Twilight's Eternal Embrace (18 page)

"
Better a kink in your neck than fried to a crisp,
"
the elder Seamus reminded him.
"
Aye? You are in Bram
'
s debt. If he should call on you for a favor, you are bound to grant it without pause. You will make a blood oath to this.
"

Fergal grumbled, but agreed, knowing he had no choice.

The Oiche Sith
'
s blood oaths were sacred and only granted to the one who saved the life. If not fulfilled when asked,
it would be Bram's right to
rescind
Fergal
'
s life
.
Bram was not sure
if
this was a good thing or not. He may have need of a favor in the future, but Fergal would just have another reason to hold a grudge against him.

Bram glanced at Loreto, his brother returning his stare with hatred burning bright in his eyes. He may be able to keep Fergal in check with the blood oath, but once fulfilled, he had no doubt Loreto would drag Fergal into his plans for revenge.

Once the judgment was settled, Bram hurried outside, hoping to avoid Loreto, but like always, his brother
must
have the last word.

Loreto cornered Bram, shoving him against the castle wall. His forearm pressed against his throat. His fangs were bared.
"
This is not over. Do not think your little Lathe Sith is safe just because you flitted her away from me.
"

Bram pushed his brother away. He wasn
'
t a fool to think he was stronger. His brother had let him go. There were too many witnesses.
"
The female is not mine, fool. Do you not understand? You cannot go about drinking from anyone you please.
"
His heart thumped against his chest. His brother would retaliate
,
of that he
was certain
. What if he found out about Adryanna? Bram could not live with himself if his brother harmed her in any way. This was just one more reason why he had to let Adryanna go. He met his brother
'
s gaze without wavering. If he showed weakness, his brother would make his life a living hell
.

Loreto
growl
ed
in
frustration
, knowing he
failed to intimidate
Bram
.
He
whirled around
and
str
ode
into the crowd that had gathered
,
and disappear
ed
from sight.

"
Good riddance,
"
Bram
murmured like a curse.

"
You do bring the best out in him.
"

Bram turned toward the sound of the voice. Sheerin came forward, his lips curved in a smile.
"
So, tell me: Was the chit Loreto tried to drain, the Lathe Sith you fancy?
"

"
No.
"
Bram ran a hand through his strands. He didn
'
t bother denying he had feelings for a Lathe Sith. Sheerin was clever and would have realized immediately his reasons for wanting to find a way to save a mated Lathe Sith.

"
Ah, but she was near when you came upon Loreto and his band of merry idiots.
"

Bram smiled despite the seriousness of the situation.
"
He did not lay eyes on her, but Fergal did.
"

Sheerin let out a long exaggerated sigh.
"
You should have killed them all.
"

Bram
'
s gaze riveted to his cousin
'
s.
"
You are not serious.
"

Sheerin didn
'
t
shy
away
, nor did he speak an apology
.
"
On the contrary. Your brother poses a threat to you and to the female you fancy. He will watch your every move, hoping to find your weakness. How long do you
believe
it will be before he realizes
your weakness
is a female from the Lathe Sith clan
?"

Bram closed his eyes and leaned against the wall.
"
I am not going to see her again.
"
He had not truly made the decision until now. He loved her and her father was correct in asking him to let her go. If he continued to see her, he would only bring heartache and pain to her door. He
met
Sheerin
's gaze with determination to do the right thing
.
"
It was foolish of me to believe
I
could be friends
with a Lathe Sith
. It is over. I will not need your help after all.
"

Sheerin
gazed at him with undisguised concern. "
Did you drink from her?
"

Bram
stood to his full height.
"
This conversation is over.
"
But before he could move away, Sheerin
'
s hand snaked out and grabbed his arm in a fierce grip.

"
Answer my question, Bram. Did you drink from her?
"

"
Aye.
"
He shrugged free from Sheerin
'
s hold with a curse. He rubbed his arm, easing the pain.
"
What of it? I did not harm her.
"

"
You are a fool if you think you did not harm her
,
or yourself
,
for that matter. You drank from her. Why do you think it is forbidden until the blooding ritual?
"

Bram moistened his lips. He didn
'
t know the reasons.

