Destined (Vampire Awakenings) by Brenda K. Davies Page A

“Willow, pull us up!” Isabelle commanded.
       “I’m trying!” Willow gasped.
       Isabelle closed her eyes and ground her teeth as she tried to wiggle backward. Her arms were beginning to ache painfully, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to breathe. Willow tugged at her ankles, pulling them back inch by excruciatingly slow, inch. The three of them cried out as Willow lost her footing and slid to the ground. Isabelle slid back over the edge, this time to her hips, before she was jerked to a halt. She bit down on her lip , stifl ing a cry as excruciating pain tore through her tortured arms. Julian looked about ready to burst into tears as he was jerked to a halt. Her arms screamed in agony as her shoulders were nearly ripped from their sockets by the force of his weight.
       “I’m sorry,” Willow panted. “I can’t do this.”
       Isabelle closed her eyes and groaned. What the hell was she going to do? Where the hell were Vicky and Abby? “Isabelle,” Julian panted.
       “It’s okay, just hold on. Willow, you have to do this!”
       “I can’t,” she cried, her voice choked with tears.
       “Then go get help!” she snapped, her patience at an end. She was scared senseless, holding her brother over certain death, and damn close to her own death. She didn’t have time to deal with Willow ’s tears.
       “But...”
       “Go!” she and Julian yelled at the same time.
       Her ankles were released and she slid a few inches forward. Fear slammed her heart into her throat as she struggled to dig her feet into the ground. The slow slide stopped as she managed to plant her toes into the soft dirt. Fear and adrenaline shook h er as she stared down at Julian; his eyes were even wider in his small, pale face.
       “I swear if we get out of this I a m going to kill you!” she grated through her teeth.
       Julian managed a wan smile as he cast a worried glance behind him. “Please don’t let go.”
       “I ’ll never let go,” she assured him, and she wasn’t. She’d go plummeting over with him before she ever let go. Julian’s hands dug painfully into her skin as he lifted his head to look at her again. His eyes were bright with unshed tears as his lower lip began to quiver. “How do you manage to get yourself into these messes?”
       “We were only walking,” he whispered plaintively.
       Isabelle closed her eyes and dropped her head. The cool dirt filled her nostrils, and pressed against her face as she inhaled deeply, trying to ignore the tortuous pain in her arms and shoulders. Her legs were beginning to ache, and her feet were beginning to cramp from digging into the ground. She didn’t know how much longer she was going to be able to keep them both up. She grit her teeth, determined to hold on for as long as it took.
       “Your hair is tickling me, ” Julian said softly.
       “Sorry,” she mumbled as she lifted her head.
       Hands suddenly seized hold of her waist. She cried out as she was lifted easily off the ground, Julian coming with her. Stumbling back, she was set on the ground, her trembling legs barely supporting her. A strong hand in the small of her back quickly righted her. A small jolt of something ripped through her, but it was forgotten as Julian fell against her, his arms encircling her waist tightly as he buried his head in her chest. She hugged him tightly, dropping her head to his as she absorbed the shudders wracking through his body.
       “It’s ok,” she soothed, gently stroking back his dirt streaked black hair as the hand fell away from her back .
       He lifted his head, tears s lid through the grime on his cheeks, leaving clean tracks in their wake. Isabelle’s eyes widened in surprise , s he hadn’t seen Julian cry since he was four years old, and that was over eight years ago. He always tried so hard to emulate his older brothers, and he believed that tears were a sign of weakness that they would never