Chapter 6
“Is this really necessary?” I asked Alex for about the millionth time.
He shrugged and popped his knuckles. “Maybe.” He wasn’t being rude or anything, he was just acting al
“whatever.” This was the attitude he had gave me for the last half an hour as Aislin and I stood out in the hot, humid garage and watched Alex try to beat the information out of Nicholas.
Nicholas seemed to be finding Alex’s beatings amusing.
He kept laughing every time Alex punched him. I swear I was really starting to wonder if faeries were a little bit crazy.
Nicholas’ hands were tied to a pipe that ran along the ceiling. His lip was bleeding, and the rope was cutting into his wrists, causing blood to drip down his arms and soak the green t-shirt he was wearing. Plus, I was pretty sure Alex had broken a couple of his ribs.
“Tell me what you know about what happened back there on the beach,” Alex demanded. Like clockwork, Nicholas laughed at him and then Alex punched him in the stomach.
Nicholas laughed again, but I could see he was in a lot of pain by the way his expression twisted and his skin coated with sweat. “You know, it actually kind of tickles.” Alex clocked him in the stomach again, and I cringed at the cracking noise that had to be a rib breaking. “I could do this all day.” Alex paced in front of him and then rammed his fist into Nicholas’ side. Alex continued doing this over and over, his face reddening with anger the more Nicholas laughed.
“We should do something,” I said to Aislin in a low voice.
She blinked at me helplessly. “Like what?”
“I don’t know…” I pushed my shoulders back, trying to look confident as I marched over to Alex. “Stop it. I don’t think he’s going to tell you anything, even if he does know something.”
Alex ignored me and raised his hand, preparing to swing.
I grabbed his arm, which I know was a very stupid thing to do for many different reasons. “Look, I know he’s annoying and everything, but still …”
Alex was breathing erratically and the anger burning in his bright green eyes made me shrink back.
“Are you okay?” I asked in a calming voice.
He blinked a few times as if he was coming out of a raging state. Then he tore his arm away from me. “What are you doing? You can’t touch me.” So much anger burned from his eyes, and the sparks nipped madly at my skin.
“Is this really about getting information from Nicholas?” I whispered. “Or is it about what I told you.”
“Why would it be about that?” His voice cut through the air like a knife about to injure me. “It doesn’t matter to me whether you and I can be together.”
Okay, that stung. But I was pretty sure he was putting on a front—or at least I hoped he was. After learning about myself and about him, I knew that both of our emotions were a little bit…what would be a nice word for it…erratic.
We don’t show our true feelings sometimes, and I think it’s because we’re still learning how to.
“You don’t mean that.” My voice was barely a whisper He opened his mouth, and then shut it again. Then he just looked at me with this confused, panicked expression. The electricity heated up. I heard Aislin say...something, but all I could focus on was his eyes and the buzzing and the—
Nicholas busted up laughing. “Oh my God, look at you two. You both want to be together so bad, yet, if you do, you’ll kill each other. It’s hilarious.”
Alex and I blinked and then Alex was moving for Nicholas.
“What did you just say?” Alex growled, clenching his hands into fists.
Nicholas pressed back a smirk, his golden eyes twinkling wickedly. “I didn’t say anything.” Alex took a few threatening steps toward him, the soles of his black DC’s scuffing against the cement floor. “What do you know about Gemma and I killing one another.”
“What!” Aislin exclaimed, her loud voice echoing through the air. “What do you mean you’ll kill each other?”
“We’ll explain later,” he waved her off, his gaze still glued on Nicholas. “Start talking.”
Nicholas slowly shook his head and Alex raised his fist.
With how much wrath was blazing in Alex’s eyes, I worried that if he started swinging he might not stop this time.
Nicholas must have sensed it too. “Alright, alright…I’ll tell you.” He paused, contemplating something that I was sure was probably going to start trouble. “But I want something in return.”
Alex was already shaking his head. “No way.”
“Then, no deal,” Nicholas said while struggling to keep his footing.
“I don’t think you’re in much of a position to be making bargains,” Alex said, raising a fist. “Or, do I need to remind you of that.”
“What do you want?” I stepped in between them, if for nothing else, so I would no longer have to witness anymore punching.
“Gemma,” Alex warned, but I held up my hand, my eyes on Nicholas. “What do you want?”
The humor erased itself from Nicholas’ face. “I want to stay here.”
My hand dropped, along with my jaw. “You want to what?”
“I want to stay here,” Blood trickled down his wrists, and he winced as the rope swayed. “After I tell you what I know, I want to be able to hang around for a while.” Alex and I both shook our heads.
“No way,” Alex’s voice was unyielding.
“Yeah, I don’t think that such a good idea.” I pointed to the Mark of Malefiscus on Nicholas’ forearm. “Especially considering you have that.”
