Incendiary (The Premonition Series (Volume 4)) (2 page)

“Why na?” he asks
me patiently, like he has all the time in the world to sort this out.

“Because my family needs me and I
need them,” I reply
, seeing his brows
turn down as his mouth slants
in
to
a frown.

“We are yer family,
mo chroí
. Ye’re our queen,” he says
calmly enough, but his pale face looks stern.
“I am yer king.”

I shake
my head at him, taking a step back from the edge of the water and from his outstretched hand. My heart is beating so fast now
that
i
t
’
s pounding in my ears.
“I belong here, with them…with hi
m,” I say
quietly, watching Brennus’
frown turn into the darkest anger. A click
sounds
from Brennus as his retractable fangs sho
o
t forward
in his mouth and he bares
their
razor-sharp
points
menacingly.

“Ye would leave
me alone wi’ whah I feel for ye?
I would die for ye. Is dat na enough for ye
ta see dat I love ye?” he asks
, sounding wounded and hurt.

“I know that you love me, Brennus. I even know that you would protect me with your life if I’d let you, but I can’t let y
ou. I can’t be with you,” I say
, feeling tears coming to my eyes.

“Ye can and ye will,” he retorts
, reaching out to
take my arm. His fingers pass
right through me,
leaving a frigid gust of air where his
hand had been. Amazed, I look
at his face, seeing his frustration.

“You’re a clone
...a spell
,” I breathe
, looking at him. “You’re not really here!”

“Ye’re surprised?” he asks
, losing
a little of his anger as he sees
my astonished expression. “Ye li
ve wi’ an extraordinary craitur
, such as yerself, for
long enough, ye le
arn a ting or two. ’T
is a s
pell,
Genevieve. I liked whah ye can do wi’ yer clones…da
images of yerself d
at ye create. I tought I woul
d try it meself.
Do ye want ta see mo
re?” he asks, but he does
n’t wait for me to answer as he cast
s
his hands in waves about us.

A
rippling echo of energy billows
out around u
s. Murky forms of Gancanagh begi
n emerging from the depths of the sea and striking out in legions onto the beach.
These undead F
aeries swarm
around us, looking very real beneath the light of the moon.
Fear and anger sweep
through me, seeing the army he would
bring down upon me, but I try to hide it as I say
, “They’re not here either.”

“Na yet,” he replies
darkly. “Do na make me bring dem ta fetch ye back ta me. I tought we had gotten past dis. Chasing ye is beginning ta take a toll on me,
mo chroí
. I do na know how ta make ye understand dat ye are me heart. Wi’out ye I do na exist…and wi’out me, ye will na exist.”

“So you
’
r
e
saying that if I don’t come back
to you, you’ll kill me?” I ask
him, feeling cold inside.

“I will blee
d ye dry,” he threatens
, showing me his
gleaming, white
fangs.
His image leans
closer to my neck, allowing icy air
to radiate near me.
Remembering the gut-wrenching pain o
f being bitten by him, I cringe
.

“If you bite me
,
you’ll have nothing,” I retort
, feeling betrayed by him.
“I won’t drink your blood and become one of you.”

“I have nu
t
ing now!
When I bite
ye, ye’ll be G
ancanagh,” he counters
. “Me true queen.
Ye’ll be unable to resist me blood.
”

“No,” I reply
, shakin
g my head. “I’ll refuse,” I say
bravely, trying to mean every word.

Anger makes
him sneer, “Ye may, and ye may na. I’m willing ta take dat chance.”

“Are y
ou?” I ask
, feeling like every word
he ever spoke to me was a lie.

“I am,” he affirms
, staring ba
ck at me with a predatory gaze.

“You’d give my soul to Sheol? To those
monsters for eternity?” I ask
him, feeling crushed.
If I do drink his blood, then my soul will be surrendered to Sheol, to the fallen angels for eternity.
I’ll die and be reborn an evil, undead creature…like him.

“If
ye make me, I will,” he replies
without a hint of doubt.

Russell’s voic
e interrupts
us as he nears
.
“Brrrr, you
feel that, Red? Now that’s cold,”
Russell says
, swinging his five-
iron to dispel the imaginary Gancanagh that Brennus
has
conjured on the beach.

As their
sinister
images ripple and fade
away
, Russell rests
the
golf
club
on his shoulder
.
When
h
is
tall frame towers
over me,
he does
n’t hesitate, but drops his club and engulfs
me in his arms. Picking me up off my feet, h
e gi
ve
s
me a bone-crushing
hug that takes my breath away.

