Kreturus looked down at me, expressionless. “This is the only other building standing. And we need to be protected from the elements to bring her here.” He pulled out of my grip, walking to the back corner of the auditorium. Bending at the waist, he gripped a chair and tore it from the floor. He threw it across the room. He did it again. And again. He tossed the chairs like they were couch cushions. The noise was so loud that I was certain they heard him. I just hoped Collin and Eric had the sense to remain hidden.
I didn’t miss Kreturus’ meaning. He was going to call Locoicia. “You’re calling the Demon Princess? Here? That’s insane! That’s what she wants!”
“I know,” he retorted as he threw another wooden chair. It splintered when it crashed into the pile of rubble slowly growing across the room. “We’ll call her here, and kill her. More specifically, you’ll kill her. It will break your bargain, and whatever debt you had will be gone.” Another chair hit the cinderblock wall and splintered.
I stood there, watching him as he worked. The two of us looked like a deranged prom couple ripping apart the school –him in his tux, and me in a ball gown. And we were about to summon a demon. I pressed my hands to my face. I wished the bond worked. I wished I hadn’t fried it. Collin would know he was in danger. Bringing Locoicia here would only make things worse. And I had the sinking feeling in my stomach that the Omen’s touch was something too horrible to say. And it touched me. And Collin. Was it possible that there was a creature that was worse than Kreturus? From the times it’d followed me, I didn’t think it was dangerous. Well, no more dangerous than anything from the Underworld. What could it do that would make the ancient demon nervous? I looked through the hole in the roof, half hoping to see the beast swooping across the opening. But the dragon was gone.
When Kreturus cleared a space large enough, he commanded, “Call the mirror. Locoicia is powerful and used magic to hide from me. I cannot call it, but I suspect that you can.” And I could. This was the end then. I’d kill the Demon Princess and go from being in her debt to being in his. Biting my lip, I did as I was told, thinking fast. With any luck the two of them would kill each other, but I knew I wouldn’t be so lucky. I focused on the black glass. The mirror materialized in front of us. The pane set within the dark mirror was cracked. Kreturus stood next to me, with his arms folded over his chest, and an eyebrow arched, “How long have you been able to do that?”
My stare was blank. The thought of seeing Locoicia made something change inside of me. Numbness flooded every inch of me in order to drown out my fear. Staring blankly at the glass, I said “Too long.” Kreturus took my answer and didn’t press for more. This mirror had been appearing since I was hauled into the Martis compound.
Kreturus stepped up to the mirror, touching it with his fingers to test the stability of the sheet of glass. When he was done, he turned and said, “Call her to the pane. I will pull her through and subdue her. It will be easy for you, Ivy. Combine your weapon and your spells to kill the Demon Princess.” His words were urgent, rushed. Seeing the Omen spooked him. A sound startled me and I looked to the hole in the roof. Dreanoks screeched in the sky as they circled the building. They must follow Kreturus wherever he goes.
I nodded, ready to do as he said, hoping to God that no one chose now to come out of the basement. But as I pressed my eyes closed to summon the Princess to the glass, I heard his voice. My heart dropped into my toes, and my mouth snapped shut.
“Hey boss,” Collin’s voice was light. Mocking. When I turned I saw there was laughter in his eyes. His hands were in his pockets like he was strolling through a field of daisies, and not facing the demon that damned him and stole his life. “Didn’t expect to see you again.”
Kreturus tensed. His eyes narrowed as he spit words at Collin, “You ignorant fool. Have you come to plead for your soul back? Or someone else’s? Someone near and dear to Ivy that you were responsible for destroying?” The smile faded from Collin’s lips as Kreturus spoke. When Collin didn’t respond, Kreturus placed his palms together excitedly. A grin stretched across his face, dark eyes sparkling, “You didn’t tell her… She doesn’t know.” Kreturus looked at me with glee in his eyes.
But I wasn’t fazed. Nothing he could say would shock me. Absolutely nothing. I’ve heard everything. There were no more surprises between me and Collin. I gazed at Kreturus as if I was bored and didn’t care what he had to say, but I caught a glimpse of Collin out of the corner of my eye. He was tense, his muscles strung tighter than before. The confident swagger was gone.
Kreturus laughed, and continued, “Such lies! And you think I’m the deceiver.” He walked behind me, placing his hands on my shoulders, thrusting me toward Collin. My throat tightened as my feet stumbled to a stop in front of him. There was something in his eyes—that expression—I recognized it. I couldn’t breathe. Not more lies. No! I tried to tear out of Kreturus’ grip, but he held tight. Placing his face next to mine he spoke in my ear, loud enough for Collin to hear, “Your precious sister died because of his mistake. You see, he was hunting the Prophecy One; he mistook Apryl for you.”
Shaking my head, I tried to pull away, saying, “No. Nicole said... The Valefar said that it was Eric. That he was responsible.” I remembered their words. The sting when Eric had confessed it was his fault. That meant what? That Collin stood by the whole time and didn’t tell me? It couldn’t be true. “You’re lying,” I snapped.
