“Who is this, brother dear?” Chloe entered my room on silent steps peeking over my shoulder with her inquisitive blue eyes.
“I don’t know.” Instinct had me grinding my teeth together. There was no need for my sister to get too close or know this woman’s identity. I didn’t want anyone to come near her vulnerable form. Not even Chloe, the last of my sired family.
“She looks hurt. Did you damage her?”
“No.”
Chloe’s brow furrowed as her eyes narrowed. “Someone hurt her. Was it Roderick?”
“Roderick is dead,” I told her, my voice harsh and distant.
“We are all dead, silly.” She giggled. Immortality had messed with Chloe’s mind. She had been touched in the head for the past decade. It was a terrible shame. She was a pistol in her prime, but that was lost now. Just like humans, vampire’s aged. Some went insane with the immortality, others cold and distant, and still others became stronger with time. It really depended on the bloodline and their mental state. Chloe’s condition was helped along when she had been attacked by another vampire house. We lost three siblings that day, and our father. Now it was just the two of us.
I turned to Chloe. Her blonde hair was in a side braid, and she wore jeans and a pink t-shirt. Her blue eyes were the only sharp feature on her face. The rest of her was soft curves and gentleness, a far cry from the deadly assassin she had once been. “Chloe, I need you to understand. I think the same thing that did this to her attacked and killed our brother Roderick.”
“He has been released?”
“Yes. I won’t know what it was until I investigate the crime scene so I need you to go to your room and stay there until I know it is safe.”
“I can protect myself, silly goose.” No part of her was taking this seriously.
“I know you can. Just humor me. We are all that is left. I need to know you’re safe.”
A moment of sanity crossed her features. I knew she understood. “Why don’t you let me help clean her wounds before the doctor arrives?”
“Have you eaten today?” I didn’t want anyone going near this woman until I knew she was safe.
“Yes.” She walked into my bathroom and started filling the tub with water. “I won’t eat your girlfriend.”
“She’s not my girlfriend.” I didn’t know what she was, but she wasn’t my anything. With a clinical eye and steady hand I stripped her of her clothes, leaving her bra and panties in place. She deserved some dignity. Then I carried her into the bathroom where Chloe had drawn a bubble bath. I turned on the shower and held her in my arms as I rinsed her off, doing my best to avoid getting my clothes too wet in the process. When she was somewhat clean, I lowered her into the tub.
Chloe worked on washing her body while I changed into another pair of jeans and a black cashmere sweater. I heard her humming a tune that brought me back centuries to when we were first made. Our sired mother sang it to us as we woke from death’s sleep. She sang the song for decades before she was killed by hunters. We only had a short time with mother, but she was amazing.
“She is ready,” Chloe called.
I rushed into the bathroom, pulled her out of the tub, and Chloe helped dry her. The pretty brunette mumbled in her sleep. Neither one of us could make out what she was trying to say, but it was a good sign she would recover, I hoped.
“I’ll lend her one of my nightgowns.” Chloe headed out of the room.
“No, just grab one of my shirts,” I told her before she had gotten too far.
She came back quickly with a button-down that reached almost to the strange girl’s knees. “These have to come off otherwise she’ll catch a cold.” Chloe popped off the bra and slid her panties down while I looked away. Then she quickly put the shirt on the girl. “All covered now.” Chloe chuckled. “I’ve never known you to be modest, brother.”
“Let’s get her into the bed. The doctor should be here any minute.”
*****
The doctor arrived shortly after the girl was settled into my bed. I had barely gotten off the phone with Veronika before he showed up. Veronika was as confused as the rest of us. She had no idea why Roderick and Piper were attacked. She did mention Piper was tough, but eager to please. Veronika asked to be kept in the loop on the investigation, probably covering her bases. If word got out that one of her courtesans was involved in a vampire’s permanent death, she’d have a hard time recovering from the scandal. She offered her condolences for Roderick. Prior to talking with Veronika, I called the police and the vampire authorities to bring investigators in to look over the crime scene while the doctor was examining Piper.
