Cursed (Demon Kissed #2) (5 page)

I stared at Al. This news didn’t sit
well with me. It meant that at any time, I could be walking into a
trap. A trap laid by Valefar or Martis, especially since I wasn’t
aware of all my Valefar powers. Collin only taught me two things,
and they were powers that he said wouldn’t compromise me. But there
were other dark powers that were inside of me—powers that came
naturally to regular Valefar. I could stumble on the dark powers
and unlock them without even knowing it. No wonder everyone was
afraid of me. I was a time bomb.

I started to squeak out a sound, but
Al cut me off. “You’ll know.”

“
But how?” I asked burying
my head in my hands. “How could I possibly know which powers are
Valefar or not? How could I know if the black glass came from my
mind or was some contraption that the Valefar or Martis made a
million years ago? How can I know that? It means that I can’t trust
myself.” I shook my head, helplessly looking up at her. “There’s no
way to know.”

She touched my shoulder, her ancient
face confident, “You’ll just know. You knew to stop trying to cross
the black mirror today, so you sat and stared at it. Maybe you
didn’t realize the full extent of what powers lurk within you, and
the dark magic around you, but now you do. And if you can truly
manipulate Martis and Valefar powers into something new, well,
Ivy—you definitely have the powers of the girl in the
prophecy.”

I nodded. Merging powers of darkness
and light were building within me, powers that could bring utter
destruction. Great. “So, you think the black mirror was a merging
of my powers? The Valefar and the Martis powers blending together
and turning into something else?”

“
That’s exactly what I
think. Valefar can call darkness—shadows. Martis can see into the
future and you can see into the future. See where I’m going with
this? You saw a dark object, shrouded with some power that didn’t
allow you to pass through it. And the image you saw in the glass
could be a glimpse of the future. At least it could have started
that way. But, when the two powers blend together, I have no idea
what you’ll end up with. Light and dark ain’t supposed to mix.
They’re like broccoli and chocolate—just nasty when you put them
together—but that appears to be what’s happening with you. And
until you know without a doubt what’s happening, you should be
careful.”

It wasn’t what I wanted to hear, but
her words made sense. I was neither fully Martis or Valefar, so why
would my powers be that way? That was why the Valefar wanted to
capture me and the Martis were afraid of me. I had powers that
they’ve never seen before. That was true for all of us, because I
had no idea what I was capable of.

Looking at Al, I wondered why she
wasn’t afraid of me like the rest of them. “You know, you’re the
only Martis who I’m certain isn’t trying to kill me, although I
have no idea why.”

She smiled, “Different things ain’t
necessarily bad. They’re just different. And without guidance, who
knows where you’ll end up. Sometimes you can fix a whole lotta mess
with the help of one good friend.”

I laughed, “Yup, I’m a whole lotta
mess. But Al, you’re the only one who can help me. What if I need
you?”

She smiled softly, “That just means
you’ll have to figure things out on your own. I won’t always be
here and I sure don’t know everything. Follow what’s inside of you.
It’s stronger than any prophecy, and wiser than you
realize.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

Al had a lot of faith in me. It was
daunting. Every other Martis looked at me with venom, like they
were facing down their doom. But, Al seemed to have taken the
opposite approach and they hated her for it. She was obviously the
old squeaky wheel in the lot. She made her presence known after
she’d seen me the first night at the Villa. After that they’d kept
such a close eye on us that she wasn’t able to teach me more. I
practiced refining my visions without her, although I did not see
the black mirror again with Collin trapped on the other side. When
someone has so much faith in you, it’s difficult not to believe in
yourself. At the same time, when everyone else keeps saying you’re
evil, it’s hard not to doubt yourself.

I felt lost and resentful. The Martis
trapped me in the compound much longer than I’d wanted, but since I
still hadn’t found the information I was looking for, I couldn’t
leave yet anyway. Days slipped into weeks, and weeks turned into
months. Nearly three months had passed and I was no closer to
freeing Collin than when I started. I visited the library every
day. Julia’s ability to only speak the truth—a trait that all
Martis possessed—worked in my favor. She lured me here with access
to the ancient tomes and couldn’t revoke her promise. Well, maybe
she could have, but she didn’t. It kept us apart until whatever was
going to happen would happen.

Meanwhile, I flipped through dusty
pages of ancient books looking for information on Kreturus. He was
my enemy, my nemesis. It wasn’t Collin as I’d once thought. It
wasn’t the Valefar. It wasn’t even Julia. The one being that could
make or break me was Kreturus. He wanted me. He needed my powers
for himself. While I wasn’t certain what was happing, I knew Al was
right. My powers were changing. It was as if the magic took on a
life of its own. I had no idea how to conjure it or use the melded
magic, but I was sure that Kreturus did. I was the key to him
unleashing his evil plan on the world. Without me, it couldn’t
happen.

The prophecy boggled my mind. What
could possibly happen that would entice me in the slightest to join
forces with a demon? It was unfathomable. There was nothing that
would cause me to do that. There was no way I’d sign onto that.
Irritation was building within me. I’d been flipping through book
after book, but there was nothing in these pages about Kreturus,
besides the original tale of how he was captured.

The story was interesting. It was
during the last battle that raged thousands and thousands of years
ago. The demons were winning after creating the Valefar. The
massive number of Valefar, combined with the demons, overpowered
the angels. If the angels hadn’t made the Martis, they would have
lost; and life as I knew it wouldn’t exist.

But, they did create an immortal army
of Martis. The angels bestowed all their powers on the Martis, but
they spread the powers through the people so that no one person was
more powerful than another. It created a cohesive force, with
massive powers when they worked together. In the beginning, the
Martis did work together. The Seyers were revered and worked
hand-in-hand with the Dyconisis. It was nothing like Al and Julia’s
relationship. Julia thought Seyers were a dead breed and
disregarded Al’s usefulness. There was nothing about Martis
Tribunals, banishments, and hearings.

