Blood Doll (The Vampire Agape Series Book #3) (The Vampire Agape Series #3) (8 page)

Chapter Ten

I’m the last one to join the huddle outside the front door. “So, what’s the plan?”

Sebastian inhales deeply. “She went northwest judging by the direction of her scent. Since there’s seven of us, we’ll break into three groups.” He points in the direction of each assignment. “Gia, Lairah and Thatcher will take the far west corner. Curry and Sol will search the middle while Sully and I scan the far eastern section. Spread an acre apart so that gives us a wide span and we’ll push north. First group to find her sends out a text to notify the others. Any questions?”

Everyone voices their understanding and we split into our designated groups to begin searching. “I really screwed up.”

“You can’t blame yourself. This is something Jenn’s gotta accept and find a way to deal with. No way it’s your fault.” He’s being supportive but I wonder if he heard the harsh things I said to her.

“I told Jenn she needed to leave if she couldn’t accept my relationship with Avery.”

Curry stops. “I heard everything but you were protecting Avery from Jenn’s verbal attack. That’s what we do for our agápes because we can do no less.” I feel minimally better knowing he understands where I’m coming from but I still have Avery to worry about. I’m not certain she understands.

“But what if we don’t find her? Avery may never forgive me if that happens.” It was a possibility I had to consider.

“First of all, we will find Jenn. She’s still a fledgling so she has no idea how to thwart seven experienced vampires from tracking her. Secondly, that’s not how it works with your agápe. Avery can’t
not
forgive you. It isn’t her nature to hold a grudge against her beloved because she loves you too much.”

I hadn’t considered that. “I hope so.”

Our phones vibrate simultaneously. “See? Someone has already found her.”

The message is from Sebastian. He wants us to come to his location. “I don’t think this means they found Jenn. He would ask us to meet them at the house if they had recovered her.”

I’m instantly worried. “I hope this doesn’t mean something has happened to Jenn.” I’m not convinced Avery would forgive me so easily if that were the case.

We head in Sebastian’s direction. “I’m sure it’s nothing so don’t jump to conclusions.”

We’re the last ones to arrive where the family is gathered in the middle of the compound property. Jenn is nowhere in sight so I’m immediately alarmed. “What’s going on?”

“I picked up on Jenn’s scent and followed it here,” Sebastian says. “Sully and I agree that we smell something else. Or rather
someone
else.”

Curry and I both inhale deeply and he’s right. “Other vampires have been here.”

“None of us recognize the scents so I don’t believe we have friendly company on our grounds.”

Curry and I look at one another and say his name at the same time. “Vincent.”

I feel horror rising from my stomach and all thoughts about finding Jenn dissipate. “If Vincent has breached the walls of the compound then he knows we are the ones that took Avery. There’s no one in the house to stop him from getting to her.”

“Or my family.” Hysteria floods Curry’s voice.

“Nooo!” I yell the moment I pick up on Avery’s sudden onset of intense fear. “He’s inside the house.”

The seven of us race toward the compound. I’m the first one inside with Curry on my heels. He rushes past me toward the nursery and I fear what he will find because I don’t suspect Vincent’s one to hesitate in making infants his victims.

“Avery!” I yell as I fall to my knees. I don’t have to search the house for my beloved. I already know she is no longer here because I feel the cold distance growing between us.

I put my fists to my eyes and a sound I’ve never heard–or produced–roars from deep within my chest. I rise to stand from where I’m kneeling and do the only thing I can. I pound my fists into the walls over and over until they’re bloody with open wounds. I’m not sure how long I use the walls as a punching bag but I stop after I register Thatcher’s hand on my shoulder. “You need to go to Curry’s quarters right now.”

I walk the hall terrified of what I will find at the end when I reach Curry and Chansey’s bedroom. I listen for any clue of what I’m walking into but the only thing I hear is eery silence–and then the rapid beats of two tiny hearts. I sigh with relief in knowing the babies are alive and still here.

