The Promise (21 page)

I cast a cautious glance over my shoulder, making sure we were alone.

When?

I don t know.

She massaged her temples.

My brain is so foggy. I remember Gemma disappearing, Stephan yelling at me for letting it happen and then he went on this rampage, murdering Keepers. Marco and I were going to run, but then Aislin and that vampire showed up and sealed me in that trapdoor with some sort of magic spell. They said they needed my gift Unus quisnam aufero animus so I could detach Gemma s soul again when he finally caught her. He came for me once, but I guess she escaped and he threw me back under the house. And he &

She began to sob.

He killed Marco.

Why didn t you just climb out?

I asked.

It s a one-way door that can only be opened from the outside.

She blubbered.

And you didn t think about banging on it earlier.

She rolled up her sleeves, showing me a triangle mark on her arm.

This kept me quiet & and I think I have to & I &

As if a sudden energy surged through her body, she lunged for me. With one move of my fist, I knocked her back out again.

Aislin,

I called out, gripping my knife.

I need to talk to you.

She bounced into the kitchen, Laylen at her heels.

How s it going? Did you find out who she was &

She caught sight of the unconscious Sophia.

Oh, not good huh?

I think you two have some explaining to do.

I aimed my knife at them and they exchanged puzzled glances.

What s wrong?

Aislin asked.

She says you two are the reason she was stuck down there,

I said.

Can you tell me why she thinks that?

Aislin scratched her head.

She s lying. She has to be.

What happened that time you two disappeared?

I asked.

When we were in Colorado. Where were you guys?

We told you. We were running from the Death Walkers in Nevada.

Laylen leaned against the doorway, crossing his arms, looking perplexed.

That s where we were & weren t we?

Aislin s expression twisted.

I don t know.

You seemed pretty confident when you showed up to save us,

I told them, remembering that day at the cabin in Colorado, when they arrived abruptly, almost out of nowhere.

Well, you seemed pretty confident when you told us the Death Walkers just picked up your dad and left,

Laylen countered.

Seems just as suspicious.

Why are we even arguing about this?

Aislin complained.

It s in the past.

It s important because we might have a traitor in our midst.

I could almost hear my father laughing.

Chapter 37

(Gemma)

She blobbed down the hall, a silver body of fluid, leading me to her sister, Annabella. This place was different, haunting like a whisper of wind. White wisps of ribbon danced around and coiled up the leafless trees that lined the garden we walked in.

She s going to want something,

Helena said.

An essence perhaps, if you have one.

What exactly is an essence?

I asked, blowing a ribbon from my face.

A spirit,

she answered, smoothing the wrinkles from her body.

So what s the difference between a soul and a spirit?

A spirit is the ghostly form of a person,

she replied.

They are still themselves, possess their soul, can walk and talk on their own. It s what happens to humans when they die. And Lost Souls are the ones disconnected from their bodies, the ones that are lost due to a death before their time.

I thought of Nicholas and how he walked the world.

So why torture the Lost Souls?

Why does anyone torture anything?

She smiled with her thick lips of silver.

For power.

But you lost your own soul,

I said.

You d think you d be more sympathetic.

Sympathy is weakness. Something you should keep in mind before you make your decision.

She swirled down the path, a shimmer of light in the white sunlight.

You re a powerful girl, I can sense that. But your humanity makes you weak.

I think you re wrong.

I stood tall with confidence.

It s my humanity that makes me strong.

Her lips twitched.

You re a stupid little girl.

Perhaps,

I said.

But maybe not.

We neared the end of our journey. A woman stood beneath a large willow tree, her hair as white as cotton, her lips as red as a cherry, and her eyes sparkling with silver. She watched us approach, her gaze never faltering, her long black dress trailing in the grass.

Annabella,

Helena s voice nipped.

Annabella lowered her head.

Helena, I d sensed you d crossed.

Of course you did.

Helena stretched her body, trying to rise taller than her sister.

You always do.

Annabelle s eyes were kind.

And you ve brought someone who wants something from me.

I stepped below the branches of the willow tree.

I ve come to ask you for a favor.

You want me to free an essence.

It s wasn t a question.

I nodded.

If you would.

But why?

She ducked under a branch and stepped in front of me.

Why ask for the freedom of someone you dislike.

I don t dislike him.

But you don t like him,

she said.

Yet you re still here in death, asking me to let him live again.

I sighed deeply.

Nicholas & he isn t that bad. And he s helped me out.

It was the partial truth.

Is that the only reason?

She wanted more.

I let out a breath.

I feel responsible for his death.

But he s not a Lost Soul,

she said.

No one is responsible for his death.

The branches pirouetted, tickling against my cheeks.

Perhaps he should have ended up one.

Why do you feel responsible for things that are out of your hands?

she asked.

He died because I exist,

I admitted in the secrecy of the branches canopy.

Many people have.

It s not your fault you exist,

she said.

Everyone has a path in life, even the Lost Souls. They re there because they have to be. They re there because they re lost.

This is confusing.

I sighed, swatting a branch away.

