Crystal Heart

by Whitney Morris

  “Mellissa!”

  The sound of my dad’s shouting from downstairs killed the moment and panic set in.

  Gregory

  Greg walked down the street, hands in pockets. His head was spinning. It was still early morning. The streets were empty, except for the occasional person walking a dog and the odd car. The sun hadn’t fully risen yet, and there was a slight chill in the air, but it was nothing compared to the coldness back home. He just needed some fresh air and some time to think. Even after spending all night going over what happened, he still wasn’t sure what to make of it.

  It had been completely unexpected. Mellissa had kissed him so suddenly. He shouldn’t have let that happen. It wasn’t proper. He was meant to be teaching her magic and preparing her to become queen. That was all; there shouldn’t be anything else. She was just upset. That was it. He had just been reassuring her and that was why it happened. She had just needed that human contact to feel better. Nothing else to it.

  Then why hadn’t he stopped it sooner? Greg shook his head. This wasn’t the time for that. There was a reason he had left so early.

  Greg stopped under a tree and looked around. This should be a good spot. It was quiet, and there was no one around to see him. He pulled a pair of earphones out of his pocket. Apparently, these tiny things could be used to listen to music, but more importantly, they belonged to Matt. A lot of things Mellissa and Victoria had been saying about Matt recently had bothered him, so Greg had come up with a plan. From his other pocket, he pulled out a small glass bottle. To those that didn’t know any better, they would have thought it was simply a bottle of sand, but it was more than that. Greg popped open the bottle and sprinkled its contents over the earphones.

  “Lost item, find your way back to the one you belong,” whispered Greg. The earphones began to glow and hovered above his hand. He watched them, waiting to see which direction they would lead him in. Matt’s odd behaviour was the cause of a lot of Mellissa’s self-doubt and worry. Finding out what was going on with him could solve a few things. However, the earphones didn’t appear to be going anywhere. Greg frowned. It didn’t usually take this long for the spell to work. The glow slowly disappeared, and the earphones dropped back down into his hand. Greg repeated the process. The same thing happened again. Why wasn’t this working? Greg clenched his fist to stop himself from throwing the earphones.

  Greg leant against the tree. The spell should have worked. He needed it to work. It was the only way he could think to help Mellissa. She wouldn’t be feeling so insecure if Matt would just do his duty as her guardian. Where had he disappeared to? He didn’t even seem like the same person anymore. Greg ruffled his hair. It wasn’t him it was bothering, it was Mellissa, and she was the only reason he cared about Matt.

  Solving the mystery of why Matt wasn’t around wouldn’t solve the problem he and Mellissa had. He had gotten too close to her and lines had been crossed. But was it even really a problem? Of course it was. The council would frown upon it. He had overstepped. She was the heir to the elf thrown. She was someone important. He was just the son of an elder knight. He had convinced himself he cared about Mellissa’s safety the same way Victoria did but that had never been true. His feelings toward her had been growing gradually, he hadn’t noticed the change at first. She was like no one he had ever met before. She made him laugh; she was quirky and fun to be around. But he had pushed all his feelings down as he wasn’t meant to fall for her. She had been right when she said his duty came first. He had been putting his duty first, but that was before she kissed him. When she kissed him, it was like that all went out the window. He had just instinctively kissed her back, but then it had turned into something more. It had just felt right. If her dad hadn’t come back when he did, snapping them back into reality. She had quickly teleported downstairs, acting like they had been in different rooms the whole time. He shook his head. Now wasn’t the time to be thinking about this. He needed to figure out why this spell wasn’t working.

  Greg held the earphones in front of him. Maybe he had been mistaken in thinking these where Matt’s. Even if that was so, the spell should have led him back to Mellissa. Dread filled Greg’s body. There was one other reason a tracking spell wouldn’t work—if the owner was deceased. Matt had to be alive. Victoria had seen him before he had wandered off. Greg put the items back in his pocket and started running. He ran up the pathway to a house with a red door. He hoped he had the right place. All these houses looked the same, and he had never been here without Mellissa. He knocked on the door.

