52 | Beyond the Brink

Seaside, California April 26, 2013

Scott

I hoped Samuel wouldn't mind that his Chrysler's transmission was shot now as we raced back to Seaside. I could already smell the burnt engine oil as well.

But we have more significant problems than that now.

First, I got a phone call from Celesta about Cynthia still being alive just a few minutes ago.

Then after we sped up even more, Lily noticed a figure running on the side of the road. It was Elle's brother Kenny. The place was at least five miles from where they lived.

"Stop the car!" Lily cried, the tires squealing in protest as I slammed on the brake pedal.

Kenny suddenly turned, gawking at us once he saw Lily jumping out before I came to a complete stop.

"Lily?!" he exclaimed.

"What the fuck are you doing out here by yourself?!" Lily shrilled, yanked him by the arm, and dragged him toward the car.

"Going to save my sister! I heard Cel over the phone talking to Amberly's aunt! She told us to just stay put but there is no way I am staying out of this!" Kenny shouted and finally ripped his arm out of Lily's grasp.

"Yes, you are!" Lily reprimanded. "You are only 15! You don't have your magic yet, how do you expect you can help us?"

"Uh, Lily how about just take the kid with us and get there?" I shouted out to them.

Lily just glared at me.

Kenny just smirked and hopped into the front passenger seat.

Lily angrily opened the back passenger door and slammed it shut. I just gave her a reassuring smile through the rearview window. She just looked at me with contempt.

He was better off with us than running in the dark with psycho vampires around. I just let my foot off the brake and drove onward.

"I can help, maybe seeing me will help bring Elle back," Kenny proudly suggested.

"Or she will see you and try to kill you like she did my mother," Lily remarked.

None of us said anything after that.

Up ahead I noticed the gates of the lighthouse were opened. If Celesta and everyone had been keeping their eyes on this place, why was no one here when Seana showed up?

I heard another engine accelerating behind us, a red dot that only I could make out as anything.

Celesta's Camaro.

We came to a screeching halt when we saw an abandoned car with the trunk open. I see Seana stole another older car.

All three of us jumped out, Kenny looking around the car for anything suspicious. Lily went around toward the trunk, her eyes widening.

"What is it?" I inquired.

Lily just held up about five sharp daggers in her hand, they looked oddly out of place in a car like this. They had to have been Mila's.

"I guess somebody likes daggers," Lily trailed off and dropped them back into the trunk.

I started walking further away from the cars and to the lighthouse. I didn't sense anyone around us, except for the two faint voices coming up from the lighthouse. They were becoming more apparent as I took my focus away from anything else.

Cynthia and Elle were up there. But where the hell was Seana?

Then a scream came from above.

"Kenny!" Lily's voice pierced through the air, snapping me back to my surroundings.

Kenny had darted off towards the lighthouse, Lily hot on his heels. They had already gotten to the broken door and halfway to the stairs before I caught up. The stairs were narrow, all I could do was chase up after them. Trying to grab him would only cause Lily to get knocked down and fall.

"Kenny stop running!" I shouted, nearly knocking into Lily as the three of us climbed the stairs rapidly, just inches apart.

Kenny just shook his head in defiance, he was covered in sweat now for how fast we were going up. Lily just about started to hyperventilate.

"Kenny stop!" Lily shouted again nearly out of breath as we reached the top, only to see Elle being choked by Seana. She just dropped her without care and grinned at the three of us sadistically.

Lily pulled Kenny behind her instinctively, I felt my body tensing up as Seana and I eyed each other with murderous glares.

Cynthia was down on the ground, her head covered in blood.

Elle got back up and backed up slowly till she was standing side by side with me. We both went forward, going for each side of Seana as we shoved her through the last bit of window that wasn't broken.

Seana didn't take long to recover, she sprang back up to her feet as Elle and I closed in on her. At first, it looked like she was about to go to Elle, but she quickly sped towards me. She grabbed my arm and snapped it, pain shooting straight upward.

"Too bad you won't be here as I kill the only thing you love," Seana whispered sadistically in my ear, just as she lifted me and threw me like I weighed nothing.

Everyone around me swirled. I was falling fast, the only thing I thought about was that everything was gone. Seana had come back into my life and destroyed it once more.

