Free Torn (Demon Kissed #3) by H.M. Ward

with it?”
    I didn’t know what he was talking about. Confusion lit my face, “I didn’t do anything with it.” The idea of calling an evil mirror sort of unnerved me. I didn’t realize I’d called it, and I had no idea what it did. One day it just appeared. Al thought it was evil, but she wasn’t certain of its origins. Apparently she was right. That nun was always right.
    I shrugged, “It showed up and I shoved Shannon through it. I didn’t know what it was. The first time I saw it was when I had a vision about you. The next time was when I pushed Shannon through. It spit her out at the church in New York, and then it disappeared again. I haven’t seen it since.”
    Collin’s face fell. “You pushed Shannon through the mirror?” He closed his eyes, blinking hard. “Oh wow. That’s not good.” He turned toward me, “Ivy, the mirror is enchanted. It amplifies people’s characteristics—their evil characteristics. Locoicia was a demon princess who wanted an army of unstoppable warriors. She would shove her slaves through the mirror to amplify their abilities. It made her army undefeatable.”
    My jaw dropped. “Are you saying I just made Shannon undefeatable?” My shoulders slumped, as I looked up into the thick black sky, and ran my fingers through my hair while pulling hard. What were the odds of that? Why does this stuff happen to me? Shaking my head in disgust, I looked at him saying, “She’s their Seeker—the Martis chosen to kill me.” The last part came out as a laugh. I’d enabled her to hunt me down and kill me even faster, and all without knowing it. Awesome.
    “Yeah,” Collin said with a coy smile on his face, “in the future, don’t shove your enemies through the mirror.” His voice was light and teasing. I shot him a look that said I was about to freak out, but he cut off my tirade, taking my hands in his. “It doesn’t matter. She’s up there. You’re down here. She can’t get at you down here.”
    “But that’s just it,” I said springing up from my seat and pulling our hands apart. Collin remained seated and watched me pace. I spoke at an increasing volume with my hands flying, desperation filling my voice, “I can’t stay down here Collin. I don’t belong here. I want to go home. I need to talk to Al. There are things happening that I don’t understand. I can ask you about the Valefar side of things, but I’m part Martis too and if that part dies…”my voice trailed off. I couldn’t even begin to fathom what my life would be like if I allowed that to happen.   “I don’t want to lose that part of me. I can’t become the Prophecy One. I have to do this. I have to sneak up there and find Al.”
    At one time I’d felt that I could have told Collin everything, but not now. Not when things were so precarious. It could lead to my undoing. And then I wasn’t entirely certain of some things myself; like why was Lorren down here? How significant was it that he saved me—especially since there is an army of Martis trying to kill me? I stared at Collin’s face wanting to say these things, but feeling like I couldn’t. I hadn’t told Collin about Lorren either. I didn’t know what to think of that whole situation, and I wanted to discuss it with someone very much. But, revealing Lorren would also reveal my fatal wound. I couldn’t say anything. Collin couldn’t know.  
    I needed Al for these things. I pushed back the thoughts before the bond betrayed me. Right now I knew that my emotions were running wild and that my thoughts were so jumbled he couldn’t get an un-garbled read on me. One thought penetrated all the others. It cut through the worry and fear, shooting straight to the top of my mind.
    Please .

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER NINE
     
    He sighed and through the bond I felt that this was against his better judgment. He thought I was safer down here. He took my hand, “I’ll take you to her, but we can’t use the portal