Legacy of Blood (13 page)

Ruarc stepped to the side and patiently waited thirty seconds for anyone to speak. No one moved as they continued to look at me. I tried not to focus on their eyes as each set bored into me. I briefly wondered what everyone was thinking as Ruarc stepped back in command.

“Brothers of the Army of The Faithful, the first test that shall be performed is the Test of Sin,” Ruarc said as a man of average height and build stepped forward and bowed his head to me.

The man held his hand out and waited patiently for me to take it. I glanced up at Hagan as he stood beside me, looking for guidance. Hagan nodded his head encouragingly and I took a deep breath as I began to walk toward the man. I slowly placed my hand in his and looked up into his brown eyes. Another man came forward and handed him a small silver dagger.

“The Test of Sin requires a blood sacrifice,” he whispered gently to me as he flipped over my hand, exposing my palm. “Do you willingly offer your blood to me?”

“Yes, sir,” I breathed as I nodded my head.

“This may sting a little.”

I watched as he positioned the small dagger above my skin, centering it on my palm, and cut into it deeply, but quickly. The burning pain from the silver was immediate but I made no sound as I watched my blood drip into his cupped hand. My wound only stayed open for a few seconds, but that seem to be sufficient for him. He repeated the process with my other hand, caught the blood in his opposite hand, and when the bleeding stopped I took my hand back.

He held the small pools of my blood in each hand and raised them slightly before him. I watched as he closed his eyes and put his two hands together, rubbing them. He lifted his hands and placed his palms on his eyelids, keeping them there momentarily. When he withdrew them, my blood painted each of his closed eyes.  My own eyes widened in shock. This man had just taken my blood and smeared it on his face. 
Ew!

The man took a deep breath and began to speak. “Her sins are known. She has been prideful and she has lusted. She is an unmarried woman yet her purity is not intact. Her lies are many, but they are said mostly to herself and revolve around self-loathing and self-doubt. She has coveted what was not her own and has stolen once in her past. The girl carries wrath in her heart, but the addition is mostly recent. She desires to kill the unclean one that infected her and fully believes that it is the right thing to do. She has carried hate in her heart but it was very recently released. The Test of Sin is now complete.”

If I could have blushed, I would’ve been seven different shades of red. My sins had been laid out for the whole room to hear and I was completely embarrassed. Most of all, I felt violated. I’d had people read my mind before but they had always kept the dirt to themselves. I swallowed thickly as I watched Ruarc hand him a wet towel so he could wipe my blood from his eyes.

“I acknowledge her sins and judge that they are minor and not cause for concern,” Ruarc said, turning to his men. “What say you?”

The men gazed at me for a moment before giving their answer. “Agreed,” they all said in unison.

I felt Hagan’s stare and I turned to him. He gave me a very small smile; a twitch of his lips, but it spoke volumes. Hagan was proud of me. I took a deep breath and twitched my mouth in return before turning back to Ruarc.

“Brothers of the Army of The Faithful, the second test shall be the Test of Divine Power,” Ruarc said as he held his hand out to me. “Please step forward, Miss Morrison.”

I cautiously walked up to him and stopped, looking down at his hand.  I didn’t want to touch him if I didn’t have to. Lord only knew what kind of Divine Power Ruarc had and I was scared it was going to be used against me.

Ruarc dropped his hand and gazed at me seriously. “At the moment of your rebirth, did you experience anything unusual?”

“Yes,” I said honestly. “The fact that I was still alive was pretty darn unusual.”

“I can see how it would be,” Ruarc nodded, “given that you were not prepared beforehand. But I’m talking about powers. Did you notice anything different in regards to psychic ability? Could you, for example, hear the thoughts of those around you? Or maybe you were able to move an object by just thinking it?”

“No, sir,” I shook my head. “I haven’t noticed anything like that.”

