Cursed (Demon Kissed #2) (16 page)

I nodded, smiling slightly. “Yeah.
He’s blind with severe dental problems right now.” I held up the
tooth shard that I’d kept.

Collin looked at it and then back at
me with his mouth hanging open. “Is that one of its teeth?” he
asked wide-eyed. I nodded and explained to him what happened as
quickly as I could. As I spoke I could see Collin’s skin
discoloring in places. Red wounds and black bruises washed over his
skin like watercolors. Welts appeared on his body containing long
lacerations. His brilliant blue eyes faded into sunken dark orbs.
His strong muscles and smooth skin began to melt away revealing a
boy who’d been beaten beyond recognition.

My throat tightened as I spoke. I
wanted to pretend not to notice, but I couldn’t. They were
torturing him. I swallowed hard, as I reached for his hollowed
cheek, “Collin…I’ll get you out.” He smiled weakly, kissed my
forehead, and vanished like mist in the sun.

CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN

My feet were dragging, scraping
against the stones as I followed where the bond pulled me. The
cawing of birds still echoed around me. Cries of animals rang out
in the distance. I wasn’t alone down here, but so far I’d only
heard sounds, and felt breezes as the Underworld creatures moved
quickly around me.

I was so drained that I could hardly
stand. Moving my legs took overwhelming effort. The desire to sit
down and cry consumed me, but I couldn’t give in to it. I had to
keep going. I wrapped my arms around my middle as I walked,
thinking about how Collin’s arms held me tightly not so long ago.
The memory of his skin on mine was still vivid. It warmed me inside
to think about it. But, when I saw what he really looked like
before he disappeared, before the magic wore off and he was forced
back to the cell below, I couldn’t bear it. Pressing my eyes closed
tightly, I tried to shake the utter agony painted on his face from
my memory. But it didn’t recede. It was etched in my mind, always
returning to the front of my thoughts.

Anger coursed through me, mingled with
despair. Collin was older than me. Wiser. He knew what he was
getting into. I didn’t. And it didn’t look like he could survive
whatever they were doing to him much longer. What made me think I
could? Hoping not to get caught seemed like a stupid plan. If I did
get caught, I knew my fate would be worse than Collin’s. But, I
couldn’t leave him. Just look at what they did to him! Abandoning
him was something I couldn’t do, even if I got my ass handed to me.
Even if I risked everyone and everything else to do it.

As I walked through the Underworld, it
was becoming clearer that the only way for me to save Collin was to
defeat Kreturus. When I first thought about rescuing Collin, I
thought I could sneak in, take him, and sneak out. I didn’t have
more of a plan than that, and it seemed good enough. But now, I
knew there would be a confrontation. There was no way Kreturus
would allow me to leave. And if I wanted to leave with Collin, it
would be a fight to the death. A chill ran over my skin, and I
pulled my arms tighter to my body. I had no idea how to fight a
demon. If I saw Kreturus right now, I’d die. I was sure of that.
How do you fight an ancient demon? One that was so powerful, even
the Martis couldn’t contain him forever? But, somehow, that’s what
I was supposed to do. That damn prophecy actually made me feel a
little better. It was the only thing that said I could destroy
Kreturus. It was the rest of the prophecy that I wanted no part
of.

The path I was following had been
dingy brown, illuminated by glowing rocks that resembled dying
embers. Nothing changed. The Underworld looked the same since I
left Apryl at the Pool of Lost Souls. I took one step, and then
another, as hopelessness washed my pride away. It was several
minutes before I realized what I was looking at. The scenery had
changed gradually, becoming lighter and brighter until I stopped
before massive trees. Their trunks were as wide as houses, and they
gleamed silver, stretching up hundreds of feet into the air. The
leaves made a dim chiming sound as they moved. My eyes darted from
tree to tree, looking for something in the branches high above me
that caused the limbs to shake, but there was nothing.

