Free Mystics 3-Book Collection by Kim Richardson Page A

And why do I have to
whisper about it?”
    Tristan and Simon looked at each other
again, and then finally Tristan said. “It’s a top secret device
that only a few Sevenths and mystics have ever laid eyes on.
It’s used to travel through and back from the Nexus.”
    “The Nexus,” repeated Zoey. She remembered
that both her foster mother’s demon and the agents had mentioned
it.
    “Is that like where the monst—mystics live,
or something?” She caught herself.
    Tristan took a sip of his water. “The Nexus
is where the mystics came from thousands of years ago. It’s another
dimension—a world filled with millions of mystics.”
    A slice of pepperoni fell from Simon’s
mouth. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
    The pieces to Zoey’s puzzle were all coming
together now. She was getting the hang of it. “So why is it so
special…this interloper?” she said and lowered her voice on the
word interloper . “Why is it kept secret?”
    “Because it’s one of the few devices
that actually work,” said Tristan, looking serious.
    “Guys, I think I’m lactose intolerant,”
interjected Simon. “It’s the cheese—I think maybe that’s why I’m
afraid of cows.”
    Tristan ignored him. “The mystics built the
devices thousands of years ago and used them to cross over to
Earth, to colonize our world—”
    “—Like an alien invasion,” said Simon as he
took another bite of his pizza.
    “But then the hostiles massacred hundreds of
thousands of humans,” continued Tristan, “they wanted to annihilate
the entire human race—”
    “—Until there was nothing left of us but
dust,” added Simon, still chewing.
    “The Mutes didn’t understand what was
happening to them. They couldn’t see their threat, so they
couldn’t fight back. That’s when the Sevenths got together and
destroyed most of the interlopers, to keep the hostiles from
crossing over to Earth again. And that’s when the Agencies and the
treaty were created.”
    Simon licked the grease from his fingers.
“We patrol the dimension’s borders. We keep tabs on the hostiles.
Can I have a sip of your drink?” he helped himself to Tristan’s
drink.
    Zoey watched Aria pouring water into empty
glasses.
    “So why do they stay here? Why don’t they go
back to their world? Don’t they like it there?”
    “Because to most of them this is
their world,” said Tristan.
    “They were born here on Earth and have been
here for generations. Their home is here, just like you and me, and
they have the right to stay. Besides, from what I’ve heard, the
Nexus isn’t all that great. The hostiles use the weaker mystics as
slaves, and there are ongoing wars between races. It’s pretty
bad.”
    “Guys, I think I’m going to become a vegan,”
said Simon as he belched. “Hey, I feel better now!”
    “So they prefer to stay here because they
don’t want to go back.” Zoey remembered that the Skin and Duyen
demons had been determined to stay here on Earth. They were
prepared to do whatever it took to avoid going back to the
Nexus.
    “I get it, it makes sense.”
    She looked back at Aria and imagined her as
a toddler with her siblings as her own mother ran after them and
picked them up with her four arms.
    Simon wiped his mouth with the back of his
hand. “It’s all there in the treaty. The mystics must respect our world and us, ‘cause if they don’t—well, that’s when
the agency steps in and things get ugly.”
    Zoey looked at Tristan. “You said they
didn’t destroy all the interlopers, so where are they now?”
    Tristan stared at her. “All I know is that
there are only a few left. They are hidden in major cities around
the world. They’re all heavily guarded—it’s not like you can just
walk in and take one. You’d be killed. You’d be insane to try.”
    “But someone did,” said Zoey, her curiosity
growing by the minute.
    She felt Stuart’s creepy blue eyes on her
but ignored him and turned her attention to Tristan again.
    “Did