Incendiary (The Premonition Series (Volume 4)) (17 page)

Russell is hacking at the Gancanagh that are lurching at him from the walls.
“Russell, we have to go
,” I call
out, putting my hand out and
pushing energy outward to deflect the elf darts that Torin is throwing at Russell
and me. The fireballs ricochet
off the shield
, showering
ribbons of
sparks and f
lames down on the heads of the f
allen
angel
s
hacking at Reed.

“No shit
!
I
’m with you
, Red,” Russell calls
back, g
etting pounded by a shadowy
neva
r
ache,
conjured by Eion. The
neva
rache
’s
black
, spiky
tail snakes
around Russell’s body while it tries
to dig its sharp, ferocious
claws into his neck. I pull
energy away from Eion,
making
his neva
rache
fade
, bleedin
g away like a falling
star
.

“EVIE!
” Reed
shouts
, spinning
away from the att
a
ck
from
f
allen
angel
s
on the ground and
tak
ing flight near us.
“GO
NOW
!
”
he orders
, c
atching the arm of a f
allen
angel
who i
s about to clea
ve me in two with his axe.
Reed struggles
with him, fo
rcing him back into the wall and
embedding the axe in the fallen’
s chest
.

Closing my eyes, I pull
all the ener
gy in the room to me. I whisper w
ords to myself, before forcing the power
from my body
. Icicles ru
n the length of the wall
s
, coursing down it and branching out, freezing everything in its path. Missing Zephyr by mere inches, the burgeoning ic
e flow encompasses many
of the f
allen
angels
near the doors, continuing out into the hallway beyond this room.
Zephyr swi
ng
s
his sword at a frozen f
allen angel, creating lo
ng, web-like cracks that rip
through the
tragic figure, shattering the f
allen Power like glass.

Satisfied that I’ve done all I can to help,
I reach
for my necklace, signal
ing to Russell
that we need to go
. My gaze turns
to R
eed, winking at him as I touch
my ne
cklace, feeling the smooth
onyx beneath my fingertips. Catching the clasp, the
necklace
spring
s
open
. T
he expression on Reed’s
face change
s
from
r
elief to wide-eyed horror
. An instant later, Eion pounces
on me, wrapping his legs around my waist
and hugging
his
body to mine
like a serpent. Pressing h
is
cool lips
against
my neck,
his
sharp fangs
bit
e into my flesh just as we’
re stretched and pulled
together
into my portal.

Anya

Crashing
on
to a hard floor in a magnificent bedroom, my mouth open
s
wide in utter agony befo
re my teeth clench
together in
pain. Eion is beneath me;
his legs
are
still wrapped around me
like a clamp as he continues
to
tear and suck the rapidly flowing blood from my neck. St
ruggling to break away from him
, my visi
on slips out of focus as stabbing pain tears
through me. It
feels like Eion is collapsing
a chamber within my heart as he greedily draws
more and more blood
from me
.

Straining, I reach
back, clawing at his
eyes with my fingernails. He has
to pull his teeth out of me to avoid me gouging
h
is eyes out. Pantin
g like he’s run a race, Eion speaks
behind me, “Ye are
incredible, Genevieve.”

I pick
my head up,
and
then dri
ve it back hard into his face, hearing a crack
of
cartilage
as I break
his n
ose. His legs loosen on my waist and I try
to stand, but
I fall forward instead. I crawl
toward the bedroom door,
kicking my feet at Eion who groans and tries to grab me again.

Eion
ho
ld
s
my leg, pulling himself up;
he bares
his teeth again, driving them
into my thigh. As he
feeds
on me
again
, a
scream of agony rips from me. I grasp
his hair, pulling out a fistful of it and dislodging him from me.
K
icking him in the face, I turn
again, crawling again toward the door.
Almost gaining my feet, I sway
, falli
ng over as dizziness overwhelms
me.

“Dis is so much better den
da
mindless compliance
from da wans
,” Eion says
be
hind me, referring to the enthralled women who cannot fight back. “
’
Tis no wonder why he can na live wi’ out ye.
’
Tis so sexy when ye struggle…I can taste da
fire in yer blood—
o
r maybe dat is whah ye always taste
like.”

