Arielle Immortal Resolve (The Immortal Rapture Series Book 8) (21 page)

“Oh…God…please—no—not again!” he gasped aloud, conscious of the significance of the moment. “Arielle!” he cried out, pain searing every muscle, every vein.

Chapter 12

SEBASTIAN WAS FROZEN
in shock and nervous silence. Where was she? What happened? Who was in the house? How long had they been in the house hidden and waiting? His mind was whirling wildly, but he couldn’t answer any of these questions. This was surreal…what were the odds of this befalling them all over again? He growled furiously as wild thoughts began to churn in his bewildered mind. His eyes narrowed, and he cursed aloud, as he contemplated several possibilities. It was totally unreasonable to suspect a Russian mafia conspiracy, because that chapter had been firmly closed by the immortal group a while back. This was different; he could feel it in his bones. He winced at the name that flashed into his brain like a brilliant neon sign. “Annabel!” The icy eerie possibility of Annabel abducting Arielle was choking him to the point that he couldn’t breathe. Anger, resentment, fury, desperation, and guilt filled him. He sank to his knees in the middle of the backyard and, wrapping his hands around his body, growled in anguish.

Arielle’s face emerged before his eyes, and the pain was like none he’d ever experienced before. He crashed to the ground panting hard.
“
Oh
…
God
…please don’
t let Annabel hurt her!
”
he prayed pressing his eyes shut. He curled into a fetal position gasping for air. The loss that engulfed him reduced the strong immortal to a bundle of pain-filled flesh. He remained unmoving for the longest time. He finally got to his feet and forced himself to walk inside the house. Entering the kitchen area again was excruciating, every step sheer torture. He looked down at himself in astonishment, realizing that he was completely naked. He dragged himself into the bedroom drained of any motivation or ambition, and threw on a pair of jeans.

A raw scream escaped his lips, snapping his muddled mind back to reality. Annabel had done the unthinkable, and he wasn’t able to prevent it. He hadn’t been able to protect Arielle inside their own private home.
How ironic is that?
he thought, and let out a harsh laugh. His emotions mixed with the anguish reeling in his head. The struggle to accept Arielle’s kidnapping became even harder. The pressure in his head throbbed like a roaring river. He was standing in the middle of the kitchen again when he felt this excruciating pain, and pressing his hands hard against his temples, succumbed to unconsciousness. When he came to, he opened his eyes, and glanced around, thoughts unclear. He tried to grasp the situation; he couldn’t remember why he was lying on the floor half naked. He looked down on himself and saw blood dripping from different spots on his torso and upper arms. He looked closer and noticed that several of the shards scattered all over the floor had pierced his exposed flesh when his body collapsed. Anxiety, helplessness, and insecurity enfolded him once again. He remained sitting on the floor trying to regain his clear thoughts and immortal control.

A woman’s face emerged before his eyes and his jaw muscles locked as a loud curse escaped his lips. “Annabel, you bloody bitch!” he screamed. “You ghastly bitch! You’re going to pay! I’ll follow you to the end of the earth and shred your body to little pieces.”

Sebastian kept shouting with clenched teeth. The thought of Annabel harming even a single hair on Arielle’s head drove him to the edge of insanity. He stood and marched from room to room screaming and cursing. He knew that he needed immediate help. He wanted to make sure Annabel didn’t have the chance to make Arielle’s capture any more complicated.

His first thought was Eva. He knew the spiritual relationship between Eva and Arielle was a special one, and they had gifts and abilities to connect with each other in mind and consciousness. He felt anxiety knowing that Troy and Gabrielle were away on their honeymoon. He was sure that Eva was the one he needed right now. He slumped in his chair, picked up his mobile and speed dialed Eva. She picked up on the first ring. Sebastian hauled in a deep breath.

“Eva!” he cried despondently.

“Sebastian! What’s wrong?” Eva asked, alarmed. She could feel his anguish through her special gift. Something was terribly wrong.

“Eva, Arielle’s gone,” he said despairingly.