“Russell,” hi
s name escapes me like a prayer as I look
into his chocolate-brown eyes.
His tawny hair looks
almost golden in the moonlight.

Russell grins
broadly at me.
“Ah, you
know I’ve been wantin’ to do that
for so long, it hurts,” he admits
, loosening his grip on me, but not putting me back on my feet. “Am I interruptin
’ somethin’?” he asks
, looking at Brennus’ livid face. “Ah, it’s the stalker again. I
should’ve known, but you
r sti
nk is not so bad out here…maybe all y’all should move s
omewhere tropical,” he suggests
in a smart-ass tone. Seeing Brennus’ eyebrows draw togeth
er, he adds
, “I’m just sayin’
.”

“Da other, I—” Brennus begins
, using the name he has attached to Russell
. Brennus calls Russell
“the
other”
because Russell is
the only other being just like me
: a human-angel hybrid
.
He could also mean the other half of my soul, since Russell is my
human
soul mate.

Russell ho
ld
s
up his hand.
“Just one second,
Brennus, you
total
freak
,
” Russell says
insultingly.
“
I just gotta get a little
smackerel from my girl.”

Russell’s hand snakes
up to weave in my hair at the base of
my neck, while his lips press
fir
mly to mine, kissing me with an
intensity an
d longing that I’m not
expect
ing
.
A low growl co
me
s
from Brennus
,
and an instant later
, another growl answers his f
rom Reed.
Reed
directed
it
at Brennus, I’m sure, but
I push
against Russell
anyway
, try
ing to make him stop kissing me.
However,
Russell is
really freaking strong now
, stronger than me, so
I can’t budge him an inch.

When Russell ends the kiss, he looks
into my
eyes, like we’re alone and says
, “I missed you
, Red.”

I touch
my finger
tip
s
to my lips, feeling confused and overwhel
med. “I missed you, too,” I respond
softly.
We haven’t had much time alone together since I’d been rescued from Brennus’ estate in Ireland. Most of my time has been spent with Reed.
There is still a lot left unsa
id between my soul mate and me.

“You
still
here, Brennus?” Russell asks
, not looking at hi
m
, but just at me. “Why don’t you
give up now? Go on an
d find someone else to haunt, ya
creepy, dead bastard.”

“I will
enjoy killing ye,” Brennus says
intently.

“Well, th
at
’s really easy to say, when you’
r
e
not really
here, isn’t it?” Russell replies
, smiling into my eyes, like it’s a private
joke between us. “Next time, you
should come in person…you
get more respect that way.”

“
What are you doing,” I whisper
to Russell, feeling fear wash over me at his provoking words.

“I’m pickin’ a fight I know I can
win,” he replies
with a cocky grin.

Looking at Brennus’ face and smiling unabashedly, Russell’s crimson
,
Seraphim
wings stretch
out menacin
gly from his body. They remind
me of the fierce strength that Casimir showed with his.

Brennus turns
his eyes to mine.
“Do na hide from me,
mo chroí
, and do na make me come ta ye. I do
na want ta make ye beg,” he says
, ignoring both
Reed and Russell as they growl
at him.

My skin
pales
, feeling like my whole world is caving in on me. I feel as bad as I did in the cell in Houghton
—
when Brennus
first tried to turn me into an undead monster like
him
. No,
I feel worse. I hated Brennus then. He was never my f
riend then. Now…it’s like Freddie
all over again. I let him in
to
my heart and he’s tearing it apart.

“Why are you
such a maj
or tool, Brennus?” Russell asks
, scowling as he put
s
me back on my feet.

“He c
an’t help himself, Russell
,” Reed replies
, holding his hand out for me to take. Taking it and ho
lding it tight, I feel
Russell reach out and take my other hand.

“Red,
” Russell says
, using his nickname for me,
“
just tell him that things weren’t working out, that he’s a really bad boyfriend. Tell h
im that it’s definitely not you
—i
t’s him,” Russell s
ays
, smirking at Brennus’ image.

The air around us is growing colder. I can feel it and see it as my breath ma
k
e
s
smoky plumes
.

“Open up yer eyes,
mo shíorghrá
,
” Brennus
warns
me. “
I’m coming closer and ye know whah I can do. When I find ye, ye had better be ready ta submit ta yer
true
family. Do ye need
more tellin’
?”

My hands are
shaking, like he’s really here. Both Reed and Russell
tighten
their grip
, feeling my fear.

“C
ome and die, Brennus,” Reed says, stepping
between Brennus and me.