No one can just take your life. Not without taking someone else s too.

You mean Alex s?

I hated saying his name aloud. It caused my heart to do somersaults and my eyes to sting.

He nodded.

You both have to go down together.

He grinned evilly.

Which, if I m remembering correctly, you will.

I thought about all the times one of us had almost died, but never fully sealed the deal.

Is it because of the electricity?

I asked.

Is that why we have to die together?

That, and the Blood Promise you both made,

he explained.

You two are wound together about as tight as anyone can be. The witch might have stolen some of your life, but you ll be fine.

So what happens if one of us actually dies,

I said, my heart thudding in my chest.

And I mean, really dies like forever.

You won t,

he said simply.

You both have to go down together.

Hope rose in me, but it was quickly squashed.

Don t get too excited,

he said.

You re both going to die soon. Remember the lake?

I scowled at him for bringing up the painful vision.

Does Alex know about this?

Nicholas shrugged.

Who knows what he s got locked away in his head. Considering the countless lies he s told, you can never really know.

That s like the pot calling the kettle black, isn t it?

He smirked.

Perhaps.

Normally, I d be upset with him, but I d just found out that Alex was alive. All that worrying was for nothing. But it was impossible for just one of us to make it. Either we were living and Stephan could open the portal. Or we were dead and the world was saved.

So why did my dreams say otherwise?

I headed downstairs, to the kitchen to tell Laylen and Aislin that everything was going to be fine. That I wasn t going to, that couldn t die yet.

So Alex is okay, then?

Aislin asked, like she had been fretting he was dead, just like me.

I nodded, taking a bite of my sandwich.

At least that s what faerie boy said.

She no longer looked relieved.

But how do we know he s not just being & well, you know, himself.

I shrugged, picking the crust off the bread.

We don t.

Laylen plopped down in a chair between Aislin and me.

I thought you were going to keep that ring off for a while, take a break from him.

It doesn t do me any good,

I said.

He can still talk to me. And his voice is the most annoying part of him. Besides, I don t feel comfortable anymore. Now that I know he can still see me, even when I can t see him.

Aislin s face fell.

Ewe,

she muttered, getting my meaning. She pushed her plate away.

I think I just lost my appetite.

It took Laylen a little longer to catch on, but then he flexed his hands, irritated.

If you want, I can take care of him,

he offered.

I mean, do we really need him?

We might.

I touched the purple stone on the ring.

I mean, so far he s the only ghost I ve seen, so he s got to be the key to fixing the apocalyptic mess. Besides, you can t actually touch him his body is nothing but cold air.

He touched the ring on my finger.

Maybe I should put it on and see if I can see him?

He popped his knuckles, all tough guy.

I could have a little talk with him.

I shook my head.

Talking with him will only make things worse.

I almost perfected the Scutum Distillans spell,

Aislin announced over us.

Is that the shield lowering spell thing?

I asked.

She bit into her sandwich.

I only need one more thing and I ll have it. Then we can drop the Shield Spell from my father and attack him.

What s the last thing?

I slid my empty plate out of the way.

She frowned at her sandwich and picked out a bad piece of lettuce.

More power.

I know where you could get some.

Laylen elbowed me and winked.

Abruptly, Aislin stood from the table, put her plate in the sink, and walked out silently.

Is she still mad?

I asked.

About the & incident.

He laughed softly.

It wasn t an incident. It was an accident. And she ll get over it.

I frowned, pinching his arm.

You should be more sympathetic. Seeing us in bed like that had to be hard for her.

Ow,

he laughed, rubbing his arm.

It could have been harder. We just fell asleep together in the same bed. It was completely accidental.

I rolled my eyes. Guys were so unsympathetic sometimes.

Be nice.

I am being nice.

He pushed to his feet and gave my hair a playful tug.

That s why I m going to go upstairs and apologize again, even though Aislin and I aren t really together.

You could be with her,

I said.

If you wanted to.

I know.

And then he left.

I let out a sigh and rested my head on the table. God, I d really screwed things up. Not only did I have to find a way to erase the Mark of Malefiscus mess, but I also had to prevent Alex and me from dying without the world ending. So far I had nothing but a ring that let me communicate with an extremely obnoxious faerie that apparently had been playing peeping tom on me.

It wasn t like we didn t try. We tried and tried and tried, but every path seemed to have a loophole. Change a vision mess up the world more. Kill Stephan the Death Walker s and Demetrius still survived. Maybe I should kill them all. But I hadn t figure out a way to do that yet. Unless somehow I could create my own deadly army.

A cool breeze blew and a moment later, I heard heavy breathing.

Go away Nicholas,

I said.

That is unless you re ready to tell me what the ring s for.

Silence was the only answer I got. I raised my head. The kitchen was empty, the back door locked, the windows still boarded. But I got to my feet, peeking in the living room. Then scratching my head, I turned back. Instantly my body smacked into something the wall. I quickly scooted away, blinking.

I wasn t alone. My hands fell to my side, my lips parting at the ghost that stood before me; dark hair, blue eyes and features similar to mine, only aged. But this couldn t be right. No, she couldn t be dead.

Mom.

She smiled.

Hello, Gemma.

Chapter 5

(Gemma)

I shook my head, blinked my eyes, doing everything to make this horrible nightmare vanish.

You re not dead. You can t be dead.

Gemma,

my mom said, hovering before me, thin and virtually invisible.

There s no point wasting time trying to deny what s right in front of your eyes. We don t have time for that.

I was still shaking my head moronically. But I didn t care.

You can t be dead. I barely had time to know you.

I have to be dead,

she said.

Otherwise, he d use me to get to you.

I didn t have to ask.

Stephan. He did this to you?

She shook her head, sighing tiredly.

I did it to myself. I had to.

She traced her finger along her wrist, where the Mark of Malefiscus used to be.

I had to, otherwise I d have led Stephan straight to you.

She paused.

It s always the same, Gemma. No matter what you do, I don t belong here. I was supposed to die.

I wanted to cry, bawl my eyes out until they were so swollen I couldn t see the pain. Everyone was gone. My dad. Alex. And now my mom was dead.

My hands were shaking, my stomach in knots.

How did & how did it happen?

She pressed her lips together and headed for the table.

That doesn t matter. What matters is that I m here to help you.

She floated down in a chair, her fingers seeking the ceramic cow.

With what? Saving the world?

Tears stung at my eyes. I wanted to touch her, but knew it wasn t possible. The loneliness that possessed me for most of my life was resurfacing.