“That’s why I want to stay,” Nicholas said. “If Stephan can’t find me, then he can’t make me do things for him.” I glanced at Alex. “Is that true?”
Alex shrugged. “I have no idea how the mark works.” I eyed Nicholas suspiciously. “How do we know you’re telling the truth? I mean, I’ve seen what you were going to do to me back on the shore.”
A grin spread across his face “I bet you did. Tell me, did you just see it or actually live it?”
Why did the one person who seemed to have the answers have to be a very obnoxious faerie/Foreseer that loved to twist things around and make everything difficult?
I looked from Alex to Aislin. “What do you guys think we should do?”
“I don’t know…do you think we can trust him?” Aislin asked Alex.
He took a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair. “I don’t know.”
This was giving me a headache. I rubbed the sides of my temples, trying to make all the stress disappear. That’s when I caught sight of the scar on the palm of my hand. I held my hand out if front of me and stared at the scar that marked my and Alex’s Blood Promise to be together forever.
“I think I have an idea,” I turned to Nicholas. “Would you be willing to promise that you wouldn’t do anything harmful to anyone?”
Nicholas and Alex gave me a perplexed look. Then, realization spread across their faces.
“No way,” Alex said and the same time Nicholas remarked, “clever girl.”
“Why not?” I asked Alex. “It’s not like it’s a bad thing or anything.”
“Blood Promises can go wrong, Gemma.” He frowned as he traced the scar on the palm of his hand. “The promise is unbreakable—you can’t take it back. And if you say the wrong thing, you can end up making a promise you didn’t intend to make.”
“Is that what happened with us?” I asked, offended. “Did you say the wrong thing? Or is it that you just want to take it back?”
“No.” He looked taken aback. “That’s not what I meant. I was just saying things could go wrong…you could say the wrong thing and end up getting stuck with him forever.” Nicholas grinned as if this were a compliment.
I shook my head and let out a stressed sigh “Okay, we’ll have to be really careful then.”
Alex leaned toward me and dropped his voice. “And even with the Blood Promise, if my father shows up, Nicholas more than likely will still have to do what he asks because I’m pretty sure the Mark of Malefiscus is more powerful than a Blood Promise.”
“Then, I guess we will have to make sure your father doesn’t find us.” My voice trembled from Alex’s closeness.
Focus, I told myself. “If he might have some answers on how I can save the world, then I think it’s worth the risk.” Alex still looked unconvinced, but I didn’t care. I already made up my mind. I was going to do this. “Okay, you and I will make a Blood Promise. I’ll promise you can stay here with us, and you’ll promise that you’ll answer all of my questions…truthfully. And, you won’t harm any of us. Got it?” He considered this. “I want one more thing.” I rolled my eyes. “What else do you want?” He nodded his head at Aislin. “I want Witch Girl over there to try and find a way to get this thing off my arm.” I shot Aislin a questioning glance. “Can you do that?” Aislin’s green eyes went wide. “I don’t know…I mean there might be a spell that could remove a mark, but I’ve never heard of it, or I might not be powerful enough to actually pull it off.”
“You know other witches, don’t you,” Nicholas said in a rude tone. “Talk to them—see if they know how.” Aislin twisted her golden brown hair around her finger.
“Maybe, I could see if someone knows a spell that would do it.”
“That’s all I’m asking,” Nicholas said.
“Alright, then.” Aislin let go of her hair. “I’ll see what I can do.”
Nicholas’ gaze landed on me. “So are you ready to do this?”
“Do you have a knife?” I asked Alex, holding my hand out.
“Why?” he asked, his arms crossed as he looked at me with irritation.
“So I can cut my hand and make the promise,” I tapped my foot impatiently, waiting for him to hand over the knife I was almost certain he had.
He shook his head, frustrated. Then he reached into the pocket of his jeans and retrieved a silver pocket knife. “I still don’t think this is a good idea.” He reluctantly handed me the knife.
I flipped open the blade and winced at the sharp tip as it flashed in the florescent lighting of the garage. I tried to keep a steady hand as I held the knife up to the palm of my hand. “So, I just cut?”
Alex sighed and took the knife from me. “Give me your hand,” he said and I did. He traced the scar on my palm with his finger, and then let my hand go. “Give me you other hand.”
Confused, I gave him my other hand. “What? Can I not do the promise in the same place?”
He shook his head, his eyes locked on the palm of my hand. “No, you can. But that scar was from our promise.” It felt like a thousand butterflies were fluttering around in my stomach.
“Man, you two are going to kill each other quick, aren’t you?” Nicholas remarked with a smirk.
Alex shot him a glare and then held the knife to my palm.
“Okay, I’m going cut your hand and his. Then you’ll press your palms to his and repeat what I say, alright?” I swallowed hard and nodded. “Alright.”
“And be very careful that you repeat exactly what I say.”
“Don’t you need to untie him first?” I pointed over at Nicholas.
