Crystal Heart

by Whitney Morris

“Maybe he just forgot,” Greg suggested. “I am sure there is a reasonable explanation. Just give him a chance to explain.”

  “No!” I yelled, throwing my arms in the air and pacing the length of the room. “You don’t just forget a tradition you do every year, and I texted him last night. Also, how do you expect me to let him explain when he won’t answer my calls? He obviously doesn’t care.”

  “I know for a fact that Matt cares about you. It has been very apparent from the moment I met him.”

  “Well, he’s got a funny way of showing it. He has been off with me ever since we came back from the magic world. In fact, it was after I woke up from sleeping all day.”

  “Did you ever think it’s me he has a problem with and not you?” Greg asked as he leant against the kitchen worktop.

  I stopped pacing. “What makes you think that?” I couldn’t think of anything Greg could have done to offend Matt. Last time I checked, they were getting along, and he was also the only person Matt hadn’t insulted on the way home.

  “It was quite obvious he didn’t like me when we met. He threatened me with fire, just like his mother.”

  I turned away from him and burst out laughing. My anger dissipated as I thought of Matt threatening Greg. The image was comical.

  “Why is that so funny?”

  I cleared my throat. “I’m sorry. It’s not funny to threaten someone. It’s just, I can’t imagine it.”

  “Really? After everything we’ve been through, you can’t imagine it? Matt was extremely worried about your safety.”

  My smile slowly faded. I looked down at the floor. Matt may have been concerned about me back then, but he wasn’t now. I just wished I knew what I had done wrong, then maybe I could fix things. I squealed as I was hit by a dust cloud of flour.

  “What the hell, Greg?”

  He shrugged at me with a smirk on his face. “Only happy faces in the kitchen, remember? It’s your rule. I’m only enforcing it.” I went to grab the bag of flour, but he picked it up before me. “You can’t retaliate. I’m not frowning at the floor like you.”

  “It doesn’t apply the other way around,” I yelled. “Now, give me the flour.” I tried to take the bag out of his hand, but he lifted it out of my reach. I had appreciated our height difference when he was helping me put up the Christmas decorations, but now, it was extremely frustrating. He was finding this way too amusing. I jumped up, trying to take the bag from him, but knocked it out of his grasp instead. I dropped to the floor to try to catch it, but I wasn’t fast enough. The bag bust as it hit the ground, sending flour flying all over the room. I slumped down on the floor. “Now, look what you’ve done.” I gestured to the mess of a kitchen.

  Greg sat beside me. “This is just as much your fault.”

  “You know what? I blame Matt. None of this would’ve happened if he had just turned up.”

  “Why is today so important? I thought the important day was tomorrow.” I wrapped my finger in a loose curl. I wasn’t sure how to answer. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

  “No, it’s fine,” I said, leaning against a cupboard. “You’re right. Tomorrow is the main day. But you see, I don’t really have any family other than my dad, and he works a lot. So, I spend a lot of time alone. Matt is like the sibling every only child wants. He’s the one that came up with all the stuff we do on Christmas Eve just so I wouldn’t spend it alone. When he didn’t show up, it hurt.”

  “I can understand that.”

  That was right. Greg’s dad was probably away from home a lot more than mine, meaning being left alone was something we had in common. However, we weren’t alone now. We had each other. I picked up a handful of flour off the floor and threw it at Greg.

  “Hey!” he yelled. “No retaliation, remember?”

  “I never agreed to that.” I gathered up another handful of flour, but before I could throw it, Greg dropped two handfuls over my head. I shrieked, throwing my handful.

  Greg laughed. “You have really bad aim.”

  “Well, maybe if I didn’t have flour in my eyes…”

  “I can help with that.” Greg leant over and wiped the flour from my face.

  I shivered and slid closer to Greg. I wanted to curl up in his lap and forget about my worries. Biting my lip, I shook my head. What was I thinking?

  Greg interlaced his fingers with mine. “Hey, are you okay?”

  I looked up at him, and our eyes met. His eyes shimmered. I really could’ve lost myself in his stare. I leant forward.

