Blood Twist (The Erris Coven Series) (11 page)

He could hear Liz’s
quick intake of breath
. She
wrinkled her nose
as she
glanced around
the limited lighting
in a vague attempt to
see
. Braden knew if she under
stood the full horror of what they were walking into
, she wouldn’t be wearing the fake smile.
She would bolt.
If sh
e did, he would have to react quickly
.

Riley
smirked
at
Liz. Licking his lips, his dark gaze followed the length of her body. “You do have fine taste brother, she smells amazing.”

“Don’
t even consider it
,” he warned.

With a bemused grin, Riley
continued staring
. “I won’t hurt her, unless she wants me to.” 

B
r
a
den’s
fists clenched at his sides. H
e imagined tearing Riley’s
black
heart out.
As far as he knew, none of the elders had fought a vampire before. But from the legends he grew
up hearing, they were deadly beings responsible for
slaughter
ing
entire fishing villages
in Northern Europ
e and pockets of
Central America. Places remote and easily forgotten.

From the time Riley first appeared, Braden imagined
the vampire
w
ould kill him
– a tradeoff to keep his family safe.
It was
a sacrifice that as a small boy he couldn’t s
ee another alternative to. The pledge was made so long ago, that Braden hadn’t realized that by waiting until he had gone through the change, he had the ability to fight back.

Maybe his strength was noth
ing compared to theirs, but he would sure as hell try
.
If he could destroy the nest, he could be free from them forever. He ju
s
t needed to get
Liz
out
first
.

12

L
IZ

Liz always loved vampire movies. From the time she was old enough to discover the mysterious sensation of fear mixed with seduction, she had become an arde
nt fan. When she discovered the undead
were even more aloof and sexy in books, she became a vast reader
of
their juicy
fiction.
Books like
Thirst
,
The Morganville Vampires
, and
The Vampire Diaries
lined her shelves. Now, a
s she walke
d into the
lair of
the real thing, any remaining romantic appeal
from her years of fandom
disintegrated
.

Braden
stayed at h
er side, his warm hand held tight to
her wrist.  Normally she avoided
his touch,
because the electricity of his skin against hers was too intense,
but tonight he steadied
her nerves. It helped he could see in the dark, keeping her from walking into misplaced furniture or plummeting
t
hrough a decayed hole
in the floor.

On television, vampires dwelled in
mansions or high rise suites
; t
heir years of life affording them the luxury of amassed antiques and powerful savings bonds.
But this wasn’t
make
believe on some sound stage.
The nest she was entering was far from glamorous
.

H
ow long
will they squat here before moving on?

The place stunk.  It
s odor was thick which
made it hard to br
eathe.
The closest
thing Liz could compare it to
w
as
the
house she used to make
calls
at
when she helped
her Aunt Bev
deliver
Avon products.

Liz
tried avoiding Kimberley
’
s stop because the sixty-year-old liked more than cosmetics, she liked cats. She was a hoarder. Her house
was overrun with more than seventy
of the things. Every surface was soi
led and
she knew many of the felines were ill. T
he place smelled so putrid
that she and
her Aunt would need
to shower and was
h their clothes as soon as they returned home. 

The dark building was like that. I
t smelled of animal infestation and
waste
.
Just breathing through your mouth allowed you to taste the dankness of the air. Covering her mouth, she tried barring the scent.

A red glow came from a doorway at the end of the hallway. She smelled something new, different
.

…
Kerosene?

Strix disappeared into the blackness of one of the stairwells, but Riley stayed a few feet ahead. He was leading them to the large room
. Although she was thankful she could see, the sudden lighting unsettled her. There would be draugar there, waiting. 

Braden leaned in, forgoing his usual attempt at distance. “You’re doing okay,” he whispered. “Just
do your best to remain
calm and stay by my side.”

“No worries there,”
Liz nodded.
The last thing she would do was meander off.

She wondered why they were
whispering, the others w
ould be able to
them
hear
anyway. She wanted to ask him what was going on, why he had planned on
sending her home alone. But
now wasn’
t the time – on
ce they were alone
, he better be straight with her.

