The Chronicles of the Immortal Council: The complete 10-book collection

by D C Young

  “Shock tactics!” Marcus mocked, “How very Greek of you.”

  A sly smile spread across her lips and Björn interjected, “Never mind him. Those Romans were always too soft. I can appreciate a woman who knows how to fight!”

  “I’ve been waitin’ so long for a good battle. Tis been centuries since I’ve heard the clash of steel on boon,” Wallace replied, his eyes were aflame with excitement.

  “Well it looks like your wait is over, Wolf,” Adelin responded pointing to five helicopters that were landing in the valley below them. “They’re here.”

  The Watchers turned their attention to the field of the upcoming battle and each sized up their enemy in their own way. Swords were drawn, shields were hefted and helmets raised. Then their fearless leader shouted the command.

  “Kill them all and burn them to ash. But save the German one for me.”

  Epilogue

  “You never told me how you came to be in America, Björn,” Veronica said. She was sprawled out atop the concrete balustrade on the balcony at Elysium. She resembled a vampire cat who couldn’t fathom the thought that she could fall. Björn ‘Ironside’ Ragnarsson was standing beside her stroking her hair.

  “It is a long story Veronica. One for another time. My blood is still boiling with the heat of the battle and there are different ways in which we Vikings like to utilize such heat in our veins.” He smiled slyly and Veronica sat up to him. They’d grown close over the course of her investigation with Sam Moon. They were both very close to Alexei and exceedingly fond of the boy. The looks that Björn gave her as he watched her administrations at Alexei’s bedside had told her she’d awakened something in the Viking’s heart.

  Veronica didn’t mind. Rand’s incessant whining and complaining had been boring her for a long time. She liked her men strong and virile, independent and barbaric. In short, they should at least be half as tough as she was.

  Veronica wrapped her legs around Björn’s waist and pulled him close to her.

  “I will quench that fire tonight, Ragnarsson… many times, in fact. But then you will tell me about all of it. Your life, how you became a vampire and how you made it to America. Then you will tell me of Marcus and Marie as well. Deal?”

  Björn hoisted her slender body up onto his hips and lifted her from the railing. He was already headed down the corridor to his rooms before he replied, “Yes, Miss Melbourne. I promise I will tell you the long tale of my life…tomorrow.”

  The End

  The Chronicles of the Immortal Council returns in:

  Vampire Exodus

  Return to the Table of Contents

  VAMPIRE EXODUS

  The Chronicles of the Immortal Council #2

  A Vampire for Hire story

  by

  D.C. Young

  Foreward

  by J.R. Rain

  Hi there and welcome!

  J.R. Rain here, and I’m so excited to introduce you to my “Vampire for Hire World”! As you might have guessed, these are written by writers other than me. Fair warning, these stories are non-canon (as in, unofficial) but they’re still a ton of fun. I’m excited to see the Samantha Moon world grow, and I’m equally excited to see all these wonderful writers exploring her world with me.

  So, sit back and enjoy Vampire Exodus!

  —J.R.

  Vampire Exodus

  Chapter One

  It felt good to be able to just sit down and have a conversation with Kingsley for once without it alluding to anything crude, sexual or have things erupt into a nasty drag out, storm out kind of argument.

  Ever since I’d got back from Central America things had been a lot smoother between us. I think it was mostly because, when it came to him, I’d finally learned how to stop wearing my heart on my sleeve so much.

  After all, the guy was a werewolf. He could smell that kind of blood, even if it were just vampire blood, a mile away; and that just seemed to always make me easy prey.

  “So, what now, Sam?” Kingsley asked as he sipped on the glass of whiskey the waiter had poured from the bottle Kingsley had insisted be opened fresh and brought from the bar to the table.

  “Honestly, I really don’t know,” I replied. I’d been sitting around the house for a week wondering when the next thing would pop up that I could sink my teeth into. “I’m just waiting for the next gig to come along.”

