Scattered Ashes

  "No, not you, sweetie." My mom's gaze lands on Gemma. "It has to be her."

  "No fucking way." My voice cracks, and it feels like I've swallowed a jar of needles. "I'm never going to let that happen."

  "It has to be me," Gemma presses, her hands balled into fists at her sides. "And it should be. This is all my fault."

  "It's not your fault." I tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear. "None of this is. If anything, it's mine. I should have saved you earlier. We would've had so much more time to stop this."

  "It doesn't matter," she says. "Whether it's my fault or not, it has to be me. I've seen it. I've seen myself dead in a coffin and Nicholas is waiting for me."

  "You dreamed about this?" I rub my hands across my face, wanting to yell at her and kiss her at the same time.

  She shrugs. "Since you left."

  I shake my head and flex my fingers. "I don't give a shit how you dreamed it happens. We don't have to do it that way just because you saw it. We can make our own path, create our own future."

  "She has to be the one who goes," my mom interrupts, rising to her feet. "She was given the ring, she has the connection to the ghost world, and she's the Foreseer who shifted the vision that turned the world into all of this. She has to be the one to fix it. It's the only way this will work." I start to protest, but she talks over me. "I know it's not fair--I know it's not her fault--but that's the way things are. If you do it any other way, it's not going to work. The queen won't accept you."

  Gemma steps forward with determination. "So how do I make myself look dead?"

  "She's pregnant," I sputter in desperation. "If she dies, then the baby could die, too."

  "I thought I sensed another soul here." My mother smiles down at Gemma's stomach. "What an amazing gift, to bring life into this world."

  "Will it . . . ? Will it hurt the baby if I go?" Gemma asks tentatively.

  My mom shakes her head. "We're only pulling your spirit out of your body. While you're gone, your body will be fine, the baby will be fine."

  "This is such bullshit," I snap, but neither of them so much as look at me.

  My mom places her hand on Gemma's belly and smiles.

  Frustrated that everyone seems to be okay with Gemma pulling her spirit out of her body and paying a visit to the Afterlife, I move between them and do something I've never done.

  I fucking beg.

  "Please, don't do this," I plead with Gemma, clutching onto her shoulders.

  "Alex," she says so softly, "I'll be fine. Your mom won't let anything happen to me."

  I shake my head, panicking, a foreign feeling to me and one I'm not a fan of. "I can't lose you."

  She places her hand on my scruffy cheek. "You're not going to, I promise. But I have to go. I'll never be able to live with myself if I don't save the world from the chaos I helped cause."

  I feel so fucking helpless I want to scream as the two of them start making a plan.

  "You'll need to have a funeral," my mom says, pacing the floor. "Helena needs to think you're dead."

  Gemma nods. "I actually saw that in my dream."

  "I think we need a different plan," I snap, "one where she doesn't have to die."

  They don't even so much as glance in my direction.

  "And we need a witch, one we can trust." She turns to me, looking hopeful. "What about your sister?"

  "Aislin's marked," I say, still pissed the hell off. I need another plan. I can't handle her dying. "So she can't help us."

  "Hang on. I think I might know someone who can." She spins around and whisks up the stairs.

  I shake my head, irritated and on the verge of grabbing Gemma and running as far away from here as I can. I could always drain her of her energy, make her pass out, but that might hurt the baby.

  "Stop looking at me like that," Gemma says, shifting uncomfortably. "It has to be me."

  "No, it doesn't." I keep looking at her, letting the electricity get to her, hoping she'll lose focus of her sacrificial plan. "Give me the ring and let me do it."

  She tucks her hand behind her back, shaking her head. "You heard your mom; I caused this. It has to be me."

  "Stop being stubborn. We can at least try to do it with me." I face her, begging again, "Please don't do it."

  "I'll come back," she promises. "I can't die completely, not without you."

  "I'm not worried about you dying. I'm worried about you getting hurt. I can't stand the thought."

  When she says nothing, frustration bursts inside me. I spin around and ram my fist into the wall, causing a crack to splinter across the sheetrock.

  "Holy shit," Gemma says. "Are you okay?"

  I cradle my hand, facing her again. "No. And I won't be until you promise me you won't do this."

