I glanced at Eric. I knew what he wanted me to do. It was the same thing the angels wanted me to do, but I couldn’t. I wouldn’t allow it.
Eric rolled his eyes, “I don’t know why you’re trying to save them. Even their makers want them gone, and you stand in the way like some sort of martyr. You’re already dead, Ivy. You already paid the ultimate price. Let this go...”
I rose, stopping in front of him. His legs were clad in dark denim and sprawled in front of him. He used to smell like wholesome goodness. He used to be an angel, a Martis, and then a Valefar. He knew everything there was to know about all of them. I shivered, wrapping my arms around myself. “I can’t. I can’t allow them to destroy the Martis. They can’t wipe out an entire race because they don’t think they can change.” I failed to recall the Valefar to the Underworld, as the angels thought I would when I summoned the rest of the creatures of Hell back below ground. But the Valefar remained topside.
Eric moved behind me, silent as always. His hand was raised, as if he was going to rest it on my shoulder. He held it there. I could feel the heat from his hand. I pressed my eyes closed, savoring the sensation. When he finally spoke, I turned to look up at him, “One Martis changed. It doesn’t excuse the lot of them for everything they’ve done. In many ways, they are worse than the Valefar. Ivy, you know this.” His voice softened, as his gaze slid to my lips. “You can’t save them.”
The way Eric looked at me sometimes made me suffer horribly. But my pain eased his. I couldn’t deny him. I couldn’t tell him to stop. He learned that I could sense the heat from his skin. It radiated off of him in small waves that made me melt inside. Eric was becoming more daring. Since he couldn’t use force anymore, he was looking for other ways. And he’d found one.
His eyes remained fixed on my lips. I felt so hollow inside. So cold and numb. Nothing would change it, but this felt like a cheat. Like Lorren going through the glass. It was a go-around that let me feel something. Eric lifted his hand from his pocket where it’d grown warm. I thought he was going to put it by my cheek, but his gaze drifted lower to my neck. His hand remained perfectly still, slightly above the soft skin of my neck. He watched as I closed my eyes, feeling the heat from his hand, imagining his touch on my skin. Before the heat ebbed, I felt his warm breath slide across me. I shuddered, backing away. Eric’s lips twisted into a wicked smile as he straightened. My mind was blank. What were we talking about?
Turning from him, I let the heartache last longer. The pain and longing for human touch fed him, easing his agony, giving him peace. Peace that alluded me. I finally said, “She did what was right. Shannon took forever to get there, but she sacrificed herself for me. They can’t think that’s nothing.” And they didn’t. It was another matter entirely that had them enraged.
CHAPTER THRITY-THREE
The Pool of Lost Souls sat silent as my entourage passed its azure depths. Eric walked a step behind me, and Legion, the demon who controlled my armies, followed. My throat tightened as we passed the spot where Collin stood last time we were here. And over there, by that stone, was where I’d realized Apryl was a Valefar. I hadn’t seen her since the day she walked away from me, but I knew she didn’t survive. As soon as I was queen, before I recalled the demons, I sent them to search for my sister. There was no trace of her. Finally we heard a strange story of a little girl. Someone protected her—a girl with flame red hair and wild eyes. My sister. They were attacked by Dreanoks and she wouldn’t surrender the child. I pressed my eyes closed. I wasn’t fast enough. Even after I sacrificed everything, I still lost her.
As if Eric could sense my thoughts, he quickened his pace, urging us to move faster. The Pool of Lost Souls was at my back, and I found I could walk no more. The stone’s magic stopped me at the portal out of the Underworld and prevented me from passing into the catacombs that were under Rome. Eric stepped forward, opening the portal. When it opened, it revealed two angels. The meeting began.
The angels averted their gaze when Eric stepped back, and they saw my form. One of them sneered as if I’d chosen to arrive this way. I said evenly, “I do not look away from you in disgust. Please show the same respect for me.”
The angels were uncomfortable, but they looked back. First at Eric, and then me. “So it is true,” the tall one with thin blonde hair said. His light colored clothing stood in contrast to his heavy coat. I wondered if it was still snowing. Snowing in places it shouldn’t have. “You used Satan’s Stone, and it did this...”
Eric usually spoke for me about this matter. I found it hard to admit what I did and the result, but this time when Eric began to speak, I lifted my hand, indicating I would answer. “Yes. I used the stone. Two others used it previously. We all paid the price for using it. This is my curse. I hide nothing from you—I conceal nothing. I cannot touch or be touched. My humanity was stripped away with my flesh. I killed Kreturus for you. I stopped his war, and recalled my creatures, as I am the one who assumed his throne. But, I will not condone the slaughter of the Martis.” My arms were at my sides. The expression on my face was neutral, but confident. “One of your lowest creatures saved me, though the Martis wanted my head. I cannot ignore her actions. I cannot condemn them as you have. I will not recall the Valefar, as that is the only thing keeping you from killing the Martis.”
