As Collin surveyed the people below, the door scraped open behind him. But, Collin did not turn around. Instead he said, “Speak.” Jake strode up next to him. Collin hid is distain.
“The rest of us are below. We haven’t spotted her yet, but we won’t let her escape.” Jake smiled at Collin reassuringly.
“No,” Collin answered, “We won’t. If she gets past you, I’ll kill her myself. Go and watch. An American should stand out somewhat in this crowd, even if he wasn’t that unique looking.” Collin understood the value of anonymity– it kept him alive for centuries as well.
Jake nodded and left. Collin saw him moments later in the square below. The Valefar were positioned at every corner of the piazza, while Collin looked on from above. They were certain to spot the Martis. Collin’s fingers pressed against the banister. The stone was cold and smooth. If he didn’t find this girl… Everything would be lost. He couldn’t fail. He had to find her and destroy her. His fingers squeezed and a chunk of the railing came off in his hand. Irritated, Collin crushed it in his palm and it turned to dust. Dropping his hand to his side, Collin wiped his hands on his jeans and looked up. His heart jerked in his chest. It was him. The Martis he was looking for. He recognized the short light brown hair, his stance, and the gait of his walk.
Collin signaled to Nicole, who stood directly opposite him under the balcony, near the pier. She turned her head searching the crowd until she saw him. When he passed, she instinctively searched the crowd to see who he was following. Collin was doing the very same thing from above, but the afternoon sun was reflecting brilliantly off the water making it difficult for him to see. Below, Nicole moved, falling in line with the Martis as he passed. Jake, Mandor, and Tony were moving towards Nicole once she signaled them. They kept their distance seeking the subject of his pursuit.
As Collin’s eyes searched the square he wondered what the Demon Queen would look like. Collin imagined someone completely different than the girl he saw. Not more than a few yards in front of the Martis were two girls. They were both American, and rather young—no more than seventeen-years-old—and wearing sundresses. Collin felt his brow furrow. They were cute, dainty, little girls. Shocked, he looked back at the Martis, unable to see him clearly from the glare, and then back at the girls. He was following them and Collin knew it for certain when the girls stopped. Leaning slightly over the edge of the railing, Collin held his breath waiting to see which was the Prophecy One. Both girls stood there, one brunette and one blonde. The brunette’s hair glistened red in the sunlight. She looked out at the pier and pointed, then nodded. Her friend turned away and walked back to one of the shops, while the other girl took off her sandals, and walked out onto the pier. That one was the Prophecy Girl.
The Martis didn’t follow the girl who left; instead he followed the girl out onto the pier. She stopped and turned to him, saying something that Collin couldn’t hear. The reflection from the sunlight on the water was almost too bright to look at, but Collin kept looking. Who was she? She seemed familiar, but he didn’t know why. And with that glare, he couldn’t see her face—just a lot of reddish brown hair. The Martis turned around and walked away from her. Collin watched him as he left her standing there alone.
When the Martis turned away from the docks, he slipped into the crowd, and Collin saw his face. A thin smile spread across his lips as he recognized the boy. “Eric’s a Martis. Interesting…” Collin spoke to himself softly as he watched his Valefar walk out to the girl on the pier.
The three guys walked toward the girl, and Nicole hung back in case she ran past them, but she didn’t. The girl greeted them with a friendly smile. Before she realized what was happening, Collin called the shadows from below. The shadows coldness clawed at his insides as he grabbed more shadows than he was used to. He couldn’t let her escape. With all the force he could conjure, Collin hurled the deadly darkness at her. The shadows clung to her like tar, drowning her panicked cries for help, and masking the horrors that were taking place in front of the people right in front of her. The struggle on the pier was not seen by any of the humans who witnessed it. It looked as if one moment she was there, and the next she was not—exactly the way Collin had planned it.
