I'm not buying it. "You know you can talk to me about anything, right?"
He places a hand on my knee. "I know, but I'm really not ready to talk about what's bothering me just yet."
I decide to let it go for now, but I make a mental note to talk to him later.
If I have a later. The thought sends a terrifying chill up my spine and I shiver.
"Laylen, I know you really don't want to talk to me about it now, but . . . I might not have much more time . . . And I really want to make sure you're okay . . . before I go." Tears sting my eyes.
God, this is more difficult than I thought.
He fiddles with his lip ring, sucking the metal between his teeth. "I just don't get why you guys have to die if we remove Stephan's mark. Can't we just kill him and end it?"
I want to throw my arms around him again, try to erase the pain in his expression, but I know a hug's not going to do it, not with this. This is something he'll just have to work through.
"Alana told me something while I was in the Afterlife," I tell him. "She told me Malefiscus is part of the star, and therefore, it connects the portal to Alex and me. He can't walk free without the blood of the ritual Stephan is planning on performing with you guys, but the portal will still open up on its own as long as the star exists. And it can do a lot of damage to the world by just opening up. She said the only way to stop it all is for the star to be destroyed."
"So that's it, then?" He shakes his head, his jaw set tight as he battles back the tears.
"I'm sorry." I can't think of anything else to say.
"I wish things could have been different for you." He places a hand on my cheek and traces his finger underneath my eye. "You deserve so much more. You deserve a life full of happiness and freedom, where you get to do crazy things that make you laugh and smile."
"Do me a favor?" I ask and he nods. "Can you live that life for me?"
His fingers tense on my face, and I cover my hand with his.
"I promise," he says softly.
I start to smile when a bang shakes the entire house.
"Now what?" I jump to my feet and pat my pockets for a knife.
"It's just Sophia," Laylen says, guiding me back down to the sofa.
I relax as I plant my ass back on the cushion. "I forgot she's here. It's so strange she's been trapped down there all this time." I pause. "Can you make sure she's let go after I'm gone? I want to make sure she doesn't rot away down there."
His head slants to the side as he gives me a puzzled look. "You don't hate her for what she did to you?"
"I don't hate her, but I don't really like her, either. It's kind of hard to figure out how I feel because I know all those years her mind wasn't really her own. But all the pain she caused is still fresh in my mind, you know? She's my grandmother, though, and I don't want her locked underneath the house forever. I don't want anyone else to have to spend their life like that; otherwise, it feels like my sacrifice is for nothing."
He combs his fingers through his hair, brushing his hair out of his eyes. "You keep saying all of this like it's a done deal, like you're for sure going to die, but sometimes visions change--stuff can still change--so how can you know you and Alex are going to die for sure?"
"Alex isn't going to die," I say without really meaning to.
He jerks back, shocked. "What do you mean?"
I lean in, keeping my voice low. "Can you keep a secret?"
ALEX
Aislin materializes us in front of the house in Iceland then lets go of my hand.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" she asks again, wrapping her arms around herself as the cold air hits her. "Maybe there's another way. We still have a little time left, you know. We can fix this."
I shake my head, opening the front gate. "Time's up, Aislin. This is what I'm going to do, what I want to do."
"Well, I'm waiting here." She refuses to step onto the pathway that leads to the house. "I can't watch what's about to happen."
"I understand." I hike up the snowy path to the front steps and bang on the door. "Open up! I know you're in there."
An old woman that lives in the house next door steps out onto her porch. "Keep it down. We don't want any nonsense around here."
I bang on the door again, this time harder. "I'm just trying to talk to the person who lives here."
"No one lives there," she snaps. "Now leave or I'll call the police."
I give the door a good hard kick before I stomp down the stairs and back to Aislin. I grab her arm and tow her along with me as I hurry down the sidewalk.
"Where are we going?" Aislin rushes to keep up with me.
"Just keep walking."
I glance over my shoulder at the old woman who's still watching us then turn back around. I walk to the end the sidewalk then round the corner and stop in front of the fence. I hop over it, diving into the back yard.
