“Hey, where did the girl go?” one elf calls.
“She was just over there on the ground. Go find her before Christian gets here.”
“That’s impossible! The forest was supposed to knock her out completely. How did a witch like her last that long in the woods?”
“Handle this witch before he kills us all.” Footsteps rustle the foliage near the tree I am hiding behind. My hair catches on the bark, and I pull the tresses over my shoulders. The elf steps beside me and doesn’t look in my direction. I wrap my fingers around his neck and he shoves me against the tree, smiling down at me with his glowing green eyes.
“Hey, what was that noise?”
I jab my elbow into his throat and then smash his head into the bark of the tree. I grab his neck from behind, searching the ground for something to use to stab his heart. I hear footsteps headed in my direction. There’s another click from Donovan’s broomstick, and the elf he’s about to kill gurgles in pain. After a loud poof, the green mist from the dead elf floats in my direction. The elf that is about to walk around the tree is pulled back by a metal whip. I step to my side to see Donovan kill the elf. He tosses me his broomstick, and I press the button, morphing it into a light purple dagger. I kick over the elf I am attempting to kill and fall down on his chest, stabbing the tip of the sword into his heart. He vanishes into green mist.
I collect myself and toss Donovan back his broomstick. “Where’s my gift?”
“Don’t worry, it’ll come soon enough.” He walks over and hugs me. “Don’t get happy. I’m glad you’re safe, newbie.”
I lean into his chest, hearing him breathe. “What happened to me?”
“I’m not sure. I don’t know why I’d be so afraid I’d lose you. You’re a dumb rookie and you get into these situations all the time. I don’t know why you keep forcing me to come after you.”
“Because every once in a while you need a thrill,” I say.
He tightens his arms around me.
“I’m fine now, Donovan.”
“Rose, why did you come into this forest? Don’t you see how it looks?”
This is the first time I’m happy to see him here, to feel him hugging me. We’ve been through so much in such little time. He’s the only piece to my puzzle that isn’t missing like the rest are. I don’t know how I’ll react if I lose him too. I can’t lose Donovan, no matter how much of a jerk he is to me. We’re the same; he’s a piece of home and serenity.
“I guess you can call it curiosity.”
“In a place like this with each mystic ready to kill the two witches in their home?”
I look up at his scruffy chin. “Won’t happen again.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“That’s fine too.”
We step into a field of emerald green, and I inhale the crisp air and spread out my arms, laughing. Donovan twists me around and leans down, brushing his eyelashes against mine. Realizing we’re a bit too close, I step back and look behind him at the old forest, where the rust brown stops right at the edge of the entrance.
“We still have to meet up with Emily,” I say to him.
“Behave.”
“No promises.”
“I swear you’re gonna get yourself kicked out of this place.”
“Let’s hope they don’t find out we killed mystics here.”
“Aye…you all right?” Donovan mutters.
Snapping out of the memory, I clear my throat. He walks down the hill, and I follow. We aren’t too far from the Ellevil castle. There’s a long field we have to cross to reach it. Donovan takes my hand. Donovan’s tight green elf leggings make him look awkward and uncomfortable. I cover my mouth to keep from bursting out laughing. He looks over at me sternly and walks down the steep hill.
Why would Emily lead us into Ellevil if everyone here hates witches? This only makes us feel even more awkward, not to mention all the tension lurking in the air and freakishly green eyes gleaming from every which way. None of this makes any sense at all, although I can understand why a mystic, good or bad, would hate my kind.
Because we killed theirs.
I brush Donovan’s shoulder and he glares at me like he always does. I shrug it off like I’ve always done; our relationship is like this. Donovan taps his broomstick next to the tree we’re standing by. I can tell he is deep in thought.
“How did you know about Eric’s plan?” I ask.
Donovan stops tapping his broomstick on the bark behind him, not looking at me. “I…knew, okay?”
“There’s something you’re not telling me.”
“You don’t need to know everything. Why can’t you mind your own business?” he says through clenched teeth.
