I knew if I was going to do something, it had to be in the spur of the moment. I couldn’t make the decision or think about it. I just had to jump into it blindly. The only thing I had on my side was the fact that Servilia and Nero clearly didn’t know where Greyson Manor was, or they wouldn’t need my help. But how long could I drive them around Greyhaven before they noticed that I wasn’t taking them to Viktor?
Clear your mind.
But I couldn’t, the thoughts were too loud. I could barely swallow anymore; my throat was so dry; my bottom lip began to tremble.
You have to think about something, so they can’t sense you’re going to do something. Poetry, I suddenly thought, recite poetry.
I didn’t need to think for very long before I landed on a William Blake poem that I had read obsessively, suddenly glad that I had had an unhealthy obsession with both him and Sylvia Plath when I was fifteen.
I was angry with my friend;
I told my wrath, my wrath did end.
I was angry with my foe:
I told it not, my wrath did grow.
I started to scream the words in my head and drove down the road, not thinking about where I was going.
And I waterd it in fears,
Night and morning with my tears:
And I sunned it with smiles,
And with soft deceitful wiles.
My breathing was so rapid now that I thought I would have a full panic attack before I could do anything to stop them.
You have to carry on, you have to save everyone from this mess you created.
I glanced at the silent passengers. Servilia and Nero seemed to be content and were both looking out of the window hungrily, taking in the magnitude of how many immortals they could kill as we passed all the familiar houses. Finally, I noticed the tall statue of the angel in the town square. I repeated the poem in my head faster and faster, pressing my foot down on the gas pedal as far as it would go. I felt Nero moving his arm toward me, and just as his hand reached my shoulder, the car, in full force, collided with the ancient stone of the fountain.
The sound of tearing metal surrounded me just as I had remembered it from the accident with Justin so many months ago. My hands flew over my face protectively as Servilia screamed. I knew this wouldn’t kill them, but I also knew that immortals got hurt just like humans did. They would heal much faster, but maybe by then, help would come, and someone could stop them.
The window shattered in front of me, and the glass flew into my skin, but I kept my foot on the gas pedal. The car’s engine roared as it pushed its way over and through the rock and cement. Nero screamed next to me, as he was also being stabbed and cut by the shattering glass. At the very least, he would be as wounded as I was and with all the noise the collision had made, people would soon gather to see what had happened. I kept my foot down on the gad pedal as the engine roared.
I tasted blood in my mouth and smelled metal. The water from the fountain sprayed me, and the rubble scratched against the car as it moved forward. We finally slammed into the stone angel. The metal sword it was holding immediately collapsed onto the car’s roof.
I couldn’t feel the pain of any of it. I could only hear Servilia’s screams. I couldn’t see anything with all the blood in my eyes. The air left my lungs, and I tried desperately to grip something solid to avoid falling into the water. I had to somehow take a breath; I needed to breathe.
My lungs finally opened, and I gasped for fresh air. I felt for the door handle and pushed it open, pulling my body out of the car wreck and falling into the fountain water that was slowly draining.
I spent a few moments underwater and then remembered that Servilia and Nero were probably already healing.
Evelyn, move, you have to move.
I pushed my hands against the floor of the fountain as hard as I could and stood up, my entire body screaming in agony. I opened my eyes. The blood that had been streaming into my eyes had been cleaned away by the fountain water.
Get out of the fountain, you have to warn people when they come.
I took a deep, painful breath and crawled toward the fountain wall, immediately pulling myself over it. I landed on the town square’s stone floor with a thud and this time let out a scream in pain. Little shards of glass had pierced through the skin on my face and chest.
I shut my eyes and forced my body onto my back. The water from the fountain had seeped out onto the pavement and flowed gently under me. I opened my eyes and looked at the black star-filled sky. I caught a glimpse of the car, which now rested calmly against the fountain, completely destroyed. The blood from all my cuts drained into the fountain water.
Before I could try to move again, the silence of the cold night was broken by a man’s screams of agony. I tilted my head toward the screams and watched as Nero stumbled out of the driver’s door. He was covered in blood, and the blade that Servilia had been holding to Gwenn’s throat had somehow lodged itself in his chest.
“Servilia,” he cried out in pain. Someone ran to the fountain followed by other footsteps.
“Someone’s been hurt, hurry, help them,” a man’s voice called to the others. The people at the masquerade had heard the crash; they were coming.
No, no, don’t help them, I wanted to scream.
I moved my head carefully, trying not to move my body, and watched Nero pull the knife out of his chest with a painful groan. He would heal soon, and as soon as he did, no one was safe.
Please let someone recognize who he is.
I tried to sit up but felt a sharp pain in my right side. I looked down and realized that a shard of glass the size of my hand was lodged just below my ribcage. I didn’t know what else to do; I lifted my heavy arms and grabbed hold of the shard. Every time I tried to pull it out, it shredded and cut open my hands, but I jerked on it with all the force I had left in me.
Pain shot through my body, and I screamed, but I didn’t let go of it. I had to pull it out if I wanted to move again.
Please, Evelyn, please, if you never achieve anything else in your life, please just do this.
