Sins of the Father

Chapter 11





The next morning I awoke to my Blackberry chiming on the nightstand. I opened my eyes and peered at the clock on the iPod dock. It was 11:30am and I groaned and rolled over to cuddle up with Jameson. Instead of finding my boyfriend, I found a single pink tulip and a note on his pillow. I picked up the flower and smelled it before I read the note.

“My love,

I am sorry I left without saying goodbye, but I couldn’t bear to wake you. You were sleeping so peacefully. I had to leave early today. The Manky Langer CDs are ready so I’m going to pick them up before I go to band practice. Don’t forget, I have a show tonight at Drop Kick Dan’s so I won’t see you again until after 1am. I hope you have a wonderful day, love. I’ll miss you every second that we are apart.

Forever yours,

J”

I smiled and swooned, lifting the sweet smelling flower to my nose again. Jameson was so sweet to me. I truly felt lucky to be his girlfriend. I rolled back over and sat up, reaching for my phone. I had several text messages and spent a few minutes replying to them. One was from my ex-boss, Dan Kennedy, telling me how much he wanted me back. One of his new waitresses wasn’t doing as well as hoped. He told me that he’d double my salary, but I had to decline. I told him that I missed him and would see him soon.

The last message was from Nikki. She sent me a picture of Styvi Nix and the caption read: “We’re on our way to Auditorium Shores to participate in the Dapper Dude & Diva Doggie Dash 5k walk today! All proceeds benefit the local no-kill shelter. Lyric is bringing his Corgi Nirvana, so it should be a blast! Styvi says she misses you, mom. I’ll send some more pics of our walk later. Love ya, cupcake!”

I smiled and scrolled down on my phone. The picture was of Styvi Nix and she was sitting in the front seat of Nikki’s Volvo. Styvi was wearing a black and neon yellow tulle tutu, a neon yellow tank top, and she had Nikki’s cat rimmed black readers on her face and her long tongue was happily hanging out of the corner of her mouth. I immediately covered my mouth and laughed. The clothes were SO over the top. Nikki must have taken her out shopping at a pet boutique. I replied back to her, thanking her for the picture and telling her to have fun.

I set my phone back down and took care of my morning necessities. I put on tight black Capri workout pants, a black sports bra and my Vibram FiveFingers running shoes. I wanted to go for a run this morning and I thought the lake scenery outside would be perfect. I threw my hair up, grabbed my iPod and arm band and walked out my bedroom door.

“Oh, good,” Archer said as I walked into the kitchen to get a bottle of water. “You’re finally awake.” He was standing at the kitchen island drinking from a tall glass of warm blood.

“Yep,” I said as I nodded my head and walked over to the refrigerator. “Where is everyone?”

“They’re out running errands.”

“Oh,” I said digging around in the fridge for the water. “You acted glad that I was awake, did you need something?”

He downed the rest of his glass and had me throw him another bag of blood. “You have training today,” he said as he placed the bag in the microwave and hit start.

“Right now?” I ask in a bit of a whine. I had really been looking forward to my run on the lake shore this morning.

“Yes, right now,” Archer said as he chuckled. “Hagan said he would help train you. I strongly advise that you take him up on it. He’s one of the best fighters An Dílis has and certainly the best fighter YOU will ever meet.”

I bit my bottom lip and sighed, resigning myself to the inevitable. I’ve learned that Archer gets whatever he wants, so there’s no point in arguing with him. I’d just lose. “Alright, I guess I can go running afterward. So, where are we doing this…in your office?”

Archer got his bag of blood out of the microwave and signaled me with his hand to follow him. I grabbed my bottle of water and trailed after him. We walked through the archway in the foyer and stopped by the west staircase. I watched as he hit a few numbers on a small keypad and when he was done, part of the wall popped open. My jaw must have dropped because Archer laughed. He pushed the hidden door open and I followed him in and down some concrete stairs.

