“I laugh so hard my stomach feels the pain,” he replied, as he tried to gain composure. “I once thought it would be the blade in battle that ended my life, but I now think it will be from laughing myself into the grave.”
“My ma used to say that laughter healed the soul.”
“Then I should be well on my way,” he shook his head, then looked up at me. “She was a wise woman. It must be a true statement, for I do feel different than I once did.”
“It is good to see the young Jacob once again,” Cates said, putting his blood coated hand under Jacob’s chin. “Though, you missed a spot there.” Then threw his head back and burst out laughing.
Jacob dove on the big man and knocked him over the pig’s legs, and onto the blood coated floor. Cates grabbed Jacob around the neck spinning his little body around so fast that his feet caused a spray of blood to take Garvin right across the face. I lifted one of the glasses in a ‘salute’ manner then turned it up, while Cates and Jacob wrestled at my feet. Garvin, being the individual that he was, lifted one of the other glasses toward me and drank up without mentioning a word about the mess that just splattered across him. By the time Cates and Jacob got to their feet, they looked pretty close to the same way they did when we came in from our adventure in the tunnels the night before, and I let it be known.
“Yeah, but you have to admit they smell better,” Tammy said from the hall entrance. “Do I even want to know?”
We all laughed, explaining our actions, then handed her a glass that she took with timid fingers. About that time the others made their way to the kitchen; Sydney coming down the stairs that Garvin had, with Fala behind him, and Tanda and Derek from the hall that led to the rooms. I couldn’t stop watching the two of them act like nothing had happened between them, while Garvin and Jacob bounced back and forth telling about the mess in the kitchen. After the rest had their fill of what was in the bowl, still snickering at the look of the floor, and us, we went to clean up…again.
***
Later, after the mess we made was cleaned, we went into the study at the front of the house and made plans on who would be going to find the note that Felicia would be leaving by his master’s gate. Derek and Tanda, looked like they were having words in the far corner, and I wanted nothing more than to walk over and find out what was going on, but the look on Jacob’s face made me stay out of it. A few minutes later, Tanda came over to me.
“He thinks I should stay behind when we fight. Do you feel the same way?”
“Why would you think that I would feel that way? I brought you here, didn’t I?” I replied, a bit confused.
“It’s not her choice,” Derek said, stepping up beside her. “It’s our choice, and I say you stay here.”
“Why, then, did you allow me to come this far, if you mean only to keep me behind?” she spoke with a cracking in her voice.
“Because,” Derek’s voice was soft as he moved in front of her. “I have lost the most important person in my life, and now that I have found someone that I love just as much I cannot, and will not, take a chance on losing her, too.”
“You really mean that?” she smiled as a cascade of tears fell down both cheeks.
“How could I not?” he replied, taking both of her hands.
“Then I will wait here.” Tanda lifted his hands, kissing them both.
“My little sister has become a woman,” Garvin interjected with pride.
“And my little boy, a man,” I added in jest.
“Come on guys. I’m serious here,” Derek frowned back at us, more so me than anyone else.
“It looks like not only are you the bringer of destruction, Lady Renee, but the bringer of love as well,” Cates said, gripping Tammy’s thigh.
“I have to agree with him on this one,” Tammy added, kissing him on the cheek.
Chapter Ten
Tammy was sitting on the arm of the couch that Cates was sitting on, while Jacob and I sat at the desk to go over the map of Inara’s castle, as Felicia had called it. Garvin and Sydney sat in the matching chairs by the French doors that led out onto the front porch, not far from the place that we were sitting the night before. Derek sat down on the floor, pulling Tanda down onto his lap. No one had said a word about him losing his cloak when he’d tossed it off in the round cylinder of water, and he didn’t seem to be bothered without it. Jacob had decided it would be himself, Garvin, and Cates that went for the note. But it was Garvin who suggested that Sydney accompany them due to his ability to see certain things with his mind. Jacob agreed.
I wanted to go to just get out and see the place that we would soon bring down, but Tammy, Tanda, Derek, Fala, and myself were going to explore the place that we were in, trying to find any other passages or clues as to the previous owner, hoping it would lead to more knowledge of the other three estates. Before the others readied themselves to leave, we were given the works about watching for any traps if we went into the lower levels of the house and to stay out of any tunnels that we came across. It was the moment that Jacob mentioned staying away from the grounds, that I looked back at him and said, “We aren’t crazy. That one run in with the Shadow Walker/Specter things, was good enough for a lifetime.” Fala was nodding the whole time I spoke.
“Lock the door. Martin has told me where the secret latch is above the doorframe. If you are still on your search, we will be able to get in without your assistance upon our return.” Jacob then left with the others to change.
This night the boys dressed in black, to better hide on their way. Only this night they walked out the front door and planned on going right through the city, using its alleys to bypass the normals that enjoyed the night life. We closed the door behind them, but only after Tammy gave Cates a swat on the backside after a long, drawn out kiss. The look on his face as he turned and hugged her was of pure agony, because she must of hit the part of his back that was giving him trouble. He leaned back smiling, said he would see her soon, and let her lock the door.
