Shattered Promises 02 - Fractured Souls (12 page)

“Help with what?” Amusement dances in Nicholas’s eyes.

“With getting into The Underworld,” Alex says through gritted teeth.

A smirk forms on Nicholas’s face as he absentmindedly traces the Foreseer mark on his wrist, moving around the circle and ultimately the ‘S’ in the middle of it. “And who says I know how to do that?”

Alex shrugs. “I know your kind have a way of getting everywhere, including to different realms.”

“True,” Nicholas says. “But even if I could get you there, who says I want to help you?”

Alex slides his hand up the front of my leg, finds my hand in my lap, and laces our fingers together. I catch Nicholas watching the movement and for a moment jealousy burns in his eyes. “I’m sure there’s some sort of bargain we can work out.”

Nicholas’s attention transfers to me. “I’m sure I could figure out something that you have that I want.”

Alex angles himself in front of me, obscuring me from Nicholas’s view. “
Not her
.”

“And what if I said that was the only thing I’d take.”

“Then I’d kill you.”

My head whips in Alex’s direction, but his eyes stay on Nicholas. Nicholas holds the gaze steadily, though the longer it goes on, the more uncertain Nicholas gets, and finally, he slumps back looking really fidgety.

“There is one thing I’d love to have,” he says. “And if you can get it for me, then I’ll be your golden ticket into the land where torture is welcomed with opened arms along with insanity.” He pauses, bringing his foot up onto his knee. “But I have to ask, why The Underworld?”

“That’s not important.” Alex squeezes my hand, sending sparks up my arm. “Just tell me what you want.”

He dithers, thrumming his finger against his lip. “I’d like some
fraxinus invisibili
.”

“What the hell’s that?” Alex asks.

“Ask your Witch,” Nicholas replies. “She’ll know what it is.”

Alex glances at the doorway. “Aislin, can you come in here?”

A minute later Aislin enters the room with Laylen trailing at her heels. I discount the pull toward him the best that I can, especially since Aislin looks like she’s been crying, her eyes red and her cheeks swollen.

“What’s up,” she says, sounding hoarse as she reaches the middle of the room, keeping her distance from Nicholas.

“Do you know what
fraxinus invisibili
is?” he asks her.

Her expression plummets as she sits down on the edge of the apothecary table and Laylen sinks down on the armrest of the sofa right beside Nicholas. “Yeah, its invisibility ash.”

Alex looks confused. “Why the hell do you want that?” he asks Nicholas.

Nicholas shrugs, jiggling his foot that’s on his knee. “Who knows when it’ll come in handy?”

Alex and Aislin trade a look. “It’s what he wants in exchange for his help,” he explains to her.

“But what if he can’t help us?” Aislin turns to the side so she’s facing Alex. “What if I give it to him and then he runs?”

Alex glances at Nicholas and then demands, “Tell us how to get into The Underworld and then we’ll talk deals.”

Nicholas lowers his feet to the floor. “I don’t really think you’re in a place to give orders since I’m going to be taking you away soon, but if you must know, getting into The Underworld requires a lot of Foreseer power and an
Ira
.”

“What the fuck’s an Ira?” Alex asks.

Nicholas shrugs, nonchalantly kicking his feet up onto the apothecary table. “A very powerful crystal ball. One that can take you to and from forbidden places, like The Underworld, and in present time, too, without any of the laws being broken.”

“And it’ll work?” Alex pulls me even closer to him, as if he can’t get enough of touching me, as if he’s about to go soon.

I bite my nails, nervous at what lies ahead for us. What’ll happen to him? To me? To us?

“I didn’t say that,” Nicholas corrects him. “But it’s your best bet.”

Alex exchanges another look with Aislin. “How much damage can he do with something like
fraxinus invisibili
?” he asks her.

“Well, if he can get a Witch to help him use it,” she replies. “Then probably a lot. He’ll be able to go invisible whenever he wants which means he’ll be harder to find, yet it’ll be easier for him to find us.”

Alex’s forehead creases as he frowns at Nicholas. “She’s not helping you use it.”

Nicolas raises his hands in front of him. “I never asked her to. All I said is that I need it.”

Alex scoots forward in the chair, still holding onto me so I have to move forward with him. “You know I could just beat you up and force you to help us.”

