“It’s true? She punched you?” Isaac asked as he quirked an eyebrow.
Elijah tensed then relaxed. At least he had stopped the beating, if only temporarily.
“She’s a hellion. Damn near scratched my eyes out—and gave me a black eye!” he exclaimed in horror.
Isaac studied him and threw his head back in laughter. “You, a vampire, brought down by a tiny human. Absolutely brilliant,” he choked out over his mirth.
“Yes, bloody hilarious,” Elijah mumbled before arching a brow. He winced when pain shot through his head at his action. Thank God he healed fast. “Are you finished?”
Isaac hesitated and replied, “For now.”
“Good, because as much fun as this has been, we need to talk.”
“Sabrina is—”
“Sabrina is yours. We both know it. What I want to talk about is Louisa. She wants Sabrina. She is looking at duplicating history.” Thunder crashed overhead, and the wind blew as Isaac hissed. Elijah nodded before continuing. “Yes, I know. I’ve spoken to her, and she made it very clear to me. If we were to combine forces, your powers and mine, we stand half a chance of beating her.”
“Combine? Are you insane? I am the Ruler of the Enforcers. The Protector. You expect me to team up with my enemy, who I am, by all rights and purposes, sworn to kill? Do you know what will happen if anyone finds out I didn’t kill you last night? Or if anyone finds out I am here, meeting you now, and not trying to kill you? I would be hunted down, ostracized. I would be, in short, one of you. That is not acceptable.”
“Not even for Sabrina?”
“Especially for Sabrina,” Isaac insisted. “The last thing she needs to see is me hunted down and killed. She’d try to stop them—to save me—as you saw last night. She could get hurt. I’ll not allow that. We’ll have to discover another way to defeat Louisa, because we sure as hell won’t be working together. We should never see each other again, unless it is a battle to the death.”
“You think I want to be a monster, Isaac? You think I enjoy this life? This Hell?”
“You were a monster before you ever became a vampire,” Isaac swore.
“You want to kill me? Please, do it. I won’t even fight you. Just do it.”
“Go to Hell.”
“Why can no one see I’ve been there all along?” Elijah asked in exasperation before leaping on Isaac. They flew through the air clasped in battle and landed on the ground, Elijah on top of Isaac. Isaac hissed when rocks and twigs dug into his skin. Elijah smiled grimly and took advantage of the moment by slamming Isaac’s head into the ground. “Do it, Isaac. Finish what you have been dreaming of all along. Rip my head off my body. Let’s go.” Elijah even tilted his head to the side to allow easier access.
Isaac stared at him oddly before he flung Elijah off of his chest and jumped to his feet. “Elijah, I’m leaving. Stay away from me. And stay away from Sabrina. Just leave us alone.”
Elijah stared at his brother in frustration. He’d told Isaac to kill him, yet here he stood, unharmed and untouched. In a last effort to get Isaac to return and end his personal Hell, he called out, “Next time you break Sabrina’s heart, you might not want to leave her outside. You never know what kind of night creature will stumble upon a woman who is lying outside for two hours.”
Isaac stiffened and swung around to look at him. He’d gotten a reaction indeed, but not the one he wanted. “Two hours? She lay outside for two bloody hours?”
Elijah started and then nodded. “Yes, she did. Probably would have been longer, but I got her and brought her inside. So next time, see her inside before you leave her, please.”
Isaac glowered at Elijah, and replied, “There won’t be a next time.”
And he left.
Elijah cursed and sprinted away. He needed a good run to clear his head. He ran until he reached the edge of the cliffs towering over the ocean. He wished he could jump into the water and end it all. Salt water mimicked acid to his kind. It would be painful, but at least it would be over.
Unfortunately, when the devil made vampires, he’d decided not to let them be capable of offing themselves. He found this ironic, since suicide had always been a sin. His existence was a sin. Yet, no matter how hard he commanded his muscles to move, to jump into the swirling abyss below, they wouldn’t obey. He’d tried many times before, and he knew it would be useless to try once again.
But he still tried.
It was impossible to accept. There had to be a way to get out of this Hell, once and for all.
He had only to discover it.
***
Isaac also ran, but to Sabrina’s. His mind had become overrun by thoughts of his brother. He hadn’t expected Elijah to be so miserable, so suicidal. He’d tried to make Isaac kill him. Even though he killed vampires every day, he cringed away from the idea of killing his own flesh and blood. If his people discovered he’d had a prime opportunity to kill a vampire, yet didn’t, there would be hell to pay.