Bloodbreeders: Seeking Others (22 page)

It was completely silent when I woke up, no smoke, no nothing. The silence was almost eerily quiet. I stepped over those around me who were still asleep and made my way down the hall to the room where we found Jacob’s men. I put my ear to the door and heard a heavy breathing. Someone had gotten trapped in the room, and it sounded like they were still in their beast form. I backed away then sprinted down the hall to check the area that went back into our room. I placed my ear on the door, but heard nothing. I was about to open it when Jacob grabbed my wrist. I jumped and would have screamed if his other hand wasn’t covering my mouth. He put his finger to his mouth and started backing away.

“Are…”

“Shhh!”

He moved around to the side of the door and slid a small panel back and waved me over. I looked in and saw four nude men sound asleep on the tunnel floor. His slid it closed then took me by the arm and walked back down the hall. He started toward the men’s door, but I started shaking my head ‘no’. He nodded then headed deeper into the hall.

“When everyone wakes we go out the back entrance and come in on them through the front.”

“What about the one in the guards sleeping quarters?”

“He belongs to Cates.”

“He’s still in the animal form, Jacob.”

“The bigger the better,” Cates said coming up behind me.

“You guys have got to stop doing that,” I said spinning around.

“You are just too jumpy.”

“I wonder why, Cates.”

“Am I supposed to answer that?”

“I wouldn’t,” I replied. “What if there’s more out there besides what we have trapped
in here?”

“We kill them first,” Cates replied before Jacob could.

“He’s right. We worry about them first,” Jacob concurred.

“Are these things hard to kill? I know they went down fast when Cates was slicing them up, but none of us has his strength.”

“You go for the heart on all beings, but removing the head works well also,” Jacob explained looking back at the group on the floor. “They’re waking.”

“Yeah, well the heart doesn’t work on those walking dead things.”

“True, but removing the head does,” Cates added walking over to Tammy.

“Removing the head does,” I mocked walking back with them. “There isn’t anything special that hurts these things?”

“Nothing that we have knowledge of, it is a fight of brute strength,” Jacob said as he helped pull Garvin to his feet.

Jessie and Tammy woke next, the other boys followed shortly after. We soon found ourselves going out a small, round opening at the end of a hall that broke off of the one that we had been in. It went about thirty five feet to the south before coming to a dead end. Derek was the last to come out into the forest that we now stood in. Jacob closed the round door, and then covered it back up with the debris that was lying about. We made our way around the towering
wall that was supposed to protect those who lived inside, but failed miserably. The gate was standing open halfway when we reached it. Jacob and Cates took the lead, rushing in with their weapons in hand, and us at their backs.

Cochee was fixing to slam a piece of wood into the doors that held the beasts when I came around the gate. He turned and threw it at Jacob and Cates, who easily stepped out of its way. Two more men stepped out of our room, probably trying to free the other men as well. They froze at the sight of us, and then slowly looked to their leader. Cochee stuck out his chest and walked out into the middle of the foyer.

“Release my men!” he ordered in a loud voice.

“You have no right to make demands here, murder!” Cates yelled back.

“Say what you will, but it was the woman that caused this, not me,” he growled, looking over at me.

“I didn’t have damn thing to do with you chopping up our men, you stupid bastard.”

“She is correct you shit hell and you will die this night,” Jacob blurted out and caused me to break down laughing. “Why do you laugh?”

“Just don’t try and curse, okay, and I won’t laugh,” I replied hearing my little one’s snickering behind me.

“You are a mad people and deserve to die!” Cochee yelled and dove off the porch, changing his form in midair.

The other two broke out of the room, changing as they ran at the group of my little ones, while several other beasts came in behind us. “Pull in,” Jacob yelled. We all put our backs to each other’s and formed a tight circle, then took one step out and leveled our weapons for a striking blow. Out of nowhere a beast landed on top of Garvin and bit down on his shoulder. Sydney leveled his club on the back of the beast’s head and brains splattered over the side of Garvin’s face. I pulled my trigger four times before the beast backhanded me into the wall of the house. I slid down, losing my sense of direction for a few minutes, giving the beast time to come after me. I kicked out as soon as it was close to my leg, hitting it in the snout, then I rolled away from the house. I grabbed my blade, and plunged it into the back of the beast’s head, where it dropped like a rock.