Nicholas’s eyes darken with a challenge as his fingers curl around the armrest. “You’d be surprised how much pain I can endure. Besides, you don’t have that long before you’re officially considered to be going back on your promise.” He releases the armrest and taps a watch on his wrist. “Time is ticking.”

Alex puffs out a frustrated breath and glances at an antique clock on the wall across from us. “Fine. Aislin will give you the ash after you take me to the City of Crystal. That way you have to come back.”

Even though I knew it was coming, I panic, grabbing onto his arm. “You can’t go to that God awful place.”

“I have to go… its part of the promise I made with Dyvinius… you already knew this,” he says simply.

“I know, but…” I trail off as he leans in and rests his forehead against mine.

“Whatever you do, don’t trust him,” he whispers. “He’ll stab you in the back as soon as he gets a chance.”

“You’re coming back, right?” I whisper. “You’re not leaving me forever.”

“I would never leave you forever.” He lets out a faltering breath. “Eventually I’ll be back, however I have to stay there for a while.”

Panic owns me at the moment and I can’t seem to control it. Everything else that happened between us, the good and the bad, doesn’t matter. Only this everlasting second does and the fact that I can’t let him go. “Alex, please don’t go.”

“I have no choice… the consequences if I stay… well, lets say they’re way worse than going to the City of Crystal.” He puts a hand on the hollow of my neck right above my locket. “And never take this off. Promise me you won’t.”

My skin swelters and I’m unable to help myself when I graze my lips across his. “I won’t,” I whisper against his mouth. I’m about to pull away when he cups the back of my head, tugging gently on my hair, and kisses me hard with every ounce of passion he possesses. Again I wonder just how much control we have over our emotions and how much control the electricity has. I kiss him back with an everlasting hunger. I’m breathless by the time I pull away and I’ve completely forgotten we’re in a room full of people.

Aislin covers her mouth as Laylen clears his throat, staring at the doorway. Alex’s lips are swollen as he turns to Nicholas.

“Alright,” Nicholas says and slips a ruby-filled crystal ball from the pocket of his pants. He rises to his feet with it palmed in his hand. “Let’s go.” He winds around the apothecary table and holds it out in front of him.

Alex gives me one last kiss on the cheek and then releases my hand, getting to his feet. I want to grab onto him, pull him back to me, and hold him against me. I fight the urge to do so, trying to decide what’s right and what is wrong while fearing what’s going to happen to him when he goes. Is this what caring for someone feels like? All this worry and fear floating around inside me, only it’s not for me.

“And one last thing,” Alex says to Nicholas as he reaches for the crystal.

Nicholas sighs begrudgingly. “What now.”

“If you try anything, and I mean anything with Gemma while I’m gone.” He jabs a finger against Nicholas’s chest. “You’ll have to deal with two very powerful Witches and a Vampire who will do anything to protect her.”

“Whatever.” Nicholas rolls his eyes, though he looks a little worried.

Alex doesn’t say anything else as he places his hand on the glowing crystal ball. There’s a loud swoosh, then a blink of light and they’re gone, along with the electricity.

I miss him the second he disappears.

I miss him so much it hurts.

I’ve never missed anyone before and I’m not fully sure that I like it.

Chapter 10

I ask where Adessa is and Aislin tells me she’s tending to her store. Aislin quickly leaves the room to go find some
fraxinus invisibili
from Adessa’s storage room.

Once she’s gone, Laylen and I sit on the sofa and wait for Nicholas to return. There’s an awkward silence between us as the memories of bites and blood linger in our heads.

“So,” Laylen finally starts, bringing his knee up onto the spot of sofa to fill up the space between us. “How have you been feeling?” He rakes his fingers through his hair and doesn’t bother to fix it, leaving it sticking up all over the place. “God, that was a stupid question. It sounded so much better in my head.”

“I’m fine.” I pluck at a loose thread on the sofa, forcing myself to focus on the conversation and not memories of him sinking his teeth into me and blood or anything else that’s bringing me down. “And it wasn’t a stupid question. It was a much needed question… things have been really weird between us.”

“They have,” he agrees and then scoots forward on the sofa until our knees touch, invading the safe zone. I need space, otherwise I’m going to do or say something stupid; like
please, pretty please bite me again
. “And I don’t want them to be.”