Standing over
me, Eion looks drunk; he sways
a little before catching himself against the post of the enormous bed. “I need ta know whah it feel
s
like when ye struggle as I bury meself in ye…can ye do dat for me,
aingeal
…will ye struggle for me whil
e I make luv ta ye?” he asks
, scooping me up off the floor and carrying me toward
s
the bed.

“Eion—
d
on’t,” I say
weakly, seeing his intent.

“Struggle for me, Genevieve
,
and I wi
ll share me blood wi’ ye. Ye’
ll
be me
sclábhaí
, me slave, and I will kill Brennus
for ye,
” he promises
, kissing my temple.

“You’re insane. He’ll
destroy you, Eion,” I counter
, feeling the soft mattress beneath me
. “My blood is making you drunk—
”

“
’
Tis, Genevieve, and now dat I’ve tasted it
, I’
ll die before I gi
ve ye ta another,” he replies
. W
rappin
g his fist in my hair he brings
his face
to
wi
thin me
re inches of mine, his brows dra
w d
own in a fierce scowl as he says, “Now…struggle!
”

Pulling my hair back and making my neck arch up, Eion bit
es
into my neck again, causing unbelievable pain to run like poison through m
y veins. Reaching down, I pull
on
e
of the daggers from my thigh
holster
. Tur
ning the knife in my hand, I dri
ve it into Eion’s side, twisting it before his tee
th co
me out of me again
. H
is hand covers
mine, knocking my hand
away from him. Pushing Eion awa
y from me with my foot, I pull
the other dagger from my thigh holster, swiping the air between us to make him stay back from me.

I list
to the other side of the
bed and manage
to crawl off i
t, putting it between Eion and me
. Hunger pains gnaw at me
as the scent of Eion’s blood
, seeping from his side, floats
to me.

“Ye
smell me, do ye na?” Eion smiles
, his fangs still dripping with my blood. “Ye can taste me, Genevieve.
I want ye…I’ve always wanted ye. I can na live wi’out ye now. Join me…we’ll conquer dis world.”

“
Eion, you repulse me,”
I say
, but the urge to pounce on h
im and drink his blood makes
me sweat.

“Dat will change. I can make ye want me
,” he smiles
,
using the knife I had
left
in his side to cut his wrist, letting his blood well up and seep out.

I put
one of my arms up to try to cover my nose
and mouth from the scent of him. M
y
stomach twists in a knot from
hunger
as I w
h
imper
and clutch my abdomen
.

Bright red wings catch
my eye then, as Russell skid
s
past me, bouncing and tumbling over the floor with a pale,
un
dea
d fella attached to him. Russell rises
to
his feet with Keefe on his back. He ducks
down, pulling Keefe over the top of him like a ragdol
l. Grasping
Keefe’
s ne
ck in his hands,
Russell snaps
hi
s neck with a loud crack before dropping
Keefe’s listless body to the floor.

“AHHHH, THAT FREAKY
ANIMAL BIT ME!” Russell shouts
angrily, looking like a raging bull before whirling and seeing
Eion. “WHERE IS SHE?” he shouts
at Eion,
his wings arching out while striding menacingly toward him
. Eion lifts
the dagger in his hand to ward
off Russell, but Russell lunges
at him,
taking the dagger right out of Eion’s hand and turning it on him.

“She’s there,” Eion says
, pointing in my direction. Looking at
me, Russell’s whole face changes
from anger
to raging insanity. My bloody appearance distracts
Russell,
allowing Eion
the opportunity to sin
k his fangs into Russell’s arm. He clamps
down
hard,
drawing Russell’s blood from him.

“YOU
NASTY PARASITE!
” Russell rages
, picking Eion up by the throat with his other hand and tearing him
off of his arm. Russell extends
his arm, crushing Eion’s neck with just one hand.

“Russell!” I say
breathlessly, watching him drop Eion’s corpse on the floor. “How?” I as
k
, not understanding how he has come to be here. He is supposed to be with Bro
wnie. Their
portals are paired as Zephyr
and Buns are paired. Reed is supposed to be with me in this safe house.

“Ahhh, those bites burn!
LORD THAT SUCKS!” Russell rants
, shaking the arm that Eion preyed upon.

“How
many bites do you have?” I ask
weakly, leaning against the wall behind me.

“I don’t know,” Russell says
,
and then he sways
on his feet. Dropping his hands and
bracing himself against
the bed, I can count
a
t least five or six bite
marks
on his chest
that
are oozing trails of blood
.