Blood Twist (The Erris Coven Series) (23 page)

“
I know,” she replied,
withdrawing
f
r
o
m his arms.
“Me too.”

As Liz turned her back on him to head down the hall, Braden
followed close behind. Descending quietly
into the stairwell, he couldn’t help but wonder what ending Liz
had
wanted with his brother.

2
8

DEATH

It was
so easy to slay them while they feasted on each other. They paid no heed to screams while
swimming in the deliria of cannibalistic
drunkenness
. The young one got away, a few others possibly too, bu
t it didn’t matter. None
witness
ed
his final glory
as he
annihilated the nest
with
his hands.

They never knew what he was. Like nests before this one, they came and went, refusing to bow to the strongest of leaders. Vampires were all the same. In the end they always tried killing him…and failed.

The damphyr believed he was dead. From within the dar
kened walls, he listened as Braden and Liz
discovered the remains of his celebration. Even the charcoale
d body at the door
confounded them – one of the last who preferred facing the sun than the pain of his talons.

Believing he was gone, as dead as the heap slaughtered on the floo
r, they had no clue he watched in his altered form.
A shape only he shifted into that could withstand the sun.

Death shivered with pleasure.
Finally, it was time.
The damphyr would lead him to the others – to the ones he had been waiting to find.

The half-breeds
were so delectable, so delicious in th
eir silken
purity.
His desire
for them was like nothing else
he ever experienced.

Two hundred and seven years ago, he systematically went from village to village, slaughtering them all. Death hadn’
t always giv
e
n
in to the darkness
. Even he once hunted wild boar and jackal with his brethren in the hills of Greece.

The first time he tore
into the two beating hearts, he was
forever hooked. The fact that they
belonged to his brother
didn’t matter, knowing it damned him
to darkness
didn’t either.
One simple accident while hunting left
Aigle
bleedin
g – before it could heal, his
hunger gave way to lust.

Temptation was so easily corruptible.

2
9

LIZ

After waiting ours in the packed terminal for their new flight, Liz was grateful to finally board the 747 bound for the states.
Once seated on the plan
e and heading back to Maine
,
Liz had h
oped to talk to Braden. But after they were
in the air, the heavy need for
a nap
crashed int
o her like
the weight
of a bus. Curled up in the
next to Braden
, she vaguely remembered him murmuring somethi
ng as a blanket was tucked around her
.
His presence, his intoxicating scent, having him close to her and leaving the vampires behind – it was too much. Drifting into a heavy sleep, she barely even dreamed.

By the time they were in Maine, Braden awoke her and got her moving through baggage claim and out into the cool air.
The brisk autumn air smelled like changing leaves and pinecones, aromas that were so familiar to New England.

It seemed
strange
climbing into Braden’s truck
and back into the world that knew nothing of nesting vampires
. Stranger still was that
Braden
,
may
or may not
,
have a
living
draugr brother who did everything possible to get them out of Sunnydale Rest Home alive.
Although Erris had its resident damphyrs and psychotic werewolves, at least the filth she experienced in British Columbia was on the other side of North America.

As they followed the winding roads back to Erris, Braden seemed lost in thought.
Although she attempted breaking him from his reverie a few times, he slid back into his quietness, pondering things she could only guess at.
She wanted to know what he was thinking. Now that he could begin picturing a life for himself, would he make changes? Would he try telling the elders the truth about Lachlan
’s death
and Riley’s final plea?

What about me? Do I have a role here?

Just when she felt brave enough to approach the subject, the small sign on the outskirts of town read
,
“Welcome to Erris.” Like a preplanned pause, she bit her tongue and decided to wait and see what would happen once they were back with the others.

Maybe Lexie can help me figure out what to do.

Pulling into the driveway, Braden put the truck into park and sat still for a moment. Givi
ng her a sideways glance, a tired
smile spread across his face.

“I guess the first thing you want to do is go check on Ruby,” he said.

Liz looked at her hands
clasped
tightly in her lap. “
That’s probably a good idea.
”

“I would imagine Lexie and Ella are beside themselves with worry.”

“Yeah, I’m sure your family is worried too.”

“Well, okay then,” he said, without moving.

Liz rea
ched for the door handle. As beat
as she was, she didn’t want to leave it this way between them. What was Braden not saying?  Biting the inside of her cheek, she tried
seizing
a semblance
of courage to say
how she felt
. “I’m glad I went with you.”

Braden looked at her. Confusion flashed through his beautiful blue eyes. “I shouldn’t have brought you. I’ll never forgive myself for putting you in danger.”

He regrets everything?

“I took care of myself,” she said simply, trying to mask the sting of his words.

