When Al returned, Collin dropped the pendant and stepped away. Al handed me a navy blue sweatshirt that said ST. BART’S BASEBALL. I pulled it over my head quickly.
Al said, “You need to get the painting. We can’t let them get it.”
“They can’t,” I replied. “It’s still on holy ground. It’s in an old church.”
Al’s face pinched together. She approached me slowly. “What old church?”
“I’m not sure if it has a name. It’s an old one out east. I found it the night I took the painting.” I was getting nervous that she hadn’t sat down yet. She always sat down.
Her eyes were growing wide. “Ivy, do people still worship there?”
“No one goes there anymore. It’s a relic, in-between some farms.” Al paled. I asked, “What’s the matter?”
“It’s not protected. The wards only work at churches.” Her wrinkled face was pale. She froze in front of me.
“But it is a church,” I replied.
Collin cut in, reminding me he was there, “Not if no one worships there—it gets demoted to a building—like any other. There are no wards. The Valefar can go inside. They can get it.”
Al’s eyes cut between Collin and me. She didn’t like him, that much I could tell. Her gaze shifted back to me and softened, “You have to get it. You have to bring it back here. Ivy, if they get it, then they only need the key to call Kreturus. You can’t let them get it.”
Panic flooded me at her distress. “I didn’t know. I’ll get it. I’ll bring it back here. I promise, Al. They won’t get it. It’s hidden, and not in plain sight. I can get it right now, and be right back.” I looked at my ruby ring.
Collin slid his hand over mine. “There are other Martis in this building. I can smell them. They will sense us if you use Valefar magic here. We need to go outside.”
Al looked unsure. Her gaze shifted between Collin and me. She finally said, “He’s right, they will sense you, but I am sending Shannon and Eric after you.” I groaned, and started to protest, but she cut me off. “No, Ivy this is too important. If something happens,” she looked at Collin, “I want them there. You need them. You have no choice.”
I locked my jaw, knowing she was right. “It’s the old stone church out by Cutchogue. It’s between a bunch of farms. It’s the only building—you can’t miss it. But Al, I’ll be back by the time they get there.”
She took my hands in hers, “I hope so.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
“I can’t believe you can do that,” he said. Collin and I efanotated, and appeared in front of the old stone church.
“Do what?” I asked, looking around to ensure we were alone. We were much closer to the Valefar now, and I didn’t like it.
“I’ve never seen anyone do that. I can’t move two people. It’s amazing that you can, that’s all. You amaze me—in every way possible.” His voice sounded odd.
I turned to look at him, unsure of his sudden mood. “It’ll be okay, Collin. We’ll get the painting and leave.” He nodded, taking my hand and walking towards the stone building.
The humidity clung to my flesh like droplets of honey. If the wind picked up more, it would feel better. Collin followed me as we walked up to the little room. He said nothing, but I could tell something was bothering him. I chalked it up to nerves. When we were up in the room inside the church, I walked to the spot I’d thrown the painting. I dug through the piles of books, feeling my way around between the dusty stacks, but I didn’t find it. The painting was rolled up. It could have rolled under something. The dust shifted and tickled my nose.
“So, how does this work?” I asked. My butt was in the air, as I reached through a stack. “Does it have a chant on it, or something?”
“Something like that.” His voice sounded weird.
“Well, that’s a nice vague answer,” I laughed. My hand dug between more stacks. I could have pushed them over, but I thought it would crush the painting if it was back there. I sat up. “Huh. I thought it was over here.”
Collin’s eyes went wide. He looked around the room. The bond shifted suddenly. He was doing something. Something I couldn’t fathom. It was like some animal instinct. He was training his senses on the air—looking for signs of previous visitors, besides me. I sat up and watched him, perplexed. His body tensed. “Come!” The room filled with Valefar. They came through the stairwell and poured into the room like roaches. There were too many to fight or run.
I looked at Collin, but he wouldn’t meet my gaze. My stomach lurched. “Collin?” I breathed with my heart pounding in my chest. “What is this?” I heard the doubt in my voice. I stared at him unblinking until a familiar voice caught my attention.
Jake. He handed Collin the painting. “You were right. We found it right before you got here.”
My gut twisted as severely as my mouth. What had he done? He loved me. He wouldn’t do this to me. But, he did. He called the Valefar, and they appeared. They took the prophecy on his command. My doubt suddenly curdled into betrayal. “You didn’t… ” My eyes went wide, as anger filled me. I knew he could feel it, but I didn’t care. “Tell me you didn’t tell them to come here and take the prophecy!”
He looked at me, as he took my hand in his. They were rimmed with violet. “I did. I told you that I would do anything to lift the curse, and gain my freedom. I made an agreement with Kreturus a long time ago. A trade. My life, for yours.”
