Cursed (Demon Kissed #2) (14 page)

My soul approached my mouth slowly,
like it was caught on a line. The Guardian’s kiss carefully pulled
it closer and closer to my lips. His fingers threaded through my
hair, gently brushing my cheek. It was the way Collin had kissed
me. That kiss lingered in my thoughts constantly. I leaned into him
wishing it were Collin. My eyelids suddenly became heavy, as a
flash of warmth shot through my belly. The pain was erased. It made
me feel like I could stay like this forever with him—just the two
of us, wrapped together, with his lips on mine. When I leaned into
him more, a distant voice shrieked, but I didn’t stop. This was
where I wanted to be. This is where I was safe. Here with Collin.
Bliss shot through me, coursing through my veins and making me feel
invincible.

It wasn’t until I felt the warmth of
my soul flood my mouth, that I heard his voice.

A faint voice brushed the
inside of my mind.
It’s not me Ivy. Drive
the Guardian back before there is nothing left of you.

Collin? Collin! I could hear him! Oh
God, then who was I kissing? Fear snapped me back to reality.
Before I knew what overtook me, my powers surged. Black mist
swirled around me, encasing my soul-ravaged body. A bright light no
larger than a spec of sand flashed. At the same time, I was thrown
back onto the shore. The remaining piece of my soul slid back down
my throat when I hit the ground, and warmed my blood in the
process. Disoriented, I looked over at the lake to see Collin’s
ethereal form shoot back into the Pool and dissolve into the
waters. I breathed deeply, relieved.

But, this wasn’t over yet. The
creature resurfaced, snarling with a mouth filled of daggers. Its
water-like form was blazing with blue and green flames. The
Guardian’s red eyes locked with mine as it cried out in rage. Too
terrified to move, I stood there watching. The Guardian shot across
the water, making a deafening noise that paralyzed me with terror.
My heart was about to explode in my chest. There wasn’t enough air
to fill my heaving lungs.

A hand pulled at my shoulder urgently,
“Go! Go now! Once you pass, it can’t touch you.” Apryl was yelling
in my face, but I couldn’t move. She slammed her body into mine,
attempting to force my legs forward. “Ivy! Move! It can still reach
you! Move now or die!” But her words rolled off of me. I couldn’t
move. It didn’t matter that I knew I would die if I stayed here. It
was like I was trapped by something I couldn’t see. The Guardian
was somehow holding me in place. Before I knew what was happening,
the Guardian was in front of me. Its shining silver teeth gleamed
red in the glow of the cave making them look like they were covered
in blood. It let out another ear piercing cry, and lunged at
me.

Every muscle in my body heaved, trying
to move before those teeth ripped the flesh from my bones. But it
didn’t matter how hard my muscles flinched or how fast my heart
pumped, I was trapped. A scream erupted from my throat right before
the creature’s teeth ripped into me. My arms flew up to cover my
face when another scream drew my attention back to the Guardian.
The piercing cry tore through the power that immobilized
me.

It was Apryl’s voice—Apryl’s cry.
She’d thrown herself between me and the Guardian still screaming at
me to run. When I didn’t move, she’d stepped in front of me
allowing the razor sharp teeth to tear through her arm. Three deep
red gashes slashed through her pale skin from shoulder to wrist.
She cradled the bleeding arm close to her body, screaming in agony.
The creature lunged for her again, teeth first. I watched in
horror. This couldn’t be happening. I just found her. And now this
beast had me trapped and it was ripping my sister’s skin from her
body.

The Guardian’s teeth sank into her
other arm, jerking her away from me with a flick of its head. The
creature was twice my height. Its mouth was covered in my sister’s
blood. Her voice no longer filled the cavern with screams. Rage
seared through me. The Guardian did not release the bonds that
immobilized me, but my powers were greater. Heat burned through me,
but I had no idea how the power would manifest itself. A raw
screamed ripped out of my throat, as the Guardian’s bloody red
teeth rushed at my face. When its sharp edges clamped down to bite
into my flesh a loud crack erupted, and the teeth that touch my
skin exploded. Silver blood-covered shards flew through the air, as
the creature screamed in horror. It lunged at me again, but the
same thing happened. When the silver teeth touched my skin there
was a loud crack and more of its teeth shattered. Sweat covered my
cowering body.

