Demon Kissed by H.M. Ward

looked at her. Her eyes were enormous, and filled with grief. She flicked her head at the canvas, “See the guy in the painting?”
    “Yeah,” I said looking at him. “What about him?”
    “He also has a purple mark, but his is a scar. See, his skin is marred?” I nodded. She continued, “He was demon kissed—he’s a Valefar. He’s going to pull you down to become one of them. See your hands? You try to pull him up. You’ll try to save him. And fail. You’ll fail, Ivy. If you fail, you become one of them. And you’ll destroy all of us—the Martis, the world, everything and everyone. Ivy, you’re the straw. The Trojan horse. The end all. It’s you Ivy! Your futures are intertwined. If he wins, you lose.”
    I swallowed hard, not wanting to believe anything she was saying. “Why would I be involved with one of them? They tried to kill me.” Shannon went to speak, but I cut her off, walking toward her, “Shannon, I’m not one of them. I’ll never be one of them.” I stopped before her, looking her in the eye. “Believe me. You were my best friend for seventeen years. You have to believe me.”
    Shannon’s voice was strained, “I want to. But it doesn’t work like that. A prophecy is a glimpse of the future. This future is bad. And it’s because of you.” Her eyes revealed the sadness that consumed her soul, “Ivy, who is he?”
    Sensing Shannon’s conflicting loyalty shifting in my favor, I glanced at the painting again, looking at his face. It felt like I knew him, but I couldn’t be sure. I shook my head, “I don’t know.”
    “I can’t destroy you. I just can’t. But I can’t lie. Martis can’t lie, so if someone asks me, we have a problem. But they shouldn’t because I’m not the Seeker, but still. No, they shouldn’t ask me. But, hiding you is going to be hard. I’ll make sure you don’t have anything to do with that guy. I’ll guard you. It won’t happen. It can’t happen.” It sounded like she was talking, trying to convince herself, rather than me.
    I latched onto a word, “What’s a Seeker ?”
    Her weary green eyes flicked to my face. “The Seeker has been looking for you. Her job is to find out when you are created—the second that purple mark forms on your head—and destroy you.”
    I hesitated, sure that our friendship was toast. I couldn’t trust her anymore, even if she did spare me. My stomach sank. “So… ” I said, glaring at her. “You’re not gonna kill me? But there is someone looking for me, who will?”
    Nodding, her green eyes bore straight into me, “Yes. And Ivy. Eric will kill you, if you tell him.”
    I answered, “Then, I won’t tell him.”
    “Ivy,” she hesitated, “It’s not that simple. We’re bound to certain acts. Some of us can’t resist. Destroying evil is innate—a reflex. I can’t kill you, because I know who you are and that you aren’t evil now. We’ve been friends for seventeen years. I know you. But Eric, he won’t hesitate. If something goes wrong, and he sees that the mark is purple, it will confirm that you are the one in the prophecy...He won’t let you walk. And he won’t stop hunting you until you’re dead.”
    With complete certainty I said, “He won’t find out.” She started to object, but I cut her off. “He won’t find out . But what about you? Will you hunt me? If I didn’t throw your knife out the window, you wouldn’t have stopped, would you?”
    Shannon looked at me, taking a step forward, and said, “I don’t need the dagger to kill you.” Tension laced my muscles, as we stood stone still, nose to nose. Finally, she breathed, and continued, “You’re not evil. You’re not the girl in the prophecy. Not yet . Maybe we can prevent it. And I’m not giving up on you until I see reason to.” She stepped back, and turned. The veiled threat was there. She would destroy me when she thought there was no hope.
    “I’m not her,” I said, unfolding my arms, and pointing to the painting.
    She