I sit down on the couch beside him. “How could I forget? I nearly broke my damn arm.”
He presses his lips together, draping his arm on the back of the sofa. “Well, that crystal ball allows them to travel everywhere.”
I perk up a little. “Everywhere as in places like The Underworld?”
His fingers brush the back of my neck and begin tracing soft, circular patterns. “That’s what I’m not one-hundred percent sure of. I’d guess yes, but I never like to guess about things. The only way to really find out is to talk to a Foreseer who knows the history.”
“And you think he’s going to willingly help us?” I frown doubtfully. “I’ve only met him once, but I’m guessing he’s not the kind of person to just hand over information.”
“I know.”
“So…what do we have to do then? How do we get him to cooperate?”
His fingers trail around to the front of my neck, up to my cheek where he finds a loose strand of my hair and coils it around his finger. “We have to bring him here.”
“And then what?” I wonder. “We just go down there and get my mom? I’m guessing it’s not going to be that easy.”
He offers me a sad smile. “It’s not… that place is dangerous. More dangerous than anywhere you’ve ever been.”
“Then who’s going to go to this place?” I ask. “Me?”
He shakes his head. “But I can’t go, either. It’s going to have to be someone we can trust to keep an eye on Nicholas since he’ll have to take them there. Someone like Aislin… and Laylen, I guess.”
I elevate my eyebrows at him and he releases my hair before shifting uneasily back in the chair. “You trust Laylen?”
His shoulders lift and fall as he shrugs. “If he’s with Aislin, then I’m sure he’ll be okay.”
“You sound like you don’t believe it yourself,” I remark, studying him over. “What are you up to?”
He narrows his eyes. “I’m just trying to help you. That’s all. Jesus, can’t you simply trust me?”
“Trust is something earned,” I say.
He glares at me, his green eyes smoldering. “Like when I sacrificed myself against a memoria extracto so you’d be okay?”
I evade the question because he’s right, yet distrust stabs at the back of my neck. I can’t seem to shake the feeling for some reason, even when he proves otherwise. “Why won’t you go?”
“Because I’ll be going somewhere else.” He stands to his feet and extends his hand out to me. “Now come with me. Let’s go get Nicholas and get this whole thing over with.”
***
We go into the back room where Adessa stores her supplies on rows and rows of metal shelves that are stacked with boxes, elaborate objects, and glass jars filled with disturbing looking things.
Aislin joins us, seeming cheerful as ever, yet I can feel the awkward energy between us. “Hey, Gemma,” she says.#p#分页标题#e#
I smile, but it feels forced. “Hey.”
She glances at my clothes. “You look good in what I picked out. Very Black Angel like.”
I look down at my boots, skirt, and tank top. “That’s why you picked me out such a Gothic wardrobe? So I’d look like a Black Angel?”
She nods, picking up a box embedded with miniscule, silvery diamonds. “I thought it would help you blend in.”
I want to tell her I’m sorry, yet now doesn’t seem like the time. Maybe when Alex isn’t around perhaps.
She lifts open the lid and sniffs the inside of the box. “So what are we doing exactly? Trying to figure out what my… what Stephan is doing?”
Alex quickly fills her in, letting her know his plan. Something about her reaction unsettles me to no end, especially when Alex says that I’m going to use a Foreseer’s crystal ball to summon Nicholas here.
“Are you insane?” I gape at Alex. “There’s no way I’m doing that.”
Alex rolls his eyes, like I’m being absurd, but I’m not. “You want to get your mom back, right?”
“Of course,” I reply, propping my elbow onto a shelf. “But not by using a crystal. Every time I’ve used one I’ve seen stuff I’d rather not and, besides… didn’t you make some promise to Dyvinius that I wouldn’t use my power until I was trained.”
Aislin’s examining a jar that looks like it has a chicken leg or something in it. When I say this, she nearly drops it on the concrete floor. “You did what? She rebalances the jar in her hand. “Alex, why the heck did you do that?”
I stand up straight and step toward Aislin. “Wait. What happens if he breaks it?”