by Holly Ward
I swallowed hard, forcing my neck to turn towards Eric. I couldn’t shake my shock. She remembered Eric, but not me? It felt like someone was choking me. I couldn’t stand it. She was Valefar. She was the Guardian I’d have to kill to pass into the Underworld. But Apryl was still fuming at Eric. She was singularly fixated on him. Rage filled her eyes with venom that I’ve never seen before.
A chill racked me violently and I couldn’t stop shaking. “What’s she talking about?” I asked Eric. “You led the Valefar to her? And then you watched her die?” Horror choked me so that I could barely utter the words. He didn’t. That would be hideously cruel. Dear God, please deny it Eric.
Apryl’s eyes burned with anger. “Tell her,” Apryl commanded, “Yes, let’s tell her. But I think this story should come from me.” Apryl’s eyes were narrowed into thin slits. She gazed at me intently for a few moments without speaking. Her head tilted to the side, and her expression softened. “I know you,” she said uncertainly to me. “I can’t remember why or where, but I know you. Don’t I?” I nodded, unable to speak to her. I was muted by fear and grief. She waited for me to say where she knew me from, but I couldn’t answer.
Having this conversation wasn’t something I ever imagined. Valefar don’t remember their previous lives, except for how they died. That they remember in vivid detail. It’s a way to inflict pain on the new Valefar and allow them to carry that pain for the rest of their immortal lives. She remembered Eric because he was there, but she didn’t remember me. She didn’t remember her sister because I wasn’t there. And I couldn’t find the strength within me to tell her.
She finally said, “Well, it doesn’t matter now anyway. It doesn’t matter how hard I try, I won’t ever remember you. And from the shocked expression on your face, I’m guessing you thought I was dead. Death would have been better than what happened to me.
“About a year ago I sat alone on a dock in Italy. My friend and I had been laughing and enjoying the sunshine. She ran off to get gelato, and I decided to swing my legs off the end of the pier and wait for her. I heard footfalls behind me. I was surprised she returned so quickly, but when I turned it wasn’t her standing behind me—it was him.” She gestured to Eric. “I remember those golden eyes staring at me, drinking me in. It made my pulse race and I blushed. I actually blushed! No one had ever looked at me like that before. I smiled at him, but he said nothing. He just stared. I got to my feet, and walked over to him, barefoot in my little sundress. I thought something was wrong… like he was lost or something. I thought I could help. But, before I reached him, he turned abruptly, and walked away. He disappeared into the crowded street and I didn’t see him again. I thought nothing of it at the time. Maybe he was lost. Maybe he thought I was someone else. There had to be some reason for his strange behavior. And there was.
“I settled back at the end of the dock, and hung my legs over the side. When I looked up, I saw him standing on the opposite pier. That was the last time I saw daylight. Someone rushed at me, and pulled me over the edge. I screamed as we fell into the water. I tried to swim to the surface, but they wouldn’t let me.” She took a steadying breath before continuing. “We were underwater. He yanked my hair away from my face, pushing it off of my forehead. I couldn’t breathe. He stared as if he couldn’t believe that nothing was there. Then his lips smashed down on mine. Violently, he kissed me with his arms crushing me to him. He held me like that until every last bit of soul was ripped from my dying body. When he pulled me to the surface, I didn’t gasp for breath. I couldn’t do anything.
“His words echoed around me as he spoke to someone else. The other voices were uncertain. They kept asking, Is she the one? But, they didn’t know. So, one of them took a blade and cut a gash in my head right here,” she pointed to her scar, “and another slit his finger and rubbed his blood into the wound. They laughed while they did it, passing me around like a rag doll. They all kissed me, but there was no soul left to take. After a while, they took more than kisses. They touched me. They used my body however they wanted. When they were done, I thought I’d climb onto the shore and cry. I thought someone would find me. But they didn’t give me the chance. The boy who knocked me into the water took out a silver blade no bigger than my finger. It was wrapped in fine cloth, like it was some precious metal. He jabbed its sharp edge into my stomach and twisted. I screamed out in pain, but no one heard me. No one saw. Except him. When the Valefar dropped me into the water, I slid beneath the surface and through a portal. I’ve been here ever since.”