Death always is.

Her silver eyes held my gaze powerfully

You re better than you think you are, Gemma. Your soul is pure, despite what you think.

Then she held out her hand, her skin shimmering like glitter. It swirled down, forming an orb in her hand.

Nicholas s essence.

I was hesitant to touch it.

You re just giving it to me?

She smiled.

Not everything is complicated. Sometimes the answers are right in our hands.

I traced the scar of the Blood Promise, thinking of Alex.

Nothing s ever easy.

Sometimes it is.

She urged the orb at me.

But it s the easy answers that humans question, which only makes it complicated.

I think I understand,

I said, and gently picked up the orb of essence, which was warm in my hand like sunshine.

Remember,

she said.

Not everything is as hard as you think. Sometimes the answers are right in front of us.

I nodded, turning away from Annabella, her words the wisest ever spoken to me. I followed Helena back through the garden, leaving the warmth of the trees behind and we shifted back to the darkness of the world of Lost Souls.

My sister makes things too easy,

she wallowed, pooling her body back onto her throne.

She just hands it over, without any bargains. She s always been the stupid one.

It s hard to believe she s your sister.

I cupped the orb carefully in my hands.

You two are nothing alike.

That s because she believes in good, which makes her weak.

And what do you believe in?

I asked.

She smiled vainly.

Myself.

I couldn t help but think of the story of Malefiscus and his brother Hektor. One selfish, the other good. And in the story, good triumphed for the time being. But I wondered how the story would have gone if Hektor had to sacrifice his life to trap Malefiscus in the portal. Would bad have triumphed instead? Or would he have thrown down his life, to save everyone he ever cared about.

The question you asked me earlier, I have your answer.

I approached the throne, not steady with great sureness, but terrified and emotional. Because that s who I was. I wasn t a fearless soldier with a hero complex to save the world.

I was just a girl, doing what I had to do to make things right.

Chapter 38

(Alex)

A traitor?

Laylen questioned.

Okay, I think you ve finally lost it.

That sounds like something a traitor would say,

I replied, my eyes never leaving him.

He stared me down.

You re insane.

He s not a traitor!

Aislin cried as she finished removing the Mark of Malefiscus from Sophia.

And I m not either.

Then why was I trapped in that floor?

We all turned to Sophia as she sat up, blinking.

I don t understand any of this.

Are you sure about that?

I asked, nearing my knife to her.

Or could your confusion be an act to make us turn on each other, leaving you room to detach Gemma s soul again.

I bent down, getting in her face.

Is this a desperate attempt by my father? Did he put you in the floor to get to us?

I never wanted to detach Gemma s soul in the first place,

she said quietly.

I thought I was doing what was right. I thought I was protecting the world.

No, you were ending it.

She nodded quickly.

I know that now, but before, what I was trying to do made sense.

She clutched onto my arm and I shook her off.

It s your father. He brainwashed me.

Trust me,

I said.

We ve all been there.

Something shattered to the floor.

Oh my God.

I turned. The glass cow that was sitting on the table was now headless on the floor and Aislin s hands were shaking.

What s wrong?

I asked.

I can t deal with this anymore,

she cried.

He s a horrible man who messes with minds and murders innocent people. What if somehow he got into our heads?

We all exchanged looks, none of us speaking, or trusting, waiting for something unexpected to happen.

What are we going to do?

Aislin said, stomping her foot.

The only thing we can.

I reeled back to Sophia and grabbed her arm.

Sorry Sophia, but until we know who s in control of their own actions.

I pushed her back in the trapdoor.

Alex, please!

she begged.

You can t do this! I ve ran out of food and I ll starve.

I snatched a few bags of chips, cookies, and bread from the cupboard and tossed them into the trapdoor.

That should hold you until we work this out.

Alex, please don t leave me down here. I

I slid the tile over.

Seal that up,

I said to Aislin, feeling bad, but drastic times called for drastic measures.

Aislin hurried over, running her finger along the crack.

Signa eius intus et clauditis hoc usque.

The tile shimmered, the cracks blending away. She stood to her feet.

Oh no!

What?

I asked.

Didn t it work?

She turned.

I ve done that before.

I was about to jump for her, take her down, and tie her up until I could figure out what the hell was going on. But then Nicholas entered, solid, human, and alive. He turned over his arms, incredulous.

It s time,

he said, solemn for the first day in his life.

I shoved past him, knocking him into the wall, and then I charged up the stairs, ready to wake her. She was lying, motionless in her bed, skin paled with death, but just as beautiful as ever. I didn t feel the electricity until I was right beside the bed. The life in her was so weak it was barely a shock of static. I touched her ice-cold skin and bushed her hair back, waiting for her to open her eyes.

But she didn t stir, didn t breath, and I cupped my hands around her face.

Gemma, can you hear me.

The only sound was silence.

I shook her gently by the shoulders.

Gemma. Wake up.

But her body was limp.

Aislin!

I yelled, trying not to panic. Because I knew better than to panic. But this was pushing me. I inched my mouth for hers.