CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

 

Collin’s sacrifice shifted the battle in the Martis’ favor. The remaining Valefar scattered into the night, after seeing Collin fall into the chasm. They thought I defeated him. They thought I threw him in, even though I hadn’t. It didn’t matter what really happened, not after watching the flaming-haired girl killing everything in her way. They feared me. 

The wind howled as it whipped my hair over my head, and I clung to the edge of the pit. The ends no longer glowed with a false flame. I stared into the pit, seeing nothing, barely breathing. Shannon’s arms tugged me to my feet, dragging me away from the rim. I let her. I was too weak to protest, or to think. The confused shock was rippling through me in unrelenting waves, as I watched the portal’s power increase.

More dirt fell away as the rim grew even wider, hitting the edge of the salt circle. It was complete. The portal was open. The ground churned, grumbling so loudly that I could feel the vibrations through my shoes. Julia ran toward us, a grave expression on her panicked porcelain doll face. Other Martis, including Al, swiftly came up behind her. The pit cast a faint glow on their faces from the illuminated salt line.

Al turned as she took in the portal. “We have to seal it up.”

Julia’s hands flew frantically through the air while she spoke, “We can’t. I knew this would happen! The portal will not close now. It’s reached its full size. Only a Valefar can close it.”

“We can’t close it yet,” my voice squeaked with shock, “Collin… Collin will come back.” My eyes were wide and unblinking, as I turned slowly toward Al, wanting her to agree with me.

But she shook her head. “He couldn’t have survived that, Ivy. He knew what he did before he did it. He saved you.”

Julia’s panicked voice cut through me, not allowing me any time to process anything, “If we don’t seal it soon, they will start to come out. How else can we close the portal, if she won’t do it?”

Stunned, I looked into her worried face. What will come out? Her brown eyes were wide, pinched together, and ready to have a nuclear-sized panic attack. What had her so freaked? Kreturus wasn’t summoned, or he’d already be here. So why was she freaking out?

Shannon’s hand was on my arm, “We can’t save him. I would. For you, I’d do anything. But if we don’t close this, God knows what’ll come out.”

“What?” I asked, not understanding. I shook my head and stared at them. The wind and cold pelted my body, but I didn’t feel it. 

Julia gritted her teeth, snapping at me, “She knows what’ll come out!”

And I did. Deep inside of me, I knew what was in there. It was a gateway to Hell. Those things I’d seen in my visions—the servant demons where down there. Waiting. Trapped. They wanted their freedom as much as Collin wanted his. If there was a way out, they would take it—no matter the risk.

Al came up behind me. “You know what you need to do, girl. Do it before it’s too late. You’re the only one who can close it.”

Tears flowed freely down my cold cheeks. “Are you sure there’s no way he’s… It’s not possible he survived, is it?” The desperation was so transparent, even Julia noticed.

Julia unfolded her arms. “It’s possible. But Ivy, it’s not probable. If the fall didn’t kill him, Kreturus did.”

I don’t think she meant to be cruel, but my bottom lip quivered involuntarily. I bit it to hold it still. I couldn’t think. Why were they looking at me? “I don’t know how.”

Al said, “Dark magic opened the pit—it has to be the same magic to close it. Valefar magic.”

Thoughts ran wildly through my mind. It was too much. This was too horrible. All this time he was protecting me, trying to make the prophecy change course. Then he threw himself into the pit. He saved me twice. And what if he’s still alive? I’ll seal him in. It would be worse than burying him alive.

My stomach twisted in knots and it threatened to purge itself. Swallowing hard, I looked around, not knowing what to do. My eyes fixated on the dimly lit rim. It cast an odd shadow onto the pitch-black walls. Patches of slime took on an odd shine under the light—a shape almost. My heart soared, as I ran to the edge, falling on my knees. Something was moving. I called down, “Collin?!”

The sound of its voice was like gurgling gravel, “No. Not him.” My stomach dropped, as I recognized the demon’s voice. It was one of the demons in my vision. My heart raced, as I peered over the edge. Movement made my eyes jump to different places on the wall, and then deep into the pit.

“Demons! The demons are climbing out!” I yelled, pushing away from the edge.

Frantically, I shot to my feet, backing away with my heart pounding in my ears. Those things terrified me. They were the reality of my visions. I didn’t want to be the girl I would become. Fighting the growing terror within me, I looked at the others. They were helpless, but none of them were crying the way I was. Tears streamed down my face. I was the only one stupid enough to love a Valefar.

