Mystactral: My Supernatural Tale About Creatures That Rule All Land
260
Mystactral: My Supernatural Tale About Creatures That Rule All Land
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Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781546252023 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | AuthorHouse |
| Publication date: | 07/25/2018 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 260 |
| File size: | 12 MB |
| Note: | This product may take a few minutes to download. |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
Into the Forest
Serina
"Now tell me, sweetheart, what are some of the most popular magical creatures? How many are there on Isle de Fleur?" Liz, my teacher and mother, asked me. I lived in a small looking place called the Dwarf cottage. It was where every dwarf on the continent lived in peace. There was a mountain next door, and we mined deep beneath it. We paid "rent" to the neighboring trolls so they wouldn't destroy our homes and take over the mines. Regardless, us dwarves lived well.
She and I sat side by side at a small square table made of dark brown wood. I sat on the end and she was to my immediate left just around the corner. The room was small, dark, and musty. Our only light was the candle by our station and the small window to my right that seemed to be more in the ceiling than the wall, since we sat in a cellar. The heavy wooden door was opposite from me, half open and led to a long dark corridor. The walls were made of home made brick, old and crumbling. Behind me sat a small and rickety bookshelf holding thick leather textbooks. Its yellowing pages contained a heavy aroma of vanilla flowers and almonds, with a whisper of lavender and mint.
"Fifty three, the number applies to the count on Isle de Fleur. The dragon or the pegasus would be the most popular," I replied lazy and half asleep. I slouched over a large book covered in dust, my head resting on my open palm. Liz and I pulled the large manuscript out to look at the old drawings of mythical beasts. The faded words and drawings looked pretty, but the book was outdated and not enchanted. It was surprising to say the least. Even though I've been coming to and from the cellar for years I never knew that some of our books have no or scarce traces of magic in them. It also mentioned that chimeras still lingered about, and those haven't been seen in ages on the island. There were pages and pages dedicated to each different creature and their whereabouts.
"Good. Last question," She continued, "What is the rarest of the creatures? You should know this Serina, Fantasy Creature History is your best subject." Liz seemed rather chipper.
She took me in almost nine years ago, which I have vague memories of. I'd been found passed out at the edge of the forest. I took note of the wrinkles and sunspots near her grey eyes. She didn't look near as strong anymore, her warrior days long past as she neared her three hundredth birthday. I studied the grey streaks in her light brown hair. It was tied in a four strand braid and hung down to her feet.
Dwarves have a tradition that we never cut our hair. It's a sign of war if we do, because it means the offender has angered someone with great patience. We send our braids or cut hair when we declare war. Liz had only cut her hair once in her life. She said it was because someone else was trying for the hand of her husband, Zak. They fought and the other girl almost died. They're best friends now. Funny how that works.
"The rarest creature is the forest elf, because there's supposed to be only one left in the entire world."
"Good. Bonus question. If you get it right you can skip today's chores." I lifted my eyes to meet hers. She had peaked my interest. "List the creatures on a piece of paper and read them aloud." Liz flashed a devilish grin. That's why she was so peppy, she was giving me a pop quiz. I could tell she was proud of herself, but I'm not about to be outdone by an old lady.
I did as I'm told, rather smugly, and listed them in alphabetical order.
"Ok ... here they are: Banshee, Brownies, Cat People ..." I finished moments later, rather proud of myself from the way Liz looked defeated. Now, I know how strange it is to say "brownie" as a magical creature. I know from experience that brownies taste delicious.
The magical beast is more ... aggressive, for lack of better words, when they're about to become dessert. It takes offense to becoming dinner at all. They are kind, small house fairies who mean well regardless of invading your home. They don't harm anyone, but it's actually quite the opposite. They will choose a caring home and aid them in chores around the house at night, so they don't get caught under foot. In the daytime, when the family members are awake, they can shift into house animals, like chickens or cats. We have a couple here, they like to become goats. It's more difficult for them to accidentally get kicked or stepped on like that.
