Mellissa

We run through the forest hand in hand. I’m light-headed and giddy. He turns back and smiles, making my heart flutter. He pulls me through a bush, and I gasp. Water gushes downstream and meanders through the trees. Sunlight glistens on the water’s surface.

“What do you think?” he asks.

“It’s beautiful,” I reply, feeling like I may explode from happiness.

He holds his hand out to me. “Let’s go for a swim.”

I bite my lip and look at my feet. “I can’t swim.”

A hand gently takes hold of my chin and pushes my face up. Two beautiful grey eyes look down at me. “I’ll teach you,” he says.

“I don’t know.”

“Don’t tell me you’re scared of a little water.”

My face heats. “It’s hardly a little water.”

He interlaces his fingers with mine. “How about we just sit on the edge and dip our feet in?”

I nod, letting him lead me to the water’s edge. We slip our shoes off and sit down. I pull my dress up to my knees and dip my feet in. It’s freezing. I jump as something touches my foot and shuffle back. Laughter sounds beside me. I punch him playfully. “It’s not funny.”

“It’s only an eritque arcus.”

“A what?” I ask

“A rainbow fish, Freya.”

The bell rang for lunch, shocking me awake. I grabbed my stuff and walked out of the classroom, hoping no one noticed I’d fallen asleep in class. After yesterday’s craziness, I was exhausted. I approached my locker. Matt leant against it, flicking through his phone. I couldn’t help thinking about what Greg had said. Could Matt really be a warlock? That was crazy; of course he wasn’t. We had been best friends since we were little. I would know if he had magic. Greg had made a lot of wild claims since I’d met him. He was wrong about Matt and his family, just like he was wrong about me. Matt looked up from his phone and waved. I realised I’d stopped walking and hurried over to him.

“You didn’t get any better offers for lunch then?” I asked.

“Hey, when have I ever ditched you to hang out with someone else?”

“True, you always drag me along with you, and I end up sitting there feeling awkward while you’re drooled over.”

“Well, I need you around to bail me out if things go south. Being drooled over is not as great as you think.”

We both laughed. He had come up with a bunch of hand signals to alert me to distress. So far, I hadn’t had to rescue him. I threw my books in my locker, and we headed to the common room. As we walked, Matt kept looking at me.

“What? Have I got something on my face?” I asked.

“No.” He scratched the back of his neck. “It’s just, there’s something different about you.”

“Different how?”

Matt leant toward me, narrowing his eyes. “Your aura’s changed.”

I frowned. “My aura?”

He nodded, scrunching up his face. It was his thinking face. “What did you do with that rabbit?”

I took a step back, startled by the sudden change in subject. “I made him a bed out of a box and contacted the shelter to see if anyone had lost a rabbit. I haven’t heard anything yet.”

He looked around the common room. It was full of other students, but none of them were paying attention to us. He leant even closer to me. “The rabbit didn’t do anything to you, did it?”

“What exactly would the rabbit do to me?”

“Nothing, it’s just that you changed over the weekend.”

“No, I didn’t. I’m still me.”

“Of course you are. I need to go see my mum.” Before I could say anything, he darted out of the common room. I slumped in a chair by the door. Since when did Matt concern himself with my aura? He’d walked out on lunch. Matt never passed up an opportunity to eat, and he never went to see his mum during school hours. He liked to pretend she didn’t work here. Something strange was going on with him, and I needed to know what it was.

I left the common room and made my way to Mrs. Street’s office. The door was shut. Maybe if I could open the door a crack, I could listen to their conversation. I decided to try the keyhole first. As I leant toward the door, I hit an invisible wall that knocked me onto my butt. My blazer pocket heated. A loud hum buzzed in my ears. I pulled a napkin out of my pocket and dropped it. It was on fire. The fabric sizzled away, revealing the crystal Greg had left me. I thought he said it would protect me, not set my pocket on fire. I prodded it with my toe, and it rolled toward the door. A bright light beamed from it and slashed through the barrier on the door. Even though it had been invisible, I knew it was gone.

I could hear arguing coming from Mrs. Street’s office. It was Matt, Mrs. Street, and someone else. I took off my blazer and wrapped the crystal in it. With my ear to the door, I tried to make out what was being said. Mrs. Street was telling Matt to calm down. Matt was complaining about not being told something, saying that “he shouldn’t be allowed near her.” I put my hand to my mouth as someone said my name, in a posh accent. I had only met one person who spoke that way—Greg. What was he doing here? I jumped up as the door opened.

Mrs. Street smiled down at me, but she couldn’t hide the shock in her eyes. “Mellissa, what are you doing here?”

“Matt—I came—you can’t be…” I stammered. Mrs. Street placed her hand on my shoulder. I jumped away from her touch. My heart pounded as my eyes filled with tears. “Greg was telling the truth.”

“What are you—” I didn’t hear the rest of her sentence as I legged it down the corridor. Someone shouted my name. Matt, maybe, but I didn’t stop—not until I crashed into someone and fell backward into a locker.

“Watch it, will you?” snapped Victoria.

