Scattered Ashes - Jessica Sorensen Page 0,64

still tied to the human world, the queen can’t trap you there or hurt you. And she’ll want that ring more than anything since it carries her soul.”

Gemma blinks at her then stares wide-eyed at the ring. “This is the Queen of the Afterlife’s soul?”

My mom nods. “That’s why you can see the dead when you wear it.”

“There’s something really bugging me,” I interrupt. “How does the poison even work? I mean, when and how does it bring her back to life?”

My mother pats my shoulder. “That’s your part in all of this. You’ll help keep her connected to the real world because you’re part of her in every way: through the promise, through the star, through your connected souls.”

“Connected souls?” Gemma gives me a confounded look. “Did I miss something?”

“Yours and Alex’s souls are connected, dear. When he decided to break the spell Sophia put on you, he gave you a piece of his soul.”

Gemma gives me an indecipherable look that makes me feel very exposed, as if I’m wearing all my emotions on my sleeve for everyone to see.

“And to answer your question, all you have to do is revive her when it’s time,” my mom says with an encouraging smile. “And Nicholas is going to inform you when it’s time.”

I frown, deflated. “You actually want to leave someone like him in charge of something as important as that?”

“He’s the one who can see into the Afterlife,” she says. “And, Alex, I assure you he’s not going to mess this up, or there will be consequences.”

Nicholas is surprisingly quiet, but his silence still does nothing for my nerves. This isn’t just anyone’s life we’re discussing. It’s Gemma’s, the woman who owns part of my soul, who made me feel things I never thought were possible, the mother of my unborn child, and the person I’d die for in a heartbeat.

“Why can’t you just come back and tell us?” I ask my mom. “It seems less risky that way.”

She averts her gaze to the floor. “Once I cross over into the Afterlife, I can’t come back, sweetie.”

“What!” I shout and Gemma gasps, almost dropping the vile.

“I’ve been avoiding my duties as a Banshee,” she explains quietly. “Once I turned into one, I got myself sentenced to the Foreseer’s crystal to keep my whereabouts hidden. But now . . . When I go to the Afterlife, Helena will make me stay and pay my debt. But afterward, I’ll come back. This isn’t the last time you’ll see me.” She smiles at me. “Besides, I’m going to need to come back to see my granddaughter.”

“Maybe we should find another Banshee to take me there, then,” Gemma says, her fingers tightening around the vile.

“No other Banshee will bring your soul back,” I tell her sadly. I wish there was another way, too, but I can’t risk you getting stuck in the Afterlife, too.

With nothing left to discuss, we go up to her room to get started. I’m still racking my brain, trying to think of a better way. I even consider stealing the vile and drinking it myself, but what if my mom’s right? What if it does have to be Gemma? What if I go and ruin it, and Gemma’s left here dealing with the guilt of what she’s done?

There’s one thing that makes it easier to deal with—knowing that, as long as I’m breathing, Gemma is, too.

Gemma lies down on her bed and overlaps her arms on her stomach. “In the dream I kept having, Nicholas was the one who showed up to take me to the Afterlife.”

“That’s because you secretly have the hots for me,” Nicholas says, his voice filling the room as the computer chair rolls around on its own

“Or maybe it’s because for three straight weeks you wouldn’t leave me alone,” Gemma snaps. “You were watching me day and night, even when you shouldn’t have been.”

“Would you all get your head in the game?” Aislin asks, gently shaking the vile to mix up the liquid. “I don’t want to mess this up.”

Sealing my lips, I sink down on the foot of the bed beside Gemma’s feet. “Are you doing okay?”

She bobs her head up and down, her gaze fixed on the ceiling. “I just can’t wait until this is all over.”

“Me, either.” I rub my hand up and down her leg, which seems to relax her.

“I need complete silence.” Aislin waits until everyone has shut the hell up before she starts chanting, “Signa hoc venenum cum osculum