Mystik Realm: Celestinia Academy

Four: Taken, Dead? Does it matter?

I can easily tell Demina’s mind is occupied, occupied by what, I have no idea. She keeps on tapping her fingers on the window ledge on the door, her gaze travelling across the houses outside Gena’s car and a deep furrow has formed between her eyebrows. Those things tell me that she is conflicted, not knowing why she is conflicted frustrates me more than it should, my feelings have been going haywire all day. Things have been affecting me more today than usual -like I was actually on my period like I had conveyed to Mr Sardos.

I can’t think about that, that thing I did. I’m trying to distract myself by thinking of Demina and her traitorous ways are only mildly helping as it brings me back to my earlier episode of strange feelings at schools, which isn’t much better.

Maybe she's thinking about her now broken and I repeat broken, water fountain- it must have cost two-hundred bucks and here I go busting the water up and clogging the pipes.

The engine shuts off and I notice we're not moving anymore, having become used to the steady movement of the car, we must be at my house, it felt a lot longer than it was because of the silence. Don't get me wrong, I have plenty of stuff to think about, I just don't want to think about..... it. The implications... No. Don't even go there.

We didn't talk the whole drive here, we were all silent and pondering matters that seemed too much for two sixteen-year-olds. I step outside and can immediately tell that there is something terribly wrong, there is a black shadowy thing surrounding the small, cream-coloured brick building that is my home.

“Demina? I’m sorry but you know I can’t go with you, you know why.” Gena says to Demi looking quite upset for some reason, I wonder why?

“I know momma, I understand, get home quickly,” Demi says to Gena, then the engine revs once more, and Gena drives down the street with a strange urgency.

I turn back to face my daunting house, the shadowy things are crawling all over it like ants, moving as one great mass of blackness and at the same time individually.

Demi and I step closer cautiously, Demi muttering curses and a bunch of other gibberish that I can barely hear, though if I could I doubt I would understand it anyway. The front path of my house is a series of cement slabs leading to the front door which has a small overhang to keep the rain off any visitors heads while they wait by the door, the windows are usually seen easily but now it’s like I’m looking through layers and layers of black-stained glass, the building itself is rather hard to see at all really, let alone real features.

We weave carefully through the black swarm, playing safe and not touching any of the black shapes as it seems like a good idea. Each separate mass seems to have some sort of mind of its own, they reach out with malformed arms that barely resemble limbs, instead, looking more like an extension of their main body.

I misjudge my next step forward and end up too close to one of the creatures. It reaches out to me and snatches at my arm, trying to grab me. It succeeds. The thing tightens it's hold around my arm, sliding its grip down to touch my hand. The instant it touches my skin I feel like I should be screaming but no sound is able to escape my lips, almost like they're sewn shut. The pain is making me immobile enough so that I can’t even talk to tell Demi what's happening. My eyes begin to unfocus, blurring and I start to see black spots covering my vision. Luckily, Dem glances back at me, seeing my predicament she tugs my arm. I slip from its grasp easily and once I'm clear the pain subsides completely, without skin contact I don't feel the pain. We reach the front door without another incident, and I’m relieved if only mildly because for some reason I don’t think I’ve seen the worst of it yet.

I reach my hand out to open the door, we never lock the house unless we’re going on holiday, it’s too precarious always unlocking the door to get inside. My finger almost grazes the handle but there is a clicking noise and a light swoosh of air and the door creaks inward. Which is odd, we never let the door get rusty enough to creak, I was here this morning and it was fine.

I suck in a nervous breath, wondering what I will find inside my familiar house. I get into the house and stand waiting for a moment while Demi follows quickly., I glance outside and the black creatures are acting differently compared to before. Now they aren’t even slightly docile like before. There’s a think black line of the demonic things and it's writhing and pushing against some barrier, I wonder why they’ve changed their actions so dramatically.

I stare for a few seconds then Demina closes the door, I blink and remember that we need to find Mara.

Inside the house looks almost entirely unaffected, tranquil even, though it is a lot darker than usual. It’s almost as if there's a barrier surrounding us and protecting us from whatever is attacking the house. I'm not even sure if they (they?) are attacking or just preventing our escape by surrounding us, trapping us inside.

I walk along the corridor that leads to the kitchen as Mara spends time there a lot. I wonder, I suck in a breath and turn to ask her a question, “Dem-”

My elbow hits a framed photo hanging on the white corridor wall, knocking it to the floor. It smashes against the stone corridor floor loudly, an explosion of glass pieces spit everywhere. I look down forgetting my question and see the picture is of Mara, Demi and I huddled around a statue of a handsome man whose historical name I’ve long forgotten. We were out shopping for dresses for a school social- the theme being 'historical discoverers' or something stupid like that. It’s ruined, a piece of glass is literally stabbing Mara’s photo version through the heart. Oops…

"Ally? Ally? is that you?" Mara's shaky voice comes from somewhere in the living room, unlike the photo version, she’s alive though her voice is unsteady so I don’t think she’s okay.

“Yes,” I call out a reply shakily, turning back down the corridor to run on into the living room that leads into the kitchen.