  "All right," my mother interrupts us as she jogs down the stairs, "my witch is on board, but you two are going to have to go to her place and pick it up."

  "Pick up what?" Gemma and I say at the same time.

  She hands me a piece of paper with an address on it, her body flashing for the briefest moment, and I worry she's about to transform into her hag form.

  "The poison that's going to kill Gemma."

  GEMMA

  I'm going to pretend I'm not scared out of my damn mind, but the very idea of dying is overwhelming enough. Adding poison to the mix has my heart racing a million miles a minute. But it's worth the fear, knowing soon I'll be able to fix the world to what it once was, without the possession of the mark. Everyone will be free, including Aislin, Laylen, and Aleesa.

  I can't let Alex know I'm terrified, though. I have to play it cool, because he's already freaking out enough for the both of us.

  Ever since his mother made the announcement about the poison, he went from a mad-crazy-begging Alex to a walking-silently-with-his-eyebrows-knitted-together Alex. He's contemplating something deeply--I can tell--and my bet is that it's a way for him to die instead of me.

  Since Alex's mom can't leave the house, Alex and I make the journey to the witch's place alone. We silently walk down the snowy sidewalk underneath the glow of the lampposts as thick snowflakes drift from the cloudy night sky, and the cool air kisses my cheeks.

  "Why do you think it's so quiet around here?" I ask as we turn south and head down a winding road that slopes toward more houses.

  "I'm not sure." He tucks his hands in his pockets. "But I don't like it. At least when things are noisy, you know what's going on. When it's quiet, it leaves you guessing, and I hate guessing."

  "I know you do." I look at the all houses around us. Are their families in them? Are they watching us? "It's just so different here. In Afton, there were vampires, faeries, and witches everywhere, but here, there's . . . nothing. Everything in the airport seemed pretty empty. It's like the apocalypse hasn't reached here yet or something."

  "Maybe it hasn't." But his voice carries doubt. "Or maybe we aren't looking--" He suddenly snatches hold of my hand and jogs to the other side of the street. "We have to leave. Now."

  I slip on the ice, struggling to keep up with him as he hunkers down and keeps running.

  "What's wrong?" I ask, breathless.

  He continues running down the sidewalk, reaching for his knife.

  "Alex, tell me what's going on." I whisper as he slams to a stop near a large trashcan pressed up against the side of a house.

  "Take us away from here," he says, pacing from left to right. "We need to go. Now"

  I shake my head. "Not until you tell me why you're freaking out. Is this because of the poison?"

  "No, it's because that wasn't my mom back there." He kicks the wall and curses.

  "Yes, it was--"

  He covers my mouth with his hand, shushing me. "Don't you think it's a little strange that this is all so easy? That we just walked in there, and she had all the information with a flawless plan?"

  I wait for him to remove his hand. "Yeah, but I don't think your mom would lie to us. She seemed so nice and happy about stuff."

&
nbsp; "When she first came downstairs, I thought she looked unreal. Her eyes were too similar to mine, and I don't remember my mom's eyes being like that. And then, when she gave me the paper with the address, I swear I saw her shifting into someone else. I thought it might have been her hag form, but it just came to me who she is." He lets out a long exhale, his head lowering as he pinches the bridge of his noise. "It's the Banshee that took me to Draven."

  I slump my back against the house. "But she looked like your mom."

  "Banshees can alter their looks, Gemma," he says, lifting his gaze to mine.

  All my hope of fixing the mess I created is squashed in an instant. "Why would another Banshee do that?" I coddle my belly, thinking about how I let her touch it.

  "I'm not sure." He grazes his fingers up my arm, trying to comfort me. "But we need to get as far away from here as we can until I can figure it out."

  "Are you just trying to make it so I won't die and go to the Afterlife?"

  "As much as I don't want you to go, that's not what this is about." He places an arm on each side of me. "But I'm not going to fucking lie to you. For now, I'm glad that wasn't my mom, because that means you're not going to the Afterlife."

  My heart hammers inside my chest as he bends his arms, bringing himself closer to me.

  "Alex, I still have to do it. I have to fix what I did."