Eric ran to the edge confirming to the others what I saw. He was shouting, “We have to seal the pit. Now!” Terrified, I could barely think. The only thing I knew was that I wanted nothing to do with the black creature covered in dark slime, its glowing red eyes, or its gravelly voice. And I never wanted to meet their master. Ever. Even though Collin took my place, this wasn’t over yet.

“What do I do?” I asked. My body felt frozen, as the wind chilled me to the core. Julia shook her head, muttering under her breath in Italian.

Al said, “Do what you learned. You’re part Valefar. You gotta see if it’s enough. Call the darkness to seal them in.”

“The darkness?” I asked, unsure of what she meant. Al nodded. The other Martis started to back away. They had looked at me without really noticing what I was before, but now they saw it. I was half Valefar. I was their enemy. They slowly backed away, physically showing how alone I actually was.

I called out, knowing that I needed him. “Eric. Don’t leave.” He nodded, staying near me. With my lips pressed tightly together, I choked back a sob, and focused all my attention on the ruby ring. I commanded the shadows to come to me, but nothing happened. The night was dark. The dim light from the salt ring wasn’t bright enough to cast even a small shadow, and I needed a large source of illumination. My eyes raked the area for a shadow, for anything, but there was nothing. The farms were engulfed in darkness.

“What’s the matter?” Al asked, immediately noticing the look on my face.

“There are no shadows. I need a large shadow, but there aren’t any.” I turned to Sister Al. “I can’t call them if there aren’t any to be called.”

Before I could say anything else, Eric had conjured the dual sphere of light into his hand. It glowed with a dim blue. “Will this help?” he asked.

I shook my head. “It’s too dim. The only thing that will cast a large enough shadow is the church building.”

Closing his eyes, he cupped his hands. The sphere started to grow. The orb of light quickly outgrew the size of his palm, and floated above like it was a balloon. It cast a blue light on Eric, as sweat dripped from his temples.

Julia gasped, “I didn’t know he could do that.” Her eyes were wide, as she watched him. A few other Martis mumbled that they could not call that much light, and wondered how he was doing it.

The shadows stretched out from the stone building, forming a silhouette of the church on the ground. As Eric’s light grew larger, the shadow increased in size and clarity. Reaching through the darkness, I connected to my inner Valefar, and I called the shadow to me. I’d never called something so large. It was the size of a building, and I knew it would have to travel through me to be of any use. The idea repulsed me, but I had no choice.

The shadow obeyed and flowed through my body. It felt like icy fingers stroking my soul. I shuddered trying to hold it, as its death-like chill ravaged my body. I physically shivered, trying to hold it inside of me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Eric’s strained face. Sister Al trembled as she watched the edge of the pit. Some of the demons were nearing the rim. I felt the shadow flow out of me and directed it to fill the hole, but something was wrong. It just flowed into the pit like water, splashing down the sides. It didn’t affect the demons.

“Is that enough? Or can it at least hold them off?” I asked in gasps.

Julia laughed crazily, “Hold them off? This is a hole into Hell. No. There is no holding them off. They want out.” I really didn’t like her. Shaking, I held the shadow in place, not understanding why it wasn’t working. The shadow had to be large enough. But, it wouldn’t seal the top. It just flowed down the walls.

Eric glanced at me, and said, “They used the key to open it, right? Maybe it doesn’t just open the portal, but holds it open?” Nodding, I agreed. But I couldn’t even see the key to know if his idea were true. Trembling, I could feel my body wanting to give out.

Al’s frantic voice brought me back, “The demons are too close the rim. We are going to try to push them back. You two hold your positions. Whatever you do, don’t stop!”

I watched as a demon climbed closer to the mouth of the pit. It had the deformed figure of the demons in my vision. Its eyes burned red, and his skin was slick. He crawled to the edge of the hole, like darkness creeping from a grave. The demon neared the edge, slowly climbing the slick walls with its taloned fingers. A snake like tongue protruded from its reptilian face as it stopped near the edge. “My Queen. You released us.” Its tongue flicked, and licked its burning eye. “A life for a life.” His eyes looked behind him, and then flicked back to me. His breath smelled like cabbage.

“You can go back to where you came from,” I said, trying to sound more confident that I felt. Sweat beaded, and ran down my spine.

