Текст книги "The Promise"

Автор книги: Jessica Sorensen

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Chapter 38

(Alex)

“ Atraitor?” Laylen questioned. “Okay, I think you’ve finally lost it.”

“That sounds like something a traitor would say,” I replied, my eyes never leaving him.

He stared me down. “You re insane.”

“He’s not a traitor!” Aislin cried as she finished removing the Mark of Malefiscus from Sophia.

And I’m not either.

“Then why was I trapped in that floor?” We all turned to Sophia as she sat up, blinking. “I don’t understand any of this.”

“Are you sure about that?” I asked, nearing my knife to her. “Or could your confusion be an act to make us turn on each other, leaving you room to detach Gemma’s soul again.” I bent down, getting in her face. “Is this a desperate attempt by my father? Did he put you in the floor to get to us?”

“I never wanted to detach Gemma’s soul in the first place,” she said quietly. “I thought I was doing what was right. I thought I was protecting the world.”

“No, you were ending it.”

She nodded quickly. “I know that now, but before, what I was trying to do made sense.” She clutched onto my arm and I shook her off. “It’s your father. He brainwashed me.”

“Trust me,” I said. “We’ve all been there.”

Something shattered to the floor. “Oh my God.”

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I turned. The glass cow that was sitting on the table was now headless on the floor and Aislin’s hands were shaking.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“I can’t deal with this anymore,” she cried. “He’s a horrible man who messes with minds and murders innocent people. What if somehow he got into our heads?” We all exchanged looks, none of us speaking, or trusting, waiting for something unexpected to happen.

“What are we going to do?” Aislin said, stomping her foot.

“The only thing we can.” I reeled back to Sophia and grabbed her arm. “Sorry Sophia, but until we know who’s in control of their own actions.” I pushed her back in the trapdoor.

“Alex, please!” she begged. “You can’t do this! I’ve ran out of food and I’ll starve.” I snatched a few bags of chips, cookies, and bread from the cupboard and tossed them into the trapdoor. “That should hold you until we work this out.”

“Alex, please don’t leave me down here. I —”

I slid the tile over. “Seal that up,” I said to Aislin, feeling bad, but drastic times called for drastic measures.

Aislin hurried over, running her finger along the crack. “Signa eius intus et clauditis hoc usque.” The tile shimmered, the cracks blending away. She stood to her feet. “Oh no!”

“What?” I asked. “Didn’t it work?”

She turned. “I’ve done that before.”

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I was about to jump for her, take her down, and tie her up until I could figure out what the hell was going on. But then Nicholas entered, solid, human, and alive. He turned over his arms, incredulous.

“It’s time,” he said, solemn for the first day in his life.

I shoved past him, knocking him into the wall, and then I charged up the stairs, ready to wake her. She was lying, motionless in her bed, skin paled with death, but just as beautiful as ever. I didn’t feel the electricity until I was right beside the bed. The life in her was so weak it was barely a shock of static. I touched her ice-cold skin and bushed her hair back, waiting for her to open her eyes.

But she didn’t stir, didn’t breath, and I cupped my hands around her face. “Gemma, can you hear me.”

The only sound was silence.

I shook her gently by the shoulders. “Gemma. Wake up.”

But her body was limp. “Aislin!” I yelled, trying not to panic. Because I knew better than to panic. But this was pushing me. I inched my mouth for hers.

“Gemma, please.” And then I kissed her.

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Chapter 39

(Gemma)

When the queen freed the souls, I could hear them whisking away, back to the world, back to their bodies. Then she held out her hand, her mood elated as I placed the ring in her palm.

She slipped the ring on her finger and her body shifted into form. Her skin was like the Lost Souls, mummified and hideous, her hair a grey veil. Her lips were thin and her eyes hollow.

She let out a sigh, like she was glad to be back in her own skin. But I didn’t know why. She looked better in liquid.

“That’s much better.” She stretched her arms above her head and grinned. “You can go now. I have what I need.”

I nodded and ran as fast as I could, never looking back. Alana was waiting for me in the archway.

“You did it,” she said happily, but there was sadness about her too. “Congratulations.” I tucked Nicholas’s essence under my arm. “Are you going to be okay? I could try to go back and get her to free you?”

She shook her head. “No, you won’t. I’ll pay my dues, like I’m supposed to.”

“And then what?” I asked. “Will we ever see you again?”

She didn’t answer, drawing me in for a hug. “You’re an amazing girl, Gemma Lucas. You really are.” Then she let me go. “Take care of him for me.”

I nodded. “I will.” Then I turned down the hall and the light captured me.

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* * *

When my feet touched ground again, I was back in the grassy field only there were no crows.

“Bout time you showed up.” The half-faerie’s voice rose over my shoulder. “I thought the queen had killed you or something.”