"Well done," Liz sighed, "Now go play with Sivin. Poor guy looks bored out of his head." She said it smiling, but in her eyes I betrayed her. She had been beat in her own game by an almost fifteen year old and now had to do chores without me.
"Yes!" I cheered, throwing my arms up in the air. I basically won a vacation. It wasn't every week your mother let you off chores and school. I am upset I wouldn't see dad today, but if I stayed here I was bound to end up cleaning something. So I made a plan to leave then return by evening. Dad would be asleep by then; he would've come back from working in a busy mine all day.
I sprinted out of the cellar. I ran down the hallway and up to the first floor of the cottage and into the kitchen to find Sivin on the counter.
"Are you finally done?" Sivin asked me with his eyes closed. He was sitting with his limbs outstretched. Crumbs from a recent snack sprawled around him. He was the only one in the cottage who didn't eat like a whale. I nodded and muttered a confirmation. "Good. Let's do something, I'm so bored!" Sivin complained. He shot up in the air and darted up my arm. He may be small but he is rather quick.
Sivin is a miniature Cat Person. He's still only three inches tall. Cat People are half cat, half human. They have cat ears, eyes, tail, paws, claws, whiskers, and usually multicolored hair. It's rare to see a Cat Person with a solid hair color. On the contrary, Sivin has solid black hair, so for me, it's not as uncommon as it is for most. His eyes were a bright yellow and seemed to get ever wider when a loud noises erupted from within the cottage.
Cat people are also known for shifting into some sort of "Spirit Cat." Yes, it sounds strange and it's complicated to understand. They are descendants of lycans (Lycanthrope, or werecats). They can shift from looking like a mixture of human and feline, to human, or feline. Sivin doesn't have enough magic in his puny body to shift into anything except his standard cat human. He's too small so his spirit cat remains unknown. A spirit cat depends on what species of cat you are. Some are more obvious to guess, like a cheetah or tiger. You guess by how the fur or hair looks on the Cat person. Sivin could be a regular house cat, but he could be a panther or some other black cat.
I, however, am fifteen in a couple weeks and very short at the height of five feet solid. I am only an inch taller than the tallest of dwarves, which stood at 4' 11". At least that was the only non-awkward thing about me. My jet black hair was half my height, straight, which hangs flat and makes my smooth jawline seem all the smaller. I usually keep it in a high ponytail. I have choppy bangs. They go below my large, well kept eyebrows and somewhat into my crystal clear, icy blue eyes. They were so pale and glassy I was told I looked like I was about to cry all the time, and they would turn almost purple when I really was about to cry and the sclera becomes all red.
I wasn't pale like the miners or tan like the lumber dwarves. I was the average medium, like Liz. We worked indoors and outdoors an equal amount doing chores to keep the cottage clean. My lips were pretty, but I have a slightly larger upper lip. I have no freckles or moles nor any sort of blemishes, though I wish I have. I wanted them because all the dwarves did. It's superstition that if you did have freckles, you were bound to live a healthy life. I looked like a princess no matter how hard I worked at looking like a slob and it was almost annoying. I just wanted to fit in! I was strong from working with all the dwarves for most of my life, but I was thinner than them too. My collarbone jutted out in a creepy or ugly kind of way, and I have bony wrists. Contrastingly, I have big strong thighs. I've been told that I'm "pear shaped."
"Ok, me and Sivin are going out now!" I yelled to Liz.
"Have fun!" I heard her reply. I'm surprised she didn't give me a curfew.
I headed out of the dwarf cottage. It wasn't actually a cottage, but more of a ginormous castle. It was big enough for eight hundred Dwarves to live in, with all their belongings. Also enough room for a huge kitchen, sixty bathrooms, twelve living rooms, and a school room in the cellar. Of course, it only looked small on the outside but was big on the inside with the help of a little (a lot of) expanding magic. Expanding magic is an inscription on the wood, called runes, the contractors use to build the house. When the house is complete, they activate the spell some way or another. Then the house becomes enlarged, but only on the inside.
That's why it's called a cottage, because of how it looks on the outside.
