She pushes the blade in me just a bit, stinging me. I shout in pain. She stops, so I open my eyes. I see that she has dropped her weapon. When I lower my glance, I also see that my broomstick has morphed into its purple sword and that it’s sticking right out in front of me.
I don’t want to believe it. Of all the times my broomstick could’ve activated, it activates to kill my mother. My heart stops beating and a buzzing takes over my head. I’m filled with dizziness. I see that my broomstick has struck through my mother’s stomach.
My eyes are thick as we both fall to the ground.
I lift myself up and roll my mother over. This whole time, I didn’t want to believe that she was really trapped in Ravamere, but somehow she escaped Ravamere and came here…only to have me end her pain. I wipe my eyes as my lips begin to tremble.
I guess it was all true.
My tears fall onto the top of her cheeks. She looks up at me. She breathes slowly, tears forming in her eyes.
I don’t want to believe this. No. She’s alive. This isn’t happening. None of this is real.
I glance at my broomstick’s blade. Her blood is on the sides of the metal.
“Thank…you,” she smiles lightly as she cocks her head to the left. “Get rid of the rose.”
Her eyes gaze off lifelessly.
“No! You’re alive! Wake back up.” I shake her. “I promised to visit you. I have to tell you about college and, and, what I’ve learned about being a witch. You can’t leave me. I have to tell you about…about…”
I cry, lying my head onto her chest. I run my fingers through her hair. “Please come back. Please?”
Donovan appears beside, followed by Emily. They are standing next to me.
“Come back!” I sniff as she vanishes into a dark shadow.
***
Donovan’s arms are wrapped around me as he carries my body. I open my eyes slowly. All I care about now is figuring out if what happened was only a dream. Emily is in front of us. She’s holding her light, glowing green bow.
The night grows darker, and the crickets sing their melodies. The leaves crack beneath our steps. A peaceful musical plays in the depths of the forest. We stop walking as Emily turns around, glancing at both of us.
“So, it’s not a dream?” I mutter. “She’s gone. I killed my mother.” I look up at the trees.
“You had no choice. She was going to kill you, Eliza,” Emily says. I shoot her an evil glare. “Ravamere corrupted her.”
“She was trying to fight against it.”
“You did her a favor and helped her rest peacefully.” Emily rolls her eyes and gracefully turns around. “You have much to learn.”
“Hey, at least now you won’t be as useless as you once were.” Donovan grins down at me. “I’m sorry about your mom. I know Eric is definitely behind it. Don’t worry. Next fight, it’ll be my turn to kill someone off.”
He lets me stand on my own. I feel my neck to see if the cut is there. It isn’t. I hold my broomstick and turn it on. It morphs into a purple sword. I press the button, turning it off and glancing at Donovan. He’s puzzled as to why it’s purple. So am I. We turn around to look at Emily as she lifts up her hands in front of us.
She pokes the air with her index finger. A light green ripple circulates across the trees into a bubble that shimmers against my eyes.
She sticks her arm through it. It must be a portal of some sort because I don’t see her arm on the other side. She slides inside the light green wall, disappearing in sight.
I blink in shock and gasp, wondering where she could have gone. Is this another entrance into Ravamere? I’m one step closer to finding out about Eric and Jared and why Mom went to a corrupt place like that.
Another step closer to finding the answer I seek.
Chapter 30
Standing in the middle of the looming trees, I watch Donovan’s markings glow in the darkness. I lift his sleeve up, tracing over the tattoos with my index finger. He clenches his fist, making his veins outline on his arm. I lower my gaze at the ground as the soft wind blows my hair into my face.
“Are we really going to follow an elf into somewhere we don’t know?” I say.
He steps forward, looking at the portal in front of him. Light green ripples wave in the middle of the forest. I’m sick and feel too weak to stand up properly. My mother is gone and I don’t know how to act right now.
