“Yeah, because those are easy to come by,” Alex interrupted.
“Easier than you might think,” I said. When he gave me a confused look, I told him about the vampire as we headed for the car.
“So, you were bit by another vampire?” Alex asked, his eyes burning wildly with rage. “Gemma—”
I covered his mouth with my hand. “It’s okay, I killed it, everything’s good.” I lowered my hand, shivering from the sparks that flowed at my fingertips. “Besides, we have much bigger problems to deal with.”
By the time we made it home, a nervous tension was bearing down on us.
“So what do you think it means?” Alex asked. “That you’re not going to be able to save the world.” We were parked in the driveway. Aislin climbed out, eager to go and try her newfound power on my mom, and Aleesa followed in after her.
I gripped the door handle. “Oh, I’m going to save the world,” I assured him with an alarming amount of confidence. “I’m going to go up to my room and read that book from cover to cover until I find out how to get a hold of this Purple Flame.”
He gave me an intense look that made me squirm in my skin.
“What?” I asked, shaking my head at the breathlessness of my voice.
He shrugged. “It’s nothing, it’s just that you have this take charge attitude…and I kind of like it.”
I made no reaction as I opened my door. “Well, you need to stop looking at me like that.”
He kept looking at me the same way. “I’ll try, but I can’t promise anything.”
I tried not to smile, because I knew it was wrong, but as I turned my back to him to climb out of the car, I couldn’t do anything but smile.
I did exactly what I said and went up to my room to look through the Foreseer’s book. Aislin was in with my mother, who had more than willingly agreed to be Aislin’s test experiment. Aislin said it might take a while to get her new power to work correctly, but once she did she would let me know if it worked. All I could do was cross my fingers that it would, not only for my mom’s sake, but for the sake of others as well. I mean, who knew how many people Stephan had marked against their will.
But things weren’t going very well. Aislin tried all day to get the power to work, without getting any results. By the time day had crept into the late hours of the night, she was drained dry and decided to get some rest and try again tomorrow.
But even after the house had settled into its deep sleep, I was still awake, reading through the Foreseer’s book, which seemed to be going on and on. Finally I tossed the book on the floor in frustration.
“Why can’t I find what I need…” I trialed off as I stared at the Foreseer’s book opened up on the floor. The Power of a Foreseer’s Mind.
Suddenly, I had an idea. I shut my eyes and focused all my attention on seeing what I needed. But all I could see was light. See past the light, see what you need to see.
The Purple Flame…the Purple Flame…the…Purple…
I was energized, glowing. I could feel the energy in me, about to burst like an erupting volcano.
“Open your eyes, Gemma” a familiar voice whispered.
I obeyed and opened my eyelids. The massive crystal ball, in the center of the City of Crystal, burned in front of me, bright like the sun. People were strapped to it, tubes embedded in their skin, feeding energy to the massive ball.
“What you need is not in the book, Gemma,” the voice purred softly in my ear. “It’s in there. Touch it and you’ll see.” I glanced at the crystal ball nervously as I stepped slowly toward it. Taking a deep breath, I reached my trembling hand out to the glowing ball. It seemed to magnetize to me, or I to it, pulling and pulling and pulling me toward it, begging us to connect. And when I placed my palm on it, a fire lit up inside me. My pulse raced as energy whipped through my body. I was charged—powerful. I pulled back, breathing heavily at the sight of the Purple Flame burning in the palm of my hand.
The Purple Flame.
“One of these days, you’re going to have to figure things out without me,” The voice said and this time I recognized the voice completely.
I turned around. “Nicholas…”
But the only thing there was the lingering smell of flowers.
My eyes shot open and I bolted upright, lifting my hand in front of me. There was no fire burning in it. But I knew what the answer was. I knew what I had to do.
I put my shoes on and grabbed the Traveler’s ball that had been left on my bed, figuring it was probably best to enter the city the correct way. Then I shut my eyes, and a few seconds later, I was gone.
Chapter 23
I landed with the gracefulness of a cat, and I touched my finger to my shoulder blade, feeling a temporary moment of happiness for the mark. I was standing at the entrance of the cave where the red rubies waved across the snow-white crystal wall and dark red crystals pointed down from the glittering charcoal ceiling. I immediately took off towards where I knew the massive crystal ball burned bright, my feet softly thudding against the translucent crystal floor that covered the flowing midnight river. I ran passed the area where Laylen had knocked Nicholas out once, and charged by where Alex, Laylen and I had made our escape from the Death Walkers. I reached the pair of silver doors with the Foreseers mark on top and slipped quietly into the room.
My stomach instantly rolled at the sight of the bodies strapped to the giant crystal. Just like the first time I had been here, their eyes were still shut, their bodies still slack with tubes sticking out of their skin.
I walked towards the massive crystal ball, shining so brightly it hurt my eyes. Yet, I didn’t look away. I held my breath and tried to block out the human bodies on each side of me as leaned forward and put my hand to the crystal. Energy zapped through my body and my heart sped up so fast I thought it was going to explode out of my chest.
I couldn’t breathe. It was too much. I yanked my hand back and gasped at the sight of the Purple Flame burning in the palm of my hand.
I did it by myself. I took pride in this fact; a kind of pride I had never felt before.
Instinctively I shut my hand, and the flame poofed out. I opened it again and Ta-da! the flame ignited.
“Wow,” I muttered under my breath. I opened and closed my hand a few more times, watching in awe at the sight of the Purple Flame lighting up and smothering out. But, finally, I decided I better leave. I could play with the flame when I got back. I shut my hand, suffocating the flame, and headed to the door, slipping the Traveler’s ball out of my pocket. I had been warned once not to use the power of the Divination Crystal so close to the massive crystal ball that supplied all the energy, so I figured I would wander a ways back down the hall before I took myself home.
I cast one last glance back at the people strapped to the crystal ball, their energy being sucked from them. One day, I would come down here and free them all, even if it meant there would be no more Foreseers. The world could live without Foreseers. I mean, look at what my father had done.
I turned back to the door just as it swung open and smacked me in the face. The Traveler’s ball slipped from my fingers and crashed against the floor, breaking into pieces of glass and rubies.
“Crap.” It was a good thing I had a backup.
A man entered the room wearing a silver robe that matched his sliver eyes. His skin was pale, his hair grey, and I had seen him before.
“Gemma,” Dyvinius said, startled by the sight of me.
“What are you doing in here?”
“A…um…would you believe me if I said I was lost.” I said innocently.
He stared at me blankly, either not getting or not appreciating my sense of humor.
“Sorry.” I deliberated my options. I could go all ninja on him—I mean I was a Keeper now. But kicking an old guy’s butt didn’t seem right. So I let three seconds tick by, and then I ran.
My shoes skidded against the crystal floor as I barreled around the massive crystal ball. I wasn’t sure what to do.
Did I dare risk using my power so close to a crystal loaded with power?
“Gemma,” Dyvinius voice came from right behind me.
Wow, he was quick for an old guy.
I decided the heck with it and shut my eyes. It was definitely time to go. But I couldn’t feel it, there was no power. Had the Purple Flame sucked the power out of me?
“There’s no use trying, Gemma,” Dyvinius said, in his monotone-like voice. “I have the place on lockdown. No one may leave or enter, even with a unique Foreseer gift like yours.”