by Angela Foxxe
He huffed and leaned back, his leg now kicking the windshield. Water began to fill the car and he knew he had to get out, lest he wanted a watery grave.
“Come on, come on,” he muttered, doing his best to ignore the hurt of silver. Then he realized he needed the dagger embedded on his shoulder.
He shook his head, knowing how this was going to hurt, and hurt bad. Bracing himself, he swiftly pulled out the dagger and he howled in agony. The dagger’s handle was wrapped in leather, but he still held it with a shaky hand. The silver burned through the handle, but at least it was no longer in his shoulder. Gabriel then used the blunt edge of the dagger to smash through the cracked glass, as the pressure of the water flooded in like a dam had broken lose.
The rush of water pounded onto his body and he fought his way through it. His eyes stung from the coldness of the river but he forced himself to swim for shore, even if he felt like fainting. Nightwalkers don’t faint, he told himself. He remembered rescuing Isla. Was this what it felt like for her parents? They slowly and agonizingly died, and he hadn’t been able to rescue them, because Arthur asked that Isla be rescued first…
It was painful, he realized, almost as painful as silver on his skin, to die in cold water as a human. Isla had been traumatized and he had traumatized her again, with help from his brother. He shuddered as he collapsed on the snowy bank, his eyes staring at the greying skies, interspersed with occasional sunlight.
Snowflakes fell on his face, and despite the cold, he could only feel the feverish weakness that silver gave him. It was punishment, Lily’s memory wasn’t done with him yet, and this was fate’s vengeance for the nightwalkers; it was fate’s vengeance against him, for taking away someone so wonderful, someone who would have made the world a kinder and brighter place.
He wanted to get up, but he couldn’t yet. Every second he lay there meant that Isla was in further danger. Isla was bleeding and Anna was hungry, he saw it in her eyes. Who knew how controlled that subordinate was? Isaac would torture her at most, but would never find the strength to kill her.
It was probably Isla’s saving grace that she looked like Lily, and her curse. Isaac would want Isla turned into one of them, something he wouldn’t give Isla the choice to decide. He would trap her, make her his, and probably kill off Anna, like the previous ones he had sired.
Gabriel tried to get up again, but he couldn’t. The wound on his shoulder didn’t heal immediately, and blood still flowed. He groaned, supporting his body with his right hand on the ground, and he sat up against a rock covered in snow.
Blood trickled down his shoulder and a wind picked up. He was grateful he was a nightwalker for that brief moment. He looked around, wondering how to get up without attracting too much attention. To a normal human, he looked like he would be in desperate need for medical help.
He closed his eyes again and then remembered the phone in his pocket. Fishing for it, he found it was wet. He shook his head and cursed. That was one source of help down the drain. He groaned again, touching the wound on his shoulder. He needed to feed, but how? He looked around, any animal would do… if they would approach him at all. He didn’t care if he had to feed on adder blood…
The walk to Blackwell Hall would take an hour with the kind of injury he had. He wouldn’t be even walking, he would be trudging. The pain was unbearable, but he had to get to Isla, wherever she was. She had to be safe. He forced himself to stand.
This is just a shoulder injury, he told himself, and I can still walk. This is nothing. Damn it, this burns like hell.
With a groan, he stood up shakily, holding onto his shoulder. His chest, especially the stab wound, felt like it had been set on fire. He looked up at the embankment, and then at the silver dagger beside him. He hated the weakness it gave him, but knew it would be useful if he wanted to get out of this alive. A weakness for a weakness, he thought. Isla was also their weakness…
He felt something else bulge in his coat, it took a while to feel it, as his senses were overwhelmed by the silver dagger. He didn’t need to touch it to know what it was. It began to emanate a burning sensation, a sensation that was all too familiar. Pure silver.
Mustering his strength, he began to walk up to the road, blood dripping down his arm.
