Instinctively, he jerked back, clutching his bleeding nose and lips. Laylen zipped over to Aislin and right as the Death Walkers reached the line of danger, they disappeared, going back to their lives.
“Dammit!” Stephan cried, slamming his fist against the floor. “It’s gone!” 212
“What is?” Demetrius asked, still leaning motionless against the doorway.
Stephan’s eyes burned in his direction, blood streaming down his face. “My shield!” He glanced at his arm. “And my Mark of Immortality.”
“You can put it back on,” he said. “So relax. It s almost time.” A ringing filled the room. Stephan retrieved his phone from his cloak. He stared at the screen before wiping the blood from his face. Then he answered it.
“What.” He snarled into the receiver. A voice chattered from the other end and Stephan’s face took on anger mixed with excitement. Unexpectedly he shattered the phone against the icy ground and stampeded for the door.
“What is it?” Demetrius scooted out of the way.
“Our stars waiting for us,” he said and then grinned as he rushed for the outside.
Demetrius followed, a fog of ice blustering against my skin as the Death Walkers flocked after them, their yellow eyes glinting.
All of them were ready to kill Alex and me.
When the room emptied, I dropped down to the floor, my heart aching because I knew what was happening outside. I stayed there for a while. I couldn’t get my legs to cooperate, so I let them lay lifelessly in front of me as I watched the ice melt and puddle in the quiet room. The air began to warm and my body thawed. I didn’t want to go. But I knew I had to.
Eventually, I willed myself up and took one last glance back. I could have went to the window and seen the damage outside, but I didn’t want to.
When I woke up in the living room, I was lying on the couch, my feet still on Laylen as he stared at me worriedly.
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“What’s wrong?” I sat up, looking around for danger lurking in the corners.
“You were… what happened?” he asked.
“I saw what Aislin did,” I said, realizing I’d been crying and I dried my tears.
“Did we win?” He looked at me with hope in his eyes “Does she remove the shield and the mark?”
I nodded. “And so do you.”
He pressed his lips together, wanting to say more. His blue eyes looked brighter somehow, maybe because they weren’t burden with the mark.
“Are they back yet?” I slid my legs off his lap, but he held them down. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing.” He played with his lip ring. “Would you… could you explain to me why you have to die? Because I don t get it. If we removed his mark, then we can take him down.”
“But we can’t take down everything else,” I told him. “Alana told me something while I was in the Afterlife. She said that everything was supposed to happen this way. And that the star had to die because if it lives, the portal will open. Malefiscus is part of the star and it connects the portal to us. He can’t walk free without the blood of the rest of you guys, but the portal opening up will do enough damage to the world. And we I can’t let it open.”
“I wished things were different,” he mumbled, eyebrows furrowing. “I wish I could have done things different.”
I didn’t say anything, not completely agreeing with him. Yes, I wished most of my life had been different. But there were a few things I wouldn’t change.
A bang shook the floor and I jumped to my feet, searching for a knife.
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“Sophia’s still down there,” Laylen unnecessarily explained and pulled me back down.
“I know,” I said, glancing over my shoulder at the kitchen. “Could you do me a favor?”
“Anything you want, Gemma.”
“Could you free Sophia?” I asked. “After all this is over. Don’t just leave her down there.” He titled his head to the side, his blue-tipped bangs falling across his forehead. “You don’t hate her for what she did to you?”
I considered my answer carefully. “I don’t hate her, but I don’t really like her either. It’s kind of strange, I guess because I know all those years her mind wasn’t her own. But all the pain she caused is still fresh in my mind. She’s my grandmother though, and I don’t want her locked underneath the house forever.”
He fidgeted with his lip ring, perplexed in his own thoughts. “Gemma, how do you know for sure that you won’t be around for this? How do you know you’re going to die and Alex’s isn’t?” I leaned in, lowering my voice. “Can you keep a secret?”
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Chapter 44
(Alex)
Aislin dropped us in front of the house, letting out a shiver, as the cold air encircled her.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” she asked again, wrapping her arms around herself.
“Because maybe there’s another way. We still have a little time left.” I shook my head, opening the gate. “There’s no other way, Aislin. Time’s up. This is it.”
“Well, I’m waiting here.” She refused to step onto the sidewalk.
“That’s fine.” I walked for the front steps. “I’d rather do this on my own, anyway.” I banged on the door, causing an eruption of howls from the neighborhood dogs. “Open up! I know you’re in there.”
Next door, an old woman stepped out onto her porch. “Keep it down. We don’t want any nonsense.”
I banged on the door again, this time louder.
“No one lives there,” the old woman hissed, tying her robe. “Now leave or I’ll call the police.” I shook my head, giving the door a good hard kick, and then I stomped down the stairs, grabbing Aislin by the arm and headed down the street.
“Where are we going?” Aislin trotted to keep up.
“Just keep walking.” I glanced over my shoulder at the old woman who was still watching us. I turned the corner, rounding the back, and hopped over the fence to the back door. “Wait here,” I instructed and left Aislin on the bottom steps.
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I checked the back door and the window, but both were locked. I kicked the house. “Dammit! I don’t have time for this crap.” I punched my fist through the window, cutting my knuckles.
“Alex!” Aislin cried over the howl of the dogs, but I was already diving headfirst through the window.
Her wail blasted my ears as soon as I hit the floor. I didn’t bother taking out my knife, because I was already giving her what she wanted. I ran up the stairs and kicked down the door.