I jumped to my feet and backed away from her. “Sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “Mellissa, what’s going on with you? Something’s changed.”

No, not her as well. Nothing had changed. I was still the same. They were the ones acting different. I needed to get out of there. Somewhere away from all this magic. I ran.

“Hey, don’t you run away from me!” Victoria shouted.

She grabbed my arm, and I screamed. White light surrounded us, and I was jerked forward. It was happening again. I hit the cold, hard floor face-first. My head smacked the ground as something big slammed into the back of me. There was a groan as the weight rolled off me. I pushed myself up to a sitting position and rubbed my head. Seagulls squawked and water splashed. I had somehow ended up at the lake. Greg really hadn’t been the one to magic us to my room.

“Oh my God,” yelled a voice behind me. My eyes widened at the sight of Victoria. She was what landed on me. She pointed at me. “You did not just—I mean, I have known you, like, I don’t know how long, but you never… How do you suddenly have magic?”

I jumped to my feet. “I don’t have magic.”

“Err, yes, you do. I didn’t just teleport us here. How do you have such a strong magical aura?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yes, you do.” She walked over to a bench by a lamppost and pointed at it. “Come sit down and tell me everything.”

I wrapped my arms around my blazer, which still had the Heart Crystal tucked in it. “Since when do you care what I have to say?”

“Sit down, Mellissa.” The look she gave me sent chills down my spine.

“Okay.” I sat on the bench, hands on my lap, back straight. “Well, you see, it all started when I met a rabbit.” I told her about Greg—how I first met him, and then how I met him again but in a different form. This did not surprise her. Apparently, she knew all about changelings. When I finished my story, she frowned, and we sat in silence for a couple of minutes.

“Can you show me the crystal?” she asked. I nodded and unwrapped my blazer. She picked the crystal up and peered at it. “Oh my God. This is really it. Which means—” She stared at me open-mouthed.

“Well, I think we should head back.” With my blazer in hand, I tried to rewrap the crystal. As I did, my skin brushed it. Lights shot out of the stone. We both jumped, and the crystal dropped to the floor. “Why didn’t it do that when you touched it?” I asked.

Victoria picked the crystal up. “Because I’m not the keeper of the Heart. You are.” She held it out to me.

I took a step back. “But why? Why can’t you be the new keeper or Greg?”

She sat back on the bench and patted the spot next to her. I sat back down. “It’s my understanding that the crystal picks who it deems worthy. It would usually go to whoever is next in line, but if the crystal senses a darkness in someone, it could reject them.”

“I don’t understand why you’re not worthy.”

Victoria chuckled, but it wasn’t a happy laugh. Her eyes wrinkled at the sides as she forced a smile. “There are lots of reasons why I’m unworthy, but Freya also bound the Heart Crystal to her bloodline. Only one of her heirs can use the heart. When Kadon corrupted the Moon Crystal, Freya didn’t want the same to happen to the Heart.”

“Surely I’m not the only one. Freya could have other descendants. Maybe one of them could be the keeper?”

Victoria shrugged. “The changeling, what was his name again?”

“Greg.”

“Right, him. The Heart led him to you. Even if you have some distant relative out there, the Heart chose you. You need to activate it. If Kadon escapes—” She shook her head. “Just trust me when I say he’s dangerous.”

“Are leprechauns really that dangerous? I always thought they ran around chasing gold at the end of rainbows.”

Victoria pushed her hair behind her ear. Her crystal-blue eyes locked on mine. “Leprechauns are extremely dangerous. Human folklore has gotten many things about magic wrong, and the truth about leprechauns is one of their biggest mistakes. They are fierce warriors with super strength and tough skin. Kadon is the strongest of his kind.”

There was a lump in my throat, and my voice wouldn’t come. This was the nicest Victoria had ever been to me. Which meant things really must be as bad as she said. Even if I was the keeper, how could someone untrained like me do anything? The crystal had made a bad decision choosing me.

“I’m scared,” I croaked.

“You would be stupid not to be, but you won’t be alone in this. When you activate the crystal, it will send out a call to bring you two guardians.”

“It will?”

“That council did a right job in picking their messenger. That changeling is useless. Did he not explain anything?” She grabbed my blazer and wrapped the crystal back up. “Look, I need to get out of here before someone sees me with you and my reputation is ruined.” My blazer was thrust back into my arms. Victoria pushed her hair behind her ear. “My mum knows all the stories about Freya and Kadon. She is the best person to ask if you have questions.” She got up and walked away.

“You guys really are warlocks then?” I shouted after her.

“Yes,” she said over her shoulder. A grin spread across her face, making her eyes sparkle a frosty blue. “And you’re an elf.”

I threw myself on my bed, face-planting into my pillow. Going back to school was pointless. I had already missed most of my afternoon lessons, and my head was spinning. There was no way I would’ve been able to concentrate. The Streets were warlocks. I had weird powers, but most importantly, the Streets were warlocks! Matt, my best friend, had been hiding the truth from me for years. He had been lying our whole friendship. He should have told me. Surely he knew I could keep a secret, and that I would’ve thought it was totally wicked he had magic. I yelled into my pillow. This was all so frustrating. Deep down, I understood this wasn’t just his secret to tell. It was his family’s. A family who knew who I was but didn’t think to tell me. Did I even really know the Street family like I thought? They had kept me in the dark about who they really were and who I really was. Maybe if someone had told me the truth, I would’ve been more prepared when a talking rabbit offered me some crystal instead of being scared witless.