I turned, his essence tucked up against me. “Nope, she let me be.” I handed him the orb. “Your essence.”

He swallowed hard, no tricky faerie evident in his eyes. In fact, he looked very human at that moment, about to be reunited with his life. He took the orb in his hands, his eyes glowing against the light, tears staining the corners of his eyes. “Thank you.” Two simple words, but coming from him it was a lot.

“You’re welcome,” I said. “Now can you go tell Alex to revive me?” He nodded, shoving the orb into his chest. And then, he was gone.

I sat down in the field, picking at the grass, and listening to the wind whisper. I felt different somehow, my mind less heavy, like my eyes had suddenly been opened. Annabella had told me that humans made the easiest things complicated. And she was right. The answer had been in front of me the whole time. There was no loophole for this one, no magic trick that would save me. Either I could go to the lake and end everything or I could stay away and let the world go.

It was that simple.

I shut my eyes, dandelion seeds kissing my cheeks as I was sucked back to my life.

When I opened my eyes, his lips were on mine. Hot and fiery, I wanted to close my eyes again and let him keep kissing me. But the sharp zip of electricity caused him to shudder and he 187

stumbled back.

He let out a huge sigh. “I thought you were dead.”

“I was.” I sat up in my bed, blinking my eyes.

He shook his head, laughing. But then he remembered. “Are you okay? Did you free the Lost Souls?”

I motioned at the window. “Why don’t you go look and see?” He moved to the window and pried the board off. “You really are amazing,” he said, stunned by the sight of the mellow streets. “You know that.” Then he turned to me, with this look like he’d suddenly figured out something that frightened him.

I slid my legs over the side of the bed. “So anything exciting happen while I was gone?” The corners of his mouth curved down. “Yeah, a lot actually. And I’m pretty sure we might need to hide out for a while.”

“Hide out from what?” I stood, the wooziness of death still lingering in my head. “We’re already hiding.”

“Hide out from them.” He pointed to the floor. “Aislin and Laylen and… Sophia.” I gasped, my vision spotting.

Gemma, breathe.

I massaged my temples. “I’m sorry, but I think I just imagined something really weird. Did you say Sophia is downstairs?”

“No, you weren’t imagining it,” he said slowly. “Something happened.” 188

“Something always happens,” I said, giving a nervous glance at the shut door. “But this? This is more than a something.”

“Don’t worry,” Alex said. “She’s trapped in the floor.”

I sighed. “Why doesn’t that surprise me?”

He started to smile, but then suppressed it. “There’s more to it than that.”

“How much more?”

He sank down in the computer chair. “Sit down and I’ll explain.”

“So you’re saying she’s been trapped in the floor this entire time?” My jaw was hanging to my knees. “And that Aislin and Laylen were the ones who put her there?”

“That’s the rumor that’s going around.” He leaned forward in the chair, overlapping his fingers. “But it makes sense. I mean, when Aislin and Laylen showed up at the Hartfield cabin that day, they seemed so confused about where they’d been. And I think my dad brainwashed them temporarily. When the memoria extracto backfired on him, I think they might have been freed from him because they showed up right after that.”

I choked on a laugh.

He arched an eyebrow. “Care to share what’s so amusing?”

“It’s just that this whole time I thought you were the one lying.” Laughter snuck into my voice.

“And it turns out it was Aislin and Laylen.”

“I don’t think they were lying,” he said. “I just think they couldn’t remember.”

“I know.” I wiped some tears from my eyes.

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“I don’t get why you think this is amusing,” he said, trying not to laugh. “This is some serious stuff.”

“Oh, I know it is.” I flopped back on the bed, lost in my laughter. I knew it was probably inappropriate, but for such a long time, I’d questioned which legion Alex was part of. God, all that wasted energy.

“Well, I’m glad you find this so funny,” he remarked.

I sat back up, putting my serious face back on. “Okay, tell me how we’re going to fix it. How do we know for sure if they’re okay?”

He tapped his finger on his knee, considering. “Honestly, Gemma, I really can’t think of anything. Usually for this particular kind of thing, I’d ask Aislin to do a spell or something, but how do we know if she does it right… and really, it’s been so long, I don t think they’re still brainwashed.”

“And what about Sophia?” I asked. “Are you just planning on leaving her trapped in the floor?” He stopped tapping. “I was going to let you decide what to do about that. She’s the one who…” He stopped, unable to speak.

“Destroyed my life,” I finished for him. “No, I don t really think that was her. I saw her in a vision, when she removed my soul and she looked like she didn’t want to, but couldn’t seem to stop herself.” I paused. “Where’s Marco?”

“He’s dead,” he said quietly. “My father killed him.”

“But he didn’t kill Sophia.” I considered the reason why. “Because she’s the only one who could detach my soul again.”

