Revelation of Blood (Skye Morrison Vampire Series, #5)

by J. L. McCoy

  Atticus took a deep breath and pursed his lips, deep in thought. I watched as the weight of my words finally sank in and he nodded his head. “Very well, Miss Morrison. I look forward to hearing from you soon.” He snapped his fingers and Corvus withdrew a business card from his pocket and brought it over to me. “This is my number,” Atticus continued. “When you come to a decision please let me know.”

  “Yes, sir,” I said respectfully as I bowed my head to him.

  “Lucian, please see Miss Morrison to the helicopter,” the leader said with a flick of his wrist and then gave me one final farewell. “Until we meet again, child.”

  I nodded my head and took my father’s arm as he led me out of the room and down more twisting stone hallways. We came to a bank of elevators and he escorted me inside one of the cars.

  “I’m really going to miss you,” he said sadly as the elevator started its ascent.

  “We’ll see each other again, Lucian,” I smiled reassuringly up at him. “After all, we’re family.”

  “Why do I feel like this is goodbye?”

  “Because it’s a goodbye for now,” I explained as I turned to him and rested one hand on his chest, over his heart. “No matter what I decide, you’re my father and I want you to be a part of my life. We’ve missed twenty three years together, Dad. I’m not going to miss another one. We’ve got a lot of making up to do for lost time.”

  He pulled me into a hug and took a deep breath when he let go. “What are you going to tell Archer Rhys?” he asked, somewhat nervously.

  “The truth, Dad,” I explained with a sad smile. “I can’t lie to him. Besides, he can read minds. If he really wants access to my thoughts, he can force his way into my head. Where would that get me?”

  Lucian chuckled and then an odd look crossed his eyes. I didn’t know him well enough to decipher it. “Do you really love him?” he asked softly, his eyes studying me intently.

  “I do,” I said without hesitation. “I really, really do.”

  When the elevator began to slow, my father turned and handed me a folded piece of paper. “That has my contact information. Keep in touch, okay?”

  “Will do, Dad,” I smiled as I reached up and hugged him one last time. “Kidnapping aside, I had a nice time.”

  “I apologize for that, sweetheart,” Lucian said remorsefully. “We just needed a way to get you here.”

  “Next time call, okay?” I chuckled.

  The doors opened and I saw that we were now on top of a skyscraper. The city view before me was breathtaking with its shining lights and lit up buildings. “Where are we?” I asked as Lucian escorted me to the helipad.

  “New York City,” he smiled brightly.

  We said our goodbyes and then the pilot helped me into the back seat and tightly strapped me in. After putting on the communication headphones, I waved goodbye to my father as we took off.

  The New York Skyline was absolutely beautiful at night. From my window I got a great view of Times Square as we flew over and silently wished I’d had the chance to actually visit the city. Regardless, I couldn’t wait to get back to Boston and into the arms of the man I loved.

  **********

  Two hours later, the helicopter landed on top of a Boston skyscraper a few blocks away from Back Bay Tower. I thanked the pilot and grabbed the duffle bag that held my ruined evening gown as a Dark One I had never met before escorted me into the building and then out to the street. He pointed me in the direction of Archer’s penthouse and I wasted no time walking the three blocks to get there.

  When I entered the tower lobby, I breathed a sigh of relief. I was really glad to be back. I quickly made my way over to the elevators and when they opened, Fernando’s eyes grew wide upon seeing me.

  “¡Dios mio!” he exclaimed in his thicker than usual Spanish accent, pulling me into the elevator car. “Mr. Rhys and Mr. Jameson have been out of their minds with the worry.” He quickly inserted his key and punched in the penthouse access code. “Everyone has been looking for you. They said you got lost or something?” Fernando turned to me with questioning eyes and I just shrugged my shoulders. It wasn’t like I could really tell him that I was kidnapped and recently released.

  The elevator slowed and Fernando moved to escort me to the door, but I told him it was okay. As soon as the doors closed and I heard the elevator descend again, I flashed down the hall and opened the penthouse door.

