“Alex,” Aislin hissed. “What are you doing?”
“Relax,” Alex said. “There’s no need to get all wound up. I was just teasing her.”
I came to the conclusion right then and there that maybe Alex had some kind of a bipolar disorder or something. First he hated me. Then he’d kissed me. Sometimes I irritated him. And sometimes he was teasing me. For someone who didn’t want me to feel, he was sure sending my emotions all over the place.
Looking out the window, Aislin heaved a huge sigh of relief. “Oh good, we can go in.”
I followed her gaze and saw Laylen, standing in front of Adessa’s, waving us in.
Inside of Adessa’s Herb’s and Spice’s, the air smelled of sage and a few other spices that I couldn’t quite identify. Black and white tile checkerboarded the floor, the witches mark painted largely in the center. Glass countertops, displaying simple things like jewelry, candles, and incense, outlined the room. There were, however, some things inside the display cases that looked rather questionable. A black pot with a creepy looking eye painted on it (I swear the thing was watching me), a miniature figurine of an Egyptian pyramid, and a statue of a cat with two heads. I couldn’t help but wonder what these strange looking objects did. Were they merely for display? Or did they hold some kind of magical power to them?
“So…” Aislin skimmed about the room with a puzzled expression. “Where’s this Adessa?”
“She’ll be down in just a minute.” Laylen leaned back against a display case and rested his elbows on top of it. “She had to run upstairs to get something.”
I walked around the room, trailing my finger aimlessly along the glass countertop as I gazed down at all the peculiar looking objects. On one of the counters, I spotted a crystal ball that looked like what Fortune Tellers use to see into the future. I peered inside it, curious if I’d be able to see what my future held. Violet ribbons floated gracefully in a sea of shimmering water. Through it, my reflection stared back at me. Apparently, I possessed no psychic abilities. Either that or this particular ball was a dud.
“If you’re not careful, you might get stuck inside it,” Alex said, practically appearing out of thin air and scaring the crap out of me.
I threw my hand over my accelerating heart. “Jesus. You scared the heck out of me.” I paused, catching me breath. “So what were you saying about me getting stuck inside something?”
He tapped his fingers on the crystal ball. “Stuck inside here. It’s a Foreseer’s crystal ball. The kind they use to see visions. But to see the future, they actually have to go into the future.” He flicked the ball with his finger. “By going inside this.”
“But why would I get stuck inside it? I’m not a Foreseer.”
“Yeah, but you’re…different. I don’t think you touching it would be such a good idea.”
“But you keep touching it,” I pointed out.
“But I don’t have the power of a star flowing around inside me, do I.” He rapped his fingers on the crystal ball again, I guess trying to prove his point. “Who knows what might happen if you touch it? You might set off its power or something and get sucked into a vision. In fact, you probably shouldn’t touch anything at all.”
“Including the floor,” I said with bitter sarcasm. “Because that seems like it would be very tricky.”
Most people would have gotten aggravated by my smart mouthed comment. Not Alex, though. Nope. It was like a game to him.
“That does sound pretty tricky.” He leaned in toward me and lowered his voice. “I think you know that’s not what I meant.”
I took a few slow, deep breaths because I had to. With how close he was, the electricity had ignited and forced me into a tug-o-war with my emotions. Part of me wanted to slap him, while the other part of me wanted to press my lips against his.
I tore my eyes away from him and looked over at Laylen and Aislin to distract myself from my insane feelings. They seemed to be engulfed in a very serious conversation. Laylen had his eyes fixed on Aislin, who kept waving her hands around in a heated kind of gesture.
“Well, if it’s that big of a deal if I touch something,” I mumbled, “then maybe I should go wait in the car.”
“You can’t go back to the car,” Alex said sternly. “Not by yourself.”
We both stood there, staring at each other, as this giant bubble of electricity built around us.
Finally, Alex broke his gaze away. He kicked the tile with the tip of his shoe. “So yeah, just make sure you don’t touch anything, except for the floor.”
