Chapter 25
(Gemma)
I think my wings broken,
I complained, tucking it close to my arm.
I think the Death Walker s ice did it.
From the safety of my old childhood hide out, Laylen inspected my wing, while Aleesa lay on the floor, unconscious. It was the only thing we could think of to keep her out of trouble until Aislin showed up.
Does it hurt when I do this?
He softly brushed his fingers along the feathers.
Ye-ah.
I winced.
Laylen sighed and rested back against the dirt wall.
I m not sure, it might be broken. Let s just hope Aislin and Alex show up soon. Although, I still don t get why you think they ll be able to find us.
I shrugged, leaning back against the wall. We d pulled out a candle from the trunk and lit it, so we weren t smothered by dark, but the shadows dancing in the light of the flame made me edgy.
I just have a feeling.
I didn t want to say the real reason, because I wasn t sure Alex would catch on. But the violet flower I hoped would be a good enough message that he would think of the violet bush that conceal our childhood hideout and know where to look.
What are we going to do?
I asked, running my finger down my Mark of Immortality.
He s Immortal now not even Alex and I can kill him. Poor Aleesa.
Our eyes moved to where she lay, breathing heavy, her dark hair a tangled mess.
I think we might have to find a safe place for her, after Aislin removes the mark.
He rubbed his skin where his Mark of Malefiscus used to be.
She s almost like a child, you know. And things are getting too dangerous for her to be around.
I nodded.
But where? I mean, who can we trust?
I m not sure. But I d like to point out that Alex and you are never going to die, anyway. We re going to find another way to end this and we ll find a way to remove the Mark of Immortality. I mean, we found a way to remove the Mark of Malefiscus, didn t we?
Maybe. Somehow.
But I didn t completely agree with him. I wasn t sure we d ever find another way because Alex and I dying was the original mapping of the world s future. Altering it again was out of the question.
Nice punch, by the way,
Laylen remarked with a proud smile.
I ve been waiting for someone to do that to him for a long time.
I stretched my hand.
It did feel kind of good.
We smiled, but they were heavy smiles, burdened with death, life, and a responsibility no one should have to endure.
As more time drifted by, I started to worry that my little message to Alex was a dud. But then a puff of smoke clouded the tiny room, and two forms. Alex and Aislin appeared, blinking in disbelief. There wasn t a candle or amethyst in Aislin s hand, so she must have used her new little trick she learned during her brief trip over to the dark side.
My skin hummed elatedly as I jumped to my feet, but a sudden thought brought me to a halt.
Wait. Where s the witch?
Yeah &
Alex shifted uncomfortably.
We kind of ran into a problem.
What kind of a problem?
I itched at my wings.
You couldn t find a witch?
Aislin raised her hand and a giant red X crossed the top of it.
This kind of a problem.
What is that?
I swapped a worried glance with Laylen and he rose to his feet, brushing the dirt off the back of his jeans.
Alex sighed.
She s been branded.