Second Sight (27 page)

“
No, you saved me last time
when it should have been me. This time, it was my turn. I would
have done anything for you, especially after I realized just how
much Kane had twisted things. How could I have believed
him?”

“
Your mind was not your
own, Lizzie. You had no choice, not considering the strength of an
angel’s will. Had it ever occurred to me you might hurt yourself, I
would have controlled your mind instead of suffering
this.”

The blackness is reaching for me, and I feel
my body start to give in even as Lev suddenly starts into flight,
his body a missile headed directly into the heavens.

“
Lizzie, you have to stay
awake. I need you with me.” Lev’s lips touch my
forehead.

“
I’m tired,” I
whisper.

“
I know.” His voice is
broken and desperate, which is enough to hold onto consciousness in
spite of the pain.

“
Where are we going?” I
whisper.

“
You’ll see.” He looks at
me, his eyes frantic as he sees all the blood. It oozes from my
body like there is no end to it, and I want to ask how all of that
fit inside, but it’s getting so all I can do is focus on
breathing.

“
I never should have
doubted you,” I whisper.

“
It’s doesn’t matter,” he
says.

I stare at him, trying to keep his face in
focus, but it blurs, and the pain is so excruciating now even
breathing hurts. I don’t know how much longer I can take it. I need
to rest.

“
Lizzie!” I hear distantly.
“We’re here. Wake up!”

I know Lev wants me with him, but I don’t
think I can fight the darkness. It’s warm and inviting, and for the
first time, I’m unafraid.

Chapter
Twenty-One

“
Elizabeth? Can you hear
me?” The voice is distant, worried. Lev’s voice. I slowly open my
eyes, half-expecting pain or darkness. Instead I find the sun, a
bright jewel in a cloudless velvet drape of blue. The brilliant
light makes me blink and shield my eyes.

“
There you are,” he
whispers from where he leans over me. It takes a moment for me to
figure out he’s lying beside me, propping himself on one elbow as
the other hand lazily strokes my face.

“
Yeah.” Even as I speak, I
hear another sound, something comforting in the background, like a
white noise. Frowning, I cock my head to the side and listen,
trying to identify it.

“
Elizabeth?” Lev asks, his
hand pausing mid-caress.

“
What is that?”

Lev flinches, and his whole body tenses. He
swallows hard and forces a smile. “The ocean.”

“
The ocean? I’ve never seen
the ocean!” I sit up, looking for the water, and just as Lev
promised, it’s there, a few yards away, the tide dragging driftwood
in toward the shore.

Up and down the coast, the sand is a blank
canvas, begging for me to stir to life with my feet. I look in the
opposite direction of the sea and find small sand dunes rising
around us, and stretches of tall grass clustered in bleached
stands. Far down the coast stands a lone lighthouse, an ancient and
watchful sentinel.

“
Look!” I say, laughing. “A
lighthouse. I love lighthouses.”

Lev pulls me to my feet and walks beside me,
a gentle breeze wafts through his golden hair. He wears white jeans
and a white button-down shirt. His skin is dark, as though he’s
spent most of his life beneath this kind of a sun, full of warmth
and beauty. There’s never been anyone as perfect as he is, a
realization that steals my breath.

“
Elizabeth,” he says,
trying to still me. But I want to see the water.

“
Where are we?” I ask,
dropping his hand, whirling. I’m wearing a white sundress that
balloons in the salt air as I spin, my arms outstretched to the
sides, taking in the breeze caressing my skin.

“
Somewhere safe,” Lev
finally answers. His shoulders are bowed, and I wonder if he still
feels the weight of the world pressing down upon them. “Elizabeth,
we need to talk.” He tries to take my hand, but I dodge
him.

“
You’ll have to catch me
first,” I squeal and race toward the shoreline, ready to plunge my
bare feet into the surf.

“
There’s no time,” he
argues, looking at the sky. “Please.”

His eyes beg me, but I start running,
gesturing for him to follow. His shoulders droop, and he finally
shakes his head in defeat and chases after me. I squeal and run
faster, knowing he’s right behind me. Despite his somber mood, he
smiles when he latches onto me.