A few moments later, a woman around thirty years old or so waltzed into the room. She had golden cat-shaped eyes and wavy black hair that flowed all the way down to her waist. She wore a navy blue velvet dress, large gold-hooped earrings, and her skin was the color of honey.
“I’m Adessa,” she said in a voice as smooth as silk. “Now, Laylen told me that one of you is a witch and is looking for a Vectum Crystal.” Her cat eyes landed on me. “And let me guess, it’s you.”
I glanced around nervously and then shook my head, lost as to why she’d think that. I pointed a finger over in Aislin’s direction. “No, not me—her.”
“Hmm…that’s interesting.” She focused her attention on Aislin. “So what particular one are you looking for, dear?”
“Well, I’ve been using the purple amethyst.” Aislin paused. “But since we have to travel a long distance, I think maybe the gold one would work better.”
Adessa twisted a red diamond pendant necklace that hung around her neck. “How long of a distance is it, dear?”
“Oh…I think about 500 miles,” Ailsin said. “Give or take a few.”
Adessa wandered behind the counter and waved at Aislin to follow her. “I think I have something that would work even better than a gold one.” She raised her hand and drew an invisible rectangle in the air. One of the shelves, lining the purple walls, shifted backwards, sinking into the wall like it had been drawn back by an invisible force. Or a magical force. My mouth dropped agape as the shelf disappeared altogether and revealed a solid black door hidden behind it. Adessa flicked her hand like she was shooing a fly away, and the door swung open. From where I stood, I couldn’t see what was inside. I tried to casually lean to my left to get a better look but no such luck—Adessa and Aislin were blocking my view.
Adessa motioned at the doorway. “After you, my dear.”
Aislin bit down on her lip and tentatively stepped inside. Adessa followed behind her. A bright red flash sparkled throughout the room, and the door slammed shut.
Then they were gone.
“What the heck.” I was resting somewhere between being completely fascinated and absolutely terrified. “Where did they go?”
“To a secret place where Adessa keeps certain things hidden,” Laylen answered.
“What kind of things?” I asked, intrigued.
Laylen came over beside me, his hands tucked in his pockets. “The dangerous kind.”
“Laylen,” Alex warned.
“What?” Laylen gave him an I’m-so-innocent look. “She asked a question, and I answered. What’s wrong with that?”
“Everything’s wrong with it,” Alex said forthrightly.
I sighed. Would the secretiveness ever end? I could cross my fingers and hope so, but I wasn’t holding my breath—I’d probably die from lack of oxygen if I did.
I traced my finger along a crack in the display case. “So why did Adessa think I was the witch?”
Laylen cocked his head to the side, his forehead scrunched over. “I’m not really sure.”
Alex spun the Foreseers crystal ball in its stand—the one I wasn’t supposed to touch, but apparently he could. “Probably because of your eyes.”
I absentmindedly touched the corner of my eye. “Why would my eyes make her think that?”
“You’ve seen them, right?” he said derisively. “The color’s anything but normal—a dead giveaway that there’s something different about you.”
“Yeah, I’ve seen them.” I snapped.
“I’m not trying to be mean.” He sounded like he meant it, but who could tell for sure. “I actually like the color. It’s a nice different.”
Confused if he was teasing me or not, I opted to keep my mouth shut. That way, nothing stupid would escape it.
Laylen wandered away from us and started fiddling around with a set of black and blue ceramic boxes on a nearby shelf. Electric sparks started kissing at my body, moving from the tips of my toes to the top of my head. It wasn’t too hot or too strong, and I had to admit, I liked the way it made me feel, even though I knew I shouldn’t. There were small, fleeting moments like this where I could relax and soak up the tingling sensation on my skin. But I wondered if there would ever be a time where I could just freely enjoy it. Or freely enjoy my life? Would I ever just be normal? Maybe after I stopped this apocalyptic-end-of-the-world thing from happening, I just might be able to.