Sheerin cursed, realizing the truth. He paced and murmured under his breath about being surrounded by imbeciles before he whirled on him.
"
You started the process to be
blooded
.
"

Panic slammed into him and he shook his head.
"
No.
"

"
No? Fool, you cannot taste a Lathe Sith
'
s blood then pretend you did not. Your body will crave another dose. Deny yourself and you will go mad. Where do you think the stories of the mad Oiche Sith come from?
"

He knew of the stories, but he thought them just fanciful tales to frighten them as children so they did not become curious about the Lathe Sith clan and venture into their village.
"
I cannot see her again,
"
Bram protested.
"
I will endanger her further.
"

"
It is too late to change course now. You have marked her. Why do you think the bloodlings never leave Dungannon?
"
He chuckled without mirth.
"
It is not because of our fine hospitality. They cannot leave. As we crave their blood, they have fallen prey to our glamour. It is an addiction on both our parts.
"

Bram
'
s throat felt dry as if he were about to be ill. The bloodlings were waifs to be pitied. They were like ghosts, a shell of what they were when they first arrived.
"
I have cursed her then.
"

Sheerin eyed him closely.
"
Interesting. You think of her dilemma and not yours.
"

"
Of course I think of her,
"
he spat with annoyance.
"
All I want to do is keep her safe and now you tell me I cannot because
I am the danger
.
"

Sheerin
'
s gaze never left his. His eyes
,
the light color of gray over green
,
seemed to look through to his soul, but Bram refused to shy away.
"
Come with me,
"
Sheerin ordered, taking his arm and ushering him inside the castle.

"
Where are we going?
"

"
I must show you something.
"

He followed
Sheerin
up the spiral steps to where
his cousin
worked on his concoctions. His cousin fished out a key from the pouch attached to his waistband. He slipped the key into the iron lock attached to the door, whispering words.

Bram
'
s eyes widened in surprise. His cousin had warded the lock. Why would he need to unless he had something hidden in his workplace that he had no wish for others to find
?

Sheerin
pushed the door open and entered.
"
Close the door behind you,
"
he told him as he lit the candles on the mantle. He brought one of the candles over to the bookcase as he searched the shelves. Finding it, his hand pulled out the manuscript. He strode over to the worktable and placed the item on the flat surface.
"
I have kept a journal of my findings.
"

Bram moved to stand beside Sheerin.
"
What findings?
"

Sheerin
met his gaze
with open honesty.
"
I believe there is a way to save the Lathe Sith from death.
"

The Heavens above
, he prayed his cousin was not mad and had a real cure.
"
I am listening.
"

"
All living things evolve eventually. The Oiche Sith clan used to be able to have children, but then something changed. With so many of us needing blood to survive, how could we live? We would eventually kill off our food supply.
"

Bram knew his clan
'
s history. They once drank from each other, but then the men outnumbered the women, leaving too many of them unmated. The Lathe Sith
'
s females were a substitute to what they truly needed, but it was an unavoidable solution to their dilemma.
"
We started drinking from animals to supplement our need for blood. Did this change us in some way? Is this why the females can no longer conceive?
"

Sheerin sighed.
"
I believe we can no longer multiply because nature saw her mistake. With too many of us needing to feed, the Lathe Sith clan would no longer exist.
"
He waited for this information to sink in.

"
In the end, we would perish, too.
" Bram had thought this theory through only days before, but voiced aloud the truth of it frightened him.

Sheerin nodded.
"
Balance. Life is all about balance. Good and evil, strong and weak, you get the drift. Blood drinkers cannot outnumber the Lathe Sith or we are all doomed.
"

"
How does this knowledge help me?
"

He flipped through his book and pointed to his diagram. It was of a male, all details of his anatomy sketched on the parchment. Another page showed the female. Notes were scrawled at the bottom of the page, regarding blood transfer and healing.
"
What am I looking at?
"
He met his cousin
'
s gaze.

"
We share our blood with our chosen mate. We have the Lathe Sith drink our blood and we take theirs, an equal exchange.
"

Bram shook his head.
"
They are not blood drinkers.
"
He backed away. His cousin was unhinged after all.

"
They may not be blood drinkers, but when we drain them we leave them weak, depleted of a life source. Think of it as a wound not healed and left untreated. Can we not heal the flesh with our saliva? We can also heal a Lathe Sith
'
s wounds with our blood. The healing is quicker.
"
He flipped through his book and tapped the page he came to.
"
I experimented on one of the bloodlings here in the castle. His wound was infected and he would have surely died, but I bit my wrist and dripped my blood into the wound. It healed in a matter of minutes.
"

Bram knew first hand his blood had healed Adryanna
'
s wound far better than a bestowed kiss.
"
If we drain them, how do we get them to drink from us?
"
Had his cousin actually performed the exchange of blood on a Lathe Sith?