Enchanted Immortals Series Box Set: Books 1-4 plus Novella

by C. J. Pinard

  Thomas was sitting at the dining room table eating some bacon and eggs with his nose in a newspaper, dressed in his work clothes. He was grinning, but said nothing.

  “A lady never kisses and tells,” she said, turning up her nose and walking toward her bedroom.

  “Yes, well, I think that ship has sailed, my dear,” he replied, still laughing.

  “Well then I guess you’ll have to use your imagination,” she replied, then slammed the bathroom door.

  He was still laughing as he grabbed his briefcase and headed out the door, calling out, “I’ll be in my office if you need to talk!”

  ∞∞∞

  Joseph was sitting at his desk back at the precinct. He was leaned back in his chair, absentmindedly tapping his pencil. His derby was sitting at the edge of his desk. He picked it up to replace it on his head and realized it was covering Johnson’s old ashtray. Joseph didn’t know why he wanted the old glass ashtray, but he did. He never even bothered to clean it; it still had Johnson’s cigarette ashes in it. He wanted something to remind him of Johnson. He wanted to be reminded of what Johnson had sacrificed for the BSI.

  He was convinced he was losing his mind. He couldn’t believe he actually thought Thomas was in Jonathan Murphy’s car. He did want to know who it was. Or did he want to believe it was really his son? His wife was not doing well. Her health had been declining since young Thomas’s disappearance over a year ago. He was convinced she was dying from a broken heart.

  It sickened him on so many levels.

  “O’Malley, Bay Area Reports,” a clerk pushing a metal wire cart said as he threw a folder on Joseph’s desk.

  “Thanks, Larry,” he replied.

  As always, Joseph pored over the reports, looking for anything suspicious. Then he came across something. A body of a young woman was found in the middle of Golden Gate Park, mutilated from what the report called a “vicious dog attack.” Well, Joseph had lived in the city long enough to know that “vicious dogs” don’t wander around Golden Gate Park, and if they did, they would be tethered to a leash by a responsible owner.

  He picked up the phone and dialed Adam Swift. “Hey, it’s O’Malley. I think I have something here.”

  “It’s Friday, Detective, bring it to our lunch meeting today,” Adam replied curtly.

  “Will do,” he said, and hung up.

  Joseph contemplated this some more by chewing on his thumbnail, and decided he would make a visit to Golden Gate Park later that night.

  And that’s just what he did. After his meeting with the BSI agents, instead of his stakeout at the Hyde Street bank building, he went to Golden Gate Park and walked around. It was starting to get dark, and he had just his service pistol and a large, heavy-duty flashlight for protection.

  After about fifteen minutes of walking, he thought he heard growling in the bushes next to the walking path. He froze as still as a statue and waited. He then heard it again. With his heart beating like a trip hammer, he slowly eased toward the sound, gun drawn.

  Just then, a large, gray wolf jumped out of the bushes, straight for him.

  A wolf. In Golden Gate Park.

  Joseph didn’t hesitate or think. He fired two shots from his revolver and hit the wolf in its left flank. It hit the ground in a roll and landed on its right side with a yelp.

  As Joseph slowly approached it, he was not surprised to see the wolf slowly morph into a young man. He looked no older than eighteen or nineteen years old and he was holding his left leg. He was practically crying while rolling around on the ground. He then looked up at Joseph and his smoking gun.

  “You shot me, you bastard!” the young man spat.

  “No, I shot a damn wolf. And yet, here a man sits before me, naked as the day he was born, shot in the leg. Care to explain that?” Joseph said excitedly.

  The shapeshifter had nothing to say. He attempted to stand up, but he did not get far. He fell back down, howling in pain. Joseph removed his trench coat and placed it around the young man and told him he was taking him to a hospital for treatment.

  “You have to promise me you won’t turn into that wolf thing again in my car,” he said.

  Gasping, the man said, “Yeah, yeah, don’t worry, I’m losing too much blood, I have no energy.”

  Joseph had no intention of taking this guy to a hospital. He was taking him to the back parking lot of the Hyde Street building where he had learned the hard way that it was very, very dark.

