Blood Doll (The Vampire Agape Series Book #3) (The Vampire Agape Series #3) (9 page)

I peck on the mantle hoping to hear a hollow sound but everything seems solid.

“Maybe you should try pulling instead of pushing.”

I slide my finger along the underside of the dentil molding until I feel a slight give. I push upward as I pull and a narrow drawer no wider than two inches slides out. I look at Curry as I remove it from the mantle and then I turn it upside down over my palm.

A heavy brass key lands in my hand and I immediately know it’s not for this house. The Sigil identifies it as belonging to another residence–the place where Vincent is holding our agápes captive.

Chapter Twelve

Curry and I reluctantly accept that we won’t be finding Avery and Chansey today so we go back to the compound to begin researching the Sigil. We’re defeated for now but we have the first clue we need in steering us toward their direction. And that’s a hell of a lot more than we had when we started last night.

The babies are crying when we enter the house and Curry immediately runs for the nursery with me behind him. The curtains are pulled closed to block the sunlight but I easily see Gia and Lairah sitting on the couch in the nearly black room. Each is holding a baby and rocking fiercely. “Thank the gods you are here. These two have not been happy since they woke and found both of their parents gone.”

Gia and Lairah’s faces fall when they see we are alone. “You didn’t get them back?” Gia asks as she rises from the couch with James Grady so she may walk the floor and bounce him in an attempt to make him happy.

Curry takes his daughter from Lairah and sits in the glider before he motions for Gia to bring his son to him. “It appeared as though we had just missed them.”

Both babies are immediately soothed by their father. It’s absolutely amazing what his voice, smell, and touch does to calm them. Avery has that same effect on me.

“Did Dr. Knight come?” Curry asks.

“Yeah. She had us mix one part infant formula to one part blood. They didn’t like it but they finally gave in and took it because they were hungry. That was only about an hour ago so they had to have gone at least ten hours without eating.” That can’t be good for them.

“Poor little things. They had to be starving because Chansey nurses them every four hours.” Curry kisses Anna Grace on the forehead and then James Grady. “They may not be very old but they already have an ironclad bond with her. I’m sure they’re confused because she isn’t here to feed them.”

“All the more reason to get her and Avery back as soon as possible,” Gia says. “It sounds like they’re still close if they hadn’t been gone long when you got there. They couldn’t have gotten far since the sun was coming up so they must still be in Savannah or the surrounding vicinity.”

“Those are our thoughts exactly.” I take the heavy brass key from my pocket and hold it up for Gia and Lairah to see. “And we don’t think Vincent would be hiding this key in a secret compartment if the house it unlocks isn’t nearby.”

“Wow. That’s a complicated Sigil,” Lairah says. “I’ve never seen anything like it but what makes you think this is the key to the house where he’s hiding Avery and Chansey?”

“Avery has a fylgia like Chansey and Ella. Anteros sent her to me. She’s the one that told me where to find the key.”

“This whole agape-fylgia thing is just freaky. Wouldn’t it have been easier if she would have told you the address instead of giving you clues?” That would have been too simple. Anteros didn’t work that way.

Lairah reaches for the key and takes it from me. “Wouldn’t Vincent need this if it unlocks the place he’s holding Chansey and Avery?”

“He might if he hadn’t changed the locks in the last two hundred years.” Even vampires make updates.

“So you’re looking for an old house in the Savannah area–at least two hundred years old. That doesn’t help a lot since Savannah is a historical town flooded with mansions fitting that description.” I don’t have time for Gia’s pessimistic attitude.

“Not all of them bear the sign of this sigil. All we have to do is find a vampire that can identify it.” Or maybe luck would be with us and we’d happen upon it.

Lairah passes the key to Gia. “Maybe Sebastian will recognize it.”

“I’m up. I couldn’t sleep knowing what the two of you were doing today.” Sebastian is standing in the doorway of the nursery. “I heard everything. Let me have a look at it.”

He takes the key and studies it as he turns it one way and then another. “I don’t recall seeing this symbol before but its design is ornate and baroque so it’s old. My guess is more than two hundred years since the first square in Savannah was constructed in the seventeen thirties. We should begin by looking at vampire archives to see if we can identify any houses built by our kind. The older records won’t be listed in the computer database so I’ll have to travel to the New Orleans compound to retrieve them. I’ll leave tonight and hopefully we’ll find a lead when I return with them.”

“May I ask a favor?” Curry says.

“Yes.”

“Gia and Lairah would be much more help if they were out searching with us so I’m going to ask Chansey’s grandmother to come take care of the babies. Can she ride back with you?”

He’ll be forced to tell her what’s happened. “You won’t be able to keep the truth from Anna if she comes here.”

“I’m pushed into a corner.” Curry shrugs. “I need her help with the babies. And she’s Chansey’s grandmother so I think she has the right to know what’s happened.”

“That’s probably best,” Lairah says. “Gia and I love these little guys to pieces but we weren’t made for staying up during the day to take care of them.”

“I know and I thank you for doing it today. Trust me when I say I know it isn’t easy. I don’t know how Chansey does it. She’s such a natural with them. She’s a wonderful mother and that’s why they need her back as soon as possible.”

