Revelation of Blood (31 page)

“And there was…” I finished the biblical
quote as I stared at him in wonder. “Is that UV light, Loch?”

“Aye,” he grinned as he went back to his
seat. “I fancy me’a solar panel. I absorb and distribute as
needed.”

“Holy crap!” I laughed excitedly. “You’re a
one man army! Dark Ones will sizzle tomorrow night.”

“Fuck yeah!” Trigger grinned, nodding
approvingly over at Lochlan. “Now we’re talking.”

Archer smiled crookedly as he looked at Dean.
“I figure Lochlan can light them up as soon as Nikki is free.
That’ll hopefully buy us enough time to get there.”

Dean gazed thoughtfully at Lochlan and then
me. “This just might work,” he said, tapping his index finger to
his full bottom lip. “As long as you keep frying those bastards
while we attack, I figure our hit count will be high and casualties
low.” A slow smile spread across his lips and he turned to his
wolves. “Trig, Cage…I want you two guarding Lochlan at all times,
got it? He’s our ace in this game.”

“You got it, boss,” Cage nodded.

“We’ll meet here at six tomorrow evening and
ride out to Mesa Ranch together,” Archer said as he stood. “That’ll
give us plenty of time to scout the area.”

“Sounds good,” Dean said as he stood as well.
“They may have humans at the ranch acting as their eyes during the
day. We need to carry as many people as we can in as few vehicles
as possible.”

“Aye,” Archer nodded with a smile. Dean and
Archer gazed at each other silently for a moment before Archer
stuck his hand out. “Tomorrow, we fight.”

Dean glanced at his hand a moment before
accepting and shaking it. “Tomorrow, we kick their fucking asses,”
he grinned.

After walking Dean out and bidding him and
his wolves goodbye, I sat down on the couch with Archer and watched
him drain a glass of cold blood.

“You okay,
cion
?” he asked gently as
he put his arm around me.

Sighing, I cuddled into him. “I’m just
anxious about tomorrow,” I admitted as I listened to his heart’s
slow, comforting song.

We were silent for a while, each lost in our
own thoughts, as our family piddled around in the kitchen. After a
few minutes, Hagan came to stand in front of me and put his hands
on his hips.

“Alright,” he rumbled, “Get your ass up,
Morrison. We’ve got to get you ready for tomorrow.”

Frowning, I gazed up at him questioningly.
“What do you have in mind?”

“We need to work on your teleportation
skills, for one,” he said, crossing his arms as he stared down at
me. “And two, you need to feed from Jameson and get a handle on
healing.” I looked up at Archer to see if that was okay.

“Go ahead, baby,” he smiled tiredly down at
me. “I have some stuff I need to take care of in my office. Come
and find me when you’re done.” Leaning over, I leisurely kissed his
lips and told him I’d see him soon.

“Doyle,” Hagan called out as we passed the
kitchen, “grab a couple bags of blood and meet us downstairs.”

“Aye,” he answered, walking over to the
fridge.

“I don’t think I’m going to be able to
teleport,” I sighed as Hagan and I walked down the basement
steps.

“I’m going to make you…one way or
another.”

Coming to a stop on the practice mats, I
frowned up at him. “I don’t like the sound of that.”

“Too bad, little warrior,” he smirked down at
me.

I heard footfalls on the steps and glanced
over at Jameson as he made his way down. “What’s the blood for?” he
asked as he tossed the bags to Hagan.

“You,
dheartháir
.”

Jameson stared at him blankly for a second
before understanding dawned on him. “
Dhuine
,” he sighed.
“This is going to hurt, isn’t it?”

Hagan raised an eyebrow at him and glared.
“Would you not do anything to help your
deirfiúr
?”

“I would do anything for her,” he raised his
chin, his face deadly serious.

“Good,” Hagan smirked as he jerked his head
toward me. “Feed the girl, teach her to heal, then we begin.”

I watched Jameson closely as he crossed the
few feet to me. His thoughts told me that he had no problem being
Hagan’s guinea pig, but he had some small reservations about giving
me his blood. Blood sharing between vampires was a sacred thing and
Day Walkers only partook in the practice during their marriage
ceremony to another vampire or during mating. Jameson bit me during
sex a few times when I was human, but I’d never had his before.
This was a big deal to him and he was worried about what it would
mean for his heart. He was working hard to get over me and didn’t
want the experience to hurt him further.

