Текст книги "The Promise"

Автор книги: Jessica Sorensen

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Chapter 27

(Gemma)

“ Black magic,” Alex repeated not impressed. “That’s your brilliant plan?”

“It s better than your plan,” Aislin replied, annoyed. “Which is nothing.” Her plan was pretty simple on the surface. She wanted us to go to a Black Magic store so she could collect some items that would allow her to create a spell that would steal another witch’s power. Then she’d have the power of two witches and could free me from the entrapment of the black-feathered wings.

The Mark of Immortality was going to be a little bit trickier. The first big problem was the shield spell on Stephan, but she assured us, she’d almost perfected the spell for its removal.

For the mark, she’d just tweak the spell she’d been using to remove the Mark of Malefiscus.

Big problem, though. That meant getting close to Stephan. When I pointed this out, she said one step at a time, which meant she didn’t have an answer.

“Black Magic’s dangerous,” Alex warned. “You’ve told me that a thousand times.”

“Life’s dangerous.” She gestured at me, at Laylen, then at Alex. “I mean, look at us. We’re neck deep in danger all the time. It’s who we are and I think it’s time we start embracing it.” Personally I liked her speech, but Alex rolled his eyes. “So what? We just enter the Black Magic store and order these witches, who are evil, to give us the stuff so you can take away the power of another witch. Because I’m thinking witches might not be so excited about that.” He pointed at her hand. “Or that.”

“I’ll wear gloves,” she said, covering the X. “And I’ll take Gemma with me.” I pointed at myself, not wanting to go anywhere looking like this. “Why me?” 118

“An Angel from hell.” She grinned. “They’ll eat you up.”

Was that a good thing?

“So what? You two want to wander off to a witch store alone?” He let out a sharp laugh.

“Because last time you two decided to do that, things didn’t work out too well for you.”

“We made it out,” she argued, straightening up her shoulders. “And yeah, that’s what we’re doing. And you two can go find mom.”

“So we can just fix everything at once,” I said. “Sounds good to me.” Obviously, Alex wasn’t on board with this. “You know, the last time I checked, you two weren’t in charge.”

“And neither were you,” I said. He gave me a look that was mixed with frustration and a little bit of desire. “I think we should vote.”

He folded his arms. “No way. I already know where everyone’s vote lies.” He glanced at Laylen, sitting by the dirt wall.

“Sorry, but I’m with them on this one,” Laylen said, flicking a lighter on and off.

Alex shook his head, but then let out a huff. “Fine.” He punched the wall to make a point that he was angry. “But hurry. You’re going to start fading away and turn into a snarling Hell Angel.”

“Meet you back here, then?” I asked, getting to my feet, the flame of the candle flickering with the sway of my wings.

“Hold on,” Laylen said. “You guys are forgetting something.” We stared at him uncomprehendingly.

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“Aleesa.” He nodded his head at her.

She was still lying on the floor, drooling away, and I hoped I hadn’t done any permanent damage to her when I’d knocked her out.

Aislin sighed. “I think it might be time to take her to the faerie realm.”

“But I thought she was a forbidden breed,” I said. “Wouldn’t they like hurt her or something?”

“They won’t hurt her,” Aislin said. “But they won’t be too welcoming either. It’s probably the safest place for her though, at least for the time being.”

“Is it safe?” I asked. “Because the faeries here are marked.”

“I’ve heard that some of the faeries have gone into hiding there.” Alex stuffed his hands in his pockets and kicked at the dirt. “So I’m sure it s safe.”

“There’s only one way to find out.” Before anyone could take their next breath, Aislin vanished with Aleesa.

“She’s letting this power thing get to her head,” Alex muttered.

“I’m sure she’ll be fine.” I sat down on the ground by Laylen, crossing my legs.

Alex let out a snort as he dropped down on the floor. “The last time she ran off by herself, she was chased down by a mob of witches.”

“She’ll be fine,” Laylen assured him. Or maybe he was assuring himself. He flicked his lighter open, burning a string hanging from his black jeans.

“So what happened back in Iceland?” I asked Alex, inching away from him and the fiery static.

“Did you figure out if the Banshee was your mother?”

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Laylen pulled a face. “What the heck were you two doing in Iceland, with a Banshee?” I slumped against the wall, poking each of them with the tip of a wing. “Trying to save the world.”