“I’m not going to let him go until the promise is made,” Alex told me firmly. “You’ll just have to reach up to his hand.” Well, it’s a good thing I’m tall because it was going to be a really high reach to get Nicholas’ hand—they were practically touching the ceiling.
Alex pressed the tip of the knife gently against the palm of my hand and then, very carefully, he made a small cut.
Blood seeped out and my skin felt like it was on fire. Alex quickly went over to Nicholas, reached up to where his hands were bound, and with less carefulness, sliced the palm of Nicholas’ hand. Blood oozed out of his skin and dripped down his arm.
Alex flipped the blade shut and tossed it on the cement floor. “Gemma put your hand up to his.”
I took a deep breath and, ignoring the flowery smell that always flowed off Nicholas, stood on my tiptoes, and pressed my bleeding palm against Nicholas’. His closeness made me uncomfortable, along with the deviousness playing at his lips.
“We should have done this a long time ago.” His breath was hot on my cheeks.
Glaring, I leaned my face away from him.
“Repeat exactly what I say,” Alex said, holding my gaze.
“EGO votum permissum.”
I spoke slowly so I wouldn’t mess anything up. “EGO…
votum…permissum.”
Alex swallowed hard. “Vos subsisto hic quod Andron. ”
“Vos…subsisto…hic quod…Andron.” My voice shook.
“Mos capto aufero vestri vestigium.”
“Mos capto…aufero…vestri…vestigium.”
Alex and I both let out a breath of relief, and then Alex pointed a finger sharply at Nicholas. “You better repeat exactly what I say. No changing or adding anything, understand?”
Nicholas nodded, but there was a mischievous look in his eye that made me uneasy. “I understand.” Alex told him what to say, speaking his words vigilantly.
Nicholas repeated what Alex said, and as far as I could tell he said each word correctly. But I had no idea what was being said, since I don’t speak Latin, so I was putting a lot of trust in Alex. Strangely, I think I might have reached the point where I could do this.
After the Blood Promise was made, Alex cut the rope and freed Nicholas. Nicholas rubbed his bleeding wrist and wiped the blood from his lip with the bottom of his green t-shirt.
“Okay, tell us everything you know,” Alex said, swiping the pocket knife off the floor.
“Can we at least sit down?” Nicholas asked with pain in his voice.
Alex shook his head and wiped the blade of the knife on his jeans, cleaning off the blood. “Tell us now.” Again, I kind of felt sorry for faerie boy. I mean, he looked like crap, and it wasn’t going to do any harm to go sit down.
“We can go into the living room and sit,” I told Nicholas. “If you want to?”
Alex shot me a dirty look.
I shrugged. “He’s hurt.”
still glowering at me, Alex leaned over and whispered in my ear, “Feeling sorry for him is only going to get you into trouble…you’ve seen what he’s capable of.” I tried not to shudder from the electric tickle of his breath.
“Okay, but I still think we should go sit down.” Alex didn’t look happy, but we still ended up in the living room. The seating arrangement proved to be a difficult task, since Alex didn’t want me sitting next to Nicholas, but I thought it wouldn’t be a good idea to sit by Alex, considering what the consequences could be. I was realizing very quickly that, if it turned out to be true—if Alex and I being close to one another for too long could end up killing us—then there might be a huge problem because we seemed to magnetize toward each other.
Finally Alex sat down beside Nicholas, and I shared a sofa with Aislin.
Alex jumped to the point immediately. “Alright, start talking.”
“About what?” Nicholas pressed back a grin. “What do you want me to tell you?”
Afraid Alex might hit him again, I chimed in. “How about you tell us what happened on the beach.”
Nicholas stared at me with a twinkle in his golden eyes.
“That would be an example of how extraordinary you are.”
“Okay…” Let the running around in circles begin. “Define why that makes me extraordinary.”
Nicholas flexed his hand and winced. “Well …that makes you extraordinary because you erased a vision. Which, might I add, is something that’s completely forbidden and could have severe consequences.” His eyes darkened. “If I wanted to, I could turn you into the Foreseers…you know there’s punishment for erasing visions.”
“What kind of a punishment?” I asked curiously, thinking of my father and the strange place he was in.
“I don’t know for sure....” Nicholas paused, tapping his finger on his lips. “I’ve only heard of one Foreseer being punished for erasing a vision.”
“Do you know who he is?” I leaned forward, anxious to hear his answer.
He shook his head. “Our kind doesn’t like to talk about things like that because…well, I think because it reminds everyone of how much control and power Foreseer’s really have.”
I got up and grabbed the crystal ball from off the desk.
“So can you explain to me what this is?” I asked, taking a seat back on the sofa.
“Where did you get that?” Nicholas’ eyes sparkled in the glittering purple glow of the crystal ball.
“That’s not important,” I told him and balanced the crystal ball on the coffee table. “What’s important is that you tell me what it is.”
