21. Laylen

21 LAYLEN

“Something feels off about all of this,” I say as Aislin and I stand in front of the machine Gemma and Alex entered.

Aislin is rubbing her arms as if she’s cold. “I know. I feel that, too.” She glances at me, worrying filling her pretty eyes. “It’s not even that the machine yanked Alex in on its own. It’s that it’s down here and you guys just happen to stumble across it when investigating a murder.” The corners of her full lips tug downward. “I feel like this was staged to get Alex and Gemma into the machine.”

I nod in agreement. “I wanted to stop Gemma from going in.”

“Me too. I tried. But she’s stubborn.” She sighs as she presses her hand to her forehead. “I’d say maybe we’re being paranoid, but the last twenty-four hours prove anything is possible.” She sighs. “I can’t believe we existed in another life and that this isn’t even where we’re supposed to be.”

“Yeah, I’m still trying to wrap my head around it.” I pause. “What do you think we were like in that life?” I wonder if she and I were together.

I think about being with her all the time, but she’s my best friend’s sister. While Alex is a good friend, I’m unsure how he’d react if I started dating her. I’ve kept my crush on Aislin pretty quiet, although I’m certain Gemma suspects it. But she’s never said anything to anyone about it. She’s a good friend like that. The best actually. So is Alex.

“What are we going to do if they don’t come out?” I express my worry aloud. “We didn’t think this through.”

Aislin worries her bottom lip between her teeth. “We didn’t have any time.” She pauses, the sounds of zaps filling up the silence. “I don’t know what to do. If they don’t come out … And if that Nicholas faerie guy was telling the truth, then the world is about to crumble …” She shakes her head, tears welling in her eyes. “And I really do believe my father is part of this. I didn’t want to believe it initially, but I think I have to accept it.” She faces me then, the sharp illumination of the energy reflecting in her wide, tear-filled eyes. “We may need to get a hold of him. Trap him or something and get some answers.”

“Your father’s one of the most powerful keepers,” I remind her, stuffing my hands into my back pockets. “Do you know how hard that’d be to do?”

“It’d be very hard.” Stephan’s voice rises over the zapping like a snap of thunder.

I instinctively shove Aislin behind me as I spin around and stand in front of her.

Stephan is standing in the tunnel's shadows, but he steps forward into the machine's light. The blue glow dances on his face in an eerily pale sort of way, making him look almost ghostly. He has a fresh cut on his cheek, and he’s wearing all black, down to his boots.

“Father, what’re you doing here?” Aislin whispers as she steps out from behind me.

My instinct is to put myself in front of her again, but the glimmering gold magic sparkling across her flesh reminds me that she’s capable of taking care of herself. And let’s be honest, she probably is about to save my ass too.

He takes a calculated step toward us, moving more into the light and revealing that he’s holding a sword. It looks familiar with its sharp, glinting blade that curves toward the ground and its gem-encrusted handle.

It dawns on me in a way that makes my blood run cold.

“He has the sword of immortality,” I say to Aislin while keeping my gaze fixed on Stephan.

The smile that curls across his lips sends a chill snaking down my spine. “How observant of you. Too bad you didn’t observe everything happening here.”

I hear the stomp of a footstep right behind me. I whirl around, preparing to fight, but a fanged woman sinks her teeth into my neck before I can.

“A vampire,” I mutter as I fall to the ground, the venom of her bite immediately lulling me into a dazed state.

I see streaks of gold rain across the darkness as my eyelids lower. I hear Aislin scream.

I try to get up, but the dizziness is too much.

“Fight all you want,” Stephan says over Aislin’s muffled screams. “But this time, I will win. I’m taking us back to where I started to lose and I’m going to fix it.”

I have no clue where the vampire went, but I manage to flip over onto my stomach and peel my eyes open. Stephan has a hold of Aislin, with her back pinned against his chest, and his arm pressing against her neck.

“Fight all you want, daughter of mine,” he sneers as she digs her fingernails into her arms. “Your magic won’t work on me anymore. I found a way to make myself immortal against it.” He starts to choke her out, pushing on her neck with his arm until her eyes roll into the back of her head.

She takes one final gasp before her body goes limp. He releases her and lets her drop to the ground. I can’t tell if she’s alive or not, the shadows consuming her body too much.

I try to crawl to her, but my body is numb from the vampire venom.

Stephan walks toward me, his movements taunting. “As for you. I need you dead.” He lifts the sword and plunges it through my back. I gasp as warm blood spills out of me. The last thing I see is Aislin’s lifeless eyes before everything goes black.