Revelation of Blood (35 page)

“We’ve had plans in the works for the last
few years to stage a coup and force Atticus Frost off the throne.
I, as well as many of our race, have a strong desire to return us
to the Dark days of old. Your father wants the same thing and has
been our inside man at the colony for the last three years.”

Fear struck me hard at my core. Stanus and
Weston were my enemies and, if my father was in cahoots with them,
that automatically made him mine as well. Part of me didn’t want to
believe what Stanus was telling me. I couldn’t see my father being
involved with these two, but I had to admit to myself that I’d just
met him and didn’t know him well at all.

“Atticus’ soft stance weakens us,” Stanus
continued in my silence. “Humans are treated almost as equals and
such is a travesty. Never in our history have humans been held in
such high regard. They are but a mere food source and should be
treated accordingly. Did you know that the death of a human at the
hands of a Dark One carries strict penalties under Atticus’
rule?”

“As it should,” I said softly, my mind still
reeling.

“An opinion that will change with time,” he
flicked his wrist dismissively and then cleared his throat,
resuming as if I hadn’t said anything. “We had little hope of
actually achieving our goals until your father contacted us eleven
days ago and informed us of the rumors surrounding a new breed of
vampire. Imagine our delight when he said you were his daughter. He
assured us that he could get you to cooperate with our goal, but
just in case we devised this backup plan. As a failsafe, we took
your friend. And good thing we did. It turns out she was useful
after all.” Stanus smiled in satisfaction and looked at my feet for
a few moments before he slid his eyes to mine. Mischief swam in his
dark eyes. “Your father called me last night after my son Weston
left your maker’s establishment. Seems you had concerns about your
humble little abode. He said you didn’t want to leave this city
because you had attachments to it; attachments he desperately
wanted to sever. He asked us to set fire to it and we were more
than happy to accommodate his request.”

“Well, actually I was the one who was happy
to help,” Weston sneered at me, daring me to do something. “Who
knew a little petrol and a few matches could cause so much damage.
From what I heard, it was a total loss.”

“You fucking asshole!” I screamed, taking an
unwise step toward him. “You burned my house down?! I’m going to
kill you, you weasely little shit!” The chain on my leg shackles
hindered my step and I almost face planted. One of the Dark Ones
roughly jerked me back and kept one strong hand around my arm.

“Don’t blame me,” he smirked as he held his
hands up innocently. “I was only doing a favor for a trusted
friend. If you have any grievances, you should take them up with
Lucian when you see him.”

My breathing increased as disbelief and anger
coursed through me. Was he telling me the truth? Was my father just
using me as a pawn in some bullshit quest for power? Did he indeed
order my house destroyed? The thought was like a knife to my heart.
I’d wanted to believe so badly that my father actually cared about
me. Was everything he told me in New York just a lie? I swallowed
hard and shoved the emotions deep down for now. I didn’t know what
to believe, but I needed to keep my mind focused on the present and
the battle that would soon be taking place. I couldn’t have these
assholes distracting me with things I couldn’t change.

“What are you planning to do with me?” I
asked, meeting Stanus’ eyes bravely.

“We are taking you to your father, my dear,”
he smiled brightly, as if we were old friends. “I am the rightful
and true heir to the Dark throne. Atticus Frost stole it from me
when he killed my maker. With you by your father’s side, Lucian
will guide your hand, OUR hand, and we will deliver the Dark race
back to its former glory with me taking the place as their rightful
leader.”

“And how are you going to manage that?” I
pushed.

“You will kill Atticus and Corvus Frost,” he
said simply. “In doing so, your father guarantees his spot as my
right hand man and he’ll be next to inherit the throne when I step
down.”

“But what about Weston?” I asked, confused.
“Shouldn’t it be your son that inherits and not my father?”

“I have no political aspirations,” Weston
smiled as he stroked Stanus’ back. “Your father wants it badly. If
you cooperate and kill the Frost family, he can have it.”

“I’m not killing anyone for you,” I growled,
shaking my head, “or him. Atticus isn’t a bad man, nor is his son.
You can’t make me kill them.”