Thirty minutes later, Doctor Marcus found me in the home office, stationed behind the mahogany desk, blocked from view by tons of invoices and files. There was so much work to be done. What had Roderick been doing with his time? He was in charge of all of this. Now it fell to me to clean up the mess. My anger at him was misdirected. I knew I was upset he was gone, worried about how his death happened, and how it was going to affect the family. Most of all, I missed him. That was the most surprising part of this whole mess. He was my brother. I both loved and hated him. We were bound by our sire’s blood. I was committed to finding his killer and taking vengeance. When that was done, I’d mourn his passing and figure out how to straighten up the rest of the family mess.
Doctor Marcus cleared his throat. He stood in the doorway, waiting for me to respond to his interruption. “She’ll be alright. I gave her some pain medication to help with the healing process, and bandaged up the worst of the injuries. She needs an x-ray for her chest, and she may have a fractured or broken wrist.”
I shook my head. “The poor girl has been used and abused. She said something was after her.” I paused. “Any idea what could’ve left those kinds of injuries?”
“A vampire or an animal would be my best guess. Do you think Roderick had an enemy that would attack them?”
“Possibly.” There were people who didn’t like Roderick, but kill him? His diplomatic position, and ability to see past the lies made enemies, but no one who was desperate enough to kill him, not anyone that I knew of.
The doc ran a hand through his thinning brown hair. “Whatever it was, she was in the thick of things. They look like defensive wounds to me. She fought.”
I nodded and shook his hand as I joined him at the door. “Thank you. Joshua will take care of your fee, and I’ll get her in for those x-rays as soon as she’s up and about.”
We walked to the exit of the house on the main floor. “I am sorry about your brother.”
I pursed my lips. “So am I.”
We met Marshall at the door along with some other unknown men who I recognized as vampires in the foyer. The doctor left and I greeted them. “Gentlemen, thank you for coming.” I led them to the dungeon crime scene and people started milling around, gathering evidence. I started touching random items to see if I could get a reading. Nothing seemed to have a strong enough psychic connection to the crime. Then I found an earring in one of the puddles of blood. I picked it up, and was immediately transported to the scene.
Roderick was chasing Piper, ready to feed. He wrapped his arms around her, pulled her close, and bared his fangs. She fought him. A punch to the face and a kick to the groin, and Roderick was down momentarily for the count.
“Bitch!” He growled as he got up and charged towards her again.
“Please, stop! I can’t do this,” she begged him. But it was too late. She had ignited his demon. I knew from experience there was no stopping him now. He lunged and she ducked for cover, rolling across the ground and tripping him in the process. He stumbled, and slammed against the wall. When he turned around, blocking the girl from his view was a furious gargoyle.
The attack and kill was almost instantaneous. One minute he had his head, the next, the Gargoyle had Roderick’s face in his mouth. Teeth chomped and chewed as Roderick died.
I closed my eyes against the memory. “Just as I suspected. He was a
ttacked by a gargoyle.”
“The same one from the other crime scene?” Detective Marshall looked up from his pad of notes with a raised dark eyebrow.
I shook my head. “Hard to tell. I couldn’t make out any discerning marks.” I handed the earring over to one of the investigators collecting evidence. “The thing is, the girl that escaped the last scene was here for this one too.”
Detective Marshall frowned. “That is odd.”
“She’s upstairs in my room. The doctor has her sedated. She’s pretty banged up, but alive.” I glanced around the room and lowered my voice. “She said someone, no…she said, ‘She’ is after me.”
“Odd duck. I’ll need to question her.”
“Of course. Her name is Piper Mason, and I can call you when she wakes up and is ready to see visitors.”
“Do you think it is wise having a girl who has been at the center of two vicious attacks stay with you?” Marshall asked.
“No, but I really have no choice.”