“The Banshee was a dead end,” Alex said, digging into the dirt with his knife. “We’re going to have to find another way to find my mom.”

We all sighed simultaneously and the candle flickered.

“What a bummer.” Laylen frowned, scratching as his Mark of Immortality. Then suddenly his eyes lit up. “If Aislin can remove Stephan’s mark…”

“You want her to remove yours?” I touched the symbols on his forearm. “You want to be mortal?”

“I want to be normal.” He winced. “And that might be as close as I can get.” When Aislin returned, we all jumped at her sudden appearance. Her hair was like a wild jungle animal, her breath heavy, her eyes wide.

“Faeries are mean,” she breathed, fixing her hair. “Like really, really mean.”

“You didn’t know that?” Alex and I said at the same time.

“What happened?” Alex asked. “Did they take Aleesa in?”

Aislin stared at the vacant spot beside her. “Does it look like she’s here?” Alex glared. “Obviously, but there wasn’t any problems?”

“Oh, there are problems.” She picked a leaf out of her hair and flicked it to the floor. “I now owe Luna a magic spell that will free her to this world.”

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“Who’s Luna?” I held up my hands. “Wait. Let me guess. She’s queen of the faerie realm.”

“Empress,” Aislin said like it meant something different. She erased a smudge of dirt off her cheek. “And she’s not very nice either.”

“So what?” Alex s face heated with anger. “You’re just supposed to free her. That sounds like a stupid idea.”

She shrugged. “It was the only way they d let Aleesa stay there unharmed.”

“You should have brought her back here then,” Alex said.

“It was too late,” she replied. “Once I was there, there was no turning back. Look, let’s worry about that later. She’s safe and I’ll figure out a way around it after we fix the bigger problems.

Her eyes landed on my wings.”

“Is it just me,” Laylen said, patting my shoulder. “Or does disaster seem to be drawn to us.”

“It s not just you.” I sighed. “But Aislin’s right. We have other things to fix first.” Alex rubbed his temples tensely. “Alright, let’s go then. I want to get this taken care of.”

“So where are we meeting?” I moved to the other side of the small hideout. “Back here?” He shook his head. “No, at your house. There’s something I need from there anyway.” Then he stuck out his hand. “Can I borrow your ring?”

I glanced at the purple-gemmed ring. “Why do you need it?”

“I promise I’ll give it back,” he said, insistent.

Reluctantly, I took the ring off and laid it in the palm of his hand. He closed his fingers around it and then we said our good-byes and headed our separate ways, hoping when we saw each 122

other again we’d have fewer problems instead of more.

After Aislin dropped Laylen and Alex off at my house, we transported over to a Black Magic store called The Evil Side, which I thought was a lovely name. It looked just like one would imagine an evil magic. The windows were tinted with grime and the door had a sinister looking serpent on it. The roof shingles were rotting, the wood paneling peeling away.

“Ready for this?” Aislin asked, starting across the parking lot.

I pulled her back, my gaze glued to the store. “I think we should have a game plan, just in case.”

“We already have one you. Black Magic witches worship you. You re like their God… or Goddess.”

“Still, I’d feel better… I mean, I can already sense the praesidium inside.”

“Okay.” She swept her hair out of her face. “We’ll make sure to stay by each other at all times and if all else fails I’ll transport us out of there.” She grinned. “Because I can now do that, no assistance need.”

I nodded warily and doing what I was supposed to, I stayed close to her as we headed across the parking lot and into the store. A bell dinged as we entered, the door swinging shut behind us. The air stunk of burnt herbs, smoke, and something else I couldn’t place and wasn’t sure I wanted to place. The items littering the room made me want to stay in the dark with the inner workings of the Black Magic World. There were rows and rows of jars, filled with yellow liquid and parts that looked like they belonged buried. The statues on the shelves were twisted and torturous and the walls were black, the floor a blood red.

“Can I help you?” A tall witch, with golden eyes and hair as pale as snow, appeared in front of us. She looked us over, taking in my wings, then bowed her head. “We’re so honored to have a Black Angel in our store. How can I assist you?”

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Aislin shoved a list at her. “We need everything on this.” The witch ignored her, fascinated with me. “Is that why you’ve come to collect the items from this list?”

Yeah, “I said self-consciously.” Can you help us?

She nodded, excited I spoke to her. She snatched the list and scurried off to gather the items.

