Mellissa

Things don’t have to be like this. There’s still time to turn back. To heal the land,” I shout.

A man shrouded in shadows growls. His dark eyes are locked on me. He lifts his hand. Shadows wrap around it and form a sword. “You made your choice, Freya. Now you must live with it.”

Freya? That’s not my name.

He’s running toward me, sword held high. I lift my arm and swirls of light defend me. I try to push him back, but he keeps coming. Cracking the rock between us, I use the earth to push myself up, taking flight. He follows suit. “Freya,” he screams, “I will end you.”

…but I’m Mellissa. Freya… Where have I heard that name before?

He flies at me with his sword. With a flick of my wrist, my staff appears in my hand. I use it to block his blows. He is stronger than the last time we battled. I misjudge his movements, and he plunges his sword into my stomach. I plummet to the ground. I can’t win, but I can make sure he doesn’t either.

I woke with a start, gasping for breath. Sweat dripped down my head. I threw back the covers and lifted my top. There was nothing there. No wound. It was just a dream. The same dream I’d had before, but not exactly. Some bits were different. It was more detailed. Almost like I was remembering a lost memory. It was all that rabbit’s fault, putting crazy ideas about magic in my head. He was the one that had mentioned Freya, and I had somehow incorporated her into my dream. I needed to forget about the rabbit. He was gone now, which meant I was right. He had confused me with someone else.

I spent all morning in a daze, aimlessly sorting through returned library books. Volunteering at a library wasn’t as fun as I thought it would be. I needed something to spruce up my personal statement. I loved to read. So, when the library needed volunteers, I jumped at the opportunity, but my work there involved little reading. Mostly just sorting and organising, putting books back on shelves and getting up early on Saturdays when I’d rather be in bed.

“Mellissa, could you put this pile of books back on the shelves?” Claire, the librarian, asked. She looked at her watch and frowned. “Oh, it will be time for you to head home soon. I’ll sort it later.”

“Don’t be silly. I’ll do it before I go.” I took the pile of books from her. They were from the nonfiction section at the back. Balancing the books on one arm, I walked along the back shelves, placing books in their rightful spots. As I turned a corner, I bumped into the end of the bookcase, and the remaining books fell. I dropped to the floor to pick them up. Two feet were amongst the fallen books. It wasn’t the bookcase I bumped into but a person.

“Sorry, let me help,” said a male voice. Two hands started to pile the books back in my hands.

I angled my head so my messy curls covered my face. “No, it was all my fault. I wasn’t looking where I was going. Thanks for the help.” Keeping my head down, I hurried round him.

“Do you work here?” he asked.

I continued putting books on the shelf. “I’m just a volunteer.”

“But you know where all the books go?”

“I guess. Is there anything in particular you’re after?”

“Any books on magic?”

I froze with a book halfway on the shelf. Magic. In the nonfiction section. I flicked my hair back so I could get a sideways look at him. He was tall with red hair that looked like a mop. He was wearing jeans and polo with a smart-looking trench coat. He looked out of place. Way too posh for our small village. “There are some books about old pagan rituals in the next aisle, unless you’re looking for fiction, which is near the front on the left.”

“Thanks.” He looked like he was going to say more but decided against it and walked away. A weird feeling overtook me, like I wanted—no, needed—to follow him. I carried on shelving the books. There was a low hum ringing in my ears. Where had he gone? I needed to know. I shoved the remaining books randomly on a shelf and hurried to the section on pagan rituals. There was no one there. Maybe he’d wanted a novel involving magic. I spun round toward the fiction and crashed into a person. I fell backward, but before I hit the floor, someone grabbed my arm and pulled me back up.

“I’m so sorry. I wasn’t looking—”

“That’s the second time you’ve walked into me.” It was him. The humming was louder. It was a song that only I seemed to hear. I reached my hand out toward him but quickly dropped it, shaking my head. What the hell was I doing? “Maybe if you didn’t keep covering your face with your hair, you could see better.” He pushed a curl from my face. “Much better.”

My face warmed, and I smacked his hand away. “I can sort my own hair thanks.” I walked down the aisle away from him, running my hands over my hair.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you.”

I spun round. “What did you say?”

“I didn’t mean to offend you. I’m not from around here, and things are different where I’m from.” That was obvious. It was a small village. New people stood out. He walked toward me, holding his hand out. “My name’s Greg, and you are?”

It couldn’t be. He couldn’t be called Greg as well. Greg was a relatively common name. It could just be a coincidence.

