Now would be the perfect time for my elf vision to come into play, allowing me to know where I’m going in the dark. Elves trap their prey in the forest and like to play mind games with them. Ever wander into a forest while it’s dark outside? They need to be able to make their way through the leaves and trees. Soon they’ll feed on you with their venomous elf kisses.
Focusing hard, I can see a few images, one being a large rectangular shape.
That must be the door—my ears twitch. Someone swallows. My heart beats and my senses are more awake than I am. I walk over to the door but my vision blurs out once more.
“Christian?” I mutter.
He does not reply, but I hear him breathing, and the only thing that seems to work is my hearing. My vision is being blocked by a force in the house. I rub my eyes as they burn and the smell of fresh wood cologne slithers into my nostrils.
My insides become numb. The smart thing to do would let my myth out so I can leave this place. Why would Christian leave me alone in this cottage? I step forward, unknowing of what is to come—the floor creaks as I walk. The trees rattle their branches outside on the cottage’s wood.
I know Christian is here. He’s an elf and this is what they do best. I’m also one of them, so I should know this very well, but I’m not as corrupt as Christian. There’s a fine line between doing things without being fully corrupt.
They’re much stronger and powerful than your average pure mystic. A footstep sounds from behind me and I quickly turn around, the wind brushing across the tip of my nose.
“Why don’t you come out and play?” I mumble.
The trees rattle the house louder and the noise fades in and out randomly. Something scurries across the floor, I leap to my left. Doing so causes me to bump into something. A hard object falls down onto my head. I crash onto the wooden floor with a loud grunt releasing from my mouth.
The wood I lay on crumbles as roots cling on the bottom of my ears, stinging me. I quickly pick them off me as more rise up from underneath the house. One wraps around my neck. I choke, coughing for air.
The same noise of someone swallowing enters my ears. I look at the shadows above me move. One of them has to be Christian. I can sense his presence in this small place and I can’t believe I haven’t bumped into him yet. I yank the root from around my neck, breaking it and standing up. My heart hurts my chest and paranoia overwhelms me.
I try to refocus once more because the last thing I want to do is release the myth within. I force out all of the sounds and distractions he is making to drive me crazy. Air whips across my face again and my elf vision is flashing the outline of objects, but they’re not all crystal clear. I see the rectangle shaped one to my right so I walk toward it.
My ears perk up and I look to my left to be slapped as I fall back down on the ground. I crawl toward the door. A grip around my ankles pulls me back slowly as I dig my nails into the wood beneath me. The roots beneath the house help the pull become stronger.
I kick whatever was holding me and my elf vision fades away as everything is darkened once more. I bite on my bottom lip to stay focused and not let my emotions take over. I cough from the smell in this place and as something squirms over my fingers, I jerk my hands away.
My nostrils flare and I want to yell out for Christian, but a root slaps across my mouth. I lift my fingers to try and break it off but the touch burns me. I can’t see his markings present anywhere, but I know he’s here stalking me in the shadows.
I crawl in the direction of the door blindly. I refocus my vision one more time. Trying to utilize my elf abilities, I see the shape once more. I’m not too far from it, so I reach for the doorknob. Zap! I yelp from the touch.
I’m pulled back deep into the shadows.
Chapter 23
The door bursts open as soon as my back is finished scratching against the wooden floor. My heart rushes along with my lungs, I cough and cough from the dirt and dust around me. Leaping into the cottage are purple eyes—Jared in his Ravamere cat form. Swiftly, my brother darts toward me and swipes my mouth with his paw. I gasp for clean air. Jared doesn’t seem to be phased by me being here.
“I told you this was a trap set up by Christian. When will you ever learn to listen?”
Jared morphs into his lean, charming human form. He helps me up and walks me out of the cottage. My ears perk from Christian chuckling in the background.
“He’s not there, don’t even pay the sounds any attention.”
“Who’s in there then?”
“Christian’s soul.”
“I kind of thought he’d be soulless, but why would he lock it up in that old cottage?” I say, covering my mouth. The grass is brittle and the sky is still, it’s purple and blue gaze across the dead horizon. Rissa, the corrupt shifter I ran into back in the castle, is digging something up in the dirt. Her white fur moves along with the wind lusciously, she looks up and runs away into the dark forest.
“It’s something he goes back to, it’s like a daily fix he needs. Christian was born here. The longer you stay here, the more you die off. That’s how Ravamere works, Eliza.”
I pinch my chin and move my strands behind my ear as we walk through the field. “If that’s the case, then why hasn’t Marcus, our father, died off yet?” Christian turns to look at me.
“There’s some things I need to talk to you about. Remember our plan? You need to fit in as you ruin this place.” Jared places his hands on top of my shoulders and says, “Eliza—Marcus, well, he’s—”
“Eliza!” The back door to the mansion opens, and an alert and worried Donovan runs out. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you, I thought maybe they’d done something to you.”
Jared clears his throat and steps back.
“Why would it matter to you? Aren’t you supposed to be figuring out how to kill me?” I say.
“Rose, don’t you think I would have killed you already if I wanted to?” He hugs me and my eyes grow wide from this sudden amount of passion. “What’s gotten into you?”
