Legacy of Blood

chapter Five



I tentatively brought the glass to my lips and felt the warmness of the thick blood as it passed my lips and hit my tongue. The coppery thickness first coated and then exploded on my taste buds. I was expecting the most amazing thing I had ever tasted based on the smell of it but was sorely disappointed as I swallowed. The blood tasted old, like the dried blood on my fingers had. I was also picking up heavy notes of plastic and some sort of… anticoagulant agent maybe? It was hard for me to know since I had never drank blood before, let alone bagged blood. But I can tell you one thing, it was absolutely disgusting and definitely undrinkable.

After I swallowed my first sip, I carefully put the glass down and dabbed at my lips with the napkin Trey had so thoughtfully put down next to me. “How do you guys drink this crap?” I asked, meeting Archer’s anxious eyes.

A light chuckle sounded around the room as Archer smirked. “It’s not the best, but it meets our needs. You’ll get used to it in time.”

“I don’t think so,” I said, scooting my glass to the center of the table and further away from me. “I’m not drinking that shit again. It’s revolting. It tasted like plastic and it’s just…wrong. It’s seriously disgusting.”

Archer’s brow furrowed as he picked up the bag the blood came in and studied the label. “It was drawn three days ago, so it’s still relatively fresh. It’s O negative, maybe we should try another blood type and see if you like that one better.”

I sighed, not thinking it would help, but nodded my head because I was willing to try anything at this point. The pangs in my stomach had started to become overwhelming.

Trey heated up every blood type they had, which had been all of them, but nothing tasted any better than the O negative.

“Archer, I can’t drink any more of this garbage,” I bit out in frustration as I pushed the last glass away from me. “I’m sorry, but it’s making me feel really sick. I need to eat something… right now. The pain is becoming unbearable. There has to be something else. Can’t I just eat an orange or maybe some crackers?”

Archer’s brow furrowed deeply as he stared at the multitude of full glasses on the table before us. “Human food will only make you vomit. It is not compatible with our needs. I just don’t understand it, Skye. Can’t you force yourself to drink any of it? It’s not that bad really. We all do and it doesn’t taste as bad to us as you say it does to you.”

Oleif reached around me and picked up the glass I had just pushed away. I glanced over my shoulder to see him sniff its contents and then guzzle the blood down. “Tastes like bagged blood. What is the problem here? Drink it or starve,” he shrugged with indifference as he set the empty glass in front of me.

An unexpected wave of nausea slammed into me and I flashed from my seat, knocking my chair and Oleif and Hagan several feet back, as I ran for the kitchen trash can. Every bit of the blood I had just swallowed came heaving out of my stomach in a rather loud and unglamorous bluuugh.

I felt a soothing hand rub my back as another pulled my long hair out of the way. “Well, this isn’t good,” I heard Trey mumble next to me.

“Aye,” Archer replied with a sigh.

“Why don’t we try a feeder?” Hunter offered in solution.

“That’s a good idea,” Trey said as I spit the last of the fetid blood from my mouth and leaned back up. “Would you be willing to try that?”

An involuntary whimper from my extreme hunger was my only answer.

“I don’t advise this,” Oleif growled, crossing his thick arms over his broad chest. “We don’t know of her control yet. What if she tries to kill the human?”

“She won’t,” Trey frowned as Archer stood up.

“We won’t allow that to happen,” he explained as he pulled out his cell phone and hit a few numbers. “And, I doubt you will either, brother.”

Oleif scoffed and turned his head away from me. Hagan shot me an encouraging smile as Trey led me to the couch to lay down. Trey fluffed the throw pillow as Seamus pulled my feet into his lap.

“You jus’ take a few deep breaths, wee wan,” he said as he patted my shin. “We’ll get ya a proper meal ‘ere soon.”

“Just try and relax, honey,” Trey smoothed my hair before he went back into the kitchen to clean up.

“Well, come on boys,” Aoife called from the table. “Let’s not let all this good blood go to waste. Grab a bag and a glass and drink up.”

Oleif sat down in the overstuffed chair across from me and studied me silently. His face was a jumbled mix of anger, confusion, disgust, and boredom. I was so tired of him always staring at me and I wanted to stick my tongue out at him, but I refrained. I had a feeling that antagonizing him would only make the situation worse. He didn’t want to be here any more than I wanted him here… which was not at all.

“I have four feeders on their way here now,” Archer said as he kneeled down next to me and took my hand. “We normally do not invite outsiders to our house but I will make an exception just this once. Quinn will have to alter their memory of where we live, but that won’t be a problem. If this doesn’t work, Skye… I don’t know what else to do.”

“It’ll work,” Trey piped up from the kitchen. “She’s a vampire for crying out loud. Vampires need blood. End of story. Stop worrying so much.”

“Never has a vampire turned their nose up at bagged human blood before let alone vomit it right back up,” Oleif gruffly pointed out, his eyes full of accusation. “We do not fully understand the ramifications of creating such an abomination. What if humans aren’t enough? What if she starts draining vampires like her sire?”

“I am not an abomination!” I growled, flashing upright. I felt my anger consume me as my eyes flickered once, changing.

