Incendiary by Amy A. Bartol Read Free Book Online

Houghton. He had Finn , his brother, change Molly from a human girl into a Gancanagh by biting her and then sharing his blood with her. They wanted Molly to use as a pawn to make me come back to t hem, banking on the fact that I woul d try to help my childhood friend. But, there i s nothing I could do to help her. She is a Gancanagh with a thirst for blood , and toxic skin, which she uses to control the will of her victims. Anyone s he touches will become her slave— anyone but Russell and I. We are immune to the touch of the Gancanagh. It is one of the reasons why Brennus finds me so appealing. He can touch me an d I won’ t become his slave who wil l follow any order he gives me.
    “Evie,” Reed says, shaking his head sadly, “s he’s not your friend anymore.”
    Putting my hand on his arm, I manage to get him to look at me. “Listen to me. Molly offered to bite me, to break Brennus’ contract and set me fre e just after the Werree attacked me .”
    Both his hands go to my upper arms as he straightens his posture and looks into my eyes. “Why did n’t you let her do it?” he asks , looking outwardly calm, but I can tell that there is a fire being lit inside of him, kn owing I could’ve returned to hi m sooner.
    “Because Brennus would ’ve kill ed her if she did. He promised to torture and kill anyone who bit me and freed me from his magical contrac t,” I reply .
    “She is evil now ,” he says without a hint of doubt.
    “S he’s always been like a sister to me and that is j ust as strong in her,” I reply , watching his brow pull down in a frown. “Please, hear her out. ”
    Reed pauses , looking reluctant. “Molly… please come in,” he says , not taking his eyes from mine.
    “Awesome,” Molly says , before strolling into the ballroom. “Nice pad, Eaves.”
    She’s dripping wet from the rain , leaving a trail of water as she stops several feet away from any of us. Buns an d Brownie stay well back from her as Zephyr trails her in, training a seriously hostile automatic weapon on her.
    “Thanks,” I say , trying to take a step toward Molly and not be ing able to budge because Reed is still hold ing both my arms. “Reed,” I murmur .
    “You can hear her from here,” he replies calmly.
    “What happened to him?” Molly asks , pointing at Reed.
    Looking back in Reed’s direction , I pale , seeing h is chest for the first time. He has a deep, claw mark running from his left shoulder to his right hip and a definite bite mark from a tiger etched into his side. It’s healing, but it still looks painful.
    My eyes drift to his face, which flushes with color as he mumbles , “You should see him.”
    “Forget it, I don’t really want to know about your kinky , angel things,” Molly says , waving her hand as if to erase the last exchange . “I’m here to let you know that Brennus has gone off the deep end . It’s lunatic fringe time ,” she says , looking at my face. “Finn has been filling me in when he can, but I haven’t been able to see him in a few days.”
    “ What do you mean, Mols?” I ask . “Aren’t you with them?”
    Shaking her head, she says , “Finn sent me away from the estate before you opened the compact that Casi mir gave you. He knew that the F allen would retaliate , succeed or fail , and he wanted to protect me. He also knew that if the a ngels succeeded in getting you back , I’d be toast. Finn knew they kidnapped Leif so he woul d bite you to break the contract. T hat put my life in jeopardy,” she says . “Brennus wo uld n’t hesitate to torture me in front of you to make you do whatever he wants you to do, but I’m not gonna let him do that to us.”
    “But…Finn loves you! Brennus couldn’t do that to his brother…” I trail off, watching her shake her head.
    “He’s too obsessed to let you go, Eaves. He is insane now. I hope he never gets you back because… it’ ll be gruesome . He was never such a tyrant before, not like he is now. He ’ll