Satan's Stone (4 page)

CHAPTER SEVEN

Gazing into the darkness, I couldn’t tell what I was looking at. Above us was a massive slab of white marble veined with pewter.
And nothing else.
The door to the Underworld was at my back. Apryl was squashed next to me. We were trapped inside a tomb, encased in marble. My heart began to race as the tight space seemed to shrink. Apryl was half hysterical already and muttering to herself words that I couldn’t understand. I told her it would be alright and began to try and slide my fingers around the edges of the marble, but there was no way I could lift it. Normally, I would have effonated away from this point, but I couldn’t. Cold fear began to pool in my stomach as I stared at the stone. I couldn’t get out of the tomb.

Apryl’s mutterings soon stopped when she seemed to realize that we were stuck. She sniffled and said, “
Portos
Uglamaya
.” When she touched the stone with her hand, her arm passed through the solid rock. It was if the marble had turned to milk. She retracted her hand and looked at me. “You’re a shitty Valefar.” A smirk crossed her lips as she shook off the rest of the somber haze. The marble rippled as my breath crossed the surface of the stone. “You’re right. It’s time to get out of here.” And without another word, she shoved me into the stone.

Panic shot through me as the cold stone surrounded me. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t scream. Silken liquid stone flowed around me as I moved through the space. The rapid beat of my heart echoed in my ears, as I frantically moved forward, half walking, half swimming, trying to get out. The cool stone slid over my skin without pause, always moving, always flowing. Just when I didn’t think I could stand it for another moment, a hand grabbed my shoulder and jerked me out of the milky stone. I fell on the dark slate floor inside the mausoleum. The marble tomb we were trapped in moments ago was at my side. Apryl stood next to me and I was on my butt at her feet.

“You can’t stay in there. What’s the matter with you?” she asked. She looked down at me like I was an idiot.

Sliding my legs under me, I rose and brushed off my jeans. “I’ve never done that before. What did you do?”

She arched an eyebrow at me in disbelief. The corner of her mouth twitched into a smile. “You are a Valefar, aren’t you? I mean, you smell weird, but you don’t smell human either. And you aren’t Martis?” I shook my head and sneered as she said Martis. “Then what are you?
Because if you were a Valefar, you could do basic things.
Even with my brain half drugged, I could do it.”

“You were drugged? That’s why you were so despondent?” My brows bunched together as I stared at her. She seemed normal again, well normal for the Valefar version of Apryl.

She nodded, “Yeah, something like that. I can’t remember what cut me loose from the Pool, but I remember that the Guardian and I were both there, and then we weren’t. After that I wandered around unaware of dangers around me or where I was going. It felt like something was following me—herding me towards that portal. My mental abilities were,” she paused, searching for the correct word, “addled. I couldn’t think. It felt like my mind was wrapped in a sheet of plastic and suffocating. When you pulled me through the portal, it lifted and I slowly realized what was happening.
Which brings us back to you…
” She cocked her hip and tilted her head at me. “Why couldn’t you drag us through the stone?”

I folded my arms over my chest and gazed around the large tomb. There was another stone door that we had to pass through to get outside. My eyes cut back toward Apryl. “I’m not a Valefar. I’m half.
Half Valefar.
Half Martis.
The Valefar are trying to trap me. The Martis are trying to kill me. I have a Seeker after me, who used to be my best friend. And I accidentally turned a good Martis into a psychotic Valefar. He also wants to kill me, but it seems he’d rather torture me first.” Apryl’s jaw slowly dropped as I spoke. Her brows sliding further up her face as the list of crazy people following me got longer and longer. “I’m not good company. Not unless you have a death wish, but I couldn’t leave you there either. Not like that.”

She nodded towards the exterior marble door. It towered above us and hung on hinges the size of my head. “Take us through the door.”

I grumbled at her, “I can’t. I’m only half Valefar. I can’t do that stuff.”

She snorted, “Yes, you can. Who told you that you couldn’t?” She sighed. “You’re such a dope sometimes, Ivy. Think about it. You have demon blood flowing through you—why couldn’t you command it the same way the Valefar do? You’d have to pay the same price, but other than that—why couldn’t you?”

Looking at the massive door, I unfolded my arms and walked towards it. I’d never thought about it really. Collin had forbidden me from using anything other than the two things he taught me. He’d said the price was too high. Turning back to Apryl I asked, “What’s the price for turning the door to milk?”

