The special moments of old normal memories and from when I didn’t know I was a mystical assassin is what I miss the most. Donovan walking next me holding my hand. We’ve gotten used to the burn we feel, although I believe it’s because he’s killed my brother. Maybe it’s the link between whatever we have? The sweet scent of the city returns to me, the dry atmosphere, and the rush of cars shooting by on the road. It’s not much but it’s home. The moon is shining in the sky with three neighboring stars glimmering. I know I need to get to the forest again, I need to force a projection, I need to force the truth.
We’re in the middle of the city, on a sidewalk walking down into the buzzing crowd. There’s an old dark alley we get lost inside, stairs leading up to the roof. Soon after, I’m overlooking the tower lights and city sounds from above.
“So tell me about this myth ability the Shade members were talking about,” Donovan asks me.
My hair whips in front of my face from a gust of wind. “It’s an adrenaline rush I’m getting addicted to, my mind leaves my body and I’m finally at peace,” I say, walking close to the edge. I rub the ends of my fingers on the cement in front of me. “No worries and no fear, apparently it’s called projecting. Astral projection. I can’t do it by myself, I have to touch something or a powerful memory has to overcome me.” I turn around, he’s interested.
“Maybe some more information about the ability is in your grimoire?”
“I haven’t thought about that yet.” I grin up at him. “Last time I saw it, it was in Ellevil with me. It’s probably burned down now.” I shrug and sit on the edge of the rooftop. “My family is so screwed up.” Shaking my head, I sigh.
Donovan looks at me oddly.
“Didn’t you hear what Charlotte and Audrey said? Mellissa and Lauren created Ravamere.”
“I heard they created it for a place to throw corrupt mystics in. Oh, I also heard that your mother, Grace is the founder of the Shade. Did you know that it’s a place to cure corruption? How can you say your family is screwed up?” He tucks his hands into his pockets and chuckles. “Sounds like they’re hidden heroes in our magical society.”
“My father is—well was—the King of Corruption. He took over Ravamere. He used my mother to make me. Only so that he could have a myth by his side. Have you forgotten what a myth is, Donovan?” He pressed his lips and sat next to me.
“I know that you’re a fighter, you weren’t going down with him. I know that even with the lack of information in this world you had no idea existed, you survived. You were strong enough to find out things on your own. Rose, you took bottles of salt, a dagger, and ran into the city, which, I’m sorry if you’ve forgotten, is full of mystics.” He wraps his hand around mine and rubs my skin. “You’re exactly what a witch is meant to be. You’re fearless and you get the job done, whatever it takes. Your father was deep into corruption. He used your mother to get what he wanted. None of this is your fault.”
I admit that Donovan’s right. He pulls out his broomstick and I pull out mine, the scrape of the metal enlarging the weapon. His silver sword slides out and so does my purple one. “I’m never going to do what I did to Jared to you. Nothing about me is ever going to change. Nothing we have is ever going to change. I’m always going to be here to save you.”
“I know,” I say, pressing my broomstick off.
“Tonight and forever I’m Donovan without the Verel in my name.”
“You’re leaving the brotherhood?” I breathe in.
“I’ve seen what they’ve done and know they’re nothing but bad news. I’m leaving them for you, my rose. I was never meant to be what they represent.” Donovan pulls me in and cups my face with his warm hands. He kisses me. I savor the moment as we gaze down at the city. I don’t know if I’m ready for tomorrow, but I’m always ready for an adventure.
***
Rissa is in wolf form; she’s panting and walking among the crowd. Donovan stands next to me. There’s Alice the Shade leader, Charlotte and Audrey the elves, Aeron the fairy, and Jax the mermaid. They’re all here to help me fight back against Christian. They believe there’s some sort of war coming…am I ready for it, though? We walk down the alley next to the Mystique café. There’s a hole entrance down the path. The dark ghostly figure who haunts this path isn’t here. I follow the group into the hole. We’re greeted by the Shade nurses and doctors. They soon buzz by all of us, in a hurry to assist their patients. The glossy floor reflects my image, my hair is its original auburn color.
