Torn(Demon Kissed Series)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

There weren’t any safe places for us to go, and I wasn’t able to effonate anywhere without burning my skin off. I wondered if that was the effect of transporting Collin as well, or if it was the consequences of having sapphire serum in my chest. Either way, I didn’t want to find out. Weakness plagued me, making my movements slow and awkward. Collin asked me if I was all right, but I couldn’t tell him what was wrong, so I put on a fake smile and nodded, then continued to chatter about nothing.

But, as we continued to walk east on foot it became obvious that it was going to be an insanely long walk. I’d seen several run down churches out east by the sod farms when we were at the old stone church months ago. I hoped to find a church that was still occupied to keep hungry Valefar away, and then we’d only have to worry about a Martis stumbling on us. Collin’s fingers were threaded through mine and he swung our arms slightly before turning me toward him.

A soft smile spread across his lips before he said, “Why are we walking? Are you afraid of effonating yourself to bits again?” His fingers wrapped around some loose curls hanging over my shoulders. His piercing blue eyes searched my face, looking for an answer.

I shrugged, “Maybe.” The corner of my mouth pulled into a crooked smile. I broke his gaze, not wanting him to sense the lie. “I know it’s stupid, but I’d rather be outside with you and avoid some pain—for now anyway. I’m turning into a neurotic mess, constantly having my heart ripped out of my chest and enduring crazy amounts of pain.” Biting my lower lip, I looked up at him, “Can we skip effonating for a while?”

Pulling me close, his arms wrapped around my waist and he buried his face in my curls. “Of course. I’m sorry I can’t take both of us. I wish I could. I wish I could save you from all the things you’ve been through.” He broke the hug and held my shoulders. “But, we can’t walk to Montauk, or wherever you’re taking us.”

I knew he’d say that. We didn’t have money for a cab, and besides—it wasn’t smart for anyone to know where we’d gone. The area was crawling with Martis and Valefar. The odds of stumbling on one of them were pretty good. And since we couldn’t be certain if any of the people surrounding us were human or not, it was best to keep to ourselves. “Collin, there’s no other way to get there.”

“Yes there is.” He smiled, crossing the street with his arms behind his back. He gave a little skip as he turned and ran off into the darkness. In a matter of seconds I heard an engine purr, and a dark blue car pulled up next to me. The blackened window slid down to reveal Collin grinning, “Get in, beautiful.”

My jaw was scraping against the ground. It was his car. The same car he drove me in before. But, how did it get here? Slowly I reached for the handle like I expected the metal machine in front of me to be a mirage. “Collin…how?” was I all I could manage to ask.

He laughed, “You’re always the most impressed by the simplest things. It’s not the big stuff that fazes you—it’s a car.” I slid into the seat and slammed the door as he pulled away and found the nearest road that would lead us to Route 25. Bobbing and weaving through traffic, I sat there dumbfounded. My fingers slid over the leather seats as I examined the interior.


Finally I asked, “Is this the same car? The one you kidnapped me in?” My gaze turned to him with my mouth hanging open.

He winked at me, “Evil Valefar magic. I can make a car anytime I want.” I wasn’t sure if he was playing with me or not.

“Did you steal this car? You didn’t. This is the same one. It’s the same one that you drove me out East in the first time, before you knew about my mark. How’d you do that? Can you conjure up anything? Can you call people?”

He looked over at me surprised by my barrage of questions. Shaking his head he said, “There are things that you’ll want to learn how to do, but this isn’t one of them.” His voice was stern as his gaze focused on non-existent traffic out the windshield. “You have me. I can do it for you. That’s all you need.”

Why wouldn’t he tell me? What was the big deal? While I didn’t understand his apprehension, I could sense that this topic was no longer open to discussion. It was one of the many aspects of being a Valefar that I didn’t understand. Everything about being a Valefar came at a price. I wondered what the price of the car was, but I didn’t ask.

We drove the rest of the way to the church in silence.