“We’ll see about that,” Weston snarled
angrily as he snapped his fingers. Two burly men stepped forward
and roughly grabbed my arms. “Take her to the plane. I want to be
in the air and on my way out of this God forsaken state in the next
five minutes.”

The two men began dragging me toward the air
steps and I fought them as much as my restraints would allow, which
wasn’t very much. The silver bit harshly into my skin and I only
succeeded in hurting myself more. The men managed to get me to the
steps and I tried to look behind me for Lochlan, but all I saw was
the mass of Dark Ones watching me.
Where the hell is he
?! I
thought in panic. I was seconds away from being forced onto the
plane and it would be too late to save me then.

As I was dragged up the first step and then
the second, I reared my head back and screamed as hard and as loud
as I could. “Lochlan!”

One of the men growled and backhanded me with
shocking force and I watched helplessly as my world swam before me.
They’d managed to pull me up to the last step from the top, when a
blinding light exploded out on my left.

Dark Ones began screaming and the smell of
burning flesh was thick in the air. My escorts were momentarily
distracted as they watched their friends fry, so I took the only
shot I had at getting away from the plane. I jumped up high,
planted my feet against the door frame, and kicked out as hard as I
could.

The two men and I went flying backwards down
the stairs and crashed hard into a few Dark Ones lingering outside
the plane. I hit the ground hard and skidded across the asphalt
before coming to a stop by the back tire of their SUV. Groaning at
the pain of my impact, I slowly rolled onto my side and tried to
sit up. As soon as I did, I heard a furious growl behind me as
someone grabbed a fist full of my hair and began dragging me toward
the plane again.

“Fucking bitch!” my attacker growled as my
ass hit the first air step.

I screamed out in frustration and tried again
in vain to break my wrists free from the cuffs. A loud commotion to
our right drew my attacker’s attention seconds before a flash of
black fur was upon him.

Tearing sounds, screams, and gurgles filled
the air above me and I squeezed my eyes closed until the attack was
over. Hot breath blew on my ear and I turned to see Dean’s wolf
looking me over. He gently licked my face, whimpered once, and I
quickly reassured him.

“I’m okay, honey,” I breathed. “Go. I’ll be
fine.”

He licked my face once more before leaping
down and rejoining the ruckus. I watched the slaughter helplessly
from my perch on the steps. I wanted nothing more than to jump in
and find Weston and Stanus, but with my current restraints, I
wouldn’t get very far. I was super vulnerable right then and
nothing scared me more.

Another blast of light exploded and the Dark
Ones fighting in front of me began to scream and writhe as they
dropped to the ground; their skin bubbling and burning before me. A
flash to the right of me drew my attention and Archer came to a
stop in front of me.

“
Cion
,” he breathed quickly as he
climbed the steps and drew me into his arms. “Are you hurt?”

“No, but I will be if you don’t get these
cuffs off me,” I said as I pulled back.

Archer glanced down at my ankles and then
turned me around so he could look at my wrists. “Fuck,” he hissed
as he gripped the silver at my left wrist and began to pull. The
handcuff snapped and Archer pulled it off my skin. I whimpered with
pain as the skin went with it.

Archer was suddenly tackled from the side and
I yelped in surprise as he and his attacker fell off the air steps.
I watched for a few seconds as a Dark One went toe to toe with
Archer, before I reminded myself of my bindings. My left wrist was
free and I took a deep breath as I prepared myself to take off the
right cuff.

As soon as my left hand gripped the silver
and pulled, I screamed out in pain. Doing my best to block it out,
I managed to break the cuff and I quickly ripped it from my wrist
and dropped it on the steps with a pissed off growl. I was going to
kick Stanus’ ass for the pain he caused me.

Archer was still fighting with his Dark One,
so I took a deep breath and dove down on top him, knocking the Dark
One on his stomach. Using it to his advantage, Archer flashed to
the man’s side and drove his silver dagger into the man’s
heart.

“Nice, baby,” Archer smiled as I rolled off
the dead man’s body.

“Thanks. Now can you help me out of these
shackles?”

