The Mystics

Lia Mixa

Lia put her screen pencil down and cracked her knuckles. Her drawing was complete.

Miss Clarin, the art teacher, stopped behind Lia. Her blue eyes, framed by black glasses, looked up and down Lia's drawing screen. "Lia, what have you drawn?" Miss Clarin asked, tapping her foot on the tiled floor.

Lia tucked a few strands of her ash-grey hair behind her ears. "You see, Miss Clarin, the assignment was to draw something from history. I was looking at digital maps of what New Earth looked like one thousand years ago." Lia reached out and touched her drawing screen.

When she swiped left, a new image appeared over Lia's drawing. It was a map. "This is a map of Jontose. It used to be called North America, consisting of three countries—"

Lia was cut off by Miss Clarin. "No, Lia! We don't talk about life before The Mystics! In fact, get out of my art class! Now."

Two guards came and grabbed Lia's arms. Next thing she knew, she was sitting outside of the Education Building, waiting at a hover stop.

"Life before The Mystics? Ugh!" Lia mumbled as she took her satchel off her back and plopped it on her lap.

Lia looked down. Nobody in New Earth was afraid of heights, due to the cities floating above the Ground.

Below the Jontose city of Camen was the rubble of New York City.

Lia had always wondered what was down there. You know, other than The Mystics. Mother Penta had always told Lia and the other girls in the orphanage the scary stories about The Mystics. "Always capitalize the 'The' in The Mystics," she said. "King Arlo says that they can tell whether or not you're saying their name correctly."

Lia wasn't really afraid of The Mystics. In fact, hearing those stories would make her braver. "Lia, you're tough as a rock!" Mother Penta would say.

There are six Mystics. The Mystics of Air, Fire, Water, Ice, Rock, and Plant. They used their elemental powers to destroy Earth. They roam about the Ground now, using their monsters to attack anything— or anyone— that found themselves on the Ground.

Or so King Arlo says.

"Lia! Lia! Lia!"

A voice broke through Lia's thoughts. She looked to her left. Sure enough, Lora, Lia's twin sister, was running down the floating walk, straight towards the hover stop. "Mother Penta got the message! She says to pick you up. You were expelled from another art class, I suppose? What for this time?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Lia said, clutching her beautiful grey pendant. It was a round, smooth stone imbedded in a silver frame. Her parents gave the pendant to her on her fourth birthday. Lora didn't get one, however, which caused a bit of rivalry between the girls.

Lia and Lora look very similar, being twins. They had beautiful tan skin, round faces, large, bright eyes, and wavy hair. However, that's where the similarities stop.

Lora has glowing, soft, platinum blonde hair, accented by toffee colored eyes.

Lia has ash-grey hair, which is a hundred times messier than Lora's waves. Lia's eyes are a silvery-grey.

Lora always attracted the boys.

Lia hid in the shadows.

Yes, the Mixa twins are polar opposites. The only major difference is that...

Lora's not a Mystic.

.•°•.•°•.

The twins took a hover taxi back to the orphanage. "Thank you, Mr. Taxi driver!" Lora said as she got out of the hover and stepped back onto the floating walk.

Lia started rummaging through her satchel, looking for some coins to tip the taxi driver.

"No, the ride's on me, gorgeous," the driver said with a wink. He rolled up the window and drove away.

Lora looked at Lia and squealed. "Lia! A boy just showed interest in you!"

"Ew, Lora! He had to be about forty years old." Lia started to walk into the orphanage.