“She isn’t. You can’t take the risk.”
Braden ran his hands through his hair, trying to think. There had to be a way to get her out of there, if he knew the layout of the place better, he could at least come up with a plan that didn’t involve any danger for her sake.
“Torin took on a werewolf by himself. He was strong enough to kill him,” Braden said, hoping to find a solution.
“That little shit?” Riley asked. “I remember what a turd he was. How did he do that?”
“He’s not shit. He’s my best friend. Werewolves can’t handle silver. He tore open the bastard’s throat and shoved a silver necklace inside. They regenerate like we do. The silver burned its head off.”
Riley looked surprised. “Well done.”
“Yeah, well, he did it to save Lexie, his fate-partner.”
“He’s already got one? Where’s the time gone?”
Braden didn’t answer. Instead he thought about the silver and the way the lycans died. “What about draugar? How do you die?”
“The same way we were told as kids. Fire, sunlight, staking, beheading…” Riley stopped pacing with a violent suddenness. Whipping his head around, he stared at the door.
Strix was back, his chalky voice argued with the guards on the other side of the wall. Braden clenched his fingers into a tight fist. From the urgency of the small vampire’s tone, he knew something was up.
“It’s almost morning,” Riley said, listening intently. “Garrick wants everyone upstairs.”
A wave of cold went over Braden. If they didn’t act fast, Liz would be Garrick’s new bride.
The door clicked open and Strix slid his way in. Although Braden refused to allow his expression to shift, he feared the news about to be shared.
Licking his lips, Strix looked from Riley to Braden, before saying what needed to be said. “Garrick has changed his mind. Instead of making the female a vampire, he has decided you will take her place.”
It took a moment for Braden to realize what he meant. “He wants me to feed on a human?” His hearts lurched in his chest. He’d rather stake himself than cross that line. “There is no way in hell.”
“There’s more,” Strix said, with a small black vein pulsing in his forehead. “You’re woman is the meal.”
24
LIZ
Riley strode in without knocking first. A fierce level of concern radiated from behind his focused gaze. “I have to get you out of here. Now.”
“The door’s guarded,” Liz said.
“Strix just took watch. If we don’t go now, your throat isn’t going to work so well for breathing.”
“Garrick’s just going to turn her,” Maze said, her eyes narrowed slits. “I doubt he’ll kill her.”
“Game change. He’s decided to make Braden feed on her if he wants to live. He’ll become a draugr. Once he drinks her blood, he won’t be able to stop.”
Staring at Riley, Liz’s gut sank. “But what about Braden? If I’m not down there, what will Garrick do to him?”
“I have no clue, but I do know that my brother wants me to get you out of here and that is what we’re doing.”
“How do I know I can trust you?”
Riley sighed, “Are we really going to argue about this? I think I’ve made it clear that I’m not averse to being with you Liz. I would even go so far as saying that I feel something warm and fuzzy when I look at you. But, we’re wasting time and I have to get you as far from here as I can – preferably someplace I can bed down before the sun comes up.”
“But if I’m not downstairs for Braden…”
“That’s not so hard,” Maze interrupted.
Standing before her in the white silk gown, Maze’s features softened and bent until she looked just like Liz. Spinning in the moonlight light, her doppelganger did a pirouette. All three hundred and sixty-five angles looked just like Liz.
That’s downright freaky.
“What do you think?” Maze asked, even her voice had changed.
It was like a powerful sense of inevitability entered the room. Like God, in a sudden mood for a change, had a Milton Bradley’s board game and switched the Liz and Maze game pieces around.
“Are you sure about this?” Liz croaked. Glancing from Maze to Riley, she could barely think.
“Your own boyfriend couldn’t even tell I wasn’t you when I went in their last night,” Maze answered, knowing it was true.
Even seeing the transformation for herself, the memory still stung. The thought of Braden with Maze straddling his lap made her stomach clench.