The blonde angel’s lips curled into a soft smile as I spoke. The dark-haired angel next to him remained expressionless. It appeared that my words angered him, but he did not interrupt. When I finished the blonde angel said, “That is a very compelling argument, but that is not why we are here.”
Surprise lifted my eyebrows, “It’s not? Then why have you come?” I glanced at Eric, but he continued to stare at them like they were threats to my safety.
Blonde-boy stepped forward, “An angel is gone. Unaccounted for. Her name was Jenna Marie. She did not die in battle, and last she was seen was with you. It is rumored that you captured her and abandoned her in the Underworld. That was construed as an attack on our race—on our people. Give her back or we will be forced to retrieve her.”
I laughed. It bubbled out of my stomach, and spilled over my lips before I could stop it. “You’re not going to kill the Martis?”
He shook his head. “No. They have been warned of their probation. Their hierarchy was destroyed and reformed. Those who survived the war will have to adjust to their new place. And if you will not retrieve your Valefar, we will not retrieve our Martis.”
Nodding, I said, “Agreed.” I didn’t tell them that I commanded the Valefar to only prey on the despicable. At some point the Martis and the Valefar would realize they were working toward the same goal, though hell-servants were doing it in a more grizzly way. “About Jenna Marie... she is not dead. She is with the Death Angel—her love.”
The silent angel, unfolded his arms, hissing, “The Death Angel is not her lover! And Jenna Marie is not with him. We just saw him. For all your curses, it appears you can still lie.” The veins in his arms were popping up like little straws. I watched him for a moment. He hated me, that much was obvious.
Eric remained silent, but I could sense him tensing at my side. I answered, “I did not say I couldn’t lie. I’m sure I can, but what’s the point? To deceive you? To trick you into thinking something that isn’t true?” I laughed. “You fail to see that we want the same things. That makes me an unlikely ally, but I’m not the enemy. Jenna Marie is with the original Death Angel—Lorren. He is trapped in the depths of his golden maze, and will never emerge. It is his curse. He was the first angel to use the stone. Jenna Marie is with him. I took her to him.”
The angry angel looked like he was going to rupture. The blonde-boy gave him a look that appeared to diffuse him. Then he turned back and asked, “What proof do you have? We cannot simply take your word for it.”
I arched an eyebrow, “Can you not tell if I am lying? Can’t you use your powers and draw the truth out of me?”
“You think you are speaking the truth, I can tell. But your story is... extreme. We need verification.”
Eric cleared his throat. “I remember you G’hreil. Do you remember me? Look at my face and see who I was. Remember the second time Satan’s Stone was used to defeat the devil Kreturus. Remember who paid for it with his life.” Eric spoke softly, and the veil that he held so tightly, lifted. I could see him as he was—part angel, part man, part demon. He was terrifying. The angel gasped. The veil slammed back into place. Eric’s golden eyes burned. “I vouch for her. Jenna Marie is with Lorren—alive.”
I didn’t think that would be the end of it, but it was. The two angels bowed at the waist, nothing like the demon bows, more like a polite good-bye and left. Several days later, we were called to the Pool again. This time a gift waited in the catacombs.
“Eric, coming up here is...” I didn’t want to be here, but I couldn’t shun their gift. I hoped it was clothes, but I honestly had no idea what they would send or why.
His face had a pleasant expression, which meant my pain was calming him. “I know. I know, Ivy. Just accept the gift, and leave. I’ll take care of the rest. It’s formalities. We don’t want to avoid one war only to cause another.” I nodded.
My bare feet moved across the cold wet rock. I could feel that, but not Eric’s touch. I even had a demon try to take my hand to see if they could do it—they couldn’t. I was untouchable. Eric seemed restless lately. Stopping before the Pool, I said, “Eric, wait...” he stopped, turned and walked back to me. I didn’t know how to say this. I could see it in his eyes. The two of us staying together, feeding off each other’s misery only made it worse. I had a sincere affection for him, and I wanted him to go live his life—not mine—not my curse. It was my burden and mine alone. “After we accept this gift, I want you to spend some time in the sun.”
“What?” he whispered. Shock washed across his face. He tried to hide it, “If that’s what you want.” His shoulders tensed. He turned to walk away from me. Instinctively, I reached for him. My pale hand swept through his shoulder, making him shiver. He turned back to me.
“Eric, what do you want? Because I think some twisted girl might actually make you happy. And I know you aren’t stupid enough to love anyone again. Your curse, and all.” I smiled at him for a second, but he didn’t smile back. “There’s no future here … Eric, I would have let you use me. It would have helped me heal...” my gaze dropped as I thought about the way he made me feel before—when his hands were on me. “But, not now. And it does little for you. I sense the curse growing inside of you. I don’t wish you to become something more sinister than you already are, trying to deal with it. You need someone else, Eric. Your life continues—apart from mine.” As I spoke, his gaze remained on my face. His lips parted as if he was going to disagree, but he didn’t. He simply nodded again, not sharing his thoughts. “Say something.”