She said, “I researched some stuff for you. There wasn’t tons of info. I think I got it, but it’s weird. ” She looked up at me, pulling her feet in tighter. Shannon liked to curl up into a ball when she was stressed. Apparently, she was beyond stressed because she couldn’t scrunch her body smaller.
“I can handle weird. Tell me.” My heart raced slightly. Hope flowed through me. I’d learn what caused it, and then I could change it, right? I tried to stop pacing.
“It comes down to blood. Demon blood is powerful, and it works differently than angel blood. Angel blood builds up and makes you more—you. Just better. Demon blood is more like acid, snaking its way into your body, slowly corrupting, slowly empowering.” She paused, looking at me. “When a Valefar binds—enslaves—a Martis, they have to remove the soul and then add their blood. They gouge the victim’s forehead, and cover the scar in demon blood. It enters the bloodstream through the mark and binds the victim to the Valefar at the same time. But you have no scar. He didn’t get that far. But… there had to be blood. Did he bleed? Any chance, during the demon kiss, you accidentally… swallowed his blood?” Shannon asked the question like it was the most bizarre, unlikely thing in the world. And it was… or would have been, if I didn’t fight back. But, I did.
My stomach sank, “I bit his lip. I couldn’t break the kiss. He was too strong… so I bit him. Hard.”
She looked disturbed, “You drank it?” Her lips pulled into an expression of disgust.
“No,” I said, “I didn’t drink it. I spat it all out. His blood ran down my face, and got all over me. But, I don’t think I swallowed any.” Clutching my arms, I pulled them tightly into my chest, and began to pace again. I clearly remembered having the blood in my mouth, but I couldn’t remember swallowing it. And part of the night was a blur. I didn’t know what happened. One moment I was conscious, and the next I was in Eric’s arms. I still didn’t know what he did to revive me. I thought I died. “What if I swallowed it?”
She leaned back against the wall, dangling her legs off the side of the bed. “I don’t know. No one ever drinks it. Those who do, usually die—or turn Valefar. No one has been stuck in the middle before.” She smoothed her long hair over her shoulder. “It’s possible that you swallowed a tiny amount, and that was what caused your mark to change color—tainting you—like the prophecy said.”
I looked at her, horrified. “So, that’s what did it? Demon blood… ” The only thing I could do to free myself, was also the thing that damned me. Shit. How did this stuff happen to me? Feeling ill, I wrapped my arms around my middle, and stared out my window into the inky sky. The chill from the glass seeped through, and I shivered. “What about my soul? He took a huge chunk, but I don’t know how much. I thought he’d taken all of it. I thought I died, Shan.”
Her expression was grieved. “You still have soul, otherwise that mark on your head would be bright red. And you’d be dead. Martis are amongst the living and must have a soul to survive. Valefar don’t. That’s why they drain us first, and add blood later. As long as you have enough of your soul, you can’t become one of them. Not completely.”
I closed my eyes, pressing my hand against my forehead. I damned myself. I did this to myself. After a panic attack that lasted a day or two, the anger slowly turned into something else—something dark. If Jake hadn’t attacked me, it wouldn’t have happened. I wouldn’t have been tainted. I wouldn’t be the girl in the prophecy. But, I was the one who did it. I was the one who made him bleed. In the end, it was my fault. I had to keep this a secret. No one could know that I swallowed demon blood, because everyone else who did so died or turned Valefar. Everyone—except me.
The days passed and I said nothing. The darkness, the cold fingers that felt like death had robbed me again, were suffocating me. I didn’t tell anyone, although I knew Al and Eric could tell that I was suffering. We continued training, but I made little progress.
One day the training changed from the normal physical stuff, to something better. I was glad for the change and walked with Eric into the gym. We passed a gaggle of nuns, and some Martis who came to the church to train with Eric. The place was becoming overrun with Martis. It was no accident that they were all swarming around me. But no one noticed I was different. No one saw. And I hid it as best I could.
Apparently Eric was a kick ass warrior. It was clear he was one of the best in the world. Martis came from all over the place to learn from him. They whispered of his abilities, and were in awe. I’d seen some of them training with him. They fought gracefully, nothing like my pathetic sparring. No doubt, I was his worst student.
After he pushed through the doors, he stopped in front of me. He wore blue jeans and a white tee shirt, same as always. His amber eyes were playful. “I want to show you something. One second.” When we walked in there were three other Martis in the room. Eric walked over to them. They all chatted like they had known each other forever. He turned toward me, while he spoke too softly to hear. The Martis laughed, and threw their bags over their shoulders, and cleared out.
The last one to leave was a woman with jet-black hair named Elena. I’d seen her training with Eric over the past few weeks. She called over her shoulder, “Good luck newbie!”
My eyes went wide as I looked at Eric, not liking how this training session was turning out. “Why are they looking at me like that, Eric?”