Still grinning he said, “Not this time, Ivy.” His fingers dug into my bare shoulders as I tried to twist away. But Kreturus’ grip only tightened, as he held me firmly facing Collin, forced to watch his face as he spoke, “Eric may have led the Valefar to her, but who do you think was the one leading the Valefar? Eric didn’t watch her die from a room only a few feet away. He wasn’t the one who demanded her death. He wasn’t the one who allowed the Valefar to rape her. The one responsible is standing in front of you. Collin Smith watched the entire thing. They killed at his command.” His fingers loosened, releasing me, and he stepped away.
My eyes shone with unshed tears as I stared at Collin. His lips were in a straight line, smooth. Tense. His gaze was on the demon over my shoulder, not me. My throat tightened. It felt like someone was strangling me. All this time. He could have told me. I knew he’d done things, things that were deplorable. We didn’t speak of his past, though. Watching him, I knew it was true. His sapphire blue eyes slowly drifted back to mine.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” My voice was a whisper, barely audible.
Collin reached for me, but I stepped back, a step closer to Kreturus. “I was a Valefar. I did what I had to do to survive. It wasn’t an option.” His response was cold, unfeeling. He didn’t apologize. He didn’t sound remorseful.
What was wrong with him? How could he do this to me? How could he hide it for so long!
Disgusted, I stared at him stunned. I couldn’t believe that I trusted him, and what he’d done. Something bubbled up inside of me. Rage. Anger. It coursed through my veins, until I slammed both fists into Collin’s chest. A gasp of air was pushed out of his lungs as the force of the hit launched him backwards through two rows of chairs. Collin jumped off the floor, dusting himself off. My eyes were warm. Rimming. He slept with me. We were together and he never told me that he... I couldn’t even think it. Processing what he did was too horrible.
Collin rose, grinning, like he was glad. My muscles twitched. With every ounce of my being I wanted to wipe that smile off his face. Swiftly moving across the room, I lunged at him. My hands connected with his chest, thrusting him back again. Kreturus stood there, watching us—watching me unleash my power on Collin. The distance between me and the Demon King grew until I’d cracked Collin’s back through every row of chairs and he was pressed against the stage. The stupid grin on his face finally faded. He hadn’t fought back very much, and I hadn’t noticed. Until right then.
Collin’s hand shot out, grabbing my wrist, as he yanked me toward him, and tried to whisper in my ear, but I didn’t want to hear him. Power built in my hands as spells lined the roof of my mouth. I wanted to hear him cry out for mercy. Ruthlessness consumed me, blinding me to what was happening around me. As I tried to land the power blow on Collin’s chest, he twisted, grabbing my hair, and moved out of the way. With a swift tug on my hair, my neck snapped to the side and up.
“Look!” he hissed in my ear. And I saw it. Eric was standing in the darkened wing on the stage, holding Shannon’s dagger. He arched an eyebrow at me with a look that said I was stupid. Shannon stood behind him, masked in shadows. Her gaze was lowered to the floor. She didn’t move.
At the same time Collin yanked my head back, Kreturus realized something was wrong. My shoulders slumped as I stopped throwing my power at Collin. Between the time it took Kreturus to effonate to my side, Collin threw his arms around my waist and hauled me back and up onto the stage. Placing himself between me and Kreturus, he stood poised to fight. My mouth was dry. I didn’t know what to believe. They must have decided to lure me to the stage. But why? I glanced around, seeing only Shannon standing submissively in the wing. Her wide green eyes gazed at me with an expression I hadn’t seen in a long time—regret.
Tearing my gaze away from my ex-friend, I turned my attention back to the demon now battling Eric. When Eric effonated he landed right where I stood. That led to Kreturus grabbing him, expecting my body to still be in that spot. Collin had moved me so quickly that Kreturus didn’t have time to react. But Eric had the upper hand, if only momentarily. They’d planned it that way. That explained Collin’s infuriating smirk. And now—now Kreturus was trying to force his way through Eric to get to me. Eric used the remnants of my power, which made him stronger than Collin.
Urgently, Collin said, “Effonate to the Martis camp. Now!” My jaw dropped as he shoved me to the side of the stage. I tripped on the hem of the gown. I didn’t have time to tell him that I couldn’t leave. As long as Kreturus was standing there, I couldn’t wield my own power.
Shannon’s hands reached for me, and she pulled me to my feet. “Nice dress,” she joked, but I just glared at her. “If you don’t leave they both die. Leave. Now.” Her voice was deep. She didn’t sound like herself, but she didn’t sound like the lust-induced blood addict I’d last seen either.
Her hands shoved into me, turning me around to push me through a side door. But, it felt like we hit a wall. Kreturus’ power extended, pulling me back to him, making it impossible to walk away. Even with the boys fighting and someone helping me, I was still trapped. Shannon felt the jarred impact as well, and her eyes went wide. “Their plan falls apart if you don’t leave.”
“Time for a new plan then, because I’m stuck here.” Kreturus was powerful. The ancient demon had done something to me that made it difficult to use my powers. But it seemed to only affect me. Collin and Eric didn’t pause, but I knew they couldn’t win either. They were no match for the Demon King. I yanked my comb out of my hair and extended the tines. Three against one should help. I didn’t think we’d kill him, but I thought we might wear him down enough that we could escape.
