A world of magic and adventure awaits in Alyssa McCarthy's Magical Missions a Middle-Grade Fantasy Series by Sunayna Prasad ➱ Book Series Tour with Rafflecopter
A world of magic and adventure awaits…
The Frights of Fiji
Alyssa McCarthy's Magical Missions Book 1
by Sunayna Prasad
Genre: Middle-Grade Fantasy
A
world of magic and adventure awaits…
Sent
to live with her strict, aloof, and uncaring uncle after her parents
are killed in a car accident, twelve-year-old orphan Alyssa McCarthy
longs for the life she used to have—one filled with fun and love.
Then one stormy night, a message appears in the raindrops on the
window that will change everything.
"Your
life will never be the same again, as magic will interfere."
Before
long, Alyssa is kidnapped by Master Beau, a banished sorcerer with a
mysterious connection to her who can only regain his power by
weakening hers. Suddenly hurled into a world of wizardry filled with
fantastical beasts and marvelous technology beyond her wildest
imagination, Alyssa must defeat Master Beau if she ever wants to get
home again. But Master Beau will stop at nothing, including using
Alyssa’s friends, to ensure he is triumphant.
A Curse of Mayhem
Alyssa McCarthy's Magical Missions Book 2
History,
like magic, has a habit of repeating itself
It’s
been six months since thirteen-year-old Alyssa McCarthy left magic
behind for good. Or so she thought…Then the enchanted objects that
protected her disappear. Now a skeleton named Errol has cursed her
with magical powers that keep getting her in trouble. Suddenly
strange things are happening with disastrous effects, and if Alyssa
can’t remove the magic, she will lose everything she holds
dear.
In order to get rid of her unwanted wizardry, Alyssa
will have to boost her bravery and confidence and determine who Errol
really is. But every time Alyssa uses an enchantment, Errol is one
step closer to getting his flesh back and becoming alive, and he will
do anything to achieve his goals…even if it means destroying
Alyssa's happiness.
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The New Enchantress
Alyssa McCarthy's Magical Missions Book 3
Cursed
by a sorcerer’s hex, Alyssa McCarthy finds herself in a fight she
can’t afford to lose, or everything she knows will be lost!
After
she finishes her final year of junior high, fourteen-year-old Alyssa
faces an uncertain future in more ways than one when a sorcerer casts
a hex that leaves her with involuntary magical powers that are too
dangerous to remove.
Unable to control her newly gained
abilities Alyssa’s end-of-middle-school sleepover ends in disaster
when she knocks her friends unconscious when her powers go out of
control. If Alyssa can’t learn to master her magic soon, she will
be cursed to forget her loved ones and serve as the warlock’s slave
for all of eternity.
Her only hope is to focus on
controlling her emotions if she is to break the curse. However, the
difficulties of adolescence, along with the perils and growing
disasters she faces, make Alyssa struggle even more. From putting her
friends’ lives at risk to losing their trust, she continues to fear
what will become of her if she fails.
Will Alyssa be able
to break the hex and become the enchantress that she was meant to be,
or will she become enslaved to the sorcerer forever?
The Frights of Fiji
1
The rain
turned black—as if ink fell from the sky. Alyssa leaned closer. She squinted to
determine the shapes they formed on the kitchen window… letters.
No—that couldn’t happen. Yet, a
message spelled out as more pigments dropped onto the glass. Alyssa gasped at it.
Your life will never be the same again, Alyssa
McCarthy, as magic will interfere.
What? Alyssa thought. It can’t exist!
As
a little kid, others had told her that magic wasn’t real, including when she’d
learned the truth about the tooth fairy and Santa Claus.
Alyssa
had lived here, On Orion Street, since she’d lost her parents in that car crash
five years ago at age seven. Although they had designated her godfather as the priority
guardian, she’d ended up living with her uncle, Bruce, and aunt, Laura right
after her mom and dad’s deaths due to various complications from the state of
New Jersey. But after her aunt died three years ago, her uncle had toughened up
his attitude and rules. He even required Alyssa, and her 11-year-old cousin,
Hailey, to earn fun, which involved too much effort.
Alyssa’s
stomach compressed, as she considered her uncle reaction to the window’s writing.
