Living in Darkness (Bloodbreeders) by Robin Renee Ray Read Free Book Online

out, uncertainly. “Is that you?”
    I saw a figure step out from the shadows, but it was in no shape or form Martin. It wasn’t even male. The woman was
about my height, but she walked with such confidence that I would have sworn
she was three feet taller. Her coal black hair fell just below her shoulders in
ringlets, and her clothing was unlike anything I had ever seen a woman wear. Her
dark red shirt glistened in the moonlight, and the black slacks that it was
tucked into appeared to be riding pants. The black coat she wore was long
enough to dust the tops of her knee high black boots with each step that she
took. As she continued to move in my direction, I noticed three men following
behind her. They, also, were obviously strangers to these parts.
    All of the men were very similar in appearance, so much so that one
would have sworn they were brothers. Aside from the shirts, they were all
dressed in a masculine form of the woman’s outfit ; black pants, black coat, and black boots. The only thing that made it possible
to distinguish between the men was their hair. The man directly behind the
woman had very long, very straight brown hair topped off with a black
sailor-type hat, whereas the one in the middle also had brown hair, but it was
cropped short and he was hatless. The third man was blond, with shoulder-length
locks and a large black-suede cowboy hat. All three men were taller than the
woman, but the way they flanked behind her made them somehow seem small in
comparison.
    I began to sit up as they came closer, when the woman held up a hand as
if to stop me. “Don’t be afraid, my dear,” she said soothingly. “We mean you no
harm.”
    “You’re like him,” I said, unable to disguise the fear in my voice.
“You’re like Martin, aren’t you?”
    “Yes,” she replied. “But we are different. We only want to help you.”
    I opened my mouth to ask what she meant, but all four strangers had
stopped moving. The expression on the woman’s face was alarming. About that
time I felt someone grab my arm and yank me to my feet. It was Martin.
    “Get behind me, Renee,” he snarled. “Now.”
    The strangers began to make a strange noise, similar to that of a cat
hissing, and started moving back towards the wooded area they had come from,
moving very fast. In an instant, all I could see was the faint glow of four
sets of eyes, and then they too were gone. Martin turned to me. I thought at
first he was angry with me, and I didn’t know why. He had a hold of both of my
arms, looking me dead in the eyes. What I saw in his was so overwhelming that
my knees buckled, the only thing keeping me from hitting the ground was the
grip Martin had on me. He pulled me up, and held me close for several minutes. Slowly,
he loosened his hold and started walking with me still cradled in his arms.
    “Renee, my sweet,” he said. “You must never wander off without me, do you
understand?”
    “Why?” I asked. “Who were those people? I know they were like you but–”
    “Like us, Renee,” he interrupted. “Like us. ”
    I let out a sigh, and continued. “Okay, like us . Anyway, they
said they were different, that they wanted to help me.” He stopped walking and
sat me down on a large tombstone that was in our path. He knelt before me on
one knee, and took my hands in his, making soft circles on the backs of them
with his thumbs.
    “Believe me when I tell you this. They would do, or say, anything to
take you from me,” he stopped momentarily as if to compose himself. “I know you
don’t trust me, and you may even hate me, but hear what I tell you and know it
to be true. They are our enemy. If you see them again, you must promise me that
you will hide.”
    This conversation, like the one we had earlier, was only confusing me
more. “I don’t understand. If we are all the same, then why would they harm
us?” I asked.
    “Not us, Renee. They would harm me by taking you. They know I
could not bear it.”
    “How do they