Table of Contents
Copyright
About the Author
Also by Nicola Claire
Dedication
Definitions
Epigraph
Set It Up
This Was Worse By Far
Game On
He’d Done It Again
Hello, Nosferatin
Let The Games Begin
Gotta Get Your Kicks Where You Can
Motherfucker!
He’d Come
And Then He Was Gone
That’s All
But It Changed Nothing
Hello, Nosferatin
Review Request
Mixed Blessing: Preview
BLOOD ENCHANTED
Blood Enchanted Book One
NICOLA CLAIRE
CONTENTS
Copyright
About the Author
Also by Nicola Claire
Dedication
Definitions
Epigraph
1. Set It Up
2. This Was Worse By Far
3. Game On
4. He’d Done It Again
5. Hello, Nosferatin
6. Let The Games Begin
7. Gotta Get Your Kicks Where You Can
8. Motherfucker!
9. He’d Come
10. And Then He Was Gone
11. That’s All
12. But It Changed Nothing
13. Hello, Nosferatin
Review Request
Mixed Blessing: Preview
Copyright © 2016, Nicola Claire
All Rights Reserved
ISBN: 978-0-473-33985-2
nicolaclairebooks.com
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organisations is entirely coincidental.
All rights are reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author.
Cover Art by LA LA
Image credit: Pixabay & 123RF Stock Photo
Image #8612138
Created with Vellum
About the Author
Nicola Claire lives in beautiful Taupo, New Zealand with her husband and two young boys.
She's tried her hand at being a paramedic, bank teller and medical sales representative, (not all necessarily in that order), but her love of writing keeps calling her back.
She has a passion for all things suspenseful, spiced up with a good dollop of romance, as long as they include strong characters - alpha males and capable females - and worlds which although make-believe are really quite believable in the end.
There's nothing better than getting caught up in a compelling, intriguing and romantic book.
When she's not writing or reading, she's out on her family boat at Lake Taupo, teaching her young boys to fish, showing them the beauty that surrounds them in nature and catching some delicious trout for dinner.
Creating rich worlds with dynamic characters and unexpected twists that shock and awe has been pure bliss for this author. And just as well, because there's a lot more story yet to tell...
For more information:
@NicolaClaireNZ
168567699926093
www.nicolaclairebooks.com
[email protected]
Also by Nicola Claire
Kindred Series
Kindred
Blood Life Seeker
Forbidden Drink
Giver of Light
Dancing Dragon
Shadow's Light
Entwined With The Dark
Kiss Of The Dragon
Dreaming Of A Blood Red Christmas (Novella)
Mixed Blessing Mystery Series
Mixed Blessing
Dark Shadow (Coming Soon)
Sweet Seduction Series
Sweet Seduction Sacrifice
Sweet Seduction Serenade
Sweet Seduction Shadow
Sweet Seduction Surrender
Sweet Seduction Shield
Sweet Seduction Sabotage
Sweet Seduction Stripped
Sweet Seduction Secrets (Coming Soon)
Elemental Awakening Series
The Tempting Touch Of Fire
The Soothing Scent Of Earth
The Chilling Change Of Air
The Tantalising Taste Of Water (Coming Soon)
H.E.A.T. Series
A Flare Of Heat
A Touch Of Heat
A Twist Of Heat (Novella)
A Lick Of Heat (Coming Soon)
Citizen Saga
Elite
Cardinal
Citizen
Masked (Coming Soon)
Scarlet Suffragette Series
Fearless
Breathless (Coming Soon)
Blood Enchanted Series
Blood Enchanted
Blood Entwined (Coming Soon)
For:
All those Kindred fans who asked, and asked, and asked for more.
Definitions
Accord – A blood binding agreement, often between two parties of equal power; cannot be broken.
Álfheimr – (Fey) Faerie. Home to the Fey.
Command – A directive given by a Master vampire to one of his line. It requires Sanguis Vitam in order to enforce obedience. It cannot be ignored.
Dökkálfa – (Fey) The Dark Fey.
Dream Walk – A Nosferatin power, enabling the Nosferatin to appear in a different location. The Dream Walker is invisible, cannot be sensed or smelled, and only heard if they talk when in this realm. They can, however, interact and be harmed. The only exception to a Dream Walker's invisibility is another Nosferatin. A very rare power.
Final death – The true death of a Nosferatu. There can be no survival from the final death.
Glaze – The ability to influence another. It requires direct eye contact and Sanguis Vitam to insert the influence. Usually a Nosferatu skill, allowing a vampire to influence a human.
Iunctio – (Latin) The Nosferatu connection and governing power. All vampires are connected to one another via this supernatural information exchange highway; enabling sharing of rules, locations of safe havens and hot spots to avoid. It is powered by both Nosferatu and Nosferatin Sanguis Vitam, but is operated by the Nosferatu in Auckland. There are twelve members of the Iunctio council, headed by the Champion. The Iunctio is tasked with policing all supernaturals throughout the world.