“Yes,” Oleif growled deeply as he slowly stood up from his chair, “you are. Your eyes betray you, creature.”

Everyone in the house, except for Emrick who was outside patrolling the grounds, flashed to create a protective shield between Oleif and me.

“Control your temper!” Hagan yelled at me as he put his hand on my chest.

I didn’t appreciate him yelling at me, let alone touching me, so I roughly pulled his hand off me and threw it to the side. I heard a sickening crunch as I did and Hagan immediately hissed in pain.

“You protect this monster even after she breaks your bones?” Oleif shouted as he pushed at the bodies in front of him. “I don’t have to see it to know you are injured.”

“Dammit, Morrison!” Hagan yelled as he roughly shoved me back onto the couch. “You crushed my f*cking wrist! Sit your ass down and if you get up again, so help me God, I will make you regret it.”

“I-I’m sorry, sir,” I said, shocked I had hurt him. I felt my eyes flicker again and I knew they were back to being devoid of color. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to. I-I guess I’m stronger than I realize.”

“You’re a lot stronger,” he huffed as he cradled his wrist and turned back to Oleif. “And you, stop antagonizing the girl. You are here to watch her, nothing more!”

“I am stationed here to kill her if given just cause,” Oleif growled fiercely in response. “Assaulting a sworn member of the Army of An Dilis is more than just cause.”

“I didn’t mean to!” I shouted fearfully.

“Brother,” Archer said calmly as he stood in front of Oleif, “I do not believe Skye honestly meant to hurt Hagan. She knows not the strength she carries. She would never purposely hurt him. He has been her mentor for the past month; teaching her to defend herself should the creature Amun ever try to kidnap her again.”

“That’s right,” I verbally stepped in as I wrung my hands from my place on the couch. “I respect Hagan immensely and would never hurt him intentionally. I’m sorry I let my anger get the better of me, but it won’t happen again.” I felt tears of frustration and fear cloud my eyes.

Oleif took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose as he squeezed his eyes shut. With a frustrated growl, he dropped his hand and met Hagan’s eyes. “I leave her punishment in your hands, Hagan. But I grow increasingly weary of her.”

Hagan glanced back at me and pursed his lips. I didn’t like the look he was giving me and started to panic. After a long few seconds, he turned back to Oleif with a smile. “Would a sparring match please you, brother?”

Oleif’s eyes grew wide and he scoffed. “A sparring match between you and her? She’ll be defeated the moment it starts.”

“No, brother,” Hagan smiled. “I was suggesting one between the two of you. Now, you can’t kill her but you can play with her a bit. What do you say?”

“Hagan?” I whispered fearfully. “What are you doing? I can’t fight him!” Oleif had almost a foot on me and he was easily 245 pounds of solid muscle not to mention he was a trained killing machine.

Oleif smirked again and crossed his arms. “You mentioned you had been training her. How much knowledge does she have? It wouldn’t be any fun if she doesn’t know what she’s doing.”

Oh,” Hagan chuckled, “she knows what she’s doing. She has been training in Gráscar Lámh and Scianóireacht. She can also use a sword or dagger and she formerly trained in Israeli Krav Maga in her human life. I think you’ll enjoy the fight.”

A wide smile spread across Oleif’s face and he nodded his head. “Aye. A fight is what she’ll get. Just tell me when and where, brother.”

“Isn’t anyone going to ask me if I want to do this?” I asked worriedly as I stared at the two soldiers. “I may be a vampire, but there is no way in hell I’m fighting him. He’ll kill me for sure and say it was an accident.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Oleif laughed. “I can just tell God you died.”

I gasped loudly and sank as far into the couch as I could.

“Oh calm down, Morrison,” Hagan chuckled. “He’s just kidding.”

Oleif studied the group of vampires in front of him and then lingered his gaze on Archer. “I see why most of your children defend the girl. For some, it’s because they find her interesting, others have grown attached, and one loves her, while the other lusts to have her. But you… you I can’t figure out. Why do you defend this girl knowing what is inside of her. You are their leader and your first priority should be the welfare of your family. I know you believe the girl is now your child, but surely you wouldn’t protect her at the sake of your other children. What is her appeal to you? Is it carnal? Spiritual? Is it…”

He stopped speaking suddenly as his eyes widened and a sneer spread across his lips. “Oh, I see now. How… quaint.”

“Leave it alone, brother,” Hagan said quietly as the group started to disperse. Archer, I noticed, had yet to move as he continued to face Oleif. “This is their business.”

Oleif chuckled as he resumed his seat in the overstuffed chair, his eyes still on Archer.

Archer finally turned away from him and went back into the kitchen; he never even looked my way.

Seamus sat back down beside me and patted me knee encouragingly. “Ya feelin’ better?”

