by Ramz Artso
Book One of the Immortal Blood Series
Immortal Blood
by Ramz Artso
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Copyright ©2013 by Ramz Artso:
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Cover by Andrew Rothery:
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This book is entirely a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used in a fictitious manner and are in no way to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, organizations and locales is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, copied, scanned, distributed or used in any printed or electronic form, or any other manner, without written permission from the author.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 1
I could tell he was a sorcerer the moment he walked into the club. The scent of his magical blood tickled my predatory senses almost instantly. Andreas, who was a close friend of mine, grew aware of my sudden excitement and yelled into my ear, his unique voice barely audible over the beat that reverberated off walls and drowned amongst the sweaty bodies crowding the flashing dance floor, ‘A redhead, you favorite type, I believe.’
I responded by taking a sip of vodka from my half-empty glass. It did very little to quench my developing thirst.
I could try luring him into a dark alley, but sorcerers were much harder to trick than your usual Joe. Besides, they were dangerous, too, especially nowadays. We were officially at war with one another, after all. So no one ever let their guard down. Well, at least tried not to.
‘You can give it a try,’ Andy continued, ignoring the two brunettes he had picked up before our arrival here. The mere mention of having a VIP table in New York’s best nightclub had been enough to interest the two. Well, there was also Andy’s charm. Women could rarely resist him, men never resisted me. ‘I’ll cover you.’
I shook my head, before saying, ‘You stay here. I want this one all for myself.’
‘Don’t want to share tonight, I see. You greedy girl.’
‘I want every single drop for myself.’
With those words, I joined the moving swirls of people, quickly picking my way to my meal, whilst trying to attract as less attention as possible.
Much to my surprise though, the magician was already moving toward the exit, using a very cute smile to fight off some severely drunk bimbo.
Impressed by his handsomeness and therefore even more thrilled than before, I licked my lips in anticipation of his fresh blood and followed suit. I tailed him out the noisy entrance, down a crowded sidewalk and into a dark alley, where he exchanged a few words with a homeless old man before handing him a single dollar bill.
‘Spare some change, young lady?’ he said in a shaky voice, as I passed him by.
‘Get a job,’ was my curt reply.
My prey disappeared behind a corner, but I could still hear his footsteps as he walked sluggishly to meet his bitter end.
Steeling myself for a kill, I glanced up down the desolate street.
Now was the perfect time. No witnesses, no police and no danger.
Moving with the velocity of racing bike, I bared my canines and focused my eyes, which were usually brown but turned purple whenever I was hunting, on his delicious neck.
That was when it happened.
A bright flash of red light blinded me for all of two seconds, but it proved to be more than enough to pin me down on my back. At first, I couldn’t understand what had happened, but then it dawned on me: I had walked into a trap.
The homeless man and the redhead were working together. I was now at their mercy. And everyone knew that there was no such thing as mercy between the two warring sides.
‘Looks like we’ve bagged ourselves another one,’ the old man announced somewhat too cheerfully. And then added, with rare disdain, ‘It also looks like you’re not gonna be taking any more innocent lives, sugarplum.’
‘To hell with you,’ I spat back, unable to believe my own stupidity. I had always believed I was smarter than my actions had just shown. ‘If you’re going to kill me, just get it over with, scum.’
‘Don’t worry, sweetheart, you’ll get what’s coming to you!’ He produced a gnarled dagger from the depths of his tattered rags. ‘Sleep tight.’
‘Wait a minute, Sigurd,’ the redhead said, raising his hand. Sigurd, so the old man was the genie and the boy his master. That explained the former’s inhuman strength. ‘Can’t you see she’s a Jonsdottir?’ His green eyes were focused on my medallion which bore the crest of my ancient, noble Nordic house. ‘What’s your name?’
‘Screw you, sorcerer!’ I hissed through gritted teeth.
The genie smacked me for the malignant words, and I felt my throat constrict in fear.
‘You will address the master with respect, bloodsucker, or I’ll introduce you to a whole new meaning of pain.’
‘Sigurd, chill out, man. There’s no need to use unnecessary force.’
What? I thought to myself. Did he really just say that? A magician showing something close to compassion for my kind. That was unheard of.
‘Let her go. She’s not the one we were looking for, anyway. Let’s try to talk like civilized people.’
I was so shocked by his gesture I had no idea how to react.
‘But, Master Calvin, that would be very reckless of us –’
‘Don’t argue with me, Sigurd, please.’
He clearly disliked the idea, but obeyed by saying, ‘As you wish.’ Then to me, ‘Don’t try anything silly, you gnat.’
In a single quick motion, he lifted me into an upright position.
Once he broke his hold on my neck, I seriously considered heading for the hills, so to speak, but thought better of it, as spirits were known to be swifter than vampires.
‘Are you one of Pyrna’s daughters?’
I stayed silent, an ugly grimace on my pale face.
‘Did you not hear the master?’ the genie erupted. ‘Or do you need some encouraging, girl?’
