Scattered Ashes

  "Gemma, where are you?" I stand up and circle the room.

  Everything is frosted over except for the front window, which strangely is open. I walk over, sticking my head outside, and spot a single purple flower sitting on the windowsill, the same kind of flower that was in the field where we met while Gemma was dreaming. And it's the same kind of flower I used to pick for her when we would walk out to our hideout.

  I shut my eyes, and just like that, she's pulled me into a dream. Only this time, it's not a dream filled with kisses and touching. This time, there's nothing but chaos as she shows me the horror that happened . . .

  I'm standing at the side of the room, watching as Laylen and Gemma sit there and chat on the sofa. I try to say something to her, but unlike the other times we've met in her dreams, she doesn't seem to hear me.

  "You know what? I think I kind of like the wings." Laylen caresses the feathers on her back, making my blood boil.

  "Don't be weird," she jokes, pulling a face at the wings.

  "I'm not being weird." He gives her a teasing smile. "Hey, what if you can fly?"

  "I can't fly," she says, but then her brows knit together in that cute way that means she's thinking deeply about something. "Can I?"

  "You should try it," Laylen encourages.

  She only sighs, leaning back against the couch. "This sucks. I should be trying to find a way to get into the Afterlife, and instead, I'm stuck here."

  "We'll get it all fixed," he assures her. "We always do."

  "I hope so." She kicks her boots up onto the table. "Although, sometimes I wish we could just take off and run away from it all like Adessa and Tesha."

  Laylen leans back, resting his arms behind his head. "I still can't believe they bailed."

  "Wouldn't you run away if you could?"

  "Maybe," he says, pondering something. "Do you think maybe in another life, if we'd been born human, without marks, without all of this, we could've lived normal lives?"

  "Maybe." But she doesn't look too convinced.

  "Do you think you and I would still be friends?"

  She laughs, her eyes lighting up. "I think, no matter what, you and I will always be friends, Laylen."

  My heart aches while I watch the two of them talk. The air between them is so light, and everything just looks . . . well, easy. It's the complete opposite of the intense conversations and moments Gemma and I share. Also unlike us, the two of them are able to relax and not have to worry about killing each other.

  "What about you and Alex?" Laylen asks. "Do you think you two would've been together if the star and the promise never existed?"

  I hold my breath, waiting for her answer.

  She traces the scar on her hand then shuts her eyes. "Yes," she whispers.

  I exhale loudly and lean back against the wall, smiling for some goddamn weird reason.

  Laylen puts his shoes on the table and then moves his feet to the floor again, seeming uneasy. "Maybe one day that world will exist."

  Gemma smiles, but then she suddenly leaps to her feet and bolts for the door. Laylen hurries after her and so do I, chasing her outside.

  "What are you doing?" he asks Gemma as we stop on the porch.

  Checking left and right, Gemma spans her wings. "Seeing if I can fly. It might be my only chance."

  She flaps the feathers back and forth, back and forth until they lift her off her feet. Then she hovers in the air for a while before her feet touch the ground again. She looks so happy, so free, exactly what I want her to have for the rest of her life.

  "See, not so bad," Laylen says, grinning.

  She curls her wings back in. "I guess not, but it doesn't mean I want to keep the wings."

  They exchange a grin before she plucks a violet flower from a pot hanging by the front door. That's when I hear a crackle from inside the house.

  The two of them must hear it, too, because they dive into the bushes and peer through the open window into the living room.

  I move beside them and look inside the house, too.

  "Where are they!" my father growls. "They are supposed to be here."

  Death Walkers surround him as he paces the floor with the Sword of Immorality clutched in his hand. He looks like he's panicking, completely out of control. I've never seen him look like this before, and it has me wondering what's causing it. What's got him so scared?

  As he continues to chew out the Death Walkers, I spot a girl cowering next to him with dark, curly hair and yellow-eyes.

  "Aleesa," Gemma and I mutter simultaneously.

  My father growls at the Death Walkers, his face turning bright red "You all failed me!" He swings back the sword and plunges it into a Death Walker's chest. It lets out a sharp cry, the light in its eyes dimming.

