Legacy of Blood

by J. L. McCoy

  Chapter Two

  July 15, 2012

  I awoke with a jolt as I gasped deeply, desperate for air; my slow heart beat echoing loudly all around me. When I finally managed a deep enough breath, I was surprised to find that the air was thick, stale, and tasted heavily of dirt. I slowly moved my hands off my chest, down to my sides, and was startled when they hit something solid.

  “What the…” I whispered in confusion as I opened my eyes.

  I was a little disorientated at first, but it passed quickly. There was no light, but I was still able to see my surroundings perfectly. I appeared to be laying down in a tight enclosure of some sort. I took a deep breath in again, through my nose this time, and was immediately bombarded with an assortment of aromas. I smelled the rich aroma of wood all around me, the earthy, musky scent of dirt, Drakkar Noir and leather, and the sharp, coppery, heart-stopping smell of blood.

  I bolted upright at that last scent, my mouth immediately watering as a deep, painful hunger enveloped me, and I immediately hit my head. The thunking sound my head made against the wood ceiling above me echoed loudly throughout my enclosure as I reached up and rubbed the sore spot on my forehead.

  “Ouch…” I mumbled as I lay back down. I reached my hands up and felt the ceiling of my cell. I pushed lightly against it, testing it, and was shocked when it flew off and clattered loudly against the floor.

  “Damn,” I whispered, surprised as I looked down at my hands. Did I do that?

  Fresh, clean, cool and slightly damp air hit my lungs and I sat up. The room was brightly lit with an array of candles. I shielded my sensitive eyes and gazed around. I had no idea where I was; I had never seen this room before. It was made up of cement brick walls, no windows, and no visible decorations aside from the candles and a lone wooden chair. I looked down at my sides and noticed that I seemed to be lying in a box of some sort.

  Gingerly, I got up on my knees, climbed out of the box, and stood beside it. To my horror, I saw that my former enclosure wasn’t just a normal box; it was a slender wooden coffin with a dirt floor that was elevated off the ground using two antique, carved wooden saw horses.

  A…coffin? “Oh, God…I’m dead. Am I dead?” I panicked as my hands fearfully roamed my body, checking to see if I was tangible or incorporeal. I FEEL solid. I glanced down at my clothes and was surprised to see I was still wearing my work out gear. The biggest surprise was the crusted film of dried blood covering most of my body. Ew…

  My eyes zeroed in on the dried blood around my fingernails and I brought them to my nose and took a deep whiff. I was immediately hit with the strong, sharp, tangy, delectable scent of blood again and fought the urge to suck the crusty life-force from my fingers and hands as fierce hunger pains wracked my body. What the hell is wrong with me? I silently wondered, my eyes wide with fear, as I stared at my hands, backing away from the coffin.

  Something made a sound behind me and I spun around in surprise, an involuntary feral growl emanated deep in my throat. My mind instantly clouded over and the only things I felt were anger and fear.

  “Woah,” someone whispered gently as he put his hands up submissively in front of him. “It is okay, Skye. I’m not going to hurt you.”

  This person was instantly an enemy and I was ready to attack if need be. I curiously sniffed at the familiar air between us before the person took another step toward me. I immediately crouched down, my body going on the defensive, as I hissed fiercely in warning.

  “Skye,” the man whispered. “It’s Archer. I’m not going to hurt you, love. I heard you moving around and came to see how you were feeling.”

  Archer? I tilted my head to the left and right as I studied the man in front of me. Archer… The word meant nothing to me. Hunger pains coursed through me anew and I whimpered slightly. I sniffed at him again and determined he wasn’t food. He didn’t smell appetizing to me; he didn’t smell as good as the blood on my hands had smelled. I brought my fingers to my mouth again and shamelessly sucked on my index finger. It tasted horrible, old, stale, and cold. I cringed at the taste and instantly spit it out.

  “Are you okay?” Archer asked cautiously. “I know this is confusing for you, but I will explain everything. Just talk to me. Tell me you’re okay. Do you remember me? What’s my name, Skye?”