The crystal. It was still bundled up in my blazer on my bedside table. What had Greg said about the crystal again? He’d called it the Heart Crystal. If I activated it, it would protect me. I swung my legs around, pulling myself up and toward the edge of the bed. Careful not to touch it, I unwrapped the crystal. With everything that had happened recently, I could use something to protect me. I squinted at the stone. It appeared clear at first, but as I tilted my head, it changed colour depending on how the light hit it. Maybe I should touch it—activate it and just accept nothing would be the same again. Even if I didn’t, things wouldn’t be going back to how they were before. I couldn’t forget the truths I’d learned. Things between me and Matt were going to be different no matter what. He was a warlock and had hidden it from me. My heart ached. I didn’t like being mad at Matt.

A knock at my window startled me back to reality. There was another knock. I pulled myself up to see a bird pecking at the window. The bird flapped, frantically hitting the glass. I was on the other side of the room in a flash, tugging the window open. The bird flew in, bringing with it a gust of wind. I covered my eyes as twinkling lights filled my room.

“I was starting to think you weren’t going to let me in,” Greg said.

I opened my eyes to see him back in human form, perched on the end of my bed. He had swapped his trench coat for a hoodie and his smart shoes for trainers. He didn’t look quite as out of place as before. I slammed the window shut. Why had I opened it in the first place? I should’ve known the bird was him. “You know, most people use the front door.”

He pushed his fringe to the side. “I thought I was a rabbit the shelter had no space for. It was my understanding that rabbits on this side of the veil don’t use doors.”

I gritted my teeth. “What do you want?”

“I came to see if you activated the Heart Crystal.”

I slumped into the window seat. “Of course you did.”

“I also”—he pushed his fingers into the edge of the bed and looked at the door to the bathroom—”wanted to apologise. I haven’t exactly explained things to you very well. You see, this is hard. I’m not used to this world.” He glanced at me, then quickly looked away. “I’ve come to realise a lot of people back home only agree with me because of who my father is, but you’re different. I’m sorry about everything so far. Can we start over?”

He let out a long breath when he finished speaking, then finally looked me in the eye. His green eyes shone in the light. He seemed to be trying. Maybe I hadn’t been very responsive. Whenever he said something I didn’t like, I’d rejected it, not allowing him to explain further. I could try too. “I guess I would be willing to listen now.”

“Really?” A smile spread across his face, reaching up to his eyes, making the green in them brighter. “Um—where do I start? Where did I leave off last time?”

“Well, Victoria sort of explained some stuff to me.”

“Who’s Victoria?”

“Matt’s sister.”

“The bossy girl from the shop?” I nodded. He shrugged. “How about you ask about what still isn’t clear to you.”

I bit my thumbnail. There were so many questions, so much I didn’t know. Though there was one thing he kept mentioning that had been bugging me. “What exactly is this veil you keep talking about?”

“The veil is what separates the human world from magic. A long time ago, humans lived amongst magical folk, but there were some who thought those without magic should serve those with.”

“You mean like slaves?” He nodded. “That is just—”

“I know. Freya was a campaigner for equality for all. Kadon, on the other hand, was not. He did monstrous things to the humans. One of Freya’s last acts was to create the veil to protect those without magic from those who would use their powers to mistreat them.”

“That’s terrible.”

To think that the only way to keep humans safe was to separate them from magic. Was the magic world really something I wanted to learn about? Were they the sort of people that deserved my help? Then again, humans had done their fair share of atrocities while separated from magic. Freya had fought for equality. There was good and bad in all races and species. I frowned.

“Okay, so this veil is like an invisible wall separating a world of magic and the human world. How are you here? How are the Streets here, or even me?” I asked.

“I came through a tear in the veil. I assume the Streets did as well. As for you, it was my theory, Freya also separated the elves from the magic world, to protect them. Her daughter at the time would have just been a baby leaving the elves without a queen to protect them. They would all be safer amongst humans.”

Freya must have been really powerful to do that, and I was meant to be her heir. It didn’t seem possible. I shook my head. If I’d learnt anything the last few days, it was that anything was possible. “These tear things, how do you find them? You know, if the veil is invisible.”

“You can sort of see them, but not really.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “You know what? I’ll show you.” He held his hand out to me. I glared at him. “I will use the front door this time—you know, like other people do.”

“You’re going to show me a tear, and then we’ll come straight back here?” I asked.

“If that’s what you want. Unless”—he raised an eyebrow—”you want to see the other side.”

My heart somersaulted. He was going to show me a tear in the veil, and on the other side was a world of magic. Who wouldn’t want to see that? “Yes,” I said, nodding. Without realising, I’d already stood up and was beside him. I put my hand in his and let him lead the way.