“That’s not her anymore,” I muttered what we were all thinking. “Sebastian’s not here.”
“It’s all over her.” There was sorrow in Grim’s voice.
“Maureen…” Joy said in a hushed tone. “She’s coming for Prudence again.”
Maureen lifted her head up, eyes murderous as she saw Isabella going after Prudence who was thrashing on the ground in pain. “Fuck this!”
“Wait.” Joy faded, and I knew where the hell she was going. To stop Maureen. “Sebastian would never forgive you,” Joy told her the moment she faded in front of her.
Maureen pushed her aside. “I can live with that. We can’t let that kind of darkness run rampant, especially when another entity is after our power!”
Maureen bent down and pulled daggers out of her boots, tossing several at once. Isabella evaded every single one of them with magic as she walked forth.
Everyone moved in on Isabella at once. I sprinted toward Joy whose gaze was locked on Maureen. A powerful wave of magic scattered us everywhere, and once again, Isabella vanished with a portal chip while we were all picking our asses off the ground.
Hell’s bells. We couldn’t get close to her at all.
I jumped to my feet, only to find her next to me. Up close, the black veins crawling beneath her skin were harsher and uglier. Seeing her like this, I was overcome with grief for her and for Sebastian.
Because he was never going to forgive us.
“We have to do something!” Maureen yelled, but it was me she was looking at since I was closest to her.
I brought my hand up to my shoulder slowly, making my way to the shotgun that rested in the harness on my back. “Don’t!” It was Joy yelling at me because she saw what I was doing.
Isabella used her portal chip again, and I let out a silent, relieved breath that I wasn’t the one that had to take her down.
“Who is she going for?” Maureen said quickly, circling around trying to look for her. “Prudence again?” Just as she said it, her eyes bounced over to her sister lying on the ground, but Isabella wasn’t there.
“Shit!” August swore as Isabella’s magic singed his clothes to reveal burned skin for her to touch. He looked at her, barely jumping in time. “What did I say about you keeping a distancefrom me? Your touch doesn’t work on me like it does Sebastian.” Isabella wasn’t present to respond to his words. I didn’t know what stood in her place.
Two chains shot out for her, one gold, one black, and I recognized them as Grim and Melanie’s scythes which could morph into whatever they wanted just like their children’s scythes could do. Both wrapped around her simultaneously, strapping her arms to her sides in the process. “Maureen. August. Hurry up and use the syringe on her,” Melanie shouted.
Maureen didn’t waste a second. She ran ahead while August was already in front of her. “Just so you know,” Maureen muttered. “I could have done that on my own.”
Melanie sighed at her. “Just hurry.”
“Wait, don’t,” Joy’s voice was panicked.
One second the chains were on Isabella, then the next second they were gone. “How…?” Grim muttered.
Isabella’s hands shot out in two different directions. One for Maureen. One for August. Both reached their destination. She bent down on her knees to continue touching them when they fell to the ground.
“Grim,” Melanie cried, eyes searching his. He looked just as torn as she did. Then they faded, which had Isabella reacting with her portal chip. She disappeared too.
“It’s like she fucking anticipates what everyone’s going to do before they even do it,” I hissed.
“Let’s try for the syringe,” Joy whispered, eyes on Maureen and August thrashing on the ground beside one another. Maureen was the one with the syringe.
I nodded and took off running with her.
“Where is she?” Grim faded back in.
“I don’t know—” Joy knocked the wind out of me when she rammed into me. No, she was pushing me out of the way. Isabella appeared behind us, and Joy had reacted. I was never in trouble though; it wasn’t me she was going after. Isabella latched onto Joy’s arm as I fell to the ground. I couldn’t reach her in time when I was falling to the ground.
I wasn’t immortal. If she grazed me, I was a dead fuck, but I had little time to think about that or Sebastian anymore. I just reacted to the situation: we couldn’t let Harvest have the power she was taking from everyone. We’d dealt with a lot of tricky situations, but this proved to be the worst one because we were trying not to hurt her.
But when I saw the pain she was causing Joy and the others; my choice came swiftly. I yanked the gun out of my harness and aimed. I saw the tear slide down her cheek even though her eyes were void of anything, then I heard Joy’s screaming and fire consumed my veins once more, obliterating the single tear I witnessed.