  Across the foyer, I could see Jameson sitting on the couch with his head in his hands. It looked like he was still wearing last night’s tux. His head snapped up at the sound of the door and he stood up as soon as he saw me. He stared in silent, utter shock for a few seconds before he flashed over to me and roughly pulled me into his arms.

  “Oh!” I gasped at the hard impact of our bodies and dropped the duffle bag so I could return the hug.

  Jameson started speaking rapidly in Gaelic as he moved his hands to my cheeks and raised my face to his.

  “English, Jameson, English,” I whispered, seeing the mix of torture and relief in his watery eyes.

  “Fuck,” he breathed out harshly before shaking his head and switching languages. “Where have you been? We’ve been scouring the city for you. You didn’t come back inside and I went looking for you after twenty minutes, but couldn’t find you anywhere. I came across your broken wine glass in the garden and picked up the scent of an unfamiliar vampire on the bench …I knew something bad had happened. What happened, Skye? Where were you?!”

  “Honey, calm down,” I whispered soothingly as I reached up with one hand to smooth his hair back from his face. “I’m okay. I’m perfectly fine. I’ll tell you everything that happened, alright?”

  Jameson’s eyes slowly calmed as my hand brushed his hair. Both of us were silent for a long time as his eyes drank me in. I was really worried about him. It looked like he hadn’t slept or even eaten in a long time. Finally, with a sigh, he closed the small distance between our faces and rested his forehead against mine. “I was starting to think I’d never see you again,” he whispered softly.

  “Not even the devil himself could keep me away from my family, Jameson,” I whispered as I pulled back to look up at him.

  “You’re really okay?” he questioned as he searched my eyes. I nodded my head and he sighed again, looking a lot more relieved. “I have to call Archer now,” he whispered as he cupped my face once more and lowered his lips to mine. The kiss surprised me but what surprised me even more was the innocence of it. It was closed mouthed and sweet, not lasting longer than four seconds.

  “I’m really glad you’re home, little sister,” he said before quickly kissing my forehead and taking a step back. He dug into his pants pocket and brought out his cell phone. Flipping it open, he pushed a button and put it to his ear.

  “You vampires really need to get with the times,” I shook my head and grimaced at the ancient technology in his hand. “Is that thing even digital? Jesus, I am totally buying you guys some new phones when we get back home.”

  Jameson smiled as he spoke. “Archer, she’s here and she’s cracking jokes so I think she’s okay.” There were small pauses as he listened. “Two minutes ago…No, not yet…right…will do.” He snapped the phone closed with a sigh and cocked one eyebrow at me. “Archer will be here in ten minutes and just for the record, I happen to like my phone.”

  “How can you? It’s one step away from a soup can and a string,” I smiled, teasing, as I folded my arms under my chest. “I’m surprised that thing doesn’t have an antenna.”

  Jameson laughed and ran his fingers through his hair. “Fucking hell, I’ve missed you,” he sighed, still smiling.

  “I’ve missed you too,” I said before closing the distance between us and wrapping my arms around his waist. “Does this mean you don’t hate me anymore?”

  He stared down into my eyes as his smile grew smaller. “I never hated you, Skye. How could anyone ever hate you?” he whispered as he lightly ran the back of his finger down my cheek. />
  “I’m a gigantic pain in the ass,” I grinned. “Trust me, it’s totally possible.”

  His smile completely faded and he got serious on me. “Are you going to tell me what happened? Where you were?”

  I took a deep breath and sighed, pulling back from him. “It’s a long story. I’d like to wait for Archer to get here so I only have to tell it once, okay? Let’s just say I had an interesting time with the Dark Ones.”

  “I fucking knew it!” Jameson growled angrily as he placed his hands on top of his head and began to pace. “Corvus was behind your disappearance, wasn’t he, that fucking little weasel! I knew he was too stupid to leave well enough alone.”

  “Geez, calm down,” I said, grabbing him by the sleeve of his shirt and dragging him to the kitchen. “I need a drink and you need something to do to occupy your mind, so let’s kill two birds with one stone, shall we? You pour and I’ll explain.”