“If you wouldn’t mind humoring me for a moment, try clearing your mind. Focus on that deep part within you that is just for you; a place no one else can touch. When you find it, tell me what you feel.”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, blowing it out slowly. I concentrated on slowing my heart rate and emptying my mind of all the questions and concerns that I had. After a few calm minutes, I bit my bottom lip and sighed in defeat, opening my eyes.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t feel anything,” I shook my head again. “I honestly tried, sir.”

Ruarc’s eyebrow furrowed slightly as he nodded his head. “The Test of Divine Power is now complete. I judge that the test is inconclusive. Not all newborns are aware of their powers right away. Although it is rare, it does happen.” Ruarc turned to his men. “What say you?”

I felt the heavy weight of their gaze as I awaited their judgment. “Agreed,” they said once again in unison.

I let out the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding and sighed in relief. I thought for sure I wouldn’t have passed that one. I had
have
yet to question why I had no divine ability; truth be told I hadn’t even thought about it. From the moment I awoke, it felt like I had been fighting for my life… and I was still fighting for it.

Ruarc turned back to me and addressed me once again. “Are you ready to begin the third test?” I silently nodded my head and he returned the gesture. “Brothers of the Army of The Faithful, the third test shall be The Test of Intake.” He raised his hand to the side, palm up, and I watched as one of his men placed a bag of blood upon it. Ruarc then held the bag of blood out to me. “This test will happen in three stages. Welcome to the first stage,” he said as I picked up the bag of blood, confused.

“Drink,” Ruarc said plainly as his eyes studied mine.

I knew from experience that bagged blood and Skye Morrison did not mix. Aside from the horrid taste, which made swallowing difficult, there was the little fact that I couldn’t keep it down and I knew that would be troublesome. I squared my shoulders and prepared for unpleasantness.

I bit the corner off the bag, my eyes never leaving Ruarc’s, and tried not to cringe as the cold liquid hit my tongue. Everything in me wanted to spit the blood out, but I made myself swallow; I painstakingly swallowed that whole bag and couldn’t suppress the shudder that traveled down my body immediately afterward.

Oh hell, did I feel sick. I looked over at Hagan with desperate eyes; silently begging him for a trash can. I was about to lose this bag and it wasn’t going to be pretty. One of Ruarc’s men brought me the mop bucket that Archer kept down in the basement, and it wasn’t a second too soon. I managed a quick grateful look at him before my stomach contents came violently gushing out. Hushed whispers floated across the room as I cleared the vile liquid from my body.

When I was done I looked back up at Ruarc and wiped my mouth with the back of one shaky hand. “I’m sorry,” I whispered as I took in Ruarc and his men with slightly fearful eyes. “I don’t know why but my body just doesn’t like bagged blood. It makes me so sick…”

Ruarc looked back at me with his usual blank face. “We will begin the second stage.”

I saw the man that had brought me the bucket flash up the stairs. He was gone for only a few seconds before I heard his footsteps return. Descending with him was a human teenage girl, approximately 17 years of age. My eyes grew wide as I heard her heart beat rapidly; her smell permeating the room. I swallowed hard as I glanced questioningly at Ruarc.

“What the hell is this?” I whispered, beginning to feel uneasy. I hadn’t had a meal since yesterday morning and I was positively starving; crappy bagged blood not counted.  “She can’t be in here, Ruarc,” I clenched as I fought my new nature.

“Welcome to the second stage,” he said as his eyes carefully deliberated me.  The girl came to stand in front of Ruarc and she awaited her instructions. “Meet Angelica. In this test, Angelica will help us kill a few birds with one stone. She is a child of pure nature, and she is human. The test will focus on how you control intake.”

She’s a fucking virgin?  Nonononono.
“Please don’t make me do this,” I shook my head quickly. “I-I don’t fully understand it yet, but I think the chemicals, or whatever the hell it’s called, in my bite is too strong.  It-it causes some… very unique side effects when I feed.”

“I am well aware of the issue, Miss Morrison,” Ruarc said, pulling out a small dagger from his pocket.