CHAPTER NINE
Exhausted, Collin walked through the hallways between classes two days later. He sweet-talked his teacher into allowing him to go grab something from the off-limits vending machines in the teachers’ lounge. All the women loved Collin, and smiled at him as he walked into the room. He grabbed a cup of coffee from the pot that sat on a burner all day, before walking to the vending machine. He pressed four silver coins into the slot and pulled the knob. A packet of cookies thudded on the bottom of the machine. After he grabbed his breakfast, Collin turned around and began to walk back to the hallway, but something he heard slowed his steps.
“I’ve marked it down here,” the woman said. She was on the phone in a small room that was between the teachers’ lounge and the office. “Ivy Taylor. Yes, and we’ll take care of the records. How tragic…” her voice trailed off, and Collin left the room.
Worry consumed him as he walked the halls for the rest of the morning, looking for Ivy, but not finding her. A knot the size of his fist sat cold and heavy at the bottom of his stomach. Something bad had happened to her. Nicole saddled up to him after third period and was chattering about something, but he didn’t hear a word she said. It was then that he saw someone at Ivy’s locker sifting through the mess, and pulling out books. He watched the woman, realizing that it was the same woman he’d seen on the phone earlier that day. Taking a chance, he abandoned a still chatting Nicole, and walked over to her. Nicole rapidly snapped her jaw shut, and marched off.
“Is Ivy all right?” he asked not bothering to mask the tension in his voice.
The woman stood up and looked at him. Her expression was grim. “I’m afraid she’s had a very bad night. Better if you talk to her yourself.” She nodded at him, and turned back to Ivy’s locker, gathering books. Collin almost volunteered to do it for her, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to enter Ivy’s house. The parental wards that protected her from beings like him would keep him out.
A sinking feeling pressed at the back of his throat and slid into his stomach when Collin walked away. He wanted to go to her and see what was wrong. With one last look, he glanced back at the secretary who was appalled by the mess inside Ivy’s locker. The expression on her face was rather transparent. Collin stopped in the middle of the hallway, allowing people to move around him, before he walked back to the locker.
He stopped next to her. “I can do it,” Collin offered. “I can take them to her too. I have a free period.” Collin added that last part so she wouldn’t tell him no. He flashed a smile at her and added, “She’s my best friend. I’ve been gone for a few days. Please?”
The woman cocked her head as if it were too heavy to hold up, and sighed. “Yes, Collin. You can take it to her. Just make sure you stay out of trouble. Here are the books she needs. She won’t be back for a while.” She shoved a piece of paper at him that had a list of books scrawled on it in blue pen.
Collin nodded and watched the woman walk away. As Collin shifted through Ivy’s messy locker looking for the books she needed the tension in his shoulders increased. Something felt wrong. As Collin grabbed the last of her books, he slammed the locker door shut and saw Eric watching him. Collin stared at the Martis, considering saying something to him. He was certain that Eric had no idea who he was, or that he was a Valefar, which made the situation even more unreal. They locked eyes for a moment. Eric didn’t like him, that he knew. And he didn’t care. Collin turned away and walked out of the building with Ivy’s books under his arm.
CHAPTER TEN
When he pressed the doorbell, Collin could barely breathe. What’s wrong with me? Tension laced his body making every muscle flex in response.
A woman who resembled Ivy answered the door. Her face was pale and she had bags under her eyes like she hadn’t slept in
days. She offered him a sad smile and then saw the books in his arms. “Oh, you’ve brought Ivy’s books.” She turned away and walked back into the house, indicating he should follow. She stopped when she noticed he didn’t step across the threshold. “Would you like to come in?”
Collin shook his head, “No, thank you. I don’t want to intrude, but I was hoping to speak with Ivy.” The woman’s face pinched in worry as she looked up at a window on the second floor of the house. “Just for a moment…” Collin added.
The woman nodded sadly, and pressed a tissue to her nose as she disappeared back into the house. A few minutes later Ivy stood in the doorway. Shadows fell across her face masking her grief. Ivy looked at Collin’s arms full of books.
He smiled at her, hoping to lure her outside. “I cut class to bring you books…” he held them out in his arms, hoping she would step out and take them. But she didn’t. She remained in the shadows.
