“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.