Curry is standing between their cribs looking over his children as they sleep. He doesn’t turn when I enter. “He took Chansey too. His scent is in our bedroom but not the nursery. She must have shut the door since they were sleeping. He probably never even realized there were two half-agápe babies right in the next room.” Anna Grace stirs in her sleep and Curry lifts her from her crib. He cradles her in his arms and stares at her angelic face. “I can’t even bear to imagine what he’d have done to my children if he’d found them.” Curry kisses the top of his daughter’s head and places her back in the crib.

The entire family is standing in the nursery. “Lairah, can you and Gia take care of the babies while the rest of us work on a plan to get Chansey and Avery back.”

“Of course we will. You don’t even have to ask but one question: what will we feed them when they wake? They’ll be hungry in the next few hours and their only source of nourishment has come from Chansey.” I’m glad we have someone with some type of motherly instinct to care for the babies because that wouldn’t have crossed my mind until they awakened ready to eat.

Curry stands with his hands on his hips for a moment before he finally answers. “I guess we don’t have a choice. They’ll have to take formula.”

“They’re half-vampire,” Lairah says. “What if that’s not what their bodies need?”

I see the torment on his face. He’s torn between staying to tend to the health of his babies and leaving them to go after their mother. This is where I come in. It’s my job as his best friend to help him through this crisis. “The best thing for the babies is to find Chansey and bring her home to them. Ask Dr. Knight to come out and examine them. She’s their physician. Let her make the call on what kind of nourishment they need until you can bring Chansey back.”

“You’re right,” he says. “Getting Chansey home as soon as possible solves any issues the twins might have with nutrition so that’s what I must concentrate on.”

Anna Grace frets in her sleep and Gia places her hand against her back. She rubs it in a circular motion to sooth her. “Don’t worry. Lairah and I will take wonderful care of your babies and Dr. Knight will figure out what to feed them.”

I give Curry a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “Your kids will be fine. Leave them with the girls so we can get a plan together.”

My best friend reaches out and places his finger inside James Grady’s tiny hand. The baby grasps his father’s finger in his sleep and sighs. “I’m going to bring your mother home to you, son. I swear I will.”

He pulls his finger gently from James Grady’s grasp and walks toward the door. “And after I get my wife back safely from that son of a bitch, I’m going to kill him.”

I don’t think so. “Only one problem with that plan, my friend. You’ll have to beat me to it.”

The five of us–Curry, Sebastian, Sully, Thatcher, and myself–convene in the living room. “I have something to say. I know the two of you aren’t going to like it but I think we should stake Vincent’s place out before we strike. We need to know what we’re going up against.”

Curry and I reply at the same time. “No.”

“I know you don’t want your agápes staying a minute longer than necessary but Sebastian is right,” Thatcher says. “It’s the wisest thing to do. And the safest for your mates. Go in there tonight with guns blazing and you could get them and yourselves killed if you don’t know what you’re walking into.”

I’m sure my brother’s attitude would be much different if he was in my shoes. “Your beloved is here with you–safe and sound. Talk to me about patience when a lunatic like Vincent comes in and takes Gia from you.”

He doesn’t deny my accusation regarding his affection for her. “I suppose I wouldn’t be patient about getting her back but I’d like to think I’d have the good sense to make a sound plan without getting myself killed.”

Sully speaks up to agree with Thatcher. “We understand your anxiousness but you can’t save Avery and Chansey if you’re dead.”

“No one is going in and getting killed tonight,” Curry tells his brother. “I don’t think they’ve figured out we have the advantage of walking in daylight so they won’t be expecting it. I think a little past dawn is the best time to strike. As much as I despise the thought, Vincent and whoever is with him will be high as kites by morning after having a blood jewel in their possession again. We’ll go in and take Chansey and Avery while Vincent and his coven are passed out for the day.”

He’s basing his plan on my ability to day walk and I haven’t had time to try since finding out Avery is my agápe. “I haven’t been in sunlight yet.”

“You haven’t slept during the day in months. Trust me. You’re a day walker even if you haven’t confirmed it yet.”

Curry sounds very confident but I guess we would find out in the morning. “So we’re doing this right after the sun comes up?”

“Hell, yeah!” He pounds his fist into his open palm. “I’m not leaving Chansey there a second longer than I have to. You with me?”

“All the way.”

