chapter 21
Gemma
I’m lying on the bed, my face buried in a pillow. Laylen carried me up to my room after Alex left and he offered to stay with me, but I wanted to be alone. I wanted to curl up in a ball and cry my heart out all by myself, which is exactly what I did.
Just last night everything had seemed perfect. Well, not perfect. The world was still being tortured with Fey and Lost Souls, but, between Alex and me, everything was amazing. We were connected in every single way possible and not like how we were when we had the Star’s energy in us. Everything was raw, breathtaking, moving, blissful. And then poof, once again the feelings are gone. Because he’s gone.
“Gemma,” I hear a voice say inside my head.
I blink though the veil of tears, propping my head up, and glancing around the room. “Hello?”
“I’m not out there,” he says. “But I’m still with you.”
“Dad?” I ask inside my head. “Is that you?”
“Yes,” he answers. “But I can’t talk for long… I’m not supposed to be communicating with you anymore.”
“Why?” I ask and then add, “I’m sorry I haven’t saved you just yet. I’ve been trying, though.”
“I don’t want you to save me. That’s not why I came here and I need to hurry, before I lose the connection.”
“Why? What’s going on?”
“Well, I never was never really alone, to begin with, but I wasn’t really being watched,” he replies sadly. “After what you did to Dyvinius—what Helena did—I’m being closely watched.”
I wince. “I didn’t mean to do that.”
“I know you didn’t, but Dyvinius is still upset.”
“Upset because I had more power than him?” I ask, recollecting the memory of Helena doubting his legitimacy to how he got his leader position.
“That amongst most things.” He sighs. “I needed to talk to you, though. I needed to let you know that you’re not alone.”
“But I am, Dad,” I say. “Everyone’s either dead or being held captive… and I don’t… and I’m not sure if I can fix everything this time.” It strikes me like a whip; the reality that there might be too many problems this time and I might have to sacrifice some of them, but which ones? The world’s problems? Or my friends?”
“Maybe it’s time you stopped trying to fix everything,” he says. “Maybe it’s time to try and fix yourself.”
“Myself… what does that mean?”
“It means that maybe it’s time for you to change your life and give yourself something you’ve never had.” He pauses. “Maybe it’s time for you to live your life.”
“But I still have to fix everything before I get there,” I say. “I don’t want to live my life in a world ruled by Fey and Lost Souls, without the people I love.”
“That’s more possible than you think,” he says. “But it all depends on how much you want to give up.”
I pause. “What do you mean?”
He takes a deep breath. “What if I told you there was a way to change everything—start over. Would you do it?”
“Of course,” I reply eagerly. “Dad, tell me how?”
“I can’t tell you how, without interfering. And there’s something you need to understand about it.”
“Okay…” He’s always so cryptic.
“You need to understand that if you do decide to change everything—reset your life—everything that’s happened, both the bad and the good, won’t exist. You’ll be starting from scratch.”
“So everything—the Star, my unemotional life, even Alex—would be gone?”
“Maybe,” he answers. “Unless it was also meant to be in another life.”
I silently take it in, thinking about how many things I wish were gone, but there are some things—love, friendship, even some painful experiences—that I’m not sure I could give up. “How do I do it? Please, just tell me.”
It goes quiet in my head.
“Dad!” I shout, glancing around the room, knowing I won’t find him. “Dad, don’t leave.”
The silence is my only response. It doesn’t make any sense. Reset time? With a vision? Or something else? I wish that, for once, my dad would just say what he was getting at, instead of making it like a scavenger hunt. I’m tired of playing games.
I sit for what seems like an eternity and the pain returns to my body as I think of Alex. Finally I decide to get up and be strong because Alex is alive, which means there might be a way to fix it—bring him back. First, I’ll save Aislin and Aleesa, then Alex, because that’s what he’d want me to do. If and when I get it all fixed, I’ll start looking into what my dad said. Right now, I need to save my friends
I push myself up off the bed. “God, I have a whole lot of saving to do,” I mutter, clutching onto my locket as I swing my legs over the bed. “One foot in front of the other, Gemma.” I take a deep breath and stand to my feet; I pad over to my dresser and open the top drawer, retrieving the Cornu Lepore. I hook it around my neck then tuck it and my locket down beneath the collar of my shirt.
I grab a pair of clean jeans and bump the drawer with my hip. I change into them and then pull my hair out of my face, before slipping my boots on. I look like I’m going into a battle and that’s exactly how I’m going to look at it because there are plenty of things that can go wrong. I may have to kick some ass and take charge, but hopefully not in the way I did in my dream.
I stop by Alex’s room and raid the drawer where I know he keeps his knives, taking a deep breath before I walk out, feeling the haunting memories pull at my heart. I’m going to make this right. Somehow. I just need to take it one step at a time.
Tucking the knife into my pocket, I head for the stairs. As I pass Aislin’s room, I hear this strange, low-pitched noise. I pause, listening carefully, but all I hear is silence. I’m about to leave when I hear a crash, like glass shattering, and it’s echoed by a shrill giggle.
Bending my elbow, I start to slide my fingers into my back pocket for the knife while I slowly push the door open. I flip the blade open as I step over the threshold and into the quiet room. The lights are off and the curtains are pulled shut, so the glow of the sun outside is muffled.
“Hello?” I ask, cautiously making my way into the room. “Is anyone in here?”
“Gemma,” someone says in a hushed whisper. “Gemma...”
