Текст книги "Bloodbreeders: Lies Beneath London"

Автор книги: Robin Renee Ray

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“You got that excited over a bunch of pigs?” Derek asked, then burst out laughing.

“I tell you now my young friend that one can kill a grown man, and that is one without the curse of the were-blood running through its veins. They are not like the domesticated pig or the wild boar, they are small and trim in build, weighing no more than fifty, maybe sixty, pounds. Their heads are much smaller, but their teeth are like the sharpest of our blades and they use them with precise measure. We found one of our men torn to shreds, there was little left to tell that he was even a man when they had finished with him, and to take down a werewolf in such a manner is a creature to be reckoned with.”

“I wanna know what that sound was?” I asked, bending down to see why Bernard was still on the ground. “I think his leg’s broken.”

“It was them snapping their teeth together,” Fala replied, getting my attention.

“That sound was them snapping their teeth together?” I stood as Alex came to Bernard’s side. “And they're how small?”

“I have only seen them in their were-form once, and even then they are a small creature. Slim bodies, long snouts, but the teeth are twice as long and there is no sign of them having ever been human, just a breed that was somehow infected by the curse,” Fala explained. “Not even a breeder has the speed to escape the rush of the were-javelina.”

“These things are new to London since I was last here. I have not heard of this creature around here before but I knew of them in the southern parts of your country.” Cates’ cleared his throat.

“The were-kind?” Derek asked, as we made our way to the front porch.

“No, that must be a trick of the one who chose to infect them,” Jacob replied, dropping Bernard down into one of the chairs, with Alex kneeling down beside him like a concerned lover. “Where did you see this one, Fala?”

“It was on a ship that passed the village a few years back. They had stopped close to the one they called the ‘Doctor’ and it was led by chain by one of the breeders that came off the ship.”

“Well, that explains how they got here,” I said, knocking three times on the door.

“Who goes there?” Cates said from the other side.

“Three blind mice,” I replied, and knocked three times again, then he opened the thick wooden door.

“Welcome home blind mice, we have been waiting,” he smiled down with Tammy and Tanda coming up behind him.

Tammy, even though she wanted to cut the testicles off of both Alex and Bernard, made a splint for Bernard’s broken leg, which was shattered at the femur, and doctored the scrapes on the side of Alex’s face and arm where he landed, before we locked them in one of the rooms upstairs. That is, after Garvin and Sydney removed all of the sharp objects. It was the only places left in the house with chains still firmly attached to the wall, so that we could make sure they wouldn’t try to escape. After they were secure, we all went back down to the family room to relax and explain to the others what we had done and what we had discovered running in the forest. The javelinas were just one more thing to watch out for when we were out in the cover of night. London was proving to be more than I had ever thought it would be, and nothing that I had imagined from the stories that I had heard or read about as a younger normal.

I wished so badly that I could be a small fly on the wall when Inara returned home and found the note that Sydney had written. We had had him doing the penmanship before we had left, since he had a way with the art of making it look professional.

Lady Inara,

The time has come that you lay your head to the true feet of the leader of this land. If you wish to see your precious pets again you well heed the word of your Queen, Lady Angelica. All the houses will fall including your own, if her wishes are not met. Three prisoners grace the highest power, and many more will be added, for the seed of he who comes is now in favor of the one. Do not darken the halls until you are summoned.

I could see her screaming out in rage as she read the letter that was left laying open on her bed pillow, thinking it was left by those from her sister’s house who came in after she drove away, taking her pets and giving her an order. We were hoping she would think Angelica’s pet was part of it and this was an order that hopefully drove her in the direction that we could use her. Jacob, being through this sort of thing many times, said she would use the gala to get close enough to her sister to try and kill her herself. And by doing so, show her own power and take all that her sister had, which was the very thing that we were wanting. If we could get them to fight amongst themselves, then we could take down the leaders of power and show those who follow them that the same would happen to them if they did not leave the ways of old and step into the light of the new.

As it stood now, there was no way we could fight our way out of London, not if they all came together and fought against us. My thoughts fell to Martin and what was happening to him, making me leave the others in conversation and go upstairs and have a talk with the two that we had captured. When I moved the chair that was stuck under the door knob, I could hear them consoling one another. I found them sitting on the floor across the room from one another, bound to the wall and unable to reach the other, with tears streaking down their faces. Bernard saw me and began crying out loud, as Alex did his best to sooth him.

