Bloodbreeders: The Revenge

by Robin Renee Ray,

  Garvin was using the small bits of debris that splintered when we kicked in the door, to explain the upper levels of the estate. Bo was listening intently, but his hands never stopped sharpening his long sword. Brandon was asking questions, making sure to leave nothing out, and even Derek’s demeanor had taken on a status of a more responsible young man, instead of his usual silly self. Sydney seemed well placed in the corner, taking everything in. I joined as Garvin was telling about the double doors that lead to Yvette’s main quarters on the third floor. He explained that the floor she called her sanctuary, was once meant to be an attic for its original owner. He said the doors had no knobs on the outside and were securely locked with a large four by four bar from the inside, at all times. It was when he started talking about the secret passages that had me wondering where they led to.

  “Have you used these passages?” I asked.

  “Only the one passage, that leads from the second floor to the main hall. I have never known one to go to the top floor, but she would not allow that information out easily.”

  “Are there tunnels that lead to the lower levels? I mean down here?” I asked, sitting down on the floor next to Derek.

  “I have been in this perdition for more years than I like to remember, but I have never thought to look for something like what we speak of now. One becomes complacent when they know that this is the rest of their existence.”

  “But, it’s not the rest,” Derek interrupted.

  “What’s not?” Garvin replied in confusion.

  “The rest of your existence, of course. You just have to figure out what you’re going to do with it now.” Then Derek patted him on the knee.

  “He’s right,” Bo added looking up.

  “I think Tanda and I may need a little guidance, but at this moment, it is a hard thing to fathom,” he replied looking at each of us in turn.

  “Garvin knows this place inside and out. We make sure the first floor is clear again, then we take the second,” Brandon explained taking back control of our immediate situation.

  “I am sure that there will be more than just, Mr. Huerta. He is one that stays through the winter months, providing he has his needs met,” Garvin began explaining.

  “Perversions are more like it,” Bo added.

  “Yes,” Garvin agreed. “Not all those that come want a night as he does. Some may simply want to port for a few nights, and others to make sales.”

  “Sales?” I asked.

  “The Mistress buys, as well as sells,” Garvin replied.

  “You mean slaves, right?”

  “Correct…what I’m trying to say, Renee, is that you can be very sure that there are others. There may not be as many as the strong months have, but a few nonetheless.”

  “Then they can die just as easy as that fat bastard, Huerta,” I said with anger filling my voice.

  “Since Annabel didn’t check in, should we be looking for Yvette to be sending someone down tonight?” I asked.

  “If it had been more than a few nights, yes, but one I would think not. Annabel is known to report every other day at times. Unless, the estate is full of guests.”

  “Then let’s put this plan in action.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  I had talked enough. If there was even the slight possibility that there might be someone else being harmed, then we were the ones letting it happen now. I tied my blade firmly to my leg, making sure that I could easily pull it free from its sheath. I then took my gun, flipping open the cylinder, adding the bullets, and then put two more rounds in my pocket. No words were needed. The boys were doing the exact same thing that I was. Garvin stood watching until Bo walked over and handed him one of his two foot blades. He asked very little about whether or not Garvin knew how to use them, and focused more on showing him where to strike for a death blow. I was tapping my foot, ready and scared at the same time.

  “The one thing that’s changed since I woke up is, I can’t see what you’re thinking, Renee,” Sydney said, stepping up behind me. “But I can tell that you’re holding all of this on your shoulders.”

  “And why shouldn’t I, Sydney? No one has ever given two shits about stopping this madness. Now I’ve stepped right in the big middle of it, pulling way to many innocent people in with me.”

  “Pulling? Can you even hear yourself, or are you just that self-centered? I think that everyone that follows you up those stairs and even those who stay down here, hate the same things about this place and want just as much to see it stopped,” he proclaimed, holding his hand up. “I know half of us here haven’t been through anything close to what the rest have, but we love and care a great deal for those of you who were mistreated and we have the same right to fight for all of your rights.”

  “That’s good, Sydney. I truly understand what you’re saying and you couldn’t be more right. I don’t even deserve friends like you. I haven’t asked, you’ve all just willingly put your lives on the line and not for me, but for the justice of those who are being treated in ways that are inhuman. Thank you.”

  He was right; it was about time that I stopped taking things so damn personal when half the people standing around me had gone through years of detrimental abuse. I would learn to stand beside this new, well rounded group. I may have set out to do things in a different way, but now I was going to do it standing with the best friends that I had ever had. Family was actually a better word for the ones who stood looking at me now. I smiled up at Sydney, who now leaned back in the corner that he found most comfortable, looking back at me with a gentle smile.

  We were as ready as we were ever going to be. Sydney stood by Garvin’s side, with Derek not far behind the two. Bo, Brandon, and I were looking over each other, making sure our weapons were in check. I turned around to see Ashley and Tanda sitting—one on each side of Tammy—and all three looking with eyes of innocence and fear of the unknown, right at me. I had already instructed them to keep the door shut with the board across it that Bo had fixed up, and not to remove it unless they heard one of our voices.