Eric had remained silent until then, and said, “And Kreturus saw you? And posted you here?”
Apryl’s jaw locked as she spit out the words, “Yes, that demon owns me now because of you! They told him that I was someone else, and his disappointment was brutal when he found out that I wasn’t.” She stared at Eric with hatred in her eyes. “It was you. Your fault. You led them to me.”
Eric didn’t look away; he didn’t waiver, “It was my fault.”
“Then I think you should die a death ten times more painful, and more humiliating than what I went through.” Her face contorted as she filled with rage. The black sword swung in an arch towards Eric. It collided with the blades of my silver weapon, as I stepped between her and Eric.
“You can’t kill him,” I said. “He’s already dead, and he was told to bring me this way.” I strained pushing back against her blade. “Lower your weapon.”
Apryl let out a hysterical laugh. “Lower my weapon? No one can pass this way no matter what you say. And since you didn’t turn to leave, you’ll die too.” She lifted her blade and swung it at me. I blocked her again, not wanting to advance. I couldn’t hurt her. It didn’t matter that she didn’t know me anymore. I was still thrilled to see her—thrilled and terrified.
I took a step back, disconnecting our blades, “I won’t fight you, but you have to let us pass.”
She laughed again, but it was hollow. “Let you pass? This isn’t the way into some park. It’s a road to certain destruction.” She stepped towards me, swinging her blade again. We were backed up against the cavern wall. “Last chance Little Princess. Turn back.”
As the words fell out of her mouth, all the fight drained from her body. She called me Little Princess when we fought at home. Mom would tell her to be nice, but that was her go to name when I got what I wanted and she didn’t. Did she remember me? Her eyes widened as she looked at my face. Her blade fell limply at her side. The memory was inside of her, but out of reach. She didn’t remember me. When she spoke again, I knew she didn’t. “All three of you want to pass this way, but none of you will want to pay the price. You might as well turn back.”
Shannon spoke, “Why don’t you let us decide that. What’s the price?”
Apryl’s eyes slid between Shannon, Eric, and me. “What kind of Valefar are you? How do you not know that!” She laughed at us for a second, then her expression changed and the laughter died in her mouth. “Oh my God! You aren’t Valefar, are you? Otherwise you’d know the price. You’d also know that there is no way you could pay it.” She inhaled deeply, and a slight smile crept across her face. I recognized that smile. It was conjured from the delight in smelling mortal blood, and Martis blood was even more potent. She was trying to catch our scent.
I spoke before anyone else could, “I’m damned. It doesn’t matter what I am. Or what I’m not. I was sent here. Kreturus wants me and this is the entrance I chose. Tell me the price. I’m passing this way no matter what it cost.”
She slid her fingers along the edge of her black blade, and tilted her head back. “Well, good luck with that. Only the living can pass this way. They must cast their spirit into the Pool of Lost Souls. Admission here isn’t cheap. It isn’t some amusement park filled with cheap thrills. The damned are enslaved here for eternity. Do you really want to cast off your soul? Or whatever you have? I’m still wondering why I can’t catch your scent.” She sniffed at me, looking perplexed.
“Never mind that,” I s
aid. “The Pool of Lost Souls, what is it? How do we do it and does it require a soul for passage or just a piece of a soul?”
A smile slid across her face, “So, you’ve dealt with Valefar before, huh? The Pool of Lost Souls is what binds your body to the Underworld. Once it contains your soul, you belong to Kreturus. But you’re right. It doesn’t require an entire soul for passage. If you can bear the agony, it will take a severed soul and allow you to pass.”
I turned to Eric and Shannon. “It’s a Demon Kiss, isn’t it?”
Eric nodded, “That’s what it sounds like. And there is no way around it. The Underworld entrances require payment. I just had no idea what it was. If you want to keep going, you don’t even have to ask me, Ivy. I’m coming.”
I turned to Shannon, “You should go back and hide. They won’t find you. And besides, it’s me and Eric that they really want. I can’t ask you to come with me.”
