I tried very hard not to fall smack dab on my face when I landed, but we all know how great I am at avoiding falls. So yeah, basically I ate it. I did, however, manage to keep my head from hitting the ground, which I was grateful for since it was made of crystal; hence the name, City of Crystal.
Pushing myself up from the ground, my wrist let out a loud pop. I winced as the pain spread up my arm. I cradled my injured wrist against me and glanced around. I was standing in a cave. A very unique cave. The high arched ceiling was dusted with what looked like glittery charcoal, and dark red crystals hung down from it. Rubies ran in a wavy pattern across the snow-white crystal walls. Through the translucent crystal floor, a river as dark as the midnight sky elegantly flowed, flakes of gold speckling in it like stars. I had to admit, the place was absolutely beautiful. Unrealistically beautiful, though. I mean, how many times have you found yourself stumbling around in a cave made of glass and crystal?
Probably never. That is, unless you are a Foreseer.
I heard a faint swoosh, and then Alex dropped down from above, landing gracefully beside me.
Startled, I jumped back, pressing my hand to my heart. “You scared the crap out of me,” I said breathlessly.
Alex put a finger up to his lips. “Shhh.”
Huh? “Why?”
Before he could answer me, I heard another swoosh, and Nicholas dropped down next to me.
“Well, that was fun,” Nicholas remarked with a grin. “Wouldn’t you all agree?”
“Oh yeah, super fun,” I muttered.
Alex shook his head. “Can we just get this over with? The quicker we get out of here, the better.”
“What’s the rush?” Nicholas slid his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels. “No matter how long you’re down here, they’re never going to let Gemma leave until she’s trained.” He winked at me. Yes, actually freaking winked. “Which gives you and me plenty of time to get to know each other.”
“Yeah, no thanks,” I told him. “I would rather just go back with Alex.”
Nicholas’ expression slipped into scowl, and Alex worked hard to suppress a grin.
“Let’s go,” Nicholas said in a clipped tone as he waved at us to follow him down a glass path.
We made our way over a bridge paved with broken pieces of porcelain. And just on the other side of the bridge towered two massive pillars. They peaked, forming an entryway to a set of silver doors that stretched to the ceiling. The handles of each door were twisted in the shape of a circle that wrapped an S; the same exact shape as the tattoo on Nicholas’ wrist.
“Wait here,” Nicholas told us and pushed through the tall silver doors.
I leaned over, trying to catch a glimpse of what was on the other side of the door, but it snapped shut too quickly, like it had been yanked by some kind of magnetic force.
Alex turned to me, his words rushing out in a jumble. “Okay, here’s the deal. When we get in there, let me do most of the talking. It’s going to be a problem getting them to let you go because of the laws.”
“That’s what I don’t get.” My wrist was throbbing, so I cuddled it closer against me. “How are you supposed to get them to let me go when you keep talking about these laws that won’t allow them to?”
He considered this. “Well, the Keepers have a little bit of power over the Foreseers so I’m hoping that will help.”
I gaped at him. “You’re hoping that will help. But you promised you would get me out of here.”
“I will,” he assured me. “I’m just hoping that it will be easier with Keepers having some power over the Foreseers. But if that fails, we’ll just go another route.”
I eyed him suspiciously. “What kind of route?”
“Trust me, you don’t want to know.”
“I always want to know.”
“This time you don’t.”
Silence.
“So, do they know what I am?” I asked.
“No,” he replied, keeping his voice low. “And it needs to stay that way.”
I leaned closer to him. “But wasn’t it a Foreseer who made the prediction of what was going to happen to me and the star?”
“The Foreseer that saw the vision was a close friend of Stephan’s,” he whispered, his breath hot against my cheek. “And they’ve worked really hard to keep it a secret from the rest of the Foreseers so let’s not ruin it now by talking about it, okay?”
“But they might already now,” I pointed out. “Since the Death Walkers do.”
“They might, but they might not. And let’s hope they don’t, because it will make it a lot harder to get you out of here if they do know.”
