I grab hold of a still-confined Sebastian and whoosh us behind the bar. The chair tips sideways upon impact, taking us both down. I shift out from beneath him and burn away the ropes at his ankles. He crawls free just as Ludvikas reaches over the bar and grabs me by the hair. Yanking me to my feet, he fists his hand around the back of my jacket and throws me out onto the middle of the floor.
Pain ricochets through every bone in my body. I push up onto my hands as Ludvikas stalks after me, the feral gleam to his glowing eyes promising an excruciating death.
I scramble backward, looking for purchase to gain my footing, but he’s too fast. Standing above me, he smiles like a kid in a candy store about to have his favorite treat. My heart leaps into my throat, my brain too scattered for any other thought than I’m going to die.
Just as he reaches down, Sebastian hits him in the back with a flying kick. Ludvikas stumbles forward, then swivels around, leaning backward in a way that defies gravity as Sebastian’s leg sails over him in a failed spinning hook kick. Moving faster than I can blink, Ludvikas grabs Sebastian by the throat and hurls him across the room like he’s nothing. He crashes into a pillar several feet away, his arm coming up to shield his head at the last second.
With Sebastian out of the way, Ludvikas returns his attention to me. A malicious grin splits his lips. The pale blue glow of his irises intensifies, holding me in place. “No more games, Indi. You will come to me now.”
His words push into my mind, and I pick myself up off the ground, needing to do what he commands. I take a jerky step forward, and then another before coming to my senses. Severing my gaze from his, I bite my lip hard enough to taste blood and take two steps back. Heat blazes over my lower ribs where Liv marked me, giving me the extra strength needed to wipe away the rest of the fog he holds me under. I take two more steps back.
He cocks his head to the side, watching me with interest. “So it’s true then. You can break compulsion. Intriguing. I’ve never met a witch like you before. It’s almost a shame to kill you. I guess Seth didn’t deserve the beating I gave him the first time you slipped away after all.”
Before I can mull over what he just said, he advances. Twin fireballs hover above my palms, and he smiles but doesn’t stop. I throw the first one. He sidesteps out of its path. I throw the second one, wishing I could just whoosh us all away, but we’re scattered across the room, and I don’t know if I can get to everybody. I dare a glance to the side, my gaze bouncing from my cousins getting their asses handed to them by Peter and Tyrone, to Evan still tied to a chair, to Sebastian impossibly pushing himself up off the floor.
“Rule number one, Indiana. Never look away from your enemy.”
Ludvikas sucker punches me in the gut, then twists my arms behind my back, his grip nearly crushing the bones of my wrists as he holds them in place. Shoving me against the wall, his body presses against mine. “Time to die.”
His fangs sink into the base of my neck fast and hard, the fiery sting sweeping throughout my veins. He grips my upper hip, his sharp nails digging into the exposed skin of my abdomen. Burning pain spreads throughout my body with his first drink, each subsequent pull flooding my system with euphoria as I fall into the rapture. A traitorous moan slips from my mouth as I relax in his arms.
A loud boom shakes the building, sending dust and small debris down from the ceiling.
Ludvikas’ fangs yank from my neck. Pain and dizziness set in, and my knees give out. He twists me around before I can fall and pins me to his chest, his arm like a vice crushing my ribs into my lungs.
Sebastian slides to a stop in front of us, his eyes widening. Something sharp jabs me in the chest just above my heart, hard enough to hurt through my jacket, but not enough to puncture it. Sebastian jerks back, a broken chair leg clutched in his hand. His gaze shifts from where he nearly impaled me to Ludvikas. “Let her go.” Another boom shakes the building. “It’s over for you.”
A third boom—closer this time—rattles the walls and knocks all the liquor off the shelves. Ludvikas tightens his grip. “It’s over when I say it’s over. And I say it’s just getting started between you and me, Chaser.” He grabs hold of my chin, his nails digging into my skin. “Tell me chaser, what will you do once I kill her?”
Sebastian bares his teeth just as I’m hit with a bombardment of his emotions: fear, desperation, love, and rage—so much rage. They explode throughout my body as if they were my own.