"Wait here," I tell Aislin then jog up the back porch.
I check the back door and the window; both are locked. In a desperate move, I punch my fist through the window of the door, and the glass gashes my knuckles.
"Alex!" Aislin hisses through the chain link fence, but I am already reaching through the window and unlocking the door.
As soon as I shove it open, the Banshee's wail rings against my eardrums. I don't bother taking out my knife since I'm here to give her what she wants.
I run up the stairs, tracking her cries to a locked door. Stepping back, I run forward and kick it down.
"Way to make an entrance," the Banshee says from the windowsill as I stumble into the room. Her blond hair is pale against the moonlight as she tilts her head toward me. "What do you want?"
I take a deep breath, ready to make my offer, ready to lay down my fucking life in an instant because it means Gemma can live, but the Banshee holds up her hands before I can speak.
"Let me guess," she says, whisking away from the window. "You found your mother, but now she's trapped in the Afterlife, paying her debt until Helena will allow her to walk the world again, and you want me to free her."
I start to nod, but then shake my head. "That's not why I'm here."
She smiles maliciously. "You want something else"--she circles me, tracing her finger across my shoulder--"but I'll have to forgive you first." She leans over my shoulder, sniffing my neck. "I can be very giving if asked the right question."
I clench my fists, knowing I have to keep my temper under control.
"I'm ready to make a bargain with you, and trust me, what I'm going to offer, you're not going to want to refuse."
A few minutes later, I return outside to Aislin who's waiting for me on the step with a fire burning in front of her feet.
"What?" she asks when she notices me staring at the flames. "I got cold."
"You should have worn a jacket." I slip mine off and give it to her.
"I didn't even think about it." She puts on the jacket and zips it up. "All I could think about is why we're here."
I rub my hands across my face and really let what I just did sink in. I feel different, scared but less burdened somehow, like knowing Gemma will be okay has erased some of my sins.
"It'll be okay," I tell Aislin. "You'll be okay."
"Maybe." She stares at the clear, night sky. "I know you think this is how this is supposed to work, but why can't someone save you, too?"
"Even if I could think of a way to make that happen, which I can't, my life isn't worth someone else risking theirs." I sink down on the step and lower my head. "I've done a lot of shitty things throughout my life, and now it's time for me to make up for it."
She sniffles as she sits down beside me. "You're not as bad as you think you are, and I think Gemma would agree with me."
"I'm sure she would, but that's not what this is about. This is about me saving her." Knowing this may be the last time I see her, I pull her in for a hug "Take care of yourself, okay? Make sure you live a good life."
Her tears soak the shoulder of my shirt. "I promise I will
."
"Can we make one last stop before we go back to the house?" I ask her. "There's something I need to get . . . from the Keepers' Castle."
"Are you insane?" She jerks back. "There's no way in hell I'm taking you there."
"We're just going to sneak into my room and get something. That's all." When she still looks unconvinced, I add, "Please, this is important, and it'll help with the shield spell."
Her intrigue piques. "How so?"
"You remember how Gemma and I used to steal stuff from Stephan all the time, just to piss him off?"
"Yeah, I always thought you guys were stupid."
"Not stupid," I stress. "I have quite the collection of very powerful objects hidden in my room, and I'm not sure, but I'm guessing you might be able to use some of them to channel more energy to help you with the spell."
"Are you sure you want to do this?" she checks. "Because I can figure out another way to get extra power."
"I'm sure," I say. "Now let's go."
She nods then begins to chant under her breath as the snow speeds away with us.
When we land in my bedroom and our feet slip out from under us, I brace myself against the bedpost, but Aislin falls to the floor and cracks her elbow against the ice.
"Are you okay?" I ask and she nods.
"But what's with all the ice?" she wonders, standing.
I do a quick scan of the room. Ice covers the bed, the dresser, the walls, and the floor, and icicles dangle from the ceiling.
"The Death Walkers must be living here or something," I say, shaking my head in disgust.