Nicholas slowly reached for the crystal ball, hesitating, before picking it up. I saw Alex tense up and I tensed up too since I didn’t know what the crystal ball did. For all I knew, it held enough power to destroy us all; something that should probably not be held by a very tricky faerie/Foreseer.
He stared at the crystal ball in awe for a moment, and then set it back on the coffee table. “That,” he pointed at the crystal ball, “is what we Foreseer’s refer to as a mapping ball. They’re very rare to come by—in fact, they’re almost nonexistent.”
“So what does a mapping ball do?” I asked.
Nicholas furrowed his eyebrows at the mapping ball. “It holds a map of someone’s life. It shows all the decisions they’ve made…although, some mapping balls are used to keep a secret hidden in the midst of thousands of their memories. It really is the most amazing thing...” He glanced up at me. “So whose is it?”
I caught Alex’s eye, wondering if I should divulge this bit of information to Nicholas. Alex’s expression was serious, which meant he didn’t want me to say anything.
“There’s no use trying to keep it from me,” Nicholas said.
“Because I’m sure you’re going to want to know how to use it, and that means you and I are going to have to go inside it.”
Well, okay then. I tore my gaze off Alex. “It’s my father’s.” Nicholas gaped at me. “I thought you told me you didn’t know who your father is.”
“I just recently discovered his identity,” I explained, purposely being vague.
“What!” Aislin cried out, scaring the crap out of everyone, including me—I think we all had forgot she was there. “Why didn’t anyone tell me….any of this?”
I shook my head at Alex. “Didn’t you explain this to her while I was sleeping.”
“You were already all wound up about Laylen,” Alex explained to Aislin. “So I thought I would spare you the burden.”
Tears dripped from her eyes. “You could have told me.” As much as I hated when people kept things from other people, I think Alex might have been on the right track with this one.
“So,” I turned my attention back to Nicholas, figuring it was best to move on, “about the mapping ball. How do we get inside it?”
“How did you manage to find out who your father was?” Nicholas asked, ignoring my question. “And how did you get a hold of his mapping ball?”
“My mom gave it to me.” I lied.
He leaned back in the sofa and rested his arms behind his head. “You managed to save her then?” I was kind of surprised he didn’t know this already, since we created such an uproar during our escaped from The Underworld. “Yeah and without your help I might add.”
“Well, I wouldn’t say that.” He grinned at me. “Seeing is how you got the Ira from me.”
“After you kidnapped me and chained me to the wall,” I snapped.
“So what’s the purpose of the mapping ball,” Alex interrupted, picking up the mapping ball and examining it over.
Nicholas rolled his eyes. “I already told you it’s to keep track of the things someone has done in their lifetime.” He nodded at the mapping ball. “If that is your dads, then when we go inside it, we should be able to follow a map of his life.”
Alex’s forehead creased over. “Why would your dad give this to you?” he asked me.
“I thought you said your mom gave it to you.” Nicholas leaned forward, a look of intrigue rising on his face.
I shot Alex a way-to-go look; it was not like Alex to be so careless. “My dad said it would tell me how to save the world from Stephan and his deathly minions.” I paused, the wheels in my head turning. “If it holds a map of his life, then maybe I can see what vision he erased and recreated to make it so Stephan could end the world.” I looked at Nicholas, curious to see how he reacted to what I said.
He clapped his hands. “Bravo on figuring that one out.”
“You knew that already?” I asked, getting pissed off.
He shrugged. “I know a lot of things I don’t choose to share.”
“But you didn’t say anything and you have to—you made a Blood Promise.” I shot Alex a worried look, wondering what happened, but he looked just as lost as me.
“They’re called loopholes, Gemma,” Nicholas informed me with a pleased grin. “You have to ask me the question in order for me to tell you what I know.”
There are always loopholes—my mother told me this once. “Okay, so do you know how to fix all of this then?” I asked. “Do you know what I need to do?”
Nicholas smile was all trickery. “I do. Would you like me tell you?”
Freaking Faeries. “Yes. I am asking you to please share everything that you know about mapping balls and Stephan’s evil plan.”
Aislin’s cell phone rang from inside the pocket of her khaki shorts. She took it out and glanced down at the screen. “Whose number is that?” She got to her feet.
“hello,” she said into her phone as she walked out of the room.
I turned my attention back to Nicholas. “So what do you know?”
“What do I know...Well, for starters that little buzzing connection you two have is going to kill you if you can’t tone it down, ” Nicholas said, clearly amused with himself. My face fell as he continued, “it’s not necessarily your closeness that will do it, though, so much as making that little connection of yours heat up. The more the electricity that flows between you two, the more energy the star loses and the more energy you two lose. And if you lose too much you both die.”
“How do you know all this?” I stammered. “How do you even know about the electricity?” Hardly anyone knew about that.
“Stephan informed me when he marked me.” He glared down at the black triangle tracing the red symbol tattooed on his arm.