Donovan releases his hold. “Look, I’m glad you’re all right. Don’t worry about your friends. They’re safe.” He pulls out jewelry. “That’s Audrey’s—is she okay?”
“Yeah, they’re all fine. I’ll be back to help them out.”
“I thought they can’t leave Ravamere once they’ve entered?”
“You don’t know the way I work, Rose.” He grins down at me.
“Donovan!” a deep voice shouts out from behind us.
I glance up at him and say, “The brotherhood calls.” I cross my arms.
“They do, and you know I have to go.”
I nod my head as he backs away and breaks through the dry grass.
“What was that all about?” I mutter to myself. The door is still open. I rush back inside, Jared following behind. He closes the door.
“What’re you up to?”
“I’m going to get my friends out of here.”
Jared swiftly steps in front of me. “Do you know the risks of them getting caught escaping?” He looks around the castle. “They’re going to die, Eliza. They can’t get caught.”
“Who said that they will?” I raise my hands at Jared. “Look, I know you’re all about my safety and your plan to add insult to injury, or whatever you were talking about. But I can’t have my friends in this place.” I brush by him.
“Do you think Christian would let them leave that easily? He lured you into his cottage; Don’t you think he’s smarter than that?”
“I don’t care what that psychotic creature has planned.” I twist around, glaring at Jared. “Either you’re with me or you aren’t. Make a choice, Jared.” I press my lips together tightly as my nose flares. I try to calm down and not let my emotions control me. I rub my eyes and feel my markings freeze.
I light up the darkness around me and make my way toward the room my friends are held in. I peek around the corner and into the doorway. Luvie, Audrey, and all of my friends are still on the ground
. They aren’t dazed anymore and their veins aren’t outlined as much as they were before. Donovan was right, he did do something to help them.
I turn at Jared’s worried face and grin. I hold on to his wrist, only for him to jerk away.
“You’re freezing, Jared.” Jared looks away. I narrow my stare at him and then at my friends in the room ahead of us. A few mystics exit out of the room, leaving my friends inside alone. I step from around the corner and quickly cross the hallway and into the room. Jared is standing outside.
“Eliza! We’re so glad you came back,” Audrey whispers.
“I told you she’d come back for us,” Charlotte says.
“Whatever, she’s one of them.” Luvie stands up. “She watched them do what they did to us and didn’t do a damn thing about it. She’s no friend of mine.”
“I was in the act. Trust me, if I had reacted at that moment—they’d kill all of you,” I say, allowing my gaze to wander between them all. “I would never leave them to hurt you.”
“Yeah, see guys, that’s why that guy came in and cured us,” Bianca says, walking over to me.
“I don’t trust him either, he’s also one of them,” Luvie clears her throat.
“What guy?” I ask. Could they be talking about Donovan? They all look up at me.
“It was an elf. He was different than the others that were in here. He didn’t try to suck our purity out.”
Christian.
My friends immediately caught my slip in emotion. I lower my gaze to the floor.
“Eliza, are you okay?” Audrey asks.
“She knows him,” Luvie says.
“We need to leave before the mystics who were in here return for a second serving. Follow me.” I gesture for them to walk.
“Are you insane? I’m not going anywhere with you, I’ll find my own way out of this place.” Luvie crosses her arms.
“Luvie, quit it. She’s the only one who knows her way out of here.” Charlotte steps in. The rest of the Vaelle crew stands up and walks with me. My lips create a slim grin, nodding at them all. How could Donovan lie to me about curing them? I can’t help but think Christian stepped in to reverse the cure or something so they wouldn’t be able to leave.
“I can’t believe we’re in Rav—we’re trained to fight against the creatures here, and it was like we, well, we couldn’t. There was nothing we could have done. I think we need to talk with Alice and change our methods.” Bianca isn’t aware that Jeremy’s dead. While getting their souls sucked and messed around with, I’m guessing that moment didn’t happen to her. I don’t want her finding out in this place; soon I’ll let her know. I need to find the right time to spill the truth.
Jared steps from the side of the doorway and says, “There’s no one out right now. They have a chance of making it to the portal, but you know you can’t leave with them.”
“What is he talking about, Eliza? Who is he?” Audrey asks.
“This is my brother Jared; he was turned into a cat by the Verel.”
“Eliza can’t leave with you all because there’s still some business she has to deal with here.”
“Like what? I’m not leaving unless she’s coming with us,” Charlotte butts in.
I don’t want them to get hurt because of me.
Jared catches my thoughts and clears his throat. “We’re searching for some answers here. She’s a myth and she fits in well with the rest of the corrupt mystics and witches in Rav.”
Charlotte holds on to my hands and hugs me. “You get out of here as soon as you find what you’re looking for. I don’t want to leave you here, but I’m sure you’ve learned a lot from the past year living in Vaelle. I have faith in you.” She nods at me and at the others as Jared leads them down the dark hallway. Charlotte stares at me, she’s now the leader of the group but here she’s just following. She has nothing to say to me, she grins and glances away.
“Just how are you going to get them out of Ravamere, Jared? You know they can’t leave.”