The warm blood from my cut hands dripped down the rest of my arms, and tears welled in my eyes. I raised my hands above my face; they were completely sliced through to the bone. I lowered them and tried to raise my head to the scene, but my eyes met instead with a porcelain face, green eyes, and fiery-red hair standing over me. My entire body froze.
“You,” I whispered, my panicked heart now hammering against my heaving chest.
“Yes.” Serena bent down and looked directly into my eyes. “It’s me,” she said, right before I felt something cold force itself into my chest.
What the hell is that? Why is there something icy cold near my heart?
For a few seconds, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from Serena’s green ones, unable to figure out why time seemed to be slowing down. My eyes followed hers down to my chest, and I finally realized she had stabbed me with a long piece of jagged glass.
“Goodbye, Evelyn,” she whispered.
I let my eyes meet with the stars in the sky as the cold piece of glass warmed itself in my chest.
Chapter Forty-Two
“Evelyn,” I heard a boy’s voice cry.
My eyes rolled open and met with the stars once again. Bastian’s face came into view as he kneeled over me.
“Bastian, it’s Nero and Servilia—they, they want to kill Viktor and Markus,” I moaned, coughing up blood and looking into his eyes, desperately trying to find a look of comprehension.
His eyes widened, and he looked to his left where a group of people were helping Nero. I swallowed and tried to take a deep breath, but the blood pooled in my throat. Bastian looked down at my broken body nervously, the confusion of what to do next written on his face. I coughed up thick, warm blood, tasting the metal in my mouth.
“Pull it out,” I hissed at
him. If I bled to death now, I would come back as an immortal soon enough and could fix this horrible mistake. Bastian seemed to know what I was thinking and nodded. Without hesitation and filled with new determination, he took his jacket off, wrapped it around the shard, and pulled swiftly.
I wanted to scream at first but just choked on the blood in my mouth. I could feel the relief of the pressure and the blood moving to the area. I was bleeding out quickly. My eyes darted around, desperate to find the comfort of Bastian’s familiar eyes again. One of the shards of glass must have been in my right lung; I felt it struggle as I tried to keep breathing. Hot tears formed in my eyes.
This is what dying feels like. This is what Justin, Grace, and Dad felt like.
Bastian wrapped his arms around me and picked me up to carry me to safety farther away from the fountain. My heartbeat slowed down, and my breathing became raspy and shallow as Bastian laid me gently on the dry floor. I heard as the crowd found Servilia stuck between the car and the angel. There were screams and cries for more help, but it was almost as if they were in a distant dream. Bastian’s warm hands held my face, and he looked into my eyes.
“Hey, guess what?” He smiled. “We’re going to be stuck together for eternity,” he said, trying to keep my attention on him instead of the crowd. I couldn’t speak anymore, and I my eyelids grew heavy, the cold taking over my body from my feet all the way up to my torn hands. It was odd, but there was a certain peace that came over me as I took my last breath. It suddenly didn’t matter anymore. Any of it. It didn’t even matter that Nero and Servilia were here. An image of Blake’s face appeared in my mind, and I smiled as the last breath left my lungs.
-
“Hello, Evelyn,” I heard her say. She was kneeling at her own tombstone, looking at the flowers spread all over the freshly turned soil. I looked up at the early morning sky. The sun was about to rise. I looked back down at the woman in white.
“Astara,” I whispered and walked to her. I looked down at my hands; they were perfect, just as before. I checked my ribcage where the shard of glass had pierced my skin, but there was nothing there. Everything seemed extraordinarily bright, like somehow someone had set up hundreds of strong florescent lights to face us.
I was perfectly healed and wearing the same white dress that she usually wore. I had a sudden pang of anxiety. There was something wrong, but everything was so calm and so peaceful here that I just couldn’t remember what it was. But as Astara’s blue eyes met mine, I remembered him. Blake was in danger. Ravenna was in danger. Bastian was in danger.
“Something terrible has happened,” I whispered as she stood up to face me.
“Yes, I know,” she replied, frowning.
“Nero has been filled with malice for Viktor for years now,” she continued, her eyes now cold with hatred.
“Am I dead?” I asked, wondering if I hadn’t been part of the bloodline after all.
“No, my darling, you’re just in transition. You will wake again, all your scars and wounds healed. But before you go I must talk to you,” she said, quickly walking up to me and taking both my hands in hers.
She looked into my eyes. “You must be the one to kill Nero—only you. Do not let anyone else take his life. Do you understand?” She put her cold hand on my cheek now.
I nodded. “But why?” I asked. Why would she want this? The sun began to rise behind the forest now, and Astara started to fade.
“Because many people you and I both love will die if you don’t. Promise me that you will be the one to kill him,” she pleaded, looking over her shoulder to check how much time we had left.
“I’ll try,” I answered, not knowing if I had it in me to kill anyone, even if they were completely evil.
“All right, we’re running out of time,” she said, looking back at me.
“Find something sharp, like a knife or sword, and stab him in the chest, in the heart, Evelyn. That should finish him off. Servilia must also be stopped. She will try to kill anyone who goes near Nero, so be careful with her.”
I nodded and felt something pulling me back, like an ocean current. I couldn’t fight it.
