“That big ole bear thinks I don’t know that his back is bothering him, but a woman knows these things,” she said as she slid the lock into place. “Now, where do we start?”

“I say we go down,” Derek smiled. “What can be so bad, up?”

“Torture rooms,” Fala replied. “Many of them.”

“How do you know?” Derek asked.

“I looked into many before finding where I was going to sleep. I saw Master Garvin and Sydney come up the stairs, so I followed to make sure they were going to be alright. We all slept at the top of the staircase.”

“You think that’s why Martin had all these rooms ready down here?” Tanda asked, holding Derek’s hand.

“No, I think these rooms are here, just like the ones at Yvette’s estate, to fool those that don’t know what’s about to happen,” I replied, turning a bit green just thinking about it.

“So, do you want to go up, or down?” Derek asked, as they all looked at me.

“Down. We’ve all seen what a torture room looks like.”

“Yeah, but we’ve all seen the lower levels too,” he replied, raising his shoulders.

“Then why ask me?”

“Okay, down it is,” he laughed, with me joining in.

Tammy took the lead until we made it to the stairs that led down into the lower levels. It was then that she stopped and stepped aside for someone else to take over. Derek pushed Tanda behind him and took the lead, heading down into the darkness first. A bright glow burst to life behind us and the three of us, halfway down the steps, turned to see Fala holding a torch. “It was hanging beside the entrance, so I went back and lit it from the fireplace.” I think we all let out a breath, then continued on. ***

Jacob and the others made their way down the long driveway that was made out of the same brick-type stones that I had seen on London’s streets. Being that the gate was locked, one by one they made their way over at the hinges; Cates having the hardest time, not because of the fact that he had one arm, but because of his huge size. The gate itself was like that of the gate at the graveyard that we came running out of; it even had the same type of gargoyles on the tops of the towering posts that held the gate in place.

All the rest had seen the sights of London, even though Garvin had only witnessed the sights from the end of a chain, while being dragged to the tunnels from one of the four estates; one that neither he, nor Tanda had spoken much on. Cates and Jacob had ventured to this part of the world many times with their old master, staying by his side at all times. They were here only to make trade in the slave business, sometimes bringing cloth and jewels to the highest of the leadership at that time. Jacob, nor Cates, had been back through this way in over seventy-five years, around the same time that Angelica and her sister made their move to govern London’s entire underground trading ring.

Once on the edge of the city, they took to the alleys, which looked much like the main streets, but smaller. The buildings shot up toward the night sky in different heights; some living quarters having shutters open, and some not. Music came from several different directions, and the sounds of normals moving about were apparent at every turn. Sydney was holding his hands over his eyes when Garvin looked back, so he turned and kept his hand on his shoulder, which seemed to calm the effect that the normals were having on his sensitive mind.

“If’in your wantin’ some lovin’, I’ll have plenty to go around.” A street whore stepped out of one of the back doorways, slurring, wearing a red top that showed more breast than not, and a short pair of black bloomers trimmed in white lace.

“Perhaps another time,” Jacob said, passing by quickly, not looking her way.

“How’s about you?” She grabbed the front of Cates shirt.

He grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her to the ground and continued on, with her yelling swears at his back. Garvin and Sydney both high-stepped it past her, before she could get up and make a grab for one of them. They looked at the map several times, turning this way than that, before finally coming out on land that turned into a mountainside, surrounded in the grips of a forest. The flat plain that they had to cross first was more like a marsh than what it appeared to be upon first glance. Cates suggested that they take the road for better footing until they got closer to the gate, but Jacob told him that if Felicia or Bernard mentioned anything to the mistress of the manner about meeting Martin’s pets, there could in fact be someone watching for them to arrive. Not to mention, that they looked very different from what was to be expected if either Felicia or Bernard were to show up when they retrieved the instructions.

Chapter Eleven

Cates groaned as he looked out between the last buildings on the out-shirts of the city, searching as far up the mountainside that he could. “There is so much fog out that I can’t even see the estate from down here.” Then he looked both ways and headed out, with the others following one after the other. Each stepped on solid ground for the first ten or so yards, and then started sinking up to their knees.

“This will take all night,” Cates complained.

“Then we will find shelter in the tunnels, they’re not far from here,” Jacob replied, pulling one foot out, finding placement, then pulling the other one free.

“How high up do the maps say the estate goes?” Sydney asked, handling the slosh under his feet very well.

“It’s more like a big hill, not near the size of a mountain. So, it is not that far up, maybe a thousand kilometers,” Jacob replied, with a slight shrug of his shoulders.

“A thousand what?” Sydney stopped, looking surprised.

“A little over a half of a mile,” Cates laughed.

“But the way is twisted like the back of a snake, so it is not the height that makes it that far,” Jacob explained as they made their way deeper into the marsh.

After they tracked through the wet area of their journey, they began passing through a group of thick trees, so thick had they not known the direction they were heading, they could have easily become lost. ***

Derek had Fala pass the torch up to him so he could light the one hanging on the wall closest to the opening of the first floor, which I thought of as the basement. Even though Martin had had it cleaned, the smell of death lurked behind. Derek walked to all four sides bringing the room to life by lighting every wall scones he could find. You could see where chains had been removed from the stones. The empty places looked like two eye sockets staring out into space, and they were all over the place. The stone table had been broken away from its anchor in the stone floor. The rubble had been removed and cement had been roughly smeared over the four leg areas. All the holding cell doors had been removed as well, and one completely sealed with bricks. I had no want to know what had happened behind it, not if it was so bad it had to be completely sealed shut.

Fala called out from the steps to the lower level that Martin had brought us up, saying he found another passage off to the side of it. Tammy looked at me. I tilted my head, and looked over at Derek, who let out a breath through his nose like a snort, and walked over with us. Tanda was gripping my shirt so tight the middle button popped off and landed a few steps down as we were going deeper into the lower levels.

“You have to let up, sweetie. You’ll have my front side hangin’ for the world to see if ya don’t,” I said, reaching back trying to get to her hand.

“What if there are monsters down there?”

“You mean real monsters?” I asked, backing up a step. “Have you seen ‘em before?”

“No, but look what else is out there,” she replied with a good point.

“Derek, do you have your gun?” I asked, because I hadn’t thought to get mine, not being in ‘our’ house.