Another witch entered from the back doorway, her hair as orange as fire. They exchanged whispers and then the orange-haired one greeted me.

“It’s a pleasure to have you in my store.” She curtsied. “I’m Catalina and if you need anything at all, just let me know.”

“Okay.” I said and then she frowned, her eyes snapping cold.

“She hasn’t even transitioned yet.” Then she stormed for the other witch. “That’s not a Black Angel, but a mere human with wings.”

If only she knew how wrong she was. Still, the pale-haired witch scampered around, collecting the items on the list. Aislin and I roamed the store, not daring to touch anything, but needing to do something else besides stand there. I stumbled across a candle, perched on a shelf, blanketed in a layer of dust. There was a rainbow of colors wrapping around the wax and up the wick. It appeared to be glowing.

“What is it?” Aislin reached for it, but I smacked her hand.

“Don’t touch it if you don’t know what it is,” I said, but couldn’t seem to take my eyes off the magnificent looking candle either. It was hypnotizing.

“It s the Power of Entrapment candle.” The paled-haired witch appeared over my shoulder.

She picked up the colorful candle. “It traps the power of a witch inside their own body, at least while the wick burns.”

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“What about other kinds of power?” My hands trembled as I touched the candle. “Does it trap them too? Or is it just for witches.”

She shrugged. “I guess it might, but what other power are you talking about?” I shrugged and then Aislin and I traded looks, thinking the same thing.

“How much is it?” Aislin asked, reaching to unzip her purse.

“Oh, it s only for trade,” she replied. “Catalina only makes trades for things as powerful as this, and it has to be a good trade.”

“And I’m positive you two have nothing I want,” Catalina barked from behind the glass counter.

The paled-haired witch sighed. “Sorry, she lacks people skills.” Frustration burst through me like an erupting volcano. “Are you sure there isn’t anything at all we could trade for it?”

She eyed us over and I realized neither of us had anything, really. Aislin had her gloves and earrings and I had my necklace.

“Oh, that’s pretty.” Her fingers inched for the locket my mother gave me to protect me from magical harm.

I stepped back, shaking my head and my wings bumped the shelf. “Not that. Anything but that.”

“Catalina, come look at this,” she called out, eyes locked on my locket. “This one’s got sugilite on her.”

Catalina was over in a snap of a finger, grabbing my necklace without asking. “And it’s 125

wrapped by silver.” She glanced at the candle and then at me. “You want the candle, give me the necklace.”

“It’s just a necklace.” I clutched onto it for dear life, tugging it from her grasp.

“A necklace filled with sugilite! It’s a very sought after stone in the Wicca world. After all, who doesn’t want protection?”

I stared at my necklace, at the candle, and then at Catalina. The look on her face made me think this was no longer my decision. I unclamp the locket and handed it over to her greedy little witch fingers. The paled-haired witch tossed the candle at me and I hugged it to my chest, hoping it’d be worth it.

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Chapter 28

(Alex)

Iwasn’t sure if the ring would work on me or not. But I had to try because I needed to talk to him. He knew things. I knew he did. His faerie blood connected with every breed of faerie in the world, including a Banshee. Honestly, I wished I’d started with him, and then it would have saved the bargain with Draven and the waste of a trip to Iceland. But what was done was done and there was no use dwelling on the past. I had to focus on the future.

Laylen was giving off a nervous vibe as we stood in Gemma’s bedroom, where I knew the dead faerie would be, waiting for her to return.

“So what are we doing here?” Laylen looked around at the tan walls, tapping his fingers on his leg.

“Were looking for Nicholas,” I showed him the ring.

“Why?” Laylen asked, sitting down in the compute chair. “Because he seems like the last person you’d ask for help.”

“He’s got faerie blood in him.” I shoved the ring on my pinky, ignoring the fact that it was purple and obviously made for a girl. “He has to know something.”

“See anything yet?” Laylen asked after a minute of silence.

I shook my head and let out an exasperated breath. “I figured it’d only work on her, but I had to try.” I moved to take the ring off, but then I heard a voice and I paused.

“Look at you,” Nicholas’s voice swept through the room. “Trying to hunt me down for once?”

“Where are you?” I asked, knowing I had to keep my cool. At least for now.

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“I’m dead,” he replied. “So obviously, I’m a ghost, which means I’m anywhere I want to be.” I clutched my hands so tight the ring dug into my skin. “Where is she?”

