Incendiary (The Premonition Series (Volume 4)) (74 page)

“
Mo chroí
, I’ve ached ta hold ye in me arms,” he
roughly
intones
against my
shivering
skin. “Ye’ve torn me heart out.”

I stop
futilely
struggling, hearing his accusation. Til
t
ing my head back, I
rest it against the
soft, white fabric covering Brennus’
chest. Panting from exertion, I
wish
that the thumping of my heart
sledge-hammering
against the walls of my chest
were the pounding
of my
feet against the ground, running
from here
.

With m
y throat tightening, I whisper
bitterly to Brennus,
“
I’
m so ashamed of what I’
ve
become,”
knowing that he’ll understand
better than anyone
what I mean
.
Brennus’ body stills
behind mine
, his cool lips
hover
inches from my skin
.
“I never wanted to hurt you…they said
…they said
I asked for this…that I agreed
to
be
come
this
jealousy-inducing
thing
and now I find that
I’m exactly like you…an enticing monster.”

Brennus’ breath touches
my neck gently.
“
Dat, right dere, is why I can na live wi’out ye. Ye confide such tings
in me dat makes da
darkest rage abate
,” he breathes
. “
Ye a
re
a
monster
, Genevieve,
’
t
is
whah I love
da most: da
dangerous,
seductive killer
in ye
. Ye’
ve da
sweetness of a wee lass
and da
strength of a celestial being. But
, s
hame is for da
weak,
síorghrá
,” he
coos
, calling me
eternal love, “and I’ve a cure for it.”

His fangs engage,
click
,
before piercing the soft skin of my n
eck and finding an arterial pulse
.
I scream
this time as
the
brutal pain
slicing my veins
brings
me
to
the
unrelenting
reality that I’
m now
,
truly
,
in a fight for my life.
The loss of
blood s
oon mak
e
s
my eyes become blacke
r while I gasp
in gulps of air. My fingernails
claw
his cheeks before becoming
fist
s
, knocking
his
hardened jaw
, until a
growing complacent-
fluttering
of my
fingertips
traces
dizzy circles o
n his flesh, feeling it warming with the infusion of my blood.

The once fran
tic beat of my heart begi
n
s
to sl
ow; i
t
s pulse lessening
,
threat
ening
never
to move
again
;
not for the beauty of love,
nor
fo
r the anticipation of a lover,
or for the alignment of another’s he
art. The darkness grows
,
killing all hope with pain.
A warm t
ear slips
from my cheek to fall gently on his.
When my knees buckle
, Brennus
dise
ngage
s
his fangs from my neck, turning
my pliant bo
dy in his arms
.
The hard lines of his
beautiful
face
soften as it swi
m
s
in my vision,
a result of my blood
weakening
his power, making him
drunkenly
satiated.

Held like a doll to him
, I search
for Russell beyond the magical v
eil that has thinned and now wa
vers
between impression and clarity.
The fight between Russell and the fellas
continues
;
in one instant
they struggle
ahead of us, and then fa
ll
behind
,
like Shriners in a
desperate
parade.

Brennus turns my face so that my eyes rest
on his light green ones. His
impassioned tone dimly register
s
in my mind, “Ye’ll bend ta me
desires dis time. Confess yer love for me and I’ll
bestow me affections on ye along wi’ me blood
—
everyting will be yers again
and
we’ll conquer dem all
.”

Th
e hubris of his statement causes
a slow smile to spread over m
y bluish lips as my blood seeps
in trails down my neck.
Reaching my shaking fingers
up
to touch his cheek, m
y response co
me
s
out
in a croaking whisper
, “Y
ou
’ve
already
won
. I’m dying
…y
ou have your revenge
.”

Fear mak
e
s
his eyes widen and when my eyes c
lose he sha
k
es me so I’ll
open them again.
The beat of my heart struggles
from one to the next,
stumbling as each contraction i
s slower than the last.

