Adjusting the harness, Sebastian and Isabell stood at the base of the mountain, their anticipation mirroring the towering challenge ahead.
No matter how many times Isabell tried to look away she couldn't keep her eyes in a different direction.
He always wore black but that blank wasn't supposed to be linked with anything called boring. Sebastian looked like perfection every single time and she couldn't help but stare at him "I thought you were afraid of heights," Sebastian interrupted her staring. She stared in a different direction "Umm…yea-yeah, I am," She said slowly, Sebastian stayed silent and just glanced at her "I just want to try it" Isabell finished adjusting the harness around herself "But you're afraid of heights" His question stayed the same
"I- I still am but"
if you are with me then maybe you can help like you did last time and maybe I can complete my long-lasting dream of climbing a mountain and maybe after that, I could do something with this fear of heights and live a pretty normal life–
"But?" he cut into her thoughts, she could barely suck the oxygen in now because she definitely didn't want to say it out loud
"But I managed to do it last time— I mean you"
Have you ever been in a situation where you want to say something so bad and never want to touch those same words to your lips at the same time? No? Well yeah, I have, like I'm having one right now! Ahhh! "You helped me- I mean I did it last time so"
Dran your life, Isabell
Sebastian agreed with her words and his agreement came with a slight, weak smile.
Isabell's heart suddenly dropped at Sebastian's curled lips she thought she was never going to see him smiling but in two days it was her third time seeing Sebastian with a smile, and Isabell may not allow herself to realize that she was the reason behind two of them
"Let's go," He said, Isabell's smile disappeared, and it vanished completely from her face. She was now going to have one more interaction with death, and no matter how many times she asked herself
Why the hell did you agree?
She couldn't answer
High peaks reached the sky, and the light droplets of rain were accompanied by sunshine. Pine trees cling at the boundaries casting long shadows as a cool breeze rustles the branches. The beauty of these towering cliffs felt spectacular to them.
Sebastian and Isabell stood at the trailhead ready to start the journey "Are you sure you want to do it?" Sebastian confirmed for the last time "Yep," Isabell seemed excited by words and nervous by the face "Okay"
Sebastian took a deep breath claiming the first inch. The uneven rocks on the mountains were staring at Isabell as if they were telling her how they were going to take her life
"All you need to do is follow my steps," He said, Isabell could do this much and she knew she could "I'm ready" She spoke, grabbing the point where Sebastian started.
In a second she climbed the first step and it was surprisingly easy for her.
Kids play,
she told herself with surprised laughter
He placed his anchor at a second point "Are you doing okay?" He asked at the third foot "Completely!" She laughed again and he nodded at his words and because of the excitement, she missed noticing something like caring in his words. Sebastian kept on checking her for the initial steps
Isabell was just following Sebastian one step after the other and didn't realize that they were already forty-five meters above the mountain.
The skills of Sebastian were admirable, Isabell felt tired but his speed had been the same since the first step. Isabell hadn't looked down once, all she could see was the rocks over the mountain and how easy was it you climb a mountain
But
Suddenly
Isabell heard someone screaming, her feet stopped, she recognized this voice and the word it was saying
'Bella'
Isabell looked around, but she couldn't spot anyone
'Bella'
The Voice called her again, and again there was no one but she recognized the voice, she knew who was calling her
It's Emily.
She said but she couldn't see her and when she tried to figure out the reason it all made sense to her
Emily is calling me because I have been distracted from the main purpose and I am having fun with- with the Knight! The Knight. No, Isabell. No, you can't be doing this. No no no, Isabell
'Bella' the extreme weather and height combined were causing hallucinations to her.
Isabell looked around, her face moved in every direction trying to find the root of the voice but she couldn't, her eyes twitched, head spinning, darting from one place to another but the sound was gone and there was no scream left and suddenly she bounced back to the world.