  When they reached their destination, the young shifter said through clenched teeth, “Hey, this isn’t the hospital, man.”

  “I know it’s not. Before we go to the hospital, you and I are going to have a little chat.”

  “Who are you? Some kind of cop?” he asked, out of breath.

  “No, I’m not a cop. I just keep myself armed when I decide to take midnight strolls through the park. The real question is, who and what are you?”

  Joseph, of course, knew what he was. And he couldn’t care less who he was. He was getting answers, and he was getting them tonight. The BSI be damned – they knew more than they were letting on, too, he was sure of it – and he was done playing games. He turned around, reached into the backseat, and placed a pair of handcuffs on the young man, who protested but didn’t have much fight left in him. Then Joseph pulled his gun out and held it in his hand.

  “What’s your name?” he asked.

  Eyeing the gun, then looking at Joseph, he said, “Seth.”

  “Where do you live, Seth?”

  “Mister, I am in serious need of medical attention here. Could we do this another time?”

  “Answer the damn question!” Joseph roared.

  He sighed and gritted his teeth again. “I live in Portland, but I sometimes come to San Francisco in the warmer months.”

  “So you here on a holiday, are you? You fond of hiding in the bushes, disguised as a wolf while on holiday?”

  Seth eyed him speculatively, then said, “The real question here, mister, is why you ain’t freaked out by seeing me shift into a human after you shot me.”

  “Because I have seen your kind before. They killed my partner.”

  “Oh, so this is what that’s about? You gonna kill me ‘cause some shifters killed your partner? You are a cop, aren’t you?”

  “Actually, no. This isn’t about my partner. We got those men. This is about my son. I need to ask you something, and if you lie to me, I will shoot you in the other leg. Are we clear?”

  Seth swallowed hard and nodded.

  “Well over a year ago, a young man was attacked in an alley in the Mission District. He was a bike messenger. We know a vampire attacked him, but he is still missing. His bike was left, but he is nowhere to be found. Tell me where his body is, and I will take you to a hospital. I’ll even pay the bill.”

  Seth looked at Joseph and contemplated the most difficult predicament he found himself in. He knew what had happened to that bike messenger; he was there. If he fessed up to that, the cop might kill him. If he played dumb, he knew he would get shot again.

  “Today, kid. You’re losing a lot of blood, and that stain is getting increasingly large and will be hard to explain to my sergeant,” Joseph said, using the gun to point at the bloodstain.

  Seth finally decided to tell the version that would save his hide: a half-truth. “Look… I was there that night. That kid was just trying to get through the alley to go home. I saw two vampires taunting him, then I saw one try to bite him. But he never got bitten; this Immortal cop showed up out of nowhere beat the hell out of the vampires and took your son with him.”

  Joseph felt lightheaded. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. What Seth was telling him was the closest thing to the truth he had heard in over a year about his son. His heart was pounding so loud, he was positive wolf-boy could hear it.

  What Seth wasn’t saying was that he wasn’t merely a bystander; he was just as responsible for Thomas’s near-death experience as the vampires involved. He knew he shouldn’t have
been hanging out with those stupid bloodsuckers. He had learned his lesson since that night.

  “Wait a minute – did you say ‘Immortal cop’? What is that?” Joseph asked.

  “Mister, please, I am bleeding. I gave you all the information I know. After that night, I flew back to Portland as fast as my wolf legs would carry me. I haven’t been back since – today is the first time I’ve been back in San Francisco. It’s proving to be a very unlucky city for me…” he trailed off.

  Then he passed out.

  “Dammit!”

  Joseph turned around and put the car in drive and dropped the naked boy off at the hospital, claiming he found him shot in the park. He knew Seth wouldn’t be saying anything about their little interaction.

  Until his death in 1968, Joseph spent the next twenty years being the best BSI liaison he could be until he developed cancer. He ended up telling the agents about his interaction with Seth in the park, and was slightly chastised, but was eventually praised for his actions and the information he collected.

