He jumped up and under obvious effort, and Elijah followed.
“Where’s Louisa?” Isaac grunted.
“I think she’s left. Let’s get Sabrina out of here. She needs to be examined by a doctor.”
Isaac blanched as he remembered his brief glimpse of her lying broken on the ground. He whirled and sprinted back to where Sabrina had been. He stopped, spinning wildly in a circle as his heart raced. She wasn’t there. She couldn’t possibly move on her own, so it left one person.
Louisa.
He cursed. “Louisa!”
“Over here,” she called sweetly.
They turned at the sound of her voice. And both froze in horror. She perched at the cliff’s edge, holding Sabrina over the edge by her neck. Her feet hung useless, like a rag doll’s. The cliffs towered above the ocean at intimidating heights—the same cliffs that had killed many a person foolish enough to approach too close to the edge. Louisa practically glowed in triumph.
Isaac looked at Louisa’s face, and at Sabrina’s lifeless body, and knew what she would do. It showed in the evil smile that lurked on her face, the excitement shining in her eyes. He yelled out in fury and ran. He sprinted faster than he ever had before. But he still arrived too late.
Louisa hurled Sabrina over the side of the cliff. She plunged toward the water at an alarming speed, soon to sink into the dark, cold, turbulent seas below. Isaac dove over without breaking stride, and after impossibly long, breathless seconds, knifed into the water.
He searched frantically, looking for any signs of Sabrina. He caught sight of her head and saw her take a gasping breath. She sank below the surface, and he took a deep breath and went down after her. He swam in the direction he’d seen her sink, hoping against all odds he would find her in the treacherous waters.
His hand brushed against something, and he immediately latched onto it. Seaweed. Damn it. He had the benefit of being able to hold his breath longer than a human, and he’d never been more grateful for the gift than now. He swam deeper, and each stroke brought more despair over him.
He had to find her. He couldn’t live without her.
***
Elijah yelled Sabrina’s name and sprinted to the edge of the cliff. He tried to follow into the water out of instinct—he had to save Sabrina—but his body forced him to stop at the edge.
He watched Isaac dive neatly over the edge and cursed. He studied the water, trying to see her head, her body, anything.
There. There she is.
She sank below the surface, her red curls disappearing below the dark water once more, and he watched in helpless frustration as Isaac swam toward her. He kicked a rock lying near the cliff’s edge, and it rolled into the ocean, where he, himself, could not go.
Damn, what a useless piece of crap he’d turned out to be.
Laughter came from behind him, and fury overcame him.
“That held a nice touch, don’t you think? This time, there’s no way you can save her. You can’t save her. Again.”
He roared in anger and lunged at her.
“No, Elijah!” she shrieked.
Even as she screamed at him, he collided against her and they went flying backward. There was no chance to grab onto the side of the cliff, no chance to stop their deadly fall. They catapulted over the side.
He’d found a way to conquer the barrier from death. He had to attack another without intending to go over the side. Life finally felt good. When he hit the water, it would make him die as it ate his skin and body away until nothing existed.
He’d be free. Finally free.
He saw Louisa reach for him, and he attempted to jerk back. He didn’t want to die while touching her, but she had always been older and stronger than Elijah and managed to grab his arm anyway. She swirled in the air and threw him toward the cliff wall using all her strength.
He smashed into the cliff and grabbed on the rocky sides, hanging in mid-air. Elijah clung to the side and threw his head back as he let out an agonized yell. She’d saved him from dying. He turned his head and watched with horror as his maker hit the water and dissolved. The last to go was her head, and she kept her eyes on him the whole time. He watched, mesmerized, as she finally melted away to nothing.
Why? Why had she saved him, and not let him die? Had she had done it out of some misguided devotion toward him? Or had she simply done it to deny him what he had wanted most in that moment, which was his death and hers?
He studied his hands on the rocky wall, commanding them to release the wall and allow him to drop to his acidic grave, but instead they climbed the cliff of their own accord until he could leap nimbly over the side, and onto safe ground.
The one chance he’d stood of plunging into the water was gone; she’d ruined it. Like she’d ruined everything else in his life, including him.
***
Isaac was losing hope when he saw something float in front of him. He reached a hand out, and latched on. It was hair. Curly hair.
He clutched it and pulled. He hoped it was Sabrina and not an old corpse. When he reached the top, he dragged the unresponsive body to the surface and looked at the face.
Relief came over him, followed quickly by fear. It was Sabrina. But not the one he knew. This Sabrina was lifeless and pale. He had her in his arms again, but she didn’t appear to be breathing. He felt for a pulse and was relieved to feel a very faint one, but faint was better than none, right?
Please, please let her be okay, God.
“Sabrina. Oh, don’t die on me. Come on.”
He swam to the cliff and slung her over his shoulder. He knew he must be hurting her immensely, but he didn’t have time to be gentle now. He scaled the cliff, feeling the rocks rip open his palms as he went higher and higher.
When he finally reached the top, he laid her on the ground to examine her. Again he put a finger on her throat to feel for a pulse. The faint thrum he’d heard seemed to have disappeared. He let out a roar of anguish, and administered mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Maybe she just needed help breathing. Please let it be that. He could handle anything else, just not losing her.
After what seemed like forever, her body shuddered and she spewed out an obscene amount of water. He rolled her to her side to allow it all to exit and rubbed her back. When she finished coughing, he returned her to lying on her back. She stared up at him as her whole body shook from the cold. He hesitated, unsure of what to do. He didn’t want to risk moving her and injuring her even worse.
She took a shuddering breath and seemed to stop breathing.
“Sabrina, breathe,” he commanded.
“It…hurts…too…much,” she managed to whisper. “Is she dead?”