She just got conscious, Isabell remembered where she was and what she was doing. Her eyes looked at Sebastian who was already ten feet away from her
Because of distractions, Isabell lost the point where Sebastian placed his anchor and there was no way she was going to call him since Isabell had been doing it from forty-five feet, she knew she could do it on her own
Isabell placed her anchor at whatever rock seemed trustworthy to her but this was not how someone was supposed to be finding trust. As soon as Isabell tried to move up a soft rock loosened beneath her feet.
Terror flashed in her eyes, fear gripping every inch of her body, adrenaline rushing down her veins, hands slipping as gravity started to pull her down. Everything suddenly went silent in her ears
"SEBASTIAN!" Isabell's terrified scream echoed through the air
Sebastian jerked his head around, his eyes widened, mouth fell open in shock, panic overtaking his entire face as he saw Isabell clinging to a single rock, her anchor gone, legs hanging in mid-air barely finding inches to place them on and failing every single time
"Isabell!" without thinking for a moment Sebastian climbed down, swiftly
"Stay calm, I'm coming, stay calm, Isabell," He said, Isabell's sobs were loud reaching Sebastian. He descended further down, each step echoing in the air
"I do- I don't want to die, I don't want to die" She kept repeating "I don't want to die, I don't want to die" Her voice was vibrating with fear
"I don't—"
Her words stopped coming out as she felt Sebastian's hand around her waist "I got you. You are safe" He breathed a trembling breath out "You are safe now" Isabell could feel the warmth all over her back. Sebastian just told Isabell to stay calm but it was the beats of his heart, reaching her ears
"I- I am- afraid-I-am so frea-king afraid" Her entire body shivered from fear, making it hard for Sebastian to keep holding her "Relax, relax, Isabell," He said tightening his grip around her body "Take a deep breath" The shallow ones were hardly managing to pass through her nostrils, and deep-felt impossible to her
"I ca- can't, I can't breathe, Sebastian. I can't" He was barely able to hold Isabell when her shivering intensified, his hand clenched around his anchor harder when the other started to lose the hold
"I- can-cannot breathe" Tears rushed down her face, panic attacking her entire body
"Hey, Isabell. I am here for you, you are safe" He said in a calm whisper
Suddenly her beats went back to normal and then in an instant, they dropped to rock bottom
Her body stopped shaking, Isabell tried to breathe and after so many attempts she was finally able to inhale the oxygen. Sebastian stayed still, his thumb rubbing at the back of her ribs trying to calm her further down
"Give me your hand," He said after a moment, wrapping his fingers around one of her wrists. Sebastian placed Isabell's hands on a rock and then he helped her reach the anchor with her other hand. Her hands listened to him and there was no resistance left
The moment Isabell got to a safer position Sebastian removed his hand, carefully taking a step down from her "We are descending," He said, and Isabell couldn't even nod in response she stayed stunned
Even though Isabell could see what points Sebastian was grabbing while going down, he still kept on pointing and telling her "This one" over and over again After some minutes of safe descent, they reached the bottom of the mountain.
The teeth of Isabell kept knocking into each other because fear never left her body. Her legs took small steps trailing big smalls of the person in front of her, the steps turned around and now they were facing her "Don't you ever" Sebastian inhaled sharply "Try doing something like this again!" He said in a firm voice to already shivering Isabell. She parted her lips to give him a good reply but Isabell didn't have the energy to fight him right and she decided to hold back
Sebastian passed his black jacket to Isabell which she took without opposition "I'll walk you to the bus" She accepted the offer with a movement of her head, put the jacket over her shoulders, and then continued to trace his steps.
Her head kept on hanging down, her body was still shaking when they reached the parking lot. Everyone was already there waiting for them
Wilson ran to Sebastian and Isabell when he saw them coming
"How was it?"
