“You look…different,” he smiled then started walking around me. “She will fall over if she thinks you dead.”
“She’ll fall over either way.” I smiled watching him as he moved like he was on ice.
“I have had her placed at the back of the great hall where Chin usually awaits his guests. She will see you walking up. On the other hand she will have nowhere to run.”
“I really like the way you think.”
As we were talking Tammy, Tanda, and Jessie walked out of the changing room wearing the exact same outfits. Red kimonos very much like mine. My embroidery designs were a lot bigger, but the dragons looked the same. “We don’t have time for the hair,” Jessie added when she saw Jacob looking. He gave his well-known nod and he took me under the arm and walked me out. We went back through the open air foyer, and stopped at the other side. Jacob dropped my arm and tapped on the door.
“The master has arrived.” A voice called out on the other side of the door, and my heart crawled up and made itself comfortable in the back of my throat.
Jacob stepped back and put my arm on his. He looked down at me and I shrugged, because I knew he could feel the fine trembling that had started when the man announced that the “master” was here. He patted my hand like you would a scared child, and took a step forward. Like magic the doors eerily swung open. The room was massive. There were golden statues of large bald men on each side of the room, with candles burning all the way around them. Fresh flowers were placed on the tables on each side of the statues. There was so many that the room smelled heavily with their fragrance. I could now hear myself swallowing the closer we got to the back and in front of the table that had four large, brass trimmed chairs on the far side. She was sitting in the last one on the right, eyes averted while she viewed her own attire. More than likely thinking I was Chin’s wife? I didn’t know nor did I care, however the anticipation was killing me.
Rebecca was smiling, ready to meet up with Chin, but her face slowly changed the closer we got and the recognition of who we were took hold. Who, I was. She stood so fast the chair fell backwards making a loud sound on the glossy tile floor. She was wearing her famous red shirt and tight black pants, only this time she wasn’t holding herself so high.
With my eyes squinted, I took on a death stare, directing it right at her. I could feel my top lip rising up as my breath became restless in my body. Garvin and Tanda stepped up on my right and the rest went to Jacob’s left making a long line right in her path of escape. Johnny slid around in front of me on my right and Shyanna hopped to my left.
“That’s the lady, Renee.” Johnny squirmed to get back behind me.
“Don’t worry baby, she’s not even alive,” I assured him, reaching down and putting my hand on his head. “Fancy meeting you here, Rebecca.”
“Well, I…where is, Chin?” she stuttered.
“I am Chin now, Rebecca. Haven’t you heard the news?”
“Renee, I was only doing what I was told.”
I went to take a step forward when Jacob grabbed my arm.
“You were told to kill my family, you bitch!” I yelled, leaning as far as Jacob would allow.
“I didn’t kill your family, I was with you, remember?” she pleaded, reaching her hand out.
I pulled my sheath off of my blade and sliced her offered hand. She grabbed it and screamed, stumbling over the chair she had knocked over. I yanked my arm away from Jacob and stormed over to her, as she tried backpedaling to get away. I threw the chair across the room with one smooth toss, I was so pissed! I wanted to cut her lying heart out. She pulled a blade out from behind her back and I felt the others move forward.
“No! She’s mine. No weapons Rebecca, one on one, you and me.” Then I stepped back and dropped my blade.
A smile gave way to the fearful look on her face. No matter if she knew what we had already done, she still saw me as that stupid little farm girl that was weak and afraid of her own shadow. How the tides had turned. I pulled the bottom of my kimono open, and stepped to the side as she got up. She too, dropped her blade.
“So, you are the one who took down Cuba?”
“Don’t forget Cortez, we took them down too.”
“I’m surprised at you, Garvin,” she called out.
“Don’t you speak to them, don’t you dare,” I screamed and kicked her right across the face. “You’re filth under their shoes.” Then I kicked her in the stomach.
She fell, swiftly kicking out and making contact with my knee. I hissed and hopped back. When Shyanna saw me fall back, she shot up in the air and gave that beautiful scream of hers causing Rebecca to grab her ears and look away. That’s when I grabbed the small black blade and pulled it from its sheath, leaving it open in my pocket. I then went over and brought my fist back, hitting her hard when she looked back. She came up and I felt the sting of something piercing my stomach. I grabbed her hand, stopping her from twisting and ripping out my insides. All I could do was hit her in the face over and over, but she wouldn’t release it. I dug around for my pocket as we fell to the ground, finding my sharp blade. As soon as she rolled me over I came back up with her laying there looking at me and glancing down at my blade. All I had in my hand was my hilt.
“Omar will kill you,” she slurred as blood poured from her mouth.
“I’ll send your regards,” I replied getting up and stepping back.
“You have entered her heart,” Jacob said looking down at her, as her mouth opened and closed.
“So that’s where my blade is?” I walked the few steps and stomped down on her chest.
Her mouth stopped moving and her flesh turned to ash. I cursed, kicking at her remains, mad because I hadn’t asked about her three soon-to-be dead friends, out there waiting to die at the end of our blades, but preferably mine. Johnny came over and instantly I calmed down. He smiled while staring down at the charred mess that was once the woman that had frightened him. I picked him up and carried him to Tammy, telling her to take the girls back to the room, so I could figure out where the other three were. This little hunt had just begun. They were about to leave when the two large doors flew open, and back into the air Shyanna went.
