Page 27

S ebastian placed the brush in a cup of water and the trance was broken. He blinked a few times as if just waking up, complete with a small yawn. He hadn't gotten so deep in his magic for a long, long time.

He shook his head once and took a deep breath. The painting taunted him in his refusal to look at it right away. Instead, he turned around to gauge Isabel's reaction from the couch. Only…she wasn't there. Okay, she must have gone back to bed. He had no idea how long he'd been painting, after all.

Yet when he popped his head in the bedroom, the sheets were flat. The door was closed, locked, and the key still hung around his neck, so she couldn't have left his chambers. His stomach began to tremble and he returned to the living space.

Slowly, he rotated to face the painting.

He took in the winter sky and the familiar black forest. The nightmare came rushing back, causing his hands to tremble.

There was the chapel…and in front of its doors, Isabel lay crumpled on the ground.

Standing over her was the shadow figure, its twisted face gleeful as it reached for her throat.

Surely that wasn’t actually Isabel inside the painting?

! Sebastian looked at his hands in horror.

The splattered paint felt like they were covered in blood, far more than the paint actually contained.

“I have to get her out of there,” he muttered, pacing back and forth in front of the canvas.

But the paint was still wet, so his magic would not work.

He scoured the room for something, anything he could use to make the paint dry faster.

“I’ll just use another canvas as a fan,” he said, picking up a small painting nearby and flapping it up and down.

Time seemed to stand still as he kept his eyes firmly latched onto the new painting, watching as the shininess of the paint slowly faded.

When he could no longer see any wet spots, he cautiously brushed his finger along the surface.

Hopefully good enough. He called to the magic and felt it rise up, and pressed his palm to the slightly tacky surface. It fought his entrance, but Sebastian pushed harder. The cost of his impatience was exhausting, but eventually he stood, panting, in front of the chapel.

The shadow looked up and made eye contact with Sebastian, her all-black eyes narrowing.

“You’ve done this to me,” she hissed, her voice sounding like words in rushing waters.

“You tore my soul apart, one piece at a time, and banished it to this fragmented world. You’ve trapped me in Hell, and you’re too selfish to undo the damage. ”

“I didn’t know!” Sebastian howled, the wind stealing his words away as they left his mouth. “I love her! Why do you insist on hurting her?”

Pure hatred filled the shadow’s face. “Ignorance is no excuse for centuries of torture! You say you love me, yet you continue to rip away pieces even after learning the truth. The only person insistent on hurting this poor being is you. I am simply trying to lessen the pain and reunite the two parts of my soul as soon as possible.” She reached down and ran her finger along Isabel’s cheek.

“You finally passed the threshold and gave me enough strength to bring my body here, so I suppose I should thank you for that.”

Her hand wrapped around Isabel’s throat and she began to squeeze.

Isabel kicked weakly, her body reacting out of reflex as she showed no signs of consciousness.

Sebastian rushed forward and rammed his shoulder into the shadow, somewhat surprised to find she was solid.

She stumbled backward, surprise reflected in her face as well.

The two stared at each other for only a moment before the shadow lurched at Sebastian, attempting to get her hands around his throat.

He caught her hands and the two began a war of strength, the shadow twisting and screaming while Sebastian held his arms rigid.

She pulled her arms free and jumped at him again, scratching his face before he could fend off her attack.

He swept her aside, only for her to jump on his back and grab double-fistfuls of his hair.

Agony tore through his scalp and he grabbed for her hands, attempting to loosen her fingers without pulling his own hair out.

When that didn’t work, he turned his back to the chapel wall and slammed her into the black brick, crushing her between his body and the building.

Her breath left her in a whoosh and her grip loosened enough for Sebastian to break free.

He spun back around and she dipped past him, reaching for Isabel’s throat again.

Blind rage filled the vampire and he stepped between the shadow and the prone form of his girlfriend.

She howled and went for his face, but he grabbed both of her arms again.

“I will not let you hurt her,” Sebastian spat, twisting her arm until he heard a crack.

Both the shadow and Isabel let out a pained shriek. “Yet you’ll continue to fight me, despite the fact it injures her as well!” the shadow howled, pointing with her foot to Isabel writhing on the ground.

The stolen blood in his veins froze solid. “Isabel!” Sebastian shouted, releasing the shadow and dropping to Isabel’s side. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry! I didn’t know hurting her would hurt you, too!”