“Who?” Nicholas asked. “The list of people you two are looking for is endless. I mean, there’s Jocelyn and Alana and me.”

The way he said Jocelyn’s name made me questioned if he’d done something to her. The last time Gemma saw her she was a ghost and had disappeared with Nicholas. Then only Nicholas returned, saying Jocelyn was detained.

“Where is Jocelyn?” I asked, impulsively pulling out my knife.

Laylen rose to his feet and accidently knocked a CD on the floor. “Can you see him? He’s not by me, is he?”

I held up a finger. “Not yet… but…”

“And you never will,” he said. “I have nothing to say to you. Now go away and don’t come back unless Gemma’s with you.”

“I’ll tell you what. Show yourself and I’ll make a bargain with you.” I enticed, walking a thin line, because faeries were known for their tricks. And Nicholas was full of them.

“What kind of a bargain?” He bit at the bait.

“The kind where you can live again.”

Laylen shot me a baffled look and I nodded my head as a warning.

Nicholas was quiet, but this time I could hear him breathing, considering my offer. Then soundlessly he surfaced by the paneled window, next to an oblivious Laylen.

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His eyes narrowed on me. “This better be good.”

“Oh it is, but I want your info first.” I flipped the knife in my hand, letting him know I had it.

“Starting with the location of Jocelyn.”

“You know that can’t hurt me,” he said, eyeing my knife. “I’m a ghost.”

“Well, if that s true then I guess you have nothing to worry about.” I stopped tormenting him with my knife and placed it on the dresser. “Now answer the question.”

“First I need to know how you’re going to save me,” he said quietly.

I shook my head slowly. “You first.”

We stared each other down, a challenge between the dead and the living. I remembered the days when I used to beat the crap out of him to get him to talk. I missed those days.

“Fine, Jocelyn is gone,” he said. “But I’d like to point out that I warned her they didn’t like me down in the Afterlife because I’m only a half-breed.”

“So she’s stuck there because of you.” I wanted to rip his head off. “And what do you mean gone?”

He shrugged and leaned against the wall. “Her essence crossed over. But it wasn’t even supposed to be here to begin with. When we showed up in the Afterlife, Annabella collected her essence so she could cross over. So she moved on, past the ghost life.”

“She’s gone? A lump formed in my throat. “Gemma won’t ever see her again?”

“She was never supposed to be here,” he repeated. “She had a brief gap between her death and her body, where she could roam free, but unlike me it was her time to go.”

“And what about my mom?” I wondered. “Do you know where she is?” 129

A deceitful looked crept across his face. “Isn’t she dead too?”

“Watch it,” I warned. “It’s your life at stake here. Not mine.”

“Oh, I beg to differ.” He laughed and I lunged for him, but only grabbed air. It threw me off balance and I smacked my head on the wall.

“What are you doing man?” Laylen gaped at me like I’d lost my mind.

“Trying to kill a ghost,” I growled, spinning in circles.

Nicholas laughed again. “This is so much fun. It really is, seeing you like this.” That was it. Time to move. “Let’s go.” I stormed for the door, hoping Nicholas would bite the bait again.

“Wait,” he called out.

I smiled to myself as I turned. “Yeah.”

“I might know where she is,” he said, standing closer than I’d anticipated. “Although, I thought you’d have figure it out on your own, since you’ve been trapped there yourself before.”

“What are you…” And then it clicked. “Are you saying that she’s in the City of Crystal, trapped against the massive crystal?”

He grinned and I had my answer.

“Take me there,” I demanded and picked up my knife.

“Not until you tell me how I can become undead.”

“When we free the Lost Souls,” I said. “I’ll make sure to include your name.” 130

“You say it like you’re the one going.” He snickered. “That’ll never happen.” I gestured around the room. “She’s not here is she?”

He laughed, hunching over, gasping for air. “You still don’t get it. It has to be her, it always has and always will.”

Laylen walked out the door, his hands cupping his head. “This one-sided conversation is too much. I can’t take it anymore.”

I turned my attention back to Nicholas. “Not if I do it without her knowing about it.”

“You’re still not getting it,” he said, shaking his head. “You can’t just change how it’s supposed to be. That’s what you mere humans don’t get. Us Foreseers understand everything happens for a reason, even mistakes as great as Gemma’s father, Julian Lucas committed. We are who are. There’s no changing it. It has to be Gemma. She was the one born with the Foreseer gift, the one destined to change the vision. And she’s the one who has to make the bargain with Helena because she s responsible for her Lost Souls.”

