Iniquity (The Premonition Series Book 5) (3 page)

“Do na kill yerself, mo
chroí
,” Brennus pants as he sags a bit like someone who has just run an excruciating race. “’Tis weak.”

With a firm grip still on the dagger, Reed draws it out of me. I fall forward to be caught in Reed’s arms as he rests me against his chest. He flips the dagger in his hand before throwing it. The blade passes through the shape of Brennus to stick in the wall behind him.

I grit my teeth as Reed rips the edge of the sheet that I have wrapped around me and uses it to stanch the flow of blood coming from my stab wound. “It was the only way to stop you, Brennus. I’m your weakness,” I pant against the pain. “Your
tristitiae
—I’m your sorrow.”

“No,” Brennus says with his eyes softening for a moment. “Ye’re me love.”

“How did you possess her?” Reed asks while his deft fingers bind and tie the makeshift bandages to me.

“We’re connected trough blood. She gave hers to me.”

Reed’s fingers pause and clench into fists. He glances at Brennus. “I will kill you.”

Brennus’ eyes narrow at Reed. “Ye can na kill me! Ye’re WEAK! Ye make her WEAK,
aingeal
! Dat’s why ye have ta die.” Brennus replies in disgust. “Do ye na see dat,
mo chroí
? He’ll let ye be his martyr—he’ll let ye die for him. Ye can na win dis wi’ him. Ye have ta be ruthless! If ye’re meek da aingeals will forsake ye. I know dis ta be true!”

“HOW DO YOU KNOW?” I retort. My blood smears on Reed’s chest as I twist to look at Brennus.

“I KNOW BECAUSE I WAS FORSAKEN! ’TIS WHAH DEY DO! I prayed for Finn—for me—dat day when Aodh made me his
sclábhaí
! DA
AINGEALS
DID NA LIFT A FINGER TA HELP US!” He points his finger accusingly at Reed. “I’LL NA HAVE DAT FOR YE! I will na,” he says the last part quietly, shaking his head with a grim expression.

“You have to stop trying to save me, Brennus!” I growl. “I don’t want you to save me.”

“I’m na concerned wi’ whah ye want. Dere’s opposition to yer very existence everywhere now. Ye tink da Werree wanted ye before? Dey covet ye, ta be sure, but dat is nuting compared ta whah dey want ta do ta ye now. Dey know dat if da fallen get ye, ye’ll annihilate da Divine and da Fallen will control everyting on Earth and in Sheol. No one wants dat; jus as we do na want da Divine ta have dat much power. Once da aingeal war ends, if dey were ta stop fighting one another, whosoever wins will focus on us—da na so divine
craiturs. Dey’ll reign down on whoever is left. So every craitur will either have ta begin ta choose sides so that dey have a chance of surviving whah comes after, or dey take ye out demselves.”

I flinch at this information. “I’m not your problem. I thought we covered this in my dream.”

“Dat’s where ye’re wrong. Ye’re everyone’s problem, but I take care o’ whah’s moin.”

“I’m not YOURS!”

“Ye are. Moin and no other’s. Dere will come a time when ye’ll need me more dan ye need him. When dat day comes, I’ll be dere for ye.”

“It’s not today,” I state with heat.

Brennus’ smile is iniquitous. “Den I’ll see ye tonight and every night dereafter. Maybe ‘twill be one o’ dem.”

“Until my blood runs out you mean. You don’t have an endless supply, just two small vials. It won’t last forever.”

“’Twill last long enough, and who knows?” His eyebrow rises cunningly. “Do ye forget dat I know where ye live? Perhaps ye’ll see a way ta give me more.”

The shattering of glass from the bedroom window behind us hardly registers before Zephyr is beside Brennus, slashing a sword in broad strokes through his shadowy form. Brennus ripples; his image distorts and roils but it does little to Brennus but make him angry. Zephyr stops swinging at him when it becomes apparent that it’s ineffective.

A moment later, Russell crashes through the bedroom door. He scowls as he enters the room assessing us all. His unfurled red angel wings make him look even bigger than six foot five. “Brennus, you maggot! Come here and let me kill you.”

Brennus smiles. “Da other,” he says, “ye get a bye dis time, but only because ye healed Genevieve. When I’m ready, however, ye best be, too.”

Russell comes to stand next to Zephyr; his wings brush up against light brown ones to form a wall of angel. “Oh, I’m ready,” Russell responds, but his brown eyes are on me. He sees the blood-soaked bandage on my chest that covers Reed’s binding mark. “I bought scented candles for the occasion.”