  Jameson growled, still pissed because he obviously didn’t like Corvus, as he got out two glasses and filled them with whiskey.

  I wonder why Jameson hates Corvus so much, I thought silently before I shook my head and hopped up onto the counter. “I don’t think Corvus would even dare to breathe without his father’s permission.”

  “Corvus is extremely loyal to Atticus,” Jameson nodded his head and handed me a glass. “They all are.”

  “Yeah, I got that feeling,” I scoffed, remembering how everyone called him ‘Master’. I downed the glass and held it out for a refill.

  Jameson looked at my hand and crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re not explaining,” he frowned.

  “And you’re not pouring, big brother,” I smiled sweetly, batting my eyelashes while shaking the glass. He gave me a smirk and grabbed the bottle so I started talking. I figured I’d start at the very beginning, explaining why I needed some fresh air, in hopes that Archer would arrive before I got to the part where the Dark One stabbed me in the chest with the syringe.

  “Man,” Jameson cringed. “I heard people talking to you but I wasn’t paying that much attention I guess. I can’t believe he really told you about that.” We were discussing the horrible and very detailed conversation that I’d had with the Ugandan Day Walker regarding the war atrocities he’d seen when Archer burst through the door.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Cion,” he breathed as soon as he saw me and I jumped down off the counter and flashed over to him, throwing my arms around his neck. Archer lifted me off the ground and buried his face in the hollow of my neck as he deeply breathed me in. His arms tightened around me and I closed my eyes, enjoying the reunion.

  “I missed you, baby,” I whispered, running one set of fingers through the hair at the back of his head while I held him to me. The sharp scent of blood hit my nose and I couldn’t believe I hadn’t noticed it sooner. I leaned back and looked down at his outfit. He was still wearing the same tuxedo he had on last night but it wasn’t in the pristine condition it was in the last time I saw it. Now, it was covered in blood. Some of it was on the front of his white dress shirt, but the majority was on the black jacket.

  “Are you hurt?” I asked, suddenly panicking, as I wiggled in his arms to be put down. The second my toes touched the floor, my hands were all over him searching for some tell-tale marking.

  “It’s not mine, baby,” Archer said gently as he stopped my hands and brought them to his mouth to tenderly kiss them.

  “Well, whose is it then?” I asked, thoroughly confused.

  “Later,” he growled then grabbed my face in both hands and brought my mouth to his, kissing me deeply. I melted into him and sighed as our tongues met. I was so happy and relieved to see him. I didn’t realize how much I’d missed him until this very moment. Archer was my oxygen; my own deepest need and now that I had him in my arms, I didn’t know if I’d ever be able to let him go.

  “Okay you two, break it up,” someone growled and my eyes darted over to where Ruarc was standing. “I want answers.”

  I pulled back from the kiss and held the back of my hand to my mouth as I took in Ruarc. He was also in last night’s clothes and he was covered in blood as well. “Sorry, I didn’t see you there,” I mumbled before addressing the blood. “What the hell happened to you guys?”

  “No,” Archer growled, “you first. I want to know where the fuck you’ve been. What happened to you, Skye? I’ve torn this entire city apart looking for you.”

  “Well, that was a little pointless. I wasn’t in Boston, babe,” I sighed as I folded my arms under my chest.

  Archer’s eyes began to rapidly fade color as his anger took over. “Speak. Now.”

  I knew better than to argue when he used that tone, so I grabbed his hand and pulled him to the love seat. Jameson and Ruarc followed suit and sat on the couch across from us.

  “Just do me a favor and please try to stay calm,” I said as I looked at Archer and then Jameson and Ruarc. “Keep in mind that I’m alright, okay?” They grumbled and I took that as an understanding.

  Taking a deep breath, I launched into the story, picking up where I’d left off with Jameson. When I got to the part where I was injected in the heart, Archer growled loudly as his fangs snapped down. I stroked his arm soothingly as I worked up to the part where I woke up in front of Atticus. As soon as I said his name, a fierce growl ripped itself from his chest and he flashed to stand.