  His words drew my attention away from my hand and I stared at the man in front of me again. I studied him closely as I sniffed the air between us once more. Something about him was very familiar and I thought hard. I closed my eyes as fuzzy images suddenly flashed before me. “I’ll never hurt you again, Skye.”

  “Archer,” I plucked from my mind in a low growl as I opened my eyes. I stood out of my defensive stance as my body calmed and my muscles relaxed somewhat. I somehow knew him on a deep level and I slowly, bravely inched my way up to him as I studied his ruggedly handsome face. I took in his arctic blue eyes, days old stubble, rumpled dress shirt and slacks, and messy brown hair with amazing visual clarity. I traced the line of his jaw and the curve of his lips gently with one bloody finger as I stared; each tiny, enhanced detail seemingly new to me. I quickly leaned in and buried my face in the hollow of his neck, causing his body to stiffen cautiously, as I took a deep breath in. He smelled like whiskey, leather, the sun and musky cologne.

  “Drakkar Noir,” I rasped involuntarily before I took a step back. The visions of my memories suddenly made sense to me as the weird, confusing fog began to lift. “Archer?” I asked, my voice losing the growl and returning to normal.

  “Oh thank God,” he closed his eyes and sighed in relief as he hurriedly drew me to his chest. He hugged me tightly as I tentatively lifted my arms and hugged him back. “I was so afraid we had lost you. I didn’t know if the change took or which side you’d come out on.”

  “Side?” I whispered against his warm chest, letting myself sink into his comforting arms. “Change? I-I don’t understand. What’s happening to me? Why did I wake up in a coffin?”

  “Shhh,” he gently shushed me as he drew back to look me over. “There’s plenty of time to answer your questions, baby. Let me get a good look at you.”

  He stood at arm’s length and I held still as his eyes roamed my body. “Wow,” he whispered as he studied my body. “You are so gorgeous…but you smell horrible.”

  His statement offended me and I felt a low growl sound again at the back of my throat. I gasped when I realized I did it and covered my mouth with my hand, embarrassed. “Sorry.”

  Archer looked into my eyes as he chuckled lightly. Concern suddenly flashed across his face as his laughter immediately died. “Uh, there’s something you should probably see,” he said carefully.

  “What?” I asked worriedly. “What’s wrong?”

  “Your eyes…” he whispered.

  I turned, panicked, and flashed from the room. I need a mirror! I was shocked to find myself in the sparring room of the basement. I spun around and glanced back at the hidden door I had just come from. So many secrets in this house, I mused unhappily as I turned again and flashed to the wall mirror by the stairs.

  The first thing I saw in my reflection was my disheveled, bloody appearance. Dried blood was encrusted in my hair and all over my body. I took a good look at my face and stopped cold. My eyes were completely black. There were no whites, no irises, just complete blackness. My hand flew to my mouth as I gasped in horror.

  I heard Archer flash next to me and take a deep breath. “Wow. You’re fast.”

  “Huh?” I inquired in a daze as I pulled my gaze from my soulless black eyes and looked up at him.

  “I was commenting on your speed,” he answered gently as he put a comforting hand on my shoulder. “You move very fast now; faster than I expected. It’s unusual for a newborn vampire to be able to move so quickly.”

  “My eyes,” I screaked as I started to turn back to the mirror, but stopped and did an immediate double take back to Archer. “Vampire? You said vampire…”

  “I know,” he answered cautiously. “Th
ere’s a lot we have to discuss, Skye. There are things I must explain to y…”

  “Vampire,” I repeated in shock. I knew deep down something wasn’t right; something felt very, very different about me. But I was in such a state of shock/confusion/disbelief that nothing had made much sense to me since I awoke in that dark cell.

  “It’s okay,” Archer said soothingly. “Take a deep breath. I know this is a lot to handle, especially since you weren’t prepared ahead of time for this. It’s going to be okay, baby, just breathe.”

  I fearfully thought back to my fuzzy memories and tried my hardest to remember anything before I woke up in the coffin. Flashes of bloody vomit, screams, and Archer’s face looking down on me filled me.

  “What?! I’m turning? As in turning into a vampire? Oh God no! I don’t want to turn into a creature like them. I don’t want to be a vampire at all! Kill me. Kill me now!”

