I turn around, looking up at a window in our house. Jared is running toward it and leaps on the edge. He scratches the ends to slide it to the right. He then slips out of the house.
“Jared, wait!” I yell.
Running to the window, I see Jared pounce down the steps and run up to a brown haired guy. The guy is Eric with his hands tucked into his pockets. Jared is on his shoulder. They run into the shadows.
I cover my mouth to stop myself from screaming and rush upstairs to see if I can grab something to protect me. I don’t have enough time to put on my witch outfit, so I just go as is.
I turn to look at Dawn’s door as my phone vibrates. I see that she is calling, but I don’t have time to talk right now. I ignore the phone call, walking down the stairs, and grabbing a salt bottle just in case.
As soon as I walk out of the house, Jared is on Eric’s shoulder as his fury whiskers wave along the wind. I can’t believe it. Jared, my brother, is someone evil?
I stop to think about everything that is going on. The only reasonable reason for him to work with Eric is to help Mom. I calm down, knowing that he’s doing whatever he’s doing for a reason. One thing I am sure of, though, is Jared let Mom into Ravamere, where she’s been going lately.
I tie up my hair into a long ponytail. Ever since I’ve straightened it, it’s been like this for a while. I can’t help but think it’s permanently straightened. The night is growing darker and as I follow, I hear them talking to one another. I need to follow and see what is really going on between the two of them. I hear footsteps from behind me. I turn around and see nothing.
Eric is walking toward a large, empty looking building, and Jared leaps from his shoulder and lands on the ground. He looks in my direction. I quickly hide behind a wall. Someone turns me around. I glance up and see Donovan. My heart drops and my lips part from pure shock.
“Oh my God, you scared me!”
“What are you doing out around this time? Why can’t you just stay inside, like a normal person?”
“My bro—” I decide it’s best not to tell Donovan the whole truth. “My familiar is with your brother. I still think he’s behind my mother getting sucked into Ravamere.”
“So you’re sneaking around?”
“Well, now you ruined it and I’ve probably lost track of them.” I lower my eyes. “Thanks.”
“Shut up and follow me,” Donovan says under his breath.
We walk toward the building Eric must have ventured into with my brother. I glance down at Donovan’s hands. His broomstick is glowing in one of them. His silver markings on his neck are also starting to glow. I look at mine to see if they are lighting up, but they aren’t. They never do.
We end up in front of the old building. The door is still open. My ears perk up when I hear footsteps inside of the place. It sounds like they’re walking up the stairs.
“They’re inside here…”
“And how would you know?”
“I just know,” I say, brushing past him and entering the place quietly.
Donovan tugs at my arm, but I keep walking, trying to follow the scent of the cologne Eric keeps wearing.
“Why aren’t you and Eric close?” I say, keeping my focus on the path in front of me.
Donovan stops walking and stands still behind me. I turn around to see that he is, in fact, standing still. I don’t know how I predicted that so well.
“Family problems.”
“Oh? So, wait, you guys live here in Richmond?”
“Why does it matter? Mind your business.”
“Geez, can a girl get to know someone?”
Donovan looks away and walks in front of me, to the stairs. Eric’s cologne is strong, so I know for certain they went up the stairs. I hear mumbling again. I look up, following the voices. Donovan proceeds to walk up the steep stairs, but I grab his arm.
“Wait. What if you blow our cover?”
“We’re not undercover agents. We’re witches, Rose.”
“Right, but still…”
“You know what? That’s one of the reasons why I’m irritated with you. You know you’re a witch, yet you don’t use any of a witch’s abilities to get out of situations. I end up saving your ass for stuff you should know better as a witch to even get into.” I feel his glare burn on me. “If you’re going to get into shit, learn how to get out of the shit you put yourself in.”
His voice echoes around the building and the mumbling I was hearing stops. I glare at him, but he knows what he’s done. Jared lands gracefully on one of the steps in front of us.
His beady eyes switch between the two of us and his tail sways between his hind legs. I look up to see Eric standing just a step above with his broomstick turned on. The sword that he is now holding traces on the old stair handle as dust trickles down, creating a dusty mist around us.
Suddenly, Donovan pushes me to the ground. Eric jumps through the dusty fog with his sword slashing the air, aiming for Donovan, but he rolls on the ground, dodging the attack.
He clicks on his broomstick, turning it into a whip and wrapping its metal around Eric’s sword. Donovan tries to disarm his brother, but Eric pulls him up on his feet and toward him. Donovan manages to block a kick from Eric, and Jared leaps down to where I’m lying on the ground.
“Get up, Eliza. We need to get out of here.”
I look at my brother’s blue eyes. I hear the fighting in the background and the breakage of the old fixtures in the building. A piece from the ceiling above me falls down. I immediately roll to my side, preventing potential death.
I cough, get myself up, and look for Donovan. What if he needs me to save him this time? My phone begins to buzz again. I am so distracted by everything happening. Jared scratches me. I jerk my arm away, looking down at him. His eyes narrow. He’s determined to get me out of this building.