She laughed, “There is no set price. It’s more of a sliding scale, based on ability and age. You’re too new for it to cost more than you have.” She studied me for a moment, and then walked toward the door. “Dark magic is always paid for in pain.
Pain and power.”
Her fingers pressed against the cold stone. She spoke as she traced the pattern carved into the marble. “It’s the way of things.
Every ability
has a pain price. It’s usually close to the person’s pain threshold. He made it that way—so that the person wielding the magic feels every ounce of pain and doesn’t have the luxury of passing out.” She turned to me. Her hair fell over her shoulder. “The power price is different. I have no power, so it cost me nothing. I’m the lowest of the slaves. You can’t get lower.” She started to speak and then stopped. She pressed her fingers once more to the stone, and then withdrew her hand. When she turned back to me she said, “How can he take a power price from you, if he has no control over you?”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

Apryl walked around the room. The white marble appeared gray in the darkness. She stood in front of the ornate stone, slowly walking the perimeter of the room thinking. She didn’t seem like the old Apryl and I wasn’t foolish enough to think I could trust her, but she was telling me things that no one else had. And I could speak to her without the mental haze of blood lust. Damn, Eric. I still wanted to hurt him, even if I couldn’t kill him.

I turned my attention back to Apryl as she asked, “Well, he doesn’t. Does he?” She walked towards me, crossing the space in three strides. “Kreturus has been waiting for you to go to him, right? He didn’t force you?”

“He said he didn’t want to.” I paused, realizing how stupid that sounded. “He can’t force me, can he? The only way for him to use my power is if I surrender. He can’t use it otherwise. So I’d only pay the pain price to use Valefar magic, not the power price, right?” I gazed at Apryl.

She shrugged. “There’s only one way to find out. Go through the door.” She pointed at the mass of marble. “I’ll meet you on the other side.”

“Wait!” She turned and looked at me. I asked, “Why don’t you effonate? Why do this instead?”

She smirked at me. “Effonation has a high price in power and pain. If Kreturus took the power price from you, you’d know it as clearly as you know the pain of using the magic.” Shaking her head she moved toward me, and folded her arms across her chest. “You can effonate? And you have?” I nodded. Her lips parted as if she was going to speak, but she snapped her mouth shut and shook her head.
“So effonate through the door.”

“I can’t. Well, I can, but… ” my voice trailed off.

“But what?”
Apryl’s gaze cut into me. “We’re wasting time. In case you didn’t notice, something was watching us back there. We shouldn’t stay here. It’s right on the other side of the portal, and since I don’t have any memory of what happened to me—I don’t know what it is. Come on.
Time to go.”
She tugged at me.

“I can’t. I have to… ” She stopped pulling me and turned to look at me. “I’m wounded. I have sapphire serum in my chest.” I pointed to the remaining poison near to my heart. “I can’t effonate. I keep getting spliced and it hurts like hell. Plus, I don’t have any way to heal it.”

Apryl’s eyes were wide.
“Shit, girl.”
Without another word, she wrapped her fingers around my wrist and shoved me forward. I almost protested when she slammed me into the stone, but it turned soft right as my face hit it. I sank through like before and tried to swim across to the other side. Since I knew what was happening this time, I allowed my instincts to take over. My feet stopped kicking and settled on the bottom of the liquid stone. I took two steps forward, much like walking through a vat of paste, and stepped out into the night air. A cold gust of rainy wind hit my face as I gasped for air.

Apryl stood in front of me dripping. “You figured it out. Good. Now, let’s get out of here so we can figure out what’s going on.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

The graveyard was muddy from several days of rain and we were soaked. As we walked through the old tombstones and trees, I could hear cars echoing somewhere nearby. I stooped to read one of the granite stones. Most of the letters were worn away by the elements. It took two to three stones to be certain we were where I thought.

“I know where we are,” I told her. We were in an old cemetery from the 1600’s that sat high on a hill a mile or so from where we grew up. Apryl wouldn’t remember, but I did. We used to come out here in the summer to read the epitaphs between sprigs of flowers. The dragon must have brought me to this portal on purpose, but I wasn’t sure why. Besides that he seems to have led Apryl there, too. I followed the sound to the road, with Apryl walking behind me. Then we walked to an abandoned warehouse a few blocks away.