Its tongue wet his other eye, and then slid back into its mouth. “You will serve us, whether you accept today or we force you on another. You’ve no choice.” My heart raced. The cut on my cheek burned. Ignoring it, I reached for the place inside of me, and pulled out every drop of strength I had left, trying to hold the massive shadow. The demon slid back several feet, and flashed his teeth at me. They were several rows that were pointed like kitchen knives. Some of his previous meals were still stuck in the crevices. “Ivy Taylor will be queen!” I shivered when it said my name, fighting every instinct to flee.

Looking at the group of Martis, I was wondering what was taking them so long. Eric conjured light into a massive sphere in seconds, but the lot of them didn’t have enough light to make a street lamp. My heart fluttered. I couldn’t call light to push that thing back down. And it wanted me. I felt my face grimace as I looked at it, and couldn’t hide my disgust.

Her perky voice made me think I was hallucinating. “Ivy Taylor will not be queen today.” Jenna Marie, clad in solid pink, walked up next to me like she was at a picnic.

Frantic, I said, “Jenna Marie! Run! Run away from here! Now!” I strained, weakening under the shadow’s massive weight. Jenna Marie put her hand on my shoulder. Then she stood next to me. I urged her, “You can’t stay here! Leave! They’ll kill you!” I shouted at her, but she tisked me. She friggin’ tisked me!

“Ivy, calm down,” she said. “Let’s send these things back to where they came from.” She smiled her pink lips at me, and withdrew a silver ring from her finger. The blue mark instantly appeared, glittering above her brow. My jaw dropped. She was a Martis! Why the hell is everyone around me a Martis or a Valefar! I glared at her. She ignored me, still pleasant and perky. “Hey Althea! Long time no see!” She threw her power into their circle of dimly lit spheres. When Jenna Marie added her sphere of light to the rest, it was enough. The orbs slid down the side of the pit, illuminating the horrors below. Demons clung to the walls of the pit like roaches, crawling swiftly to the top. When the light passed over them, some slid back down, while others lost their grip and fell. It bought us a few minutes.

I yelled to Eric, “I’m going to try to get the key. No matter what happens, do not stop. You have to hold the light where it is or I’ll lose control of the shadow.”

Eric nodded, looking concerned. “Ivy how are you… ?” His sentence trailed off as he watched me.

Pressing my finger to the ruby ring, I held the shadow in place. It was leaving me breathless to hold something so large for so long, but I knew I had to get the key, or everything would be in vein. It worked before with a person.  Now, I hoped I could do it with an object.  I rubbed the ruby stone concentrating on the ivory peonies surrounded by the shining black disc. I saw the black chain that held the pendant in the hollow of my throat. I could almost feel the smoothness of the black stone on the back of the pendant slide into my palm.

Reaching out, I felt for it with my mind. Through the shadows, and glistening slime in the pit, I saw it in the wall at the top of the rim. Swallowing hard I focused. The cold corpse-like fingers of the shadow didn’t like the flames licking my stomach, as I attempted to efanotate the pendant into my hand. The shadows tried to recoil as the flames traveled through my body, but I fought to hold them.

I screamed out as the two manifestations of evil warred within me, but I released neither. They were slaves, like all Valefar, and had to do what they were told. I bid the necklace to appear in my palm. As the feeling of being burned alive and consumed by cold death covered my body, I doubled over, clutching my stomach. I was combining things that didn’t want to go together, forming a new kind of torture. Pressing my eyes closed as tightly as possible, I held onto the heat knowing that in a few seconds the pendant would be in my palm. I just had to be strong enough to call it and hold the shadows at the same time. Fire burned through my bones and icy death stroked my twitching muscles. I cried out again.

Soon. I’ll have it soon. Don’t let go. The voices around me no longer made sense. It sounded like I was in a tunnel and they were far away. I could no longer hold my palm open, waiting for the necklace. My fists closed, as my body was raked with pain. I crouched on the ground refusing to release either power. A scream rose up from my throat as the fire seared, white hot, and then faded. The fist that I had clenched so tightly that my nails pierced my flesh was holding something. I forced my fingers to uncurl. Apryl’s necklace was in the center of my palm.

I felt my body failing fast. The shadows had been fighting the heat so intensely that they did not stop when the heat receded. The shadow’s frozen nature threatened to consume me whole. My body shook as I tried to stand. Holding my trembling body upright, I open my palm and commanded the shadow, “Go.” It knew what to do. The shadow left my palm in a wide black ribbon, as cold traveled up my throat tore out of my mouth. Although it looked like the shadow flew from my hand, my body felt like it was being ripped from my stomach, slicing its way up my throat, and out of my mouth. Demon power was painfully cruel.