“But how does Stephan even know about our connection?” I glanced at Alex. “Did you tell him?” Alex shook his head. “I didn’t tell him…” His gaze wandered to the doorway of the kitchen. “Dammit, Aislin.” Aislin peeked out, the phone still pressed to her ear.
“What?”
Alex scowled at her. “You told Stephan about the electricity?”
Aislin pulled an oh-crap face. “I’m on the phone,” she hissed and ducked back into the kitchen.
I took a deep breath, struggling to keep my freaking out contained. “So if we can control the electricity and keep it to a bare minimum, then we won’t die?”
Nicholas raised an eyebrow skeptically. “Can you control it?”
I met Alex’s eyes, and sparks instantly crackled like a wildfire. Could we control it? Maybe…if we could keep our emotions and intense looks contained.
“I think we might be able to,” I said, my eyes locked on Alex, who seemed to be waiting for my answer.
“Of course we can,” he said as if it were the easiest thing in the world. Lucky him, because I had a feeling it was going to be difficult. At least for me it was.
“So we go inside the mapping ball, find out what vision my dad changed and then what?” I asked. “I mean, I still don’t get how I erased and recreated what happened to me on the beach…I mean there was two of me.”
“That’s where everything becomes tricky.” Nicholas grabbed the mapping ball from Alex’s hands, got up, and walked toward me. Alex started to get to his feet, but I shook my head, telling him to stay put. “You see the thing about visions,” Nicholas sat down on the couch beside me.
“Is that everything is connected to each other.” I scooted away from him. “I’m not sure what you mean?” Nicholas stared down at the mapping ball. “In the Foreseer world, every vision is connected.”
“Okay…” Where was he going with this?
Sensing my confusion, he explained further. “Say you make the decision to become a singer, so, you go down to the local talent show and try out, win, and go on to become a famous singer.”
“But I can’t sing,” I told him, even though I knew he was talking hypothetically.
He flashed me an annoyed look as he went on, “Each one of those events that took place would be their own vision. The decision, the trying out, and the winning—all of them led to you becoming famous.”
“I still don’t get what you’re saying.”
“I’m saying they’re all connected to one another—each one had to happen in order for the other one to happen.” Ding. The light bulb in my head finally turned on. “So if I never made the decision to become a singer, then none of the rest would have happened.”
“Exactly,” Nicholas said. “And if a Foreseer wanted to change your life, he could just alter the first event and it could change everything from that point on. Say he put the idea in your head to become a ball erina, and on your way to trying out, you left a minute later because you had to put on your tutu. And because you left one minute later you get in a car accident and die.”
Yeah, like I would ever wear a tutu. “But how could changing what I wanted to be, change my life that much.”
“Haven’t you ever heard of the butterfly effect?” he asked.
“Vaguely,” I replied.
“Well, it’s like that,” Nicholas explained. “Change one small thing in your life and it can greatly affect the rest of it.” He paused, mulling something over. “I’m not sure what your father erased and recreated in order to get the world to end, but in order for us to stop it, without doing more damage, the best thing to do is to erase him before he changes it.”
“What?” I gaped at him. “Erase my dad?”
“Not in the sense of erasing your actual father.” Nicholas said. “We would go into the mapping ball, find the memory of your father where he changed the vision, and erase him before he does it…like you did with yourself on the beach.” I was kind of getting it now. “Okay, so we go into the mapping ball, filled with all of my dad’s memories of his life, find the one where he changed the world’s future, and I place a hand on him and erase him before he does?” Nicholas nodded. “Pretty much, yes.”
“And how are we supposed to find the memory? I mean it could take forever.”
Nicholas smiled, tapping the side of his head. “The answers are in here.”
I frowned. “In your head?”
He winked at me. “In yours.”
My dad had also said this, but what did it mean? “Can you please explain what that means?”
“I will when we get in there,” he said simply.
I sighed, hoping he wasn’t toying with me. “And what if the vision my father changed is still bad?” I asked, casting a glance at Alex. I’m not sure why, but I suddenly thought of the vision I kept having, where he and I are at the lake and the light smothers us.
“It doesn’t matter. It’s how things were—or, are supposed to be.” Nicholas traced the Foreseer’s mark circling his wrist. “Despite how powerful some of us get, Foreseers are only supposed to see visions, not change them or control them to our liking.”
At that moment, Nicholas actual seemed like a good person who cared about the world. It was weird seeing him like that, all serious and somewhat normal.
My father, on the other hand, seemed like the opposite.
He had changed a vision so the world would end in the most horrible way. Everything would freeze over and all the witches, fey, vampires, and Death Walkers connected to Malefiscus would run the streets killing everyone.
“So how do we get inside the mapping ball?” I asked.
The sooner we put everything back together, the sooner we could all have a normal life…at least I hope that’s what waited for us in the future.
