣圖,紅色的燈光與黑暗的樹林形成強烈對比,更佈滿陰深詭譎的氛圍,讓凱薩琳瞬間心裡一沉,她已經開始猶豫該不該回去學院,起碼在無聊的生活裡還能保住一條命。
「嘿。」一道年輕的聲音在她身後響起,凱薩琳嚇得差點施咒攻擊。她的動作讓那少年趕緊舉起雙手:「冷靜,是我,伊凡。」
「你嚇死我了!幹嘛躲在我背後?」凱薩琳驚魂未定。
「妳幹嘛這麼緊張?」
「我哪有,是你躲在後面。」
「妳為什麼在這裡徘徊那麼久?」少年微微伸長脖子,瞄向紅色圖騰。
「我⋯⋯」
「妳猶豫了?」少年語氣輕挑。
「我只是在想,也許我需要多點時間,現在雨這麼大,我還是先回去吧。」凱薩琳的眼神飄忽不定。
伊凡逼近她,凱薩琳能看清他那蒼白的面容,額頭的青筋浮現。
「這是重要的受洗儀式,妳只要完成它,就可以離開了。」他雖然面帶笑容,但卻籠罩恐嚇的氛圍,他的銀藍色瞳孔收縮,露出寒光。
【English Version】
The storm was approaching, dark clouds rolling and slowly gathering at the horizon. Lightning flickered intermittently, silver-blue flashes slashing through the silent night sky. Only the crescent moon, frozen like frost, hung motionless in the dark firmament.
Blanche, lying in bed, felt a strong gust of wind sweep across her cheek. Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she glanced toward the window, only to see her sister, Catherine, sneaking around on the ledge.
Their eyes met. Another flash of lightning streaked across the sky, and to Blanche’s astonishment, she realized Catherine had only one foot left. She let out a gasp, jumping up from the bed.
"Shut up!" Catherine whispered harshly, lowering her voice.
"What the hell are you doing? Why do you have one foot out the window?" Blanche finally noticed the backpack slung over her sister’s shoulder. She looked like she was about to run away.
"I’m just—"
"You’re trying to run away!" Blanche’s voice rose as she pointed accusingly at Catherine.
"Keep your voice down! Do you want to wake Miss Black?"
"You’re running away?" This time, Blanche lowered her voice and raised an eyebrow.
"Of course not. Why the hell would I run away? I’m going to bed," Catherine rolled her eyes and jumped into bed.
Blanche glanced at the backpack casually tossed on the floor and prepared to inspect it. She lit a candle and moved closer, but Catherine stopped her in her tracks.
Seeing she couldn’t hide it any longer, Catherine hurriedly grabbed the backpack, but in her haste, she accidentally swung it into Blanche’s face.
"Ouch…" Blanche clutched her jaw, frowning at Catherine.
"Sorry, sis." Catherine rarely called her 'sis,' let alone apologized.
Before Blanche could react, Catherine suddenly cast a spell:
"Ad lectum revolare, Tegmen te leniter breviterque vinclabit."
Blanche was instantly sent flying back onto the bed, and the candle extinguished. She wanted to scream, but Catherine quickly covered her mouth, stuffing a plush toy from the bedside into it.
In that moment, Blanche caught a glimpse of what seemed to be an inverted pentagram tattoo on Catherine’s body, but the night was too dark to see clearly. She tried to ask, but the toy in her mouth muffled her voice. Catherine took a deep breath, grabbed her flying broom, and vanished into the storm after casting one last look at her sister.
Blanche couldn’t react at first. It was only when Catherine disappeared without looking back that she realized she had been abandoned. In the past, at least she had her sister, but now, she had truly lost everything.
Catherine’s "sorry" had been an apology for leaving her behind, and that "sis" had been their final farewell.
Catherine’s spell wasn’t strong, and Blanche soon freed herself from the binding blanket. She thought about grabbing her broom to chase after her, but the school had strict rules—lower-year students were forbidden from flying at night.
After hesitating for a moment, she took out the tracking pinecone gifted to her by the pixie. She searched the bed for Catherine’s hair, wrapped it around the pinecone, and the hair vanished instantly, signifying that the pinecone had locked onto its target. Blanche opened the window, whispered a spell, and gently blew the pinecone into the wind.
Blanche leaned back, sinking into the pile of pillows, staring blankly at the ceiling. Should she report this to Miss Black? Or should she wait quietly for her sister to return? She knew that if she told the school, especially after everything that had happened, Catherine would surely face harsh punishment—she might even be expelled.
Or maybe she should wait for Catherine to return on her own? Catherine never played by the rules, and Blanche hesitated, wondering if pretending to be unaware was the best course of action.
The tracking pinecone followed Catherine’s path, locking onto her location, but it couldn’t get any closer. It seemed to hit an invisible wall, blocking its progress. It released pollen to mark the spot, spreading along some spherical object, as though repelled by a magnetic field.
That night, the pouring rain lashed against Catherine’s face. She squinted, finally finding her destination in the midst of the storm.
On the ground lay an inverted pentagram identical to the tattoo on her body. Its red light contrasted sharply with the dark forest, shrouding the scene in a sinister and eerie atmosphere. Catherine’s heart sank as she began to wonder if she should return to the academy. At least there, in the dullness of life, she could keep herself alive.
"Hey." A young voice sounded behind her, startling Catherine so much she nearly cast a spell in defense. Her sudden movement made the boy quickly raise his hands. "Relax, it’s me, Ivan."
"You scare the shit out of me! Why the hell are you sneaking up behind me?" Catherine was still shaken.
"Why are you so damn nervous?"
"I’m not! You were the damn one sneaking up behind me."
"Why have you been hanging around here so long?" Ivan craned his neck to peek at the red sigil.
"I…"
"You’re hesitating?" His tone was teasing.
"I was just thinking… maybe I need more time. It’s raining so hard, I might as well head back," Catherine said, her eyes flickering nervously.
Ivan stepped closer, and Catherine could now clearly see his pale face, veins bulging on his forehead.
"This is an important initiation ceremony. Once you complete it, you can leave." He smiled, though a veiled threat lingered beneath his expression. His silver-blue eyes narrowed, gleaming with cold intent.
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