In the Blink of an Eye

By Tia Ross

One girl destined to save many.

A secret society sworn to protect her.

Mica had been moving from place to place for as long as she could remember, but this time was different. Maui actually felt like home, she'd made so many friends, she was really hoping they wouldn't be moving again.

What Mica didn't know, was that she'd been moving so much because her mother was protecting her, if they ever found her...if it was the last thing Reya did, she would protect her daughter.

Their time on the island was coming to an end, they'd already stayed too long.

Little did she know that her time had just run out. Funny thing about fate, no matter how far or fast you run - you can't out run it.

Eventually it catches up to you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tia Ross
• Release date: Mar 25, 2018
• ISBN: 9781370747672

Tia Ross

Tia Ross is an avid reader. She loves sci-fy, horror, mystery and adventure novels. Also a movie lover - you might catch her with one of her children, husband or friends checking out the latest movie. Art and culture thrill her. She enjoys traveling when time allows and drawing the things she sees. She loves her readers and wants to thank each and every one of you for giving her book a chance.

Book preview

In the Blink of an Eye

(Mystic Realms Book 1)

by Tia Ross

Copyright 2018 Tia Ross

Published by Stardust Dreams, LLC at Smashwords

License Statement

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please visit your favorite eBook retailer to purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at: [e-mail]

Author Dedication

This book is dedicated to those people who always believed in me and gave me the strength to continue to follow my dreams. Dreams are like clouds, over time they may change shape, but they never fully dissipate. It’s up to each and every on of us to follow our dreams. Thank you: Bryce, Hunter, Pierce, Jason, Rabea, Alana and Gloria. You each pushed me to follow my dreams, no matter how tired I was, how frustrated I was, or how discouraged I became. Because of you, I never gave up. To those of you who purchased my book, thank you, for giving me a chance to entertain you.

Never stop dreaming!

Tia Ross

Table of Contents

Feelings

Strangers

The House

Revelations

The Calling

The Alarm

Dinner

Ophelia

Full Disclosure

Memories

So Close

Cards on the Table

Sunrise

Breakfast

Training

Hijacked

Surprises

Old Friends

Contact

Leilani

En Route

Home Sweet Home

The Beach

Dad

Celebrations

Sky’s Story

No Place Like Home

Nightmares and Dreams

Homecoming

Lesson One

Argenta’s Story

Explanations

Chantelle

Headaches, Bumps and Bruises

Dinner Time

A Tale to Tell

Keepers

Knowledge is Power

Stardust

Argenta’s Birthday

Questions

Visions

The Gift

In Sync

Indigo

Greyson

Timing

Prologue

Sometimes the truth hurts so much that you bury it as deeply as you can. So deep that after a time you may even forget it yourself, but like all things, it will eventually find its way back to the light.

It was so long ago; she’d almost forgotten it had happened. A part of her downright refused to even acknowledge it to be true. Why was this happening now? What was causing it? She’d covered every base, erased every trail, she must have missed something though or this wouldn’t be happening right now. What the hell could it be? Damn, she was out of time, she could feel it, they were almost there.

She took a deep breath in, closed her eyes and blew out the breath she had been holding and prepared to fight. She may not have known who or what was coming, but she knew she was about to find out. All Hell was about to break loose and she’d be damned if she wasn’t the last one standing.

Chapter 1 – The Feeling

All day long I’d had a feeling of uneasiness … of dread…the kind of feeling you get when you think someone is watching you, but when you slowly turn around to check it out no one’ s there. The hair on my neck and arms was standing straight up. It felt like a cold blast of air had just whooshed through me.

I was running along Pipawi - the nature trail – just like I did every evening. I kept felling like someone was watching me. I stumbled as I turned to look over my shoulder. A tree root or something must have caught my foot. I whipped my head back around to see where I was falling and had just enough time to dodge to the left. I missed crashing into a humongous boulder by mere inches as I fell. I rolled instinctively, landing on my back. I rolled over into a crouch, squatting low. I threw my hands up in front of me and slowly looked around.

It was cold. The hair all over my body was standing on end. Adrenaline flooded thru my body as I prepared for…only GOD knew what. I musta stayed like that for about 10 minutes; my legs were starting to ache. I looking all around, head on swivel like a damn doll, I got up and walked around a bit. I looked back down the path, but no one was there. I turned to the left and right; completing a full circle; looking into the trees the entire time and – nothing. There was no one around. That cold feeling didn’t disappear though. For some reason I just couldn’t shake it.

Crazy, I was nowhere close to the summit. I was still down near the bridges, just crossing the stream, which was essentially still at the bottom of the mountain. The summit was almost 10,000 feet above sea level, so yeah, I would definitely be freezing my butt off if I was up there. The average temperature up there was only about 40 degrees! That’s not where I was though, so I shouldn’t be feeling cold at all.