Riley paused. “You’re both safe as long as you behave and
don’t interfere with anyone eating
. I want you to meet
Garrick
.”
There was just enough lighting to make out his features.
Liz c
ould see he was anxious, nervous even, but not in the way she would have first suspected
.
He looked like he wanted to impress them.

“Why would I believe you?” Braden growled.

Riley laughed, “Because if I
wanted you and our
little family dead, I would have done
that years
ago when I turned.” 

“So you hold it over my head for eigh
t years that you want me to give
myself over t
o you, for what? So you can offer
me a tou
r of this shit hole?”
He held Liz slightly back,
“I swear if anyone
hurt
s
her, I will kill you.”

Despite the limited lighting, Liz could see the facial features of both of them shifting.
Under her touch,
Braden stiffened
, his body preparing
for a
fight
. She couldn’t let things get out of control
, not here and not with others like Riley around. Although she
couldn’t see or hear them, the silent
coldness
screamed
of their presence.

Tapping on
Br
aden’s arm,
she tried to get his attention,
but he wouldn’t
stop glaring at
Riley
.

“Let’s just find out what they want, and then we’ll go.
Okay?
” She ran her hand across his chest, for the first time she could feel the double beat working in perfect unison. He looked down at her, surprised with th
e sensation
of her touch.
“Okay?”

Braden
shivered
, his expression softening
.
He covered her hand with his. “I’m sorry I got you into this.”

Liz could feel Riley staring at them, entertained with their frailty. She didn’t
give a damn what he thought, she
just wanted him and Braden to keep from tearing each other’s heads off. 
The situation was out of control.
Braden
needed to get back home and let
the
elders figure out how to deal with this
.

“Isn’t that sweet,” Riley
said, clearly amused.
Stepping
closer
, he
ran his
cold
hand across Liz’s cheek.

Br
aden gave him a warning stare,
“Back off.”

Riley didn’
t budge
. “I can see why you like her. S
he’s got so much control
, but she’s
ferocious
under the surface,
just ready to explode.  Imagine what she could do if she was one of us?
”

Liz batted Riley’s
touch from her skin.
“
I’ll pass.”

“Well,” he whispered, “maybe I can change your mind.”
Bending forward, he kisse
d her temple
.
His cold lips left behind an odd awareness on her skin
.
“After all, I hear no
claim
s that you
’
r
e
fated to my brother.”

“Thanks
,
but
I love having a pulse
too much for that.
L
et’s hurry this up.
”
Pull
ing away, she pretended his suggestion didn’t bother her. How could he tell she wasn’t bound to Braden
?
Lexie and Torin
had and they were the same
age. It was possible
.

Accept Braden deserves someone amazing…someone sweet and lovable without baggage like me.

Feeling
claustrophobic
, Liz
wanted to get Riley’s little show over so she could get back on a pl
ane to the states.
Only hours before she was
dis
appointed they weren’t going to Ireland. Now she thought even Canada
was too far away.

As far as the vampire’s
invitation to turn her, Liz
hoped he wasn’t serious.
If so, he needed a reality check.
She was no Bella Swann and Riley sure in hell was no Edward Cullen.

I’ll pass, thank you very much.

Riley’s eyebrows went up, “Right this way.”

Entering
a large room
, Liz swallowed the dry lump in her throat
.
As much as she could pretend she wasn’t scared, her beating heart and parched mouth showed otherwise.

The
source of glowing red light came
from five
small
heaters dotting
the floor. Huddled around them were human forms
.
With tangled limbs, it was hard to
tell where one draugr ended and
an
other
began
.
Some were dressed, others were not. Some stared at her
with thick black eyes
, others looked right t
hrough her as if she wasn’t even there.

It’s the dining room
.

The realization made her stomach turn.
A stack of chairs ran across the back wall, blocki
ng the swinging doors that lead
to a commercial
kitchen.  Three tables were shoved in front of the only outside exit.
The picture w
indows were
now blackened
with thick
paint.

A room that once allowed visiting families a place to share a
meal
was now home to a little more than twenty demons.
Some of them loo
ked human,
like Riley, but most
did not. They lacked
a
quality that was hard to define
.
W
hat remained
was
chilling.