Maybe.
But what was even going to happen to me after I stopped the end of the world from happening? It had never been made clear to me. Nothing had been made clear to me, not really.
“Can I ask you something?” I asked Alex.
He fixed his gaze on a tiny black stone inside the counter. “Depends on what it is, I guess.”
I shook my head. I highly doubted he was going to give me a straight answer—or an answer at all—but I had to at least try, right? I took a deep breath and quickly threw my question out there. “What happens to me after the portal closes?”
Okay, so I’d learned from past experiences with Alex that he was a good actor. He could lie like a real pro. Pretend to be something he wasn’t. Manipulate my thoughts. So when his face drained of all its color, my heart virtually stopped. Whatever the answer was, it had to be horrible.
“What is it?” My words rushed out of me in a panic.
He shook his head, his skin still very pale. “Gemma, I’m not sure we should be talking about this right now.”
“What do you mean you don’t think we should talk about this right now?” I stomped my foot on the floor—yes, like a two year-old, but considering the circumstances, I think it was totally called for. “Just tell me.”
“I’d rather not,” he said flatly.
“Well, I’d rather you did,” I retorted.
“No, this isn’t something we should be discussing right now.”
And that’s when I knew it. I was never going to be normal. I was never going to be able to enjoy things, be happy, and do whatever I wanted with my life. Why? Because I was never going to have a life. The portal was going to kill me. “I’m going to die, aren’t I?”
“I don’t know.” He hesitated. “No one knows really. You could just go back to normal or….” He drifted off.
“Or I could die,” I finished for him.
He didn’t answer, but he was looking everywhere else except at me.
Freaking out, I whirled around on my heels, preparing to make a mad dash for the door, but my elbow bumped into something cold and hard. The Foreseers crystal ball. It bounced off the stand, rolled off the counter, and hit the floor with a loud clank.
“Crap,” I said. Without even thinking, I bent down to swipe it up.
Alex and Laylen yelled, “No!”
As my fingers grazed the glass, I felt my body being pulled. And then I was spiraling down a dark tunnel.
Chapter 21
The fall seemed endless, like I’d been sucked into a bottomless abyss. Fear set in as I realized that a bottomless abyss might be exactly what this was—a giant hole with no ending. Of course, if there was a bottom, and I hit it at the speed I was falling at then…Well, I didn’t want to think about it right now.
Below my feet, I saw a white light twinkling through the blackness. As I plunged closer to it, it began to shimmer brighter and brighter, eventually becoming so bright I had to shut my eyes or else I might go blind. Warmth blanketed around me, and I sucked in a breath as my feet hit the ground hard.
I toppled forward, landing face first onto a surface that felt scratchy and dry like grass. I quickly leapt to my feet. Yep, sure enough, the scratchy, dry surface was grass, and I had a mouth full of it.
I spat a few times, clearing out my mouth. My head was throbbing and where my stitches were ached. Worried I’d torn them open, I lifted up the bottom of my shirt and carefully peeled back the bandage. My skin looked red and swollen, but there was no blood and the stitches still seemed to be holding my skin together.
I pressed the bandaged back down and glanced around, seeing if I could recognize my surroundings. Bright orange and pink leaves danced through air, and the wind whispered against my hair. Tall trees trimmed a translucent lake. The place felt strangely familiar, like I’d been here before but couldn’t quite remember when. It was the same feeling I’d experience when I’d been sucked away back at the field trip.
Back before all hell had broken loose.
For a moment, I just stood there, soaking in the sunshine and breathing in the cool fall air. Then suddenly it dawned on me. I’d obviously gotten sucked into the Foreseers ball like Alex had warned might happen. He’d also warned me that I could get stuck inside it. All of my calmness was ripped away in the blink of an eye.
Okay. Okay. Don’t panic. Yeah, that was easier said than done. I gazed around frantically, crossing my fingers that somehow a magical door would materialize out of thin air. Magic existed, right? So why couldn’t I just conjure up a door. Because I’m not witch, that’s why. And, of course, no door ever appeared.