He’d yelled at her for minor issues ever since her aunt’s passing. So, if she told
him about that message…he would deem that a lie—or perhaps, as an excuse to
escape from this house. He’d already hidden her godfather’s phone number and
mailing address shortly after Aunt Laura’s demise. Alyssa had forgotten that
information since.
Footsteps sounded. The babysitter, Mrs. Hutchinson,
stared at the kitchen floor and pointed in different directions.
Hailey sweated through freckled cheeks as she stood
right outside.
Mrs. Hutchinson turned to Hailey. “You’re good.”
“So, can I have my break now?”
“Yes. But you’ve only got ten minutes till your
next chore.”
Hailey went upstairs.
Alyssa sighed. Ever since Uncle Bruce had hired Mrs. Hutchinson, she’d Hailey’s
abilities to do chores—but never with Alyssa.
“Alyssa,
get back to work.
You’ve been staring at the rain for too long.”
“Okay.” Alyssa turned back—only to
see the message gone and the rain back to its normal transparency.
“What did I say?” asked Mrs. Hutchinson.
Alyssa sighed. “Fine, I’ll finish
washing the dishes.” She scrubbed her them under running water and focused only on those. Stupid
rules. What was Uncle Bruce thinking—asking Mrs. Hutchinson to treat us like
dirt?
Mrs.
Hutchinson was only in her sixties, but she’d seem to forget that it was 2010
and not 1960. Yet, it had taken Alyssa a while to realize that she wouldn’t even tolerate the mildest kind of nonsense,
such as gaping at a windowpane when performing chores.
Now that she finished washing her
dishes, Alyssa put them to the side and grabbed some paper towels.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Mrs. Hutchinson asked.
Alyssa stopped. “I’m just—”
“The last few times I was here, you
left little bits of food on your dishes.”
“But they were stuck.”
“Let me inspect them. Also, if
something is rubbery, you have to wash it again.”
“Why?”
“Because clean dishes aren’t
supposed to be rubbery. And boy, did you do such a sloppy job. Look
at that stain on your sweater.”
Alyssa looked down.
“That looks like chocolate.”
Alyssa blushed and arched her
eyebrows. “Hey—it’s just water.” She covered the stain
at the bottom of her sweater’s V-neck.
But Mrs.
Hutchinson waved
her index
finger. “Don’t you ‘hey’ me, Alyssa. That’s rude.
In my days, kids respected their elders. We never would dare talk to them that
way unless we didn’t mind them smacking our bottoms.”
“Things change.”
“Not when I’m here, they don’t. Now
let me do my inspection.”
Great—an inspection! How long would
Mrs. Hutchinson take? She might spend twenty minutes, or even more. Alyssa
crossed her arms and tapped her foot. She wanted her break now. She
wished to read, rest, make lanyard-designs—anything but watch Mrs. Hutchinson.
“Mrs. Hutchinson?” Alyssa asked.
“Whatever you need to say, wait till
I’m done,” she said.
Alyssa sighed. Mrs. Hutchinson ran her finger down one of the dishes and rubbed it. She then
put it down and nodded.
She spent a few more minutes of
running her finger down the glass, put
it down, and
told Alyssa, “You’re good. Now what
did you want to tell me?”
“Um . . .if I tell you, can you not give me a hard time?”
“If it’s something stupid—?
“It’s not.” Alyssa breathed.” There was writing on the window.”
Mrs. Hutchinson pressed her lips
together and tilted her head. “Nonsense.”
“No, really, it was there.”
“There was nothing there when I came, and there’s nothing there now. So don’t tell me stories.”
“But it’s not a story.”
“I don’t want to hear any more. Now
it’s time for your next chore.”
“Aw, but I wanted my break.”
“Too bad. You’ve got to go vacuum
the living room.”
Alyssa dragged her feet
toward it and took the vacuum from the
corner. She cleaned and thought about
that writing
as well as how Mrs.
Hutchinson wouldn’t
believe her. She
couldn’t imagine a nicer babysitter believing her, either. Mrs. Hutchinson had watched her and Hailey for three years,
and not once had she smiled or
assisted with anything.