As soon as he stopped in front of me, I
cupped his cheek with one hand as I gazed up into his eyes. “We
don’t have to do this if you aren’t comfortable with it,” I said
gently but seriously. I didn’t want him doing anything he didn’t
want to do, Archer’s orders be damned. Jameson and I would have to
live with the repercussions of this feeding, not anyone else, and
in my opinion, that gave us final say.

“I want to,” he whispered as he tucked a
stray piece of my hair behind my ear and smiled sadly. “Just be
careful with that venom, love. My heart won’t be able to handle
you.”

I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged
him tightly. He sighed in return and wrapped his arms around my
waist and pulled me closer to him. “Ready?” he asked softly in my
ear. I nodded my head as I pulled back.

Jameson offered up his wrist and I placed a
gentle kiss on it before I sank my fangs in. His blood pooled
slowly in my mouth and I sighed as soon as it hit my tongue.
Jameson hinted of fine Irish whiskey and I groaned as I swallowed
greedily. I hadn’t fed all day and, as I drank from him, I realized
I’d neglected to feed the night before as well.

His blood wasn’t flowing fast enough for my
needs and my breathing increased as my bloodlust took hold. I was
ravenous and needed more…much, much more.

“When is the last time you fed, love?” he
asked as he gazed down into my eyes with concern. I shook my head,
unable to answer and unwilling to pull my fangs out. I was fighting
for control but it was a losing battle.

Jameson gripped the back of my head with his
free hand as he pulled me closer to him. My eyes watched as he
tilted his neck to the side, offering his thick vein to me, and I
whimpered as I pulled my fangs out of his wrist and eagerly struck
his neck. The blood poured quickly into my mouth and I swallowed
fast as Jameson fought off a moan and melted into me. I tried my
hardest not to give him too much venom as I fervently fed on his
lifeblood.

Three mouthfuls in, the tips of my fingers
started to tingle and I tracked its course through my body with
fascination. First the tingle traveled to my heart and then burst
down my legs, up my spine, and settled warmly in my head. As quick
as it came, it was gone and I took one final mouthful of blood
before I pushed Jameson away from me and flashed to the far corner
of the room. I needed to get control over my bloodlust and fast
before I went back for seconds. I watched as Jameson blinked his
eyes a few times in an attempt to rid himself of the haze that came
with my bite.

“You alright, Morrison?” Hagan asked as he
came to stand in-between Jameson and me, crossing his arms over his
chest.

I held up one finger as I licked the
delicious blood from my fangs and lips. “I will be,” I breathed as
my eyes found Jameson again. “Sorry,” I apologized to him. “I
didn’t mean to lose it on you.”

“S’okay,” he drawled dazedly as he sat down
on the mat with a smile. “Your bite is something else, love.”

“So I hear,” I chuckled as I continued to
calm down.

“Alright,” Hagan rumbled, clapping his hands
together once. “Let’s get to it. Skye, have a seat next to Jameson.
You’ll be healing me.”

“What are you going to do?” I asked
cautiously as I sat.

I watched Hagan retrieve his dagger from his
hip as he sat in front of me. “I cut, you heal. Tell her what she
needs to do, Doyle.”

Jameson took my hand and placed it on his
chest before he did the same with his hand. “Think of a giant ball
of healing light surrounding your body. You want to envision
yourself pulling that light and energy into your very core. Watch
me and then you try.”

I nodded my head as I studied him closely.
Jameson closed his eyes and took a deep breath. After a few
seconds, he opened them again and the tips of my fingers started
picking up an almost static energy surrounding him. My eyes got
wide as I felt the energy concentrate itself and settle into his
chest.

“Did you feel that?” he asked and I grinned
up at him.

“Wow,” I breathed and nodded.

“Now you try.”

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes as I
envisioned sitting within the ball of healing light. Slowly, I felt
the energy pick up around me and soon it was coating every inch of
my skin. I smiled at the warm, safe feel of it and opened my eyes
to gaze up at Jameson.

“Good,” he smiled tenderly, understanding
exactly what I was sensing. “Now, pull it into yourself and focus
on containing it in a small ball.”

As I focused on absorbing, I felt the energy
tighten and slowly slide up my body as it settled in my chest.
“How’s that?”

