Authors: Jessica Sorensen
what he always says. Besides, the question of
whether or not Alex was lying about what had
happened back at the cabin was stil a big giant
question mark. So for now, at least until we knew for
sure what was going on, it was probably best to keep
our plan a secret from Alex.
Laylen got down on the floor. “Just pretend I’m not
here,” he whispered. And with that, he slid underneath
the bed.
I waited until he was completely under before
unlocking the door and opening it. “Hey, what’s up?”
Real cool Gemma. I sounded way too casual.
He gave me a suspicious look. “You’ve been up
here forever. What are you doing?”
“Um…changing?” It sounded like a question, and I
wanted to slap myself on the head for sucking so
badly at playing it cool.
He looked down at the pajamas I was stil wearing,
and I realized my answer had been even more idiotic
than I’d original y thought. I needed to think of
something to tel him. And quick.
“Wel …I was going to change, but I couldn’t…um…
figure out where the clothes are.” Not my best lie, but
hopeful y it would do.
He looked unconvinced as he walked into the room
and over to a dresser. He pul ed open the top drawer
and pointed inside it. “The clothes are in here.”
Ignoring the heat the electricity caused by him
being in the room, I made my way over to the dresser.
“Oh. Okay. Thanks.”
He gave me a strange look and then glanced
around the room, as if he were looking for something
that shouldn’t be there. Like maybe a six foot four
Keeper/Vampire hiding underneath the bed.
Final y, Alex gave up on looking for whatever it was
he was looking for and stuffed his hands into the
pockets. “Wel , come downstairs when you’re done.
Adessa made dinner.”
“Alright, I wil ,” I told him, again sounding way too
laid-back.
“Okay…” He raised his eyebrows at me, before
heading to the door, shooting one last look over his
shoulder, before stepping out of the room.
I let out a breath of relief, shut the door, and spun
around as Laylen army crawled from underneath the
bed.
He stood up and dusted off his jeans “That was
close.”
“I know. It was like he knew you were here or
something.”
Laylen laughed, and I felt like I was missing out on a
joke.
“What’s so funny?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Nothing…so yeah, I think we
should sneak out tonight and talk to a few people I
know. See if anyone has heard anything about your
mom. You up for it?”
“I…uh…yeah?” Why did I suddenly feel hesitant?
This was my mother we were talking about. But for
some reason, it felt wrong—keeping what we were
doing from Alex.
I shook my head at the absurdity of my own
thoughts. I had to keep my head clear and not think
about Alex. “Yeah, I’m definitely up for it.”
He gave me a funny look. “Are you sure you want to
go? I’m not going to tel you what to do—you’ve had
that done to you way too much—but I feel I should
warn you it may end up being kind of dangerous.”
I considered what he said, but stil wanted to go. At
this point in my life, I felt I needed to hear things for
myself. “I’m stil up for it.”
“Then I’l come here tonight after everyone’s
asleep.” He started for the door.
A thought popped inside my head. “Wait a sec.”
He turned around. “What’s up?”
“Why do you think Stephan wants the star’s
power?”
“I don’t know…But if Stephan wants it, and he’s
working with the Death Walkers…” He trailed off,
worry slipping onto his face. “Wel , if our plan does
work out, and we find out your mother’s alive maybe
she’l have some of the answers to what the heck is
going on.”
***
could find—a pair of shorts and a purple tank top—
and pul ed my long brown hair into a ponytail, I went
downstairs. It took me a little bit to find the kitchen,
which was a dimly lit room that had blue and black
striped wal s, black countertops, and indigo tiled
flooring. Everyone was there by the time I entered.
Alex and Aislin were sitting at a smal oval table in the
corner of the room, and Adessa and Laylen were over
by the counter. Adessa was stirring something in a
steaming pot on top of the stove.
Aislin’s bright green eyes lit up when she saw me.
She looked like her normal, perfect self. Her golden
blonde hair was curled up; a pair of diamond earrings
twinkled in each one of her ear lobes. She had on a
lacy pink tank top and her smile was as bright as
ever. “Oh my God. It’s so good to see you awake,
instead of unconscious.”
“I already told you she’d woken up.” Alex rol ed his
eyes and shook his head. “I don’t know why you’re
getting al excited about it.”
“Because she’s awake, Alex.” Aislin gave him a
firm look. “Need I remind you that for awhile we
thought she wasn’t ever going to wake up.”
If looks could kil , Aislin would have been dead by
the invisible daggers shooting from Alex’s bright
green eyes. I don’t know why he was getting mad at
her, though. I’d already thought I was dead when I’d
been trapped back in the black emptiness.
They continued to scowl at each other as I sat down
in an empty chair at the table. They eventual y stopped
having their little stare down when Adessa came over
and placed what looked like a pot of chicken noodle
soup down on the table, her metal bangle bracelets
clinking together as she moved her hands away. Like
Aislin, Adessa is a witch, so I wasn’t going to
automatical y assume what was in that pot was food.
My knowledge about witches was limited, so whether
or not they brewed pots of potions was beyond me.
But in this new world I’d been thrust into only a few
days ago, I was never going to assume things again.
Or at least try not to.