  Laylen and Gemma exchange a look. "Maybe's he's worried he's not going to be able to pull off opening the portal," Laylen whispers.

  "Maybe," Gemma says then frowns. "We should help Aleesa."

  The window suddenly explodes, and glass flies everywhere. My father marches for the window with the Death Walkers tailing at his heals.

  "Time to go," Gemma says, grabbing Laylen's hand.

  But it's too late. Death Walkers are marching out the front door and surrounding the bushes as Gemma and Laylen stumble out.

  My father strides right for Gemma with that stupid grin on his face that he always gets whenever he thinks he's won something.

  "Well, well, well, what do we have here?" He looks her over, smiling at the wings. "Looks like you ran into some trouble."

  I grit my teeth and lunge for him, but I fall right through him like he's a ghost. Rolling on my back, I see Laylen shift in front of Gemma, trying to protect her.

  My stupid asshole of a father looks up the street. "Interesting choice of places to hide, especially since you've hidden here before." He releases an exhausted sigh. "I wish you'd just give up. It'd make my life easier. But I guess I can't be too upset with all of this. It's amazing how good I'm getting at creating marks."

  "It's not over," Gemma says, her voice surprisingly even. "And do you want to know why?" She leans in. "Because Alex and I our going to kill you." Then she does something freaking badass as hell.

  She punches him in the face.

  My father clutches his nose, tripping backward as blood gushes from it. "Get her!"

  Death Walkers close in on Laylen and Gemma, but Gemma extends her wings and twirls around in a circle. The powerful feathered wings hit the Death Walkers, and they drop to the ground like dominoes. Gemma grabs Aleesa's hand then Laylen's before she kisses the flower and tosses it onto the windowsill.

  "You know where to find me," she whispers, and then the three of them disappear.

  GEMMA

  "I think my wing's broken," I complain, tucking the feathers inward. "I think the Death Walker's ice did it or something."

  We're in my old, childhood hideout with candles lit along the narrow room hidden inside a hill. Laylen is inspecting my wing while Aleesa lies on the floor, passed out from exhaustion.

  "Does it hurt when I do this?" Laylen brushes his fingers along the tips of the feathers.

  "Yeah." I wince, my muscles tightening as pain shoots through the wing.

  Laylen sighs then rests back against the dirt wall. "I'm not a doctor or anything, but I'm guessing it might be broken. Let's just hope Aislin and Alex show up soon so we can do the spell and turn you back into you." He pauses, rubbing his jawline. "Although, I still don't get why you think they'll be able to find us here."

  I shrug, leaning back against the wall. "It has to do with the flower I left in the windowsill." I'm just hoping Alex will be able to find it.

  I think he did . . . I had a dream that he did, anyway.

  "What are we going to do when Aleesa wakes up?" I ask, yawning and stretching my arms above my head. "She's going to act crazy."

  "I think we should find a place to lock her up until Aislin removes the mark." He massages his arm where his Mark of Malefiscus used to
be.

  "Yeah, I guess." But I'm starting to run out of ideas of places we can hide.

  "Nice punch, by the way," Laylen says with a proud smile. "I've been waiting for someone to do that to Stephan for a long time."

  I flex my fingers. "It did feel kind of good."

  As more time drifts by, I grow concerned that Alex didn't find the flower and that my dream was only a dream. But about an hour later, smoke funnels around the room, and then Alex and Aislin appear in front of us.

  My skin hums as I jump to my feet, so overwhelmed to see him that I start crying.

  "You found us." I throw my arms around him and hug him tightly.

  "Of course I found you." He buries his face into the crook of my neck. "I knew the moment I saw the flower that you probably came here."

  I suck back the tears and lean away to look at him. "Did you find a witch to help me?"

  Alex shifts uncomfortably, keeping a firm grip on my hips. "We kind of ran into a problem with that."

  My elation crashes to the ground. "What kind of a problem?"

  Aislin raises her hand, showing us a giant red X tattooing her flesh. "This kind of a problem."

  Alex sighs tiredly. "She's been branded, which means no other witch will work with her again."

  ALEX

  The look on Gemma's face when I tell her the heart-crushing news that we don't have a witch is enough to kill me.