Aislin winces, cupping her elbow. "He really has lost his damn mind, hasn't he?"
"He really has." Getting my balance, I head for a trapdoor in my closet. When I try to open it, it won't budge because of the ice. "Do you have your knife on you?" I ask Aislin.
She slides over to me, takes out her knife, and kneels down. She begins chipping away at the ice until I can get the door open.
I lower myself into the hole and feel around until I find the bag. Grabbing it, I then roll over and heave myself back up onto my feet.
Aislin takes the bag from me, unties the ribbon around it, and her jaw nearly hits the floor.
"Holy shit." She digs around, pulling out the Flower of Malina, the Box of Aurora, and the Dust of the Burning Bridge. "Alex, this is amazing."
"Dad's always been power crazy," I say, sitting down on the floor beside her. "I just hope they'll work for you."
"So do I," she says, grinning enthusiastically as she holds a bright red jewel in her hand. "There's only one way to find out for sure."
Our sudden appearance in the middle of the living room scares the shit out of Gemma and Laylen.
Gemma springs to her feet when she realizes it's me, her violet eyes flooding with nerves.
"Where the hell were you?" She shoves me back. "Seriously, Alex, I was worried sick."
Her feistiness makes me smile and fucking turns me on. I'm going to miss that a lot--the way she looks at me with so much passion. What I'll miss the most, though, is simply holding her and missing out on holding my daughter.
"I had something to take care of before we head to the lake." My hands long to touch her like they did last night, but I know I can't yet, not until it's time to say my final goodbye.
She chews on her lips, debating whether to stay angry or not.
"You're okay, though, right?" she asks, calming down a bit.
"More than okay." I quickly graze my knuckles across her cheek, wishing the touch could last longer.
Aislin flops down on the sofa, and her head bobs back dramatically. "This is the most depressing day ever."
Gemma stares at Aislin then at me. "So you're okay with this now?" she questions with suspicion. "With both of us going to the lake and sacrificing our lives?"
I give a firm nod. "If it means saving the world . . . then, yeah, I guess I have to be." I hate lying to her, but it has to be done.
She nods, her beautiful, violet eyes flooding with tears. "Okay, then," she says more to herself then turns to Aislin. "I need you to do something."
Aislin taps her foot against the floor, looking restless. If she keeps it up, she's going to blow everything.
"I found out how you get the shield spell to work and how you get the mark off Stephan," Gemma says, touching the Foreseer mark on the back of her neck.
"You went into another vision?" I shake my head. "Gemma, I thought we--"
"There's no point in arguing about this," she cuts me off, placing her hand over my mouth, and her touch sends my body flaming with desire.
God, I want her so, so much. It nearly kills me thinking I'm never going to have her again.
"Now let me tell Aislin what she needs to do."
She only lowers her hand after I nod. Then she hastily explains to Aislin the vision she saw and how things are going to work.
I barely listen, my thoughts stuck elsewhere. I've spent so much time not really experiencing the good things in life. I've carried my father's negative energy, and here I am finally shedding it, but only when my life's nearing an end. It's scary to think about, yet then I think of Gemma and my daughter, and it calms me.
"So we go to the castle?" Aislin asks, her eyes wide as she hugs the bag we stole from my bedroom. "And everything just works out?"
Gemma nods as I sit down on the armrest behind her, the static scorching, warning. But I don't give a shit at the moment. The end is coming, and I just want to be near her.
"I've seen it with my own eyes," Gemma tells Aislin.
Aislin leans to the side and reaches for her herb box. "Well, let's get going." She picks up the box and sets it on her lap. "God, I can't wait for this to be over."
"Don't you still need more power for the spell?" Laylen asks, tracing the spot on his arm where the Mark of Immortality used to be.
Aislin hands him the bag. "Look inside."
Laylen warily unties the bag and peers inside.
"Where did you get this?" he asks, staring at her in shock.
"Alex had it," she tells him, sorting through her herbs. "He used to steal all kinds of stuff from Stephan when he was a kid."
