I’m bombarded by thoughts…questions. Poison Gabe against him? But he’d used me. Gotten close to me for Isaac. Then his other words break through. The other young man. Caleb.
“Yes! You figured it out! Smart too.” Isaac points to the corner and I see Caleb’s body, limp and curled up in the corner. His clothes are ripped and there’s blood pooling around him. Everything inside me pulls him toward me. Pain lances through me unlike anything I’ve ever felt before.
“No!” I yell. My heart drops to my feet. I don’t care about the consequences, I have to get him. My body moves, trying to run, but Dad holds me back.
“Not yet, little one.” Then to Isaac he says, “I will kill you, Father. I’ll never let you have her. You’ve hurt too many people for far too many years.”
My dad’s voice makes ice brittles through my veins. Not because I’m scared of him, but because if I were Isaac, I would be. He sounds lethal. I feel the strength and anger radiating off him.
“Come to me, Abigail. I will not hurt you.”
My head feels foggy as I hear Isaac inside it. Pain pierces through my head. My whole body is begging me to do as he says. I fight against him, but his voice continues to tug at my insides.
“Abigail, I’m your family. Come to me, now.”
It’s so different than when Dad’s in my head. His is a soothing voice, talking to me, where Isaac is luring me, trying to command me to do what he wants. God help me, but I want to go to Isaac. Desperately. I crave it, I yearn to turn myself and my will over to him.
“Fight it, little one. Let him see how strong you are.”
“Daddy, I don’t know if I can.”
“You can and you will. Focus. Fight him, not me.”
It’s almost as if I don’t have control over myself. I don’t, I realize. Isaac does. I try and take a step forward, when I hear another voice whisper in my head. “Abby, don’t do it. Don’t trust him. Fight.”
“Gabe?” Does he think I trust him?
“Yes, I’m so sorry for everything. I will make it up to you. I will fix this.”
My head aches. There is too much going on inside. Too many voices telling me to do too many things. My body is fighting against my head and I don’t know what to do. How to fix it.
Then the voices are quiet. A blur flashes ahead of me and somehow, Isaac has Gabe in his grasp.
“So sweet. He loves you even though you’re in love with the human. So trite. I would think it possible of a human, but not a vampire. Such a disgrace Gabe’s turned out to be.” Isaac peers down at Gabe. Gabe yells in pain. I’m not sure how Isaac is hurting him, but he is.
He lifts Gabe off his feet. Gabe’s back arches at an impossible angle. “Did you think I wouldn’t know, Gabriel? That I wouldn’t sense your loyalties shifting?”
“No! Leave him alone!” I’m half mad at myself for sticking up for Gabe after everything, but still, somehow, I can’t stand the thought of Isaac hurting him. He may have betrayed me, but he still feels like my friend.
Gabe yells again and then Isaac throws him to the floor and kicks him in the face. Gabe flies up and hits a wall, then somehow floats back toward Isaac as the vampire drops his hand and Gabe hits the floor at his feet, hard. Isaac kicks him again, this time in the stomach.
I want nothing more than to cover my eyes, to make it stop. “Dad! Save him. Please!”
“Oh, him too? Gabe or Caleb? Who will it be, child?” Isaac’s eyes gleam with enjoyment.
“Screw you!” It’s a ridiculous thing to say, but all I can come up with. I feel a quick squeeze on my arm.
“Run, little one. I want you out of here. I’ll get Caleb, and Gabe can take care of himself.”
In a flash, Dad moves. He flies at Isaac and as he does, the older vampire throws Gabe. He hits the wall and falls to the floor. Dad and Isaac growl. Their limbs are a whirl of punches and kicks, too fast to comprehend who has the upper hand. Isaac slams into the wall, and just as quickly he’s on Dad again.
I know I’m supposed to run, but I can’t make myself move. After seventeen years, I finally have my dad and what if he’s killed? What if Isaac beats him? And Caleb. Everything inside me needs him to be okay. Needs to make sure he’s safe. My desire for him is so strong, it hurts.