I still can’t believe what happened a few hours ago. There’s a pinch in the back of my head telling me this forest is behind Witcher’s Place. Donovan watches me carefully. He moves forward to hug me. I look up at him.
“Don’t start,” he says, placing his hand in my back pocket. “You dropped your dagger on the ground.” He looks down at me. “I’m sorry about how you’re feeling Rose. I really am.”
“Just give me a minute…”
I step back from Donovan, but he follows me. I turn around and begin to run in the direction we came from. I hear him running with me, but I don’t care and I don’t turn around. For once, I need to follow my instinct and go with my gut feeling, something that I haven’t done.
I stop running when I see the witch shop in front of me. I place my hands on my knees and begin to recalibrate my breathing. I’ve come to the terms with the fact that nothing is ever what it seems. Who am I to say that this is Witcher’s Place? What if it’s my instinct leading me into a trap? It wouldn’t be the first time, right?
“What the hell are you doing, Rose?”
I turn around to look at the guy who’s been sticking to my side like glue lately.
“It’s funny. You were so ready to leave me when we first met, and now I can’t get rid of you.”
I glance down at his broomstick and then lift my gaze up at his vibrant eyes and thick eyebrows.
“I don’t know why you keep running if we’re on the same team.” There’s a cut on the side of his face. He’s trying to avoid eye contact with me.
“I don’t know. Are we? You seemed like you were doing fine alone.” I point in front of us at the shop. “It’s Witcher’s Place.”
“I know what it is.”
We walk to the shop. The door is open. It seems like someone broke into the store. The vinegar scent proves my assumption.
I turn around to see if there are any signs of mystics around the area. Nothing is here, and it’s becoming awfully quiet for my own liking. I take out my broomstick from my pocket, hovering my thumb over its button. Donovan places his hand over mine, calming me.
“There’s no one here, Rose. I want you to understand that your mother was far too deep.” I look up at him, furrowing my eyes. “She was on the edge, hoping someone would pull her from falling.”
I feel my eyes warm up and my lips rolling up. Him saying something like that brings back the feeling of stabbing her and seeing her eyes fade away into her mist. It’s not a good feeling, witnessing your own mother pass away. I just want him to stop talking about it and let me grieve how I please.
“That person was supposed to be me.” I push back my tears and turn around, slowly entering the shop. The wood on the floor creaks while I walk around the store. It’s clean, in spite of someone breaking into it. Miss Canary must’ve been here earlier. Donovan follows behind and looks at a few items on the hooks in the weapon section. I see a nice leathery black outfit.
I walk to the back of the store, take some weapons, and place them around my belt.
“Grab what you need. I’m going to change clothes.”
I flip my hair across my shoulders and walk past the counters and into the back of the store. I turn on the lights and see Miss Canary tied up to a chair. She lifts her eyes, shocked that I’m here. A golden light dangles on a thin string, creating a spotlight on the elf. I walk over to her, unwrapping the rope. She glances at the entrance to the back room.
“Eliza, what are you doing here?”
“Getting a few things.”
She looks up to me, probably sensing that something’s wrong.
“You’ve found out about your mother.”
“You knew it was going to happen and you didn’t tell me. Give me a real reason not to kill you,” I say.
I hear Donovan walking toward the backroom. He stands in the doorway with his broomstick on. “Oh, it’s the elf…”
“Yeah, she was trapped in here,” I say, looking back at her.
“Other mystics are still around here. You shouldn’t have come back. They’re the ones who trapped me in here. Why didn’t you follow Emily?”
She gets up, grabbing a small bag from a shelf. She looks at Donovan, then me. “Telling you about Grace would change the future. I can’t have that.”
“The lies you tell,” Donovan grunts.
Miss Canary brushes by Donovan and heads for the entrance of her store. We follow her. She sprinkles glittery green dust from her bag on the door and in the creases. Walking back into the store, she grabs a rubbery string and ties up her hair.
“They’re coming.”
“Who?” Donovan says. I walk back into the backroom and change my clothes quickly.