  “Mellissa.” We both jumped to our feet at the sound of my name. Victoria was in the kitchen doorway, eyebrows raised. “Do I even want to know what you two were doing?”

  I dusted myself off. “Baking mishap. What are you doing here? Wait, how did you get in? You better not have broken the door down again.”

  “You left the door unlocked this time.”

  Of course, I had left the door unlocked for Matt, but he hadn’t bothered to show up. “That still doesn’t explain why you’re here. You could’ve just called to check up on me.”

  “After I realised Matt had stood you up, I thought I’d take you to this party I’m going to. You know, to cheer you up, but I see someone already beat me to it.”

  “Oh,” I said. She nodded behind me. I turned and looked at Greg, who was also covered in flour. “Oh, no—I mean, yeah—no. Wait, what?”

  Victoria rolled her eyes. “Do you want to come to this party or what? I suppose Flopsey can come too.”

  “Okay. I’ll have to get changed,” I said, regaining my composure.

  “Of course. Go get a shower, and I’ll pick you an outfit.” I nodded. She looked Greg up and down. “It’s a fairly casual party. I assume you can sort yourself out.”

  I followed Victoria up to my room, leaving Greg to do his own thing. Victoria threw her coat onto my bed. I raised an eyebrow. “I thought this was a casual party,” I said.

  She was wearing a tight-fitting red dress with lacy sleeves. It came to the middle of her thighs, showing off her long legs.

  “It is.” She spun round. “This is my casual party dress.” Victoria went over to my wardrobe and flicked through my clothes, making faces at everything. I went into my bathroom and left her to it.

  When I returned, she’d laid a simple black dress on the bed and a pair of ankle boots. I slipped the dress on. Victoria dragged me to my desk. She spun me around in the chair while messing with my hair. She dried it and rubbed some hair lotion in. Then she braided my hair, leaving the ends free to hang over my shoulder. Spinning the chair around so I was facing her, she pulled a few curls loose to hang on the other side of my face.

  She frowned. “I suppose it will do. I can’t believe you don’t own any heels.”

  “They hurt my feet,” I said.

  “You will never get used to them if you don’t try.” Victoria grabbed her coat off my bed. “Come on. Let’s go.”

  I followed her downstairs. She shouted for Greg, and he walked out of the kitchen. He was flour-free, in a fresh pair of jeans and a dark shirt. Victoria told me where the party was—some club in town. Kit Harrington was one of the most popular guys at our school. Apparently his parents had spent a fortune renting the place out for this party of his. A party I had known nothing about until Victoria told me. My chest tightened. What if Matt was there? He was popular enough to be invited, and instead of telling me about it, he had ditched me. I shook my head. It didn’t matter if he was. I would ignore him like he’d ignored me and enjoy myself with the people that hadn’t ditched me. I took both their hands and teleported.

  Loud music blasted all around me. Flashing lights darted around the dance floor. I was probably the only one not dancing or at the bar. Instead, I sat at a table in the corner, stirring my drink. It was a cocktail of some sort that Victoria had picked. She had roped me into going to the bar earlier, as I was actually legally allowed to buy drinks, and she wasn’t. I had no idea what to get myself, so I just got two of what
she wanted. I had been back to the bar a few times on her behalf, but this was only my second drink. It was some fruity cocktail and was actually really nice, but I just wasn’t feeling it.

  Victoria, of course, was on the dance floor. It was hard to see her through the crowd, but occasionally, I would catch a glimpse of her glossy blonde hair and red dress. Greg had left me to go to the bathroom and never made it back. A group of giggling girls had him corned—the sort that always seemed to be drawn to Matt. I sure knew how to pick friends. Basically, they were all way more attractive than me and knew how to carry a conversation. At least they seemed to be having fun. I glanced over at Greg. One of the girls was stroking his arm, while another laid her hand on his shoulder. I gritted my teeth. Maybe I should just head home. This wasn’t my sort of thing. I would find Victoria and tell her thanks for bringing me, but I was going. Wouldn’t want her to realise I had left without telling her and go all crazy guardian on me. I downed my drink and got up, walking straight into Greg.

  “Hey,” he said, taking my hand. “No more sitting in the corner. Let’s dance.”