He asked excitedly, maybe he was hoping to get a thank you or something like a word of praise from Sebastian
"Go inside of the bus and rest" Isabell's feet moved on his words as if it was something she had been dying to hear. Unwillingly she stopped at the door of the bus maybe she wanted to hear his response
"How was it?" Wilson asked, his excitement stayed the same, and didn't get a reply again "How was it, man?" He asked again and then went silent after looking at his face "Did something happen?" Sebastian smile at him, which wasn't really a smile but a threat and something to fear from "You should stop with your freaking tricks if you want to continue living, Will" Wilson was indeed threatened by him
"Did som-"
"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" Sebastian shouted at his friend in pure anger in front of everyone. Wilson's lips sealed, his smile disappeared and Sebastian took his leave,
Wilson stared at him with worried and now embarrassed eyes, he looked around, finding all the students staring at him. His face went down and in a second it rose with a nervous smile
"We will be heading back now, get in the buses, guys" He announced trying to crack some of the tensions. All of them listened to him and in an instant everyone was on their bus, ready to go back
🧊🧊🧊
Usually, forests were meant to be silent but Throne Of Demon didn't have anything to do with Usuality. The voice of music was getting louder every passing day until it would be Cursed Abyss.
The man with the red mask and red eyes was sitting, resting his head on a wall outside of the building. His hands were covered with blood, and an animal was lying next to him.
The fox still seemed to be alive but it was barely breathing. Even though its legs were socked by blood, caused by vulnerable attacks of blades, it still tried to move and get away from him.
The moment the fox managed to go a couple of inches away, Lethal forcefully grabbed it from the injured leg he pulled it back and dug his knife into its thigh again and his attacks continued until the blood of the animal was everywhere and it couldn't move anymore.
He grabbed the handles of the knife and pulled it out. Lethal smiled, he swayed the red hand over his lips, and the vampire teeth peeked from inside of his mouth. He ran the hand over his face turning his white skin red and
Lethal yanked his hand to the other knife, holding both of his knives, he stood up and took his feet inside the building
After exactly three knocks a guard in a brown uniform opened the door. He gazed at Lethal from up to down, there was an expression of fear on the face of the numb guard and it irritated Lethal
To lose that irritation. Lethal clenched his knife tight, and the cold steel of the blade slid cutting through the thigh of the guard. Blood rushed down his legs making the brown pants red, the guard screamed in pain, the music stopped at the shout and everybody was now staring at them.
The stare had boosted the building-up annoyance in Lethal. His feet moved swiftly, now aiming for the DJ who caused these gazes towards him.
Lethal ran pushing the air aside with heightened intensity towards him, the blood-red cloth around his neck swayed in the air making him look thirsty for blood. Lethal's feet stopped at him, and a wave of fear passed through the body of DJ. He tried to move back but Lethal had already grabbed him by the collar.
There was an inch of difference left in his Blade and the leg of DJ when a grip caused his knife to freeze in the air
Knight flew between them out of nowhere and grabbed his hand "Chill, buddy. Your swords have a lot of words this Saturday" Knight said moving the hand backwards
"I'm just warming them up for Cursed Abyss," He said with a smirk and Knight nodded in agreement
"Enough with your bullshit, man" Spy walked to them holding a cocktail "Your vacation is over now, go and do the work for the event," Spy said sipping on the glass "Give me the list," Lethal never responded to Spy but asked Giant who was moving towards them, holding a paper, his feet could barely manage the weight of his entire body when he forced them to walk"Ten people missing from last week" Lethal smiled widely after hearing the number of people his knives would be cutting "That seems like a sexy number," He winked at Spy who rolled his eyes in frustration "Lethal" Knight called in a piercing tune, he lifted his eyebrows in reply "Do not kill anyone" He stared at Lethal directly with his black eyes "You are not allowed to kill anyone this time,"
Spy's blue eyes just changed color to a darker shade as Lethal stared at him, in a sip he forced the entire glass down his throat "I'll try" Lethal said, Spy stopped the waiter passing by his side and took a glass of whisky from the tray "You remember how much trouble we went through because of the mistake you made last year?" The bottom of Spy's glass was empty in a blink once again, "Yeah, man. I'll try" He replied to Knight but his eyes were on Spy
Spy wasn't taking part in the convention, he nodded his head a couple of times and he was already gone, taking the stairs while the others stood still looking annoyed at him
"When the Fuck will he come out of his shell and be a man?" Asked Lethal, his face irritated
"I see no luck" Giant voiced
"Why do we even have this chicken with us?" And no one replied to his second question
🧊🧊🧊
This was the first day they came to attend classes after the tour. Isabell smiled at Ashley when she entered the class, beside her was her best friend, who proposed to her a couple of days ago.