Lairah places a supportive hand on Curry’s shoulder. “Go. We know you’re dying to get back out there and look again now that you have a starting place. We can take care of them until Anna arrives.”

“Thank you. You don’t know what it means to me and Sol,” Curry tells them.

“Don’t mention it,” Lairah takes her hand from his shoulder and gives him a hug. “All we want is the safe return of our sisters.”

Curry and I park on a side street off of Johnson Square. Built in seventeen thirty-three, it was the first square constructed in Savannah so it’s our starting point. It certainly fits the bill for being more than two hundred years old.

We take a quick look and Curry says, “The majority of these places don’t look like residences. Most are businesses.”

That’s a good thing and should speed up the process. “Then we should be able to rule them out quickly.”

We inspect every structure–both business and residential–for the sigil. No detail is left unobserved but our initial search at Johnson Square is unavailing so we move onto the next. The scenario is very much the same during our next quest but then we stumble upon something encouraging at a residence off of the main street.

“Look.” Curry points at the symbol above us. “It’s a sigil. Not the one we’re looking for but it supports the theory that we could be looking in the right place. It’s possible they might know Vincent’s whereabouts.”

“There’s at least four inside. Maybe five so we shouldn’t approach them alone.” Walking into a nest of unknown vampires is a huge risk. They reside in the city where the coven of Landra has built our newest compound yet they remain faceless and nameless to us. That means they don’t share our coven’s opinions and still drink directly from humans–probably willing and unwilling. “We’ll return tonight with the others and pay them a visit along with any other vampire residences we find.”

We complete the search through two more squares along with their surrounding streets and bring our total vampire residence discoveries to two. The day has been a total failure unless one of the groups of vampires have information that can lead us to Avery and Chansey.

On the way back to the compound, I pray to anyone that might hear my plea.
Please bring my beloved Avery home to me safely. I willingly give my life in place of hers and the miracle inside her right now. Our child.

I’m certain there’s a baby growing in Avery and I marvel at how similar he already is to a vampire without considering my contribution of DNA. He resides in darkness with blood as his only nourishment and although I’d never want him to be like me, I pray he’s developing the strength of a vampire. He’ll need that resilience to survive if Vincent drains Avery near depletion like he did the night of the blood ceremony.

The thought makes me consider everything that could go wrong. Our child might not survive the things Vincent will do to Avery. He needs her rich blood supply to live. His mother’s blood is his only lifeline. It’s the one and only way he receives oxygenation and nourishment to grow so chances are good that this baby won’t make it if I don’t get her back soon.

It’s a thought that plagues my mind the whole ride back to the compound and that’s when I begin to worry that things may have already gone bad for Avery and the baby. “It’s been a quiet day with Avery. I haven’t felt much from her today.”

“I haven’t either but I’m sure it was a long night for her and Chansey so they’re probably sleeping. I’m guessing we’ll feel more than we’d like after Vincent and his nest are awake.”

The thought is almost enough to make me lose my mind. “My gut tells me Avery’s pregnant. Did you feel that way before you knew with Chansey?”

“No.” He shakes his head and laughs. “It was the complete opposite with us. She was the one with the suspicion while I was in denial.”

He probably thinks I’m insane. “I have nothing to base it on except a hunch. That’s insane, right? It’s only been a couple of days so maybe I’m just being hopeful.”

“You share a beautiful connection with Avery. A baby solidifies that bond in a way you can’t imagine until it happens. I didn’t feel anything until I accepted the reality of Chansey’s pregnancy.” He’s grinning as he drives. “Once I did … it was crazy good.”

“I feel like a frenzy of emotions has taken over. Love. Happiness. Excitement.” But what I was feeling wasn’t all rainbows and butterflies. “Fear. Worry. Anxiety.”

“You’re not imagining any of this. It’s real. And trust me … it’s going to get worse. I was going out of my mind with worry about the next stunt Marsala would pull to get to Chansey. And then the babies came and I had them to worry about as well. Killing her was my only option. Even if it meant never knowing what a blood jewel was.”

Now I’m able to see why he didn’t hesitate. It didn’t matter what it meant to be a blood jewel if Marsala killed Chansey. “I didn’t let it show but I was very angry with you for a long time. When you killed Marsala, I thought you snuffed out my only lead for finding out what it meant for Avery to be a blood jewel . Now I understand why you had to do it and I’m sorry I didn’t trust your judgement or take Chansey’s safety into account.”

“Marsala had no limits when it came to wanting me and the babies. I didn’t want to kill her but she gave me no choice. She was evil in its purest form. I knew Chansey and the twins would never be safe as long as she lived.”

He didn’t have to explain. “It was the right decision. Just like it’ll be the right choice to kill Vincent and anyone associated with him when we find them.”

“Agreed.”

Chapter Thirteen

We stand at the door of the first vampire residence and wait for someone to answer. A young human girl not more than a day over sixteen swings it open. The whites of her eyes almost glow in the moonlight from the excessive black kohl smudged around them. Her make-up is overdone, just like the drugstore black hair dye covering her natural blond locks. “Who are you and what do you want?”

