“See for yourself,” she stated, and moved away.
Caution tensed my muscles as I neared the table. When I peered over the rim of the chalice, my heart caught in my throat. I tried to make no noise, no expressions, but the Demon Princess was too astute to neglect to notice the smallest change. Words tumbled out, “It looks the same.” I glanced up at her, waiting for an explanation.
Her red lips twisted into a cruel smile as she pressed her fingers together. “Yes, it does. That means the bargain is still in effect. If there was a breech on one side, the chalice would have killed you when you glanced into it.” I glanced at her. Evil witch. She allowed me to near the thing so it would kill me. My jaw clenched. She continued, “There is one way to determine the outcome of the bargain.” My gaze locked onto her horrid eyes. Her deep voice made my skin crawl, “We each take a sip.”
“I’m not drinking your blood!” She reached for the cup, but I jerked it away from her grasp. I cradled the cup against my body, so she couldn’t take it without risking spilling the contents. Since she was so careful with it, I assumed she didn’t want to spill it. Locoicia’s lips pressed into a thin red line. I scolded, “Do you think I’m stupid? That I don’t know what that would do to me?” I had an idea, but the knowledge that the Demon Princess bestowed upon me didn’t cover in detail what would happen if I drank the contents of the chalice when a blood bargain had gone awry.
“You’re a stupid girl,” she snapped, reaching for the precious goblet, but I twisted away—careful not to spill its contents. Fury exploded the next time she spoke, “There’s no such thing as a two-directional blood bond! It has to be one-sided to implore powers of servitude over another. And since both our blood is in there—that can’t happen!” I knew that part. That was what she’d taught me, but I had a hunch that altering the bargain wasn’t in my favor. And I was already screwed every which way. I didn’t see how she could make it worse, but I wasn’t willing to take the chance. A new blood bargain would not fix the old one. It would only complicate it, and make it worse.
The Demon Princess didn’t reach for the chalice again. Instead, she held out her hand, as if demanding something from a naughty child. My brow wrinkled in response. There was no time to think. What was better? The unknown, or drinking her blood? Determination strengthened my resolve. I reached my arm forward, carefully moving the full goblet to her... when I abruptly tilted it, spilling the contents on the floor. Locoicia frantically tried to grab the chalice before it hit the floor, trying to save any of the cups contents, but it was too late. The cup clattered against the stone as our blood formed a scarlet puddle on the stone.
She stood there for a moment. Frozen. Her arms were tense, slightly away from her sides. I watched the blood seep between the crevices in the floor, filling each space between the stones like little red rivers. Without a word, her hand shot out and reached for my neck. I twisted out of her grip, and uttered a spell that slammed her to the floor and held her in place. If she got free, she’d kill me.
I kicked the goblet that lay next to her head. It clattered across the floor, away from her face. “There is no bargain. It’s gone.”
Locoicia’s hood fell away as she turned her face, fighting to free herself from my spell. Flame-filled violet eyes were swimming with rage. Dark hair fell across her face, obscuring it from me. But there was skin. Flesh. How could that be? She was a demon. I knelt next to her, feeling my power draining by the second and brushed the hair away from her face. Shock coursed through me as I stumbled back. Alabaster skin lined high cheekbones. Hair brown as chocolate flowed in long curly locks and spilled onto the floor. The shape of her lips, chin, and the set of her eyes... My hand slapped over my mouth. There was one place, one spot on her cheek that was covered in black scales. I didn’t know what I was seeing. I didn’t know why she looked like me, and I didn’t have time to find out.
The Demon Princess snarled, fighting against the spell that pressed her face to the floor, “You fool! Spilling the cup doesn’t end anything! It forces the bargain to remain, unaltered. It needed to be changed!” she hissed.
I rose, looking down at her and said with complete certainty, “No it didn’t. I will kill Kreturus. I will fulfill my end of the bargain. I won’t default because you twisted my words. It’s set in stone, now. And, if you failed to teach me everything—I mean every little thing there was—you default. And I win.” The pain price was about to slam into me. I wasn’t sure if I could hold onto the enchantment holding her in place.
Moving rapidly toward the mirror, she called out behind me, “You’re a clever girl. A cold-hearted clever girl. How do you intend to protect young Collin Smith when you kill the Demon King? Their fates are intertwined. You need me. You need my skill and the way I use my magic, not just my wisdom, if you wish to save him.” I stopped, and turned slowly. Her body was pressed to the floor as if an anvil was holding her in place. Her words unnerved me terribly, making me pause to listen to her. Seeing her face was like looking in a mirror at an evil version of me. Locoicia spoke as I stared at our matching faces. “I’ll help you save him. There are ways to defy his destiny.” Her words grew more confident and less panicked as she spoke. I paused, staring at her. I knew she was lying, but I couldn’t walk away. I couldn’t miss the chance to save Collin. It was something I didn’t want to think about. I didn’t know what to do. I’d hoped the prophecy was wrong—that he would live. But hope was a foolish thing to hang all my hope on. I knew it. And so did Locoicia.
