Demon Kissed (40 page)

Al shook her head. “Kreturus can’t pull Martis in through a vision, but you aren’t a pure Martis.
 
The blood that flows through your veins is his blood.
 
While you aren’t enslaved like the other Valefar, he can still exert control over you in your visions.
 
And without the ability to conjure light, you will be at his mercy.”

“She did conjure light,” Shannon said.
 
“I saw it come to her when she healed Collin.”

Al regarded me carefully, “If that is true, then you should be able to use it in your visions.
 
But, it’s not responding to you as it does to a Martis.
 
And if the light will not protect you when you call it—Ivy, no one has ever gone into that pit and come back out.”

A smile spread across my face. A tinge of hope shot through me. “The demons did. Thousands of them almost crawled out of it the other night. But, there was no trace of them in my vision today.
 
They were gone.”

Al’s voice sounded frantic, “What do you mean,
they were all gone
?
 
The demons should have been trapped in the pit with him.
 
The Martis that captured him made sure that pit was isolated and secure.
 
There was no way in and no way out.
 
The demons
who
battled with him were trapped down there with him.
 

“If the demons are able to enter and leave as they wish, then what’s holding Kreturus there?”
 
The nun looked sullen.
 

“I don’t know, Al.
 
But, he acted like he was still trapped.
 
He was really pissed off when Collin used the bond to shove me out of the vision.
 
Maybe the demons were able to escape, but not Kreturus.
 
Somehow the demons left the pit, even though they didn’t leave through the portal.
 
Al, that
means there has to be another way out of Kreturus’ pit. And, if they were able to leave, then there’s got to be another way in.”

Shannon said, “If there is, Julia would know how to find it. She has access to old stuff like that.” Shannon’s brow was covered in sweat.

“Kreturus,” Al said, “is worse than what you faced here, Ivy. Collin knew that when he went it. He knew that when he told you to leave your vision. And, I already know what you’re thinking. If you go in after him, you may not come back at all.” She smiled at me, “I knew your heart would pave your path.”

I looked at her anxious face, and knew she was right. My heart belonged to Collin, and he was alive. There was no way I could possibly leave him there. I risked my life to save him the night he lay bleeding in my arms. There was no way to know back then that we shared the same soul, but we did. He had a piece of me and I had a piece of him. All this time I thought that the Underworld was my destiny, but that wasn’t true. Collin was. He was my soul mate, and always would be. Whatever future I had, I knew he had to be in it. Al was right. All this time my heart was paving my path.

I took a breath, “Shannon, you were right.”

She looked at me, stunned.
“About what?”

I smiled at her. “You told me that the guy in the painting was trouble. That something would make me follow him. Something would make me
want
to be there in Underworld with him. Well, you were right, Shan. I’m going straight to Hell. And I’m not coming back without Collin.”