The Complete Vampire Project Series: (Books 1 - 5)

by Jonathan Yanez

  “Elizabeth!” Croft caught a werewolf with a spell and flung it high into the air. It disappeared a moment later in the dark. “Elizabeth, it’s me, your mother! Stop this!”

  Elizabeth was only a small girl when Croft had left, but as soon as her head turned toward Croft, recognition glazed over her bloodshot eyes.

  “You!” Elizabeth was immobile for a moment, stuck somewhere between disbelief and anger. “You left us!”

  Croft closed the distance between her and her daughter. All around, the battle raged between the factions of New Hope and Azra, but Croft could only focus on one thing at a time. It seemed no one else was eager to disturb the waging sorceresses as a circle opened for them on the battlefield.

  “Whatever Leah taught you”—Croft held up her hand, ready but unwilling to strike the first blow—“whatever you’re feeling, I can help. I can explain everything. I can—”

  “Why is everyone always trying to help me?” Elizabeth shrugged off her black cloak, revealing a black uniform with grey steel armor pieces covering her torso and forearms. In the center of her breastplate was a black bat. “You left us. You should be worried about helping yourself!”

  Elizabeth hurled a series of attacks at Croft, each spell more sinister than the next. Croft blocked them all, and every time she did so, loud cracks like gunshots shattered the air around them.

  Elizabeth first stalked forward, sending bolts of yellow magic, then trying a long yellow whip that reached out from the end of her wand. When that didn’t work, she shot a solid beam of magical energy at Croft.

  Instead of meeting the beam, Croft caught the power, slowly releasing the magic until it dispersed. Elizabeth’s attack was ferocious, but not well planned. Her daughter was using anger and rage as a motivator. Croft danced around her daughter’s attacks, blocking where she had to, avoiding where she could.

  Mother and daughter performed a deadly dance, each unwilling to surrender for very different reasons.

  “I hate you!” Elizabeth screamed when none of her attacks broke through Croft’s defenses. “I hate you for leaving us!”

  Elizabeth’s words were doing more pain to Croft than her attacks ever could. Mostly because her daughter was right, and Croft couldn’t blame her.

  “I’m so sorry.” Croft resisted the spell Elizabeth was trying to use to lift her off the ground and throw her across the battlefield. Croft was beginning to feel the first signs of a headache, the signal telling her that her mind was becoming weak from her use of magic. She needed to finish this confrontation soon.

  Croft rushed forward, for the first time taking the offensive. Elizabeth’s eyes went wide with surprise for a moment before a devilish grin crossed her lips. Croft closed the distance between the two, leaving herself open for an attack.

  Elizabeth waited for her until she was within arm’s reach. With one fluid movement, she activated her wand, extending it into a staff. At the same moment she channeled a magical yellow tip on the edge of the staff. It hit Croft in the left shoulder as she approached.

  Pain lanced through her shoulder, white hot magical pain that made her grit her teeth to hold back a scream. Croft struck with her right fist, catching Elizabeth with a vicious uppercut she prayed wouldn’t shatter her daughter’s jaw.

  Elizabeth crumpled. Her wand fell to the ground, dislodging itself from Croft’s arm. Immediately, Croft knelt next to her daughter, feeling for a pulse before lifting her off the ground.

  Pain from her shoulder accompanied a heavy flow of dark blood. Her wound was an afterthought compared to her daughter.

  She cuddled her as she carried her still figure. All around, the New Hope werewolves wearing the steel collars laced with yellow magical light ceased their manic struggle. Instead of tearing at whatever was in front of them, they took off in every direction, confused, looking for an escape.

  The vampire soldiers who were left, witnessing their witch and their werewolves dismantled, decided to retreat on their own.

  Everywhere on the battlefield, the Azra force gave chase. Croft couldn’t care less if they were caught or not. She hugged her daughter, close carrying Elizabeth away from the conflict and any further danger.