  “What?”

  He pulled me onto the dance floor, spinning me around. I looked back at the group of girls he had been talking to. They were all glaring at me. When he pulled me back to him, I wrapped my arms around his neck. Standing on my tiptoes, I whispered in his ear.

  “You’re using me to get away from those girls.”

  “They are very pushy,” he said into my ear, “and wouldn’t take no for an answer, till I told them I was here with you.”

  “So, you lied.”

  “No, I am here with you. Victoria would never have invited me if it weren’t for you.”

  “Not true.”

  He raised an eyebrow. It was completely true. Victoria only invited me because she felt sorry for me. The problem was, we didn’t really like the same sorts of things. Although, since Greg had dragged me onto the dance floor, I was having more fun. The music changed, and the crowd cheered and jumped about, separating me from Greg. I tried to make my way back to him but couldn’t. Arms flew about, and I was elbowed and shoved. I wriggled my way out of the crowd. It would be easier to stand off to the side and let him find me. Someone grabbed my wrist.

  “Greg, I—” My words caught in my throat. It wasn’t Greg. A tall, muscular man looked down at me with dark grey eyes. He had long, black hair tied in a ponytail.

  “Are you here alone?” he asked.

  “No, I’m not.” I tried to pull my wrist free, but his grip was like iron.

  He growled, dragging me out of the back.

  “Let go of me. Help!” I shouted, but no one could hear me over the loud music. I was tossed through a door and landed on wet concrete. It had been raining while we were inside. I got to my feet and ran. Someone grabbed me, throwing me to the ground. I felt a knee press into my back.

  “I know you like to play with your prey, but remember what the boss said about her powers. We don’t want her getting away.”

  I was pulled up by my hair, and then those grey eyes were staring at me again. “I suppose you’re right.”

  I shivered. “What do you want with me?”

  “Not you as such. The master wants your power, and who are we to deny that to him?”

  I threw my hands in his face, releasing light. He cried out in pain, and his grip on my hair loosened. Before I could think, the other one grabbed my arm, twisting it around behind me. He pulled my other arm, forcing my hands together. “Knock her out.”

  The big guy marched over. I’d burned his face. “With pleasure.” He drew back his fist. I shut my eyes, waiting for an explosion of pain. It never came. Instead, I felt an icy wind surround me. My arms were released, and I tumbled forward.

  “Mellissa, teleport now!” Victoria yelled, firing ice at both men. I didn’t move. I wanted to run, but my legs wouldn’t work. “Mellissa!” Victoria screamed. She spun around, shooting ice shards as one of the guys ran at me. I shook myself. I needed to get out of there, but I wasn’t going to leave Victoria behind to fight alone.

  As I went to grab her hand, I was hit hard in the side. Everything went sideways as I crashed into the ground. A woman had come out of nowhere and taken me down. I struggled on the ground under her grip. She was very strong. I could hardly move. Victoria ran toward me but was grabbed by one of the men. She spun round, freezing his arm and smashing it with a swift kick. The man yelled, clasping what was left of his arm. Victoria had her own battle to fight; I needed to get myself out of this. I tried to summon light energy, but it wasn’t working. Why hadn’t I teleported away when Victoria had said? I had been too scared to move at first, and now that fear was about to get me killed.

  An icy mist covered the area. It must’ve been Victoria’s doing. This was my chance. I teleported across the alley. It was enough to put the woman off balance. I kicked up and tried to run, but the woman moved with speed like I’d never seen before. Before I knew what was happening, I hit the pavement. With her knees across my chest and arms, she leant forward, digging her claws into my arm. I cried out in pain.

  “Quit your struggling, elf. I wouldn’t want to accidentally kill you.” She raised her hand, and her claws grew in length. I screamed as her hand came down to cut me. A burst of light struck her from the Heart Crystal around my neck. I scrambled to my feet and began to run, but she grabbed my foot, causing me to fall back down. I kicked at her with my free foot, forcing her to let go. Then I teleported out of her reach, but I didn’t go far.