The beast’s cry filled the cavern, as
it became increasingly enraged. Its eyes flamed red, as it lunged
at me one last time. It lifted its maw directly above me. Saliva
dripped off the remaining silver dagger-like teeth, dripping onto
my body below. Terror coursed through my veins. The Guardian
changed the way it would attack. Its wide spread jaws were going to
swallow me whole. It shrieked as its massive head lunged toward me.
The thick scaly maw snatched me from where I stood.

As soon as the Guardian’s lips closed
around me, everything went dark. The bonds that had immobilized me
below were now broken. I could move. The creature’s tongue was
trying to push me towards the back of its mouth. It swept at me,
trying to knock me over and shove me down its throat. A dull violet
glow filled the creature’s mouth. My hair was still flaming. That
meant that I still had the power I’d conjured before. The
Guardian’s tongue swept past me once as I fell between its tongue
and its teeth. I extended my arms and quickly grabbed hold of a
tooth, and hoped that it would still work. Burying my face in my
shoulder, I looked away as the loud crack echoed in its mouth. When
its tooth shattered, the Guardian’s maw opened in a raw
scream.

As soon as its jaws shot opened, I
jumped. It was impossibly high, but it was better than being eaten.
But, I wasn’t out of harm’s way yet. As I fell to the ground, it
snapped at me, trying to catch me. The Guardian was moderately
successful. I fell on the outside of his maw. My hand collided with
its massive red eye. The Guardian shook violently, but I lodged my
fingers in its eyelid and had no plans to let go. The power was
still in my hands. I could feel it coursing through to my
fingertips. I held onto the Guardian’s eyelid with one hand and
sunk my other five fingers straight into its flame red eye. The
crack erupted, echoing off the cave walls, as the Guardian’s eye
exploded in its socket. Its head shook violently as it bellowed,
but I held on.

Did I have to kill this thing to pass
the Pool of Lost Souls? Or could I sneak by? I wasn’t certain. I
also had no idea why my hands were making things explode. Was that
coming from me? Or was it like putting gunpowder next to a
campfire? Some things just ignited each other. I wasn’t sure, but
it knew it was now or never. I pulled the silver comb from my hair
and touched it to my mark extending the tines into long razor sharp
blades. Creatures of darkness could only be killed with Celestial
Silver. It was possible the beast would shake its head and I’d fall
while I reached for my comb, but I had to. Something told me that
blowing up both eyes wouldn’t work. I had to sink my blade into the
beast. Without another thought, I lunged at the Guardian’s other
eye. The blade sank deep into its pupil in one swift stroke. The
Guardian cried out, shaking its head. My body was thrown to the
ground. I was right in front of it. If it wanted me, it could have
lunged again and it would have my soul. All of it. But the Guardian
turned its blind head from me and slid back below the surface of
the water.

An eerie silence drifted over the
Pool. Shannon and Eric were nowhere in sight. Neither was Apryl. I
slowly stood, although every bone in my body protested. Something
glimmered to my right. I bent to pick it up. It was a shard of the
Guardian’s silver tooth. It was thin and jagged where the tooth
cracked. I wiped the blood and flesh from the point, and tied it to
my belt out of sight. I might need it. My heart was still racing
when Apryl walked up behind me.

“
You beat the shit out of
the Guardian.” Apryl sounded amused.

I turned to look at her, not expecting
what I saw. Valefar were supposed to heal quickly from non-fatal
wounds. Especially if no silver was used. Her arms were both
marred. The fleshed peeled away from bone in places. Her face was
white. “Apryl…Oh my God. Why aren’t you healing?”

She collapsed next to me. “It’ll heal.
Eventually. His teeth were celestial silver filled with sapphire
serum. Every single tooth. The Martis originally put the Guardian
here. The Guardian kept the living out and kept the demons in. The
sapphire serum makes it more deadly. Damn Martis. Basically, if it
buries its teeth deep enough in you, you’re dead no matter what. It
doesn’t matter if you’re Martis or Valefar, demon or angel. That
stuff is deadly no matter what you are. The Guardian’s sapphire
serum rips the soul from the living, and its razor sharp tooth
tears the flesh from the dead. No one gets past that thing, but you
shattered its teeth and blinded it.” She let out a weak laugh.
“You’re insane.”

“
Will it heal?” I asked
looking back at the water.