  Abigail came running to her from the fray, two white mage swords in her hands. She was bleeding from a cut high on her scalp. The left side of her face was covered in blood and sweat. “Is she okay?”

  “She’s going to be fine.” Croft motioned with her head to her eldest daughter. “We need to get her back to Azra. We can rehabilitate her, but it’ll take time to undo the damage.”

  Sloan ran up to the three women. She was covered in blood that didn’t belong to her. Her red mage sword was already sheathed at her side. Her eyes were red, and two fangs sprouted from her mouth.

  “Theo’s injured, but he’ll be fine. We need orders.” Sloan looked to Croft, obeying the chain of command. “Continue to pursue?”

  “No.” Croft’s thoughts went to the weight this first conflict carried. “We won the first battle, but its time to regroup and prepare for the war.”

  End Book Four

  Epilogue

  Here’s a sneak peek at the fifth and final book in The Vampire Project.

  War’s Rage

  Ashley

  Smoke from the battlefield twisted into the sky like dark fingers groping at the air. She spurred her unicorn on, unsheathing the massive sword that rested on her back. She was still much too far away for the act to make sense, but she needed to do something.

  You’re too late. You took too much time, her internal voice of doubt poked at her. He’s dead. They’re all dead now.

  She pushed the voices out of her mind. Her unicorn galloped over the sloping terrain, every second taking her closer to the battle she didn’t know if she wanted to see. She was close enough now to hear the sounds of war.

  The screams of the dying, along with the shouts of those still struggling on both sides of the conflict, permeated through the air. Adrenaline hit her system hard as she finally crested a grassy slope that gave her a view of the battlefield.

  Both in scope and brutality, she was shocked. Thousands of men, women, shifters, gargoyles, vampires, werewolves, and gnomes eyed one another from across the blood-soaked ground. There was a lull in the battle as both sides licked their wounds and eyed their opponents.

  She rode to the white-and-gold banners of Azra, where she prayed she wasn’t already too late.

  Ashley Brookhaven brought her unicorn to the Azra ranks, frantically searching for her husband. Her eyes traveled over bone-weary soldiers of all supernatural kinds. Wounded were on the ground, a pile of dead laid out under white sheets to the rear of the army.

  Her approach had brought her to the triage section of the sprawling Outland army. What she saw did not give her hope. The Azra army was reeling. There wasn’t a white-and-gold tunic that didn’t have at least some kind of red sprayed across it.

  “Aareth! Aareth!” Ashley screamed like a woman possessed. She jumped off her unicorn, sheathing her sword as if in an afterthought. Time seemed to slow as she pushed past soldiers running every which way in the camp. Her eyes roved past every face she came in contact with. In desperation, she screamed his name again. “Aareth!”

  A Special Note For You

  Hi everyone, I just wanted to say a quick thank you for continuing to read the Vampire Project Series. The series has been so much fun for me to write! We have one more book to go. I’m trying to get it out as soon as possible. If you're a fan of Sloan and hate hearing about last books, don't worry. I plan on continuing her story through her daughter and having those books take place in a current-day setting.

  But I’m getting ahead of myself. Things are going better than I could ever expect with writing. I’ve been invited to write in Justin Sloan’s expanding universe in his Syndicate Wars books. I’ll have a spin off trilogy I’ll be working on soon, with those books set to come out late November.

  Since May and the beginning of The Vampire Project,
I’ve been writing a book a month. I don’t know if I’ll always be able to keep this pace, but I’ve found a wonderful editor who is as crazy as I am and we’ve been able to produce a book a month so far. I’m going to see how long I can burn the candle on both ends but I feel strong right now.

  I’m a workhorse in whatever my hands find to do, so you can imagine creating family time is hard for me. Lately, we’ve set up a new rule in our house that I don’t work once my wife gets home or on weekends. That’s our family time together.

