BLOOD SLAVES

CHAPTER 16 - ANDI'S LITTLE SECRETS

The next day, Andi did her usual daily routine. After she woke up, she would take a walk in the garden or around the mansion. After that, she would go back to her favorite living room and sit there all day while enjoying her black coffee and reading a book. After that, she would go to Alex's room and would sleep there.

That was what the employees thought. The lady should be sleeping soundly in their master's room. But little did they know, when Alexander was gone, Andi would wake up in the middle of the night and secretly goes out.

So where was she going at this hour? And why?

Maru, on the other hand, didn't do anything but just observed. After yesterday night, she distanced herself and would just watch Andi from afar. After she watched her all day, she finally rested back in her room and lay down on her bed. She stared at the ceiling as she carefully thought about Andi.

"A human... A blood slave...." She whispered to herself.

Paano nga ba natagpuan ni Alexander ang dalaga? Maru kept thinking about that. What in the world Alexander was thinking when he saved her? There was definitely something more than what they were seeing now. Freys are not stupid, except Samuel, she thought. So did Alexander know about this too? This part of Andi?

There was only one thing she needs to do to learn more about Andi. That was to get closer to her. She was way too calm dealing with her. She trusted her with this and not Alexander, who in fact was much stronger than her. But why? Why did Andi trust her with all of this?

"Is she comfortable with me?"

Maru sat down. "Ah, this is not going to work. I need to see it."

Tumayo si Maru at madaling nagbihis. She went outside and was about to go to Andi's room when she saw her already in the hallway. Andi smiled and was about to talk when she stopped. Maru sensed someone going in their way. Sumenyas si Maru sa kanya na huwag gumawa ng kahit anong ingay. Kasunod nito ay tinuro niya ang pintuan na malapit sa kanila. Dahan-dahan na naglakad ang dalawa patungo sa pinto. Maingat itong binuksan ni Maru. Nang makapasok ang dalawa sa loob ay maingat ding isinara ni Maru ang pinto.

None of them were talking. Pinapakiramdaman ni Maru ang empleyado na nag-iikot sa mansyon. Nang makadaan ito sa kanila ay doon na tuluyang nakahinga si Maru.

Maru looked around the room and found that it was just one of the unoccupied bedrooms in Alexander's house.

"Now what?" Maru asked.

"Did you drink, Maru?" Andi asked.

"I did. Why?" nagtatakang tanong ni Maru pabalik sa dalaga.

"Nothing. I was just asking." Andi answered and smiled. But Maru didn't like it. She couldn't really read Andi's mind. She had no slightest idea what was running in her mind. She was too hard to read. Just how good Andi was in this?

"You're planning something, aren't you?"

Umiling ang dalaga. "You overestimate me. What can I do, Maru? I'm just a human."

Maru smirked. "Really? Then explain where are we going and what we are going to do."

"Come," aya ni Andi sa dalaga saka ito naglakad patungo sa lamesa. Ngayon lamang napansin ni Maru na may dala-dala itong bag. Maru watched Andi as she took out a map from her bag and laid it down on the table. Naglakad pa palapit si Maru sa lamesa at tinitingan ang mapang nilabas ng dalaga. It was not a map but in fact a blueprint of a building.

"Where the hell did you get this?"

"Hindi ba dapat ang itanong mo muna kung saan ang building na 'to?" Andi smiled.

"Well, I am more interested in how you get this stuff."

"I'll explain that to you later. But for now, you have to help me rescue some people inside this building."

Nanlaki ang mata ni Maru sa gulat. "Rescue people?"

Tumango si Andi na tila ba sobrang dali lamang nito para sa kanya.

"Are you serious?"

Andi is still smiling. "I am."

Tumingin ulit si Maru sa blueprint at nakita na niya ang mga marka dito. Andi already highlighted the rooms they need to prioritize, their way in and out of the building, and the spots they need to avoid.

"How did you-"

"As I said, I'll explain that later. For now, I'll explain the plan."

Andi circled the whole building using her forefinger. When she stopped, she started explaining everything.

"This is a five-star hotel located in a middle of a busy city. People and tourists checked in and out every day. They operate as a normal hotel should. That's what people see for those who didn't know that vampires exist. In fact, the land and the whole building are owned by Barry Deseo. He's a well-known noble vampire in this country and has a strong tie to the Underground-the black market for the vampire community."

Maru frowned. "You know I am new to this. For the whole three weeks, Raiden only taught me how to control my thirst and strength... and... my extreme sex drive."

Andi looked at her and blushed again. When Maru saw her face again, she could only roll her eyes.

"Oh, stop that. Parang hindi kayo nagsex ni Alexander sa loob ng ilang araw at gabi na tinagal niya sa pamamahay na 'to."

Napayuko na lamang si Andi upang itago ang namumula niyang pisngi dahil sa hiya. Maru can only stare at Andi. She was serious a while ago, then she could easily become shy and embarrassed the next second. This woman had a cute side and Maru could only laugh because Alexander was not seeing this.

"Poor him..."

"Him?"

"Your saviour, the almighty Alexander."

"What about him?" Andi asked.

"Why can't you just tell this to Alexander? Mas makakatulong siya sa 'yo kaysa sa 'kin na walang kalam-alam sa mundo ng mga bampira. I was just a human three weeks ago. What can I do to help you?"

"That's precisely why I choose you to help me."

"Why?"

"Because Alexander's different. The Freys are different. You who were also a human before could have more understanding and better judgement when helping out people. Alexander's not."

"You're underestimating his rationality. You already judged him."