“That’s the tricky part,” he said.
I rubbed my forehead, which was throbbing from the stress. “You’ve already said that like twice.”
“Well, this one’s tricky as well.” He spun the mapping ball around in his hand. “This thing uses a lot of power.” I pointed at myself. “Like the power of a unique Foreseer.”
He shook his head. “More power than even you have. We need the power of the main crystal ball that all the other crystal balls run off.”
My mouth slipped to a frown as I remembered the giant crystal ball that sucked its energy away from people. I peeked over at Alex and shuttered at the mental image of him strapped to the crystal with tubes embedded into his skin.
“So, we what? Just take the mapping ball there and use the crystal ball ’s power?” I asked.
Nicholas looked down at his hand. “We bring it back,” he said, opening and closing his hand.
“Bring it back?” I glanced at Nicholas’ hand. What was he doing? “And how do we do that?”
“You think I’m actually going to let you go off to the City of Crystal alone with her,” Alex interrupted.
“Well, you could always let me go by myself and hope I’ll come back,” Nicholas remarked, trying to get under Alex’s skin.
“Alex,” I said. “You’ve got to stop. Let me handle this—it’s what I’m supposed to do.”
Alex suddenly looked horrified. “I’m not going to let you go off alone with him.” He got up and pulled me up with him.
He took me over to the corner of the living room and lowered his voice, his eyes pressing. “Don’t forget what he did to you, just because you erased it.”
“I understand where you’re coming from—I really do, but you’ve got to stop worry about me all the time. I’m not a girl who needs to be protected by you because she has a star’s energy that will save the world. I’m a girl, with a very unique Foreseer’s gift, who needs to save the world from the star’s energy.”
Alex ran his fingers though his hair as he stared off into empty space. “How am I supposed to just stop doing something, when it’s all I want to do?”
My heart thumped insanely in my chest and, when he looked at me, I just about stopped breathing.
“Yeah, I give you two like a day before you end up killing one another,” Nicholas’ laughter-filled voice intruded our moment.
I scowled at Nicholas. “Thanks for your opinion,” I said sarcastically. “But we’ll be fine.” Although, I wasn’t sure I believed my own words.
“Sure you will,” Nicholas’ grin was mocking.
“We have a problem,” Aislin announced as she entered the room.
“Of course we do,” Alex said with an eye roll. “The world is going to end unless we fix it.”
She shook her head quickly. “No, not that problem…
You’re mom just called from a payphone and told me Laylen’s in trouble.”
“What kind of trouble?” The pitch of my voice was startlingly high.
“He’s…” She trailed off, giving a wary glance at Nicholas.
“Maybe we should discuss this in private.”
“Why, he can’t go anywhere,” I pointed out, but she was still hesitant, and I found myself bursting with aggravation.
“Just say whatever it is.”
“He’s at…” She lowered her voice. “He was at the Red Dragon.”
“Please don’t tell me that’s another club,” I grimaced.
Silence and my heart sank,
“Oh, it’s a club,” Alex said. “An exclusive club for anyone and anything that has a thirst for the evil side.”
“Like the Black Dungeon?” I asked.
He shook his head. “It’s much worse.”
Oh my God, I couldn’t breathe. “But if there are vampires at this club, they might kill him because he killed Vladislav.”
“Would you two shut up!” Aislin cried, practically spitting in our faces. “I said he was at the Red Dragon, but someone we know picked him up from there.”
“Who?” I asked at the same time Alex said, “Great. Just what we need.”
I gave him a funny look. “Do you know who picked him up?”
Alex squirmed uncomfortably and tucked his hands into his pockets. “Yeah, I think might.”
“I mean, I know she lives close by here and everything,” Aislin said, looking hurt. “But I just never thought Laylen would contact her.”
“Who the heck is this ‘her’?” I wanted to know.
Aislin glanced at Alex, her eyes pushing for him to explain, but he stayed mute, as he stared down at the floor.
“It’s Stasha.” Aislin sighed. “She used to be a Keeper—
well I guess she technically still is, but she…decided she didn’t want to be part of the circle anymore.”
“Sounds like a smart girl to me,” I remarked.
“Yeah…” Her gaze flicked in Alex’s direction. “She kind of left because of him.”
“Why would she leave because of him?” I asked, noticing how much more uncomfortable Alex was getting.
Nicholas stood up and suddenly he was right next to me.
“Because she and Alex use to be lovers, but since he’s emotionally dead inside, he broke her heart,” he teased, pouting out his bottom lip.
I almost slapped him. I don’t know why, though. He was just telling me the truth. But the truth hurt in a way I had never felt before—the prickle was confirming it. Really, it shouldn’t bother me that Alex once had a girlfriend—hello, he’s twenty years old—but still …it was bugging the crap out of me.
Everyone had their eyes on me, watching me as if they were waiting for me to flip out. I, however, stayed cool, calm, and collected, at least on the outside.
