Incendiary (The Premonition Series (Volume 4)) (8 page)

I follow him
, surprised at how easy it is to dance with him to
the soft, rhythmic
music floating
around us.
It’s effortless…like a dream.
“What’s this song called
?” I
ask
, enthralled by the soulful
, romantic melody.

“
Pavane. It’s by a composer named Gabriel
Faure,” he replies
, gazing into my eyes.
“It reminds me of you…
beautiful and haunting, filled w
ith
grace and elegance…
and a hint of sadness
…longing…”
he breathes
near
my e
ar, causing a tumult of
desire
to rush
through me
.
His masculine
cheek brushes
against mine, spark
ing every fiber in me to attune to him.

“Is tha
t how you see me, Reed?” I ask
, continuing to follow his elegant movements around the floor.

“You have s
o many facets, Evie,” he replies
, h
is eyes growing dark
with desire
as he lifts
his head to look at me
. “I thought that I could never love you more than when you were a fragile, brave girl just beginning to change into an angel. You were so courageous then, y
ou took my breath away,” he says
, gently steering me in the
hypnotic
dance. “But then you began to change and
with that
evolution
came power…power like I never expected…
strength
and intelligenc
e…flawless beauty…” he smiles
,
his eyes seeming to touch
every inch of my face. “In all
the years that I
have
lived
, the time that I have spent with you has been the most exquisite…and this moment, our first dance, I will never forget if I live forever.”

“I st
ill can’t believe you’re real,”
I whisper
, leaning my face against his shoulder, hearing his heart beat
ing
strongly in his chest. “I love you.”

“And I, you,” Reed whispers
back as the
final strains of the song fade
to silence.

Lifting my head as we co
me to a stop in the middle of the room,
I smile
while
the breeze lifts my hair and pushes
it toward
my face. Another record drops
as my eyes widen
in reaction to the s
weet, sticky scent that assails
my nose.

Nicolas And Simone

Tensing in fear, a
growl escapes me as I react
to the scent of the Gancanagh carried to me on the t
ropical breeze. Reed’s charcoal-colored
wings sho
o
t out
of his back, tearing his white O
xford shirt away
as he steps
in front of me, shielding me from
the
French
doors.
My eyes go
wid
e, seeing the lacerations on Reed’s
back. He has at least two,
huge, black bruises on his
ribs, multiple contusio
ns and that’s just
what I can see from this angle.

“Eaves,”
a familiar feminine voice calls
from somewhere outside in the dar
kness. “It’s me. Don’t freak out
—
”

“Molly?” I breathe
, try
ing to step around Reed, but he continues
to block any attempt I make at getting a clear view of what’s beyond the
French
doors.

“You m
ove and you die,” Zephyr growls
from the darkness.

“Whatever you say
,
aingeal
,” Molly replies
, and I can hear the cheeky grin in her t
one. “I just have some intel to impart to
my friend and then I’m out
. Nice place yo
u got
here. I’d ask you if it’
s been on MTV’
s Cribs
, but I doubt you’d get it.”

“Molly
,
” I say
again, closing my eyes a
nd trying to calm my
racing heart. “It’s okay, Zee. She won’t
hurt us.”

“No, i
t’s not okay, Zee.” Reed says
, still in a defensive posture. “This is the friend that helped lure Evie away from us in China.”

“I remem
ber you,” Zephyr says
in a growling tone.

“
’
Twas
me
all right
,” Molly replies
, parodying the accent of the Gancanagh. “But, I’ve sin
ce had a reversal of fortune, ye
might say.
’
Twould seem dat wi’ Evie on da outs, I’m deir number one pawn ta get her back…
except I’m no one’s
pawn.”

“I
t wants pity, Reed,” Zephyr says
, sounding disgusted.

Molly hisses
, “Don’t
make me have to touch you,
angel
,
b
ecause I’d enjoy having you as my
slave
.
” She sounds
like she’s close to losing it. “Evie has
b
een my friend since second grade—
she
’s
the only family I have left and I’m not going to let them change her
into a Gancanagh
if she doesn’t want to be changed. So
you can
either let me talk to her or you and I can get better a
c
quaint
ed.”

L
ow growl
s
sound
from Zephyr
and Buns
. “ZEE! Please don’t hurt her—
Molly, please don’t threaten the seriously lethal
a
ngels—
everybody be cool
!
” I
say
, putting both my arms out,
motioning to Buns to stay back because I can see that she didn’t appreciate
Molly’s threat to her angel
.

