Urban Mystic Academy-Graduation
Jennifer Rose McMahon
Copyright © 2020 by Jennifer Rose McMahon
All rights reserved.
This book is a work of fiction. All characters, places, and incidents described in this publication are used fictitiously or are entirely fictional.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Cover design by Rebecca Frank of Bewitchingbookcovers.com
Dubhdara Publishing
www.jenniferrosemcmahon.com
Contents
Praise for Jennifer Rose McMahon
Title Page
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Epilogue
Afterword
About the Author
Also by Jennifer Rose McMahon
Sample of Legend Hunter
Praise for Jennifer Rose McMahon
“McMahon's excellent paranormal mystery. Teen and adult readers alike will be clamoring for the sequel."
Publishers Weekly Starred Review
”Engaging, beautifully written scenes, and idyllic descriptions keep the tale moving at a quick pace. The characters are engaging and they draw a person in to this tale of adventure and intrigue. Adrenaline-fueled action and enough twists and turns to keep even the most astute readers on their toes, this is a captivating story with a heroine who is forcefully engaging."
InD'tale Magazine
”As Chieftain of The O'Malley Clan I am always interested in anything to do with Granuaile, our very famous Pirate Queen ancestor. Jennifer's novel captures the connection with the past which we treasure in Ireland. The Irish landscape, contemporary social life, the Irish language, and romance are woven into this fantasy story about Maeve Grace O'Malley and her quest to solve her 'Awake Dreams'. I am certainly looking forward to the sequel. More BOHERMORE please!"
Sarah Kelly, O'Malley Clan Chieftain 2017
URBAN MYSTIC ACADEMY-GRADUATION
by Jennifer Rose McMahon
This story was written during the 2020 Covid quarantine and is dedicated to those on the front lines keeping us safe. Thank you for your bravery and your true superpowers.
Chapter 1
Crippling anxiety from graduating high school, you know, where you suddenly have no idea who you are or where you're going, was exactly what I craved.
At least that would be normal.
But instead, I faced graduation from a secret society of gifted students that nearly unhinged me. Being an integral part of this supernatural group was who I was, and going to hell for it was where I was going.
Looking back, I realized I was lucky to even be alive, let alone tortured by the fanfare of commencement activities.
Witchcraft, portals, and voodoo dolls were only part of the unexpected enrichment for my senior year, all of which had left me gasping—particularly since I'd spent so much time in my earlier high school years trying to avoid anything too dramatic.
I typically tried to keep my head down, hoping to go unnoticed, and now was no exception. Being formally recognized in a mystical ceremony made no sense to me. I just wasn't that special, and remaining under the radar was my go-to ammo.
But it was clear to me now that I was never very good at that avoidance game, and at this point, I'd been officially noticed.
The renewed purple hue on my long locks didn't help either, bringing it all full-circle.
I picked at the dark violet dye under my nails, thinking back to my first days at Lakefield High School. I'd been so green in my knowledge of my unique abilities and the complexities of my purpose.
And now I had been trained in the use of my gifts and had accomplished the unconventional projects of incantations, time leaps, and sorcery that had been presented to my coven—all with the primary focus of separating evil darkness from the light.
But none of it mattered in this moment.
Instead, my panic centered around my graduation from the underground Urban Mystic Academy. My deep belief that not only was I not ready, but the nagging feeling in my gut assured me I wasn't worthy.
Being an UMA meant everything to me. It had become the identity I'd searched for my entire life. But I still couldn't shake my insecurities around how I fit into it all.
My supernatural abilities were all over the place, and feeling proficient enough to graduate with distinction within the secret academy was a long shot.
I still had no idea what my purpose truly was, and basically, why me?
I'd been a scattered mess my entire life, soul-searching for my identity—an identity that alluded me completely, until now.
Ms. Kelly was confident that I was ready, though.
Her place of honor within the Higher Order should have made me feel comfortable in the decision, but as my loyal mentor, she made me wonder if she was just being nice.
Now that I at least had some knowledge of my past, of a father who sacrificed himself for my future, I had an inkling of a direction. Saving him from his imprisoned state in limbo was my top priority.
But then there was my connection to Shane as well.
Thanks to Dom, he had a chance to live fully again—to find his lost soul and be whole. I wouldn't be able to accomplish any of my goals without having Shane by my side. He was my heart and, therefore, my life. Helping him reconnect with his separated spirit was a critical focus.
I glanced down at the gravestones by my feet.
My eyes fell on the one with my own name on it. Then I looked at the next one, tipped and eroded, holding Shane's name, carved in weathered lines. Another one, hidden by the edge of the plot, caught my attention this time, piquing my curiosity.