We both tumble in the sand. I land on my
back, and he lands on top so all I see his face, particularly those
striking blue eyes which seem to radiate the light. We end up in
the path of the tide. It washes over our bodies, cool and
refreshing.

In his eyes, I yet see a timeless pain that
transcends everything. His lips part, and his breath emerges in a
heated stutter. Even like this, his urgent control remains, and his
eyes resemble a storm-tossed sea.

For a moment, we linger there before his head
slowly dips, inching toward me until our lips touch—a light
brushing that burns through me. It begins feather-light before
deepening, the urgency matching the darkness in his eyes. It’s fed
not by hunger but fear, and though Lev’s gentle kisses leave my
heart racing, his troubled brow makes my mind wonder all the
same.

Ducking his head, he rolls to the side and
forces himself to stand before offering me a hand. I slip my palm
into his and feel his strength. He pulls me upright, his fingers
lingering upon mine, unwilling to let go.

The wind suddenly picks up, and although I’ve
enjoyed the warmth till now, the wind carries a coolness and the
scent of rain, though the blue sky seems unhindered. The wind
abruptly touches the places where the ocean has soaked my clothes,
and I shiver.

He frowns, and the expression furrows worry
lines in his forehead; he wraps his arms around me until his warmth
and skin are all that I can feel. I’m not sure I want to ask what
troubles him. It’s not that it doesn’t bother me because it weighs
just as heavily on me; the thing is, if an angel is worried, it’s
probably not something I’m going to like or be able to change.

“
You want to walk over?” I
nod to the lighthouse.

He stops suddenly, halting us. “I will, if
you want. But first we need to talk.” His gaze drifts to the sky,
where we see a grey unfurling across the heavens, following the
track of a growing storm. For a second, he closes his eyes with his
head yet tilted upwards. He slowly lowers his chin, and his eyelids
flutter open, the ocean of his eyes encompassing me.

“
Why?” I feel the dread
surrounding us both, and I’m afraid to give in to it.

“
Because you have to make a
decision—and it has to be now.” His voice is shaking, and he
reaches for my hands.

“
About what?”

He takes a ragged breath. “Elizabeth, I can’t
sugar-coat this. Right now, I’m what’s tethering you to your body.”
His expression changes to one of pure agony, and as he winces. “I
can’t seem to let you go.” His eyes are frantic and moist as they
dart from my face to the ground and back again. “You’re body is
broken, and you are in so much pain I can’t stand it.”

I stagger, not prepared for this. “So what’s
the decision?” I whisper, watching the heavens darken. To the east,
I see the storm, the ashen clouds billowing like dirty cotton.

“
I can save you that pain
and carry your soul.” He closes his eyes and his voice
breaks.

“
Or?” I demand.

“
You can go back and I can
try what I know to help you. The pain is immense, Elizabeth. Your
screams torment me.”

“
Will I make it?” Chills
sweep down my spine, and I can’t breathe.

“
I don’t know.” His voice
is low.

“
I don’t care!” I snap.
“Take me back—now!”

“
All right.” Two solitary
tears slip from his eyes, and he nods. For a moment, I just stand
there, unsure what I’m getting myself into. Gritting my teeth, I
let myself fall into his arms; they close around me.

“
I know you’ll do whatever
you can,” I whisper, closing my eyes as I prepare for the coming
journey.

“
I’m scared, Elizabeth.
I’ve never been frightened of anything, but this...this hurts.” He
kisses my forehead. “I love you.”

“
I love you, too.” I open
my eyes in time to see the vortex overhead, spinning like a great
hurricane, reaching for us. Gasping, I close my eyes and cling to
Lev, knowing if anyone can save me, he can.

“
Elizabeth!”

Pain impales my chest, and I can’t breathe.
It’s the dagger, I know. I have to get it out. I reach for it, but
my fingers slip amid the blood. I scream.

“
It hurts! Get it
out!”

Hands gently take mine and pull them
away.

“
Elizabeth, I’ll take care
of it. You need to lie still.”