The Martis back then relied on each
other to overcome the demons. Not only did they lure Kreturus into
a pit and trap him there, but they also pushed into the Underworld
further separating humans from the evil creatures that reside
there. The chasm between our world and the Underworld was well
guarded, but eventually the Martis pulled out only leaving guards
behind.

The books didn’t say why the Martis
left. There was no explanation of the current animosity between the
Martis either. I had no idea where it stemmed from. The original
Martis sounded great. They protected humanity from soul-sucking
demons. They moved unseen and un-thanked, and they preferred it
that way. They sounded like people that I would have
liked.

The early Martis were responsible for
ensnaring Kreturus in that pit in the Underworld, but they didn’t
kill him. That seemed like a colossal blunder to me. Why would they
let him live? But as I read the reason became more obvious.
Trapping him in a secluded part of the Underworld was like locking
a king in his own thrown room. Around him were reminders of what he
was, the power he held, and what he lost. And that was exactly what
the Martis did. A few millennia passed and no one thought Kreturus
was a threat. The Martis around the Villa still didn’t believe that
he was a danger, despite the testimony of Eric and Al. The rise in
the number of Valefar and the attempt to open the Underworld portal
last fall didn’t make them change their minds either. This wasn’t a
case of blissful ignorance. It was a case of deep-seated fear that
was too terrible to admit. If Kreturus was able to break his bonds,
the Martis were totally screwed.

And so was I.

CHAPTER EIGHT

I sat at a little table decorated with
Venetian glass in the courtyard of the Martis villa with Al. The
sunlight filled the space, warming me. The Martis now allowed me to
wander the grounds of their sprawling estate, but the guards were
always with me.

Frustration flooded me as my fingers
wrapped around a tiny cup with some coffee-like drink inside. After
three months of searching I’d found nothing that would help me save
Collin. Despair was choking me and everything was getting to me as
my last shred of sanity was splitting apart.

“
Al, I can’t stand this
much longer. What do they need to decide that I’m no threat to
them?” I asked, completely exasperated. I expected them to convict
me instantly, but when they didn’t I started to hope that they
would see me for who I was. That was hope that I severely
misplaced.

Al’s wrinkled hands clutched her cup.
She crinkled her nose when she took a sip, and put the tiny cup
down. “I thought it would have been resolved after I arrived, but
they kept going.” Her old eyes were full of compassion. “Use the
time to prepare yourself. I know what you’re planning to do,
although you didn’t bother to tell me.”

I feigned shock. No one knew what I
was really doing. They thought they talked me out of it, but they
didn’t. Shannon and Al thought I was looking for information on
Kreturus. No one realized that the one thing that I was desperately
looking for in the ancient library, but couldn’t find. My forehead
scrunched together, “Didn’t bother to tell you what? What is it you
think I’m doing here?” A smile lined my lips. I wasn’t going to lie
to her, but I knew she’d never approve of such an idiotic plan. And
my plan was the epitome of idiocy.

She gave me one of her sassy old lady
looks. “Ivy, I wasn’t born yesterday. You’re not planning on
leaving Collin down there. I know that you’re looking for a portal.
You’ve pulled every book, scroll, and artifact on demons, the
Underworld, and Kreturus. No doubt, that is part of what’s making
the Tribunal take so long to decide exactly what kind of threat you
are to them. They don’t expect you to find anything of course;
otherwise they would have never let you in there.

“
Ivy, you do realize that
if you defeat Kreturus, you’ll take his place, right? The prophecy
was clear about that. If you kill him to save Collin, you’ll end up
being Queen of the Underworld whether you like it or
not.”

It wasn’t like I hid what I planned to
do. I even said that I was going to get Collin out of Underworld at
one point, but Shannon thought she talked me out of it. Apparently,
so did Al.

I released a deep breath and slumped
forward onto the tiny table. “I just want to bring Collin home.” I
looked into her old face, “It doesn’t matter anyway. I can’t even
figure out how to get in. The texts said that dark magic feeds off
itself, whatever that means. But it also said that any outsiders
would be sensed immediately. They’ll smell my Martis blood, and
know I’m there the second I walk in.

“
And I can’t just
efanotate and flash in there, grab Collin, and leave since I’ve
never been there before. Collin said I could only efanotate to
places that I’d been, or I’ll splice myself in half. Al, I thought
if I could sneak in, and find him—then I’d have a chance. But, it
doesn’t matter how hard I look, there just aren’t any maps that
mark a backdoor to Hell.” I rested my head in my hands, feeling
defeated.

Al paused before speaking with her
mouth hanging open, “So that’s your plan? Sneak in the back door,
and hope no one sees you? Goodness girl. That’s a horrible
plan.”

I looked up at her. It didn’t matter
how long I thought about it, I couldn’t devise a better strategy
for saving Collin. “Do you have a better idea?”

She stared at me with one of her
unreadable expressions and finally conceded, “No. I don’t. So, you
can’t use Valefar powers to get in, but you can use them get
out?”

“
Right. According to the
stuff I read, they’ll sense me if I use dark magic—their magic. So
I can’t use my Valefar powers or I’ll blow my cover. I’ll have to
locate Collin on my own, find him, and then I can efanotate us
out.” I dropped my hands back to my mini drink, and slumped back in
my chair, pushing my hair out of my face. Three months and this was
the best plan I could come up with.

The old woman breathed deeply. “There
is a way in; a back door that no one will see you enter—if you can
get past the Guardian.”

I leaned forward, not believing what
she was saying. “What? Where is it?” This was the most information
I’d gotten about finding a way into the Underworld.