“Bernard, love, please don’t do this. Everything is going to be alright, you’ll see,” Alex’s pleaded, pulling on his restraints.

“He’s right Bernard. I’m not here to hurt you,” I said in the softest voice I could muster. “I just want to ask you both a few questions.”

“I want to go home. We have done nothing to you and your people. We are owners of no slaves…I swear it!” he yelled out the last, sparking my anger just a little.

“No, but you indulged in their torment, Bernard,” I spoke firmly getting his attention. “And that is, in some ways, just as bad, if not worse, than being the owner, wouldn’t you say?”

“Please, Mistress,” Alex said, “It’s just the way that we have known for as long as we have been slaves ourselves.”

“First, never call me that again. Second, you could have made a choice to die or kill. You chose to bring harm to others to keep harm from happening to yourselves, which makes you as weak in the eyes of my people as the ones that you tormented.”

“So, you are going to kill us for the things we have done,” Alex replied, bringing his brows together as another line of crimson tears rolled down his cheeks.

“That depends on how willing you two are when it comes to helping us stop the madness that is going on here in London.”

“We’ll do anything,” Bernard cried out. “Anything you ask.”

“I want you to tell me everything that you’ve heard from your master when you weren’t supposed to be listening. The first thing I want to know is the information that you’ve heard…” I added, squatting down in front of Bernard who was chained, but able to sit comfortably on a mattress Jacob had Cates carried in due to his badly broken leg, “about my maker and I want every last detail that you have. And do not lie to me Bernard, I have taken the lives of ancients and will know if you do. I have a great deal of anger stored waiting to explode.” I ran my hand across his hair as he blinked wildly. “Martin is not just my maker, he is my husband whom I love dearly.” Of course, I lied about being able to tell if someone was lying to me and the small fact about killing ancients, because I had only killed those who had killed them. But, the way Bernard’s eyes turned and froze in a dead stare when I told him that Martin was my husband, was all I needed to see to know he’d tell me anything from his master’s bed sheet colors to his mother’s secret peach cobbler recipe.

“How did they get the information from Martin about me being his seed, as you call me?” I asked, standing up and crossing my arms for emphasis.

“You will be angry if I tell you,” his face contorting in sheer fear of my reprisal.

I held my stare, willing my features to change. They didn’t, but the stare worked.

“They tortured him,” he cried, raising his arm waiting for me to strike.

“You can free him,” Alex claimed, getting to his feet from across the room where he had been sitting on the cold tile floor. “The gala, many will go, and you can take the tunnels and free him.”

“I thought the gala was to show she controlled the seed of Martin. Wouldn’t that mean she would have to have him close by to prove it?” I asked, turning my head, but not leaving Bernard’s side.

“The galas are much like a masquerade ball. She insists that everyone dress in costume, regalia, if you will,” Alex added when he saw me turning back to his companion.  “Angelica will bring your maker out, not only to flaunt him in front of the other masters of England, but to show her authority over our master, her sister.”

He now had my attention and I was crossing the room when Jacob and Cates burst through the door. Poor Bernard screamed out like he was seeing his life come to an abrupt end and once again passed out. I was beginning to wonder why it wasn’t him that was dressed like a woman instead of Alex. By the look on my boy’s faces, I knew they thought I came up here to do damage to the very sick minded captives that we had. I raised one brow, tilting my head slightly. “Is there something you wish to say?” I asked, hoping they would figure out that I was just trying to find out more information.

“We need you downstairs right away,” Jacob replied, then he and Cates hurried back out the door, leaving it open for me to join them.

“I will be back, Alex. I really don’t want to get ugly to find out something that I know you would never tell concerning your master,” I turned, looking back at Bernard who lay slumped over the side of the mattress. “But, I will do anything to get my master back.” Then I looked back as my body turned for the door, closing it as I leaned my head back to look at him as I pulled it closed.

