Reclaimed (31 page)

Isaac took a step closer to her in unison with Elijah. She growled as they took another step. Isaac looked at Elijah, and Elijah nodded imperceptibly. He would lunge for Louisa, and Elijah would rip her head off while he held her captive in his arms. Isaac roared and jumped at her. His arms groped thin air, and he plummeted to the ground below.

He heard Elijah cry his name as he bounced off of branch after branch. He tried to grab the branches as he hit them, but still got beaten in the face, back, and side by the unyielding bark as he flailed for a stronghold.

Blackness threatened to overcome him, and he cursed when he realized he’d changed back to human form. He needed to start controlling his emotions better so he could in turn control his changes. He spent the rest of the short fall trying to concentrate on changing back into a vampire, or a wolf, or anything.

He failed.

He crashed to the ground below.

Chapter Twenty-Two

“Wake up, Isaac.”

He heard Elijah’s voice as if it came through a train tunnel, as though he yelled from the other side. He moaned and opened his eyes to stare at his brother for a moment, then his eyes widened.

He jumped up and under obvious effort, and Elijah followed.

“Where’s Louisa?” Isaac grunted.

“I think she’s left. Let’s get Sabrina out of here. She needs to be examined by a doctor.”

Isaac blanched as he remembered his brief glimpse of her lying broken on the ground. He whirled and sprinted back to where Sabrina had been. He stopped, spinning wildly in a circle as his heart raced. She wasn’t there. She couldn’t possibly move on her own, so it left one person.

Louisa
.

He cursed. “Louisa!”

“Over here,” she called sweetly.

They turned at the sound of her voice. And both froze in horror. She perched at the cliff’s edge, holding Sabrina over the edge by her neck. Her feet hung useless, like a rag doll’s. The cliffs towered above the ocean at intimidating heights—the same cliffs that had killed many a person foolish enough to approach too close to the edge. Louisa practically glowed in triumph.

Isaac looked at Louisa’s face, and at Sabrina’s lifeless body, and
knew
what she would do. It showed in the evil smile that lurked on her face, the excitement shining in her eyes. He yelled out in fury and ran. He sprinted faster than he ever had before. But he still arrived too late.

Louisa hurled Sabrina over the side of the cliff. She plunged toward the water at an alarming speed, soon to sink into the dark, cold, turbulent seas below. Isaac dove over without breaking stride, and after impossibly long, breathless seconds, knifed into the water.

He searched frantically, looking for any signs of Sabrina. He caught sight of her head and saw her take a gasping breath. She sank below the surface, and he took a deep breath and went down after her. He swam in the direction he’d seen her sink, hoping against all odds he would find her in the treacherous waters.

His hand brushed against something, and he immediately latched onto it. Seaweed. Damn it. He had the benefit of being able to hold his breath longer than a human, and he’d never been more grateful for the gift than now. He swam deeper, and each stroke brought more despair over him.

He had to find her. He couldn’t live without her.

***

Elijah yelled Sabrina’s name and sprinted to the edge of the cliff. He tried to follow into the water out of instinct—he
had
to save Sabrina—but his body forced him to stop at the edge.

He watched Isaac dive neatly over the edge and cursed. He studied the water, trying to see her head, her body, anything.

There. There she is
.

She sank below the surface, her red curls disappearing below the dark water once more, and he watched in helpless frustration as Isaac swam toward her. He kicked a rock lying near the cliff’s edge, and it rolled into the ocean, where he, himself, could not go.

Damn, what a useless piece of crap he’d turned out to be.

Laughter came from behind him, and fury overcame him.

“That held a nice touch, don’t you think? This time, there’s no way you can save her. You
can’t
save her. Again.”

He roared in anger and lunged at her.

“No, Elijah!” she shrieked.

Even as she screamed at him, he collided against her and they went flying backward. There was no chance to grab onto the side of the cliff, no chance to stop their deadly fall. They catapulted over the side.

He’d found a way to conquer the barrier from death. He had to attack another without
intending
to go over the side. Life finally felt good. When he hit the water, it would make him die as it ate his skin and body away until nothing existed.

He’d be free. Finally free
.

