The 13th Prophecy (6 page)

He spoke over his shoulder, as he disappeared into the stairwell, “The price of using the stone was higher than you think.”

CHAPTER FIVE

Collin cleared his throat. Concern etched his face, forming a deep crease between his brows. “We shouldn’t stay in the open.” I didn’t move to follow Eric. I couldn’t stand the thought of being in the same room with him. Collin wrapped his arms around me. I could hear his heart beating beneath his chest. The embrace should have made me feel better. It should have made me feel safe, protected, and warm or maybe even loved. But it was nothing more than pressure on my arms.

I stared at the metal door leading to the basement, dreading confinement with Eric. I needed to rest. The Sapphire Serum in my chest was taking its toll. I spoke into Collin’s chest, too distraught to look into his face. The emotions lingered from tasting Eric’s blood. “I don’t know what to do with him, Collin. He could have left. He could have killed me.” I paused, shaking my head softly. “When we
effonated
here, I lost control and started to burn. He took all of my pain away and lent me his power.
It’s
things like that that make me uncertain. I can’t tell if he’s trying to help me or kill me. And there’s been more than one time that his life was in danger, and he stayed. Anyone else would have run. What is he, Collin? What have I done?”

Collin’s fingers were under my chin, tilting my face up to meet his. “I don’t know what he is. And I don’t know if it’s because you made him that way. He was an angel before he was anything else. It influences him, but I don’t know how. All I know is that I can say with confidence that I understand demons, and whatever Eric is, he isn’t acting like one. His cruelty seems to be a need, not a want. Demons destroy for fun. That isn’t what he’s doing. And whatever he’s doing to you—it pains you—but it seems to help you. Am I wrong? ‘
Cause
that sounds insane.” Collin looked into my eyes. His lips remained parted, breathing gently, but I knew this troubled him. And that was okay, because it scared the hell out of me.

Licking my lips, I nodded, “It seems to help. It seems to do something that I can’t explain.” Looking into his face, I saw that he already knew what I’d admitted. “That’s why you haven’t killed him, isn’t it?” I didn’t doubt he could. And I wondered why Collin held such a tight leash on his power.

He pulled me close, and smoothed the hair on the back of my head. “I’d do anything for you.
Anything to save you from pain.
But with this—it’s different. I don’t know why or how. But I trust you. I know you’ll tell me if things get out of hand. And I’ll help you deal with it, no matter how bloody it gets.” He kissed the crown of my head, as I nodded. We remained still, feeling the winter wind blowing through the roof. Collin’s heart beat steadily in his chest, as his arms held me tight.

Lying on the leather couch, I rested with my head in Collin’s lap. I wondered about the kiss. I didn’t feel the compulsion to steal his soul when his lips pressed against me. Nothing stirred inside me, demanding me to take it. I wondered where it went, or if it would return.

He insisted on stroking my hair and watching me sleep. Both of them saw how drained I was and knew I needed rest. But sleep meant being vulnerable to Locoicia. She could pull me through her black mirror while I rested. That was why Collin wanted to hold me. The reasoning was that he could stop her before she pulled me into the glass. And to tell you the truth, I was glad Collin was there, that he insisted on watching over me. Although his touch registered as nothing more than pressure on my skin, I still wanted him near me. It reminded me that I was alive, and not the cold heartless bastard that was watching me from across the room. Eric.

As I lay there, Eric’s words echoed through my mind. The price of him using Satan’s Stone was higher than I thought. Eric’s price was more than a constant state of change. But I couldn’t find any commonality to see what it was. I was aware of only one loss that did anything to him, and that was Lydia. He didn’t even seem to grieve Al’s death. But with Eric there was no way to know for sure. He kept everything hidden so deeply that it was impossible to tell what he was thinking with anything.
Except when it came to me.
He hated me with a passion. Sometimes the thought of facing Kreturus was less frightening than facing Eric.

Collin’s fingers pressed against my scalp, tangling in my curls as he stroked my head gently. He’d remained quiet for a long time. Uncertainty lined the curve of his mouth. Worry still pinched his brow as he gazed down at me. His voice was soft when he spoke. “I didn’t think you’d forgive me...
For what I’d done.”
Eric sat across from us, lying on a couch with his eyes closed, although I doubted he was asleep. I didn’t expect Collin to discuss it in front of him, but there might not be another time. His fingers traced the line of my cheek.

I pressed my hand to his, feeling the curve of his hand in my palm. I wished that I could feel the sensations that used to shoot through me when I touched him, but there was nothing. I released his hand, and looked up at him, “It wasn’t you.” My voice was soft, as if that could keep Eric from hearing our words. Once, there had been no need for words. Once, we were so close that our minds spoke for us.
But not now.
Never again.

“That’s easy to say, but when you see me doing things...” his voice trailed off. His blue eyes were strained with anxiety. “When we leave here and you see what I’ve done—it was my hand that did it. It was my doing that freed Kreturus from his prison. I’m to blame for all of it, because I’m the one who started it.”

I twisted in his lap, and sat up. Staring into his face, I asked, “What do you mean?”

Collin pushed his dark hair out of his face. His eyes darted to Eric and back to me. “I wish we could talk the way we used to.” He tucked a stray curl behind my ear. He pressed his lips together, pushing them into a thin pink line. “Kreturus escaped because I went looking for him. I found him, I made a bargain, and I lost. It allowed him to use me to come to the surface. And I couldn’t talk about it. I couldn’t warn you away or tell you what I was doing.