I rubbed my aching wrist, considering the idea of being trapped down here. The place was beautiful, but it was also creepy. And empty—I hadn’t seen a single person yet. Then, of course, there was Nicholas. He heightened the creepy factor by like a billion notches.
“Did you hurt yourself?” Alex asked, eyeballing my wrist.
I shrugged. “It’s not a big deal. When I landed, I fell and my wrist popped.”
“Here, let me look at it.” He reached for my wrist, pausing before gently taking hold of it. My first instinct was to jerk back and tell him not to touch me. Still, and I don’t know why—I guess I had a weak moment or something—I let him take my wrist in his hand and examine it, sparks lighting up like lightning during a thunderstorm.
“Really, it’s not that bad,” I told him, flinching as my wrist let out another pop.
“Sorry,” Alex apologized, tracing his finger lightly along the inside of my wrist. It tickled to the point that I had to bite my lip to keep from giggling. “I don’t think it’s broken or anything. You probably just popped it out of place.” He let go of my wrist. “If it still hurts when we get back to the house, I can wrap it up.”
I nodded, cradling my wrist in my hand. “Okay.” If I ever get back to the house.
“How about your stitches?” he asked. “How are they doing? They’re not coming loose, are they?”
I shrugged. “I don’t think so.”
He stared at me incredulously. “You haven’t check on them?”
“I glanced at them after I went into the vision and face planted it on the ground,” I said. “Everything seemed to look okay, I guess.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “You guess.”
“Well, since I’ve never had stitches before, I’m not sure what qualifies as them looking okay. But they don’t hurt or anything.”
“They could have loosened up when you fell. Or they could be getting infected. You never know.” He moved his hand toward the bottom of my shirt.
I backed away. “What are you doing?”
He looked at me like I was an idiot. “Checking to make sure your stitches are okay.”
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”
“So you would rather get an infection and end up in a hospital?”
“No.” I sighed, inching into his reach. “Fine, go ahead.”
I held my breath as he raised the corner of my shirt, peeled back the gauze, and peered underneath it. The way his fingertips kept grazing my skin tickled. Man, life could be so unfair sometimes. There should be a law banning Alex’s touch to feel this good. It was practically torture.
“So what’s the symbol on Nicholas’ wrist mean?” I asked in a pathetic attempt to distract myself.
“It’s the mark of a Foreseer.” His fingers worked their way along my skin.
I tensed as he touched a tender spot on my ribs. “Then why don’t I have one?”
“I’m not sure…Things seem to work differently with you. You might get one and you might not.” His fingers lingered on my skin for an instant longer before he pressed the gauze back into place and tugged the corner of my shirt back down. “They're good. Completely intact and infection free.”
“Good,” I said. And then, being the polite girl that I was, added, “Thanks for making sure.”
“Whoa. Hold on.” He
smiled, cupping his hand around his ear. “Did I seriously just hear you say thanks?”
“I’ve said thanks to you before,” I said.
He raised his eyebrows accusingly.
“Well, maybe not to you per se, but I’ve said the word before.”
“Oh yeah?” he laughed. “Is that so?”
I nodded. “But I only say it when I truly mean it, so it doesn’t come out a whole lot.”
He laughed again, and I felt my own smile breaking through.
Okay, were we seriously having a moment here? So weird. Although, I wasn’t going to lie and say that I wasn’t enjoying it. The moment gave me a brief glimpse into what things might have been like if I was normal.
However, when one of the tall, silver doors opened up, our little moment slipped away, just like that.
“He's ready for you,” Nicholas said, holding the door open. “You can come in.”
As I stepped through the doorway, I had to catch my breath. The place made the glass cave look completely ordinary. Shiny cutouts of silver and blue porcelain paved the way through green gemstones that mimicked blades of grass. The blue sky glimmered like a giant diamond, the cotton ball clouds floating across it like a mirage.
