7. Gemma

7 GEMMA

Eventually, the light fades, but it’s worse because darkness takes its place. I can’t even tell if I’m falling anymore or if I’m floating in a pit of tar or something.

“Hello!” I shout.

The echo of my voice is my only response.

Great. I think I’m in the crystal ball, but since I don’t have the foreseers’ mark, I’m betting it’s not working correctly. Although, I’m not even certain how I managed to get in here without having foreseer powers. Maybe that Nicholas guy did it to me.

“God, he was so creepy,” I mumble to myself.

“Well, that’s rude.” The sound of his voice is like a siren with a sore throat.

I glance around, but all I see is darkness.

I don’t respond, hoping he can’t see me.

“You know I can see you, right?” he mocks. “I’m not seeing the same thing as you.”

I sigh. “Why not?”

“Because I know what to look for,” he replies vaguely.

“What am I supposed to look for?”

“You haven’t figured that out?”

“Dude, why are you so annoying? You’re speaking in riddles, like you’re a faerie or something.” I give a short pause. “Are you a faerie?”

“Again with all the wrong questions,” he tsks. “I’m so disappointed in you, Gemma.”

I tense. “How do you know my name?”

“Oh, my hell,” he says with a groan. “Fine, if you won’t ask the right question, I guess I’ll say it for you. This life you think you’re living isn’t real.”

I roll my eyes. “Okay.”

“I’m being serious. It’s an illusion that you created,” he insists. “By accident. You were trying to reset time and totally messed it up. You do that a lot.”

“I don’t even know you.”

“Are you sure about that?”

An unsettling sense of déjà vu comes over me, like I do know him, and I don’t like him. But that makes no sense. He didn’t look familiar at all.

“Is your mind spinning now?” he asks with hilarity. “Are you trying to figure out what’s real and what isn’t?”

I close my eyes from the darkness and the spinning sensation that causes nausea to churn in the pit of my stomach. “Leave me alone.”

“Not until you open your eyes again,” he singsongs.

“Go away!” I yell as I open my eyes.

Then I blink.

And blink again.

I’m no longer encompassed by darkness but standing in front of a quaint, two-story house that feels familiar. Stairs lead to a front door, and a driveway lines the right side of it.

“I’ve been here before,” I whisper as the wind blows strands of hair around my face.

“Obviously. This is where you grew up.” Nicholas materializes by my side.

I’m tall, but he’s taller. He’s also muscular, and I have this unsettling inkling that he might try to hurt me. I sidestep away from him.

“Go away …” I shake my head as what he said registers. “I didn’t grow up here.”

“You sure about that?” he challenges with an arch of his brow.

“Yeah.” But doubt weighs on my mind.

I twist back around to face the house. Sunlight is peeking through the clouds, but the air is chilly, as if an ice storm is brewing.

Like my father said …

I glance up at the sky, at the empty street, and then back at the house. “Why am I here?”

“Go inside and see.” Nicholas gestures at the house then stuffs his hands into the pockets of his jeans, the corners of his lips quirking upward. “Unless you’re too scared.”

My lips twitch in annoyance. “Just for the record, I’m not doing this because you’re taunting me. I’m doing it because there’s nothing else to do. Plus, I’m curious.” I step onto the curb then hike across the grass that’s covered with freshly fallen, crisp autumn leaves.

“Whatever you need to tell yourself!” he shouts after me with laughter in his voice.

I don’t bother turning around. My instincts tell me to ignore him.

When I arrive at the front door, I summon a deep breath then push it open. The hinges creak as I shove it all the way open and step inside. The room I walk into is a living quarter with sofas, shaggy carpet, and bare walls. No photos are in sight, as if no one lives here?—

“Gemma, hurry up, or you’ll be late for school! If you miss the bus, you’re walking!” a woman shouts from somewhere nearby.

I freeze. How does she know my name?

Then I feel it—a shift in the air. My gaze is drawn to the stairway, where a girl with long brown hair and violet eyes is descending.

It’s me.

Before she can see me, I hurriedly duck behind a sofa. Then I hold my breath, waiting to see what will happen.

“You’re so slow,” the woman scolds Vision Me. “You need to skip breakfast and get your butt out to the bus stop.”

“Okay,” I reply, my voice sounding strangely numb.

I peer around the side of the sofa to see what’s going on. I spot Vision Me walking toward the front door while adjusting her backpack. She has the same eyes as me, the same face, the same hair, and yet something feels different. Perhaps it’s how detached I look.

Once Vision Me exits the house, I hear the woman in the kitchen.

“I really wish this hadn’t been put on us,” she gripes. “She’s exhausting.”

“She’s empty,” a man responds in a blasé tone. “What else do you expect? She’s practically walking around like a robot. And that was your choice—you’re the one who cast a spell on her soul.”

My eyes widen. What the heck is this?

“You were part of that, too,” she snaps. “All the keepers were. Well, except for the rebellious ones. But those are few and far between anymore.”

“Speaking of which,” the man says, “have you heard from Stephan lately?”

Stephan? As in Aislin and Alex’s father?

“No … It has me concerned, especially since the last time I spoke with him, I told him about my concern over Gemma showing signs of emotions,” she says. “I’m worried if she keeps heading in that direction, the star’s power will be at risk.”

Star?

Power?

Huh?

I’m on the verge of doing something super stupid—stepping out and demanding some answers—but I’m jerked back the moment I stand up.

I gasp as light circles me, and then I suddenly land in the witch’s shop. My boots scuff against the floor as I struggle to keep my balance.

“Gemma!” Aislin screeches. “Oh my God, you made it back.”

I blink until my vision comes back into focus.

She’s standing in front of me, her face pale, her eyes wide with worry.

“I left?”

“Um … yeah.” She assesses me with deep concern. “Do you not remember?”

I rub my head, glancing back at the crystal ball that’s on the counter. “No, I remember. I was just hoping it was a dream. Apparently not.”

“Here you go.” Amelia pushes through the beaded doorway again. She has a few small boxes and glass bottles in her hand. She takes one look at us and frowns. “What’s wrong? You two look very pale.”

“Nothing,” Aislin and I both say simultaneously.

I’m glad we’re on the same page to keep what just happened a secret, especially since I have no idea what exactly occurred. Did I really go into a vision? If so, who were those two people who treated me so cruelly? And who the heck is this Nicholas guy?

Amelia looks unconvinced but doesn’t press as she sets the boxes and bottles down on the counter beside the wooden box that contains the stardust. “This is everything you’ll need for the spell,” she informs us, her gaze bouncing between the two of us. “Are you sure everything’s okay?”

“Yep,” Aislin and I both lie again, probably looking so sketchy. But what else am I supposed to do? If I did enter a vision without the mark, then that probably means something is wrong with me. And according to the vision I saw, something definitely is.

My soul had a spell around it?

But why?

And when?

I need to figure out the answers so I can stop it from happening.