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

by C. J. Pinard

  “Pleased to make your acquaintance, Elizabeth,” he replied.

  “We have asked Emma to bring you here because we have a proposition for you,” she started.

  Jonathan cocked his head to the left. “A proposition? Of what nature?”

  “In short, Mr. Murphy, we would like to offer you Immortality. But we will need something in return.”

  “Immortality? I don’t understand,” Jonathan said.

  Emma stroked his face. “We could be together forever, my sweet.”

  He looked at her milky white face then back at Elizabeth. “I’m listening.”

  “We heard about you saving Emma from the vampyre attack. We have been having increasing problems with vampyre and shapeshifter attacks on humans and sylphs. We only possess so much magic, but we believe we can use it to give certain mortals special power, including immortality. In short, Jonathan, your job will be to help protect us and the humans from these creatures,” she finished.

  Jonathan blew out a breath and raked his fingers through his wavy locks. “This all sounds too surreal. But how am I to do this task by myself?”

  “We will make more for you to work with,” Elizabeth said.

  Jonathan thought long and hard about the predicament in which he now found himself. If he were to believe he had just married a sylph, killed a vampyre a few months ago, and now literally stepped through an entire time zone, then he had to believe this was possible, too. But what of his children? Marie and the little ones, how could they grow up, grow old, and he not? Perhaps, he thought, that was a problem for future contemplation. He looked at the face of his beautiful new bride, whom he was utterly and completely in love with, and couldn’t bear the thought of life without her. He growing old and she not? Would people think he was her father? Perhaps people already thought it.

  He decided he didn’t care.

  “I’ll do it,” he answered. He turned to Emma and kissed her.

  All the sylphs clapped excitedly, but Elizabeth held up a hand to quiet them. She went to her satchel, which sat on a nearby chair, and pulled out a heavy glass decanter which was secured with a glass top. She delicately pulled the top off and with grace, she used a sewing pin to poke a hole in her index finger. She dribbled three drops of blood into the decanter, and the pinkish liquid began to swirl and spin, turning aqua. Every eye in the room was on the liquid, as Elizabeth recited a silent incantation over it with her eyes closed.

  Everyone waited with baited breath until her eyes snapped open and fixed on Jonathan. She walked lithely to him and handed him the glass decanter. “Drink,” she commanded.

  He looked nervous and asked, “What will it do to me?”

  “Make you immortal,” she smiled with more confidence than she felt. She was not sure this would work, but could only hope.

  “Well, okay then. Here goes nothing,” Jonathan said with a smile as he tipped the heavy glass bottle to his lips.

  “Ad vitam longan!” Elizabeth shouted with her hands in the air as Jonathan drank. A strong, warm breeze swirled in the room, blowing everyone’s hair and clothes.

  Again the room was silent as they watched the historic moment pass before their eyes.

  Jonathan let out a horrified yell, dropping the glass decanter to the ground, shattering it. Then he, too, fell to the ground, writhing in pain.

  CHAPTER 7

  ∞∞∞

  Portland, Oregon – Present Day

  Thomas pulled out his cell phone and punched in a number.

  “Hello?” a weary voice answered.

  “Malina, honey, I’m sorry but I’ve got an emergency,” Thomas said.

  She sighed. “What’s wrong?”

  “Can you please inform the council that we are bringing two shifters to the island?” he asked excitedly.

  Her eyes went wide. “You caught them?” she breathed.

  “Yes! But we have another problem. We got Seth and Malachi, but not Sheena. She’s unfortunately taken Kathryn, who is injured. She wants to trade her for Seth and Malachi.”

  “Oh my, that is quite the quandary. I will inform the council immediately. You’re going to need a portal I assume?” she asked.

  “Yes, sweetie. I’ll be in touch.” And with that, Thomas hung up.

  “Back to the building, I guess,” Jonathan said, shaking his head and veering the car onto the highway.

  Thomas and Jonathan were back in the apartment. As he picked up his phone to dial her, he gasped when Malina appeared behind him and put her arms around his waist. He was still holding his cell phone.

