Chapter 27
Twenty-Seven
Sebastian
I didn’t waste a second. I ran three giant steps, then jumped toward Isabella.
Her skin, the skin that I’d touched and kissed over the last few days was marred by the dark moving lines, the ones she was so ashamed about.
At least, she had clothes on now. When I had arrived too late at the cave, she had been naked, and I had been furious for her sake.
I hoped when this was all over, and I held her in my arms at night, that she had no memories of the last few hours unless it was the one where I was holding her in my arms when she awoke from this nightmare.
Because I was going to return her to normal, then I was going to take her to a beach where she could look up and try her hardest to peer into the sun, the very sun she made me jealous of with the way she had smiled when talking about it.
The sun was lucky it wasn’t a person. But that smile, her stories, I wanted more.
I wasn’t finished with her, not now, not ever.
And I was confident that there was so much my witch wanted to know about me.
So, I’d save her from the darkness. And I’d do it again. Over and Over. Every single fucking day for the rest of forever if I had to.
A storm cloud of darkened magic flowed around her, and when I got close enough, I could feel the sting of rejection.
The storm didn’t want me going near her, but I did anyway.
When I felt him shimmer in front of me, I materialized my scythe and blocked Harvest’s sword.
We bounced away from each other in opposite directions.
It was the first time seeing Harvest. His fucking hair was on fire.
Literally. His skin was the palest white, the kind of white humans made vampires out to be.
His eyes were the same bright reddish-orange as his hair.
The most ominous thing about him wasn’t his stature or looks, or even the level of crazy in his eyes.
No, it was the sheer amount of dread he poured out into the room as he walked around eyeing me with a vicious smile.
His filth spilled over into the ballroom in gigantic emotional waves while the storm around Isabella wreaked havoc on the castle.
Harvest laughed just as the wall behind her crumbled beneath the magic.
Like Fear—Payne’s father—who was also an entity created by the Devil, Harvest carried a certain charge to him as well. In the way Fear brought, well, fear, into a room as he walked, I couldn’t even comprehend what it was this entity brought or what he was after. There wasn’t a word for him.
“Holy fuck,” Prudence’s outburst rang through the room. “Whatever he’s after… We can’t ever let him have it.” She gripped her sword in her hand as her dark hair flew around her face.
I felt the gravity of her words down to my bones, deep into my soul. She was right.
“Smart girl,” Harvest finally spoke. His voice was unnaturally smooth to the point that it was freaky. “Only you’re too late. Because everything I need is right here in this room, well, except one, but I’m willing to bet five will be enough.”
“Sebastian,” Payne hissed. “Might wanna get your girl.”
Right.
I met Harvest’s eyes just as I made a jump for her again. He followed. “I don’t think so.” Maureen jumped in front of him and smiled.
“I think so,” she told him.
“Me too,” Barron came up behind him, wrapped his arms around Harvest’s chest and slung him down to the ground. The impact was so strong, the floor tile shot up in broken pieces around his body.
Maureen met Barron’s eyes and smiled. “See how much easier it is when you’re allowed to hurt them?” she asked him.
Refocusing my attention, I braced myself as I entered the storm.
Bringing my essence to life around my scythe, I sliced through the tempest and it fucking slithered and cried out like it was alive.
White eyes—those weren’t Isabella’s. Hers were brown and the prettiest ones I had the pleasure of looking at, but it was the white ones that met mine as I moved through the air closer to her.
“Bad one,” she whispered, then she vanished.
That was okay. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. The darkness inside her feared me because I could bring her back. It wasn’t going to give her over easily.
Once my feet touched the ground, I scanned the surroundings in search of her. Pulling at my Reaper senses, I sought her out in my mind, but it was hard to find her energy when it was muddled with darkness.
There.
“August,” I yelled, faded, slipping out of time briefly, then re-faded just as quickly next to him.
“I know,” August said, turning around to face her. “I felt her coming up behind me.” August morphed a dozen or so chains in the air, all in search of Isabella. “There, try to get her!”
I nodded. “Isab—” She fucking ported on me again before I even got her name out.
“Why do you scare all the females away?” August found the need to say.
“Fuck off,” I muttered, fading once again.
I re-faded when I felt where she was. This time, she was after Barron who was clinking swords with Harvest. Maureen came up behind him, forcing him to port.
Using the advantage of Isabella moving in behind Barron, I moved in close and she turned around on me so fast, I could only blink as she blasted me with a ball of magic.
