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it's very difficult to get closure when things end like that..."

I shot a thought at him; Do you even know what you're talking about? What did the Martis tell her?

But Collin ignored me and kept talking to the woman as if he knew, "I suggested taking her to his apartment one last time to see where he lived, but it seems that it's already been rented and we didn't want to intrude."

The woman had her hand over her heart and looked at me with huge weepy eyes. "Of course! I know the girl who moved in there, after his accident; in fact we're good friends. I suppose I could let you in, just for a minute. Tahlia isn't home. I'm sure she wouldn't mind." Collin nodded somberly and thanked her while she ran off to fetch the key.

I arched an eyebrow at Collin, "How do they think Eric died?"

Collin shrugged, "Beats me, but the Martis must have covered Eric's tracks well, because this woman didn't expect to see anyone. Asking to see the apartment was the best I could do. Do you think you can find the book quickly, if it's still there?"

"It's worth a try. I saw where he hid it. I just hope it's still there." There was a niche in the wall where Eric withdrew the book before he thrust it under my nose. Eric was irate that night. He said that I undid a lifetime of work. He didn't like me then. And he detested demon blood to the point that he didn't treat me the same way once he found out I was tainted. But, his actions were different than his words. He saved me. I saved him. It happened so many times that I was beginning to think that we were friends. Eric had changed after our descent into the Underworld. I pushed the memory away, as Collin's fingers laced through mine.

"Pretend you're sad." He squeezed my hand.

I squeezed back, "Don't have to."

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

The woman opened the door to Eric's old apartment. It looked so different. None of his stuff was there any more, not that I expected it to be, but it still jolted me. It was like the Eric I knew had been blotted from existence. Releasing Collin's hand, I wrapped my arms around my middle and walked over to the window. These windows shattered when Jake came crashing through one night and attacked us. I slashed Eric in the chest that night by accident. I thought I'd killed him, but he just laughed at me and saved me - even when he wasn't sure about me.

The large woman who'd let us into the apartment then excused herself for a moment to go water Tahlia's plants. She remained in the apartment, but wasn't watching very closely. I stared blankly as the memories plagued me. Collin touched my shoulder, instantly pulling me out of the memories and I flinched.

I looked back at him. "Sorry. It's just...I don't know. It's like this was the last piece of him, and now it's gone." I didn't expect to get so choked up, but I knew it wasn't the normal pangs of loss I was feeling. It was loss laced with guilt - soul-sucking guilt.

Collin refocused my attention on the matter at hand, "Where was it?" he whispered.

Shaking off the slew of emotions, I walked over to the wall where the book had been hidden right as Peggy bustled back into the bedroom. She spoke to Collin while I stood looking at the bookcase, and back to the window wondering what to do. I couldn't try to get the book with her watching me. She'd think I was stealing. Peggy didn't leave us alone again, and I didn't get the chance to see if the book was still in the wall. Eyes wide, I pleaded with Collin to do something, but he shook his head slightly and brushed my mind, Later.

Not understanding his intentions, he thanked Peggy and we left. When we were outside, I asked, "Why did we leave? I didn't get a chance to look."

Collin had his hand on the small of my back and was pressing me towards the alley. "There's something odd going on. I'm not sure what, but I felt like we had to leave. We'll go back later, and get it when Tahlia's asleep."

That was the first time I'd broken into someone's house. I didn't like it. My mind flashed pictures of a thin thirty-year-old with dark hair waking up