Torn Page 0,7

difficult to draw out.

"When I found you, you were a lost cause. The venom had spread throughout your entire body and was messing with your brain. You were barely breathing. So I grabbed you and brought you back here. I knew that the poison likes silver - it's drawn to it the way an iron filing is drawn to a magnet. So when I touched the silver to your wound, it pulled out the sapphire serum, little by little, until there was only this small amount left. But, it's like I can't draw out this last bit of poison. It's as if your soul has been taken - like part of it is missing." He shook his head as if he didn't believe his own words.

I looked away embarrassed and asked, "Why would that matter?"

His eyebrow shot up into his hair line as he regarded me for a moment. "Because. It's not natural for a being to have part of her soul missing. Sure, souls can be ripped from the body, but when that happens, the part of the soul that was taken dies. It's just gone."

I stiffened, "A Valefar took most of my soul." That was true. Jake took almost all of it, but I had a feeling that wasn't what he was talking about. The entire conversation, and the look on his face, made me squirm.

Shaking his head he said, "No, that's different. A soul devoured by a Valefar dies. It goes to the Pool of Lost Souls for a reason - it's lost. A dead soul cannot be revived. It's dead. But that's not the case with you. The rose just can't do it. It's like part of your living soul is somewhere else, but that's impossible..." he arched an eyebrow staring at me, waiting for an explanation.

I squirmed under his gaze, and tried to sit up again. I managed to pull myself up slowly without falling over. The boy didn't help me. He just stared with a hard look on his face. I didn't like this guy interrogating me. Who was he anyway? He totally screwed up my plan and I sure as hell didn't want to stab myself again. It took more courage than I had the first time.

"Why isn't that possible?" I asked. "And who are you anyway? And stop looking at me like that!" His jaw was slack, and his mouth was hanging open slightly. He was shocked.

By me.

He pushed his hair behind his ear and shut his mouth. "It's not possible, because a soul can't be torn in pieces and remain alive. That's just it. Damage like that is deadly. There is no natural separation of part of the soul from the body. It's not like we can just tear it in two and put part of it somewhere else!"

Um, that was news to me, because that was exactly what I did. I had given a piece of my soul to Collin. This kid was going to flip out if I told him. Instead I demanded, "Answer me. Who are you? Why'd you save me?"

The boy folded his arms and stared at me, equally stubborn. He didn't like my tone, but I really didn't care. I wasn't apologizing for it.

His expression hardened. "I saved you because I could. I assumed you wanted to avoid propelling the prophecy into motion, so I saved you. You can't die, not like this. Don't you see? Can't you tell what would have happened?" His voice became louder and louder as he spoke, yelling at me like I was an idiot. "Part of your soul is somewhere else. If you had died, your body would have died, and the remnant of your soul - wherever it is - would receive your powers. You have powers, right? The prophecy one is supposed to have great powers, and that's you. Killing yourself would have shifted all of your bad-ass power straight into that piece of soul that isn't inside of you anymore." He was quite for a moment. Thoughts were flying through his mind, and he began to speak them, putting the pieces together in front of me. "But, that piece of your soul is still alive... And for it to be alive, it has to be inside a living being - someone else. Ivy, did you give a piece of your soul away?" He looked horrified, as if there was no way I would ever do such a thing. His hard gaze and shocked expression didn't