Blood Twist (The Erris Coven Series) (20 page)

2
3

BRADE
N

Riley paced the floor. “I’
m telling you,
I can’t just march her out the front door.”

“I know,” Braden replied. H
is head still felt
like someone left a boot print i
n it. “
But, it beats jumping with her out the God damn window
.”

“
I’m draugar Braden. I can land on my feet,” Riley retorted.

“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 regen
erate 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 silv
er 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
. W
hipping his head
around, he star
ed
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

L
I
Z

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
.
N
ow
.”

“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
. O
nce 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 do
ppelganger did a pirouette. A
ll three hundred and six
ty-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 inevitabilit
y 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, the
ir unholy
resemblance still unnerving. “I can’t die from bei
ng 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. “J
ust be careful.”

With a slight chuckle, Maze slipped out the door
. Strix poked his head in, peaking at Liz before nodding in unde
rstanding
. 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 m
ischief 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 you
r self-centered douchebag half
and show me the guy I went
out
dancing with last night.
”

Riley
s
et 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. Sh
e wanted ou
t 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 th
roat 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 throbbed 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 somet
hing in the rigidity of
his muscles
soften.
After a moment, he let go
. His own br
eathing was stea
d
ier
.

“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
, a
way from his
disturbing nearness.
S
t
opping
next to
the bedroom door
,
she hoped
he
was now willing to
help
.

“Ple
ase Riley. I can’t do this wi
thout 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 noi
ses 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.