Chapter Seven
Piper
GROGGY WAS WHAT I REMEMBERED when I opened my eyes. Groggy and pain. It only took a few more seconds before the memory of what happened flooded back. I was attacked. The vampire, Roderick, was attacking me, and the monster came and attacked us both. Oh, my god, I saw the monster bite off Roderick’s head! This was a nightmare. Why didn’t the monster just kill me?
“You’re awake. Good.” The other man from the photos in Roderick’s home adjusted himself in the chair beside the bed. “I’m Sebastian.”
I tried to sit up, but the pain in my wrist was too much. “Yes, you’re Roderick’s brother. I’m so sorry about what happened to him.”
“What happened to him?” He asked with a comforting voice.
“Roderick and I were, um, you see, I’m a courtesan and, well, I’m sure you understand.”
Sebastian’s lips twitched up in a half grin that I had the urge to slap off his face. This was traumatic enough. I didn’t need his know-it-all look making it worse. “Anyways, we were, you know…”
“Engaging in a business relationship,” he supplied.
“I suppose that is a way to put it.”
“If you can’t describe what you’re doing, you may not want to do it.”
I rolled my eyes. “You don’t understand my situation.”
“No, I don’t.” He eased forward in the plush leather chair. “But I’d like to.”
“As you can imagine, I was a little nervous about the whole thing.” I tried to find the words to explain what happened.
“Ah, you’re a virgin.” He nodded.
“A blood donor virgin, yes. I’ve had sex before.” I don’t know why I was so defensive with this man. He just rubbed me wrong.
“Good to know. Please go on.”
“I’m not sure what happened next. One minute I was asking Roderick to stop, and the next, the monster came and,” the gruesome memory popped into my head and I shivered, “and the next he was dead.”
“This isn’t the first time this has happened, is it?”
I bit my lip as I contemplated telling him about the attack at the bar. I couldn’t do that kind of damage, obviously, so it seemed like it would be safe to share. “No. I was at a bar where a bunch of us were attacked.”
“No, you were at a bar that became a vampire massacre.”
“Those were vampires?”
“Yes.”
Dread crept up my spine. I thought the vampires could help me, but if the monster could kill them so easily, then there was nowhere I could run. “I’m so sorry.”
Sebastian rubbed his forehead. “What I can’t understand is why you, a human, no offense, comes out of these attacks alive while the vampires wind up dead.”
I shrugged as my face took on a frown. “I think I am cursed.”
“Gargoyles don’t curse humans, they protect them.”
“So I’m alive because this thing is protecting me?” I blinked as his words sank in. “Wait, gargoyles are real?”
“From what I’ve learned, many of them have been underground, hibernating. This one that is attached to you seems to be acting as a rogue.”
“So I woke it up?” Translation, I was cursed.
“That seems to be the consensus.”
“Okay, so how do I put it back to sleep?” I nursed my throbbing wrist in my lap.
“Do you know how you woke it?”
I did, well, I suspected I knew, but I wasn’t going to tell him. “No.” I felt a twinge of regret for lying to him, but he didn’t need to know the details about another case.
“We don’t know for certain. I have a call out to reach the leaders of the Gargoyle clan. We’re going to try and engage them in a clean-up mission. This creature is theirs, so the hope is they will take it back and rehabilitate it before more deaths occur.”
Relief flooded me as I realized this man was offering assistance. “Sounds like a plan. What can I do to help?”
“You’re going to stay here until we can get everything sorted out.”
“That is not a good idea.”
He gave me a look of confusion. “Why is that?” Suspicion laced his voice.
“Well, you’re a vampire and this monster seems to really hate vampires.”
“True, but I’m not a threat to you. The men in the bar were attacking you, and my brother was going to bite you. All of that adds up to a Gargoyle that wants to keep you alive, not dead.”
My hand instinctively flew to my throat. “You aren’t going to drink from me?” I wasn’t sure if I took that as an offense or a reprieve.