  I'm still pissed off that Aislin managed to get herself branded.

  After I left Gemma's dream of her escaping Stephan, Aislin and I went to track Emilia down so we could still do the spell when we came to the hideout. Turns out, Emilia had gathered her own mob of witches who blamed us for the Death Walkers showing up in Sin City. To punish Aislin, they marked her with the x so no other witch will ever work with her again.

  "So I'm stuck like this forever?" Gemma sucks back the tears, her wings curling inward as her shoulders slump.

  "We'll find a way to fix this," I promise her, cupping her face between my hands and wiping away the tears. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you. You know that."

  She sniffles. "I know you'll try, but not everything's in your hands, Alex. Sometimes shit just happens, and you can't do anything about it." As she starts to step away from me, one of her wings clips the wall, and she winces

  "What happened?" I touch the wing, noting it looks crooked.

  "It's been like that ever since the Death Walkers and your dad showed up," she says, frowning over her shoulder at the wing. "I'm not sure if it was the ice that did it or what."

  "I'm sorry you had to deal with him." I press my hand to her cheek, turning her head so she'll look at me. "But I'm proud of you."

  Her forehead creases. "For what?"

  I smile. "For punching him in the face."

  She smiles back at me. "I'll admit, it felt good."

  Unable to help myself, I dip my head, moving in to kiss her.

  "Holy shit! I can fix this." Aislin announces, and I sigh, leaning back. "I can remove her Mark of Immortality and her wings! I just need a little bit of time."

  "We don't have time," I tell her, pulling Gemma against me.

  "She's still her, so we have a little bit of time," Aislin says. "And this is what we're going to do."

  GEMMA

  "Black magic?" Alex says flatly to Aislin. "That's your brilliant plan?"

  "It's better than your plan," Aislin snaps, her nerves frazzled and on edge, "which is nothing."

  She wants us to go to a black magic store so she can collect some items that will allow her to create a spell to steal another witch's power. Then she'll have the power of two witches, which she thinks will free me from the entrapment of my wings. Plus, she needs some stuff from there to complete the spell she's been working on that will remove the Mark of Immortality from Stephan, which is the same spell she plans on using on me.

  "Black magic's dangerous," Alex warns Aislin while keeping his hand on my back. He hasn't stopped touching me since he showed up, as if he's afraid he's going to lose me. "You've told me that a thousand times."

  "Life's dangerous." She gestures at me, at Laylen, and then at Alex. "I mean, look at us. We're shit deep in danger all the time. It's who we are, and I think it's time we start embracing it."

  Alex rolls his eyes. "So what you're saying is we just stroll on into a black magic store and order these witches to give us the stuff so you can take away the power of another witch. Because I'm guessing witches aren't going to be too willing to help us, especially with"--he points at her hand--"that."

  "I'll wear gloves," she says, tucking the branded hand behind her back. "And I'll take Gemma with me to the store. Not you."

  I lift my head from Alex's chest. "Why me?"

  "You're an Angel from Hell. Dude, you have clout in the evil world," she says.

  "Is that a good thing?" I ask.

  "Right now, it is," she replies.

  "I'm not agreeing to this," Alex talks over me.

  "Good thing you're not the boss," Aislin replies haughtily.

  "According to Gemma, I am," Alex says, giving me a look that makes my skin heat.

  "Dude, TMI," Laylen says from the floor.

  "And while we're doing this," Aislin says, pulling her hair into a messy bun on top of her head, "you can go find Mom. Besides, the two of you need space, remember?"

  Alex's fingers tense on my back. "The last time I checked, you weren't in charge."

  "I think we should vote," Aislin says with a smirk.

  Alex pulls me closer to him. "No way. I already know where everyone's votes lie." Still, he looks at Laylen with hope.

  "Sorry, but I'm with them on this one," Laylen says, stretching his arms above his head as he rises to his feet.

  Alex lets out a deep grunt. "Whatever." He shakes his head, pulling me closer. "Let's just hurry and get this fucking over with."

  I look up at Alex. "Meet you back here soon, okay?"

  "Hold on a second," Laylen says. "You guys are forgetting something really fucking important." He nods at Aleesa lying on the floor.