“You look perfect Maze,” Riley said. “Even I would have fallen for it.”
“But, what if Garrick notices?” Liz asked, worried it was too easy.
“Listen, it’s either you or Maze in that dress tonight. If it’s you – and Braden bites your neck, he’s turning into a vampire and you can kiss your sunny little walks in the park goodbye. If he drinks from Maze, nothing will change because she isn’t human. It’s no different that Torin drinking from the werewolf. Garrick won’t know the difference and Braden can leave once the sun comes up.”
Liz looked at Maze, standing bored next to the door. “Will you be okay?”
The creature smiled back at her, their unholy resemblance still unnerving. “I can’t die from being fed on. In fact, it’s arousing. Don’t worry, I’ll act the part: squirm, cry – whatever.”
Liz laced her hands over her stomach. Picturing Braden with his mouth anywhere near Maze made her belly hurt.
“Then okay, be me,” she said simply. “Just be careful.”
With a slight chuckle, Maze slipped out the door. Strix poked his head in, peaking at Liz before nodding in understanding. Closing it behind him, Liz and Riley were alone.
Swallowing her last plea, Liz glanced tiredly at the vampire. He was perfectly still, waiting for her to speak her mind.
“We aren’t really leaving, right?” she asked, finally.
“What do you have in mind?” Riley grinned, his eyes skimming her body.
Liz rolled her eyes. She hated when he played the role of the oversexed jerk. After getting to know him, she knew there was another side to Riley, smart and sensitive. He just forgot it sometimes. “I mean you and me, rescuing Braden, and getting the hell out of dodge.”
“I’m really not into threesomes. Besides, my brother is a big boy. He can get himself out of here.” Riley didn’t budge; the mischief behind his smile caused his eyes to blaze like flaming sapphires.
Is he still trying to play with me?
The awareness sent heat rushing to her face. “You know Riley, I haven’t figured out if you have a multiple personality disorder or what, but you need to turn off your self-centered douchebag half and show me the guy I went out dancing with last night.”
Riley set his jaw in a stubborn line. Standing wickedly close, his trailed a long finger from her jaw down to her collarbone, leaving a peppering of goose bumps in their wake. “We’re leaving now. Just the two of us, the way my brother wants. No more nest, no more Garrick. Out of Canada tonight.”
Looking at him, Liz couldn’t control her shaking. She wanted out of this hell hole as much as he did, but she couldn’t just go. She cared about Riley, but she loved Braden. There was no way she would give up and leave him behind. “We don’t have to do everything we’re told. We can do this our own way.”
“You want to stay, and have us both risk our lives, to get Braden out of here?” he said, in a dangerously quiet voice. “You want me to discard his wishes? Do things the way I want?”
Riley glared down at her, and Liz sensed that he wanted to take a bite out of her throat or rip off her clothes and make violent love to her – or both.
“Well?” he asked, waiting for her to decide.
Liz bit on the inside of her lip, unsure what he was asking. Before she could even nod, Riley’s body was pressed up against hers, his hands snaking into her hair. She couldn’t move; she couldn’t breathe. Her heart thro
bbed in panic, hoping like hell she wouldn’t regret pushing him the way she did.
His kiss was hard, suitably punishing, and more than intrusive. She knew she had been flippant with the vampire and would pay a price if she failed to appeal past his primitive emotions. Her legs would have buckled if it wasn’t for his grip, firm at her waist.
Eventually breathless, he released her mouth, but kept hold of her body, pressed solid against his. Although he was still angry at the situation, she could feel something in the rigidity of his muscles soften. After a moment, he let go. His own breathing was steadier.
“I could take you if I wanted. You wouldn’t be able to stop me. No matter what happens tonight, I hope you remember that.” Gone was his fury, all that was left was disappointment and resignation. “I would have made you happy, maybe even love me.”
With lips swollen from kissing, Liz stepped past him, away from his disturbing nearness. Stopping next to the bedroom door, she hoped he was now willing to help.
