mind for a way to move off this subject since my being “extraordinary” or whatever had to do with the star, which I was supposed to be keeping a secret from Nicholas.
“I’ve got to go ask Laylen something,” I announced and started for the doorway.
He caught me by the arm and the smell of lilacs and rain blasted my nostrils “You didn’t tell me who it was?”
“Who what was?” I played dumb.
“The person who could sense you in the vision?”
“I…um, don’t know who he was. He was just some guy” Man, sometimes I could be a real mastermind at lying.
Not.
Nicholas gave me a doubting look. “You don’t know who he was?”
I shook my head, and then tugged my arm away from him. “I have to talk to Laylen,” I said, then bolted out of the room.
Nicholas didn’t follow me, which I thought was kind of weird. I mean, I had left suspiciously, but for some reason he stayed in the living room. This was a good thing, though, because I needed to talk to Laylen about what had happened. And not just about Stephan sensing me. No, I was more interested in the mark Demetrius and Stephan were talking about. And the name…Malefiscus…I think that’s what they had said.
I found Laylen alone in his bedroom, lying on the bed, reading a book. He had his head down; his eyes glued to the pages.
“Hey,” I said, sounding breathless because I had run all the way up the stairs.
He looked up from his book. “Hey, what’s….” His bright blue eyes went huge when he caught sight of me. “What happened? You look upset.”
I nodded. “Something bad happened when we went into a vision. And Nicholas is getting suspicious that there might be something wrong with me?”
“You think he knows about the star’s power?” Laylen said, setting his book down, and then climbing off of the bed.
I shook my head. “I don’t think he knows what exactly it is, just that there’s something…different about me.” I almost choked on the word “different.”
“Okay, well, as long as he doesn’t know exactly what it is, then I think we’re okay.” Laylen paused. “Although, I’m not really sure it’s so great that he knows about your special Foreseer thing.”
I nodded in agreement, but then shook my head, remembering I had bigger problems to discuss then Nicholas. “There’s something else I need to tell you about. It’s what I just saw in the vision.”
Laylen walked over and stood in front of me. “Which is what?”
I shivered as I remembered the sight of what the Death Walkers cold had done to a once bright and sunshine-filled city. “The end of the world.”
It got so quiet, I swear, I could hear our hearts beating. Or at least mine, anyway. I wasn’t sure if Laylen had a beating heart or not.
“The end of the world,” Laylen said, aghast.
“Covered in ice,” I added with another shiver.
His blue eyes went wider than they already were. “Then the portal opens up.”
I nervously glanced out into the hall, and then shut the door. “At least from what I saw, it does”
Laylen went over and sank down on the bed. “So that’s it then. The portal opens and the world ends.”
I sat down on the bed beside him. “I guess…unless we change it…somehow.”
“How, though?” Laylen’s eyes were still wide, staring off into nothingness. “How are we supposed to stop something that’s already been seen? It’s not supposed to work that way.”
“It’s not?” I questioned. “Because I’ve been told for the last few days that my whole life has been centered on trying to do just that.”
“Yeah, but are we even sure about that anymore. I mean, no one knows for sure why Stephan really wants the stars power? Or maybe,” Laylen turned to me, “he doesn’t want it at all. Maybe he’s trying to get rid of it.”
I tapped my fingers on my knee, thinking. “If he didn’t want it, though, wouldn’t he of just killed me or something to get rid of it, instead of sending me away to live with Marco and Sophia? Why keep me alive? And put all that effort into keeping me unemotional? What’d be the point?”
“The point.” He twisted his lip ring from side to side as he contemplated this. “Who knows what the point is. This is Stephan we’re talking about.”
I thought about the vision, and Demetrius and Stephan’s conversation. “Who’s Malefiscus?”
Laylen’s jaw just about hit the floor. “Where did you hear that name?”