Maybe, but it worried me that she wasn’t back yet. It just didn’t seem like a great idea for my mom—who had just been freed from The Underworld a day ago—to be out by herself looking for a vampire with blood thirst issues.
“I know it’s not the best situation,” Aislin told me like she read my mind. “But I’m sure she’s okay.”
“I hope they’re both okay,” I said, but something in my gut told me this was not the case.
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 all “whatever.” This was the attitude he had gave me for the last half an hour as Aislin and I stood out in the hot, humidgarage 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.”