Skye Morrison Vampire 2 Sins of the Father (20 page)

Hagan held his hand out for me and I grabbed
it, allowing him to pull me up. “Tomorrow at 9am. Don’t be late,
Morrison.”

“Yes, sir,” I said as I smiled.

We said our goodbyes and I went back upstairs
to the ground floor. I meandered into the kitchen and grabbed
another bottle of water and an apple to eat. I was positively
starving. As I washed the apple in the sink, I looked out of the
kitchen window and into the backyard. Trey was wearing a tiny pair
of red boy shorts and lounging on one of the patio chairs by the
pool. He was talking animatedly to Pádraig and they were both
laughing. I smiled, took my apple and water, and made my way to my
room.

As I was opening the door, I heard a huge
crash coming from Archer’s room and I dropped everything in my
hands and ran to his door.

“Archer!” I called as I pounded his door in a
panic. I thought maybe the thing that had been killing the vampires
had gotten into the house somehow and was attacking Archer.

Within a few seconds Archer was at the door,
throwing it open. “Are you okay?” he barked fearfully, grabbing the
tops of my arms and looking my body over for injuries.

I shook my head. “I’m fine, I’m fine,” I said
dismissively. “Are you okay? I heard something in your room and I
got scared.”

Archer sighed in relief and let go of me,
taking a step back into his room. He motioned for me to enter and I
did. His room was easily twice the size of mine. It was decorated
in dark wood pieces, big, comfortable furniture, and warm earth
tones. There were animal furs on the bed and on the floor in the
sitting room. Archer’s room was completely masculine and I
immediately felt at ease in it.

I looked over in the corner where his dresser
was and saw that his flat screen television had been ripped from
the wall and thrown back into it. It was badly damaged and a hole
was left in the wall.

“Archer,” I said gently as I turned back to
him. “What happened?”

He roughly ran his fingers through his hair
and sighed, walking over to the bed and sitting down on the edge.
“
An Dílis
called,” he whispered, his voice breaking.
“Treasach is dead. My brother…is dead. They’re all dead,” he said,
burying his face in his hands.

I gasped at the news and hurried over to him.
“Oh, Archer,” I whispered as I tentatively reached up and put my
hand on his shoulder. “I’m so sorry, honey.”

Archer’s body trembled and I stepped closer
and gently pulled his head to my chest. He wrapped his arms around
me tightly as he mourned the loss of his only living original
brother. I stroked his hair as he buried his head deeper into my
chest, muffling his agony. I never could see a grown man cry
without crying myself, so I wasn’t surprised when the tears flowed
freely from my eyes.

“It’s going to be okay,” I whispered gently
as I held him tighter. “We’ll get who did this and we’ll make him
pay. I promise.”

Archer held on to me for a few more minutes
as I comforted him the best way I knew how. When his trembling had
lessened and his muffled cries were no more, I gently pulled back
and looked into his eyes. They were red rimmed and full of the
deepest sadness that I had ever seen in my life. That one look
seemed to break my heart into a million pieces. I hurt for him.

“Is there anything I can do?” I asked softly
as I searched his eyes. “Tell me. I’d do anything to take your pain
away.” I realized how broad the word ‘anything’ was after I said
it, but I found that I had actually meant it. I WOULD do anything
to take Archer’s pain away. I couldn’t stand to see him hurt the
way he was.

Archer shook his head and laid it back down
on my chest. He took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “You’re
doing it, Skye,” he said with raw honesty. “I needed you and you
were here for me. You’ve shared in my pain as no one else could. I
can’t ever let my sons see me break down like this. A leader never
shows their weaknesses. It’s been ingrained in me for over a
thousand years. I can’t thank you enough for being here with me…for
comforting me.”

I pressed my lips to the top of his head and
sighed. “I meant it when I said that I’d do anything for you,
Archer. I’m always here if you need me. You don’t have to go
through things like this on your own.” He nodded his head and
hugged me tighter. “And next time come get me,” I said as I slowly
pulled back and looked into his eyes. “You don’t need to take it
out on the poor television.”