Tumango si Andi. "Yes, the moment he asked for something in return when he helped me, I knew I won't be able to trust him with any of this."

"But this is their job. Not mine or yours."

Ngumiti lamang si Andi. "I dedicated my whole life to this, Maru. Alexander just happened to come and you as well."

Huminga ng malalim si Maru. "Okay, we'll do it your way. But I have a request."

Tumango si Andi. "Anything."

"I don't know how deep your relationship is with Alexander and I know trusting someone is not that easy for you, especially to vampires. I don't also know what happened and how Alexander got you here. Pero kung ano man 'tong papasukin ko kasama ka, please don't get hurt. I'll try my best not to get hurt too. Because if everything gets out of hand, our heads are at stake."

Tumango muli si Andi. "I understand."

Muling bumuntong-hininga si Maru. "Okay, back to the plan. But first, can you explain what Underground is? Who the fuck is Barry Deseo? Is he somehow a powerhouse in the vampire community or what-"

"Didn't Raiden teach who you should avoid? Who are their enemies and who are their allies?"

Muling napabuntong-hininga si Maru. "I told you. We kept each other all day and night in bed."

Ngumiti muli si Andi. Maru was so carefree. If she were in her shoes, she would've studied their history first. But she also understood that Maru needed time to adjust. Because it wasn't easy to transmute from human to vampire. And her living with vampires all her life, she had witnessed everything.

"I'll give you a short history of what happened within the vampire race."

"Yes, please, teacher."

Andi chuckled. "Freys was the family who ruled all the vampires a thousand years ago. But I think you already know what they were back then. They were ruthless, unmerciful, and all tyrants in their own way. I also heard some stories from the vampires I served before. They were the strongest and feared the most. The first war broke out and the Frey was out-ruled for some reason. They were suddenly gone and the other families took that opportunity to rule. Aristokratos was formed by six pureblooded vampires and they ruled since then until years ago when Freys came back again."

"Hm, interesting."

"So right now, there's still a war going on within the vampire community. The Freys are back to rule and the remaining members of Aristokratos didn't want that. There's one family who is leading this war against the Frey, it's the Tan. They own all the Undergrounds in different parts of the world. And these Undergrounds are where all the vampires do illegal stuff. This is where we, blood slaves, are bought and locked up."

"Hmm, when you say illegal. They do this secretly?" tanong ni Maru.

Tumango si Andi. "Frey banned blood slaves when they came back."

Napataas ang kilay ni Maru sa sinabi ni Andi. So, each of the Frey has their own mission. Raiden was in charge with the cursed objects. And Alexander's what?

"You said that Alexander saved you back then, right?" Tumango si Andi.

"Oh, we're doomed. We can't do this."

"Why?"

"Why? Really? Hindi ba pumasok sa isip mo na si Alexander ang nakatoka dito? Kung aalis tayo at pupunta sa mga Underground na 'to at magsagip ng ibang mga blood slaves, ano sa tingin mo ang tiyansa na makasalubong natin ang boyfriend mo?"

"We're not going to Underground. That's really dangerous."

"Kung hindi sa Underground, saan tayo pupunta?"

"Alexander's job is to stop the Underground business and save people who are kidnapped to be blood slaves. My work is to save blood slaves who were already bought from the market."

"So, you were saying is... We're going to each and every house of vampires who have blood slaves."

"Exactly. I've been doing this for god knows how long." Andi then laughed.

Wow. Maru was shocked and amazed. Mas lalong napangiti si Maru sa mga narinig. Andi was indeed something and she already said it herself, Alexander isn't dumb. It was now all making sense. She looked at Andi again while just smiling.

Tiningnan s'ya ni Andi at ngumiti rin.

"Now I get why he chose you."

"Chose me?" Andi confusingly asked.

Huminga ng malalim si Maru at iniba agad ang topic. "How long have you been doing this?"

"Hmm, for about five years?" sagot ni Andi.

"And when are we gonna do this?" tanong muli ni Maru.

"We need to save those kids as soon as possible. Everything's already planned. I also alerted the others. We are going to this hotel tomorrow night."

"How are we gonna go inside the hotel and save those kids?"

Andi folded the blueprint and put it inside her bag.

"I'll be the bait," Andi casually answered.

Maru was dumbfounded. What the hell did she hear? A bait?

"Are you f-cking kidding me, Andi?"

Andi just laughed. "You heard me right, Maru. I'll be the bait."

Maru was still astonished at what she heard from Andi. She found this plan absurd. This was a dead end. A risky plan. If she was lucky, she could live. But if not, she could die. But when she remembered herself doing the same thing back then, she could only laugh so hard.

"God, this is so funny. I cannot believe this."

Ngunit huminto rin sa pagtawa si Maru nang may marealize ito.

"It's good to be risky sometimes, but not all the time, Andi. Ang mga bagay na 'to ay dapat pinag-iisipan. Lalo na kung buhay mo ang nakataya rito. I did the same thing back then. I didn't regret my choice but for sure, those people that I love regret some of their choices. If only they could stop me, just imagine the thought of them feeling guilty. I was an inconsiderate bitch."

Andi looked at Maru and smiled.

"You have those people, I have none."

And that stabbed Maru straight to her heart.

"I've been alone all my life, Maru. So, whether I live or die, I don't really care," patuloy ni Andi habang nakangiti pa rin ito.

"Then we're all set. I'll see you tomorrow. Have a good night," wika muli ng dalaga saka ito naglakad palabas ng kuwarto. Maru stood there while she was looking at the door where Andi left. She just realized and learned something about the woman.

Andi was already dead inside.

***

Rusty, forgive me. - L