Release of book 4 in The Sky Morrison Vampire Series
LEGACY OF BLOOD
by
J.L. McCOY
Official Synopsis
"Skye Morrison begged for death. Fortunately, someone didn't listen.
Skye awakens to discover
she has been irrevocably changed and the unprecedented circumstances of
her rebirth have now created a new threat to her very existence. Sired
by both the monster Amun and the vampire Archer Rhys, Skye must prove to
the army of An Dilis (The Faithful) whose essence is most dominant
within her and that she is not a danger to them or society. The
Faithful soon discover that she is unlike any vampire ever created
before as she struggles to adjust to her new life and the changes that
come with it.
Her recent brush with
death has made Skye realize that life is precious and she wastes no time
telling the one she loves how she feels about him.
But, Amun finds out that
someone interfered with Skye's transformation and the intrusion makes
him livid. He gives Skye 7 days to come to him or he threatens to begin
killing the ones she loves most.
Will Skye be able to survive long enough to enjoy her new life now that Amun is hunting her and everyone she loves?
Don't miss Legacy of Blood, the fourth installment in the popular Skye
Morrison Vampire Series brought to you by author J.L. McCoy."
~ Chapter 1~
I slowly opened my eyes and saw I was lying in an endless field of scarlet paintbrush wildflowers. I gasped at its beauty as I stood up and took in my surroundings. Tall hills rolled in every direction and the sea of flowers summited them as well. Where am I? I turned slow circles where I stood, trying to gauge where I was, but I had never seen this place before; I had never seen a place as breathtaking as this in my entire life.
I bent down and softly trailed my fingers over the dewy tops of the flowers as I slowly walked through them. Water droplets kissed each petal and shined and shimmered like diamonds in the bright morning sun.
How did I get here? I thought back as hard as I could, trying to remember. Slowly, memories of pain and blood flashed through my mind. I remembered looking up at Archer from my place in his arms and I gasped audibly as I recalled my painful death.
“I’m dead,” I whispered to myself as I looked around at the wildflower field again. It was so beautiful and could only mean one thing. “I made it to heaven?”
“No, child,” Amun said behind me and I whipped around as I fearfully clutched my hands to my chest. “Do not be afraid, Damu. I mean you no harm.”
“I-Is this one of your dreams?” I asked unsteadily. “Am I dreaming?”
“Something like that,” Amun nodded his head. “You are evolving, my precious.”
I suddenly remembered the last few words Archer and Trey spoke before I slipped into unconsciousness.
“Oh my God. Her eyes.”
“She’s transforming. She’s turning.”
“Her eyes are completely pitch black. They look just like…him.”
Anger coursed through me as my hands fisted tightly down at my sides. “What did you do to me?!” I roared.
“I granted you eternal life, Damu,” he said as he slowly stalked toward me, a look of absolute calm on his face. “You should be grateful, not angry.”
“You stole my life from me and you expect me to be grateful for it?!” I seethed. “Why? Why!”
“My son, the only other one I have ever sired, is long dead,” he explained as he stepped up to me and stopped. “It was time I sired another.”
“BUT WHY ME?!” I begged in a yell. “Why couldn’t you just leave me alone?!”
“Child,” he tsked, growing impatient. “I have given you a gift. Soon you will rise and take your place beside me. Rest in the fact that you will be at peace once your transformation is fully complete. You will obey me in all affairs and do so gladly. I am now your father, Nisiqtu, and soon I will be your husband.”
“Over my dead body,” I growled angrily as I started to back away.
“Too late,” he grinned as he thoughtfully tapped his index finger on his lips.
I turned and rushed through the endless field of flowers. I didn’t know where I was going; I just knew I wanted to get as far away from him as possible.
“Precious,” Amun called affectionately in sing-song behind me. “There is much to discuss. Your transformation will soon be complete. Do you not have questions for me?”
I froze and took a deep breath as I closed my eyes. I did have questions; I had so many, many questions. I swallowed hard, squared my shoulders, and turned around. I marched back over with purpose and stopped a few feet from him. He was smiling affectionately at me and it was really starting to piss me off.
“Stop looking at me like that,” I growled as I crossed my arms over my chest.
“I cannot resist,” he shrugged, a sly smile playing at the corner of his mouth. “You are breathtaking when you are angry.”
“I wish everyone would stop saying that,” I huffed as I threw my long red hair over my shoulder. “Are you really going to answer my questions?” I asked, cocking one eyebrow. “No games, just truth.”
