Chapter 63: Chapter 63 THE SACRIFICE

“The dead vampire’s apartment. She wasn’t going to wear it and it’s so beautiful, I didn’t want it to go to waste.” Marquis smiled up at him, ignoring the throb in her arm.

“You were in Sotera’s apartment.” Stephan restrained himself from beheading her right there and then.

“She what!” Solara took a step forward but Xavier restrained him.

“They should leave, NOW! I’ll just go and check on our picnic.” Marquis skipped away towards the vampires.

“This chick is crazy,” Victor said.

“That she is, and she has my daughter.” Stephan groaned.

“So what are you going to do? Because I for one with all my tactical training I don’t see a way out.” Xavier put in.

“Let’s kill her,” Sam suggested.

“Then what?”

“Then we get one of the vampires to tell us where little Christina is,” Sam concluded.

“Christina, that’s such a pretty name. It’s better than brat. That’s what I call her.” Marquis snuck up behind them.

“What if I don’t go along with this plan?”

“Then you don’t see little Christina again. I can tell you one thing, she does look like her dead mommy. The hazel eyes, the delicately soft skin, and creamy complexion. Tiny pink lips, they look just like a rosebud. Her hair is as dark as yours though. When I left her they were little ringlets. She has grown, and if you want her to grow another inch you will do as I say.”

Marquis’s description was identical to that of Scarlet’s, all except the eyes. Scarlet hadn’t gotten a chance to look into their daughter’s eyes and he was going to do everything Marquis asked to allow her that chance.

“Just imagine staring at a little Scarlet every day of your life.” Marquis dangled the image of his daughter before his eyes as you would do with a piece of meat to a dog.

“Fine. Guys give us a minute.”

“It is going to take more than a minute, and no peeking. They have to go all the way to the other side.”

“Fine. Call and say I am sorry.” Stephan hoped that Solara understood what he was asking.

“Who?” Marquis inquired.

“How about you stop being nosy and let’s get this over with.” Stephan snarled.

“That is the wrong attitude.”

“I do not care.”

“You should, your performance tonight will decide whether or not your daughter sees tomorrow.”

“Is she close by?”

“Close enough. Now let’s stop talking about the brat and focus on us.” Marquis pulled him into the tent and onto the white linen.

“So the deal is that I screw you and get my daughter back.” Stephan summarized the deal as he understood it.

“You make love to me and you will have the drooling machine in your arms.”

Stephan mused over the drooling comment. He longed to see his daughter blowing little spit bubbles just as SJ did when he was a baby.

“Fine let’s do this.”

***

Scarlet jumped for her phone when it rang, “Hallo Stephan?”

“No, it’s Solara. Stephan is busy trying to get Christina back.”

“He is. Thank God. Can I speak to him?”

“Not at the moment. But he said he would call you the second he has news.”

“Oh, ok. Where exactly is he?”

“That doesn’t matter. He just said to tell you that he was sorry, that he loves you, and that he is doing everything he can to get Christina back.” He relayed Stephan’s message but decided to leave out the parts that he knew would upset her.

“What exactly is he doing? Is that woman with him?” Scarlet didn’t trust the tone in his voice.

“That isn’t important. Just know that we are going to get the baby back.”

“But-,”

“She has your eyes.” Solara knew it was a cheap trick but it was the only way to get Scarlet off what Stephan was doing and on the thought of her daughter.

“She does.” Scarlet chocked.

“Yes, she does. I’ll call you as soon as I learn anything.”

The line went dead and Scarlet turned to the other three people in the room. “She has my eyes.”

“Of course she does. Not everyone can have that swirling silver color.” Kayla teased.

“I think I already have a mental picture of her, but I am sure my baby sister is more beautiful than I can ever imagine.” SJ wrapped his arm around his mother’s shoulders.

“Solara says that Stephan is getting her back, but he wouldn’t tell me how. There was something in his voice that is freaking me out.”

“Don’t worry about it. If it wasn’t dangerous he would probably tell you about it.”

“Thanks, Kayla,” Scarlet said sarcastically.

“How did dad sound?” Jade asked.

“He’s great, but hiding something.”

Scarlet spent the rest of the night and day cradling her phone on her lap. She hadn’t moved the whole night, especially since SJ dozed off and used her as a pillow.

Mathias walked into the house, his cheery self. “Good afternoon.” He chirped.

“That depends on whether or not you brought my daughter back with you.” Scarlet retorted.

“Is Dad back?” SJ’s head shot up when he caught Mathias’ scent.

“No, he isn’t. We left him in Brazil with the other guys. We came back to guard you and Stephan didn’t think the woman would see him with all of us present.”

“So how was it?”

“The run back from Brazil was refreshing. We hunted some game on our way back. It’s been a good day so far.” Mathias rubbed his belly then sighed.

“Not that. Wait, you ran from Brazil?” it sounded improbable but she realized it wasn’t impossible.

“Yes, we did. When we left there nothing had happened yet. But I am sure we will be getting some news soon. Don’t worry.”

