Bloodbreeders: The Revenge (9 page)

“Sydney, have you always been able to see into other people’s minds?”

“Since I was a little boy, but I’ve never told anyone that before. I have never seen anything so clear like I have with you, and I think that’s from the bite too,” he claimed looking right at me.

“There you have it,” I said clapping my hands together.

“Have what? I still don’t get it,” Brandon confusingly stated.

“Don’t you see? Sydney was, or is, like Ashley. She can read humans ten times better now, because she is a bloodbreeder, and Sydney can read me, because I bit him. It’s like a role reversal type of thing,” I tried explaining.

“Yeah, but can he read other breeders minds?” Ashley asked, walking up in front of Sydney. “Can you?”

“Not like I can, Renee’s. And you wouldn’t want me to tell everyone sitting here what you’re thinking. Just so you know, I feel the same way.”

“Yep,” Ashley said turning around with her hands over her face. “He can read us.” Then she headed back to the kitchen area.

“She really has a thing for you, buddy,” Brandon added, walking over and slapping Sydney on the back.

“She’s a sweetheart,” Sydney replied, looking behind Brandon in the direction of Ashley’s exit.

“I think that you’ve done a great job getting everything ready, Sydney. But, if we’re going to move by night I really think it would be best if we all stayed down in the motor room during the daylight hours.”

“I wouldn’t let anything happen to any of you, and the only time that I think we would even have to worry is when we get close to Cuba.”

“I can’t take any chances with my little ones. Once we get close enough to the shores of Cuba to swim, we jump over and you head back out until the next night. Hopefully, we’ll be swimming out to meet you with a few friends shortly thereafter,” I said, implanting an order as well as explaining a plan to my little ones.

The night was growing close to an end and the four of us headed back to the beach house where we found Derek standing on the front porch. He was lifting his broken arm up and down, as if he felt no pain at all. He saw us before we reached the top of the stairs and the three that were with me started hollering out, “don’t jump” and “it’s a long way down.” I had a feeling that Derek was going to be hearing about that little move for a long time. He was almost to us when the hackly started; his head went back and he spun around in a circle.

“I knew y’all were gonna start in as soon as I felt better.”

“You tried to fly, of course, we’re gonna pick on ya,” Brandon replied, grabbing him around the neck. “I still can’t believe you did that you little creep.”

“I can’t believe y’all left me here this long.”

“Yeah, well, you’re gonna love the boat,” Ashley added.

“Baby brother ain’t too fond of big boats are ya?” Brandon claimed, rubbing the top of Derek’s head.

“That’s when I was a kid,” he replied pulling out of Brandon’s grip.

“You didn’t say anything about not liking boats, Derek,” I said with concern.

“I may like ’em now. I just got real sick on the last one that we were on.”

“We hid on a cruise ship, thinking we were going to Africa. The next day we were in California and he was puking up his guts, so we had to get off and hitch it home,” Brandon explained, smiling the entire time.

“I might’ve been throwing my guts up, but I didn’t get us on the wrong ship,” Derek retorted, then stuck out his tongue.

It seemed like every night went on like that. The kids picking on each other to pass the time, and when they were tired of that they would work with their blades. One night we drove further out and made sure that everyone knew how to use their guns. I was surprised to see how well they handled using a fire arm. My father had taken me hunting most of my young life and taught me how to shoot several different types of guns. Bo was as good with the two guns that he was shooting, as he was his blades. Brandon and Ashley were doing surprisingly well, but Derek above all else, was extremely accurate with his right hand. He reminded me of the old west and the stories that I heard about Billy the Kid, and Doc Holliday. It didn’t matter how he pulled the twenty-two out of his belt, he hit the target.