I followed Jacob and Cates to the staircase, thinking we were going to go down, when they turned and simultaneously started whispering questions about what I was doing going in there alone. The first thing that I told the two of them was that it wasn’t anyone’s business where I went alone, and that I happened to be getting some pretty important information. I told them about the dress-up party that Angelica would be having but that they came in too soon for me to find out when, and that Alex knows about a secret passage to the underground levels of Angelica’s castle. I slipped in that I lied about being able to read a lie, since I found out that it was a possible gift, spreading a smile across both of their faces.

“I believe we are teaching her well, Cates,” Jacob smiled, nodding his head and crossing his arms.

“You were telling me the truth when you said you could tell when you were being lied to, weren’t ya?” I asked, thinking now I had had the wool pulled over my eyes.

“It was true. Though I must say that I never thought it would be used as a tactic to apply when asking a prisoner questions.”

“Would you mind, My Lady,” Cates bowed at the waist, “if we joined you in your pursuit?”

“Oh, give me a break you big ox,” I laughed, slapping him in the shoulder. “It’s probably better if y’all are in there anyway. I don’t know that I could get the directions right when it comes to finding the way into Angelica’s anyway.”

“If it is a dress-up, as you say, then we may be able to go in with the rest of the guests,” Jacob said, getting a look on his face that I wasn’t all too sure I was glad to see.

We heard Alex consoling Bernard, who was weeping loudly, saying he didn’t want me to hurt him, and Alex telling him to not cry, that all would be fine. It was Bernard’s next statement that made Jacob and Cates both turn and look at me. “You didn’t see the red glow flash in her eyes. She has the same death stare of Mistress Yvette.” I shrugged my shoulders and opened the door, with Jacob taking the knob and pulling it closed. He stepped across the hall and wiggled his finger at me, then waved his hand at Cates to enter the room.

“What?” I said with a slight amount of irritation in my voice.

“You can be so…master-like,” he frowned. “Hearing Bernard mention Yvette’s name brought back a memory. She was once considered the highest mistress in London and feared by every master in England. Her greed took her to Cuba, where she killed its only master, because she wanted to rule her own country, not share it with four houses given rule by the elders a thousand years ago, before what you see now was even here.”

“And your point?”

“The mere mention of her name can put fear in them, but to remind them of your strength and the blood which runs through your veins, may work much better than you being able to read them when telling a lie,” he smiled, leaning back against the wall.

“Good point, Jacob. I remember Martin telling me that Yvette used him until she had everything that his father owned, and then made him a slave when she was finished with him.”

“One more thing before we go in. How did you make your eyes glow red?”

“I don’t know,” I blushed a bit embarrassed. “I was trying, thinking as hard as I could to make my face change like you do.”

“You are so young,” he laughed, putting his arm over my shoulder. “That my child will come with age, and you have many years to go. But, the eyes are a start.”

We stepped in the room with both Alex and Bernard’s eyes locked on the enormous man standing in the middle of the room saying nothing with his arm crossed over holding his elbow. Cates kept that mean exterior as we entered; never wavering when my eyes turned to slants and my mouth went taut. I was doing my best to be the demon they had heard so much about. I reminded Alex that he was telling me about the party, and that he had mentioned a way to get into the castles lower levels. Jacob pulled out his smaller alabaster blade and began cleaning his nails, while reclining on the wall where Bernard was chained.

“Yes…yes, I heard Mistress Angelica tell my mistress, that she was going to have the gala on the new moon, so all would have time to arrive.”

I turned and looked back at Jacob, who held up four of his fingers.

“What else, Alex. What are you keeping from me?” I asked, stepping in close enough to feel his breath on my face; close enough to hear him swallow.

When he said nothing, glancing back and forth from one of my eyes to the other, fire built inside of me so fast that I was walking over grabbing Bernard’s broken femur before I even knew what I was doing. I could barely hear Alex screaming “okay” over the piercing screams of Bernard. I released his leg and looked down as my lips pulled back from my fangs in an evil grin. “You better hope he loves you as much as he says, because it’s your ass I’m coming after if he fails me.” Then I stood and in a speed I didn’t even realize that I had, I was back in Alex’s face so fast that his head slammed into the wall behind him. “You have no idea what form of breeder you are dealing with little man. I drank Yvette dry as her body turned to ash in my hands. I drove my blade through Chin’s heart, and cut the head right off the shoulders of Cortez, and now I’m here to do the same thing to Angelica.” I spoke part in truth; I had drained Yvette dry while she turned to ash in my hands.