The shadow cradled her fractured arm and screamed, “I am her, and she is me! You aren’t ignorant, you’re willfully blind! Just go back to your living world and leave me to suffer in peace, Sebastian.” Tears began to spill from her void-like eyes, but Sebastian barely gave her a glance.

“Come on, Isabel. Let’s get you out of here, okay?

I’ll get you warm, and Josephine will make you well.

” He tenderly picked up her unconscious form, careful to rest her broken arm on top of her chest where it wouldn’t be jostled too much.

Her skin was white and her lips were blue, and her body had gone entirely limp.

The only signs of life were the tiny puffs of steam with each shallow breath.

The shadow again began to shriek like a banshee and launched herself at Sebastian’s back, wrapping her unbroken arm around his neck and kicking the back of his knees.

But Sebastian ignored her to the best of his ability, focused on keeping Isabel still.

He called to his magic and the scene began to spin.

The howling wind and shadow’s cries became deafening. He ached to cover his ears with his hands, but instead cradled Isabel tighter to his chest. The shadow’s arm crushing his windpipe gradually loosened as everything faded to black.

Then there was only stillness.

The warmth of the fireplace felt like bliss after the bone-chilling wind.

Sebastian rushed into the bedroom and lay Isabel in the center of the bed.

Her skin was cold to the touch, but her chest still slightly rose and fell.

“You’ll be okay, dolcezza. I’ll make everything okay,” he insisted as he wrapped her in the duvet and carried her back to the couch.

He piled more wood on the fire and pushed the couch closer.

The shadow’s words echoed in his mind. You’ve passed the threshold. You let me bring her here. He turned to the painting and found that Isabel was no longer there. The shadow had dropped to her knees, cradling her arm and wailing as tears streamed down her face.

Before he could question his decision, he grabbed the canvas and snapped it in half.

The anger, fear, and guilt he felt were channeled into shredding the cloth and snapping the wood until the painting was nothing more than splinters and scraps of fabric.

He tossed it on the fire and watched it burn.

He felt a sharp pain, like a thin blade being stabbed through his side, while a low moan filled the room.

At first Sebastian thought it was coming from the fireplace, but he soon realized the sound was actually coming from behind him. Isabel was still unconscious, but as the flames devoured the painting, she moaned and writhed in the blanket.

“Of course this would hurt you, too,” he whispered and brushed a sticky lock of hair away from her clammy brow. “But at least this is a pain we suffer together.”

The pain faded as the painting crumbled to ashes.

Isabel stopped squirming, but still seemed worse for wear with no signs of waking up.

He stood to fetch one of the potions Josephine had prepared, but paused.

She wouldn’t be able to drink it in her current state.

“I think you’re going to have to be bitten again,” he sighed.

Another pang of guilt crossed his heart, but he picked up the bundle containing his girlfriend and rushed out into the maze.

Unlike the last time he’d gone out, the passageways were buzzing with activity. Coven members in their long, black robes swept by with barely a glance at Sebastian and his burden. Most of them he barely knew; their faces were little more than flashes of memories from Eve ceremonies past.

Sebastian weaved and dodged, not allowing the others to impede his passage toward the kitchen. There were no guarantees Josephine would still be there, but he figured that was the most likely place to start.

He turned a corner and smacked right into another figure in black. The smaller man bounced backward a step and looked up at Sebastian with anger in his face. “Watch where you’re going!” the man growled, then seemed to register who he’d run into. “Sebastian? What are you…”

“I don’t have time to give you the story, Remus. I need to get Isabel to Josephine.” Sebastian stepped to the right to get around, but Remus rose to his full height and blocked the passageway.

“What trouble have you gotten into now?” Remus flipped the blanket open to see what Sebastian was carrying, and he grew grim when he saw Isabel’s face. “What have you done to her?” he hissed, his hands balling into fists.

Sebastian attempted to step around him again. “Nothing, Remus. But she’s very ill, and I need to get her to Josephine before it’s too late. If you ever loved her, you’ll get out of my way.” He stared down at Remus with fire in his eyes, and the other vampire slowly began to melt.

“I’m going to Victor.” Remus shook with anger, but Sebastian merely stepped around him a third time and hurried up the passageway.

“Do whatever you want. He already knows we’re here.”