she died. But that was a long time ago, before my life came crashing down around me. When she spoke again, her voice changed. It sounded distant and lost. "That's why I remembered. I watched you march up to that beast like you owned it when it attacked Eric. You protected him...against something that should have killed you. Only one person I ever knew was that crazy." She smirked, "My whack-job little sister. Who else would be crazy enough to show up down here? Everyone else wants to get out and you're trying to break in. God, I miss you..." She closed her teary eyes, as her head swayed.
"Whoa, Apryl." I rushed to her and held her upright. "What can I do?"
She went limp in my arms as I lowered her to the ground. Her eyes opened into little slits. "Kill the bastard responsible for making me into this thing. I'm not alive, but I'm not dead. I'd rather die, Ivy. If that thing - the Guardian - ripped me to pieces, it would have been worth it. I would have finally been free from this curse. But Kreturus made sure the Guardian wouldn't kill me. He did something to me so that the Guardian will only chomp on me once or twice before deciding I'm not worth eating."
"What curse? What are you talking about?" I kneeled next to her. Some of the color was returning to her face. Although her wounds still looked like raw meat.
"We're cursed, you and I. It's the curse of the Valefar. Some say we're damned, but it's not the same thing. Damned means you did something wrong before. It means you had a choice about what became of you." She shook her head softly, "But that isn't what happened. The curse of the Valefar is something that happens to you - whether you're good or bad. You have no choice, but to become this vile, soulless thing that doesn't deserve to be alive." Her expression was vacant as she spoke. "The demon blood gave me power to do and take whatever I wanted, except for the one thing I want more than anything. My soul. The curse leaves the person a shell of themselves. I can't remember much about my previous life, except that I loved it. The curse allowed me to remember some of my previous thoughts, enough to know that what I am is evil. Guilt gnaws at me, but I can't do a thing about it. I need souls to survive. I've killed people, Ivy. People who stumbled on the Pool. It doesn't happen often, but I didn't let them get to the Pool. I'm evil. I'm one of the things that killed me on the pier. If I could kill myself, I would. That's why you have to kill him. Kill him for me, Ivy. Make him die in the same agony that I'm forced to live with for eternity."
The lump in my throat was so big that I couldn't swallow. The pain in her voice was unbearable. I'd do anything to make it better, but I was afraid to ask who she was talking about, even though I already knew. It could have been Eric, or the Valefar on the pier, but somehow I knew that wasn't who she meant. "Who, Apryl? Who are you talking about?"
Her hazel eyes pierced mine. She clutched my hands hard, and whispered his name with such utter hatred that I had no doubt she meant it. "Kreturus. Kill Kreturus." I nearly choked. She'd just asked me to do what the prophecy said I would do. Her words made my skin prickle. She saw the expression on my face. "That's what you're here for, isn't it?" She laughed hollowly, pulling her slashed arms tighter to her body. "There isn't one of us who hasn't wished that old demon was dead. And, I've never seen anyone do what you did to the Guardian. If you could do that, I bet you can kill him. There's something different about you. I can sense it. Kill him for me, Ivy. Kill him for stealing my life. Kill him for making me this monster. Kill him for taking me from you."
Those last words made my rage burn. Apryl's death was his fault. My mother's death, my house burning, the demon kiss, losing most of my soul, the pain, losing Collin - all of it was his fault. If Kreturus didn't want me so badly, none of those things