  "And we'll find a way"--he moves closer, closer, closer--"but it will be one where you don't have to temporarily die. I can't let that happen." He wets his lips with his tongue, all his attention zoning in on my mouth. "About what my mom said back at the house--"

  Suddenly, garbage cans tumble over, and a dog howls. Alex spins on his heels, swinging the knife, ready to kill.

  "Well, look at you two, hiding out by the trash cans like two frightened, little kids." Laylen's tall silhouette emerges from the shadows, and just above our heads, a porch light suddenly clicks on.

  Laylen grins as the light hits his face. "Good job," he says to the air.

  I want to run up and hug him, tell him I'm sorry this happened to him, but Alex pushes me back.

  "Motherfucker," Alex growls, aiming the knife at Laylen's throat. "Where the hell did you come from?"

  A grin creeps up Laylen's face, his fangs pointing sharply from his mouth. "I thought you'd be happy to see me like this, just the way you always saw me--as a killer."

  Alex rolls his eyes. "Don't be overdramatic."

  "I think he always saw you for what you were supposed to be." Aislin appears out of nowhere, rising from the night. Her golden hair blows in the wind, and an evil grin spreads across her lips as she walks up to Laylen and strokes his shoulder. "What we were both supposed to be."

  Marking their forearms is a triangle outlined with a red, Greek-like symbol--the Mark of Malefiscus. The sight of it sends a shiver down my spine, and Alex notices my shudder.

  "Get us out of here," Alex hisses under his breath, but I can't seem to take my eyes off them, like they've pulled me into some kind of trance.

  "She's fixated by me," Laylen says, sweeping his hair back with his blue eyes trained on me. "She's remembering the bite and how good it felt."

  I touch my neck as the memory sparkles in my mind. "I feel funny . . ."

  "Gemma." Alex hooks a finger under my chin, and the nick of his sparks rips me out of the daze. "Don't look at him. Just get us out of here."

  I hesitate. "We can't just leave them."

  He looks me dead in the eye. "I know you want to save them, but right now, you need to take care of yourself more than others."

  Even though it feels like it's going to kill me, I shut my eyes and picture the first place that comes to mind--Sin City. We've escaped there before. That should work for now.

  But something feels wrong the moment I try to visualize Alex and I standing in the glittery streets. I open my eyes and catch Laylen and Aislin trading a knowing smile.

  "They have praesidium on them," I say. "There's nothing we can do except run."

  "You run. I'll distract them." With that, Alex spins around and rams into Laylen.

  They collide and fall to the frostbitten ground, throwing punches and kicks.

  My gaze darts to Aislin who's watching me like a hawk.

  "Sucks, doesn't it?" She coils a strand of hair around her finger as she strolls toward me. "Feeling so vulnerable, yet you can't do anything about it." Her expression hardens. "Like when I had to sit there and watch you bat your eyes at Laylen like some kind of lovesick girl"--her high-heeled boots click against the ice as she continues toward me--"watch the way he looked at you until it almost drove me mad--"she stops right in front of me--"but those days are almost over. Soon, you'll be gone--dead and rotting in the ground."

  "We don't have to do this," I say, backing up against the wall. "You might not remember, but we're friends, and we care about each other."

  "Friends?" She laughs, throwing her head back. "Oh, my God, what are we, like in sixth grade?" She clasps her hands in front of her, and her skin erupts in a green glow as she prepares to use her magic. "Oh, Aislin, please don't hurt me. You're my best friend in the whole wide world."

  I attack, slamming into her and sending us to the ground. Her glowing skin fizzles out as we crash to the snow. I land on top of her, but I'm not sure what to do. This is Aislin, mark or no mark, and I don't want to hurt her. But when her eyes blaze red and she elevates her hands, I panic and slam my knuckles hard into her jaw.

  "Oh, my God, I'm so sorry," I apologize, feeling like a jerk.

  She barks a laugh, throwing her weight forward and flipping us to the side. My head smacks against the ground, and snow tumbles all around me. I reach for her coat pocket, hoping that's where the praesidium is, but before I can get a hold of it, she bites my hand, making me scream bloody murder.

  More garbage cans topple over as Alex and Laylen roll farther away from us, and she bites me again.

  Screw this shit!

