Blood of the Demon (4 page)

Before Keegan crossed the room, Taeg grabbed her, his hands searing hot where they touched her arms over her light sweater.

“Hey, what are you doing?” Brynn glared into his eyes. The blue depths of his irises seemed to swirl around his pupils.

She couldn’t look away. Didn’t want to. Nothing existed but those swirling, blue-green eyes.

“Relax,” he said, his voice soft as honey.

Amazingly, a liquid sensation washed over her. Her body went boneless, until Taeg practically held her up by the arms.

Keegan approached and grabbed his brother’s arm, as if about to push him away. “I said
stop
.”

Taeg’s eyes turned to Keegan, and Brynn fought back a whimper. She wanted his eyes back on her.

What had he done to her?

“Let me do this,” Taeg snapped at Keegan. “We have to know.”

Keegan paused, an angry scowl on his face. “
Fuck
.” He whirled and paced about the room.

Taeg returned his attention to her, and she exhaled in relief.

“It’s all right,” he drawled, a rakish smirk on his face. “Tell me, do you know anyone by the name of Mammon?”

Mammon? Who? “No.”

“Has anyone unusual approached you the past few weeks, or anything weird happen to you?”

Other than this? She shook her head. “No.”

“What can you do with your hands?”

“I... ” Why the hell did she feel so compelled to answer? She never shared her secret. But she couldn’t stop herself. “I can make people pass out. Almost like I’m draining their energy. At least, I
used
to be able to do that.”

Taeg actually looked impressed. “Pretty cool. What else can you do?”

“I... ” Perspiration built at Brynn’s temples from her effort to keep her mouth shut, but she was powerless. She couldn’t stay quiet. “I can read energy off objects, get their memories.”

Taeg whistled, glancing over at Keegan. “You hear that? Our little friend is turning out to be pretty interesting. Over three millennia, and she’s still gifted.”

Keegan stopped pacing long enough to spit out, “Hurry up and finish it.”

Taeg chuckled and turned to Brynn. “Do you know how you got your abilities?”

“No.” She licked her lips, which suddenly felt too dry. “How are you doing this?”

Taeg smiled at her. Right now, his face was the most captivating thing she’d ever seen. The angular cheekbones, the almost imperceptible cleft in his chin. The shadowy stubble just starting to grow on his jaw. His voice was smooth as butter when he said, “Don’t you want to kiss me?”

Now that he mentioned it, she really did. How had she ever lived without kissing those impossibly full lips before?

“Yes,” she whispered, moistening her trembling lips. She leaned forward, but before she reached Taeg, Keegan rushed him. Jostling her to the side, he grabbed his brother by the throat and slammed him against the wall.

Now that she was no longer supported by Taeg, her limbs felt like goo. She stumbled and fell to the ground. The crazy compulsion to kiss Taeg faded until she wondered if she’d ever really felt it.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Anger radiated from Keegan in violent waves, making Brynn’s stomach knot. From this position, he resembled a feral animal, one with no qualms about killing its prey.

Taeg choked out a laugh as he reached up to pry Keegan’s hand from around his neck. “I was just screwing around,” he rasped, clearly amused, even though it looked like Keegan was throttling the life out of him.

Keegan said something else, but it wasn’t in English. Instead he spoke a deep, guttural language Brynn had never heard. But she didn’t have time to contemplate that, because she could only focus on one thing.

Taeg had done something to her. When he’d touched her, looked at her, she’d done whatever he had asked, whatever he suggested. Even now, the reminder of how full and kissable his lips had seemed made her heart pound and her body temperature heat.

Holy crap—Taeg had powers, too!

Brynn rose to her feet, addressing the two men, who even now yelled at each other in a foreign tongue. “Okay, who
are
you guys?”

§

Keegan glanced at Brynn, who stood facing him and Taeg like some angry warrior queen. Her fists clenched into tight balls at her side, and her chest heaved in a way that accentuated what lay beneath her top. The fact that Taeg probably hadn’t missed that, either, pissed him off to no end.

He turned to his brother and spoke once again in their native tongue. “You were supposed to find out what she knows—not make her question us even more. What is wrong with you?”

“I told you I was just fucking around,” Taeg responded in the same language. “Now stop being a dick and get your hand off my throat.”

“Have you forgotten who she is?” Keegan punctuated his words with a shake of his wrist. “You really think it would be a good idea to get involved with her?”

“I could ask you the same thing.”

Keegan froze, flustered by the sudden, uncomfortable feeling that his brother had just set him up with that whole little display.

“I can’t understand you two,” Brynn said from across the room. “What language are you speaking?”

Keegan ignored her. He unclenched his fist and released Taeg, his anger disappearing as quickly as it had arrived.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said to Taeg. “She was trying to use her power on me when you walked in earlier, and I let her, so she’d know it didn’t work on me. There was nothing else going on.”

Taeg threw him a disbelieving look as he massaged his throat. “Whatever helps you sleep at night, bro. Just remember—she’s the key to the fucking apocalypse. Not just here on Earth, but maybe every planet there is. If we can’t find the book before Mammon does, she’s gotta get dead. And fast.”