Then I felt every bone in my body crack. I was on my back, looking up at the darkening clouds above me. I couldn't even hear anything around me. I was amazed my neck hadn't been snapped from the fall.

I was utterly useless. How was I dumb enough to go to the ledge? Despite my body slowly healing, it wasn't enough. I hadn't fed in over a week. The fact that I was slowly recovering now was a miracle.

I wanted to scream out. I tried shifting my limbs, but they were paralyzed. I felt tears falling down the sides of my face. I finally was able to turn my head as I saw Celesta's Camaro pull in along with Eddie's truck. But it was too late.

I knew Seana. She would kill everyone up there. She always won.

"Oh my God!" I heard Amberly shout just as I could pick up the sound of people moving quickly on the gravel road.

I saw Celesta and Zach rushing towards me, Amberly and Eddie trailing not far behind.

Celesta collapsed down beside me, checking me for any signs of trauma.

"Jesus Christ man!" Zach hollered and got down on the other side of me.

"Scott what happened?!" Celesta cried, she was holding the arm Seana snapped.

Could I even speak? I tried but nothing came out. I took a deep breath, my lungs expanding with air. Even that hurt like hell.

"Seana," I finally rasped out.

"Why aren't you healing, shouldn't you be healing?!" Zach panicked.

"I am healing," I choked out. "You guys just need to go up there now."

I couldn't think of something happening to Lily.

"Please!" I pleaded and tried to move again.

"You don't need to tell me twice," Zach scoffed and took off like a bolt of lightning.

"Dammit, Zach!" Celesta swore, but she made no move to follow him.

Eddie and Amberly loomed over me, their eyes full of anger.

"What about us?" Eddie scoffed. "Amberly and I aren't useless you know."

"The two of you don't know how deadly Seana is!" Celesta snipped.

"Really?" Amberly inquired. "If I remember this correctly, I was trained in magic just as much as you."

"Yeah, and my mother has been teaching me how to fight," Eddie chimed in.

"Fine, go up there then!" Celesta remarked.

"You should go too, you can help them kill Seana," I muttered as another shot of pain went through me as I felt my bones fusing back together.

"I am not leaving you down here like this!" Celesta hissed. "Besides, I think the fight will come here anyway."

"How would you know that?" I questioned.

"Seana is coming down, I just don't know how," Celesta admitted, her voice full of fear.

I could finally push myself up so I was sitting, Celesta glanced at me nervously.

"When she does come down she is fucking dead," I snarled under my breath and tried to stand, only to fall right back down.

"Scott you should just go to the car," Celesta urged. "We got reinforcements coming in, we can handle her."

I just looked at her flabbergasted. Then I heard something snap above, looking straight up I saw two people in an embrace, except one was fighting to get away. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

Seana and Cynthia.

Celesta looked up and screamed, just as I heard people scream from above. They landed several feet away from us.

Seana took the brunt of the fall. Cynthia rolled off of her, her face etched in agony. Seana's body was in the same shape as mine, every bone broken.

"Aunt Cyn!" Celesta shrilled and went to her aid.

I got my arms and legs working just enough to crawl over to them, my entire body throbbing as I moved.  Cynthia started coughing up blood as I got my arm around her and propped her up against me.

Cynthia glanced at both of us and started to smile. Tears started pouring down Celesta's face as she grabbed onto Cynthia's hand.

She was dying, and there was nothing I could do. She was already in transition, the only thing that would save her life was human blood. I already knew she had made her decision about how she would live or die.

She had no intention of surviving this. I looked at Celesta with nothing but despair.

"I finally saved her," I heard Cynthia say, barely above a whisper.

"Aunt Cyn you are going to be alright, okay?" Cel cried.

Cynthia smiled at her sadly but suddenly moved her head to the side and coughed up more blood, her entire body shuddering until it didn't anymore. Cel buried her face into Cynthia's chest, sobs escaping her.

"God Dammit!" Celesta screeched and started using her fist to punch the ground with frustration. She got up and stood over Seana, her face contorting into a snarl.

I heard Seana's heart skip. She was waiting for us to make the first move.

"Get up bitch," Celesta demanded.