“Of course, child.”
I took another deep breath and gathered my thoughts. I was really angry at him, but I knew I needed to play it cool if I wanted to get the answers I desperately needed.
“How is this possible?” I asked, fighting off the sting of tears. “How can I be turning into what you are? What did you do to me and when did you do it?”
Amun deliberately took a few steps toward me and offered me his elbow. “Walk with me.” I fought the urge to recoil as I hesitantly threaded my arm with his. We silently began strolling through the field; the only sound was Amun’s contented sigh. I had just opened my mouth to question him again, when he finally spoke up.
“It is lonely... wandering this Earth alone,” he said quietly. “At first, I only desired you for your ties to the Day Walkers. But, as time passed, you began to fascinate me. Granted, you still need to be broken, but with a little work, you will be spectacular. The first thing we should adjust is that mouth of yours, though. Your defiance will only cause my anger. You are to be submissive to me in all matters.”
“Submission is not in my nature,” I bit out through gritted teeth. What I really wanted to do was rip his eyeballs out, but I held my temper. I needed answers first…then I’d kill him.
“Oh, it will be, Nisiqtu,” he chuckled. “When you awaken, you will experience love for me and it will be overwhelming to you at first. You will immediately want to please me in all things, above all else. You will see, my precious. I told you that one day you would not despise me.”
I gritted my teeth and closed my eyes as I took a deep breath. I silently prayed for patience. I was going to kill him before I got my answers, I was sure of it.
Amun chuckled as he heard my thoughts. “Sittu, Damu,” he said gently as he stilled and faced me. He lightly stroked my hair and I fought the urge to scream. “I will answer your questions.” We began walking again and he bent down to pick a flower as he continued. “When you were in my captivity, I will admit, you were not supposed to live. I had planned to have Martin drain you when we no longer needed you to lure in the Day Walkers. The situation changed, though. I decided to use you as my failsafe since you were extremely close with them. It was the perfect plan, really. Should they escape me, you would eventually evolve into what I am and destroy them for me. Phase two of my plan is almost complete. Soon you will awaken and you will accomplish what you are designed to do.”
I shook my head in shock and denial. “You can’t make me hurt them. I won’t do it. I won’t, Amun.”
“You will,” he said simply as he turned and gently inserted the stem of the scarlet wildflower into the hair above my ear. “I command it and you are driven to obey me. You will see…when you awaken, you will have no choice.”
“I’ll just kill myself,” I whispered to myself.
“You cannot, my precious,” he sighed. “My essence is within you. I am a part of you and you a part of me. Since I do not wish to die, neither will you. I know this is hard to understand right now, but you will be content with me. You will not only be my child, but I intend to make you my mate…my wife. Ankida was the last mate I had and that was thousands of years ago. It is time I moved on and who better to do it with. You are beautiful, fierce, and you will give me your undying loyalty. We will rule this world together, Nisiqtu, and we will begin with Archer’s death.”
“I don’t want to be your wife!” I yelled, trying to jerk my arm back from his. “I’ll never be yours. I hate you and I always will. Nothing you say or do to me will change that.”
Amun flashed to grab both of my arms above the elbows and he held me tightly. His grip was strong and I whimpered in pain. “You will love me!” he growled, his eyes turning black with anger. “You will be my mate and you will submit to me completely! You have no choice. I am within you. My soul is intertwining with yours as we speak.”
“No,” I cried, hot tears finally sliding down my cheeks. “How?”
Amun pulled me to his chest and cradled my head. My body was rigid with fear and anger, but a part of me relished his touch. It was everything I could do not to lean into him.
“When you were chained in the underground tomb, I shared a part of myself with you,” he explained gently as he stroked my hair. “I blew my essence into you; shared my very soul. I combined a part of it with yours. I did not think it would take as long as it did, though. It took you a full month before you entered the final stage of the transformation process.”
He BLEW his essence into me? Shared his soul with me? I immediately thought back to my time in the basement, picking through my memories to find when that event took place. The only thing I could come up with was the dream I had where Amun blew a thick smoke the color of desert sand into my lungs. I remembered the horrible, Acid-like pain I felt and I swallowed hard as I grabbed my throat. It wasn’t a dream?
“Yes, precious,” Amun smiled. “I see you remember now. I have been waiting rather impatiently for the moment where my essence would finally overtake your own, causing you to either die in your sleep or for you to be injured enough to spark the catalyst of your rebirth. I have never shared my essence with anyone before, truth be told, I did not know how long it would take. My son before you was given my blood.