I remembered all the countless stories I knew about spirit possession, and the detailed descriptions of the terrible torture they administered to their victims. That was enough to get me talking. ‘I am.’
‘Which one?’
‘Ranka,’ I replied reluctantly, staring this Calvin guy square in the eye.
‘Well, it’s your lucky day, Ranka,’ he informed me, all the while sizing me up. Suddenly, I couldn’t help thinking he was checking me out. ‘You’re free to go.’
‘What?’ I said, dumbfounded. ‘You will let me live?’
‘Yeah,’ he said, looking a bit – I don’t know – something. A sudden thought crossed my mind: Was the idiot falling for me because of my looks? That was highly unlikely. No, to hit the nail on the head, that was an absolute impossibility.
‘How come we’re letting her go, Master Calvin?’ Sigurd demanded, palpably outraged.
Calvin, who was probably my age – sixteen – or a little older, seemed to be lost for words, before saying, ‘We wouldn’t want her mother to get too upset. After all, there are rumors of potential negotiations between our people. If we kill her, we’ll only undo any such possibility.’
With those words, he turned sharply on his heel and strode down the empty street. He stopped after having taken a few steps and added, ‘Don’t do anything as stupid as this again…Ranka.’
Displeased by how things had played out, his genie eyed me balefully, almost said something, changed his mind and then trailed after his master, shaking his head in disappointment, as well as cursing under his breath.
Chapter 2
I never went back to the club, but instead wrote a text to Andreas saying I’d meet him back at our coven’s residence in Southampton. I had a fake driver’s license that said I was twenty-three years old, and used the falsified documents to get back home in my sister’s Ferrari.
The guards, all dressed in black, parted the gates to my mother’s huge compound upon my arrival, and seconds later, I was bounding up a long flight of stairs.
Just like any other day, our entire big ‘family’ was there, having a little party of sorts. Over three hundred members strong, we had the most powerful and influential vampire coven in the world. That said, there was still plenty of competition and rivalry between the families. Our main enemy were the Boltons, a family of only seventy, mostly men. Yet, they somehow always managed to get in our way.
‘I hope you haven’t crashed my car,’ Adisa said, once I crossed the giant entrance hall dotted with bevies of men and women to walk up the staircase leading to my bedroom.
‘Even if I had wrecked it, Mom would just get you a new one, Adisa.’ I chucked her the car keys. ‘What’s up with the new look? You dyed your hair again?’
She was always experimenting and tweaking her appearance.
‘Yeah,’ she said, touching up her locks, ‘it’s fall, so I thought I’d go brunette, just like you.’
‘Woohoo, brunettes all the way,’ I said cheerlessly, before walking into my room and shutting the door.
‘Ah, finally you’re home!’
It was Birna. She was my senior and by far the closest person to me in the whole wide world. I was the youngest of the five sisters.
‘Birns, I was hoping to have some time to myself, do you mind?’
After the club incident, I needed some time alone. I had never experienced such humiliation, and it really messed with your mind. That Calvin would pay for it. On second thought, did I really have a problem with him, or was it the genie? Sigurd was the one who had actually applied physical force, right? Correct, but he had done so under Calvin’s orders. So, who was to be held responsible for my humiliation? Hmm, probably both.
‘So, you know how Brigida’s birthday is coming up soon?’ she said, completely ignoring me. ‘I’ve been trying to put together a photo album of her baby pics and stuff, and I can’t decide which one to use. Which pink do you think is better, the bright-pale one, or the bright one?’
Birna was the Barbie in the family. And if she was the Barbie, then I was the Tom Boy.
‘Birns, sweety, I honestly can’t see the difference. They’re both just pink to me.’
‘What are you – colorblind?’
At that very moment Asvi, the eldest amongst us, came in. ‘Mom wants you downstairs in five, Ranka,’ she announced, in that usual serious tone of hers.
‘I don’t want to go downstairs right now. Can’t I just stay in my room? I want to be left alone.’
As if it was possible, she adopted an even harsher facial expression. ‘Do I really have to repeat myself, Ranka?’
‘Oh, for Odin’s sake – fine!’ I stomped out of the room in manner remindful of an elephant and, moving with superhuman speed, made my way to the dimly lit dungeons.
Just like any other day, Mom was seated on her throne of black marble. She was flanked by two sturdy guards in impeccable suits, both of whom had medieval swords slung across their backs and semi-automatic handguns filled with silver bullets at their thick waists.
‘Ah, my little flower,’ she said cheerily, the moment she withdrew her ice-blue eyes from the scroll she was perusing. ‘Do you know why I called you down here tonight?’ Of course the first thing that crossed my mind was the club incident. I was already wondering how on her Earth she could have possibly found out, when she said, ‘Say, dear, do you remember the Falstads?’
I suddenly realized where this conversation was headed. My mother, not unlike any other coven leader, was a big fan of arranged marriage, and had already successfully cajoled two of my sisters, Adisa and Birna, into getting engaged. Their weddings were scheduled to take place in two months, with only a short ten-day break in between.
