Torn Page 0,26

one again, and you can get to the other locations because you've never seen them," he paused gazing at me. "Besides, I'm not letting you out of my sight."

I smiled at him. I wasn't sure what'd he do. I asked, "So, you'll come with me?"

His eyebrows pinched together and he gave me a look that made me know that he thought my question was strange. "Yes. Why wouldn't I?"

I shrugged. "Just wasn't sure because of the way things happened before." I wasn't sure if Collin knew that Kreturus had been in him or not. He never acknowledged that he was possessed, and during the time we were apart, well - it was possible that Kreturus left him. Or Kreturus could still be in there, but I couldn't sense the old demon. Even during that kiss, there was no trace of the ancient evil. It was just Collin and his icy hot kisses that I felt.

He turned me towards him, "Ivy, I'll do everything I can to protect you, but I have to tell you something. Kreturus and I have a past. He's targeting me, and not just because of you. When we were in New York, I told you that I made a bargain with him - my soul for yours." Collin held my shoulders, but couldn't meet my eyes, "That was the deal. I told you that I'd do anything to escape my life as a Valefar. I wanted my soul back. Kreturus promised me I would have it. Since demons have a tendency to lie and not follow through on their promises, I demanded part of my soul before I began looking for you. Kreturus gave it to me."

I couldn't believe what Collin was telling me. Kreturus had given him part of his soul? That meant Valefar could be restored! That meant that I could save Apryl and undo the horrors I inflicted on Eric! Hope soared within me and deafened me to the solemn look on Collin's face. If I'd noticed his expression, I wouldn't have jacked myself up so high on hope, because as soon as he finished his story, I felt miserable.

"Ivy, he gave me a piece of my soul. He said it was a down payment - a glimpse of what I would get when I completed my task. Kreturus went the Pool of Lost Souls and called my soul out. He took a portion of it and infused it into my Valefar body. My soul and my body were reunited. But, it didn't work." Collin released my shoulders and tipped his head toward the ground. The toe of his shoe scraped against the loose dirt. "As soon as my soul was reunited with my body, it became rancid - like it didn't belong inside of me. When the Valefar killed me, I was a good man with a good soul. When Kreturus gave me back my soul, I was an evil man with an evil body. The good soul and the bad body couldn't fuse again, not without force. So that's what Kreturus did. He forced the soul to reattach to me, and in doing so, corrupted it. My soul had to become like me to live within me."

Collin laughed coldly, folding his arms tightly to his chest. "I thought I outsmarted Kreturus. I thought that piece of soul would free me from him, but it turns out he outsmarted me. Because it doesn't matter how pure my soul was before, there is no way it will merge with my body ever again - not after living the life of a Valefar. But when he forced it, he forced the evil from hundreds of lifetimes onto that tiny piece of soul. And no soul could bear that kind of abuse. That bit of soul wasn't enough to free me from being a Valefar. It wasn't enough to lift the curse that binds me to Kreturus." He looked haunted, revealing a memory filled with pain that he didn't want to relive. He bargained with Kreturus.

And lost.

I threw my arms around him and kissed his cheek. He wouldn't look me in the eye, so I placed my hands on his cheeks, and turned his face toward me. Looking him in the eyes I said, "It was still you who saved me. It was your soul, no matter how tiny, that saved me the night Jake tried to kill me."

The intensity of his stare worried me. He heard my words, but it wasn't enough. He shook