I half expected to see my breath when I exhaled. Inhaling deeply, I looked around again, just to make sure no one was there. Lots of trees, and a couple of Nene’s – Hawaiian geese – but other than that nada. There was no one there or at least no one I could see. If they were there, they were pretty well hidden. Releasing the breath, I didn’t know I was holding, I took one more look and decided to let it go.

It was crazy anyway, who would be following me as I ran through the park? I loved running here. From the moment I first came to the park it had been my favorite on the island. It was so beautiful. Haleakala - the name literally means house of the sun. How cool is that?! The name is fitting too, I’ve seen some of the most beautiful sunsets here. It’s like the sun shines on every inch of the place, embracing it with light and then disappears for the night. It makes me think of getting a kiss goodnight at bedtime.

Picture sitting in a waterfall, looking out over the water with mountains surrounding you on every side and the most brilliant yellow/pink/red light slowly descends across an azure blue sky, until it meets the ocean and disappears. It’s breathtaking.

I can’t comment on the sunrises ‘cause I will never be up that early, but I hear they are pretty amazing too.

I usually show up in the late afternoon or early evening to get in a run, that way I can avoid most of the crowds. I mostly stick to the Pipawi trails, but I do have a tendency to venture off and head into the Kipahulu Valley Reserve. I’ve always considered rules as a sort of warning. For instance, no trespassing signs are more of an enter at your own risk kind of thing for me. Some of the best waterfalls are back there, why should they get to keep them all to themselves? Plus, I love the feel of it back there. No tourists, just nature and me. As long as I don’t run into any rangers, I’m good.

So, as soon as I hit the bamboo forest, I’m making a slight detour and getting lost in it. The biggest smile lit up my face just thinking about it. The bamboo forest is just off of the Pipiwai stream, about a mile or so into the trail towards the Waimoku falls. It’s a nice little diversion. Perfect to blow off some steam and unwind for the day.

With that thought I took off running. The pines and spruce flew by. The smells coming from the forest were intoxicating. Especially the pine. Reminds me of Christmas trees and hot chocolate! Umm, just can’t get enough.

I kept running until I got to the falls. They are so beautiful. The sound of the water cascading over the edges and down into the pools below is so soothing. It took everything I had not to jump into the closest one. The white water mixing in with the blue, surrounded by the rainforest on one side and bamboo on the other – it felt like being in another world. After all the eerie feelings today, taking a dive into my own personal waterfall would definitely help me relax. Just thinking about it sent tingles down my spine.

With that thought in mind, she realized she needed to get going. She’d wasted too much time already. There were still too many people in this area. She was always a little uneasy around a lot of people.

Time to get to the bamboo forest now. My nerves couldn’t take much more. At least once I got into the forest I’d be able to tell a little bit better if someone was watching me or not. Not very many people ventured into the bamboo forest, seeing as it was in the restricted part of the reserve and all. Restricted?! Ha! Laughing, she head off even faster.

After running about 100 yards she slowed down just enough to take a quick look around, making sure no one was relatively close to her, she took a quick left and headed toward the bamboo forest. Today was not the day to get caught heading into the reserve. Her nerves definitely couldn’t take it.

She ran past the rain forest and watched it transform into the tall bamboo trees. They seemed to stretch into the sky forever. Weaving in and out between the trees, a calm settled over her. She completely lost herself, it was like the bamboo was giving off positive energy and she was going to soak up as much as she possibly could.

No matter how many times she ran here or how she weaved her way thru the trees, she always ended up at a waterfall. It happened so much she was starting to think that she was drawn to them. Like some sort of instinct was pushing her towards them.

As she rounded the corner, she hit the path, unless you knew where it was you’d definitely miss it. This particular path cut a zigzag straight up towards the summit. She wasn’t going quite that far though. Reaching the top could take hours and she didn’t have that kinda time today. So instead, she ran on for about ten minutes. Bamboo stalks knocked together making a hollow clunk-clunk sound as she passed.

The canopy overhead blocked out the sun almost entirely in spots; leaving a shadow of darkness over the land. Luckily, she was never afraid of the dark.

A local had told her about strange animals attacking people, but she figured it was just a story created to keep people out of the reserves. You know the kind; someone tells you a scary story about something that happened some place and then you supposedly avoid that place because you don’t know how true the story really is? Basically, scare the crap out of ‘em and they’ll stay away? Yeah. Didn’t work too well with the whole Blair witch thing did it? Guess it wasn’t scary enough. Now, someone experimenting on animals back there, that I could kinda believe.

Laughing, I put the ghost story out of my head. I could hear the roar of the water now. It wasn’t much further.

There it was, I could see the little stream. The water ran straight to the edge and over. In about 2 seconds I would be doing the same thing.

I crossed my arms over my chest, made my body as straight as an arrow and jumped. I flew feet first through the air. The drop was about 110 feet. Adrenalin rushed through my body as I soared through the air; anticipation coursing through my body. For a few seconds I had no worries at all.

