Free Legacy of Blood by J. L. McCoy, Virginia Cantrell Page B

weird look on his face.  I didn’t know him well enough to be able to decipher it, but I could have sworn it held tinges of confusion.
    “Move your ass, Oleif,” I growled.  “I’m going to my room so I guess that means you are too.”  He raised his eyebrows at me but said nothing as he opened the doors for me and allowed me to leave. 
    On my way to my room, I saw one of Styvi Nix’s tug ropes on the floor and stopped cold, mid flash.  Oleif crashed in to me and swore in Gaelic as he bounced roughly off my back.  “Where is my dog?” I wondered in a tiny whisper as I stared at her toy.  I closed my eyes and focused on every heartbeat in the house.  All I heard were the slow, steady rhythms of immortal hearts; Styvi’s was nowhere to be found.
    I turned around and shouldered past Oleif as I flashed into the kitchen to where Trey was unceremoniously dumping out all the human food from the refrigerator and cabinets.
    “Trey, where’s Styvi?  Why isn’t she here?” I asked, starting to panic.  Styvi was my life and if something had happened to her I didn’t know what I would do.
    Trey set the near full trash bag down on the floor and dusted his hands together.  “Miss Styvi is just fine, honey,” he said gently, trying to reassure me.  “She freaked out a bit when you die- I mean changed and we thought it best to get her away from the house so we could clean up.  Quinn drove her over to Nikki’s and she’s staying there with her for the time being.”
    “Oh,” I sighed half in relief, half in worry.  I could only imagine what Styvi must have been feeling, having been forced to watch me throw up blood all over the place.  “Okay… I guess that’s good.  I don’t want to traumatize her any more than she’s already been.  Once I can control my speed better and my emotions, I’ll go get her.”
    “Quinn mentioned how happy she was to see Nikki again,” Trey shrugged one delicate shoulder.  “Maybe you should leave her there for a while.  She’ll have her back yard and most importantly a stable environment…”
    I wanted to disagree with him; to shake my head and argue, but I knew deep down that he was right.  A house full of vampires and an emotional basket case for a ‘mommy’ was no way to live.  As much as it killed me and tore at my heart, I had to agree with him.  “What did he tell Nikki?”
    “Quinn handed her a fat stack of cash and told her you had to go out of town again.  She got pissed off at your work situation and called Archer a ‘slave-driving so-and-so’ for never letting you have a full day off.  Quinn said she was still sore about the Krav Maga class you missed when Pádraig took you back home after he realized Amun had been in your house.  Nikki worries we make you work too much,” Trey chuckled but it wasn’t a happy one.
    “If she only knew the truth,” I sighed as I rubbed my forehead.  My own best friend didn’t know me anymore.  The life she thought I lived was a complete and total lie.  And now, to top it all off, I was a freakin’ vampire.  There was no way in hell I could tell her; no way could I tell my family or friends.  I suddenly remembered the story Jameson told me about meeting Archer and how after he was turned he had to move away from the town he lived in and was forbidden to go back. 
    Trey’s eyes widened with alarm as he picked up on my emotional anguish.  “Honey, what’s wrong?  What is it?” he asked as he came over and placed a soothing hand on my back.
    “I’m going to have to leave Austin, aren’t I?” I frowned.  “I’ll never be able to see Nikki or Dan again.  Jameson told me what he had to do after he was turned.  I’m going to have to do the same thing, right?”
    Trey sighed and frowned sympathetically as Archer came into the room.  “We’ll try to find a way so that you can stay,” Archer spoke and a few gasps sounded as my housemates in the living room began to whisper to one