The Promise

“Sure you are.” I rolled my eyes. “Because we all know that’s your number one goal in life.”

“Oh Gemma,” he said overdramatically. “Your distrust hurts me so much there aren’t even words to express how I feel.”

“Go away,” I mumbled and Alex gave me this perplexed look. “And don’t come back until you’re with my mom.”

“But I’m here to help,” he said, crossing his heart. “I promise.” Alex trampled beside me. “What’s he saying?”

Nicholas gri

“He s saying he’s a moron.” I glared at Nicholas. “And I like his hair.”

“What?” Alex’s said, fixing his hair.

“Nothing.” I pointed my finger at Nicholas. “Either tell me what to do or move on.”

“Fine. My word, no sense of humor.” He sighed. “You need to come with me.”

“I can t do that,” I said. “You’re dead.”

“And you’ll soon be too,” he said. “Once you pick the way you want to die. Now, I’d probably pick something poetic, like poison from a vile. But you —”

“Pick the way I want to die!” I shouted over him, sending snow from the branches. I lowered my voice. “I’m sorry, but what?”

Alex was tugging on my hand, trying to get me to turn to him, desperate to know what was going on.

“Just a second,” I held up a finger, keeping my eyes on Nicholas. “Start explaining from the begi

He yawned, feigning fatigue. “It’s kind of a long story.”

“Then give me the short version, just don’t leave out anything important.” He sank down on a rock, folding his arms. “Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess,” he started and I shot him a glare. “You asked for the short version and I’m giving it to you, this is how it starts.”

I sighed and sat down on another rock, patting the spot next to me.

“What are we doing?” Alex asked, putting space between us as he sat down.

55

“We’re listening to a story,” I said. “Or at least I am.”

“Like I was saying,” Nicholas continued, a

Until one day she caused a problem so great, it cost the lives of many i

“I’ll tell you when he s finished.” I motioned at Nicholas to continue. “Go on.”

“What the princess needed to realize was that to fix the problems she’d caused, she needed to save the Lost Souls of the i

“And how to I save these Lost Souls?” I asked, already knowing his answer, but wanting him to say it anyway.

“By going to the Afterlife and bargaining with the queen for their release.” I frowned, remembering the last queen The Queen of the underworld. “A queen? The one my mother was telling me about?”

He smirked. “Queen Helena.”

“And what’s this queen like?” I asked. “Is she as bad as The Queen of The Underworld?”

“No, she’s much worse than the Queen of The Underworld.” He gri

“So how do I get her to free these souls?” I asked. “If she’s that bad? And how do I even get to the Afterlife to begin with?”

“You get help from a Banshee,” he said simply.

56

I gaped at him. “What the heck’s a Banshee?”

“It’s a woman spirit whose cry signals death,” Alex explained, dusting the snow from the rock.

“She’s also the one who carries the Lost Souls to the queen.” I let out a long breath. “So we have to find a Banshee who will help us.” Alex s forehead creased. “Why?”

I sighed and quickly explained everything Nicholas had told me.

“So do you know any Banshee’s hanging around who might be nice enough to help us out?” I asked, hopeful, but knowing the chances were low.

“Actually I do.” Snow began to flutter from the sky as he stood up. “My mother.” My head whipped in his direction and I almost fell off the rock. “Your mother’s a Banshee?

How did you… what?”

Nicholas let out a snort. “Oh, this is so comical.”

“There nothing fu

“Oh, I m not laughing because his mother’s dead,” he replied still gri

I shrugged. “So?”

“A Banshee is of the faerie realm,” Alex said, as if he knew exactly what the argument was about.

My expression fell. “Oh.” I paused. “How did that happen?” 57

He shrugged, kicking at the snow. “Those journals I found that night we snuck into my house, well, they talked about her dying that she feared my father was going to kill her. And that he would learn her secrets. But then she wrote she’d find a way to cross into the Afterlife and become one of the queens Soul Collectors, also known as a Banshee. That way she could still have a co

He looked surprised and I started to jerk back, because really, it was a stupid thing to do I mean, at any moment, he and I could drop dead from the intoxication of the electric co

But he refused to let go, pressing me closer, tasting me, feeling me, wanting me. So I let myself get carried away for a second, not caring about the star, or the world, or the fact that Nicholas was watching us like a weirdo.

Finally, it became too much and we broke away, gasping for air, eyes untamed, wanting something we could never completely have. The ice on the trees dripped, making the snow under our feet a murky puddle.

“I think I’m going to throw up,” Nicholas mumbled.

“Then throw up.” I raised my eyebrows at him. “If it was that bad to watch then you should have turned your head.”

He pulled a face. “Then you should have turned your head,” he mimicked with exaggeration.

Alex turned toward where he guessed Nicholas to be. “Hey, I got an idea, why don’t you shut it.”