Ashley didn’t look much like her typical girly self either. She had made arm sheaths out of some of the black pants that were down in the basement, and with the fairly tight fitting black cloths she was wearing, not to mention the three foot curved blade that adorned her waist, and the small two shooter at the middle of her back, she looked rather menacing. Brandon had the one short blade that he wore at his hip and the 38. Caliber hand gun that, he and Bo had made a shoulder holster for. Bo always stood proud with his sword down his back and the knowledge that he had trained us in the art of using our blades. He now carried not only his sword at his back, but a double barrel sawed off shot gun that he had managed to place next to the blade. No one knew for sure how many blades Bo actually carried, but Ashley and I counted him taking off nine one time before he laid down, and Bo never went to bed unarmed. Derek wore his gun holster just like he had walked out of the OK Corral. He had several blades, one of which hung down the side of his left leg from hip to knee.

I stuck with the jeweled handled blade, and the 22. Caliber hand gun. I strapped the sheath on my thigh and placed the gun on my right hip in a holster that Bo had stuck in the bag back at his father’s house. I felt like I needed a great deal of work when it came to using my
blade effectively, but I was secure in my abilities in knowing how to use my gun. I also still had the small blade that Isa left me on the shores of Cuba, that dark night of my escape. Tomorrow night would be our last night in the states and we had to get the last of our belongings on the boat.

“Does everyone have their things ready? We have to get to the boat tonight,” I asked hoping we were all ready.

“I thought we weren’t leaving until tomorrow night?” Derek replied.

“We aren’t, but I want to get straight to the boat when we wake up. The less we have to carry the better, so let’s get everything loaded.”

“Okay. You don’t have to get loud,” he whimpered and started to shy away.

“I didn’t mean to sound so pushy, Derek. I think you may see me get a whole lot worse before it’s over,” I said, then kissed him on the cheek.

“No. Tell me you don’t mean it. If you feel cranky, can’t you just stay down below?” he whispered, smiling, with a wrinkled brow.

“I probably should,” I whispered back. “I’ll try to control it.”

We started loading the car and headed for the dock. By the time we got there the wind had picked up and lightning was streaking across the northern half of the sky. I was still amazed at the way my mind worked over Sydney, because all I had to do was think about telling him that we were pulling up in the car and there he’d come. The pigs in the back seat started to squeal the more the storm picked up, so the boys got out and each one carried a pig in their arms and took it on board. Sydney hopped in the back as soon as the boys were out of the way and told Ashley and myself to stay in the car, that he and the boys would carry the heavy stuff then come back and help us. I knew then, that he hadn’t explored my every thought, because Ashley and I could pick up and set this car off the side of the road if we chose to.

“I think we can take care of ourselves,” Ashley interjected, blushing just a bit.

“The fact stands that you’re a lady and you’ll be treated like one in my presence.” Then he simply slid back out of the car.

“Well, I guess he told you,” I laughed.

“Can you believe how absolutely wonderful he is?” she asked, smiling like a well fed possum.

“He is a nice young man.”

“Nice? He’s a doll. Maybe the boys will learn a thing or two, ya think?”

She and I watched from the car, snickering every time we saw one of the boys looking back at us. Once everything was out of the car, except what Ashley and I had in the front with us, all four boys slid into the back seat, soaking wet.

“Looks like the rain hit, Renee,” Ashley said, almost choking on the laughter that followed.

“I think you’re right,” I snorted. “You boys are soaked to the bone.”

“That is just so funny isn’t it?” Derek sarcastically replied and started shaking his hair.

“Derek!” Ashley yelled, holding up a shawl she had found back at the beach house.

“Thanks, that’s sweet of ya,” Derek replied yanking it out of her hands.

“Oh, you shit…you’re getting it all dirty.”

“Okay you two,” I said and both calmed down. “Should we go ahead and get on the boat or wait until the storm passes, Sydney? I’d really like to make sure things are in order, so we can leave first thing tomorrow night.”

“If you don’t mind getting wet, I’d say the boat should be fine. As for leaving tomorrow night, well, that may be up to this storm.”