Keegan gritted his teeth and resisted the urge to pounce on Taeg once more. Damn it. He had to calm down. He turned to Brynn, who stared at the both of them in confusion, no doubt wondering what they were saying. “I
know
that, man. I barely know her. And if I have to, I
will
kill her.”

“Good,” Taeg said. “Just remember that. Because you may very well have to. And if it comes down to it and you puss out, know that
I
will.”

With a menacing growl, Keegan whirled to face him. “Are you threatening me,
little
brother?”

“You’ve never let me down before.” Taeg raised his hands in a conciliatory gesture. “But you’re my brother. It’s
my
job to keep you in line if you’re being a shit. Just make sure you follow through with what you need to do, and there’ll be no problem.”

That was it. Taeg had pushed him too far. He always pushed him too far. How dare he even suggest he wouldn’t live up to his responsibility? He wasn’t their father.

Keegan rose to his full height, putting him a good inch or two taller than Taeg. “What exactly are you implying?”

Taeg looked him dead-on, a challenge in his eyes. “I think you know already, bro.”

Keegan gritted his teeth, seconds away from lunging, when Ronin’s even voice sounded out from the doorway. “What’s going on in here? I heard the yelling and banging from down the hall.”

A sense of peace and calm washed through Keegan, the mark of Ronin’s presence. Most of the time, that particular ability came in handy, but every once in a while, he just needed a good fight.

“Let me guess,” Brynn said from across the room. “Another brother, right?”

Keegan glanced at Brynn, who was staring at Ronin with an expression of disbelief. He switched back to English. “This is our younger brother, Ronin.”

“Of course he is.” Brynn let out an incredulous chuckle. “Did they specially breed you guys in a lab or something?”

He exchanged a confused look with Ronin. What did that mean?

Brynn must have caught the look, because she explained, “Since you’re all so hot, I mean.” Then, as if just realizing her words, she flushed a bright red, which only served to make her look more alluring.

Keegan fought back a reluctant chuckle.

Taeg wasn’t quite as reserved. He gave Brynn an impish grin. “You’re pretty hot, too.”

Keegan’s amusement vanished in a flash. Another low growl rose in his throat, aching to tear out. He cleared it instead. Something about her made him territorial, but he couldn’t afford to indulge in his true nature. Not with this woman, and especially not with his brother on his ass.

Brynn laughed and shuffled her feet uncomfortably, as if fighting an instinctive urge to back away. “Are there any more of you?”

Ronin smiled at her. “Our youngest brother, Dagan. He’s out for the moment, though.”

Out? Keegan switched back to their native tongue. “Where did he go?”

“Bar down the street,” Ronin replied.

“He went to a bar?
Now?
”

“Think about it, man,” Taeg said to him. “You know he’s a softie. He doesn’t want to get to know her if we’re going to have to end up killing her.”

Ronin gave a curt nod in agreement, and Keegan felt a moment of guilt that he hadn’t considered that. Dagan was a lover of women and an all-around nice guy. Of course this would be hard on him.

“Can you guys please speak English?” Brynn asked, placing extra emphasis on the last word.

“Sorry.” Keegan turned back to her. Despite all she’d been through today, she was still standing. Still fighting. He could only hope he wouldn’t have to extinguish that light in her eyes.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t up to him. For that reason alone he had to tread carefully.

Brynn edged over to the bed and sat, her gaze wide and unfocused. “So that’s why you guys are keeping me here? You have abilities like me, don’t you? You’re part of a secret organization for people with powers.”

Well, if that made her feel better about this whole thing, Keegan wasn’t about to disabuse her of her notion. Especially since her fear had evaporated as she uttered that statement.

“That’s right,” he said to her.

“Like a gang of superheroes,” she added.

She thought they were superheroes? Taeg’s and Ronin’s gazes shot to Keegan. They looked as startled by her assumption as he was.

How wrong she was.

But on the other hand, now that she mentioned it, it seemed like a perfectly good cover.

He turned back to Brynn, fighting to keep his face expressionless. “Yes, that’s what it is.”

She tilted her head and studied him, her eyes filled with a tinge of uncertainty that twisted deep in his gut. Devil help him, he didn’t want to hear the sadness in her voice, didn’t want her to be afraid.

“How am I supposed to trust you?”

Keegan directed his gaze toward Ronin and slightly nodded his head.

Taking the hint, Ronin crossed the room and crouched in front of Brynn. “I know this must be hard for you. But we’re trying to protect you. We need for you to trust us.”

Even from where he stood, waves of calming energy radiated off Ronin. Brynn obviously felt them too, because her shoulders relaxed and the tension smoothed out of her face. She nodded. “Okay.”

“See, bro,” Taeg said, so that only he could hear, “things go better when we work together.”

Keegan nodded in acknowledgment. Taeg was right. Smug and annoying most of the time, but right.

Taeg clasped his shoulder and squeezed before leaving the room.

“Have you eaten dinner?” Ronin asked Brynn as he rose from his spot.

“I was taken before I could. And by taken, I mean Keegan knocked me out.” She glowered at Keegan, and he broke eye contact so she wouldn’t see the guilt on his face.