Jared pulls out a pouch and sprinkles fairy dust on the group. Their skin stains from the colors, they begin to shift into several corrupt mystics. “They have about five minutes until they turn back into themselves. It’s just a little corrupt magic that blends what they really are into being corrupt.”
“Why didn’t you use that on me?” I breathe in disbelief at my friends.
“Because half of you is already corrupt, I didn’t want a reaction or anything to trigger.” Jared motions for the group to leave through the doors. He gives me one last glance and runs through the grass.
I didn’t think about asking if Dawn was okay. If he was doing this for my friends, I’m sure he did the same for Dawn. She’s gone now; I’m praying she’s safe. Jared opens the back doors of the castle and rushes them out onto the field. My hands brush against my mouth in hopes of them exiting from this evil world.
The purple portal swirls around viciously. Jared stands still for a second as Luvie leaps through the portal, followed by the rest of the crew and Jared jumping through last.
Chapter 24
As long as they’re safe I’ll be okay. I close my room’s door and press my back against its wood. I breathe in deep and trace the markings on my arms. My broomstick is on the bed across from me. I lock the door behind me and walk up to the bed.
I relax and control the myth within as I grab the broomstick. I press the button as the metal scrapes, growing in size. The windows rattle and the lights in my room flicker randomly. My closet doors burst open and a gust of wind pushes me against my bed. The lights zap off and my markings glow, the room is cold and my breath floats in front of me. Three ghostly figures float out from the closet and circle around the room.
“Who are you and what do you want with me?” I snap, covering my eyes and feeling the cold wind around me.
“Eliza, we mustn’t waste time.”
“Remove your hands, dear.” This voice sounds strangely familiar, I move my hands away from my face. My heart drops at the long brown hair swaying in front of me. My mother stands in the room as well as Mellissa and Lauren, my two grandparents. “How could this be? I’m without my grimoire here,” I say.
Lauren glances over at Mellissa and my mother. She steps forward, her blonde hair straight and maintained. “I’m aware of what you perceive of me, Eliza. Although this is my first time meeting you, I must say how beautiful you are.”
“You’re the one who started all of this, everything.” My words strike her hard.
“Eliza, there’s a lot you don’t know, I think it’s time to fill you in on some things.” Mom’s voice is so sweet and calms me down instantly.
“I’ve missed you so much, Mom.” She grins, walking toward me.
“I’m sorry how things turned out, and don’t you dare think it was wrong to end my pain. You helped me, sweetheart. You helped me escape your father’s cell.” My mother glanced over at Mellissa and Lauren standing behind her, watching her talk to me. Everything inside from how I felt being lied to and kept away from everything in my life unraveled throughout my veins.
Mom stepped closer. “It was my fault for not telling you the whole story about who you are, sweetheart.”
“Clearly,” I press.
“I understand that you’re mad, I wanted you to have a normal life. One where you didn’t have to worry about your father, corruption, and what I was manipulated into. This was all my fault. Had I not been so gullible with Marcus, things would be different. I wish we could go back in time.” She circles around the room. She presses her cold lips together. “Am I that bad of a mother to try and give you that normal life?”
“You’re not a bad mother, Mom, I appreciate all that you have done for me. I wish I would have known a bit earlier about who I am.” I eyed through the group. “About me being a myth and controlling it.” I thought about everything that happened to Donovan and me in Ellevil. “Maybe I could have spent those years preparing myself.”
“I created this world to seal
away all evil. Back then witches didn’t know how to kill corrupt mystics. Our only choice was to place them off somewhere.” Lauren fought for herself.
“Ravamere was never intended to be a place to live. Of course, anyone living here too long will die from the corruption in this place,” Mellissa explains. “Soon that will be you if you don’t find a way out.”
“You’ve had everyone get in your ear and now you know for certain that we aren’t the bad witches some make us out to be. Yes, I’ve had a past that was evil, but my daughter, Mellissa, and my grandchild, your mother, chose a different path.” Lauren clamped her fingers together calmly.
“So you did start the myth bloodline in our family,” I muttered.
Lauren nodded, “Some things can’t be changed.” She eyes me.
“We can’t stay for long, we’ve come to warn you not to take Christian’s hand in marriage. Do whatever you can to find the rose and snap it immediately,” Mom says.
“I tried; it won’t let me break it.”
“The shifters will know what to do,” Lauren says.
“Your father is growing weak. He won’t be able to fight back with whatever you throw at him. He’s stayed in Ravamere far too long; it’s eating him alive. I was forced by him to take Christian’s hand in marriage, he believed sealing the curse again would help cure him.” Mom glanced over at the window. “I fought against my myth and learned to control it, so I ran away and met you again.” Her eyes are tearing up, she wipes them and clears her throat. I walk over to hug my mother, but I went through her instead, she glanced down at me and grinned.
“It’s okay. I’ll always be here with you. I’m so proud of what you’ve become. Hey, you finally went short with your hair. All these years I wanted you to cut your hair,” she says, smiling lightly. I grin, wanting her to stay with me a bit longer. “You look beautiful, I know you can do this. Please watch over your brother; he likes to think he’s your lifesaver with most things.”
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