Four men entered, dragging two others by their arms. I couldn’t see their faces, because they were hanging as if unconscious. Another man walked in behind them, coming around and going down on one knee in front of Jacob.
“The tall one got away as we took these two, but he will not get far. We have the rest of the party after him,” he said then stood back up.
“Very good, Cates. Meet your new master, Renee.”
“Just, Renee,” I added, putting my hand out.
He lowered his head and went back down, putting both hands behind his back. I was starting to get really tired of telling people to “get up”, so I didn’t this time. They dropped the other two at Jacob’s feet, and then rolled them over. “Is this who you are looking for?” Jacob smiled over at me almost knowing the answer before he asked. I nodded leaning down and pushed the hair away from the face of the one that was closest to me.
“Ronny.” The other one was Marcos, which only meant that the one I wanted the most wasn’t here.
“What do you wish us to do with them, Mistress?”
“Never call me that again!” I snapped swinging my head around.
Cates frowned looking over at Jacob.
“No, you look at me. My name is, Renee, got it? I’m no one’s master or mistress, or lady for that matter. I want all of you to treat me the same as you would everyone else.”
“But, miss…” he paused when I glared at him. “Ma’am, you are not like the rest of us.”
“Why the hell not?”
“What Master Jacob has told us, makes you far different,” he smiled, from his huge stature. He was a beast of a man, and one you could tell had been a bloodbreeder for a very long time.
I looked over at Jacob, who never even blinked. I told them to lock Marcos and Ronny in the place where they ke
pt their prisoners. Ronny started coming around as they lifted him off the floor. “It can’t be!” Then Cates slammed the handle of his sword into the back of his head.
“Never address her again.” I had to smile at his attitude; he wasn’t in here when I practically did the same thing to the now ashy Rebecca. He was a tall man, older than the rest of us, in his late thirties—maybe early forties. He wore a uniform of sorts that had brass plates on the shoulders, wrist, and chest. The material was a deep burgundy that was just like the long pair of fighting pants that my boys were wearing, and a short sleeved shirt. His hair was down to his shoulders, with a few gray streaks mixed in with the dark brown. His eyes were a pale brown, and like the rest of us, his skin was quite pale. The one thing that stood out on him was the size of his arms. They were like small tree trunks, like those on Isa’s body guard, the man that I thought, until now, had the biggest muscles that I had seen. Cates was a walking giant, and one I would not want to meet on the wrong side of things.
Cates joined Jacob and me at the table, while several young girls cleaned up Rebecca’s remains. One girl came to me and handed me a gold chain with a square locket on it. I handed it to Jacob and he shook his head. She was supposed to go to the elders when she heard about Cuba, but came to the aid of Chin instead. The joke was on her, in a big way I might add. Garvin and Sydney followed the guards that took the men to what I now know was a true dungeon. I had heard Jacob comment regarding the side cells, as a good choice for the two, then Cates said that it had been a great deal of time since they had had prisoners “down there”. I also knew that Garvin would fill me in on the condition, and for sure the smell. It’s a true sign of one’s true self, or that’s been my experience to date. If it smells like death, equals—bad master.
Cates’ men returned a short time later, telling us that they had lost his trail. Omar was out there and he knew we had his companions. If he ever got his hands on me it would be my death that he would want. He hated me from day one, but why? I cannot answer, but there is no way that he had more hatred for me, than I had for him. I wanted his head on a stick, or better yet, I wanted him hung upside down with his throat cut open, then let him drain dry, just like he did to my father. I knew if we didn’t find him, that he would find me. If not now, one night in the future. I didn’t care how we met as long as I got to see him die, even if it meant me joining him.
“I want to talk to you about leaving the girls here when we head up the coast,” I blurted out looking at Jacob.
“I’m not staying anywhere,” Tammy said coming up behind me.
“I was thinking more on the lines of Tanda and Jessie. Leave them to care for Johnny and Shyanna. I keep seeing the elders coming after us and I don’t want them around if we can help it.”
“And yet you think you are not a leader,” Cates chuckled, looking right at me.
“Wanting my little ones to be safe has nothing to do with it,” I replied, staring back at him.
“A good leader is as soft as they are hard. You love them enough to give them up.”
“I’m not giving anyone up, Cates. I just want them hidden somewhere safe until we return.”
“Yes, but you leave them just in case death follows you. Is it not the same?”
“No! I’m coming back. Death has been following me for a while now, Cates, if he catches up then will deal with him too…but, I will be back.”
“See, she is a stubborn one,” Jacob interrupted.
“If that is your decision, then you should speak with them soon. The one we look for will reach the others and make war ready upon our arrival,” Cates explained, reclining in his chair.
“Our? What’s this, our thing?” I asked turning around in my chair.
“Cates is my second in command and the best fighter under me,” Jacob said rubbing his brow, readying himself for an argument.
“It’s obvious that Tammy’s not staying,” I smiled back at her. “We will need another good fighter if Jessie stays.”
