Torn(Demon Kissed Series)

CHAPTER THREE

Out of all the questions that I expected him to ask, that wasn’t one of them. I visibly flinched. “What? Nothing.” He was looking at me oddly. Not quite judgmental like the Martis, but still not a good look.

His brow creased, as he examined the rose between his fingers. “No, there is something definitely wrong with your soul.” His gaze shifted from the rose to my horrified face. His voice was stern and certain. “This rose is made from Celestial Silver. I used it to draw out the sapphire serum. The rose holds the venom in its petals. The silver rose is the only thing that can hold the serum. Sapphire serum is poison and destroys everything it touches, except this.” He spun the rose in his fingers. “It would have killed you. Once that stuff gets into your blood, the poison multiples and gets very difficult to draw out.

“When I found you, you were a lost cause. The venom had spread throughout your entire body and was messing with your brain. You were barely breathing. So I grabbed you and brought you back here. I knew that the poison likes silver—it’s drawn to it the way an iron filing is drawn to a magnet. So when I touched the silver to your wound, it pulled out the sapphire serum, little by little, until there was only this small amount left. But, it’s like I can’t draw out this last bit of poison. It’s as if your soul has been taken—like part of it is missing.” He shook his head as if he didn’t believe his own words.

I looked away embarrassed and asked, “Why would that matter?”

His eyebrow shot up into his hair line as he regarded me for a moment. “Because. It’s not natural for a being to have part of her soul missing. Sure, souls can be ripped from the body, but when that happens, the part of the soul that was taken dies. It’s just gone.”


I stiffened, “A Valefar took most of my soul.” That was true. Jake took almost all of it, but I had a feeling that wasn’t what he was talking about. The entire conversation, and the look on his face, made me squirm.

Shaking his head he said, “No, that’s different. A soul devoured by a Valefar dies. It goes to the Pool of Lost Souls for a reason—it’s lost. A dead soul cannot be revived. It’s dead. But that’s not the case with you. The rose just can’t do it. It’s like part of your living soul is somewhere else, but that’s impossible…” he arched an eyebrow staring at me, waiting for an explanation.

I squirmed under his gaze, and tried to sit up again. I managed to pull myself up slowly without falling over. The boy didn’t help me. He just stared with a hard look on his face. I didn’t like this guy interrogating me. Who was he anyway? He totally screwed up my plan and I sure as hell didn’t want to stab myself again. It took more courage than I had the first time. 

“Why isn’t that possible?” I asked. “And who are you anyway? And stop looking at me like that!” His jaw was slack, and his mouth was hanging open slightly. He was shocked.

By me.

He pushed his hair behind his ear and shut his mouth. “It’s not possible, because a soul can’t be torn in pieces and remain alive. That’s just it. Damage like that is deadly. There is no natural separation of part of the soul from the body. It’s not like we can just tear it in two and put part of it somewhere else!”

Um, that was news to me, because that was exactly what I did. I had given a piece of my soul to Collin. This kid was going to flip out if I told him. Instead I demanded, “Answer me. Who are you? Why’d you save me?”

The boy folded his arms and stared at me, equally stubborn. He didn’t like my tone, but I really didn’t care. I wasn’t apologizing for it.

His expression hardened. “I saved you because I could. I assumed you wanted to avoid propelling the prophecy into motion, so I saved you. You can’t die, not like this. Don’t you see? Can’t you tell what would have happened?” His voice became louder and louder as he spoke, yelling at me like I was an idiot. “Part of your soul is somewhere else. If you had died, your body would have died, and the remnant of your soul—wherever it is—would receive your powers. You have powers, right? The prophecy one is supposed to have great powers, and that’s you. Killing yourself would have shifted all of your bad-ass power straight into that piece of soul that isn’t inside of you anymore.” He was quite for a moment. Thoughts were flying through his mind, and he began to speak them, putting the pieces together in front of me. “But, that piece of your soul is still alive… And for it to be alive, it has to be inside a living being—someone else. Ivy, did you give a piece of your soul away?” He looked horrified, as if there was no way I would ever do such a thing. His hard gaze and shocked expression didn’t make me question my decision to give a piece of my soul to Collin, but it did make me feel ashamed.

I looked away sharply. “I had to.” My voice was faint. “I did it to save someone. He would have died without it.”

The black-haired boy studied me. “Who? Who has your soul inside of them? Who will inherit your powers when the poison spreads through your body?”

Coldness filled the pit of my stomach, as I realized the magnitude of what he was saying. If my body died and my soul ceased to exist in this body, a piece of me was left elsewhere. That person would absorb all my powers. They would naturally flow into the only remaining piece of soul. And the person who had it was possessed by a demon.

“Collin.”

The boy arched his eyebrow at me and shook his head. “You’re a hot mess, aren’t you? Good God! No wonder why you’re the one who causes this whole disaster. You have no idea what the hell you’re doing!”