After cleaning the carpet, Alyssa checked for remaining particles, which she didn’t find. So, she put the vacuum away.
“Hailey, you and Alyssa need to go get the mail now!”
Mrs. Hutchinson faced the staircase.
“Coming!”
cried Hailey.
Another
rule Uncle Bruce had placed on Alyssa and Hailey was they could only go outside
together. He worried about people taking them or something, even though Alyssa
would turn thirteen next month. But
that rule had been placed because a few months ago, Uncle Bruce had heard about a seventeen-year-old boy who
had been shot while skateboarding in his neighborhood. That had shocked Alyssa,
since it had occurred here in Bursnell, New Jersey,
what many deemed a safe town.
The two put their raincoats on until
Mrs. Hutchinson said, “It stopped raining outside.”
“Already?” asked Alyssa.
“Yes.” Mrs. Hutchinson went to the
bathroom.
The girls headed toward the mailbox.
Alyssa pulled out the mail. But mud bubbled from the ground near the house. It piled up, resembling
horse manure, and grew as more soil emerged. Alyssa’s jaw dropped.
“Alyssa, what’s going on?” Hailey
asked.
“No idea,” said Alyssa.
The dirt stopped piling up, but it still bubbled, and the effects spread
throughout the whole pile. The bubbles stopped popping up and down. Alyssa and
Hailey gasped as they expanded. They kept their mouths open as the bubbles merged,
each one attached to another, forming a single bigger shape. Hailey and Alyssa
stepped back as the now giant bubble swelled. And it . . . popped! Bits of exploding mud landed on the girls, and they
shrieked.
A
glowering Mrs. Hutchinson opened the door. “What the heck have you two been doing?”
“T-the
mud . . . it e-exploded,” said Hailey.
“Complete garbage!” growled Mrs. Hutchinson. “Get inside!”
The girls returned inside, pulling
and wiping the mud out of their hair. Alyssa
could spot the mud in her straight pale-blonde tresses, unlike Hailey, who
likely needed more patience to search
for globs in her elbow-length red locks. But Alyssa’s
hair fell a few inches past her hips, so cleaning out the mud would take
longer, even with the shorter layers in the
front.
“How could dirt explode?” Mrs. Hutchinson
stomped.
“I-I think it was magic!” exclaimed
Alyssa.
“There’s no such thing as magic!” screamed Mrs.
Hutchinson. “Alyssa, you’re twelve
years old. You’re too old to say
things like that!”
“But nothing else can make mud
explode!” Alyssa said.
“Mrs. Hutchinson, we swear it did!”
whined Hailey.
“Enough!” snapped Mrs. Hutchinson. “You and Hailey—go upstairs and take showers!”
Alyssa followed Hailey and sighed. Mrs. Hutchinson
must have thought they’d play in the mud like
small children.
“Alyssa, can I shower first?” asked Hailey.
“Sure,” said Alyssa.
As Hailey entered the bathroom,
Alyssa walked into her room. She scratched more mud off her skinny jeans, which
is what she’d only ever since she’d noticed other girls wearing them and the back of her hand. She stood by her bed
since she wanted to keep it clean.
She thought about the writing on the window and the exploding mud. Someone wanted magic to interfere with her life. But who—and why?
There had to be some reason why no
one had ever believed in sorcery—unless
it’d just begun on Earth today, or recently.
Maybe magic might only interfere if
she stayed remained her uncle’s
house. But if her godfather
could arrange with his lawyer
to let her move in with him, wizardry could leave her alone. Unlike science, though,
magic may do anything, which meant that it could follow her wherever she went.
The bathroom’s running water sound
ended, which meant that Hailey had finished her shower. Now Alyssa had her turn.
After about five minutes
showering, she stepped out and headed back to
her room, where she put on leggings and a long shirt. But she gasped as something appeared out of nowhere
on her bed. That must
have from . . . magic.
She noticed that it was a folded piece
of paper, which she opened, and read.
Hello Alyssa McCarthy,
You must be wondering about
the writing on your window, the exploding mud, and the note
that appeared here.
Who was responsible for them? You’ll
find out at some point.
