Living in Darkness (Bloodbreeders) (34 page)

           
“I think what Brandon
means is that everything looks different with his new eyes,” I explained as
simply as I could. They would understand in time, but until then, it would be
impossible to describe.

           
“Yeah, that’s it,”
Brandon said. “And I can smell things, too. Like Derek and Ashley. They don’t
smell like we do.”
 
He looked at me, as
if for confirmation.

           
“You’re right,” I
confirmed. “It’s one of the first things that I noticed when I was changed,
although I didn’t understand why at first. I think it’s a way to help us
identify our own kind from
normals
.”

           
“So, what other things
can I do?” he asked with intrigue.

           
“Honestly, I’m not
really sure about everything that we can do,” I shrugged. “I have ideas, but
I’ve never tried them myself, so I don’t know for sure.”

           
“Like what?” Derek and
Brandon asked in unison.

           
“Well, like after
Martin fed on me before he changed me,” I began, having to clear my throat, at
the thought of him. “He was able to call me to him and he took my voice so I
couldn’t speak. That makes me think that when we feed on
normals
we might be able to control them to some extent.”

           
“So,” Brandon said
contemplating. “If I was to take a drink from, say, Derek, he would have to do
what I say?”

           
“Oh, hell no,” Derek
frowned, wrapping his hands around his neck to shield it from his brother. “You
ain’t
using me like
no
puppet.” He paused, and then added, “Besides, I
ain’t
no
snack for nobody.”

           
“Derek, you couldn’t
stop me if you wanted too,” Brandon sinisterly smiled, inching toward his
brother. “Bo couldn’t.”

           
“Maybe not,” Derek
retorted, unfazed. “But when Renee turns me, I’ll kick your ass.”

           
“Nobody’s going to do
anything against your will, Derek,” I said, shooting a warning glance at
Brandon.

           
“Aw, I’m just
joshin
’
ya
,” he told Derek,
unable to hide the disappointment in his voice. “But I really wanted to see if
it would work though.”

           
Ashley looked from
Brandon to me and then said, “I’ll let you try it on me, if you want.”
 
Brandon perked up, as Ashley narrowed her
eyes and then quickly added, “Just as long as you don’t make me do something
stupid.”

           
“Does it work if their
willing?” Brandon asked, looking back at me.

           
I just shrugged my
shoulders. He walked over to Ashley, grinning from ear to ear. She must have
looked uneasy, because his smile faded. “You sure?” he asked her. “Because it’s
okay if you’re not. I was just curious is
all.
”

           
“I’m sure,” she said,
trying to convince
herself
as much as she was Brandon.
“But, be easy, Brandon, okay? You know I hate pain.”

           
“I would never hurt
you, Ash,” he said. “You know that.”

           
“Yeah, I know,” she
nodded. “So, how do we do this?”
 
Then
they both turned to me.

           
“Just do what comes
natural to you, Brandon. Just remember, she’s not, Bo,” I replied with a wink.

           
He smiled sheepishly
in response, blushing a bit as he did. He raised his hand to her face like a
lover would do, and Ashley burst out laughing.

           
“What?” Brandon asked,
shocked by the outburst.

           
“I
ain’t
your girl, Brandon,” she tried stifling her laugh. “So cut the look, okay?”

           
“Sorry, this is just
somewhat personal,
ya
know?”

Ashley turned her head to look at Derek, and when she did, Brandon took
hold of the opportunity. He struck fast. Ashley didn’t respond with a cry or a
scream, like I had anticipated. Her head fell further to the side, and her eyes
closed. After a couple of seconds, he pulled away, licking the blood from his
lips.

           
“Wow, it’s sweet,”
Brandon
said. “Almost like sugar or candy, I sure don’t
remember Bo tasting like that.”

           
“Well,” Ashley slowly
opened her eyes. “Did you change your mind or what? Do it, or don’t, doesn’t
matter to me.”

           
“But...” Brandon
looked at me, bewildered.

           
“Wait,” I interrupted.
“Ashley, how do you feel?”

           
“Fine, why?” she
replied, looking at me with that same bewilderment.

           
I waved her question
off with my hand, and called Brandon over to me. “Tell her in your mind to put
more wood on the fire.” I whispered in his ear to keep her from hearing me. He
did as I asked and closed his eyes in concentration. It wasn’t five seconds
later that Ashley was walking over and placing another log into the fireplace.

It was at that moment that I realized how we could make our way back to
Cuba. It must have been how they used
Capie
, I
thought. It made me wonder just how guilty he had actually been in all of this.
Had I taken the lives of men that were innocent, only doing what they were
bound to do, under the influence of my kind? How many more would have to die?
But more importantly, how many could we save? I thought, as I watched my first
creation into this dark world play a few more games.
 
I then took him out to explore, leaving the
other two behind, even though Derek was begging to go along. After seeing his
reaction, and their reaction to his, I knew it would be better if we went
alone. I wanted him to get the most out of this experience and not have to be
questioned every other second. There would be time for that later. For now, I
watched in awe as he discovered his new world and understood for the first time
how Martin must have felt watching me.