I practically run through the archway, and that's when I see her, she’s trapped in a chair that has bonds binding her there. They're made out of needles, which are digging painfully into her wrists. It’s got a metal brace then needle poking into her skin, about a centimetre between the brace and her skin. The cuffs are tied together with a thick two-inch length of chain. I stop and stare, bile rises to my mouth, gagging I look at her body in horror.

“Demi, you know what to do, you have ten minutes at least,” Mara says in a surprisingly strong voice. Demina nods like this makes perfect sense and I heave again almost throwing up because she knew! She knew what was happening, she probably even knew what those things outside are.

“Alya go pack your stuff and be down in a few minutes, just essentials, ok?” Demina’s voice has taken on a whole new authoritative tone, she sounds like she's in charge which is a relief because I am not in the mood for ‘playing the leader’.

“GO!” Startled into action at her intensity I turn and struggle up the stairs into my attic bedroom.

I find my room the way I left it, not clean but definitely not a pigsty. Examining my window I see that there are more shadowy creatures coming from every direction, swarming around my house.

My next door neighbour, Lila a thirty-year-old married woman with a son who just turned five last week walks by holding a bag of groceries not even glancing at our house. What? Can’t she see what's happening?

Okay maybe since she’s not ‘magical’ she can’t see that anything is wrong. I back away from the window as one of the shadows launches itself against it.

I turn away and see my large wardrobe mirror. I gasp as I look at myself- I look horrible, weak, and useless when the demons (are they demons?) breakthrough I won't be any help if anything I’ll be a liability and bring Demi and Mara down.

“I am not useless.” My negativity shocks me as I realise I was putting myself down, I try to avoid that sort of thing.

I’ve always thought that people saying ‘I'm not pretty’ or ‘I wish I looked as good as you’ are stupid and it annoys the hell out of me, especially when it’s so obvious they are actually pretty. It's almost like they're seeking attention and sympathy and they seem to just be fishing for compliments, I mean yeah some people actually think they’re ugly but when they keep on repeating it even though people have tried convincing them so many times that they're not and they just keep saying it...

I turn around and pack my stuff quickly then head downstairs my new resolve not to be useless still ringing through my head.

When I get down to Mara and Demi the first thing I notice is the sound, an ominous creaking like something heavy is being pushed against something and it’s going to break. I shiver then look at Mara, she isn’t tied to the chair anymore, she has a bag slung over her shoulder I see that the needle shackles have somehow been removed and my aunt's wrists are bleeding profusely from them.

I glance around the room and notice black symbols on each of the door, a sudden sound of shattering makes Both Demi and Mara wince.

“The house wards are broken they’ve almost broken through,” Mara says looking mildly scared.

Before I can ask what the symbols are Demina tells me, “They’re called wards, they make a protective barrier against people or…. well ummm…. Basically, they stop someone from entering unless they mean no harm.” She finishes somewhat awkwardly.

Demina then continues on another symbol different from the others; in the centre of the door that leads to the kitchen. This symbol is more complex than the other ones and is more elegant somehow. Again, I don't have to ask the question to get an answer, “it's de em portalis or more accurately a portal rune,” she answers.

“So what does it do?” I ask, curiosity getting the better of me.

“It transports you to your chosen destination, unlike more common methods of long-distance transportation it can take you to different realms though can easily be blocked by some wards, it can easily be tampered with or if you are really unlucky you can get stuck in limbo; between transportation,” Her answer is complicated and I barely understand, (different realms?) it doesn’t give much in the explanation but I’ll just go with it for now.

“You guys ready to go?” Demi asks in a hurried voice, Mara and I start toward the portal.

“They’ve almost broken this rooms wards too, we better get moving,” Mara says while glancing worriedly back Then there’s silence, Demi doesn’t seem to notice for a second as she walks through the kitchen door. A loud bang and another shattering sound rings through the tense air signifying the wards breaking.

“Ally, go!” Mara says gesturing towards the door in panic as the wards splinter and shadows seep into the room. I scream and grab hold of Mara’s arm and charge towards the portal. As soon as I step into it I hear a heartbreaking scream and I turn, the events unfolding before me as though I am a spectator: Well I am a spectator, I try to go back but I can’t move.

A shadow wrench's Mara’s arm from me, she attacks it with a dark purple blade that appeared out of nowhere in her hand. The sword is pulsating with light and power as Mara wilds it against the shadows. Two more shadows come at her- she kills the first making inky black blood splatter everywhere, my nice clothes ruined.

She doesn’t see the fourth shadow which is creeping up behind her, I yell a warning but it doesn’t reach her through the barrier of the closing portal, but she senses the shadow and turns and that's when it attacks.

She doesn’t even bother fighting it she just yells something along the lines of ‘his name is Amphidel’ then throws the sword at the seconds-from-closing-portal. Then the solid inky black shadow swallow her and she fades, disappears and the shadows look around them slightly confused if shadows could be confused that is... Their red eyes settle on me and they charge.

Before they reach me I feel strange- like I'm dissolving then I disappear too. All this happens within five seconds. Oh, what a great birthday I'm having (note the sarcasm).