My eyes quickly search the room; the bed, behind the room divider, to the side of the armoire. I have the knife aimed out in front of me, my legs crossing one over another as I move for the closet. Suddenly, the door behind me slams shut with so much force that a picture hanging on the wall falls to the floor and the frame breaks. I spin around just in time to spot a tiny, nubby creature scurrying. Sprites.
I dodge to my right, jumping out of its way, and bump the side of the dresser with my elbow, knocking a lamp to the ground.
“Ow!” I exclaim, rubbing my elbow as an eruption of giggles flutter through the room. “Real funny, you freakin' little gremlins.” I hate Sprites. Not only are they strange, abnormal-looking creatures, but their personalities and mischievousness are irritating.
I scan the room until I spot one standing on the bed, materializing pretty much out of nowhere. I start to make my way to it as it jumps on the bed, fluttering its wings, letting out giggle after giggle, unfazed by me.
Right as I reach the foot of the bed, I’m rammed from behind, the force slamming mostly against the back of my knees. Arms wrap around them and I jerk back, falling forward, as I slam face first into the floor. The knife shoots out from my fingers as I try to flip to my back. Rolling over, I lift my knee to kick it, but it has disappeared. I groan. This is the last thing I need. A bunch of giggling Sprites that want to play hide-and-seek-torture-Gemma.
I start to sit up, reaching for my knife when something cracks over the top of my head. I hear the sound of glass shattering and then I’m surrounded by broken pieces of the lamp. My head spins as the room starts to sway. I tip sideways, my vision spotting. The last thing I hear are giggles and then everything goes black.
***
I’m standing in front of a slender tunnel, smothered by darkness, but there’s a light glowing vividly at the end of it. I walk towards it with my hands to my side and my heart knocking inside my chest. As I get closer, I can hear voices that ring with familiarity.
When I reach the light and step into the warmth, the tunnel opens up, altering as it splits open and widens out into a room that has red walls decorated with metal lanterns. In the middle of the room is a table, enclosed by chairs, and sitting in one of the end chairs is Alex.
He’s leaning back, his brown hair slicked back in a style I’ve never seen on him before. He’s dressed in a black shirt, black pants, and black boots; not his usual choice for clothing. His green eyes look a little darker, too, and, I have to admit, I don’t like it. I don’t like his look at all.
Standing next to him is a woman with blond hair that runs down her back in curls. A form-fitting black dress hugs her body and her black stilettos make her look taller than she really is. There’s a haughty look in her eyes and the way she carries her chin high, along with her shoulders. She snakes her arm around Alex’s shoulders as she leans in and whispers something in his ear. He responds with a grin; jealousy and anger blaze inside me. I have the urge to step forward, pull her hair, and then slap him across the face, but I clench my hands into fists, telling myself it isn’t what it looks like because Alex loves me.
In the corner of the room is a massively large, iron-rod birdcage. The door to it is secured with a heavy padlock and someone’s crouched inside. I inch closer to the cage, trying to get a better view of who it is and I’m shocked to find it’s a man, because usually there are Black Angels inside these kinds of cages.
He’s sporting worn looking jeans and a navy blue t-shirt, his dark hair curled up slightly below his ears. His arms are tracked with various shaped tattoos and his head is tipped forward with his back turned to me.
“Are you ready to cooperate?” Alex’s voice causes me to look at him and his gaze is targeted at the cage.
The woman beside him tracks her long nails through Alex’s hair, ruffling it. “Oh he’s going to try and be the strong and silent type. How sweet.” Her voice is sugary and annoying.
Alex shoves the woman aside, causing her to lose her balance and topple in her heels. She grasps on to the edge of the table, regaining her balance, and shoots Alex a dirty glare. “What was that for?”
He ignores her and fixes his attention on the guy inside the cage, his eyes like cinders. “You know you’re just making it harder on yourself. If you join us, there’d be no pain. If you don’t… well, let’s just say I wouldn’t choose that route if I were you.”
I don’t like the tone in his voice, or the stone look on his face. Something’s wrong. He’s not acting like himself.
The guy in the cage gradually turns around and faces Alex. It’s Evan, only he looks beaten and worn down; dark bags underneath his eyes, his lips cracked like he’s dehydrated, and there are scratches on his skin.
“You know I’ll never join you,” Evan says calmly. “So I don’t even know why you’re trying.”
Alex pushes the chair back and slowly stands to his feet. Walking toward the cage, he smiles. “Oh, I haven’t even begun to try.”
I don’t get it. Why is he acting this way? Like he’s possessed. “Oh my God, he’s possessed,” I whisper in horror, backing up, wishing I didn’t have to watch this.
The door behind me swings open and Draven enters the room. He walks past the blond, before stopping beside Alex and me. He observes Evan with a sinister expression and then puts a hand on Alex’s shoulder.
“Any luck getting him to cooperate?” Draven asks, slanting his head to the side to look at the cage.
“I’m still working on it,” Alex responds in a deadpan tone. “But he’s being uncooperative.”
Draven shakes his head as he drops his hand from Alex’s shoulder. “It’s one thing I’ve never understood about you humans. You always want to do things the hard way. Go ahead Alex, take his soul.”
I watch in horror as both Alex and Draven walk towards the cage with their arms to the side of them, their eyes cold. I don’t know what they’re going to do, but the tension and coldness in the air let me know that it’s bad. I don’t want to watch. I don’t want to see Alex acting this way and I’m grateful when I feel myself being pulled away, glad I never get to find out just how far into the darkness of evil he’s gone.