The Underworld (41 page)

Read The Underworld Online

Authors: Jessica Sorensen

plan—a plan I worked very hard to create—I had to

come up with a new one.” He turned and faced me,

his hands behind his back. “But I think this plan wil

work out a lot better. And the best part is, I won’t have

to worry about my son finding you again. He’l never

find you here.” His dark eyes pierced into me. “No

one wil .”

My breathing faltered out of me, and the room was

starting to sway again. “What are you going to do to

me?” I asked, thinking about the
memoria extraho
,

and fearing he was going to use something similar to

it on me.

“Oh, I’m not going to do anything to you, Gemma,”

he said, with a wicked grin. “Except leave you here.”

“Leave me here.” I glanced at the barred up

window, wondering where here was, but al I could

see were mountains and trees and the snow that

covered them.

“Oh, yes.” He walked over to the window, dragging

his fingers along the bars. “See there is something

about the cold that preserves your energy—it’s why I

sent you to Wyoming. And keeping your energy

preserved is the most important thing right now.”

“And what about Alex’s energy,” I asked, trying to

keep my balance as a rush of wooziness whipped

through me. “How are you planning on preserving his

energy?”

This surprised him. “I see you’ve been busy. “ He

walked toward me again. “My son wil preserve the

energy himself. It was what I raised him to do. And as

long as he’s away from you, the stars energy wil be

fine.” He stopped right in front of me. “Al I have to do

is keep you from him.”

“Alex wil find me,” I told him, but I wasn’t so sure of

this myself.

Stephan considered this for a very long time, and

then I got the feeling that I was about to experience,

firsthand, a vil ain-confessing-his-evil-plan moment.

“See, here’s the thing, Gemma,” he said, his

already dark eyes shifting darker. “Even if he does

find you, it’l never work out. You two were just not

meant to be with each other.

I touched the scar on the palm of my hand.
Forem
.

“Yes, we are.”

He let out a laugh that rang though the cabin and

echoed out against the snowy mountains. “The ideas

you kids have—always wanting to be with the wrong

person.”

I wasn’t sure what he meant by this. “The wrong

person?”

He stood in front of me, the two Death Walkers stil

hovering in the doorway, blocking my only way out.

“You think you’re supposed to be with someone

because you having feelings for them but trust me

Gemma, feelings are way overrated.

Wow. So that’s where Alex had gotten the quote

from.

The mention of feelings sent rage surging through

me and without even thinking I kicked Stephan in the

shin with my bare foot.

He winced, and then hit me across the face. My

ears rang like an out of control bel , and I col apsed to

the hardwood floor. He leaned over me, his eyes ful

of anger.

“You think it’s so bad what I’ve done to you. Wel , let

me let you in on a little secret. Life is way overrated—

emotions are way overrated. Even Malefiscus—which

I’m sure you know who he is by now—was at one

point weakened by his jealousy for his brother.

Although, he did turn it into something good” He

dragged his finger along the scar on his cheek.

I hated this man more than I have ever hated

anyone before. I could feel the hate burning inside me

—I could feel the hate poking at the back of my neck.

“You’re the one who’s weak.”

“Oh, am I?” He considered this. “Wel , that’s one

I’ve never heard before.” He let out an evil laugh.

“Wel , I think after awhile, you’l change your mind.

Nicholas has already taken your Foreseer power

away from you and when it eventual y returns, the

praesidium
wil take over.”

Praesidium?
I glanced around the room and

noticed that there were lavender marble-sized crystal

bal s dotting the edge of the hardwood floor.

“I’d take your power away from you completely if I

could,” Stephan added. “But I need it too much.”

“Need it for what?” I asked, my stomach winding

into a bil ion knots.

He ignored me. “The only way for you to get away

from here is on foot.” He glanced at the window. “And

even I wouldn’t try and make that walk. By the time I

return to get you, you’l be nothing more than an

emotionless soul. Being alone wil do that to

someone.”

I remembered myself in my vision; the emptiness

my eyes had held. That’s how I would turn out if I

stayed here.

No. I would not go back to that.

I started to get to my feet, not sure what I would do

when I made it up, but I needed to do something. “This

plan won’t work,” I said struggling to keep my legs

under me. “Just like your last plan didn’t.”

He’d started toward the door, but stopped and

turned around. “Even if Alex did find you, eventual y

you’d both be dead. Every time you two are close to

each other, it ignites the power. If you stay close to

each other for too long the star’s power wil fade out.

And so wil you and Alex.”

My jaw just about hit the floor, and I stood there

shocked. Alex and I would eventual y kil each other?

How was this possible? I thought about the electric

bond we shared and the Blood Promise we’d made

to be together forever. But if what Stephan had just

said was true, then did it mean that if we did stay

together forever, our forever wouldn’t be that long?

I felt sick; physical y and emotions drained, my

heart sinking in my chest.

“Like I said, Gemma, feelings are overrated.” And

with that he walked outside and shut the door behind

him.

I immediately closed my eyes and tried to summon

my Foreseer ability, but apparently Stephan had been

tel ing the truth about my ability being gone because I

felt nothing.

This couldn’t be happening.

I limped to the door, and opened it up, hoping I

wouldn’t come face-to -face with a Death Walker. But

there was nothing but miles and miles of snow. And

scattered across the miles and miles of snow—at

least as far as my eyes could see—were dots and

dots of tiny lavender crystal bal s.

I let out a scream for help, but the only thing that

returned to me was my own echo.

Jessica Sorensen lives with her husband and

three kids in the snowy mountains of Wyoming, where

she spends most of her time reading, writing, and

hanging out with her family.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43
Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

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