I will not die here. Sebastian will not die here. My cousins will not die here. Evan will not die here.
Ludvikas will.
I flatten my hand over Ludvikas’ leg, thoughts of fire whispering over my mind. White-hot flames tinged with pale blue flicker along the outer edge of my palm, the majority of fire contained beneath it. The stench of burnt wool and flesh permeates the air, his suit melting into his skin beneath my hand. But instead of moving away like I’d hoped, he presses me closer, his arm tightening around my chest until I feel my ribs crack.
No. No. No.
Several ribs break, and I scream, the fire dying from my hand. A second dose of rage blasts into me from Sebastian, igniting magic from the deepest, darkest corners of my being where no light dwells. The promise of Ludvikas’ death whispers over my mind. All I have to do is pull away his essence, the tiny spark of life from his former existence held within his twisted soul. Without it, he will truly be dead. No second chances, no afterlife, no moving on—just gone. I don’t know how I know this, but I do.
“What are you doing?” Fear laces Ludvikas’ voice as he grabs my wrist and pries my hand from his leg. With the connection severed, the dark cloud covering my sense of right and wrong dissipates, and I’m left in the horror of what I almost did… without being compromised by someone else’s dark magic. Whatever that was, it came from me.
Too afraid to use my magic, I fall back on my self-defense training. With my free hand, I reach back and grab his groin. Vampire or not, it still hurts to have the jewels crushed.
He drops my wrist to tear my hand away from his junk while the arm he has clenched around my ribs loosens, his hand moving upward to grab hold of my jaw instead. I tilt my head down so my chin slips beneath his hand, then bite down as hard as I can between his thumb and finger. A gush of blood rushes over my tongue, some of it going down the back of my throat. He yanks his hand away only to grab my hair a nanosecond later. He jerks my face toward his, and stares at me in confusion for a second time.
I spit what blood I didn’t swallow into his face, getting no reaction, not even a flinch or a snarl. He cocks his head to the side, his glowing pale blue eyes laser-locked on mine as though I’m a conundrum he can’t figure out. “What exactly are you?”
The doors locking us inside burst open, the room flooding with chasers and vampires alike in full battle.
With Ludvikas distracted, I swing my arm around. The sigils flash blue beneath the rings just before my fist connects with his jaw. His head jerks to the side, blood flying from the torn skin of his face. He jerks me forward until we’re nose to nose, his eyes wild.
“You won’t be so lucky next time. Neither will your friends.” With a snarl, he shoves me into Sebastian hard enough that we both crash to the floor.
Sebastian rolls me over and jumps to his feet, ready to attack, but there’s no one there. Ludvikas is gone.
Sebastian yanks me up from the floor, his gaze roaming over me from head to toe for any obvious injuries. Seeing none, he crushes me to his chest, dropping his arms and stepping back a second later when I let out a cry. “Shit. Your ribs.”
I suck in a painful breath. “Yeah. I think he broke a few… or all of them. They’re starting to heal, but they’re still pretty painful.”
“What the hell were you thinking coming here? He could have killed you!”
I jerk back at his angry tone. “I felt your fear. You were in trouble. I—“
“I had it under control. Backup was on the way.” He throws an arm out, showcasing the chasers filling t
he room, the majority of them panting now that there are no vampires left in the vicinity to eliminate.
“How was I supposed to know that? I hadn’t heard anything from you. All I knew was you were in trouble, and I had to save you. You would have done the same if our roles had been reversed.”
He makes to yell, but then tips his head back and inhales deeply instead because he knows I’m right. He pulls me to him, gently this time, and cradles me within his arms. “Thank you. But next time I tell you not to come, don’t come.”
“Don’t get yourself captured next time, and I won’t have to.”
A quick smile flashes across his face, and he takes hold of my hand. “You’re so stubborn.” His lips brush over my forehead. “Come on, let’s go find your cousins and Evan and get out of here.”
Terror races through me at the mention of my cousins. What if they’re hurt… or worse? I can’t handle worse. I don’t think I can even handle hurt.
And what about Evan? He was tied to a chair. He wouldn’t have even been able to defend himself at all. What if he…?
