Magical (Mystical Series Book 3)

by Michael Weekly

  “Where ya goin’? Get back here.”

  The same whip wraps around my neck and pulls me onto the ground. I place my sword out in front of me to block the next strike. I slice the whip in the air, she turns her broomstick into a bar and charges for me.

  The bar cuts through the air toward my neck. I duck to swipe her legs, hoping to trip her but she leaps. The bar aims for my waist, which I thought was a stupid move.

  Because she exposed her neck, I sidestep and aim for it with my sword. She grabs my wrist with her hand and elbows my chin, knocking me back with the painful blow. She flips in the air and slams the metal bar on my back, forcing me to the ground. She prevents me from getting up by placing her boot on me.

  “Come on, Rose, show me the real you. I want to meet her,” she whispers.

  Luvie jumps out of the portal and lands on the rocks beneath her. Her bat is on her shoulder…she pets it with her index finger. Her dreads are still moist from the rain, and her markings glow. She looks like she was cut on the cheek. She wipes the rain from her face and walks past the scene I made.

  She glances at me and shakes her head, ignoring the situation and walking into a building.

  I’m not sad; I’m angry that I am being ignored. I look at my ring as I spit out the dirt that was in my mouth. I take off the ring, holding it in my palm. I feel all the emotions inside of me build up; I feel the girl’s fear and curiosity. My heart beats heavily, everything I held back in this fight pours out.

  ***

  My eyes were completely freezing and pulsing, my markings froze my body. My hair tingles, the auburn color fading into blonde. I release a chuckle as the girl pushes me deeper into the ground.

  I roll to my left, I know what she is going to do next.

  Sensing the girl is a witch, her first desire is to kill me. Back-flipping away from her, I stand fiercely. She throws four darts in the air that approach with increasing speed. I splay out my fingers, bringing up the dirt in the air to create a wall that protects me.

  The darts pierce the dirt wall. I sense she is confused. I walk through the wall.

  “You’ve got me, now you’re dead,” I say, twirling the ends of my hair.

  I wave out my left arm with much grace, splaying my fingers toward the dirt. I command the sand to rise. I repeat the motion with my right arm. I twirl around, swaying my hips left to right. This is so fun, I laugh. I’m addicted to how my markings freeze my body, it makes me want to keep going. Large dirt tornados start to circle around me. I pop my ears as if I was stuck in the mountains, only I didn’t yawn.

  This causes the rocks behind me to float in the air. I kick and play with the dirt beneath my shoes. The witch stumbles back in shock, her mouth gaping.

  I dig my fingers in my floating hair, continuing to dance to my own beat. I smirk, allowing the rocks to jet toward the girl. One rock scratches against her cheek; she won’t let another do the same. So, she dives to the ground as if she was a baseball player. She grunts, and ties her mask around her face tightly.

  I focus my attention on her, the sand begins to cover her body. I purse my lips as she lifts into the air. Several tiny rocks fly toward her. People step outside to watch what all the commotion is about.

  The girls cover their mouths, the guys click on their broomsticks, ready to attack. They are all wearing masks and dressed in leather witch clothing. Some are scratched up with scars and some are in normal clothing.

  I lose focus as the girl falls from the sky.

  “Stay back!” she chokes.

  The other witches stay next to their buildings.

  An elf scent travels through my nostrils. Where is it coming from? There’re too many people present for me to pinpoint the location.

  The girl stands up, holding a ring toward me. She looks at the guys in the building.

  I know what she’s about to do. Only it’s not the guys she wants to attack me, it’s the girls. They approach my side, wrapping their whips around me. Beaming witch eyes glare at me as I am forced to the ground. I giggle because I am having fun.

  “Five against one, I think that’s unfair.” I chuckle.

  Their whips tighten around my neck, the girls flick their wrists as I am lifted into the air. The witch I wanted to kill walks slowly toward me.

  I’m not freezing anymore and something prevents me from reacting. I feel numb, I don’t know what is going on.

