"Jasmine's Secrets" Sneak Peak

I was now in the bookstore, scanning my eyes over a shelf of historical fiction, not even looking at any of the names of the books. I was furious with my sister. I didn’t even want her as a sister anymore. Someone had walked into the aisle and stood beside me. I didn’t glance up to look. I felt their hand slip around my waist and immediately knew who it was. I turned to look at Chris. My mouth dropped open. Bryan Riley stood with his arm around me, keeping me from running. He had a smirk on his face and a joking gleam in his eyes. I struggled to be free of him. “Get away from me,” I whispered fiercely to him. He just smirked again.
“Now, now, we don’t want to do anything rash,” he said. He rested his other arm next to my head on the shelf behind me. I had never felt so trapped in my life than that moment. “Why don’t we get out of here, Jas?”
“I have told you a thousand times: I don’t want to be anywhere with you again,” I said, remembering a worse time in my life. “Now let me go.”
“Jazzy, baby, I’m never letting you go again,” he said lightly, leaning in to me. “Don’t you remember the good times that we shared? When we would just sit in your room... in the dark... having the best times?” He stroked my hair with his free hand, knowing the way to shut me up. He smiled his evil smile, knowing that he had me where he wanted me.
“Hey jackass. Let go of my girl,” I head a familiar voice say nearby. I opened my eyes and saw Bryan looking over at Chris.
“You going to make me,” Bryan asked Chris before he dared put his mouth on mine. He was too close for me to push him away. I felt helpless.
“You mother—,” I heard Chris say before I felt Bryan be tugged away from me. I opened my eyes again and saw Chris punch Bryan right in the jaw. I heard a crack. “Jas, get out of here.”
I ran out of the bookstore faster than I would if I were being chased by a madman with a knife. I stopped running in an alley in between Allysan’s Accessories and CeeCee’s Pizza Shop. I hung onto the brick wall, panting. I heard a noise farther back in the alleyway. I whirled around, frightened. I saw something lying in front of the brick wall farthest away from the street. I walked cautiously to the thing, looking back to the street every five paces. When I reached the item of question, I could see that it was a large notebook with a scene of dragons fighting in the sky on the cover. I picked up the book and wiped it clean of dust. It was lighter than I had expected it to be. I opened the book to a place with a gap inside. There was a note folded many times in the spot where I opened it. I set the book down on the ground and opened the note. It was handwritten in large letters. The message read:

Thou have found the Book of ancient Books
Thou have opened it and taken looks
Thou are the Cursed One, thee see
Now this warning thou must heed:

Secrets thou kept to thyself
Written in the Book of Elve
Wishes thou make will be true
By every full and silver moon

But fun and games Elve is naught
For Elve’s magick is fun not
Elve is evil, wicked, dark
Hope Elve’s words have left a mark

I read through the poem several times before putting the paper back inside and carrying the book back home, my thoughts making me dizzy.

I walked through the front door without a sound, almost stumbling over a stool as I entered. I saw Josh and Juni sitting on the couch. They were watching a movie on the DVD player we got a year ago. They both looked over at me for a moment before looking back at the screen. “I’m home,” I said quietly. “I found a new journal. I’m going to my room now.”
“Wait,” Josh said, getting up. “What “new journal” are you talking about? Where did you get it?” He looked at the bulky book in my arms.
“It’s just a really big journal,” I said, averting my green eyes. I left the front room before he could reply. I dropped the book carefully onto my bed, not wanting to wake up Midnight, my beautiful black cat. Her eyes were a pale green hinted with gray around the pupils. I would kill to have those eyes. I thought back to the note in the book. “I haven’t even thought to see if that book is really a journal or not,” I spoke into the silence. Midnight lifted her head up and meowed at me. “Yeah, I know, Midnight. I’m sorry.” She licked her front paw and went back to sleep.

That night, I kept looking over at the strange journal called “Elve’s Book.” I kept thinking about the note inside, the warning. I had so much to write about, but I ran out of paper in my old journal. I snatched the book up and grabbed my multi-colored pen. I opened the book up to a blank page, the first page. I clicked one of the colors and began to write everything that I’ve kept inside. I felt a wrong feeling each time I created a letter. I didn’t stop writing. I couldn’t stop. It was just a freak thing, or so I thought.