  Unfortunately for Joseph, he never did get the real information he was looking for: the location of young Thomas. He always knew his son was still alive somewhere. He also never got any information on what an “Immortal cop” was and, naturally, his contacts at the BSI acted like they didn’t have a clue as to what he was talking about. Which was true for Adam; not so much in Tony’s case.

  ∞∞∞

  On the same night as Seth’s discovery in Golden Gate Park, while Joseph was interrogating him in his Chevy, Kathryn, Thomas, and Jonathan decided to take in a movie. Usually, Friday nights for Kathryn were reserved for date night with Tony Bianchi. She and her new beau had been dating for a few months, but tonight he had to work. Special assignment for the Justice Department, he had said.

  The trio was coming out of the local theatre, chatting animatedly about the Alfred Hitchcock flick they had just watched, and they decided to go to Sal’s Diner and get some dinner.

  They all sat down at a booth in the back. Sandy, the cute blonde waitress came over with some paper menus. “Let me know when you’re ready to order, folks,” she said, winking at Thomas.

  He blushed a deep red and looked down at his menu.

  “What’s the matter with you, kid? She’s pretty. You should ask her out,” Jonathan said.

  “Are you serious, Jon? He still reads comic books,” Kathryn laughed.

  “Funny, Kat. Thanks for that, by the way,” Thomas said, shaking his head.

  Sandy came back to take their orders. Burgers and milkshakes all around.

  “So what happened the other night, Thomas? Jonathan said you guys were coming back from making rounds in the city and you thought someone was following you?” Kathryn asked.

  Thomas took a sip of his iced tea. “Yes, it was bizarre. We were making the usual checks, down alleys, behind buildings, through the parks, et cetera, but found nothing. But the whole night, this Chevy was always there. We stopped once to see if the person would stop but they didn’t, they kept going so we chalked it up to coincidence. We didn’t get a good look at the driver.”

  Jonathan continued, “Yes, and when we made it back home, we were parking the car and I heard someone around the side of the building. I told Thomas to flash inside – we didn’t need him getting recognized – and as he did, I went to investigate but the person was gone. It was strange,” he finished.

  Their meals arrived and they all ate.

  “This place has great fries,” Kathryn said.

  “Even better milkshakes,” Thomas added.

  When they were finished and had paid their tab at the counter, they were turning to leave when the overhead bell chimed on the door. The three looked up to see Tony Bianchi walk in on the arm of a beautiful brunette.

  Kathryn’s heart dropped into her stomach. “Tony? What’s going on here?”

  Tony fell over his words. “Oh, oh hi, Kat. Um, this is Maureen.”

  Maureen was drop-dead gorgeous; long, wavy black hair, piercing blue eyes, a small waist and long legs, and flawless, milky white skin. She was wearing barely any makeup except bright red lipstick. She looked like a movie star. She smiled sweetly at Kat and nodded.

  “Don’t ever call on me ever again!” Kat screamed at him, storming out of the restaurant.

  Jonathan just looked at Tony and shook his head. He then said one word to him: “Busted.”

  Tony’s brown cheeks flushed red and he watched with sadness as the trio stalked off into the night.

  Thomas was already off after Kathryn.

  As soon as they got outside, Jonathan looked at Kat and said, “International playboy. I tried to warn ya.”

  She sniffed. “I know.”

  Jonathan hugged her sideways and walked the rest of the way back to the Hyde Street building with his arm around her.

  Thomas said, shaking his head, “Working in that building won’t be awkward now or anything!”

  Chapter 19

  ∞∞∞

  Portland, Oregon – Present Day

  “Hi, Malina, it’s Thomas. We’ve got another emergency. Could you portal here to the apartment so we can explain?”

  “Of course, dear. I’ll be there momentarily. Shall I come alone?”

  “Yes, please. And if you could – bring our doses?” Thomas was nervous.

  “Will do.”

  She hung up and walked into Serina’s room, where she was sitting on top of her pink comforter, reading a book.

  Malina rested her shoulder against the doorjamb and said, “Another Immortal emergency. I’m heading to Jonathan’s. You’ll be okay here?”

  “Yep! I’m good. The glamour should still be in place. Nobody will find me out here,” she said with a smile.

