The Promise

purple ball of fire glowed in her hand. “Animam tuam.” The ball lifted from her grasp and slammed into my middle.

I buckled back, trying not to panic as my stomach glowed like a night light. Aislin and Laylen had three of them down, Aislin working quickly to remove the Mark of Malefiscus from their wrists. I blinked crazily, waiting for the spell to do something. But the witches face dropped as I remained the same, unchanged, but still glowing. She gripped my arm and I pressed my fingers into her hands, digging my nails in deep.

“You’re the one,” she uttered under her breath, her green eyes glittering with light. “It’s you.” She knew I was the star and I had to act fast. No one knew for sure what kind of co

I scurried to my feet, glancing around and was grateful that Aislin had gotten the marks off the others, who were wandering away, confused how they got here. It would take a second for the spell to wear off and then they would return to their normal lives with a guilty conscience.

I dusted the snow off my clothes as I stared at the unconscious witch.

“This one knows who I am,” I told them, picking up my locket.

“I’ll make sure to erase her mind then,” Aislin said, coming over to the witch.

I nodded, but felt guilty. I always did when it came to erasing someone’s mind. Good or bad, having my own mind stolen from me gave me a soft spot for anyone else who had to endure it.

But these were hard times. Drastic measures had to be taken.

The removed marks slithered away like tiny snakes. I retreated, not wanting to watch as Aislin slipped her hands inside the witch’s head and extracted her memories.

13

Laylen followed me inside, grabbing my hand and turning me to him. “It has to be done,” he said. “They can t know where you are.”

I nodded. But, if I hadn’t messed around with visions, then this mess wouldn’t exist. I kept this to myself though, because I knew he’d try to convince me this wasn’t my fault. He’d feel bad because I felt bad and I didn’t want that. I wanted him to be happy.

I rubbed my stomach, which wasn’t glowing, but burned like I was hungry. “She threw a spell in me after she broke off my locket.”

“What kind of a spell?” Aislin asked as she came inside and shut the back door. She locked the dead bolt and then the other three locks.

I searched my brain for the words the witch uttered. “Animam tuam, I think.” Aislin’s eyes popped wide. “Oh…”

“What is it?” I touched my stomach again, wondering if I was going to explode or something.

“What’d she do to me?”

“I don’t… It s just that…” Her gaze was everywhere but on me.

“Just spit it out,” Laylen said sharply.

Aislin swallowed hard. “She took your life.”

14

Chapter 3

(Alex)

Ihated the smell of these places. Everyone smelled like they’d just rolled out of a gutter, and then dug around in a garbage can.

“You seem down, sweetie,” the woman with long ski

I pushed her back, not gently, giving her a bored expression. “I’m looking for a man named Draven. Ever heard of him?”

She had, but she wasn’t pla

She moved back, still smiling. Banshees were the worst kind of faeries. Their ragged state was just an armor. Really, they were quite beautiful and alluring, except on people like me, who knew what they really were a sign, appearing to those who were going to die soon.

“If you know what I am,” she said slyly. “Then you know you’re future is coming to an end.”

“I’m not asking you about my life”, I replied, unbothered. “I’m asking you to take me to Draven.”

15

A purr vibrated from her chest and she traced her pinky nail under my chin. “What makes you think I know him?”

I clutched her wrist, squeezing tight. “My patience is wearing thin. Either you take me to him or I make you take me to him.”

She winced, but kept gri

“My life already belongs to someone else,” I said, calm and controlled, trying to push the quick thought of her out of my mind.

“Then let me be the one to collect you when you die. Let me take your soul.” Her grin widened, her lips disappearing into her teeth. “When you die, make the vow that I can be the one to carry your soul to the Afterlife.”

I considered this, but not for very long. “Whatever. Just take me to him.” She was pleased, ignorant of the fact that she couldn’t take my soul when I died. Because it already belonged to someone else, just like I told her. And a Blood Promise was much stronger than a promise made by word of mouth.

She turned for the alley, the click of her high heels echoing up the steel buildings. As we moved, she transformed, her blonde hair thickening and curling up at the ends, her rough skin smoothing over and her teeth whitening to a shade so bright it reflected against the luminosity of the full moon.

“This way,” she said and ducked behind a large dumpster where a door was hidden. She slipped a chain from her neck holding a large silver key. The key scratched inside the lock and then she creaked the door open. She disappeared inside and I followed.

The air was murky and stank of pond scum. I had a hard time following her because her silhouette kept blending in and out of focus. At the end of the tu

16

The walls were as red as blood and an oval table extended down the center, eight chairs encircling it. In the corner, there was a cage where a Black Angel was sleeping, her wings curled against her back. They really were sad creatures, trapped until someone freed them from their cage and wings. I remembered the time when Gemma almost let one go. Thankfully, I’d gotten to her in time.