Legacy of Blood (27 page)

“There is a yellow truck in the parking lot.  Get inside and lock the door,” I instructed as I pulled him up and gave him a little push in the direction of the stairs.

I didn’t wait around to see if he listened as I turned and ran toward the sounds of fighting.  I came across two bodies and recognized them as two of
An Dilis’
elite soldiers.  I suddenly felt sick to my stomach.  If Amun was able to kill two of the Army’s best, what chance did I have against him?

A huge shadow passed over me and I jumped as I realized it was a body being thrown.  The head was next and I jumped out of the way before it could hit me.  I stared into those blue eyes as they passed me and I almost fainted.  Oleif, the gigantic Viking pain in my ass, was no more.

I tore my eyes away as his head hit the ground and started to roll.  Running full force, I grabbed Oleif’s sword and had to pry his fingers off before he let go. Even in death he was being difficult.  I turned on my heels and charged into the circle of men, wanting to join in on the fight. 

I was grabbed from behind and I brought my sword around, narrowly missing Archer’s head.

“It’s me,
Cion
,” Archer said soothingly as he wrapped his arms around me and held me tightly to his chest.  “You’re okay.  Thank God you are okay.  Where were you?  I looked everywhere for you.”

“I was saving Trey,” I breathed in relief as I hugged Archer.  “Amun had him chained up.  What are you doing here?  How the hell did you find me?”

“There is no time to explain,” Archer said before letting me go and calling something out in Gaelic to Ruarc and his men.  “We need to get you out of here.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” I said defiantly.  “I’m going to finish this once and for all, Archer.  Amun is going to pay for what he did to Seamus and Trey.”

Turning my back on Archer, I flashed into the chaos and spotted Amun smiling and taunting one of the soldiers as he expertly ducked and dodged his sword.  I heard Archer calling my name and Amun’s head immediately perked up, his eyes finding mine.

“Who will you stand with,
Nisiqtu
?” Amun grinned at me.  “Be careful that you choose the winning side.  If you raise your hand against me and I live, I will destroy everyone you have ever known… slowly.”

My nostrils flared as my rage built.  His words helped me realize that I was doing the right thing.  I would never live in peace, my family would never live in peace, as long as this asshole walked the Earth.  I roughly pushed the soldier that was fighting Amun to the side and smiled at Amun as I walked up to him.

He opened his arms to me and I cocked my head to the side as I brought Oleif’s sword up and stabbed him in the chest.  Amun threw his head back and laughed as he pulled the sword out and threw it to the ground.  My mouth opened in utter shock.  The sword didn’t even faze him.  “It looks like you have chosen wrong,
Damu
.  Such a pity.” 

He raised his hand and backhanded me before I even knew what happened.  I hit the dirt hard and crashed into someone’s legs; my face pounding in time with my heartbeat.  Amun screamed out suddenly and I felt searing pain in my stomach.  I looked down to see blood gushing from between the laces of my bodysuit.  When I glanced up at Amun, he was staring down at his stomach in utter shock.  He had been sliced open and the wound was deep.

Someone pulled me up off the ground and began dragging me away, but not before I saw Ruarc attack Amun again with the Sword of Saint Patrick.  The sword connected with Amun’s chest and I felt the searing pain again as it tore through my skin.  I screamed at the exact same time as Amun did. 

I felt my body being thrown over someone’s shoulder and I watched helplessly as I was taken away from the fight.  “P-Please,” I whispered, the pain in my chest excruciating.  “I have to go back.  I-I need to go back.”

The person carrying me said nothing as they started descending Mount Bonnell’s stone steps.  Pain sliced through me again and this time I felt it in my side.  I started choking and coughing up blood and I had a sudden moment of startling clarity.  Amun was dying.  I felt each of his injuries as it happened to him; I carried the same wounds from the Sword of Saint Patrick as he had. 
I blew my essence into you; shared my very soul.  I combined a part of it with yours.
  Amun’s injuries were killing me in return.