“IT shouldn’t have any proble
ms keeping cool,” Zephyr replies
, referring to the fact that Molly’s basically undead and therefore ice-cold to the touch.

“That’s original,” Molly says
,
and I can hear her
rolling her eyes
in her tone
. “
I’m cold
and smelly. I
’ve
heard that before so maybe you should get a new playlist of insults.”

“Reed
, please let her
in. I need to hear what she has to tell m
e,” I plead
, feeling overwhelming sadness for Molly.

Brennus had
found Molly after
I escaped him in Houghton. He
had Finn
, his brother, change Molly from
a human girl into a Gancanagh by
biting her and then
sharing his blood with
her. They wanted Molly to use
as a pawn to make me come back to t
hem, banking on the fact that I woul
d try to help my
childhood
friend. But,
there i
s nothing I could
do to help her. She is a Gancanagh with a thirst for blood
,
and toxic
skin, which
she uses to control the will of her victims. Anyone s
he touches will
become her slave—
anyone but Russell and I. We are immune to the touch of the Gancanagh. It is one of the reasons why Brennus finds me so appealing. He can touch me an
d I won’
t become his slave
who
wil
l follow any order he gives me.

“Evie,” Reed says, shaking his head sadly, “s
he’s not your friend anymore.”

Putting my hand on his arm, I manage to get him to look at me. “Listen to me. Molly offered to bite me, to break Brennus’ contract and set me fre
e
just after the Werree attacked me
.”

Both his hands go to my upper arms as he straightens his posture and looks
into my eyes. “Why did
n’t you let her do it?” he asks
, looking outwardly calm, but I can tell
that
there is a fire being lit inside of him, kn
owing I could’ve returned to hi
m sooner.

“Because Brennus would
’ve
kill
ed
her if she did. He promised to torture and
kill anyone who bit me and freed me from his magical contrac
t,” I reply
.

“She is
evil
now
,” he
says
without a hint of doubt.

“S
he’s always been like a
sister
to me
and that is j
ust as strong in her,” I reply
, watching his brow pull down in
a frown. “Please, hear her out.
”

Reed pauses
, looking reluctant.
“Molly…
please come in,” he
says
, not taking his eyes from mine.

“Awesome,” Molly says
,
before strolling into the ballroom. “Nice pad, Eaves.”

She’s dripping wet
from the rain
,
leaving
a trail of water as she stops
several feet away from any of us. Buns an
d Brownie stay
well
back from her as Zephyr trails
her in, training a seriously hostile automatic weapon on her.

“Thanks,” I say
, trying to take a step toward Molly and not be
ing able to budge because Reed is
still hold
ing both my arms. “Reed,” I murmur
.

“You can
hear her from here,” he replies
calmly.

“What
happened to him?” Molly asks
,
pointing at Reed.

Looking back in Reed’s direction
, I pale
, seeing h
is chest for the first time. He
has a deep, claw mark running from his left shoulder to his right hip and a definite bite mark from a tiger etched into his side. It’s healing,
but it still looks painful.

My eyes drift
to his face, which
flushes
with color as he
mumbles
, “You should see him.”

“Forget it, I don’t really want to know about your kinky
,
angel things,”
Molly
says
, waving
her hand as if to erase the last exchange
. “I’m here to let you know that Brennus has gone off the deep end
. It’s lunatic fringe time
,” she says
, looking at my face. “Finn has been filling me in when he can, but I haven’t been able to see him in a few days.”

“
What do you mean, Mols?” I ask
. “Aren’t you with them?”

Shaking her head, she says
, “Finn sent me away from the estate before you opened the compact that Casi
mir gave you. He knew that the F
allen would retaliate
,
succeed or fail
,
and he wanted to protect me.
He also knew that if the a
ngels succeeded in getting you
back
,
I’d be toast. Finn
knew they kidnapped Leif so he woul
d bite you to break the contract. T
hat
put my life
in jeopardy,” she says
.
“Brennus wo
uld
n’t hesitate to torture me in front of you to make you
do whatever he wants you to do, but
I’m not gonna let him do that to us.”

“But…Finn loves you!
Brennus
couldn’t do
that to his brother…” I trail
off, watching her shake her head.