Chapter Two

The next night when Brandon and I awoke we went over to Bo, while the
other two slept. We watched him closely, not saying a word. Before long, his
eyes flew open. He looked from me to Brandon, then back to me. “Am I dead?” he
muttered. Brandon and I glanced at each other then back at Bo, trying our best
not to crack up laughing at his statement.

           
“No, sweetie, you’re not,” I softly whispered with a
smile.

           
“This is strange, Renee,” he said as he sat up, looking
about. “I feel really weak. I thought I was supposed to be strong.”

           
“Once you feed, Bo, you’ll feel a whole world different,”
Brandon told him.

           
“And I’m next,” Derek said from behind us. He and Ashley
had woken and Derek was already on his feet.

           
“Come to him, Derek.” I replied nodding toward Bo.

           
“Okay…Sure,” he said, standing completely still.

           
“Then you have to move your feet, Hun,” I said.

           
He laughed nervously, but slowly began to move closer as
Bo rose to his feet.

           
“Don’t worry, Derek,” he said. “I won’t do it to you like
Brandon did it to me.”
 
He then turned to
look at Brandon, and said glaring, “I owe you one, by the way.”
 

           
“Whatever.” Brandon shook his head.

           
“Close your eyes, kid,” Bo said turning back to Derek.

           
“I
ain’t
no...” but before he
could finish, Bo was latched on, and within minutes, it was over.

           
Bo was supporting Derek’s body as the strength it had
contained slipped away, then slowly lowered him to the floor. As Bo wiped the
blood from Derek’s neck, the rest of us knelt down beside him.

           
Derek was crying, and with the little strength he had
left, he looked up at me. “I’m scared.”

           
“I know, babe.” I tried to comfort him. “But if we don’t
finish this, you could die.”

           
“You’ll be fine, little brother,” Brandon added, trying
to hide the tears that were welling up in his eyes.

           
Derek looked up at me from the floor, tears running down
the sides of his face, and nodded. That night continued on as it had for the others.
I fed Derek my blood and then we waited to welcome him to his new family. He
woke the next night, and the process began again with Ashley. And as she lay in
darkness, the rest of us devised our plan.

           
“We need a boat, right?” Bo asked.

           
“Yeah, and weapons,” I said. “We can’t fight them one on
one. We’re going to have to be quick to kill. Our lives will depend on it.”

           
“Bo’s great with blades,” Derek interjected. “He’s showed
us all how to use them.”

           
“And we know how to get them,” Bo added.

           
“Do you mean steal them?” I asked.

           
“Not really.” Bo looked over at Brandon. “My dad has
collected weapons for as long as I can remember.”

           
I knew he hadn’t seen his father in quite some time, and
that it was best that way.

           
“That would help a lot, Bo, but are you sure you
wanna
go back there?”

           
“He owes me big time,” he nodded firmly. “So yeah, I’ll
go back.”

           
“Where does he live?” I asked.

           
A cunning smile spread across Bo’s face. “Corpus
Christi.”

           
“Hmm, you don’t say,” I joked. “I guess that means we’re
part way there. We’ll leave as soon as Ashley’s been fed.

           
“Hey, Renee?” Derek grabbed my arm. “Who’s she going to
feed from?”

           
“I should have thought about that. Bo, you and Brandon go
out and find a goat or lamb.”

           
“What about me, why can’t I go?” Derek asked.

           
“Because, who else will keep me company?” I replied with
me best smile. “I don’t
wanna
be left all alone.”

           
“Oh, I get it. That’s right, y’all go and I’ll stay and
protect the women.” Then everyone, including Derek started laughing.

           
The next night I had all four of my little ones at my
side. We fed Ashley first and then shared the remainder of the goat between the
rest
of us. After Ashley had a short time to enjoy her
new body like the other three had, I decided it was time that we broke things
up. They all agreed, so we loaded up and headed for the coast. We drove for
hours
;
the little ones talking about their new world
the entire time. I just sit back and enjoyed having them with me.

           
“
Ain’t
nobody
gonna
push us around anymore,” Brandon said.

           
“Yeah, and we don’t have to worry about going back to
that damn orphanage either,” Ashley added. “I hated that place.”

           
“That’s because we’re a family now.
Ain’t
that right, Renee?” Derek proclaimed.

           
“Sure is babe. And we answer to no one but ourselves.”

           
“Hey guy’s, don’t you think we better be looking for a
place before the sun comes up?” Bo interjected.

           
“You’re right, Bo. Everyone, keep your eyes open for an
abandon house or cemetery,” I said as Bo turned down a dirt road.

We drove a few more miles
when Derek sat up a little straighter, pressing his face close to the window.
“There’s an old house to the right.” He rolled down his window and pointed.

           
“Don’t stop, Bo. It doesn’t feel right,” Ashley whispered
in a fearful tone.

           
“What do you mean, Ashley?” I asked turning to look at
her.

           
“It’s in my head, Renee. I can see or feel people in that
house, bad men.”