  The only thing out of the ordinary to happen since my return was receiving an elaborate, designer bouquet of flowers from Julia Agrippina. It had been monstrous, verging on preposterous, and dominated whichever room I placed it in... kind of like how her check had hijacked my usually modest bank balance with all the unexpected zeros it had. She, apparently, was the kind of person, umm… vampire, who did things on the grand scale.

  “Must be nice!” Kingsley teased, a smile blooming at the sides of his mouth.

  “Really? Jokes about money coming from the top shot lawyer who makes a virtual killing defending questionable characters in court?”

  “Aww, come on now, Sam,” he replied, feigning that her comment had hurt his feelings, “Let’s not resort to low blows. I just meant I think it’s great that you can have that kind of breather. You certainly deserve it.”

  “You’re telling me! It’s getting really hard feeding those two bottomless pits I call kids on a single mom’s income.” I was joking of course but I knew only too well what it was like to barely be able to tie the two ends together at the end of the month. Julia had done me a solid by allowing me to not have to think about things like that for a while to come.

  My assignment for the Immortal Council hadn’t been a difficult one physically but I doubt I’d been as emotionally scarred by a case as I had been by what I saw in that pyramid in Central America. Sure, a lot of emotionally charged things had happened to me since that night in Hillcrest Park but the savagery I’d seen in those underground chambers had been surreal. Maybe it was because the roles had been reversed. For once, the supernatural being had been the victim, and the beast at work had been human. As I thought about the huge picture of Adolph Hitler on the wall of the chamber and the evil things Dr. Mengele had done to poor Alexei, I shuddered. The whole affair had rocked me to the core.

  “What’s bothering you, Sam? You cold?”

  I shot Kingsley a sarcastic look. “No. I’m cold blooded.”

  He paused for a moment to take in my response then suddenly burst out laughing. It was true, after all. “Okay, fair enough, Moon. But you should probably tell me what you were thinking about that sent that chill down your spine.”

  “It’s just Alexei, and everything he went through,” I said softly. “He reminds me so much of Anthony. Alexei was just fourteen when he was executed by the Bolsheviks and then rescued from among the bodies of his family members and turned into a vampire. If you ever saw him, Kingsley, he’s like a living porcelain doll. But what those men did to him… that’s not something I can ever un-see.”

  “Well then, don’t try to. Embrace how what you saw makes you feel, Sam. It’s one of your more endearing qualities, I think.”

  “What quality?”

  “The over protective one. You’re almost like a Mommy Wolf when it comes to your kids, any kid for that matter. I’ve seen it come out even over ghost kids.”

  I laughed, but knew what he said was more or less the truth. “Speaking of wolves,” I said, cleverly changing the subject of the conversation from the macabre over to him, “I know you’re sort of a loner but now that there’s a bit of a pack among the Elder Watchers up there in Hollywood Hills, why don’t you get to know some of them? There really nice guys from what I’ve seen and quite ummm… macho, like yourself.”

  “I actually ran into Wallace on my last moonlight run over the range, and I thought I would do just that but they’re gone, Sam.”

  “What? Gone? What do you mean gone?”

  “Elysium House has been vacated.”

  “They left without saying anything? How rude!”

&
nbsp; “Yeah. So, no new friends for us to have cocktails on the weekend with.”

  “I don’t think it’s that simple, Kingsley. It seemed to me that Elysium was Julia’s primary residence, in the Western Hemisphere at least. If they’ve abandoned it, there must be something going on.”

  “Perhaps, but clearly it doesn’t involve you, Sam, or they would have told you something.”

  “And yet, I feel the overwhelming need to find out what’s up.”

  “It’s just the detective in you talking.”

  “ Maybe. But I’ll probably give Julia a call tomorrow anyway.”

  “Fine.” Kingsley paused as the waiter brought their plates to the table and set them down in front of them. “Hmmm,” he said as the man turned his back and left.