The next blow hit me on the side of my head and I saw stars as blood began pouring down my face.  I had to stop them from killing him or I was going to die too.  My vision began to vibrate as the person carrying me reached the parking lot.  I felt my body start to pulse and everything around me turned bright white, blinding me.  I closed my eyes as I let the vibrations overtake me. 

The next second, I hit something hard and I opened my eyes to see that I was laying on the ground a few feet from Amun and Ruarc.  Amun was on his knees and Ruarc stood over him with the Sword of Saint Patrick in his hand.   I watched Ruarc draw the sword back and I screamed as loud as I could.

“STOP!  It’s killing me!”

Ruarc turned around in shock as Archer picked me up off the ground.  “
Páiste
?  Where did you come from?  What happened to you?  You’re covered in blood.”

“The girl just appeared,” one soldier remarked.  “One second the ground was empty and the next she was there.”

“She left with Lorcán,” one of the soldiers behind me said.  “I told him to take her to the van and out of harm’s way.  I saw them leave.”

 “Please,” I whispered with difficulty.  “No more.  You’re killing me.”

Amun started laughing as he slowly pulled himself to his feet.  “You cannot kill me without killing the girl, you fools!”  He laughed again and started coughing up blood.

“He… w-we… are connected,” I coughed, allowing Archer to pull me into his arms.  “Every cut you inflict upon him with the Sword of Saint Patrick cuts me as well.”

“How can this be?” Ruarc whispered in horror, his eyes bouncing between me and Amun.

“Shared his soul… blew a part of his… soul… into me.”

Amun started to stagger away and I reached my hand out and flicked my finger in his direction, pushing him back to the ground.  The effort it took nearly made me black out.

“Blood… I need blood,” I whispered as my vision started to go black.  I knew I had lost at least half the blood in my body judging by the puddle Amun left behind.

Amun started laughing again as he pulled himself to his knees.  “You cannot harm me… not without harming Skye.  It was the… perfect plan really, to split my soul with your beloved human and never die.  I knew how much you cared for her… I knew you could never kill her… and thus never kill me.”

Ruarc growled fiercely in frustration and threw the sword down to the ground.  The action caused Amun to laugh harder and I hated him even more in that moment, if that were possible.  I hated what Amun had done to me; I hated that, because Archer loved me, Amun would never experience the death he deserved.  I couldn’t let Amun walk away from here.  I couldn’t let him get away with all he had done.  He had killed Seamus, Callum, Greyson Mead, and Archer’s brother Treasach.  He had killed Jesse and he had killed my chance at living a normal, human life.  I hated him for all he had taken from me and the people I loved and I desperately wanted to make him pay, no matter the cost.  The world would be a better place without Amun in it.

I tilted my head up and kissed Archer on the lips.  His eyes grew wide in surprise, but he didn’t hesitate to kiss me back.  “I love you Archer… so much.”

“I love you too, baby,” he said, wiping the blood from my eyes.  “Come on, let’s get you out of here. 
An Dilis
will find a way to contain Amun until we can figure something out.”

He tried leading me to the stone steps but I stood my ground.  “Do you remember all the things I told you in the basement before my test with Ruarc?”

Archer’s brow furrowed deeply as he slowly nodded his head.

“Good… good,” I breathed as I felt my shoulders fall in relief. 

“What’s this about?” Archer asked as I turned toward Amun.

Amun met my eyes and I saw the sick glee behind his.  He was enjoying our pain.  That pissed me off even more and I took a few steps toward him and Ruarc.

“I hate you,” I whispered as I stopped ten feet from him.

“I am not very fond of you at the moment either,” Amun wheezed, “you betraying
kashshaptu
.”

“I hope you burn in hell, you sick bastard.  And I hope it’s extra hot when you get there.”

Amun smiled at me and I wasted no more time as I pointed to the Sword of Saint Patrick, lifting it using my newly acquired Divine Power of Telekinesis, and then drove it straight through his heart.