*
There's a sinless brow with a radiant crown,
And a cross laid down in the dust;
There's a smile where never a shadow comes now,
And tears no more from those dear eyes flow—
So sweet in their innocent trust.
She was surrounded by cold water. She was near death.
Her mother and father sat unconscious in their seats as the river rushed in to cover them, to smother them with her cold touch. She was slamming against the doors, shaking her father to wake up. She was crying, and when her mother slumped on the car seat with blood on her face, she gasped and reeled back. She was going to die, drown inside this coffin.
“Dad! Mom!” she cried out, her palms beating on the windows of the car. “Please! Anybody!”
She took a deep breath just as the water covered them all completely and she lost consciousness.
Isla’s eyes fluttered open slowly. The first thing she noticed was that her body ached all over. It was an earthly pain, a pain that meant she was still alive. Her fingers made their way to her right temple and she felt something crusty on it. Dried blood mingled with fresh blood. What happened, again? She realized she was alone, in a heavily decorated room—it looked familiar. Gabriel! She tried to get up, but was overwhelmed by faint.
She collapsed on a rug, and she shook as she tried to sit up.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” a voice interrupted her.
She slowly looked up to see the blonde woman whose face clearly had seen better days. There were blisters on her arms and on her face, it looked like severe sunburn minus the redness. This was Isaac’s protégé, and she strolled to her, stooping down for a closer look at her face.
Anna held up Isla’s chin with a finger. Her nails were sharp and her cheeks looked gaunt, like she was about to change into something hideous, like what she had seen before in the park. Isla held in her breath.
“I can smell your blood,” Anna hissed.
“Anna,” a deep voice said.
Anna let go of her face and looked up to see Isaac by the door. “Isaac,” she greeted, “I thought you were resting.” She stood up.
“I smelled her blood,” Isaac said with a smile, “you’ve done so well, my dearest Anna.”
Anna smiled modestly, her heart soaring as Isaac held her hand and kissed it. He had never been this affectionate before.
“Anna, would you be so kind as to give me a few moments with Miss Morgan? I have a few queries I wish to be addressed.”
Anna glared at Isla who was still on the rug. “Call me if you need anything,” she told him sweetly, before exiting the room. The door closed with a loud creak.
“Of course, my dear,” Isaac assured her.
As soon as he heard Anna’s footsteps were quite far away, he turned to face Isla again, and then he gently helped her up, guiding her to a chair. He sat opposite to her.
“Have you eaten?” he asked her.
She didn’t say anything.
“Does your head hurt?”
Isla remained quiet.
“How will I know that you need something if you don’t talk to me?” he sighed, reaching out for her hand.
Isla whacked his hand away. “I need Gabriel,” she uttered, her eyes insolent.
Isaac’s eyes darkened. “Need Gabriel? You think he needs you? He only wants one thing and that’s the gemstone. He doesn’t need you in his life. He’s too solitary, too aloof, and too selfish for love.”
Isla’s jaw hardened.
“You’re beautiful when you’re angry. I remember how Lily was when she was angry. See Isla, I’m not too happy that we met under these terms. Gabriel’s corrupted your opinion of me.”
“You att
acked me,” Isla snapped.
“I didn’t know it was you back then,” he said morosely, “had I known, I would have saved you from him.”
“You killed my family,” Isla said, her tone changing.
“I killed a Hunter, Isla. Family had nothing to do with it,” Isaac said calmly.
Her eyes widened. Gabriel was right. He was ruthless and cold. He didn’t care about anything else except for his selfish desires. Lily was one of those desires, and because she looked like Lily, he had his sights set on her as well.
“I’m not Lily,” she uttered.
His head shot up. “You aren’t,” he said slowly, “you’re even better. There aren’t any Hunters left from your family to kill me off. And you look just like Lily; it’s perfect. Everything’s fallen into place. The last thing I need is to see my brother dead.”
Isla held her breath. So Gabriel was still alive? And she was bait? She had to find a way out. She wasn’t severely injured, but she knew Gabriel was. Anna must’ve done something to him to maim him… she tried not to look too worried.