“
Doubt it. Nothing is more
deadly than Celestial Silver to Underworld creatures. It seems to
amplify wounds, and prevents them from healing. I’ve seen Valefar
try to get the thing to back off with brimstone weapons, but the
Guardian just snapped them like twigs. It’s something about the
teeth being infused with the sapphire serum and being made of
Celestial Silver. It’s stronger…More powerful. That combined with
whatever you did—well, it won’t heal. But I doubt it’ll die. That’s
what made me remember you.” She smiled faintly.

“
What do you mean?” I was
glad she remembered me, but I didn’t want to ask how. Was it
because she sensed the demon blood flowing through my veins? Maybe
she only recognized me as another Valefar.

“
I can only remember
things from the time of my death and forward. When I first saw Eric
on the pier, I thought he looked like the kind of boy you’d date.
You always went for the wholesome, nice-guy types.” She was right.
I did go for guys like Eric before she died. But that was a long
time ago, before my life came crashing down around me. When she
spoke again, her voice changed. It sounded distant and lost.
“That’s why I remembered. I watched you march up to that beast like
you owned it when it attacked Eric. You protected him…against
something that should have killed you. Only one person I ever knew
was that crazy.” She smirked, “My whack-job little sister. Who else
would be crazy enough to show up down here? Everyone else wants to
get out and you’re trying to break in. God, I miss you…” She closed
her teary eyes, as her head swayed.

“
Whoa, Apryl.” I rushed to
her and held her upright. “What can I do?”

She went limp in my arms as I lowered
her to the ground. Her eyes opened into little slits. “Kill the
bastard responsible for making me into this thing. I’m not alive,
but I’m not dead. I’d rather die, Ivy. If that thing—the
Guardian—ripped me to pieces, it would have been worth it. I would
have finally been free from this curse. But Kreturus made sure the
Guardian wouldn’t kill me. He did something to me so that the
Guardian will only chomp on me once or twice before deciding I’m
not worth eating.”

“
What curse? What are you
talking about?” I kneeled next to her. Some of the color was
returning to her face. Although her wounds still looked like raw
meat.

“
We’re cursed, you and I.
It’s the curse of the Valefar. Some say we’re damned, but it’s not
the same thing. Damned means you did something wrong before. It
means you had a choice about what became of you.” She shook her
head softly, “But that isn’t what happened. The curse of the
Valefar is something that happens to you—whether you’re good or
bad. You have no choice, but to become this vile, soulless thing
that doesn’t deserve to be alive.” Her expression was vacant as she
spoke. “The demon blood gave me power to do and take whatever I
wanted, except for the one thing I want more than anything. My
soul. The curse leaves the person a shell of themselves. I can’t
remember much about my previous life, except that I loved it. The
curse allowed me to remember some of my previous thoughts, enough
to know that what I am is evil. Guilt gnaws at me, but I can’t do a
thing about it. I need souls to survive. I’ve killed people, Ivy.
People who stumbled on the Pool. It doesn’t happen often, but I
didn’t let them get to the Pool. I’m evil. I’m one of the things
that killed me on the pier. If I could kill myself, I would. That’s
why you have to kill him. Kill him for me, Ivy. Make him die in the
same agony that I’m forced to live with for eternity.”

The lump in my throat was so big that
I couldn’t swallow. The pain in her voice was unbearable. I’d do
anything to make it better, but I was afraid to ask who she was
talking about, even though I already knew. It could have been Eric,
or the Valefar on the pier, but somehow I knew that wasn’t who she
meant. “Who, Apryl? Who are you talking about?”

Her hazel eyes pierced mine. She
clutched my hands hard, and whispered his name with such utter
hatred that I had no doubt she meant it. “Kreturus. Kill Kreturus.”
I nearly choked. She’d just asked me to do what the prophecy said I
would do. Her words made my skin prickle. She saw the expression on
my face. “That’s what you’re here for, isn’t it?” She laughed
hollowly, pulling her slashed arms tighter to her body. “There
isn’t one of us who hasn’t wished that old demon was dead. And,
I’ve never seen anyone do what you did to the Guardian. If you
could do that, I bet you can kill him. There’s something different
about you. I can sense it. Kill him for me, Ivy. Kill him for
stealing my life. Kill him for making me this monster. Kill him for
taking me from you.”