Blood Jewel

by Georgia Cates

  I looked at my watch and thought it was peculiar that she was already in her room. They told me it would be a while closing her in surgery and then she would be in recovery for an hour. She must have done really well if she is already back.

  I anxiously went to the room and saw Chansey in the bed on her back with her eyes closed. She was much paler than I would have expected after surgery. She was silent and unmoving and I felt no emotion from her-no happiness, no joy, just...nothingness. I listened for the sound of her heart beating and heard nothing.

  I raced to pull the emergency call light, but I heard the sound of the devil’s voice and the moment I heard her first word, I knew what she had done. “What’s wrong, Curry? Is your Agápe a little bit dead?”

  Marsala had drained Chansey and made it impossible for me to call the nurses for help. I ran to her and began to breathe for her and compress her heart.

  “Curry, Curry, Curry...CPR is designed to keep oxygen flowing to the vital organs through the circulations of blood. If she doesn’t have a drop of blood in her, you can’t circulate oxygen and if she doesn’t have blood or oxygen, she can’t live. You do have two choices, though.”

  I whirled around to see her sitting in a rocker in the corner of the room holding my daughter.

  “Choice number one-there’s still time for you to force your blood into her and turn her into the thing you hate most, but can you really look at her for eternity and know you are the one responsible for turning her into a monster? If I know you, you don’t have the stomach for it. You would probably rather see her a pretty little corpse with a beautiful soul that went to Heaven.

  Now for choice two-you can come with me and this beautiful little baby girl and we can be the family we were intended to be. The beautiful part of the plan is that no matter what decision you make, I win. If you choose to save your Agápe, she will never forgive you for letting me have your daughter. If you leave with me, your Agápe is dead forever. So...what’s it going to be? The clock is ticking.”

  How was I supposed to make that choice? Choose between Chansey and our daughter? I was no longer completely opposed to the idea of turning Chansey, but Marsala was right. If I let her take our daughter, she would be devastated and I risked her never forgiving me.

  Then, it hit me. Sebastian said that our bond would never be broken. He said that it is different in death, but we would still share it and I felt nothing coming from this cold body in this bed. I recalled what Emelyn had said to me the night she visited me. Chansey would never become a vampire because it was forced by Marsala’s hand.

  I pushed through with my mind to find Chansey, to feel what was happening to her and I felt her pain. I heard her moaning about the pain in the abdomen and I felt the nurse reassuring her that she would feel better in a minute when the pain medicine traveled down her IV into her vein. She was in the recovery room, not dead in the bed before me. This was Emelyn and she was doing her job to protect Chansey.

  But what about the baby in Marsala’s arms? Was she my daughter or was she a Fylgia in her place? I had no way of knowing and I couldn’t let her take her.

  “Marsala, it’s you I’ve wanted all this time. Anteros forced this Agápe on me. I never asked for her and I was forced to be her companion because it was Anteros’ will. I had no choice in the matter, but I have a choice now that she is dead and I choose you. My daughter will be your daughter, as it should have been all along. We will raise her together and be the family we were intended to be. I can see that now.”

  She smiled maliciously. “I knew you never wanted her. I knew it was me you wanted, but Anteros bewitched you with his Agápe spell.

  I sensed Sol and then saw him appear in the doorway behind Marsala. “You are right. Will you let me put our daughter in her crib because I want to drink from you. I need to because it’s been too long.”

  “Of course,” she said as she handed the baby to me.

  I laid the baby in the crib and looked at her face. She looked just like the child I held in my arms earlier, but she had that same blank stare to her eyes like Emelyn had the night she visited and I was certain she was not my daughter. I didn’t know how, but she was a Fylgia in her place.

  I turned around to face Marsala and with lightning speed, Sol was behind her and trapping her in his fierce hold. She kicked and bucked as she struggled to free herself, but Solomon proved to be stronger.

  I looked around the room for something made of wood and saw a framed pictured on the wall. I took it from the wall and broke it, giving me the splinted point I needed.

  “Curry, no. You can’t do this. You won’t do this. I demand you to not do this. I am your sire and you can never harm me.”

  “Chansey is everything to me and you are nothing to me Our bond was broken when Chansey was born and I am no longer bound to you. I am bound to her forever. She is the mother of my children. She is my heart and my soul and that is not her in that bed. That is her Fylgia, so you have failed miserably.”

  “Your Agápe is different. She isn’t like the others,” Marsala sneered. “She’s a Blood Jewel and if you kill me, you’ll never know what that means.”

  Sol’s eyes grew large. “Curry, we need to know what it means.”

  “No, we don’t. We need nothing from her. With Marsala, everything has a price and it’s always one you can’t afford. She is a master of trickery and that’s what this is. It’s one of her tricks. If I don’t kill her now, I’ll spend every moment worrying and wondering when she will get to Chansey and our babies.”

  “But Avery...we need to know for her,” he whispered.

  I saw the look in his eyes and knew Sol was desperate for the information, although I didn’t understand why. He was thinking about releasing Marsala with the hope of learning the information she knew, but he was wrong. She wouldn’t make good on her promise to tell us anything.

