Incendiary (The Premonition Series (Volume 4)) (73 page)

“Red,” Russell calls
to me
, “did you
see that?” he asks
, looking dazed as
the wi
nd dissipates
into nothing
ness
. H
e gestures
for me to jo
in them with a lean of his head, but
then
it lolls
forward, indicating to me
tha
t he i
s under some kind of charm
or spell
.

The
music
continues
to float
in the garden like
a merry-go-round
of sound, being here
,
and then there, moving in stereo
.
My eyes shift
to the
far
wall
covered in
ivy and
bittersweet vine
s
, looking for the source of it
.
I fi
nd Finn, leaning
casually against the
ivy
,
playing some sort of long
stringed guitar
that I cannot name
.
The guitar ha
ng
s
low in front of him, more like a steely
weapo
n t
han an instrument. His head bends
forward w
hile he p
lucks
at it,
concentrating solely on
th
e
m
esmerizing
notes of the music
.
My eyes shift to his white, pointed wings beyond his shoulders.

There a
re layers to his music, twisting melodies within melodies, and something el
se…something beyond sound. It is sensual and tactile—
h
eat that burns
from an Arabian sun, casting a heady fragrance of Bedouin fires and cooking pots from just the other side of a sandy
plane. The effect i
s
potent, filling me wi
th the sense of invulnerability…like being intoxicated.
My mind struggles
to
remember that this is all fake—
a f
aerie-tale. T
he fellas can conjure cunning illusions and cast lulling spell
s
that make everything dream-like and surreal.

Beside Finn
, Brennus slants
idly
against the wall
,
watching me with his light-green eyes. The golden laurel crown u
pon his head contrasts
starkly
with his
black hair
. White wings reach
above his cro
wn in thin points that resemble
the jagged
s
hape and texture of silken
leaves and continues
downward to just below his calves
. Sun-kisse
d skin has replaced the paleness
that I have grown accustomed
to seeing i
n
him.
In short, he’s breath
tak
ingly beautiful and never more f
aerie-like.

Pulling
casually
at the pointed cuff of his elegan
t, white tunic, Brennus smoothes
the
wrinkle
s
from his s
ilken sleeve…and then, he waits
.

“Russell,” I purr
in my sweetest tone, keeping my eyes on Brennus. “Why don’t you go and show Anya your new
wind
trick?”

A slow smile spread
s over Brennus’ lips as Faolan says
, “Wait, Russell, I’ve another spell
ta show ye
—
dis one heals
da
pains ‘o wounded pride,” he says
with a congenial lilt.

“They’re goin’ back to their
own
land now, Red
,
”
Russell interrupts
Faolan, missing his
obvious threat. “They figured out a cure for their condition, so now they can go home.”

“Really
, Russ? There’
s a cure for arrogance?” I ask
him with the sinking realization that I’m alone in this
fight
, since
Russell isn’t all-
there.
He’s been completely fooled by their
elaborate façade—
lie upon lie dancing in rings around one another.

Russell laughs
drunkenly at that, slapping Declan pl
ayfully o
n the chest, not seeing
his f
rown. “She’s funny,” he chuckles
.

“She is,” Declan agrees
with a grudging smile
.

“Russ
ell,” I try
again, glancing at him, and then back to Brennus, “I don’t think they can go home…and I’m pretty sure they’re still Gancanagh.”

Russell frowns
before shaki
ng his head, “Naw, see!” he says, pointing to Faolan’s mouth, “n
o fangs!”

Anger surges
th
r
ough me along with terrifying fea
r. “WAKE UP, RUSSELL!” I shout at him. “Their fangs retract—
you know that!”

“Huh?” Russell mutters, peering at Faolan in confusion.
“You
got more teeth hidin’ in the
re?”

Straining with all my might
, I try
to pull energy to me t
o conjure a spell that will help Russell out of h
is cloud, but the air is thick
as if the music is scattering the energy, suppressing it and keeping it from me. There must be a trick to it, because the fellas and Russell can still use magic.

Panting in frustration and
effort, I
glare
at Finn.
“
Finn,
can you play something else
?
” I call
to him over the
seductive
notes
.

“Whah would ye like ta
hear?” Finn calls
back with a small smile.