Apryl followed me without question. I didn’t like this. I didn’t like her being a Valefar. It was a risk to keep her around because Kreturus could use her any time he wanted. At least I thought he could. I still wasn’t certain how he was moving around. I decided to keep her with me because Apryl was right before. Kreturus had no control over me. He couldn’t touch my power by using demon magic. I was certain of it, because if effonating had a high power price, I would have noticed. I sure as hell noticed the pain. No, Kreturus didn’t have control over me. But then that meant he had control over every other Valefar. He could be anywhere. He could use any of them, except Collin. Collin’s mark was purple, like mine. That made him belong to no one, but I couldn’t be completely certain. I could only hope.

The warehouse was dank and dark. The metal roof sounded like marbles were falling on it instead of rain. We settled down on the floor. There were some crates in the corners with reams of paper that went to waste. I was so tired that I could barely sit up. Apryl said, “You look weak.” I didn’t reply. I couldn’t sleep. Not here. Not now. I was unguarded from both Martis and Valefar—plus I had one sitting next to me. “Is it the poison?”

I yawned, and nodded. “It should have killed me, you know. I shouldn’t be here. That was the second time I should have died this year, and instead—I’m here with you.” Maybe it was foolish to tell her, but I didn’t think stating the obvious put me in any more danger than I was already in. She had eyes after all, and could see I was about to pass out from exhaustion.

She nodded. “Then sleep.” I shot her a look from under my brow. She laughed. “What could I possibly do? You’re far stronger than I am, even weakened like this. I can’t effonate on my best day. But, I do need to… ”
she
paused and grimaced. “I need to eat. Rest, Ivy. I’ll be back in a while, and then we can talk. I have a feeling that your Valefar 101 classes were skipped.”

CHAPTER NINE

I was so sore and tired that I fell asleep almost instantly. The entire time I slept, my dreams were filled with blood and screaming souls. Death ravaged my mind and pulled on my emotions until I cried out in my sleep. With a jerk, I shot upright trying to get my bearings as my scream faded into soft echoes at the back of the warehouse. The silver comb was clutched tightly in my grip. My heart was racing in my chest, as the back of my neck prickled.

Someone was there, and it wasn’t Apryl. I could hear his breath, the slow intake of air as he tried to maintain his composure. The sound was near silent. It came from the very back of the warehouse where the shadows were thick like tar. His body was hidden from sight, but the bond tugged tightly, pulling at my gut. I knew who it was. My muscles relaxed slightly as I rose.

Peering through the darkness, I looked but couldn’t see him. Finally I called out, “Go away. I know you’re here and I don’t want to see you.”

Collin emerged from the darkness, dropping whatever shroud concealed him and moved toward me. My throat tightened. Additional worry creased my brow with each step of his foot. Fear surged through me in an icy cold blast. I was afraid of what Lorren did to me. It didn’t know if it was something that would make me savagely rip my soul from his body, and I didn’t want to find out. I had enough lust induced insanity for one day.

Panicked, I started to step away from him and screamed, “STOP!”

Collin’s feet abruptly immobilized. His head tilted to the side slightly, not certain what to think of the fear that was wafting off of me. I knew he could sense it. I knew the bond told him that I was afraid. He looked at me from across the room with a sea of cement separating us. Industrial lighting hung above, suspended from rusty rafters, but failed to illuminate the room. We stared at each other in the darkness, each of us waiting for the other to move or speak.

As my heart thumped in my chest, I wrung my hands waiting for something to happen—something to change. But it didn’t. Nothing felt different. But I didn’t trust myself, not without knowing exactly what Lorren had done to me. He told me I wouldn’t be able to kiss Collin again without taking my soul back. I didn’t know what that entailed.
 

And I didn’t trust Collin.

My arms folded tightly across my chest, and I tucked my hands into the crooks of my elbows to prevent him from seeing them shake. His presence sent my heart racing—being this close to him made me want to feel his strong hands sliding across my skin. If Lorren made that worse, in any way, I’d be unable to help myself.

Collin’s hands fell to his sides as his mouth opened, “Ivy…
“ His
voice was rich and deep. It was the perfect blend of confidence and compassion. The sound made me want to go to him. It made me want to forget the betrayal. It made me want to forget Lorren, and everything else. I’d give anything to have him hold me in his strong arms—the way things used to be. I yearned for it so deeply, but I suppressed the desires before they’d fully formed in my mind. The bond would allow these feelings to slip through more easily if they were full thoughts. But as non-contemplated desires—he would have to intentionally enter my mind to feel them.