Collin’s gaze shifted away from me, to the rest of the Valefar. He was stoic, like the rest of them. Repulsion overtook me and I couldn’t stand to look at him. I wanted to scream, and felt a surge of angry words building in my mind. All that time we spent together, was what? A lie? A brilliant lie, orchestrated by a cunning being that would do anything possible to gain his life back. I jerked my hand out of his grip. But he tightened his fingers, and stripped the ruby ring. I was stripped of my Valefar power, and trapped.
He turned back to his Valefar and said, “Take her. And two others are coming. I’ll need them too.”
I screamed, hoping that the others could hear me if they were there. But it was too late. I walked them straight into a trap. “COLLIN!” I screamed at his back. “I saved you! How could you do this to me!” I flailed, as strong Valefar hands restrained me. Collin ignored me, and stared barking orders to people. The Valefar dragged me outside into the night.
There was a circle on the ground. Someone cut into the frozen earth with a shovel. A trail of tiny white crystals marked the edges. Salt. Shannon and Eric were tied and staked at different points along the edge of the circle. My heart sank. They got here and were captured. The thug dropped me on the ground, jolting my tailbone. Despite the sting, I jumped up. Every muscle in my body flexed, ready to run—ready to fight, but I didn’t get the chance. They restrained me, gashing my cheek as I tried to fight them. It didn’t matter how much I twisted and turned. I couldn’t get away. There were too many Valefar. Too many to overpower or outrun. With a jerk, my wrists were bound behind my back and my ankles were tethered to the third stake. My lungs heaved in cold air. I strained against my bonds, but they didn’t give. Rage shot through me, burning with fierce intensity. I screamed, thrashing, doing anything possible to free myself—but it did nothing. When I gave up, it felt like the veins in my forehead exploded. I heaved in ragged breaths, still refusing to accept it, knowing that we were going to die. And it was my fault.
Blinking back tears, I looked around. The Valefar were frantic. I watched them, wondering what they would do since they didn’t have the key to open the pit. Collin said they didn’t have it, and I didn’t feel him lie. That meant that he was telling the truth at the time. Damn it! How could I be so foolish? Why didn’t I see this coming? I reached out for Collin through the bond, wanting to scream at him. It felt like reaching out through water, and masked his thoughts. I couldn’t hear him.
A breeze blew through my hair, cooling my skin. I looked across the circle at Eric. His face was sorrowful. He didn’t scream I told you so at me. He appeared sad, defeated. Shannon’s long hair was whipping around her stake, caught in the wind. It flashed red in the moonlight. Her face was pinched in fear, realizing better than me what was coming. While the Valefar made preparations to free the most powerful demon alive, we helplessly watched them unable to stop it. My only hope was that Al knew I should have been back by now. She had to know something was wrong.
The Valefar began to close in around the edges of the circle. Jake stood triumphantly next to me. He pulled a knife from his pocket, and cut me free. I fell to the ground and punched him in the kneecap, ready to fight. His hands reached down, pulling me to my feet, by my hair. I yelped, rising swiftly, feeling some of the roots snap away from my scalp. Collin’s voice growled behind me. “Drop her.”
Jake said, “But, we’re just going to… ”
“Drop. Her.” Collin stood with every muscle in his body flexed. When Jake’s fingers didn’t release me, Collin slashed something silver into his stomach. Jake fell to the ground. Blood flowed out of his abdomen, as he crumbled onto the grass. The smell of sulfur filled the air, as his body turned to tar, and the earth reclaimed him. I started at Collin, horrified. I froze in place with my throat so tight that I could barely breathe.
“No one touches her. I have to do it,” he said glaring at the Valefar, pointing at them with my comb. There was a desperate intensity in him. His mind was wound so tight, he was about to crack. But, the thing that concerned me most was his eyes. They were filling with crimson, not violet. He was still a Valefar. The angel blood wasn’t enough to overpower his demon kiss. Al said we weren’t the same, even though I turned his mark purple. But, I didn’t see what she meant until that moment. Collin was still Collin the Valefar, despite the coloring on his head. My soul hadn’t changed him. My stomach sank. What have I done? Out of all the stupid things for me to do, out of all the choices I made, this one was beyond redemption.
Collin turned back to the circle, acting like he had done nothing more than step on an ant. There was no indication that he just killed a man, or that it bothered him in the slightest. Unrolling the painting in his hands, Collin’s eyes hungrily devoured it. His face lit up as he gazed at the canvas. Those intense eyes were still blood red, rimmed in violet, and moving across the painting, like he was reading something.
The wind whipped harder, howling, making the night feel more sinister. With a locked jaw and throbbing temples, Collin looked back at me. His eyes gazed over at me once, and then he rolled the painting back up and shoved it in his waistband. Certainty washed over him. I shuddered in response, and tried to hide how terrified I felt. My pulse didn’t slow; my chest felt like it would explode, and if my jaw locked any tighter it would crack. All traces of the boy I saw, of the Collin I knew, were gone. There was nothing left of him. Callous indifference lined his face, as he looked over the many Valefar under his command.