  She giggled.

  He whirled around and bent down to kiss her. “Hi.”

  “Hi,” she said back, batting her eyelashes.

  Jonathan rolled his eyes. “First things first, we need to get these shifters to the island. We most certainly aren’t going to trade them for Kathryn to that filthy Sheena.”

  “Good call,” Thomas said.

  They took the elevator to the basement where they found Seth and Malachi in their human forms, bored and pacing their cells.

  “You ready?” Jonathan said to them.

  “For what, cop? What are you going to do to us?” Malachi asked.

  Thomas grinned. “Dispense justice, the good ol’ American way.”

  Seth eyed Thomas speculatively. “I knew your dad, you know,” he said out of the blue, his arms crossed. He could see this sparked something in Thomas, the pain registered in his eyes.

  Thomas grew serious and held a hand up to Jonathan, who was in the process of unlocking the cell door. “What are you talking about, Seth?”

  A wicked smile appeared on his lips. “Oh, I never told you? Your dear old dad shot me in Golden Gate Park and then tortured me in the back of his police cruiser. He wanted to know where you were.”

  “And what did you tell him? I know you were with the vampires the night I was attacked in that alley in 1946,” Thomas said, narrowing his eyes at Seth.

  Seth laughed. “And that’s all I’m telling you. I’ll be happy to tell you the whole story if you set us free.”

  “Not a chance, you animal. Now get to the back of the cell or I’ll taze you both,” Jonathan ordered.

  Seth, still looking at Thomas, put both hands out and shrugged his shoulders, baiting him to ask more.

  Thomas looked at Jonathan. He was dying to know more but wasn’t taking the bait. They had rules to follow. “Let’s get going,” he said, looking at Jonathan.

  “Your loss,” Seth said, grinning.

  Stepping through onto the gorgeous island, they were met by Bill, Captain of the new Immortals, who took the shifters to appropriate cells.

  “Thanks, Bill. The tall one is a bit feisty, took a good-sized chunk out of Kathryn’s neck earlier.”

  Bill growled. “Is she all right?”

  “I don’t know; the other filthy shifter, Sheena, has her. But we’ll get her back,” Thomas said, shaking his head.

  Malina waited patiently in the sandpit for Thomas and Jonathan to return, tapping her purple fingernails on the podium. She remembered the first time she had ever seen Thomas. That night in 1946, when he was attacked by vampires in the alley in San Francisco.

  She remembered how he had protested being sent to the island for Island Duty, which was just instituted. She smiled as she remembered the many meetings she chaired, handing down justice to shifters and vamps who had broken the Zie’s laws. Thomas was always the perfect guard, escorting them to their cells without fear and treating them consistently fair but tough. The fair and consistent treatment of the prisoners had enabled Thomas to quickly get promoted to Captain.

  But Thomas didn’t get assigned Island Duty right away. Only after about a year of traipsing around San Francisco, having many close calls of running into his father, was it decided that some Immortals were needed on the island to help the sylphs detain the bad Fae. It would also solve the problem of the temptation most new Immortals had to keep tabs on their old life; their families left behind. Mali
na herself had come up with the idea and it worked out perfectly. Thomas grew to love his time on Island Duty and sometimes spoke with Malina fondly about his two years as Captain here. She smiled at the memory.

  “Ready, sweetie?” Thomas said, grabbing Malina’s hand, breaking her out of her reverie.

  Jonathan rolled his eyes and laughed as they all stepped through the portal.

  ∞∞∞

  The Island of Nymph, Gulf of Mexico – 1809

  “What’s wrong with him!” Emma screamed, rushing over to her beloved.

  Elizabeth’s eyes shifted around the room. She was wringing her hands nervously. “I don’t know. Is he still breathing?”

  Emma had her head on Jonathan’s chest. “Yes,” she let out a sigh. He’s breathing; his heart beating.” She then shook him. “Jonathan! Wake up, my love, please!” Tears were dripping from her eyes onto his shirt.