  I pulled the stake back as I prepared to kill the woman that had tried to take the most precious things in the world from me. I ran the stake through her heart and gave it an upward twist for good measure. She groaned and her knees buckled under her as Sol held her in place. I walked over to her and leaned close to her ear so she could my words as she died. “Tell the devil I said hello when you get back to where you came from.” And then she was gone. Finally.

  Sol let her body fall to the floor. “You shouldn’t have done it,” he yelled at me. “She could have told us about the Blood Jewel and what it meant. We could have gotten it out of her.”

  “You’re wrong, Sol. You don’t know her the way I do. This was her stalling until she could find a way to escape,” I explained. “There are ways of finding the explanation behind the Blood Jewel, but bargaining with her wasn’t it.”

  Sol was angry with me, very angry. I didn’t understand why, but I was going to get to the bottom of it. “Why is it so important for you to know? I know that you love Chansey like a sister, but it is my job to take care of her.”

  “I’m not worried for Chansey because I know you’ll always take care of her. It’s Avery. I need to know for her.”

  He felt obligated to protect her. “Is it because of Jenn? You want to protect Avery for Jenn?”

  He laughed as he shook his head, almost as though he was laughing at himself.“No, I wish that was the case because it would be a lot easier.”

  “You’re going to have to spell it out for me, cause I’m not catching on, Sol.”

  “It’s me. I want to protect Avery for me...because I love her,” he whispered.

  ≈ ≈ ≈

  When I came back from searching for cleaning supplies, Sol was gone with Marsala’s body, along with his explanation for what he meant when he said that he loved Avery. This had to be another example of him acting out like he did with Shelby and I was going to have to help him get straight.

  When I walked into the room where I killed Marsala, Emelyn and the baby had disappeared. The room appeared perfect, as though nothing had occurred and I knew it was all an act of Anteros
.

  After I went to the nursery window to look at the babies again, I went to Chansey’s room and waited. It wasn’t long before I looked up to see her being wheeled in by a couple of nurses.

  “She’s been asking for you, Mr. Brennan. A lot. She’s been really groggy from the anesthesia, so we didn’t tell her about the babies. We thought you might want to do that when she wakes up a little better.”

  “Thank you. I would love to be the one to tell her.”

  I sat at her bedside and held her hand as I waited for her to come around enough to ask about the babies. The nurse came in and checked on her a couple of times, so I guess it was close to an hour before she opened her eyes to look at me.

  When her eyes met mine, she said, “Good or bad, tell me. I have to know.”

  Before I could answer her, there was a knock at the door and the babies were being brought into the room. “Why don’t I introduce you instead of telling you about them?”

  I felt relief flood her. “Them?” she uttered as a single tear spilled over from each of her eyes and she pushed the button to raise the head of her bed for a better look.

  “May I introduce you to our son, Baby Boy Brennan?” I said as I handed him to her. She took him in her arms and looked at his face for a moment before I said, “And our daughter, Miss Baby Girl Brennan,” as I laid her in Chansey’s other arm.

  “A boy and a girl. I can’t believe it. It doesn’t feel real,” she uttered through a huge smile.

  “Well, they’re very real, so real that we have to come up with names for these little rascals. I can’t believe we never talked about it. I guess we were scared to jinx the whole thing.”

  “I don’t think we have to discuss his name. I think we both agree that it should be James after you and your father. I would really like James Grady.”

  I laughed and she said, “No? You don’t like it?”

  “I love it. Now, what about the little lady? I’d like to contribute Grace.”

  “After your mother?”

  “A little, but not wholly. Grace is when you receive something you don’t deserve and I want to always be reminded of the gift given to me when she came into my life.”

  “What about Anna Grace and we can call her Grace since it has a special meaning for you?”

  “I love Anna Grace. What do you think of calling her by both names?”

  “I think they’re both perfect. They both get names with special meanings from each of us.”

  “Okay, then it’s decided. This is James Grady Brennan and this is Anna Grace Brennan.

  I felt her happiness, but also her fear and I knew where our conversation was about to go. “Curry, I couldn’t be happier than I am in this moment. but...”

  She stopped speaking when I put my finger to her lips. “Ssh...Don’t say it. A lot has happened in the last couple of hours, but I don’t want to ruin this perfect moment with my beautiful family. We’ll talk about it later, but you can relax because that monster will never hurt us again.”

  I felt her question and I nodded in acknowledgment, giving her the peace of mind she needed in knowing Marsala was dead, but there were other issues at hand to cause her angst. I wasn’t ready to go there. Not on a perfect day like today. The Blood Jewel conversation would have to wait until another day.

  Until another day arrives...