Joining – The marriage of a kindred Nosferatu with a kindred Nosferatin. Upon joining the Nosferatu will double their Sanguis Vitam and the Nosferatin will come into their powers, but for the Nosferatin, their powers will only manifest after reaching maturity; the age of 25. The joining will also make the Nosferatin immortal. A symbiotic relationship, should one member of the joining die, the other will too. Without a joining, the Nosferatin would die one month past their 25th birthday. The joining also increases the power of the Iunctio and Nosferatu as a whole.
Kindred – A Nosferatu or Nosferatin sacred match, a suitable partner for a joining. To be a kindred there must exist a connection between the Nosferatu and Nosferatin; only those suitably compatible will be kindred to the other.
Line – The family of a master vampire, all members of which have been turned by the master, or accepted via blood bond into the fold.
Ljósálfar – (Fey) The Light Fey.
Master – A Nosferatu with the highest level of Sanguis Vitam. There are five levels of Master, from level five – the lowest on the Sanguis Vitam scale, to level one – the hig
hest on the Sanguis Vitam scale. Only level one Masters can head a line of their own. Some Nosferatu may never become Masters.
Master of the City – A level one Master in control of a territory; a city.
Norm – A human unaware of the supernaturals who walk the Earth. They also do not have any supernatural abilities themselves.
Nosferatin – (Nosferat–een) - A vampire hunter by birth. Nosferatin were once of the same ilk as Nosferatu, descendants from the same ancestors, or God. The Nosferatin broke off and turned towards the Light. Their sole purpose is to bring the Nosferatu back from the Dark, this can include dispatching them, bringing them the final death, when they cannot be saved. They are now a mix of human and Nosferatin genetics.
Nosferatu – A vampire. The Nosferatu turned towards the Dark, when their kin, the Nosferatin turned towards the Light. They require blood to survive and can be harmed by UV exposure and silver. They do not need to breathe or have a heartbeat. They are considered the undead.
Nothus - (Latin) An illegal combination of two species, for example Nosferatin - Nosferatu mix. Considered illegitimate by the Iunctio and a kill-on-sight order stands for any Nothus uncovered.
Pull – The Nosferatin sense of evil. Guides a hunter to a Dark vampire; sometimes, but not always a rogue, who is about to feed off an innocent.
Rogue – A vampire no longer controlled by a master, full of evil and Darkness, feeding indiscriminately and uncontrolled.
Sanguis Vitam – (Latin) The Blood Life or life force of a Nosferatu. It represents the power they possess. There are varying degrees of Sanguis Vitam.
Sigillum – (Latin) A permanent mark of possession.
Taniwha – (Maori) New Zealand Shape Shifter. Dangerous, predatory beings.
Turned – The action of changing a human into a vampire.
Vampyre – Old term for vampire; used rarely in modern language.
“One bite. One drop. That’s all.”
HAKAN BAHAR
1
Set It Up
I told myself it wasn't the ghoul's fault. Well, not entirely. He had no way of knowing that mentioning that name would make me so mad. But I am my father's daughter after all and anyone who knows me knows not to mention that name.
But not this ghoul. Obviously.
I twisted a little harder and heard his finger snap, followed by a whimper and a disgusting snot-laced snort.
"I swear it's all I know," he whined. "But Reggie’s got it happenin’; if anyone knows where your brother is, it'll be him."
"I know Reggie," I spat back. I'd be seeing Reggie soon enough, I didn't need this pathetic excuse for a body pointing me in that direction. "I believe the information I have provided warrants a little more than that."
Ghouls traded in knowledge, their currency of choice was information. Not cash. I'd just disclosed a little gem to this trader, now it was his turn to pay up in kind. If he didn't, I'd have to plan on visiting Frank, head of the ghouls here in Auckland. And a visit to Frank was not at the top of my favourite things to do.
"So, what have you heard?" I asked in a sweet voice, nabbing a second finger in a vice-like grip. Incentive always goes a long way when fishing for info.
The stupid thing is a ghoul could fight back with a simple shrug of his shoulders. They are particularly strong. That is their weapon; strength and a hardened intelligence that often meant they outwitted their opponent with ease. But this ghoul was neither strong nor clever. That's why I'd chosen him. He was the bottom feeder of a group of supernatural bottom feeders. But that didn't mean he didn't hear things.
"I ain't heard nothin’," he ground out through gritted teeth.
So, I broke his second finger.
"Ow, shit! What didya do that for? Are you mad or somethin’? Frank's not gonna like this."
"Frank's not going to like you avoiding paying up your share of an info exchange." It would be a sully on the ghouls' reputation if this one chose not to complete our little trade.
He bit his lip and cradled his hand. I think I had made my point. He did look a little pathetic sitting there, hunched over himself in the filth of a backstreet alley in one of Auckland's more nefarious neighbourhoods. Ghouls weren't out of the closet yet, not like vamps and fairies. They tended to scuttle around like cockroaches in the background, listening undetected, watching from the shadows, but never actually being seen. The humans had enough of a problem accepting blood suckers, there was no way they were going to readily accept the re-dead and their penchant for fresh flesh - preferably still running.