  Jonathan was flat out on his back. He opened his gray-blue eyes and blinked his blonde eyelashes very rapidly, taking in all the colorfully dressed women staring at him. He fixed his eyes on Emma.

  “Emma, what happened?” He pulled himself to a sitting position.

  “You passed out, Jonathan,” she said nervously.

  Standing, he scanned the room until he found her. “What poison did you give me, you witch?” he roared. “That drink almost killed me!”

  Elizabeth looked at him unapologetically. “We won’t know if it worked for a while, but we would like it if you would stay here for a few days so we can see the effects of the potion, if any.”

  He cocked his head to the side, looking confused. “You really did give me a magic potion, didn’t you? It burned through my body like fire. I have never known such pain.”

  She smiled at him. “Well I hope it’s the last you’ll have to endure for quite a few years.”

  Jonathan walked over to a heavy oak chair and lifted it to move it to a different part of the room to sit. He found the chair felt as light as feathers. He looked at it curiously, and then set it down on the ground, smashing it into several pieces in a splash of wood and splinters. “What in the hell…?”

  The room of sylphs gasped.

  “Oh my. It seems you are very strong,” Grace breathed.

  Emma looked at Grace. “What’s wrong with him, sister?”

  Grace, in turn, looked at Elizabeth. “Well?”

  “I don’t know. Extra strength can’t be bad though, can it?”

  “What did you do to me!” Jonathan roared. Elizabeth shrank back, almost tripping over her purple gown as she stumbled backward, fearful of the murderous look in Jonathan’s eyes.

  Emma ran to him and pulled on his shirt. “My love, calm down! Just sit, please!” She dragged over another chair for him and eased him down into it carefully.

  He ran his hand through his hair. Looking at Emma, he said, “What now?”

  Emma said, “Now, we wait.”

  ∞∞∞

  Emma and Jonathan soon decided to go back and risk the side effects in the comfort of their little inn back in France. Emma noticed he seemed much more virile, if that was even possible, and they spent a lot of very enjoyable sweaty nights until they had to return to the ship and go back to Newcastle and back to their responsibilities.

  They were greeted by three very excited children as soon as they disembarked the ship on the shore. Emma’s parents kissed her and told her they were happy she was home and had settled down. As her parents went back to London, life settled down for the newlyweds.

  One breezy spring day, Jonathan sat at the dining table, looking over a large piece of paper with strange drawings on it. He tapped a pencil on his temple and let out an exasperated breath.

  “What are you doing?” Emma asked, coming over to look at the paper Jonathan had spread over the table. She wiped her hands on her apron.

  He smiled weakly up at her. “I’ve drawn some rough sketches of a few new buildings for the town, but I don’t know where to put the sitting room in this particular building,” he said, tapping the pencil on the rough sketch of a pub.

  “So you draw pictures of the buildings before you build them so you know how it’s going to look?” she asked innocently.

  “Yes, Emma. I figure this is the easiest way to assess the amount of materials I will need for the buildings.”

  She smiled at him and kissed him on the lips lightly. “This is why I love you, you are so incredibly intelligent.”

  He chuckled. “It’s not intelligence, my dear, it’s simple common sense. One is better served by mapping out his project before embarking on it.”

  Jonathan sat and stared at his drawings while Emma went back to the kitchen.

  She returned a short time later with a steaming bowl of vegetable stew and some bread she and Marie had baked.

  “Thank you, beautiful,” he said to her. He dipped his spoon in to partake of the bland stew. He hadn’t been hunting in quite a while and decided tonight, after everyone was in bed, he would hunt again.

  CHAPTER 8

  ∞∞∞

  Portland, Oregon – Present Day

  “Where are we going?” Bryan asked nervously, his eyes moving from Pascal to Mike.

  “Please don’t speak,” Pascal answered.

  Bryan didn’t need to be told twice.

