I walked for what seemed like forever, my legs practically moving on their own, maneuvering me effortlessly passed bushes, trees, and tipped over tree trunks. I swear it was like I knew where I was going without really knowing. If that made any sense.
As I’d just started to wonder just how far my legs were planning to take me, I came to a stop in front of a steep hill. I stared up at it skeptically, taking in its loose dirt and the steep incline. How the heck was I supposed to climb up it?
But I wasn’t supposed to climb up it. That’s what my thoughts were telling me. So instead, I moved to the side, walking at the bottom of the hill, searching for…well, I wasn’t sure. But I hoped I’d know when I saw it.
After awhile, I began to get frustrated at the fact that this vision seemed pointless. I mean why hadn’t I seen anyone? And why did it feel like I had to put together a puzzle in order to understand the meaning of the vision? This had never happened before—usually I just watched the vision. So why was it different now?
Before I could conjure up an answer for these questions, I spotted something. A bush, budding with violet flowers at the foot of the hill. Violet flowers…hmm, it was ringing a bell.
I walked up to the bush and picked one of the violet flowers. The smell was intoxicating and caused my memories to spin in my head, little images of the countless times that I’d picked these flowers when I was a child. It also brought up a memory of this bush and that there was something behind it.
Yes, behind it.
I squatted down and examined behind the bush, letting my fingers dig through the damp soil as I inched my way up the steep side of the hill and around to the back of the bush.
My jaw dropped. A small hole had been dug into the hill. It was hidden by the violet bush so well that I wouldn’t have seen it if I hadn’t been looking for it. I grabbed a hold of the branches of the bush, the thorns cutting at the palms of my hands as I hoisted myself up to where I could see down into the dark hole. There was a ladder that lead to…well I couldn’t tell—I could only see a dirt floor. But there was a light on, glowing faintly from somewhere inside.
I took a deep breath and lowered my feet down to the top step of the ladder. Another deep breath and I started to climb down, my hands sweating against the cool metal. When my feet reached the floor, I immediately spun around. I wasn’t going to lie, but I half expected a Death Walker to pop out and grab me. But no. What was there was probably more surprising than finding a Death Walker.
I was standing in a hollowed out room, the floors and walls made of dirt. There was an old wooden table pressed up against the back wall where a candle burned, the orange glow of the flame lighting up the tiny dirt room. Next to the table was a blue metal trunk, and right in front of trunk was me. Well, the younger me anyway, sitting on the dirt floor. Small, and around four years old, my violet eyes giving away that it was indeed me. Sitting across from me was a little boy with dark brown hair and bright green eyes.
Alex. I knew that now—my memories were able to make the connection.
“So what do you thinks going to happen?” Little Gemma asked. “After they take me away?”
Little Alex shook his head. “I don’t know…”
“Do you think we’ll ever see each other again?” Little Gemma asked, her violet eyes wide with fear.
He nodded. “I promise we will, no matter what they say.”
She looked terrified, tears bubbling up at the corner of her eyes, and I could actually feel her fear, worry, and sadness inside me, as if we’d connected. “Do you think Marco and Sophia will be nice to me?”
“How could they not?” Little Alex said. “No one could ever be mean to you.”
Okay, well, that was the biggest bunch of crap I’d ever heard. But I think he actually meant it.
If only he knew.
As I stood there watching this peaceful scene between the younger Alex and I, I couldn’t help but think how grown up we were acting for being so young. And look at us now, arguing all the time, lying to one another. It made this moment—although peaceful—almost painful to watch, because I knew that right after this happened everything would change. This Alex and Gemma would be no more.
“I have an idea,” Alex said, pulling a small, silver pocket knife out of his pocket “How about you and I become blood brothers.”
Little Gemma scowled at him. “I’m not a boy.”
Alex laughed. “Okay, how about blood friends?”
The tears in her eyes escaped down her cheeks. “What do I have to do to become one?”
“I’ll make a little cut on my hand and on yours and then we press them together and make a promise, okay?”
She looked wary. “Will it hurt?”
“Only for a minute.”
She wiped the tears away from her cheeks and looked at Alex with confidence. “Okay, let’s do it.”
She gave her hand to Alex and he carefully made a small cut in the palm of her hand. She winced ever so slightly, but didn’t put up a fuss. I glanced down at my hand, looking closer at the palm of it, and sure enough, right in the center there was a trace of a very thin, small white scar. Strange…I’d never noticed it before.