“Please Riley. I can’t do this without you.”
25
BRADEN
It felt like an hour since Riley left, but Braden knew only minutes had passed. What time was it? Did Garrick change his mind and decide to wait until the following evening? Or worse, leave him down there locked up like a dog in a crate while going ahead with his sick-ass ceremony.
I swear if he touches her, I’ll kill him…
Was it getting too close to dawn? He wasn’t sure how much they moved around during the daylight hours. When he and Liz went past the dining room, he couldn’t hear anything. No breathing, no moans – not even the constant slurping noises they made while suckling each other. It was like they vanished. The only thing he could think was that they went down into the basement. If so, if he was still down here when the sun came up, there was no chance of sneaking past them.
Trying the door handle, he found it was still locked.
“Cut the crap in there,” a voice boomed from the other side. Braden recognized it as the fat draugr with narrow eyes who half carried him down there and dumped him on his head.
Leaning against the door, Braden tried hearing if there was more than one watching guard. If not, he could try taking him on.
If he’d just open the door…
All of the emotions he bottled up over the last few days were reaching their threshold, ready to explode. Garrick’s demand was the icing on the cake.
Liz. All he could think of was the sound of her cries as they dragged him out of the room. If Riley hurried, she could be out of the building by now. Maybe that was the hold up. Garrick’s bride was gone. Curling his hands into fists, he hoped so.
How could he have come so far and lose her now? Braden never knew that dreaming of a future with her by his side was even a possibility. He always thought Riley would kill him. Falling in love? It never occurred to him that he would. Now that he was sure, he didn’t want to imagine going back to his other life. A life where he was only protecting his coven until his cousins were old enough to take his place.
I can’t do it. I need her.
Riley’s admission was still a shock. When Torin first dreamed of Lexie before he completed the change, he and Braden were both convinced no other damphyr had ever done it, but if Riley’s story was true, he dreamed of Liz twelve years ago. Long before he faced his change and gave into the temptation to feed.
Maybe we don’t know as much about our kind as we sometimes think.
If Riley wasn’t damphyr – did he no longer have claim on Liz? Was the bond really gone? Braden wanted to think so, but worried just the same. His brother even admitted her scent carried the magical elements of a soul-bound female. Braden wanted to think it was because Liz would someday be his, that he would dream of her the way all damphyr men dreamed of their fate-partners before discovering their love.
But I already love her.
Trying the door knob again, it was still locked. Being confined made everything he felt worse. He knew one thing. When it came to his feelings for Liz, he was helpless. Maybe she would have eventually have been Riley’s, maybe not. All he knew was that if he got out of this mess alive, he would do anything to find her and let her know how he felt. If she wanted Riley and not him, he would do his best to live with that. He just hoped the amazing connection he felt when they touched proved otherwise.
Finally footsteps came down the hall. From the sounds, it was only one. As the door swung open, Strix motioned for him to come.
Braden thought of attacking. Strix seemed friends with Riley, but wasn’t sure if he was attached to the bald one. As if the old creature knew what he was thinking, he cast a warning glare. If it had been one or the other, Braden would have tried. Wanting to get upstairs, he stepped out of the room and followed them upstairs.
Once they reached the dining room doors, the bald vampire stopped and peeked in, checking to see if Garrick was ready for the damphyr’s entrance.
Strix poked Braden in the ribs. With a subtle shake of his hands, he made an indeterminate noise in his throat. It didn’t take a second’s hesitation for Braden to reach out, and clasp the object with his own. Feeling the weight of a small blade, he slipped it under his waistband, unsure how the weapon would be much of a use.
As baldy opened the doors, Braden was stunned when he was escorted in without much fuss. Just like his other visits to the central dining room, the creatures that nested there, lay on the floor in heaps, feeding and copulating.
Garrick looked overly pleased to see him. Smiling amid his putrid bunch, he spread his hands in a mocking embrace. “Come in, son. It’s time to make you a man!”