Miss Canary looks up from what she’s doing to say, “Mystics.” She turns away and vanishes in the back of the store, looking for a weapon. “They’re coming for Eliza.”
Donovan walks toward me, handing me a dagger. I press my broomstick. It morphs into a sword.
“Why do they want me?”
I turn around. My ears perk up in response to the distant sound of running. I see red eyes darting through the darkness outside. On four paws, there’s a wolf with sharp teeth sprinting toward the store. My heart is racing. I tightly grip my broomstick.
“Donovan, I think we’re expecting guests.”
He walks over to me, seeing the shifter approach us. He braces himself for the mystic’s attack. I hear growling. The shifter leaps for the doorway, but a loud clap and a stunning light green shield forces the mystic to the ground.
Donovan holds my hand and pushes me behind him. “Stay behind me,” he mutters.
“There’s no saving her. She came back after killing a corrupt witch, like a fool.”
I look at Miss Canary ripping her clothing just above her knees. She tears up her sundress, making it short. I see her light green elf markings on the sides of her smooth legs.
“Eyes up, Eliza, and get ready for a fight.”
She chucks a device at me. I catch it, looking up at her. “What’s this?”
“Well, a gun of course.”
I hear another loud clap from the door. The shifter falls back to the ground. It looks up at me, forming itself into a red eyed girl. She runs behind the store.
Miss Canary walks slowly toward the entrance. She places her hand into her bag, walking just near the steps outside the store. She turns around to look at us. A hand punches at the invisible shield, causing the same clapping sound. A mystic with green markings and blonde hair steps out from the side and stands in front of the store. “It’s an elf,” Donovan says.
“Are you telling me just because of my mom, they’re all here now?”
“Do you know how rare it is to kill a corrupt witch? That scent is all over you. If they feed on you,” Miss Canary glances at the elf standing still, “they can take over Ravamere with that corruption.”
The elf’s eyes begin to glow green as she plays with her hair. A few minutes later, a fairy floats next to her. She has grey hair and rainbow-like markings. The fairy’s sharp wings flutter furiously, blowing wind at the store.
Miss Canary quickly tosses dust at the doorway. The bang from the shield is so loud, my ears begin to ring. I hear footsteps on the roof of the store. I glance up. Donovan walks to the back, getting a few more weapons. He goes into the backroom and changes his clothes too. We’re now both clad in leather.
“I say we break for it,” I announce.
Donovan stands next to me. “How many do you think are out there?”
“I only sense four, one of each kind,” Miss Canary says. I watch as water from the ground swirls up into the air, forming into a mermaid. Her blue markings wrap around her belly and thighs. Her eyes are glowing as she waits for me to exit.
“You can’t stay in that store forever.” The fairy giggles.
“Why won’t you come out and play?” The mermaid sings.
However, the elf stays quiet, flicking her blonde hair from her face. She walks slowly toward the shield and looks back at the fairy. The fairy flutters her wings again at the store. The green shield lights up as the elf smirks at it.
Stepping carefully, her eyes glow in front of us. She waves out, displaying the palm of her hands. Her markings are right in the center. They begin to glow as her hair lifts up into the sky.
“She’s going to break through the charm,” Miss Canary says, grabbing her blue tipped dagger from the counter.
I step back slowly, looking at the place where Miss Canary snatched her dagger. A rose similar to mine becomes visible on the glass. Donovan watches the door. A note appears next to the rose.
I thought I left my rose at home?
I pick up the flower, only to feel it freeze me. I turn my arm over and see markings develop on my skin. They’re not hurting me. It’s more of a pinch than a stab. The new markings finish, ending with a green light. I turn over the note, seeing what it says:
From Christian.
It’s the same guy from the note that was inside Miss Canary’s home. I glance at its old paper and watch it burn into ash. The rose burns with it.
