“So Stasha took the book, but it took place in a time that was erased, yet it still happened,” Alex states as he kicks his foot up on his knee and rests his arm on the back of the sofa, just behind me.
“It sounds so confusing when you put it like that,” I say. “But yeah, I think that’s what happened.”
“But how?” Aislin wonders as she flips through her spell book. She’s been doing it since we sat down, I think looking for some sort of signs Stasha did something to it.
“I have no idea.” I pause. “Nicholas would have, but unfortunately he’s… gone.”
We all grow quiet for a moment, thinking about what happened. I wonder if he’ll get a funeral, if the fey mourn like humans, or if they do something else.
“We need to make a plan.” Aislin changes the subject as she closes her spell book.
“Thanks for clarifying the obvious, Aislin,” Alex says sarcastically.
Aislin rolls her eyes. “Don’t be an ass.”
“What we need to do is go to the City of Crystal.” I pick up the mapping ball and rotate it in my hands. “So I can get inside this thing and fix the vision and hopefully all this other stuff that’s gotten out of place will be fixed too.”
“Why do you think your father would reset time, if it was going to mess it up?” Laylen asks with a pucker at his brow. “It doesn’t make any sense.”
It gets quiet again, but a different kind of quiet, one where I know they’re all thinking the same thing, but too afraid to say it.
Finally, Alex gets the balls to put it out there. “Gemma, you don’t think he’s setting you up, do you? To maybe finish whatever it is he started with my father.”
“Who said he was doing something with your father,” I say coldly. “He never said anything about that.”
“He never said much about anything,” Alex points out, his knuckles grazing the back of my neck, as if he’s attempting to keep me calm with his touch. “But I’m guessing that he probably erased the vision and recreated things so the world would end for my father.”
“Stop saying that,” I snap defensively.
He gives me a look of empathy. “Gemma, I get defending your father, trust me, I really do. But sometimes what we want them to be isn’t what they are.”
“Shut up,” I snap, surprising everyone in the room. “You don’t know anything about him, but you’re making judgments based on one thing.”
“No one knows anything about him.” Alex’s hand drifts to my shoulder.
But I shrug it off and get to my feet. “I need some air.” I hurry for the door and burst outside. I hear Aislin say something about let her go as I shut the door behind me. Then I sink down on the front steps, bring my knees to my chest, rest my chin on them and stare at the stars.
“Are you evil?” I wonder aloud, wishing to hear his voice again, but the only answer I get is silence and that leaves me wondering if maybe Alex is right. Perhaps my dad is working with Stephan to end the world and using me to help him.
Chapter 11
After staring at the stars for an eternity, I come to the conclusion that what I need to do is see the vision my father changed and make the decision for myself whether he’s working for the evil side or the good one. If what he’s told me is true, it should be clear in the vision. If not, then I won’t change it. However, that still leaves the problems of getting into the mapping ball.
I march into the house and pick it up from the coffee table, all three of them staring at me as if they think I’m having a meltdown. “I’m going to do this—I have to. If anything looks suspicious then I won’t change the vision, but I need to see it for myself.”
Alex is already shaking his head before I even finish. He stands up, reaching to take the crystal ball from my hand, but I put it behind my back. “You don’t even know how to use it,” he says. “Nicholas never explained anything to you other than how to get enough power to use it.”
“Well, I can start by getting the power from the City of Crystal,” I tell him. “And then go from there.”
“It’s too risky,” Alex says. “Hell, sneaking into the City of Crystal is risky enough not to mention stealing some of the power, bringing it back—which I might add we don’t know how to do—and then you’ve got to figure out how to use the power to get inside that thing.”
“Maybe there’s another Foreseer we can ask,” Aislin suggests, glancing at her phone as it vibrates. “There has to be one that might help us, right? Nicholas couldn’t be the only one.”
“Involving another Foreseer would mean involving another person, which is risky,” Alex says. “Besides, we don’t even know what side the Foreseers are on?
“Maybe you could ask your father,” Laylen says to me. “I mean, you’ve been there once, so why can’t you go there again? You could also maybe get more of a feel if he’s…” He stops talking, offering me an apologetic look.
“I don’t know if I can... when I went there the first time it was entirely by accident and he wouldn’t tell me anything no matter how much I asked him,” I say, sitting down on the coffee table and studying the crystal ball, still illuminating from the center star. “I think I need to talk to my mom. She might know something that could help.” I check the clock on the wall, realizing it’s nearing morning. “I’m starting to get worried about her… Shouldn’t she be back by now?” I look at Aislin for an explanation.
“I don’t know…maybe she had to go somewhere else besides the store.” She shrugs, but it’s a blasé shrug, like she doesn’t care, or knows something else she’s not telling me.
“What’s going on?” I ask. “You’ve been acting weird every time I bring up my mother.”
Aislin presses her lips together, looking everywhere but at me. “She’s fine.”
“I didn’t ask if she was fine,” I tell her sternly. “I asked what’s going on.”
Again she refuses to speak, so Alex intervenes, “What exactly did she say on the phone?” he asks his sister.
Aislin shakes her head, her lips starting to quiver. “I don’t know. I don’t remember.”