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Chapter 2 - 2 Congratulations, You’re Cursed

So there I was—charred lab coat, still half-dazed, with a magical talking cat on my chest and a literal sorcerer-cop aiming a lightning sword at my face.

I considered my options.

Surrender peacefully and probably get turned into a frog.

Run and definitely get electrocuted.

Pretend I was just a really confused chemistry student with explosive IBS.

Unfortunately, Nyra had other plans.

"You need to run," she whispered. "Now."

"I just got exploded. I can't even feel my eyebrows."

"Great, because I can feel mine twitching. MOVE."

She leapt into my backpack like she'd done it a hundred times and bit my shoulder—hard.

I screamed and bolted through the back hallway, knocking over a mop bucket, a "CAUTION: Wet Floor" sign, and a confused janitor who muttered something about "the third one this week."

Behind me, trench coat guy shouted a bunch of fancy legal-sounding incantations, and the walls started glowing. I was pretty sure one of them tried to eat me.

I sprinted out the emergency exit and burst into the bright afternoon sun, heart pounding like a dubstep beat.

Fifteen minutes later, I was hiding behind a dumpster near the student parking lot, trying to catch my breath while Nyra lectured me like a furry college advisor from hell.

"Do you know how many people survive a raw spellback without liquefying their organs? Three. You're not dead. Congrats. You're a freak."

"Thanks," I wheezed. "That's really uplifting."

"You're cursed, Vale. Properly cursed. Not the 'oops I angered a witch' kind. This is deep magic. Legacy stuff."

I stared. "But… I'm not even magical. My family's magically dry. Like, 'our best heirloom is a flashlight' dry."

"Exactly. Which means something's been sleeping in you. And now? It's awake."

I blinked. "So what, I'm a magical ticking time bomb?"

"More like a magical USB drive with corrupted files. You're unstable, unregistered, and very illegal."

"Again, thanks."

Nyra hopped onto a crate and narrowed her eyes. "Look, you just triggered a Class-B Beacon. Every hunter in the city felt that blast. And trust me, the Council doesn't like unsanctioned magic in college towns. Too messy."

I rubbed my temples. "This is insane. I was just trying to pass Chem."

"Well congrats, now you're flunking Magical Law 101."

Just then, a boom echoed across the street.

A black van screeched to a halt at the edge of the alley. Three figures in tactical cloaks jumped out, all glowing faintly blue. One of them sniffed the air like a bloodhound.

"Ezra Vale!" a woman shouted. "You're surrounded!"

I turned to Nyra. "Any brilliant ideas?"

"Yes. You run, and I'll cling to your back and insult your cardio the whole time."

"...I hate you."

"Mutual."

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