  “All right. I’ll be back later.”

  She went into the kitchen, grabbed another rack of test tubes from her cabinet, and opened the freezer to retrieve a small pouch of pure vampire blood. She filled a coffee mug with hot water from her coffeemaker and set the pouch in it to thaw the blood back into liquid form. When it was fluid again, she poured a little into four vials then grabbed a steak knife and pricked her finger, dropping three drops into each vial. She then closed her eyes, waved her hand over the vials, and recited a little incantation. The liquid swirled ferociously in the tubes, turning aqua. Satisfied, she replaced the stoppers on the tubes, shook them a bit, and stuck them into the pocket of the plum tracksuit she was wearing. She pulled the hoodie up over her light brown hair and waved her hand in the air. A shimmering portal appeared and she stepped through.

  “Ahh!” Lillian hollered when Malina appeared out of nowhere into the living room. “You scared me half to death,” she said with her hand over her chest, now half-laughing nervously.

  Malina smiled at her. “Sorry, sweetie.”

  Jonathan went over and helped her take a seat on the couch. “We have a bit of a problem, I’m afraid,” he started without hesitation.

  “What now?” Malina asked.

  “Darius escaped,” Thomas answered. “We don’t know how, but he got out of his cell,” he said.

  Malina shook her head. “Yes, that’s a problem. You have any idea what happened?”

  “It’s the strangest thing. I left him in the cell. He was weak and dehydrated, and had just agreed to tell us where Pascal was, when I went upstairs to tell Thomas to go get him a couple of blood bags from the Portland Blood Bank. I should have just stayed and used the cell phone…” he trailed off.

  “Don’t blame yourself,” Kat said, rubbing Jonathan’s back. “I would have done the same thing. He was weak and those bars are iron. It’s held all the other vampires just fine over the years.”

  “There was no dust or ashes in the cell? Perhaps he died?” Malina asked, cutting her eyes over to Thomas.

  “No, nothing there. He didn’t die in there. The door was still locked, too. It doesn’t make sense,” Thomas said.

  “Anyone have access to the key?” Malina asked.

  “No
, I keep one in here, and I keep a spare in my desk drawer… oh, my God… that weird janitor. He has a key to my office… how could I have been so careless?” Jonathan said, rubbing his hand over his forehead. He walked to the credenza.

  “You really think that weirdo was working with vampires?” Kathryn asked.

  “There’s only one way to find out,” Jonathan said, setting his glass down. Let’s find the little creep.”

  “Shouldn’t we be heading to the Oregon Vortex?” Lillian asked.

  “What’s the Vortex?” Malina asked.

  Jonathan answered, “I’m sorry, we didn’t finish telling you. When we picked Darius up at Night Crawlers, he said Pascal and Angel were heading for ‘the vortex.’ After some Internet searches, we are going to follow a hunch that he’s heading for the Oregon Vortex. It’s a strange little tourist park in southern Oregon. It’s got lots of rumored strange phenomena that occur in that part of the mountains. Balls that roll backward uphill, people’s height changing when they stand in certain places, people losing their memory after they go there, things like that.”

  “I wonder what vampires would want with that place,” Malina said.

  “We think it has something to do with that Enchantment they stole from you,” Kathryn said.

  Malina again nodded but said nothing.

  “We better get going,” Thomas said after a long silence.

  “Before we leave, I have two things. First, I have your Enchantment doses so let’s get that over with.” She pulled the vials out of her pocket and handed each Immortal his or her vial.

  They all pulled the stoppers, looked at each other, and said in unison, “Ad vitam longan!” and threw the liquid down like shots of tequila. They all winced at the taste and quivered at the magic that tore through their bodies like wildfire.

  “Thank you, Malina,” Thomas said, kissing her on the cheek. It was her turn to blush.

  “What else did you want to tell us?” Lillian asked.

  “Well, uh, about that Enchantment. You have to know that there was no way I was giving that vampire the real thing. So while it’s true I made it the way it’s usually made, the incantation I said over it – the magic I put in it – was… not the same.”