Savior (Book One)

Chapter Twenty-Six

I couldn't sleep that night. My mind was plagued with nightmare, after nightmare, all involving Leviathan. Some were worse then others, so when I finally woke up in cold sweat, gasping with my mouth open in a silent scream, I decided against sleeping. I ended up laying there for about an hour, watching Anabell sleep peacefully beside me, her eyelashes against her soft cherks, twitching every so often as she dreamed.
At least she's not having nightmares, I thought quietly, reaching out so I could gently tuck a loose strand of chocolate colored hair behind her ear. She twitched, but didn't wake up, instead, snuggling even closer to me. I sighed, rolling onto my back as I stared at the ceiling, my heart breaking for my big brother. I guess one could say that I was still in shock, the fact that Adam was doing such things to my idol made me wish the brunet dead...and as a being of life, that went against everything I believed in. Leviathan shouldn't have to deal with that monster, he never did anything to deserve such torment, and knowing he had been dealing with it for millennia, made my heart feel like it was being ripped to shreds, slowly, but surely. Leviathan was the one that raised me, taught me everything I knew...and I felt like it was my fault he was going through such a traumatic time. If only I had noticed the signs, instead of being the naive...child I was...I could have had Adam stopped. But I had been too stupid to notice. And Leviathan suffered because of that.
I ran a hand down my face before I carefully stood up, not wanting to wake Anabell, but in desperate need of some fresh air. I glanced over to the bed Shane and Donna shared, the both of them out cold as they cradled one another. It was oddly...sweet, but I thought nothing else of it as I slipped on my shoes and went out of the door, my eyes closing as I inhaled the fresh air around me. Cars roared past on the street, however, I paid no mind to them as I began walking, stuffing my hands into my pockets. The Sword was cuffed to my wrist, since my hair wasn't long enough for it anymore, and I made sure not to leave it out of my sight, just like I had been ordered to do, so many months ago. The wind rustled at my hair, people passing me, chattering on their phones, or to their companions. It was as if nothing was out of the ordinary. But I knew better. I kept a suspicious eye out, deeming everyone a potential enemy. I didn't want to make the same mistakes that I had in the past. No one was going to die this time because of my neglectance.
I didn't really know how long I walked, but when I looked up, I was in a forest, the trees swaying softly to the unseen breeze, the moon shining it's brilliant light through the leaves, casting dark shadows on the forest floor. I blinked, surprised that I had walked so far. Well, not really too far, since the motel was only a few blocks away.
Deciding that I needed to go back, I turned on my heel, ready to try going back to sleep. Though, I hope I don't have those...nightmares again, I thought, wrapping my arms around myself as I shivered.
When I heard a twig snap, I stilled, my eyes darting around the darkened area in attempt to see if it was an intruder. My eyes caught sight of an abnormally dark shadow by one of the trees, and I held my breath as Leviathan stepped out into the scattered moonlight, the cool light making the bags under his eyes, all the more noticable.
“Leviathan,” I breathed, already feeling the tears starting to form in my eyes.
However, he didn't even blink, and it was then that I noticed a strange red marking that came across his neck, landing just under his right eye. I frowned, wondering where the tattoo-like mark came from, only to yelp as he bolted towards me and shoved me back, making me fly through the air before I made painful contact with the ground below. I gasped, the air forced out of my lungs at the impact. I didn't even get any time to breathe, before a foot landed painfully at my gut, making me flip over onto my back with a cry, my body in agony as Leviathan stared down at me with erily blank turquoise eyes.
The mark around his neck and under his eye seemed to almost...glow before he grabbed my neck and held me against a tree, causing me to choke and claw at his hand in order to get some air. The mark must have been making him do this...he would never hurt me otherwise, especially since he saw me as his baby brother. He wouldn't willingly do this to me.
“L-Leviathan,” I gasped, choking for air, “s-stop, I can't b-breathe!”
No response. Instead, he landed a solid punch to my gut, making me spit up a wad of blood as my vision wilted, almost going black. He then threw me across the little clearing, back hitting another tree, a cracking sound echoing through the forest. I gasped, agony exploding in my back as I slumped to the forest floor, my breathing labored as Leviathan slowly turned towards me, no emotion on his face.
I slowly rose to my feet, having already grabbed the knife I had from my ankle, the blade having been in cuff form before I grabbed it. “Leviathan, stop this. This isn’t you. You’re not like this. Please...listen to me. That mark is forcing you to hurt me, don’t listen to it.”