"When we were kids." I comb my fingers through Gemma's hair.
She angles her head back and looks at me perplexedly. "We did?"
I nod. "It's almost like we knew we needed all the stuff farther down the road." My fingers pause in her hair as I faintly smile. "Of course, we liked to piss my dad off, too."
"Maybe, deep down, we knew what he would turn into," she says quietly.
"Maybe."
God, I want to kiss her so badly.
Pull it together, Alex. You just need to make it through a few more hours, and then you can kiss her until you die.
Sliding onto the floor, Aislin opens her spell book and flips through the pages. "Everybody ready for this?" she asks. The room's so quiet you can hear everyone breathing. "Okay, then." She stretches out her hands and flexes her fingers before she dumps out the contents of the bag we collected.
Gemma gasps at the strange items piled on the table. "Wow, they're all so . . . sparkly."
"Pretty amazing, huh?" Aislin smiles, but her happiness instantly vanishes as she leans over the pile of powerful objects. "Ego hanc vim solummodo bonum. Hoc opus auxilium. Da me potestatem."
A heart-shaped diamond flickers first, and then all the others harmonize, glimmering against the sunlight flowing through the window and producing a collection of vibrant colors.
The four of us can't seem to look away as we watch the light loop in a circle and make a path for Aislin. It spills across her hands and arms, making her skin illuminate. She sucks in a sharp gasp as her head rolls back, her eyelids closing.
"It feels so . . . intense," she breathes, opening her eyes and staring at her hands. "Like . . ."
"Electricity," Gemma offers.
Aislin nods her head up and down. "Is this how you guys feel all the time?"
Gemma doesn
't reply, staring out the window. "Do you think it's time?" she asks to no one in particular. "Or do you think we need to wait until later today to go down there?"
"It's December twenty-first, so yeah, I think we'd better get down there," I answer quietly, my uneven tone revealing my nerves.
I turn to Aislin, fighting to keep my composure. "Is that it? Do you have everything for your spell?"
"Yeah, I have more than enough." She wiggles her fingers, beaming over her new power.
"Then I guess we should all get going," Gemma says, the electricity picking up with her anxiousness.
We all sit there, afraid to move, afraid to go. I swear to God, the world goes absolutely still at the moment, as if time actually stops. Part of me wishes it would never move again.
Aislin stands up first, and Laylen follows her lead. "Do we go all at once?" Laylen asks, crossing his arms, seeming almost as uneasy as I am.
"Alex and I are outside right after you two leave the castle, so yeah, I think we go all at once." Gemma walks over to the corner armoire and takes a cell phone out of the drawer.
"Where did you get that?" I ask, getting to my feet.
"I think it's Sophia's," she says, holding the power button down. "I know phones haven't been working since the apocalypse, but now that it's over"--she smiles as the screen lights up, showing bars--"there you go." She gives me the phone. "It's how we bring Stephan out of the house."
"By calling him?" I cock an eyebrow at her.
She shrugs. "I know. It's pretty old school, right?"
"Yeah, it really is." I stuff the phone into my pocket, hoping she can't see how badly I'm shaking. "You ready?"
She bobs her head up and down then squeezes her eyes, holding back the tears as she wraps her arms around Laylen. "Remember what I said, and remember, don't let Aislin get anywhere near that knife."
Laylen nods, a few tears escaping his eyes. He quickly wipes them away as the two of them break apart. Then Gemma turns to Aislin, and the two of them hug. Surprisingly, Gemma doesn't look as awkward.
When they pull away, Gemma takes my hand, our fingers intertwining, and the star goes crazy inside our bodies, scorching hot, trying to burn us up, like it knows we're about to kill it.
"What was that about the knife?" I whisper in her ear.
She shrugs. "Aislin gets nicked with a knife when they're at the castle, but don't worry, it's nothing major. And now that Laylen knows, he's going to stop it from happening." She places her hands on my side, holding onto me. "Ready for this?" Her voice is off pitch, and her eyes are filled with tears.