Family Blood Ties Set - 3 books in 1

by Dale Mayer

  Methodically, he marched off until he hit the wall in front of him, then turned and crossed the room in the opposite direction in a straight line a few feet down.

  It took three laps before he tripped over something.

  Something big and warm. He leaned over and searched the gloom.

  Goran.

  ***

  Jared knocked on the front door of the house the mailman had pointed out. The windows were dark, with heavy blinds blocking the bright sunlight.

  He didn't know if vamps slept during the day, or if they slept at all. He wanted to find Tessa, but when was the best time to get hold of her?

  No one answered his knock. He found an old-fashioned bell pull on the side. He grinned and gave it a good yank. What a great idea.

  A heavy bell gave a lonely echo.

  The door opened – silently.

  Jared stepped back. Waking a sleeping vampire might not have been his best move. No one stepped out. No one called out. In fact, there didn't appear to be anyone on the other side. But he hadn't opened the door. Someone else had.

  Taking a deep breath, he grabbed a hold of his courage and called out, "Hello. Is anyone home?

  There was no answer.

  He looked around, glanced up at the sun reflection, and realized the vamps couldn't come out. He stepped up into the open doorway. "Hello. I'm looking for Tessa. Is she home?

  He peered into the darkness. There didn't appear to be anyone home. "Hello?"

  "Tessa isn't home." The voice was male. Deep. Dark.

  He shivered. Then stiffened his spine. He'd be damned if he was going to let another asshole vamp scare him. "Do you know when she'll be here?"

  There was a long pause. "No."

  "Drat. I needed her help with something. Do you know how I can contact her?"

  "No."

  "Does she have a new cell phone yet? I could call her. Or text her."

  "No."

  Jared was staring to get angry. Surely he deserved more than a one-word answer. He needed to get back to the blood farm. And find his father.

  If he couldn't get Tessa's help, then where did he turn next? Tessa's parents?

  He asked hesitantly. "Who am I speaking with?"

  "Tessa's brother."

  Jared brightened. "David?"

  That voice deepened. "No. Seth."

  "Oh." Whoever the hell this brother was, he wasn't the friendliest. "Is your father here? Or your mother? I could talk to them."

  "No."

  Now he was getting irritated. "Look, I have to return to the blood farm. I don't know you. But I know the rest of your family." He paused. "At least, I know some of them."

  "Who are you?"

  He brightened. Now they were getting somewhere. "I'm Jared."

  Silence fell between them again, only a more thoughtful type of emptiness. Jared tried again. "Tessa came and rescued me from the blood farm with your family's help."

  "And you want to go back up there?" the disembodied voice mocked.

  "Yes, I have to find my father." Even as he said it, Jared's stomach knotted at what he might find. But he had to know for sure. "Look, apparently my uncle sent my father to the blood farm a long time ago. I don't know if he can be saved, but I need to try."

  "What do you want from us?"

  "I don't know where the blood farm is exactly. I was unconscious when I was taken there and not in the best of shape when I left." He took a deep breath. "I was hoping to catch a ride up there so I could look for my father."

  More thoughtful silence.

  "What about your human authorities? Did you ask them for help?"

  "Not yet. I'm sure they won't. It's not like they see me as anything but a kid." His voice rose, as did his anger at the way the police had treated him. "They just think I'm nothing but trouble."

  "And who knows you came here?"

  "No one. I picked up a new cell phone, was going to call Tessa, and realized she'd lost hers, too. So I came by to talk to her in person."

  Now that someone was actually talking to him, he relaxed. Considering that vampires might die if they were touched by sunlight, the dark, disembodied voice no longer unnerved him. He took a step inside the entranceway. "I was really hoping to see her."

  "They're all up the mountain."

  He got excited. "Where the blood farm is? Can I catch a ride with the next person going up?"

  That same thoughtful silence.

  What was there to think about so heavily?

  "I'm going up there soon. But I don't want to take you up there and have you get into trouble again."

  "No problem. I know to stay with the humans. Honest. It will take hours to walk all the rows of people and see if my father is there."

  He shoved his fists in his pockets, both delighted and…anxious. This was not what he wanted to do. It was what he needed to do. Right. "I'd really appreciate the lift."

  There was only that same dark silence.

  "Come back in a couple of hours. And make sure no one knows or sees you. I'm not going to take the rap for you going up and getting yourself killed."

  Tessa glared as the door locked behind her. Bart was something else. She just didn't know what. 'Chicken shit' came to mind. With a shake of her head, she turned around and studied the tunnel in front of her. It was as dark as the rest of the farm had been light. She switched to vampire vision and started walking. With her hand in her pocket, she played with the cell phone, wondering if there was anyone she could call.