“You agree then?” Jacob asked in a surprising tone.
“Look at him, the man’s a beast. Yeah, I agree.”
“How very strange.” Jacob sat back putting his elbow on the arm of the chair and ran his hand over his chin, very much like my father use to do…where my mouth was concerned.
“You were waiting for an argument weren’t you?” I laughed.
“I believe I was.” Then he let out a heavy breath and shook his head.
CHAPTER TEN
We talked the rest of the night about what we were going to do next. We were close to a place called, Savanna. The place we were heading to was, Charleston, North Carolina. Cates and Jacob both spoke of the long river that would take us deep inland to a place where others were known to be held. It was indeed a holding area of sorts. They spoke of a man called the doctor, saying he used slaves for experiments trying to find a way to step back into the sun. A man who was thought of as “mad” by those who were unlucky enough to cross his path, or those under his lower guard who at more times than not, ended up in one of his experiments. I was told that we would take the river right into a lake, and then make our way to the other side where we would find his home.
Tammy spoke up and said that she had been there a few times with Cortez. She added that there was a laboratory at a place called, Mt. Holly, which both Jacob and Cates acknowledged as true. It was there that this doctor tried to do a test on her, by using a light rod that burned her flesh. She also told us about the crosses that stood tall in the back of his home at the lake, where he would hang his “study subjects” for the coming dawn. Chills ran up my spin, because I now had a greater fear of the sun, the same one that I use to love. I had felt its burn and never wanted to feel its full effect. I couldn’t fathom the thoughts that ran through the minds of those who watched the dawn coming to burn the flesh off of their bodies. It made me wonder if the pull would take them first, or if the victims felt the death of the burning rays through the whole ordeal?
I knew time was running short and decided to have my talk with Tanda and Jessie, before we all felt that ever present pull that comes whether we like it or not. Shyanna was hopping up and down, giggling at the piglet as it turned in circles while Johnny was playing with it. She sniffed the air and turned around, seeing me and flew to my side.
“Hurt?”
“I’m fine, silly girl,” I smiled laying my hand on the top of her head.
“Me`om huuuurrrt,” she slurred trying to raise my kimono.
I had almost forgotten about Rebecca sticking me, until Shyanna started digging for my wound. I saw the blood on my foot when she raised the material up, and so did everyone else in the room. Tammy bent down and immediately stood back up and took me by the arm. She had me in the changing room standing with nothing but a towel covering my front in mere minutes. The wound was small, but the blade went deep. I could now feel the pain on the inside as she pushed around on my stomach. I watched my body fluids run down my leg, every time she moved my abdomen close to the wound.
“I don’t think she hit anything.”
“It would heal either way,” I replied dryly.
“Or you could fill up with your own blood, until you drained out.”
I looked down at her as she pushed the needle through my skin. “Ouch!”
“Be glad it wasn’t like Sydney’s.”
“I thought we were supposed to be tougher now?” I laughed nervously as she put the needle through again.
“You are. But you also feel things far more than you use too,” Jacob said from behind me.
“I’m not dressed!” I screamed turning around to remove my nude backside from his and Cates view, tearing the needle right through my flesh.
“Damn it, Renee,” Tammy snapped, getting up and reaching for a robe.
“It was my backside that was hanging out,” I replied clenching my teeth, as my eyes wet my cheeks. “That was really bad.”
“I would not think you to be one to be modest at sta
nd in the open.” Cates turned, looking down.
“Is that how you say you’re sorry? Just walk in without so much as a knock?” I asked, putting one arm in the robe at a time, holding the towel up with the other.
“I do not understand, my…ma’am.”
“She is very young and has not been around our ways. She sees nudity as a thing of shame.”
“No smart ass, not shame. I think one’s body should be something personal and shared with the one you love, not the whole damn world,” I proclaimed turning my back, letting Tammy finish her work on my stomach.
“We are hardly the world. When things get bad, we will live in tight quarters. You may want to resign your old ways. One could get a bit embarrassed on long journeys, sleeping in cramped areas.” Cates leaned on the door jam, making sure to emphasize the word, one.
“Are you kidding me? Am I really going to have to put up with another one?” I asked looking down at Tammy, who snickered at my question.
“Come, we will talk with her when she is in a better mood,” Jacob said then turned to leave.
“Talk to me about what?”
“Don’t you dare turn around again!” Tammy grabbed my robe, glaring up at me.
“Okay! Tell me, Jacob. Y’all already saw everything anyway.”
“We have decided it is better to take young Sydney’s father’s boat up to the doctor’s estate. We believe that your enemy has fled there,” Cates explained.
“What makes you think so?”
“Because it is well known that it is a place that is not well frequented. No one is willing to make that sacrifice.”
“We think with your wound…”
“No way, Jacob, I go or no one does, period. Is that understood?” I asked turning back around as Tammy pulled the thread through.
“Stubborn, is an understatement,” she whispered.
“I’m not stubborn,” I replied looking back at her. “Everyone’s always saying I’m in control, well this is an order. I go!”
“She will do just fine,” Cates said then walked out of the room.
Bloodbreeders: Seeking Others Page 9