I blinked, remembering my time and place, and the fact that I'd told no one where I was.
It was probably a bad idea to have come back here.
Alone.
But the pull of the ancient cemetery was greater than I could resist. It held secrets that taunted me in my sleep and every waking moment.
After Dom, Courtney, and Ms. Harrison returned to the past, I couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that gnawed at me. I hoped they could establish a life far from the brutality of the witch hunts and the executions. There was no way to see them anymore since Shane and I had destroyed the portal. We'd demolished it to a pile of splinters.
The only way I could now truly know of their outcome was the cemetery, to see if anything had changed.
And it hadn't.
The burial ground appeared exactly the same as it always had, except maybe for the new stone at the side—although that was probably always there hiding under the overgrowth.
Mist rose from the moss that covered the eroding burial site. If not for the stone border around the perimeter, the graveyard would be lost to the weathering of time.
As the early morning sun threatened to awaken the sleeping woods all around me, I took a deep inhale of the new day.
My thoughts cleared into sharp focus as the fresh air renewed me. Stepping to the front of the graveyard, I stood by Millie and Gertie's stones. As my eyes trailed along
the worn carvings of their names, my heart skipped a beat as I focused on the dates.
Their death dates.
Dropping to my knees, I ran my finger across the faint numbers on Millicent's grave marker. I wracked my brain, trying to remember the original date and if this one was different. It would be the exact proof I needed.
I turned my attention away, counting the math in my head, when a wave of darkness blocked the morning light, shrouding my vision to nothingness. My muscles twitched and then jolted, shaking me off balance. As my knees buckled, dropping me to the ground, a rush of imagery filled my mind.
A twisting cobblestone path, lined with lush gardens of flowers, led me toward its center. Curiosity filled me as I spiraled along its maze, and then a slow breeze of whispers tickled my ears. Within seconds the whispers grew into a rush of voices calling my name, begging for help.
And then all went silent.
My shoulder quaked, pulling me from my strange darkness. Squeezing my eyes shut to force the migraine back, I attempted to move my arms. Fatigue coursed through me, and it felt like a weighted blanket smothered my limbs.
"Brynn?"
My shoulder shook again, and then weightlessness bobbed my head as it lifted off the damp ground.
I blinked my eyes open and looked up into Shane's worried face.
"Are you hurt?" His voice broke with a combination of fear and anger.
I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. My parched throat held the words, so I shook my head.
Pulling myself up to sitting, I swallowed a few times and flexed my muscles back to life.
"What the actual fuck, Brynn?" Shane seethed.
My lips pressed together in shame. "I'm sorry," I whispered with a crackling voice. "I couldn't help it."
His eyes rolled more than humanly possible as he shook his head.
"Did you have another seizure?" His voice mellowed.
I rubbed my head, trying to remember the details. "I think so. Everything went black again, and more visions of like, a maze and flowers."
He examined me for any signs of damage.
"I just need to know when you come here," he pushed through clenched teeth. "We still don't know if it's safe. And why now?"
His blatant confusion almost made me laugh. He was right, though. It was insane for me to come back here so soon before really knowing if the Dark Witch was gone or not.
But something in my gut told me she was.
Maybe it was foolish, but I believed Millicent's fate had changed.
I had to believe it.
My friend's lives depended on it.
It wasn't just Millie and Gertie anymore, but it now included Dom, Courtney, and Ms. Harrison. They'd all returned to the past in hopes of a better life, and I prayed they'd found it.
"I needed to see if anything had changed," I replied. "A sign that they're okay."
He lowered his eyes. "Yeah, me too. I wouldn't mind a little assurance that they're safe." He paused. "I just hate the image of Dom calling out to me, like he needed my help. I can't shake it from my mind."
I thought about his strange vision. I'd had a similar one at exactly the same time, just as we'd left the woods after destroying the portal. My image was different, though. It was of my father, and he was calling for my help.
The image haunted me, and likely had everything to do with why I came back here.
I just needed answers.
Or better yet, solutions.
"I feel like something is still off," I murmured. "I'd hoped that a sense of balance would settle around us once they made the leap back. But I don't feel it." I glanced at our gravestones. "If anything, it feels worse."
Shane looked at our stones with narrowed eyes.
"I had hoped for more resolution too." His voice grew heavy. "But I don't feel any different, Brynn. I'm still the soulless man I've always been."
My breath stopped short.
I'd suspected as much, but for him to actually say it made it real.