Water splashed on me the whole way down. It was so cold. It felt wonderful. It was hot as hell today and the iciness of the water was exactly what I needed. I listened to the sound of the water crashing below me, the birds calling to each other somewhere out there and that clunk – clunk of the bamboo.

Finally, at peace, I hit the water. Why do the things that make you feel so good seem to be over so fast? I swear someone is messing with us. You know drag out the bad, painful, boring, mind-numbing B.S; but then the good stuff – make it fly by fast as hell. Whatever, all I could do was enjoy the moment. Enjoy it while you can, right?

As soon as I hit the water, I opened my legs – one to the front and one to the back in a sort of scissor kick. I spread my arms into a T at the same time so that I wouldn’t go down too far. The first few times I’d jumped I’d forgotten to do that and almost ran out of air getting back to the top of the water. I was like a missile heading straight down to the bottom! I have no idea how deep the pool is and uh I have no plans of finding out either.

As I surfaced, gulping in fresh air, the iciness of the water hit me. I let it envelope me, relishing the feeling. It was just what I needed. My muscles relaxed and my breathing eased, all my worries disappear when I jump. Finally, able to relax, I took a few deep breaths and climbed out of the water up onto some boulders.

I lay on the rocks to warm up a little and let the sun dry me off. It felt amazing. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the sound; bamboo knocking, water crashing against the rocks. Feeling about 50% dry, I hopped up, stretched a little and began to head back to the car. The feeling of being watched was totally gone. Maybe my mind had been playing tricks on me.

The run back was always faster. Seemed like it took forever to get there, but no time to get back. Hmph.

I always seemed to stay there just a little too long. The daycare was always fussing at me for being a few minutes late. Life was just so laid back on the island, it was so easy to get lost in the beauty of it and lose track of time. Today though, I had vowed to be on time and a promise was a promise.

Taking a quick look at her watch she swore a bit and put on an extra burst of speed, she would need to hurry if she was going to make it. Thankfully, the daycare wasn’t that far away, she should still make it with a few minutes to spare.

She got to her car just as the sun was setting. Totally out of breath and exhausted but feeling exhilarated at the same time. She loved her jogs and dips in the water. They turned out to be just what she needed. It was Leilani’s fault anyway, after all, she’s the one who suggested she find something to do to help her relax. Running the trails, as it turned out, had been a perfect suggestion. She was just lucky that she and Leilani, the owner of the daycare, had ended up being such good friends.

Still thinking about Lei as she got in the truck, the phone rang and she damn near jumped out of her skin. Speak of the devil, if it wasn’t Leilani, Hey girl what’s up? Leilani, hearing her friend said, hey Reya are you on your way to the daycare? Yeah, I just hopped in the car and I’m on my way now Reya said…Good I caught you in time. In time for what? Everyone came early today, so it’s just me and Mica – how bout you go home and shower and meet us at my house later? We’ll head over and start dinner, that way by the time you get there we can go ahead and eat. Oh, Lei that sounds great! Ok, let me talk to Mica. Hey Mom Hey Mic’s how ya doing? Good. So, are you meeting us at Auntie’s Leilani’s house? ha-ha, sure, you go with Auntie Lei, I’m gonna run home and shower and then I’ll be over ok? ok, sounds good. All right put Auntie Leilani back on the phone. ok, bye, love u, see you soon Love you too!

Hey girl, hey Lei, alright, we’re good to go – I’ll see you guys in a bit Reya answered. Alright, food should be ready in about an hour said Leilani. Ok, later and with that Reya put the car into reverse and headed home.

Chapter 2 - Strangers

Turning off the lights and locking the door behind them, Leilani and Mica headed out to Leilani’s car. Mica loved Leilani’s car. It was a crazy steel – greyish-blue sorta color. Depending on the light it either looked steel grey or blue. It was a convertible AMG GT C roadster. It was a beast –twin turbo charged 4.0-liter V8 engine; 550 horsepower, 502 lb. – foot torque and 0-60 in 3.7 seconds. Oh, she turned the governor off. Yeah, no max speed of 196 mph up in here.

Leilani loved fast cars as much as Mica. The AMG was perfection on wheels. She didn’t know how Leilani had gotten her hands on one, damn car wasn’t supposed to come out till 2018. it really is about who you know after all. Heading towards the car, Mica was definitely ready for a ride, for some reason she had felt a little off all day. She’d gotten a weird feeling around third period and it hadn’t gone away yet.

As they headed to the car a candy apple red jeep pulled into the parking lot. There were two women in it, who looked extremely wind blown. The jeeps’ top was off, so the wind had blown their hair all over the place. The women hopped out of the car and headed toward the door.

Crap Leilani said softly as she saw the two get out and head toward the front door of the daycare. "Hi ladies, can