  For those of you who don’t know, I’m married, with a sixteen-month-old named Josephine who I stay home with. I write early in the morning or while my beautiful little beast takes her naps in the afternoon.

  Having a daughter and being able to stay home with her has taught me so much about myself. Jo is awesome, and I still struggle to put into words how such a tiny smile can brighten our entire house.

  We’re in the planning stage for our next little wolf cub now. We know we want to have another little pitter-patter of feet in the house; we’re just trying to decide when would be the best time.

  As many of you know, I model part-time. I used to be a personal trainer, and I still hit the gym two to four times a week. We have a babysitter who comes twice a week to help with Jo. I use that time to unleash my own beast at the gym.

  My modeling career comes last out of all of my priorities. It’s fun going on shoots and meeting new people. It’s freeing in a way. I try to limit how many shoots I do a year to no more than six to leave time for family and writing. So far this year, I’ve done work for Kodak, Bank of America, Budweiser, and a travel company. If I get one or two more modeling jobs for the rest of the year, that would be great.

  Anyway, that’s what’s going on with me. Don’t be afraid to drop me an email or connect with me on Facebook, or join my wolf pack (newsletter). I love hearing from you. It gives me a boost of energy and helps me attack whatever book I’m working on next when I hear how much you are enjoying the story.

  Keep your heads up, wolves!

  Jonathan

  War’s Rage

  Book Five of the Vampire Project Series

  “Throw me to the wolves and I’ll come back leading the pack.” –Unknown

  To Kimberly, these books wouldn’t be the same without you.

  Chapter One

  Leah

  “You want to send them all?”

  “Did I stutter?”

  “No, but leaving New Hope with a single regiment of vampire soldiers may not be enough to quell an insurrection if the people rise against us.”

  Leah looked at Commander Steel from her seat in her new throne. She had done away with the gaudy chair her sister had chosen to rule from. Leah had simpler, if not more, commanding taste than the late queen.

  She sat on her recently commissioned seat, a throne of pure obsidian stone, which glimmered in the presence of the mage lights set high overhead in the throne room. Her temper matched her dark dress. News of her mage engine and, more importantly, of Elizabeth’s defeat on the road to Azra had just reached her.

  Mage engines would come and go, but an apprentice with Elizabeth’s power came once in a lifetime. The reports were muddled, but one thing was clear: a witch was protecting Azra; a witch strong enough to defeat Elizabeth, one who’d fought with yellow magic.

  “My queen?” Commander Steel stood at attention. The way he’d said the words told Leah it wasn’t the first time he’d said her name. “We leave only one regiment in New Hope?”

  Leah’s anger broke free from her usual calm resolve. “Our enemies are in Azra! They’re out there in front of us! I want you to have the entire army ready to march by tomorrow night. Leave no one behind; take every vampire soldier with you!”

  Leah’s voice had boomed in the massive open space that made up the throne room, words echoing off the walls and reverberating back in toward the room. Although the queen and the commander were the only two in the room, it would have been a safe guess that her guards on the other side of the large doors had heard her screaming.

  “Commander, you have the most powerful army in the known world at your disposal. Use them to crush our enemies in Azra. Whatever it takes.” Leah gritted her teeth at an image of Azra in flames in her mind. She could practically hear the screams of the dying in her ears. “The wolf monsters tethered to Elizabeth will have scattered. Don’t waste your time trying to reel in the beasts. What of the mage engine itself?”

  “It’s in perfect working order.” Commander Steel met her eyes with a mischievous grin. “As soon as it released your apprentice and the monsters, the conductor reversed the unit and it rolled into New Hope without a scratch. If it’s not too forward of me to ask: Will you be joining us?”

  “I’ll be catching up with you.” Leah drummed her long, slender fingers on the cold arm of her throne. “Powerful wizards aren’t the only weapons to be had in the Outland. I’m sure the vampire army will be more than enough to overwhelm Azra, but I’d rather be safe than sorry.”

