Spinoffs, Short Stories, and Bonus Chapters

Phase One - Magyk

(A/N: This story uses my characters Weston and Alenora from my *unfinished* novel, Magyk. I hope this story ends up in the novel somewhere, we'll see what happens!)

The winds swirled about me, whipping my hair and the rain in my face. I struggled to even out my breathing.

"Focus, Nora! Control it," Weston shouted over the storm.

"I can't," I replied pitifully. I let the magyk win, falling to the ground in pain. Weston rushed toward me and gently brushed the hair from my eyes.

"Are you okay?" He asked quietly. I shook my head no.

"I'll never control it," I sighed, defeated. "You have to pick someone else."

Weston shook his head. "There is no one else. You're Masira's ruler now; no one else can face Crypt."

Right, I thought. Because a common thief should be saving the kingdom from the world's greatest villain. Wonderful idea. Yet instead of voicing my thoughts aloud, I simply nodded. Weston helped me stand on my shaky feet. "Could you show me again?" I pleaded. Weston was much better at controlling his magyk than I was at controlling mine.

"I've taught you a hundred times. You have to believe in yourself, or you'll be beaten in every attempt," he explained.

"I can't. There's nothing to believe in."

"You can't say th-"

"Nothing, Weston."

He regarded me for a moment before altering his expression completely. "Let's go for a swim," he smiled.

"I'm sorry, what?" I asked, dumbfounded.

"A swim?" He repeated. "There's a river in the forest back there. Besides, you need time to calm down."

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, just come on!"

I stared at him, attempting to read him but unable to see past the game he was playing. I sighed. "Fine."

Weston's eyes lit up like a child on Christmas. He grabbed my hand and practically dragged me through the corridor, outside, and into the woods. There we came upon a sparkling blue river, as clear as it was deep. The water was quite still, as if it were a pond.

"I've never been here before," I observed suspiciously.

"Your father used to take us here when we were kids. You don't remember," he replied sadly. Of course. Crypt stole my memories - another thing I have to fight for.

Just across the river was a cliff overlooking more forest. The view was beautiful, but I still didn't understand why Weston would bring me here. Water was the fuel for my magyk; I didn't especially long for a swim at the moment.

"Well, are you going to swim or not?" I heard Weston ask. He was already in the river. I shrugged and jumped in, letting the water cover me completely. Water had always calmed me, but now I simply felt trapped by it. As odd as it was, I stayed under water until my lungs begged for oxygen.

When I resurfaced, expecting to find Weston in front of me as always, I was surprised to find him not in the water but on the edge of the cliff. He was viewing the forest, I suppose. I called his name and he looked back at me, smiled, and jumped.

He jumped.

Off the cliff. Do something, Nora!

The world seemed to move in slow motion - Weston falling ever so steadily, yet my mind racing even more wildly than the heartbeat pounding in my chest.

"Weston!" I screamed, reaching a hand out towards him though I knew he was much too far away.

With the spur of emotion cam a powerful surge of what felt like electricity through my veins. It traveled from my heart to my outstretched hand, and the water beneath me splashed up into a vicious spiral. All fear leaving my mind, I focused all my energy on Weston. The spiral of water became gentle, almost an extension of my arm, reaching forward to catch him. It stopped spinning and formed an ice platform for Weston to stand on as I brought him safely back to the other side of the river.

As he was placed back on the ground, the water washed away and left him standing soaked on the shore. He turned to me, and I expected him to be emotional, but he was clapping.

"Why the hell are you clapping? You almost died!" I shouted, stomping out of the water and right up to him. He smirked.

"There she is, ladies and gentlemen! Princess Alenora," he exclaimed. "I knew she was in there somewhere."

"What?" I choked out. Was this a set-up?

"You just needed a little push. A jump start, if you will." He said, winking. Really? A pun, right now?

"Weston you idiot! I was terrified!" I yelled, pushing his shoulder hard. He laughed and brushed it off.

"You controlled your magyk, didn't you?" He asked.

"I suppose, but-"

"Then my work here is done. On to phase two: finding Crypt."

Author's Note! 

Okay, I kinda like this one! Idk how much but I think it's kinda showing their characters a bit more. Weston is definitely reckless; I need to find more ways to show that in what I've written for Magyk. Alenora just gets in her own head a lot. They've got a weird sorta relationship going on tho so this was fun! If y'all have no clue what I'm talking about, check out my book Magyk! (Shameless self promo XD) Love you guys!

Savy