“Will you let my mistress live?”

“Unless she gets in my way,” I lied again, because if I had the chance…they were both going to die.

“Angelica plans on killing your maker in front of the crowd. She thinks it will show her superiority and you will flee,” he spoke so rapidly, I almost didn’t understand his words.

I turned and left the room. I couldn’t say anything because his statement had made me speechless and instantly drained the anger from my body like pulling a plug. I was now filling with dread of what was happening to Martin in the dungeons of that power hungry bitch. Jacob stepped out knowing what Alex said had crushed me. I told him to find out where the tunnels were, because I wasn’t waiting four days to get him back. The gala was set, breeders all over England were coming and I didn’t think she would cancel regardless of the fact that she had Martin or not. It wouldn’t hold to her society standing. The crops may have had a bad yield, but it never stopped that annual barn dance and everyone from five counties out showed up.

Chapter Sixteen

I lie back in my bed, thinking of the things that were done to my body in the pits of Yvette’s hell at the hands of her torturous Annabel, and her pet, Enrique. My hand clenched into a fist with the memory of Annabel breaking my finger before sliding the thin blades under my nails. My ankles held the scars where she twisted the rope tight as my legs pressed against the block between my lower legs, finally breaking free of my skin as the bone shattered under the forceful twist of her hands. All the things running through my mind were driving me deeper into insanity, wondering what they were doing to Martin.  Were his bones being broken, or worse, removed? He was, without a doubt, being beaten so badly that he willingly let them know that I belonged to him. I couldn’t help feeling responsible for what he was going through. Had he just told me the truth and fought at our sides, things wouldn’t have ended up like this; or that’s what I kept telling myself.

I woke the next night with a pillow under my head and a blanket draped over my lower body. I knew what the last thing that I was thinking about was, but I couldn’t remember feeling the pull of the coming dawn. I looked up at the chairs to see if my ever present angel was watching over me, but he wasn’t there. Jacob wasn’t watching me from somewhere in the room. I put on the housecoat that was hanging over the foot of the bed and went to find him. The halls held an eerie glow of the day that was saying its goodnight. Shadows danced off the corners of the foyer walls as I made my way closer to the front area of the house. The heavy curtains were drawn on the only windows that remained unsealed on the front of the house, but the hint of eve still found its way through the sides that rest on the unpainted, sand colored stone in the family room off to my left, which gave the deep, dark, leather furniture a more realistic, rustic appeal.

I turned to my right and went back through another hall, finding Jacob in the study, leaning over the desk at the back of the room with the rolled up maps spread open everywhere. I walked over to the fireplace, knowing he knew I was there and waited for him to finish what he was doing. I’d stood so long I finally sat down, pulling my legs up, becoming so comfortable that I think I may have dozed off. I reached up, feeling something move across my forehead, then flew out of the chair slapping at my head like a wild woman. All that my mind could see were spiders, as Jacob laughed holding up a feather quill that he had been using at the desk.

“That was so not funny,” I snapped, jerking all over, slapping my hands on my thighs. “I thought one of those spiders just crawled across my face.”

“I know. It was the funniest thing I have ever seen you do,” he replied, and laughed even harder.

“Jacob…I was going to say your name like I use to my brothers, but I don’t know your full name.”

“You have lost me once again,” he wiped his eyes, and walked back over to the desk.

“You know, my name is Renee Earlene Crocker, well Lebrun’s what I tell those who ask me now, but ya get the point,” I said, following him to the desk.

“Earlene. What an unusual name. Lady Earlene,” he paused, looking up at me. “I like that very much.”

“Thank you, I was named after my aunt, Deanna Earlene Slayton, she was my ma’s little sister. She passed from bad health. But, anyone who knew her, loved her. Aunt Ena, as we knew her by, was the kindest creature that I have, and will ever know,” I remembered as I explained. “You’re the first person that I’ve ever told that to.”

“Then I am honored you choose me to share such a gift,” he replied, stepping closer, wiping the tear that dropped to my cheek when I looked up. “I do not know my real name. Chin gave me the name Jacob because of the story in your people’s bible of the tale of the ladder where the man called Jacob fooled his brother out of his blessing. I know it is not a name to be proud of, but it is my name none-the-less.”