Uncertain, I stepped forward, knowing
I had to pass this way. Collin said to beware of the forest; to
beware things of beauty in this place. This forest of silver more
than qualified. It was stunning. I wanted to stop and admire the
delicate silver leaves and their intricate filigree. Each leaf
appeared to have a different pattern cut into the silver, resulting
in a different toned chime when the leaves shook. Clusters of
gemstones grew at the tree’s base in vibrant jewel tones. Little
golden flowers sprouted up all over under the canopy of silver.
They looked like little golden buttercups. I stood there in awe,
staring at the forest in front of me. Its beauty was
unreal.

Just then, my neck prickled. But, when
I looked behind me no one was there. My pulse shot up a notch, and
I kept walking. The trees would rustle and then fall silent. It
happened over and over again. And it was oddly quiet in the silver
woods. The cries I’d heard earlier must have been completely muted
by the massive trees. It spooked me. Forests usually housed life
and have the noises to let you know. This forest was silent, save
for the jingling of the metal leaves. It felt wrong. As I walked
deeper into the woods the feeling of eyes watching me didn’t
dissipate. Instead the feeling grew stronger. My eyes darted from
silver tree, to golden bush, and back again. There was nothing
there, but my stomach churned and the prickling sensation on my
neck wouldn’t go away. Finally, I stopped and turned. My heart was
thumping in my chest. The muscles in my legs twitched, ready to
run. It seemed like something was following me at a distance for a
while. But, now it was close. Very close.

Peering into the trees, I finally saw
what was following me. A small black bird sat high above me on a
branch. It sat there, looking like a spot of ink against the
ethereal silver canopy. Its black feathers gleamed with a purple
tint. Its razor sharp beak sat below black staring eyes. Its head
twitched from side to side, but its eyes remained locked on me. It
was a grackle. Smiling slightly, I looked at it and felt stupid.
Birds didn’t scare me and this bird was tiny—smaller than a crow.
What could it possibly do to me? My nerves were running on empty. I
couldn’t believe a bird spooked me. I laughed nervously to myself
as I turned to start walking again. But then my breath caught in my
throat and I nearly choked. There were hundreds of them. No,
thousands. Grackle bodies lined so many of the silver branches that
they formed a black wall.

The first grackle I saw made its
horrible call. The high pitched screech shattered the silence.
Suddenly, the birds swooped from their perches, extending their
black wings, and dove at me. My arms shot up to cover my head, as
my feet hit the path hard and fast as I ran. Several of the birds
dive-bombed me, snipping at my skin with their sharp beaks during
each pass. I screamed as one tore through my hand. Blood dripped
from my arm, but I didn’t dare stop to see the damage. I ran. These
birds were trying to rip me apart. They seemed to savor the taste
of flesh. Another bird nipped my leg, tearing a piece of flesh
away. A wild scream sprang from my throat. My heart pounded so
violently that I thought it would explode. I ran so fast, and
scared out of my mind that I didn’t notice the change in the
forest. I passed splintered silver trees, and jumped over fallen
logs that blocked my path. The little golden flowers were dug up,
and wilted. Many of the trees had holes in their branches, like a
Mac truck had driven straight through them. Another scream tore
from my throat as more grackles tore at the flesh on my
arms.

Suddenly the birds stopped. It was
like they flew into a strong gale and couldn’t come farther. I
slowed after the grackles withdrew. They landed in the damaged
trees, squawking like deranged demons. Not one bird left its perch
to peck at me. Why did they stop? What were they afraid of? Oh
crap. What would make flesh-eating birds retreat from easy prey?
Turning slowly, I knew it had to be behind me—something that
frightened those birds—something that was much worse.

Looking around, I finally noticed the
crushed landscape. Trees laid in piles, splintered from their
massive trunks. The forest floor looked as if it had been dug up
and thrown askew. Clumps of dirt were everywhere. But it was what
was in the center of the clearing that concerned me. Several trees
were clustered together forming a silver ring. It looked like a
nest; a gigantic silver nest. I stared at the spaces between the
downed trees. Large red eyes stared back. Through the silvery
foliage I could see dark scales surrounding those horrid red eyes,
accompanied by a massive yawning maw filled with pointed teeth. My
eyes grew wide. I suddenly stopped breathing. It was a dragon! And
it wasn’t just any dragon; it was the dragon from my vision. The
one that killed me. I froze. Nothing happened. Nothing moved. It
was like time stopped and we just stared at each other. Whatever
chance of saving Collin that I thought I had shattered and blew
away. This beast would kill me. I was certain of it.