Seana's eyes flew open and stared at both of us with contempt.

"You all will pay for this," Seana snarled just as she jumped up to her feet quickly. Her body shook slightly as she tried to give off an intimidating presence.

She was in no shape to fight. She was probably weaker than a newly turned vampire at this point. Her body was covered in blood, some of the cuts and scrapes still open.

Celesta made a move of her hand at Seana, but Seana just started laughing sadistically as Celesta tried in vain again to blast Seana away.

Seana pulled out a pendant from her shirt. "Your magic won't save you this time child. Now it is time to give that smartass mouth of yours a reality check."

Celesta pulled a large knife from her jacket and twirled it in her hand.

"You're right, it is time to give you one," Celesta taunted.

Seana struck first, but Celesta grabbed her by the arm and shoved her to the ground. Before she even got back up Celesta kicked her in the face with her boot.

I heard the sound of Seana's nose break.

"Is that all?" Celesta mocked as she circled Seana.

I heard the sound of more vehicles coming. She alerted the whole coven.

"Oh Celesta," Seana sighed. "You never know when to shut your mouth."

Suddenly Seana was up, just as Celesta swung a punch toward her, Seana grabbed her fist and squeezed it. Celesta screamed out in pain and tried to use her other fist, but Seana grabbed it and swung Celesta away from her.

She landed several feet away, landing on her back. I jumped to my feet, only to tumble back down.

"For once in your miserable fucking life why don't you stop and see what you are doing!" I shot out.

She gave me an amused expression. "I will stop when I take everything from everyone who has betrayed me."

"Go ahead then," I heard Orion threaten.

He appeared between Seana and Celesta, his face blank and expressionless.

Orion sped in front of her and grabbed her by the throat, lifting her from the ground.

"Orion don't!" I heard Celesta warn as she approached them slowly, never taking her eyes off Orion.

He turned to her, not letting his grip on Seana falter. "Do you remember what I told you?"

"I do remember," Celesta put forth. "But did you forget our coven's laws? She will be put on trial and sentenced. You just want to put her out of her misery."

"Maybe you are right," Orion drawled. "But either way, she will die by my hand."

I was so focused on the two of them that I didn't feel the pair of arms that wrapped around me. I turned, seeing Lily with a swollen cheek.

Amberly and Eddie were behind us, staring at Cynthia in disbelief. Orion and Celesta were shouting at one another now. I didn't care anymore.

"Lily your face—" I began but she started shaking her head.

"I'm okay," she murmured and glanced up.

"Where is everyone?" I asked.

"Zach is taking Elle and Kenny to the car, I asked Eddie and Amberly to stay with them," she explained as she helped me stand.

I just now realized we were on the backside of the lighthouse.

Celesta finally blasted Orion away, causing Seana to drop to the ground gasping for air.

Lily started their way while helping me walk at the same time.

Orion was back up on his feet within a second. "You dare to challenge me?"

He turned his black eyes to us as well, daring any of us to even move.

Celesta bent over and ripped the pendant off of Seana's neck, then magically snapped her neck.

"You want to challenge the entire coven?" she rebuffed and motioned her head.

Behind us stood her parents and just about every enforcer they had with weapons drawn. How the fuck did I not even hear them coming?

I glance down at my hand, noticing it turning gray.

I was on the crisp of desiccating.

Never in my life had I been this close to it. Ever since Seana poisoned me I had barely drank any blood. Whatever Zach or Markus gave to me was not much. Even what I drank from Lily was only suitable for a few days.

It was through sheer willpower that I got through all of this. Realizing Seana was defeated and everyone was alright I finally let the darkness take me.

THE first thing I smelt when I woke up was blood. I felt absolutely nothing but hunger. There was no stopping myself from going towards it, my fangs slicing right through whatever it was. All I could think of now was drinking till there was nothing left.

I finally felt my senses coming back, someone had their arms wrapped tightly around me, wanting me to do this to them. I bit deeper in, the warm blood flooding through me, making me feel alive again.

All I could hear was the sound of their heart pounding loudly in my ears. I ripped my fangs out and slowly sucked on the skin until I felt the source of the beating. I bit down again, right above their pounding heart. Whoever was holding me let out a soft cry, their hold on me not wavering in the slightest.

