Demon kissed: demon kissed

Chapter 13

The week passed without incident. While other aspects of my life leveled out, one part didn't—Collin. We were avoiding each other. I saw him in passing, walking down the hall or on stage after school. Eric was always nearby, so I didn't try to talk to him. Even if we were alone—what would I say? I wondered if we could go back to being friends, but I doubted that was possible.

At night, after Eric brought me home, I'd sit alone—staring at my ceiling until dawn—hiding in the safety of my parentally warded home. I'd hear Collin's words echo inside my mind. The recollection of his silky voice and intense sapphire eyes washed over me. The memory left me breathless, like I was falling in a dark dream, with no way to wake up. Collin's absence made me realize how much he meant to me, no matter how much I wanted to deny it. Damn. What was wrong with me? A kiss with him would reveal everything. It would leave me completely exposed, and endanger Collin. The best way to deal with this problem was to ride it out. The lust would burn off, and I'd have my friend back—I hoped.

Attempting to shift my thoughts to something more productive, I tried to discover how I got tainted in the first place. It didn't seem like something very common, since the prophecy was around for a while and no one else had this problem before. I invited Shannon over one night, and we tried to figure out how it happened. She sat on my bed, acting like we were just us again. It made me sad, because I knew things we would never be just us again. There would always be an element of mistrust between us.

She said, "I researched some stuff for you. There wasn't tons of info. I think I got it, but it's weird. " She looked up at me, pulling her feet in tighter. Shannon liked to curl up into a ball when she was stressed. Apparently, she was beyond stressed because she couldn't scrunch her body smaller.

"I can handle weird. Tell me." My heart raced slightly. Hope flowed through me. I'd learn what caused it, and then I could change it, right? I tried to stop pacing.

"It comes down to blood. Demon blood is powerful, and it works differently than angel blood. Angel blood builds up and makes you more—you. Just better. Demon blood is more like acid, snaking its way into your body, slowly corrupting, slowly empowering." She paused, looking at me. "When a Valefar binds—enslaves—a Martis, they have to remove the soul and then add their blood. They gouge the victim's forehead, and cover the scar in demon blood. It enters the bloodstream through the mark and binds the victim to the Valefar at the same time. But you have no scar. He didn't get that far. But... there had to be blood. Did he bleed? Any chance, during the demon kiss, you accidentally... swallowed his blood?" Shannon asked the question like it was the most bizarre, unlikely thing in the world. And it was... or would have been, if I didn't fight back. But, I did.

My stomach sank, "I bit his lip. I couldn't break the kiss. He was too strong... so I bit him. Hard."

She looked disturbed, "You drank it?" Her lips pulled into an expression of disgust.

"No," I said, "I didn't drink it. I spat it all out. His blood ran down my face, and got all over me. But, I don't think I swallowed any." Clutching my arms, I pulled them tightly into my chest, and began to pace again. I clearly remembered having the blood in my mouth, but I couldn't remember swallowing it. And part of the night was a blur. I didn't know what happened. One moment I was conscious, and the next I was in Eric's arms. I still didn't know what he did to revive me. I thought I died. "What if I swallowed it?"

She leaned back against the wall, dangling her legs off the side of the bed. "I don't know. No one ever drinks it. Those who do, usually die—or turn Valefar. No one has been stuck in the middle before." She smoothed her long hair over her shoulder. "It's possible that you swallowed a tiny amount, and that was what caused your mark to change color—tainting you—like the prophecy said."