I yanked it out in time to turn and get knocked back down by the claw of another one, whose strength brought stars to my vision. My legs were lying over the beast that I had killed who, was now changing back into a man and the other one was walking over both of us, coming right for my throat. It stopped, its eyes glazing over seconds before it fell on top of me with Cates’ sword sticking out of the base of its skull. He pulled his blade free, and then slid the beast off of me.

“You alright?” he asked.

Before I could answer, one of the wolves took him from behind. I dove in; stabbing it over and over in the side, trying to hit the heart, but the thing was enormous. I looked up just in time to see it open its mouth to take a bite out of the side of Cates’ neck. I reached up with my blade as it came down. It closed its mouth shut and my blade went right through its brain with its own strength. Cates swung the beast off then ran to Jacob’s aid who was covered by two more. We thought one of the beasts might be Cochee. Cates pulled one back by its leg, then crushed its head in with his foot. Garvin and Derek fought another, slicing at it every time the beast turned for the other. Brandon yelled running in from the side, jumping up on its back, and driving his blade through the back of the beast’s throat. It went up on its hind legs throwing Brandon to the ground and then tried to reach for the hilt of Brandon’s blade that it could never reach in animal form. The beast let out a great roar, then took off into the woods.

I heard Shyanna’s cries over our heads, but didn’t dare take my eyes off of the fight. Jacob struck out and sliced one of the beasts across the stomach, dropping him in his tracks. The beast fell to his knees, stopping the remaining three, freezing their actions instantly. Jacob had taken down Cochee, and they were now at a loss as to what to do next. Cates lifted his sword and came down on top of the head of the beast closest to him, then spun around taking the one closest to Sydney and Tammy. Cochee held his intestines, as his body changed back into the smaller man that he was. The fur absorbed back into his skin like magic, which I was beginning to understand had a lot to do with the world I now lived in. His snout crushed back in on its self until he once again resembled his human form. That’s when he fell forward, holding himself off the ground with one hand, while the other stayed pressed firmly to his abdomen.

“Wait!” Sontos called from the open gate as Shyanna landed beside him.

“He has killed a great number of my people and will pay for his crimes,” Cates yelled as he raised his sword.

“Cates!” Jacob said loudly, as he lowered his weapon and stepped away from Cochee.

Two of Sontos’ men drug the creature that Brandon had left his blade in, and dropped him in front of the gate, dead. “You have every right to take your vengeance out on us all. I took the winged one to keep her safe from the likes of my son. I did not know he was going to harm you while you slept,” Sontos admitted as he stepped closer.

“But you knew he was going to attack?” I asked, moving closer to him.

“I did have my feeling, but only found out this day and came right away. I would never allow such brutality from my people. We have suffered enough at the hands of the white man, as well as your kind, to act like our enemies.”

“I’m not your enemy, Sontos, but I am your sons,” I replied. “He chose to take action, and we did nothing to provoke him.”

“He is my only son,” he said going to his knees. “There is a belief
amongst my people that all can change if given the chance.”

“Do you think that he will ever stop thinking about my death, Sontos?”

He got to his feet and lowered his head, because he knew his son would always want to see us dead, truly dead. Shyanna hopped over to his hand and licked it then flew up into the air landing next to me. “Give him back his, son.” Cates spun around, giving me a look of pure hatred. I looked away from his angry stare and focused on Derek and Garvin as they took Cochee under the arms, dragging him half the distance to his father, and laid him on the ground. Once they moved away, two of his men ran in and with a great amount of speed rushed him away into the cover of the woods.

“I will personally take his life if he ever crosses you again. Take care of our winged friend, she brings good fortune. Change will set us all free, she who rides on the wind of her wings.” Then he and his people turned and all signs of them disappeared into the woods.

“We still have the ones locked in the tunnels,” Derek said turning around.

“They are a gift for the actions of his son,” Jacob said looking out into the night.

Cates took down the beast that was trapped in the one room, in a single blow. The other four men were imprisoned with Rebecca’s two men Ronny, and Marcos. They seemed to want to make a deal every time one of us came close to their cell, swearing they never touched one of my family members, that Omar had killed them all. The more they mentioned my family, the more I wanted them to die. It was Jacob, who stopped me from having their heads removed, or better yet, hanging them upside down and cutting their throats so they could drain out just like my father had. The question now was what to do with the ones we captured. We didn’t want a beast on the ship and we couldn’t leave them here to starve, no matter how good that sounded. There wasn’t even enough left of our home to rebuild.

