Mystical (The Mystical Trilogy Book 1)

by Michael Weekly

  I’m terrified of what I’m seeing. I start to scream in spite of having no voice but, in a blurred motion, she twirls in the water and the side of her right arm with her sharp fin lays against my neck.

  Mermaids.

  “Don’t say a word,” she sings through her clenched, sharp teeth. Slick red blood drops on to the surface of the water before me.

  It’s my blood.

  I look up at her slowly. She slits my throat just a little to hurt me, but not kill me. Even though I felt it, there’s no pain. Below me, there is a dark image approaching us from underneath. She smiles as she hums a melody. I see a sharp triangle fin slide up slowly from the water. I can’t help but think an extremely large shark is coming our way. She notices my fear and smiles, placing her index finger on the tip of her tongue. The shark rubs its back against my feet.

  I’m completely numb.

  Frantically, I try to figure out what to do, but there’s no thinking. There’s only doing.

  I jab the end of my elbow against the side of the mermaid’s face. She screams out in a melody, splashing away from me. Through the ruffles of the waves, she seems invisible. I turn around and see that the shore is not too far from me. I know sharks are attracted to commotion, but I don’t care. I need to get away and out of the water.

  I swim to safety. All I can think about is getting to the shore and to the sand. I toss my arms into the water, kicking my feet underneath me heavily against the waves. I turn back to see the shark’s fin cutting through the water.

  Almost there. Keep swimming.

  I am breathing frantically and my heart is racing, hurting my chest. I can’t stop to breathe. They’re going to kill me. The cut on my throat is burning and my feet are becoming heavy. I need to get to the shore. I hold back my tears as I try to push myself through the waves that force against me.

  Go. Don’t think, just go.

  I can see the rave’s lights ahead and everyone dancing, having fun. I feel the sand underneath me, but my body is still covered in water.

  You’re there. Keep swimming.

  I swim as hard as I can. I plant my feet into the sand and begin to walk slowly up a hill underwater. I breathe a sigh of relief.

  I’m safe…

  “Help!” Water splashes against my mouth, muffling my words. “H-Hel—” I cry out, throwing my hands in the air, coughing.

  “Please,” I choke. “Help me.” The water gets into my mouth as I struggle to breathe. “Hel—” Waves crash against my face and something gets a grip around my ankles, pulling me back into the water. “Come back…and play.” All three of the mermaids snarl.

  I scream, waving my hands in the air with my head forced under the water. There is a grip around my ankle, followed by another forceful pull. I’m dragged deeper into the ocean’s mouth.

  My body fills with uncontrolled panic, and my nerves cringe. I force my hands up against the cold water to cover my mouth.

  I try to wiggle my legs free, the mermaids are gripping them hard, their nails digging into my skin. I want to scream from the pain, but if I scream, I’ll drown. My body races through the waves as everything becomes darker. The pressure in the ocean pops my ears, and my head becomes dizzy. They pull me through a forest of seaweed.

  Rocks scratch my legs, and the sharp leaves slap across my stomach. Suddenly my body stops moving and I float inside a forest of seaweed. I’m paralyzed. A dash of red hair rubs my face, causing a slight punch of water to hit my cheek. Another dash of color darts in front of me and another as they circle around my floating body.

  The movements halt as the red haired girl floats gracefully in front of me. She doesn’t look strange, and she doesn’t have a tail, though her hair seems to glow and her skin is sparkling. She has long nails which swish in the water as her pitch black eyes stare at me.

  “Play with us. Try to run again. It’s fun to chase because you won’t win,” the blue haired girl’s voice whispers in my head with a melodic tone. I try to swim up to the surface, but I can’t move. My muscles seem to be locked.

  “Aww, we lured her and now she’s afraid. Aren’t witches never scared?” The green haired girl giggles in my mind, twirling in the water.

  They all laugh and then suddenly stop. Red hair glares at me. She plays with her wet strands and begins to swim toward me with increasing speed. It’s amazing, how fast these mermaids are. She throws out her arms, snarling through the water.

