Running a hand through his hair, he darted towards the stairs as Ashley and Alanna moved to make phone calls. I watched him blurring up the stairs, and took a step to follow him. Halina grabbed my arm. “How could this happen? How could Julian leave your home undetected?”
I shook my head, guilt and remorse flooding me so fast I felt like I was drowning in it. “We were asleep, we didn’t feel him leaving.”
Her grip on my arm tightened. “Why didn’t you hear it? He was right down the hall from you.”
Tears splashed on my cheeks as I shook my head. Not able to hold her gaze, I closed my eyes. “We closed the door…I forgot to reopen it.”
I dropped my head in my hands, a sob breaking out of me. Muttering encouragement to my sniffling daughter, Mom took Nika away, walking into the living room with her to turn on a movie. Over my sobs, I could hear Teren tossing things around in our bedroom and Alanna and Ashley on the phone. Starla and Jacen stood there forlornly, hands in their pockets and guilt on their faces. The guilt was in mine too. I’d done this. I’d sent everyone away because I’d wanted an “empty” house for one night. It hadn’t seemed like a big deal at the time, now it seemed monumental.
Imogen’s arms were around me nearly instantly. “Don’t blame yourself, Emma. Accidents happen.”
Surprisingly, Halina’s grip on my arm turned comforting. “You couldn’t have known…” Her voice drifted off as she sighed.
Halina let go of me and tilted her head upstairs. “If Nika was telling the truth, and he didn’t wander off…there should be some clues upstairs. Some scent of who took him.”
My head shot up as I stared at her wide-eyed. I hadn’t really believed that a monster had swiped him. It seemed more rational that he’d wandered off. But if someone had, Halina was right; our advanced senses should pick up…something.
I blurred up the stairs past her.
Teren met us in the twins’ room. The jungle play land theme seemed ominous in the dark. Our glows highlighted shapes and animals that were warm and cheery in the daylight; the tiger crouching behind a tree screamed predator to me now.
Wearing a fresh shirt and sturdy shoes, Teren inhaled deeply as he looked around. I smelled the foreignness in the room instantly. It seemed familiar, I just couldn’t place why. We looked for anything out of place once Teren flipped a light on, but everything was exactly how we’d left it when we’d put them to bed. Everything except the beds. Their covers were both pulled back, both children gone from them.
And Spike. He was different too. Having slept in the room with the children, since our bedroom door was closed off to him, he was huddled under the bed, his tail the only part of him visible. He crawled out when he smelled us in the room, his curvy tail slowly swishing back and forth. Walking up to me, he buried his head in my leg, almost like he felt guilty too for not doing a better job. I petted the collie sympathetically.
Teren’s brow furrowed as Halina sniffed a stuffed animal on Julian’s bed. Imogen smelled the curtains as I bit back the frustrated bile. Scents didn’t exactly come with a driver’s license. For the first time in a long time, I felt like a regular, unenhanced, helpless human being. I could only sense that someone had been here, but I didn’t know who that person was. Teren’s theory that Gabriel had “encouraged” someone to drop by was sounding more and more reasonable to me. Anger knotted my stomach as I considered plunging a stake into the ancient vampire myself.
From downstairs, I heard Jacen beating himself up for neglecting his responsibility and leaving. Starla encouragingly told him that there was no way he could have anticipated something like this, and Jacen told her that it wasn’t an excuse. Sighing, he added, “I should let Gabriel know I failed.”
Teren’s head shifted from staring at Julian’s bed to staring downstairs. A low growl came from his chest as Jacen punched numbers into his cell phone. Halina narrowed her eyes at Teren and seemed about to protest her boyfriend’s innocence again, but Teren blurred out of the room, one of Julian’s favorite army men falling from his hand and clattering to the floor as he did.
Taking one last look around, my eyes tearing as I cataloged the strangely familiar scent permeating my home, I followed with Halina. Just as the line picked up and Jacen was about to say hello to Gabriel, Teren snatched the phone from the mixed vampire’s hands.
His face in a snarl, he snapped out, “What did you do?”
Rushing to his side, I put a hand on his arm. We really didn’t know if Gabriel was involved in this or not; best not to piss him off either way. Teren held gazes with me while Gabriel answered with, “I beg your pardon, Teren. What did I do…about what?”
Teren exhaled slowly, purposely. “Someone entered our home…took my son while we were all sleeping. Would you have anything to do with that?”
A long pause on Gabriel’s end. “Julian is missing?”
Teren grit his jaw. “Yes,” his voice warbled. “Did you have anything to do with it?”
As Alanna and Ashley finished with their phone calls and walked into the room, Gabriel answered matter-of-factly, “No, I did not.”
Starla and Jacen kept their matching eyes to the ground, for once, no longer touching each other. Alanna and Imogen put their arms around me as Ash turned to sit with Mom and Nika in the living room; I could hear my mom humming and rocking my distraught daughter. Wanting to hug her myself, but needing to know what Gabriel knew, I stayed beside Teren, watching his face flex in frustration.
In the pause of Teren gathering his thoughts, Halina stepped forward. Speaking at a normal volume, even though Teren was holding the phone, she asked, “Did you use me to get to my grandchildren?”
