Page 58 of Last Hope
He was asking to be killed.
If he had the choice of living the rest of their lives on the run or being locked away in a cell and facing trial, he would rather choose death. Isis realized just how far he was willing to go, just what he was willing to do to finally live his own life. If Isis healed and ran to protect him, then they would both become fugitives in the eyes of the law and would spend the rest of their lives running much like she had when she had first escaped Caesareon. But that was no way to live a life. And if he turned himself in, he would be locked away for a little while, waiting for the judges to announce his fate which would most likely be the death penalty.
He was choosing death, because it was the only option he had that was his.
If he chose to turn himself in then he’d be falling under the hands of the FBSI. They would decide his fate. And all he wanted was to decide for himself. Isis’s heart lurched for her brother.
There are other ways!She wanted to yell, to scream. Maybe he wouldn’t get the death penalty. Maybe they’d lock him up for the rest of his long life. If that was the case then she could visit him, she could send him books, talk to him through thick glass windows.
But that wasn’t what Azizi wanted.
He wanted to live but since he couldn’t, he chose to die.
Victoria attacked Azizi once more, letting out a piercing howl as she did so.
It wasn’t much of a fight; in fact, Azizi went down without much of one. That was all Isis could think of as she watched agent Phillipe ascend through the air in an arc towards her younger brother.
Isis felt the moment slow down before her; the bones within her had already begun to slowly heal. Hersnheld his arms opened wide at his sides and looked up to the sky before he turned his head and looked straight into his sister’s eyes. He smiled and all Isis could see in that smile was happiness. She didn’t see a bloodthirsty monster or Caesareon’s lapdog or a vampire or even her younger brother. All she saw was pure, utter happiness.
And then she felt his words, mystic and melodic digging deep into the roots of her mind.“Do not fret dear sister. I know we have just found each other after all these years and it is hard to watch me go. But know that I did this for you not because you are at fault but because I wanted to.
“There is no other option for me. I will not live the fate set before me by others any longer than I already have. Not running, as you wish or locked away as they wish, but dying, as I wish.
“You may think I have not felt what it is to live happily but trust me when I say, I have. When I was human, by your side, by our mother’s side I had never been happier. I died to become a vampire, to know fear and thirst and death; I’ve seen it all and I’ve seen you alive and well. Now go, and smile knowing that I have died just as I have lived: happily and with you by my side.”
And then he threw his head back just as Victoria slammed against him, her jaws gaping wide and bit down against his skull. For a moment, Isis’s vision tainted red as though she had opened her eyes beneath a river of blood. There was nothing but a crimson veil placed before her, and when everything cleared all she saw was Azizi, his small body lying on the floor. Blood and brains oozed from the gaping, indented holes that Victoria had placed there.
They were ugly, adjacent marks that curved on both sides of his head; one temple to the other. Large, black holes each separated by a centimeter or less that glared at Isis in mocking responsibility. She had done this. She had let her brother be killed, she thought savagely.No,a small voice said in her head.Look.
Isis sucked in a breath. The holes in his cranium were the first obvious thing that got the attention but, Isis marveled as she looked closely at her brother’s face was the expression etched onto his features. His head was turned towards Isis, eyes opened as they had been just a moment before. But that was the least of it. No, what Isis marveled at was the curve of his lips, carved upward in a smile.
And then and only then, when Isis saw that expression of serenity, of bliss, ofhappiness,did she let herself cry.
* * *
It wasn’tuntil she felt a warm hand squeeze her shoulder did Isis come back to her senses. She sniffled and looked up into the face of her Soul Mate. Anya had tears in the corners of her beautiful spring eyes. Isis wanted to ask her what was wrong but everything, even her voice was too numb.
“Daylight is coming,” Anya said in a voice that was a hollowed pit of despair. But Isis didn’t move. She couldn’t. If she hadn’t been able to lift a foot to help her brother when he needed it, she didn’t deserve to get herself to safety from the morning sunlight.
“Isis.” This voice wasn’t Anya’s. Isis struggled to focus her vision towards the person talking. It was FBSI agent, Victoria Phillipe. Rage gripped her but she dialed it down. “You know I had to do it, right?” Her voice was stone cold. “He attacked me. I couldn’t let him get away.”
“Couldn’t…let him…away…” Isis echoed blankly. The image of her brother’s dead body was branded into her brain. How was that supposed to make her feel?
“Isis, we have to go, now.” It was Anya again, her voice urgent. Isis sighed and with great effort, rose to her feet. Her legs were sore and it hurt with each step she took; she had to lean on her Soul Mate for support. She looked around blankly.
Yellow police caution tape was everywhere as were their flashing lights and people—hundreds of people that hadn’t been there before. It was all a kaleidoscope of colors and bodies to her, colliding together in a way that made no sense.
Her eyes scanned the ground for her brother, but all that she saw was a small humped figure covered in a white sheet. His body. With a jolt her senses returned all at once. The numbness was gone, the blankness had disappeared. Emotions came surging through her in an instant. Pain, anger, hurt, a need for vengeance, but sadness was the worst of them all.
It gripped her like a python’s embrace; she felt it choking her, devouring her until she could no longer breathe in a single whiff of air. She gasped and her body went rigid. Anya caught her before she could fall to her knees. Isis could only hold onto her, grip her for all she was worth in her attempt to not fall apart. But it was hard—too hard, to spin around uncontrollably, to fall hard and fast in a world where gravity is all that there was.
It was helpless. There was nothing Isis could do; she couldn’t numb her feelings, they were too strong now to ignore. She couldn’t do anything but grip tight, to hold onto Anya and hope for the best.
“He’s dead, Anya.” Isis sobbed into the material of her Soul Mate’s clothes. “I found him just to see him die all over again.”
And then everything went black.
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