Flight of the Crow Page 13

  “I will fight you with the last breath of my body.”

  “You shouldn’t say things like that, my dear. I am one of the only creatures in existence who can take that last breath from you and if you try to thwart me in this, I shall do it.”

  “I’m ready to go with you.” Fenix’s soft voice from the open door shocked Bryn. She rushed forward and grabbed her sister. “Run, Fenix, allow me to deal with this monster.”

  Lazarus’s cold laugh froze Bryn in place. She tried to move and found herself unable to lift even a finger. Lazarus walked to Fenix, picked up her hand and pressed his lips against the palm. “My flaming dove. I will have you for my wife.”

  “No,” Bryn croaked. “You can’t take her.” Sobs shook Bryn and tears of anguish gushed down her face.

  Fenix smiled into Lazarus’s faded eyes. “After all the centuries of being cared for by Bryn, it is now my time, my turn to be the strong one. This is something she can’t do for me; only I can do this and I do it for her, for Bryn, for my sister. Oh, how I’ve longed to be the strong one, the one in control, the one to make the hard sacrifices. I will save you, Bryn. This one time, there is only me and I am so happy to do whatever is required. Lazarus, do with me as you will.”

  Lazarus tucked her hand in the crook of his arm. “Come,” he waved his other hand to indicate all of them. “Let us adjourn to that place of power on your roof. Bryn, you lead and we shall follow.”

  Bryn’s feet moved of their own accord. She had no power to stop them. Fingle appeared in the hallway and followed behind Lazarus as Bryn slowly climbed the staircase; each wooden step agony as she fought to keep from leading the way to the roof.

  Quinn brought up the rear of their small parade to the second floor. Tomlinson and Babbette appeared from the bedrooms and followed behind. They all emerged onto the roof, Bryn in the lead. Her heart ached unbearably as she tried every spell she could think of to no avail. She tried to turn Lazarus to ice by freezing him with her breath, but nothing worked. She was about to lose her sister to a monster and there seemed to be no way to stop it from happening.

  The sun had yet to rise, but the eastern sky had turned an ominous red. A cold wind whipped Bryn’s still-damp hair around her face and tore at all of their clothes. Lazarus led Fenix to a spot on the edge of the balcony overlooking the city and turned her to face them. Fenix’s beautiful face held an expression of serenity. She seemed calm and almost happy.

  Bryn struggled against the invisible bonds Lazarus had placed on her, but nothing she did loosened them or gave her an inch of freedom. “Don’t do this,” she cried. “Lazarus, have pity on Fenix. This is the first time she’s been able to remember anything. Allow her to keep her life.”

  “Who said I would take it? Oh no, I will not take her life, Bryn. I will, however, take her from you and grant her a better existence. One in which she will soar like an eagle and be the most powerful entity on this miserable world. Imagine, she’s already immortal and can change into a phoenix and control fire, imagine what she will become when I have blessed her with my power as well. She will be a goddess and I will worship at her feet. She will spend eternity at my side and we shall rule the world as one. You see, Bryn, only I understand what her life is like; always the second sister, always living in your shadow. I will save her from that misery. She will never have to be reborn again. She will have everything and you, the controlling sister, the one who always bossed her around and ruled her, will have to take a back seat. Oh, I may allow her to visit you if she wishes, but then, after she is so much more than you, why would she wish to?”

  When Fenix stared into Lazarus’s faded blue eyes, she felt something, a connection such as she’d never known. For a moment, she saw him as he’d been as a young man, tall, strong and incredibly handsome with long wavy dark hair, piercing blue eyes and a square jaw. The vision faded quickly but she was left with a powerful impression and that special feeling of knowing him and who he was on a much deeper level. She followed him willingly up the stairs and onto the balcony. Inside her peace, serenity and a feeling rightness grew until she was positive what she was doing was not only the correct action but one that would lead to a different life where she would find herself.

  She took her position next to Lazarus. He exuded power and a strange magnetism she could not deny. When he lifted her hair off her neck the golden strands glinted in the first shafts of light from the rising sun. Goose bumps shivered up her arms and back and her sex tingled. What would it have been like to lie with this man when he was in his prime? The thought made her giddy with desire. When she didn’t look at him, his magnetism and connection flowed into her in an even greater degree.