  “I have to end your life. I can’t let you become what he is. I love you too much for that. I’m sorry Skye. I’m so sorry.”

  “You were supposed to kill me,” my brow furrowed with sudden fear and anger. “I begged you to kill me. Why didn’t you? Why am I alive? Why am I standing here still talking to you and not waiting in line at the pearly gates?”

  “Páiste, please” Archer said sorrowfully. “Don’t be angry with me. I couldn’t end your existence…I just couldn’t. I did the only other thing I could think of to save you…I gave you my blood. I turned you.”

  “Why are my eyes black if I’m supposed to be like you?” I asked, fearfully looking back into the mirror. “These are not the eyes of a Day Walker, Archer. These…these are the eyes of a monster. I’m evil Archer. I’m just like Amun. You have to kill me.”

  “No, Skye,” he said firmly as he put his hand on my shoulder. “You are not a monster. If you had been, you would have attacked me a few moments ago when I walked into the room. But you did not. You remembered who you were and fought that urge. You ARE a Day Walker. You are NOT evil. You are not like Amun.”

  I’m not like him… I took a deep, calming breath and watched as the black instantly faded from my eyes. In its place were shockingly white, colorless globes staring back at me. The only spot of color in them were my black pupils. “Oh dear.”

  “Well, that’s new,” Archer whispered in awe.

  “My eyes…”

  “It seems as though your eye color has changed,” Archer whispered as he pulled my back to his front and circled his arms around my waist, hugging me from behind.

  “They look just like yours do when you get mad,” I whispered as I stared in the mirror at them. “Do you think they’ll stay like this forever?”

  “I have no idea, Skye,” he whispered, nuzzling my ear gently with his nose. “Nothing about your change was ordinary. To be honest, I’m not sure about a lot of things.”

  “But you said I wasn’t like him…that I wasn’t evil,” I said fearfully, suddenly terrified of the thought of being like Amun.

  “You’re not,” he said patiently as he turned me to face him. “Dark Ones are very dangerous when they first awaken. They attack anything they see and must be trained to refrain from violence. It takes many months for a Dark One to resemble the human they once were. We, Day Walkers, retain our humanity through the change. An tAthair Naofa, the Holy Father, blessed our father Aodhfin (pronounced EE-fin) with wisdom and guided him on his righteous path. He blessed our father and because of that, our blood is blessed.”

  I sighed and looked down at the dried blood on my hands and arms. “So…I’m really a vampire now?” I asked timidly. “This isn’t some horrible, fucked up dream?”

  “No,” Archer whispered cautiously as he put a finger under my chin and tilted my head up to meet his eyes, “it’s not a dream and yes, you are a vampire. But it is a good thing, Skye. You’ll see. Being a vampire can be a blessing if you allow it to be.”

  “Having to feed off innocent humans is not a blessing, Archer,” I shook my head. “It’s a curse and one I will have to live with for eternity.” The reality of my situation hit me hard after I spoke that sentence. I was going to live for hundreds, even thousands of years, roaming the Earth and drinking the blood of the living. The thought disgusted me but also excited me at the same time. All this thinking about blood had my mouth watering and hunger pains hit me once again, but I ignored them. I had much more important things to address right now than my hunger.

  “Does Jameson know I’ve been…turned?” I asked quietly.

  Archer frowned and his brow creased deeply. “Uh…no. I thought it best not to tell him over the phone. He’s busy with his tour and needs to concentrate on it right now. Telling him will do no good; he’ll just come home and want to be with you and that’s the worst thing he could do right now. They are on the verge of a deal with a major record label and I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize that for him.”

  “Okay,” I nodded, agreeing with him. “So, we’ll just have to tell him when he gets back. Oh God, does everyone else know?”

  “Of course,” Archer answered, reaching out to lightly rub the top of my arm. “They’ve been very worried about you. We all have.”

  I sighed and gazed back at the mirror, paying close attention to my colorless eyes. “How do I deal with this? I never wanted to be a vampire, Archer. I never wanted to give up my family and friends. I understand why you felt the need to change me, but I wish you hadn’t. I don’t want this life. What am I going to do now?”