“Mellissa,” I said, shaking his hand. The humming grew louder. It vibrated through the books and shelves. He was the source. No, it was the necklace round his neck. It called to me. I had to get away from him.

“Nice to meet you.” I forced a smile as I backed away. His brow lowered, and I noticed his eyes. Green like emeralds. “I’ve got to go. See you round.” I rushed over to the counter, grabbing my coat and bag.

“Mellissa,” Claire said, “I thought you had already gone.”

“I was just talking to someone, but I’m off now. See you next week.”

She waved as I rushed off. As I approached the door, a wave of realisation washed over me. The eyes were the same. He was the same Greg as before, but that wasn’t possible. How could a rabbit and a human be the same being? He’d asked for books about magic on purpose. I walked back inside and looked around for him. My eyes widened. Sat at the back so only I could see was a rabbit, waving. I bit my lip to hold back a scream and ran out of the library. I kept running until my legs wouldn’t carry me anymore. Panting against a wall, I realised I had run to the edge of the wood. This was all so crazy. Greg wasn’t a talking rabbit but a shape-shifting trickster.

“Mellissa,” someone yelled. It was him. I recognised his accent. No one said the A in my name like that, it sounded more like an “R.” He had followed me. My heart pounded. What was I meant to do? Running away hadn’t worked. He had magic, and I had a bag of books. A hand touched my shoulder, and I screamed, swinging my bag round. I hit him in the side and swung again, but this time, he caught my bag. “Please, just let me explain.”

“Get away from me,” I shouted, yanking at my bag.

“I mean you no harm.”

“Says the crazy stalker guy holding my bag ransom.”

“Fine.” He let go of my bag and held his hands up as if to surrender. “I just wanted to prove your magic was real.”

“How does you being a creep prove anything about my magic?”

“You sensed that the rabbit and I where the same person. Only someone with magic could do that.”

“No. Your eyes don’t change when you shift. I knew there was something weird about your eyes as a rabbit. They were too human.”

He ran his hand through his hair. “Will you just hear me out this time? Let me explain everything properly, and then if you still want rid of me, I will go.”

“How did you know I would be at the library?”

“What?”

“You creep.” I wagged my finger at him. “That’s why you appeared to me as a rabbit. I bet you do this with all the girls. Get them to take you in as a cute little lost animal. Snoop around their house and find out what they like, then use that knowledge to try to charm them, along with your human good looks.”

“You have a wild imagination. That is not—wait, you think I’m good-looking? Maybe Samson was right.”

“Who the hell’s Samson?” I yelled. “Another shape-shifting trickster?”

“Will you stop shouting?” Greg whispered aggressively, “I’m not a trickster. I’m a changeling, and I would explain all this if you would let me.”

A man with his dog was staring at us. Not a lot of people came by there except to walk their pets. It probably wasn’t the best place to run to. I dug my nails into my bag strap. “I let you ‘explain,’” I said using air quotes, “and then you’ll leave me alone if I say so?” He nodded. “Very well, I will let you buy me tea and cake while you explain.”

“How generous of you.” He made a sweeping motion toward the road ahead. “Lead the way then, my lady.”

If I managed to get back to town, maybe I could lose him. If that didn’t work, if I screamed, at least there would be people round to help me. As I stepped forward, everything turned black. I swung my arm at Greg. “What are you doing?”

He took my arm, pulling me back. “This isn’t me.” His voice sounded as worried as mine.

Everything in front of us had disappeared into darkness but behind us the path was still normal. The darkness began to shift into four shadowy creatures. The landscape returned to normal but there was a distinct lack of light. Greg yanked my arm.

“Run.” He ran, pulling me along with him, but the shadowy creatures followed.

“What are those things?” I asked.

“The darkness I was telling you about. They’re a part of it.”

Greg pulled me along the outside of the wood. He was too fast. I could barely keep up. “Slow down,” I yelled, but he ignored me. We ran out of path. Greg took a sharp left, and I tumbled over my feet. I hit the ground hard, scraping my knees and hitting Greg’s legs with my shoulder, knocking him over. I pushed up onto all fours. One of the shadows was standing over me. Its claws were lifted above its head. As it brought its arm down, I shut my eyes, bracing for impact, but it never came.

I opened my eyes. The beast was clawing at an invisible barrier. I could just make out the edges of it. The other shadows quickly joined in trying to claw through the barrier. Greg crouched next to me with his arm out.

“Displodo,” he whispered. The barrier broke apart and shot at the creatures, slicing through them. The shadows disintegrated.

