“Just tell me,” I coax. “No matter what, I’ll always save him, even if I have to do it a million times.”
“And what happens when she gets you?”
“Then he’ll save me.”
“What kind of delusional Shakespearean world do you two live in?”
“A kind you’ll never know if you keep acting the way you do.” I recoil hand from his. “Now will you please just tell me?”
“I’ll tell you,” he says slyly. “But I want one favor in return. And I’m not going to tell you what. Just know that I will collect it eventually.”
Aislin leans toward me, keeping her voice hushed. “You know it’s going to be bad, right? In fact, he’s probably already got something in his head.”
“I know,” I whisper. “But I have to.”
“Since I don’t have my knife to make a Blood Promise,” Nicholas rustles around, “I’ll have to take your word. But if you try to back out, I promise you’ll regret it. I’ve got more connections then you can ever dream of.”
The threatening Nicholas is kind of scary.
“Okay, you have my word. I owe you one favor.” I might as well be making a deal with the devil.
His mood converts from sullen to cheerful. “To free a Lost Soul from a human body, you have to force the human to regain control. You have to put them in a situation so intense—so powerful that their emotions consume the Lost Soul and force it from their body.”
“So that’s the key—emotion?” I sense my own emotions, very much alive even after years of being dead.
“Isn’t that the key to everything?” He takes a jab at me.
“Are you sure there isn’t just a magic spell or something?” Aislin interjects. “It would be so much easier if there was.”
“If everything was easy, then problems wouldn’t exist.” Nicholas’ fingers brush my collarbone. I wasn’t aware he was so close. My muscles spasm with surprise. “And life would be boring.”
I open my mouth, but a pale spotlight gleams above our heads and circles us in a halo of white. We jump to our feet, shielding our eyes and blinking up.
“Do you see anyone up there?” Aislin whispers, ducking out of the light.
“I don’t know.” I spin to Nicholas “Alright Mr. Know-it-all, who is it…” I pause, my fingers hunting for him. “Damn it. I think he’s gone.”
Aislin turns in a circle. “Where could he have gone? There’s nothing here, Gemma.”
I rub my temples, wishing I was back at the castle, cuddled up with an unpossessed Alex. “Who knows? He probably had a way out of here the whole time and was just messing with our heads.”
“Gemma Lucas.” A deep voice bellows. “I hereby declare you a risk to the Foreseers and all that we stand for. The rules state that under no circumstances will a Foreseer aid to another Foreseer’s banishment to the Room of Forbidden. A plot or act to giving them their freedom breaks the law, therefore resulting in punishment.”
“Dyvinius, is that you?” I gaze through the light, protecting my eyes with my hand. “I know it is. You need to listen to me. My dad’s no longer guilty. I fixed his mistakes.”
They ignore me. “The punishment will result as follows: One, the offender will be expelled from the City of Crystal.”
“Such a bummer,” Aislin mumbles contemptuously, giving a dramatic stomp of her foot and swing of her arm.
The voice loudens. “Number two, the right to use the power of the Divination Crystal is revoked. You will no longer be able to use the power to see or travel through time. This also includes your unique gift that doesn't require the aid of a crystal ball.”
“What?!” Aislin and I exclaim.
He talks over us. “And three, your Foreseer mark will be erased.”
The back of my neck sizzles, heat erupting down my shoulder blade and spine. I hunch over, choking and clasping my neck. “You can’t do this!” If he does, then I’ll never free my father. “Dyvinius—” Tripping over my feet, I tumble for the ground. “Aislin are you…”
I sink to the ground and it swallows me.
Chapter 10
“Gemma, can you hear me?” Aislin asks, concern lacing her tone. “Open your eyes, please. You’re freaking me out.”
“Go away,” I mutter. My head spins like a whirlwind and my neck burns like liquid fire. “Please, just go away.”
“I can’t,” Aislin says. “Not until I know you’re okay.”
“I’m okay.” I sliver my eyelids open. Tall grass swathes my head, water soaks my shoes, and the blue sky taunts me with its cheeriness.
“It’s not the end of the world.” She bends down, her golden brown hair veiling our heads. “You hated your Foreseer power anyway.”
I sit up, my fingers refusing to leave my neck. “If someone took your Wicca power, would you be upset?”
“But you haven’t used it in a while,” she points out. “Well, except for today.”
