The Siren Series 3: Brandon (A Siren Novel) by Marata Eros Page B

her eyes shut, and I punch out the window above her head, my knuckles turning to shreds of flesh.
    Ren yells, but a face juts inside the hole like a bird after a worm.
    Perfect.
    I punch the Reaper's face as I hit the door handle with the other hand. It's an archaic thing I have to dig for. I jerk the lever and elbow the door wide. It slams into one of the Reapers, and I stagger awkwardly from the passenger seat as the Reaper is knocked on his ass.
    I drag Nova and come face to face with the three from the fortress. We didn't outrun them after all.
    Fuckity-fuck-fuck.
    “Give us the breeder, and the male lives.”
    Ren.
    The eyebrow of the one who is clearly the leader shoots up. “And you live as well.”
    I don't miss a beat, pulling Nova tighter against me. “Fuck off.”
    He glowers, and I grin.
    “You're out of your territory, Reaper.”
    “You are Druid. You must be aware of how rare the fuller-blood breeders are.”
    “Yes.” I keep the youngest of the three in sight. He looks like more of a weasel.
    Ren backs away as Nova stays quiet behind me. For once.
    “She is fated to be with me,” I explain, jabbing a thumb into my chest.
    Small pieces of glass fall from my clothing with the motion.
    They narrow their gazes on me.
    We're equal speed, and I can almost see their metal wheels turning, weighing if I'll be faster, if Nova will be hurt.
    I think of my coven a half mile away.  I feel the ocean around me and ready a siren's wail.
    It's a tool in my arsenal, and I'm betting none of the Reapers are part Mer.
    My mother, Aubree, will hear the warning and send reinforcements. Then I can get rid of these three prick Reapers.
     
    *
    Nova
     
    I'm not much of a damsel in distress, but when Brandon opens his mouth and a noise unlike anything I've ever heard pierces the night air—something blows apart deep inside me.
    Like glue that finally gives, I feel my insides resonate with the call.
    I know what it is. I just didn't know what I was.
    I'm Druid. I've always been certain of that. I manipulate magic to stay alive. It hasn't made my life easier, but my existence continues because of it.
    Right now, I feel as though I’m traveling through water. Music pours from Brandon's mouth as I circle him. I never let my fingertips leave his body.
    It is he and I in a bubble, and we float in water we can't see.
    My mouth opens without me consciously being aware. I join him in the siren's wail.
    I feel the ocean in a new way. Every molecule of water, each drop speaks to me with salted weight and breadth. They are mine, and I am theirs.
    I feel myself awake as though from a dream.
    “What the fuck is going on?” a voice grates from somewhere around us.
    The words break through our bubble slowly, a popping sound ripping through the warm tide of our song.
    The note of the call echoes as Brandon closes his mouth. My fingertips touch his lips. He captures them with his hand.
    A rough hand grabs my elbow and wrenches me away from him.
    I react as I do to all threatening things: I use the element of surprise. I go limp, letting my sudden weight be the unexpected.
    The Reaper drops me, though I'm sure he didn’t mean to.
    My hands break my fall, smacking the pavement. I look up at Brandon.
    He smashes into the Reaper who jerked me away from him. They fall to the side, hitting the dark asphalt with a jarring thud.
    Ren moves to my side, but the Reapers beat him there by a hairsbreadth.
    Metal flashes, and a hand full of talons flies away.
    Oh goddess.
    Ren picks me up by my arm, and Mikhail, the leader, hits him. Ren jerks his face back, but the glancing blow still causes his jaw to swing. Ren spins with me in his arms.
    I pull him away.
    “Leave him alone!”
    Mikhail and Damon move in.
    I clutch Ren and use the last trick in my almost empty bag.
    I use the most dangerous power I possess, and I feel our forms shift to nothing.
    Hands pass through us.
    Ren and I are in the spectral realm now. The Reapers can't touch us, see us.
    We