Leviathan ignored me and continued stalking towards me, throwing his fist towards me once he got to me. I ducked, kicking his leg and knocking him to the ground below. “Leviathan, I...I know what Adam is doing to you. And I’m so, so sorry I never noticed it before. I’m a crappy brother, ok? I admit that. But fight this. Fight that mark and join my side. Please. We can keep Adam from you so that monster will never hurt you again.”
For a moment, Leviathan’s eyes twitched before he got a confused look on his face, his eyes frantically moving around his surroundings. When he caught sight of me, his brows furrowed as a frown formed over his lips. “S...Sky? What…”
And just like that, the mark around his neck glowed, and he went back to that almost...robotic state. My heart dropped as he launched for me again, swinging his fists at me, making me dodge and duck in order to not get hit. I managed to get out of the way, not wanting to use my knife, but holding it as a last resort. Leviathan had been able to come back, which meant it was possible to subdue the mark’s grasp on him. I needed to figure out how to pull him back out of that void. I needed to, but I had no idea how to get the real him back. And judging by the mark on his neck, the redness of it and the glowing part of it, made me realize that this was Adam’s magic. The spell he used must have been one of his special abilities, abilities only he had. If that was the case then I would have no way to snap him out of it.
He still was able to snap out of it, though, even if for a moment, I reassured myself, rolling out of the way of a kick Leviathan sent my way.
“Leviathan, stop! It’s me, remember? Your baby brother Sky. Snap out of it!”
Leviathan managed to grab my neck, smacking me against yet another tree. His eyes twitched before he blinked once more, dropping me when he saw he had his hand around my neck. “Sky? Oh god...oh god, I’m so sorry! The mark...it made me...Sky, you need to run,. Get as far away from me as you can!” He gave me a look of desperation, those turquoise eyes of his filling with tears as he stared at me. “Go. If I hurt you...just go!”
“I can’t leave you! I’ve left you enough! You...you’ve been in pain because of my naivety, and I can’t leave you when I finally know the truth. Come with me. We can keep Adam from you.”
Leviathan shook his head, wiping his hands under his eyes to wipe away the tears. “No one can keep him from me. He...He’s too strong, Sky.” A tear managed to escape, trailing down the strong expansion of his face. The mark glowed, making him double over in pain as he cried out, a hand reaching up to touch his neck.
Worried, I began making my way over to him, only to freeze when he slowly straightened back up, his face once again blank from the mark.
“Crap,” I muttered, yelping when he grabbed my hair and threw me across the clearing, making me hit a stump that had been hidden by a pile of dying leaves. I gasped, the pain in my side immense as I slowly pulled myself up back to my feet, coughing when Leviathan teleported from across the clearing, directly in front of me, grabbing my neck and squeezing hard. I kicked at him, but he didn’t budge even an inch as I clawed at his wrist with one hand, the other hand still holding onto my knife. I really didn’t want to use it and hurt him, I really didn’t, but my vision was starting to turn black around the edges, so despite my aversion to hurt him, I swung my left hand, ready to knick him with my knife.
Only for him to catch my wrist, his eyes darkening as he tightened his grip on my neck. “L-Leviathan! I can’t breathe! S-stop! P-please!”
The world around us seemed to go still as my arm was yanked forward, the sound of flesh ripping echoing through the forest. The mark on Leviathan’s neck lifted from his tanned skin, and evaporated into thin air.
I would have rejoiced...if my knife wasn’t shoved into Leviathan’s chest, his eyes dewy as the grip on my neck lessened, allowing me to fall to my feet as Leviathan teetered forward, making me gasp as I caught him, my eyes wide, and my heart dropping. I couldn’t even move as his blood coated my hand, tears forming in my eyes as I stared at him in disbelief. He had...he made me stab him. He pulled my hand forward, knowing I was holding my knife...and he...why? Why would he do that?!
“Leviathan?”
Leviathan glanced at me, smiling sadly as a glob of blood fell from between his lips, his hand reaching up to wipe the tears from under my eyes. “I-it’s the only way. The mark would have made me k-kill you...and I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if that h-happened.”
“Don’t do this,” I cried, unable to hold my tears as they began streaming down my face full force, the thought of my big brother dying making my heart shatter into tiny pieces.
“I-I have to. I’m sorry, Sky.” He gave me a small smile, a couple of tears falling from turquoise depths as he cupped my cheek, taking in one more shuddered breath, before he went limp, making me fall to the ground as the full weight of him fell into me.