“Like you do?” I wanted to leave the Lorren, but I wasn’t sure if I could stand, never mind find my way out again. Shit. I had to undo this. I had to get the sapphire serum out of my chest.

He looked incredulous; like I shouldn’t dare challenge him. He was obviously a Valefar who’d made a hideout inside the Lorren. At first I thought he was an idiot, and then I realized that was something I would do and lost all of the bluster that I was ready to spew at him. Instead I asked again, “Who are you?”

He stared at me, with his emerald eyes locked on my face. He bit his bottom lip for a moment before answering. It seemed to be a nervous tic, a gesture that he didn’t realize he had that surfaced when he was tense…or afraid.

Silence surrounded us until he finally told me. “I’m Lorren.”

Annoyed, I felt my eyebrow pinch as my mouth opened. Did he really think I was that stupid? He wasn’t the Lorren. The Lorren is a maze. The Lorren’s made of gold. The Lorren kills people. What an ass. I folded my arms and cocked my head, allowing my annoyance to become visible. “You’re not the Lorren. Nice try Valefar-boy, but I met the Lorren and he doesn’t play this way. So who the hell are you?” I stared up at him with my arms folded over my chest.

“You’re insane.” He folded his arms and stared back down at me. I waited for more, but he didn’t say anything else.

My face scrunched up as I’d had all I could take of him. “The hell with you, Lorren-boy. I seem to be totally screwed because of you. Not only did you not let me die, but you only half healed me, so I’m gonna die anyway—just slower. Thanks for the agony. Not to mention getting us totally lost inside the maze.” I shook my head and started to walk away from him.

How could I get out of here? Effonating in and out was not possible. The only reason it worked before was because I appeared at the mouth of the tunnel. Once inside of it, the Lorren screwed with magic and bent it to its will. His laughter made me stop. I paused to look at him. His stance loosened. It was like he didn’t know what to think of me, which was fine because I didn’t care.

“You don’t listen,” he said exasperated. “My name is Lorren. I didn’t say I was thee Lorren. And we aren’t lost. I live here. I can take you back to where I found you and let you die alone, even though that’s a dumbass idea.”

I arched an eyebrow and walked towards him. He was taller than me. Everyone was taller than me. “I seem to be a dumbass girl. So tell me, Mr. Lorren, what would you do, if you were me?”

I regarded him suspiciously. If he was a Valefar, why didn’t he drain me when he had the chance? It’s what any creature down here would have done. Half of the demons where out trying to find me, so they could take my power for themselves. The other half wanted to capture me so they could hand me over to Kreturus. And one crazy-ass Valefar, named Eric, wanted to kill me so he could have fun watching me die. I shivered.

A tight smile spread across his lips. He didn’t like me much either. “There are two things I’d do if I were you. First, I’d realize that there is no way to escape the prophecy. You are who you are. Deal with it. And two, I’d get my soul back, so we can get the rest of that poison out of you before it kills you, and this guy Collin gets all your power. Or is that what you wanted?”

My voice was small, “No, it isn’t what I wanted.” I looked up at him and paused for a second before sitting down on a ledge. I didn’t get anything I wanted. Nothing ever turned out even remotely the way I’d hoped. Staring at the floor I said, “I wanted to stop the prophecy. I’d hoped to stop it… You were right. I’m stupid. I screwed up.”

He stepped towards me, “And right now Collin, and every demon in Hell, is trying to find you. I bet you anything they don’t know what would happen if you died right now. They think all your power would die with you. Collin doesn’t know that your power would all be his, does he?”

I shrugged, feeling foolish. “I don’t know what Collin knows or doesn’t know anymore. Kreturus went into him. He acted like Collin, sounded like him, but there’s no way I can ever know for sure.”

Lorren’s face fell. “So let me get this straight? You were trying to prevent the prophecy from occurring by killing yourself? So, you found the only thing that could destroy you—the Guardian’s fang—and you scraped it across your chest hoping the poison would kill you?” I nodded, but that didn’t wipe the shocked look from his face. His voice rose an octave when he asked, “What’d you think would happen when you died? That the prophecy would just be over and we’d all be like, oops, guess we got that one wrong?”

Anger flared inside of me. “Stop talking to me like I’m stupid. I didn’t know. It’s not like I got a handbook or even signed up for this shit. And I didn’t mean to scrape my chest.” My fingers delicately touched the scar beneath my neckline. “I aimed it directly at my heart…and missed.”

I didn’t think his eyes could go wider, but they did. “Oh my God! So what happened?”

“Collin stopped me. He hit the fang as I swung it toward my heart, but it was too late to stop it from cutting me.” Collin looked so utterly devastated when I’d left him. As I was speaking, my voice went flat and all the steam in my comments deflated. I looked up at Lorren the Goth Valefar. “So. Tell me. Just say it. I can see it on your face. You’re thinking something.”