I wrapped my arms around my middle. With a deep breath, I turned my back on him, and hung my head low as I gazed at the filthy floor. “Go away.” My hair fell over my shoulder as I whispered the words. I expected him to leave. I expected him to speak. But I failed to expect what he actually did. Before I had a chance to blink he was behind me. I felt the rush of wind at my back from his sudden movement, and I turned on the ball of my foot. My hair swirled around, flying over my shoulders when I suddenly stopped. The silver comb was in my hand ready to strike.

Collin stopped an inch from my face. I sucked in air, surprised. His warm breath washed across my skin as he tried to control himself. “No,” he answered, his deep voice resonating with determination. Sapphire eyes bore into me with such intensity that I wanted to look away. They were that deep blue, the blue his eyes turned when Collin was teetering on the edge of the crazy line. A muscle in my jaw flinched. His eyes darted to the spot as his gaze slipped over my body, taking in the tension throughout. The curve of his lips was nearly absent as his mouth moved into a straight line. “I have to tell you. I have to explain.”

He was too close. Our faces were less than an inch apart and our bodies were even closer. One deep breath and my chest would brush against his. My stomach twisted inside of me. Lorren’s words rang in my ears.
I’ve made it so you’ll have to take your soul back
. I’d have no choice if Collin kissed me. Desire would flood through me with a seduction too powerful to deny. My breath caught in my throat, as I broke eye contact and slid my foot away. But Collin moved forward filling the void with his body.

“Then explain,” I said refusing to look him in the eye. He spoke, and I tried to listen. His words were urgent and pleading, but I couldn’t listen. I couldn’t look at him.

Terror coursed through me in unrelenting waves, each more powerful than the first. Collin’s voice continued to flow at a rushed pace, as he could see and feel my reaction. He knew that I wanted him to leave, he just didn’t know why. While he spoke the intensity of his emotions cut through the panic that was choking me. Desperation laced his thoughts, but he was confident that I’d forgive him. He saw this conversation ending with a vivid picture in his mind.

A picture that I couldn’t allow.

When he stopped speaking, I noticed it—the faint scent, sweet and seductive, coming from him. It was on his skin, in his hair, and on his breath. Inhaling slightly, I tried to identify what it was. It was familiar, yet different. The scent was intoxicating and I found myself breathing deeper with each breath. The fragrance was alluring in a hypnotic sort of way. I pressed my tongue to the back of my teeth as saliva filled my mouth. Swallowing softly, I looked up at him feeling somewhat dazed.

Dark brown hair fell across his radiant blue eyes. They were wide and earnest, like the only thing of beauty he’d ever seen was standing right in front of him. His pale pink lips were curved just right and slightly parted. His cheeks were perfectly smooth. The tension in his body made his muscular frame curve with the divine subtly in all the right places. He was beautiful.

His blue eyes darted to the side, and then back to my face. His brow creased as he leaned a bit closer and asked, “Did you hear me?” Another second passed and he asked, “Ivy?” I looked into his face, neither smiling nor frowning.
Just looking.
His dark brows pinched together as he gazed over my shoulder and then back at my eyes. He tilted his head forward and repeated himself, “Do you understand? The blood I gave you should have lost its effect a long time ago. You needed it to survive—it healed you. I’d never hurt you, Ivy. Believe me. Remember. Remember the fights we had following that night. If you were smitten with bloodlust and I wanted to use you—I could have.” He pressed his lips together waiting for me to respond.

His words washed over me. I knew their meaning was important, but it didn’t register with him standing there. Not with him so close. My legs felt like lead. I mentally yanked at them until they could move. When I felt my knee bend, I stepped back from Collin, and nodded. I had to force out the words because my jaw didn’t want to move. I was still high on his scent. That had to be what filled my head with every breath I took. It made me want him more than anything I’ve ever wanted in my entire life. And I couldn’t tell him. I couldn’t offer the forgiveness. I couldn’t offer the kiss. I had to replace the thoughts that floated through my mind with something else—something cold and unforgiving. It was the only way.

