The Underworld Read Free Page A

much I
    could trust my own instincts.
    “When Aislin and I showed up there,” Laylen’s
    bright blue eyes focused back on me, “Stephan and
    the Death Walkers were gone.”
    “What,” I said, baffled. “Why would they just leave?”
    Laylen looked at Alex again, and I grew even more
    uneasy. Something was up. I could feel it through the
    sudden heaviness in the air.
    “I think maybe you should explain that part to her,”
    Laylen told Alex. “It’s more your story to tel , anyway.”
    “No,” I protested, shaking my head. “I want you to
    tel me.”
    Laylen shifted uncomfortably in the sofa. “Look
    Gemma, I understand why you want me to tel you. But
    I real y think Alex should tel you the rest because I
    wasn’t even there for most of it.”
    This was so weird. I mean, the last time I’d talked to
    Laylen, back when we were at his house, he’d warned
    me to be careful when it came to trusting Alex. And
    now here he was tel ing me trust him.
    It didn’t make any sense.
    “I…um…” I trailed off, staring confusedly at Laylen.
    “Gemma, relax. It’l be alright.” Laylen got to his feet,
    and gave me a pat on the shoulder, which puzzled me
    even more. No one’s ever gave me a pat on the
    shoulder before. “Everything wil be okay. Alex wil tel
    you what happened.”
    And with that, he left, the beaded curtains clinking
    together as he ducked through them.
    I watched the beaded curtains sway back and forth,
    feeling so lost. My mind was racing wildly with ideas
    of what could be going on; ideas ranging from Laylen
    being brainwashed to Laylen not being Laylen at al ,
    but a body snatcher that had possessed his body.
    “Gemma,” Alex voice pul ed me out of my own
    head.
    Slowly, I turned and looked at him. My emotions
    were al over the place, and the electricity was
    sparking like a firecracker. Part of me was saying
    run , that something was off and I needed to get away.
    But the other part of me held me to the sofa, wanting
    to hear what Alex had to say.
    “So are you going to listen to what I have to say,” he
    asked, his eyebrow arching upward. “Or do you want
    to try and run again.”
    “I don’t know….” And yes, I understood how dumb
    my answer was, but it was the truth so…
    Alex sighed. “Why do you always have to be so
    difficult?”
    “How do you expect me to be?” I asked, staring
    incredulously at him. “You were going to let your father
    erase my mind.”
    “No, I wasn’t.” He was losing his cool. “And if you’d
    just quit being stubborn and listen, you’d know what
    real y went on.”
    I crossed my arms and flopped back in the chair,
    debating what I should do. Keep being “stubborn” as
    he’d so nicely put it. Or hear him out. “Fine, then tel
    me what happened.”
    Shock flickered across his face, just like it almost
    always did when I decided to cooperate. “Okay…
    Wel , where do you want me to start?”
    I shrugged. Did it real y matter? It wasn’t like he was
    going to tel me the truth or anything. “Wherever you
    want.”
    “Okay…” He seemed to be struggling on where to
    begin. “Do you remember that necklace I gave you?”
    I nodded as I touched my neck, and I quickly
    realized that the locket was no longer there. “Wait.
    Where is it?”
    “Relax. I have it.”
    That didn’t make me relax at al . “Why do you have
    it?”
    “I’m getting to that.” He took a deep breath and let it
    out slowly. “When I gave you the necklace, I wasn’t just
    giving it to you because it belonged to you. I gave it to
    you because it has sugilite in it.”
    I gave him a questioning look. “What’s sugilite?”
    “It’s the purple stone in the center of the locket. It
    protects whoever is wearing it from certain kinds of
    magic.” He paused. “Like the mind erasing kind of
    magic.”
    “But I thought you said my mother gave me the
    necklace when I was little?”
    “She did, specifical y because the stone is sugilite.”
    He leaned forward and