“So what do we do?” I asked, my voice smoothing out like honey. “Do we call Laylen? Our do we need to go get him? And is this Stasha girl keeping an eye on him?” Aislin suddenly looked a bit on the jittery side. “Your mom didn’t say anything about that. She just said she found him standing outside the Red Dragon talking to Stasha, and when she went to go get him, he took off with her.”
“Is my mom heading back here?” I asked her.
Aislin looked at Alex anxiously, which puzzled him as much as it did me. “Yeah…I think she is.”
“What, you don’t know if she is?” I asked.
Aislin shook her head way too quickly. “No, she is.”
“What are you—”
“I think we should go get Laylen,” she announced over me. “I think he needs someone right now, and Stasha probably isn’t the best person for him to be around.”
“Why? What’s wrong with her?” I asked in an unintentionally rude tone.
“There’s nothing wrong with her.” Alex was watching me in a way that made me feel really vulnerable, as if he could see my jealousy written all over me. “But Aislin’s probably right. Stasha can be a little on the…unsympathetic side and that’s probably the last thing Laylen needs right now.”
“I still can’t believe halfy finally went off the deep end?” Nicholas laughed.
“He didn’t go off the deep end!” I screamed for reasons that were unknown. The prickle went insane, poking and stabbing and eating away at the back of my neck. “And it’s my fault he...wants to drink blood.”
“Why?” Nicholas asked, tapping his fingers together as if I we were discussing something scandalous. “What did you do?”
He was getting on my nerves, so I pinched his arm. He let out a yelp, but then grinned. “You know I swear you get feistier by the second.”
“Well, you bring it out of me,” I said snidely. He opened his mouth to say something, but I talked over him. “So how far is Stasha’s house? Close, I hope.”
“Not too far,” Aislin said, glancing at the clock on her cell phone. “Probably about a thirty-minute drive.”
“I don’t think we should all go,” Alex told Aislin. “There are a lot of us and besides, you know how she is.”
“But I don’t know how she is,” I pointed out.
He ignored me. “So should we hit the road?” We were not going back to that again. “You didn’t answer my question.”
He let out an aggravated sigh. “You remember when I told you that some Keepers have gifts, like Sophia’s gift of…” he trailed off, looking guilty for bringing up my soul detachment.
“Yeah, I remember.” I tried not to sound bitter.
“Well, Stasha has a gift too.” He rubbed the back of his neck tensely. “She has the gift of…death.”
“Like she kill ’s people or something?” I asked with a shiver.
“Not for fun,” Alex clarified. “She just can, you know, kill if she wants to.”
I cringed. “Everyone can kill if they want to, Alex.”
“Yeah, but not like she can,” he said. “She can kill with her touch.”
“So she can kill me if she touches me?” I asked.
“Only if she wants to.”
Well, that sounded lovely. And I had this creepy feeling she might end up wanting to.
“Oh, my God.” Aislin’s green eyes widened as she looked at us fearfully. “You don’t think that Laylen went there to drink the blood of someone Stasha killed.” Alex didn’t answer and I felt my stomach churn.
“No—No he wouldn’t,” I stuttered, but honestly I wasn’t sure. Urgency spilled through the air. “I think we should all go get him. NOW!”
Alex shook his head. “I don’t think you should go.”
“I don’t really care what you think,” I snapped. “I’m going
—Laylen needs me.”
“I’m going to see if I can go get a hold of Stasha and let her know we’re coming,” Aislin talked over us. She opened her phone and stepped into the hallway.
“You shouldn’t go.” Alex’s voice was less demanding and more begging.
“I need to,” I told him. “Laylen needs me, and this is all my fault anyway.”
“She won’t like you being there,” he mumbled, frustrated.
“Who? Stasha?” I asked curiously. “Why?”
“Because…she just won’t.” He was looking at me strangely.
The sly look on Nicholas’ face meant he was about to say something unpleasant. “He doesn’t want you there because he’s afraid Stasha will try to kill you.”
“But I haven’t done anything to her,” I grimaced.
“Oh, but you have.” He patted Alex on the back. “This one right here broke her heart.”
Alex smacked his arm away and his eyes lit up with fury.
“Keep your mouth shut.”
“Yeah, well, his breaking her heart has nothing to do with me,” I told Nicholas. “I wasn’t even there.”
“Oh but it does have to do with you.” There was a mischievous sparkle in the faeries golden eyes. “Like I said, Stasha was madly in love with him.”
“Shut the hell up,” Alex growled, clenching his hand into fists.
But Nicholas continued on unbothered. “But since he is emotionally hollow, he broke her heart of course.”
“Of course.” I rolled my eyes at him, because he was being annoying. Well, a little annoying. I had to admit it did make me feel slightly better that Alex broke her heart, not the other way around. “But that doesn’t explain why she’ll want to kill me. I didn’t make him break her heart.”