  Mrs. Street answered. Her hand shot to her cheek. “Oh, it’s you. Where’s Mellissa?” She bit her thumbnail and looked behind him.

  “She’s still at home behind a bunch of protection spells. I’m here to see Victoria. Is she in?”

  “Oh.” Her forehead creased as she frowned. “I’ll get her.” She disappeared, leaving Greg on the doorstep. A minute later, Victoria appeared.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked with a frown. “Where’s Mellissa?”

  “She’s at home. We need to talk about your brother.”

  “Well he’s not here and I would rather not upset my mother more by discussing it.”

  “But it is upsetting Mellissa and I need your help.”

  She put her hand up in front of him. “Look, my mum is a lot more upset than she appears. My dad has travelled to the magic world to ask for help after his fifth tracking spell failed.”

  Greg pushed his fringe to the side. Of course they would have already tried a tracking spell. It’s the most basic technique for finding a missing person. Victoria slapped his shoulder. “Wait, you didn’t leave Mellissa on her own, did you?”

  “She’s at home with her dad. He is working from home. She promised she wouldn’t leave the house.”

  “And you believed her?” Victoria shouted, throwing her arm in his direction. “You’re an idiot. That girl can’t stay still.”

  “Will you just hear me out for a second? I have an idea for locating your brother.”

  Victoria crossed her arms and curled her top lip. “I’m listening, but this better be good.”

  “Look, Mellissa doesn’t even know I’m here. She thinks I’m looking at a new place to live. I am trying to find your brother, but as you know the tracking spell won’t work.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Of course you would be performing your own spells. You still haven’t explained why you’re here.”

  Greg gritted his teeth. “I came here because blood magic creates a much stronger spell.”

  “And can be extremely dangerous.”

  “How else do you suggest we find Matt? The sort of spell we will be casting holds very little risk. Are you not even a little bit concerned by his weird behaviour?”

  She looked away from him, clenching her fists, and started tapping her foot. He shouldn’t have said that. Of course she was concerned. She constantly insulted and complained about her brother, but that was just her way of covering up her feelings. Victoria sighed as she dropped her arms at her sides. “Fine, I will help you, but why didn’t you just tell Mellissa the truth? Her magic is stronger than ours.”

  “I didn’t want to get her hopes up,” Greg replied. “She is too emotionally attached.”

  “And you’re not? What exactly is your relationship with Mellissa?”

  Greg suddenly felt hot. She couldn’t know what happened. “What is that supposed to mean?”

  A smirk spread across Victoria’s face. “Nothing.” He didn’t like the way she said that. She waved her hand at him. “Come in so we can do this stupid spell.”

  Victoria led Greg through the house into a small sitting room. She went over to a drawer and pulled a folded piece of paper out. She handed it to Greg. “This map should be big enough. I can’t see him having travelled any farther on his own.”

  Greg unfolded the map and laid it out on the table. He really hoped this worked. He got the small bottle he’d used earlier and sprinkled some of the dust on
the map. “I will need some of your blood.”

  “Yeah, I know.” Victoria produced a needle and pricked her finger. She held her hand over the map and squeezed a couple of drops of blood onto it. “Blood to blood, heart to heart, find my missing loved one, so we can be reunited.”

  They both looked at the map, but nothing happened. The blood that was meant to show where Matt was didn’t move. Something was very wrong. Blood magic was the strongest form of spell casting.

  “Why isn’t it working?” asked Victoria, panicked.

  “Maybe the map isn’t big enough. Let’s try this one instead.” Greg flicked his wrist and produced his own map.

  “What would Matt be doing in the magic world?”

  “I don’t know, but there’s a tear in this village, so it’s worth a try.” Victoria rolled up her sleeves. They repeated the spell using his map instead. The blood quickly shifted from where it fell on the map. The blood travelled across the map. When the blood started circling one spot, it had found who it was looking for.