My jaw felt like it was made of rusty iron, not wanting to move, not wanting to speak what I had to say. The expression on my face remained vacant, as my gaze was cast toward the floor. “I heard you,” I said. It was barely a whisper. With a shallow breath, I dared a glance at his eyes. There was no comprehension in the blue depths. He didn’t understand why I wanted him to leave, and I couldn’t tell him. His lips parted to speak, but I cut him off, “Just go.”

Collin’s expression remained the same. He looked down at me perplexed. I could sense his dismay, as I knew he could sense my fear. It didn’t matter how hard I tried to bury it, the feelings were jammed into every inch of me. One touch, that’s all it would take to shatter me. Then I’d press my lips to his and… The thought cracked like a piece of ice, splintering into tiny shards. He’d hear me. I couldn’t think it. I had to force him to leave. Wrapping my arms around myself, I took another step back and he didn’t follow. He didn’t move forward to close the space between us.

Instead I felt a stony coldness flow through the bond. When I looked up he had stepped away from me. His lips were pressed together. His arms were still folded over his chest with the muscles corded tight as if they could snap at any second. I swallowed the lump in my throat.

As his foot slid away another step, he asked, “Are you still going after the Satan’s Stone?” Turning toward him, I gazed into his face for a moment and nodded. He cut eye contact, as his gaze slid off my face and onto the wall. The tension in his stance didn’t shift. It didn’t change. “You’re not going to try to use Eric again, are you?” My mouth went dry. I needed Eric to find the stone. I needed the stone to live. I needed the stone to kill Kreturus. Collin saw the answer before I had a chance to speak. He stepped towards me urgently, “You can’t be serious. You can’t get what you need from him. He’s a rogue. Eric won’t do what you expect, Ivy. And next time… ” he stepped closer to me, looking down into my eyes with a remorseful expression, “he’ll kill you. Al was a warning. He manipulated us.”

I could barely think. There was something Lorren had said about Eric, but the words were too far away, lost in the back of mind. I couldn’t pull them to my lips. I couldn’t tell Collin why Eric had to help me. I couldn’t tell him that an angel handpicked the boy and I screwed him up. The words were lost, drifting away into the recesses of my mind. But Collin’s gaze didn’t turn away. He continued to stare at me with no comprehension on his face.

I pressed my lips together, and said, “There are very few choices then. I die if I approach him. I die if I don’t.” My heart quickened wondering if he would sense the lie. I didn’t have to approach Eric to help me. Eric wasn’t the only person who could save me. There was one other way to save me. One other means of removing the sapphire serum lodged in my chest, but I’d never tell him.

Collin’s jaw twitched. He opened his mouth and then snapped it shut. Turning on his heel, he ran his fingers through his hair, half pulling half pushing it out of his face. When he turned back to me his eyes flickered like twin blue flames. “I’m not losing you. Not after all this.” He sounded like he was talking to himself more than to me. He took a quick step away and I thought he was going to leave, but he turned suddenly.

I sucked in a gasp as he stood less than an inch from my face. He towered over me. The tension in his neck made the muscles throb under his skin. His gaze caught mine. His midnight blue eyes had a ring of fire surrounding them. “There has to be another way to heal you.
Some other way to do it without that stone, and without his help.”

The words shot out of my mouth like bullets, “There’s not!” I replied. “This is the only way. If you try to stop me, you’ll kill me. You might as well do it now and save me the agony.” My brow pinched together as I looked up into his face, hardly aware of the words I’d said. I hadn’t meant to say them.

Collin laughed, “That’s the last thing I want. I’ll find another way.” He paused, his tone softened, “And if there isn’t one, I’ll track him down myself. Don’t do this alone. Ivy, please… ”

His hand rose as if he was going to touch my face, but I jerked away. Panic laced my thoughts and spurred my feet into motion. I stumbled backwards nearly losing my footing. The feelings in the pit of my stomach were intensifying the entire time he spoke.
 
Trying to control myself, I breathed slowly, intentionally, as he spoke. My hands turned to fists to keep myself from reaching for him. Every inch of my body wanted to feel him pressed against me. I couldn’t maintain the distance much longer, but I didn’t have to. Collin watched me. He looked at me as if he’d never seen me before.

Ivy
, the thought brushed against my mind.

Icy terror poured down my spine. He was in my mind. I croaked a sound and stepped backwards, pressing my hands to my head as if I were in pain. Collin remained where he was, watching me withdraw from him. When I looked up at his face, the crimson ring was gone.