No. I can’t go there. He’s fine. My cousins are fine. We’re all fine.
Sebastian weaves us through a throng of chasers, who look just as bad, if not worse, than Sebastian does. Chester pops out in front of us, nearly giving me a heart attack. Blood is splattered across his face and clothes, though I don’t think any of it actually belongs to him. He assesses us then pulls us both into a hug. I grind my teeth at the flash of sharp pain lancing through my throbbing bones.
“Glad you two are alright.” He grips my shoulder and pats a hand over Sebastian’s back.
“The rest of the team?” Sebastian asks.
His head dips, his gaze cast to the ground. “There were a few casualties, but I can say the vampires took more hits than we did.”
“Indi!”
I whip around to the sound of my name. Sebastian lets go of my hand, and I run toward my cousin, avoiding a few vampire bodies surrounded by pools of blood on the floor. “Liv! Thank the stars you’re okay!” I throw up a hand just as she’s about to throw her arms around me. “Broken ribs. Still healing. I can’t take the pain of another hug, even though I desperately want to hug you right now.” I scan the room. “Where’s Jack?”
“He’s over by the doors, helping to untie Evan from the chair.” She takes my hand. “He’s totally freaking out.”
“Jack or Evan?”
“Both, but I was referring to Evan. He keeps screaming for you.” She bites her lip, her eyes shifting back and forth between the path in front of her and me. “He’s really messed up, Indi. I know you don’t want to, but we’re going to have to tell Mom and Dad what’s going on. They may need to erase his memory, with the help of the coven if he can’t deal.”
Her words rip a hole through my chest. I never wanted any of this for Evan. Pushing him out of my life was supposed to keep him safe. None of this was supposed to happen.
“I know. I’d planned on coming clean with them, anyway. We’re in too deep, and I see that now. I’m just glad everybody is okay.” Evan’s crazed filled eyes find me in the crowd. “Well, okay-ish anyway.”
Evan shoves away from Jack the moment his leg is free of the chair, staggering and bumping into several chasers before he throws his arms around me. I suck in a breath, clenching my teeth against the pain radiating over my ribs. “I thought he killed you.” He buries his face in the crook of my neck, his fingertips digging into the sides of my arms.
“He didn’t. I’m okay,” I whisper to keep from crying out.
“I’m not.” He pulls back, and I sign in relief. Some of the blood has been wiped from his face, so it’s now in smeared streaks. “Can we get out of here please and go somewhere else where you can tell me what the hell is going on?”
“Yeah.” I grab hold of a passing chaser. Her long blonde ponytail swings over her shoulder as she turns to face me. There’s a cut down the side of her cheek, and blood splattered over her clothes. “Excuse me. Is it safe to leave?”
“Yeah. The building’s clear. Whatever vampires we didn’t eliminate are long gone by now. I’ll let the chasers stationed outside know you’re coming out.”
“Thank you.”
I grab hold of Evan’s arm and drape it over my shoulder. Taking the brunt of his weight is killing my ribs, but after everything he’s been through, I’m willing to suffer through the pain as they heal. “Come on, let’s get some fresh air and I’ll explain everything.” He nods, and I lead him out the door. I prop him against the wall out in the hall. “I’ll be right back.”
I dart back inside and face my cousins. “I don’t care if it hurts.”
Jack cocks his head to the side. “If what hurts?”
I wrap my arms around him and Liv. “Thank you for coming with me and for saving Evan. I don’t know what I would have done if you guys hadn’t come.”
Liv wraps her arms gently around me. “What is family for, if not to help you when you’re in a standoff with a vampire? Right, Jack?”
“Right,” he agrees, as he, too, embraces me. “Although I’d prefer it if we kept the vampire standoffs at a minimum.”
“You and me both, Jack. You and me both.” I catch a glimpse of Evan swaying in the hall, and I pull away. “I’m going to take Evan outside. Will one of you find Sebastian and let him know where I am?”
Liv hooks a thumb over her shoulder. “I’ll let him know.”
She disappears back into the crowd while Jack follows me out into the hall and takes Evan’s arm. “I’ll help you get him upstairs.”