Your rebirth is the first of its kind, Skye. You are not merely my daughter…you are a part of me. The anger, the rage you have been feeling? That was me. When you attempted to kill me in your dream, I beheld your full potential. Your murderous rage was breathtaking. You are very beautiful, Skye. You will become my partner in war and my lover in bed. We will have our revenge and then make love atop the carnage we leave behind.”
I jerked out of his arms and ran as fast as I could away from him.
“There is nowhere for you to go,” he laughed directly behind me. “You are in a dream state I control.”
I didn’t care what he said; I just knew I had to get away from him…away from the godless creature he was turning me into.
Suddenly, I was tackled from behind and I went sprawling on the ground as a rush of air left my lungs. I rolled over and began kicking and punching wildly at Amun.
“Damu, stop!” he yelled, the black abyss swallowing the whites of his eyes again. “Stop defying me! You will be mine, do you hear me? You will be mine!”
A few seconds later, he had me in complete submission. His hands were holding mine over my head and he had his lower body covering my legs, keeping them immobile.
“Please,” I began to cry. “Please, just kill me.” The words I spoke sparked some memory within me and I swallowed my sob with difficulty. “W-Wait. I-I asked Archer to kill me. He-He drained me…I felt it. How am I dreaming of you if I’m supposed to be dead? The dead don’t dream, do they?”
Amun smiled sinisterly. “The Day Walker was most likely too late. My essence has gradually been changing you over the course of weeks. Even if he drained you, I doubt you would completely die. He would have to decapitate, dismember, burn you completely and scatter the ashes to the four corners of the Earth to make sure you did not rise again. It is very hard to kill us, Nisiqtu. We are stronger, faster, smarter, and deadlier than them.”
“Please, Amun. I don’t want to be like you. I don’t want to be a vampire at all,” I pleaded desperately as my tears fell anew.
“Child,” he said gently, even though his eyes were still black with anger. “You and I are not vampires. Vampires were created when I turned my son using my blood. You were not given my blood; you were given a part of my soul.”
My face started to tingle as I looked up at Amun. “What do you mean you aren’t a vampire? What are you then?”
Amun’s eyes got wide as he looked down at me. His hands scrambled to grab onto me and I realized he wasn’t holding me anymore.
“What is this?!” he roared angrily, his eyes frantic.
I looked down and saw that my body was rapidly fading. I gazed up at Amun questioningly as the dream started to melt.
“Something is interfering!” he yelled, his voice teeming with rage as he desperately tried to capture me. “No! No! Nisiqtu! I will come for you!”
I slowly opened my eyes and saw I was lying in an endless field of scarlet paintbrush wildflowers. I gasped at its beauty as I stood up and took in my surroundings. Tall hills rolled in every direction and the sea of flowers summited them as well. Where am I? I turned slow circles where I stood, trying to gauge where I was, but I had never seen this place before; I had never seen a place as breathtaking as this in my entire life.
I bent down and softly trailed my fingers over the dewy tops of the flowers as I slowly walked through them. Water droplets kissed each petal and shined and shimmered like diamonds in the bright morning sun.
How did I get here? I thought back as hard as I could, trying to remember. Slowly, memories of pain and blood flashed through my mind. I remembered looking up at Archer from my place in his arms and I gasped audibly as I recalled my painful death.
“I’m dead,” I whispered to myself as I looked around at the wildflower field again. It was so beautiful and could only mean one thing. “I made it to heaven?”
“No, child,” Amun said behind me and I whipped around as I fearfully clutched my hands to my chest. “Do not be afraid, Damu. I mean you no harm.”
“I-Is this one of your dreams?” I asked unsteadily. “Am I dreaming?”
“Something like that,” Amun nodded his head. “You are evolving, my precious.”
I suddenly remembered the last few words Archer and Trey spoke before I slipped into unconsciousness.
“Oh my God. Her eyes.”
“She’s transforming. She’s turning.”
“Her eyes are completely pitch black. They look just like…him.”
Anger coursed through me as my hands fisted tightly down at my sides. “What did you do to me?!” I roared.
“I granted you eternal life, Damu,” he said as he slowly stalked toward me, a look of absolute calm on his face. “You should be grateful, not angry.”
“You stole my life from me and you expect me to be grateful for it?!” I seethed. “Why? Why!”
“My son, the only other one I have ever sired, is long dead,” he explained as he stepped up to me and stopped. “It was time I sired another.”