  A dark figure jolts toward her, waving something in the air and releasing what seems to be silver darts at the mystic. Her face moves to the side as she gracefully dodges the attacks with ease.

  The mermaid flips around in the water until the figure stops throwing darts at her. She swims underneath the figure. Coming from behind, she scratches it with a snarl.

  My legs begin to hurt as nails dig into them, pulling me down to the ground.

  I lay against jagged sharp rocks and air bubbles start to float above me to the surface. My body is completely covered in water. I wiggle my feet, but they’re numb. I try to move my arms, but they’re locked tight.

  Seaweed begins to whip around my legs, gluing them together tightly. I try to breathe but my mouth is covered by a single strap of seaweed. The plant slowly constricts me, and my heart beat pauses. I stop trying to free myself. I close my eyes, resisting the panic. I hear a muffled scream. My eyes dart open as I see the figure stab the green haired girl, who is holding onto my legs. She hovers above me and tries to fight back by throwing her hands out and creating a wild water tornado.

  Her attempt to fight back fails.

  The figure dashes through the raging tornado, stabbing the dagger into her stomach. Her body vanishes into many light green air bubbles that float up to the surface. The figure presses a red button.

  A broomstick.

  The red haired girl screeches in the water, swimming faster than before. The figure in the water stops moving as if it was shocked by the noise and collapses as it floats in the water, motionless.

  She smiles, swimming toward me. She grabs my head and chucks it on a rock behind me.

  Everything becomes black.

  Chapter 10

  “Eliza!” A raspy voice yells out, “Damn it!”

  “Oh God, is she okay?”

  My body must’ve made it up to the surface and the waves must’ve washed me onto the shore. Wet sand glues onto my cheeks and lips. I dig my loose fingers into the ground. A thumb rubs the side of my face, brushing my hair from between my crusted eyes. Eric comforts me and exhales in disbelief. He helps me to sit up on the cold sand.

  He pants above me, his warm breath falling down on the tip of my nose. He is drenched in water and crumbles of wet sand are sticking on the cracks of his abs as his chest moves.

  Realizing why I was in the water the first place, I toss and turn on the sand, moving frantically and screaming. I spazz out in disbelief that I’m alive.

  “Help! I can’t breathe,” I shout as my hands fly up to my throat.

  “Eliza, you’re all right,” Eric says, hugging me.

  “The water…how did I? The water, and…”

  I pick the little seaweeds off of my body. My outfit is still glowing neon baby pink.

  My eyes dart to the left side of me. I see Dawn kneeling down in the sand in her rave outfit.

  “I was a taking a break on stage, and realized you and Eric were gone,” she says, calming me. “I remember seeing your outfit and Eric next to you.”

  “I went to look for her,” Eric says sharply, looking up at Dawn.

  Was Eric the dark figure in the water?

  “You ran off to the shore. I turned around and saw you disappear. I tried to rush after you, but there were too many people pushing me around,” Eric says.

  Guess not.

  I touch my throat to see if the cut is still there. I don’t feel anything. I lower my eyes to see if there are any signs of nail marks on my legs.

  None.

  I feel the back of my head to see if t
here are any open gashes anywhere.

  No signs of what happened to me in the water seem to be present. I look up at Eric, who is hovering above me. A slick thin line of red blood slides down the side of his neck. He avoids making eye contact with me.

  “You’re hurt,” I mumble, looking at him. There are scratches on the side of his belly.

  He catches what I’m staring at and switches his position. “It’s paint.” He shrugs and turns to Dawn.

  “Oh, right,” I mutter.

  That sure explains the scratches.

  Eric and Dawn help me up from the cold wet sand. He walks me back to his car and opens the door. “Hey, are you sure you don’t want me to come with?”

  “It’s fine, Dawn.” I struggle to smile.

  “Go have fun,” Eric assures her.

  “Really? I can ask my manager to let me off early. Really, it’s okay,” she says.

