Mythical (The Mystical Series Book 2) (26 page)

“I’m sorry.”

“No need to be, as long as you know who you are and not turning into some psycho.” I roll my eyes. “See, you’re tough. Who knows what could have brought your other side out?”

Alice walks over toward Donovan and turns around, looking at me. “Is she really that bad?”

Alice and Donovan glance at each other and then shake their heads.

“It’s the most manipulative, intimidating, and uncontrolled myth I’ve ever encountered.”

“What do you mean?”

“Let’s say I’ve met far too many,” Alice says.

“So I’m sure you’re aware that Donovan’s a Verel,” I snap.

“Way to throw me under the bus, jerk,” he says.

Alice makes a fist and places her chin on it. “Yes, I know that he’s one. There’s many more of them, so don’t go back on your studies. They’re quite evil. See, Donovan is undercover. His father Alec forbade him to ever return to Ravamere. Alec sent Eric out to check on him,” she says.

“Why are you banished, Don?” I ask.

His puts his hands into his pockets and looks down. “That’s another discussion for a different day,” Alice says.

“Right…”

I figured since we’re all on the same team now, she’s trying to build trust. I think it’d be best to tell her about the astral projection ability I have. Donovan sure freaked out when I told him about it, so I wonder how she will react.

“You look uneasy. Is everything all right?”

“I’ve been having these, um…” Donovan looks more interested than I expected.

“Um…projections.” I clear my throat. “I was wondering if you could tell me more about having this ability.”

“Astral projection?” She sighs then shakes her head. “You’re worse than what I thought.”

She glances at the ring on my finger. I feel my hair burn back into its auburn color and the mint scent eventually leaving me.

“I’m not sure how or what is causing them, but whenever I feel really stressed out or in need of help, I’m pulled out of my body and land somewhere.” I’m not sure if it would be a good idea to tell them about Mellissa and my mother, or Jared. His white fur glimmers from the lights above him as he walks around a corner and into the room. His beady blue eyes look up at me.

“Hmm, they could mean messages. Have you talked with the dead?”

“Actually, I have…”

“With whom?”

“My grandmother.”

“Her name?”

“Mellissa Morolov.”

Alice and Donovan jump, as if they’ve seen a ghost. Donovan holds onto his broomstick and Alice looks for hers.

“You guys are acting the same way as before.” Their hearts beat faster. “You both are nervous.” They stop moving, looking at me.

“How did she…?”

“I’m sort of half elf. I can sense your emotions and hear your heartbeat.”

I can sense the nervousness between the two in the room.

“Eliza, Mellissa is the mother of Lauren, your grandmother, and both were the most powerful myths that we know of in our culture. These two myths became corrupt and created Ravamere.”

That’s not true.

Mellissa was in my projection to help me learn more about my mother and how I became a myth. Why would she be out to get me? Ravamere is a place of corruption. Why would my great-grandmother create a place like that? As soon as Alice spoke those words, my heart dropped like a solid brick in my chest and it was hard to breathe for a moment.

“No, that can’t be true, that….can’t be true.”

Alice and Donovan look at each other. “It’s true,” Alice says. “And your mother was a myth also.”

“That explains the portal in my house.”

Alice looks directly at me. “What portal?”

“Miss Canary…she owns a shop called Witcher’s Place. There’s like some portkey in there that activated a portal in my house.”

“Donovan, are you hearing this?” He nods. “That portal is to Ravamere,” she says.

All of this desperation, the stress of finding the portal, and answers to my mother’s disappearance was all in the one place I cherished the most, my home. I feel the sides of my pockets to see if my broomstick is still there; it is. I glance up at Donovan. He looks more shocked to hear this than Alice.

“Donovan, go tell the others.”

“On it,” he says.

A sense of urgency fills the room, and Alice rushes over to a bookshelf, throwing books everywhere.

“We’ve been looking for a gateway, portal—anything to Ravamere for years now.” She turns, glaring at me.

“Alice, I have to get to Ravamere.”

“Are you insane? That ring is only good here in the mortal world. If you come in contact with that world, you’ll become corrupt for good. Like your grandmothers and like your mother!”

“You don’t understand, Alice. These projections keep directing me to my own house.”

“The visions, or whatever you have,” she shakes her head, “they’re in your head. They want you to go to the only place you feel vulnerable. I don’t think you’re even aware of the amount of corrupt mystics guarding that place, are you?” She turns back around, looking for something.

“The amount of corruption you yourself possess is greater than you think. Your whole family consists of myths.” She eventually finds what she’s looking for, opens it, and begins to trace paragraphs with her index finger. “I’ll be right back.” She walks to the door and stops to turn around. “We’re a team; we’re on your side, Eliza. Don’t become reckless. Stay here.”

Alice leaves the room and I am left alone. I’ve been running my whole life. It feels like it was yesterday when I found out I was a witch and now I’m a myth, with my whole family being some sort of corrupt chain. I’m tired of running from the truth. I grab my things and stand up. I know exactly where to go.

Stepping into the hallway, I hear scattered murmurs in one direction. I hear Alice arguing with the rest of her group. Donovan’s voice is the quietest among the rest. They are making up a plan to invade Ravamere. I won’t be here when she comes back to get me.

I’m sorry, Alice and Donovan; I have to do this for me. I need to find the meaning behind these projections and confusions.

I put my black jacket on, place the hood over my head, and walk to the double doors at the end of the hallway. I take out my broomstick and hold it to my side, taking one last glance at the shade and its members.

This is for the best.