Chapter Eleven

Curry and I are sitting in a parked car on the side of the road waiting for the sun to make its appearance. We’re armed with wooden stakes but it’s my bare hands I plan to use when I kill Vincent. I have many reasons for needing to be the one to do the honors. I want that monster to pay for all the ways he has hurt my beloved. Stealing her from her family. Killing her parents. Draining her almost to the point of death. Whoring her blood out so anyone addicted to it is a threat to her safety. The list goes on and on. But I couldn’t be sorry for the way things have played out. In a way, Vincent has played a part in bringing me and my agápe together.

I need to think about something besides all the things Vincent has done or I won’t be able to sit here and patiently wait for the sun to rise. “I spoke with Avery about the potential pregnancy. She was happy about the possibility.”

Curry reaches over and slaps me on the back. “Ah, man. That’s great news. And a relief for you, I’m sure.”

Relief didn’t quite cover it. “She said we should know in a couple of weeks.”

“If she’s expecting and the pregnancy progresses at the same rate as Chansey’s, you’ll be parents by spring.”

Oh shit. I hadn’t thought of it like that. Avery could potentially give birth to our child–or maybe even children–in a few short months. “We aren’t married.”

Curry laughs. “I thought you didn’t believe in vampires observing marriage vows.”

I guess I had changed my view on the matter. “I didn’t before I had an agápe and possibly got her pregnant.”

“A mate changes how you see everything,” he says.

Curry was born after me but still in a time period that shared the same beliefs. “I always expected to be married when I had sex the first time. I thought it would be with my wife and I definitely expected to be married to the woman that would give me my first child.”

“You want to marry Avery?” He doesn’t sound surprised at all.

“I do. I want to be Avery’s husband. I was wrong when I thought it didn’t matter. I want to be tied to her in every possible way. Marriage will be us telling the world we want to be together forever because it’s what we choose. Not because our match was preordained by Anteros.” I think I remember Curry saying something very similar to this once.

“You won’t have long to get married if she’s pregnant and you want her to be your wife before the baby comes.” He’s right. A pregnancy will make for a tight schedule.

“I’m going to as soon as I have her safe and sound in my arms again.” A thought passes through my mind. What if she doesn’t want to marry me? “I hope it’s what she wants too.”

“Don’t worry. It will be.” I wish I had Curry’s confidence.

Our time as vampire and agápe has been nearly nonexistent so I’m not certain where her head is on the whole marriage thing. She could think she’s too young to get married. “Did you know Avery’s only twenty?

He grins and I suspect he’s recalling the way I once rimmed him out over Chansey’s age. “I didn’t realize she was so young. Just a mere child,” he laughs. He thinks he’s funny.

“She’ll be twenty-one next month.” I was trying to make it sound better by tacking on that extra year–just as Avery had attempted.

“Twenty-one isn’t that much younger than Chansey. Only a couple of years.” This is his way of trying to make me feel better.

“I don’t want to rob her of the best years of her life.” Or have her look back on the things she missed and hate me for it.

“You haven’t had enough time with her to figure this out but every day gets better and better.”

“I couldn’t even hold on to my agápe a full twenty-four hours.” Avery must now have zero faith in me as her protector. “What does that say for the kind of mate I’ll be?”

Curry stares ahead. “Chansey was taken too so you’re not alone in feeling like an inadequate mate.”

“I’m never taking my eyes off of her again after I get her back.” I’ll stay so close she’ll think we’re conjoined twins. She’ll be sick of me.

“I know the feeling. After Chansey is back and the dust settles, I want to revisit the subject of turning her. I rather have her as a vampire than live without her.” Turning his mate is his decision but I’ll never attempt that again. I love Avery too much to watch her die like Lisette.

“What about the babies?”

“We’ll have to wait until they finish nursing.” He already has an answer so that tells me he’s been thinking about this a lot.

“You don’t think she’ll want more children?”

“I don’t know,” he laughs. “We haven’t discussed it. We’ve been so busy with the twins that the thought of having more children hasn’t crossed my mind.” He grins. “I remember her telling me once that she wanted at least three but that was before either of us knew what we were to one another. She might not feel the same now.”