Her green eyes were serious for once, “Who said you had to ask? Ivy, I’ll pay the price. I’m not letting you go down there alone.”
Turning back to Apryl, I reluctantly looked her in the eye. She didn’t remember me. I couldn’t touch her. I couldn’t hug her and tell her everything would be all right. For all I knew, it wouldn’t. Suppressing the thoughts, I said, “Take us to the Pool of Lost Souls.” I never thought I’d volunteer for a Demon Kiss, but as it turned out, that wasn’t exactly what it was.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
I followed my sister relieved that I didn’t have to fight her. That was one thing that I wouldn’t have been able to do. Shannon and Eric remained silent as we walked. Panicked thoughts brushed my mind. I had no idea if I could bear another demon kiss, or if my soul would survive the encounter. I’d already been attacked by a Valefar a few months ago, and lost all but a small piece of my soul. And that piece I severed willingly to bring Collin back to life. I was playing a deadly game and I knew it. At some point, the amount of spirit left in my body would not be enough to sustain the angel blood that flowed through my veins. When that time came, the demon blood would overtake me, and I’d become a full-fledged Valefar.
My nails bit into my palms, making me realize exactly how much that scared me. Being enslaved was the worst thing I could possibly imagine. As weeks slid into months, I had started to see that my fate was simply foretold. The only person to blame for casting that dark destiny in stone was me. It was completely my fault. It was my fault because I couldn’t abandon Collin, and I couldn’t watch a sword slice Eric in two. And now, I couldn’t deny the price of passage into the Underworld, even though it was more than I could pay.
We followed Apryl along the cavern pathways. The stone glowed a faint reddish brown like it was illuminated from within. Water was forever dripping from somewhere, but I never saw the source. Periodically the sound of beating wings filled the air, but I never saw what made that noise either. The Underworld wasn’t like anything I’d expected.
A chill ran through me when I first saw the Caribbean blue waters. They looked so out of place, lapping at the jagged dark stone that stretched from floor to higher than the eye could see. The light blue water stood out against the dismal backdrop like an oasis of hope in the midst of despair. Its false promise of peace was part of what made the Pool of Lost Souls so deadly. The second part I would soon learn.
Eric, Shannon, and I stopped a few feet from the water’s edge. As I watched the crystal blue liquid move, I realized it wasn’t made of water at all. Instead it was thick like gel, swirling and lapping at the shore. Streaks of pale green, laced with sea foam, swirled suspended in its depths. The Pool stretched on forever, and despite the crystal clarity, the bottom was not visible. I swallowed hard, not liking this mutant-water one bit.
“Step to the water’s edge, but do not step into the Pool. If you do, the lost souls will pull you in. Your feet must stay on dry ground,” Apryl warned.
I looked at her, and asked, “Why are you helping us? Aren’t you the Guardian?”
She looked at me with that expression of hers. The one that said she liked you, but she thought you were a total idiot. It was a glimpse of the old Apryl. “I’m helping you because…” she shrugged, “I’m not sure. It’s like I know you or something.”
Shannon’s green eyes were wide as she looked from me back to the Pool. “It’s going to be deceptive, isn’t it?” She swallowed hard. “There is no way to just cast some soul in and walk away, is there?”
Apryl didn’t answer. Instead she turned her dark eyes to me and said, “Nothing down here is as it seems. Don’t embrace the waters or anything that comes from them.” Embrace the waters? I had no idea what she meant, but nodded at her anyway. It dawned on me that she may not be helping us, as I’d thought. She wasn’t my sister anymore. She was a Valefar. I wondered if I should believe her, but why would she lie? I’d already volunteered for a demon kiss. How much worse could it be? As I looked harder at the Pool, I could see the green streaks moving more rhythmically, as if they were waiting for us to join in and dance. “Step to the edge and do what you must.” Apryl extended her arm, and stepped away from us.
Swallowing hard, I turned toward Eric and then Shannon, “Ready?” The nodded in unison. My chest felt like it was going to tear open as I took those few short steps. The blue swirled in thick slow circles, as the pale green shapes rose and fell below the surface. As I got closer, I saw that the shapes were people. Their forms swam in the Pool, suspended, and trapped for eternity. Eyes wide, I turned in panic to look at Eric. I had no idea there were people in there, but he didn’t see me.