“Thanks.”
Cold air rushes over my skin the moment we step outside. I close my eyes and smile, breathing it in. We’re okay. Ludvikas may have gotten away, but we didn’t die. We survived, and I count that as a win.
“Indi.”
“Hmm?” I shift my weight to look over at Evan.
“Thanks for coming for me. But I wish you hadn’t.” His arm moves impossibly fast. He slams the palm of his hand into Jack’s side, sending him flying down the sidewalk. His baby blue eyes intensify in color, glowing from within. “He wants you dead.”
His fangs are deep in my neck before I can react. Blood rushes through my veins in reverse. By the time I place my hands to his chest, I’m holding on to pull him closer instead of pushing him away. Rapture overtakes me, morphing the pain into pleasure.
My head starts to swim, my muscles relaxing until my knees give out and my arms fall limply to my side. My heart slows, the beats growing further and further apart. Evan lays me on the ground, his face moving in and out of focus. He brushes the hair from my face, his blue eyes laced with sorrow. “I’m sorry, Indi. I didn’t have a choice.”
He kisses my forehead and rises. A moment later he’s gone and I’m left alone on the sidewalk with the icy rain washing everything away.
Pounding feet slap over the pavement, a dozen faces surrounding me, their voices a cacophony of shouted words with only one voice standing out. My heart thuds a slow beat as I turn my head to see Sebastian pushing his way through.
He drops to his knees and pulls me into his arms, his fingers a mad flurry over my throat. He presses his palm over the wound, my body is too weak to heal.
His eyes meet mine. “Everything will be okay. Just hang on, and everything will be okay.”
“I’m… sor… sorry,” I say between weakened gasps.
“Don’t try to talk. He presses harder over my throat. “Just stay with me, okay? Stay with me. I can’t lose you too.” Tears fall from his eyes and splash onto my cheek, but like the rain, and his arms around me, I don’t feel it anymore. It’s all fading away. “Don’t leave me, Indi. Please, don’t leave me.”
He shifts me in his arms, and my head tips back, my eyes closing in a slow blink. A bright light shimmers behind me, blinding and beautiful as it coalesces into the shape of a man, the light of his body so bright I can’t see his face. But I know what he is and why he’s here. My soul calls out to hi
m for release, but I don’t want to go.
I don’t want to go.
Sebastian hugs me tighter, his words a desperate cry for me to stay in between shouts for Ava and the twins to heal me. But there’s nothing they can do. I’ve lost too much blood.
“Please, Indi. Please, don’t leave me,” Sebastian whispers in my ear. “Please.”
The angel kneels beside me, one hand over mine as he watches Sebastian plead for a miracle.
A voice I somehow know belongs to the angel whispers inside my mind. You shared your soul with him once before to save his life. He can share his with you now to save yours.
The angel reaches for Sebastian’s hand, and everything goes black.
Calmness washes over me in a wave of peace. I open my eyes to the infinite void of the in-between. But I’m not alone. Sebastian stands before me.
“I know this place. I’ve been here before.” He stares down at me. “With you. When we were kids. I was dying and you…” Sebastian’s eyes widen, and he takes my hand, the gravity of why we’re here sinking in.
A warm tingling sensation flutters in my chest, and I glance over my shoulder at the door materializing behind me. My door. The one meant to take me from this life and into the next. It calls out to me, and I take a step toward it.
Sebastian keeps hold of my hand, not letting me get further than an arm’s length away. “I don’t want you to go.”
I glance back over my shoulder just as the angel appears at his side. He places his hand on Sebastian’s shoulder and whispers into his ear. Sebastian nods and pulls me back until there’s no distance left between us.
“I know what I have to do.” His fingers brush over my cheek and disappear into my hair as he cups my face. “Stay with me.”
I stare up at him, a million emotions rushing through me at those three words. Stay with me. Knowing it means everything. I once shared my soul with him, and now he’s offering to share his with me. Our lives will never be the same. But I know my answer. I’ve always known my answer. Our fate was sealed that day in the park.
Of Darkness & Light: Blood Descent Book 2 Page 40