The noise I heard just a few minutes ago becomes silent. The fog of dust is still filling the building, but I hear footsteps running upstairs. Jared manages to get me out of the building from the many scratches and little bites he did to keep my attention.
“Are you literally insane? Why are you getting yourself in these situations?”
“Why are you sneaking away with someone evil, who could be the cause of Mom leaving?”
“He is the cause and I was trying to figure out why!”
“Why didn’t you just tell me?”
“Because he’s the reason Mom is becoming corrupt. Do you know how easy it is to make a witch corrupt? No, you don’t. Stay in your place, Eliza.”
“You’re supposed to be helping me with this stuff, not hiding information from me.” I shout.
If I find out Jared is playing on both sides, I’ll make sure to put this useless broomstick to good use. I’m tired of everything happening around this place and no one telling me a damn thing. Mom is stuck in Ravamere and no one is telling me how to save her. Now Jared is talking to the people behind her going there.
He shakes his head and walks me home. I turn around, wanting to go back inside and help Donovan out with whatever trouble he might be in. I’m sure, since he is such an experienced witch as he always claims, he’ll be just fine.
***
We passed many houses, and, standing in front of one of them is the Miss Canary lookalike. She stands still as she watches me walk down the sidewalk. We both stare at each other. She begins to walk on the other side of the street. I stop staring and walk a bit faster back home.
There’s a path to a nearby forest behind the houses. The girl stops walking and hums, “Save Eliza Rose from her dreams. It’s the only way to save her.”
I stop midstep and watch her vanish into the forest as the branches pull her in.
Jared sighs, irritated. “Are you just going to stand there? Let’s go.”
Clenching my teeth and holding my phone tightly in the palm of my hand, I see that Dawn has called me five times and I didn’t even notice. I wonder why she would need me so badly. I figured she was just out
and about with her friends. It’s probably a bum call.
I open the door to my house to let Jared inside. “Hey, Jare, can elves change into other people?”
“No, not that I know of,” he says, hopping into his cat bed.
I look at my phone’s time and date. It’s Saturday night. I totally forget that tonight is the house party. My phone buzzes again with Dawn’s name in the middle. I answer it and say, “I’m so sorry! I’m on my—”
“Where are you? Stacy is here with David and it’s getting really creepy.”
Her phone picks up static and I hear the loud music in the background. Dawn is muttering some words about a mystic and some other things.
“I see David here and—” Suddenly, Dawn’s voice becomes louder. She screams, “Let go of me!” The phone shuts off.
Chapter 25
I’m pretty sure Dawn is in deep trouble at the house party. I run upstairs and grab a long-sleeved red crop top. I take off my shirt and slip my arms through. Taking my broomstick from my bed and dagger off of the floor, I head out of my room. I can’t believe this whole time my best friend was trying to reach out to me for help.
I’m a part of this annoying text group Dawn added me into for the party. Someone texts:
I heard that only certain people were allowed in the party. I hope I’m on the list.
Followed by a reply:
I heard that hot guy we’ve been seeing around campus will be there.
Well…Duh. That’s Eric. Stacy and Eric are kind of like a thing now.
I thought she had a boyfriend already? Isn’t he like missing or something?
Who cares? Eric is hot.
I leave the conversation and turn on my GPS to find the location. In my car, I head toward the party. I know that I am getting close to it because I hear music thumping against my windows. Stacy must have paid for a DJ.
I see a large white mansion. Who knew she was this rich? Someone runs behind the trees. It could be a mystic. I get out of my car and run after the person. I pull out my dagger and see that it’s just a guy and a girl making out.
“Really?” I say.
“What the hell is your problem?” The guy says. Girls walk out of the house with their high-heels on, stumbling over rocks. They’re holding up red cups in their hands and laughing. These are the girls that Dawn was pretending to fit in with. She must have come to the party with them, but where is she?
I walk to the group of drunks. “Hey!” I stop them from walking.
“Get out of our way. Like, what do you want?”
“The pink haired girl you brought here with you, where is she?” The tall, black haired posh-looking girl I was trying to communicate with obviously isn’t trying to listen to me.
She holds out her phone and begins to text. I snatch her phone from her. She glares at me.
“What the hell? Give me my phone.”
“Pink-haired girl? Where is she?”
“Gosh, she’s inside.”
She points behind her at the body guard in front of Dawn’s house. I turn to look as the girl pushes me aside, taking her phone away from me. Her group walks over to a car with some guys. A muscular tanned dude is guarding the entrance as the music bangs against his broad back.
“Name?” he asks.
“Eliza Rose.”
He lifts his clipboard up and flips the pages, looking for my name. He raises his eye up at me and says, “You’re not on the list.”
“Can you check for Dawn Roberts?”
He flips around the pages again for Dawn’s name and nods his head.
“I’m supposed to be with her on the list. Double check again, please.” I cross my arms.
“Like I said, you aren’t on the list,” the guy says.
He checks his headset and places his middle finger on the device, pushing it in closer so that he can better hear what’s being said. He looks at me and moves aside.
“Sorry about that. You’ve just been added to the list.”