“Then you know that asking me to do this is messed up and incredibly wrong,” I pleaded. “She is an innocent child. I will make her… feel things… that aren’t right for someone her age or limited life experience, Ruarc. You cannot ask me to do this. It isn’t right dammit.  She’s too young.”

“Tests are never easy,” Ruarc said simply as he reached out and cut the side of her neck with the dagger. The cut was shallow and superficial, but the intended effect was achieved.

The smell of her hot, fresh blood slammed into me like a ton of bricks and my fangs instantly descended with a
snick
. I whimpered involuntarily and couldn’t stop my forward momentum; my feet seeming to have a mind of their own.
God, I’m so hungry.
  I looked down at her helplessly as I came to a stop in front of her. I was ravenous and I desperately needed to eat. My stomach cramped with intense need and I bit back the growl that threatened to escape.  I had to have her hot, fresh, delicious blood inside me and there was no way I could stop what I was about to do.

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered as I leaned into her. “I have no control over what you’re about to feel. I hope you can one day forgive me.” I fisted her long brown hair as I pulled her neck to the side, exposing the cut. I briefly glanced up at Ruarc with hateful eyes before I sank my fangs deep within her.

Angelica’s blood was amazing. If Bethany’s blood had been a rock concert, Angelica’s was a sweet symphony in comparison; so pure and light, a submission to pure decadence. She moaned slightly and I was quickly brought back to the here and now. I focused and prayed hard that she wouldn’t be affected the way the other humans had when they first experienced my bite.  I didn’t want her to be scarred for life.

About fifteen seconds had passed and, with great difficulty, I pulled my fangs out of her neck and flashed across the room and away from her. I tried to make it seem like I was unaffected by the meal but the truth was, I was anything but. I wanted to go back over there and gorge myself on her thick, delectable life force.  I swallowed again, ridding my tongue of her distracting taste, as I focused solely on Ruarc.

“How was it?” Ruarc asked with a small smirk.

“Amazing,” I answered angrily. “It was sweet and satisfying… and completely delicious.  How could you do that to me?  That was so wrong on so many levels.  I’m completely disgusted with myself right now.”

“Angelica, how was it for you?” Ruarc raised his eyebrows as he turned to her.

“It wasn’t as expected,” she answered in a whisper, a far-off look in her eyes. I knew that look well.  It was frequently worn by the feeders I had seen Archer with but definitely not the ones I’d fed from yesterday; their looks had been far more intense and sensual in nature.

“It felt more relaxing and mellow than your bite did. Your bite was definitely more powerful in comparison. It was enjoyable but the resulting high was not excessive… not like the one I got from you.”

Ruarc’s eyebrow furrowed deeply; confusion played in his eyes as he studied me intently. He turned to the side and immediately sought Oleif.  “Tell our brothers what you witnessed during her first feeding yesterday.”

I listened to Oleif speak to the men in Gaelic as the man who escorted the girl down led her back upstairs to the first floor. Several of the soldier’s eyes widened as they looked at me in surprise. A few of them chuckled as Oleif’s recount came to an end.

Once again, I was utterly mortified and embarrassed to have my business thrown out for all to hear. I didn’t want them to negatively judge me for something I had no control over.

“So which is it?” a man I had never seen before today asked.  “Is the venom stronger with this newborn or is it not?”

Several men started talking amongst themselves when one man interrupted.  “Is it possible that she can somehow control how much she delivers to her prey when biting them?”

All eyes swung to me again and I frowned and shrugged my shoulders.  “Don’t ask me.  This is all new for me.  I don’t even know what I’m doing 99% of the time.”

Ruarc turned to his men and addressed them.  “I propose we do the test again.  We know she can control how much she blood drinks from a child and we know how rare denying one’s self is for a newborn.  I think we should use an adult feeder this time and see how she reacts.”

Oleif addressed his leader in their native language so I didn’t understand what was being said, but one word did stick out.  The word was Jason.  Jason has been my last feeder yesterday and the experience had been sexually charged and heavenly.  My mouth watered just thinking about it.