Greg tugged at my arm, but I didn’t budge.

“Mellissa, move,” he yelled.

I was gawping at the spot where the creatures had been. Greg pulled me to my feet. I cried out as another creature appeared beside me. Greg threw me behind him. He rubbed his hands together, then pushed them out, and something sliced through the creature. I turned to run but found myself face to face with another one. I screeched as shadows wrapped around my arm. Something sliced through the shadows, and they disappeared. My feet were moving before I realised what was happening. Greg was pulling me along again. Shadow monsters kept appearing out of nowhere. Greg lifted his hand muttering under his breath, pushing the creatures back. But it was no use. They just kept coming. As one was destroyed, another appeared.

Greg lifted his free hand above his head and slid to a halt. I ran straight into his back. He muttered some words I didn’t understand, and a dome appeared around us.

“There are too many for me to fight.” He took hold of both my hands. “Mellissa, you need to release some light energy to disperse them.”

I pushed away from him. “I can’t do that.”

“Shadows only exist in the absence of light. Whatever this spell is, it has blocked the light from this area, but your magic can break it.”

“I don’t have any magic. Can’t you make light?”

The shadow creatures clawed away at the dome. Greg held his arms wide. “Displodo.”

The dome around us burst, destroying all the creatures. Greg quickly formed another dome as more creatures materialised. “Light magic is rare,” he said, “but it is well known that the elf royal family all possessed it.”

“But I’m not elf royalty. I don’t have powers.”

The dome was surrounded by creatures again. I wrapped my arms round myself. My whole body was shaking. This couldn’t be happening. This was not how I imagined my day going. Even with Greg’s magic, there didn’t seem to be a way out. I couldn’t do what he thought I could, and we were either going to die from starvation in this dome or by being ripped to shreds by those things. Neither option appealed to me.

Greg pulled his necklace off and held it out to me. “Maybe if you took the crystal, it would help activate something inside you.”

“What use is some shiny stone?”

“If you would just try—”

I put my hands over my ears, wishing he’d stop talking. It was hopeless. I didn’t want to die. Why had I run here of all places? Why hadn’t I just gone home? If I’d let Claire sort those books, none of this would have happened. All I wanted was to be back home. I wished it with all my body. There was a burst of light. Everything went white, and I was jerked forward. It was like I was travelling through a cloud. Then, I was falling. There was a thud and then another as I slammed into something soft. I was back in my bedroom, and the creatures were gone.

I lifted my head and came face-to-face with Greg. He looked winded. “What just happened?” I asked. “How did you do that?”

“It wasn’t me. I don’t have the power to teleport, but you do. You said you wished you were home, and here we are.”

“I did not.” I hadn’t realised I’d said that out loud. What else had I said in my panic without realising?

“That light came from you. I’m pretty sure if I hadn’t grabbed your arm, I would’ve been left behind.”

“You really didn’t bring us here?”

“No. Now, do you mind?” His eyes widened as he tilted his head to the side. “You’re compressing my lungs.”

“What? Oh.” My face heated. I suddenly became very aware that I was lying on top of him. He was what cushioned my landing, not one of the random piles of clothes. I pushed off him and sat on my knees, hands in lap and head low, hoping my face hadn’t turned red. “Sorry. Um, thanks for cushioning my landing.”

He sat up. “You’re welcome.”

We looked at each other in silence for a moment. His eyes were really green. I have never met anyone with such deep green eyes. I could get lost in those eyes. My cheeks heated again, and I looked down at my hands. “What exactly where those things?”

“It was Kadon,” Greg replied.

“The leprechaun king? I thought you said Freya defeated him.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You were listening the other day.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “Yes, the leprechaun king. Freya stopped him by sealing him away in the Tree of Time. Having Kadon inside has withered the tree, and Freya’s seal is weakening. That darkness started off only covering the tree, like a cloud of misery. Then shadows began oozing out of the tree wrapping round it and has since spread to other parts of nature. I can’t believe it has managed to spread to this side of the veil. He targeted you because you’re the only one that can stop him from getting free.”

I weaved my fingers through my hair and tugged at it. “Okay. Let’s say I believe you. This big, bad leprechaun is breaking free. What exactly do you expect me to do about it?”

Greg opened his mouth to respond but froze at the sound of my dad shouting my name. “Mellissa,” he shouted again. Footsteps sounded on the stairs.

I frantically waved my hands at Greg. “Change back,” I whispered.

“What?”

“Turn into a rabbit.”