“I don’t know…how about
Stairway To Heaven
?” I as
k
, trying to get him
to stop weaving magic within his sinister inflections.

“I do na
tink I
know dat one,
Genevieve,” Finn replies
softly, “ye’ll have ta teach it ta me.”

“He does
na take requests,” Brennus says
, straightening
and pushing effortlessly away
from the wall. “But, I do.”

I
frown
at Brennus
. “
Oh?” I ask as my eyebrow ri
se
s
. “Do you know the song called ‘Go-the hell-away-and-don’t-
ever-
come-
back?
’
”

Brennus smiles and says
,
“I do na know da
melody, but da lyrics are familiar.”

He prowls
tow
ard
s
me with his eyes focused in
on mine. Feeling the framework of his newest cage, I
twitch
with the urge to fly away.
“If you plan on staying,
maybe
I
could
hum a few bars f
or you,” I reply
as a bluff
,
trying to keep hi
m talking and not attacking.
It’s my only chance to save Russell.
“It worked with Casimir.”

Bren
nus, appearing unimpressed says
,
“Make yer Siren’s call,
grá
mo chroí
,
but I’ll na listen ta yer song
.
’
Tis time ye heard
moin
.”

“So I’
m onc
e again the ‘love of your heart
?
’
” I ask
with a fleeting smile
, translating
grá mo
chroí
.

“D
a
t has never changed,” he replies
, nearing me without any sign of caution or apprehension
.
“Ye’ll always be
me
heart
.”

I try
again to pull energy to me, managing o
nly to get a little. I attempt
to construct an invisible
wall around me to protect
myself
from Brennus, but when he
encounters
it, he simply raises
his hand and
it dissipates
.

I look at him in question and hear
him say fiercely, “Dere is some magic I never taught ye.”

Terrible, nightmarish fear mak
e
s
my legs feel dead beneath me. Brennus’
hand reach
es
out for me and t
he coldness of his touch belies
the warm tones of his flesh. Taking m
e in his arms, I see
the fury of a jealous lover in his green stare.
I would scream
,
but it i
s far too late.
Brennus raises his hand and brings
it down hard on my cheek, slapping me with the force of payback.

Russell roars
in rage, lunging away from Declan and Faolan
toward
s
us. Holding me
around the waist, Brennus raises
his other hand, pulsing energy at Russell.
Lifting off his feet, Russell i
s tossed backward into
the
trunk of the
flowering tree, scattering pink petals like the erratic
fall of confetti.
He
crashes
beneath it, but ge
t
s
to his feet, only to be
set upon by Declan
and Faolan; t
heir fangs engage
click, click
.

Pushing Declan back with a roundhouse kick
to the face
, Russell
leaves
Declan’s jaw
hanging at an odd angle. He then
grasps
the trunk of the tree,
cracking and
tearing it from th
e ground in a shower of twisted
roots and spewing dirt.

Russell chokes
up on the trunk with a come-and-get-some sneer to Faolan. S
winging the tree
,
a whiplash of pale pink
petals thrash
es
the air amid plumes of
lion-colored pollen that has
a sticky-
sweet scent. The lichen-covered bra
n
ches
of the tree
connect with Faolan,
crushing and splintering the w
ood. It dr
i
ve
s
Faolan
into the shadowy part of the garden
not illuminated by the sultry light
of Finn’s fabricated Eden
.

Declan rushes
Russell, plowing into him with the force of a freight train
and
causing him to drop the splintered
timber
.
Dripping spattering
trails
of saliva from his bro
ken jaw, Declan’s arms encircle
Russell’s waist.
The air i
s knock
ed
out of Russell’s
lungs. H
e
tumbles
to the ground
and
lands
beyond the trees out of my line of
sight.

And Finn plays
on.

I turn
in Brennus’ arms, t
rying desperately to pry them
from my waist so that I can help Russell. Brennus use
s
his savage strength to pull me
to him. With my back pressing against his chest, his cool lips trace
a line of ki
sses along the column of my throat
.

My
wings push
against his chest
, b
ut he only tightens
his grip on my waist painfully.
His magic swirls
out, pushing back the carn
ival of fighting fellas, wild-sprawling
garden
, and fuming music to
just shadows and impressions in
the night.