Braden’s breath formed a tight ball in the middle of his chest. Standing directly at Garrick’s side, dressed in form fitting silk, was Liz. As the blood drained from his face, he vowed to fight to the death.
26
LIZ
After Riley sent Strix downstairs to intervene with Braden’s handling, he checked the stairwell to ensure, none of the demons who sometimes squatted in the darkness still remained. After a moment, he motioned for her to follow.
Without any windows to spill in illumination from passing headlights, Liz could barely see her hands in front of her face. With each step down, she tried taking a deep breath. Once she had read that meditation was the path to enlightenment and serenity, but the further she descended in the direction of the horde, the more she was convinced she would never be a yogi. Remembering the damn owl she encountered with Braden, she clutched the edge of Riley’s sleeve, not wanting to lose him.
“You’re not a fan of darkness,” he said, without laughing. “I forget what it’s like for humans. I’ve been a monster for too long.”
Liz bit back her reply, stunned that she almost blurted her disagreement with his statement. Was that how she felt? That he wasn’t a lost cause? He felt regret, loss, and compassion. If he was draugr only, those feelings wouldn’t exist. But, now wasn’t the time for a heart to heart with Braden’s black sheep brother. If they got out alive, it could be discussed. Instead, she stayed silent, keeping close as he led her out of the stairwell and through a series of corridors winding around the rear of the building.
Through a wide set pair of metal doors, they entered a room Liz could only imagine was used as a pantry. Large metal shelves ran from floor to ceiling along both walls.
Where the hell is he taking me?
Riley halted. “Wait here,” he said, freeing his sleeve from her grip.
“Don’t leave me,” she begged, but Riley didn’t pause. Slipping into the blackness, she was left standing their alone.
The room smelled like death. Like the time she and Lexie went camping with Ruby and Ed in the Adirondacks Mountains. They grew tired of lying around the camp site with Ella pestering them nonstop but the beach didn’t have a lifeguard on duty. So, despite having been told to stay close bye, the two went hiking through the woods on a trail they discovered behind the camp’s gift shop.
They were abou
t twenty minutes in when the worst smell either had encountered filled their noses. Lexie had wanted to go back, but Liz was curious. After going a little further, they found a deer carcass. Much of it has been eaten, but what remained was bloated with decay and crawling with maggots. Liz had always heard that memories with smells attached were always the strongest. Plugging her nose now, she knew this one would be unforgettable.
What if he doesn’t come back?
Liz shook her head. There was no way in hell she was going to crumble now. Braden needed her, Ruby needed her, and Lexie and Ella were counting on her to bring home a cure for the virus.
“Hey,” Riley whispered, appearing nearby. “It’s clear, but be very quiet.”
Reaching out, Riley’s cool hand slipped into hers, once again guiding her through the darkness. As they moved into a larger space, the degree of stench wasn’t quite as bad. From a small porthole window on the back wall, light cast some visibility into the room.
It’s the kitchen.
“We can watch from here,” he said, edging her closer.
Moving forward, it took a moment for her eyes to adjust. She was on the other side of the doors that connected the kitchen to the dining room. The same doors she had seen Strix pass through earlier with the box.
Riley stood like a statue at her side. She knew he could hear easily what was being said although it was difficult for her. At least where she was, she could see enough of the room to know what was going on. All of them were in there except for Braden and Strix.
In his skin tight pants with a mane of flowing dark hair, Garrick looked like a circus ringmaster and even crazier than usual. With his eyes glued on Maze, he was asking her something about whether or not she believed Braden would spare her. Maze kept completely calm. Sounding exactly like Liz would, she begged him to let them go. Garrick laughed but didn’t touch her. It was anyone’s guess what either vampires were thinking.
“It’s like a dream, like I’m watching myself outside my own body,” she whispered.
Blood Twist (The Erris Coven Series) Page 11