There were grunting sounds coming from below us and a constant metal-on-metal clanking sound. When we got to the bottom of the stairs, I was shocked to find a massive basement that was almost the length of the entire house. I looked around and saw sparing mats, crash pads, targets, kick shields, focus mitts, punching bags, gloves, staffs, swords, shillelaghs, and a veritable playground of other goodies.

“Son of a bitch!” I said with a huge happy smile as I lightly smacked Archer on the arm. “You’ve been holding out on me, old man.”

He laughed as I glanced around trying to figure out what I wanted to play with first. I saw Hagan across the room and he was in the middle of a fast, fierce sword fight with Trey. My jaw dropped as I watched them spar. It was beautiful the way their bodies moved and responded to threats. They were incredibly fast, skilled, and absolutely lethal with a sword. I had never seen anything like it before in my life. Not even in the movies.

“They’re beautiful,” I unconsciously whispered in awe.

“Trey is still learning,” Archer said and I looked up at him with wide eyes.

“You’re kidding, right? He’s amazing. How could he possibly be still learning?”

As if on cue, Trey screeched loudly as Hagan’s sword cut his arm. “Oh, fudge! That really smarts!” Trey whined, dropping the sword as he put pressure on his deltoid with his opposite hand.

I quickly jogged over to Trey and took his arm in my hand. “Let me see how bad it is, honey,” I said as I pulled his hand away. I watched in amazement as the deep gash on his arm slowly knit back together. The only evidence of his injury was the bit of blood that had spilled. “What the…”

Trey chuckled and took his arm back. “Never seen one of us heal before? It’s a sight to see, isn’t it? It doesn’t take but a few seconds; it is rather unpleasant, though.”

“Wow,” I said taking a step back as Archer joined us. “That was so cool!”

Hagan put his sword down and walked over. “You’re not supposed to lower your weapon in the middle of battle, Hatfield,” he rumbled deeply. “Injuries WILL happen, son. Your opponent will not give you a time out to attend to them. Fight through it. Channel your pain into your attack.”

“Yes, sir,” Trey said respectfully as he bowed his head. “Sorry, sir.”

Hagan slapped his back with one hand. “Good man.”

Archer looked at Hagan and nodded his head in my direction. “This is Skye Morrison. She is the one I was telling you about earlier. I’d like you to work on Scianóireacht and Gráscar Lámh today if you don’t mind.”

Hagan inclined his head to Archer. “You’re human,” he said, finally turning and addressing me.

I shrugged one shoulder and smiled. “Last time I checked. Is that going to be a problem?”

Hagan smirked and raised an eyebrow. “We’ll see. I’ve never trained a human before.”

Archer motioned for Trey to follow him out of the basement. “Try not to hurt her, Hagan. Our healer is not home.”

“Aye, sir,” he said and turned to put his and Trey’s sword away on the wall while they went back upstairs.

I sat down on the floor and started stretching. “So, what are we going to work on first?”

Hagan turned to me after a second and I saw he had an eight inch silver dagger in his hand. “Scianóireacht,” he said plainly, watching me stretch.

“That’s pretty and all, but I don’t speak Gaelic, so you’re going to have to repeat that in English for me,” I said a little annoyed but trying my best not to show it. It was really difficult being around people who insisted on talking in languages I didn’t understand. I mean, I could speak a little French, Spanish, and German…enough to order a beer, find the bathroom, or ask for a taxi, but that was pretty much the extent of my vocabulary. Gaelic had never even entered my universe until last week.

Hagan crossed his arms across his massively muscular chest and said something in Gaelic under his breath. “Scianóireacht means knife arts,” he said glaring at me. “You should learn our language, Morrison. I don’t like repeating myself.”

I pursed my lips and got up off the floor. “Sorry. But I’ve only been working for Archer a week. Cut me a little slack, bro,” I said as I bent into a Revolved Downward-Facing Dog Yoga pose and stretched deeply.