  A dark shadow loomed across Commander Steel’s face. Leah knew he would understand her meaning. Before his transformation into a vampire, before his rise to commanding the New Hope army, he had been a mercenary in the Outland, himself.

  “I know you know what you’re doing, but they can’t be trusted.” Commander Steel shook his head, trying to maneuver the conversation in such a way that came out firm yet respectful. “They’re dark, evil men and women—”

  “I understand your hesitation in using their particular skill set. But that’s for me to worry about, not you. Go”—Leah waved him away—“and do as you are ordered. If you do your job, maybe we won’t have to use them at all.”

  Commander Steel swallowed hard, then bowed at the waist and exited the room. His heavy boots made loud clicks on the marble floor.

  Leah watched his back disappear through the doors. She was alone with her thoughts again, the same thoughts that kept leading back to her younger sister. It had to be her. It could be no one else. Leah had made a point of keeping track of any witch or wizard capable of such power. When one tried to control the board, you kept track of all of the pieces.

  It was clear Croft had somehow masked her mark. The little brat had remained quiet all these years, amassing an army of her own in Azra. Leah should have guessed.

  But dwelling on these thoughts would get her nowhere. It was time to act. Leah rose and lifted her black wand from the holster she wore on the side of her right hip. Channeling her magic came as naturally to her as lifting her own hand.

  Purple light danced at the edge of her wand as she traced a large circle in the air in front of her, while an ancient spell danced across her lips. At once, the circle of magic floating in the air shimmered. A ripple of energy brought an image of darkness in front of her. Instead of seeing the rest of the throne room though the circle, she was now viewing a dark room.

  The viewing portal was large, big enough for her to see a massive bed lying against the far wall. Floor-to-ceiling curtains were closed, a pair of fluffy, blue slippers having been placed methodically by the foot of a dresser.

  “I was wondering when you’d come and ask for my help,” a male voice drifted from the bed and through Leah’s spell. “I’ve heard you’re having quite the problem in your corner of the world.”

  “‘Problem,’ is a strong word for what’s going on here, Dominic.” Leah paused, choosing her next words carefully. “I’m not much of a gambler. I’m going to crush Azra and kill every last one of them. My vampire army is strong enough to do that now.”

  “But … ?” A shadow figure sat up in the bed and swung bare legs over the side to slip naked feet into the pair of blue slippers. “Maybe they’re not? Or why would you be coming to me?”

  “I wouldn’t mind having your help and the help of those you serve in all of this.”

  “Ahhh … and there it is. You understand the Fallen have little to no interest in the dealings of your petty squabbles. What’s in
it for them if they decide to help?”

  Dominic rose from the bed and sauntered over toward Leah’s spell. He was tall, good looking, with dark features and a body that would make any man envious. He reached out of sight for a moment, and the sound of liquid being poured filled Leah’s vision.

  He came forward, right up to the spell wall now, and sipped at a red wine he swirled in a golden chalice.

  “What is it that they would want?” Leah asked, already wondering if she wanted to know the answer to her question.

  “I’ll be honest with you Leah.” Dominic looked her up and down with hungry eyes. “They have their hands full battling their celestial counterparts in their shadow war here on Earth, but I might be swayed to step in and be your knight in shinning armor.”

  “And in return?”

  “Oh”—Dominic smiled at her with a mischievous grin—“I think you know what I want.”

  Chapter Two

  Sloan

  “It was him. I know it was him.” With hurried abandon, Jack threw provisions into a sack. “I saw his eyes. He saw me. I just know.”

  Sloan bit her tongue. How was she supposed to tell her friend, this boy recently turned a man, that it may not be his father he’d seen on the battlefield? The last thing she wanted to do was take his hope away, but Sloan wasn’t the type to sugarcoat the truth.

  Just like Jack, she had seen the werewolves break out of the mage engine. Caught in the middle of the fight, she hadn’t seen the large, white werewolf Jack insisted was his father.