A Great and Terrible Beauty Chapter 8 Summary

  • Following the girl, Gemma asks where they are going—she is in a vision, and hadn't meant to go along. 
  • The girl leads her into a cave, where she tells Gemma that Mary wants her to look behind a rock, though Gemma doesn't know anyone named Mary. 
  • Gemma doubts this is a good idea since Kartik said she would be in danger if she has more visions. 
  • Answering her questions, the girl tells Gemma she must look because it is the only way to understand what is happening to her; the girl also tells her to hurry and looks frightened. 
  • Even though Gemma is freaked out, she looks and finds a diary—Mary's diary.
  • She reads a bit, like a prologue, about magic and ghosts and the Order, then takes the book back to her room.
  • That night, Gemma dreams about her mother tossing her the necklace, which cuts Gemma's hand when she catches it; her mother yells to run.