Chapter 8 #2
Heat slid across my leg. Not heat, a touch. I shifted and moved away from it but it slid between my thighs. At first, I couldn’t place if this was a dream or reality, but I still pulled away and the hand gripped my leg until it hurt. I winced, eyes opening with complete awareness.
I couldn’t see anything, but I didn’t have to see him to know he was there. I jerked forward but another hand came down over my shoulder, holding me down. “I’ve missed you, Isabella.” I felt his presence everyone.
My skin crawled. “Julius,” I hissed through the darkened room.
I hated the very thought of having his touch on my skin again, but my darkness had no problem.
In fact, it pulled me further into myself with its need to have Julius again.
He created the darkness that tried to control me, in a way, he was its master instead of me.
I had no control over it but he did. My disgust rolled into fire.
I pulled what magic I could into my palm while I still could and began to whisper.
“Now, now,” he tutted. “I didn’t miss and search for you this long for you to try to blast me with magic.” He leaned into my ear. “Look how happy the darkness is to see me.” He laughed softly.
No. No. NO.
Why was the darkness so happy?
I squinted my eyes shut even though I already couldn’t see. It wasn’t my sight I wished to block out, but him. He was in my head, buried within the darkness and I hated it. Disgust rolled off me in waves.
I remembered where I was and opened my mouth to scream for Sebastian, but Julius cupped his hand over my mouth. “Don’t go yelling for the sloth. You think he can help you?”
“I’ll kill myself before I let you take me,” I muffled into his hand.
“Take you?” He chuckled again. “Oh, sweet Isabella, I have no plans to take you when you are exactly where I want you.”
What did he mean?
“I don’t even have to do anything. I just have to sit back and let the darkness do it for me,” he added, tightening his grip on my thigh again.
My magic breezed out of my palms but dissipated before it even got to him. Even now, he reigned over every part of my magic. The light from my magic lit up the room just enough for me to see the sinister smile on his face before it died out.
“I’ll let you be for now, but for old times’ sake.” He trailed his hand further up my thigh, and I tried to clamp my legs shut. “One thing though… Stay away from the sloth. As for everything else, go right ahead.”
A brilliant blue lit up next to the bed, illuminating the entire room.
I looked over and saw that it was a glowing sword.
Sebastian stood with it in his hand, the intensity of the sword revealed his sharp features.
His expression was murderous. “You must be Harvest,” he stated right before he swung the sword out above me.
I sucked in a breath as Julius moved. “I’d say it’s about time we met. ”
Only I already knew Julius was gone because the darkness was screaming for him to come back or for me to follow. I raised up quickly and cupped my ears.
“He left,” Sebastian stated what I already knew. The light came on and the darkness screamed more. I saw why when I glanced down at my skin and saw that the darkness was at the surface. It was disgusting. It moved around like snakes across my skin.
“Are you okay?” Sebastian moved closer to the bed.
I freaked out when I thought he might touch me. “Don’t come any closer,” I said, still cupping my ears. “Please turn the light back off!”
He quickly did as I asked. The bed creaked as his weight dipped onto the bed. “What did he do?”
I hated how concerned he sounded. It scared me because it felt sincere somewhere deep inside me. I shook my head, tears sliding down my cheeks. “This is what he already did to me. I’ll be okay once the darkness goes back into my skin,” I bit out.
“Jesus, Izzie,” he sounded angry. “I’m going after him.” He moved from the bed.
I got up from the bed with him. I took a deep breath and thought about what Julius had said. “I have to leave,” I muttered quickly, sounding more like a robot than an actual person. “He wants me here. I can’t stay and be a part of whatever he’s planning for you.”
“Whoa, calm down now.” Sebastian blocked the door. “Have you thought that maybe he wants you to leave so that you’re on your own?”
“I can’t chance it.”
“Izzie,” he exhaled. “I can’t, no, I won’t let you go now that I’ve seen your fear.”
We stood there in complete and utter blackness for minutes.
I knew that because it took that long for the darkness to settle.
I felt like maybe Sebastian was giving what I needed by doing nothing but standing beside me as I tried to pick up the pieces of who I’ve been the last decade.
Who I became by getting to be myself instead of the evil inside me or what Harvest wanted me to be.
I moved my hand over the light switch and flicked it on when the darkness quieted inside me. His eyes were on mine the very next moment. I didn’t miss the way he studied my body as if to see if something was still crawling through my skin. “You saw, didn’t you?”
“What was it?” he asked.
“The darkness inside me,” I hissed. “You saw.” What he must think of me now…
“Yeah, I saw.” His eyes hardened. “And?” With his lack of reaction, I was left without a proper response. I had expected maybe something different. “I have something like that, too.”
I was stunned. “Really?”
“Well, yours is tame compared to mine.” He smiled at me. “Those black squiggly lines that you’re so ashamed of running across your skin like snakes, that’s nothing.”
“It’s not what evil looks like,” I huffed. “It’s what it does.”
He held out his hand and a pair of black gloves materialized in it. “Why haven’t you thought of gloves?” he asked me.
I took them from his hand. “Because I’ve been in the human world until now, and I can’t hurt humans and that’s the way I like it.” I tightened my grip on the gloves. “Thanks.”
“Maybe you should tell me more about Harvest. He had red hair, right?” I nodded, and his jaw ticked. “Would he have reason to harvest children and eat their hearts?”
“I don’t know,” I replied honestly. “But he’s capable of doing anything to get what he wants.” I put on the gloves. “Lucifer’s reign.”
“Sleep,” he whispered, walking toward the bed and dropping down on the floor. He propped his arm on one knee while he left his other leg straight out. He leaned his head back and sighed. He looked exhausted. “You’re coming with me tomorrow.”
“What?”
“I’m not letting you out of my sight now,” he reopened his eyes and spoke. A thrill ran through me from his words. His heroism was sexy and continued to throw me for a loop. I’d never been protected. Only given away. Trained and beaten and used, but never met someone that wanted to help me.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked again suddenly more self-conscious in hundreds of ways.
“If you need a reason to help someone, Izzie, then you’re living wrong.” He closed his eyes and sighed. “Turn off the light and climb back in bed.”
I did as he said and slipped under the covers and fell asleep on the side of the bed he was propped up against. I couldn’t see him in the dark, but that didn’t stop my eyes from trying to see him as I drifted off…