Alex and I followed Nicholas down the porcelain path, winding back and forth until we arrived at a silver throne perched on top of a sapphire platform. A short, plump man with curly elf shoes and dark brown hair stood beside the throne. Nicholas approached him, whispered something in his ear, and the little man nodded.
While Nicholas was distracted, Alex placed his hand on my arm and whispered, “Oh yeah. You need to be careful around Nicholas. He’s part faerie, so he can’t be trusted.”
Before I could even react to the word faerie, or the combusting electricity his breath and touch brought on, a man appeared from behind the throne. He was maybe in his sixties, give or take a few years. He was tall, with pale skin and grey shoulder length hair. The silver shade of the robe he wore matched the silver shade of his eyes.
He took a seat on the throne, curling his thin fingers over the edges of the armrests. “Welcome to the City of Crystal. I am Dyvinius, leader of the Foreseers.” His voice came out in slow, motionless syllables—very monotone-like. “I understand that you were able to use the Foreseers’ power to channel up a vision yesterday. Am I correct?”
I glanced around idiotically and then it clicked—he was probably talking to me. “Umm…yeah.”
“Good.” Dyvinius tapped his fingers together, seeming pleased. “Well, I’m not sure if you know much about what a Foreseer does, or what we are, so I’ll explain. What we do is we use the energy of the Divination Crystal to see visions of either the past or the future. But mostly it’s the future. Once the vision is read, it becomes permanent. There is no changing it.”
Maybe he should explain that to the Keepers, since they seem to think differently. Most of my life had been centered on trying to do just that, and here he was saying it was impossible. What if he was right though? Would that mean there was no hope to stop the portal from opening up? That there was no hope for humanity?
Wow. Talk about slapping reality across my face. And reality seemed to be forming a giant lump in my throat that was making it super hard to swallow.
“Now, from what I understand, you saw a past vision, which isn’t too uncommon of a thing to happen with beginners,” said Dyvinius.
I felt like I might cry. The vision I had seen was from the past. Which meant what? That the woman in it couldn’t be saved?
That lump in my throat nearly doubled in size.
“When a person goes into their first vision, they usually don’t know what they’re doing,” Dyvinius continued. “However, typically the Foreseer’s ability is discovered in a person before they see their first vision. That way we are able to monitor them. Occasionally, someone does end up slipping through the radar undetected. Sometimes we’re lucky enough to discover them later on, but sometimes we aren’t.” His silver eyes locked on me, his expression blank. “We have a radar system that lets us know when there has been an interference with a Divination Crystal. Now it’s not necessarily a bad thing—what you did. Although I have to say, you are very lucky you were able to come out of it. Sometimes people do get stuck.” He paused. “Even though the vision you saw was from the past, it does need to be read correctly. Otherwise it can alter the human world as we know it.” His face suddenly lit up. “And so we have brought you down here to re-see your vision and be trained as a Foreseer.”
I cast a frantic glance at Alex.
“Is something wrong?’ Dyvinius asked me. “You look upset.”
“Umm…” I struggled.
Alex stepped forward. “I don’t think her staying here is going to be possible right now. There are certain circumstances that require her to stay with the Keepers.”
Dyvinius stared at Alex, seriousness shadowing his silver eyes. “The Keepers…Tell me, boy, what is your name?”
“Alex Avery,” Alex responded calmly.
“Any relation to Stephan Avery?” Dyvinius asked.
Alex nodded. “He’s my father.”
“Oh, I see,” Dyvinius said, and it was clear he wasn’t pleased. “Tell me, Alex, what are these circumstances that are keeping Gemma with the Keepers?”
“I can’t answer that,” Alex replied coolly. “As you know, like the Foreseers, the Keepers have certain things they have to keep to themselves.”
“Yes, I do understand. However, there are also laws we’re all supposed to follow. I’m sure you know the law that states that if a person is able to use the crystal ball to see a vision, then they have to be trained in the City of Crystal by the Foreseers.” His mouth sagged down into what I assumed was supposed to be a frown, but a frown on his expressionless face just looked creepy. “If Gemma doesn’t stay here then she could end up altering the future. Or end up getting trapped inside a vision if she tries to enter one again.”
