people. If it were possible any of their humanity was still trapped within the flowers, I couldn't destroy them in a fit of rage. Turning slowly, I looked at the paths before me. I could do this. Just keep wandering until the leaves thinned. Then I would be out - either back at the beginning or at the ending.
My eyes glanced around cautiously. I knew what to expect in here. I knew what my weakness was. I knew what the Lorren would tempt me with. It would weave the perfect illusion, so warm and inviting that I'd never want to leave. Then the golden flowers would suck me into the wall and I'd be trapped like the rest of them. Collin's warning floated through my mind, the more beautiful - the more deadly. This place was stunning, dripping with beauty.
Dripping with death.
For hours I walked and did not hear or see anything. No noises carried through the golden vines. No voices resonated through the tunnels. I'd thought Shannon would call out at any time, or I'd hear Eric's voice, but it was silent. Moving forward, I wound around the paths going deeper and deeper into the maze. My friends would have to face their own hell and find their own ways out. We were all on our own.
It was then that I heard his voice; when I was at my weakest. The Lorren waited, learning me, tasting my fears. It was patient. Eventually I felt the bond tugging in my gut and pulling me through the maze. Not having a better plan, I followed its pull knowing damn well that Collin would be at the end of the path. What else would the Lorren do? It was a predictable trap. It had to be. Otherwise I was totally screwed, because I didn't have a clue what else could possibly make me want to stay here and die.
Death meant abandoning my friends and forsaking my sister. Valefar or not, she was alive and I intended to keep her that way. I swallowed the lump in my throat. Seeing her face had been a double edged sword. She'd become the very being I was trying to avoid - a Valefar. But, she was alive. That was all that mattered. I had to free her from the Pool. I had to save Collin. I couldn't get sucked into whatever was at the end of this path. The bond propelled me forward, turning me around corners, and through archways of golden flowers. My steps became more cautious and less frantic as the acidic taste of dread rose in my throat. Swallowing it back down, I paused. I could feel it. He was around this corner. I knew it was him. It had to be. Collin was my vice. He always would be. Inhaling deeply, I closed my eyes. I willed myself with my entire being to be strong enough to deal with whatever lay around the corner. Then I walked the final steps half hoping that it would be something else. I had no idea that what I hoped for was worse than anything I'd feared.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
My breath caught in my throat as I rounded the golden corner. Collin stood there perfectly healthy. His eyes sparkled that brilliant blue, and that devilish smile that I adored spread across his lips.
It's not him, I thought to myself. That thing was the Lorren. Dim rust-colored light was spilling from the end of the tunnel, just over his shoulder. I was near an exit!
I moved slowly. My heart pounded in my chest more fiercely than when the dragon stood nose to nose with me. I had the brains to resist the dragon, but Collin? Breaking the alluring gaze he cast over me, I looked at the golden walls, the floor...anything except him. Collin shifted his weight onto one foot and stood blocking the path. As I neared him I slowed down realizing that I couldn't pass by him without touching him. My brain immediately registered that as a horrible idea and I withdrew a step.
Collin laughed, "After all this time, you're stepping away from me? No hug for an old friend? No...kiss?"
Swallowing hard, I spit out the words before they froze in my mouth, "You're not him. Step aside, Lorren, and let me pass. Otherwise, I'll make you." I had no idea why I threw that threat in there. It sounded good, so I did. Too bad for me that this Collin liked it.
He smirked, taking