That’s when I really started freaking out.
“Help!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. “Someone! Anyone!”
Tears stung the corners of my eyes. Great. Now I was crying. I hated to think it, but not being able to feel right now would have come in real handy, because I was becoming hysterical. And being all frantic and crazed wasn’t going to get me anywhere.
I took a deep breath and tried to relax. Okay, you can do—
A stream of purple whipped past me. I jumped back, my hand pressing against my heart, my breath fumbling to regain its steadiness. My gaze darted after the purple blur, and I realized it wasn’t a blur but a little girl wearing a purple dress. She had to be around four or five years old. Her long brown hair whipped in the wind as she stood at the edge of the lake, staring out at the water.
Unsure of how a Foreseer vision’s worked, I approached her cautiously. Would I be able to communicate with her? God, I hoped so.
“Excuse me.” I went to tap her on the shoulder, but my hand slipped through her like I’d just tried to touch a ghost. Great. I raised the volume of my voice. “Hello!”
Nothing. The girl just stood there, completely unfazed by my loudness as she stared out at the lake.
Great. Now what? If I couldn’t communicate with anyone, then how was I ever going to figure a way out of here?
The little girl started twirling in circles, and I gasped as I caught sight of her face. It was all hazy, like bad reception on a television screen. I blinked my eyes and rubbed them with the heels of my hands, but the haze stayed.
“Don’t get too close to the lake,” a voice called out from behind me.
I spun around just as a boy ran past me. He looked a few years older than the little girl and had dark brown hair. His face was hazed over as well.
“You need to be careful or you might fall in,” he warned.
“Don’t worry,” the little girl replied, teeter-tottering near the edge of the water. “I won’t fall in.”
“Please just move away,” he begged, his hand extended out to her. “You don’t know how to swim.”
She took hold of his hand, and he guided her away from the lake.
I was having another weird déjà vu moment, just like I’d had when I’d disappeared into the field during the fieldtrip. The peoples’ faces had been blurry then too. So what did that mean? Were the two linked somehow? This had to be a vision, and the fieldtrip thing
y…well, I didn’t know what that was. It couldn’t have been a vision, though. How could it have been? It wasn’t like I’d touched a Foreseer’s ball.
“You two get over here right now!” A man barked from somewhere behind me.
His voice made the atmosphere alter into a-graveyard-in-the-middle-of-the-night kind of setting. The kind of setting that makes the hair on your arms stand on end, and your stomach churn.
Before I could even turn around, the man appeared beside me. He was tall, husky, and had jet black hair similar to Marco’s. He wore a black button down shirt, grey slacks, and a gold chain dangled around his neck. His face was also hazy.
I quickly caught on that he was intimidating with the way he shook at my nerves. Even the kids seemed to back away from him.
“It’s time to go,” his voice iced out. “Go inside and pack your stuff.”
“Where am I going?” the little girl asked, gripping tightly to the little boy’s hand like her life depended on it.
“That’s none of your business!” the man roared.
Even though I couldn’t see the girls face, I knew she had to of flinched. I flinched. The fear that he might actually hurt the two of them howled through me. And what was I supposed to do if he did? Stand by and watch helplessly?
I heard the soft treading of approaching footsteps. Then a figure rushed by me. It was a woman with long brown hair and a face as hazy as the others.
She swept the little girl up in her arms and hugged her protectively. “You stay away from her!” she shouted at the man.
Her presence brought warmth that mixed with the chill the man sent out. The two combined created a mixture of emotions that buzzed through the air and made me nauseous.
“This is not your decision,” the man rumbled at the women. “You knew when she was born things like this may have to happen.”
“Mommy, I’m scared,” the girl whispered.
The woman—the mother smoothed back the little girl’s hair and kissed her on the forehead. “It’s going to be okay. You don’t need to be scared. I promise I won’t let anything happen to you.”
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