Quickly, I look at Dad again. He’s on top, Isaac trying to fight to break the hold Dad has on him. Now’s my chance. Without thought, I run. Run to Caleb.
Gabe cuts me off, but I won’t let anything get in between myself and Caleb. I push him, fighting to get around him.
“Abigail, you have to run. Get out of here. Isaac will kill you if he has to.” Gabe’s bleeding. I can’t believe he’s on his feet after everything. Must be another vampire thing.
Then, Gabe flies at the wall again. His eyes are huge as he slams into it twice, before sliding to the ground again. I whip around, as Dad attacks Isaac with renewed fervor. He kicks him with both feet, Isaac flies backward, but somehow stops himself before he hits the wall and lands on his feet in a crouch.
“Not good enough,” he sneers at my father.
They’re locked together, too well-matched. Fighting each other with their physical abilities and crazy mental magic. They’re flying at each other, ramming into walls, blood running down both their faces, yet neither of them stop. It’s frightening to see. I can’t believe I’m here, that this is happening.
My eyes find Gabe again. He’s on the ground, out cold. I search out Caleb, my heart shattering into a million different shards of glass as I look at his broken form on the ground.
Anger like nothing I’ve ever felt before rises inside me. Its heat and strength and I don’t know what else. I remember him taking care of me with the LP, defending me against Gabe. His kisses and the way his eyes search so deeply inside me.
Isaac tried to take him away from me. Wants to take Mom and Dad away from me too. He’s a bully, filled with hate just like the people who try to make my life hell every day.
I turn from Caleb. Isaac has his hands wrapped around Dad’s throat and then he throws him. My already broken-heart turns into pieces of sand, threatening to blow away.
Viciousness snarls through me, unfamiliar and unexpected, but at the moment, I welcome it, embrace it. Finally, my claws come out.
Chapter Twenty-Two
My feet carry me forward, right for Isaac. I rip the stake out of my bag as he walks so very slowly toward my dazed father.
Faster, I move faster. I need to get to him before he gets to Dad. To show him he can’t mess with me or those I care about.
I don’t know where it comes from, but courage surges through me. Fueling me forward, so that I leap at Isaac with my stake out. Please, please, please let me be strong enough to do this!
The second before the wood makes contact with his back, he whips around, his strong, cold hand gripping my arms so tight I feel like they could break.
“I changed my mind. You’re not very smart if you think you can kill me.” His grin is wicked, filled with more evil than I’ve ever seen. He cocks his head at me, staring at me like he’s trying to see things inside me I don’t want to show him.
“I can’t wait to see what happens with you, Abigail. I can’t wait to own you.” He squeezes tighter. I start to kick his legs over and over. Fight to pull my hand away from him, but he’s unfazed. “You’ll be much stronger when you’re like me. Would you like me to change you now? Oh yes. I’d love to see how Christopher deals with that—you calling me your sire. You needing me.” I can’t help but wonder why he doesn’t use his mind on me. It’s a ridiculous thought right now.
He opens his mouth, fangs peeking out from beneath his lips and then he sneers. The effect is like having a lion in my face.
Oh, heck no. I am not going to be gnawed on by Gramps.
I raise my foot again, kicking him hard between the legs. He stills, his grip loosening on me enough I can rip my hand away. Thank God vampire anatomy must be the same! You can still kick a guy where it counts and get the upper h
and!
I kick again and somehow he doesn’t expect it.
“You little bitch,” he snarls.
I swing my arm forward with the stake but he’s faster. Stronger. His hand flies at me, the back of it hitting me in the face and making me soar backward through the air and fall on my butt. He could have hit me harder, I know that, but it was hard enough to jar me
No!
“I’m not going to be nice about it this time,” he grins as he stalks toward me. I start to crawl backward. I didn’t do it. Can’t do it. Can’t save Caleb. Mom.
Right before he gets to me, I hear Dad, run!
And then he grabs Isaac from behind, throwing him across the room. Dad flies at him, almost before Isaac has time to hit anything and he’s on him again.