“Alice, we’re swamped out there in the city,” a mermaid doctor panics. “There’s not enough witches to cover all of the populated areas. There’s an increase in corrupt mystics and people are talking, we can’t keep hidden forever—think about what could happen—the…th—”
“Calm down. I’ve asked for some help from the south; they’ll be here soon,” Alice says. “This is a list of information they’ll need once they get here. Can I count on you to lead this place while we’re gone?” She eyes the group of nurses and doctors, some sigh in distress and walk into the darkness of the building.
“Zion, I need the lab tests from room 101 immediately, and get the fairy dust ready to wipe the patient’s memory as soon as she wakes.” The doctor looks up at Alice. “I’m getting tired of saving everyone’s life around here with no help.” He snatches the paper from Alice and walks away with his crew down the Shade hallway.
“Well, that went great,” Alice mutters.
“I’d say he’s about ready to quit,” Jax says with a chuckle.
“That’s the thing, though, you don’t quit your life. You either go corrupt or waste away,” Aeron says. I glance at him fluttering his wings. Clearing my throat, I wait for Alice or anyone to talk about the plan we’re trying to develop. Rissa changes into her human form. She holds the rare rose that links Christian and me. She tucks it away in her pouch, eyeing me carefully. The group is aware of Donovan being here with me, but they aren’t happy about it. Who would be happy to be around a Verel witch, someone who kills both innocent mystics and witches?
“He’s different. He’s not affiliated with the Verel,” I say.
“We’ll see about that,” Alice grunts.
“Look, we don’t have all the time in the world, we need to get to Serevil and figure out how we can stop all of this.” Rissa waves her hands around, flustered.
“While we’re standing around, Christian is plotting,” Donovan says. “I want Rose to be safe and free from him.”
“So you can take over Ravamere, and unite with your father?” Alice snaps back at him. “Cut the bullshit.”
“That’s not what I’m here for. Out of all the times I’ve been with Rose, I have not tried to kill her. If anything, she’s tried to kill me,” he says. I nudge him and roll my eyes.
“Would you guys stop it? Donovan isn’t going anywhere. He’s coming with us to Serevil,” I say, gripping his hand. The door from behind the group creaks open, a scratched up Luvie trudges into the large hallway. Her bat swoops in and lands on her shoulder.
“Luvie!” Rissa runs over to catch her from falling to the ground. “We need to get her to a room, right now.” Rissa glares up at Alice. The group gets Luvie to walk into a nearby room with the help of two fairy nurses. All I can smell is dried blood, and I hear gurgling as Luvie struggles to breathe. The room is cold and Luvie’s eyes slowly roll back into her head, her markings glowing vibrantly. The mermaid doctor rushes in with another nurse.
“Favian, what’s going on with her?” Rissa shouts, afraid. The fairies move her aside and place two monitor leads on her chest.
“Hold her in place, we’re going to need to wipe her memories,” Favian says calmly. The nurses hold Luvie’s arm as they try to maintain their patient. They prepare to insert the IV, their eyes glowing different colors. Rissa moves forward, but a fairy swipes her hand in the air as a gust of colorful wind pushes her back.
“It’s hard when she’s shaking this much, Favian. We’re going to need mist
!” the nurse shouts. One of the fairies moves us out of the room.
“I need to be inside. Is Luvie going to be okay? What are you doing to her?” Rissa cries out. The fairy shuts the door and locks it. We wait out in the hallway, witnessing what’s going on from the clear window.
Favian moves his hand around Luvie’s body as light blue sprinkles of water rain on her. Luvie stops shaking and her eyes fall back into place. The fairies get their IV inserted immediately, and black liquid slides up the clear tube.
“What the hell?” I say.
“It’s corruption,” Alice explains. “Luvie must’ve been outnumbered in her section of the city.”