  Victoria was a better fighter than me, but I couldn’t leave her there to fight three assailants on her own. However, this mist of hers didn’t make it easy to find her. Finally, I spotted Victoria in the mist and ran toward her, but something caught hold of my hair and pulled me back. It was the woman again. She dragged me toward her and smacked me into the hard pavement. A metallic taste filled my mouth as my bottom lip split open. She stamped her foot on my chest and lifted her hand to strike me again. I shut my eyes and teleported. I hit the pavement behind her and rolled up to my feet. I took a deep breath and focused on the magic within me. The woman spun around and went to slash me. Her movements were almost as quick as my teleporting. I put my hands together and released a ray of light. She went flying back. Unfortunately, she was apparently extremely strong and got up like my attack was nothing. She ran at me just as a tiger jumped out of the mist and bit down on her arm, throwing her back into the mist and out of my sight. I shuffled backward. My mouth went dry. All I could hear were roars and the occasional scream.

  The mist cleared. Victoria stood next to the tiger, surrounded by three ice statues. The tiger stepped forward and shifted into Greg. I ran into his arms, burying my face in his chest, and burst into tears. Greg clutched my shoulders and held me at arm’s length.

  “Are you hurt?” he asked. I shook my head. He wiped my tears and looked me up and down. He put his finger on my cut lip. I winced. “Don’t worry. It’s easily healed.”

  “We need to get out of here,” Victoria said. “I don’t know how long they’ll stay frozen.”

  “Who—what are they?”

  “Leprechauns. Now, we have to go.” She took my hand.

  Holding tightly to her and Greg, I teleported.

  Gregory

  They sat around the kitchen table back at Mellissa’s. Greg had healed the cut on her lip and the scratches on her arm. Other than that, she hadn’t suffered any other injuries. Mellissa slowly sipped the cup of tea he’d made her. Greg’s own drink remained untouched, and Victoria had turned hers to ice in silent anger.

  “What were those leprechauns doing on this side of the veil?” snapped Victoria, breaking the silence.

  “I don’t know,” Greg replied. “Their magic wasn’t that strong. They were more brute strength than anything. They shouldn’t have been able to cross.”

  “And why attack now? They have been living on the edge of society without a peep for years now.”

  “Yes, but there were
no elves around to direct their hate toward.”

  “What have the elves ever done to them?”

  “Nothing. It’s our people that pushed them to the edge of society, the original council who refused them representation and brought about their poverty.”

  Victoria threw her arm to the side. “Exactly.”

  “But Freya sealing Kadon and her death created a power void. A void that our ancestors filled by forming the council. If it wasn’t for Freya’s actions the council wouldn’t exist.”

  “Freya did what was right. Kadon would have destroyed the world,” Victoria said. “And by what you have said, they should hate all magical beings except the elves. None of this has anything to do with Mellissa.”

  “I know none of it has anything to do with her, but it’s about what she represents.”

  “And what’s that, peace and love?”

  “The person who got rid of the last great ruler who demanded respect for the leprechauns.”

  Victoria gagged. “Kadon, a great ruler? You have got to be kidding me. He was a monster.”

  “I know that, and you know that, but you have to account for other biases and tunnel vision.”

  “I do not! I will go find this group of leprechauns and crush them.”

  Greg rubbed his chin. “I don’t understand how they could cross the veil with such low levels of magic.”

  “Maybe it was their master.” Mellissa’s voice sounded like a squeak.

  They both turned to look at her. “What master?” asked Victoria.

  “The leprechauns said something about their master wanting my power. It’s why they wanted me alive. Otherwise—” She dropped her head.

  “This complicates things,” Greg said. “This isn’t a simple hate crime anymore. Whoever this master is, he has to be strong to bring others through the veil with him.”

  “But if he is so strong, why didn’t he just come for Mellissa himself?” asked Victoria.

  “I don’t know. I need to talk to the council.”

  Greg got up to leave, but Mellissa grabbed his hand. She looked up at him, her big eyes full of fear. Greg sat back down. “We can all talk to the council.” He clicked his fingers and summoned his communis. He placed the small disc in the centre of the table and waved his hand over it while thinking of Lady Gabrielle. She answered after the first ring.