“I think so,” Alex nodded, agreeing. “So what do we do now?” 190

“The only thing we can do,” I said, a quiver in my voice. “We leave her there until we die.” He was on his feet before I could even finish. “What’s wrong with you? You can’t be giving up that easy.”

“We’re not giving up,” I said. “We’re doing what we have to do.”

“So what? You just quit.” His words breathed fire in my face.

I shook my head. “No, I’m not giving up. I’m doing what I have to do to save the world.” He dragged his fingers down his face. “There has to be another way.”

“No, there’s not. And we don’t have any time left,” I said. “And it doesn’t matter. I’ve known this was going to happen, I’ve just been making it complicated, when all along the answer was right in front of me.” I put my hand on his cheek, a forbidden electric touch. “We die, so everyone else can live.”

Then I touched my lips to his, a quick brush, then walked out the door.

Even though he was angry with my answer, I hoped he would follow me.

And he did.

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Chapter 40

(Alex)

Ican’t believe she really thought that was going to happen; that I was just going to let her give up like that. I followed her down the stairs anyway, but mainly to make sure Laylen and Aislin weren’t flipping out.

Everything was quiet, still as death.

Aislin was at the coffee table, mixing a bowl of herbs. “You’re alive,” she joked with a smile.

“Do you realize how many times you’ve said that to me,” Gemma joked back as if nothing was wrong, as if she hadn’t just been dead, hadn’t gone to the Afterlife, hadn’t announced that she was going to sacrifice her life.

Aislin laughed, crunching leaves and Gemma made a face at the stench. Her eyes wandered over to me, curious if I d break the news to everyone.

But in my opinion there was no news to break.

“What is that stuff?” she gagged, peering in the bowl.

“This is what’s going to take the Shield Spell off my father.” She gave the bowl a spin. “Of course, after we do that, I don’t know what we’re going to do. No one’s come up with a plan to end him.”

Again, Gemma glanced at me and I shook my head once, warning her not to talk about her stupid death plan.

“So where’s Laylen?” she asked.

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“Right here,” he announced, pushing me aside as he stepped into the living room and gave her hug. “Notice anything different?”

She tucked her hair behind her ears. “Did you get taller?” she teased.

He stuck out his arm and she gasped, tugging it closer to her. “You’re mark’s gone! You’re free.”

He shrugged. “Not completely.” He grinded his teeth. “But close.” Gemma hugged him again, her eyes meeting mine and I glared at her. She let go of Laylen. “I’m glad you’re happy.” Then she marched up and took me by the elbow, pulling me into the foyer and out the front door.

“See all this,” she said with a swing of her hand.

“Looks like a street.” I shrugged, leaning back against the railing. Snow was falling lightly and our breaths fogged in front of us.

“A quiet peaceful street,” she said, staring at the houses on the other side of the road. “And it could stay that way.”

“I’m not letting you die,” I said. “I refuse to. We haven’t even…” God, I sounded like an idiot. I took her by the shoulders, looking her in the eye. “You haven’t even lived. I mean really lived, without all of this.”

“Death’s not that bad.” But she winced when she said it.

My hands fell from her shoulders, because my palms were too hot to touch her any longer. I started to speak, but she put a finger to my lips.

“Can I show you something?” she asked, eyes wild with excitement.

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I pointed at the house. “Don’t you think we should help Aislin with the shield spell?” She shook her head, hair blowing in her face, her violet eyes eager with something I couldn’t understand. “They’ll be fine. Aislin will get the spell working.”

“How do you know that?” I folded my arms.

She smoothed the hair out of her mouth. “Because I’ve seen how this is all going to end. The world will be safe. Everyone will be safe.” Then she pushed past me back into the house, not waiting to see if I followed. And I wasn’t planning on it. I’d stand out here all damn day if I had too, until she could see that I wasn’t about to give up.

But this was nothing but a threat to myself I realized. I trailed after her, catching up as she reached the stairs.

“I think I almost got it,” Aislin announced, beaming in the doorway of the living room, the bowl resting against her hip as she stirred. Something in our expressions made her back away, like she knew a secret and was giving us our space. It made me wonder what I was about to walk into.

Gemma climbed up the stairs, her footsteps quick. Her hands quivered as she opened her bedroom door. She walked over to her computer and picked up a candle, turning it in her hand.

“This is what I wanted to show you,” she said, her voice shaking. She cleared her throat.

“Okay. It’s… nice.” Was I missing something?

She frowned, disappointed. “It’s nice? That’s all you have to say?”

“It’s a candle.” I shrugged. “What do you want me to say?” She bit at her lip, biting back a smile. “No, it s so much more than a candle.” 194

Chapter 41

(Gemma)

“So what is it then?” he asked, unaware of the importance of this moment.

“It s a candle,” I stated.