“She’ll want to kill you because she’ll see how you two look at one another.” He smirked. “Your desire for each other is ridiculously obvious.”
Why, oh why, did Nicholas get a sick twisted pleasure on making things awkward? I mean, was it a faerie thing? Or was it just him. I shifted uncomfortably and so did Alex.
“No, it’s not,” I tried to assure Nicholas, but my voice failed me.
“Yes it is—it shows in your eyes.” He touched the corner of my eye with his finger and I flinched back.
“Don’t touch her ever again,” Alex said, getting in his face.
“Alright, let’s just stop,” I said, deciding to be the peace maker. “Now I understand your concern,” I told Alex. “About your ex-girlfriend wanting to kill me or whatever, but I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
Alex opened his mouth to protest, and I questioned if there was some other reason he didn’t want me to go.
Those other reasons ate away at my insides.
“I think she should go with us,” Aislin said from the hallway.
Daggers shot from Alex’s bright green eyes. “Well, no one asked for your opinion.”
“And no one asked for yours,” she snapped, shutting her cell phone. “You can go. You’re right—Laylen needs you.” She paused, looking pained. “You seem to understand him better than anyone…and he trusts you.”
It hurt her to say it, and I realized Aislin wasn’t that bad.
Sure, she has done some things in her past that weren’t that great, but, like Alex, she probably was under the control of her father.
“So, we should get going.” Aislin grabbed the car keys from off the desk. “Stasha didn’t answer her phone, so we’re just going to have to surprise them.”
“Wait? What about my mom?” I asked. “She’ll wonder where we are.”
“We’ll leave her a note,” Aislin said quickly. “Besides, I think she needed to go somewhere—to the store. She was going to the store to pick up some food.” Okay…she was acting weird. I pointed a finger at Nicholas. “Well, what are we going to do with him?” Alex rubbed his jawline as he deliberated this. “We could tie him back up in the garage.”
“Oh, that would be nice,” I said, crossing my arms. “My mom showing up and finding him tied up in the garage.” I paused. “I think we should take him. Besides, if someone shows up here, he’ll tell them everything—you know he will.” Alex knew I was right, but he still didn’t look very happy.
“Fine, he can come.”
We hid the mapping ball and locked up the house, with both locks and magical charms. Then we headed down the desolate highway, toward the next town where Stasha lived.
Night had blanketed over the land, the moon shining at its fullest. Silver and purple stars twinkled a soft lullaby, the ocean purring along with the tune.
The inside of the car was absurdly hot, due to both the humid air and the electricity. I didn’t know what it was about cars, but it brought out the heat between Alex and I.
Thankfully, he was driving and I was in the backseat, sitting next to Nicholas, who was practically like an air freshener, with how much rainy-flower scent flowed off him. I couldn’t breathe, and finally I had to roll down the window. The air pumped oxygen threw my lungs, and I breathed in its salty scent with a deep, lingering breath.
“You doing okay back there?”
I tore myself away from the window and found Alex watching me in the rearview mirror.
“Yeah, it’s just a little hot back here.” I fanned myself with my hand.
Nicholas let out a loud snore. He had dozed off the minute we pulled out of the driveway. Aislin had nodded off too, not too shortly after the town had disappeared from our view. Evidently, everyone was tired.
“It is hot in here,” he agreed.
The pale glow of the moon trickled inside the cab of the car, lighting his hands clutched tightly on the steering-wheel.
“Maybe you should roll your window down too,” I suggested, hoping to pump in some more circulation. God, what had I been thinking, climbing in here with him?
“Good idea.” He rolled down his window and a gentle breeze lulled in. It helped…a little.
“Make-up Smeared Eyes” by Automatic Loveletter hummed from the speakers, and between the soft beat of the music and the gentle breeze, I found myself getting drowsy.
I yawned, my head feeling heavy.
“Are you tired?” he asked, glancing at the bright red numbers on the clock.
“Yeah, a little.”
“You should get some rest,” he said in a soft voice. “You need to be awake when we get there.”
And suddenly I was wide awake. I leaned forward in the chair. “I don’t get it…You act like this Stasha is…like going to murder me or something.”
“No, she’s not that bad, but…” He paused. “But she has jealousy issues.”
Ah, the emotion of jealousy. I’ve experienced that one a few times, and I can’t say I’m a fan.
“If she’s like that, then why did you date her?” I regretted the words as soon as they left my mouth.
He shifted in the seat uncomfortably. “That’s why I dated her…It was easy not to feel things with her…unlike with some people.” His eyes met mine in the mirror and the look he gave me made my body tingle.
Stop thinking about him like that. Just Stop.
I bit at my nails. “I think we should—”
Suddenly, a shadowy figure appeared in the road. I let out a screamed as Alex slammed on the breaks. Tires roared. The car lurched forward…crunching…a bright light…yellow eyes…then blackness.