Cursed Demon Kissed 2 Page 0,23

up at my face. I wasn't lying, but I guessed she suspected that I'd never stopped looking for a way to get Collin back. She didn't mention it. Instead she said, "I'm worried about Eric. I think I'm going to see if Al can get me into his hearing. I think he might be in trouble."

I nodded my head, "If anyone can get you in, it'll be Al." Weariness was making me less cautious than I should have been. "And you should go. I have the same feeling. I keep trying to tell myself that it's nothing, and that I can leave whenever I want, but...I don't know how to describe it. It feels like if I leave, I might never come back. And it has something to do with Eric, but I don't know what." My voice trailed off. The dread that had been bubbling in my stomach as the sun set was tenfold what it had been the entire time I was there. It was like my body knew what I was in for, even if my brain didn't want to admit it, yet.

Shannon's eyebrow arched and a wicked smile spread across her lips, "You can leave?" I flinched at my stupid mistake. I didn't mean to tell anyone that. Oops. I was more out of it than I thought. Her green eyes stared at me in disbelief, "Then why are you still here?"

I rested my head in my hand and looked up at her. "This is the only place to find the information I need, Shannon. But, now that they dragged Eric back...I don't know. I can't leave. Not yet. There is something here that I'm supposed to see." I gave her a lopsided smile.

We weren't best friends anymore. We never would be. The demon blood that tainted me, although it was by accident, separated us. We were cast forever in opposite sides of the same war.

She returned the grin, "Should have known. I'll come find you after the hearing and fill you in." I nodded as she walked out of the gleaming room.

Desperation flooded me. I don't know how I knew, but my time here was running out. I had to find the entrance to Hell and I had to find it now. Tears welt up behind my eyes, but I wouldn't let them fall. I couldn't utterly fail so early in my task. I was tired of feeling like an idiot. It seemed I was the last to know, the last to figure things out, and that usually lined up perfectly with being the victim. Feelings of inadequacy filled my chest. They were so drenched in sorrow that I could hardly stand it. I was a freak. A failure. Collin had been trapped down there this whole time, because of me. Why did I let him do it? Why didn't I see what was happening in front of me? Damn it! I had to do this. I had to find the entrance. This was my last chance, and I knew it.

I pushed aside the book I was reading and opened another. I had already thumbed through this one. It was filled with ancient drawings of the catacombs. It showed drawings of the tombs in fine lines and vibrant colors the way they were thousands of years ago. Although the drawings were beautiful, they held no information that I could use.

My fingers traced over the ornate decoration above an arcosolium. The arcosolium was a grave that was typically owned by the wealthy. It rested in a very large carved niche in the wall. The tomb had a fresco painted on top to seal it depicting an ancient angel watching over a woman. Sometimes the families painted an image of the deceased or a religious symbol on the grave. The painting was a form of ancient headstone. It allowed the mourners to visit her grave, and be reminded of her life.

I flipped the page. It showed several different Roman catacombs. The frescos were bright as they had once been long ago. The colors were more saturated and nothing was cracked or faded, as they were now. I leaned my head in my hand as I looked at another painting. This one was a simple depiction of Mary. It was one of the oldest surviving paintings in Christian history, and it was in one of the oldest known Roman catacombs - the Catacomb of Pricilla.

The Martis protected the tombs, and they were particularly fond of this old catacomb.