My heart raced. Oh no. He was going to make me stay. I looked over at Alex, my eyes pleading with him to do something.
“I understand that. I really do,” Alex said. “But there has to be something we could work out.”
It was amazing how calm Alex was being. Not me. I was freaking out. And I had started the nail biting thing again.
Dyvinius’s sliver eyes darkened, sending a chill down my spine. “Yes, maybe we could work something out… If you were to make a promise that she would never use a crystal ball again until she has been properly trained, then I don’t see why I can’t let her go back with the Keepers for awhile.” He paused. “Of course, after these circumstances that are keeping her with the Keepers are gone, she would have to come back.”
Okay, now I was really panicking. I never wanted to come back here. Ever.
Alex stayed quiet, arms crossed, jaw set.
“Otherwise I’ll have to have her make the promise.” Dyvinius’s eyes glinted. “But I have a feeling you would probably rather make the promise.”
Was I missing something here? Was something bad going to happen if the promise was broken?
“I guess a promise could be arranged…by me,” Alex gritted through his teeth.
“Very good.” Dyvinius beamed. “You understand that you’re making that promise in the City of Crystal. And I assume you already know what the consequences are if you break this promise.”
Alex nodded slowly. “Yeah, I understand.”
Dyvinius leaned forward in the throne, his eyes glowing with eagerness. “Then I need you to say the words out loud.”
Alex glared at him. “I promise.”
Dyvinius leaned back in the throne, looking satisfied. “Good. Now that that has been taken care of, I need one more thing from Gemma before I let you both go back.”
Oh, yippee. “Okay,” I said warily. “What do I need to do?”
“I need you to go back into the vision and correct it,” he told me.
“Correct it?” I asked. “H
ow am I supposed to do that?”
“Well, I’m guessing that when you went in the vision, either some clips were missing, or things might have been blurry.”
“Yeah…the peoples’ faces were blurry.”
“Good. That will make it a little easier to correct. You see, Gemma, every vision has to be seen clearly,” Dyvinius explained. “Otherwise, if left unfinished, it could end up altering past or future events, and the world as we know it could shift.”
I was confused. “So how exactly do I correct it?”
“You go back inside the crystal and see the vision again.” Dyvinius looked over at Nicholas. “I’ll send you with her to make sure everything goes correctly this time.”
What!? So not only did I have to go back and suffer through the vision again, but I also had to go with a creepy half faerie—whatever that meant. I’ve read books about faeries that were able to put up some kind of glamour so they looked human. Looking at Nicholas, I wondered if what I was seeing was real or not. Were his blond hair and golden eyes just an illusion? A trick of the eye?
Catching me staring at him, Nicholas flashed me a sly smile and winked.
I blasted him with a fiery glare.
“Well, let’s get started then.” Dyvinius snapped his fingers and the chubby little man with elf shoes ran up to the throne. He was carrying a crystal ball identical to the one back at Adessa’s. He placed it in Dyvinius’ hands, bowed, and disappeared behind the throne.
Dyvinius held his hand out, the crystal ball balanced in his palm. “Whenever you’re ready, Gemma.”
Sucking in a shaky breath, I stepped up to the podium. I stared down at the crystal hesitantly, the violet ribbons dancing around inside almost tauntingly. “So I just put my hand on it?”
“To start with, yes.” Dyvinius waved his hand at Nicholas. “Nicholas, take her hand.”
Nicholas grabbed hold of my hand. His skin still felt exceedingly warm, and it took a lot of effort for me not to cringe away from him.
“Now close your eyes and picture the vision you saw,” Dyvinius said, his silver eyes twinkling in the pale violet glow of the crystal. “Then hold the picture in your mind while you place your hand on the crystal.”
I shut my eyes and focused on the lake…the grey stone castle…the blurry faces of the people. I held the image as I reached out and let my fingertips skim the glass.
I was jerked forward.
Then I was falling.
Chapter 29