“And I ran with it,” Cates laughed.

“The big brute did and I love it,” Tammy slapped him on the backside then came and stood by me.”

“They will return shortly. Jacob knows of a small farm not far from here.”

“Isn’t it a little too dangerous for them to be out there alone, Cates?” Derek asked.

“Two can go through the trees and brush much more quietly than six.”

“I wonder what Tanda is doing to poor Sydney? I bet she has him trying on the shirts she’s sewing up,” I guessed, just making small talk as we waited.

“Sydney is a good sport. He didn’t seem to mind helping even when it came to putting the rollers into the wigs that you and Tammy will be wearing.”

“Cates!” Tammy lightly swatted him in the stomach.

“It is true.”

“It is. I was watching him hand Tanda the pins when she was hemming Tammy’s dress. I think he may have helped his mom or something?” Derek added.

I would have told them that all of my brothers, but Johnny, could do almost anything that I could, from cooking to mending their own things. But Garvin came running around a group of trees as fast as he could move. “They have him,” he yelled with what little air he had.

“Who has him?” Cates asked as he grabbed Garvin under the arm.

“Angelica’s people?” I asked.

“No, worse,” Garvin replied, leaning heavily on Cates.

“Worse?” Derek looked back at me.

“Normals… normals have Jacob at gun point and the sun will rise very soon.”

“We must hurry. Find your feet and show us the way,” Cates pushed Garvin upright and gave him a sharp nod.

With that said we moved with a solid purpose; to find Jacob and get back home before the sun came up. I saw the top of the farm house before we ran around the last of the trees and out into a plowed field. Two men stood in the opening of a barn that looked very much like the old one where I came from. A pale light came from inside where I was guessing that Jacob was. The closer we got it was easy to tell that one of the men had a shotgun and he had it pointed at the open barn door.

“Hello!” I called out.

“Renee,” Cates scolded much like Jacob always did.

Both of the men looked our way and you could see their fear as the shotgun swung our way. “Don’t take another step or I will pull this trigger.”

“Yes sir, I have no doubt about that. We just came for our friend. I think that you must have thought he was trying to steal your livestock.” I had both hands in the air as I spoke.

“Neither of the two that came here…not the one in me traps, or the one that stands at your back, are right. They be dead walkers of the night and they come to take our very souls.”

“That’s down-right hogwash. They’re both my kin and may be a bit ill, but they sure ain’t no whatever you just called them, and damn sure didn’t come to take anyone’s soul. Only God can do that, so if I were you, I would be holdin’ off on that trigger. You kill an innocent person and He’ll be coming for your soul for sure.”

“Then what are they doing in me stalls?”

“I was needin’ some goods for me…my stalls, and I had them out lookin’ for someone who might sell to me,” I lied as I slowly walked closer.

The man turned back to the barn door and waved the gun and Jacob walked out with his hands in the air much like mine. He walked by me and stood where I had left the other. I gather he was leaving this ordeal up to me. “Well, would ya mind selling me a bit of your livestock? I could sure use a few good hogs, a few goats for the lawn, and maybe a young bull. I can pay top dollar.”

“I gather ya got your own chickens?”

“No sir, I just didn’t wanna push the issue,” I winked, stopping on the edge of the barn’s shadow.

“Old Tink here has more hens then he’ll ever be needin’ and plenty a hogs as well. I can sell ya two, maybe three, of me best goats and a milk cow. Got to keep me bull.”

“If you find yourself in need of the hens, I can fetch ya ten and at least four wee hogs. Unless you’d rather have the bigger ones? Makes a better bacon but a tougher butt,” Tink explained.

The one holding the gun walked over and stuck out his hand and I took it. “Names Daniel McGale and we have an accord…if the price is right. Though, I don’t normally do business before the crack of dawn.”

“That I understand but we just got off the ship this night and have no supplies at the new place, if you can call it that. You name your price, Mr. McGale, and I will see that you have it. But, I will need to take one of those goats back with us now. You have my word that you’ll get your pay.”

“I don’t know…”

“This should cover the cost nicely.” Jacob walked up and handed the man two silver coins.

“I’ll be right back.” He turned and he and Tink disappeared into the barn.

“Where did you have that hiding?”

“Tammy took it from a ladies pouch that she had between her breasts. I believe I will never grow so old that I do not learn something new from this younger generation. So tell me, should we not mark these normals for our own safety?”

“You can if you have a problem when you and a few others come back first thing tomorrow night to get what they offered to sell. That is, unless we can get them to deliver?”

The two men came back out with Tink pulling a not so willing, healthy goat between them. I noticed Jacob looking up, and then he rushed over and took the rope of the goat from Tink and shook his hand. Jacob spoke a few moments with the men and then we said our goodbyes and hurried back the way we had come. The sky was changing to a faded grey; telling all that dawn was on its way. One by one we rushed through the oval shaped hole in the wall, with Cates being the last. I looked back and saw him pull in a dried hedge to cover the outside view of the hole and once inside push the wood pile back in place.

Once inside, Jacob held the goat still by the cabinet with its neck pulled tight, while Garvin slid his blade quickly across. Tanda was there with the big bowl to catch the stream of steaming blood and all I could do was watch and lick my lips. The more I stared at the red flow, the more my mind went to the gala and what we were going to do to the sick of the city. I wanted to take the heads of Angelica and her twin and I wanted to sit back and watch as Tammy had her way with Bernard and Alex. I could envision Jacob and Cates slicing through flesh and bone as bodies dropped in solid to ash form. My mind was swimming with the visions of Sydney’s club coming down and crushing a breeders’ skull. All of the sudden I could hear Derek calling out my name.

“Renee, open your eyes!”

“Everyone just step back and give her some room,” I heard Tammy say in the distance, but then she too went away.

Chapter Twenty Four

Memory told me I had been in the sandstone wall room before, only the figure in the bed was not the same dark haired man that I had seen the last time my visions had brought me here. Yvette lay curled on her side, her lower half covered by a sheer white blanket of sorts. The rest of her was nude. I wanted to walk over and choke her to death again, but I didn’t seem to have a body. All I could do was watch whatever I was here to see.

“Bring me my drink, will you, love?” Yvette said, raising her hand lazily.

“You said you would help me take him down this night, Yvette.”

“And I will, my beautiful man, but you must trust me if you wish to have his throne. I do not care to have another ancient in my body. You will have to take him if you wish to have all that he owns. Of course, giving me half if I help trap him for the kill.”

“He is my father,” Martin replied, sitting on the bed beside Yvette.

“And you want to be free, do you not?”

I saw Martin lower his head as he nodded twice. He stood and walked to a wooden door and spoke too softly for me to hear. A few moments later the door opened and a young male that was bound and blindfolded was pushed in. Yvette smiled and pushed herself into a sitting position, as Martin grabbed the young male under the arm and forced him to the left side of the bed. I wanted nothing more at that moment than for Martin to turn around so I could see the look on his face. “Take that thing off of its eyes. I like to see the horror in these nasty beast’s eyes as I drain their pathetic lives away.” I was grateful when, for the second time, I witnessed Martin’s head dropping as if ashamed.