“Run!” he turns to yell at me, fear and anger in his voice.
Isaac almost gets the best of him while he’s looking at me, but Dad recovers, his own fangs long and gleaming as he snarls and bites at Isaac.
This time, I know I have to do it. I have to get Caleb and go before I distract him further.
I scream when arms wrap around me, pulling at me. “We need to go, Abigail. We need to get out of here now! Before it’s too late,” Gabe grits at me.
“No!” I shove and kick at him. “I need Caleb. I have to make sure he’s okay. I’m not leaving here without him.”
His grip loosens.
“You leave and I’ll get him, I promise. Just go.”
I don’t know where it comes from. Just a minute ago I pleaded for his safety, but with him standing in front of me, all the lies he must have told, slam into me. He’d played me and I let him. And now he wants to get between me and Caleb. I will never let that happen.
I swing at Gabe, my fist connecting with his face. And damn it. It hurts. “Like I can trust you! It was all true. You were going to hand me over to Isaac!”
“I…” Only he doesn’t finish because he has no defense. But why doesn’t he look happy? They could win. I’m here. His job is done.
“I’m sorry.”
As far as defense goes, it’s the lamest one I’ve ever heard. “Stay away from me.” I hold the stake up. “I swear to God if you try and get in my way I will kill you.” The words hurt. I don’t want to hate him. I want my friend back. And I know he will likely kill me if I fight him, but I will go down fighting.
“I won’t hurt you… I would never want to hurt you,” he voice sounds broken.
“Prove it. Help me! If you ever cared about me at all. If you’re sorry in any way for what you did. Save him. Help me get Caleb out of here.”
I look over. Dad and Isaac are still fighting. There are actually chunks of flesh missing. Vampire fights? Gross. Please, please, please let Dad win!
I need you out of here, little one. I have a plan, Dad’s voice echoes in my head.
“Please… help me,” I beg Gabe. “I have to save him.”
He almost looks sad when he says, “Let’s go. We need to hurry. We need to get you out of here.”
Gabe grabs my hand and we run over to Caleb. My legs ache, but it’s nothing compared to the brokenness I feel in my chest. The second we reach Caleb, I fall to the ground beside him. His clothes are filthy and half torn off him. I’m not sure what I see more of, blood, grime or dirt. His face is bruised, bleeding. One of his arms is clearly broken, bulging unnaturally. There are bite marks. Bite marks, all over his body. I’m not even sure when I started crying, but my tears are falling on him.
He’s been tortured. Not just beat up, but subjected to God knows what.
Because of me.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” I mutter over and over again. I did this to him. It’s my fault he’s like this and I will never forgive myself for it.
Gabe lifts Caleb from under me, holding him on his shoulder. Caleb gasps in pain. His broken arm is hanging at a strange angle. I can hardly look. “Stop! Be careful. What are you doing?”
“We have to get out of here. Now!”
I look at the fight. “Will he be okay? We have to save my dad. I can’t leave him.”
“You have to! It’s what he wants!”
I don’t want to leave him, but I know Gabe is right. I promised Dad I would do as he said and how will it help him to worry about me? Plus he said he has a plan. I’m banking on that plan.
We run. Gabe is still faster than me, even though he’s carrying Caleb. I follow him out of the house and into the woods nearby. It’s as far as I will go, and I wonder if he knows that. I’m not leaving these grounds until I know Dad is okay.
We go a short way in, when Gabe stops, laying Caleb on the ground. Caleb groans. I drop to the ground beside him. Nothing else matters in this second. Not me or anyone else. There’s nothing but Caleb. I grab his hand.
“Please be okay. We’re going to take care of you. You’re going to be fine. I’m so sorry.” I don’t know where to touch him. I brush my hand through his hair and blood comes off. “Oh God.” I choke.
“Kit…Kitten?”
I sob. “Yes. It’s me. I’m here, Caleb. You’re safe.”
His eyes flutter, like he wants to keep them open, but can’t. His breathing is labored… so very slow. “Sorry…I… couldn’t…keep…you…safe,” he stutters.