Gabriel’s voice was immediate through the small device’s speaker. “No.”
Halina took another step forward, her hands in tight balls as she stood in front of Teren, locking gazes with him. “Did you use me to study my family?”
Again, Gabriel answered her instantly. “No.”
Halina closed her eyes and looked about ready to grab the phone from Teren and scream into it. She didn’t need to though; everyone could hear her just fine. “Do not lie to me. If you, in any way, had something to do with Julian’s disappearance…”
Gabriel sighed. “It wasn’t me, my love. I did not take your grandchild.”
Teren took over the conversation when Halina’s face softened; she so wanted to believe him. Teren needed more convincing. “Of course you did, of course you took him! Who else has the power and knowhow to steal him right out from under our noses? Who else knew about the soundproofing done to our room? Who else could shut off the bond so we can’t feel him!”
Behind him, Starla and Jacen began to look very uncomfortable, like maybe Teren would think them guilty by association. I watched them intently, curious myself now.
Gabriel paused on his end. When his voice came out, it was scientifically curious. “You can’t sense him anymore?”
Teren gripped the phone tighter, his eyes narrowing as he stared at our daughter in the other room, still being rocked by my mother. “No…only Nika can feel him.”
“Fascinating.” Gabriel whispered it, but I still heard him. A growl burrowed out of my chest, but Teren was the one who lost the hold on his temper.
“Exactly!” he yelled, every vampire flinching. “You think it’s fascinating! To you, this is all one giant experiment – which is why you took him!
Halina crossed her arms over her chest as she looked away, red tears stinging her eyes. Alanna dropped her arms from me and went to hold her emotional son. I ran my hands back through my hair, every second believing more and more that Gabriel was indeed capable of this.
Teren was right; he knew about the room, he’d given it to us. He’d supplied himself with an alibi, making sure his spies told us the raid was tonight, so we’d let our guard down. For all we knew, everything about Malcolm was a lie, a hoax to draw our attention away from him. The man we’d met at the theater could have been anybody. It was possible that Gabr
iel had already dealt with him, right after the lab trashing. It was even possible that there was no Malcolm. All of it could have been a lie. All for an experiment.
Gabriel sighed wearily into the phone as tension pricked the air. “Honestly, Teren, I did not. I would not separate a family against their will. True, their bond fascinates me, but I would not conduct an experiment of this magnitude on a child.” He paused, then quietly said, “Do not forget that I am the reason he even made it to his birth. I’ve only ever tried to help your family, Teren.”
Teren closed his eyes, shaking his head angrily. “Right, how could I forget? You’re constantly reminding us how valuable you are. The shots, the windows, finding Carr…finding people.” He swallowed harshly, his voice shaking as his eyes opened. “And all for nothing, right?” Teren sniffed as he shook his head again. “I don’t believe it. No one does something for nothing. No one is that altruistic.”
Alanna stroked her son’s arm while he waited for Gabriel’s response. Starla and Jacen shifted their feet while Halina closed her eyes. “Teren, not everyone has ulterior motives,” Gabriel said softly.
I watched my husband struggle to reign in his temper, his rational head combating with his heart. Sometimes it was easier to yell when you were frustrated or scared; Teren was both. In a clipped voice, he said, “But you do. You did what you did for access, to study them because they fascinate you. You stay close to us to watch them. You’ve already admitted that much. If you orchestrated all of this to test their abilities, it will be the last experiment that you ever run…you have my word.”
Gabriel sighed again. “If you find that I did have anything to do with this, I would let you do what you will with me. But I promise you, I did not.” A short sniffle on Gabriel’s end surprised me, along with the rare emotion I heard when he spoke again. “Believe me or don’t, but I love your children, Teren.”
Teren’s hand was shaking along with his voice when he responded to Gabriel’s declaration. “Then who? Who else has the power to pull this off?” Alanna stroked his back, her dark head resting against her son’s shoulder, her eyes moist with pink tears.
I clutched Imogen tight as the emptiness in my soul, where my son’s presence should have been, hallowed out my heart. The absence of him was beyond any pain I’d ever felt. An ache of surprising dread filled me. If Gabriel really didn’t have anything to do with it, then my son could be anywhere, with anyone. As much as it hurt, I’d almost have preferred the idea of Gabriel snatching him as some wacked out experiment. At least then I’d know that Julian wouldn’t be harmed. I believed Gabriel when he said he loved them.
Gabriel’s voice was dark with heat when he answered Teren’s seemingly unanswerable question. “I believe I know who has him, Teren.”
Every somber, hanging head in the room lifted. A painful bubble of hope rose up my chest again as I locked gazes with my husband. His eyes were moist as well, and I could see the painful longing rising in him too. “Who?” I whispered, hoping he’d spout out an address for me.
Hearing me, Gabriel said, “The raid did not go as planned. I lost a few good men tonight,” he paused and Jacen stepped forward, his face seemingly paler. I looked over at him sympathetically. Gabriel’s “men” were Jacen and Starla’s family. Starla grabbed his hand, stepping into his side as Gabriel continued. “We were able to wound him, but not grievously enough to stop him from automatically healing.” Gabriel sighed, his voice rough. “We almost had him, Teren. None of this would have happened if we’d just gotten there sooner.”