“But she didn’t do it on purpose,” I said. “She was only fixing her father’s mistakes.” He shrugged half-heartedly. “Like I said, that was what she was destined to do, since the day she was born.”

“And what about my mother,” I snapped. “What does she have to do with this?”

“You can ask her yourself.” He pulled out a red-ruby crystal ball and held it up between his fingers. “In the City of Crystal.”

“What’s wrong?” Laylen peeked his head back inside. “Is he being his usual annoying self, or did he finally hand the info over.”

I ignored Laylen. “This is such crap.”

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“We all have to endure difficulty in our life,” he said. “Some just more than others.”

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Chapter 29

(Gemma)

“ Stop picking at your feathers,” Aislin said, mixing a bowl of green goo and leaves. “We don’t know if it’ll do anything permanent to you.”

“But they itch like crazy,” I whined, still scratching, feathers falling out and floating to my bedroom floor.

After we’d finished up at the The Evil Side, we’d transported to my house. But Laylen and Alex weren’t there, so Aislin had jumped straight into witch mode, mixing her potion, while I sat on the floor itching at the feathers and staring at the rainbow candle, wondering what would happen if it worked. What kind of emotions would I feel? New ones?

I touched the back of my neck, thinking about the prickle and how I hadn’t felt it in a while.

Maybe because I’d felt everything. But that wasn’t true. There was one thing I still didn’t understand completely.

Love.

“It s like you’re molting,” Aislin observed with a smash of the spoon.

I glowered at her. “I m not a bird.”

“I know,” she said. “But you do have wings.”

I plucked another feather and flicked it to the floor. “How long is that going to take?” Another crush. “Not too much longer, but I still have to steal a witch’s power.” I motioned at the boarded window. “Well, there s a ton out there. Take your pick.” 133

“We can’t find one there. When I take their power, whoever they are, they’re going to try to kill me.”

“But they won’t have their power,” I pointed out. “So you could just run.” She sighed, exhausted. “It’d be better if I just took it from someone far away from here, so they can’t track me down.”

“Have any place in mind?”

“Yeah…” she trailed off, staring at the red X on her hand.

“Is this some kind of revenge plot or something?” I wondered, rubbing the dust off the candle.

“Are you going back to Vegas to steal Amelia’s power?”

“Who’s Amelia?” She swished the bowl around.

I plugged my nose at the smell of her potion that reeked like rotten eggs and public bathrooms. “She’s the witch who put that X on you.”

“Good to know.” She got this wicked look on her face.

I pointed a finger at her, rising to my feet and kicking up feathers. “This is a revenge thing.”

“She branded me from the witch world,” she said, her voice piercing with a grudge. “She deserves it.”

“Okay, have your revenge.” I waved my hand at her. “Am I coming with you?” Her green eyes moved to my wings. “You’d draw a lot of attention.”

“Fine.” Usually I was an arguer, but it was better if I stayed behind, “I’ll stay and build my nest.”

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She laughed. I laughed. And we had this weird, normal moment.

After she brewed her potion, she rinsed out the bowl in the kitchen sink and was on her way.

“If you’re not back in a half-an-hour,” I said, pointing at the wall clock. “I’m coming to look for you.”

She thought this was funny for some reason. “I’ll be back sooner than that.” Then she poofed away and it was just me and my empty house. For some reason I felt like I was back to square one, that I drifted back through time, to the old Gemma life. Only I had wings and was wearing a stupid leather dress and high-heeled boots.

I got up, deciding to scrounge through Marco and Sophia’s room, for no reason other than I was bored. I flipped open the trunk and took out the photo’s Sophia kept, wishing that I belonged in them even just one. But every photo had the same similarity none of them included me.

I pried out the bottom board and looked at my birth certificate. I thought of my father, trapped in his own mind, perhaps with the Death Walkers. Then my mother snuck into my thoughts; a life spent in The Underworld something she did to herself. And now she was dead. Another thing done by her own hand.

“Mom,” I called out to the empty room, but only my heart answered me. I tore the certificate up into tiny pieces and watched them float to the carpet. If I survived this, I would no longer be this girl. If I survived this, I would finally start my life.

I curled up in a ball, domed my wings around me, and cried in the silence of my own shell.

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