Torn (Demon Kissed #3) (6 page)

CHAPTER FIVE

 
Stunned, I stared at him with my mouth hanging open. “What?” I squeaked. I don’t know what I expected him to say, but that wasn’t it. “That’s not possible! You’re in Hell. Angels don’t live here. I think the Lorren smacked you in the head one too many times.” My lips twisted into an uncomfortable smile. Was this why he was so intimidating? There was something about him that was so overwhelming, but I couldn’t put my finger on what it was. Now, looking at him—even with his confession—I still couldn’t believe it.

Walking down the wall, he began to pull back the golden flowers that hid the prophecies, concealing them completely with golden vegetation one at a time. He spoke over his shoulder while he did it, “You’re very astute,” he teased. “No, most angels don’t live here, but I do. Let’s just say I’m a remnant of the old guard.” There was a smirk on his face as he said those last words.

A chill ran through me, as my stomach lurched.
The old guard?
Some very scary angel had occupied parts of the Underworld after Kreturus was defeated nearly two thousand years ago. They were the twisted freaks who left the Guardian at the Pool of the Lost Souls, and set traps to keep the demons contained within their world and out of mine. They were merciless. Their traps were cruel, but extremely effective. Still stunned and increasingly weary of this boy, I managed to whisper, “So you’re an angel named Lorren, huh?” He smiled, nodding. I watched him as he moved the golden vines in front of him, not really paying attention to what he was doing. My mind was spinning faster than I could think. If he was an angel, and was left here by the old guard, it was possible that he didn’t just live in this hideous maze. Dread filled me as words flew out of my mouth before they fully formed in my mind, “You made the Lorren, didn’t you? The angels left it here. It wasn’t something that was made by demons. The Lorren was made by you.” There was an accusatory tone to my voice. I hated this place. The person who made it was one screwed up bastard. And yet, it was this guy—and he was an angel. Confusion contorted my face, although I tried to hide it.

He finished covering the last painting and turned back toward me. “Yeah,” he laughed, “I’m an arrogant bastard, and after I finished with it, I named it after myself. Seemed like a good idea at the time. The Lorren was the strongest defense to hold back the demons. No one has passed through it and lived—except you.” He flicked a glance at me and scoffed, “And I seriously wonder how that was possible.”

I shirked off his jab and said, “That’s why you can live here, and the magic of this place doesn’t affect you? It’s not because you defeated the Lorren, it’s because you are Lorren.” He nodded. I looked at him again, as if seeing him for the first time. He was an angel that was living inside a tomb.
In Hell.
I folded my arms and looked up at him, suspiciously. “So, did the angels kick you out, or what? Why are you down here?” Eric had told me that all the old guard pulled out. There weren’t supposed to be any remaining angels down here anymore—hence the hideous traps.

Lorren shrugged and began walking back down the golden passages that we passed through before. I followed him, still wary, not knowing what to think or if I could believe him. It was so weird. Why would he stay here? I wanted to get out of this place as soon as possible. Everything from the cold, damp air to the eternal night made me feel twitchy, like I was trapped in a tomb. Why would anyone stay here by choice? Lorren walked with a confident stride, but his shoulders slumped forward a little bit like he thought he was too tall. I raced to keep up with him.

He’d been quiet; walking away from me quickly like my question pissed him off. “By choice,” he shot me a sharp look. “And, I wasn’t kicked out. I check on things once in a while. We noticed there was a lot more going on in these parts than there had been—portals being opened from the wrong side.” He shot me a snide look, “Ya know, from up there,” he gestured upward with his thumb, “and that’s a bit unusual. Most people don’t want to go into the Underworld. A few months ago a portal was opened somewhere near New York. And then another one was opened a few weeks ago near Rome.” We entered the golden room where he drew most of the poison out of my chest. The silver rose that he used to heal me lay on the ledge where he left it. He picked it up before turning to me. Tipping the petals toward me, he said, “That was you. You were the one responsible for opening the portal to the Underworld.
Both times.”
It didn’t sound like a question, but it seemed like he was asking me. It seemed like he was leery of something, but he didn’t give me any idea of what.

Hesitantly, I confessed, “I opened the catacomb in Rome, and I was there when they opened the portal in New York. But it wasn’t me who opened it. It was the Valefar.”

He walked toward me and stopped less than a foot from me. I could feel the heat pouring off of him like he was on fire. I tried to step back, but he took another step toward me. Why did everyone think they could intimidate me? I was short, but I wasn’t powerless. Angel or not, I could fight back. Part of me wanted to scream at him to back off, but part of me wanted to know what he was afraid of. I could see it in his eyes. He was afraid. What types of things scared angels?

His voice was deep and came out in a whisper, “The Valefar couldn’t have opened the portal without you. You have the key.” His eyes burned into me as his gaze intensified. “One Valefar can pass through a portal without your key, but that wasn’t what happened, was it? Demons tried to escape. Valefar went in. And Kreturus tried to come out. You tell me that you aren’t helping him, and yet you’re the one who opened the portals, you are the one who has the key, and you are the one who gave him part of your soul.” He inched towards me as he was speaking, like he was scolding a child. His face was inches from mine. His eyes blazed with fury.

I bristled, “You don’t know what you’re talking about. You weren’t there. I told you that I don’t want this. If you had the means to break the prophecy and make it so that it didn’t exist, I would tell you to do it right now—no matter what it cost me. You don’t think that I feel guilty about everything that’s happened? You don’t think that I tried to stop it? When you found me, I was half dead. I gave up my life to end all of this! You’re blind if you can’t see that.” Somehow my angry speech made me stretch to my tip toes, so I could scream in his face. Breathing hard, I noticed how angry he made me. I didn’t care if he was an angel or not. I knew who I was, and what I wanted, but he had no clue.