Hagan scoffed. “Bro? Did you seriously just call me Bro? I’m 900 years old.”

I looked up at him and smiled. “Okay, gotcha. Nixing the Bro,” I said with a chuckle. “I’m sure I’ll pick up some phrases and words after a few years of being around you guys, just not any time soon, okay? So, let’s just stick with English, shall we?” I asked as I maneuvered my body into an Intense Side Stretch pose.

Hagen cracked a smile and shook his head. “What on earth are you doing, Morrison?”

I felt my brow furrow. “What? It’s Yoga…haven’t you ever seen it? It stretches the body perfectly. I do a little of it before any physical activity. You should try it sometime,” I finished with a smile.

He laughed and shook his head. “I don’t think I could get my body to bend like that even if I tried.”

I slowly finished in a Standing Forward Bend pose and stood up. “Alright Sensei, let’s do this shall we?” I asked with a clap of my hands.

Hagan walked closer to me and held up the silver dagger. “This, Morrison, is one of the few things that can actually kill a vampire,” he said as he handed it to me. I took it in my hand and looked it over. It was made of silver and had a gorgeous green stone inlay on the handle. The blade was light but the handle was sturdy. I gripped it in my right hand and tested the weight.

“How does it feel?” Hagan asked, watching me closely.

“It feels…good,” I said a bit surprised. “It’s the perfect weight.”

“I thought so,” he said with a smirk. “Now, come at me.”

My brow furrowed in confusion. “What? What do you mean come at you?” I asked nervously. “You want me to attack you…with this thing? But, I’ve only really studied defensive techniques before. I’m not sure what to do.”

Hagan smirked. “Just attack me. Do what feels naturally to you. I just want to see what your strengths are and what your weaknesses are.”

I bit the inside of my bottom lip and looked down at the dagger in my hand. “But it’s real. I’m afraid I’ll hurt you.”

Hagan threw his head back and laughed. “That’s not going to happen, Morrison. I bet you couldn’t even get close to me with that thing. You are a human, after all…and a girl,” he chauvinistically smirked.

I clenched my teeth together and squeezed the handle on the dagger. I was so tired of men thinking that women were weak. I had been dealing with that stereotypical bullshit for years. Men in my Krav Maga class would always go easy on me when we sparred. I didn’t want easy, I wanted fair…I wanted a challenge. It had taken me a full year to show them that I was just as strong and skilled as they were and they finally got the message.

I pursed my lips and zeroed in on him. He was standing with his arms folded across his broad chest and he looked completely relaxed. Well, show him what you’ve got. If you cut him, he’ll heal, right? He’s a vampire after all. Man up and attack him! I swallowed hard and prepared myself. The silent pep talk had helped very little.

I flipped the dagger around in my hand, blade down, and attacked Hagan. I slashed at his chest and he immediately grabbed my wrist, twisted it, and moved around to hold it behind my back. I cried out in temporary pain as he brought my arm up too high and my shoulder threatened to dislocate.

Hagan quickly loosened his hold and apologized. “Are you okay?” he asked concerned, his body pressed up against my backside.

I took a deep breath and pushed back with my hips, simultaneously elbowing him in the throat, twisting my arm out of his grasp and whirled around. My knife grazed his chest as I spun and it sliced his shirt open. Hagan looked down at the torn fabric, growled and attacked me this time.

I started to panic and he seemed to come at me in slow motion. I did the first thing I could think of and I kicked out his knee as I slashed at his chest again with my knife. He didn’t go down like I anticipated and we ended up furiously grappling with our hands. Thank God for all my Krav Maga training, because I had needed every inch of it to keep up with his fists of fury. After about three whole minutes, I got lucky and ended up breaking through his defense as I slashed his hands with the blade of the dagger, eventually stabbing him in the chest. He silently bent forward as the knife impacted.

“Oh shit! Oh f*ck!” I said as I covered my mouth, pulled the tip of the knife out, and stepped back. “Are you okay? I’m so sorry, Hagan. I didn’t mean to.”