I look down the different directions of the building. For some reason, I have the feeling of an exit ahead. I rush down the dark hallway and place my palms on a cold black metal door.
I slip out of the shade and zip up my jacket against the cold wind. I hear the rusty metal of the door creaking closed. I walk to the only place I feel like going right now, and that’s my house.

***

I’m a few blocks from Miss Canary’s house. The streetlights are flickering as I approach. I remember her standing outside to water her plants. Who knew she was an elf this whole time? I glance to the side at my house. The streetlight by our steps is completely out.

The window is broken, a circle breakage like someone threw a baseball at it. I look both ways before crossing the street. Obviously mystics have been here, probably searching for Mom.

Everything becomes quiet; I can only hear my footsteps on the ground and can feel my heart beat slowly against my weak body. I look at my mood ring and then at my door. Last time I went into this place I was attacked by corrupt mystics and Dawn was kidnapped.

The shadows mentioned her to me, but was it real? Is she in danger? I’m sure she was in the shade with the rest, trapped in their own fear. My door creaks open by itself. I enter, only to hear the whistles of wind escape from inside. The wood on the floor squeaks from my steps. The door shuts immediately after I enter. I hear sounds from upstairs in my room, the house is dark, and there’s an evil presence here with me, gliding around my body. I walk toward the living room, where I remember the portal being behind the bookcase.

I feel like I am being watched by the shadows in this house.

The ring…take off the ring…your ring.

The voices in my head make me nervous.

The ring…

“Leave me alone!”

You want to know the truth, then do as we say…take off your ring. Listen to us sing.

I find my left hand moving to my right, starting to take off the ring for me. I don’t know what I am doing, I’m here for the truth, and I’ll do whatever to get it. My left hand removes the ring and places it in my pocket. There’s a feeling that I can’t explain that overcomes me. I walk toward the bookcase, feeling my hair freeze back into its elf blonde color. I slide the large bookcase to the side to reveal the wall behind it. It’s different than the rest in the house. Mom used to always be cautious about me ever getting too near it.

Books would always fall off the shelves, and I thought it would be ghosts. I was too scared to even get near it. The wall is black with lines forming a perfect square.

These lines are outlined in light purple; in the middle is a circle.

I trace the lines with my index finger; they light up and burn my skin. I jerk my hand back from as I feel pressure against my chest. It’s like a firecracker.

Without thinking I place my hand in the middle, and the metal-like surface burns me. The circle glows dark purple, and I feel like a billion firecrackers are punching against me. The wood on the wall begins to break apart, and the voices in my head are screaming, laughing in excitement. The lines burst, creating space along their paths. The circle breaks and the square cracks open. My eyes grow wide.

And then I am pulled inside.

Pulled into Ravamere.

Epilogue

My hand warms up from the metal against my palm. Footsteps are running behind me and someone is panting harshly. Donovan is running toward me…but he’s late. It’s not his fault I am choosing this. It’s no one’s fault, and I know the longer I stay around him in the shade, a part of me will still be lost, struggling in this maze I’ve been trying to escape from my whole life.

“Rose, don’t!”

All I can make out are the screams of people being killed, sensing their fear as the wind around me presses against my cheeks.

It’s too late. The air is pulled out of my lungs and I am sucked into the world of corruption.

***

From my view there’s a red chair and flames from a fire crackling against wood.

A man walks in and I glare at him like I am a cornered animal. My nose flares at his stench. I can tell he’s a mystic but I don’t know which kind.

“You’ve grown,” he says.

His black blazer looks like it came out of dry cleaning, and he’s wearing jeans with holes in them. His shirt is a blue, wrinkled up button down. He sits in his chair, crossing his legs.

“Tell me, how’s your mother doing?”

I wonder how this man knows my mother. I study his face. I’ve seen him before. He reminds me of the strange man I’ve seen in my projections.

These eyes are the ones who stared at me in the field, back when I projected myself in Vaelle.

He’s the man who ran away with my mother.

The room becomes still as we stare at each other.

Mystical Dictionary

Mystic
–A magical creature witches are born to kill.

Corruption
–Becoming evil.

Witches
–Trained assassins who keep the world safe from corrupt mystics.

Astral Projection
–An out of body experience when the spirit leaves the body. For Eliza this is an elf ability only elf-myths have, whenever she touches a certain object she can project herself back in time or in the future. Eliza can also project freely from memories.

Vaelle
–The forbidden lands of Ellevil, and the home where witches once lived.

Verel Brotherhood
–Male witches who use female witches, by corrupting them, and continuing their evil blood line.

Ravamere
–World of corruption.

Kingdom
–A place where mystics live, it’s protected by a charm that prevents corruption from entering.

Fairies
–A mystic that can intoxicate anyone by manipulating one’s senses. This mystic must be killed by piercing their two hearts with a broomstick.

Faevil
–The kingdom for fairies.

Mermaids
–A mystic who lures their prey into the water and kills them off by singing beautifully. Mermaids can only be killed in the water, or slowed down by salt.

Mervil
–The kingdom for fairies.

Shifters
–A mystic who can shift into any animal. This mystic must be killed by cutting their heads off.

Serevil
–The kingdom for shifters.

Elves
–The most dangerous mystic in the world of Mystical. This mystical can manipulate their prey’s mind and create illusions. Once in a forest they are unstoppable. The only way to kill this mystic is by piercing their heart with a broomstick.

Ellevil
–The kingdom for elves

Shade
–A place where witches bring injured humans or pure mystics for recovery.