Incendiary (The Premonition Series (Volume 4)) (32 page)

“And what’s that
?” I ask
, unable to stop myself.

Sighing heavily, Brennus asks
in a tir
ed tone, “Ye have ta ask me dat? Ye do
na know dat ye are all dat madd
ers ta me?”

“I’m sorry—
m
y bad!” I retort with sarcasm
, hitting my foreh
ead in mock surprise. “I must’
ve totally misread your intentions! I
thought that you were trying to—
w
hat was it—
extinguish m
e from all existence?” I ask
. “But now that you tell me tha
t I’m all that matters to you, I feel so much better.”

“Ye are aware, Genevieve, dat sarcasm is da lowest form of humor?”
Brennus replies
, completely serious.

“You need some lith
i
um for you
r mood swings, Brenn,” I reply, shaking my head in disgust
.

“Have ye na heard a word I’
v
e been tellin’ ye?” he asks in
frustration
. “I’m trying
ta explain dat I tought I killed ye and for s
everal hours afterward,
’
twas da
most agonizing moments I’ve ever experienced.”

“Oh,” I murmur
, surpri
se leaking into my tone. “So…you’ve deci
ded to let me live?” I ask
, knowing he wou
ldn’t be coming here if that were
the case.

“Well…dat’s na entire
ly accur
ate. If by live ye mean dat I’ll drain ye and share me blood wi’ ye so dat ye become me undead queen, den ye get ta live. Ye will
na even have ta beg me,
’
twill be enough dat ye submit ta me.”

Look
ing at Reed, he immediately says
, “No.”

“Ahh, I’m sorry
,
Brennus,” I reply
sheepishly. “My attorney
has
advise
d
me against your offer. You see, we kinda have this other deal in motion that should do the trick.”

Russell closes
hi
s eyes briefly, like I’m giving
awa
y a huge secret. Seeing Russell’s reaction
, Brennus’ expression turns
sour. “Deal? Wh
ah deal, Genevieve?” he ask
s
.

“Well, it’s kinda in the planning stages right now, but I guess
I can let you in on it,” I say
in a conspiratorial tone.

“Red, don’t tell him nothin’,” Russell
retorts in agitation
.

“It’s okay, Russell.
He can’t stop us now,” I reply
, giving him a wink.

“Speak
,
” Brennus barks
abruptly, like a leader used to ruling.

“We did some recon,” I say
in a serious tone.
“You’ve assembled a legion of th
e fallen
army, not to mention Inikwi and my personal favorite, Werree
—
Lachlan would be so mad at you
.”

“
I already explained dat da
Werree are
na her
e
by me orders
, but da Fallen and da Inikwi were
necessary. Ye can na be allowed ta escape
from here. I miss ye,
mo
chroí
—
more dan ye can imagine. I need ye t
a be at me side now,” he replies
, calmly explaining his position.

“You’ve made it clear that we’re not getti
ng out of here alive,” I explain
, watching his reaction. “You’re the king and you’re coming here to crush us.”

“
’
Tis
difficult to remember d
at ye are jus a wee lass still. W
hen ye speak ta me like dat and set
me blood on fire,” Brennus murmurs
, smiling in approval,
“
’
t
is making me wish dat I could really
be here now, so dat I could inhale
da scent of all dat intoxicating
blood pound
ing trough yer veins.”

I wrinkle my nose at him.
“Yes, so disa
ppointing for me, too,” I agree
, feeling a shiver of dread pass through me.

“Ye plan ta bargain
wi’ me?
Do ye propose another
contract in order ta spare deir
lives?” he inquires
, barely hiding his grin.

“No,” I
sigh
sadly. “I know that you’
re not going to spare their lives, no matter what
I offer you, Brennus,” I reply
, gazing back at him and seeing his smile broaden.

“Dat is interesting, Genevieve. I tought dat ye would attempt ta gr
ovel for deir lives,” he grins
, raising his brow like he’s intrigued.

“Ahh…
tristitia
e
,
that m
eans sorrow, right?” I ask
, seeing him nod his head. “You always said that it’s my weakness.”

“I did,” he affirms
, his eyes slowly narrowing.

“An
d yours is me,” I say without a doubt
.

“W
hah are ye saying?” he asks
, suddenly not looking so confident.

“Like I said, I haven’t worked out all the details, but essentially, you’re wasting your time coming here,
because I’ll be gone,” I reply
. “Anya, that’s the angel over there, has been dying to k
ill me since she met me,” I explain
, pointing to Anya
who’s
standing next to Russell.

“Why?” Brennus asks
in a stiff tone, circling Anya and hearing her growl a warning at his magical image.

