She stood. “Come with me, I’ll show you what we have going on here.”
Sarah’s associates with the guns had finally relaxed when she gave her okay about us. Most of them had lowered their weapons, resting them at their sides or putting them away. But, there were a few who held still held their guns at the ready, just in case one of us did something wrong. I was fairly sure that it was Anthony they were most worried about. I didn’t blame them either.
We followed her into the hallway. Two of her guys stayed with us, bringing up the rear of the crowded hall. “Don’t worry about those guys back there. The tall one is Tommy and the other guy is Elliot. They were a couple of the first to be recruited. Found them at their place outside of town. They weren’t even trying to hide from the vampire council, when I drove up they stood right in front of their house aiming their shotguns at the windshield of my truck.” She smiled at the memory. “I knew right from that moment that they would be a good addition for what I wanted to do. I needed people who wanted to fight, not run scared into the swamplands.”
“Hey,” Christina piped up.
Sarah turned only long enough to see who was speaking to her. “Yeah?”
“The topic of conversation has been about why you guys would choose this place as your hideout.”
Sarah stopped and turned toward us. “You know the history of the house?”
Christina nodded. “And I think your bat shit crazy for picking it too. Of all the like … casinos or plantation homes you could have chosen … I don’t get it.”
“This house has withstood so much of New Orleans history, I am determined for it to be a part of the history that is being written right now.”
Dang, Sarah and Anthony should compare notes for their history writing. “But, aren’t you worried about the dangers of being in a haunted house?” I asked.
She shook her head. “No, I grew up in one, like I said before, this is New Orleans.”
I left it at that. They were already here anyway, it’s not like they were going to move locations now.
She swung a door open. “This room is where we have been putting all the weapons we acquire.” The room had rows and rows of neatly hung rifles. Table tops with hand guns, and even another table that held some devices that looked like hand grenades or possibly smoke bombs.
Ammunition was stored on the other side of the room and there was a lot of it. Good, they were going to need a lot.
Sarah closed the door to the room after we all had a chance to peek in. Across the hall she opened another door, inside we found two guys with an ammunition press, making more bullets out of the shells they probably found lying around the city. “This is John and Spike, this is pretty much what they do all day.”
John, a thin guy with messy brown hair and glasses looked up from his work and offered us a wave. Spike, was probably called Spike because of his hair cut. His blond hair was colored with green dye on top and several sections of it had been gelled into spikes. He merely glanced our way and went back to what he was doing.
Sarah cleared her throat to get their attention, “Guys, we have here a bunch of real life Vampire Hunters. They are going to be helping us out for a while.”
“Awesome,” Spike muttered, apparently unimpressed with our Vampire Hunting status. Probably because in the apocalypse, everyone is a Hunter … well, unless you’re the hunted.
Drew stepped forward. “Have you heard of UV bullets?”
“Nah,” John shook his head. “Can’t say I have.”
Drew pulled his gun from his holster and dropped the clip. He extracted one bullet and held it up for John and Spike to look at. “You know how vampires can’t come out into the sun? Well, these rounds are made by our weapons specialist back home. They contain UV light, which is dispensed into the vampire’s body after penetration.”
John took the bullet from Drew, inspecting it as he spoke. “So these are like a vampire going out into the sun, only it eats them from the inside out?”
“Exactly.” Drew nodded.
“This is fantastic.” He threw Spike a questioning glance, “You think we could do this?”
Spike, ever so friendly, still didn’t look up, but answered his buddy. “Maybe, I would have to figure out exactly how to make them and that would take some time.”
Drew put the round back into his clip and slid the clip back into his gun. “I can probably help you. Mind if I come around later and explain how it’s done?”
John bobbed his head up and down in an enthusiastic nod, “Absolutely. Come by anytime.”
Spike just rolled his eyes and kept his mouth shut. Probably best he didn’t say anything since I already wanted to punch him. I got the feeling though, that he was distant with everyone, not just us.
“Let’s move on,” Sarah beckoned us back into the hall. “There are a few other rooms where we work, but the majority of the rooms on the upper levels of the house are bedrooms for the people who stay here. We encourage everyone to stay here if at all possible. The more people who come and go from this place, the more attention is drawn to us. And that is something we don’t need.”
Luke furrowed his brow, “Unfortunately, I am certain the Vampire Council knows of your whereabouts.”
Sarah’s lips thinned into a tight line. “You really think we don’t know that? I know you all probably think we are dumb as rocks for not being more secretive, but if we had centered ourselves in a more remote location, we wouldn’t be able to get as many people to join us as we already have.”
Luke kept his mouth shut and merely nodded.
Sarah opened yet another door. This one led out into the courtyard where we found several people sparring with each other or hitting heavy bags that were attached to the galleries. The courtyard was lit with two gas torches. In the dim light I could see two guys head to head doing pushups. Behind those two, a woman was performing pull-ups on a makeshift pull-up rack.
“This is where we do most of the physical training,” Sarah explained.
I rolled my shoulders. Aside from the fighting, I hadn’t worked out for several days and my body actually ached from the lack of training. A quick glance in Drew’s direction and I saw the same longing look in his eyes as he stared out into the courtyard.