“Then let’s get out of this crowded car,” Bo said and quickly got out.

Chapter Nine

The ocean was starting to crash onto the shore, rocking the boat into the dock. Bo and Brandon had made their way to the deck of the boat, and reached down to take my hand as soon as I stepped on the ramp. Ashley was holding onto Sydney’s hands in a death grip, and Derek was bringing up the rear. I was already on the boat when I turned around to see Sydney sweep Ashley off her feet and started to carry her over the side. I also looked back in time to see
Derek’s jaw drop. I had forgotten that he had been out of the picture most of the time that the two of them had been getting more acquainted. The look on his face said that he didn’t like it. I waited for Ashley and Sydney to pass by me, and then I went back over taking Derek by the arm and walking him back down the dock.

“Why did you just get so upset?” I asked, as the rain pelted my face.

“I knew she was acting funny the first night he came over, but I thought you two had some kind of a plan,” he answered, spitting at the rain the was pouring down over his lips.

“You looked like you were fixing to jump him, Derek.”

“Well, did you see how he picked her up?”

“Look, they have a little thing for each other and you’re just gonna have to deal with it.”

“What the hell do you mean, ‘little thing’?”

“What’s going on?” Brandon asked from behind me.

“Derek’s upset about Ashley and Sydney,” I explained, as the storm began to grow stronger.

“I’ll take care of this. We’ll go back to the house. I don’t think this storm is going to let up anyway,” Brandon replied.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Derek stomped one foot down on the dock. “I’m not a child. If they wanna be all stupid then that’s their business.”

“I think Brandon’s right. I’ll make sure that everything’s alright here, then meet y’all back there.”

“Bull shit. I’ve had it with all y’all treating me like a little kid.” Then Derek pushed his way past the two of us and cleared the railing of the boat in one solid leap.

“Why the hell didn’t you tell me about this?” I asked looking over at Brandon.

“I didn’t even know that he still had a thing for her. I thought he was over that when they started fighting last year.”

“For peat sake Brandon, that’s probably when he got really serious. This is so not going to be good.”

Lightning was striking in a vicious fury, as the storm made its angry presence known. The tarp tore from the left side of the deck and started flapping violently in the mounting wind. Sydney grabbed a hold of one end and Derek grabbed the other. Both began working as a crew immediately. Ashley and I began grabbing everything that we could get our hands on and started taking it below. Bo and Brandon were working on getting the livestock into the kitchen area, when Sydney started yelling that Derek had been blown over the side.

We were all on the middle of the deck in seconds. All that we saw was Sydney hanging with his feet about to go over the back side of the boat. Bo took off running, but he wasn’t fast enough to grab Sydney. The waves crashed into the back of the boat and both boys disappeared in the black water. Bo and Brandon took off running to the dock and Ashley and I started screaming Derek and Sydney’s names. The rain was coming down so hard that I couldn’t see the boys that were running down the dock and I could barely hear them screaming the names of the two that went in.

I knew that all Derek had to do was get to the sandy shore that wasn’t more than twenty feet in front of the boat, and he would be alright. He could hold his breath for an extremely long time and could take an enormous amount of damage from the crashing waves. Sydney was another story altogether. I took Ashley by the arm and started dragging her to the side of the boat where we got off on the dock.

“Renee!” Bo yelled.

“You wait here. I’m gonna go help.”

“No, please. I don’t want to be here by myself,” she grabbed my arm, looking at me with the saddest puppy dog eyes. It was the very same look that little Edna used on me.

“Come on, but stay right with me.”

I took off running to the end of the dock that disappeared into the mouth of the ocean, engulfed in an enormous wave. It took what felt like forever before I saw Bo and Brandon lying on their stomach, both leaning halfway over the end of the dock. “Run, Ashley!” I yelled as I picked up speed. I dove down on top of Bo’s legs and pulled with all of my might. Ashley grabbed Brandon’s and followed my action.