I tried to push back the hurt, but the shadow had grown so intense that I couldn’t. I closed my eyes, as it wound its way around the pit, starting at the center. Ribbon after ribbon was laid down forming a black barricade. When I opened my eyes only the rim was left open uncovered, and the shadow was quickly closing it. The last black ribbon touched the edge of the salt circle on the far side, beginning to seal the portal.

The ground shook, as the demons raced faster to the top. The walls of the pit began to crumble and fall in. Each time the outer edge crumbled, it was replaced with solid ground, and the salt circle shrank. The portal was closing itself. Breathing raggedly, I held the shadow until the circle collapsed. I had to be sure.

The demon that had spoken to me before was at the rim, trapped under a black film. “Queen. Collin Smith lives. And you will be Queen.” His gurgling voice was hushed when the ground covered over him, and sealed the hole.

Shaking, I swallowed hard, and opened my palm to release the shadow. Its frigid hold on me was stripped out of my throat, making my spine arch in a painful at the response. It left my body and flew back into the ground in front of the church. I collapsed. It was so cold. I was barely aware of the others around me. Haze filled my vision, as I tried to hold my eyes open. My face lay against the frozen earth, and a nearby light faded into a beautiful pale blue. Then the blackness engulfed me.

Slowly, I opened my eyes, trying to figure out where I was. I was no longer raked with cold, although my vision was still clouded. I sat up slowly, and groaned as my body protested.

“Easy, Ivy.” It was Eric’s voice, although I couldn’t make out more than a shadowy outline of him.

“What happened? Where am I?” My voice was raspy and it hurt to speak. It felt like I was lying on a hard cot.

Eric’s blurred form sat across from me. “We’re at Al’s church. We took you back here when you didn’t come to.”

“How long? How long have I been out?” I rasped, rubbing my eyes. Why wouldn’t they focus?

“A few days.” He said softly. “I was worried you weren’t going to wake up. Are you all right?”

I didn’t know. Quietly, I sat there for a moment, blinking, forgetting that I would never forgive him. My vision wouldn’t clear. I swallowed hard, “I can’t see. Everything is hazy.”

Eric sat next to me. His hands were on my face, as he said, “Let me see.”

His face was very close to mine. I could feel his warm breath, but I couldn’t see him any better. My heart raced as I started to panic because my eyes refused to focus. Finally I asked, “What happened to me?”

Eric said, “You saved everyone. It’s making Julia’s head spin, since she thought you were supposed to be evil.”

I gave a little hollow laugh. “I’m stupid. Not evil.”

“No, you’re not. I told you already. You’re smarter than anyone I know.” He paused, and took my hand. I didn’t pull away, although dread pooled in my stomach. He said, “I need to tell you something, but I want Shannon to take a look at your eyes first. Please Ivy. I need to talk to you. Okay?” I said nothing, turning away from him. He sighed, and walked away. My heart sunk. He wanted a chance to explain what happened with Apryl. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know. I couldn’t take more heartbreak. It wouldn’t undo what was done. She was dead, and somehow he was responsible.

Shannon and Al came into the room, followed by Eric. Julia snapped for Eric. He left, following her down the hall. I said, “She doesn’t sound happy.”

“She’s never happy,” Shannon said softly. “Let me look at your eyes.” Shannon’s hands were on my face before I could say anything. She turned my head, shining a tiny light into my eyes. The pinpoint of light cut through the haze, slowly melting it away. I sat very still, wondering how she did that. I expected to see a laser in her hand, or something similar, as the haze that distorted my vision melted away. But, instead I saw a tiny orb of pale blue light. She prodded the light, moved it, and poured it onto my eyes. When she was done, my vision was restored.

I blinked at her, stunned. “How did you learn to do that?”

She shrugged, “I didn’t. It’s innate. When someone needs healing, a Dyconisi knows what to do.” She smiled at me, and threw her arms around my shoulders. “I’m glad you’re here.”

I hugged her back and said, “Me too.”

When she released me, she said, “That thing lied, you know?” Her green eyes looked worried. I nodded, unable to answer. I wanted to believe that Collin was alive. But I couldn’t. The sadness of that certainty clung to me.