  “Don’t worry, I may have a few marks on me, but anybody that comes through that door that isn’t on the other end of our little welcome wagon is going to have to go through me to get to your girls,” Tammy said, followed by a wink and a slight grin.

  “You’re alright in my books, Tammy. I’m honored to have you with us.”

  “Renee,” Bo said stepping into the room. “Are you ready?”

  “Yeah,” I replied, and then looked back. “I’ll see you girls soon.” I left before another word could be exchanged.

  I ran up the stairs behind Bo. As soon as we reached the top, Garvin opened the door just enough to peer out. He looked back, nodded once then headed out. One by one we made our way across the foyer to where Garvin was standing. He held up one hand, silencing us with the flick of his hand. “Wait.” He whispered the words, making me think that he had seen or heard one of Yvette’s people, causing my heart to leap into my throat, blocking my air. He moved quickly to the hall of paintings and held the door while we all rushed in.

  “What did you see?” I asked holding my chest.

  “I have an idea,” Garvin replied.

  “That was all because of an idea? You just scared me half to death.”

  “I am afraid that I do not understand. Did I do something wrong?”

  I couldn’t answer him with words, because I didn’t think that I could explain that raising his hand and stopping us like that would scare one of us. He had lived in a completely different world for the last fifty years and this was his first attempt at fighting back. It hadn’t crossed my mind whether or not he would be able to stand up to Yvette if she gave him a direct order. But, knowing that he also knew that she was the one responsible for the torment that his sister went through, made it easy for me to come to grips with the fact that, he would not crush under her pressure. I hadn’t talked in great detail to Garvin about the facts of his and Tanda’s imprisonment here, and now I could only h
ope and pray that we would have the future to do it in.

  “You didn’t do anything wrong. I just thought when you raised your hand, that you might have seen someone,” I explained.

  “Should I not do that again? My father was in a war and I remember how he showed me things.”

  “My father showed me the same type of things,” Bo added. “That was one of the most perfect warning signals that I’ve ever seen. I just think that Renee wasn’t prepared for military maneuvers.”

  “Bo, I …”

  “It’s a man thing, Renee,” Bo interjected with a high rise of his right brow.

  “Oh, of course. My pa was a farmer, so you guys are gonna have to hold off on the super sharp stops and swift hand things, unless you really see or hear something.”

  “I never meant to frighten you, Lady…I mean…this is going to be difficult for me,” Garvin bashfully admitted.

  “Think of me and the rest, as your brothers and sisters. Right now you’re the one that we’re looking up to, Garvin. You have the most experience out of all of us put together, and as far as I’m concerned you’re in charge at this point.”

  “Bo is more like a captain, not me La…Renee.”

  “I would do it, but noooo,” Derek jokingly replied.

  “That’s right pipsqueak and don’t forget it,” Brandon said, grabbing him around the neck.

  “I know we decided to split up into two groups,” I said blowing out slowly. “But, I need to ask you one thing before we leave this particular area.”

  It was just me who had the thought of the room at the end of the long dismal hall. The room was without a doubt a laboratory, but what was the tubs of body parts for and why two, so I asked. With the small red lights now on, and the gruesome paintings growing to life as we walked by, Garvin began to explain. He started to tell us while we held our heads down with our eyes closely examining our feet. Our intention was to not look at the walls that we passed, forgetting that none us had warned Sydney of the horror that he was going to experience, if he dared to inspect one of the paintings in detail. Garvin was just about to tell us about the large tubs when Sydney dropped to his knees in front of the last painting, the one closest to the secret panel door.

  “Sydney,” I called out going to him. “We should have told you.”

  “It’s just a baby,” he replied with tears rolling down his face.

  Fear struck my heart to the point that I could not place my eyes on the painting. I knew if it dropped a grown man to his knees and brought him to tears, that I had no business looking at it, and certainly not when we had to be as strong as we needed to be this night. Sydney didn’t seem to calm until Garvin put his hand on his shoulder. Sydney turned his head into Garvin’s leg as if trying to wipe away the ghastly images that were severely imprinted for what would be the rest of his unnatural life. I heard the door slide open, knowing that Bo had hit the hidden switch without looking. I reached down to take Sydney’s hand and he reached up and took Garvin’s. It was another moment of the learning curve for me. It was Garvin that changed him and Garvin that he sought comfort from.

  “It looks like you have a follower of your own,” I smiled looking up at Garvin.

  “He is the first that I have brought over, but I in no way meant to take him from you,” Garvin replied, as if Sydney wasn’t even there.

  “You can’t take something away that’s never belonged to someone. You saved his life and if it means he needs you when he’s frightened, then I’m grateful that you’re here for him. Who do you think that I’m going to lean on when I’m scared, honey?”

  “And I you,” he snickered.

  “Me too,” Sydney chimed in. “I feel a strange type of bond with Garvin, a line that can’t be seen, but I will always be a part of you, Renee.”

