Revelation of Blood (34 page)

“I’m good,” I nodded my head and stowed my
bag on the floorboard in front of me, “just feeling anxious.”

“Aye,” he agreed as we got on the road.

The drive was silent for the most part; Loch
and I each lost in our own thoughts. We were both preparing
ourselves for the confrontation with Weston and his Dark forces. I
found myself thinking about my family and Dean’s. I wondered if
they were having any trouble out at the ranch but took it as a good
sign that I hadn’t heard from them. I knew they were staked out,
awaiting our arrival.

“Listen up, feek,” Lochlan said as we turned
off onto the one lane road that would ultimately dead end into Mesa
Ranch. “I’m figurin’ dat two sun lamps 're better dan one so I tink
ye should take a wee bid of me blood before we get dere…just in
case someting happens.”

“Nothing is going to happen to you, honey,” I
shook my head. “Trigger and Cage will be guarding you the whole
time.”

“Just do it, ye cheeky gurl,” he said as he
held out his wrist to me. “Give an auld man some piece of mind,
eh?” I glanced uncertainly between his wrist and face as the
seconds ticked by. “See ‘ere,” he sighed. “Seamus taught he’d live
forever and yer man is dead now.”

“Loch,” I whispered, my brow furrowing at the
pain I knew he was feeling and at my own feelings of sadness.
Seamus’ death was rarely spoken about but that didn’t mean he
wasn’t on everyone’s mind every day. Each member of the family
missed him like crazy, but it was Lochlan who silently mourned him
the most. They’d been best friends for a few hundred years and
Seamus’ absence in the house was like a knife in Lochlan’s gut.

“I know me time on dis earth won’t last
forever,” Lochlan said after he cleared his throat, his emotions
thick. “Dat said, I fig're we’d be safer havin' a backup.” He
looked over at me and put on his best, signature sly come-hither
smile. I knew it took effort for him, but to his credit, he’d made
it look effortless. “What’cha say, feek? Care to have a wee
suck?”

I chuckled and shook my head as he winked at
me and grinned widely. “Fine,” I sighed, giving in. I knew he had a
point but wasn’t thrilled with the thought of having even more
powers added to the ones I already had. “But you’d better teach me
how to use it fast. We’re only a few miles away.”

Lochlan nodded and stretched his arm further
to me. I held his wrist in my hand and said a silent prayer before
I called forth my fangs and gently bit into him. I made a little
surprised grunt as his blood coated my tongue. Lochlan tasted
vastly different from anything I’d ever had before. His blood was
like drinking pure energy. It felt electric and alive. My eyes slid
up to his as my brows rose in amazement.

He chuckled and nodded his head. “Packs a wee
punch, don’t it?”

I pulled harder on his wrist and swallowed
two more mouthfuls before I retracted my fangs and licked the blood
from the wound. I had just managed a deep, satisfied breath when
the tingle started in my fingers and shot through my body. As soon
as I gasped at the power it carried, the tingling began to
recede.

“Wow,” I sighed and looked over at him.

“Roy,” he chuckled. “I’d say it worked by da
look on yer face.” I nodded my head and he quickly began explaining
what to do. “Da power will come quite easily. Just aim yer palms in
da direction ye want da light to shine and…do it.”

“That’s not very informative,” I scoffed with
a small smile. “Anything else I should know before I give it a
go?”

“Yeah,” he smiled over at me, “It feels
feckin’ fantastic, feek.”

I cocked a brow at him in surprise and then
took a deep breath to ready myself. “This had better work,” I
mumbled as I pointed my hands down at the floorboard. Time was
running out and I knew this would probably be my only chance to try
it before we reached the airstrip.

Focusing on the energy, similar to what I did
when I healed, I stretched my palms as I pushed it out. Searing hot
heat filled the car as a thick beam of light shot out of my hands
and onto my messenger bag. My beloved bag immediately burst into
flames and I yelped as I withdrew the energy and I stomped the fire
out.

“Feckin’ hell!” Lochlan laughed as he looked
down at the bag in shock. “Ye’re a wee flame thrower, ye are!”

“Was that supposed to happen?” I asked
uncertainly as I waved the thick smoke out of my face and lowered
the passenger window.

“Ye put a bit too much juice behind it,” he
shook his head and smiled. “Don’t go so G.I. Jane next time.”