“Neither do I,” I agree, blowing out a stressed breath. “You’re the only person I’ve ever felt normal around.”

His eyebrows lift in doubt. “Really?”

“Yes, really,” I say. “Minus what happened back with Draven, you’ve always made me feel like a person instead of a star.”

He puts a hand on my knee. “Can we forget about what happened and go back to being friends?”

I nod, relieved even though I can still feel a faint pull toward him and his fangs. “I’d like that.”

He smiles, but there’s reluctance behind it and he lacks the confidence that his words portray. “Then it’s settled. No more kissing or biting,” he jokes, but his voice is sad and full of guilt. I have a feeling that despite how nonchalant we’re both being about it, down the road sometime, it’s going to end up being a huge problem.

“I’ll never ask you to do that again,” I say and then unable to take it anymore, I lean in and give him a hug. “I’ll never make you do anything that will hurt you ever again.” God, he smells so good, I need to lean back. I give myself a few more seconds and then I pull away. I shake off the sensation to lean against him and tilt my neck to the side. It makes me feel so guilty because of Alex.

Alex. I should be thinking of Alex, shouldn’t I? I have no idea anymore. Alex or Laylen? How about both? What the hell is wrong with me?

As I sift through my thoughts of what’s right and what’s wrong, images begin to flicker through my mind as the prickle lightly begins to poke at the back of my neck At first it’s stuff I can already remember, but then suddenly they start to reveal lost thoughts from a place and time I once was forced to forget.

Alex and me picking lilacs in a field; watching other Keepers practice sword fighting in the castle; playing, having fun, smiling.

“Gemma, what’s wrong?” Laylen’s voice is far away as I begin to feel disembodied.

“I think I can remember some stuff…about my childhood…about Alex and I being friends.”

“You remember?” he asks. “Like actually remember?”

I nod as my vision goes in and out of focus. “They’re real memories... And I can feel how I felt when I was there… God, this is so strange….”

The emotions I experienced during each memory link to my heart, mind, body, and conclusively my soul, the most important part. In the end, it’s just Alex and me. Together. Like we were never supposed to be apart and all I can do is drift into the memory, letting it take me over.

***

When my sight returns to me, I’m no longer at Adessa’s. I panic as I look around at the trees of a forest even though this has happened before. I’ve gone into a vision without a crystal. But how? How is this even possible?

Thick trees enclose me from every side and a grey stone castle peeks through the top while, far in the distance, the sun shines behind it. It has to be the forest near the lake—the entrance to The Underworld. I can feel it in the air, in my mind, in my body.

The sky is a clear blue and the air smells like earth and musk. Not knowing what else to do, I head for the castle, wondering why I’m here. What am I supposed to see exactly?

I’m about halfway there when a cool breeze sweeps through my hair and kisses at my cheeks. The impulse to go to the castle floats away. Suddenly, I’m turning around, heading in the opposite direction, and going deeper into the forest, my feet moving as if they have their own mind.

I hike for what seems like forever, stumbling over fallen tree trunks and fighting against the unruly, blooming branches. Finally, I come to a stop in front of a steep hill. I need to go up it, yet I don’t understand why. Obeying, I move to the side and start searching for something I know is hidden on the hill. After a while, I get frustrated because I have no clue what I’m looking for or how long I’m going to have to keep looking, but then I spot something that makes me pause. A bush budding with violet flowers, growing out of the middle of the hill. I hike up to it, my boots battling the loose, rocky dirt, and then I pick one of the violet flowers. The smell is intoxicating and causes more images of my past to spin in my head. I’ve been to this place before and picked these flowers… I remember the flower in Alex’s car and how he told me I used to pick them for him when we were younger.

I squat down and start digging through the damp soil as I inch around to the back of the bush. Behind it is a small hole in the ground. I hoist myself up to it and peer down. There’s a ladder that leads to a bottom where a light filters from somewhere.

I take a deep breath and lower my feet to the top step of the ladder. Then I start to climb down, my hands sweating against the cool metal until my feet reach the floor. I immediately spin around, fearing what I’m going to see. Visions have never been kind to me and I half expect Stephan to come charging out to stab me.