“I don’t have the watch anymore. Your lover must have lost it when she flipped our car over,” she said acidly.
Isaac closed his eyes and smiled. “Yes, Anna is my lover. She’s a fine one, too. I saved her from death. She worked in a brothel and a customer had beaten her to a pulp.”
Isla looked horrified.
“So you see, my sweet, I’m not as bad as Aidan makes me out to be,” Isaac said, “my heart is always in the right place. And I’d love nothing more than to have yours.”
“You’re sick.”
“Can’t get sick,” he laughed, “I used to be a doctor, too, but I’m sure Aidan has told you his version of the story. Isla, I only freed you from the burden of having a father as a Hunter. A Hunter whose skills have lain dormant. I didn’t want to risk that.
“There are barely any nightwalkers in America, and he just had to come back here. That was a tiny bit of a mistake right there. He dragged you and your mother into it. I’m sorry I didn’t quite notice you back then, I wouldn’t have let you go through all that trauma.”
“You’re a monster,” she breathed.
“What you saw in the park was a monster. What I am now is just a man cursed to live forever and a man cursed to live without the sun.”
“You’re probably best kept in the dark.”
“I do my best kills there,” he laughed. Then his eyes changed. “Where did you hide it, Isla?” he asked, drawing his face close to hers. “Where is it?”
She shook her head, staring at his eyes that had become black pools. “I don’t know. I had it in my coat before she attacked us.”
He sighed. “Anna,” he called out. Seconds later, Anna was in the room.
“Yes?” she began.
“Per chance, have you noticed the watch, my dear?”
Anna shook her head. “She must’ve stashed it away. I would’ve felt it when I carried her.”
Isaac’s eyes narrowed. “Are you suggesting we check the river once more? Swim in it? I wasn’t gifted with night-vision, you know.”
Anna looked away, her face disappointed.
Isaac sighed. “Never mind. It’s bound to be with Aidan. He will search for you, though. Come to think of it, he will be desperate to keep you for himself. You ended up with the wrong Blackwell,” he told Isla.
“You’re not a Blackwell,” Isla said.
Isaac’s head snapped up and he moved in closer, cupping her face with his hand. His nails began to rake on her skin. “When he’s dead, I will be the only Blackwell left alive. Pretty sweet for nearly a hundred and thirty years of waiting, don’t you think?”
Isla was quiet, but her glare said it all.
Isaac looked at her intently. “Let’s make things easier, shall we? You tell me where the red diamond is, and I won’t kill Aidan. Seeing how you still won’t tell me despite threats on your life, I’m sensing you have some sentiment for my little brother. You’d rather be dead than see him suffer, so much love for someone you’ve only known for say… three months?”
“You’d still go back on your word. Just like how you killed Lily.”
Isaac had a sharp intake of breath, so sharp it almost hurt his lungs. He stood up and paced for a few seconds, as if trying to weigh in what she had just said.
“Killed her? It was Aidan’s doing. Why is he blaming me? So it all comes down to this? Have you no love for yourself? He’s just using you, a means to end this century old sibling rivalry!” he bellowed, his hand flinging over a lamp.
The lamp crashed against the wall, shards of glass flinging everywhere. Isla was startled, but she still remained mum.
“You’re shaking. You’re afraid,” he said, caressing her face with his hand. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you.” He turned to face Anna. “Can you see to it that our guest is kept comfortable in one of my father’s bedrooms?”
Anna gripped Isla’s arm tightly, harshly dragging her up the flight of stairs as soon as Isaac was out of sight.
“Are you jealous of me?” Isla began, trying to see how Anna would react.
Anna huffed and then laughed. “Are you trying to irritate me? Your petty human wiles won’t work on me. I’ve been alive for too long.”