Brennus’ smile widens. “He’s amusing, mo
chroí
, except for when he’s na.” He glances at Russell. “Do na worry, someone must get hurt soon—it will na be me. Half of ye will na make it. Care ta take wagers on yer Anya being among da casualties?” Brennus asks before he turns his sultry smile back to me. “We’ll take dis world. Ye’ll have no choice.”

“There’s always a choice,” I whisper.

“Dere is. Either ye run tings or dey will. I’ll see ye tonight,
mo síorghrá
.”

Brennus’ image falls apart like a dry sandcastle, running in grains onto the wood floor. A cloud of dusty smoke stirs up, and then fades away to nothing.

“He was with you while you slept?” Reed picks me up in his arms.

I wince, avoiding his eyes. “He showed up in my dream. I thought he was gone when I woke up—”

“He took possession of you, Evie,” Reed masks his emotions. He lays me on the bed. I can no longer avoid his eyes.

“It wasn’t me trying to kill you, it was him. I tried to stop him.”

He touches my hair. “I know, but you weren’t trying to kill him. You were trying to kill yourself.”

“It was the only way I could see to make him leave before he hurt you. I’m
his
weakness. He won’t let me die.”

“That was a gamble, Evie,” Zephyr says from behind Reed. He eyes my bandage. It’s soaked through. He walks to the foot of the bed and squeezes my foot lightly. “Maybe you should have just pushed him out of you.”

“He wouldn’t go! I couldn’t afford to let him stay one second longer and risk him gaining control of me again.

“What if he decided not to go?” Reed asks.

“He couldn’t stay if I was dead,” I murmur.

Reed’s face completely changes from calm to stormy in a few breaths. His hand, resting on the wrought-iron headboard, crushes it with the whiny squeak of bending metal. He takes a deep breath. “And you thought that was an option?”

“It worked.”

Reed’s nostrils flare as he attempts composure. “Killing yourself is never an option. Are we clear?”

I glance at Zephyr. It’s always been in my mind that if I ever need a way out of this, an alternative fate, he’d be who I’d go to for that kind of help. Not to live, but to die. “I protect what’s mine,” I say, sounding very much like Brennus.

“With your life?” Reed asks.

“With my life,” I nod.

“Then Brennus is right. I make you weak,” he says bitterly. “You can’t end your life because you’re afraid of what will happen to me.”

I put my hand on his cheek. “You are my life. It begins and ends with you.”

Reed pulls away from me. “Don’t say that, Evie, or I’ll be forced to leave.”

I pale. “What?” I ask and an ache more painful than the stab I just endured squeezes my heart.

“I won’t be the one who makes you weak.” The conviction in his tone makes me shiver.

“Then don’t be. Never leave me,” I say, reaching out and touching his arm.

Russell snorts in derision. “Shoooot. Like you two could stay away from each other. Tell her another fairytale, Reed.”

Reed ignores Russell as he touches his hand to his chest. “I’m a Power—an assassin. I don’t need you to protect me. I’ve been hunting and killing creatures like Brennus for so long that you’d think it was forever. I won’t let him touch me again.”

Russell chimes in, “Reed and Zee are Prostat Powers, Red. You didn’t get to see them stalk the Gancanagh while you were Brennus’ queen. They freaking owned those evil freaks. So can you be a little less ridiculous and start explainin’ what Brennus meant by ‘see ye tonight?’” Russell asks while doing his best Brennus impression at the end.

“He’s not the same, Russell,” I say quietly. “Brennus is even more powerful now. His magic works on angels.”

Russell walks to the bed and sits beside me on the opposite side from Reed. I push myself up on my pillow and wince as pain makes me dizzy. Russell frowns and reaches toward the bandage. His hand begins to glow. My eyes narrow as my hand leaves Reed’s arm to knock Russell’s away from me.

“Don’t!” I prevent Russell from healing me with the magical power that we both share. I don’t want to watch him transfer my wound to himself and see his chest break open and bleed. “I’m fine. I’ll heal soon.”

“I don’t like seein’ you in pain.”

“I know, but just because you’re my soul mate doesn’t mean you have to take my pain from me.”

Russell’s eyes soften. “What about because I’m your best friend?”

“Nope. Not even then.”

Russell sighs. “Then spill your guts and tell me what Brennus was doin’ inside you.” Russell pulls his hand through his tawny hair in agitation.

“Here’s the short version. He drank my blood and wandered into my dream. I think he was a little surprised that he got there.”

“And he had your blood because...oh yeah, that’s right! Because you gave it to him. You freakin’ let that vampire in!” He points an accusing finger at me.