  She needed help, but she'd damn near called everyone in her world already. Lot of good that did her.

  But now she had Bart's contacts. Who was on there? She pulled out the cell phone and checked the list of contacts. She barely knew any of the names listed. None were friends of her family.

  Interesting. Not good or bad, just different. She wondered what to make of it. Were those people part of the mess here? She could call and find out. Maybe. But then they'd know she had Bart's phone. And that wouldn't be good. These things had GPS trackers in them, didn't they? So, if Bart were on her side, she'd be fine. If not, he could tell the others and they could track her.

  But she hated to get rid of her one lifeline to the outside world.

  She wanted to call her father again, but that wouldn't do any good except make her feel better by hearing the sound of his voice.

  She tucked the cell firmly back into her pocket and picked up the pace. At least she was closing in on them.

  Or thought she was. She still couldn't communicate with Cody, but she could sense him.

  If she could find him and the others, maybe they could figure out a plan of action. Some way to bring these guys down. How to do it consumed her thoughts. What was the chance she knew any of the top guys in this mess? She hoped not, but their community was small.

  She knew her father would know many of them. He'd had a long and illustrious life. The bad guys had to be actively recruited to keep the young blood coming in.

  Like the one vamp had said, most of them had no choice. Death or experimentation. Why did the stronger always exploit the weaker? She hated that. Having been one of the weaker, she always sided with the underdog.

  He'd also said there was a partner and the rookie, as in someone quickly moving up the ranks. Speaking of young men, she hoped Jared was doing okay. He'd lost his phone in the blood farm too, otherwise she'd try calling him. She really wished she could speak with Cody.

  She focused hard and mentally whispered, Cody.

  Still no answer. Must have something to do with the density of the mountain.

  The tunnel widened the farther she went, and became high enough for her to gain some loft. She leapt into the air, skimming below the top of the tunnel, and landed a good twenty feet ahead. Perfect. She continued to leap through the tunnel, making the miles melt away. She jumped past a side tunnel before she spotted it. She stopped and backtracked, studying the energy as it traveled in both directions.

  The flow of energy went down the
new tunnel. She followed. This place felt like a back entrance to the rest of the farm. Talk about a maze.

  She sent out another questioning call for Cody.

  Still no answer.

  The air became moist, as if close to water.

  Around another corner, she came to a large series of vats and a set of rails with some kind of loading ramp. Figured. She slipped around the cylinder, trying to count voices. Where there was machinery there was likely to be workers. Voices drifted to her from somewhere close by.

  Two men at least. But there were trucks up ahead, too. Weird-looking tanker things. They had to be transporting the blood. Excitement built up inside her. Maybe she should try to catch a ride. Figure out the logistics of where the harvest of this blood farm went to next.

  Her father would kill her if she did that. But she was here. He wasn't.

  Damn it. Why did she have to make these choices? Better if Bart was here; she could send him out on the truck. Track down the supply chain.

  She slithered around a little more. There. She could see two men checking dials on one vat. She slipped behind the next vat and around the far side. There appeared to be just the two of them. Could that be? One to drive and one here to help load and keep track of the goods?

  Something sounded behind her. She froze. Then pivoted. And wasn't there another big-ass vampire staring at her, a leer on his lips.

  She snorted. She knew how to handle him. She raised an eyebrow and sauntered closer. "What's the matter, big boy? Too long in the dark mountain without a good woman in your bed?"

  His gaze widened. His leer fell off and he licked his lips. "You don't look old enough to know what you're talking about."

  She gave a low, throaty laugh as she came almost within grabbing distance. "You know vamp females start early."

  "I'd heard that." He grinned. "Fine by me."

  He unbuttoned his shirt, making her skin grow cold. She had to put this guy out and fast. He had plans she wanted no part of. The faster she went through him, the better.

  "Hey, Doran, get the hell over here," a voice called from the side. "We need you."

  The man in front of her answered, his hands working his belt free. "I'm busy. Be there in a bit."

  Tessa froze. Damn. This guy was seriously sick. And that meant only one choice.

  She gave him what she hoped was a warm smile and, leading with her left foot, took one step forward…and kicked out with her right leg. Her boot tip connected hard with his nose. She drove her leg forward with as much force as she could and sent his nose backwards through his skull into his brain. He crumpled to the floor and lay still.

  He was most likely dead. but she didn't want to check.

  Shuddering, she slowly lowered her leg. She gulped for air, knowing that her choices had been limited and this was just another in a long line of deaths to be laid at her feet.

  But they were getting more personal, the stakes a little higher. And what scared her the most – the kills were getting easier.

  And that should never happen.