Before he could brush off the entire trip, Liz opened the door and stretched her cramped up limbs. He may have regretted her coming along, but she couldn’t. Maybe that was why he had been so quiet on the trip
. She knew he was unsure about he
r coming, but she hoped their ordeal
brought them closer
, t
hat he felt something between them the way she did.
P
erhaps he wanted things to go back to the way they were before
they left, where Liz was just a friend of Lexie’s and he was the protector of his family, willing to sacrifice everything to keep them safe.

Swal
lowing the hurt that was building
in her chest, she double checked her pocket for the small vile that would save Ruby’s life. If nothing else, at least she didn’t fail at bringing home the blood.
Saving Ruby was always her main goal.
She could give Braden space
to decide how he felt about her, but in the meantime, she would do what she had to in order to get through the day.

Come on Liz, put on your big girl pants.

It was hours before Liz had a moment alone with Lexie. Once inside Endellion and Donovan’s house, the entire coven descended upon them
with questions and even chastisement for the decisions they made. While Braden had to explain why he wasn’t forthcoming with his family about his travel plans,
Fianna and Endellion drilled Liz on whether or not she was hurt in anyway.

Teagan’s mother wanted details as well. Noticing Liz’s sadness,
Aileen, brewed some flowery tea
and forced her to drink it to restore her spirit. Liz knew her mood wasn’t a result of some unholy influence – it was because after all they had been through, she wasn’t sure where that left things with her and Braden.  Watching the entire family together, especially Lexie and Torin who arrived together arm in arm, Liz felt more like an outsider than ever.

After a quick discussion
as to whether the blood would do more good than harm
, Endellion brought Liz and Lexie up to Ruby’s room to administer the cure.
Standin
g in the entranceway of the private space
, Liz almost turned
her back to flee
. Glancing at Lexie, her longtime friend gave an encouraging nod.

“It’
s okay Liz. She’s always loved
you.
She’ll want you here.
”

Moving slowly into the room, seeing her frie
nd’s mother again was shock. Ruby’s
body looked even thinner than she did just two days before. The angry rash from the lycanthropy virus left open re
d ulcers all over her skin. She
had always been an attractive and vivacious woman, but curled on the bed with patches of hair missing from her scalp
and dark rings under her eyes
, L
e
xie’s mom
looked like a stranger.

“Hello
Ruby,” Liz said, finally speaking
. Wrinkling her nose, she tried to keep her breaths shallow. Although the room and linens were kept spotless, illness flavored the air.

“She ha
sn’t been strong enough to communicate
, but she can still hear you,” Endellion reassured.

While Torin’s mother mixed
the vile of bl
ood into some tea
, Lexie helped raise her mother into a sitting position. Holding the cu
p to Ruby’s lips, the woman
labored
to take light
sips.
After a few minutes, the liquid was gone. Endellion helped lower Ruby back on the pillows. From where Liz stood, she wanted to believe Ruby’s cheeks looked a little less sunken in, but she knew wishful thinking could play tricks on the eyes.

“What if it doesn’t work?” Liz asked, looking from Endellion to Lexie. “How will we know?”

“She’ll improve Love, that’s how we’ll know. You were very brave in trying to help her. She’
ll carry that
along with her on which ever path she is destined to follow.”

Endellion spoke with such understanding. Liz wished she could be so self-assured
in life and trust that everyone had a path leading to
a predestined fate
.
Perhaps in all of Endellion’s years, she did know more than Liz ever could.

Did she know when she met Donovan that they were meant to be? Or that Lexie would belong to Torin for
e
ver?

“Lizzie,” Lexie said, breaking her from her thoughts. “
Last night,
I
told
Mom to hold on
and to not give up because you were going to rescue her. She squeezed my hand because she knew you loved her enough to see it through.”

Liz smiled. It was a wonderful thing knowing you could give back to someone who gave you so much.
She just hoped that it was in time.

“She
is blessed to have
both of you.” Endellion replied softly, rubbing Ruby’s hand
.
“I’m going to help refresh your mum with a clean nightie. Why don’t you girls take some time to relax? I’m sure Liz is quite tired and has missed you dear one.”

Once back in the living room, Liz couldn’t help but notice how her friend moved about with ease. In her jeans and Converse, Lexie didn’t even limp. Any signs of the beating she took from Alik were gone. Plopping down on a solid leather loveseat,
her best friend was at home in her in-laws house.

Liz sat down beside her. There was so much she wanted to share with her best friend, but it wasn’t the time or the place. Every time they had the
room to themselves,
one of the elders, their fate-partners or one of the cousins came strolling in. All of them wanted to hear Liz’s retelling of meeting the vampires, what their behaviors were
like, and whether or not, the coven’s
location was kept secret.

Liz listened to Braden retell the events. It didn’t miss her
notice
that he never once spoke Riley’s name. When Donovan asked how Braden knew there were draugr in Vancouver, Braden was quick to
change the subject.