She risked going corrupt to help save the city and its people. The fact that she was out there and there weren’t enough witches in the city to help protect everyone is sickening, I’m becoming empty inside. I watch Favian sprinkle colorful dust on Luvie’s face. He shakes his head. The nurses fix Luvie’s shirt and remove her broomstick from her belt, placing it on a counter in her room.
“What did they do to her?” I ask.
“She was scratched up by corrupt mystics. They needed to clear the corruption from her body and wipe her memories completely.”
“Why wipe her memories? They’re the most powerful thing a human can possess…” my voice trails off.
“If we don’t wipe the memories of infected patients, they’ll remember the darkness they’ve felt inside and end up craving it until they eventually go corrupt themselves.”
“This is so crazy,” I say.
“Our life is crazy, Eliza. Did you think your life would be normal? You’re a witch, so it comes with the job. This is what we do. I hope you understand that it doesn’t matter if you’re myth or not, maybe you can use that to help your city.” Alice walks away, and the group follows her down the hallway.
“I’m not leaving Luvie here alone. She was the only one who understood the reason why I was sent to Ravamere. She was there for me when no one else was. I can’t leave her here, she’s so vulnerable,” Rissa mumbles.
“Now you understand why I can’t leave Donovan.” Everyone turns around to look at me.
“Rissa, we’re going to need the rose. You can stay,” Alice says.
Rissa steps forward but stops to take a deep breath. She looks back at the room Luvie’s in.
“No, I need to go with you guys.” She places the palm of her hand on the window to Luvie’s room. Her bat is on the edge of her bed. “Without me, you won’t know how to get to Serevil.” She turns around, wiping her face, and walks through the crowd. “Follow me,” she mutters, her red hair whips through the air, and her white shifter markings glow on her tan skin.
I narrow my eyes at Luvie sleeping lifelessly in her bed. I turn and follow the group out of the Shade. We walk through the alley. I glance up at the roofs of several towers around us. Mystics are standing, watching with their hands in their pockets. Some hop off and walk away calmly on the rooftop.
“Those were Luvie’s attackers,” Audrey says from behind.
“They’re going to ambush us,” Charlotte mentions.
“Okay, well, the portal to the mountains is a few blocks down the street.” I step forward, taking out my broomstick. There’re random people walking around the city, some could be mystical and some are normal, innocent citizens. They look up at me, holding my weapon.
“Eliza, put away your broomstick.”
“And what? Be open to any kind of attack in this city? Hell no. Now lead the way, Rissa. We don’t have much time.”
“Eliza?” Alice says.
“What? It comes with the job.”
Rissa stops, looks at Alice for assurance. She nods and clears her throat. Aeron’s wings fade away. He fixes his jean jacket and walks down the street normally. My broomstick isn’t turned on or anything, I’m going to have it out for security reasons. The mystics we noticed on the roofs were dressed in ragged black clothes. We have Audrey and Charlotte to warn us if they’re nearby closing in on us.
“Okay, can we get going?” Rissa asks sarcastically.
We rush through the crowded streets, avoiding parked cars and random innocents walking around. We end up going down a few blocks. I swear Rissa doesn’t know where she’s going. I have to remind myself that she’s a wolf, and of course she knows where she’s going, not to mention she’s way faster than all of us combined.
“Your left side, Eliza. It’s a mermaid,” Audrey warns me. I walk calmly on the sidewalk, the mermaid appears from the crowd and smirks at me. She moves her mouth and I’m tempted to find out what she’s singing. I snap out of the temptation and keep going until she gets closer. Rissa and the group keep walking to their destination.
When no one is around to witness anything, the mermaid gets right behind me; I elbow her throat. I press my broomstick, forming it into a sharp dagger; I then stab her stomach as she falls to the ground. She glares up at me, morphing herself into a puddle of glittering water.
The rest of the mystics are approaching. I glance up at my group, who are now running. I catch up to them. “They’re behind us, Rissa, how much longer?” I ask.
“It’s around this corner. You wouldn’t be able to enter the kingdom if you hadn’t brought me with you.”
“Obviously.” Jax laughs. “All kingdoms have their unique ways of appearing or entering.”