Teren started breathing again as he shook his head. “Are you saying…? Did…?”
Gabriel sighed as my husband couldn’t complete any of his questions. “Yes…this is my fault, Teren. Not because I planned it, but because I made him so desperate, that he felt he had no other choice. I’m sorry, I really didn’t think he’d go after you, and I’m not sure what his intentions are with Julian, but…yes…I believe Malcolm has taken your son.”
A deep growl rose from Teren’s chest as his eyes flashed to the front door; I barely recognized my husband. He only spoke one word, but it chilled me to the core. “Malcolm.”
The smell upstairs instantly linked with a memory. That man by the movie theaters. His scent had been faint in the breeze and faint on the paper, but now that the two were linked, they perfectly matched. The thief that Gabriel was chasing had somehow, and for some reason, snuck into our home and taken our child. I couldn’t see why and I didn’t really care. I wanted Julian back – that was the only thing I currently cared about.
Eyes still on the door, Teren growled into the phone, “Are you close?” When Gabriel answered that he could be there within the hour, Teren nodded. “Good, get here. We have work to do.” Then he snapped shut the phone and tossed it at a remorseful Jacen.
Teren scanned our home, his pale eyes clearly showing a spinning mind. Like a skipping CD player, my mind was shuffling too, thoughts and feelings continually shifting from one to the next; none of them helpful. A second of silence passed as we all watched him, then Halina stepped forward. Everyone’s attention shifted to her. “What are we going to do, Teren?”
He twisted around to her, his eyes simmering as determination and righteous anger flooded his expression. His lips curling into a snarl, he growled out, “We’re going to get my son back.”
Chapter 18
Three Days
They say the first forty-eight hours are the most critical when it comes to finding a missing person. I wasn’t sure if that applied when the person missing was a vampire who’d been abducted by a desperate man with a grudge, but that feeling of time ticking forward still added tension and fear to our home. And we couldn’t ask for outside help either. It wasn’t as if I could go on the news, plastering Julian’s face and description over every television in America. That sort of exposure was too difficult to contain. We didn’t let people remember our features. How on earth would Halina wipe millions of viewers?
But we did have a home full of eager helpers and we did have a pretty good idea over who’d taken Julian. That was confirmed when Gabriel showed up at our house. Stepping into the twins’ room, his nose wrinkled immediately. “Yes, that is Malcolm’s scent. He was here.” Gabriel’s face stormed up with genuine anger and he looked ready to tear apart…something.
Halina’s arms slipped around him, her face burying in his chest. “I knew you didn’t do this,” she whispered as he held her.
With Gabriel now in our search party, rather than on the suspect list, Teren started barking out orders. With Hot Ben glued to his side, he pointed at Gabriel, Jacen and Starla. “You three check down south. He was headed that way before he turned back. I want to know why.”
Starla and Jacen immediately nodded and blurred off. Jacen looking eager to get away from Gabriel’s stormy, jade eyes. While Gabriel hadn’t chided him directly, there were more than a few narrowed glances when it became obvious to him that Jacen had ignored his orders and left us alone. The guilt swept over me again. I’d asked and encouraged the mixed pair to leave.
Watching his family depart, Gabriel twisted back to Teren. “He wouldn’t have headed south with Julian, Teren. He wouldn’t have headed towards my nest.” He raised an eyebrow as he crossed his arms over his chest.
Teren sighed as he sat on the couch, his slacks still filthy from his earlier search for our son. “Then why head that way?”
Gabriel smirked and shook his head. “So you would think that I took him.” Looking out the large window overlooking the ocean, he narrowed his ancient eyes. “Maybe he hoped that if he placed you on my tail, you wouldn’t suspect him.” He grinned wryly. “And that did work…for a second.”
I sighed as I paced and Gabriel looked over at me. “His switching direction is the key. He did that intentionally, so when he shut the bond off, you wouldn’t know where to look.”
Stepping forward, I shook my head. “How did he turn off the bond? I didn’t think that was even possible.”
Tilting his head, Gabriel’s eyes shifted up, as if he were accessing different parts of his brain. “I’ve never attempted it, but it is possible that he has come up with something that naturally inhibits the beacon, if you will, in like-minded blood.” He shrugged, his lips twisting. “Honestly, I don’t know. Halting the conversion has been my focus for years, not the bond.” He sighed. “But Malcolm was my assistant for centuries for a reason. He’s ingenious and resourceful…when motivated to be.”
Teren sighed, looking around the remaining family members. “So, since he tried misdirecting us before he yanked the bond away…where do we look?”
Gabriel pointed north. “I’ll check out that direction.” He looked over to Halina. “You check east, as far as you can.” Halina nodded, confident that she’d be the one to find him. She blurred away to begin her search while Gabriel twisted back to Teren. “You two stay here, protect the rest of your family.”
Teren stood, shaking his head, Hot Ben standing with him. “I’m not just sitting around while he’s out there, alone.” He pointed to our door. “I can’t do that.”
Conversion Book Three: 'Til Death Page 35