“Dammit,” I cursed as I stared down at my bag
dejectedly. “I loved that fucking bag. It’s completely ruined now.
”

Lochlan laughed as I bent down to rescue my
phone and wallet from the wreckage. His laughter abruptly stopped
and I stiffened at the sudden change in mood and I jerked up.

“We’re here,” he said as we drove over a
bumpy cattle guard and through a towering iron gate. Mesa Ranch was
spelled out in barbed wire and nailed to a swinging wooden board
that hung high from the arch above us.

I swallowed hard as I felt my slow heartbeat
pick up a notch. Lochlan drove silently for another half mile then
as we turned the corner, the headlights of our car illuminated the
airfield and both Lochlan and I took a deep breath as we stared at
the large mass of Dark Ones that had gathered around a SUV and
private jet.

“Quite a turn out,” Lochlan breathed, looking
over at me. “Ye ready for dis, feek?”

“Let’s fry those fuckers,” I sneered as I
unbuckled my seat belt.

Lochlan parked a good fifty yards away from
the Dark hoard and quickly got out of the Audi. He opened my door a
second later and took my hand as he helped me stand.

“I don’t see Nikki,” I whispered fearfully as
I scanned the faces of the crowd.

“She’s ‘ere somewhere,” he whispered back
soothingly as he took my hand and pulled me forward. “Cast it from
yer mind and put yer game face on.”

Swallowing hard, I wiped the fear from my
face and replaced it with the best bored look I could possibly
muster. I would allow myself to tremble all I wanted on the inside
just as long as I didn’t dare show it outwardly.

As we approached, the crowd parted as Weston
and three others came to the forefront. “Miss Morrison,” he said
happily as he stopped a few feet from me. “I’m pleased to see that
you kept your word.”

“Whether or not you’ve kept yours has yet to
be seen, Dark One,” I said tightly, pursing my lips as I cocked a
brow. “Where’s Nikki?”

I watched as Weston lifted one arm and
quickly snapped his fingers. A few seconds later I heard a car door
close and looked on as the crowd parted once more. A familiar man
appeared with an exhausted looking Nikki on his arm and I took a
deep breath as my eyes eagerly drank her in. She looked like hell.
Her eyes were bloodshot, heavy black bags adorned her lower lids,
and she was wearing last night’s dress. Her skin was still
frighteningly pale and she looked like she’d lost weight.

“Jesus,” I whispered at her state as she and
the man came to a stop next to Weston. My eyes found his again and
I growled. “When’s the last time she had food or water?”

“Days,” Weston carelessly shrugged one
shoulder.

“You were supposed to treat her as a guest!”
I seethed, my fingernails angrily biting into the flesh of my
palms. “Were you too cheap to spring for a burger and a bottle of
water?”

“The human refuses all offers of
nourishment,” the man holding Nikki’s arm said plainly.

My eyes found his and they narrowed on his
familiar, sharp face. “We haven’t yet had the pleasure.”

“Forgive me,” he smiled slyly as he put a
hand to his chest and bowed slightly. “My name is Stanus
Octavius.”

My eyes flashed briefly in recognition before
I quickly schooled my features again. I didn’t want to let on that
I’d heard all about him when Hagan, Archer, and I spied on them at
Tricky Dic’s. “Mr. Octavius,” I nodded my head in greeting.

“Who is your companion?” he asked, eyeing
Lochlan with distaste.

“I am Lochlan O’Connolly,” Lochlan provided
tightly, “fourth son of Archer Rhys.”

“Your father rises quickly in the ranks, I
hear,” Stanus said, his eyes narrowed slightly as he studied
him.

“He is a great man,” Lochlan said, raising
his chin a bit, almost daring him to say otherwise.

Stanus’ eyes slid to me and he smiled. “He
would have to be to secure the loyalty of such a beautiful and
fascinating being.”

“Enough with the ass kissing,” I rolled my
eyes as I crossed my arms under my chest. “Care to tell me why you
went to all this trouble to get me here? Your lap dog Weston was
less than forthcoming.”

Weston growled and took an angry step toward
me before Stanus put a hand on his chest with a chuckle, stopping
him from taking another. “We do not discuss Dark matters in front
of Day,” Stanus smirked as he pushed Weston behind him.

“Then let my friend go so we can get down to
business.”