“BUT WHY ME?!” I begged in a yell. “Why couldn’t you just leave me alone?!”
“Child,” he tsked, growing impatient. “I have given you a gift. Soon you will rise and take your place beside me. Rest in the fact that you will be at peace once your transformation is fully complete. You will obey me in all affairs and do so gladly. I am now your father, Nisiqtu, and soon I will be your husband.”
“Over my dead body,” I growled angrily as I started to back away.
“Too late,” he grinned as he thoughtfully tapped his index finger on his lips.
I turned and rushed through the endless field of flowers. I didn’t know where I was going; I just knew I wanted to get as far away from him as possible.
“Precious,” Amun called affectionately in sing-song behind me. “There is much to discuss. Your transformation will soon be complete. Do you not have questions for me?”
I froze and took a deep breath as I closed my eyes. I did have questions; I had so many, many questions. I swallowed hard, squared my shoulders, and turned around. I marched back over with purpose and stopped a few feet from him. He was smiling affectionately at me and it was really starting to piss me off.
“Stop looking at me like that,” I growled as I crossed my arms over my chest.
“I cannot resist,” he shrugged, a sly smile playing at the corner of his mouth. “You are breathtaking when you are angry.”
“I wish everyone would stop saying that,” I huffed as I threw my long red hair over my shoulder. “Are you really going to answer my questions?” I asked, cocking one eyebrow. “No games, just truth.”
“Of course, child.”
I took another deep breath and gathered my thoughts. I was really angry at him, but I knew I needed to play it cool if I wanted to get the answers I desperately needed.
“How is this possible?” I asked, fighting off the sting of tears. “How can I be turning into what you are? What did you do to me and when did you do it?”
Amun deliberately took a few steps toward me and offered me his elbow. “Walk with me.” I fought the urge to recoil as I hesitantly threaded my arm with his. We silently began strolling through the field; the only sound was Amun’s contented sigh. I had just opened my mouth to question him again, when he finally spoke up.
“It is lonely... wandering this Earth alone,” he said quietly. “At first, I only desired you for your ties to the Day Walkers. But, as time passed, you began to fascinate me. Granted, you still need to be broken, but with a little work, you will be spectacular. The first thing we should adjust is that mouth of yours, though. Your defiance will only cause my anger. You are to be submissive to me in all matters.”
“Submission is not in my nature,” I bit out through gritted teeth. What I really wanted to do was rip his eyeballs out, but I held my temper. I needed answers first…then I’d kill him.
“Oh, it will be, Nisiqtu,” he chuckled. “When you awaken, you will experience love for me and it will be overwhelming to you at first. You will immediately want to please me in all things, above all else. You will see, my precious. I told you that one day you would not despise me.”
I gritted my teeth and closed my eyes as I took a deep breath. I silently prayed for patience. I was going to kill him before I got my answers, I was sure of it.
Amun chuckled as he heard my thoughts. “Sittu, Damu,” he said gently as he stilled and faced me. He lightly stroked my hair and I fought the urge to scream. “I will answer your questions.” We began walking again and he bent down to pick a flower as he continued. “When you were in my captivity, I will admit, you were not supposed to live. I had planned to have Martin drain you when we no longer needed you to lure in the Day Walkers. The situation changed, though. I decided to use you as my failsafe since you were extremely close with them. It was the perfect plan, really. Should they escape me, you would eventually evolve into what I am and destroy them for me. Phase two of my plan is almost complete. Soon you will awaken and you will accomplish what you are designed to do.”
I shook my head in shock and denial. “You can’t make me hurt them. I won’t do it. I won’t, Amun.”
“You will,” he said simply as he turned and gently inserted the stem of the scarlet wildflower into the hair above my ear. “I command it and you are driven to obey me. You will see…when you awaken, you will have no choice.”
“I’ll just kill myself,” I whispered to myself.
“You cannot, my precious,” he sighed. “My essence is within you. I am a part of you and you a part of me. Since I do not wish to die, neither will you. I know this is hard to understand right now, but you will be content with me. You will not only be my child, but I intend to make you my mate…my wife. Ankida was the last mate I had and that was thousands of years ago. It is time I moved on and who better to do it with. You are beautiful, fierce, and you will give me your undying loyalty. We will rule this world together, Nisiqtu, and we will begin with Archer’s death.”
“I don’t want to be your wife!” I yelled, trying to jerk my arm back from his. “I’ll never be yours. I hate you and I always will. Nothing you say or do to me will change that.”