“What do you mean gone? Did you have an argument?”

“No…no… nothing like that. I think Annabel took her.”

There was a stunned silence, and then Eva’s voice came out utterly dumbfounded. “What!”

“I think Annabel kidnapped her,” he said, again in a voice barely audible.

“When? How?” Eva grumbled.

“Eva, I need you, please come over,” he said, and the phone went dead.

Eva stood there, looking at the phone thunderstruck.

“What’s going on?” Ian asked, noting Eva’s stressful expression.

“Arielle’s been kidnapped, and Sebastian thinks it’s Annabel.”

“Oh no...”Ian’s voice trailed thoughtfully, and gave Eva a concerned look. “He must be devastated.”

“He sounds shattered, we must go,” Eva said. They jumped out of bed and using their immortal speed they were dressed and out the door in no time.

“He needs us,” Eva said, reaching for Ian’s hand, as the car sped away from the house.

“We’ll find her, Eva,” Ian muttered as he patted her hand affectionately. He knew they were rushing into a dreadful situation. He also knew that Arielle and Eva weren’t just friends, they were more like sisters.

“Ian, I hate that bloody bitch,” Eva said. “She and I have unfinished business and I’m willing to go the extra mile to make her pay.” She moaned, thinking of her best friend, pressing her lips together in frustration. “If she hurts Arielle, I’ll make her feel pain like she never has before. She’ll die slowly, painfully in sheer agony.” Her hands were now balled into tight fists. They remained quiet the rest of the way.

***

Sebastian sat, unmoving, lost in thought. His arms ached for the love of his life; his soul yearned for her touch. He couldn’t think straight. He didn’t know where to start to look for her. It’d been over 2 hours since Arielle disappeared and he knew that Annabel could’ve moved her to the other side of the world. He tried to think reasonably, trying to get inside Annabel’s sick mind. Annabel knew that they were getting married in three weeks. This thought provided slight comfort to Sebastian. Annabel was resentful, insufferable, and repulsive, but she thrived on other people’s misery; especially Arielle’s.

He was sure Annabel would keep Arielle her prisoner and very much alive at least until the wedding day. She’d want to watch Arielle suffer and indulge her sick self in Arielle’s excruciating pain. Watching Arielle’s agony would make Annabel happy, and she would exult over her huge win that destroyed both Sebastian and Arielle. His next thought made him recoil. The problem was that after she’d accomplished that first part of her plan she would kill Arielle. Sebastian cringed at the thought, clenching his teeth tightly. He shut his eyes and pounded his fists on the armchair, growling in desperation.

Suddenly a frightening thought made him jump out of his chair and run into the bedroom. He looked around frantically, but couldn’t locate what he was looking for. He drew a deep breath and exhaled optimistically as a smile painted his lips. That smile was short-lived, when another thought made him turn and walk into the bathroom. He groaned in despair as his eyes fell on the small shelf by the mirror. His jaw clenched and another loud curse escaped him. Arielle’s necklace was lying on that shelf. He roared in misery and his muscles tightened.
Oh, my God! What else is going to go wrong?
he thought. His mind drifted to unreasonable places and he was unable to make sense of a single thought. He picked up his phone again and called Loren. He needed his sister’s moral support.

“Loren, something’s happened,” he said.

“What is it?”

“I’ll explain when you get here.”

“Sebastian! You sound terrible. Is this something that I can share with mother?”

“No…no, don’t get mother involved. Just come over please, as soon as you can.”

“I’ll be right over,” Loren said, filled with concern. Her brother didn’t sound like himself. She was sure something was terribly wrong and she would part the ocean for Sebastian if that’s what needed to be done. She was out the door in a matter of seconds.

Next call went to Christian and Isabella. Isabella answered the phone.

“Isabella, it’s Sebastian,” he said gasping nervously.

“What’s wrong Sebastian?”

“I need you both to come over. I have a major issue and I’m sure I’ll need all the immortal help I can get. I’ll explain when you get here.”

