“Yeah…But, I don’t know…it seems like it could be possible. I mean, look at me. I can travel around wherever I want by using my Foreseer ability, without the aid of a crystal ball.”

“Yeah, but you are…” he trailed off as I gave him a cold stare. He was about to say different, and I really disliked being called that. “Unique,” he finished, with a teasing smile that focused all of my attention on his lips, which painfully reminded me that I was never going to be able to kiss those lips again unless I figured out a way to get rid of the star's power.

His face fell. “What’s wrong?”

I shook my head, not sure how explain that we were not supposed to be together; that the Blood Promise we made, to be together forever, was useless; that if we stayed close to one another for too long, there was a possibility we could kill each other. Of course, this was all based on if Stephan had told the truth.

“I have to—” I started

The front door flew open and smacked against the wall, rattling the shelves on it. Aislin burst in, her cheeks pinked with heat, her golden-brown hair a mess and her clothes covered in dirt and sand.

“What’s wrong?” Alex quickly stood up from the couch

Aislin shook her head, tears streaking her cheeks. “Laylen…Lay…” She burst into hysterical sobs.

I jumped to my feet. “What about Laylen? Did something happen to him?” I asked, in a panic stricken voice as the reality that saving the world wasn’t my only responsibility. I also had to save a vampire who was dealing with blood-thirst issues. Blood-thirst issues that I caused by begging him to bite me so he wouldn’t die.

Aislin sobbed hard. “I can’t—I can’t.”

“Just spit it out,” Alex said unsympathetically.

Looking hurt, Aislin wiped her tears away and pulled herself together. “I can’t find him anywhere.”

“Okay,” Alex said in an unfeeling tone. “Well, freaking out isn’t going to help us find him.”

Aislin fixed him with an angry glare. “You don’t need to be rude. I’m just a little upset, okay?” She looked like she might start crying again. “I never got to tell him I was,” she sniffed back her tears, “sorry…for everything.” She burst into sobs and ran off to her room.

“You know, sometimes I’m grateful I can shut off my emotions.” Alex turned to me. “It keeps me from doing things like that.”

I stared at him, half agreeing and half disagreeing. “Not all emotions are bad,” I said.

His bright green eyes burned with intensity. “Aren’t they?” His voice wobbled and he was breathing loud. He reached for me, about to touch me, and for a moment I just stood there, wanting him to touch me. But then I remembered we couldn’t get close—not until we knew for sure that it wouldn’t kill us.

I backed away from him.

His expression slipped into confusion as he pulled his hand back. “What’s wrong?”

“We can’t…” I took a deep breath, gesturing my hand back and forth between us. “You and I can’t—”

“Your heads bleeding,” he cut me off, staring at my head. “Huh?”

He pointed at the side of my head. “There’s blood all over the side of your head.”

I touched my head and a warm, sticky substance coated my fingers. I pulled my hand away—blood. I went over to an oval mirror hanging on the wall and examined my head. On the left side, a cut ran across my scalp. And it had to be a fresh cut because blood was still oozing out of it and dripping down my hair.

“What happened?” Alex moved up behind me, inspecting the cut on my head. “You weren’t bleeding before, were you? I didn’t notice if you were.”

“No, I don’t think so.” My eyes were fixed on the cut. Why was it so familiar? Not just the cut, but the pain that was starting to spread through my skull—a blinding pain like I had smacked my head on a rock or something…my eyes widened. “Oh my God.”

“What is it?” Alex asked, alarmed.

“I think…” I set the crystal ball down on the desk and bolted for the back door.

Alex chased after me. “Where are you going?”

“I think something’s wrong,” I answered, leaping down the back porch steps. I took off across the beach, heading for the cliff area where Nicholas had once knocked me out, before taking me to the cabin. I needed to see if there was blood on the rock I hit my head on. If there was blood on it then that meant…Well, I had no idea what it meant, just that it meant something wasn’t right.

“Gemma!’ Alex yelled from right behind me. “Where the heck are you going?”

I pointed at the rocky cliffs, pushing past a few people that were standing in my way. “There…I have to see something.” I slowed to a stop as I reached the cliffs.

Alex stopped beside me, panting. “What do you need to see?”

“I need to see if there’s blood on the rock that Nicholas shoved me down on,” I told him, heading down the path that twisted through the center of the cliffs.

“But I thought you said that didn’t happen.” Alex followed at my heels as we made our way further down the path. “That your father erased it?”

I glanced over my shoulder at him. “I thought he did but now...” I shook my head. “I have no idea what’s going on, but if there’s blood on one of these rocks back in here, then something’s up—something’s not right.” My head was pounding and blood was trickling down my ear. I pressed my hand against the wound and picked up my pace, ignoring the rocks cutting my bare feet.