Hagan groaned and stood up straight. One severely cut up hand covered the chest wound as he took a deep breath. “That hurt,” he said as I watched the cuts on his hand heal. “You only got two inches into me, but that was enough. Silver burns.”

I set the knife down on a nearby folding chair and grabbed a towel off the back of it. I took my water bottle, quickly wet a corner of the towel, and went back over to Hagan. “Let me see your hands,” I said as I reached down to grab ahold of one.

Hagan jerked his hand back and scowled at me. “What do you think you are doing?” he growled.

I pursed my lips and looked up into his eyes. “I’m just going to clean the blood off you.”

He scoffed and took a step back. “I’m a warrior, Morrison. I don’t need your help.”

I rolled my eyes and took another step forward. “Oh, shut up Hagan. I’m not doing it for you; I’m doing it for me. I don’t want your blood getting all over my outfit,” I lied easily as I roughly grabbed his hand and started to wipe the mess off. When I was done with his hands, I tentatively reached for his shirt and started lifting it up. He growled lowly, obviously not happy to have me fussing over him, but I told him to hush as I examined the healing wound below his heart.

“You almost got me,” Hagan said as I gently wiped the blood from the two spots on his chest. “You’re really fast. I didn’t anticipate that.”

“I’m sorry I stabbed you,” I said, watching his skin knit back together as I wiped around it. “You said attack and I did. I didn’t think I’d be able to outmaneuver you. I almost gave up, but it was pissing me off.” I looked up into his eyes and he was watching me closely. “You know, girls can do anything that guys can do. Not all of us are delicate little flowers. Some of us can actually kick some ass when we need to.”

He chuckled and smiled crookedly. “I know. I was just trying to anger you. I could tell you were afraid of hurting me and I didn’t want you to think about that. I wanted you mad so that you’d attack me the way you would in an actual fight.”

I smiled a small smile. “I think it worked,” I said as I cleaned the last bit of blood off his chiseled abs.

He smirked and placed a finger under my chin, tilting my eyes up to meet his mocha ones. “I underestimated you, Morrison. I won’t make that mistake again.”

I opened my mouth to reply but was immediately thrown into a headlock. This lead to two hours of hard core ground fighting, triangle chokes, defensive blocking, grappling, and elbow strikes to the face. There were a few instructional moves and holds taught, but mostly I just got my ass handed to me. By the time we were done, both of us were sweating profusely and I was breathing hard.

“Damn,” I said to Hagan as I grabbed a clean towel and dabbed my face with it. “That was harder than I thought it was going to be. You completely kicked my ass.”

He laughed and grabbed a towel of his own. “You held your own, though. You’re a tough son of a bitch, Morrison, I’ll give you that. I didn’t expect that when I agreed to train you.”

I chuckled as I fixed my lopsided ponytail. “I surprised myself a few times,” I said as I took a seat on the mat and grabbed my water bottle. “The guys in my Krav Maga class would have never manhandled me the way you did today. I love it. Training with you is actually challenging…and freakin’ scary!” Hagan chuckled as I chugged down the contents of my bottle. “When can we do it again?” I asked eagerly.

Hagan held his hand out for me and I grabbed it, allowing him to pull me up. “Tomorrow at 9am. Don’t be late, Morrison.”

“Yes, sir,” I said as I smiled.

We said our goodbyes and I went back upstairs to the ground floor. I meandered into the kitchen and grabbed another bottle of water and an apple to eat. I was positively starving. As I washed the apple in the sink, I looked out of the kitchen window and into the backyard. Trey was wearing a tiny pair of red boy shorts and lounging on one of the patio chairs by the pool. He was talking animatedly to Pádraig and they were both laughing. I smiled, took my apple and water, and made my way to my room.

As I was opening the door, I heard a huge crash coming from Archer’s room and I dropped everything in my hands and ran to his door.