“Thank you.” Gratitude was all Scarlet had to offer.

“I have to go give my men their instructions and posts. I will be right outside if you need me, though I doubt you will with SJ with you.”

“Yep, he is all the protection I need.” Scarlet smiled at her son.

***

“Bring me, my daughter,” Stephan demanded as he pulled his pants up.

As he spent the night with Marquis he tried as hard as he could not think of Sotera and how being with Marquis on that beach had destroyed the meaning the beach had for him. He spent the time imagining that he was making love to Scarlet. He imagined and recalled how Scarlet’s delicate body felt under his, the sounds of pleasure she would make. To him, he had just made love t Scarlet and not Marquis.

“Why are you in a rush? We just shared something beautiful be in the moment. Be here with me.”

“I already am. What else do you want from me?” Stephan was frustrated. He reached out for his shirt but she grabbed it and sat on it.

“Kiss me. Kiss me and I’ll give you your shirt back.”

“Keep it. I don’t need it.” Stephan was not about to share another intimate moment with her.

“Let me guess you want your daughter.”

“You are not that blond after all.”

“Fine, you’ll get her, under one condition.”

“More conditions. The agreement was to spend the night with you, which I did now give me my daughter.” He sneered.

“I repulse you don’t I.”

“You have no idea how much.” Stephan kicked her to the side and pulled his shirt from under her.

“I want one thing then you get your brat back.”

Stephan decided to let the insult pass, there were much more important things at stake. “Name it.”

“Your daughter and I have bonded over the last couple of days-,”

“I doubt that. Even when she was in her mother’s womb, she could recognize trash when she came into contact with it.”

“Anyway, she doesn’t have a mom-,”

“What are you getting at?” Stephan knew that whatever was looming in her mind and about to leave her lips would upset him.

“I want to be her mommy. The four of us could be a family.” She chirped.

“The four of who? What family?” Stephan stared at her, bewildered at her proposal.

“The boy, the brat, you and I.” she smiled hopefully, “They need a complete family since their mother is dead.”

“You have lost your mind. No, I would rather die than expose my children to such evil.” He spat out.

“I am offering you a chance to be happy with your children and me. Why won’t you take it?” the look on Marquis’s face was that of genuine pain.

“Because you take, you never give. Being a mother entails more than just feeding a child. You need to love and cherish them. You need to give up everything and at the same time offer them everything. You sacrifice your life and live it for them alone. Everything else ceases to exist and they become your priority, your life. They become the reason for your existence.”

“I can do that.”

“No, you can’t. Give me my daughter Marquis and stop this foolishness.” He roared.

“No!”

“Marquis I have just about had it with you. I have no more patience to humor you with.” He grabbed her arm and yanked her to her feet.

“That’s too bad.”

The vampires that were with her ran up to them. Stephan dropped her arm. He gave up the harsh approach and decided to beg.

“Please give me my daughter back.”

“No.”

“I will do anything you want. Please, Marquis.”

“You should have thought of that before.” She tied the linen around her chest and walked away.

Stephan ran after her, but the vampires blocked his way. By the time he was able to penetrate their barrier Marquis was already gone.

“No!” Stephan dropped to his knees and shouted up to the heavens.

***

“Isn’t that Stephan?” Solara took off running towards the agonizing sound.

“Stephan?” they approached slowly when they saw him bent over to the ground. There was no sign of Marquis.

Stephan cried into the white sand, his heart torn apart. He had betrayed Scarlet and still had no baby to show for it. “She tricked me.”

“Stephan let’s go. We can still catch up to her.” Vincent and Victor ran after the trial but returned seconds later. “Scratch that suggestion. Their trail disappears over those rocks.”

“What I’m going to do. What will I tell Scarlet? I can’t go back home without the baby.” Stephan was disillusioned.

“We need to. She needs you.” Solara dragged him up to his feet.

“What happened here, Stephan?” Xavier grabbed his shirt.

“She tricked me. She had no intention of giving me the baby.”

“We need to get back to Kings.”

Stephan pulled his shirt on, he hesitated before following the rest. It helped that Solara never left his side.

“You should hate me you know. I took this beauty away from your sister.” Stephan turned back and took in the beautiful view, the white sand and blue ocean, against the backdrop of the green thick vegetation and brown rocks.

“You didn’t take anything from her. Marquis did and when we do find I’ll take it up with her.”

“But still-,”

“Think of it, if we do fight how would we be able to exist in the same house. You know there is no separating those two.”

“You don’t have to worry about that any longer. As soon as Scarlet learns of what I did, she will leave me.” It was inevitable and he had to come to terms with it.

“But you were trying to get information on your daughter.”

“A daughter whose name I can’t bear to say. And where is she, Marquis still has her.”

“We will find her and Scarlet doesn’t need to know.”

“Truth by omission, yep that worked very well for me the last time.”

“Stephan.”

“Let’s go. I want to get out of here.” Stephan gave the beach one last look, vowing that he would never return. He had managed to help Marquis tarnish the memory he had of it and he wasn’t going to disrespect it even more by visiting it again.