His face paled as his eyes widened, fixated on the Pool in front of him. His body was shaking as he stood staring transfixed on her face. A whisper of a word slid out of his throat, “Lydia.”
The terror in his eyes made me turn back to the water. I didn’t understand what was happening until I turned. A familiar face strode towards me across the Pool’s surface. His skin glowed with a pale shimmer, but his eyes were still sapphire blue. My chest heaved as a sharp pain tore through me, stealing my breath. Collin. It was Collin walking towards me. I was no longer aware of the others. My only thoughts were of Collin—the scent of his skin, the feel of his touch on my cheek, the taste of his lips on mine.
My foot lifted to take a step towards him when a voice snapped me back to reality, “Stay where you are little sister, or you’ll never survive.” Apryl’s voice made my neck snap towards her. She held my gaze and repeated the warning. “It’s not really him. This creature has come to take your soul. It’ll pull you into the Pool if you let it.”
My voice caught in my throat as I looked back at him. I was mesmerized. It didn’t even dawn on me until later that she said, little sister. She remembered me, but I was so transfixed on Collin walking towards me that I didn’t notice. “No, it can’t be true. That’s him. It’s the good part that was stolen. He wouldn’t hurt me. I know it.” Reassurance flooded my body every time I looked at the figure on the water. I hadn’t seen him since the night he saved me. And now he was right in front of me, only steps away. If I just stepped closer, I could wrap my arms around him again.
“It’s not him. That’s the Guardian. It’s pulled every single person who tried to pass into this Pool. I can’t stop you from trying to pass it. I’m bound to the Pool. I can’t go past this point. But, you can if you remember that this isn’t who you think it is. If you remember not to touch it and pay passage.” She folded her arms and leaned back against the cave wall.
I turned back to the water’s edge. My breath caught in my throat as Collin’s form stood right in front of me with his ankles submerged in the lapping waters. I wanted to throw my arms around him and feel his warm body against mine, but I hesitated. Looking into his eyes, I waited for him to speak, but he said nothing. His face slowly showcased my favorite expressions—the one that made it impossible to deny him anything.
Apryl’s voice broke the silence, “Ivy, I’m in there too.” Shocked, I turned to look at her. Sadness weighed on h
er soft features, deeply carving lines into her face that hadn’t been there before. “I’ve stood on the water’s edge seeing the one thing that I desire most, but cannot have—myself. I watch her come to the edge, but I’m unable to do anything about it. She’s like an image trapped in a reflection. There is no way to undo what was done to me. Or him. Only the ruler of the Underworld has that power.” Apryl’s words sunk into me. She’d tried to get her soul back. She’d stood here and been unable to reclaim her life, even though it was right in front of her. I closed my eyes hard, and looked away. Demons were cruel. They never let you forget your place, and every action was doused with pain.
Just then Eric snapped. His foot lifted forward and then the other.
“No!” I screamed, but it was too late. He had stepped into the crystal blue liquid. The waters surrounded the single foot that touched the water, as Eric cried out in pain.
His scream awoke Shannon from her dazed trance, no doubt seeing someone she loved manifested in front of her. Someone she wanted, but couldn’t have. She shook her head and ran toward Eric, careful not to touch the water. “What do we do?” she asked as she went to pull him back.
“No! Don’t touch him! It might be able to pull you in too!” Panic was flooding me. Eric’s back arched as he let out a raw scream, frozen by the waters that trapped him. His face contorted with pain as his body shook.
I recognized that scream. It was the sound Martis made when they were being demon kissed. The Guardian was sucking his soul into the Pool. There was no time. If I waited another second we would lose him. I wasn’t certain if we could touch him or not, but there was no other choice. I threw myself between the Guardian and Eric. Lydia’s pale likeness melted down into the water and Collin was the only figure remaining. His blue eyes pierced me, making me think I couldn’t possibly do this, but there was no other choice.