Archer took his black t-shirt off and wrapped
it around his hand before trying to break the lock. With a lot of
cussing and brute strength, he finally managed to get my legs free.
With a quick kiss to his lips and a sincere thank you, I ran off to
join in on the fighting.

I found someone’s silver dagger lying on the
air strip and I picked it up before diving into the fight. I
slashed and stabbed my way through six Dark Ones before I heard the
first calls for help. Stabbing one last Dark One in the chest, I
ran for the edge of the fighting and found Jameson on his knees,
his hands healing one of Dean’s friends still in wolf form.

“Are you okay?” I asked worriedly as I took
in Jameson’s bloody form.

“A few scratches, little sister,” he said
over his shoulder. “I’ve got this one, heal the other.”

I looked to my right and saw another wolf
lying ten feet away, unmoving. “Shit,” I breathed as I flashed over
to him and kneeled down beside him. The wolf was whimpering softly
and it sounded as if one of his lungs had collapsed. “It’s going to
be alright, honey,” I said gently as I brushed my hands lightly
over his fur. “I’m here to help you so lie still and try not to
move.”

The wolf’s eyes met mine and I saw that he
understood me. Placing my hands on his side, I closed my eyes and
pulled energy around me. I took a deep breath and pulled the energy
into myself before exhaling and pushing it back out again. Popping
sounded briefly as his ribs repaired themselves and his lung
inflated. After the last bit of energy left my fingers, the wolf
sighed in relief and looked over at me.

“You should be all healed now,” I said gently
as I backed up. I watched as the wolf got to his feet, bowed his
head to me, and then took off back into the fray.

Out of nowhere, a Dark One crashed into me
and my eyes flashed as I recognized Stanus Octavius. He seemed
equally as surprised to see me and he quickly turned on his heel
and tried to flash away. I drew the silver dagger from the back of
my jeans and threw it as hard as I could, hitting him in the center
of his back, and sadly missing his heart, but managing to slow him
down. Smiling sinisterly, I took off after him; eager for my
payback.

Just before my hands reached him, Weston came
to his rescue and growled a fierce battle cry as he tackled me to
the ground. I hit the asphalt hard, banging my forehead, as we came
to a stop. Weston rolled off of me and flashed to stand before
attacking me again. He kicked me in the ribs repeatedly, the force
akin to a Mack truck, and I cried out in pain as I tried in vain to
deflect the blows.

“When I’m done with you, I’m going to find
that bitch friend of yours and kill her,” he spat at me in-between
kicks. “After I show you what Dark Ones do to liars.” I caught a
kick to the face, the force of it breaking my nose, and I cried out
in frustration and anger.

A fierce growl sounded behind Weston and a
second later, Archer’s face appeared over his shoulder and boy was
he PISSED! “Now I get to show YOU what Day Walkers do to worthless
pussies who attack our fucking women!” Archer turned him around and
uppercut Weston so hard that he flew a few feet up into the air.
Before his feet were able to touch the ground again, Archer reared
back and punched him in the chest, sending him backward a good
fifteen feet.

“You okay, baby?” he asked, concerned, as he
turned to me and gingerly touched my ribs.

“I’m good,” I breathed hard. “You?”

“I’m better now that I know you’re safe,” he
smiled lovingly down at me before quickly delivering a hot kiss to
my bloody mouth.

“I’m going to kill you, Day Walker,” Weston
seethed and Archer and I both turned to see him slowly getting up
off the ground.

“The only one dying is you, asshole,” I
growled as I put my hands out in front of me and blasted him hard
with UV light. “That’s for my fucking house!”

I must have put too much energy into it again
because he immediately burst into flames. An ironic and appropriate
send off, if I do say so myself. I bent over and gripped my sore
ribs as I watched him run around helplessly; the smell of his
burning flesh turning my stomach and burning my nose.

The Dark Ones around him stopped fighting and
stared in horror at their burning brother as he screamed. A few ran
away after he dropped to the ground and died, but most went back to
fighting.

Archer stared at me in complete astonishment
for a few moments. “
Ifreann na Fola
,” he whispered softly
before a Dark One bumped into him, drawing his attention.