“Remember, only by your hand,” I heard Astara cry and then she disappeared into the darkness I was being pulled into.
The cold was returning to my body. My chest felt like it had caved in. I tried to wriggle free of whatever was holding me down. I heard the screaming.
I opened my eyes and gasped, taking what felt like my first breath in an eternity. I lifted my head as much as I could, my body still numb. My eyes met the utter chaos that had occurred in my absence. The town center was full of screaming people, some hurt, others confused, trying desperately to get away. A few ran toward where the car still sat in the fountain.
“Evelyn,” Bastian breathed, relief washing over his face.
“They’re going to kill Viktor,” I said, trying to sit up, but my body felt like it was made from lead.
“Give yourself a minute,” Bastian said, still holding me in his arms. “How did this happen?” He was desperately trying to keep my attention on him instead of the crowd.
“You have to go warn people,” I said, trying to sit up again.
“Will you be okay here?” he asked, looking worried.
“I’ll be fine, please go,” I repeated. I was starting to regain the feeling in my legs.
He nodded, immediately shot up, and started running back to the scene of the accident. I raised my head and watched as he reached the crowd surrounding Servilia, who was lashing out at people as she healed.
“Everyone, these people, they’re here to hurt us. Stop helping them!” Bastian shouted as loudly as he could.
I blinked, and Servilia had moved from the middle of the crowd and was now standing behind Bastian. They both had their backs to me.
“Bastian!” I screamed for him to turn around, but it was too late. Servilia threw a cold, calculating smile over her shoulder at me as she plunged her hand into Bastian’s back. Before I could do anything, before I could take a breath, before I could try to get up or scream at her, she pulled out his heart. She turned around to smile at me again before dropping Bastian’s heart on the wet stone and moving to the next immortal, roughly ripping out her throat.
Bastian.
The world stopped. For a moment, I couldn’t hear anything or feel anything. Something was wrong. There must have been a mistake; things like this didn’t just happen. Bastian’s body buckled to the floor, falling to his knees in what seemed like slow motion.
I forced myself to stand up. I had to get to Bastian. I had to help him. If I could get him away from this place, he would be okay again. I forced myself forward, stumbling through the numbness in my legs, but by the time I reached Bastian, his eyes were cold and gray, open, but not seeing. My entire body went rigid.
I heard myself screaming, but I couldn’t feel it. It was almost as if it was someone else’s tortured scream.
Servilia was busy fighting with her next victim as I fell to the ground and pulled Bastian’s limp body to my chest, cradling him in my arms. Everything around me blurred as the tears fell. I couldn’t hear the chaos or see the madness anymore. All I could feel was Bastian’s body still in mine.
I closed my eyes. My arms screamed under the weight of the heavy body, but I couldn’t let him go. I couldn’t leave him here cold and alone. People were screaming, trying to get away from Nero and Servilia, who were striking out at anyone who crossed their path.
“Evelyn, let go,” I heard a voice call. Someone was shaking me. I looked up. Ravenna. Her blond hair hung in her face, and her blue eyes were full of fear. She kept glancing from me to the fighting happening in the middle of the town center. I ignored her. Didn’t she realize that if I let Bastian go he would be gone forever?
“Evelyn, you have to let go,” she groaned desperately, prying my arms away from Bastian. I f
elt something sharp on my right leg. It was the shard of glass that Bastian had pulled from me earlier. It was still stained with blood, his shirt still wrapped around the bottom half.
I looked at Ravenna and then to the town center, trying to spot Nero. But my eyes met someone else instead. Blake had just arrived with Tristan and Viktor right behind him. Relief swept over my body at the sight of Blake as immortals still in their dresses and tuxedos started running away, scattering into the little roads and houses, leaving the town center almost empty.
Nero stood near the fountain with the dagger still in his hand. Servilia moved closer to him, letting go of the woman she was holding. The woman bolted for safety, her scampering footsteps the only sound in the silent town center.
“Coming here tonight was a mistake, Nero,” Viktor spoke calmly.
Nero laughed, the insanity in his voice still very much there.
“Arrogant as ever I see,” Servilia said, looking straight at Viktor. “How is it you think you’re going to survive both of us?” She grinned now. “You forget we are a thousand years old and have spent a lifetime gaining power from other immortals.”
Blake and Tristan stood on either side of Viktor, seemingly calm. I finally relaxed my grip on Bastian, remembering what Astara had said to me.
Ravenna grabbed my arm and leaned forward, closer to me. “We have to go. You can’t stay here. They’ll kill you,” she whispered, trying to pull me away from the danger.
I had no choice but to follow her as she tried to pull me to safety.
“Enough,” we heard Viktor shout from the courtyard. “Nero, you and your sister have five minutes to leave the town and never return. Why you think you can defeat us is beyond any reason.” He kept his fury as level as possible.
“You dare,” Nero breathed, moving closer to Viktor. “You will be the first to die.” He lunged forward. As soon as Nero went for Viktor, the two disappeared into the shadows, moving so quickly that I couldn’t follow the fight. Ravenna and I watched as Servilia lunged toward Blake.
The Eternal Page 34