Anonymous
How dare someone create incidents
and not say his or her name! Without knowing his or her identity, Alyssa couldn’t report the
person. Strange, magical occurrences
might happen again.
But now she had proof to Mrs.
Hutchinson that the writing and exploding mud had taken place. Mrs. Hutchinson
had seen her write before, and that’d looked nothing like hers. She handwrote
in a half-print and half-script style. This, however, was pure print.
Alyssa
jogged downstairs and carried the note. “Mrs. Hutchinson, I have something to
show you.”
“Not right now, Alyssa.” Mrs.
Hutchinson left the kitchen.
“You and Hailey have to go wash my car.”
“But it’s quick.”
“You can show me after you’re done washing
my car.” Mrs. Hutchinson turned to Hailey, who
emptied the dishwasher and put dishes
away. “Are you almost done?”
“I think so,” said Hailey.
“How many dishes do you have left?”
asked Mrs. Hutchinson.
“Uh . . .” Hailey looked at the top rack. “Four.”
“Okay, hurry up.” Mrs. Hutchinson turned
to Alyssa. “Why don’t you go put
that piece of paper away?”
“But this is what I need to show you.”
“Do I have to repeat what I said
before?”
“But—”
“Alyssa, do as you’re told.” Mrs. Hutchinson pointed to the staircase.
Alyssa sighed. This note
contained so much crucial information.
Only that paper itself contained
evidence that those incidents had occurred.
After putting the note back in her
room, Alyssa joined Hailey in the garage. The two grabbed sponges, buckets, and
soap. They filled the buckets with water and
scrubbed Mrs. Hutchinson’s
car.
“I wish we had another babysitter,” muttered Alyssa.
“What was on the piece of paper?”
asked Hailey.
Alyssa told her.
“Who wrote it?”
“There was no name on it. Just ‘anonymous.’”
A girl whistling turned Alyssa’s
attention away from the car. She leaned her head toward the sidewalk and saw
her friend from grade school, Madison Jennings, riding her scooter.
“Hi, Alyssa,” said Madison. The wind blew her long dark-brown waves across her face. She stopped at
Alyssa’s driveway, and her hair went limp. Hailey and Alyssa ran to her.
“I
missed you,” said Alyssa.
“How’ve
you been” Hailed asked.
“I just moved onto Draco Drive a few
days ago,” Madison referred to a road off Orion Street.
“So, how do you like the middle
school?” asked Alyssa.
“Oh, I go to Catholic school now,”
said Madison. “What about you?”
“Hailey and I are homeschooled now,” said Alyssa. “I never got to tell you.”
“That’s okay,” said Madison. “So,
you guys want to come over to my house on Saturday?”
“What time?” asked Alyssa.
“I’ll ask my mom and let you know,”
said Madison. “Okay, bye, guys. Nice seeing you again.” She rode back in the
direction she’d come from as Hailey and Alyssa waved goodbye to her.
After washing the car for a while,
they cleaned up and walked back inside. A snore suggested to Alyssa that Mrs.
Hutchinson slept. Buts she’d never napped while babysitting.
Alyssa strode toward the living room—Mrs.
Hutchinson
slept on a couch.
Hailey asked, “Why
is Mrs. Hutchinson sleeping?”
“I don’t know,” said Alyssa.
“Can you show me the note?”
Alyssa nodded and led her up the
stairs. She opened her door but gasped…the note that
she’d
left on
her bed was gone.
“Where’s the note?” asked Hailey.
“It was right there,” Alyssa pointed to the bed.
But another piece of
paper appeared onto the mattress.
Alyssa read it.
Hello again, Alyssa,
I have put your babysitter to sleep to reveal magic to you. You’ll
find out why she is sleeping later.
Anonymous
“Not again,” mumbled Alyssa. “Why won’t they
say their name?” She showed the note
to Hailey.
“Let’s go call my dad before
anything happens,” said Hailey.
How
much worse could this get? Alyssa thought as she followed
Hailey down the stairs.
Sunayna Prasad has published a few books between her late teens and her mid-twenties. Aside from writing, Sunayna also likes to cook, do art, and watch videos online. She has graduated from college in May 2017 and is looking to continue more writing. Sunayna lives on Long Island, NY.
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This looks like a good story.
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