Isla shook her head as they walked past dark portraits of the Blackwell family. “No, you think I’m a threat to your happiness with Isaac. He’ll turn me into a nightwalker, then he’ll get the closure he’s wanted for so long. Don’t you think there’s a reason that I had to look just like Lily Ashworth?”
“Silence,” she hissed, pushing Isla into a small bedroom with boarded up windows. “You know nothing about Isaac. You don’t know his kindness, his empathy, what he did to save me.”
“He gave you death.”
“He gave me life! You don’t know the hardships o’ life, how hard it was to be a whore, how he gave me kindness when no other would.”
“And still he searches for Lily in other people…” Isla’s voice trailed off. There was a resounding smack on Isla’s face, a slap so hard that it drew blood on her cheek. Isla tried to regain her balance.
“Try to leave this place, you have a whole night ahead of you,” Anna warned her, her eyes darkening at the sight of blood. She left Isla standing in the middle of the room, and she hoped Isla was afraid. It was the best thing next to respect, to be feared. It was something she never got back when she sold herself to just about anyone.
Seeing Isla’s blood made her hungry. She needed to feed. The silver dagger, despite being wrapped in many layers, still weakened her. She made her way down the stairs and back to the study where she found Isaac standing in front of the fireplace.
“I need to drink,” she uttered, not daring to come close to him.
He looked up and faced Anna. “Oh, Anna. You’ve always been so kind to me.”
Anna tried to hide her smile again.
“Why don’t you go to the village? Be a bit discreet though,” he suggested, “don’t want latent Hunters waking up.”
Anna nodded. “I’ll be back in an hour.”
“Do watch out for Aidan.”
“I made sure he was maimed.”
“Good girl,” he told her.
She nodded and left. Isaac turned to face the fire on the hearth once more. He had left after he saw Lily slowly bleed to death.
“This is all your doing,” he whispered as he stared at Lily’s blood more than he stared at her face.
Aidan didn’t look at him, but he kept whispering to Lily. “Everything will be fine. You’ll be alright…”
He didn’t wait to hear the rest; he didn’t want to hear Lily’s last breath. He ran. It was the last time he would see her alive. He had wanted her turned, but he couldn’t bear to see her die.
This time, this time would be different. He would see her die, and be transformed into a nightwalker, and she would be bound by him, not by Aidan. Aidan would never turn her, he was weak, too weak for impro
vement, weak to sentiment and the past. He was desperate to feel the warmth of the red diamond. The last time Lily held it in her hand, his feelings for the red diamond were as strong as his love for her…
He wondered where his brother was now, his irresponsible half-brother who masqueraded as a law-abiding citizen and was supposedly respectful to his peers. He had hoped Aidan would be suffering immensely. Isaac planned to challenge him to a fight to the death, a rematch from a hundred and twenty-five years ago; then he would get the gemstone he had been wanting for so long, and Isla would see who she should rightfully belong to.
THE FINAL CHAPTER
He could smell her from a mile away, Anna’s scent. She was hungry and was on the prowl. He was hungry too, but his weakness came first. The silver had done him significant damage. He thought about attacking some unsuspecting human, something he hadn’t done since 1940, when blood had become “commercially” available.
“I won’t,” he told himself. “I’m stronger than this.”
While the red diamond speeded up the process of healing even more than what nightwalkers were averse to, it could only do some much against silver. This was his concern now. He wasn’t in tiptop shape and he hadn’t had his fill of blood in four days.
He could smell Anna attacking a poor, drunken man. He could hear the man’s soft groans and Anna lapping up his blood. His mouth began to salivate. Anna was close, but she couldn’t smell him. The silver on him had blocked his scent. It was the only pain he was grateful for. How Isla slipped the pocket watch without him noticing, he didn’t know.
He had to move, move while Anna was still feeding. Isaac would be close by, with Isla. He had a feeling they were at Blackwell Manor; Isaac wanted to lead him there, to finish it where it started. He groaned and stood up from the alleyway, snow falling quickly all around. People walked around, snow crunching under their boots.