I have never been more broken than I am at this second. “I’m okay. We’re okay. Both of us. I’m so sorry, I didn’t trust you. It’s my fault for not believing you.”
He shakes his head. His eyes are closed. “It’s cold.”
I lay down beside him, wrapping my arms around him and trying my best not to hurt him. The last time we were like this, we were kissing. He was telling me he would stay here for me. How could I ever have doubted him? “We’re definitely leaving Karma after this. You’ll go to college and I can finish high school. Even if we have to run away. I just want to be with you. Away from our past and the rest of this. You just have to be okay. Promise me you’ll be okay.”
He’s shivering. It’s hard for me to talk around my tears, but I’m trying to sound strong. To sound like I really believe what I’m saying.
“No… I’m going to die here…”
His breathing slows more. Each of his breaths pulls something out of me, breaks me apart. “No. You’re going to be fine!” I sit up and turn to Gabe. “This is your fault! Help him. Make him better!”
His blue eyes say everything I don’t want to believe. “His heart is slowing, Abigail. He’s dying.”
“No! I hate you!” I hit Gabe. “Fix this! You make him better. If you ever cared anything about me, you make him better.” I can’t lose him. Can’t lose Caleb. Not after what he did for me. After how he makes me feel.
Gurgling sounds come from Caleb’s throat and I know it’s true. I fall against him, wailing. Each cry rips another hole in my heart. “It’s not fair. He can’t die. Please, Gabe. Please don’t let him die. You have to be able to save him. Caleb… don’t go. Fight. Please don’t leave me…”
Gabe kneels down beside me. “I… There might be a way.”
“How? Whatever it is, do it for him!”
More gurgling from Caleb.
“Not for him, but for you. If you want it.” The sadness in his voice has nothing on what I feel inside.
“I want it! I want anything. I just want him okay.”
Gabe looks as tense as I’ve ever seen him. “Are you sure? The only way to save him is to change him, Abigail. Do you want him enough to love him if he’s like me?”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Vampire. Caleb would be a vampire. But he would be alive! Kind of. Would he want that? Living off blood, not seeing the daylight, having to be invited in someone’s home? Honestly, I don’t know, but doesn’t he deserve the chance to make that decision? If he’s dead, there will be no options for him. He’ll be gone forever. He’ll leave me forever.
And someday, I might be a vampire too! We could be together. Really be together. Forever.
I look down at him. He’s still gurgli
ng. His breaths still short, but he’s holding my hand. Actually holding it after everything I’ve done.
“Would you do it again, Gabe?” I ask, not taking my eyes off Caleb. “If you had the choice to make, would you do it again?”
He doesn’t hesitate when he says, “Yes.”
“Caleb? We can save you. Gabe, he can change you.”
Only he doesn’t reply. I’m not sure he can reply. I can hardly hear him breathe anymore. It feels like my heart is in pieces, breaking and crumbling at the thought of being without him. “Will you do it? Will you do it for me?” I ask Gabe.
“I defied my sire. Risked his wrath, because I couldn’t bear the thought of hurting you anymore. Don’t you know I would do anything for you?”
I close my eyes, Gabe’s pain becoming my own. In some ways, this all goes back to him, but in others, I know it would be much worse without him. I know his words are true. “I’m sorry.”
“Only you would be… You must make a decision. Time is running out for the human.”
I can’t let him die. Not after everything he’s done for me. Not with how much I love him. I only hope he won’t hate me for it. “Yes. Please, change him, Gabe.”
He opens his mouth and there are fangs inside. I know they weren’t there when he kissed me, but I’m glad they’re there now. Gabe pierces the flesh of his wrist with his teeth. Blood gushes from the wound, running down his arm. I’m dizzy, but I ignore it. “What do I do?”
“Tilt his head back. We need to get it down his throat.”
I use my fingers to tilt his head up, like he’s done to me so many times. Gabe’s wrist goes to Caleb’s mouth, dark, red liquid covering Caleb’s lips.