I check my pockets to make sure I have all my weapons. The cold breeze brushes against my belly button and the crop top I’m wearing is a bit tight now. My hair hasn’t reverted back to its wild frizz, but I guess it’s part of this weird transformation that I’m still going through. You’d figure I’d be done by now. I wouldn’t know myself.
I enter the house. It feels like it’s a professional house party hosted by a typical popular cheerleader. I look around carefully for anything out of the ordinary, especially looking for any mystics. Dawn mentioned before her phone got cut off that David was here. My grimoire must have been correct about killing a shifter.
This time I’ll make sure to cut off his head even if he didn’t want this life. David is my enemy now. He’s a mystic and witches kill mystical creatures.
I step forward, walking through a narrow hallway in this congested party. A couple is making out in the shadows and someone grabs my waist. I quickly turn around, swiping my fist in the air only to see the guy who’s saved me countless times. Jackass actually looks decent in party attire.
Chapter 26
I glance behind him and see the dancers having fun. I knew he’d get out of the sticky situation with Eric. That’s just how Donovan is. From what I’ve observed, he’s pretty experienced with being a witch. Now I just have to watch out for his evil brother.
“So, I’m guessing you got out of the mess with your brother?”
“You can call it a family reunion.”
“I-I’m sorry for not going back in to help you. I was sort of forced out.”
“Helping me? What could you have possibly done?” He repeats his jerk personality and walks away. “I’m going to get some punch.”
How did Donovan even know I was at this party? I didn’t tell him about it. I walk to the table of food and drinks. Donovan is wearing a jean jacket with white shorts. I can’t believe he’s actually trying to fit in. I laugh to myself, shaking my head. I look at him. “
What are you doing here?”
“Same reason you’re here.” He looks at me, “And that is?”
“Some girl from my school is a mystic and her boyfriend is also one. I think she turned him into a shifter.”
“And they’ve managed to lure you here and kill you,” he says.
“Well, I haven’t really gotten to that part.” I try to play it off. My head snaps to my right. Something is about to happen. I can feel it. I’m guessing this is what witches call instinct. Donovan feels on my thigh. Great, he’s tipsy.
“Seriously, this is not the time to be drinking, Donovan. There are mystics in this house and Dawn is missing.” I slap his hand away.
“Who’s that again?” he says.
“My best friend. I’m going to look for her.”
Brushing my hair over my shoulder, I walk into the crowd.
“Can we at least have some fun?” He smiles.
“No. Go away,” I snap.
“This is how you’re going to treat the person who’s saved you? My, oh my, Rose…” He tucks his hands into his jean pockets.
Donovan follows me into the vibrating crowd of people bumping and grinding against each other. The DJ changes the song as the audience grows louder. The music thuds against my heart. I still have this feeling that I shouldn’t be here.
I move around the room, pushing people aside that get in my way. I narrow my eyes and focus on finding my friend. Dawn is in trouble, and it might be serious trouble too. Donovan and I walk slowly under a large, swirly white staircase.
I look above me. There, in my line of vision, is Stacy standing at the top of the stairwell, watching her party. Her eyes have a hint of yellow as the ends of her lips curl up into deadly smirk. Her hair is now cut short and her boyfriend is standing right next to her, so still it’s almost as if he isn’t alive.
David’s eyes are black and he is standing in the shadows, obeying his lover. She checks her cuticles, purses her lips, and turns around to walk to someone. My eyes widen when I see this person
she’s walking to is Dawn. She is tied up with rope as Stacy traces the ends of her fingers over her messy strands.
“Donovan, look up,” I mutter, turning around to see him bobbing with the music. I shake his shoulder. “Snap out of it. You’re acting weird!”
I see something sparkling in the liquid in his glass. I look at everyone else’s glasses and see the same the sparkle. All of the drinks are spiked with something magical. I hit the glass he’s holding out of his hand. White smoke slithers up into the air from the floor. I don’t know what Stacy has these people drinking, but it’s definitely not good. I kick the pieces of broken glass on the floor out of my way. Donovan looks at me angrily, as if I’ve triggered something inside of him. His rough hands grip my neck. The feeling tickles and shocks me at the same time.
“What—are you—?”
My hands fly up to his wrists. I lift my knee to jab his groin. “Snap out of it…” He releases me and I fall to the ground. I gather myself up, furrowing my eyebrows and kicking him in the leg.
I recollect myself and look up at Stacy. She notices the commotion and rushes into the shadows. David follows her, taking Dawn with her. I can hear my best friend screaming in fear. The mystic forces her on the ground as he drags her.
I leap over the rail of the stairs. Everyone is too hypnotized by the magical drinks they’ve chugged down to notice, let alone care. I fix my hair and take my dagger out as I walk up the stairs. Donovan is behind me. He seems shocked by everything happening. I roll my eyes, turn around, and place the blade of my dagger across his neck.
“Get in my way and you’re dead.”
I don’t care at this point if he’s under some trance or not. I’m annoyed that a witch as experienced and rude as him could fall for Stacy’s trap and drink the punch.
Mystical (The Mystical Trilogy Book 1) Page 23