  The four walked for a few minutes, their shoes crunching over leaves and snapping twigs, the air heavy and thick with the threat of rain. Bryan was terrified of what he saw Pascal do to his friend. He was deeply worried about Smith, wondering if he was all right, or even alive. It sickened him how Pascal had bit into his neck like an animal, drinking his blood. When Smith told him he had met some real vampires, he figured they were gothic wannabes and didn’t ask further questions. Even in the car ride, he had been half-joking about not being able to afford to lose his construction job. He didn’t believe them to be real vampires because, well, he didn’t believe in vampires. Bryan was a simple, practical man. But something about Pascal made his skin crawl. He thought the British accent was fake, but if he was truthful with himself, he did admit Pascal seemed to speak like he was from a different era. He looked young on the outside, but something in his eyes looked very old.

  Then there was Angel. She was just… creepy. She was hot, sure, but she looked and behaved strangely. She always sat very still with that strange smile on her lips, always looking at him, her eyes piercing his. Another shiver ran up his spine.

  “Stop!” Pascal said.

  Bryan was broken from his thoughts and looked up.

  “Baby, I don’t like this place, it has bad mojo,” Angel said, looking around.

  Pascal eyed her but ignored the comment. “Young man, come here.”

  Bryan stepped toward him. A cold wind blew around them causing him to shiver yet again, then the air went unnaturally still. Pascal grabbed Bryan’s arm and looked up into the heavens. As if on cue, a giant crack of lightning lit up the Oregon sky and the rain began to fall softly. A boom of thunder caused them all to jump.

  Pascal turned his gaze back to Bryan and looked into his eyes. With a smile, he said, “This won’t hurt a bit.” Jerking him by his short hair, he pulled his head back, exposing his neck. Pascal bit in and Bryan cried out in fear and pain, squirming futilely.

  Angel and Mike both seemed to be hypnotized by this, licking their lips absentmindedly as they watched.

  Bryan fell slack in Pascal’s arms until he seemed to be out cold. Pascal looked at Angel and nodded. She slowly sauntered over and licked the two wounds on his neck, lapping up the dripping holes and using her saliva to heal them.

  Then, she put her hand in the air and brought it down, slapping Bryan hard across the face. He bolted awake and yelled again. Pascal bit into his own wrist once again and dripped his blood into Bryan’s half-open mouth. Bryan turned his head to the side weakly and spit it out. Angel grabbed his cheeks like a mother trying to get her toddler to take medicine and squeezed his lips into a fish face. Pascal again dripped the liquid from his
wrist into his mouth and Angel continued to hold his face so he couldn’t spit. After the first swallow, Bryan realized the sweet liquid was a welcome nourishment and he reached up to drink more. He sucked at Pascal’s wrist until Pascal made a pained face and pulled his wrist away.

  “Enough!” he ordered, unfolding his sleeve and buttoning it back around his wrist.

  “Come get him,” Angel ordered Mike.

  Mike walked over and slung the kid over his shoulder and began to carry him back to the Towncar.

  Pascal and Angel followed behind. “Want to tell me what this is all about, baby?” Angel asked as they tramped over brush and leaves.

  Pascal grinned. “I have a theory, and if I’m right, Bryan will still be able to be in the sun even after his turning is complete.”

  “This is what you were trying to accomplish with Darius, right?” she asked, eyes wide.

  “Yes, love. But I think that witchy sylph bewitched the Enchantment and caused Darius’s demise.”

  She raised an eyebrow at him. “And the other kid, Smith. Why turn him in the parking lot instead of here?”

  He smiled. “Because I believe this part of the park is enchanted. I had to turn him outside of its magical circle so I can be sure of the correct area in which the future turnings will take place. If all of this is finished, and Bryan can resist the sun and Smith can’t, then I’ve proven my point, and we will be able to create a lot of foot-soldiers to use at our disposal.”

  “When do we find out?” she asked.

  He grinned at her. “In three days. I will let them rest, and then we put them both in the sun and see what happens.”

  ∞∞∞

  Jonathan threw his keys onto the table in the apartment and went over to the credenza. Pouring himself a stiff one from his decanter, he downed it quickly and poured himself another.