  She felt him rather than saw him bend to place his lips on her neck. The dry touch of his mouth gave her more chills. She heard Bryn moan and did not look up. She’d made her decision. Whatever happened now was her responsibility alone. She’d taken control of her life and made this momentous choice. She would not back out. Bryn might have made the bargain, but she would fulfill it.

  When Lazarus sank his fangs into her neck, her knees weakened and a powerful rush shot through her. Her sex pulsed with strange excitement, as though she were in the throes of a powerful orgasm. When her legs gave way, Lazarus held her up. She felt her blood flowing out of her body and into him. It didn’t hurt but was a sweet, delicious, heady feeling that filled her with an upwelling of love for everyone around her. She wanted to open her arms and welcome them to her breast, to embrace them and share this wonderful experience.

  A glorious lassitude filled her as she grew so weak she could no longer stand. Lazarus laid her gently on the deck and followed her down, keeping his lips and teeth locked on her throat. The light dimmed and she closed her eyes. If this was death, it was wonderful. In her mind she saw Lazarus once more as a young man. He held his arms out to her and she ran into them willingly.

  Bryn could barely stand to watch as Lazarus sank his long fangs into Fenix’s white throat. Her sister’s golden eyes rolled up in her head and she moaned as if she were sexually excited. Lazarus proceeded to drink Fenix’s blood, slowly draining her. Fenix lost all of her color and her knees weakened. Lazarus caught Fenix when she collapsed and laid her down. Bryn thought she saw the exact moment when Fenix was about to die and tried to scream. It came out as a moan.

  At the moment when she thought Fenix was dead, Lazarus lifted his face, bright-red blood dripping from his fangs and lips. He stared Bryn in the eyes for a second and then bit his wrist and let drops of thick, almost black, blood drip onto Fenix’s tongue and into her open mouth. Fenix stirred and writhed on the deck as though suffering the worst agony. Her sister screamed and convulsed but what caught Bryn’s attention was Lazarus. His skin was smoking.

  And suddenly, Bryn was free of her horrible paralysis. She ran to Fenix and tried to comfort her sister while above her Lazarus abruptly stood up and howled with pain. Quinn knelt beside her and together they gathered Fenix close. Above them, Lazarus writhed and twisted. His body contorting, his tendons and muscles stood out starkly on his face and neck.

  “What’s happening?” Quinn screamed over Lazarus’s howls.

  “I don’t know,” Bryn responded. “I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

  In her arms, Fenix had stopped struggling and lay as though dead. Bryn could not detect a heartbeat. Pain knifed through her chest. Her sister had left her for good. This was her final death; one from which she would never recover. Above her, Lazarus, filled with Fenix’s blood and in agony, began to morph into a giant bird Bryn easily recognized. Lazarus was now the phoenix.

  When he’d completely changed into the huge golden bird, he flapped his wings and ignited in the familiar flames of Fenix’s usual transformation. He blazed like a torch with his golden wings folded around him, his spinning eyes still blue as they stared straight into Bryn’s eyes. When the flames had burned out, Bryn left Fenix cuddled in Quinn’s arms and ran to see if there was a baby lying on the ashes,
but there was no child. Lazarus was dead and so was her sister.

  She turned to look into Quinn’s eyes and saw he understood what had happened. She threw herself on her sister’s body and wailed with the grief only a twin can feel when their wombmate has passed into the void. Memories of their life together and all they’d experienced over the centuries flooded her. She’d failed in the one mission that meant anything to her and now had to face endless time without her dearest sister. Fenix was no more.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  I grew up the oldest of a large family. After years of torturing my younger brothers and sister, I left home to make it on my own. Now I’m a mom with three kids, working nights as a bartender. I love the nightlife, baby.

  I read a lot and I love people. As a bartender, I use my photographic memory to remember people and their names. I never forget a drink.

  For fun, I like to hike, read and shoot automatic weapons. I’m deadly accurate with a bow.

  I wanted to get into writing so I partnered with my mother, a published author, and together we came up with Erotic Flights of Fantasy I and II, both available from amazon.com and torridbooks.com

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