“No, but I would like to give you some of my blood so that you can heal faster,” he offered.
“I, um, I don’t know what to say.” Here I was in a stranger’s home and he was offering me his blood… to drink. Nothing about this was normal or even remotely comfortable. Story of my life.
He cut his wrist open and offered it to me. I stared, blinking, immobile. “You’re serious?”
“It will help you heal faster, and it will give me the ability to keep in touch with you. This way I can protect you.”
“It won’t…change me?”
“Only if you want, and you’d have to drink far more than this to make that happen. Please, Piper, drink so we can move on from this awkward conversation.”
“You really should take his offering, little bird. My brother rarely offers such a gift to humans.” The blonde woman from the photos in Roderick’s home stood in the doorway, I recognized her as Chloe.
“No need for commentary, sister.” Sebastian ground his teeth. “The offer won’t be on the table for much longer.”
I took a deep breath. I was in a lot of pain. A little speedier recovery couldn’t hurt. I was willing to let vampires drink my blood, how bad could it be to drink theirs? I took his wrist in my hand and brought it up to my lips. The song from the Mary Poppins musical about a spoonful of sugar and medicine rang loud in clear in my mind. I closed my eyes, and tried to imagine anything but blood as I slurped the warm liquid he offered. I instantly gagged, but forced myself past the reflex and drank some more. “It won’t do any good if you don’t keep it down,” my father’s voice rang in my ears.
Ignoring the taste was the only way I could get through the ordeal.
“That’s enough.” He pulled his hand away. “Get some rest, and when you wake, you’ll be feeling a hundred times better,” he promised as he pulled his sister out the door.
I wasn’t tired, but suddenly I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I had so many questions, but nothing came to mind. The only thing that I could do was fall into a deep sleep.
*****
Sebastian
“What do you plan to do with her, brother?” Chloe ran her fingers along my tense shoulders as she circled me and Roderick’s desk.
I placed the papers I was reviewing down. I needed a break. From what I was seeing, Roderick was running our family businesses into the ground. We should’ve been more involve
d in the business matters. I shook my head, pinched the top of my nose, and blinked my eyes to help change my focus from the ledgers to her. “I don’t know. I suppose I need to find a connection to an existing gargoyle faction and see if they know why this rogue creature is protecting her.”
Chloe laughed. “Our family exiled the gargoyles over a century ago in Egypt.”
“No, we imprisoned a large faction that was murdering vampires and breaking the truce. And, it wasn’t just our family.”
“Yes,” she waved her hand in the air as though my words were an irritating gnat, “it took five vampire houses to imprison them, which only reinforces how dangerous this entire mess is. Wouldn’t it be more logical to get rid of the girl and distance ourselves from her? She is the reason there are only two of us remaining.”
“No.” I really had no idea why I needed her here, why I wanted to protect her. Chloe’s logic was sound, but the idea of sending her out on the street just wasn’t an option. We needed to clean up our mess to keep the peace. It was tenuous already with the humans. A rogue gargoyle creating havoc was not something we needed. “It is our mess. We have to clean it up.”
Chloe huffed loudly. “If you insist on keeping her around, perhaps it would be wise to let me visit her in her dreams and see if I can uncover her connection?”
The mere thought of Chloe rooting around in Piper’s mind sent shivers down my spine. “It has been almost three decades since you walked in a human’s dreams, and that ended badly,” I reminded her, my voice as soft as cashmere gloves. She hadn’t been well for decades, and while she was somewhat lucid now, she could pop into the opposite spectrum at any moment. “I prefer you let me handle things the old fashion way for now.”
“I will, but don’t take too long, brother, or I’ll take matters into my own hands.” She exited the office, leaving a chill in the air as she did. I knew that tone and the look in her eyes. She was out for vengeance, and Piper was one piece of the mystery surrounding our brother’s death. She wouldn’t rest until she got revenge.
Cursed: A Vampire Blood Courtesans Romance Page 4