She rubbed her eye with her hand and half a smile slid across her face and then was gone again. “Come in, Collin.” Her voice was rough and rumbled deeply as she spoke, like she’d been crying.
He shook his head, “Can’t.” He looked around desperately wishing he could go to her and throw his arms around her. But he didn’t. “I have to go back. I just want to make sure you were okay.” He held the books out again.
This time Ivy stepped out of the doorway and onto the front stoop. She looked at the ground, avoiding Collin’s gaze and reached for the books. When he deposited them in her hands, he stepped closer to her. Carefully, he lifted her chin so her gaze could meet his. When he saw her face, his stomach lurched. Black circles hung under puffy, glistening eyes. Her skin was sallow. The normal flush in her cheeks was absent. “What’s wrong?” He whispered the words to her, hoping that she would tell him. He could fix it. He knew he could. She just had to tell him.
She didn’t shake off his touch. Instead she stared at him with dead eyes, eyes that had to bear too much pain to fast. She swallowed hard, “I won’t be at school for a while.” She gazed up at his face, looking at him, but not seeing him. Her mind was elsewhere. “Something bad has happened. My sister was in an accident a few days ago.” Her voice grew softer with every word. Collin’s hand slowly drifted away from Ivy’s chin. “She was with her friend. She was fine one minute, and the next she was gone.” Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked up at him. “They think she’s dead Collin. They think someone killed her. Who would do such a thing? Why didn’t anyone see anything?” Her voice was faint and pleading. She looked up at him seeking solace in him. Collin had never met her sister. They’d never spoken. The school was large and their paths never crossed. He vaguely remembered Ivy telling him she went somewhere with a friend last week. Ivy was surprised her mother approved. Somehow her sister passed off her trip as educational, so she let her go.
Collin’s stomach slid into his shoes. He breathed in slowly, and looked down at Ivy. Tears glistened on her face as her lips parted; trying to form words that she couldn’t bring herself to say. Collin wanted to comfort her, but he didn’t know how. Loss like that wasn’t fixed with words. Ivy’s eyes welled up with tears. She apologized and ran back inside. The door stood open, but Collin didn’t follow. He couldn’t. He called after her, but she didn’t return.
Instead her mother came to the doorway. She held a small square piece of paper in her hand. “Thank you for bringing her books. I’m sorry, but she isn’t up to having visitors yet.” The woman looked sadly at the paper in her hands. After a moment she held it out to him with a stiff arm. “Could you take this to the school for me? They requested a recent picture. I don’t think I’m up to bringing it to them today.”
Collin reached out and took the photograph. The piece of paper felt cold between his fingers. He nodded, and said, “I will.”
With that, he turned away and started to walk back to the school. Car horns blared as traffic rushed past him. Collin walked. He walked with his heart hammering in his chest. He knew before Ivy stepped out of the shadows that she was wounded. Some wounds are irreparable. He couldn’t fix this, and to make matters worse… he believed he held the confirmation of his fears between his fingers. The picture felt like a piece of lead in his grip. He carried it all the way to the school without looking at it.
When he pushed open the office doors, he walked over to the long oak counter. The secretary who had given him the books looked up at him. She chastised herself as she walked towards him. “I’m sorry hun, I shouldn’t have let you go.”
Collin nodded, not wanting to discuss it. “Her mom said you wanted this.” He held the picture facedown, as if not turning it over would keep him from learning the truth. His stomach clenched tightly as turned the picture over. A burst of reddish brown hair caught his eye first, followed by green eyes, and that same heart-shaped face that Ivy had. He pressed his lips together and slid the picture of Ivy’s sister across the counter. Anger consumed him when he recognized her as the girl from the pier. The air was sucked out of his lungs all at once, and he couldn’t speak.
Collin killed Ivy’s only sister.
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DEMON KISSED
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CHAPTER ONE
“Let me go, Jake. You’re not like this.” Desperation was in my voice.
