he grew tired of the draugars around him, Death slaughtered them all and moved on to the next. That was how he had survived two centuries – how he would continue to live in the years to come.
After a couple of nights, they hunted down Riley and brought him into the fold. The boy failed to be impressive at first, but as the years went on, he matured and stopped fighting what he had evolved into. Witty and educated, he quickly set himself apart from the other vampires Garrick kept on hand. Death taught him to keep his head down and never challenge Garrick unless he wanted to die.
It surprised him how much he didn’t mind having the young one around. Listening to stories of his coven, Death hoped Riley would eventually lead him there. When it became clear the young one intended on taking the secret of the location to his grave, Death planted the thought in his head that he should reunite with his brother, Braden. It wasn’t hard to do.
Now he was here.
While Braden was locked in the cell, Death rummaged through his things until he found his passport and ID. Erris Maine, even the name sounded antiquated. During the day, he could only face the sun in his alternate form. It wasn’t difficult to sneak aboard an outgoing flight to the states in the belly of a plane’s cargo hold.
Using Riley’s phone to message Braden was just for fun. Adding insult to injury would make the damphyr’s blood that much sweeter. Sitting on a fountain in back of one of the damphyr’s houses, he waited for the boy to come to him. After crossing his scent, he sat and waited for the young male to emerge from one of the cozy structures. Others were blissful in their homes or attending festivities downtown. Picking them off one by one would be utterly pleasing.
Licking his lips, he awaited the fight. His own rotten heart roared with the thrill of the chase. The more energy he used, the hungrier his appetite became. Staring into the darkness, he planned to feast all night.
35
BRADEN
Trusting his instincts, Braden was relieved when the scent of the draugr led him in the opposite direction of his mother’s residence. Heading through Torin’s yard and into Cian’s, his teeth were bared and his eyes glittered white as he prepared to fight to the death. Even the heavily clouded night sky couldn’t mask the vampire’s trail.
Moving with lightning speed, his inner hunter united at once with all of his senses. He had perfect vision and could make out every blade of grass and leaf dangling from the tree limbs. His hearing was complete as he registered every breath and heart beat from within each family’s home. For whatever reason, other than his mother, only the women of the coven were home and had gathered at Endellion’s.
The rustle of his own clothing and hammering blood were made silent by his focus. It was the odor of the vampire that was left trailing through the lawns like he had meandered a while before staking his claim. The air tasted of his sweat, an old grainy musk, and years of crawling through basements and filth.
Rounding Cian’s house, the dream he shared with Liz earlier now made sense. The fountain was instantly recognizable. Fianna had Seamus ship it from her homeland in Eire. It was the same one they discovered coated with Courtney Parson’s blood only days before. But upon awakening from his sleep, it was the imagery of the owl that had him confused.
Slowing his speed, he could see it now. It wasn’t a dream, but it filled him with rage. Spread out like the angel that mounted the sculpture and rose in the center of the pool, a large owl perched waiting. The bird was bigger than it was in Vancouver, but the smell and coloring were the same. Chastising himself now would not help his attack, but he should have realized then it was no ordinary beast. It was a shifter and it came to destroy.
Dropping down in front of him, the feathers covering the creature pulled and parted until a man’s naked form appeared. Staring at him through pitch-black black eyes, Strix smiled, revealing jagged, sharp teeth.
Taking his time, Strix stretched his wiry neck. Thick skin the color of ash, glowed deathly in the moonlight. His lips peeled back and a long black tongue darted out, swiping where they had cracked and dried. The black vein in