More blood poured down my throat as I felt my arms pulling the person closer; the feeling of them was so familiar. I felt nothing but warmth go through me, almost to the point that it almost felt like a faint feeling in my head, a voice calling out to me.

Helping me remember who I was.

My hands were wrapped around their back now. The sounds of the moaning sparked a trigger in my brain, causing everything to come rushing back.

My humanity. My sanity. The realization of what I was doing to the thing I loved most in this world.

It took everything for me to try and pull my fangs out of her chest, the need for more blood screaming in the back of my mind. The monster wanted all of it. To drain Lily completely dry.

All the blood bags I've drunk never was ever to satisfy it completely. It was something I had been fighting for so long to keep in control. Instead here I was again just like last October.

I finally ripped my fangs out, my eyes darting to Lily's reddened face.

I used my jacket sleeve to wipe the blood from my mouth with disgust.

"Lily," I breathed, looking at her with absolute horror.

Her neck and right above her breast were covered with blood. The puncture wounds I expected to see were slowly going away.

"What?" I whispered under my breath.

I pulled her into my lap and glanced at her wound. How was my blood still in her system after all this time?

"Lily you can't keep doing this shit," I pressed.

"Your skin was turning gray Scott! I had to do something!" Lily cried.

"You could've just grabbed a blood bag from the fridge!" I snapped.

"I tried getting you to drink one but you wouldn't," Lily explained. "So I did what I had to do."

What was it going to take for her to understand to stop putting herself in harm's way?

I heard the front door fly open suddenly just as Lily quickly buried her head into my shoulder. Almost as if she was hiding. She curled the rest of herself on top of me.

I turned my head and saw Zach and Celesta coming in through the front door.

"Alright, we gave you five minutes alone with him Lily!" Zach hollered.

"Well you look better," Celesta chuckled as they came into the living room.

"Yeah, for a second we thought there you were a goner man," Zach grimaced.

"Yup, everything is fine now!" Lily replied,  though her voice was muffled.

Celesta leaned over the couch and looked confused as to why her cousin was acting strange. I just looked up helplessly at them.

Zach started sniffing the air and frowned. He narrowed his eyes at me.

"How's the jaw?" Celesta asked Lily.

"Much better!" she shrilled and tried burying her head deeper.

"I smell blood," Zach hissed.

Lily's head shot up. "Of course you do. What did you think I was going to do when I asked you two to leave?"

"I already figured you were going to help him," Celesta revealed.

"What?!" Zach fumed at her. "Why didn't you say something?!"

"Do you remember the last time she wanted to give him her blood?" Celesta remarked.

"Yes, but I told the bastard that if he did this shit again I was going to kill him!" Zach thundered. "I mean look how much blood she is covered in!"

Lily glanced down at her blouse which was soaked red. "Oh, God."

"Can you guys give us some privacy?" I remonstrated.

"No I'm going to kick your—"

"We will see you guys tonight at the trial," Celesta cut Zach off, earning an irritated look from him.

Zach was about to say something else but Celesta grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out the door, leaving me alone with Lily.

"What happened?" I questioned, realizing I had been out awhile.

"Cel's dad took Elle into custody and told us we had no business getting involved," Lily grumbled. "You can imagine what his daughter said to him."

I sat up straight. "We have to get her out."

"I know we do, but we can't stand up against an entire coven," Lily warned. "Besides we have a plan."

"Which is?" I asked.

"My mother and father are on their way back from Reno," she began. "Mila is coming with them too. They are going to testify for Elle and get the charges dropped."

"They are going to help get her free?" I implored.

"Yes, and my father can force Seana to confess to everything," Lily beamed.

I almost forgot Samuel could force people to tell the truth to him. It was a wonder he hadn't used it on me yet.

"We better change, I don't think we should go there covered in blood," I put forth.

Lily looked down at her ruined shirt again and frowned. "This was one of my favorites."

"You're the one who decided to put your life on the line again," I reminded her.

"Shut up Scott," she reprimanded.

I just shrugged my shoulders. "I'm only speaking the truth."

That earned me a nice withering look.

Tonight was going to be hell.