“That big ole bear thinks I don’t know that his back is bothering him, but a woman knows these things,” she said as she slid the lock into place. “Now, where do we start?”
“I say we go down,” Derek smiled. “What can be so bad, up?”
“Torture rooms,” Fala replied. “Many of them.”
“How do you know?” Derek asked.
“I looked into many before finding where I was going to sleep. I saw Master Garvin and Sydney come up the stairs, so I followed to make sure they were going to be alright. We all slept at the top of the staircase.”
“You think that’s why Martin had all these rooms ready down here?” Tanda asked, holding Derek’s hand.
“No, I think these rooms are here, just like the ones at Yvette’s estate, to fool those that don’t know what’s about to happen,” I replied, turning a bit green just thinking about it.
“So, do you want to go up, or down?” Derek asked, as they all looked at me.
“Down. We’ve all seen what a torture room looks like.”
“Yeah, but we’ve all seen the lower levels too,” he replied, raising his shoulders.
“Then why ask me?”
“Okay, down it is,” he laughed, with me joining in.
Tammy took the lead until we made it to the stairs that led down into the lower levels. It was then that she stopped and stepped aside for someone else to take over. Derek pushed Tanda behind him and took the lead, heading down into the darkness first. A bright glow burst to life behind us and the three of us, halfway down the steps, turned to see Fala holding a torch. “It was hanging beside the entrance, so I went back and lit it from the fireplace.” I think we all let out a breath, then continued on.
***
Jacob and the others made their way down the long driveway that was made out of the same brick-type stones that I had seen on London’s streets. Being that the gate was locked, one by one they made their way over at the hinges; Cates having the hardest time, not because of the fact that he
had one arm, but because of his huge size. The gate itself was like that of the gate at the graveyard that we came running out of; it even had the same type of gargoyles on the tops of the towering posts that held the gate in place.
All the rest had seen the sights of London, even though Garvin had only witnessed the sights from the end of a chain, while being dragged to the tunnels from one of the four estates; one that neither he, nor Tanda had spoken much on. Cates and Jacob had ventured to this part of the world many times with their old master, staying by his side at all times. They were here only to make trade in the slave business, sometimes bringing cloth and jewels to the highest of the leadership at that time. Jacob, nor Cates, had been back through this way in over seventy-five years, around the same time that Angelica and her sister made their move to govern London’s entire underground trading ring.
Once on the edge of the city, they took to the alleys, which looked much like the main streets, but smaller. The buildings shot up toward the night sky in different heights; some living quarters having shutters open, and some not. Music came from several different directions, and the sounds of normals moving about were apparent at every turn. Sydney was holding his hands over his eyes when Garvin looked back, so he turned and kept his hand on his shoulder, which seemed to calm the effect that the normals were having on his sensitive mind.
“If’in your wantin’ some lovin’, I’ll have plenty to go around.” A street whore stepped out of one of the back doorways, slurring, wearing a red top that showed more breast than not, and a short pair of black bloomers trimmed in white lace.
“Perhaps another time,” Jacob said, passing by quickly, not looking her way.
“How’s about you?” She grabbed the front of Cates shirt.
He grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her to the ground and continued on, with her yelling swears at his back. Garvin and Sydney both high-stepped it past her, before she could get up and make a grab for one of them. They looked at the map several times, turning this way than that, before finally coming out on land that turned into a mountainside, surrounded in the grips of a forest. The flat plain that they had to cross first was more like a marsh than what it appeared to be upon first glance. Cates suggested that they take the road for better footing until they got closer to the gate, but Jacob told him that if Felicia or Bernard mentioned anything to the mistress of the manner about meeting Martin’s pets, there could in fact be someone watching for them to arrive. Not to mention, that they looked very different from what was to be expected if either Felicia or Bernard were to show up when they retrieved the instructions.
Chapter Eleven
Cates groaned as he looked out between the last buildings on the out-shirts of the city, searching as far up the mountainside that he could. “There is so much fog out that I can’t even see the estate from down here.” Then he looked both ways and headed out, with the others following one after the other. Each stepped on solid ground for the first ten or so yards, and then started sinking up to their knees.
“This will take all night,” Cates complained.
“Then we will find shelter in the tunnels, they’re not far from here,” Jacob replied, pulling one foot out, finding placement, then pulling the other one free.
“How high up do the maps say the estate goes?” Sydney asked, handling the slosh under his feet very well.
“It’s more like a big hill, not near the size of a mountain. So, it is not that far up, maybe a thousand kilometers,” Jacob replied, with a slight shrug of his shoulders.
“A thousand what?” Sydney stopped, looking surprised.
“A little over a half of a mile,” Cates laughed.
“But the way is twisted like the back of a snake, so it is not the height that makes it that far,” Jacob explained as they made their way deeper into the marsh.
After they tracked through the wet area of their journey, they began passing through a group of thick trees, so thick had they not known the direction they were heading, they could have easily become lost.