So far, it hadn’t moved. It lay there,
staring at me. I slid my foot backwards slowly like I was backing
away from a rabid dog. I hoped it wouldn’t move. But, I had no such
luck. As soon as I started to drag back my other foot, a grackle
decided I was close enough, and dove at my arm. Its razor sharp
beak tore through my skin, and its claws yanked a chunk of hair
from my head. I swatted at it, yelling, until it flew away.
Clutching my arm, I looked behind me. The grackles were still
there, eerily quiet, watching me—waiting for me. And in front of me
was a dragon. My options sucked. Go back and be attacked by a flock
of demon birds. Or go forward and risk facing whatever scared the
grackles enough to let their meal walk away.

I didn’t get to decide. The red eyes
flew straight up into the tree canopy, followed by a massive black
body covered in glimmering scales. The dragon’s talons were black
like brimstone, its enormous maw filled with razor sharp teeth. A
long tail hung down from the branch where it perched, stopping
several feet above the ground. Before I realized what I was doing,
my feet were moving. I shot under the branch and ran out the other
side. The dragon bellowed that horrible sound that I heard in my
vision. The ground shook as the tree where the dragon was perched
came crashing down. It let out another cry and bounded off the
ground and into the air. The sound of metal scraping metal made me
turn. The beast was retracting its claws over and over, as its
enormous black veined wings propelled it faster and faster towards
me. If it had been able to shoot off the branch at top speed, it
would have caught me already. My feet pounded the uneven terrain as
I neared the edge of the forest. Its wings forced gusts of air
against my back, it was so close. But, I didn’t slow down. I didn’t
turn to see that it was near enough to breathe down my neck. The
vision I had of the dragon was still vivid, and there was no doubt
in my mind that this was the creature that I saw slicing Collin and
I into a million pieces.

The edge of the woods was in sight. I
hoped to God that the beast was bound to reside within the forest.
Otherwise there would be no way to escape it. I’d have to turn and
fight. And I’d die. How the hell do you fight a dragon? I only had
that tiny comb. Its scales were larger than my hand. What would a
little comb do? Nothing!

Fear burst though me giving my muscles
another spurt of energy, but I wasn’t fast enough. The dragon’s
wings were pressed tightly to its body as it shot from the sky and
straight towards me at top speed. Its maw was open as it made an
ear-piercing cry. The cry sounded like a distant echo, muffled by
the pounding terror of my own heart, growing louder as it rapidly
closed the distance between us. Panting, I tried to think of what
to do. The beast wasn’t stopping. It sounded more agitated. More
horrifying. I’d have to turn to fight it, or it would rip me to
shreds from behind. My fingers faltered, trying to grab my comb
from my hair and extend the tines, but I didn’t get the chance. An
arm grabbed me, pulling me into a patch of underbrush. I screamed,
fighting the hands that yanked me to the ground.

“
Shut up,” Shannon scolded
me. “It’s just me.” I dropped to the ground, lying face-down in
dirt so I could see what was happening.

Eric had jumped onto the path when
Shannon pulled me off, and held up his palms. The dragon looked
even more pissed off than before, and extended its black talons at
Eric’s head. The brilliant flashes of blue light that emanated from
Eric’s palms were instantaneous. The beast reared up, exposing its
scaly underbelly to Eric, and cried out slashing it pointy claws
blindly. As the light grew brighter still, Shannon started to pull
me toward the clearing ahead. The light pulsed from Eric’s hands
like a strobe. With each flash he took a step backwards, until the
dragon retreated. It was obvious that the beast didn’t like the
blue light. I wasn’t sure if the dragon hated the brightness of it,
or if Eric was using his Martis powers to do something else. Either
way, it was working. After one last bright surge of light, the
beast flew off smacking into trees and splintering off huge chunks
of silver as it passed.