  “I’m fine. I’m just happy you found a job you like doing.”

  She bites her bottom lip and says, “Cellphone?”

  “Got it,” Eric says dryly.

  “I’m talking to Eliza. You’re gonna call me, right?” Dawn glances at me one last time as she starts walking backwards.

  “Yup!” I say.

  “Take care of her, or I’ll attempt to drown you next,” Dawn demands. Her eyes dart from me to Eric, shooting him a nasty glare. He positions himself manly, assisting me into the car as Dawn makes her way back toward the sandy pit of wild ravers.

  Eric gets into his seat and turns on his car. He presses the start button and clicks his sunroof on. Crystal blue lights lay on his skin again. I close my eyes and, before I know, we’re in my neighborhood, pulling up in front of my place.

  We both get out of the car and trudge up the stairs to my house. “What did you think of the rave?” Eric says.

  “Uhm, it was interesting and fun. I really had a good time before everything happened.” I look for my house keys in my purse while Eric waits patiently.

  “I really hope you’ll forget what happened. Don’t let it ruin any other plans I might have for us.” I look up at him, wondering why he would say that. I fix my keys into my lock.

  He narrows his eyes. “Aren’t you going to show me your place?” I really don’t want him inside because of the mess I made with the mystic earlier. I hold on to my doorknob and close my eyes. I turn around, bumping into his chest.

  He holds onto my sides.

  “Sorry,” I say. “Uhm, you see, the thing is…It’s like—”

  “I don’t mind if it’s a mess. Most houses are. I just want to see what your condo looks like.”

  I think deeply about what I’m about to do and come up with a reason for the scratches on the wall. There wasn’t any blood or guts on the carpet because of the easy kill. The scratches are the only thing that worries me the most.

  “Really, it’s not a big deal.” He holds my chin up as if we were going to kiss. My back hits against my door while my feet move away from him. He chuckles under his breath, and I turn around to open my door.

  I see Jare waiting in the middle of the hallway. I guess he heard everything. I immediately look at the wall, relieved to see that the marks on the walls are gone. The furniture is maintained and the place looks clean. Jared isn’t wagging his tail. It’s straight down again when he notices the guy behind me.

  He runs upstairs with his necklace jingling.

  A few moments after, I hear a shock of electricity from behind me. I turn around and see Eric outside and in pain.

  “What the hell?” He squints up at the clear space in the doorway, crouching from the shock. I look through my purse to find my glasses and put them on.

  “Well, what’s the matter? Come in,” I say

  “I can’t. Your door keeps shocking me.”

  I walk out of my door and then look up at him. I re-enter without getting shocked. At first I think it’s just one of those shocks from wearing wool and you touch something, and it slightly zaps you, but as Eric follows me inside he gets a static shock. A purple electricity bolt travels around his skin. I have no clue why this is happening.

  “Maybe it’s just your shorts and the beach water or something.”

  “Right…” He clears his throat. “Well, I’ll catch you later then.” He scratches his head, walking back down the stairs to his car.

  “Thanks for inviting me! It was fun,” I shout out, but he ignores me, throwing up his thumb at me. “Well, okay then.”

  I close my door and turn around. Jared is watching me carefully.

  “Your mom came by to charm your house.”

  “What do you mean charm?”

  “I told her what happened earlier with the mystic entering our home. She stopped by to protect any evil from entering the place by charming the place.”

  “Oh. I’ll give her my thanks.” I place my stuff down on the kitchen table.

  “Your friend is a mystic,” Jared says, following me.

  Is that the real reason why Eric wasn’t allowed to enter my home?

  Every time something good happens to me, my mother or Jared insist on butting in. The happiness soon fades away and I’m back to square one all over again. This time Jare wants to ruin a potential boyfriend for me. I’m not interested in letting him do that. I roll my eyes and pull out a cheese stick from the fridge to munch on.

  I don’t think Eric is a mystic.

  “Really? You’re going to ignore me, Eliza? Okay, get yourself killed for all I care.”