  Archer put his arms around me again, pulled my back up against his chest, and gazed at us through the mirror. “You deal, Skye. You just find a way to go on. I’m sorry I had to do it, but I just couldn’t let you meet the eternal death. I couldn’t bear the thought of never seeing you again. I know I was selfish and I hope you will forgive me for doing what I thought was right, even though you believe it wasn’t.”

  I sighed as I acknowledged the sorrow and guilt on his face. I may have really wanted to, but I couldn’t be mad at Archer. My being a vampire wasn’t his fault, it was Amun’s. If Archer hadn’t been there, I would have been turned anyway, but awoke a monster instead.

  Amun’s name suddenly triggered a strong memory and I closed my eyes to concentrate on it. I was getting fuzzy flashes of a field of red flowers, the intense feeling of hatred, tan smoke, burning pain, and a sinister smile. I focused intently and tried to make sense of the images.

  I gasped as I opened my colorless eyes and met Archer’s in the mirror. “I-I think I had another dream about him. Well, maybe not a dream…but a-a vision perhaps? I don’t really know. It felt different than a dream.” I tried frantically to explain then shook my head. “Anyway, I believe I know why I was turned…I mean I think I know how it happened.”

  “You do?” Archer asked, shocked, as he stood up straighter. “Tell me everything.”

  I relayed the dream as best I could and when I was done, Archer’s eyes were as colorless as mine. “How?!” he growled in anger. “How could we have missed that? Hunter and I both read your mind. How could we miss him sharing a piece of his soul with you?” He frustratedly ran his fingers through his hair and sighed as he turned his back on me and began pacing the room, deep in thought and torrid with his fury. “At least your rage makes sense to me now. I’ll admit, I had no idea what was causing it, but I knew it was amiss. I just had a bad feeling and I couldn’t put my finger on it.”

  Archer growled fiercely and flashed over to the corner of the room, picked up a focus mitt and launched it at one of the glass weapons cases on the other side of the basement. It hit the case with unbelievable speed and immediately shattered the whole thing, knocking swords and shillelaghs off the wall. “Damnú air! That son of a bitch! Using a human to get to me…to us!”

  His rage triggered something deep within me and my heart beat sped up in excitement. My lungs rapidly inflated and deflated with each breath I took, each scent of the room bombarding my brain with untold information about my surroundings. My muscles tensed; I
felt everything in me coil like a snake as my body readied itself to respond at a millisecond’s notice. I vaguely felt a weird pinching sensation in my gums and my fangs slid down with a snick; it was loud to my newly sensitive vampire hearing. I felt a deep rumble in my chest as I growled lowly, animalistically, ready to join in on his destruction.

  Archer turned to me with wide, alarmed eyes and immediately calmed himself when he saw my reaction. “Sorry,” he placated, putting his hands up. “I shouldn’t have done that. I know you’re still new and trying to control your emotions. I didn’t mean to excite you, Skye. Take a deep breath and relax. Your eyes are black again.” I reached up in a daze and touched the tips of my fingers to my lateral incisors. My new fangs were long, strong and surprisingly sharp. The foreign feel of them set me in awe as the unexpected excitement I felt started to wane.

  Suddenly, the door to the basement flew open and several members of The Faithful flashed down the stairs to stand a few feet from me. I took a couple steps back as Archer grabbed my arm, pulling me to him, and positioned me behind his towering body.

  Chapter Three

  I slowly peeked around Archer as the familiar face spoke.

  “I see she wakes,” Ruarc, second in command of the Army of The Faithful, said as he glared at me with distain. “You think to hide what she is from us, Fearchar? You know we have been sent here to oversee the change. Present her at once so we may see her transformation. If she is of God, An Dilis have no issues here, brother. But I have my doubts; we’ve heard of her eyes, the unassisted beginnings of her transformation, and believe she is of the devil himself. Amun is an unholy abomination and we trust she is as well.”

  “She is of God, brother, I assure you. My blood and the blood of my father and his father before him run through her veins,” Archer spoke carefully, though confidently. “But she has just awoken. Please give her time to adjust to her new form. Surely you must remember how overwhelming it was when you first awoke. Show her God’s love and patience by allowing me to present her to you upstairs in a few moments.”