A Devil’s Oath (chapter 1)

The letter arrived on a quiet and cloudy Monday, stuffed beneath Katherine’s dormitory door like a secret someone was too afraid to deliver in daylight. No return address. No signature. Only a wax seal—deep crimson, stamped with a foreign crest: a dragon, its fiery flame blown into the shape of a devil’s horn.

Katherine felt an overwhelming sense of danger wash over her as she read the contents of the strange letter, yet she was met with nothing but a set of directions.

“Midnight. The Old Library. 2nd floor. Don’t be followed.”

Although she had thought that this was just another of her roommate's goofy antics, the mood suggested otherwise.

Still anxious, Katherine made the decision to prepare for her first lesson of the day in order to distract herself from the strange things that had happened that morning.

She had considered the letter before leaving the house, taking her time to look back at the tidy envelope on her nightstand. She sighed deeply, picked up the envelope, slipped it into her purse, and walked out of the room.

The morning felt different, It felt unusually silent. Less people were out talking and chatting and there was less action and commotion which was very weird, especially for the first day of the school week. Katherine hoped that when she walked outside, the weirdness that she encountered back in her dorm would leave her but it just kept following, like a magnet that refused to let go.

Katherine had to get to the bottom of the reason behind that abnormal letter. She had decided right then and there, she would follow the address tonight and meet this secret writer of hers.

Despite the countless classes on her schedule, the day proved remarkably languid, with the clock hands appearing to move in slow motion. However, it was already dark outside and close to midnight which meant that It was almost time for Katherine to look for the person that she was anticipating to find the whole day.

Wasting no time, Katherine hastily but her rain boots on and exited the dorm, focused on the details entailed in the mysterious letter.

As she wandered through the fog encompassed alleyways and narrow forests trying to find the old library that was said in the letter, she couldn’t help but get goosebumps at the dead silence atmosphere surrounding her. Katherine knew only that the old library had been closed for 32 years now and was off limits to students and many members of staff, so why here? Why had this anonymous person want to bring her here? Many of the unanswered questions left Katherine extremely on edge and paranoid. The intrusive thoughts, however, came to a screeching halt when Katherine suddenly felt a beam of light shine in her direction from afar and then seconds later turn off. She thought of how unusual it was and realized that this might be what she has been looking for this whole time, this might be the person who sent the letter calling to her. Without delay, she ran towards the direction the light was shining from, and it was there the old library layed, hidden in the heart of the Wickery Forest.

Katherine cautiously walked closer towards the library door to open it. Surprisingly, the door flew right open without effort or key. Reluctantly, she took a cautious step inside of the worn out building and took one last glance back at the forest that seemed to have a never ending trail before completely stepping inside the library.