Archer turned his head and looked over at the
mess he made. He cursed under his breath and turned back to me. “I
just got that television.” His brow suddenly furrowed and he
reached his hand up, gripped my chin, and turned my face to the
right. “What the hell happened to you?” he asked, turning my face
to the left. He growled, stood up, and lifted my arms, turning me
around. “You are covered in bruises, Skye.”

I chuckled and put my arms down. “Uh, yeah,”
I said turning back to face him. “Hagan happened. What did you
think was going to ensue when you chose Hagan’s big ass to train
me? That guy is wicked fierce and a total badass.”

Archer growled protectively and I shushed
him. “I loved every minute of my training with him. He kicked my
ass, but he also treated me like a person and not just some girl. I
asked for every bruise he gave me and I thanked him for them when
he was done. I’ve waited years to have a teacher treat me fairly.”
I blushed and looked down at my hands. “You did something amazing
for me today and I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart,
Archer.”

“You look like a battered woman, Skye,” he
rumbled.

“Oh hush,” I said dismissively. “It’s not
that bad, is it?”

Archer growled his displeasure lowly and
leaned in to caress my cheek. “Please make sure to have Jameson
heal you tonight,” he said and licked his lips. “I can’t stand to
see you covered in battle scars.”

I smiled at the word battle scars and
unconsciously leaned into his feather-light touch.

Archer sighed and his mood sobered again; his
brow furrowed when he spoke. “I have to call a meeting today before
work and inform everyone about Treasach.”

I gently pulled him over to the cream
loveseat in his master suite and made him sit down with me. “Honey,
tell me. What happened over there in Scotland and why did it take
them until just now to inform you? They went last night, didn’t
they?”

Archer sighed and reached over to hold my
hand. “
An Dílis
waited until they were back in Ireland to
notify me. Things were complicated. They entered Treasach’s
compound early this morning and there was no one guarding the gate.
When they searched the house and the grounds, they found Treasach
and his family. They had been murdered in the same manner as those
here in the States.”

I put my hand to my mouth and shook my head.
“Oh God, Archer…that’s horrible.”

He looked over at me sadly. “Aye,” he said as
he shook his head also. “Fourteen members of my family were
brutally snuffed out…and for what? I can’t understand why this…this
thing is killing us. What did we ever do to anyone?”

I patted his hand, trying to comfort him. I
would have no answers for him, but he must have known that.

“Their bodies were in pieces,” he whispered
after a long moment. “They found parts of Treasach’s wife strewn
across a whole acre.” He sighed and shook his head, his face etched
with extreme sadness. “They had lain there, undiscovered, for three
weeks. Do you know what that does to me? To know that my own
brother lay in pieces for weeks and I did not know? He was the only
person that I had left. I grew up as a vampire with him. We
experienced life together, love together, war together. He has been
a part of my life for over thirteen hundred years. How do I even
begin to say goodbye to him?”

I sat there and stared at him for a moment.
Archer had never been this open with me before and I desperately
wanted him to feel at ease enough to do it again in the future. I
swallowed hard and reached up to run my fingers through his hair.
“The creation of your race is steeped in religion, so I think a
good place to start would be going to a church and lighting a
candle for each of them. Prayer is a powerful thing, Archer. I
think we could all use it right now.”

He sighed as he closed his beautiful blue
eyes and leaned into my light touch. “You’re absolutely right. I’ll
go this evening on my way to The Mausoleum.”

“When are you going to call the meeting with
everyone?” I asked as I slowly dropped my hand.

He opened his eyes, cupped my cheek and
leaned in to softly kiss my forehead before getting up off the
couch. “I need to call them now. I won’t be able to summon Jameson,
so I’ll have to tell him tonight when he comes home.”

“Would you like me to call a repair man for
the wall and order another television for you?” I asked standing up
too.

Archer managed a small smile and nodded his
head. “Would you? And would you summon Trey for me in about twenty
minutes? Have him meet me in the family room. I need to call the
rest of my children now.”

“Of course,” I said as I got up and turned to
leave.