I feel like I should be asking if her mommy and daddy are home. “We’d like to see the owner of the house.”

She crosses her arms and appears annoyed. “He’s busy.”

We didn’t have time for games. “Maybe I should rephrase. Take us to the leader of this coven. Now.”

“Show them in Kaiden,” I hear a calm, male voice call out. We follow the young girl to a room at the back of the house where four young male vampires surround a television. All of them are consumed by the video game they’re playing. “I’m in the middle of something. What do you want?”

I watch his eyes so I can gage any reaction he might display. “We’re looking for a brother and sister living in the Savannah area. Vincent and Gloriana Godfrey.”

He doesn’t hesitate. “Never heard of ‘em.” I see no reaction so I believe he’s telling the truth.

“Has there been any talk in the community about some special kind of blood?”

“Yeah. I heard something about that a few months ago. Got invited to some big party where they were sharing but I didn’t go.” He takes his eyes from the television for a brief moment and gestures toward the young girl. “I’ve got my blood doll.” He puckers his lips and makes a kissing sound at the girl. “I don’t need their blood when I have my own personal supply anytime I want it. Ain’t that right, Kaiden?”

The girl is pleased by this vampire’s show of affection for her. Too bad it’s a fake endearment to make her think he cares about her and not her blood. “That’s right, baby. Anytime.”

He is using her as a meal ticket. Hadn’t I seen this done a thousand times before? But who was I to judge? Hadn’t I done the same thing? We all had at some point. Hell … I hadn’t realized it at the time but I’d agree to it not so long ago with my own agápe.

Curry appears annoyed and steps between the vampires and the flat screen. “Do you know of any other vampires living within the Savannah Squares?”

One of them pauses the game. “The only ones I know of live in the Victorian District over by Forsyth Park but we don’t hang. They’re not really into the same kind of things we are.”

Curry laughs but not because he’s amused. “Which would be teenage girls and video games?”

“Dude, don’t judge me.” He tosses the controller onto the couch. “I was seventeen when I was turned so I’m never going to grow up. This is it for me. I’ve achieved my maximum level of maturity.” He barely looks fifteen. His voice hadn’t even matured yet. Whoever did this to him should rot in hell. Forever.

“I’m gonna leave my number.” I take one of my cards from my wallet to give to him. “Please call if you hear any word circulating on that special blood again.”

He tosses it on the coffee table. “Will do.”

We leave the house of teen vamps and walk toward our next destination. “That was … I don’t even know what I think that was.” Weird? Strange? Freaky? All of those words are fitting.

“What about the girl?” Curry asks. “Should we do something about that?”

Kaiden’s presence is consensual. There isn’t anything to be done. “She is there of her own free will. Those guys are too wrapped up in their video game to stop her from leaving if she wants.”

“But she’s so young.” Curry has always had a soft place in his heart for any girl that reminded him of his sister. “Can a girl her age possibly have the mental capacity to make that kind of decision?”

She’s likely looking for affection because she doesn’t get any at home. This little creep is probably the first guy to come along and tell her she’s special. “It’s not for us to say. She didn’t appear harmed and they aren’t out of control so it isn’t a Landra issue.”

We knock on the door of the second residence and wait. I’m afraid but it has nothing to do with the vampires we’re about to become acquainted with. I’m terrified they will know nothing about Vincent or his whereabouts and we’ll be no better off than we were last night if they have no information for us.

A male vampire answers the door. He’s older than me–at least four hundred–despite his midtwenties appearance and modern clothing. He’s blond with bright blue eyes and a narrow nose. I’d guess he’s Northern European–or at least his ancestors were.

“Hello.” He still has an accent after four centuries but I can’t quite put my finger on its origin.

After I introduce myself and the others, the vampire identifies himself as Giermund–definitely a viking name–and invites us inside his home. “This is my mate, Runa.”

“Hello.” Her appearance is similar to Giermund’s–blond with light eyes and a narrow bridge of her nose. I suspect they are human siblings–quite possibly with the same maker–since that wouldn’t have been an unusual practice several centuries ago.

“We won’t take much of your time.” I tell the couple about our search for Vincent. I even confide our reason why, minus the part about the blood jewel. It’s a risk but one I’m willing to take at this point because this pair would be familiar with the agápe legend. And also because I feel my desperation growing. These vampires are mates so I take a chance hoping they will understand our urgent desire to rescue our beloveds from their captor.

“I’ve never heard of Vincent Godfrey or his coven but Runa and I don’t agree with the practices of most vampires so we choose to not socialize with them.”

I give Giermund my card. “Thank you for your time and please call if you hear anything you think might aid in finding our mates. Even if seems unimportant.”

He looks at the card and then back to me. “You’re with the Coven of Landra?”

“Yes. I’m head of the Savannah compound.”

“Runa and I have lived by Landra standards for more than a century and we feel we have a calling to help other vampires. Would you mind talking to us about joining once the problem with your mates is resolved?”

Allowing others into our circle would mean them knowing the truth about Avery and Chansey. I had no basis other than gut instinct alone but it told me an interview with Giermund and Runa was worth exploring. “We would love to talk with you further. We’ll be in touch.”