The shield outside sounds like glass breaking; the elf successfully shattered the shield. The shifter from earlier leaps off the roof and lands next to the other three mystics. She morphs into her human form. They’re not entering the store. They’re standing, watching us carefully.
“Oh, don’t worry. We come in peace.”
Donovan turns around, making sure I’m okay. I nod to him and at Miss Canary.
“They’re telling the truth. Well, from what I sense,” Miss Canary says, and it’s funny because I can feel the same shift of tension around us.
“You know, the word gets around pretty fast between us mystics.” The mermaid laughs.
“You killing off a corrupt witch?” The fairy drops to her feet as her wings twitch. “Very impressive.”
“So why are you here?” I say, walking to the door. Donovan grabs my hand. I remove myself from his grip.
“Rose, are you insane?”
“Clearly.” I step outside the store. I turn on my broomstick and it forms into its purple blade.
“What’s a bitch without a broomstick?” The fairy says. “Excuse my French.”
“We believe that you could have screwed up your world,” the elf says.
“What do you mean?”
“When you’re not too busy killing off our kind, some of us actually live. We feed in the shadows, minding our own business. You’re nothing but gossip amongst all of us.”
“Rose!” Donovan yells from the store.
“So we wanted to warn you that not only do the mystics here want to kill you, but I’m sure the mystics in Rav are out for your blood and corruption that you might now possess, since you killed her.”
Killing my mom makes me corrupt? How does that work out?
I didn’t mean to kill her. It was all planned by her. She wanted to die, knowing what she got into was too deep, too deep for any innocent person to fight against alone. I ended her pain. She’s in a better place now.
Ravamere’s a different place. I don’t ever want to experience what Mom went through, but if there are answers there, I’m going.
Could I have really upset the balance between both worlds?
This all doesn’t make any sense. I lower my gaze to the ground to see the weeds stuck in the cement puckering out. This reminds me of something, but I can’t figure it out. The sweet smell now enters my nostrils, and my vision slowly becomes blurry.
“So, we’re going to make it less miserable.” The sound pulls me in, making me drowsy.
“Where do…I remember…?”
“Rose!” someone calls.
I hear growling sounds. Something stings my ankles, burning the leather I’m wearing. Then someone slaps me. I open my eyes and see Miss Canary.
“Wake up, Eliza,” she says. My gaze darts to the shifter falling on the ground. I see Donovan on one knee with his sword out to the side of him. He is wearing a black mask and there is an identical one on the ground beside me.
“Put it on,” Miss Canary says.
I reach for the mask, but roots from the ground tangle around my wrist, trapping me down. Miss Canary shoots for the elf, sliding on the gravel and dodging her attacks. She cuts the skin of the elf’s arm. The roots release their grip, and I put on my mask.
The drowsy effect and the numb feeling within me fade away. Donovan slices his sword in the air, missing the fluttering fairy. The shifter runs toward me, leaping on top. I block her with my sword as she tries to bite my face. Her slobber falls down on to my neck. I clench my teeth, trying to stay focused. I kick the shifter off of me and feel the markings freezing my skin.
She is charging once again for me. This time I’m ready. I sidestep the attack and turn around, hearing her cry because of my sword’s blade. I glance up to see her body and head fade away into brown mist.
Suddenly, I feel like someone is coming from behind me. Before I can turn around, an arm strangles me, stinging my skin. Roots quickly shoot up from the ground, clinging on my sides and hair.
“You actually think you can take on four mystics? Accept your death, witch.” She lifts me into the air.
“No, I’m the bitch, remember?”
I force the back of my head against the fairy’s face. She screams in pain. I drop to the ground. She floats in the air with her rainbow markings glaring at me. I press my broomstick, forming it into a whip-dagger.
I twirl around, whipping it up at her. The metal wraps around her feet. She tries to fly away, but purple electricity slithers from my grip to around her ankles. The fairy drops to the ground, twitching. She’s giggling in pain as I strut to her slowly.
Mystical (The Mystical Trilogy Book 1) Page 27