  She finally stands in front of me, she is not afraid anymore.

  “Give me her hand…” she says.

  She places the ring on my ring finger, the numbness overwhelms me. My eyes warm up and my hair tingles back to its auburn color. I am then set back onto the ground slowly, shuddering nervously.

  “Lesson three, control the myth within,” she says, bending down to my level. “Welcome to Vaelle, the land of witches.”

  Chapter 11

  The emotions that rage in my head soon clear out, I’m more like myself now. Having that side of me brings only fear of what may happen if I do lose control.

  “And that is why we are here, Eliza,” a voice behind the crowd of witches whispers to me. I turn to look in the direction from where it came.

  By now I should know that elves are the only mystics able to read thoughts and predict the future. A short girl, an elf with blonde hair with turquoise blue on the ends, comes forth through the crowd.

  Her eyes fade back to normal from beaming, indicating that she was reading my mind. She notices my reaction and places her hands on her hips.

  “That was the only thing I read, don’t worry. I’ve been following you…”

  “You mean watching me. You sensed that I would soon be here.”

  She grins, and then waves her hands out at the witches that hover above me.

  “Back to your training. If a Ravamere mystic came through that portal you all would be dead,” the girl I was fighting says. She seems to be the leader.

  “Thanks, Alice.” The elf in front of me kneels to my level.

  “Charlotte, get her back together please, we don’t have much time. I’m going with Luvie to the Shade.”

  Alice?

  I remember her now, bits and pieces of images scattered across my mind…she was the witch at Mystique who tried to kill Christian. She was also in the Shade when I escaped. I stare up at her and watch her leave with the dread-headed girl through the portal. I focus back on Charlotte. Her breath falls onto my skin, invading my personal space.

  I clear my throat.

  “Oh I’m sorry, I haven’t seen a myth in person before.” She giggles.

  She then hovers her hand above me slowly, her eyes beginning to fade back into bright light green. Her markings glow, I’m sure they are freezing her like they do to me. She mouths something to herself. My pulse thickens and my heart drops. My chest lifts slowly, and my markings spaz out. My eyes freeze and light up. I don’t want her hand over me, I want to kill her.

  My eyes open wider and my hands are forced up. She is blasted away from me as she falls on the ground. I don’t know how, but it wasn’t me controlling myself, I didn’t mean to blast her away like that. Charlotte digs her fingers in the sand and looks up at me, shocked. Her eyes fade back to normal, and the tips of her hair stops glowing.

  “I’m sorry—I-I didn’t know,” I stutter.

  “Don’t worry, it’s not you, it’s your myth. Even with your mood ring she can still break through. This shows how strong she really is,” she says, wiping the dirt off her clothes and walking back toward me.

  She places her thumb on her bottom lip. “Hmm, this will be harder than I thought…how am I supposed to heal you if she doesn’t want to be healed? I suppose you could heal yourself, but that’s a deadly risk. She’s pure evil, she’s beyond corrupt.”

  She turns to her left.

  “Audrey! Come here for a sec,” she shouts.

  Another elf appears from a building. She walks over to where I lay in pain. These elves aren’t dressed in typical elf clothing. They’re in gra
y and black matching outfits. Audrey eventually stands next to Charlotte, they seem to be using telepathy, I can sense it.

  “I know you’re talking, I can feel it…I’m an elf too, you know.” I rub my forehead, stressed out and losing energy.

  “Oh right, you are.” Charlotte smiles.

  “I can sense corrupt mystics, and your vibes are just—it’s just reeking off of you.” Audrey covers her nose.

  “Sorry, I guess.”

  “I can’t heal you with your myth getting in the way, so…” She flicks her hair from her face. “I’m going to have Audrey put you to sleep for a second while I do the healing. It’s one of her special abilities, so don’t freak out.”

  “Special abilities?”

  “Yeah or traits…every mystic has one. I believe yours is prediction and well-performed combat skills. Although every elf is combat driven and flexible, you’re a bit better at it. Possibly it’s because you’re a myth.”

