Rage shot through me, “How could you do that to me?”
He held up his hands, speaking calmly over my yelling, “Ivy, I made a pact with Kreturus.”
“I know!” I yelled back.
“No, you don’t know,” he said. “I told him I would bring him the Purple One. But he doesn’t know it’s you.” His eyes locked with mine, half hoping I would understand, but also hoping I wouldn’t. I could feel it through the bond.
“If you weren’t giving me to him, then… ?” What is he thinking?
A soft smile spread across his face, and he said, “Ivy. My mark is purple, too. I’m taking your place.” My jaw gaped, as I stared at him, horrified. That was his plan?
He smiled weakly at me, taking a small step back. “Like you said—a life for a life. I failed to protect you the night you were attacked.” His blue eyes bore into me as his foot dragged slowly backwards. “I was too late. And I can’t make up for what I did to you. I can’t change it.” He stepped back, a final time. His eyes were filled with remorse. “I won’t fail you now.” He was at the edge of the salt circle before I realized it. I stood there too stunned to move, not really believing what was happening.
He saved me. He cursed me. And I changed him violet. He was a freak like me, even if he didn’t have my powers. He no longer fit anywhere either—he was a Valefar with part of a Martis soul. I shook my head taking a step towards him, still not realizing what he was about to do. Collin looked at me one last time. His eyes never left mine, “I love you, Ivy Taylor.” He breathed in deeply, turned his back to me, and launched his body into the pit.
Fear shot through me as I screamed, “Collin!” watching him fall. All the breath rushed out of my body, as I lunged for him. The ground collided with me as my arm shot out, narrowly missing his hand. Anguish rose from deep within me, as I screamed, helplessly watching him fall to his death inside the inky pit. Sobs heaved from deep within. I hung on the edge of the rim half hanging into the pit, with vision blurred by tears, and unable to accept what happened.
He sacrificed himself for me—he took my place.
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.