“I’m thinking you’re damn lucky. Collin is either overpowering Kreturus, so that he could save your life. Or Kreturus doesn’t realize that Collin has part of your soul. If he knew, that fang would have hit your heart. But, the old demon has to know that Collin has a soul.  Ancient evil that’s as rancid as Kreturus can’t tell them apart even if they are in the same body.”

“So, Collin may still be Collin?” A flicker of hope fluttered within me, but I was afraid to let it. I knew what I’d seen, and it terrified me.

Lorren shrugged. “There’s only one way to find out. Either way, you gotta go find him and get your soul back.”

His words surprised me, “Why?”

He smiled at me like I was impossibly na?ve. “I’m not gonna slap you in the head since you already had a really bad day. Let me spell it out—if you don’t get your soul back, then you are going to die. The sapphire serum can’t be drawn out of your wound entirely without it. I’ve isolated the poison so that it shouldn’t continue spreading through your body at the same rate. I’ve crystalized it to slow it down. That will give you more time, but the sapphire serum will weaken you. If you don’t get it out, you’ll die. This fix is only temporary and I have no idea how long it’ll last.  And then, when you die, Kreturus will get all of your power, since you,” he repressed a look of disgust, “sliced off a piece of your soul and shoved it in Collin. If you want to prevent the Prophecy- stay alive—and get your soul back.”

Figures. I finally think of something that will work to prevent me from becoming this crazy girl in the prophecy and it totally screws me over. “Fine, I see your point. And no, I don’t want to be the one who destroys everything. So, how do I get my soul back from him?”

Lorren smiled, “You are new. A demon kiss. How else?”

I shook my head. “I can’t give him a demon kiss. I’ve kissed him before and it didn’t take his soul.”

“You mean your soul,” Lorren answered, “And, yes, you can. A Valefar can choose to resist temptation and kiss someone without ripping their soul out. Most just don’t.”

Shocked, I asked, “What are you saying? That he could have taken the rest of my soul whenever he wanted?” The thought was horrifying. I thought we were even—that there was no way for him to do anything to hurt me. It was part of what made it easier for me to trust him before Kreturus jumped into him. Swallowing hard, I realized the rest of what Lorren was saying. “…And I could take his soul?”

“Yes, except it’s your soul. Why do you keep saying his?”

“Because he has a soul. He’s a Valefar with a fragment of soul too small to let him be anything else. He almost died a few months ago and I gave him a piece of my soul so he’d live. He has both our souls in his body. And I have a piece of his soul in mine.”

Lorren staggered backwards. “Ivy! Are you insane? You made yourself a Valefar soul mate?”

I bristled, “Not on purpose. And shut up! You weren’t there. You don’t know what happened! It’s not like I had much of a choice. It was watch him die from a Martis wound or save him. I saved him.”

Lorren turned away from me as his eyebrows rose in his hairline. He rubbed his eyes hard and shook his head. When he turned back to me there was urgency in his eyes. “Answer this—do you want the prophecy to happen?”

Anger exploded from somewhere deep within me. “No! What are you, deaf? What do you think I keep telling you!” What the hell was wrong with him? I said it a thousand times, but he didn’t seem to believe me.

“I’m sorry; it’s just that you aren’t what I thought you’d be.” His gaze lingered on my face. He looked at me like he was trying to solve a puzzle, but was missing most of the pieces. I hated puzzles.

“Join the club. I’m not even what I expected at this point. I try so hard to do what’s right and it gets all messed up anyway. Like this.” I hesitated. I was telling this guy, a perfect stranger, how I felt. I didn’t like bearing my soul to people I trusted, never mind Lorren. I snapped my mouth shut and when I spoke again, I changed directions. The past was the past. I couldn’t change it. But what I would do next was still up in the air. My voice was less certain. I didn’t like the idea of finding Collin and trying to give him a demon kiss. And after what Lorren told me, it sounded like Collin could turn around and suck out my soul while I tried to get his. “So what do I do? Give him a demon kiss and take back my soul?” A thought occurred to me, “How do I make sure I don’t take his soul, too?”

“That’s just it—you can’t. There are no discriminating demon kisses. A demon kiss drains the soul, and you need all of yours back to keep Kreturus from stealing your powers. If you don’t take your entire soul back from Collin, you’ll die. Then Kreturus reigns and everything is a hell of a lot worse than if you became ruler of the Underworld.” He shook his head and moved towards me with a plea on his face. “No, Ivy, listen to me. You have to find Collin and drain him.”

“But… I gave him my soul so he’d live. If I take it away then Collin will die, won’t he?” My mouth hung open. I couldn’t believe I was having this conversation.

Lorren nodded. His voice was cold as he spoke with a smirk on his face, “Yes, he’ll die. But he’s a Valefar. Who cares?”

I bristled and shot back, “I do.”

“Why?” he asked, perplexed. He unfolded his arms and waited for me to answer. I didn’t know if I wanted to answer him. I didn’t want to explain myself to Lorren, but he seemed to know a lot more than I did. I needed help.

“Because I love him.” My voice was a whisper.