How am I ever to trust him if I know he’s keeping things from me? I cross my hands over my chest, waiting for him to come up with some moronic lie. “Your brother tried killing me. That definitely makes it my business.”
“I suppose you two were about to bicker?” someone says.
I hate this voice so much; I know exactly who it is. Emily glares at us, and a short elf girl with chocolate brown hair holding a bow stands in front of us confidently.
Emily rolls her eyes and walks by us, standing in front of the forest. Her little friend goes to sit on a big rock. Emily glances at the girl on the rock.
“Let’s play a game,” Emily says.
“I thought you were training us?” Donovan spits.
“Don’t talk to me.”
“Then what’s the point of us being here?” I question.
“I say we play tag,” the girl suggests. “It’ll be fun.”
“Ahh, nice idea, Carissa,” Emily says, unhooking her weapons from the straps on her thighs and throwing them on the ground. Carissa does the same.
“What the hell? You want us to play tag? How is that training us?” Donovan demands.
I agree with him, not to mention I think I’ve had enough time exploring the forest. It’s pretty creepy around here in the home of elves.
“How long do you think they’ll last before surrendering?” Emily asks.
Carissa laughs. “I’d give them about a minute or two.”
Emily glances at us, an evil smirk spreading across her face.
“Hey! Are you going to tell us what’s going on?” Donovan asks impatiently, gripping his broomstick.
I can tell he is afraid and wonder why he lets Emily get to him so easily. I figure this game of tag won’t be what I think it’ll be.
“You feel his emotions?” Emily giggles to Carissa. “He’s afraid.”
A group of elves comes to stand near us. “Oh come on, witch, you kill corrupt mystics all the time. I’m sure a fun little game like tag won’t hurt you a bit,” Emily mocks.
“We heard you guys were gonna play tag!” a male elf yells out to us.
“Yeah, but it’s only for these two pathetics.” The group of elves chuckles among themselves, and I glare furiously at Emily.
Donovan clenches his fists tightly, his jaws tight with anger. The huddled elves make way for someone to walk through, and I see Christian emerging through the group, standing still on the hill looking at me, his eyes worried. He and I stare at one another for a minute. He knows I want to get back at him for hallucinating me into thinking his treehouse was built by him.
Although I do wonder why he would stay out there in the forbidden forest. Are the elf bullies really too much to for him to handle? I don’t want to find out.
Emily’s laughter fades away, seeing him gaze down at us. She crosses her arms over her chest, a burst of red blush flashes on her face, and she goes to stand in front of Donovan. Their height difference is pretty clear, and Donovan completely leans over Emily as she glares up at him.
“The rules are simple,” she says, glancing at me and at the group behind us. “You chase me, you tag me, you win. You can do whatever you need to do to catch me.”
“Anything?” I say.
“Anything. And I will do the same for you to
not catch me.” She eyes Donovan, gripping his broomstick. “No weapons allowed.”
“Bullshit!” he yells. “This is a plot to kill us!”
“Hun, if I wanted you dead, I’d kill you myself and definitely wouldn’t use a game to do so.” She narrows her slanted eyes. “Drop ‘em.”
I place my hand on Donovan’s arm to calm him down, and his eyes dart toward me angrily.
“Donovan, I think she’s trying to help.”
I don’t want to believe Emily. Her emotions and actions are definitely suspicious. But she, in fact, is trying to help us learn, with a twisted method of doing so. Donovan’s breathing becomes normal.
“Where are we playing this stupid game? Here on the field?” Donovan asks.
“No, idiot, in the forest.”
I hold onto Donovan’s hand in case he might lash out at Emily and cause a battle right here. He glances down at me and clenches his fingers around mine.
“It’s okay,” I mutter.
There’s a reason why he’d get furious again; elves are hard to kill in the forest. My first thought is the portal, and that is the reason why they’d run into the forest. It makes me rethink my assumption when Emily suggested we play tag in the woods. Donovan tightens his grip. Tag shouldn’t be that hard anyway; it’s a child’s game.