  “What is he doing at the council building?” Greg asked.

  “I have no idea, but I think we are going to need Mellissa’s teleporting if we want to find out.”

  “Agreed.” Greg folded the map and followed Victoria out of the room.

  She grabbed a coat, and they left the house. They walked to Mellissa’s house in silence. None of this made sense. Greg couldn’t think of any reason Matt would be at the council building. How had he gotten there? Travelling to the capital was not a short journey from here. Mellissa was the only person he knew that could make it there so quickly.

  Greg knocked on the door, and Mr. Hail answered. He smiled at Greg. “You’re back. What was the flat like? Any better than the last one?”

  Greg put his hand on his head. Of course Mellissa had told him that’s where he had gone. “It looks promising.”

  “Hi, Mr. Hail,” Victoria said, pushing in front of Greg. “Is Mellissa upstairs?”

  “Oh, Victoria, I didn’t see you there.” Mr. Hail pointed behind him. “Yes, she is up in her bedroom.”

  “Thanks,” she said, running up the stairs.

  Greg walked into the house and shut the door.

  “She seems in a hurry,” Mr. Hail said.

  Victoria came hurtling down the stairs. “She’s gone.”

  “What? She was up there a moment ago,” Mr. Hail said.

  He shouldn’t have left her here alone. What had he been thinking? The truth was, he hadn’t been thinking. Victoria grabbed the collar of Greg’s shirt and lifted her fist, ready to punch him.

  Mr. Hail gasped. “Victoria.”

  Victoria’s eyes shone with power, and she tensed her jaw. “You were meant to watch over her. I should turn you into a human icicle and smash your limbs one by one.”

  Greg looked her straight in the eye. “Fighting with me is a waste of time. We need to find Mellissa. You can throw as much ice at me as you want later.”

  She let go of him. He put his hand on the door handle. Victoria grabbed his arm. “You are going nowhere. I will find her myself.”

  “Will one of you tell me what is going on?” asked Mr. Hail. “Victoria, this behaviour is so unlike you.”

  “There isn’t time for me to explain. I need to find Mellissa before she gets herself into trouble again. Stay here, Flopsey. She might come back on her own. Call me if she reappears.”

  “Victoria, wait—” Greg said, but she wasn’t listening. She pushed him out of the way and stormed out of the house. Maybe he should stay put. Mellissa could reappear here like nothing had happened. She could’ve just popped to the shop. He hoped they were overreacting, and if they were, maybe he could confirm it. A tracking spell would do the trick. He still had some dust left. He could find her in no time.

  “What on earth was that all about?” Mr. Hail asked. “Why is it so important she finds Mellissa? She isn’t in trouble, is she? Should we go with her?”

  Greg ran his hand through his hair. He wasn’t sure how to answer Mr. Hail’s questions without revealing too much. “It’s hard to explain. I think a talk with your daughter is long overdue.”

  Mellissa

  Iwalked along the lake. Loud quacks echoed to the left of me. A bunch of ducks swam toward me, probably expecting me to feed them. I looked around the area. There wasn’t another person in sight. In summer, loads of people came here, but in winter, only dog walkers and dedicated runners ventured out to the lake. I wandered over to a bench shaped like a fish and checked the time on my phone. I was a little early but I had been too excited to stay put any longer. Matt had finally reached out to me. I wasn’t sure why he had wanted to meet here but hopefully this meant things could start to go back to normal.

  I looked out at the water. A light breeze rippled the surface. I had promised Greg I wouldn’t leave the house, but some things were more important. I needed to know Matt was all right. Besides, I wasn’t sure Greg was coming back. I don’t know what I was thinking when I kissed him. I had been caught up in the moment. He had said things between us were real but I obviously misinterpreted what he meant. He had just meant in terms of being friends. I had really messed things up as he couldn’t get away from me any quicker. I wasn’t stupid. There is no way he just suddenly had a flat to go view, especially that early in the morning, and he never let me out of a training session that easy. I would probably get home and find Victoria waiting to tell me Greg had gone home, leaving her to train me. I had made things really awkward, and that would be the simplest way to solve things.