We'd believed with all our being that when Dom blasted back, his actions of the past would have saved Shane's soul. In a mystical re-do of the past events, Dom blocked the bullet that had originally killed Shane. It should have allowed Shane's soul to remain intact.
But it didn't.
Maybe a bullet wasn't responsible for Shane's lost soul.
But at least the Dark Witch was gone. We'd ended her at the very source of her beginning.
It was the remains of her curse that lingered.
The Death Curse.
I felt it all around us.
My hands ran back through my hair as the realization weighed down on me.
"Shane," I gasped. "Her death curse is still alive. How can that be?"
His lids hung heavy over his eyes as his chest deflated.
"A curse of that magnitude would be protected," he stated. "It makes sense that she would add a spell of protection to it, one that could never be broken."
My eyes widened in horror.
With the Dark Witch gone and a spell of protection over her most evil curse, we were screwed.
And it wasn't only Shane.
My father was cursed by it as well—his soul was trapped in limbo, now for all eternity.
"Oh my god," I whispered as I dropped to my knees. "What are we going to do?"
Shane lowered himself to my level and scanned the graveyard.
"We're going to find a way to break the curse," he stated. "We have no other choice."
I searched the burial ground for any clue that there might be hope, but only death stared me back in the face.
With the portal gone and our friends back in their original time, we no longer had the luxury of time leaps and historical adjustments. For the first time, I wished for all that craziness back.
But it was too late.
Our efforts were hopefully successful in correcting the wrongs of the past, but the price we had to pay for the win was our own happiness and fulfillment—a costly price for sure.
I closed my eyes, resisting the belief that we had to live with this unsettling outcome.
And then his voice shot my eyes open.
The voice of my father.
Shane's attention snapped to me as if he'd heard it too.
"What was that?" he spat.
"It's him," I gasped. "That's his voice."
"Your father," he agreed. "I recognize it from the void where I was trapped."
"Limbo," I said.
Shane nodded.
"He's still there." My voice pinched to a squeak.
And before I could say another word, my attention landed on the hidden gravestone, overgrown with moss and ivy.
I was drawn to it by a powerful force, leaving no doubt in my mind.
"It's his," I said, pointing to the edge of the cemetery. "My father."
I jumped toward the hidden gravestone, holding my breath for whatever it might reveal to me.
"Wait, slow down," Shane cautioned. "You just had a friggin’ seizure. Would you please take a minute to be sure you're okay?"
"Shane," I gasped. "Help me uncover it!"
My adrenaline woke each sleeping nerve, making my muscles forget the depletion of every ounce of energy.
I ripped the moss away from the jagged slate, and as I brushed off the debris, the rough, cracked surface of the stone revealed itself. My fingers trailed along the eroded edge and ran across the smooth front.
As I searched the rock face for carvings of any kind, I continued to dig the earth away from its base. The more I dug, the more I realized the stone was larger than I'd initially thought. It went much deeper than expected, and I looked at Shane in surprise.
"I think there are some markings on it here. It feels like letters." My fingers traced a light engraving. "Keep digging. It's buried deep within the sediment."
As we tugged clumps of dirt away from the slate, more letters exposed themselves to the daylight they hadn't seen in centuries.
"I got it,
" I called out, tracing the letters as I spoke. "It says Thomas."
I stopped for a moment and allowed the name to settle in.
Thomas.
It was in that moment I realized I'd never known his name.
Thomas Douglas.
It felt right.
I dug at the dirt that covered the next row of letters.
"Why is it so deep?" I mumbled.
Pulling chunks of soil away, I reached more engravings, and traced my blackened fingers along them.
With a whoosh of exhaled air, my shoulders sank as my sense of touch read the long name.
"Alexander," I whispered in a voice that caught in my neck. "Thomas Alexander."
I gazed at Shane as tears pooled in my bottom lids. The disappointment overwhelmed me as I stared at what I so deeply believed had been my father's grave.
I had been drawn to the location. It called to me.
My head shook in defeat.
"At least keep looking for a date or any other information about who this guy was." Shane tried to remain hopeful.
He grabbed a stick and used it to pull more dirt away from Thomas Alexander's gravestone. I watched his efforts as I plowed through my mind to find any explanation of the twist in my gut.
"There's more here," he said, moving back for me to see better.
Peering in, I saw more letters instead of numbers.
"What does it say?" I murmured.
I leaned in closer, brushed at the letters, and then reeled back on my heels with a gasp.
"Douglas!" I blasted. “His last name! Thomas Alexander Douglas!"
Chapter 2
It was my father's gravestone.
Thomas Alexander Douglas.
Urban Mystic Academy: Graduation (A Supernatural Academy Series Book 6) Page 1