My home was cozy and warm wherever you went. In the summer we opened all the windows and the only fires were in the armory and the kitchen. We needed an armory because of our greedy neighbors, the trolls. They threatened war upon our land if we were late with our payment. The mountain next door was the border between our land and the trolls'. They couldn't mine because they were too big, clumsy, and already couldn't hardly see in broad daylight. Mining would be disastrous, they'd get lost ten feet away from the entrance. I've never encountered a troll. I've never encountered a lot of things, but I outran goblins, so there's that. We've tried bluffing our payment with the big oafs, but they can taste the difference. Their only good sense is so overwhelmingly powerful they can tell when we give them an emerald over a sapphire, or coal instead of ore. Cue the first battle.
I sprinted out the door. It was raining, so I went back inside and grabbed an umbrella, then headed back out again. I opened up the inky black contraption and started for Midnight Woods. I've never been there because I've always been busy with chores and school. Now that my day is open; I can go anywhere as long as I'm back before dark. I gave myself a curfew since Liz was most likely cut off too soon. Oops, I'd have to apologize later. My home was only one grassy hill away from the woods. Only the grandfather clock that stood by the door stopped me from running back here. I wasn't going to see the burned ruins of my old town, I was going in the other direction. I was going to the fairy village.
"Uh, Serina ... where are we going?" Sivin asked me. His ear twitched and flicked back.
"Midnight Woods." I stated flatly.
"Oh. Aren't there fairies and urchins in those Woods?"
"There should be."
"We could get lost. The trees move like they do in Shadow Forest. M-maybe we could get trampled! O-or we-"
"Or maybe we could find the fairies," I cut in while Sivin looked unconvinced at me with his button sized eyes. I'd never seen a fairy nor an urchin. Or any other magical beings aside from Sivin and the dwarves ... and goblins. I pushed away the faint memory. I knew what they looked like. Fairies are humans with wings, only they could be as small as my pinky finger. They could cast spells, but not curses. It's because they were "pure beings," like unicorns or silver knights. It's like I'm making this up as I go, I'm not, rest assured. I've read silver knights are the purest and loyal soldiers. They have dedicated their entire existence to the kingdom. They're given a "royal blessing." All of the sudden their armor, sword, and shield are all enchanted silver. That's what I've read, at least.
Urchins were mischievous and mean. They still looked like Fairies. They were the ones who put curses on unsuspecting travelers, then passed the blame. Since they blend in with fairies, it's easy for them to blend in with the fairy society. There's few ways you can tell the two species apart. Like, whether they can utter a curse or not. Urchins are also fond pulling your hair, and they make you believe someone else did it. A crime that usually went unpunished, accompanied by rolled eyes and sore scalps. Fairies always appeared nice, no matter how mean the person was. I'd have more friends if I was like that.
"Whatever ..." He grumbled.
The rain stopped and I closed the umbrella, throwing it into the long grass so I could find it again. We were standing on the very edge of the Midnight Woods by now. The forest smelled beautiful and fresh. All around me I could only see green bushes, tall trees with their trunks sleek and wet and covered in lichen. Dry, dead leaves littered the floor. The grass swayed and swaggered in the cool breeze. The stalks bending below my weight as I stepped through the knee high stalks. Cattails and other weeds stuck up high in the air, dancing as the wind kissed them as it whisked by. I held my breath as I stepped inside the woods for the first time.
We were walking for about an hour in the dark, colorful forest when Sivin and I saw an archery stand. It has about six arrows sticking out from the very middle. It's made of straw and a sheet with slap shot red paint smeared in rough circles. It looked like a child tried making it, and got practice out of it every day. Holes were bleeding through the sheet and the straw innards of the target stuck out rudely.
Another arrow shot out and hit the middle target. Whoever made it was still practicing.
"Bullseye!" I shouted with a big smile on my face. I have been a sheltered child. I didn't know any better when I yelled at the anonymous person. The only creatures that I've ever seen were goblins, dwarves, and Sivin, of course. I was being rather naive, shouting the way I was, but I was eager to try making a friend. Yeah, I really didn't think this through. Making a friend with someone with a deadly weapon. Why was this was a good idea again?