“What does this game have to do with us training?”
“It builds your endurance and strategic improvisation,” she explains. “I’m sure you two will be fine. It’s only little ole me.” Carissa giggles in the background, and before we know it, Emily’s hazel green eyes are glowing in front of us. She slaps the side of my arm.
“Tag. You’re it.”
Chapter 6
Emily sprang into the air, kicking me onto the ground and dashing into the woods. Christian pushes his way through the crowded bunch, helping me up. I jerk my arm away from him, glaring up at him.
“Don’t touch me.” I don’t know why he’d think touching me is all right after abandoning me in a forbidden forest with corrupt mystics. If trust is what he wants from me, it is far gone by now.
“I can explain why I brought you there.”
To kill me, to do something others fear. Strange enough, that little part comes back to my memory. He is in my mind, twisting and pulling different kinds of illusions, making me believe anything he is saying to me. I don’t know his game, but I’m sure of the reason why he’s a favorite here and why others are jealous of him. He can do things others can’t.
“You guys better get her before it becomes hide and go seek,” Carissa says.
Donovan jogs toward the forest, stopping to look back at me. Christian’s sweet scent wafts into my nostrils.
No, I will not be pulled into his manipulation again.
“She’s fast. Don’t chase behind her, and you should surrender if she climbs a tree,” Christian says to me. Walking away back into the crowd of elves, he is shoved around by the group of guys.
“Go back to your rotten forest,” one of the elves spits at him.
“Rose!” Donovan yells for me.
I walk to Don and take one last glance behind me. Christian is gone. Carissa skips toward the group of elves with her bow in her hands, nudges her friends whispering in their huddle. She looks up at me, feigns shooting my face, and laughs, flicking her blonde hair from in front of her eyes.
Christian says he doesn’t fit in here that much. Why did he have a gang in the forest we were forced to kill? If he is the leader of this group, you'd think he'd be less of a pushover. If we didn’t kill them off we’d be left for dead. Were they going to keep me alive and then kill off Donovan?
“Do not underestimate an elf,” I remember. “Exceptionally agile, quick reflexes, and excellent hand-eye coordination make them deadly fighters. Never follow one into a forest; you might regret your decision.”
Yeah, and my ancestors are forgetting how persuasive and what extreme illusionists they are. I shrug off the memory.
We enter the woods, and I fling the little branches away from my face so that I can see clearly what is in front of me. To my surprise, Emily is waiting for us. Holding out her index finger, she motions for us to chase her, then takes off running through the thick bushes and trees.
Donovan sprints by me. He’s fast, though not swift enough to handle an elf like her.
Everything around me is slowing down. I’m seeing leaves move lightly with the wind; I’m a tiny blur in the woods. My green markings are starting to feel alive again but aren’t fully awake; they’re not freezing my skin.
I run after him, stumbling over a large tree root. Donovan and Emily are a speckled image in front of me. Branches crack from above us, and I notice the green and pink leaves glittering. I place the palm of my hand on the bark. This time it lights up within its cracks.
I hear rustling leaves and dirt crunching. The woods are whispering to me. I gasp. I know where Emily is.
I run forward, diving into the bushes and leafy plants in front of me, racing after Donovan.
My body vibrates with each step I take, and my wet boots sink into the mud. My thigh muscles and calves contract from the vigorous movement. Breathing is too easy. I enjoy the cold, crisp air in my lungs. I lift my arm, seeing green light bouncing off my face from my new tattoos. I stop and hug a tree, resisting the urge to fall onto the ground. The pain doesn’t feel as fiery as the night I got them. This time it is freezing. I can practically feel the frost generating on my skin, tickling up to the edge of my wrist—and then stopping. I can’t freak out like I want to. Emily is in this forest taunting us and I’ve lost sight of Donovan. We’re supposed to be working together, hunting down this mystic. I breathe in deeply, focused solely on finding Emily. Donovan and I are it, and we have to get her to win the game. I pick up my pace again, feeling a sharp jolt punch through my body, forcing me against a tree.