“...Why do I feel like I’ve just committed one of the seven deadly sins by writing in that book? It’s probably just that weird poem,” I thought before drifting to sleep. When I woke up, it was midnight. I was soaked with sweat, and I felt as though I was made of Jello. I flicked the lamp on, grabbed my pen and Elve’s Book, and began to write:

Last night I had the craziest dream. I dreamed that Chris and I were standing on top of a very high hill at midnight, holding hands and staring into each other’s eyes. The next thing I know, I was staring into the eyes of a demon girl with dark brown hair that was put up into twin ponytails. She looked as though she was just a child. Her eyes were pure black with no iris or pupil and she stared into my soul, reading every one of my secrets. Her lips, red as blood, mouthed words to me that I didn’t hear but were said inside my head. She had said, “Pretty faced Jasmine. Pretty, pretty faced Jasmine. Cursed Jasmine.” She held my hands tightly with her icy grip, freezing every muscle in my body like I was merely a wet towel cast into a hail storm in the middle of December. My arms ached and my legs shook with terror as I tried to break free of her, but she held me tightly. I tried to scream, but no words escaped my lips. She let go of my hands, but I was still as ice. She vanished, and I screamed. I then woke up from the nightmare.

I put my pen down, closed Elve’s Book, and set them both down on my nightstand before drifting back into dreamland. I felt Midnight craw up next to my chest and purr. It was one of my last moments of sanity left.




When I had woken back up, it was 8:30 in the morning. I stood and began to stretch my aching body. Midnight chirped on my bed, pointing her gray-green eyes into my plain green ones. “Morning, Midnight,” I said, leaning over to stroke her black fur. I touched my noes to hers and she began to lick it. The sandpaper texture of it tickled my face, and I began to laugh. I heard a knock on my door. I stood and opened it. There stood the girl from my nightmare. Elve was in my house.
“Might I come in, Jasmine? I have traveled long ways to see you,” she said. Her voice, sweet and innocent, hinted a heavy Irish accent. She moved her eyes up and down my body, chilling me. “You are even more beautiful than I expected you to be.” She moved her hands toward me.
“I don’t know who you are, but if you don’t leave, I will kick your ass out of here,” I said, moving away from her.
“You won’t have to let me in. Just, whenever you leave, I’ll get you. That is, if you survive that long,” she chimed, pressing against an invisible barrier in my doorway. “Or, I could just keep you here myself and let you die slowly. It’s your choice. Let me in, or die.”
I stood in the center of my room, mouth agape. “I-I’ll let you in,” I said finally. I watched as her hands fell through the barrier, allowing her to enter. She smiled a wicked smile.
“I thank you, Jasmine. You don’t know what kind of help you have been so far. Now, the matters of my Book,” she said. She scanned her eyes over my room as if the barrier blocked her sight from anything other than me. “I like your room. It’s very much my taste.” Elve spotted Midnight. “Ah, yes. Your cat. You’ve had her since she was a kitten, have you not? It’s true what they say, you know. Owners and their pets are remarkably similar. I bet you would love to have her eyes, would you not? I can make that happen for you, if you like. But, it would take a lot of energy. I would have to stay here with you.”
“How would I hide you? I mean, from my family,” I said, falling into her trap. “Can you shape shift or something?”
Elve laughed. “No, no. I mean, I can. Just not into animals. I could, however, change into a teenager like yourself.”
I thought about this for a long time. “No. Just... Stay somewhere. Not here,” I said firmly. “I’m sorry, Elve, but I can’t hide you.”
Elve looked saddened. “Don’t be sorry for me. I’m sorry for you, Jasmine,” she said in a chilling tone. I shivered. She put her hands on either side of my face. “It will be sad to see such a pretty face be destroyed. Oh, well. It won’t be painful for you, dear. It will be quick. I’ll be back for my Book.” She stepped away from me and laughed before vanishing into the air.