Blood Twist (The Erris Coven Series) (31 page)

Braden took four swift strides forward an
d swung the staff
. The marble
flew in a wi
de arc and hit Strix on the side
of the neck.
With his
damphyr
strength, the blow came with
a terrible force
.
As it made contact
, Braden could hear some of the vertebra
e in the old vampire’s neck snap.

Just as
Strix reach
ed up to support
his bones
fusing
back together
, Braden swiveled around, and aimed for the top of the
draugr’s
skull, making a direct hit.
Swinging for a third time, Strix caught him off guard
by delivering a kick
to Braden’s gut
,
then s
oaring
backwards and landing at the base of the fountain. Holding the staff out in victory,
Strix looked like a cat that just cornered a mouse.

Glancing down at his now empty hands, Braden
barely felt him pull the object
free from his hands.

“
No more games.
It’s time for you to be mine
.
”
Strix’s
voice grew lower and more intimate
. “It’s time I
tear out your hearts and bathe in your blood.
”

From the corner of Braden’s eye, he
could see the headlights of a small car approaching, Strix did too. But neither one of them expected t
he car to accelerate, then
bank
a hard
right, and blast up the short driveway and onto the lawn.

Just as the old vampire cocked his head in confusion, Liz’s white se
dan plowed into him,
sailing him backwards before
pinning Strix
between the bumper and what
was left of the
crumbling cherub
.

Realizing what Liz just did,
Braden
stood in
astonishment
. With a delighted squeal
,
she
unbuckled her seat belt and
started climbing out of the
car. Braden was about to throw his arms around her and kiss her profusely
when he realized the draugr wasn’t dead.

With the crunching sound of metal, Strix
pealed back Liz’s hood and
stumbled out from where he was pinned. U
nsteady on his feet
,
but still
smirking, he moved closer, glaring at both of
them. Bl
ood gushed
fro
m his mouth, but a perverse need
kept him moving.
Lapping at the crimson that stained his lips and chin, o
nly his
uneven
gate signaled some kind of alarm.

Glancing down, both Braden and Liz saw what slowed the vampire’
s movement. The staff
he had ripped only moments earlier from Braden’s hands was now
imbedded partly in his chest
, a result of the
weight
and momentum from
Liz’
s
car.

Looking down, the
draugr’s
face looked
bemused
. The arrogance he had worn like a crown since making his appeara
nce was gone, replaced by his first semblance of unease.
Wrapping his hands around the obj
ect, he pulled but the rod
wouldn’t budge.

Snapping out of his trance, Braden stalked straight up to the vampire, and with a flick of his wrist, shov
ed the staff into
Strix’s
heart
.

Dropping to his knees, Strix refused to take his eyes from Braden.
As his features twisted and shimmied, looking almost birdlike, he muttered in disbelief,
“It wasn’t supposed to happen this way…”

“Too bad,”
Braden grunted, sending it the rest of the way in
.

38

LIZ

Liz was incapable of moving.
Strix’
s
body was motionless
on the ground, the large staf
f the cherub once held, was
planted in his chest.

H
e look
s
like someone went pole vaulting and he was the target
…

Even after having witnessed the genocide in Vancouver, she had hoped the wicked creature would disintegrate and turn into ash. Knowing that thing had followed them from Canada was terrifyi
ng. At least if he burned up
or
turned into
some kind of
sticky vampire goo lik
e in the movies, she would
find it easier to sleep at night.

Liz realized she was in some weird state of shock. Braden was up and moving, his own body healing from the draugr attack. As he reached for her, she allowed him to take her into his arms. 

“I love you so much, you crazy, crazy woman.”

“I felt you,” Liz whispered, looking into his face. Gone were the white eyes and fangs. Her sweet Braden was with her again,
safe, breathing, healed Braden. A little on the pale side, but he was gaining color with each passing moment.
“I could feel what was happening, that you couldn’t hold him off for long.” Standing on her tippy toes, she took his face into her hands and kissed him. First his chi
n, than his lips, ensuring
everything was okay between them.