“Skye?” Archer called and I turned around to
face him, a questioning look on my face. He groaned as he took in
my wounds again. “You can’t go into work like that. Your bruises
are darkening by the minute. They look really bad.”

“Well, what am I supposed to do?” I asked,
holding my hands out at my sides. “Jameson said that he wouldn’t be
done until after 1am. I can’t be healed until I see him.”

Archer managed a small smile. “Take the night
off. You haven’t had one since you started working for me and you
deserve it.”

“But, won’t you need me?” I asked worriedly.
“With Trey working the door and with Seamus and Jameson gone…”

Archer walked over to me and put his hand on
my shoulder. “Relax, love,” he said gently. “We will manage, I
promise.”

I bit my lip and nodded. “If you’re
sure…okay,” I said reluctantly. “Does that mean I can go do my own
thing tonight?”

Archer froze and studied me. “I suppose. But,
will you take one of The Faithful with you?”

I shook my head. “Nuh-uh. No way, Archer.
That monster is after you and there is no way I’m pulling a guard
from your family. You need them more than I do.”

“But he killed Jesse,” Archer growled,
suddenly furious. “He may come after you, too.”

I flinched at the mention of Jesse’s name and
briefly closed my eyes at the sharp pain in my chest. “We don’t
know why Jesse was killed. He is the only human so far and I highly
doubt that I am next.”

“Don’t be naïve, Skye,” he scoffed.

“Don’t be overbearing and overprotective,
boss man,” I said gently cupping his face. “I’m a big girl. I’ll be
fine. I’m just going to go run some errands and maybe catch a live
show. I won’t do anything too dangerous or daring, okay? I
promise.”

Archer growled his displeasure and I quickly
brushed my lips across his cheek to silence him.

“I’ll have my phone on me and you can call to
check up on me as many times as you’d like.”

Archer nodded his head but didn’t look too
happy with me. He growled one last time and I turned to smile at
him as I opened the door. “I’m going to call a repair man and take
a shower. Please call me if you need me tonight. I’m always here
for you honey.”

He nodded again. “By the way, which car can I
take tonight?” I asked, stopping short and turning around.

Archer walked over to his nightstand and
retrieved a set of keys. “Have fun,” he said as he tossed them to
me.

I recognized the Audi logo on the keychain
and grinned. “You’re the best, you know that?”

He nodded his head and smiled crookedly. “I
know. Now get out of here before I change my mind and lock you in
this house where it’s safe.”

I gave him one last smile and blew him a kiss
before I walked out.

I walked across the hall, picked up my water
and apple, and stepped into the spacious guest room. I got out my
laptop and sat on the chase lounge to peruse the online yellow
pages for a repair man. I found one located on this side of the
lake and called him. We scheduled for him to come out tomorrow
morning between 11 and noon. Next, I called a local electronics
store and ordered a replacement television for Archer’s room. I
ended up getting really lucky. The salesman was nice and told me
that a previous customer had just purchased a 42 inch television
and thought it was too small when the company delivered it to their
house. I ended up getting it for half price since it was out of the
box. I thanked him for letting me know, happily put it on the
company charge card and scheduled to have them deliver it tomorrow
morning.

Pleased that everything had been taken care
of fairly quickly, I checked the time and put my laptop away. I
rewashed my apple and went outside to find Trey as I hungrily ate
it. He was still lounging by the pool, a dainty drink in his hand,
and he was still talking to Pádraig. They both turned to me and
Pádraig seemed startled. He mumbled something to Trey and turned to
resume his walk of the grounds.

“What was that all about?” I asked between a
mouthful of crisp Fiji.

Trey smiled and pursed his lips.
“Nothing.”

I winked at him and sat down on the foot of
his lounger. “Uh-huh,” I said playfully then remembered why I came
to get him. My face instantly sobered and I swallowed hard. “Um,
honey…Archer needs to see you.”

Trey immediately sat up and stared quietly at
me for a moment. “Sorrow,” he whispered to himself and I slowly
nodded my head. “What happened?”

I shook my head and turned away from his
penetrating gaze. “It’s not my place to say honey, I’m sorry. Just
go find Archer. He is calling a house meeting.”