Adessa’s golden-cat eyes landed on me, and she
gave me a welcoming smile. “Hel o, Gemma.”
I forced a smal smile, just so I wouldn’t seem rude.
“Hey.”
She smiled again, tucking a strand of her black
wavy hair behind her ear, and then went back over to
the stove.
Aislin grabbed the spoon in the pot, and began
stirring it until Adessa took a seat at the table. Laylen
did as wel , carrying a stack of bowls in his hands. As
I glanced around at the five of us, I couldn’t help but
think how strange this was. And I wasn’t just saying
strange because I was sitting at the table with two
witches, a vampire, and a Keeper, but because I was
sitting at a table, getting ready to eat. Something I’d
never done before in my life.
“So who’s hungry?” Adessa asked, taking a bowl
and scooping some—hopeful y—chicken noodle
soup into it. When no one answered, she set the bowl
down in front of Alex, who slid it in front of me.
“Ladies first,” he said with a charming smile.
How gentleman-like of him, which made it al the
weirder.
“Thanks,” I muttered. I stared down at the bowl of
hot soup, watching the steam rise up as I thought of
my mother and how, in just a few short hours, I might
find out that she’s stil alive. After spending most of my
life thinking she was dead, the idea seemed strange
and unfamiliar.
So how are you feeling?” Aislin asked me.
I tore my gaze away from the soup, and my
thoughts. “I’m fine.”
Her forehead furrowed over. “Is something wrong?”
I shook my head. “No. Not real y….I’m just a little
confused stil . That’s al .”
“About what?” she asked.
I shrugged. “Everything real y.”
She shot Alex a stern look. “Didn’t you explain
anything to her?”
“I explained to her that none of us know anything,”
he said, aggravated. “Not real y. anyway.”
Aislin’s bright green eyes pierced into him as if she
were trying to burn a telegraphic message into his
mind. Although I didn’t mind Aislin—I mean, for the
most part, she’d been nice to me—I knew she was
almost as good of a liar as Alex, which put the count
up to two people sitting at this table that I couldn’t
trust. And Adessa, wel I knew nothing about her, and
the whole trusting strangers’ thing had never gone that
wel for me. (Think City of Crystal, where an overly
friendly half-faerie lives). The only person I felt I could
rely on was Laylen.
I glanced over at Laylen, who was sitting there, with
no food in front of him, because…wel , because he’s
a vampire and he doesn’t eat food. Everyone else
was slurping away, and I hoped they didn’t notice
when Laylen locked eyes with me. It was as if he was
whispering a secret to me with his eyes.
Tonight
.
Yes. Tonight.
I thought back. Tonight, maybe we’l
get some answers.
The rest of the conversation at the table
consisted of a bunch of slurping. This was okay,
though, because here in just a short while, Laylen and
I were going to be setting out on our endeavor to try
and find out about my mom.
After I’d finished eating, I pretended to be tired and
told everyone I was heading up to bed to go to sleep.
And yeah, I got that saying I was tired sounded a little
odd, since I’d just woken up from a two day nap. But I
couldn’t sit stil , and I was afraid that al my
bounciness was going to give away that something
was up.
So for the sake of not getting Laylen and I busted
before we even got the chance to try, I went up to my
room to get some sleep. I never actual y intended to
fal asleep, but when I laid down on the bed, my
eyelids suddenly felt heavy, and before I knew it, I’d
dozed off.
It was dark. And I was cold. Water dripped on my
head.
Painful Screams filled the air. I shivered as I crept
through the darkness, the air feeling damp against
my skin.
“Gemma,” a voice whispered.
I knew that voice. It was my mom’s.
“Mom,” I called out, turning in every direction,
“Mom,” I called out, turning in every direction,
searching for her.
“Gemma,” her voice sounded so far away and I
started to run, my feet hitting the ground with a thud
that echoed all around me. “Come find me.”
“I’m trying,” I said, searching through the dark for
her.
Just then, a soft light filtered through the darkness,
and I saw it. A figure, white and bony, floating in the
air like a ghost. I screeched to a halt, a deathly
feeling choking me so strongly it nearly sucked the
wind out of me.
The white figure glided toward me. I spun around
and ran in the opposite direction, my feet
hammering against the ground
“Gemma!” My mother’s voice screamed from
somewhere behind me.
I kept running, contemplating what I should do.
Turn around and face the ghostly figure—try to get to
my mother. Or run like a coward.
I skidded to a stop and whirled back around,
deciding I needed to try and save her. But I let out a
scream at the sight of the hollowed out eyes that
were only inches away from my face. The ghostly
figure’s bony hand reached for me, and I let out
another scream, feeling more afraid then I’d ever felt
in my life.
“Gemma, run,” I heard my mother say. But I
couldn’t—I was too terrified to move.
This strange feeling passed over me as the
ghostly figures fingers moved to my mouth. I felt
something being sucked away from inside me…and
then I just felt empty.
***
hitting the inside of my chest about a mil ion miles a
minute, the fear I’d felt in my dream stil rattling at my
nerves.
It took my eyes a second to adjust to the blackness
that had fil ed the bedroom, and for my heart to settle
back down. God, I hated when I had nightmares like
that. I could never be certain if they were
actually