Chapter 11
Devareaux’s POV
Odessa was expected to arrive anytime now for the taking, but I got a call instead from Chauffie.
He sounded agitated. “Sir, the Madam is not at her home.”
I grew angry. Not with her, with him. “What do you mean? She should be there and ready for you.”
“She’s not, sir. And one of her neighbor’s happened to be coming by when I was knocking and said she hadn’t seen the Madam in two days.”
My whole body went cold.
“Come back and get me.” I hung up without waiting.
I made some calls while Chauffie was driving back, including to Odessa’s parents.
It was unfortunately my first contact with them, and not the best one as I tried to remain calm when I explained the situation.
Her father had become upset and said something about a bloodletting party.
He said he would ask around to see if he could get any information.
Once Chauffie arrived, I called for Renald. Once he entered the room, I shot out, “What is a bloodletting party?”
Both Chauffie and Renald looked quite uncomfortable.
I roared out, “Tell me now!” I slammed my first on the table.
Chauffie looked away, head down while Renald spoke through a clipped voice.
“Low blood borns are kidnapped and taken to warehouses for bloodletting parties. The victim is used for their blood, restrained from what I’ve heard, and cut open frequently to keep their blood flowing.
The people at the party drink from the victim for a couple of days, then they let them go. ”
I looked at him, horrified. “How long has this been going on?”
Renald looked irritated, but Chauffie responded in pure anger. “The aristocrats don’t give a crap what happens to us low blood borns.”
I turned to Chauffie, shocked at his words and tone. He was clenching his fists at his side, glaring at me. Checking himself, he turned away from me, head down to the floor. I turned to Renald. He was incredibly displeased.
“Odessa’s father said something about her possibly being kidnapped for a bloodletting party.”
For the first time, Chauffie let off a string of swear words I had never heard, not only from him but in general.
I could tell, even in his subtle way, Renald was getting angry too.
“What do you know about these ‘parties’?”
“Unfortunately, just whispers and rumors, sir.”
I turned to Chauffie quickly. He met my gaze and shook his head. “Because we work for a high blood born, we are looked on as outsiders even from our own kind.”
Dammit!
“Who would know any of this?” I ran both hands down my face roughly.
“Possibly……?” Renald sounded hesitant.
My head snapped up to meet his apprehensive expression. “Possibly who, Renald? I need all the options I can get right now. I need to find her!”
He sighed heavily. “Possibly, Onyx Trudeau might know something.”
I paused, shocked for a moment.
Yes! Onyx. Why didn’t I think of him. He knew more than anyone appeared to in the vampyr society, and he had made movements in places no one else had.
I snatched up my phone quickly, flipped through a contacts list book on my desk, and quickly dialed his number.
The phone rang a few times, ramping up my anxiety more and more.
Please answer. Please.
“Hello, Onyx Trudeau at your services.”
That greeting threw me off for a moment. Onyx sounded every bit the suit. He was confident and firm in his greeting.
“Mr. Trudeau, Devareaux Hautbois. I hate to bother you under the circumstances, but I need your help. It is quite urgent.”
A long silence on the other end before he responded with, “Mr. Hautbois, how may I help you?”
I was a bit annoyed with his formality right now, but I pushed through. “What do you know about bloodletting parties?”
Silence.
Mr. Trudeau’s voice came through the line with a harder edge to it. “And why would you ask me that, Mr. Hautbois?”
I hesitated, then just spilled all of it out. “I need your help finding my wife. I believe she may have been kidnapped and taken to one of these…...parties.”
Grounding out, “And why would you think that?”
“Odessa is a low blood born, and she was…...uhhh…….staying…….in her flat.” I paused. “In the low blood born section.”
A long pause before Mr. Trudeau continued. “Wait a second. Did you just say your blood wife is a low blood born?”
I gripped my fist. “Yes.”
“I didn’t know.”
“I….I...hadn’t really told anyone.”
“Why?” He sounded curious.
“I didn’t know how the aristocrats would take it.”
“Are you ashamed of her?”
“No! I want my wife back!”
“Then why was she at her flat?” He still sounded curious, and not judgmental, as I had expected.
In a resigned tone, “I screwed up. I’ve been trying to fix it.”
He was quiet for awhile and I started to dread he wouldn’t help me. Honestly, any help he could offer I would take at this point.
Onyx’s voice came through softly, “I was matched with an aristocrat.”
“Oh?” Now, I was curious.
“Dreya D’Avare.”
Interesting.
He let out a long, loud sigh. “If I help you, will you tell me what happened between you and your blood wife?”
What the hell?
I was about to tell him to shove it, when he added, “I may need your help fixing my own mess with my blood wife.” He sounded frustrated.