He rolled his eyes and the corners of his mouth quirked up. “Obviously, Gemma. But what’s so special about it.” He took the small rainbow candle from my hand.

I grabbed a lighter off my desk and flicked it open. “A witch gave it to me.” I didn’t bother mentioning what I’d given up to get the candle. Without my locket, my neck felt bare and exposed, just like my emotions did now. “It’s a Power of Entrapment candle. I got it from the Black Magic place.”

He was already shaking his head. “We’re not using anything that came from a black magic place. It s too dangerous.”

“We already did,” I pointed out. “We used a whole bunch of stuff, so Aislin could remove my wings.”

His eyes moved to my wingless back. “Yeah, but that was an emergency.”

“So’s this candle,” I said, knowing I was stretching it on the emergency part.

“Okay. Do you want to tell me what it does? Maybe then I can decide for myself whether we want to use it for whatever you’re thinking.”

I was thinking a lot. At that moment, millions of images flooded my mind, some real, some made up. “It’s supposed to trap the power of a witch in her body, at least while the wick burns.”

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“So you want to use it on Aislin or something?” He asked, utterly baffled. “Because I think that might be a little harsh.”

God, did I have to spell it out for him. “I want to —” My voice squeaked and I pretended to cough. “I want to use it to trap our power in our bodies.” I saw it register in his eyes, like a curtain opening. “How’d you get it?” He pinched the wick.

“I told you, at the witch store.”

“I know, but it seems like something that would come at a big price.” I shrugged, forcing down the lump in my throat. “Only dollars from my pocket.” He turned the candle upside down. “And how do we know it works? How do we know it’s not going to kill us?”

My hand shook as I flicked the lighter. “Only one way to find out. Are you in?” He stared me down, his expression never wavering. “I’m in.” Suspending the lighter over the wick, my hand shook as I lit it. Then I jerked back quickly, hoping it wouldn’t explode. We held our breaths as the wick burned bright. There was no magical sparks, no enchanting noises or special effects. There was only silence. And the beating of our hearts.

And just like it was supposed to, the electricity of the star sizzled out, momentarily preserved inside each of us, unable to connect.

But it would only be like this momentarily. Like most good things are, as quick as a breath, or a skip of a heartbeat, as swift as our lives would leave us, it would burn out, just like us.

But right now I didn’t care. Right now, I only cared about one thing.

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“As soon as the wicks gone, it’ll stop,” I said. “The electricity will come back.” He nodded, bright green eyes hypnotized by the flame. “I know.” Then we locked eyes, taking in the silence, thinking of the possibilities.

* * *

This is for Keepsby Spill Canvas poured from the speakers. The room was dark, night shading the outside. The stars twinkled brightly through my bedroom window. I was lying on my back, Alex leaning over me, his heart knocking against my chest as he kissed the tip of my ear.

“This song’s good,” he whispered.

“I think it might be about immortality or something,” I muttered, my eyelids fluttering as he kissed my neck.

“He jerked back slightly.” Where’s your necklace?

My hand touched the hollow of my neck. “I lost it. I think the hook broke or something.”

“I’m sorry,” he said and then stole another kiss from my lips, which were already swollen from the many other kisses he’d stolen within the last hour. Then he slid to my side, eyes watching me with intensity.

“What?” I asked. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

He shrugged. “It’s nothing.” He followed my gaze as he rolled on his back and took my hand.

“Still fascinated with them?”

“The stars?” I shook my head. “No, I was just thinking about something, that’s all.”

“Care to share your thoughts?” He cocked an eyebrow as he propped up on his elbow.

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“I was thinking about death,” I began and he immediately frowned. “And about life, and wondering where it will go.”

“Where what will go?”

“The star. After this is all over.” My eyes were fixated on the stars, shimmering and twinkling.

It wasn’t there anymore. That pull. Instead it was like a push, like the star was the one holding me down. “Will it go back up there? Or will it just be gone?” He didn’t speak and I figured he didn’t like where the conversation was heading. “Did you know that Gemma is an actual star?”

“Obviously,” I rolled my eyes.

“No, Gemma, also known as Alphecca, is part of the constellation Corona Borealis.” He traced my lip with his finger.

“How did I not know this?” I wondered, rubbing my lips together.

“Because there are a ton of constellations and an endless amount of stars.”

“But you know.” I wrapped my arms around his waist and ran my fingers up his back, trying not to smile as he shivered. “What d you do? Google it or something?” He shot me a look like that was the most ridiculous thing he’d ever heard. “No, I didn’t Google it.”

The song switched to Here by Meby 3 Doors Down.

“You just know all this then?” I asked.

He nodded and then winked at me. “Haven’t you figured out I know everything.” 198

He was joking, but I still couldn’t help but think how very wrong he was. There was something he didn’t know and would never know.

Because I would never tell him.

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