“Ivy, you have no idea what I’m like.” The moon hung high above the trees. It painted shadows across Jake’s face, highlighting his perfect contours. My arms felt like lead, useless at my sides. I couldn’t tell how he ensnared me. It felt like my wrists and ankles were glued to the ground, but nothing was there. Pulling hard, unable to move, my heart started to race. I hated feeling trapped. Actually being trapped made it worse. Moments ago everything was normal. We were laughing, rolling around on the grass.
“I thought… I thought you wanted a kiss?” I asked.
“I do want a kiss.” Leaning closer, Jake emerged from the patchwork of shadows. The dim moonlight spilled across his face, revealing his eyes. I couldn’t look away. My heart hammered as our gazes locked. An ungodly crimson ring surrounded his normally blue eyes, hugging tightly to his irises. It was like fire and blood, burning together. And they were intently focused on one thing.
Me.
Panic shot through my veins. “What’s wrong with your eyes?” I shivered, repressing the fear that crawled up my throat.
He shifted, hovering above me. Jake’s lips spread into a soft grin. “I’m still me. You can trust me, Ivy.
I’ve wanted to kiss you for so long. My timing was perfect.”
“Timing?” I asked. “I wanted you to kiss me since our first date. And you wanted to wait. So we wait, then you bait me out here, and glue me to the ground? What the hell is wrong with you? Let me go!”
He laughed softly, “God Ivy, I wasn’t sure about you at first, but I was right… You’ll get your kiss.”
Terror flooded through me, “What do you want, Jake?”
“I’ll show you,” he leaned closer, grinning. As his lips touched mine, I cried out, unable to contain the agonizing pain. The feeling of razor wire slid inside me, from my lips to my toes. It snaked through my body. Sharpness tore into me like a million little fishing hooks, all snagging my insides at once.
I tried to scream, but Jake’s lips were pressed to mine. His hands clutched my face, holding me still, preventing me from moving and breaking the kiss. Adrenaline pumped into me, making my thoughts splinter off into a dozen different directions, trying to find a way out. The sensation cut deeper, as I writhed beneath him. I desperately tried to think of a way to ease the pain, and did the only thing that would make him stop, without thinking about what would happen next.
Sucking his lip into my mouth, I bit down—hard. Jake pulled away screaming, as tangy warmth filled my mouth. A warm trail spilled over my cheek. I spit out a mouth full of his blood. Swearing, he moved away from me, cradling his lip with
his palm, trying to stop the flow of crimson.
Trees creaked, snapping my gaze to their massive trunks. My eyes sifted through the shadows hoping that someone was there. But there was no one. We were alone. No one would save me.
Jake returned fuming. “That was stupid, Ivy. I would have been nice, and made it less painful. But not now.” He lunged at me. Screaming, I tried to break free. Crushing lips met mine. The razor wire sensation snaked down my throat, filling my body. It hooked into every inch of flesh and muscle, spreading deep into my bones. Then he pulled the invisible razors. Hard.
The intense pain tore through me, and I was unable to stop him. My tensed muscles tried to endure the agony, as spots formed and my vision flickered. Frantically, my mind tried to figure out what was happening. Logic didn’t have an answer, but my body knew exactly what was happening. My soul, my very being that was locked deep within me—he was ripping it out. It didn’t slide away, loose like a ribbon, tied in a pretty bow. It was attached to me, in an inseparable kind of way. Inseparable things—I learned—could be separated, but it hurt like hell.
Releasing me from his kiss, Jake paused just before I passed out. Oh God, he wants me awake. Drowsiness pulled at me, making it difficult to think. Pain spindled in my muscles as they twitched uncontrollably. Jake wiped the back of his hand across his bloodstained mouth and smiled down at me, delighted.
I spit out more of his blood onto the ground. It tasted wrong. It had a weird tang that made me gag. I knew his blood covered my lips and washed across my face, but I couldn’t wipe it away.
Hysterical sobs bubbled up from my stomach, but I swallowed them whole, not wanting him to see my terror. Trembling, a single word formed in my mind, and spilled over my bloody lips, “Why?”