  The three of us joined the other three boys who had already searched the room for any form of danger, or any sign of a secret passage, finding neither. Garvin continued telling us about the room that we now stood in. He said that most of our kind lived off of the animals that we had been feeding on—pigs and goats. Then he mentioned something that I knew to be fact. He said that at least once a month Yvette and her guest would drain a normal, then to get rid of the body, which was one of the most important things among the more wealthy and pampered, they would send it to the laboratory. It was dismembered and placed in the larger tub which was filled with acid. That also answered why our eyes burned when we entered the room. Then once the remains had been dissolved into a mushy like substance, it would pass through the two clear tubes into the smaller one, which was filtered out into the sewer drains to be disbursed into the ocean.

  “How could they do this?” Brandon asked shaking his head in disbelief.

  “Our kind has lived off of animals much like our normal past. But, the evil and the temptations of the old ways carried over into the minds of those like the Mistress.”

  “Is there a lot of this going on? I mean in other places?” Bo asked.

  “It has been going on for thousands of years, my young friend.” Then Garvin paused not breaking his gaze with Bo. “It is unsettling for me to think on how many of these estates that there are. Time has bred the worse of the perverted, and the lust of power has created the way of new and all but buried the ways of our ancestors.”

  Several minutes passed as Garvin explained a few more things about the many places that went from our home land to that of Africa. I was listening as intently as the four others, who were all standing with their mouths hanging open. I think that the reason that no one pushed to hurry and get the first floor cleared, so that we could start on the second one, was that we we’re all trying to prepare not only our minds, but we also knew that the night was young and our nerves were raw. Garvin’s teachings helped in every area and no one complained.

  “We’ll split up so we can check each door swiftly, then right back to the foot of the stairs, correct?” Sydney asked looking at Garvin.

  “Yes?” he in turn asked looking at me.

  “Only this time if someone comes running out at one of us you damn well let it be known, no matter who hears it. The one thing that we don’t do again is put our lives on the line to keep that woman from knowing we’re here.” I stood there as a fine tremor began in my fingertips and my teeth began to grind. “I want her to know she has a storm coming and there isn’t anything she can do to stop it.”

  “By this night’s noon if she has not spoken to her first, Annabel, she will indeed know that there is something amiss in her keep, but the question is…what will she do about it?” Garvin replied leaning down and hitting the latch to open the door.

  “I know there’s no question who’s gonna go with you. Garvin, Bo, you take Derek, and Brandon and I will pair up.”

  “Okay. Renee, you and Brandon check the room under the stairs. Sydney and I will check the other side and that will leave the kitchen for Bo and Derek,” Garvin said, stopping at the sight on my face. “Is there a problem?”

  “She was attacked the last time she looked in that room,” Derek replied rubbing his throat.

  “No it’s fine really, it was just a sour thought,” I quickly added.

  “Then we two will take the furthest room and you two can take the first,” Garvin continued looking over at Bo.

  I glanced to my side and Brandon raised his shoulders and smiled. The two of us then took off down the long dark hall. I could hear clatters of feet on our heels, as we reached the door to the foyer. It was my turn to open it and look out. I was like a rabbit in the lights of an oncoming car, I opened it and froze. I watched as one of the servant girls turned and made her way up the stairs, carrying a tray of items. I couldn’t see what was on the tray from where we were standing. I held my breath until she took the final step that graced the view of the glamorous staircase. I dropped back in like a wet noodle, falling on the closed door. I wondered what we were going to do about the innocent ones that didn’t know any better than to die, because they were ordered to f
ight for their so called owner.

  “We have a slight problem, boys.”

  “Once the Mistress has been dealt with they will be free of her influence,” Garvin explained knowing my meaning.

  “What do we do until then?” I asked.

  “I know you will not like this, but if we can take them without harm, we can lock them into the lower levels.”

  “Imprison them?” Bo interjected.

  “Not in the way that you are thinking my young friend. Just until we have the opportunity to give them the choice to live, or to die for her.”

  “He’s right, Bo. If they stand against us we have no choice but to fight. If we can capture them, we should. That little girl couldn’t have hurt one of us if she tried,” I concurred.

  Once everyone was in full understanding on the matter of not killing anyone that couldn’t defend themselves, we started checking the rooms on the first floor. They were all clear. It was my boys and I that took the stairs first, with Garvin and Sydney coming up from behind. The first few rooms were empty. The room that we had destroyed the fat man in looked just as it did when we closed the door. Now, we went deeper than we had before. Every sense in my body was on full alert and I’m sure that I wasn’t alone. Every door we passed, one of us placed our ear to it and each time ended with a shake of the head. The long hall was coming to an end, separating into two more halls. One going down to the left, and the other to the right.

  “Do we split up?” Sydney asked.

  “I don’t think that’s a very good idea,” I whispered. “Not up here.”

  “Renee, we can stay in sight of each other, if there is a problem the others will know,” Garvin said stepping close to me. “It will be much faster.”

  “If we split up I’m going with y’all,” Derek added looking at me.

  “Want me to go with them?” Brandon asked