I immediately felt the sword impale me and I collapsed to the ground.  Screams and chaos surrounded me as Archer fell to his knees beside to me.  I tried to smile at him, to reassure him that I did the right thing, but I felt myself rapidly drifting away. 
I did it, baby.  I finally killed him.
  My head turned as my eyes found the stars and I welcomed death’s embrace with open arms.

I was surrounded by the sweet, floral aroma of Gardenias, Jasmine, Roses, Lilacs, Peonies, and Lily.  I took a deep breath in, enjoying the smell, and felt someone lightly caress my cheek.

“Open your eyes,
Cion
,” Archer whispered.

It took me a few tries, but I obeyed and smiled when I saw his beautiful face above me.  “Hi,” I whispered, my voice rough and weak.

Archer closed his eyes and sighed.  When he opened them, I saw tears glistening on the surface.  My brow creased in confusion and I raised one shaky hand and placed it softly on his cheek.

“Don’t cry,” I whispered.

Archer leaned forward and rested his forehead against mine.  “I didn’t think you’d ever open your eyes.  I thought I had lost you forever.”

“What happened?  Is Amun still alive?”

Archer nodded and sat back up as he took my hand in his.  “The sword missed his heart by a fraction of an inch.  Thank God it did.  How could you do that, Skye?  We would have found another way.  You didn’t have to try and kill yourself.”

“A life connected to Amun is no life at all, Archer,” I whispered as I slowly looked around the room.  I saw that I was lying in Archer’s bed and that the room had been decorated entirely with elaborate floral bouquets. 

Archer’s eyes followed mine and he smiled.  “Trey has had trucks delivering these for the last five days.”

My head turned back to Archer and I frowned.  “Five days?”

“Aye,” he whispered before lifting my hand and placing a soft kiss on the inside of my wrist.  “The longest five days of my entire existence.”

My stomach cramped with intense need and I groaned in answer.

“Are you hungry?” Archer asked as he brushed the hair from my forehead.

I nodded my head and watched him stand and flash out of the room.  I heard muffled noises drift down the hall from the living room, followed by the sound of someone running.  Archer’s door burst open a second later and Trey stood there with the biggest smile I had ever seen on his face.

“You’re finally awake!” he grinned as he flashed to the side of the bed and gingerly leaned over to hug me.  “Sakes alive, honey.  We all thought you were dead for sure.  What the hell is wrong with you, trying to kill yourself like that?  Do you know what we’ve been going through around here?”

I returned his embrace and patted his back.  “Seamus is dead,” I whispered, remembering the feel of his severed head as it hit my leg.  Tears stung my eyes as Trey’s body stiffened and he stood up.

“Yes,” he nodded slowly as tears filled his eyes.  “It’s been a tough few days for everyone.  Lochlan is taking it especially hard.  They were very close, those two.  Seamus was like a big brother to him.”

“I’m so sorry.  I didn’t mean to get anyone killed,” I covered my mouth and closed my eyes as tears slid fast down my face.  “I did like Amun asked and didn’t tell anyone when I left.  All I could think about was saving you.”  I opened my eyes and looked Trey over, remembering his horrible injuries.  “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Trey sniffed as he took my hand from my mouth, holding it as he sat down on the bed next to me.  “No one blames you for Seamus’ death, sugar.  If you hadn’t come, The Faithful probably never would have captured Amun and I’d most certainly be dead right now.”

“Poor Seamus,” I sobbed.  “It’s just so tragic, Trey.  I know I haven’t known him as long as you guys have, but I really liked and respected him.  He was good to me and always kind, even when I was being a pain in the ass.  What was he even doing there?  He shouldn’t have been there.  I was careful when I left the clu-.”

“Sshh,” Trey patted my hand as he swallowed thickly, the pain in his eyes clear despite his rather calm exterior.  “There’s plenty of time to talk about this when you’re well.  We don’t need you getting yourself worked up, darlin’.” 

“What did they do with Amun?”

“I’m going to let
athair
answer that one for you.  I just wanted to come in and see you for a minute.  Archer asked me not to stay long because you still need your rest and I’ve got to get ready for work anyway.  You focus on getting better, okay?  I’ll come and visit with you again first thing in the morning.”