Alex made a small cut in his palm and then he raised his hand out in front of him. “Okay, put yours up to mine.”
She did, and they pressed their palms together.
“Forem,” Alex said. “Now you say it.”
She took a deep breath. “Forem.”
Alex dropped his hand and so did she. “There, that’s all it takes.”
“But what does forem mean,” Little Gemma asked.
“It means—”
Someone yelled from above. It was too muffled to understand exactly what the person yelled, but the deepness of the voice told me it belonged to a man.
The children’s eyes went round, and Alex jumped to his feet. “We have to go,” he said, holding out his hand to help little Gemma to her feet.
“Do you think you’re dad will be mad at us,” little Gemma asked, panicking. “for us disappearing?”
“I don’t know…” Alex sounded scared. “Let’s just hurry up, okay.”
Little Gemma, all big eyed and sad, nodded. Then she glanced around at the little hideout, taking one last look as if she knew she’d never return. “Okay.”
They climbed up the ladder, and I followed up after them. I stepped out from the behind the violet bush just in time to see Stephan waving his finger violently as he scolded Alex and me for wandering off. Then he marched them back through the trees, toward the castle. I didn’t follow. I didn’t want to see what happened next. I couldn’t watch my soul get ripped away. I couldn’t watch the little girl with the sad violet eyes be no more. So I sat down on the ground and shut my eyes, waiting to be yanked away.
Chapter 11
Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong. I was stuck. Yes, stuck. Stuck inside the vision. Not only did this have me worried, but it also made me furious because I wanted to get back to Nicholas and the Ira crystal ball so I could start training to save my mom.
But nope. Instead, I was tromping through the forest, leaves and twigs and grass crunching loudly beneath my angry steps as I charged for the castle. I could see the grey stone tower of it sticking up from above the trees, like an arrow pointing to the sky, and I kept my eyes on it as I shoved my way through the bushes, finally stepping out of the forest with an ungraceful stumble.
The sky had shifted a deathly grey and the wind had begun to howl, causing the waves of the lake to roar up against the shore and leaves to whip through the air. Thunder boomed in the distance, and I could almost feel the terror waiting for me inside the castle.
With a loud breath I started up the hill, trying hard not to look at the lake, but it seemed to be calling me, taunting me with its whisper. I glanced over at it, and through the dark, murky water, I could make out faint white figures. Water Faeries. For a split second—and I mean, a split micro of a second—I actually contemplated going into the water, wondering if I did so, if the Water Faeries would take hold of me and drag me down to The Underworld where my mother was trapped.
But the idea that I would even consider this freaked me out just enough to jerk me back to reality, and I ran.
By the time I reached the front door of the castle, the air had gone ice-cold, and the clouds had started to rain down. I shivered in my wet clothes as I shoved the door open. Inside, the light was dusky, and the air wasn’t much warmer. Extending out on each side of me was a hallway, and in front of me was a marble stairway curving up to the second floor. Three options to choose from— three places I could go. But how was I supposed to choose, when I didn’t even know what I was looking for.
With a shaky breath, I preceded down the hallway to my right, my feet thudding against the rocky floor as I weaved my way further down it, feeling as though my feet were no longer in my control, as if my brain subconsciously knew where it was heading. I passed by doors, not bothering to check what was behind them, continuing to walk until the hallway hit a dead end. There was a set of heavy doors, and that was it. I knew without a doubt that this was where I was supposed to go.
With a trembling hand, I reached for the handle, but jerked back when thunder boomed from outside and scared the living daylights out of me. I took a breath, trying to calm my nerves, clicked the handle down and pushed open the door.
I’d seen this room before; instantly I was aware of that. There was a fireplace squaring the front wall, and a Persian rug spread across the stone floor. A single chair sat at the back of the room. This was the chair I hid behind in one of my visions; the one where I heard Demetrius and Stephan discussing how they had gotten rid of my mother and how they took care of me. There was no one in the room now, but I felt I needed to be here, because there was something I needed to see. But what?
Just as I thought it, a cold breeze whipped through my body and I gasped as I realized Stephan had walked right through me. My eyes widened. Holy crap. No one had ever walked through me in a vision. Yeah, I knew I was transparent to them and that I couldn’t touch them, but actually walking through me…and Stephan of all people…it gave me the chills.