The Vision Read Free Page A

thinking about what I said. “So where was your father exactly?”
    “I have no idea. He never told me. He wouldn’t tell me anything, really, just that I was going to save the world.” I held up the crystal ball. “And that everything I needed to know was inside this….Oh yeah, and in my head.” Alex dragged his fingers through his hair, tugging at the roots. “But none of what you said makes sense. Foreseer’s aren’t supposed to be able to control how the future turns out—they’re not supposed to recreate visions to their liking.”
    “Yeah…But, I don’t know…it seems like it could be possible. I mean, look at me. I can travel around wherever I want by using my Foreseer ability, without the aid of a crystal ball.”
    “Yeah, but you are…” he trailed off as I gave him a cold stare. He was about to say different, and I really disliked being called that. “Unique,” he finished, with a teasing smile that focused all of my attention on his lips, which painfully reminded me that I was never going to be able to kiss those lips again unless I figured out a way to get rid of the star's power.
    His face fell. “What’s wrong?”
    I shook my head, not sure how explain that we were not supposed to be together; that the Blood Promise we made, to be together forever, was useless; that if we stayed close to one another for too long, there was a possibility we could kill each other. Of course, this was all based on if Stephan had told the truth.
    “I have to—” I started
    The front door flew open and smacked against the wall, rattling the shelves on it. Aislin burst in, her cheeks pinked with heat, her golden-brown hair a mess and her clothes covered in dirt and sand.
    “What’s wrong?” Alex quickly stood up from the couch Aislin shook her head, tears streaking her cheeks.
    “Laylen…Lay…” She burst into hysterical sobs.
    I jumped to my feet. “What about Laylen? Did something happen to him?” I asked, in a panic stricken voice as the reality that saving the world wasn’t my only responsibility. I also had to save a vampire who was dealing with blood-thirst issues. Blood-thirst issues that I caused by begging him to bite me so he wouldn’t die.
    Aislin sobbed hard. “I can’t—I can’t.”
    “Just spit it out,” Alex said unsympathetically.
    Looking hurt, Aislin wiped her tears away and pulled herself together. “I can’t find him anywhere.”
    “Okay,” Alex said in an unfeeling tone. “Well, freaking out isn’t going to help us find him.”
    Aislin fixed him with an angry glare. “You don’t need to be rude. I’m just a little upset, okay?” She looked like she might start crying again. “I never got to tell him I was,” she sniffed back her tears, “sorry…for everything.” She burst into sobs and ran off to her room.
    “You know, sometimes I’m grateful I can shut off my emotions.” Alex turned to me. “It keeps me from doing things like that.”
    I stared at him, half agreeing and half disagreeing. “Not all emotions are bad,” I said.
    His bright green eyes burned with intensity. “Aren’t they?” His voice wobbled and he was breathing loud. He reached for me, about to touch me, and for a moment I just stood there, wanting him to touch me. But then I remembered we couldn’t get close—not until we knew for sure that it wouldn’t kill us.
    I backed away from him.
    His expression slipped into confusion as he pulled his hand back. “What’s wrong?”
    “We can’t…” I took a deep breath, gesturing my hand back and forth between us. “You and I can’t—”

    “Your heads bleeding,” he cut me off, staring at my head.
    “Huh?”
    He pointed at the side of my head. “There’s blood all over the side of your head.”
    I touched my head and a warm, sticky substance coated my fingers. I pulled my hand away—blood. I went over to an oval mirror hanging on the wall and examined my head. On the left side, a cut ran across my scalp. And it had to be a