“Perfect,” he smiled proudly before turning
his gaze to Hagan and nodding his head once.

I tore my eyes from Jameson as the rich smell
of Hagan’s blood filled the air. He had deeply fileted his forearm
open from elbow to wrist. He didn’t so much as blink at the pain
and I was in awe of him.

Jameson dropped his hand from my chest and
took mine from his as he transferred it to Hagan’s chest. “Picture
the fluidity of water…how it flows,” he said serenely. “Push the
energy into him and let it flow over him and through him. Bathe him
in the healing light.”

I took a deep breath and pictured the energy
pouring out of my hand and into him. I felt the energy burst out of
my chest, down my arms, and into my fingers. Hagan’s eyes grew wide
as the energy hit him and the force of it made him groan. As the
energy flowed over him, Jameson and I watched as the deep cut on
his forearm quickly repaired itself.

I laughed with glee when the last bit of
energy left me, totally shocked at what I’d been able to do. “That
was incredible,” I breathed as I glanced between Hagan and Jameson.
“I can’t believe how…good…that felt. It was amazing! Hell, you’re
amazing, Jameson.”

He smiled proudly at me and pulled me into a
side hug. “No, love. You are amazing,” he whispered as he kissed my
temple.

“Good job, Morrison,” Hagan crossed his arms
over his chest. “Now, let’s do it again.” Three successful healings
later, Hagan decided it was time to move on to teleportation.

“We’re going to try something a little
different tonight,” Hagan rumbled as he cocked an eyebrow at me
from across the room. He had taken up a spot by the stairs and
placed Jameson in front of him.

“What do you need Jameson for?” I frowned,
not liking this already.

“He’s your motivation,” he smiled and put his
silver dagger to Jameson’s throat.

I growled as my eyes narrowed at my trainer.
“You’re not hurting him,” I seethed. “I don’t agree to this.”

“I don’t give a shit what you agree or
disagree to,” he scoffed as he unwaveringly met my eyes. “My job is
to teach, Morrison. Yours is to learn. I’m in this house for you
and no one else.” His eyes soften momentarily as he continued. “The
quicker you learn, the less pain Doyle has to endure. Use that as
your motivation.”

I growled lowly in warning as my chest
rumbled loudly. I did not like this lesson and I let it be known
loud and clear.

“Focus,” Hagan growled. “You are not to move
an inch from that spot unless you teleport from it. Do I make
myself clear? Failure to comply means more pain for Doyle.”

My eyes narrowed at Hagan and I silently,
slowly nodded my head. I was going to kick his ass when I got over
there and I was going to make it hurt. So I don’t handle threats
well, but can you blame me? Jameson was my hot button and Hagan had
his finger on it.

“You want him, Morrison?” Hagan taunted with
a sly, crooked grin. “Come and get him.”

I watched helplessly as Hagan ran the silver
blade up Jameson’s neck, cutting him. Jameson hissed in pain as his
body jerked. My breathing increased and I zeroed in on Jameson as I
threw all my focus into teleporting. His wound was healing and
Hagan decided to make another. I watched helplessly as he drove the
dagger through Jameson’s shoulder. Jameson cried out this time as
the burning silver was left in him.

“You’re not moving, Morrison,” Hagan sneered.
“Do you need more motivation?” Jameson’s eyes grew wide as Hagan
twisted the blade in his back. He fought hard not to make a sound,
but in the end, it was a losing battle. Hagan was making sure
Jameson screamed.

“Stop it!” I yelled as my eyes flickered
pitch black. “Pull it out of him. Now!”

“Make me!” he yelled just as fiercely, his
eyes rapidly fading with anger.

I closed my eyes tightly, my rage bubbling
over.
Focus, dammit
!
Make him stop hurting Jameson
.
Another gut-wrenching scream echoed loudly around me and I tore my
eyes open to see the dagger firmly embedded in Jameson’s chest,
mere millimeters from his heart.

My eyes flashed to Hagan’s as my rage
consumed me. I was going to annihilate him. My vision vibrated for
the briefest second and I watched Hagan’s intense eyes widen a bit
before he whispered, “Find it, Morrison.”

Jameson cried out again as Hagan twisted the
knife in his chest and abruptly, my whole being was pulsing; my
anger overwhelming. The light in the basement grew blindingly
bright and I closed my eyes as the vibrations consumed me.