Twigs and dark green vines slither around my ankles and thighs, snaking up to my neck, choking me. The wind becomes stronger and the scent of mint travels into my nostrils. One sharp twig hovers in between my eyes, ready to puncture me at any deadly second.
Emily is standing not too far away from me, her fingers splayed out to where I’m held captive by her vines, and her eyes are beaming vibrantly. She loses interest in hurting me, her face filling with worry. I can sense her emotions flooding out of her body, shifting rapidly, as she twirls around to find Donovan rushing through the bushes for her.
He kicks Emily against a tree and then rushes over to grapple her neck roughly, holding the elf up against the rough bark. She chuckles to herself, snarling and flashing her teeth at the witch before her, her eyes glowing their forest green.
“You’ll never win,” she sneers.
The dirt circles around Donovan, and a root flicks him away. Emily is released from his grip, dropping to the ground on her feet, her blonde hair floating behind her.
She takes off running, glancing back at me over her shoulder and blowing a cocky kiss. I rip the weeds and vines from my arms and run after my opponent. She’s unaware that I am by her side, and I’m shocked at how fast I’ve reached her. We’re both blurred images in the woods; she’s next to me running. Luckily the plants keep me hidden.
Surprising my enemy from a bunched up group of ferns, I leap out, grappling her slim waist. We hit the dirt, and she forces my head down into the ground.
I roll to my side and lash out, punching her across the forest floor. The adrenaline rush is exhilarating. She gets up, circling around me.
“You think you’re going to win this game?”
“Whatever I have to do to stop you,” I say with a glare.
“You’re trying to impress Christian, yeah?” She bends down to pick up a broken branch. “He doesn’t like you. It’s all a game, witch.”
“I can care less if he likes me or not.”
Her boots crack a branch on the ground. “Is that so? How was the treehouse? You aren’t the first he’s taken there.” Maybe that’s an elf thing; playing
mind games is what they do best.
Donovan warned me about this; I didn’t listen.
“If you’re going to let an elf trick and play with your heart like this, you’ll never survive in Rav.” She flips around, swiftly climbing up the tree behind her.
I remember what Christian said about her getting on a tree, and I dart after her. I grab on to one of her legs, pulling her back down. She twirls her legs in the air while she’s on her back, causing me to fall, but I land on the dirt in push-up position. She kicks me across the scattered leaves and twigs.
“Still pathetic.” She swipes her thighs, allowing the foliage to come alive, holding me in place.
Donovan finally reaches us, panting and struggling for air.
“Coming to get me, lover boy?” She blows another kiss, flipping away and vanishing.
Donovan’s rushes toward me, completely angered.
“Get it together, Rose,” he snaps, leaning down to help me up.
“I’m trying, okay!” I’m so on the urge of punching him next; this isn’t a normal child game.
“You’re not trying hard enough.”
We hear giggles through the bushes Emily ran through. Two birds fly through the leaves on the trees and a squirrel scurries across the ground. These sounds are driving me crazy. A branch breaks behind us, but I don’t think Donovan is aware of the snap. I turn my head to my side. I know Emily’s still in this forest and it’s like I can track her steps.
A pink leaf flutters down, and Donovan steps forward but I tug on his arm, pulling him back to face me.
“What if we cut her off?” I suggest. “Trap her.”
Really what else can we do? She has powers, and she’s fast, not to mention her flexibility’s pretty incredible.
He leans in closer toward me with his icy blue eyes staring down my neck. Time is of the essence, and soon it will be dark. I can already start to see my breath in front of me; it’s becoming awfully cold in Ellevil. I walk next to a tree, placing my hand on its bark. It glows up light pink, tracing up to the ends of the tree’s leaves. I glance up and see Donovan is completely puzzled.
Mythical (The Mystical Series Book 2) Page 6