  Audrey’s green markings glow and her dirty blonde hair flows in the air. She kneels and places her hand on my forehead. She closes her eyes. “Don’t move, relax,” she says as she focuses real hard.

  A pulse circulates from my head and across my entire body, my eyes are forced closed as everything becomes black.

  ***

  I release a sigh as I wake, a major whiplash punches inside my head. I glance to my right, Charlotte is sitting on a chair looking out a window. She plays with her hair as her markings glow in and out slowly. I move around in the bed. As I make noise, she turns to look at me.

  “You’re awake,” she says.

  “How long have I been out?” I rub my head. I feel very lethargic.

  “Two days. Audrey says you must’ve been really stressed out.”

  “Well, when you enter a place you have no idea existed, and you are attacked by some pyscho witch as a lesson, it kind of takes a lot out of you.”

  “She’s not a pyscho. Alice took over the Shade for your mother. If anything, you should give her your respect. She’s allowed us to have a myth here so we can help you.”

  She looks at a tea cup on the table, hovers her hand over the ground beneath her, and a slim root springs up to grab the handle of the cup. She then grins at me as the root gives me the cup. I take it, still looking at her.

  “Drink, it’ll help the whiplash.”

  This tea reminds me of Miss Canary. For some reason, everything about Charlotte reminds me of her. I miss her so much. I lower my eyes as the steam rises into my nostrils. Earl Grey, it was one of my favorites. I sip the tea slowly. It heats my body, I am relaxed.

  “You’re an elf in a witch hideout, how are you not dead?”

  She hums a melody, twirling her index finger on the surface of the table. Tiny lilies appear.

  “I’m their sight. Without me here, they are blind.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You said it yourself, didn’t you? I saw you coming, elves can sense the future.” She turns to look at me. “They’re going to need some sort of aid against Ravamere.”

  “You’re right, so why have two elves then? Audrey?”

  “She heals, and when the witches here are sent out to maintain peace, they’re going to come back injured. Audrey heals them, but since she’s the only one here to aid, it sort of takes a lot out of her.”

  I sip on my tea, then crack my neck and stretch.

  “Who talked Alice into allowing me to stay here?” I pick her head for answers.

  Charlotte seems like she doesn’t want to mention the person’s name. She sighs and looks back out the window. She bites on her bottom lip as she thinks about her response.

  “Donovan…”

  Was it really the Donovan I knew who wanted to help me? Well, of course he’d want to, but that night in the tunnel he seemed so unsure about helping me further. He was such a confusing guy, sending me mixed signals. I was having trouble reading him. If only I could pick his thoughts as easily as these pure elves did to me.

  “You think very hard, Eliza, I will teach you how to hone your elf skills. Alice will train you on how to be a witch,” she says.

  “Why isn’t Donovan here? I would like to talk with him…” I look around, registering the room in my head.

  The room is dark and feels like a hide-out in a ghost town. The sun is out, but it’s getting cold outside. The breeze sneaks through the window’s cracks. Today is a brand new day. I have to get through this and I will.

  “Okay, now get up. Let us go for a tour, shall we?” She smiles and acts all giddy.

  She totally ignored my question, but I decide to go along with it. I’ll find him eventually.

  My eyes were warm and freezing. I’m getting used to the different feelings; I shake it off.

  “You feel this way because you’re not controlling your other side. Gray is the color of the witch and green is the color of the elf. Since you are both, it’s hard for you to maintain balance.”

  “Would you please get out of my head…?”

  “Sorry, it’s a habit here.” She chuckles, avoiding eye contact.

  We step out of the room, walking into a large, spacious area. There are weapons on the ground, and ripped boxes on the floor. The smell of iron is in my nose, and some of the windows are broken.

  “Watch your step, there’re all kinds of sharp objects on the ground.”

  “I can see that,” I say, kicking a dagger out of the way.

  Charlotte turns around to face me. She’s smirking at a guy. She places her fingers on her collarbone strategically. It’s obvious she likes him. It’s rather annoying because it’s too obvious. I look at the guy, and he isn’t even paying her any attention.