“Fuck,” I muttered. “Hot, hot.” I patted my chest to get rid of the tiny fires she had created all over my now holey shirt.
I looked ahead at her watching me all creepily and sighed.
“All right, Izzie, this is getting a little out of control.” I brought my arm out, letting my hand linger that long distance between us.
“Just come to me. I shouldn’t have walked outside and left you, not even for a second.
” My voice broke, but I kept myself together for the simple fact that I couldn’t lose my shit if I wanted to help her.
“You can yell at me all you want, just let me get to you so that you can.”
Time stood still as I waited, but so did she. My witch never moved a muscle, even the darkness beneath her skin seemed to give pause, then our moment was over.
She moved, but it wasn’t in my direction.
Her hands latched onto Barron the moment he was thrown back by Harvest toward her.
He fell immediately like everyone did when she touched them, only this time I watched her place something on his wrist. Once it was secure, she let go of him and ported away just as I came up on her.
I could feel the brush of her hair hit my fingertips. I had been that close.
Yet, I kept missing her. Always failing her.
Something cracked underneath my armor as I bent down to check on Barron. I pulled up his arm and looked at the black burning bracelet she had placed on him. When I tried to touch it, it repelled me back several feet. That armor of mine cracked some more under the pressure.
I didn’t understand this kind of feeling. I’d never had anything to lose. It was freaking me the fuck out. For the first time in my life, I was wondering if I was going to fail someone. Fail to save a life. Fail to save the one I wanted to wake up to a hundred more lifetimes.
The only thing I was doing was putting my family in trouble because I kept breaking under this pressure that was Isabella. She had to go and get broken, breaking me along with her. That was okay. Sometimes we needed a good break in order to mend back stronger.
Just let me heal you so that I can heal myself.
Rising from the floor with anger and bitter resolve clashing, I shredded my skin and freed my skeletal form.
I morphed my scythe into a giant-ass magic launcher—or whatever the hell you wanted to call it.
It looked like some sort of military device, only this one shot out my own powerful essence.
Just like my bones, the weapon itself was flowing with my turquoise-colored essence as I pointed and aimed at Harvest who was effortlessly blocking blows from Maureen, August, Prudence, and Payne.
Where was Dad? I thought briefly before I pointed, aimed, and fired at Harvest. He saw it coming and dodged it, but I kept popping the power balls out across the ballroom, destroying the castle in the process.
“You’ve been around Payne too long,” Maureen told me, taking the chance to run back to check on Barron.
August and Payne both smirked at me, which had Payne reaching for his shotgun. “Looks like we’re taking it up a notch,” August yelled, right before he stepped into his own skeletal form—the color of his essence was golden. He also mimicked my weapon and started throwing more power balls at Harvest.
“First one to hit him three times wins.” I looked to where Prudence was standing to see that she had also made her scythe into a magic launcher as I had dubbed it.
I had to do a double-take because she normally didn’t get in on our games, but there she was starting one right during this fucking mess.
“If Mom asked, I had no part in the destruction of her home.” Joy faded right in front of Harvest and blasted him with her launcher.
Where the hell did she come from? And where had she been?
I watched her grin as she landed on her feet.
“I believe I’m the first one to get a shot at him, so yay me! ” she chirped.
Harvest’s shirt was torn to pieces from the blow he had taken. He chucked it on the ground as he rose, and his flesh mended back together rapidly, the same as ours did. “Foolish.” He smiled right before Isabella popped up and latched onto Joy.
We all faded, but none of us were quick enough. She had the bracelet snapped on Joy’s wrist and was gone before I got to her. Prudence grabbed Joy and held her as the trembles wracked her body.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Harvest coming at me, but August collided with him. “You worry about Isabella, she’s dropping us like flies!”
Harvest tried slinging August off. Payne followed their movement with a manic glare before finally yelling. “Move, August!” August did, and Payne shot several rounds into Harvest’s chest.
“Oh, shit,” Maureen gasped. “Prudence!”
Too late. Isabella had got ahold of another one of my siblings.
My essence came to life around me as I caught sight of her. The storm was no longer around her, but the energy her body carried right now had her hair whipping around her face.
No more fucking around.
Izzie’s mine. From the moment I woke up in the hospital and laid eyes on her, I knew it. Just like she must have felt it.
It was time she woke up from the darkness and remembered that.