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"So you decided just to leave ry, but it’s difficult and I can feel aggravation sih you knew they would still take away ain, her blue irises begging for me to understand "But even if I stayed, it would have happened still"

So my mom never sacrificed her life to try and save mine She sacrificed it so she wouldn’t have to watch et ruined That was the real reason and it hurt, like a knife lodged in my heart

"So you wish I never went and saved you froh my voice as I scoot away from her

She shakes her head erratically "No I understand now that running away doesn’t solve anything Everything still happened to you, and instead of trying to fight, I gave up I’ll never give up again We’ll figure out a way to fix this"

"And how are we supposed to fix it?" I snap "Do you knoork a fkingball? Because I sure as hell don’t"

"Alex told me about that" Her eyes flash cold "So you saw your father?"

"Yeah, I saw hi me he’s still alive"

"Did he tell you what he did?" she asks harshly "Did he tell you how he ended the world?"

"He said he ed and recreated a vision so the world would end," I tell her "But he didn’t explain why"

"He changed the vision because he wanted one of these" She shoves up the sleeve of her shirt and extends her ar me the Mark of Malefiscus on her wrist just below the cuff on the chain

I recoil away fro aze steadily "Yes, he did He wanted thethe corners of my eyes

"For power--he wanted to be powerful, just like Stephan"

I leap to e, fists clenched, adrenalin soaring so violently I feel like I’ to fix it, if that’s the truth" My feelings don’t h I’ve wondered thiswhat everyone else has been worried about--that es people’s ht of the chains drags her back to the floor "And he’s been locked up alone in the Roo, I’er out of his head"

"No, you’re lying!" I shout "My father didn’t make this mess because he wanted to be powerful like Stephan, because he wanted the Mark of Malefiscus There’s no way" But a voice whispers in ht

"You barely know him," she says sadly "You have no idea what he would or wouldn’t do"

I stor the door shut behind me My mother calls out my name, but I hurry down the hall and burst intoabout my parents, only to find out that one wants to be evil and one is imprinted with evil

I snatch a brush off my dresser and chuck it across the room It makes a loud thump as it dents the wall, and bits and pieces of paint and drywall cruainst the door What aet back to where et some more details on how to fix his mistakes? I’m not sure I want to do that Not after what I was just told

"What aht hits h my room, ontoI get to my feet and inch toward my bed cautiously and see a small crystal ball filled with rubies on one of my pillows I look around my room for someone but it’s empty With an unsteady hand, I pick up the crystal and discover a piece of paper tucked beneath it

"Go to the City of Crystal and get the Purple Flame Sincerely, a friend," I read aloud

I flip the paper over, but there’s nothing on the back I go over to the , push it open, and look down at the driveway and I catch a hint of a flowery scent But it’s probably just ination

Chapter 18

"The Purple Fla on the floor of the living room with the laptop opened up on the coffee table and the note I found in my room in her hand "I think it’s a Foreseer term"

"Does anyone knohat it is?" I take the note fro it could be

"No," Alex says, absent it over "We’re all just as lost as you"

"Well, does anyone kno to find out what it is?" I ask, knowing I should go sit soive up the co with my ? Or can we search it out on the Internet?"

Alex and Aislin exchange a look of inquiry "What do you think?" Alex asks her "Would it say anything about it?"

"I don’t know…maybe," Aislin deliberates as she clicks a few keys on the computer and then shuts it down "But it would be extremely risky, especially if he’s at our house"

My eyes blink incredulously "You want to go to your house--to Stephan’s house?"

"Maybe I mean he has a book" Aislin scoots the laptop to the side and crosses her arms on the table

"A history book," Alex adds "That outlines the history of the Foreseers And it’s probably our best bet on figuring this out since we don’t have a Foreseer around to help us anymore"

My stomach churns as I think of Nicholas and the floral scent I detected only o when I looked outside et it," Alex announces, getting up to head to the foyer "My father was never ho around now, but if he is, I can handle it"