Amun flashed to grab both of my arms above the elbows and he held me tightly. His grip was strong and I whimpered in pain. “You will love me!” he growled, his eyes turning black with anger. “You will be my mate and you will submit to me completely! You have no choice. I am within you. My soul is intertwining with yours as we speak.”
“No,” I cried, hot tears finally sliding down my cheeks. “How?”
Amun pulled me to his chest and cradled my head. My body was rigid with fear and anger, but a part of me relished his touch. It was everything I could do not to lean into him.
“When you were chained in the underground tomb, I shared a part of myself with you,” he explained gently as he stroked my hair. “I blew my essence into you; shared my very soul. I combined a part of it with yours. I did not think it would take as long as it did, though. It took you a full month before you entered the final stage of the transformation process.”
He BLEW his essence into me? Shared his soul with me? I immediately thought back to my time in the basement, picking through my memories to find when that event took place. The only thing I could come up with was the dream I had where Amun blew a thick smoke the color of desert sand into my lungs. I remembered the horrible, Acid-like pain I felt and I swallowed hard as I grabbed my throat. It wasn’t a dream?
“Yes, precious,” Amun smiled. “I see you remember now. I have been waiting rather impatiently for the moment where my essence would finally overtake your own, causing you to either die in your sleep or for you to be injured enough to spark the catalyst of your rebirth. I have never shared my essence with anyone before, truth be told, I did not know how long it would take. My son before you was given my blood.
Your rebirth is the first of its kind, Skye. You are not merely my daughter…you are a part of me. The anger, the rage you have been feeling? That was me. When you attempted to kill me in your dream, I beheld your full potential. Your murderous rage was breathtaking. You are very beautiful, Skye. You will become my partner in war and my lover in bed. We will have our revenge and then make love atop the carnage we leave behind.”
I jerked out of his arms and ran as fast as I could away from him.
“There is nowhere for you to go,” he laughed directly behind me. “You are in a dream state I control.”
I didn’t care what he said; I just knew I had to get away from him…away from the godless creature he was turning me into.
Suddenly, I was tackled from behind and I went sprawling on the ground as a rush of air left my lungs. I rolled over and began kicking and punching wildly at Amun.
“Damu, stop!” he yelled, the black abyss swallowing the whites of his eyes again. “Stop defying me! You will be mine, do you hear me? You will be mine!”
A few seconds later, he had me in complete submission. His hands were holding mine over my head and he had his lower body covering my legs, keeping them immobile.
“Please,” I began to cry. “Please, just kill me.” The words I spoke sparked some memory within me and I swallowed my sob with difficulty. “W-Wait. I-I asked Archer to kill me. He-He drained me…I felt it. How am I dreaming of you if I’m supposed to be dead? The dead don’t dream, do they?”
Amun smiled sinisterly. “The Day Walker was most likely too late. My essence has gradually been changing you over the course of weeks. Even if he drained you, I doubt you would completely die. He would have to decapitate, dismember, burn you completely and scatter the ashes to the four corners of the Earth to make sure you did not rise again. It is very hard to kill us, Nisiqtu. We are stronger, faster, smarter, and deadlier than them.”
“Please, Amun. I don’t want to be like you. I don’t want to be a vampire at all,” I pleaded desperately as my tears fell anew.
“Child,” he said gently, even though his eyes were still black with anger. “You and I are not vampires. Vampires were created when I turned my son using my blood. You were not given my blood; you were given a part of my soul.”
My face started to tingle as I looked up at Amun. “What do you mean you aren’t a vampire? What are you then?”
Amun’s eyes got wide as he looked down at me. His hands scrambled to grab onto me and I realized he wasn’t holding me anymore.
“What is this?!” he roared angrily, his eyes frantic.
I looked down and saw that my body was rapidly fading. I gazed up at Amun questioningly as the dream started to melt.
“Something is interfering!” he yelled, his voice teeming with rage as he desperately tried to capture me. “No! No! Nisiqtu! I will come for you!”
J.L. McCoy writes Adult Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance novels. She resides in the beautifully weird city of Austin, Texas with her opinionated Pekiweenie Isabel and handsome husband Kenny. She has always been a passionate reader and enjoys watching movies, traveling, listening to heavy metal/classic rock/80s music, getting mani/pedis with her girls, and singing karaoke. She loves body art and is hopelessly addicted to Sonic’s ice and Route 44 un-sweet raspberry iced tea.
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