‘Mom, don’t even go there!’ I cut her off at inception. ‘I won’t hear of it! I know you’re used to having everything done your way, but I’ve made up my mind and I’m not gonna change it for anyone.’
‘Go where?’ she exclaimed pretentiously, as if she had no idea what I was talking about. ‘I was merely trying to tell you that they’ll be coming over for a few days. That’s it.’
I looked at her askance with distrust and suspicion. ‘That’s it?’
‘Yes, of course.’ She paused, picked one of her long, manicured nails and then added, ‘And their eldest son, Corey, will be coming of course.’
I slapped my thigh. ‘There you go again.’
‘Honey, just listen to me for a second before you say no.’
‘Honestly, Mom, there’s nothing you can say that’ll make me change my outlook on life. Marriage, if it ever even happens, cannot and should not be enforced.’
‘No one’s forcing you, dear. I’m only asking you, as a personal favor to me, to spend some time with Corey during his stay here, show him around a little.’
‘You’re so manipulative, it’s crazy.’
‘I know, honey, it comes with the job.’
‘What do I get in return?’
‘If you get something in return it’ll no longer be a favor, dear.’
‘Well I’m not one for charity. So you’ll have to bribe me somehow.’
She turned and looked at one of the guards. ‘Kids these days. All they want is material things; nobody cares about family values anymore.’
‘No money, no honey, Mom, you know the rules.’
‘Fine, fine. What do you want? A new car – that orange Lamborghini perhaps?’
Arms folded, I gave it some serious thought before answering. ‘No, nothing like that. I want access to the restricted archives.’
She sat up abruptly at my words. ‘Absolutely not, girl. That’s out of the question.’
‘Then I guess you can tell Corey to kiss it goodbye.’
‘You now I can just order you to do it, right? I am your mistress as much as I am your mother.’
‘Try and see how that works out.’
She squinted, sizing me up with a calculating stare. She knew me too well to think that I’d obey her to her satisfaction. Pulling rank on me would get her exactly nowhere, and she was well aware of that. ‘Very well, then. You’re allowed to take one book. But that is it.’
‘Three.’
‘Two.’
‘Deal.’
‘You know, you’d make a good head of the family. Too bad you have four sisters that are older than you.’
‘Seriously, I can’t even imagine why anyone would want you job, Mom. Don’t get me wrong, but it’s boring. I mean just look at Asvi. She was such a lively kid; before she found out she’s destined to inherit the throne. Now you just wanna die whenever you’re around her.’
‘Your sister works very hard to keep our rivals at bay, Ranka. Don’t speak of her in such disrespectful manner. She’d give her life to protect her sisters and this coven.’
I rolled my eyes. ‘I know, I know. Just please don’t give me an entire lecture, I’m kind of tired.’
‘My child, you are growing older with every passing year, and soon enough you will reach the mark of thirty and stop aging. Whether or not you like it, you’ll have to start taking things seriously and do more in life than just club and go shopping.’
‘I know, Mom. But I’m young, and that means I can have fun, right? We’ve had this conversation a thousand times before, remember?’
‘All right, dear. All right.’ She perceived me with a deep, thoughtful g
aze, and then added, ‘Our guests arrive tomorrow morning, just before the break of dawn. So be ready. Now leave before I change my mind and go back on my promise. I’ll tell the librarian to let you in. You can borrow the books tonight.’
I smiled, full of joy. I loved to read, especially about anything secret or arcane. ‘Thanks, Mom. I’ll be on my best tomorrow. You have my word.’
‘You better be, dear. You better be.’
Chapter 3
‘Good evening, Mr. Lothmire,’ I said, to a bespectacled man who looked thirty but was actually in his hundreds. ‘I believe my mother just had one of her security staff inform you I’d be coming.’
He looked up from behind a stack of dusty, leather-bound books and laid aside his golden pen. ‘That is correct, Miss Ranka. It looks like, after all these years, you’re finally going to get your hands on the Castle of Finnvid.’
‘I can’t wait to read it. You’ve been telling me about it since I was five. So if it’s a disappointment, it’ll all be your fault.’
‘You’ll enjoy the read, never fear,’ he assured me, producing a cluttered keychain and leading the way down a long corridor with soaring columns and flickering candles. ‘It’s funny how I never see you sisters here. Well, Miss Asvi fetches a few volumes every now and then for your mother. But other than that, you’re the only Jonsdottir who really likes to read. Your father used to have an in insatiable appetite for books, you know?’
‘I know, Mr. Lothmire,’ I replied impatiently, all excited about the prospect of finding out the secrets of Finnvid, which he had apparently hidden all over his lost castle. ‘You’ve told me many times before.’
‘He was an adventurer, Mr. Jonsson.’
‘I’m aware of that.’
‘It looks like you inherited his curiosity.’
‘Uh-huh,’ I intoned, biting my lip with anticipation.
He came to a halt in front of a huge, caged alcove, inserted a key into the iron door and then said, before pulling it open, ‘With all due respect, Miss Ranka, adventurous types, as you well know, go missing sometimes – or worse, they wind up dead.’