When I finally reached the end of the path, I swear my heart just about stopped. And all my confusion multiplied.

“What the?” Alex moved to the side of me and squinted at the ground. “What is that?”

“It’s….me?” I said, staring down at myself, lying on the ground, in a pool of blood. “Am I in a vision?” I wondered out loud.

From my peripheral, I saw a dark figure appear, and I jumped back, knocking my shoulder into Alex’s chest. Nicholas, who was usually annoyingly calm—well, unless he was being chased by a Water Faerie in The Underworld—looked about as shocked as I was.

His golden eyes widened as he glanced down at the “me” lying in the sand and then back at the real me.

“What on earth…” He trailed off and something abruptly clicked across his face. He knew exactly what was going on.

“Wow, Gemma,” he said with genuine astonishment.“I am very impressed.” He paused and then he lunged for me.

I don’t have the reflexes of a cat at all, and Nicholas was skilled in the art of lunging. Luckily, for my sake, Alex’s reflexes were that of a Keeper and with one swing of his fist, he knocked Nicholas out cold.

Nicholas’ body slumped heavily to the ground.

Alex shook out his hand. “His head is as hard as a rock.”

I would have laughed, except I was too occupied with the fact that there was another “me” lying on the ground. I stepped over Nicholas and gradually made my way over to her—or me. Was she real? Or was she just a vision? Hesitantly, I reached down and placed a hand gently on her arm. It was like I had stuck my fingers in an electrical outlet. My eyes zipped wide as a blaze of electricity—more powerful than anything I had ever felt—zipped through me. I gasped, feeling the moment erase, as if it had never existed. The unconscious “me” buzzed with static, like a bad reception on TV, finally blinking and fading out into nothing.

My hand fell down onto the warm sand, and I stared at the empty spot in utter shock.

“Gemma.” Alex placed a hand on my shoulder. “What the hell just happened?”

His hand fell from my shoulder as I stood to my feet. My mind was so wired with electricity I thought my head was going to explode.

“I think I need to lie down.” I staggered sideways and then collapsed to the ground.

Chapter 5

Light…everywhere, surrounding me, blinding me. Alex and I by the lake, holding on to one another. It will be okay. Ice. So cold. Death. Shadows everywhere…suffocating me…I was dying…

My eyes shot open as I gasped for air. I clutched the bottom of my neck, hyperventilating as I shot upright.

“Breathe.” Alex patted me on the back. “Just breathe.”

“I’m trying,” I coughed. I took a few slow, deep breaths until my breathing returned to normal, and then I tried to get to my feet. But the world twirled and swayed and I sank back into the sand.

“What happened?” Alex asked, kneeling down in front of me, his eyes scanning me over for any visible evidence that I might be broken.

“It felt like I couldn’t breathe,” I told him.

Alex, being Alex, straightforwardly said, “That’s because you stopped breathing.”

“Oh,” was all I could think of to say.

He touched the cut on my head and my scalp tingled with sparks. “Well, whatever just happened, it made the cut on your head seal itself up.”

I lightly grazed the side of my head with the tips of my finger. “It doesn’t hurt anymore either.” I dropped my hand and gave him a puzzled look. “What do you think just happened?”

“I have no idea.” He nodded his head at something behind me. “I wonder if he does, though.”

I turned and found Nicholas still sprawled out in the sand, unconscious. “It looked like he might know something,” I said, turning back to Alex. “But even if he did, what are the odds of him actually telling us.”

His bright green eyes sparkled deviously. “Oh, there are ways to get him to tell us.” He got to his feet and dusted the sand off his jeans. “They’re just not nice ways.”

I kind of felt bad for Nicholas, which I know sounds very weird, considering everything he has done. But, I mean, he had no control over what he was—the Mark of Malefiscus did. Well, okay, I had to retract that statement because not every annoying and wrong thing Nicholas did was because of the mark. He was just as annoying before he was branded by the mark. But that didn’t mean he deserved to be hurt.

I shielded my eyes from the sun’s brightness as I stared up at Alex. “What are you going to do to him?”

He walked over to Nicholas. “We’re going to go back and get Aislin, so she can transport him into the house.” He paused, mulling something over. “I would drag him there myself, but I think it might look a little suspicious to some people.”

Some people? Try all people. “Well, maybe I should just go get Aislin, in case he wakes up and tries to leave.”

Alex’s eyebrow curved up. “Can you even walk right now?”

Even though I was extremely dizzy, I was determined to show him I could. I gained control of my balance, before pushing myself to my feet. I rocked from side to side, and stumbled over to the wall of the cliff, bracing my hands against it.

“Gemma,” Alex started to say, his tone full of worry.