“It’s the only thing that could free my dad,” I complain.
She dusts off her white shirt, which is still buttoned unevenly. “I know.”
I slip my black and purple sneaker off and dump the pebbles and water from it. My feet are within reach of the lake’s waves. Twigs and leaves cake my hair. I pluck a crusty leaf out and flick it to the dirt.
“I’m sorry,” I apologize. “I’m just upset. It was right within my grasp and now it’s gone. And my dad’s still stuck in the Room of Forbidden.”
“We’ll figure something out,” she vows. “We always do.”
I nod, but don’t believe her. We can’t figure out everything and were bound to run into an unfixable problem. “We should get back to the house.” I sway to my feet, tipsy from whatever Dyvinius did to me. I sweep my hair to the side, looking over my shoulder, and spot the fiery ring of the Keeper’s mark.
“It’s gone,” she states solemnly. “Your Foreseer mark isn’t there anymore. I checked.”
I sketch my thumb over the star tattooing my wrist. I’m sad my Foreseer mark is gone, but grateful the star’s still inked on my skin. “We should get back to the house.”
She agrees and we trudge over the shallow hill, away from the lake and to the castle. The cars are parked in the driveway, the hoods are down, and Laylen is missing. The front door’s cracked and smashed flower pots splinter across the steps.
My shoes crush the fragments of glass. “Is it me or does something seem a little off?”
“It’s not just you.” A shimmer of gold conceals her palm as she charges her power. She inches the door open and we enter cautiously. Aislin sneaks a small knife from her purse sitting on the foyer table. She gives it to me, her hands still glowing. Voices flow from the library. We creep past the stairs and down the hallway. I take the lead, the knife upturned. When we arrive, I want to turn back and hide in my room forever. I’ve met Stasha only once, and it was enough. Stasha is Alex’s ex-girlfriend, who happens to possess the power of death. With a simple touch, she can kill. I know because she tried it on me. But it backfired and she only ended up temporarily scarring my hands.
She sits in one of the leather chairs. Black gloves cloak her hands and she wears a bright blue dress that matches her eyes. She flips her blonde hair, flirting with Alex, who is seated in the chair across from her. He’s grinning and his green eyes glint with something that makes my blood burn.
Laylen spots us and leaps up from the table, causing Stasha and Alex’s eyes to dart to us.
Sasha’s lips expand into a malicious smile. “Well, look who we have here.”
Laylen holds up his hands. “I did not let her in. In fact, I tried to shove her down the steps and slam the door in her face.”
Which means Alex is the guilty party. It also explains the broken flower pots on the front steps.
Alex’s eyes are guarded as he sizes up my forthcoming reaction. I tell myself it’s the Lost Soul toying with me, not him. Jealousy devours me, but I stay calm.
“I don’t have time for this. I have bigger things to worry about.” I turn my back on them and walk away, even though it kills me.
“Go check on her,” I hear Aislin say and footsteps chase after me.
“I’m fine,” I tell Laylen before he catches up. “I just need to go lie down and clear my head.”
He walks at my pace, hands tucked in the pockets of his black jeans. “Fine I’ll go with you. I need a nap anyway.”
We trot up the stairs and hide out in my room. The temperature is stifling and I crack a window, letting the cool air in. “I really am fine.” I flop down on my four-post bed. “I don’t need to be babysat.”
He drops down on the bed and overlaps his hands behind his head. “He’s not himself. You have to look at it like that.”
“I know.” I roll to my side, fluff a purple throw pillow, and rest my head on it. “That’s not why I’m upset. Well that’s not the entire reason I’m upset.”
A pause. “Gemma… where’s your Foreseer mark?” His fingers brush the back of my neck.
“Things didn’t go as planned.” I take a deep breath, forcing back the sting in my eyes, and give him a recap of the last few hours. When I’m finished, I turn back over.
He watches me with sympathy. “I’m sorry. I know how much you wanted to free your dad.” Laylen’s parents died a long time ago, due to Stephan and his murderous plan to end the world. Laylen understands pain better than most people. “We’ll find a way. We always do.”
“That’s exactly what Aislin said.” I force a small smile. “And maybe we will.”
“We will.” He pats my back supportively. “But first, we need to get that damn Lost Soul out of Alex. He’s annoying as hell.”