“Your name is one of beauty, Jacob. He failed to tell you that the Jacob he told you about had a vision of an ascent into the Kingdom of God. Jacob is a name to be proud of. Your maker was a weak man and a liar, and if you can really tell truth in words, then you know I mean what I say.”

“One day maybe you can complete my name. It would be good to have a completion to one’s self.” Then he turned dragging the maps to our side of the desk, with me grasping for anything to stop from wrapping my arms around his neck and promising him that it had nothing to do with a name when it came to making a person whole, but I wasn’t the one living his life, and in no way could understand what he must have been dealing with as a young man. I couldn’t even imagine the tale that involved the four hundred year old boy in front of me.

“Well, I guess I could just call you by your nickname,” I smiled and looked over at him.

“My nickname?”

“You know, Strawberry.” Then I snorted out a little laugh.

“The entrance to tunnels that lead to Angelica’s lower level begins here, at this church,” Jacob used the feather to point, looking back to see if I was paying attention. “The dead of old were taken in shrouds and laid to rest in the catacombs beneath the church. It is guarded by priests’ that roam its halls and will be very hard to get around. And never call me that again, I had an allergy and it was not my fault.”

“I’m sorry, Cates told me the story and I wanted to make you smile.” I gave him a little wink and got a frown in return. So I changed the subject back to the one at hand. “They have to sleep don’t they?” I asked, looking at the artwork on the parchment paper.

“Many have desecrated the church over the years and they do not leave it to the likes of us to come strolling about at will. They have curses laid about here and there, and spring water from the tears of your God himself to burn our flesh.”

“That’s the craziest thing that I’ve ever heard. I was raised in the church and I’m telling ya right now, there ain’t no such things as curses and burning water. If they’re men of God, then we just ask their permission.”

“You have lost your mind,” he said, turning to look at me. “Normals have tricks of their own, and just because you had never heard of our kind before, does not mean the world shares your naivety.”

“You’re telling me, the normals of this church know about the breeders?”

“That is exactly what I’m telling you,” he replied, standing straight and stepping closer. “Most in folklore but all of its caretakers in one way or the other.”

“Then why haven’t they done anything to stop our kind?” I stepped back.

“Fear,” he whispered, “that is instilled in them at bedside tales, of what the beasts do. Beasts that drink the blood of men and can only live under the cover of night. They are also told to hang herbs on their windows and lock every door for they will take away the bad one’s soul leaving nothing but a corpse.”

“Please stop, Jacob, I don’t wanna here anymore.”

“This is what the superstitious tell their children about us, because of the rumor of the old church,” he added, reassuring me that it was true with the look on his face. “Normals too, have to deal with the things we have seen in the dark of night, Renee. They hear what we hear and their members disappear. It is how our numbers either grow or the sickest of our kind’s stomachs are filled. They tell horrible tales of our kind.”

“Can you blame them? I would say the same thing if I had to keep my family safe from the likes of Angelica and her demented sister. At least Cheree takes their leftovers, the sick son-of-a-bitch.”

“Yes, but why taint a child’s mind when they should and could live with dreams of pleasantries. Only a handful would harm a child, Renee. Most are like the ones who follow you and the ones that we will save.”

“This whole world is strange and messed up, Jacob, and I will not pretend to understand any of it. Not now, and more than likely, not ever.” With that, he just looked at me and nodded.

“We have four nights to plan, and gather the costumes that we will need to disguise who we really are.”

“And about two hours to find that tunnel that leads under Angelica’s castle. I’m going after Martin! That will give everyone time to eat and grab their weapons.”

“Then I will have another talk with Alex and Bernard. We will need to know what awaits us once we enter Angelica’s domain.” Jacob dropped the quill pen back in its holder, turning to find me smiling from ear to ear. “What? You thought I would say no to an adventure?”