I sense Avery’s agitation so something must be happening. “Can you feel Chansey right now?”

“Yes. She’s terrified.” His hands are in tight fists and I expect him to punch the dashboard any minute. “Her fear is as strong as it was the night Marsala attacked her through black magic and caused the emergency cesarean. I’m trying to calm her so she’ll know we’re coming but I haven’t been successful so far.”

“If you can’t calm her through her connection, it stands to reason that Vincent is probably doing something to heighten her fear. He did that with Jenn and Avery to raise their adrenalin.” I didn’t say the rest of what I was thinking. There was no reason in pointing out that he’d be drinking from one–or both–of them. He’s able to draw his own conclusion.

“If he’s doing that then he means to drink from her.” Curry hits the back of his head against the seat several times. “He’ll figure out that Chansey’s a blood jewel if he hasn’t already.”

“Did you tell her?”

He sighs. “No. I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I didn’t want her living in fear of something I didn’t understand and couldn’t explain. I had every intention of telling her but I wanted to find out what it meant first.”

She was going to freak when she found out. “She’ll inevitably know now.”

Curry closes his eyes. “Yeah and she’s gonna be pissed at me for not telling her when she figures out that I knew.” I didn’t envy Curry that conversation.

I’m relieved to sense the change in my agápe. “I feel Avery calming down so she’s either meditating to lower her heart rate and adrenaline or the coven is finished with them.”

“Chansey is naive when it comes to vampires. She saw how Sully was before our reconciliation but it was brief. He played cat and mouse games with her to taunt me.” He’s restless in his seat. “I’m sure it’s nothing compared to what Vincent is doing to her right now.”

“It’s best to not think about it. It’ll consume you and distract your mind from what we need to do but take comfort in knowing that being a blood jewel is what will keep her alive. If for no other reason, Vincent will protect her because of that.” Those are the only reassuring words I have.

“Ironically, that’s the only thing encouraging me at this point.”

I look at the horizon. “The sun is coming up. Another three or four minutes tops.”

He laughs. “I hope you don’t turn into a crisp french fry.”

“Me too. That would suck.” I can’t even consider what would happen to me if my body isn’t ready for the sun. Avery is the only thing I can think about.

We remain silent for the next few minutes as we wait for the verdict. I stretch my hand outward into the sun’s rays and feel nothing but its warmth. Almost.

“No smoke. That’s encouraging.” Curry watches my hand as I form a fist and then flex it open. “I still feel a little sting when the sun initially hits my skin but it goes away after a minute or two.”

There’s definitely a slight burning sensation. “It feels like a blistering tingle.”

“I like it.” Curry puts his hand into the sun. “It’s a good reminder of what I really am when I let it slip my mind.”

He sometimes forgets? “I can’t imagine feeling so human that I don’t remember I’m a vampire.”

“Just wait, buddy. It’ll happen to you too,” he says.

I’m so lucky to have a best friend that has experienced this. “I’m glad I have you to advise me.”

“I’m grateful I have Sebastian.”

Sebastian had no one to guide him. He was left to interpret it all on his own based solely on legends. “Can you imagine the things that must have gone through his mind?” All he knew in the beginning was that he was a vampire and he loved a human. I remember how confused I was when I realized I felt affection for Avery.

“He had to be terrified of the things he was feeling.” Curry taps his temple a few times. “Or think he was losing his mind.”

“And to lose Ella the way he did. Such a senseless death. I don’t know how he didn’t go mad.” I don’t think I’d be strong enough to bear it because I’m about to lose my mind now.

“He told me he still feels her–even in death.”

That would be torture. “That’s gotta hurt.”

“He seems comforted by it.”

I don’t know how there would be contentment in that. “I’d rather die than live without Avery.”

“I feel the same about Chansey,” Curry agrees. “He’s thought of ending it all but says he lives for Ella because it’s what she wants for him.”

This isn’t the kind of thing we should be discussing when we’re about to burst into a nest of crazy vampires to take back our mates. “Sun’s up and shining. Time to roll.”

We get out of the car and quietly approach the house where I saw Avery for the first time. It’s bittersweet memories being in this place again.