He saw Louisa reach for him, and he attempted to jerk back. He didn’t want to die while touching
her
, but she had always been older and stronger than Elijah and managed to grab his arm anyway. She swirled in the air and threw him toward the cliff wall using all her strength.

He smashed into the cliff and grabbed on the rocky sides, hanging in mid-air. Elijah clung to the side and threw his head back as he let out an agonized yell. She’d saved him from dying. He turned his head and watched with horror as his maker hit the water and dissolved. The last to go was her head, and she kept her eyes on him the whole time. He watched, mesmerized, as she finally melted away to nothing.

Why? Why had she saved him, and not let him die? Had she had done it out of some misguided devotion toward him? Or had she simply done it to deny him what he had wanted most in that moment, which was his death
and
hers?

He studied his hands on the rocky wall, commanding them to release the wall and allow him to drop to his acidic grave, but instead they climbed the cliff of their own accord until he could leap nimbly over the side, and onto safe ground.

The one chance he’d stood of plunging into the water was gone; she’d ruined it. Like she’d ruined everything else in his life, including him.

***

Isaac was losing hope when he saw something float in front of him. He reached a hand out, and latched on. It was hair. Curly hair.

He clutched it and pulled. He hoped it was Sabrina and not an old corpse. When he reached the top, he dragged the unresponsive body to the surface and looked at the face.

Relief came over him, followed quickly by fear. It was Sabrina. But not the one he knew. This Sabrina was lifeless and pale. He had her in his arms again, but she didn’t appear to be breathing. He felt for a pulse and was relieved to feel a very faint one, but faint was better than none, right?

Please, please let her be okay, God
.

“Sabrina. Oh, don’t die on me. Come on.”

He swam to the cliff and slung her over his shoulder. He knew he must be hurting her immensely, but he didn’t have time to be gentle now. He scaled the cliff, feeling the rocks rip open his palms as he went higher and higher.

When he finally reached the top, he laid her on the ground to examine her. Again he put a finger on her throat to feel for a pulse. The faint thrum he’d heard seemed to have disappeared. He let out a roar of anguish, and administered mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Maybe she just needed help breathing. Please let it be that. He could handle anything else, just not losing her.

After what seemed like forever, her body shuddered and she spewed out an obscene amount of water. He rolled her to her side to allow it all to exit and rubbed her back. When she finished coughing, he returned her to lying on her back. She stared up at him as her whole body shook from the cold. He hesitated, unsure of what to do. He didn’t want to risk moving her and injuring her even
worse
.

She took a shuddering breath and seemed to stop breathing.

“Sabrina, breathe,” he commanded.

“It…hurts…too…much,” she managed to whisper. “Is she dead?”

“W-What should I do? Can I move you? Bring you to the hospital?”

“No…too late. Don’t move me. Please, is she dead?”

It seemed important to her to hear the words, to know he was safe. With blurred vision, he nodded and lied. “Yes, she’s dead. Sabrina,” he whispered. Tears rolled down his cheeks unheeded, and he tightened his grip on her shoulders. “I can’t…I can’t just let you die. I love you.”

Her lips moved as she tried to smile.

“I…love you, too. Just…stay with me.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Running footsteps approached behind them, and Isaac spun, presumably ready to defend Sabrina at all costs. When he saw it was Elijah and not Louisa, he turned back to his love. His brother knelt by their side and checked for a pulse as Isaac stared at Sabrina like a man lost.

“She’s alive, but barely,” Elijah murmured. “Louisa’s dead. I watched her die.”

Isaac gave a quick nod and focused on his brother for a moment. “She can’t live. She’s been through too much. She wants me to let her—let her
die
.”

Elijah hesitated. “We should carry her to a hospital. We can at least try.”

Isaac nodded and wiped the tears off his face. He pulled her into his arms, but stopped when she cried out in pain.

“No…it…hurts.”

Isaac put her back down, looking at Elijah with panic on his face. They stared at each other wordlessly. Isaac turned to Sabrina. “I’m s-s-so sorry, love,” he whispered brokenly. Returning his gaze to Elijah’s, he spoke in hushed tones. “We can’t move her. I don’t know what to do.”