  “Hey, dude. This girl here is interested in you!” I shout at him.

  He looks up and stares at us awkwardly. I see that I embarrassed her. I cover up my laugh and walk away.

  “Eliza! I can’t believe you did that!” Charlotte chases after me.

  I place my hands in my pockets as I walk down the wide hallway.

  “If you weren’t going to say anything I figured I’d do it for you.”

  “Whatever…” She turns me around. “That was the main hall, and over there is the meeting building.” She gestures across the sandy field to an extremely large building. This building doesn’t seem wrecked like the rest here. There isn’t much grass present. It’s nothing but dirt, rocks, sand, and more dirt.

  A few trees are present, but not enough. The orange sky beams brightly above us.

  In the field are witches waving their whips in the air, some with swords, and some with daggers in their hands. They’re fighting each other, I guess training.

  They are swift and seem to do everything flawlessly. Several flips are done and there are twirls in the air. Parkour actions are executed brilliantly.

  One girl I notice is in the middle fighting five different guys at one time. She switches her broomstick’s weapons so fast it seems effortless. First a whip, then to the bar, ending with a sword. She stands fiercely, circling around her enemies. She glances at me with her gray eyes, her markings glowing against the sun’s rays.

  “That’s Evelyn, but she likes to go by Eve. She’s pretty new, kind of like you, except for the myth part,” Charlotte says, walking up to my side. Eve’s really skilled, too skilled for a newcomer. I couldn’t fight that well; I didn’t know anything about witches to begin with.

  “Audrey and I can’t read her for some reason. It’s odd.”

  I catch Charlotte staring at her with a puzzled look. I clear my throat to gain her attention. She leads me to a field with grass behind the main building. The grass looks healthy; I didn’t think anything would be able to survive with this type of climate. She stands in the middle of the field and spreads her hands out to her sides. She breathes in the fresh air slowly through her nostrils, her eyes close. The markings on her body light up to the same color of the grass, she looks so mystical.

  Circling her wrists around gracefully, she stands st
ill. The wind picks up as I watch the elf in front of me. Her bare feet hide in the tall grass as her markings travel up the sides of her calves.

  She opens her eyes, green light beams out as she smirks.

  Splaying her fingers, tiny vines and roots wrap around her ankles and work their way up around her thighs. The vines cover her chest fashionably. She lets the wind pick her body up as she levitates in the air.

  She snaps one time, a root-created creature springs up behind me. Its thick and thorny branches stand still, watching me.

  She snaps a second time, a vine-created snake slithers up from the ground and then digs deep into the earth. I can feel its vibrations below me.

  She snaps a third time, and twirls in the air as a dirt and rock creature forms. The twirling comes to a stop as all the creatures dash forward from behind her. She lands slowly on the field and looks at me.

  “Are you ready?”

  The vine snake digs into the earth toward me, the rock creature pounds on the ground charging for me, and the root creature sprints in my direction.

  There’s one pulse from within me.

  Chapter 12

  Charlotte is in a fierce position. She does nothing but stand and control her monsters, but can she really keep focus and control of all three efficiently? I’ll have to find out.

  First things first, I’m going to need a strategy of some sort. My legs proceed backward slowly. I squint to my left to see the rock monster punching the ground. Dirt flies up to the sky and circles around, and beneath me, I feel the ground rumble. The snake slithers up from the ground and hisses at me as its head sways left to right. The root monster digs his gigantic arm into the ground, roots spring up around my ankles. They burn me and scratch my skin. I am pulled down and cannot move.

  “Oh come on, Eliza…stop acting like you haven’t been stuck before. What’s your strategy? Are you going to lose control? Don’t lose control—focus.”

  I grunt loudly and struggle to breathe as more roots spring up my sides and force me on my back. They cling to me, I am trapped. The snake slithers around me slowly, its emerald eyes watching my every movement, feeding its hunger.