Mystical (Mystical #1) (Revising)

Chapter Eleven ☆

Eliza's eyes grew heavy, her heart racing in frantic thuds against her chest. Stepping back, she snatched her broomstick off the bed. She darted across the room, bumping into her dresser, and pressed the button on her broomstick. The broomstick resized and emitted a soft glow as she aimed it at the cat before her.

She wasn't entirely certain what this supposed cat was. It could be a shifter mystic of some sort. The feline stared back at her, a mix of puzzlement and fear in its eyes. As it stepped back, it bumped against the wall.

"What are you? Are you corrupt?" Eliza's voice wavered as she screamed the question.

The creature moved toward her, slow and cautious, paw in front of paw.

"Eliza, I won't harm you," it murmured, its ears flattening against its head.

"Stay back! I mean it!"

Eliza stabbed the air with her weapon, her voice quaking with fear. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and she sniffled, watching as the being continued its careful approach. Her grip on the broomstick loosened as she shook nervously, readying herself to defend. She couldn't understand why the broomstick hadn't transformed into a sword or sprouted daggers on its ends.

"Please, let me explain," Jared's voice broke the tense silence.

"I said stop!" Eliza's voice wavered, a mix of fear and determination. She snatched items off the counter, hurling them at the mysterious entity. It effortlessly dodged her makeshift projectiles, dancing around the room with a fluid grace. Not giving up, Eliza grabbed a book and flung it, the impact causing the thing to collide with it.

The creature hobbled, spinning around with an agility that defied its injury. It leaped, missing the window's shelf and crashing to the floor with a muffled grunt. Struggling to regain its footing, it managed to leap again, this time landing on the window's shelf, albeit not without an accidental bump into the wall. Steadying itself, it stood firm.

"So be it," Jared muttered under his breath.

Jared's gaze shifted back to Eliza, who stood her ground with her broomstick aimed directly at him. He made his way to the window, leaping into thin air and vanishing from sight.

Jared, her cat... or was it her brother...disappeared without a trace.

☆☆☆

It had been a month since Eliza had last laid eyes on Jared. Uncertainty shrouded his true nature. He might very well be some kind of mystic, a thought that lingered in her mind. One thing was clear: he was wise not to venture back into her home. If he had, she'd have reached for a knife rather than relying on her seemingly ineffective broomstick. The weapon stubbornly refused to morph into a sword, unlike the one her great grandmother once wielded.

If Jared was out there causing chaos, Eliza silently hoped that other witches, assuming there were any left besides her, would manage to apprehend him. Meanwhile, her school days had become an exercise in awkwardness.

She'd distanced herself from Eric, noticing that he now had a girlfriend. Strangely, she found herself indifferent, almost wishing them luck as they embarked on what she cynically labeled a potential "abusive relationship."

Her hair, at long last, brushed against the tips of her ribs. It was still a wild mess of untamed curls, but she'd somehow managed to make it work for her. The once bustling home had grown eerily quiet, the absence of Jared's presence amplifying the stillness.

Secretly, she'd embarked on a quest to uncover the hiding place of the grimoire Jared had mentioned. Dawn might have grown suspicious of her singular determination, but Eliza couldn't afford to let her friend think something was amiss. Their conversations had dwindled, a palpable distance wedging itself between them.