"Hey, Steve" Isabell forced a smile at him, Steve didn't reply, he stayed quiet and just glanced at Isabell. Ashley lifted her head, looked at Isabell, and then at Steve "What's with the awkwardness, You guys?" She asked, her eyes staring at them again and again
"Wha-what awkwardness?" Isabell laughed, awkwardly
"Hey, did you hurt your hands again?" Isabell asked, spotting a red scratch over his hand. Steve continued his stare and suddenly his eyes yanked "Oh, them" He said the first word since the morning, turning his hands up and down as if he just discovered the bruises himself just now
"Did you fall from the bike again?" She asked "Yeah" his gaze looked away "I-I had something on my mind yesterday. And I just- I just lost control of it"
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, completely okay" He let a giggle out, nervously. Isabell took her center front and Ashley never stopped staring at them, suspiciously, and before they could talk about it further
Sebastian entered the class
"Good Morning, Students" He casually greeted in a relatively less cold tone
Isabell wasn't irritated by his face anymore, she had a mixed feeling of hope and fear.
For the entire lecture, Sebastian glued his eyes towards the student sitting in front of him. Isabell didn't mind it because she knew the reason for him staring at her. The class ended later than expected. Sebastian had gone back to his office.
"I've some business to deal with, you guys can go first," She told her friends "Well, Okay, Izzy Ditching Bella" Ashley replied while Steve stayed quiet "Okay, babe. See you tomorrow," she said and flew out of the class
----
The business had a connection to an office, it was the black office, and the door said it belonged to Sebastian Lightwood. Isabell opened the door after a single knock anyway
"I wonder if you'll still be this eager when you leave my office today," He spared a glance to Isabell and continued working on the papers in front of him "Can't wait for it," She said almost excitedly, standing in front of him,
"You may take a seat first. I wonder you may need it after hearing my words" He looked up, Isabell left puzzled but she sat anyway
"So?" She said, Sebastian cleared his throat and then did it one more time but it didn't seem enough. Her eyes studied his moves when he picked a glass of water from his table. Isabell exactly realized how she was staring at him
Sebastian took a sip, Isabell's stare got stuck at him as the water passed through his throat, beating against the veins over his neck beautifully, her lips stayed parted
Stop, she said, and never stopped her eyes
Stop! stop! She didn't listen to her whisper because he felt impossible to ignore
STOP STARING! She yelled
Her gaze twitched, and they looked away and flashed at the corners of his office "Why is" Her words stopped coming out as he looked at her through his square glasses, Sebastian raised a brow "Why is everything so dark in here?" So they were are finally at the point of asking casual questions.
"You don't need to know" Maybe not
"So tell me what I need to know" Her eyes went on one more tour of his office while not appearing confident.
Sebastian put the glass back, removed his glasses, and ran a hand through his face "I'll tell you exactly one thing about them and then you, yourself can accept or reject your own report" Someone needed to tell Sebastian that he was the only one to either accept or reject it, not the other way around but that wasn't important for Isabell right in the moment
About them? Bastarian is them. Right? Why would he tell me about himself and why would he discuss the secrets of his own club with me? Bastarian is them? "Okay," She replied, feeling less relieved and more nervous
Sebastian bent to a side of his table, opened a cabin, took some papers out, and placed her legal case study report on the table "After reading it" He tapped at the report "I assume you may know about him" You? Knight? Lethal? Spy? Giant? "Him?" For an unknown reason, Isabell was unable to breathe normally
"Lethal" he said
What? What did you just say?
She should be asking him not herself but no matter how hard she tried her words never came out
"Is a person close to you" Her thoughts stopped coming out, and her breath stuck in her throat. There were so many people close to her but none of them was Lethal. Sebastian continued when he saw Isabell unable to answer
"Steve"