  Coming Soon

  Blood Doll, The Vampire Agápe Series Book 3

  Anticipated Release in January 2013

  Official Blood Jewel Playlist

  Memories-Within Temptation

  Marsala thinking of Curry in Prologue

  Together Again-Evanescence

  Marsala’s thoughts of coming for Curry

  Marry Me-Train

  Curry tries to convince Chansey to marry him sooner

  Steal My Heart Away-Van Morrison

  Dancing in Club Infinity

  Sleep Alone-Bat for Lashes

  Marsala reaches Curry through Black Magic in Club Infinity

  Nasty Naughty Boy-Christina Aguilera

  Chansey’s Striptease Dance

  The Moon-The Swell Season

  Wedding Night at Bed & Breakfast

  Changing-The Airborne Toxic Event

  Chansey’s insistence on being changed

  The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face-Leona Lewis

  Curry works on painting of Chansey, intimate moment

  For the Heart I Once Had-Nightwish

  Marsala standing over Curry and Chansey while they slept

  And Then You-Greg Laswell

  Chansey relaxes in tub

  Blessed-Elton John

  Curry hears lub-dub & on his knees to kiss Chansey’s belly

  In My Arms-Plumb

  Chansey’s thoughts during ultrasound

  With Arms Wide Open-Creed

  Curry’s thoughts during ultrasound

  Hurricane-30 Seconds to Mars

  Fight with Marsala

  Now I Know-Fisher

  Seeing babies together for first time

  Life Is Beautiful-Vega 4

  The Happy Ending Song

  About Georgia Cates

  Georgia resides in rural Mississippi with her wonderful husband, Jeff,

  and their two beautiful daughters. She spent thirteen years as a labor and delivery nurse before she decided to pursue her dream of becoming an author.

  Blood of Anteros, Book One in The Vampire Agápe Series, was her first novel

  and it was released in September 2011. She decided to briefly step away from the

  paranormal genre to try her hand at a young adult romance and she loved it.

  It was so much fun, she plans to do it again in the near future.

  Connect with Georgia

  For the latest updates from Georgia Cates, stay connected with her at:

  Georgia Cates’ Blog

  Facebook

  Twitter

  goodreads

  It has been such a pleasure corresponding with some of you via

  Facebook, Twitter, goodreads, email and by my blog.

  I love being in touch with my readers so don’t hesitate to contact me at any time.

  I Love You All and Thank You for your Support through this journey.

  Love,

  Georgia

  Books by Georgia Cates

  Blood of Anteros

  The Vampire Agápe Series Book 1

  Released September 2011

  Blood Jewel

  The Vampire Agápe Series Book 2

  Released May 2012

  Blood Doll

  The Vampire Agápe Series Book 3

  Anticipated Release Date January 2013

  Going Under

  Released March 2012

  Shallow

  (A Going Under Novel #2)

  Anticipated Release Date September 2012

  Please enjoy this excerpt from

  MADLY

  by Young Adult Author M. Leighton

  CHAPTER ONE

  I looked out the classroom window, wishing I was outdoors enjoying the ambient conditions of Slumber, conditions that I’d come to love in a relatively short amount of time. If I closed my eyes, I could almost feel the humid sea breeze ruffling my hair, the hot sun shining down on my face. I could almost smell the sweet hint of jasmine in the air, too.

  Sighing, I turned my attention to the back of Aidan’s sandy head. My lazy musings coupled with the soft drone of Mr. Laraby’s voice provided the perfect background noise to lull me into a semi-comatose state.

  Aidan turned around and winked at me. Whether he’d known I was watching him or he was just being his fun-loving self, I didn’t know. With Aidan, you could never tell what went on behind his warm hazel eyes, but either way he made me smile. He was constantly teasing me or doing something funny to make me laugh.

  When he turned back toward the front of the class, I sighed. I couldn’t wait for our mating tie to materialize, for the time when the mere sight of him would make me swoon. That’s
what happened between all fated mates and, since I was to be betrothed to Aidan in nine more months, I fully expected it would happen with us. But right now, he just felt like my big brother.

  Tingling fingers of unease lifted the roots of my waist length blonde hair away from my scalp, startling me from my stupor. I sat up in my seat and looked around. Just as I was about to reassure myself that it had only been my imagination, the shiny, gilded cuff around my wrist began to heat against my skin.

  I looked down at my bracelet, the wide gold band that had adorned my arm practically since birth. It held a charm tight against the skin on the inside of my wrist, where it continually leached power straight into my bloodstream.

  The charm itself was a blue-green hoop that looked like a delicate, water-filled doughnut. All of us had a similar charm that we wore somewhere against our skin. It was the source of our magic on dry land. But at the empty center of mine was a single silvery pearl. Upon casual inspection, it seemed to be part of the circle, but it was not. It wasn’t attached to anything, held in place by nothing more than the potent enchantment that marked my family, my entire race.

  Like a bolt of lightning, pain suddenly shot from my wrist straight up my arm and into my head. My sharp inhalation alerted Aidan and Jersey, my two best friends, both of whom sat in front of me. I saw them turn toward me right before my vision blurred with tears.

  Squeezing my eyes shut, I bit my lip to keep the scream on my tongue from finding its way out. Electricity held my arm stiff as the current began to flow through the rest of my body. My hair felt like it was on fire and my toes twitched inside my loafers. Lips that felt like they were melting off my face could no longer hold the cry inside, but when it escaped, it didn’t sound like my voice. It sounded like the high-pitched call of a siren.