Nausea and pain; I can’t take it anymore. I
vomit, and it chokes me until someone turns me on my side and the
pain explodes again. I fall forward but those hands catch and hold
me, hands that drive away the cold.

“
Easy,” Lev whispers as he
lays me back down; I gasp for air—not enough. It’ll never be
enough. More screams, wordless.

“
I’m going to pull out the
dagger, baby,” Lev says through the haze. “I need you to hold
still.”

“
I can’t,” I whimper, my
body spasming uncontrollably as I roll into a fetal position,
trying to condense my body into itself.

“
I’m going to hold you
down. I need to get it out.” His voice is uneven, and I feel his
hands gently press me onto my back, his palm on my shoulder. “Here
goes.”

Suddenly the world turns to fire, the pain so
intense I can’t scream; I can only drown in the air I’ve taken in;
the pain rebounds again and again, a trapped bullet with energy to
burn, and every time it zips through me, I jerk in a violent spasm.
Inside, I’m screaming, my thoughts telling Lev I can’t do this. I’m
not strong enough. It’s too much.

“
I know, baby. I know.” His
voice is inside my head, soothing , but the pain is too intense. My
body is writhing on fire, forcing Lev to hold me as he presses
against the wound—applying pressure that feels like being stabbed
all over again. I need it to stop.

“
Lev!” It’s all I can
manage. My eyes open wide, and I find myself staring, his huge blue
eyes and blond hair illuminating the darkness around us as he sits
by my side and gently pulls me to a sitting position against him,
his hand still pressuring the wound, probably to staunch the blood
flow. I’m shaking so hard.

“
I can’t…do…
this.”

“
You can.” He wraps his
arms around me and laces his fingers with mine. “Anytime you think
you can’t, squeeze my hand. I’m here, and I have too much to tell
you for you to give up.”

A soft glow begins to radiate from his body,
and the longer I lie there with my eyes half-closed, the more my
mind begs for unconsciousness, the light becoming increasingly
brighter until it swallows us both. Light and heat.

A sluggishness creeps over me, the same
feeling as when I’m trying to run as fast as I can in a dream but
my feet are all but stationary. Even my heart rate seems to
decelerate, confusing me, but when I struggle to breathe, it’s not
from lethargy.

“
What’s happening?” I ask,
gasping for air. Sweat beads upon my forehead.

“
I’m helping your body
fight back.”

I hear the edge in his voice, as though the
sound itself is unraveling; his breathing comes out in labored
gasps. The pain courses through me, unhindered, and I clench my
fingers around his hand, whimpering. Then suddenly it feels like a
great blanket has muffled the pain, dulling it y so I can breathe
just a little easier. For the first time, I am able to open my eyes
and take in something of the world around me. It’s not much, but
it’s enough to see Lev’s haggard face. Hi shimmer is weak, and
that’s when I realize what he’s doing.

“
Stop!” I snap between
clenched teeth. “Stop it right now.” I want to sound angry and
tough—anything to disrupt his efforts.

“
You’re worth it,” he
murmurs, his hand stroking mine, easing my clenched
grip.

“
No, not considering what
it is doing to you.” I try to struggle out of his grip, but the
pain redoubles itself. Lev’s hands gently guide me back to a
reclining position.

“
You aren’t ready to get
up, Elizabeth. You’re still bleeding and weak. There’s more to be
done.”

“
No.” I try to struggle,
but he won’t let me. “Whatever you are doing to help is at your
expense.”

“
I’m not hurt by this. I
promise.” He wipes the sweat from his brow and takes a deep breath.
“It merely tires me.” He places his hand over the wound again, the
blood looks surreal against his golden skin. I look pale next to
him.

Although I’m not sure I believe him. I
haven’t got much of a choice unless I want to take a permanent
stroll on that beach and leave Jimmie behind forever.

Jimmie.

I try to sit up again, suddenly afraid.

“
He’s fine. Celia is with
him.” His hands stubbornly refuse to let me up. “But you are going
to be another matter if you don’t let me finish.”