Curry tries the front door and it’s unlocked so we immediately suspect a trap. I motion toward the back of the house and he follows closely on my heels. I push the lever of the handle and the door opens–a definite trap. He points toward the upper level balcony above us and I nod. We climb up and over the railing and land on the second story porch. The french doors are open–another invitation for us to enter.

I’m growing uneasy as we enter the house but it’s of no consequence. Trap or no trap, we’re going inside.

Something is noticeably off once we’re within the house. No. Make that
everything
is off. Curry and I look at one another–disappointment and anger apparent on his face. Avery and Chansey aren’t here. No one is. The house is abandoned.

“Damn that bastard to hell!” I never considered them being anywhere but this place. “They haven’t been gone for long. I still smell his putrid odor.”

It’s obvious we’re in Vincent’s quarters because we’re surrounded by grandeur furnishings. “There’s a clue somewhere in this house so we’ll start here in the king’s quarters.” Curry streaks over to the bed and begins shredding the mattress. “Tear everything apart. We’ll strip this house room by room until we find something that will lead us to them.”

I’m fiercely ripping wood from the floor when I hear Curry. “Chansey …” He’s wearing a blank stare.

I walk to him and snap my fingers in front of his face. “What is it?”

“She’s safe because she’s channeling me.” I don’t know what that means. “She’s letting me know she’s okay.”

I’m immediately alarmed because my agápe isn’t channeling me also–not that I would know what it felt like if she did. “I can’t feel Avery doing anything. Does that mean something’s wrong?”

“No. You and Avery haven’t figured out how to control your bond yet. It’ll come with time.”

I hope I get the chance to learn more about our bond. “I swear he won’t come out of this alive. I won’t stop until he’s dead.”

“You can’t fixate on him if you want to reach her,” he says. “Close your eyes. Try to revisit that place where only you and Avery reside when your bond is at its strongest. Remember the feel of your connection and feed it with your love. ”

I do as Curry instructs and I get nothing. Not a single thing. And I feel like an epic fail for my agápe.

“Keep yourself receptive. Think of her while we work to tear this place apart. I’m sure my wife is instructing her on how to do it and if she’s anything like Chansey, she won’t stop until she’s able to connect with you.”

I return to ripping up the floor. “There’s no way I’d be thinking of anything but her.”

We work for hours tearing the house apart, leaving nothing unturned. The once grand home now resembles a demolition site and it’s a shame. It was so beautiful. “We’ve shredded every piece of furniture, every floor, every wall covering. I know there’s a clue here somewhere. There has to be. All of this can’t be for naught.”

I’m studying the only untouched piece remaining in the room when I hear Avery’s voice behind me. “Your clue to finding her is in the mantle.”

I spin around at the startle of her voice and she’s standing across the room. Her face is oddly void of emotion. “Thank the gods you escaped from Vincent. Where is Chansey?”

Curry comes into the parlor where Avery and I are. “Who are you talking to?”

Is he blind? She’s standing right there in plain sight. “Avery.” I get up to go to her and she disappears. I reach out and pass my hand through the space she just occupied. “Where did she go?”

I turn to look at Curry for help with an explanation. “You saw Avery’s fylgia. It’s weird, right?”

Weird doesn’t begin to cover it. “Yeah. It was bizarre. And disappointing. I thought she had safely escaped and was here.”

“I’m guessing Avery had a twin that died at birth?” he asks.

I have no idea. It’s in this moment that I realize I know far too little about my agápe. “I don’t know. We never discussed it.”

“You will. There’ll be plenty of time for learning everything about her.” He’s nonchalant as he digs through the piles of plaster and wood tossed around the room. “What did the fylgia say?”

“She told me my clue to finding Avery is in the mantle.” I walk over to the only intact piece still in the room and begin studying it. “Look.” I point to an inconsistency in the design of the painted wood.

Curry leaves the heap of debris he’s ciphering through for a better look at the woodwork around the fireplace. “This is an old house. What do you want to bet there’s a trip for a hidden compartment? Those were pretty common in houses like this. I incorporated one into the mantle at the house I built in Pascagoula.”