Brennus’ eyebrows dra
w together in a dark scowl
as he snarls
at me
,
“
’
Tis na
winning!” He shakes
me again when
my eyes lose
focus on him.
“Losing ye
means mourning for eternity…”

I pat
his cheek
lightly, while
whispering
, “Then…y
ou lose,” before my hand slips
from him.

Leaning his face ne
arer to mine, a slow smile creeps to the corners of his lips as he asks
, “Genevieve, when have ye know
n me ta
lose
anyting?”

Cold, dark fear constrict
s
my
dying heart. “What?” I breathe
.

“Kiss me goodbye,
mo chroí
,” he says with a smile before his lips cover
mine.

Nudging my lips apart with teasing kisses, Brennus then bit
es
down hard on his
lower lip. His blood, like the fall of tears, wet
s
my lips and mouth.

Und
eat
h, like an excruciating poison,
wind
s
through my lethargic
limbs.
My muscles gro
w hard and taut,
causing painful spasms as they
beco
me rigid and rickety.

“No,” I whisper
accusingly
into his exultant face whe
n he pulls
back to observe my transformation into an undead monster
.

“Ye
s,” Brennus whisper
s
in reply
, loving
ly stroking my hair. “Ye’re
trul
y moin
now.”

Crad
led in Brennus’ arms, I
writhe
in the coldness of
suffering
and absolute sorrow.

Russell’s voice sounds
next to
me as he s
p
eaks
through his teeth, “Put her down, before I tear his head off.
”

My head lists
toward Russell’s
voice and I see
him, standing behind Finn with his hands grasping the metal instrument tha
t
Finn had been playing. He pulls
it tighter to
Finn’s neck
with a grim,
d
etermined look when Brennus glanc
es
in his direction
. Russell only needs to
jerk the sharp edge of the instrument back to sever Finn’s head from his body.

“Ye
’
r
e
too late
,” Brennus replies
softly.

Breathing hard, Russell scowls
at him, yelling, “PUT. HER. DOWN!”

Gently, like
I’m made of glass, Brennus lays
me down on the cold, hard ground. Everywhere ar
ound us, the beautiful garden i
s
retreating; the lush greenery i
s crawling back, crumbling into wintery darkness. Cold, twisting wind
replaces
the sultry heat of Finn’s magic.

Finn and Brennus, too, begi
n to change; the
ir brilliant, white wings melt
away in a plume
of smoke, while their skin pales
to a de
athly tone. The white, magical faerie garb i
s replaced with sleek, black suits, perfectly tailored and no less refined.

“
Now, move back!” Russell orders
, scowling fiercely at Brennus.

When Brennus
steps back from me, Russell shuffles
Finn forward
to my side. Glancing down at me quickly, and t
hen back
up at Brennus, Russell says
, “Get up,
Red. Let’s go
.”

“Sh
e can na move,” Brennus informs
him
with a smug smile
. “She’s dying…or, undying, whichever ye prefer.”

Declan limps
his way to Brennus
’ side, the mask of magic gone, so that he appears as he
always has: cold and ruthless—
a Gancanagh killer.

“What?
” Russell asks
in a higher tone. His eyes c
oming back to me
, while the blood drains
from his face.

I try
to tell Russell to run
, but my jaws feel wired shut while
I’m
being burned by the coldest
of
ice from the inside out.
M
y veins
are
turning black beneath the stark white
skin of
my hands a
nd forearms as Brennus’ poison
ous
blood creeps through them.

“Naw, naw, naw…
”
Russell’s panicky
voice sounds
as if
it co
me
s
from him involuntarily, as a bad, off-key tune.
“She’d never drink your
blood—
”

“But, she has.
’
Twas
on me
lips, ye see
, when I kissed her goodbye,” co
me
s
Brennus’ smooth reply. “She’ll remain on dis side of eternity wi’ me
now
.”

“HOW COULD YOU
DO THAT
TO HER
?” Russell shouts
like the hiss of snake-spit.
“Y
ou
damned her soul forever! It
was
supposed to be a choice!”

“
’
Twas a choice.
’
Twa
s me choice,”
Brennus says
, watching Russell pull the silvery instrument
tighter against
Finn’s neck
.