I shook it off. We didn’t have time for that at the moment. I turned to Sarah. “We should go sit down and talk about a plan of action for finding Korina.”
She nodded. “All right. I just have one question.”
I raised my eyebrows in question and she continued. “Are you guys planning on staying here, if you are I will have a few rooms prepped for y’all.”
Nothing creepy had happened since we had come into the house, but that didn’t mean I wanted to spend the night there. I started to shake my head when Anthony spoke up. “We are already situated in my home, we are quite comfortable there at the moment.”
She flashed us a grin and laughed a little. “I figured as much. Come on.” She turned back the way we had come from.
Anthony walked beside her. “If you like, would you consider moving your headquarters over to my home? I have more than enough room to accommodate everyone.”
She eyeballed him. “I don’t trust you enough for that.”
It was Anthony’s turn to laugh a little. “I do not blame you for such feelings.”
We made our way through the house and back to the room with the big table. As we tread quietly through the hallways, every single person in our group kept darting their eyes back and forth, expecting something to jump out and scare them or something. This place was paranoia central, though I admit, I was doing the same thing.
Once we were back in the map room Sarah rested her rifle against the table and leaned back in her chair. “If y’all want a water or a soda, there’s a bunch of it over there.” She pointed to a corner of the room which was occupied by probably twenty cases of soda and way more water than that. “It’s warm, but does the job, all the same.”
We all made a mad dash
for the beverages. I chose a water, as did most of the group. The majority of us didn’t drink soda, except on occasion. After that, we all situated ourselves back into the chairs we had occupied when Sarah first led us into the house.
“Now,” Sarah asked. “What does this, Korina, look like.”
Anthony reached into his back pocket and withdrew a shiny, black leather wallet. He opened it and pulled a tattered photo from inside. He stared at the photo silently for a moment, a look of sadness clearly written on his face, and then held the photo out to Sarah. “That photo was taken just over a hundred years ago. I am certain she will not have changed much.”
Sarah examined the picture and then handed it to Drew, who inspected it and then handed it to me. I held it in my hands and looked at the woman we were hunting.
The photo was that old time bronze color, faded and scratched in some places. Korina posed for the photo with the posture and bland expression I’d seen in almost every other historical photo I’ve ever laid eyes on. Her dark skin stood out against the crisp white of her dress. The dress had a high neck and tight sleeves trimmed in a loose lace that fell over her wrists. At the center of the neckline was a large cameo brooch. Her hair had been pulled up into a tight knot at the back of her neck and her hands rested softly in her lap. It was her eyes … large brown eyes surrounded by long lashes that really portrayed something about her. Those puppy eyes should have been filled with life, but I could see anger and resentment swirling within them.
“So, you knew her?” Sarah directed her question to Anthony.
He bowed his head slightly in a half nod, “Yes. I knew her for many years. She was not always as she is now. The creature she has become is not the creature I knew when we first met.”
Sarah only tilted her head in response as the picture was passed around the table so everyone could get a good look at her.
“Well,” Luke began, handing the picture back to Anthony, “let’s make a game plan.”
***
The rest of the night was spent talking logistics. Long story short, we were beginning our search for Korina the next evening. Sarah was briefing her people and preparing. We headed back to Anthony’s house shortly before dawn to get some sleep and prepare ourselves.
The moment we stepped out of the LaLaurie Mansion, I felt the tension wither out of my body. It was a crazy feeling, I should have felt safer inside, since it was out in the streets that was supposed to be the dangerous place. Perhaps the spirts had a hold on us even when we couldn’t tell they were there.
Once we were back within the confines of Anthony’s home, I felt even better. We filed into the kitchen where Anthony brought out the makings for a quick meal. After I ate two huge salami and cheese sandwiches, I felt myself begin to fade. I hadn’t gotten much sleep before we went out into the city and it was quickly catching up with me.
I bid everyone a hasty goodnight, gave Drew a quick kiss and then headed to my room. Once I was alone, I stripped off all of my weapons and threw them onto one of the fancy chairs that I’d bet no one ever sat in.
I was so tired that I even contemplated skipping the shower, but the Louisiana heat had me covered in sweat again. I hit the shower long enough to scrub my body and that was it. I threw on a clean tee shirt and sweats then fell into bed, but not before making sure my gun had been tucked safely underneath my pillow.
All the curtains were pulled tightly shut so the room was completely dark. I lay there, on the brink of sleep and only slightly aware of the waking world. I heard the bedroom door open and shut softly and I knew without looking who it was.
He set his gun on the nightstand with a light thunk of metal on wood and then pulled back the comforter. He slid between the sheets then pulled them up again. I felt his arm wrap around my waist, pulling me toward him.
Wordlessly, I lifted my head, letting him slid his arm underneath so that I could use it for a pillow. I snuggled my back into his chest and moved my right hand so that it rested over the top the one he had around my waist.
His chin touched the top of my head and stayed there.
“I love you,” he whispered.
“I love you too,” I responded in a low voice and then squeezed his hand. It wasn’t long at all before the heavy curtain of sleep had me drifting away into my dreams.