  “Jared, now is not the time.”

  I don’t want to tell him I was attacked by three raving mermaids a couple of hours ago. He would freak out even more and run to tell Mom about everything. In the end, it’s not favorable for me because she’ll send for me to go back home and make me attend some community college near her place.

  “How was the party? Did anything strange happen? I need to know these things, Eliza.”

  Here we go.

  Jared kicks our front door closed and jingles toward the living room. I sit on the couch and turn on the television. After finding the app for Netflix, I turn on Pretty Little Liars and continue where I left off. I cross my legs and look at the TV.

  “I’ve seen your date before. I just can’t remember where.” His whiskers dropped down.

  “Well...you don’t have to nag about it,” I munched on my snack.

  I know if I didn’t elaborate, he’d assume I was attacked by a mystic. And I was, which kind of meant he was right about why I needed to stay out of the crowd. Honestly, I’m in distress already and completely drained out.

  I don’t want a lecture right now, so I say, “The party was interestingly fun.” I fake smile.

  I cover myself with my cardigan, take a deep breath, and say, “Jare?” His ears perk up as he cleans his paw. “Uh, were you there?”

  “No, I was here, cleaning with your mom. Why?”

  “Just wondering. You weren’t here when I left.”

  Jared lowers his eyes and suddenly the mood in the room is shifted, creating an awkward tension between us. If Eric didn’t save me, and my mom wasn’t at the beach, then who was the dark figure in the water? I toss my drained body onto my cool comfortable blanket and fall asleep on the couch.

  ***

  Sunday morning, I decide to do a little studying with the family grimoire. I reach under my bed as Jared opens my window and strides through. He lands on my bed. I eventually find the dark purple grimoire and flip it open.

  With the tip of my index finger, I flip the dry brown pages until I reach the mystic section. There’s a bunch of other things inside, such as a section about what a broomstick actually is. Apparently, it’s a weapon, of course, but it’s able to turn into other deadly weapons as well. It’s so frustrating that I can’t seem to get it to do anything.

  I can’t figure out how to turn it into an actual weapon. I can only resize it. I reach for my purse and take the broomstick out. I click the button. Its metal scrapes loudly as is resizes in
my hand. The silver lines begin to glow on it.

  Now it wants to resize. I swear this thing has a mind of its own. I click it once more, rolling my eyes and placing it on my lap. I watched Mom use it, and there were daggers on each side of it to aid her in killing the mystic.

  There’s a page with information on what’s needed to kill the different kinds of mystics. I see a picture of a mermaid that was similar to the mermaids I saw on the beach. I shudder.

  “Must be killed in the water or with salt,” I read. Then I thought of the time mom placed out those empty bottles when she had her freak-out moment. “Well, never going to that beach again,” I murmur to myself.

  “Huh?” Jared asks, looking up at me as he plays with a furry ball on the floor. I glance at him, then back to my book. I flip to the next page. A man in a fashionable black outfit with dirty blonde hair stands still. A mask is over his mouth. He stares up at me with his light brown eyes.

  I’ve seen this guy before…

  This guy was in one of my dreams. I gasp and stare at the picture in front of me. Underneath it, I notice scribbled writing.

  Alec Verel. Don’t trust male witches in general…Extremely dangerous.

  As I was reading, the man seems to walk in place. When I focus more on the picture, he picks up his pace until he’s running in place. His black hood tosses around with the wind he creates. I lean forward to see if what I just witnessed is real. Suddenly, my eyes are burning and they shut tight.

  “Eliza!” Jared yells.

  ***

  I’m in the middle of a grassy field.

  I sit up and see the man in the picture chasing someone into the woods. He sprints through the emerald field and leaps into the branches in front of him. I proceed to run after the man as my hair flows with the wind I make.

  “Mellissa!” He screams. “Mellissa!” He shouts again, running at the speed of light in front of me.

  Eventually, I catch up to him. The girl runs past a tree, her red hair flying behind her. She’s decked out in black, the same clothing as the guy.