I spooned porridge onto my bowl as my mom walked into the kitchen.
"Morning, Cheryl," she greeted.
"Morning," I answered. "Here is your porridge," I said, handing her the bowl. I took my own bowl and sat down.
"Ready for school?" my mom asked. I nodded my head. My books were in my bag, my homework was done. Yep. I was ready.
I swallowed the rest of my breakfast and bid my mother goodbye. I grabbed my bookbag as I walked out the door. I started walking down the stone path that would lead me to Berekly Middle School. Along the way I met my best friend, Chris.
"Hey, Cheryl," said Chris. Her ruby red jewel on her wrist was shining brightly in the sunlight. I touched my own black stone and flashbacked on that day where Chris's mother had told us that we were mages. I stayed up all night practicing my stone that day.
"Hey, Chris. Ready for school?" I asked. Chris rolled her eyes.
"Am I ever ready for school, Cheryl?" we giggled and continued down the stone path. Five minutes later, we reached the large stone building that was my school. Okay, here is the deal: my math teacher hates me. So when I walked into her classroom, she narrowed his eyes. I glared right back and took my seat next to the window. I'm really a calm type of person. But Mrs. Green makes me feel so mad sometimes.
I looked out the window and felt myself breakaway from the rest of the class. I closed my eyes. I felt like I was flying. I opened my eyes - but closed them suddenly. I felt something new, something strong. Something powerful. Magic. Magic.
My jewel started flashing black and amber. I didn't even bother to cover it with the sleeve of my sweater. My stomach lurched. I felt sickness course through my body as Mrs. Green rambled on about the square root of twelve. . .
I ripped my face away from the window. I was covered in sweat. No body in the classroom seemed to notice anything unusual except Chris's stone, which was flashing a bright red. Our eyes met and a telepathic message seemed to be channeled to our minds.
"Sorry I'm late, Mrs. Green," said a voice. I turned around and saw Erika in the doorway. She, also, was covered in sweat. She was breathing hard. Had she encountered the same thing as I? Or had she simply been running?
"I expect you to be on time every morning, Ms Davies. What is your excuse?" asked Mrs. Green.
"I lost track of the time," Erika stated simply. Mrs. Green clicked her tongue and scribbled something down on a notepad. Erika rolled her eyes and sat down. Her stone was flashing hazy shades of blue and silver. She quickly covered her bracelet with the sleeve of her green shirt. Our stones only pulsed when something important was happening. Like, if someone was in trouble. What was happening?
Ring!
The bell rang and the students filed out, leaving the classroom empty. I started toward the science lab.
"Arrgghh!" I moaned. My jewel was exploding with light. I felt dizzy.
I rushed over to Chris.
"Chris!" I yelled. She showed me her pulsing jewel. I understood now.
"We have to go find where ever the magic is coming from," I said. Erika ran up to us and stuck her stone in my face. It was also pulsing.
"My stone! It's flashing! And whenever I go over there it glows even brighter!" Erika pointed to the west corridor. Not many lessons took place there. Me, Chris, and Erika started running toward the entrance to the hallway. No one was there. The minute we stepped inside, our jewels started glowing brighter and brighter. I felt a bit scared. What was happening?
We reached the end of the corridor. Our jewels were flashing like crazy. The only other door was the one that lead to outside, where the kids were dismissed.
"Do you think we should go?" asked Erika.
"Of course. We want to find out what's happening, right?" I responded. Everyone nodded their head in agreement. I took a deep breath and opened the door. I stepped onto the grass. Nothing seemed to be different.
Suddenly, we heard a roar. I spun around and saw a woman. She had waist-length raven black hair and scarlet eyes. Her lips were blood red, and when they parted they revealed vampire fangs. She wore a black cloak with a black clasp that covered her whole body. She looked like a demon!
"Aagghh! What's that?" screamed Chris.
"I am your worse nightmare, mages," the woman screeched. I was frozen to the spot.
The woman lunged at us. Chris, who was very good at sports, rolled out of the way and gracefully landed on her feet. Erika jumped out of the way, falling on her wrist in the process. I dodged behind a trash can. The woman bared her fangs and leaped toward us again. This time I did not dodge fast enough.
The woman (what was she?) Grabbed me by the neck and pulled me toward her. Her hand felt like ice against my skin. She pulled me closer and closer until I was right in front of her face.
"Cheryl!" screamed Erika. I could not scream back.
The woman opened her mouth and took a deep breath. A silver mist started flowing from my mouth. I felt my energy drain away. My stone glowed fainter and fainter until it was reduced to a tiny grey light. I felt like I was a rag doll. I could not control my own body. I did not even feel my own body.
"NO!" someone knocked against the demon and her hand let go of me. I started breathing deeply, watching Chris wrestle the woman. She punched the woman in the face kicked her in the shin. The woman graspedChris's arm, and I knew she what she was going to do.
"Chris!" I raised my jewel and a grey/black energy beam blasted the demon to the floor. Chris stood up. The woman looked at us, then with a wave of her cloak, she vanished.
I sank to the floor. My jewel was starting to glow a stronger black, but I was still feeling drained.
"Cheryl? Are you alright?" asked Chris, stooping down next to me. Erika walked over to me as well.
"What was that woman thing doing to her?" she asked.
"It - it looked like she was - was sucking the magic out of her," said Chris, almost in a whisper. I got up. I was feeling a little better now that the woman/demon or whatever she was, was not sucking the life out of me.
Me, Chris, and Erika made our way back to class. We didn't know what to do. And on top of all that we went through that day - we got in trouble for skipping class!