“Why?”

“Because I would rather my dad find me in my bedroom with a rabbit than some strange boy.”

He rolled his eyes but did as I asked. Twinkling lights and a gust of wind surrounded him, and when it dispersed, he was a rabbit again.

I blinked a few times. “That was weird.”

My door creaked open. “Mellissa, it is you banging around up here. Why didn’t you answer?”

“Um—I—”

“Is that the rabbit you said you were taking to the shelter. Were you trying to hide it?”

I hadn’t thought this through. He thought I’d dropped the rabbit at the shelter yesterday. This was still better than him thinking I was trying to hide a boy. He folded his arms, and his eyebrows came together so they looked like one long brow. If I didn’t say something soon, I would be in trouble. “Yes, well, you see, the shelter was full, so I kept him. But they have my contact details, so if space opens up or anyone comes looking for a lost rabbit, they’ll call.”

“The shelter was full?”

I nodded, wishing he’d believe me—not that I would believe what just came out of my mouth.

He pointed at Greg. “If that thing becomes a problem, I will happily drive out of town to the next shelter.”

I picked up Greg and petted him on my lap. “I’m sure Flopsey here won’t be a problem. I’m pretty sure he has an owner and won’t be here long.”

My dad’s shoulders sagged. “Very well. It’s your responsibility.” He walked out, shutting my door behind him.

Greg hopped off my lap. “Why did you call me Flopsey?”

I shrugged. “It’s a rabbit name.”

“What’s wrong with using my actual name?”

“Greg’s a person name.”

“Fine.” He rolled his shoulders. “Can we go back to our earlier conversation?”

I got up and sat in the window seat. “It’s all right. I’ve heard enough about magic for today.”

“You said you would hear me out.”

“That was before.”

“Before what?”

“Before those things appeared.” I waved my arms around. “Before I somehow magicked us home. Before I believed this might all be real.”

“I’m sorry.” His rabbit ears drooped. “I know this is a lot to take in. I wish there was another way, but you’re the only one that can stop the darkness.”

“How?”

“By using the Heart Crystal to recast the sealing spell. Your magic is Freya’s magic.”

“How many times do I have to tell you that I don’t have magic? At least not that sort of magic.” He really wasn’t getting it. I wasn’t this magical person he was looking for. Magic was definitely real. That much was true. I also may have somehow got us back here but I was sure this heir he was looking for would have better powers than magic running away. I wasn’t who he wanted me to be, nor could I ever be.

Greg threw his little rabbit arms in the air. “You teleported us back here, using light magic. The exact sort of magic of the royals. What more proof do you need?”

“I don’t know.” I folded my arms and tilted my head upward, looking at him from the corner of my eye. “Maybe me pulling something off when you’re not around. It’s obvious you have powers. How do I know it wasn’t you that teleported and you’re not just tricking me into believing it was me?”

“I did not get us back here.” He pointed at me. It was weird seeing human emotions on the face of a rabbit. “You did that with your elf magic.”

“You’re saying I’m some sort of human elf.”

“Human elf.” He chuckled to himself. “I guess that’s what you are, because your dad is definitely human. What about your mum? Does she have powers?”

“I wouldn’t know.”

“Why not? You had to get your elf blood from somewhere. Maybe if I talk to her, she can use the crystal instead of you. Then the burden doesn’t have to be yours.”

“My mum’s dead. I was two when it happened. All I know about her is what my dad has told me, and he’s never mentioned her having powers.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

I hugged a cushion to my chest. “How could you?”

He looked at the floor and his long ears flopped. “My mum died when I was seven. One day she was there, the next she was gone. It’s been me and my father ever since.”

Our eyes met across the room. My own pain reflected in his eyes. There was an unspoken understanding of how it felt to lose someone so important. He looked away first.

His bunny ears perked up as if realising something. “Your mother was Maggie.”

“Yes, how did you—”

“I will leave you for now. Give you some time to think.”

“Where will you go?” I asked.

“I don’t know. I always find somewhere.” He hopped toward the door.

“Stay.”

“What did you say?”

Why was he making me repeat myself? This was already hard enough as it was. Admitting I didn’t want to be alone tonight was one thing, saying I felt safer with him and his magic about was pure humiliation. I dug my nails into the cushion I was holding. “Don’t go. Stay. If those things come back, I would feel better knowing I’m not alone.”

He tilted his head to the side. “What about your dad?”

I shrugged. “You’re a rabbit that the shelter had no space for. I hope that form is comfortable.”