  "Shit," Aislin mutters, rubbing her branded hand. "I think it might be time to take her to the Faerie Realm. She'll be safer there."

  "But I thought, since she's half Keeper, she is forbidden in the Fey Realm?" I ask.

  "They won't hurt her," Aislin promises me. "It's the best place I can think of to hide her while we take care of the apocalypse and my father. And I have a friend there who will watch her."

  After we all agree to the plan, Aislin vanishes with Aleesa to take her to the Fey Realm.

  "She's letting this power thing get to her head," Alex mutters as he sinks down to the floor, pulling me with him.

  "I'm sure she knows what she's doing, Alex," I say, crisscrossing my legs.

  Alex snorts a laugh "The last time she ran off by herself, she was chased down by a mob of witches who branded her."

  "She'll be fine," Laylen says more to himself. Fidgety, he reaches for the lighter I lit the candles with and starts messing around with it.

  "So what exactly happened back in Iceland?" I ask Alex. "Did you ever go back and see if you were right about the Banshee not being your mother?"

  Alex slumps back against the wall, rubbing his bloodshot eyes. "I went back to check, and it wasn't my mother."

  "So how are you going to find your mom?" I ask.

  He shrugs. "Go back to Draven, find out why he didn't give me the right address in the first place, and if all else fails, I'll beat the shit out of him until he gives me the correct one."

  I place a hand on his arm. "I don't want you getting hurt."

  "I won't. I promise I won't." His eyes burn fiercely with passion as his hand slides around the back of my neck. "I just want to touch you right now, so fucking badly."

  My heart slams against my chest as I shut my eyes and breathe in Alex's scent. I want him so badly, too.

  Laylen clears his throat as he gets to his feet. "I think I'm going to go get s
ome fresh air." He rushes for the ladder and hastily climbs out of the hole.

  The second we're alone, Alex tugs on the ribbon lacing up the front of the corset. My breasts spring free, and his lips cover my nipple. He sucks hard, and I cry out, my back arching into him. Then he groans, gently biting down, and I nearly lose it.

  "I just want things to be like this," he whispers as he kisses a path up my neck to my chin, "forever."

  Suddenly, he blinks and his head wobbles like he's about to faint.

  I cup his cheek. "Are you okay?"

  He nods, blinking. "I'm . . . fine . . ." His brows dip in puzzlement as he studies me, looking at me in a way I don't quite understand.

  "Can we just lie down for a minute?" he finally asks.

  I nod, feeling completely lost, but I do what he asks and lie down on the dirt beside him. After I lace my shirt back up, I rest my head against his chest. I can hear his heart beating wildly, but the longer we lie there, the fainter it gets. When I glance up at him, he has fallen asleep. For some reason, that makes me smile. He looks so peaceful at the moment, more content than he ever has.

  "I want to stay this way forever, too," I whisper then rest my head on his chest, listening to his heart thudding until I fall asleep, too.

  I wake up when Aislin returns, and Alex jolts awake a split second later.

  "What time is it?" Laylen asks, sitting up and stretching his arms above his head.

  "I have no idea," Aislin says. Her hair is wild, and she's breathing heavily. "What I do know is that faeries are mean. Like really, really mean." She plucks a leaf out of her hair and flicks it to the floor. "And to make this whole thing even more complicated, I now owe Luna a magic spell."

  "Who's Luna?" I sit up, arching my back as I stretch.

  "She's the Empress of the Fey Realm." Aislin rubs some dirt off her cheek. "And she's not very nice."

  "The fey never are." Alex sits up, rubbing his hands up and down his arms like he's cold. Even though he slept, he somehow looks more tired, the bags under his eyes more prominent. "All right, let's get this over with. I don't want to waste any more time."

  "Are we just going to meet back here?" I ask him, growing even more concerned when he yawns.

  He shakes his head. "No, let's meet at your house. There's something I need from there, anyway." He reaches for my hand. "Can I borrow your ring?"

  "Why do you need it?" I ask.

  "In case my mother's in her ghost form," he says. "I promise I'll give it back, Gemma. Just trust me."