“It’s complicated,” I mutter
, waving my hand absently. “Russell is kinda her
aspire
and I’ve been keeping him from
her
—
blah, blah, blah. S
uffice it to say,
s
he hates my guts.”

Brennus’ lips contort in a sneer. “Kill her,” he
ord
ers
me, looking fierce.

“Can’t,” I say
, shrugging my shoulders. “If I kill her, then I
’ll
have to rely on either Russell or Reed to kill me and that’s a lot to ask of them. No, Anya is my best choice. Or, I could walk out right now and hope that a Fallen kills me in the heat of the moment, but you might have promised them
something or they could double-
cross you and take me to Sheol and I really don’t feel like taking that chance.”

Brennus begins to swear softly
in Faerie—at least, I think he’s swearing
. He
takes a deep breath
and switches back to English,
“Listen ta me, Genevieve. Ye can walk out dis door
way
right n
ow and surrender ta Lonan. He’
ll k
eep ye safe until I arrive. I’
ll agree ta let yer
friends live.” He watches
me sit down on the sofa and dig my hand into the bag of pretzels, pulling out a handful.

“You know, pretzels as a last meal is not so bad
.
I’
m really craving
Twinkie
s
, but this is okay
. At least I get water this time
,” I say
, popping a pretzel in my mouth and watching his reaction.

“Whah about da other and da
a
i
nge
a
l
?” Brennus asks
, trying to find the angle that will get me to submit to him.

“
Well, once Anya kills me,
my soul migh
t ascend to Paradise. If I get there
, I’ll try to convince the hierarchy to call Reed, Russell
,
and Anya back to Paradise, too, before you’
re able to hurt them,” I answer with goose bumps rising as I think of the countless barriers to such a plan.

“Dat is a wrong move, Ge
nevieve
.
De
y’
ll never agree ta
dat,” Brennus responds
immediately, l
ike he has
intimate knowledge of
how Paradise operates.

“Then it’s plan B for them.
Reed can kill Russell…he might even enj
oy that a little,” I say as I look at
Reed and then Russell.
“
If he does that, then Anya will
be willing to
kill him, too,” I reply
, feeling my throat get tight at the thought of losing
either
Reed
or Russell
.

The grim expression on Brennus’ f
ace tells me just what he thinks
o
f my new plan. Anger flares
in his voice when he approach
es
Russell, saying,
“
I order ye ta
protect Genevieve
‘
til I arrive
.”

Wi
th a growing frown, Russell says
, “You
know, it’s funny…there’s somethin’ in me no
w
that actually wants to obey you
.”

“Ye’ve been b
itten, Russell,” Brennus replies
in a menacing tone. “My venom is in ye now,
b
ecause it all stems from me. I’
m ye
r
king and y
e’
ll follow me orders.”

“Is that
it? I was wonderin’ why you
almost seem ap
pealin’ to me now,” Russell says
off-handedly.
“But, naw, you’
r
e
not m
y king. I don’t subscribe to the
whole evil dictator vibe you
got goin’ on.”

“Ye won’t subscribe ta anyt
ing ever again if ye go along wi’ Genevieve’s plan,” Brennus count
ers
. “She’s planning ta kill ye
.”

“Normally, I’m not
one to drink the grape kool-aid, Brennus
, knowin’
it’
s poisoned,” Russell rep
lies
calmly.
“
I’m more of a
‘see how many bad guys I can take with me’ type. S
o I may still be here when
you
arrive, but I’m gonna make sure that Red is gone ‘cuz her soul is the
most important thing to me.
I’m not gonna let you
send it to Sheol.”

Seeing
that he’
s not getting what he wa
nts from Russell, Brennus turns
to Reed, eyein
g him in an assessing way. “Ye’
re awfu
lly calm about dis,” he remarks
.

“Yes,” Reed agrees
.

“Dis does na bother ye—
d
at she plans on dying here—
cut down in a seedy
,
underg
round ho
vel?” Brennus asks
with dis
gust in his voice, gesturing
around him.

“What
matter the place?” Reed replies
in a grim tone
. “The world ends for us both when she’s gone
.”

“
’
Tis ironic dat ye are da only other
one ta
understand
dat,” Brennus replies
in a soft tone.

“Isn’t it?
” Reed agrees
.

“We two have a vested interest in s
eeing her stay alive. Can we na
find a solution ta
dis?” Brennus asks
, his face looks
somehow paler than normal.

“I have an interest in her remaining alive. You have an interest in her b
ecoming undead,” Reed c
ounters
.

“Too, true,” Brennus responds
, exhaling a sigh. “
’
Tis j
us dat I can na control her while
she’
s alive—
na dat I object ta her being alive
because I enjoy ever
y
sensual breath dat she takes
.”