  "Doran. What the hell, man? We need you."

  She darted backward. When they found his body, all hell was going to break lose.

  "Forget it. That guy is as lazy as hell." Sounds of heavy machinery started, drowning out all other conversation.

  She peered around the side and watched as a loader shifted smaller drums. Should she just walk away and try to find her friends, or take these guys out if she could get to them one at a time? Two at a time and she'd be in trouble.

  With a last glance at the man on the ground she realized once they found him, they'd be searching for her. And she couldn't have that. Nor have them telling anyone else.

  The one directing the loader first, then.

  Crouching down, she crept around the corner of the vat to find the one guy walking toward her but half-turned to see how the loader was doing. Perfect. She jumped off the ground, rose almost over his head, and came down on top of him. She grabbed his neck and twisted it hard. The crack sounded loud to her ears. Yet it barely registered over the sound of the loader.

  Her chest heaving, she clambered back to her feet and studied the guy in front of her. In the fight in the warehouse so many of the vamps died even though they weren't supposed to. These guys looked like real vamps. Normal vamps.

  A broken neck wouldn't normally kill him. And she couldn't afford to have him come after her. She searched his pockets, just in case he had another cell phone. She'd become almost paranoid about those. His pockets were empty except for…

  She brought out a metal spike.

  She tossed it from hand to hand and wondered. A tool or a weapon? The men were working around machinery; could they need such a thing here? Or could it be real silver? An old weapon repurposed for today's war. But shouldn't it be wooden stakes and silver bullets? Not a silver spike?

  Then again, times had changed. She shuddered to think of someone like her father being stabbed with something like this. But it might do the job here. He was already dead – at least, she thought he was. She placed it, pointed end down, between the vamp's ribs and, with her boot, stomped the spike into his chest.

  Instantly the vamp incinerated in front of her. She jumped back in horror. Heart pounding and her skin clammy, she realized what she'd done. What she'd had to do. She had to keep reminding herself of that. But holy… That spike was as effective as sunlight. And how wrong was that? Did all these vamps have these? There'd be no way to win against them if that were the case. It made her fear for her unsuspecting family even more.

  To think of vamps using hated weapons like these on their own people…

  She didn't dare leave any behind. Pocketing the spike, she ran around the vat to the far side where she'd left the first vamp. Searching his pockets, she found another spike. She repeated the actions and watched as he flared to ash in front of her.

  Hating to, she bent and lifted the spike from the pile of ashes and stuck it into her pocket to join the other one. Her pocket pulled down with the weight of the metals.

  And yet, she felt more empowered than ever. She wasn't without weapons of her own, but now she had more. Hopefully she wouldn't need them, but she suspected they'd see hard use before this day was done.

  How sad was that?

  Then the sound of the machinery shut off. Shit. She froze.

  Footsteps came up behind her. A harsh, gravelly voice spoke, startling her. "Well, well, well. What do we have here?"

  She slowly turned to find the third vamp facing her, a nasty smirk on his face, a nasty silver spike in his hand.

  Crap.

  ***

  Cody entered yet another long corridor with high vaulted ceilings. Three weird beds with straps and lots of equipment stood ready. But, from the crumpled towels on the floor and discarded equipment, Cody didn't think they'd been empty for long. In fact, he was damn sure of it. So either someone had escaped or these people had been released and were waiting for them.

  Either way, there was once again no way to know friend from foe.

  The hair on the back of his neck stood up and he could barely breathe. This place was making his nerves edgy.

  David stepped beside him. Giving Cody a nudge, he pointed out the wall of doors. "I think we should check it out."

  Motre nodded. But Cody wasn't so sure. Doing the expected was likely to get them all killed. And now that he knew what they had for weapons, he was a little more leery about attacks. He'd rather go on the offensive than be caught in defensive mode again. He glanced up, the reminder of the upper room suspended over the blood farm never far from his mind. Sure enough, the room had a high ceiling and just enough confused piping going on up there to hide any number of enemies. He nudged David back.

  "I'm going to do a quick check."

  "No, wait," said David, but his comment came too late. Cody, in a graceful leap, took to the air. With one strong pull of his wings, he soared up high.

  The room was more of a cavern. He could see the
dirt ceiling above his head. He could also see two vamps running along a catwalk on one side.

  Like hell they were going to warn anyone…or attack his friends.

  He swooped down, grabbed the closest man, lifted him, and dropped him down in front of Motre and David. Both looked up in amazement as the vamp crumpled to the floor. Motre regained his senses first and plunged his spike into the vamp's chest. Cody could barely see what his friends were doing, as he'd locked on the first vamp. The vamp appeared to be talking to someone.