  “What? Don’t you like it?” I asked. For dinner, I’d opted for a place Veronica had suggested in Calabasas called Beast, instead of our usual place, the Mulberry Street Café.

  “Oh, it’s not that at all. It’s just, ummm… different.”

  “Yeah, it’s no Mulberry’s but the menu is super diverse, I love the vampire-centric choices.”

  I looked down at my ‘tartar’ and could hardly stop myself from licking my lips; it was basically blood soup. I touched the edge of the plate with my fingertip and a smile spread across my face. It was the perfect temperature. When I lifted the spoon to my lips, my eyes rolled back inside my head. The beef was almost disintegrated and completely marinated in a mix of bovine and human blood, and warmed through to the temperature of the human body.

  “It’s good I take it?” Kingsley asked, picking up his steak knife.

  “Hell, yes. Why don’t you try your steak and tell me what you think.”

  He’d ordered the porterhouse rare and when he cut into it, he wasn’t disappointed. His expression after the first bite was enough to pacify me and allow me to return my attention to my own food.

  When the plates had been cleared and some rather interesting desserts served, I looked up at Kingsley. “I’ll call Veronica!” I cried excitedly. “She’ll definitely know what’s up at Elysium.”

  “Thought you weren’t too fond of her.”

  “I wasn’t at first but what I saw of her in that jungle in Central America gave me a whole new impression of her. I respect her stand on a lot of things and I admire her candor and skill.”

  “That mission really did change you, Sam.”

  “It didn’t change me, Kingsley. But I did a good bit of growing up while I was out there walking through Hell.”

  Chapter Two

  The night they’d destroyed the Nazi doctor and his brain dead zombie-fied vampire minions in Israel, Veronica Melbourne had returned to Elysium House with the triumphant members of the Elder Watchers. It had seemed appropriate seeing that they’d fought hard together that night but the truth was she had nowhere else she wanted to go. The townhouse in Pasadena was wonderful; Julia had been extremely kind by giving it to her, but it still didn’t feel like home yet. And where else did she have to go? The dingy catacombs under the missionary at San Juan Capistrano?

  Blech! Never again! Veronica thought.

  “You never told me how it was that you came to be in America all those centuries ago, Björn,” Veronica said. She was sprawled out atop the concrete balustrade on the balcony at Elysium. She resembled a vampire cat who couldn’t fathom the thought that she could fall. Björn ‘Ironside’ Ragnarsson was standing beside her stroking her hair.

  “It is a long story Veronica; a story for another time. My blood is still boiling with the heat of the battle and there are ways in which we Vikings like to utilize such heat in our veins.” He smiled slyly and Veronica sat up and faced him. They’d grown close over the course of her investigation with Sam Moon. They were both very close to Alexei and exceedingly fond of the boy. The looks that Björn gave her as he watched her administrations at Alexei’s bedside had told her she’d awakened something in the Viking’s heart.

  “I guess talking isn’t one of them.”

  Björn shook his blond head, smiling. Veronica didn’t mind. Rand’s incessant whining and complaining had been boring her for a long time. She liked her men strong and virile, independent and barbaric. In short, they should at least be half as tough as she was.

  Veronica wrapped her legs around Björn’s waist and pulled him close to her.

  “I will quench that fire tonight, Ragnarsson… many times, in fact. But then you will tell me about all of it. Your life, how you became a vampire and how you made it to America. Then you will tell me of Marcus and Marie as well. Deal?”

  Björn hoisted her slender body up onto his hips and lifted her from the railing. He was already headed down the corridor to his rooms before he replied, “Yes, Miss Melbourne. I promise I will tell you the long tale of my life…tomorrow.”

  The next afternoon as the sun was setting, Veronica woke up to find Björn lying at her side, gazing down at her.

  “Hello there,” she said smiling.

  “Good afternoon, beautiful vampire. Did you sleep well?”

  “I did, once I actually fell asleep,” she replied, giving the Viking a playful punch to his upper arm. “Have you been awake long?