  “I’m going to kill that opportunistic cac ar oineach!” Archer yelled as he picked up the crystal vase on the coffee table and launched it across the room with surprising force. The harsh sound of glass exploding made me flinch and I hugged myself. Archer was livid, as I knew he would be, but I still wasn’t fully prepared for his temper

  “Ní fiú tráithnín é, dheartháir,” Ruarc said, slowly standing and holding his palm out in a calming gesture. “He’s not worth it.”

  “He kidnapped my mate!” he yelled, his eyes completely white now. “My MATE, Ruarc! That is an act of war!”

  The anger in the room kicked up a notch and I was starting to choke on the emotions. I couldn’t seem to shut off my empath powers and felt like I was drowning. I did the only thing I could think of to potentially calm the situation. “My dad was there,” I whispered, swallowing hard as I tried to breathe.

  Every head in the room swung to me. “What?” Archer whispered.

  “Atticus asked me to join the Dark Ones because he’d heard from someone that I had part of Amun’s soul inside me. He thinks I should be among my own kind. I told him that I was a Day Walker, no matter what he’d heard, and I politely declined the invitation. Then he said ‘Maybe this will change your mind’ and my father pops out.” Archer’s eyes narrowed and his scowl deepened as I continued, “Someone from our side is obviously oversharing here. I expected my powers to get out but I didn’t know someone would tell the Dark Ones about Amun’s soul. That’s a little fucked up.”

  “It was inevitable,” Ruarc sighed as he ran his fingers through his thick, shaggy dirty blond hair and sat back down. “Nothing as salacious as this stays quiet for long, unfortunately.”

  “Wait, your Da?” Jameson asked, totally confused. “What the hell was your Da doing there? I thought you didn’t know who he was.”

  I quickly filled Jameson in on what happened at The Mausoleum between my mother and me. When I was finished, he sat back on the couch, astounded. “Jesus. Miss a little, miss a lot. Why does the good stuff always happen when I’m gone?”

  “Maybe that’ll teach you to keep your ass at home where you belong,” I said, giving him a quick smile before turning my attention back to Archer.

  “What happened with your father?” he asked, looking down at me, the scowl firmly planted on his face.

  “We talked,” I shrugged my shoulders. “It was surprisingly normal.”

  “So I take it you didn’t kill him then?” Archer cocked his eyebrow skeptically.

  “No, though I was pretty pissed at first. He told me that he had to leave my mom because he had a
disease which only vampirism could cure and he only had the best intentions when doing it. He said he wanted to be a father to me but that Grace wouldn’t allow it.” I shrugged my shoulders and sighed. “I don’t know whose story I should believe…mom or Lucian’s. Regardless, it was nice getting to talk to him. It felt…I know this is going to sound silly, but it felt like I found a part of me that I didn’t know I was missing.”

  “Lucian?” Archer asked, confused.

  “He said Steven was his human name,” I shrugged. “I guess he wanted a new identity or something, I don’t know. Funny thing was I met him the night we went to Les Oubliette. He sat down next to me and we were going over the donor menu together.” I frowned up at him, suddenly remembering the Cocaine Cowboy option. “Speaking of which, there’s something I’d like to talk to you about. What’s up with your feeders using illicit narcotics? Why would you allow such a thing?”

  Archer’s brow furrowed and he took a deep breath. “We cater to a large group of individuals and some have specific desires. I personally don’t like it, but who am I to judge them?”

  “So you provide the drugged blood?” I asked with an unhappy scowl. “What about the humans? Cocaine is no joke, Archer. It’s highly addictive and can ruin lives. I can’t believe you employ drug users just so vampires can get high off them.”

  Archer cupped my cheek with one hand and looked deeply into my eyes. “Cion, I do not turn the humans on to the drug and I only hire experienced users. They are not provided with the drug by me or my staff; they use their own supply. If an employee ever wants to get clean, I cover all rehabilitation costs and outpatient treatment for a duration of five years, even if they no longer work for me. I do not judge my employees or the vampires who desire the altered blood. Ultimately, it’s their choice how they want to live their lives. I only provide a safe blood service. My employees are clean and well looked after. It’s better than the alternative.”