Stanus held one gloved hand out and the dark
one beside him set a pair of handcuffs in his awaiting hand. “For
our safety, I must insist that you allow us to bind your hands with
silver until we reach our destination. As soon as they are in
place, your friend may go.”

I eyed the silver handcuffs warily and
swallowed thickly. Having my hands bound did not factor into our
battle plans and that concerned me. How would I fight? Would the
silver hinder my ability to use Divine Powers? I needed my hands if
I had any chance of defending us.

“
It’s da only way
,” Lochlan spoke
silently in my head. “
Do it and I’ll make sure ye aren’t bound
for long
.”

“I have to say, your hospitality skills
seriously lack,” I frowned as I held my hands out in front of
me.

Stanus smiled as he stepped toward me with
the silver. “You have quite the reputation, Miss Morrison. I only
do what I must to insure my safety and that of my men. Once we
arrive at our destination, they will be removed and I assure you
they will not be placed on you again.” He stopped and smirked at my
proffered hands. “Behind your back, please.”

Shit. Fuck. Shit
! I silently cursed as
my frown morphed into one of anger. This complicated things even
more and I was seriously unhappy about it. “Fine,” I bit out as I
turned around. My eyes found Lochlan’s and they did not like what
they saw. He looked concerned and that didn’t bode well for me.

I hissed in pain as the first cuff locked
tightly around my left wrist. The burning was intense and
overwhelming at first. I did my best to block it out as the second
cuff locked into place and Stanus turned me back to face him. The
same man that had handed him the handcuffs now held a pair of leg
shackles.

“Oh, come on,” I groaned as I jerked my head
back in frustration. “This is overkill here, gentlemen.”

“It is necessary, I’m afraid,” Stanus smiled
as he held his hands out apologetically.

I stood stock still and focused my eyes on
the sole reason why I was allowing them to harm me. Nikki’s tired
eyes met mine and I took in the shadow of the woman she once was.
Her current condition was all the reminder I needed. I was willing
to do anything to get her out of their hands.

I refused to look away from her as they
rolled my jeans up and clamped the silver shackles around my
ankles. The cry of pain that escaped me made Nikki whimper in
response and I steeled my features as I finally slid my eyes to
Stanus’.

“You got what you wanted, now let her go,” I
growled through clenched teeth. The smell of my flesh burning was
starting to turn my stomach and seriously piss me off.

The Dark One that cuffed my ankles grabbed
Nikki’s wrist and flung her out at Lochlan. She stumbled at the
force of it and Lochlan flashed to catch her before she fell. I
sighed in relief as he wrapped his arms protectively around her and
cradled her head to his chest. She sagged into him and immediately
began to cry as I watched on helplessly. I wanted nothing more than
to be able to hug her and tell her that everything would be okay.
I’d have given anything to have been able to let her know right
then and there what I had planned for the ones that’d hurt her. Of
course I couldn’t ruin the surprise.

Lochlan met my eyes once more and spoke
silently in my head. “
Don’t worry; I’ll take care of her. Wait
for me to light dem up and den when I do, ye get as far away from
dem as ye can. Wha’ever ye do, don’t let dem get ye on dat plane
before da wolves arrive
.”

I raised my head slightly to let him know
that I’d heard him before I turned my attention back to Stanus.
“Now that Lochlan is leaving, I’d appreciate it if you told me what
you wanted from me.”

Stanus and Weston eyed Lochlan’s retreating
form for a few seconds longer before they moved their attention to
me. “We have a mutual friend, did you know?” Stanus smiled as he
interlaced his fingers in front of him.

“If he’s a friend of yours, he’s no longer a
friend of mine,” I said as I narrowed angry eyes on him.

Stanus laughed and a few of the others joined
in. “My dear Miss Morrison, would you so readily disown your own
father?”

My eyes widened in shock as I inadvertently
tugged on my wrist restraints, the increase in pain making me hiss.
“What are you talking about? That’s ridiculous! I don’t believe
you.”

“It’s true,” he smiled widely. “Your father
and I met a number of years ago in Germany. He attended one of the
functions I hosted and I’m delighted to say we became close. He and
I have similar wants and desires for our race.”

“What the hell does any of this have to do
with me?” I frowned, eyeing Stanus and Weston warily. I was
inexplicably terrified to hear their answer.