“You’ve got to let her go. She’s not going to make it, Isaac.” Pain was evident in Elijah’s voice, but his eyes did not waver from Isaac’s even as he blinked back the tears. He couldn’t break down when his brother needed him most. He’d been a horrible brother over the years, but now he’d be strong.

No matter how much it hurt.

Isaac yelled with raw anger and thunder boomed around them. Even Elijah cringed at the sheer volume of the bang.

“I have to do something,” he swore.

As he spoke, Elijah saw his face light up. He instantly tensed. He knew the look in Isaac’s eyes. As children, he’d always seen it appear right before Isaac told him a plan sure to get their small butts paddled.

“Isaac, what?”

“I’ll bite her, Elijah. It’ll change her, and we can run away.”

“No, absolutely not,” he objected. “She wouldn’t want you to risk yourself to save her. She wouldn’t allow it.”

“In case you haven’t noticed, she’s not in the condition to
allow
anything.” Isaac gestured angrily to her motionless body.

Elijah glared and shook his head. “No,” he repeated. Isaac growled at him, and Elijah smiled bitterly. “I won’t allow you to do this.”

“I’d like to see you try to stop me, brother.”

Isaac knelt by Sabrina’s side. He looked over his shoulder to ensure Elijah hadn’t stepped closer. Elijah remained still, studying Isaac from under hooded eyes. He could continue to gawk all he bloody wanted, as long as he didn’t interfere.

Once he was confident Elijah meant no harm to him, or Sabrina, he stroked Sabrina’s face. Her eyes opened, and she stared at him vacantly. She was barely even here—he needed to move fast. Or he’d lose her.

“Sabrina, honey. I’m going to have to bite you. It’ll hurt. A lot. I’m sorry, but this is the only way,” Isaac said, as soothingly as he knew how.

Her eyes widened in horror as she licked her parched lips, attempting to speak. He leaned closer to hear her words, which were barely a whisper.

“Not…you. Elijah…please.” She stared over his head at his brother, and Isaac fought the anger and pain that swelled up inside him. He knew why she said it. She was trying to protect him, to save him even now. But still, it hurt. And she must have seen it in his eyes, the doubts plaguing him even now.

“I…love…you. But no…please.” Once again she looked over his head at Elijah, and he heard his brother curse. Isaac watched as she turned her eyes back to him. “I’m sorry.”

He shook his head in confusion, wondering why she apologized.

“I’m sorry, too,” he heard Elijah murmur from behind him.

As soon as he heard Elijah speak, he
knew
. She hadn’t been asking Elijah to change her. She had been asking Elijah to help her stop Isaac from doing so at all. She was going to let herself
die
.

But he was too late in his discovery, and the last thing he saw was Sabrina’s stricken face, and the tears running down her cheek.

The pain exploded in his head, and he collapsed to the ground.

Sabrina focused on Isaac as the tears ran down her face. She was dying. She knew it. But at least she’d taken Louisa down as well. Okay, well
she
hadn’t, but the bitch was dead. That was all that mattered to her. Not whether she herself had killed her, but that she’d gotten the bitch down, one way or another.

Still, she hated betraying Isaac in her last moments, but she couldn’t—
wouldn’t
—allow him to ruin his life for her. Thankfully, Elijah had understood what she had wanted, even if Isaac himself had been oblivious.

“Take him…away. Leave me here.” She breathed, closing her eyes, and waited for death to take her. She was growing weaker by the moment and knew her time was coming. Every breath was a struggle; every movement was harder than the last. When she heard Elijah move beside her, she opened her eyes for one last look at Isaac before Elijah removed him from her side.

Instead of picking up Isaac, Elijah bent over her. She looked at him in confusion, and her eyes widened in realization of what he was going to do.

“No, h-h-h-he’ll kill you.”

Elijah looked at her in sorrow. “I don’t think so.”

Sabrina felt fury and fear overcome her, but was left wallowing in helplessness as he leaned over her motionless body. Oh, how she longed to fight him off, to punch his nose and kick him, all while she screamed.

But she couldn’t. The last of her strength had left her, and she could not even utter more than a paltry whimper of protest.