I quickly shook my head, my mind in a whirlwind of thought. Oleif had been given permission from Hagan to spar with me and the thought made my upset stomach even more upset. There was no way in hell I stood a chance against him and I had no doubt he’d seriously injure, if not kill, me. On top of that were the words Oleif had said to Archer. Some of my new family put up with me because they thought I was interesting, some were attached. It was easy to figure out who loved me; that was Trey of course. I liked to think of him as my ‘brother from another mother’. But who was the one who lusted after me? That has to be Archer, I thought silently. But then I remembered Oleif had questioned why Archer put up with me, so the one who lusted couldn’t have been him. What the hell? I wondered as I sat up and looked around the room. At that second, Lochlan looked over from his domino game and gave me a wink. Ah… of course. It had to be Lochlan, the notorious flirt. His advances had always seemed like harmless jokes at the time and if it was him who indeed lusted after me, I was pretty shocked. I guess I had just never taken him seriously before. While I liked Lochlan and thought he was incredibly funny and a nice guy, I didn’t have any romantic feelings toward him whatsoever. He was absolutely gorgeous, don’t get me wrong, and I was a sucker for a red head, but he really wasn’t my type.

I heard the doorbell ring just then and jumped in surprise. In the month that I had lived here, no one had ever used the doorbell before. I stood as Trey went to answer it and prayed it was food. If I didn’t eat soon, I was sure I would die from the pain of my hunger alone.

I heard the sound of Trey greeting someone and then several pairs of footsteps as the door closed and they walked further into the house. My mouth instantly watered when their scents and heartbeats hit me.

I must have made some sort of sound because Archer was instantly next to me and had his arm wrapped around my waist. “Hold your breath and silently count to twenty. Do not allow your eyes to betray your hunger or you will scare them.”

I nodded my head and closed my eyes as I leaned my head on his shoulder. I did exactly as he instructed while he greeted them warmly and exchanged pleasantries.

“Vanessa,” Archer said next and my eyes flew open to see the curvaceous, bottled redhead step forward. I had seen her before at The Mausoleum. She had fed Archer once and it had made me incredibly jealous when I naively thought they had slept together. “I wasn’t expecting you. What are you doing here?” he asked as I felt a low growl start at the back of my throat. As far as I was concerned, she’d be feeding Archer over my dead body.

Archer quickly pinched my ass, reminding me to behave, as he continued. “I specifically asked for Mona, Jason, Chris, and Bethany today.”

“Well,” she purred as she flipped her long red hair over her shoulder and stuck out her large chest, “I thought I’d fill in for Mona. I haven’t seen you in a while, let alone been out to your place before, and I know how much you enjoy the taste of my blood so I thought I’d surprise you. Surprise!”

Archer let out a long sigh, obviously displeased, as he motioned to the front sitting room off the foyer. “Trey, escort Jason, Chris and Bethany to the parlor and make sure they are comfortable.”

Trey smiled brightly and motioned for the three of them to follow him. “Right this way, please.”

I watched the three of them eagerly follow Trey and disappear around the corner. When I looked back at Vanessa she was smiling like she had just won the lottery.

“So, where should we go?” she asked as she slowly walked up to Archer. She never even looked at me which surprised the hell out of me (okay and royally pissed me off too) as she stopped in front of us. Archer’s hand tightened on my waist as he addressed her.

“Would you like a tour of the grounds before we begin? I have an amazing pool and hot tub in the back.”

“Ooh, a hot tub?” she purred seductively.

“Quinn, why don’t you show her around while I get Skye settled?” Archer asked, his words heavily laced with meaning. I was guessing that he was pissed Vanessa had invited herself here and after Quinn was done with her, she’d never remember Archer’s name.

“Come on, gorgeous,” Quinn dutifully obeyed as he opened the back door. I watched Vanessa saunter out the door with a heavy sway to her hips and when it was closed I turned around in Archer’s arms.

“You pinch my butt like that again and I’m going to pinch you right back,” I said with a frown.

“Promise?” he purred deeply with a crooked smile as he brushed the tip of his nose against mine. It sent a shiver down my spine and it irritated me that he still had such an effect on me.

I growled softly and then huffed with impatience. “Can I eat now, please? Their heartbeats are really distracting and it’s making my stomach hurt worse.”

Archer chuckled and grabbed my hand, leading me to the foyer. Oleif wasn’t far behind and I narrowed my eyes at him over my shoulder. He gave me one of his famously bored looks and said nothing as usual.

As we turned the corner, the scent of our guests slammed into me full force. They smelled so good that my mouth immediately watered. Archer tightened his hold on my hand and introduced me to them. The one nearest to me was Chris. He was tall and thin with mocha skin, an innocent face, and big brown eyes. He couldn’t have been any older than twenty if he was a day. The girl beside him was Bethany, of course. Bethany looked like your average girl-next-door with her curly, shoulder length brown hair and small brown eyes. She wore a yellow sun dress that accented her sun-kissed, dark skin and she smiled widely at me in greeting.

Lastly, I was introduced to Jason. Jason sat on the loveseat a few feet away and looked like every girl’s wet dream. He wore a tight black t-shirt that accentuated his muscled physique and an expensive pair of designer jeans. He looked older than the rest of our guests and I estimated his age around 28 or so. I tried not to lick my lips and fangs as I studied his tight body, but I think I failed because he gave me a sly, knowing smile.

“Who would you like to try first?” Archer asked me, breaking me out of my daze.