CHAPTER 12
“Oz, what’s going on?” Isabel asked, her eyes darting back and forth frantically. Something was going on outside. She hopped back to her feet again, clutching the iron bars, bracing for action. Something told her there was more to what was happening outside than just a guard brawl. Suddenly, she heard another loud crash, and one of the guards came tumbling down the stairs. Isabel eyed him as he lay there, motionless, drowning in a puddle of his own black blood. She looked over at Oz and his face was expressionless. He nodded to her.
“A storm is coming,” he mouthed. Isabel could feel her heart beat out of her chest. Was Analise coming for her? Were they going to take her away to the other mansion? Another loud crash. Analise’s dead body came rolling down to the bottom of the staircase. Isabel’s hand flew to her mouth.
“What’s happening, what’s happening?” she turned to Oz again. But he didn’t look at her. He just held onto the metal bars, his knuckles a screaming white. He was begging to come out. One guard flew down the stairs and landed on his feet. He was quickly followed by a silver haired ghost -he seemed to have come out of nowhere- and he started throwing punches at him. The first punch glanced the guard’s chin. He noticed too late that it was a feint, though, when the second punch doubled him over and expelled the last bit of air from his fat belly. He had the wind knocked out of him, and he fell to the ground, motionless. Isabel couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Has this man— or creature— single handedly knocked out every single guard up there? No, it couldn’t be. She watched as a red-haired girl rushed downstairs, hauling the bodies off the ground, making sure they were dead.
“What, Ava?” Isabel asked. She waited for the girl to turn around so she could make out who she was, and when she did, Isabel realized that those piercing eyes belonged to Ava. “Ava!” Isabel yelled. The girl stared at her knowingly, and then she motioned for her to stay where she was. Isabel sank to her knees, her nose poking out of the gap between the metal bars. She felt helpless, like she should be doing something and she wasn’t. Suddenly she felt a rush of energy surge through her. She shouldered her way out of her cell, pushing past Ava and making her way up the stairs. What she saw astounded her. The entire mansion was on fire. In the distance she could see shadows dancing, people throwing punches at each other, chairs flying through the fumes. All hell was breaking loose.
“Well, if it isn’t you, Isabel?” she heard a voice say, a voice belonging to none other than Gavin. “I didn’t think you’d make it out of there,” he said.
Isabel turned around, only to see Gavin climbing up the stairs. He looked as though he had appeared out of nowhere. “The succubi have revolted,” she hissed. “It’s already happening, you might as well just give up!”
“Oh, is that so?” he asked, tilting his head sideways. He cleaned his teeth with his tongue. Isabel cringed at the sight. “You’re the chosen one, Isabel, I suppose you already know that, by now.”
Isabel didn’t say anything. She felt as though she was pinned to the floor, transfixed by Gavin’s spell. She had to break out of it. She had to join the other side. He stood straight, eyes bulging with rage, and stared at his opponent, who had her hands balled up into fists. Without thinking, Isabel charged towards him. She threw a punch at him but it felt too sluggish. She knew the second she launched it. Gavin ducked under it, and before Isabel could register the dodge, another body shot, this one to his ribs, sent fresh ripples of pain through his torso. Isabel took a step back, eyeing Gavin as he sank to his knees in pain. She looked around, and Ava was still throwing punches at one of the guards. Before Isabel could do anything, Gavin wrapped his hands around her neck, and she sank to her knees, feeling the last bit of air being squeezed out of her. She felt like she was dying.
“This ought to teach you,” he snarled. Isabel looked at him, her eyes wide, and when she finally felt like she would slip out of consciousness, Gavin gasped and his grip on her loosened. She coughed violently, her throat burning, but she could breathe again. Gavin slumped onto the floor beside her, the wooden leg of a chair pierced through his back and protruding from his chest.
Isabel looked up and saw the silver-haired ghost. He was staring down at her. She instantly felt herself being hauled off the ground and onto a softer surface.
“It’s all over,” the ghost said. Isabel blinked repeatedly, the man’s face swimming in and out of view. She felt her lips curve to a smile when she saw Oz standing right next to him. “I’m Preston,” the man said.
“Isabel,” she replied, scanning the place with her eyes. Utter and complete destruction. The crystal chandeliers were swinging back and forth, the bodies of guards and vampires were lying around everywhere, people were trying to put out the fire.
“How about we get out of here?” he asked, reaching his hand out to her.
Isabel grabbed his hand and squeezed it. “Lead the way,” she said.
She looked around and the flames didn’t seem to hurt her eyes anymore. For the first time, she felt free, like the weight of the world had been lifted off her shoulders. This was the start of something new, and the truth was, Isabel couldn’t wait.