***
Derek had Fala pass the torch up to him so he could light the one hanging on the wall closest to the opening of the first floor, which I thought of as the basement. Even though Martin had had it cleaned, the smell of death lurked behind. Derek walked to all four sides bringing the room to life by lighting every wall scones he could find. You could see where chains had been removed from the stones. The empty places looked like two eye sockets staring out into space, and they were all over the place. The stone table had been broken away from its anchor in the stone floor. The rubble had been removed and cement had been roughly smeared over the four leg areas. All the holding cell doors had been removed as well, and one completely sealed with bricks. I had no want to know what had happened behind it, not if it was so bad it had to be completely sealed shut.
Fala called out from the steps to the lower level that Martin had brought us up, saying he found another passage off to the side of it. Tammy looked at me. I tilted my head, and looked over at Derek, who let out a breath through his nose like a snort, and walked over with us. Tanda was gripping my shirt so tight the middle button popped off and landed a few steps down as we were going deeper into the lower levels.
“You have to let up, sweetie. You’ll have my front side hangin’ for the world to see if ya don’t,” I said, reaching back trying to get to her hand.
“What if there are monsters down there?”
“You mean real monsters?” I asked, backing up a step. “Have you seen ‘em before?”
“No, but look what else is out there,” she replied with a good point.
“Derek, do you have your gun?” I asked, because I hadn’t thought to get mine, not being in ‘our’ house.
“Yeah, don’t you?”
“I don’t even have my blade. Didn’t think about it. It’s not like we’re out running the woods.”
“After everything we’ve been through, you aren’t armed…at all? Hell, Renee, I know we are almost out of bullets but when I said save what you had, I didn’t mean it literally,” he spoke, pushing past Fala to get closer to me.
“Look, I changed and never thought to pick one of them back up, not being here,” I tried to explain.
“That was a stupid move and you know it,” he scolded, handing me his curved blade.
“I didn’t bring mine either,” Tammy sheepishly added.
“I’m the youngest here, and the only one that thought to bring my weapons.” He shook his head, leaning back on the web covered stone.
“I have mine.” Tanda looked around me, and then ducked back to her hiding spot.
“Well, which one do you want? My gun or my long blade? Both are good weapons.”
“I’m not very good with a gun, so I better take the blade,” Tammy replied, glancing at me with widening her eyes, then looking back at Derek with her hand out.
“I guess you want my gun?” he asked jokingly looking up at Fala.
“I have my own weapons, you may keep your little gun,” he smiled, one side going up, the other staying in place due to the puffiness of the remaining inflammation on his left cheek.
“Just so you know, wolf-man,” Derek moved back down in front of him. “My gun may be small but it has a big bang and it’s very accurate because of my skill.”
I heard Tammy trying to hold her snicker in, actually blowing out her nose by doing so. She turned her head around, holding both hands up with one finger on each extended, making a small distance between the two, then mouthed the word ‘small’ as her face contorted and at first I thought she was going to cry.
“Are you okay? I don’t understand,” I whispered, putting my hand gently on her shoulder. She burst out with, what I truly couldn’t tell, was bent over crying her eyes out, or seriously laughing.
“What happened?” Derek spun around, literally having to push Fala back because he too was turning to see what had happened.
“I don’t know. She tried to show me something that jus
t made her start doing this,” I explained with my hand now on her bent over back.
“I’m fine,” she finally said, sucking in a deep breath of air. “It’s nothing. I was going to tell Renee something and, and, got choked,” she lied, standing, wiping her face with both hands.
Tanda looked up at me and shrugged, and I returned it having no clue as to what the poor thing had just been through. She walked along in front me as we went down what was becoming some fairly creepy stairs, smiling back shaking her head. Derek held up his hand for us to stop, as we came to the bottom of the extremely long descent. He held his torch—the only one we had—out in front of him, catching more webs on fire then lighting the room beyond. The webs burned so far up, then dropped in stringy ash, covering the room where they fell.
“I hate spiders,” I said loud enough for everyone to hear, not even meaning to say anything at all.
“Renee,” Derek hissed, jumping around with huge eyes.
“Sorry,” I mouthed.
I was suddenly wishing we had gone up the staircase to look around rather than standing where I was noticing the finer coating of webs on the stone wall right beside me. They were ten times thicker than what Derek had leaned into at the top. ‘Now that gave me shivers and a massive want to run’ I was going to ask Tammy if she had seen anything like this before, but when I tapped her shoulder she started swatting at it furiously, telling me all that I needed to know. Tanda already gave me her answer, with her head buried into my back. Fala seemed to not be bothered in the least.
We all watched as Derek took the first few steps out and my mind began rolling with imaginative thoughts of huge spiders dropping down and scooping him up. Of course, nothing like that happened; he just kept burning the webs away until he stood in a small, black, stone room. “Come on down, I think it’s fine,” Derek spoke softly as he started touching the dark smooth stones that were much smaller than the ones the home was made from, and rounded on the ends. Once we were all down, Derek asked Fala how he had found the door that led down, since it looked just like the rest of the stairwell. He replied that he’d reached up to hold himself up to pull something from the heel of his foot.
Bloodbreeders: Lies Beneath London Page 9