“Exactly, which is why the shifter kingdom is in a strip club.”
“A what?”
Aeron and Jax laugh, I glare at Donovan. “Don’t you even think about looking at anyone in the club.” He grins down at me. I roll my eyes as we reach the corner, above us are the neon signs to the club. Rissa’s eyes glow yellow, there’s a guard at the door. She raises her arm to show him her markings. He nods at her. “These are my friends, we’re here for Akamu.” Rissa rolls her tongue with the name. I turn, uneasy that we might be watched. The mystics stand at the end of the street. The guard looks over to them and shakes his head at Rissa.
“You bringing trouble over here?”
“Nah, they’re following us. They want what we have,” Rissa says.
“What’s that?” he asks.
“A rose that’s been linked to a mythical witch.” She beams her eyes off and stares him down. The guard clears his throat, glancing down he notices Rissa moving around her pouch, showing him proof of the rose. His eyes widen, but he maintains his calm. He steps to the side, unlocking the door.
“Quickly everyone,” Rissa says, motioning us to enter.
The guard sees the mystics heading toward the club. He shifts into a black panther and growls heavily at them all. He steps forward, his eyes sharp and yellow, his ears tucked back. The mystics move back into the crowd as a random witch appears to chase them down a dark alley with their broomstick in hand.
Chapter 29
“Eliza, get inside,” Rissa hisses.
The doors slam shut, causing an echo to ring in my ears as our group hurries toward the underground bass. Our markings light up the path down toward the club. “There’s one thing you guys should know about the club, it’s the entrance into the kingdom.” She turns around and stops everyone. “Don’t look into any of the dancers’ eyes. They’re not masters of persuasion like an elf, they can’t numb your emotions like a fairy, or force you to fall in love with them like a mermaid. Shifters are animals, they will do anything and everything to get your attention and then feast on you.” Rissa’s eyes glow yellow as she warns us.
“I’m sure it can’t be that hard to not pay them any attention,” Donovan says.
“You’ve been warned,” Rissa says. “Follow me through so you can make it out safely.”
I’ve never had the chance to face a shifter. The only shifters I’ve fought were Stacy and David and Shanel, but they weren’t as hard or dangerous as Rissa explained. Donovan gives me a quick glance. Rissa wraps her hand around the door’s handle and enters the club.
Inside, there in front of us, are several golden poles. Switching toward
them were three guys, wearing tight black leather shorts. On their backs are glowing scratched markings. They wrap their arms on the poles and twirl around, swaying their hips, dancing to the music. One of the guys watches me, but I turn away and focus on something else.
“They’re all guys?” Jax and Aeron gasp.
“Don’t look so disappointed.” Alice chuckles.
Charlotte and Audrey held on to one another and keep their eyes low, following Rissa through the crowd. Sitting in chairs are girls getting lap dances from the strippers. A hissing vibe waves through the room.
The music drops its bass slowly, the guys on the stage drop to their knees. One shifter with narrowed eyes and a sharp jawline as if he came from the far east, slides out his tongue and licks his lips, tensing his chest muscles.
His golden skin gleams under the shifting lights above him. His eyes, glowing yellow, watch my every move. His energy is gripping, the movements on stage are flexible like snakes, his arms and legs coiled on the pole with veins outlining his skin. The shifter slithers through the room, following each and every one of my steps.
“Rose, you remember what Rissa said.” Donovan appears by my side, holding on to my waist.
“I know, but their moves are so hypnotizing. It’s strange, it’s like they’re all three of the mystics combined.”
Rissa smiles at a few dancers and places her hand on their chests, pushing them away gently. She twirls her hair around her fingers and circles around, avoiding them; it’s second nature to her. Donovan presses against my back. “Okay, I get it, Donovan, we need to follow Rissa.” I find his hand on my waist and grip his wrist, but he turns me around. Looking down at me are yellow eyes. The shifter who watched me on stage is on the floor, grinding on me.
Magical (Mystical Series Book 3) Page 19