"Serina, you shouldn't yell at an archer without knowing who shot it! They could eat you!" Sivin yelled at me.
"Don't worry. I won't eat you." a boy's voice spoke up from somewhere nearby.
"Who, and where, are you?" I asked, peering in the undergrowth.
"I'm Thersel and I'm right above your head." Thersel replied roughly. Sivin and I immediately looked up.
Up, sitting on a low branch upside down, there was a boy about my age. He has light brown hair, bleached by the sun with streaks of dark brunet whisking through. It was falling awkwardly from the way he was hanging. His eyes danced with all the greens of the forest, so I knew he was acting tough. They told stories of good times and adventure, not ferociousness like he was putting on. I wanted to meet the kind person with the kind eyes. His skin, however, caught me off guard. It was pale -- so pale, in fact, that you could see all the veins in his arms and wrists, some in his neck, too. It should be a dark tan, considering his sun bleached hair. He was quite handsome, I has to admit, with his strong square jaw and full rosy lips. I noticed that his right earlobe has a piercing, but I couldn't see his full ear.
"Now it's my turn; who are you and where did you come from?" he asked, still keeping the same, creepy, straight faced expression. He was so calm it was unnatural. It was as if he did this all the time. He knew how to interrogate people and make them squirm under those intriguing green eyes. The only movement he made was the furrowing of his eyebrows as I hesitated to reply.
"Don't tell him, Serina. He could be lying about not eating you," Sivin mumbled in a hushed voice.
"Well? Do you even know where you came from? Or are you trying to catch a bug in your mouth?" He pointed at my open mouth as he said the last part. He also didn't seem notice Sivin on my shoulder, hiding in my black hair.
"I'm Serina. Sivin and I are from the Dwarf Cottage not too far from here." I replied, cautious. I made sure I closed my mouth after speaking.
"Well Serina, no one suggests you stay much longer. Dwarf Cottage may not be a day's journey, but it takes at least an hour and a half," he told me.
"But we got here in an hour." I argued.
"Doesn't matter," He shook his head, frustrated. Thersel spun up and around. He then jumped down from the tree he was sitting on and continued, "The trees made an easy pathway for you, so you got here no problem," He took a step closer. "When you get an easy in, you don't ever get an easy way back. They could make it a three hour trip for you. Maybe less, definitely close to that. If you're not back home by dark, you're in for the night of your life. Every animal will want a little midnight snack, and you and your cat are the perfect capture." So that's why it's called Midnight Woods, I thought.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Mystactral"
by .
Copyright © 2018 Syreeta Moore.
Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Prologue, ix,
Prologue Two, xiii,
Chapter 1 Into the Forest, 01,
Chapter 2 Orphans, 14,
Chapter 3 Strange Friends, 23,
Chapter 4 Deadly Silhouette, 37,
Chapter 5 Realm Key, 40,
Chapter 6 Swimming, 46,
Chapter 7 Snowy Monarch, 52,
Chapter 8 Witch, 59,
Chapter 9 Forgotten Memories, 64,
Chapter 10 Trust Issues, 73,
Chapter 11 Centaur, 87,
Chapter 12 Teacher, 93,
Chapter 13 Brothers, 99,
Chapter 14 A Terrible Pain, 107,
Chapter 15 Apology, 112,
Chapter 16 Almost Dead, 117,
Chapter 17 A No-Good Family, 121,
Chapter 18 Fight, 126,
Chapter 19 Confessions, 136,
Chapter 20 Tiamat's Attack, 142,
Chapter 21 Lost and Found, 150,
Chapter 22 Captured, 158,
Chapter 23 Deal with the Devil, 161,
Chapter 24 A Plan, 172,
Chapter 25 Hidden Grove, 177,
Chapter 26 Goddess, 184,
Chapter 27 Griffins and Sphinx, 198,
Chapter 28 We Bargain with Gorgons, 208,
Chapter 29 Mother's Wisdom, 212,
Chapter 30 Eyes Open, 222,
Chapter 31 Home, 232,
Acknowledgments, 243,