“Ummm. Okay. Deal.” I leaned forward on my chair. I noticed Chauffie and Renald were still standing in the room, watching, waiting. I just nodded at them.
“What do you know?”
“Meet me at the border of the low blood born section of town, by the railroad. Twenty minutes. I’ll show you the places I know about.”
“Thank you, Onyx. I owe you.”
“No, I think we could both benefit from this situation.” I smiled despite the situation.
We were standing outside another warehouse on the outskirt of town.
Apparently, that was where the bloodletting parties took place.
Away from the population. This would be the second one.
Odessa had not been at the first one. But that didn’t stop me from causing some serious damage.
There had been two victims, one man and one woman.
They had been strapped to posts, in a standing position.
Each victim was strapped down with leather straps, one across the waist, one mid-chest, and one around the legs.
Their hands were placed down at their sides, while blood dripped from their arms. Both victims’ heads were dipped down, appearing unconscious, yet standing.
The image set me off in a fury. I raged through the room, and may or may not have beaten a few men.
I couldn’t remember as I appeared to have blanked out.
That had never happened, but when I came to, I had blood all over my clothes and hands, several men were laying on the floor bloodied, and the room was emptying out rather quickly.
I had been panting heavily as I watched Onyx and Chauffie unstrap the two victims.
Renald had specific instructions to drive the victims to the mid blood born recovery facility and to give them my name. They would recuperate there.
This shit would not happen again. I would not let it.
My whole budding was humming with apprehension and rage.
I had a bad feeling that if, or when, I found Odessa, I would lose my mind.
I had gone into a craze in that last warehouse, but Odessa had not been there.
I had proven I wouldn’t be able to control myself if, or when, I saw her in a similar state as the other two victims.
I could hear Onyx speaking to me, his voice sounding far away. I tried to refocus, and turned to him.
“You ready to do this, Devareaux?”
Onyx had some blood on him too, but I didn’t know if it was from the victims, me, or if he fight as well. I would find out later.
I gritted my teeth, clenched my fist, and nodded. I started to move then stopped. I turned to Onyx.
“Will you help me?”
He cocked his head to the side. “With what?”
“Abolishing these horrendous activities from ever happening again?”
He looked surprised, but then smiled. “I would be honored to help. But then I may need your help with some of my own cleanup plans.”
I nodded. I didn’t care what he needed from me at this point. As long as I found Odessa, nothing else mattered.
I only had a day or two left before my body would start failing. If this was one of the few things I did before Odessa left me, I would do whatever I could to make it happen.
The entrances were hidden. A side door that looked more like a section of the wall with a handle on it caught my attention. There were never guards or anything at the doors. That’s how much they knew they could get away with this atrocity. But not anymore. I wouldn’t let it.
I yanked it open without waiting. I could hear the pounding of rock music, as I past the threshold.
The thing I had noticed about the first warehouse was similar here.
Black drapes covered the walls from the ceiling to the floor.
It looked like a night club, with dark lighting, strobe lights that were giving me a headache but also giving the whole place a surreal feel to it.
People were having sex out in the open, making me nauseous.
Men with men, women with women, multiple people together, some with blood dripping down their mouths and face.
Plush chairs and couches spread out all over the floor landing, some people drinking and talking, seeming oblivious of the sexual acts going on not that far away from them.
And there across the warehouse was my blood wife, strapped to a post like the other victims had been, blood dripping down her arm.
My blood started roaring in my ears, my head, pulsing in my neck, my chest, my arms, my hands.
I couldn’t see her face but I recognized her long, black, luscious hair immediately.
Her head was hanging forward, and she wasn’t moving.
“Devareaux is that…”
I roared. I had heard stories of vampyrs raging. It was exceptionally rare, but what happened next was a blur of slow motion eradication. I couldn’t feel anything, I had gone numb, as I could only watch my own actions through a distant fog.
Men came charging at me and I swung violently at them.
Even though as an aristocrat, I appeared to be a physically bigger man than low blood borns were supposed to be, they were actually physically stronger than high blood borns due to the laboring work they did.
But that did not stop me from beating several men into they were weakened to the point I was able to rip out the hearts of three men.
After the third one’s heart was in my hand, I turned and surveyed the room, as the room full of people started at me in horror.
“You took my wife.”
Several people gasped. Many of them began backing away.
“Leave now if you want to live. And don’t ever, EVER do this again.” I continued holding the heart up in my hand for all to see.
In a panic, the people began running out, some still naked.
In the middle of the mess, I was still in a fog, but I moved towards my wife. Onyx was near her, but he looked to me and I shook my head. No one touches my wife but me.
Onyx nodded, and moved slowly away.
I went up to where my wife was and slowly unstrapped her from the straps. She fell into my arms, unconscious.
I whispered into her hair. “No one will ever touch you again.”