The Fallen Star

“Still, it’s not—”

Aislin walked into the room. When she caught sight of us, she hit a dead halt and 518/695

pressed her hand over her heart. “Oh my gosh. I’m so glad you’re alright. I thought—”

“Aislin,” Alex warned.

I knew what he was trying to do. He was trying to stop her from breaking the bad news to me that I’d almost died. But I’d figured that out the moment the Chill of Death had hit me.

“Where’s Laylen.” Alex let go of me and rose to his feet.

I tried not to act too disappointed about him letting me go as I struggled to get to my feet. My legs wobbled and the room spun and I almost fell right back down. Fortunately, I was getting really good with being dizzy and worked my way through the spi

“He was just behind me,” Aislin said at the very same moment Laylen ran into the room.

He slammed the door behind him, the icicles on the ceiling rattling in protest. He 519/695

went to lock the door, but the Death Walker—the one I’d stabbed—had broken the lock when it had come crashing into the room.

“Son of a—” He smashed his fist against the door. “We need to get out of here! Now!” He hastily shoved one of the bookshelves against the door. May I add here, that it was a very heavy bookshelf, at which he was able to pick up very easily. So he was strong.

“There’s more of them!” Alex cried, and I suddenly was aware that he had the Sword of Immortality gripped in his hand.

Laylen gaped at him. “Yeah, there’s more. What did you think—that one single Death Walker showed up?”

Alex glared at Laylen and took a threatening step toward him.

“Guys,” Aislin stepped between them,

“you can fight all you want later. Right now, we need to get out of here before the rest of them find us, or that thing decides to wake 520/695

up.” She pointed at the unconscious Death Walker lying on the floor.

“That one isn’t ever going to wake up,” Alex said, yanking out the small knife I’d stabbed into its chest. He tossed the knife aside, the blade covered with a thick black goo. Then he raised the Sword of Immortality into the air and drove it deep into the Death Walkers chest.

Honestly, I was expecting this big ordeal.

Like the Death’s eyes would shoot open, or it would jumped to its feet and let out one of those horrible screams I’d heard it do before.

But nothing happened. There was no scream.

No opening of the eyes. No movement at all.

Perhaps because it was already unconscious?

Alex heaved the sword back out and wiped the black goo off on the Death Walkers cloak. “Can you transport us out of here?” he asked Aislin.

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“I don’t know…Four people is a lot to do at once.” She paused, mulling it over. “But if I made two trips it might work.”

“Okay…” Alex’s gaze drifted over to Laylen, then me, before landing back on Aislin. “You should take Gemma and me first since she’s the most important one to get out of here. Then you can come back and get Laylen.” He turned to Laylen. “If that’s okay with you?”

Laylen shrugged. “Whatever. But you might want to hurry up. There were a bunch of them heading across the desert right for us. I’ve already taken care of two of them, but when the rest show up, even the Sword of Immortality isn’t going to help.” Alex nodded and gathered up two duffel bags—one black, one grey—from off of the floor.

“Why does Laylen always have to be the one to stay behind?” I asked Alex as he swung the black duffel bag over his shoulder.

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“Because I need to be the one watching you,” he answered simply. “I leave for only a couple of hours and all hell breaks loose.”

“That wasn’t Laylen’s fault, though,” I argued. “I was the one who came out of the hiding place that he told me to stay in.”

“He was the one responsible for you, therefore it’s his fault,” Alex said, loud enough for Laylen to hear.

Laylen didn’t say a word.

I opened my mouth to protest that it wasn’t his fault. It was my fault—I should’ve stayed in the stupid trapdoor. But Laylen gave me this look that told me not to even bother. I sighed. “Oh, fine. Whatever.” Alex gave Laylen a dirty look—I had no idea why, though, since he was the one being rude—and tossed a grey duffel bag at me. Instead of catching it, I hopped to the side.

Like I said, I’m not coordinated and know not to even try.

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“We picked up some of your clothes while we were at your house,” he told me, his tone clipped.

Frowning, I swiped up the bag. The idea of Ailsin and him digging through my clothes made me squirm. “So did you find Marco and Sophia?”

He shook his head. “Nope.”

“What about Stephan?”

“Nope.”

He was being a total jerk so, whatever, I just stopped talking.

So Aislin and Alex hadn’t been able to find anyone back in Afton. I thought back to the conversation Laylen and I had about Stephan and my mom’s “disappearance,” and how Laylen had said Alex was brainwashed. Maybe Laylen was right. What if they’d really found Marco and Sophia? What if they’d really found Stephan? What if this was all a ruse to get me somewhere where they could force me to stop feeling.

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“Gemma.” Alex’s voice ripped me out of my daze. He’d moved over beside Aislin and was motioning for me to come over.

I scurried over right as Aislin dipped the tip of the candle into the flame.

“Wait a sec.” She pulled the crystal back out. “Where are we going?”

“To the Hartfield Cabin,” Alex replied.

“No one ever goes up there, so it should be safe for now.”

She nodded and started twisting the crystal in the flame. “Per is calyx EGO lox lu-cid via,” she whispered.

Red tinted smoke rose up from the candle.

I glanced back at Laylen, who was leaning against the bookshelf that was holding the door shut. I hated to leave him behind. I know I barely knew him, but out of everyone in my life, he was the only one who was truthful with me. And now, I had to go off with Alex, the Guru of Lie Twisting. Don’t get 525/695

me wrong, I wasn’t afraid of Alex or anything. But trying to figure out which of the stuff he said was real, and which of the stuff he said was crap, was difficult. Especially with all the constant buzzing.

Laylen mouthed for me to be careful.

I nodded, letting him know I understood what he meant—watch your back.

“Per is calx EGO lux lucis via!” Aislin shouted. The crystal was glowing bright red.

Smoke was rising wildly in the air.

Alex unexpectedly slipped his arm around my waist, shocking me, and my muscles tensed up.

“So you don’t fall on your face like the last time when we transported,” he explained to me with a small amount of amusement in his voice.

It was a good idea, I guess.

I closed my eyes and grasped on to the handle of my bag. I heard a loud bang and then…I was falling. Or flying?

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I wasn’t exactly sure.

When I opened my eyes back up, I was in a different room that had dusty white sheets draped over all of the furniture. A grey and tan stone fireplace layered one of the walls, and the rest of them were made of logs.

Alex instantly let go of my waist. He’d been right. Holding on to me had kept me from falling.

Aislin relit the black candle. “I’ll be right back.”

Alex took me by the arm and guided me away from her. “Hurry, please,” he told her in an anxious voice.

She gave him a small smile and plunged the crystal into the flame. “Per is calx EGO

lux lucis via,” she said. This time she disappeared quickly. Maybe because it was just her?

I dropped my bag on the floor and sat down on a marble step that extended out 527/695

from the fireplace. Alex sat down too.

Neither of us spoke as we waited for Aislin and Laylen to return. We waited. And waited. About ten minutes ticked by, and Alex got to his feet and started pacing back and forth across room. I kept my eyes glued to the spot where Aislin had vanished from and chewed on my fingernails, which was so weird since it hadn't been a previous habit of mine.