I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, then threw my hands in the air and yelled ‘Yahoo’ causing Jacob to laugh. I thought I was going to have to put up a hissy fit, and, as it turns out, it was a piece of cake. As Jacob was going up the stairs and I was heading down the hall, he leaned over the banister and said, “We shall soon find out about the normals at the church.” Then just as fast he was gone. I thought to myself that he was as fruity as a bucket of rocks if he was going to make me believe in some stupid superstition like curses and burning water they called the tears of my God. I was on my way to free the man that I loved so I could take care of him, nurse him if he was in a bad way, and then beat his ass for lying to me. I wasn’t going out to prove who was right or who was wrong. ***

The whole group sat around in the study listening to Jacob explain how we had to go through what he called the Narrows, a part of the city that was in ruins and a place that the worst scum in London lived in. He then told us it would take us to a portion of the city that held the church and that we would have to sneak into it in order to find a way into its underground levels. It wasn’t until he began explaining what we should expect when we reached the tunnels that adjoined to Angelica’s that my skin began to crawl. Alex told Jacob that Angelica held the favor of a man with magical knowledge and he gifted her with several of the walking dead to guard the first section of the passage.

“They’re easy to take down,” Derek said, pulling his long blade. “We’ve fought them before.”

“The deeper we go the worse it gets, young Derek,” Jacob replied, causing Derek to sit back down. “This man of magic finds favor in her because of her love of taking life. Angelica finds favor in him, because she can use his skill to benefit her needs. He has many deviant things that he has created from the dead she sends his way. As a gift he deems one a Sentry of sorts for her personal safety.”

“How many bullets do we have left, Derek?” I asked, opening my .22 caliber handgun that only had two bullets in it.

“None for your gun and only six for mine. I really doubt we’ll be finding any more around here,” he replied, closing his gun in an angry manner.

“Your guns will not work against these beings that Jacob speaks of,” Cates claimed. “I have placed my sword into the brain, as well as the heart, and it did not fall.”

“How did you kill it?” Tanda asked, sliding to the edge of her seat.

“I did not, little one. I ran.”

“Alex also mentioned that this man of magic crossed the waters like we had, and came often, returning just two weeks ago bringing the news of an invasion on his home. I believe we have found the doctor to the notes we found when we sent the walking dead back from where they came from,” Jacob continued. “The master of the estate must have been away the night we were there. I believe the doctor we hung on the cross had a partner in his endeavors.”

“A breeder with a skill like that can be a hard kill,” Cates added, getting to his feet. “He will have many forms of protection around this person.”

“Tanda will have to stay behind,” Derek said, looking down at her. “This is something you can’t fight.”

“I’m afraid to stay here alone.”

“And I can fight,” Tammy interjected before she was volunteered to stay back as well.

“She can’t stay alone, what if they break in and take her,” Garvin adamantly stated.

“At least if she’s with us we can protect her,” I said, hoping Derek understood I wasn’t against him.

“She will not go up against the walking dead, Renee. If we die and they take her…it’s not gonna happen. I’ll stay here with her before I let her go,” Derek slammed his gun down on the table looking around the room, and ended up staring at me.

“I can hide, Derek, you don’t have to stay with me,” Tanda stood, walked over and wrapped her arms around his waist. “They need you to get Martin out. I shouldn’t act like a child. I’m a grown woman and can take care of myself.”

“I’ll stay with her.” Sydney stood, with pride, from his reclined position in the desk chair. “Someone should stay and keep an eye on the prisoners…at least until we know what their master's gonna do, right?”

“See, Sydney will stay with me, and no one would dare come near me with him and that club he swings,” she giggled, getting a smile from Derek.

“Jacob?” Derek asked, looking over at him.

“We could use him with us, but he is correct. We do need a fighter to stay and keep guard over the two upstairs, just in case one finds a brain and figures a way to escape their chains,” Jacob admitted, getting to his feet. “Then it is settled. Are we ready?”

Chapter Seventeen

Everyone got up and started checking their weapons. Derek walked Tanda back to their room and came back out with her on one side and something small wrapped up in his other hand. He walked up to me with Tanda smiling and gripping him by the elbow tight. “Brandon would have wanted you to have it,” he said, then handed me the wrapped object. I looked down as tears built in my eyes, because I could feel the handle of his blade in my hand. I slowly removed the cloth as sound spilled from my lips. I held back the whimpering the best I could, making myself sound even worse, and tied it around my waist. Derek got down on one knee and tied the string hanging from the tip of the sheath around my leg, then stood back up as I pulled the two foot long blade free. I sniffled and tried to find the words, but nothing came that more tears wouldn’t follow.