Blood Warrior(9)

Everyone was already downstairs waiting for me. It was a little embarrassing, since usually I was one of the first ones ready to go out on missions.

Anthony was joining us on our trip into the city, so he was also dressed for battle. It was a little strange seeing him with guns and knives decorating his body. I suppose I thought of him as a super powerful vampire, not a guy who needed weapons. He nodded to me as I descended the stairs, “Nice to see you are going to join us, little Hunter.”

I felt the blood rush to my face. I don’t know why I was embarrassed, it was no big deal that I was running late. I guess it just felt like everyone knew what I had been doing a little while ago. I tried to shake it off. It wasn’t like I was wearing a sign or anything. “Sorry, I didn’t wake up on time.”

“All right,” Luke addressed the group as I hit the landing, “Now that Chloe has joined us, are we all set?”

Christina adjusted her holster. “Let’s do this!”

Everyone agreed and headed for the door. I caught sight of Drew and moved toward him, he threw his arm around me as we passed over the threshold and out into the evening heat, which was far more tolerable than it was during the early afternoon hours.

Alice moved ahead of us once we were on the porch. Her blonde ponytail bobbing up and down over the swords at her back. I couldn’t help but be proud of how far she had come since I first met her at Trevor’s. She was a woman who had been unsure of herself, who had lived a dependent life. Now, she was a strong, independent woman who had found a purpose in life. I glanced at Oscar, who was close at her side, and smiled. She had also found someone who truly cared about her. They weren’t super public about their relationship, but we all knew about it anyway.

Drew opened the back door of the Escalade for me and leaned down to give me a quick kiss before I got in. “You ready?” he whispered as he pulled away.

I nodded, taking in every ounce of affection from him. “Of course,” I grinned, “Aren’t I always ready for hunting?” He grinned back at me and then I hopped up onto the soft leather seats.

Gavin slid into the car next to me. His eyes were flicking curiously between Drew and I. When I caught his gaze and our eyes finally locked, I realized that he could see something was different. Most likely it had been Drew who tipped him off, since Drew wasn’t normally a very lovey dovey type of guy.

“What?” I mouthed, to which he responded only with a shake of his head.

I felt bad about Gavin knowing anything about that sort of thing between Drew and I, but he would have to come to terms with it sooner or later, as he did with everything that involved Drew … or me.

He slammed the door and faced forward in the seat so that he wasn’t looking at me. I did the same.

Once we were all loaded into the Escalade and Zanders truck, the gate rolled open and we headed out into the dusk.

As we drove, Anthony passed the time by telling us the intriguing tale of the LaLaurie Mansion.

“For many years, the LaLaurie Mansion has been known as one of New Orleans most haunted homes. It never remained in the hands of one owner for an extended amount of time.

The home was occupied by Dr. and Madame LaLaurie. Madame LaLaurie was one of those women of high social status, but she was also said to be an intelligent and beautiful woman. The house, as you will see is not much to speak of from the outside, in comparison to other Creole homes in this city, however Madame LaLaurie fashioned the interior of the house with the finest of everything.

The couple hosted frequent social gatherings that were the talk of the town. Anyone who came across the couple would describe Madame LaLaurie as a kind and generous host. They appeared to be the upstanding citizens of New Orleans that everyone wanted to be.

Until, whispers began to spread throughout the neighborhood of how Madam LaLaurie may be mistreating her slaves. It had not gone unnoticed that new slaves would arrive, replacing slaves that had not been seen leaving. The final straw came when a young slave girl jumped to her death from the highest floor of the mansion after Madam LaLaurie had furiously chased her throughout the courtyard galleries.

The laws in place prohibited cruel treatment of slaves, thus, after the death of the young girl, the slaves were taken from the LaLauries and auctioned to new owners. This did not deter Madam LaLaurie in the least, she persuaded her family to purchase new slaves, from whom she bought them in secrecy.

The rise of the LaLaurie couple was nearing an end and it finally arrived when a fire broke out in the kitchen, setting the mansion ablaze. It is a common rumor that Madam LaLaurie chained the chef to the stove and that perhaps the man had tolerated the mistreatment for too long. The story tells that it was most likely he who set the fire to the home.”