The Reincarnated (Book 2A of Wolfcreek Series)

Chapter 38

Charlie waited until the door was closed before he shifted in his seat and looked at me. He leaned closer to me and rested his forearms on his legs while he clasped his hands together.

I stayed silent and still while I looked at him, waiting for him to say or do something, but he didn't.

All he did was cock his head while he studied me, and I had a feeling that he was trying to see if I was actually under the spell or lying.

I was slowly starting to get nervous by his critical gaze but kept my gaze on him, something in me telling me not to blink or act like I had any emotions at all.

Finally, Charlie broke eye contact first and cleared his throat while he looked away, unnerved by my unblinking stare. "Bien? (Well?)" he asked while he looked at me again.

I stayed silent for a moment and slowly cocked my head. "Eh bien, quoi? (Well, what?)" I asked instead in a monotone tone.

Charlie shifted and cleared his throat, and I had to keep myself from grinning while he grew increasingly uncomfortable. "Êtes-vous sous son charme? (Are you under her spell?)" he asked.

I slowly blinked and furrowed my brows. "Épeler? (Spell?)" I asked, confused.

"Oui. (Yes.)"

Again, I slowly blinked and frowned. "Quel sortilège? (What spell?)" I asked.

Charlie held back an eye roll and sighed, getting annoyed, and I had to fight harder not to grin because I was enjoying every minute of this. "Le sort de vérité, (the truth spell,)" he said. "Êtes-vous sous son sort de vérité? (Are you under her truth spell?)"

I didn't reply and shrugged.

Even if I were under the spell, I wouldn't know what to say. Hell, even I knew that I wasn't supposed to know that I had been put under one.

Charlie sighed and shook his head before he cleared his throat. He cocked his head and studied me, and I waited "patiently" to see what he wanted to ask or do while we were alone in the room with each other. "Comment vous sentez-vous sous le charme? (How do you feel underneath the spell?)" he asked finally, his voice growing softer.

How did I feel? I asked silently.

I didn't know because I wasn't under the spell, or at least it didn't consume me as it should. All I knew was that I felt "normal," and I had a feeling that I wasn't supposed to feel "normal" under the spell.

So, after sending a prayer to the Moon Goddess and whoever else was out there, I let the spell consume me so that I could answer my teacher truthfully.

And boy, I did not like the feeling of being under this spell at all. I did not like it at all.

I was constricted and felt like I was drowning, even though I knew that I wasn't. I couldn't breathe, couldn't think, and everything about that spell was terrible, and I prayed that I wouldn't have to feel it ever again.

Charlie blinked and blinked again, and I had a feeling that he caught the petrified look on my face because his guard went up. He studied me, and I had no idea what he was thinking or if he knew that I had let the spell consume me. "Bien? (Well?)"

"Comme si je ne pouvais plus respirer, (Like I can't breathe,)" I said finally, my voice breathless and shaking. "Peur. Je ne sais pas ce qui ne va pas chez moi ou ce qui m'arrive. (Afraid. I don't know what is wrong with me or what is happening to me.)"

Tears filled my eyes, and my bottom lip trembled without my control. "Qu'est-ce qui ne va pas avec moi? Que s'est-il passé? (What is wrong with me? What happened?)" I asked, my voice quivering more while I tried to form sentences. "S'il vous plaît, arrêtez ce sentiment, (Please, make this feeling stop,)" I said, my voice becoming barely above a whisper.

Charlie didn't respond and set his jaw. Anger filled his eyes, and I could tell that he was pissed that Vice Principal Triste had set a spell on me when she wasn't supposed to.

I pushed the spell away when I had enough of it, but I was still shaking and afraid because I knew that it was still there, even though I didn't feel the effects of it. I still couldn't breathe, though, and I prayed that he would find someone to take it off if he couldn't get Vice Principal Triste to do it.

If not, then I was afraid of what could happen if I let it consume me or had my guard down so that it would be like this.

"S'il te plaît, (Please)," I said again, my voice barely above a whisper. A single tear fell from my eye, but that was the only emotion that I let him see because I didn't want him to know that I wasn't underneath the spell again.

Charlie leaned back in his seat and studied me, and a wave of relief washed over his face.

Shit, he knew.

"Ne t'inquiète pas, Cass, (Don't worry, Cass,)" he said softly. "Le sort vous sera retiré avant que vous ne quittiez cette pièce. (The spell will be taken off of you before you leave this room.)"

Relief washed over me, and I couldn't control my emotions while I stared at my teacher, my friend, with eyes wide and filled with hope.

I didn't care that I was breaking character and letting him know that I wasn't actually under the spell and was faking it. All I cared about was the fact that this spell was going to be off of me so that I didn't have to worry about keeping my guard up at all times.

"Promesse? (Promise?)" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper while I stared at him with eyes filling with tears.

Charlie smiled sadly and nodded, hiding back the anger that he felt because he didn't like seeing me so scared, so petrified of what could happen if this spell was still in place before I left this room.

"Je promets. (I promise.)"