Chapter 33
(Gemma)
I watched him leave, his eyes sad, his muscles tense as he forced them to move. He took the electricity with him, along with some of my soul apparently. When I returned, I d press him for the details.
I clutched my hand around the vile, letting out a hefty sigh.
So this is it? The Kiss of Death.
Don t worry,
Aislin assured me from the foot of my bed.
You ll come back.
I knew I would. After all, I wasn t finished with life quite yet. I d seen what was going to happen with my future. And since I hadn t been able to change it, as far as I was concerned, my life was over. Alex and I would go to the lake and take our own lives, along with Stephan, Demetrius, and every Death Walker on this Earth.
I wonder how it tastes?
I examined the bottle as it bubbled.
Because it looks really gross.
It probably tastes gross,
Aislin said.
I m sure death can t taste good.
Well.
I raised it in the air, like I was making a toast.
Here s to coming back to life and freeing the souls.
Then I kissed my lips to the rim, tipped it back, and swallowed.
You re right &. It doesn t taste …
My limbs went numb, my heart silencing. I fell back on my bed, into my soul, absorbed by the darkness of death.
When I opened my eyes, I was standing in a field, the breeze a soft lull as it skipped across the grass. Crows circled above me like death and I thought of my nightmare. Then they dove for me and I shielded my head. Their beaks clipped my hair and hands.
Stop it!
I cried out at the madness and they scattered like mice. I lowered my hands, breathing relief. But where was Alana?
I noticed that one crow lingered behind, soaring in loops, like it was dancing. Then it flipped directions, flapping its wings, and headed off into the unknown. I shoved my way through the tall, dry grass, making a path as I chased after the crow. With every step I took, the crow flew further and then it curved up, becoming just a spot in the sky. I trampled through the field until I broke through to grassless land. There was a house, ancient and damaged, the wood singed with traces of a fire.
I climbed up the front porch and opened the door. Suddenly, I was standing in the same house that was in Iceland, surrounded by charcoaled wall paper and a floor stained with ash.
Hello,
I called out and the door slammed shut. I whirled, yanking at the doorknob.
Gemma.
The sound of her voice was like fresh air.
I turned to Alana.
I wasn t sure if I was in the right place.
She smiled, stretching her hand to me, her bright green eyes welcoming.
You re not quite there yet, but almost.
I took her hand and she led me up the stairs, my body strangely lighter with each stair. I felt a weight rising off my chest, one I hadn t known I was carrying and everything started to make sense, like the pieces of the puzzle had finally connected.
We re going to die,
I said, calm and composed, my head clearer than ever, as if the poison I drank had been filled with knowledge.
Alex and I we have to, don t we? Otherwise, there s no getting rid of the star or Stephan and everything that comes with him. It has to happen that way, because it s the only way.
The portal will open regardless,
she said, nodding.
But the death of the star will kill it and everything in it.
Is there any other way?
I wanted to make sure.
A way where I could at least save him?
You d do that?
Her hair drifted across her face as she turned her head at me, astonished.
You would save him and let yourself go?
It was like my life flashed through me, my mind trying to reach unreachable memories. A month maybe even a week ago, I d have said I didn t know. But now, in my death, it was different. My eyes were finally opening from a life of blindness.
I think so,
I said as we stopped at the top of the staircase in front of solid black door.
Hold onto that thought for a while.
Alana gripped the doorknob.
Right now, you need to focus on the queen.
Because it s not as easy as you said it was going to be,
I said, knowing there was difficulty before me.
She swung the door open.
Nothing s ever easy, Gemma. Even in death.
And death this was. The air was so thick it suffocated the light, replacing it with a darkness so heavy I nearly buckled to the floor. The foulest smell touched my nose, like the stench of something rotting. I gagged, feeling like I was floating yet falling.
Keep your head down and try not to look at them,
she whispered and then vanished through the doorway.
I tipped my chin down, my hair a curtain around my cheeks. I tried not to breathe the intoxicating air and that s when I realized my need for air was gone. It s the most fascinating thing and that s where I fixed my attention. But then I glimpsed a bony foot in my peripheral vision and I couldn t help it. I peeked between the slivers of space in my hair. They were like mummies, pail and frail, with no meat on their bones, eyes as hollow as their coffins. I told myself to shut my eyes, but I was too fixated on the dead. The tortured. The lost.
Some of the souls you re here to save,
Alana explained over her shoulder.
But don t look at them. It ll upset Helena.
Lovely. I hurried to catch up with her.
How s it going to be harder? Is the queen going to want more than the ring?
No, you ll understand soon. And Gemma, whatever you do, don t give her that ring until you ve sealed the promise for the freedom of the Lost Souls that were lost because of the mark.
Will she know what I mean when I say that?
I asked, shutting my eyes as one of the souls let out a sharp cry.
Does she know why I m here?
She s the Queen of the Afterlife,
she whispered.
Not the Ruler of the City of Crystal.
I dared another glimpse at the souls, secretly looking for one that looked like my mother, hoping I wouldn t find her.
She s not here.
She ducked her head as the ceiling dipped down
And be grateful she s not.
We reached the end of the tunnel and I suddenly understood what Alana meant. These weren t just Lost Souls, they were tortured souls. The room pulled at my memories of The Underworld, where the Water Faeries tormented those who were sentenced there. This place was the same; bones breaking, painful cries, as the mummy-like bodies were forced to work by men with whips and daggers.
But the difference between The Underworld and the Afterlife was that these souls weren t evil.
They were lost.