***
When I woke, it felt like I hadn’t slept at all. Man, this was not good at all. I needed to be rested and in top condition to be able to fight. Why the heck wasn’t my body cooperating with me these days?
I gently moved Drew’s arm off of me and rubbed my eyes with both hands. I could tell already it was going to be a very long night.
“Morning,” Drew murmured softly, moving his hand to my thigh.
“It’s afternoon,” I corrected him.
He hadn’t even opened his eyes yet, but still responded with a sleepy, “whatever.”
I turned and leaned down so that our lips could meet. He returned my kiss and then rolled onto his back. He still hadn’t opened his eyes. “Come on, it’s time to get up.” I shook his shoulder, making him bounce on the bed a little.
“For once, I don’t want to get up.” He turned over on his other side so that he was facing away from me.
Drew was always up before everyone else. I was an early riser anyway, but he took the gold medal for getting up before the sun. But for the last several months, our schedules had been really crazy and we had been surviving on a few hours of sleep at a time. I didn’t blame him for not wanting to get up.
“Sorry, I wish I could sleep more too.” I lay back down and snuggled into his back. I loved the feel of his skin underneath mine. Briefly, I imagined that the Vampire Apocalypse didn’t exist and that we moved away from Arcadia Falls, just the two of us.
What would we be if we weren’t Hunters? I couldn’t think of anything that I would be good at doing in life. This was what I’d been doing since my mom died when I was fourteen, almost four years.
I’d known Drew that long too. Now, I couldn’t imagine my life without him in it.
I took in air through my nose and let out a long sigh. My world had changed so much since my mother had gone. Mostly, I was in love with hunting and the life that came with it, but there were times when I wished for normal.
I sat up again and flung back the covers. “Come on.” I slapped Drew on the thigh. “We have to get up. And you have to get out of here before someone sees you.
No sooner had it come out of my mouth did we hear a short, barely existent knock on the door. Without waiting for me to answer the door or even call out, the knob turned and the door flew open.
Christina, Zander and Gavin stood in the hallway. Even though we were clothed, I reached down and grabbed the edge of the comforter, yanking it up over us. The move made us look totally guilty, like we were doing something we weren’t supposed to be doing.
“Oh. My. God.” Christina covered her mouth and laughed. “Sorry!”
“It’s not what it looks like,” I muttered. “Now, go away.”
Gavin’s warm green eyes narrowed into an angry glare and without a word, he turned around and stalked away from the doorway.
“Crap.” I flung the covers off of myself so that I could get up.
“Ah! Blood related!” Zander’s hands flew to his eyes so that he could cover them and avoid seeing is non-existent naked sister.
“I’m dressed, you idiot!” I yelled. “Now will you two get the hell out of here?” I picked up a pillow and chucked it toward him. For a girl who never misses with a gun, the pillow totally went off course and nailed Christina hard in the face.
“Dang, Chloe, defensive much?” She picked up the pillow from where it fell on the ground and flung it back at me.
Zander had a grin spread across his face. “Look Drew, pillow fight. It’s a man’s dream come true.”
“Go away,” Drew told him in a sleepy voice.
“Fine, we’re going,” Zander told him. “We just wanted to let you guys know tha
t we are eating in about ten minutes and then we are heading out. We were headed to your room next.”
“We’ll be there.” I marched over to the door and closed it in their faces.
Once Drew and I were alone again he pushed the covers back and finally got out of bed. “Sometimes living with so many people is a real pain in the ass.”
I nodded in agreement. “You better go get ready, apparently we’re running late.”
He grabbed his gun off the night stand. “Someday we will get to lay in bed together and not have to worry about all of this.”
“I know,” I whispered as he opened the door and stepped out into the hall. “See you down there.”
He shut the door behind him and I turned toward the bed, pulling up the covers and making it up like it was before I’d gotten into it. His comment about someday not having to worry about stuff like this had me wondering if he was thinking about the same things as I had been earlier.
Oh well, it wasn’t like we could worry about that kind of stuff right now anyway. First things first … we had to stop this damn apocalypse.
Since I didn’t have time for yet another shower, I hurried with my clothes and weapons, and then headed down to the kitchen. I could skip the shower, but not the food.
Anthony had made a nice spread of bacon, sausage, eggs, hash browns, toast and fresh fruit. There was no way we could say that Anthony wasn’t being a perfect host, eating at his place was like eating at a restaurant every day.
I entered the kitchen and received a wink from Christina. Zander looked like he wanted to laugh at me. Gavin set his angry glare on me and kept it there, no matter where I moved in the room.
Talk about uncomfortable. None of them were doing this to Drew, why were they picking on me?
Drew leaned over in his seat and whispered, “Because you’re an easy target.”
I furrowed my brow. “How did you know I was thinking that?” I whispered.
“I know you.” He shoved a piece of bacon in his mouth. “Ignore them, act like it doesn’t bother you and they will lose interest.”
I glanced at Gavin. “Not everyone.”
Blood Warrior (The Arcadia Falls Chronicles #4) Page 5