He glanced up at me with hound dog eyes, his gaze flicking to the Sigillum on my left wrist automatically. He couldn't see it in its entirety, I kept it well hidden most of the time. It was too identifying. Right now it would be a vibrant, electric blue colour, indicating my incredulity. I snorted and crossed my arms over my chest, then tapped my foot impatiently on the pavement. He should have known better. The skin-tight black leather pants, tight singlet top, matching fitted leather jacket and thick-soled boots gave you a hint that I meant business. Not to mention the two silver stakes visible at my hips and sheathed sword down my back. Imbecile.
He swallowed visibly under my blank stare.
"OK, OK. I heard he got himself into some trouble." This, unfortunately, wasn't a surprise. My brother always got himself into trouble. It's not as though he went looking for it, just somehow trouble always found him. Of course that probably had something to do with the fact that he spent an inordinate amount of time working for my father's spy master. Luc had decided at the ripe old age of five that he wanted to be a spy when he grew up, and since then had never left Alain alone.
Alain should have been his betrothed kindred Nosferatu, not mine.
"And?" I offered into the ensuing silence from that last statement.
"You don't look surprised?"
"Luc is a Durand. We court danger and trouble." I shrugged. "It's nothing new."
He nodded as though this made complete sense. It did. I cleared my throat and cocked my head at him. The night was running out. Dawn was still a few hours away but the busiest part of a vamp's day was almost over, if I had any chance of finding my wayward brother, I needed to get a move on. Reggie's bar would be winding down in another hour and I had high hopes for a lead there.
The ghoul sighed. "All right, but this will make us even." I didn't bother replying. I'd know soon enough if payment was acceptable. "There's a new vamp in town, pullin’ in big at the arenas. Never seen nor heard of him before, but he sure as hell knows what he's doing. He's done the whole circuit and made more in the past week than you have in the past month."
This was news. I was, without doubt, the most prevalent and successful fighter on the arena scene. It's not that I have a big ego, but when you're the daughter of the top Nosferatin, otherwise known as the Prophesied, and the Champion of the Iunctio, then you're gonna pack a punch. Lucky for me, my bank balance didn't suffer from this unusual genetic combination. And I wasn't above utilising it either.
Fighting was what I did best. And not always when hunting a rogue vampire. Most of the underbelly of Auckland knew this, but also knew if they let it slip to my father, they'd not be long for this world. In order to reign supreme in the brutal supernatural fighters' arenas dotted here and there, I'd had to be pretty devious and cut-throat.
"What's this got to do with Luc?"
"He challenged him. Didn't do so well."
I uncrossed my arms, Luc never fought in the arenas. It wasn't his style. "What do you mean, he didn't do so well?"
The ghoul shrugged. "I just heard he ended up owin’ this new vamp big bucks and the vamp took his payment the only way he could." I glared at him. He swallowed again at whatever he saw on my face. "I don't know what he did, but the word is your brother belongs to him now."
Oh shit. "What's this new vamp's name?"
"I don't know." Then when he yelped at my sword tip under his throat he went on in a rapid stammer, "Well, at least, I... I don't
know his full name. Just that they call him Hakan."
“Hakan." I said the name, tasting it on my tongue.
My sword was sheathed in the next second. "OK, we're square. Payment made."
I hadn't even gotten the words out and he'd scampered. Ghouls could move when they really wanted to.
I let a slow breath out and watched as it misted on the cool night air. Luc had been missing for one week. It wasn't strange for him to disappear on occasion, no doubt doing something or other for Alain and his crew, but we'd had a date set for the night after our twenty-fifth birthday. Luc would never miss a date with me if he could help it. It was to be our last ditch effort to rebel against the system, twins out to wreak havoc, before we faced the reality of joining with a kindred Nosferatu.
We may have been born of a vampire and a vampire hunter marriage, but we were all Nosferatin. Apart from a few more unusual talents inherited from our father, our skill-set was most definitely on the vampire hunter side. And as such, one month past our twenty-fifth birthdays we would die, if we didn't join with a kindred Nosferatu.
Our father had secured two very trustworthy and powerful vampires for us both to join with. For me, it had been Alain Dupont, Papa's Second, his spy master and a level one Sanguis Vitam Vampire. I liked Alain, I really didn't have any beef with him, apart from the fact that he’d agreed to join with me because my father had asked. Not because he loves me. Not because he wants to double his power once the joining is complete. Not even because it was his idea. But because my father, his master, the vampire who he would gladly die for if it meant Michel Durand would live, had requested it of him.
I kind of hated Alain for that. And the fact that he thought of me as a little sister. Argh!
I'd grown up in a loving family environment. If you discounted the fairy wars and rogue vampire attacks and the inevitable disclosure of my father's kind to all humanity - that did not go down well - it was full of fun and laughter and love. My father's love for my mother. Hers in return for him. Their kindred joining was based on love. I had always thought mine would be too.
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