  I checked my phone again. Matt was hopeless at getting anywhere on time. He’d better show up. This meeting was his idea, after all. I looked up at the clear blue sky. Maybe I should have phoned Victoria, she had also been worried about Matt. So had their parents.

  “Mellissa!” someone shouted. I didn’t recognise the voice. I turned to see Matt walking toward me. His voice didn’t sound right. The smile he gave me made me shiver. It seemed to lack any emotion. “Shall we walk by the lake? I’m sure you have questions,” he said.

  “Yeah, like what the hell have you been up to?” I said, trying not to sound too aggressive.

  We walked along the edge of the lake. “Yes, I realise you must have been really down without your friend recently.”

  Was this his weird way of telling me he didn’t think of me as a friend anymore? If it was, why didn’t he just say that and get it over with? Matt stopped walking and stared into the distance.

  “The lake looks restless.”

  “Freya couldn’t swim,” I said.

  “I know, and what is your relationship with the water?”

  “Matt, you know I’m—” A force shoved me forward. I hit the railing hard. Spinning around, I gasped. A leprechaun towered over me. He grabbed me and threw me over the railing. The freezing water consumed my body. It felt like pinpricks on my skin. I tried to kick and swim to the surface, but something was pulling me down. My lungs burned as they longed for air. I reached forward, trying to swim up and out, but the water felt like it had turned to jelly and was solidifying. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t move through the water. Everything above me was a blur as I sank farther down.

  A hand grabbed my arm and pulled me up to the surface. I gasped, taking in as much air as possible. The water was back to normal, and I could move again. My rescuer was already out of the water, surrounded by fire. Matt was facing off against two leprechauns. I pulled myself up on the railing and climbed over. I landed on my knees and coughed up water. My clothes stuck to my body, and my hair was dripping. Two leprechauns ran toward me but were pushed back by a wall of fire. I had to get up. Shivering, I forced myself up and ran toward the fight. If I could grab Matt, I could get us out of here.

  I screamed as someone grabbed my arm, twisting it around and forcing me to my knees. It was another leprechaun. He was taller than the other two and skinny, but he was still super strong. I teleported, but the leprechaun held on tight, teleporting with m
e.

  “That won’t work, elf,” he whispered into my ear. “As long as I have hold of you, you can’t escape.”

  I reached for my phone. We were outnumbered. If I could just get a message to Victoria… I was swiping through my contacts when another leprechaun snatched the phone out of my hand. She lifted it to her face and sniffed it. She threw it down and stamped on it.

  “She was trying to contact someone. We should just kill her.”

  The skinny guy yanked me away from her. “The master needs her alive to take her power, then he will kill her.”

  They argued over the orders of their master. Apparently, my dead body was better than not capturing me. I closed my eyes to focus my magic. I had to trust Matt could handle the other two. I would get myself out of this mess. Throwing my free arm up, I shot a blinding burst of light upward. They jumped back from the light, and the skinny guy let go of me. Before I had time to think, the woman grabbed my arm, spinning me around, and slammed me to the ground. She stamped on my chest, leaving me breathless. I screamed as she slammed her foot on my arm, causing it to crack. This leprechaun was quick, super strong. and ruthless.

  “I told you we should just kill her. These elves are tricky,” she growled, pulling back her hand. As she did this, the nails on her hands grew into long, sharp claws. My whole body went numb. This was it. They were going to kill me. Victoria wasn’t here to save me this time. Even after all that training, I was still useless. Where was Matt? Had the other two taken him down? Tears were falling down my cheeks.

  A flurry of fire blasts came flying at the two leprechauns. It was Matt. He had come to save me. The blasts kept coming. The skinny guy went down first. The woman stood her ground against the fire. A small person, engulfed in flames, came running at her, throwing a flaming kick. It wasn’t Matt. He quickly followed up by firing a wheel of flames at the leprechauns.