She’d lash out at me if I released her, and yet … Looking back at the glass, I couldn’t leave. She said the only thing that could have made me pause. And it was too tempting to walk away from. I’d have to take her wrath if I freed her, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to. But there was no other choice. She was right. I didn’t have her mind. I knew all of the spells and incantations, but I still hadn’t thought of anything to do to save Collin. Staring at her prone form, I made my decision. Uttering a word, I released her from the spell. She gasped, rolling to her side.
The pain price slammed into at the same time as she spoke her incantation. I was able to block it partially, but the pain coursed through me too hard—too sudden. My body bent in half trying to cope. Her laughter swam in the air as she pelted me with horrific spells. My skin ripped open in long thin lines that turned black. I focused, trying to force the pain away—but Collin was holding me. Nothing disconnected. I could feel everything with more vigor than I would have before I was numbed. A scream erupted from my throat as she towered over me, uttering another curse from her lips. I fell to my side, lying in my own blood. I couldn’t focus long enough to block her. I couldn’t force the pain away. Spell after spell beat me until I lay there, half dead, and barely breathing. My eyes stared blankly at the ceiling. Locoicia put her boot under my shoulder and rolled me toward the mirror. One more kick and I’d fall through.
“Wait,” I said weakly. “Tell me... how to save Collin.”
She laughed so hard and so long that I knew what she was going to say before she said it. “There is no spell that can save him, no magic that can undo the damage you’ve brought on Collin and yourself. You are a stupid, naive, fool. You’ll kill Kreturus for me and, when you can’t deliver an angel to me, you’ll default on our bargain. I don’t know if you realize this dear, but angels can’t get to this glass to come to me. It’s part of the Underworld.” Her face—an exact copy of my face—leaned closer, whispering in my ear. “And then, when you kill Kreturus and default on our bargain, I’ll take the Underworld. And no one will be the wiser because, dear sweet Ivy Taylor... I look just like you.”
As she spoke her voice changed, sounding more and more like my own. As she smiled at me, the pit of my stomach went cold with fear. She looked like my twin. Some form of dark magic twisted the Demon Princess into my likeness. She even had the patches of scales where Lorren had healed mine. That was the only difference. A difference easily explained away. She rose, pressing the tip of her boot into my side, rolling me into the mirror.
CHAPTER TEN
Horror washed over me. Choking, I shot up out of Collin’s lap. I couldn’t let him touch me. The pain still coursed through my body making my muscles spasm uncontrollably. My hands clenched my hair and tugged as I screamed.
Collin was behind me. “What’s wrong? Ivy?” When I didn’t turn, he grabbed my shoulders and forced me to face him. Tears streamed down my face. The black lines filled with who-knows-what didn’t heal. They marred my arms, and I could feel them on my face. He sucked in a shocked gasp as his eyes slid over me. “She took you. How? I was talking to you. Your mind was here. How did she pull you into the glass?” It became clear that as I rested in his arms, my body didn’t portray any of the pain Locoicia cast upon me.
I trembled under his touch. It was too much. It inflamed every sensation of agony inside of me. Twisting my shoulders out of his grasp, I answered, “It doesn’t matter. Collin—she trapped me. There’s no way to survive what she’s done. And I can’t tell you!”
He nodded understanding, “Because the blood bargain prevents you from speaking of it. I know.” He reached for me, but I pulled away. She was going to take my place! She’d planned it all along. That was why her hood was always up. That was why she studied me so closely. She knew me inside out. She watched me writhe in pain and cry out for mercy for hours upon hours. Sucking in a deep breath, I said to Collin, “I don’t know how to stop her. I don’t know what to do.”
His eyes were wide. Helpless. When they narrowed, he offered, “I can kill her. Ivy, if you can conjure the mirror, I can kill her.”
My bottom lip pressed tightly. When he went inside, he’d think the Demon Princess was me. He wouldn’t know which of us was real. I couldn’t do that to him. I shook my head, “You can’t. There’s... it won’t work. Trust me.” Collin nodded, not challenging my words. I sat down on the floor, trying to calm down. “Tell me everything you know about blood bargains.”
Collin sat opposite me. He didn’t try to reach for me again. As we sat and talked, Collin spoke the healing incantations one at a time, and I felt the open wounds begin to heal. He said, “That was extra fowl. She filled the wounds with...” He paused, and reconsidered his words, “with something that wouldn’t heal with normal magic. These may scar. I’m not sure if they’ll fade or not.”
I nodded, not caring. The Demon Princess completely screwed me. And I fell for it. And now, I couldn’t even tell Collin that she was waiting for me to do the dirty work, and then take over. Collin continued to speak, telling me about blood bargains.
“She wanted me to drink from the cup,” I said. “I refused. She said it wouldn’t have the same effect on me as your blood. Was she lying?” I glanced up at Collin, feeling the sting of the wounds healing on my face.