  "That's it. I've had enough. If you want to play dirty, then let's play dirty." I grab a fist full of her hair and tug on it while slipping my other hand into her pocket.

  Jackpot!

  I take the praesidium from her pocket, but she slaps my hand and sends the marble flying. She seizes my leg as I roll out from under her and scramble after it.

  I flip over onto my back and kick her in the face. "I'm so sorry," I say as blood gushes from her nose. Then I shove away from her, scoop up the marble, and jog in the direction of where I last saw Laylen and Alex.

  But Aislin wraps her fingers around my ankle again and flings me back down to the ground. I brace myself as I fall for the ice, protecting my stomach as much as possible. I roll over onto my back just in time to see an orb of red light flying at me.

  I don't think.

  I just go.

  GEMMA

  When I land on the black and white tile floor of Adessa's store, I'm instantly aware that I didn't make it here alone. I brought a crazed out Aislin with me, still gripping onto my leg, her eyes wide and murderous.

  "I have to take you to him," she growls rabidly. "I have to take you to him." Her nails dig into my leg as she drags herself up my body.

  "Adessa!" I shout, kicking at Aislin. Please let her be home. And let her be her.

  By the scared look on Aislin's face, I think she knows she's in trouble if Adessa is here since Adessa is much more powerful. But when we both realize how quiet the house is, Aislin relaxes.

  "Guess she's not home." She leaps to her feet and sticks out her hands. "Duratus!"

  I scurry for the front door of the store, but the massive ball of light slams into my chest. My muscles immediately stiffen as I lose all control of my limbs and crumple to the floor.

  My skull throbs as I lie there helplessly, and all I can think about is the baby inside me. Is it okay? Is it hurt? Can it feel all of this?

  Aislin crouches beside me and reaches for my locket. "Guess it's not working anymore, or maybe my magic is stronger than sugilite now." She
snaps the chain from my neck. "It's an immobilizing spell, by the way. Sucks not being the one in control, doesn't it?"

  I open my mouth to beg her to stop, to remind her she could be an aunt soon, but no sound comes out. I try to Foresee my way out of here, but the spell secures me to the floor.

  "I'm not sure what to do with you." She rises to her feet and roams around the room, running her fingers along the glass cases. She picks up a figurine of a woman with beautiful wings--a Black Angel--and turns it over in her hand. "You know, I'm supposed to take you to my father--the mark's begging me to--but I don't know." She thrums her finger against her lips. "I'd like to see you suffer a little before I do that." She glares at the figurine with spite. "Wait a minute. I have an idea." Excitement glimmers in her eyes as she sets the statue down. "I'll be right back." She grins. "Don't go anywhere."

  With a swish of her hands, she vanishes in a vapor of smoke.

  Minutes go by, maybe hours, and still no Aislin. I'm glad, yet at the same time, I'm sick of helplessly lying on the floor, waiting for her to return.

  Plus, Adessa has the most annoying faucet that keeps dripping and dripping and dripping. It's driving me crazy, but it's nothing compared to my worry over Alex and if he's okay.

  Eventually, my eyelids grow heavy, and I somehow pass out.

  "How did we get here?" Alex asks me, glancing around at the field of flowers surrounding us.

  I shrug. "I don't know. I was thinking of you before I closed my eyes. Maybe that's how."

  "You're worried," he states, picking a violet flower from the field, "about me, about Laylen, Aislin."--he tucks the stem of the flower behind my ear--"the baby."

  I nod. "I just want everyone to be okay."

  "You're always worrying about everyone else." His arms circle my waist. "You need to worry about yourself sometimes."

  "I'll try," I promise, "but I need to know if you're hurt . . . if Laylen hurt you."

  He simply smiles then leans in to kiss me, causing my heart to flutter in my chest. When he pulls away, I'm breathless and lightheaded, and I grip on to him to keep from sinking to the ground.

  He drops his lips to my ear. "Everything's going to be okay," he whispers, "but you need to wake up now."

  My eyelids shoot open right as a thump echoes through the store.

  This is it. She's going to kill me.

  All I can do is I cross my fingers that somehow Aislin's returned to her normal self during the time she's been gone. I hold my breath as someone walks into the room, but when I see who it is, I breathe in relief.