“Thanks, Russell.” Sarcasm drips from me as I frown, but I’m secretly grateful to fight with him. It prevents me from seeing how Reed is taking this. “I’ll deal with it.”

“How?” Russell asks, not giving me an inch.

“I don’t know yet,” I mumble, sitting up and dragging my feet to the edge of the bed so that my back is to Reed and Russell. “I’ll figure it out.”

“What did he do in your dream world?” Reed asks.

I glance over my shoulder at him before I look away. “He warned me that the Fallen plan to go to war over me. He thinks there’s another half-breed just like me...well, not
just
like me...a...err, a male...” I trail off, but the silence is short lived.

“How does he know?” Reed asks and it sounds suspiciously like his interrogator voice.

“Molly came across a fallen angel. Finn questioned him and found they’re planning a war.”

“Over you?” Reed asks.

“For me,” I affirm.

“And Brennus is your ally?’ Reed asks.

“I don’t know what he is. He’s my enemy one minute, and then he saves me from a fate worse than death in the next and I...” I look at Reed helplessly.

Russell’s wings flair out in agitation. “You trust him!”

My eyes narrow. “I trust that he wants me. I don’t trust him. There’s a difference.”

“There is a difference,” Zephyr agrees. “Just make sure you know it.”

Delayed shock sets in and I tremble. “I know it,” I whisper. My hand manages to gesture toward my sore chest. The wound has healed over now, but it’s still painful and raw. “I also know that the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
And my “frenemy” is coming back again tonight when I close my eyes
.

My stomach clenches in fear, making me nauseated. With the bed sheet still wrapped around me, I stumble to the bathroom. I make it just in time to vomit most of what I’ve eaten recently into the toilet. “Uhh,” I groan the sick sound people make when they finish puking. My wings retreat into my back, refusing to remain out.

Reaching for the handle, I push it down. As I rise from the floor, Reed’s hand grasps my elbow, helping me to my feet. Without a word, he leads me to the shower, turning it on. He pulls my sheet and bandages off before helping me into it, but he doesn’t join me. Instead, he walks to the sink, finds a toothbrush and smears a liberal amount of toothpaste on it. He hands it to me in the shower. Then, he closes the shower door and walks back to the sink, leaning against it with his arms crossed as he waits for me to finish. The loose-fitting pajama bottoms ride low on his hips. He’s obscenely handsome in a way that makes me feel weak for him.

I let the water rain down on me, parting my lips to wash away the taste of fear in my mouth. I glance at the shower wall where the broken tiles spider in a seductive pattern. Reaching out, my fingers glide over their rough texture. At the memory of how Reed and I made that mark, a small glow warms me, chasing away the bitterness.

The feeling is so unexpected, given what has already happened today. I turn the water off and open the glass door. Reed is there with a black robe. He takes the toothbrush from me and helps me into it. As I turn to look at him, I see his dried blood on his shoulder, the only remaining sign from where Brennus bit him, or I bit him, depending on how one looks at it. Frowning, I take his hand in mine and lead him to the sink. I wash away the blood from the bite and the other cuts that Brennus had made during the struggle. When I’m finished, I say softly, “I’m sorry.”

“That wasn’t you,” Reed replies.

“No, it wasn’t me,” I agree. “This is me.” I lean forward and kiss the spot on his shoulder where he was bitten, even though it’s gone now. Reed grows still. “And this is me,” I trail another kiss along his throat. “And this,” I say as my lips find his and kiss him gently, with love rather than passion.

Reed’s fingertips touch my cheek and trail a line down the sensitive part of my neck. It grips my skin. I shiver again with desire. His eyes darken at my response to his touch. The silk of my robe glides over me and slips off of my shoulder at Reed’s urging. His hand moves downward, tracing the side of my breast before it travels to my hip. I gasp as Reed jerks me to him possessively. I feel the fire for him everywhere.

He turns me to face away from him. My hands rest on the marble countertop next to the sink. I see him behind me in the mirror. He reaches around me, untying the belt of my robe and parting it. The slick fabric licks my arms as it slips to my elbows. I straighten them and the robe falls off of me to pool on the floor. My abdomen tightens as I yearn for him to touch me.

Reed’s hand sweeps my hair aside before it goes to the drawer next to us. Something glimmers in the mirror. I watch as he reaches in front of me and places the red diamond necklace he gave me for my birthday around my neck. The pendant is cool against my skin. It lies next to the ring that I gave him for our first Christmas—my uncle’s ring.