Blood Farm

Chapter 5

Beyond the door was a tiny stone corridor, lit by one gas lantern. We must have been behind the shops or in between buildings it was so cramped in here. My shoulders brushed on each wall, I could only sympathise for bear man who was walking sideways along the narrow corridor. It gave way to a hole in the floor, a metal ladder poking out. Great, just what I wanted. I took a deep breath and descended into the unknown. At least this time there was light, provided by that gas lantern that the woman, Amelia was holding. As I lowered down into another room, I thought it was far better lit than my last ladder experience. We were now below the city street, another small room barely enough to accommodate our little group.

"This way." she smiled at us, walking into the darkness.

I followed the gas lantern, it was the only thing I could see, Noah had his hands on my shoulders guiding me. Clearly the gas lantern was for me, everyone else could see in the dark. The darkness of the corridor gave way to a large room, a den that was very old world. Books on shelves lined every single wall, from floor to ceiling. A fire roared at the opposite wall, warming the room very nicely. In the centre of the room was a series of lounges that encircled a low table that was stacked with more books.

"Please, sit."

We all sank into the large leather lounges; they were a dark brown to match the rest of the dark furnishings in the room. Noah was beside me, keeping one firm hand on mine, still very protective. Curtis sat beside bear man and it settled into my mind that this was the guy. Mister gruff had swept my best friend off his feet yet he looked at me like I was the enemy. Maybe he's jealous of the close relationship I have with Curtis, maybe he doesn't understand it. I don't know what his problem is, it's not as if anything would ever happen between us. I'm not sure exactly what his problem is, me, I'd be happy if he would stop staring at me with that deep furrow in his brow. He looked like he was grinding his teeth too.

"The werewolves approached the commune from the south side." Julius said to Amelia as he sat down.

She sat on a single seat lounge, her arms resting on the arm rests as her fingers quietly tap the edge. The dark material of her long dress seemed to be matching the rest of the room. Old. It was a beautiful dress, purple velvet material with hints of black lace over the chest and draping out of the arm sleeves.

"Go on."

"We fled on foot, our only choice. They knew this and that's why they approached the south side to cut off our vehicular access."

She tented her fingers as she frowned, thinking about Julius' words.

"As we walked through Gainsborough Park Forest we were approached by a werewolf. I am not certain as to who exactly but he knew the human that Veronica used to date had claimed her and that she had broken the claim by removing a necklace."

She looked at me with a wry smile, like I had accomplished something grand and didn't know it.

"Someone, maybe several wolves were stalking us, they tried the bait and separate."

Her eyes darted to Julius, wide and astonished.

"Such trickery is not allowed any more, the wolves know this."

"Well whoever it was did it and if it wasn't for Veronica, we would have been separated. She has become quite an asset." he grinned at me.

The woman's attention turned to me, her hand brushed over the soft velvet material of her skirt as she crossed her leg over her knee.

"The human that is the true champion for the vampires. Your day has been a long time coming young one." she returned to Julius "Whatever is going on, having at least one human on your side may be of benefit, best to keep her that way for the time being. Besides, clinics will begin to close now that they will be unable to compete with this new blood, having another mouth to find blood for will be of no benefit."