Jacob suggested that we try and find Sontos and give them back, however Cates’ idea was to just chop off their heads and get it over with. It was Derek who came up with the idea of finding out what would happen if one of us tried to mark one of them. If they would follow orders like a normal we might have use for them after all. Cates all but threw a fit, saying he would never place his mouth on such a foul creature, and was in no way, shape, or form having it when Tammy said that she would do it. That’s when they
got into their first argument, with the rest of us leaving them to discuss what he thought she could do, and what she felt about his thoughts. From the shouting that was coming from Tammy, it wasn’t sounding pretty for Cates. The boys trailed behind me as I followed Jacob down to the cells.

The four men stood and backed up to the wall furthest from us. Derek let out a snicker and got an elbow from Brandon. Jacob pointed at the one in the middle and gave him the ‘come here’ signal. He shook his head vigorously and stayed put. Jacob wrinkled up his brows and stepped into the cell. “You come now, or I will skin you alive, one small piece at a time.” The man swallowed, glancing from the man on one side of him to the man on the other, and not one raising their head with a response. They were far too afraid they would be chosen in his place if they stepped out of line in anyway what so ever. They knew by instinct alone that their leader had left them to our discretion. 

“Please, don’t hurt me,” he cried, dropping to his knees.

“We just want to ask you some questions,” I said then wished I hadn’t, because Jacob spun around and shot me a look like I had crossed over the line.

I backed out of the cell and took off. I had had enough. He had no reason to look at me like that when I said nothing wrong. If he wanted to run this game then he could have it. I went into the ladies dressing room and gathered the last of my things, with Shyanna by my side the whole time, and then I left out for the dock. The ship had to be close by now and I was getting on it. I knew that Johnny was safe in Tammy and Jessie’s care, and was actually enjoying the peace. I was just about halfway to the end of the dock when a sudden blur took me down to the rocky shore ten feet below. I landed hard on my back, with a heavy beast on top of me. It pulled its massive claw filled hand back, and then swiftly came down at me. That was all I remembered until I woke up in a small cave somewhere in the woods.

Shyanna flew back into the great room screaming like she was hurt, getting everyone’s attention including, the man-beast. He dropped to the floor on all fours and started chanting. Tammy ran up to her and tried to get her down, but she flew back out the door. They all chased out after her. Cates ran back in and backhanded the man, knocking him unconscious, before he turned to run back out.

“Where’s Renee?” Derek asked as he started looking around.

“Renee!” Brandon yelled out holding his hands to his mouth.

“Shyanna, come down to me, please,” Tammy called holding her arms in the air.

Shyanna floated above them for a few minutes then took off to the north. Sydney turned to Garvin and told him that I wasn’t near the estate anymore, that he thought that I had been taken away. Jacob grabbed him by the shoulders and spun him around, telling him to concentrate. Sydney closed his eyes and turned to face the water. He began walking like he was in a trance, making his way to the middle of the dock. He turned and went to take a step off the edge, but Garvin grabbed his arm waking him from the distant place his mind had taken him to.

“She went over the side.”
“She fell, or someone took her?” Jacob asked, sniffing the air.

“It was one of them,” Sydney replied pointing at the man that Cates had knocked silly.

He was stumbling out of the entrance of the gates. Jacob moved so fast towards the man, that he didn’t even have time to open his mouth. Jacob picked him up around the throat and slammed his body into the wood of the gate door. “Who took her?” When the man didn’t respond, Jacob slammed him a second time. “Who took her?” he yelled as his face started to reshape; his fangs showing their length as his lips pulled back. Jacob’s anger was close to the point of being uncontrollable. The man started nodding, but couldn’t speak with the pressure of Jacob’s hand on his throat, so Jacob slung him across the ground. The man got to his knees and held one hand out in a defensive manner as he held his throat with the other. When he didn’t say anything Jacob stormed towards him and sank his fangs into his neck, drinking until the man’s arms fell away like a rag dolls.

“Who has taken my master?” Jacob said so close to the man’s face that his own blood smeared off on Jacob’s bottom lip, leaving a streak across the man’s cheek.

“My Queen.”

“Where? Where, or I will kill you right now!”

“To the caves,” he cried.

Jacob dragged the man to his feet and pushed him toward the woods. He asked him several different questions on the way, and found out that I was with Cochee’s woman, in a cave a few miles from where they were.