“All right, we’ll be right over.” When she put down the phone, Christian was coming out of the shower.

“Who was on the phone, baby?” he asked.

“Sebastian's in some kind of trouble. He sounds absolutely horrible. He said he needs our help and he’ll explain when we get to his house.”

Christian gave her a thoughtful smile, but didn’t ask for further details. He dressed quickly and they left the house without another word. Christian drove steadfast, wordlessly, filled with anticipation as to what type of major issue could this be. Sebastian was one of the most amazing people he’d ever met. He’d met him through his brother Pierre, who was Sebastian’s best friend, and he simply worshiped the ground he walked on. He admired his success, his motivation, his innovation and his sound decisions. He was forever thankful for the way he’d taken care of Pierre’s family. He’d treated them all just like his own family. Christian had been more than happy to move to Brighton with his wife Isabella to try and make Sebastian’s life a little easier by watching over Arielle at school.

“I wonder what’s so major,” he mumbled.

“I don’t know,” Isabella replied, “but Sebastian sounded terrible.”

“You don’t suppose that Annabel's the issue, do you?” he asked, looking over at Isabella skeptically.

“It just might be. Sebastian was rattled.” They remained silent for the rest of the way.

Sebastian was still lost in thought when the doorbell brought him back to the task at hand, and he ran to open the door. When Ian and Eva stepped inside the threshold, Eva fell in his arms, and they held each other. Eva wanted to cry so badly, but as an immortal, she couldn’t do that any longer. The pain was shearing her skin to an excruciating level. It wasn’t long before Loren and Nathan walked in, followed by Christian and Isabella. They all gathered in the library.

“What exactly happened?” Eva asked impatiently. Sebastian looked around and saw all the concerned faces that he loved and trusted with his own life.

“I think Annabel broke into the house while we were in bed. Arielle went to get a glass of water and she was gone before I knew what occurred.” Sebastian groaned. They remained silent, waiting for his directive.

“Eva,” Sebastian said glancing at her. “You have the gifts I need to find Arielle. Once we know the location it’ll be simpler. I’ll call the rest of our friends for help, and we’ll deal with Annabel and her buddies, like we did in St. Jean De Luz.”

“I’ll do everything I can,” Eva murmured.

“What about her necklace?” Ian asked. “How did she ever touch her without repercussions?”

“Ugh!” Sebastian cringed. “Arielle took it off last night when she took a shower and I found it this morning lying on the shelf in the bathroom.”

“Oh, no…” Eva’s voice trailed off. Loren was standing by the large window, scrutinizing Sebastian’s face.

“Sebastian,” Loren said, trying to get his attention. “I remember Arielle attending several of the secret society meetings with mother and Professor Allworth earlier this year,” she chimed in softly. She walked up to Sebastian and, taking his hands lovingly in hers, continued. “I’m sure she learned a lot about using the mystic in that little black book.”

“Yes, that’s right,” Eva, said, nodding in agreement. “Arielle and I spent a lot of time with that little black book after each one of those meetings. She and I did a little bit of that mind linking, trying to find out if it actually worked. We found out that every little thing in that book is reliable.”

Sebastian’s gaze was fixed on Eva’s face. He was hanging off of every word that left her mouth. Eva noticed a flash of hope crossing Sebastian’s eyes.

“What type of connection was that?” Sebastian asked, extremely interested in Eva’s remarks. His thoughts were churning in a painful conflicting sort of way trying to balance the loathing he felt for Annabel and the mandate that was on hand for control in this situation. Eva sighed.

“Arielle and I discovered the secret of mind contact in the pages of the book. We were able to establish wordless communication with each other, just in case one of us was in a dangerous and defenseless situation. It creates a sort of map in our heads that outlines a path that leads to each other.”

“How?” he asked eagerly.

“In the book, it’s called clairvoyance,” Eva said.

“How does it work?”

“Information is transferred from one mind to the other by simply using one’s sixth sense. Arielle and I can access each other’s thoughts and pass information to help each other.”