Broken Visions (Page 50)
I don’t quite understand, but the silent plea in his eyes is enough for me to easily give into his request. “Alright, let’s make a promise.” I lift my hand that is marked with the scar of the original Blood Promise and hold it out to him.
He slices the palm of his hand open, his breath faltering as he carries my gaze and the carefully cuts mine. With blood trickling out of both our hands, he presses our palms together. “EGO spondeo vos ero totus vox,” The words pour out of his soul. “EGO spondeo EGO mos operor quisquis capit ut servo vos.”
When he’s done, I wait for him to tell me what he needs me to say, but he lowers his hand to his lap and puts the knife on the nightstand.
“That was a one-sided promise.” I cup my hand to catch the blood but the wound is already healing up.
“It was a one-sided promise that needed to be made.”
“But that doesn’t seem fair… I didn’t promise you anything back.”
“Trust me,” he says with a sad smile. “I got everything I needed.”
Something about this is all wrong. “Alex, I—”
“Please Gemma, this is what I need,” he begs and I surrender to him, because really I have no other choice.
Chapter 34
After a good night’s rest, I decide to go tell my mother what’s going on, mainly because I want to inform her that my father wasn’t evil like she said, that everything he did was for her.
Alex is still fast asleep in my bed, so I quietly get dressed and slip out of the room so I won’t wake him. When I get to Sophia and Marco’s room where my mother is imprisoned, I sit down on the floor in front of her and stay calm.
“I saw what happened,” I tell her, tucking my legs underneath me. “Dad didn’t want to be like Stephan. Stephan marked him with the Mark of Malefiscus and he had to do what Stephan said—he didn’t have a choice in any of it.”
Her eyes widen as she scoots toward me. “That can’t be true.”
“But it is,” I say, trying to read if she’s lying. “He had to do it. He had to change the vision and it all happened because he wanted to be with you.”
“He just wanted to be with me?” Her hands fall lifelessly to her side, her skin draining of color.
“I changed it back,” I inform her, knowing that she could tell Stephan, but that it doesn’t matter anymore. “The vision he changed to end the world, I changed it back so it’s not going to happen… all is saved.” I’m not sure what comes over me, but I lose it and start bawling. I crawl toward my mom, disregarding that she has the Mark of Malefiscus on her arm and wrap my arms around her, seeking comfort from her like I’m a child.
She puts her arms around me and gives me what I needed. A loving mother, but I’m not sure if she’s playing the part or really being her. Either way, I take it.
We remain that way until the sun rises and lights up the room. Then I pull away and explain to her why I’m crying. My voice sounds hollow as I speak, detached.
“That’s what he erased?” she asks after I’m finished and my tears have dried. “He erased your death and in return the world would end.”
“I think, either way, I probably would have ended up dying, but this way it’s just Alex and me that die. And we take Stephan and all the Death Walkers down with us.” I force a tight smile. “Which is a good thing, right?”
She grabs my hands and suddenly her eyes are filled with tears. “You listen to me, Gemma Lucas, you are not going to give up that easily.”
“I—I’m not giving up,” I stammer, stunned by her shift in attitude. “It’s what happens. I can’t do anything about it.”
She swiftly shakes her head. “There are always loopholes.”
“You always say that, but it was a vision—the only loopholes are to do what dad did and try to change it to something else, and all that will get me is a one-way ticket to being trapped in my own mind forever and I’ll probably f**k up the future of the world again.”
“There are always loopholes, Gemma,” she repeats, taking me by the shoulders and looking me straight in the eye. “Think about it. Your father took you into the Room of Forbidden, where no one’s supposed to enter. You got me out of The Underworld, which isn’t supposed to be possible. Your soul is reconnected, which was never supposed to happen. All those things were caused by loopholes.” She pauses. “Just because you saw your death, doesn’t mean you have to die… I’m not saying that what you saw won’t happen, but that you need to find your loophole through your death…make it so you survive after the star’s power fades away.”
“I don’t know Mom…” I look at her with wariness.
“Do not give up. I want you to go into your room and read through that Foreseers’ book—find your loophole. Promise me, Gemma. Promise me you won’t give up.”
“Okay, okay, I promise.” I put my hands up in front of me and back away from the frantic look on her face, not believing that there’s a loop hole, but figuring it won’t hurt to look.
I go back into my room and Alex isn’t there. He ends up being in the shower. So I climb into bed and start reading the Foreseer book. I’m only about halfway through it when I put it aside because I’m starting to get a headache. What I need is a quicker way to read through all this information and start to wonder if maybe Aislin knows a spell that can give me speed reading ability.
I shut my eyes and allow my brain focus on seeing a loophole. I’m not positive if I’m doing something wrong, but I have to try.
As I attempt to push my brain beyond the boundaries of seeing something that probably isn’t supposed to be seen, I feel an explosion inside my skull. My vision spots before I fall off the bed.
Chapter 35
I end up on my side in the sand, the smell of the salty ocean air gracing my nostrils. When I open my eyes, the first thing I see is a pair of black boots.
“You can’t cheat your way there,” someone says. “You’re going to end up in trouble.”
I lift my gaze to my father, leaning over me, his violet eyes conveying worry, his long silver robe trailing behind him in the sand. “I think I already am.”
“If you want to find out the answer,” he says. “You have to search for it on your own, not take shortcuts.”
I roll onto my back and shield my eyes from the sunlight. “Am I in your head again?”