Braden gave her a searching look.
“I’m sorry I scared you. It’s our bond. The whole time, I felt your
strength, your love. I
t kept me focused and strong
.
I would do anything to keep you safe.
”

“I know you love me,” she said and it was true. Maybe their attraction initially came about because they were destined to be together, but it had become so mu
ch more. Now that they had soul-
bound, her heart was his forever, and she wouldn’t want it any
other
way. 
“Why? Why did Strix come all the way here to kill you?”

“I don’t
know,” Braden answered, his heart pounding with hers
. “
W
hen he had me pinned down, he
was getting off o
n
the violence
, but it was the thrill of the hunt that drove him. It wasn’t just me that he came here for. Stri
x planned on destroying our
family.”

“Did he say anything else?” Liz asked, afraid of what the answer might be. Riley’s face flashed through her mind. She didn’t want him to be gone forever.

He has
to be okay.

Pressing his forehead against hers, so
only their noses could touch, Braden
breathed in her in and sighed deeply. “I think my brother is okay,” he said finally. “Strix had some kind of hope the two of them would eventually make some kind of killing team. But, he didn’t mention where Riley was.”

Tightening her hold on Braden’s waist, Liz just held him
near. For now, it was enough.
Eventually
the two of them could decide what to tell the elders about Braden’s brother and come up with a plan to find him. For now, she just wanted to curl back up with Braden in his small bed and cherish how much she loved him. How thankful she was to have him and what a miracle it was that he was safe. They only
had a moment to stand like that – a
rm in arm and face to face, before sounds from next door caught her attention.

H
eadlights graced the driveway. From across the yard, she could see Donovan, Patrick and Seamus breaking through th
e tree line as they ran in her
direction.

“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, what
happened
Lad?” Seamus asked, bending down to examine the corpse.

“Are you alright?” Donovan said at the same time.

“We’re fine,” Braden insisted.

As he stood
tall before the elders, Liz felt proud of her
fate-
partner.
Although she helped take Strix down, it was Braden that delivered the death blow and fought to keep the vampire from hurting his family.

Donovan patted Braden on the shoulder.
“We were just out searching for Miss Ella when the boys called with Liz’s message. It seems Cian’s
lass
ie
was
a tad
resistant about
passing it on until her
friend, Master Theo, insisted she do so.” 

“I’m just gl
ad Fianna and Aileen
were all over with
your wife looking in on
Ruby. If any of them ventured out, Strix would have slain them,” Braden replied.

Climbing out of the
ir
cars
, Lexie and Torin were follow
ed by a nervous and ready to
fight Teagan and Cian. The damphyrs only
slowed when they saw the elders standing amid t
he ruins of what was once Seamus and
Fianna’s
award quality backyard. The fountain was in ruins and the grass was d
ug up. Even patio furniture was splintered and in heaps. Most of it occurring before Liz plowed into Strix with her old, dump of a car.

As Braden filled his cousins in on
Strix’
s
unexpected arrival
, Liz reached out for Lexie and gave her dearest friend a hug.

“Are you alright
?” Lexie said. Just hearing
her voice and Liz knew she had been crying.

“I’m fine.”

“I knew it was bad when your message said for me to stay behind, but I couldn’
t. I would die if anything happened to you
.”

“Nothing happ
ened to me. I knew Braden was in trouble
and I had to go. I thought he might need
help from
Torin and the others, but he did okay.” 

Stepping b
ack from her friend, Liz examined
Lexie carefully. From th
e red tint of her eyes and
the
puffiness of her lids
,
she knew something else had Lexie
crying.  “You didn’t find her, did you?”

“No,” her lips quivered, “but I found this at the house.” Handing over a small piece of paper, Liz looked down at Ella’s bubbly scroll. As she read the words, she could feel her heart sink
further
in her chest.

“Everything okay,” Braden asked, looking directly at her.

Shaking her head no, Liz didn’t bother explaining. Braden could feel what her words couldn’t say.

Ella was gone.

According to the note, the teen was with Nicolai, and she didn’t plan on ever coming back.

Soul Kissed

An Erris Coven Novel: Book 3

Coming Early 2013

Find Me

A contemporary YA romance