  “Of course! I was up with the sun,” he boasted.

  “I’m sure you were.”

  “Ah, right on time,” Björn announced as a woman walked into the room. “Look, I’ve brought you some breakfast.”

  Veronica looked at him questioningly but the woman came confidently to the bedside, sat down beside Veronica and displayed her left wrist. “I am Katya. I would be pleased to feed you.”

  That was when Veronica realized how famished she was. When she was finished feeding, she watched as the small puncture wounds on Katya’s wrist healed completely.

  “Thank you,” she said softly to Katya, who nodded silently, stood up and left the room. Turning to Björn, she said, “I guess that’s Julia’s version of room service.”

  The blond Viking laughed heartily.

  “Björn, I don’t mean to seem pushy but…” Veronica paused, trying to put the right words forward. “I’m honestly curious about how you became a wolf and then found Marcus and Marie; even how you met Julia and the others. I’ve been given library privileges here before and the stories just blew my mind every time. Its like I’m learning my… our history… for the first time. A supernatural history, of sorts; something that parallels world history in a perfect line, only my line is full of dashes.”

  She really liked the Viking werewolf… really liked him… and she wanted to see how far things could go for them. Love wasn’t an arena she’d had much luck in, but Veronica had also never met someone quite like Björn.

  Firstly, he was immortal like her. She’d caught glimpses of the love affairs between other members of the Watchers and knew that such romances would certainly have their pros and cons. However, the possibility of being with someone for however long you chose to stay together would far outweigh that of falling out with the person and living with those feelings of discord for just as long.

  She liked Rand but after spending a fair amount of time with him, Veronica knew their involvement had nowhere to grow beyond the physical. He was a hunter, just like her but where she hunted the unclean and destructive creatures who threatened the silent existence of supernatural beings in society; Rand hunted her kind, for any and every reason. The truth was that the only reason he’d been inactive in Southern California while they’d been involved was because of Samantha Moon’s ultimatum; if he showed his face around there again, she would finish him off. He’d had only one warning.

  And… he was human. She would out grow him then outlive him and she honestly thought the former was already true. She enjoyed the feeding and the sex, but that was about it.

  Quite frankly, Rand’s just not man enough for me, Veronica thought.

  “I plan to take you down there again today and tell you about us. I want you to know your history as well as ours, Beautiful Huntress,�
� Björn replied, as he took her in his arms for the umpteenth time and crushed her to the soft sheets of his bed.

  Chapter Three

  The drive back from Calabasas was a little rougher than I’d expected. It was still early, even for a Saturday night, but for some reason every single resident of the upscale Los Angeles suburb was on their way to the city that night. The 101 Expressway was a steady flow right up until Silver Lake Boulevard and then… gridlock, all the way through to Slauson Avenue. When I finally stepped through the door and put my bag down, I was ready to plop down on the couch and cue up the DVR for a binge watch of all that week’s episodes of Judge Judy.

  After dinner, Kingsley took me to see a movie at Edwards Calabasas Stadium 6. I don’t think I’d ever been in such a posh movie theater. The seats in there were nicer than anything I currently had in my living room at home. I was standing outside under the retro styled marquis after the movie, waiting for Kingsley to bring the car around so we could head back to Fullerton, when I noticed a woman across the street staring at me.

  She was beautiful in the darkness where she stood in the shadow of a tall tree waiting for the crossing sign to come on at the traffic light on the corner. The light from the right overhead streetlights didn’t touch her there. Before Kingsley could come with the car, the crossing light changed and she stepped onto the street walking towards the corner of the movie theater.

  I watched as she turned towards me and as I turned my head to look up the street in the direction I expected Kingsley to come from, my spidey senses went haywire. I turned to look at the woman again. She was walking towards me by then, staring intently at me and never taking her eyes from mine. Then, I saw something that even in my years of experience now as an immortal, shape shifting, blood drinking vampire, I’d never seen before.