“It became harder and harder to try and keep you two apart. He would come up looking for you. He’d search my mind, trying to find memories that would lead him to you. I couldn’t hide them anymore. The day you pulled me through the demon glass, Kreturus decided he would kill you if you didn’t submit to him. He was going to make me the one to do it. If you’d hesitated when I fell through the mirror, I would have killed you. There wasn’t a choice. And it’s weird now...” he paused, looking over my shoulder at the wall. His face relaxed as if he were somewhere wonderful and not locked in a musty old basement filled with flats and old props.
“Because I have a choice.
He can’t call me back. Kreturus can’t make me do anything,” he took my hands in his, rubbing the back of my hand with his thumb, “and I owe it all to you. You broke my blood bargain. I never thought I’d be free again. But I am.” He leaned closer to me, his lips about to touch mine when Eric spoke.

“If you want to hook up with the person who freed you from your bargain, you’re trying to fuck the wrong girl.” Eric turned his head toward us, his golden eyes glaring. My jaw dropped, but he didn’t let me speak. Tension shot through Collin’s body as he pulled away from me, but I grabbed his arm before he could cross the room to Eric. “It was the Demon Princess. It was her spell. Ivy just fucked it up by leaving out an important fact.” Eric turned his head away from us and covered his eyes with his arm—like he was bored.

I grabbed a candlestick holder from the table next to me and hurled it at Eric. “You’re such an ass.”

Eric’s hand shot up and plucked the object from the air before it hit him in the side of the face. “What’s your point?” He sat up, neither frowning nor smiling. His eyes had that look that made me want to cower. It was as if he
were
hungry and I was food.

I swallowed, ignoring the sensation creeping up my throat. It pissed me off that I couldn’t feel Collin’s touch, but Eric could still evoke a response from me. It was the lingering effects of his blood. “My point is that he’s talking to me, not you! And I didn’t screw up her spell. I said it perfectly. I did everything she said. I paid dearly for it, Eric. And if I hadn’t done what I promised, the blood bargain would have taken effect and killed me. So, what happened?” Eric was silent. He turned away with a confident expression in his eyes. He knew too much. I could see it on his face, and he wasn’t going to tell me. I huffed, “You know. How could you possibly know?” How could he possibly know why the spell didn’t
work.
He was full of crap. There was no way it was possible.

“Ask Locoicia next time you see her,” was all he said. Eric moved away from us, to the back of the basement, as far away from us as possible.

Collin watched him. He no longer had the Neanderthal reaction to pound Eric whenever he said something horrible. Instead, he listened and watched. People who were silent when they should be screaming are more dangerous. Good thing Collin was on my side. Eric was something I couldn’t explain. A horrific act tied us together. And now, now I wasn’t even sure what he was. Was he mortal? Could he die? He seemed to still have some of my power or demon blood. But I wasn’t certain how much that was affecting him.

Collin broke the gush of thoughts that was flooding my mind. He pulled me back into his arms, and I slouched against his chest. The world was turning to Hell above me, and I couldn’t do anything about it because I was weak. I was weak because part of my soul was inside of Collin. And Eric had taken some.
Fucking Eric
.

Collin wrapped his arms around me, and the tension faded from my shoulders. He whispered softly into my ear, “He knows something we don’t.” I nodded. That much was certain. But what, I didn’t know.

CHAPTER SIX

Collin stayed by me, watching Eric, although I knew Eric wouldn’t harm me. Not if he couldn’t enjoy watching the pain in my eyes. Attacking me in my sleep wasn’t his style. It was possible that the only reason he was helping me find the stone was morbid curiosity.
That,
and he thought I held the ward that kept him safe. Lorren hadn’t said anything as far as I could tell, and I didn’t bring it up again. If he figured it out, I wasn’t sure what he’d do.

Collin’s fingers stroked my brow as I drifted in and out of a light sleep. He didn’t think it was safe to allow me to completely drift off for fear Locoicia would grab me and suck me into her demon glass. Instead of getting a good deep rest, I got enough to not fall over. I’d have to face her at some point anyway. It would be better if it were at a time I chose, which would be never. If I knew how she pulled me through the glass, I’d stop her. But I wasn’t sure. It had to be one of the spells she taught me, or a concoction of them, but I wasn’t sure which ones.

When I couldn’t lie there anymore, I sat up. Collin’s hand was on my back. I leaned into him for a moment, inhaling his scent. There was no reaction. No feeling of affection. No desire for things that would normally make me
blush
in the light of day.

As if he knew what I was thinking, Collin pressed a kiss to my temple and brushed my hair over my shoulder. “If you can still feel anything,” he glanced across the room into the dark void where Eric sat, “for anyone, then there’s a chance you’ll recover from what she did to you. It’s not over until the end. And I won’t leave you, not when you face Kreturus. Not ever. Okay?” His words made me want to melt into him. As he spoke, my gaze locked on his deep blue eyes. Their gaze had made every part of me feel alive and safe not so long ago. Could I really feel him again? Could
the disconnect
between my mind and my emotions be rejoined? I didn’t know. I wasn’t even certain that was the problem. And the numbness that kept me from Collin was a necessary evil to not feel pain. Otherwise the dark magic would claim its pain price and destroy me. I wouldn’t be able to bear the pain.

For once, Eric waited for a lull to speak. He rose in the darkness and paced toward us. He stopped, standing above us, his arms folded across his chest. My heart raced, picking up the pace to match Eric’s. Eric said, “We need to get going. I know where the stone is, but you’ll have to kill a few Martis to get it.” I looked up at him, my brows pinched together. “Don’t look at me like that. What’d you expect?
That it would be in a lock box under my bed?”
He snorted, shaking his head. “Of course you did...”