There was silence. Neither of us said a word. I backed away from his face, but I didn’t look away. Lorren ignored me for a moment and gazed at the wall. Finally, his eyes cut to me. “I believe you.”

What an ass! My jaw dropped open in disbelief. He acted as if I needed his approval—as if I cared what he thought. When words finally formed a coherent thought, my voice was sharp, “I don’t care what you believe.” I pushed past him and into the labyrinth. “I’m leaving.”

He called behind me, “I’m here to draw out the rest of the poison when you need me.” I didn’t turn around to acknowledge him. My hands clenched into fists at the thought,
If
I needed him
. Shit! I totally needed him. If I didn’t get the sapphire serum out of me, I’d make the prophecy come true that much faster.

And it’d be that much worse.

But, the part that bugged me most was that I didn’t know how this all ended. That last prophecy was missing. There was no way to know if I could fix all my mistakes. There was no way to know if I died, and there was no way to know if Kreturus took all my powers and went on a rampage in my world and then wiped out the angel’s realm. Lorren was an ass. I hated him. But, he was a key component in how things would end. And for some reason, he was helping me.

CHAPTER SIX

I wandered through the Lorren until I found the place where Eric died. The maze was much easier to navigate since it wasn’t blasting me with mind-altering mist and tempting me with Collin’s kisses. When I first stepped foot in the Lorren, I thought it was beautiful. I thought the golden flowers dripping with jewels were stunning. I couldn’t take my eyes off of them. As soon as I realized what they truly were, I was horrified. How could Lorren sit in there and allow all those people to die in that place? I didn’t understand how something that was supposed to be good, could tolerate injustice. Then I paused, realizing that maybe the people who were turned into flowers were given justice. Maybe they were supposed to be there. Either way, the golden tomb made me crave the inky sky and dank air of the Underworld. I couldn’t wait to be out of the false warmth.

As soon as I stepped outside the golden walls, I’d be a sitting duck for demons, Valefar, and other evil things. I kicked the ground with my toes, sending loose bits of rock skittering at the mouth of the Lorren. What was I supposed to do now? Pressing my eyes closed tight, I fell to my knees. I blinked hard, fighting back tears. When I looked up there was a familiar set of eyes watching me from the cavern walls. Up high between jagged spikes of black rocks was the dragon.

I regarded him and nodded. He swooped off his perch and landed in front of me. Ignoring him, I went back to my thoughts, sitting right outside the Lorren. The beast lowered his massive body to the cavern floor, laid next to me, and curled up like a really big cat.

The dragon.
Why was this thing following me? And whose was he?
Kreturus’?
I looked at the beast and asked, “Why are you following me? You already destroyed me when you took Collin and gave him to Kreturus. Go away.” I rose, brushed the dirt off my shredded jeans and walked away from the beast. A few moments later, I felt a massive gust at my back and the dragon was gone.

The bond was pulling at me hard as I backtracked further the way I had come into the Underworld. I had to get out of this place. The longer I stayed down here, the worse things became. I needed to feel sunshine on my face and breathe fresh air. I wanted the warmth of the sun to seep into my skin and get rid of the chill that invaded me since I arrived. Although the shadows were no longer shrouding me, it was still damp and cold. I could have effonated from the Lorren to the catacombs so I could leave again, but I felt so weak. I didn’t think I had enough power to keep my attention focused the way I needed to so that I wouldn’t hurt myself. Effonating wiped me out when I felt fine. No, I needed to wait a little longer until I felt I could hold my focus perfectly. Until then, I’d move about on foot.

Walking through the Underworld alone sucked. It reminded me of everything I lost. My best friend stabbed me in the back. Shannon. I’d hoped she would have believed me. I’d hoped she would have been on my side. But she wasn’t. And the sad part was that I had no idea when she had changed her mind. It sounded like she lived the past year thinking I was destined for Hell, but said nothing to me. It didn’t make any sense. Why would she help me, then? But I couldn’t get over the rage on her face, and the words she spoke cut into me in a way that wouldn’t heal. Her words were painfully wedged there in my mind, forever.

I shivered when I wondered if Eric killed her. The hatred in his eyes was burning bright when he’d asked me where she’d gone. And while I want her to pay for what she did to us, I wanted to deal with her myself—so I lied. I told Eric that Shannon was in Rome, when I knew that she was really in New York. The misinformation would also keep Eric away from me longer. I seriously doubted he’d come after me again without destroying her first. And the new deranged Eric was terrifying. Hopefully Shannon realized he’d be hunting her and
stay
alive for a while. That way Eric wouldn’t bother me and I’d have time to find her myself.
 

The dragon followed me as I walked. I could hear him in the distance or feel the soft wind brush my cheeks when he flew by overhead, unseen. For something so large, he moved silently. I wouldn’t have noticed it before, but there were telling signs that the beast was near; like the sound of grackles that filled the air constantly –somewhere in the distance - but never too close. It was as if something was keeping them away from me. The same thing happened with the demons. None of them made a grab at me either. They were afraid of the dragon—that had to be it—because I was utterly vulnerable, weak, and completely lacking in ninja stealth. That beast was the pet of the ruler of the Underworld. No wonder they were all afraid of him.