The Night Series - Entire Series Boxed Set : New World Immortal Mayan Vampire Romance

by Lisa Kessler

  Her name meant “sudden bloodletter.” Lifetimes before this one, Camalotz had exploded into the world of man when the Goddess of the Moon called the Demon forth. Although the Night Walker gods offered her blood sacrifices, the Demon’s hunger grew insatiable and uncontrollable. Each night with the rising of the moon, she feasted, and her power multiplied, until the Goddess who called her into this world could no longer control the Demon. Camalotz fed not only on blood but on mortal life, drinking in the spirit that flowed within the blood.

  Eventually she no longer needed the blood to stain her lips in order to feed. She could poison the minds of mortals. They’d end their lives, spilling their own blood at her command. She could drink in their spirits from a greater distance each night, never quenching her hunger.

  That’s when the Guardian was created. The Mayan artisans chiseled his body from limestone. The blood of the Demon herself granted him life and flesh, while the magic of the Night Walker gods, the four immortal brothers, gave him purpose. Camalotz was his sole responsibility. The brothers sent him forth to slow her appetite, to be a guardian for the ones she would slaughter. He could not stop her completely, but he could slow her feeding and destruction. And if she ever broke free, he would once more become her companion, her lover, and her keeper until the others contained her again.

  Only then would he know ageless sleep as he had for the past thousand years.

  For hours, until the stars dimmed and the sky lightened, he stood motionless, a sentinel to protect the mortal world from the evil that hungered and thirsted below the earth. The immortal brothers would answer the call.

  They would answer, or the mortal world was doomed.

  The great horned owl landed silently behind the tent, his sharp talons sinking into the drenched soil. He shook the excess water from his feathers, and gradually the air around him sparked with energy as he gave up his spirit animal form. The bird stretched his wings, his body shifting from the great horned owl back into that of a fully clothed man.

  Lukas ran shaky fingers through his wet hair, his heart pounding in his chest. What if Gretchen hadn’t jumped back inside the tent? He didn’t want to think about it. He’d grown far too attached to her.

  Shaking his head, he trudged through the mud to the front of the tent. His body thrummed with power. Instead of feeding on wildlife, he’d found a poacher tonight.

  He didn’t allow himself to kill the man, afraid the death might unleash the insatiable hunger that burned inside of him, just below the surface, enticing him. Instead, he left his prey unconscious for the wilds of the nocturnal rainforest to pass judgment.

  The infusion of rich human blood enhanced his inhuman senses much more than feeding on animals. That was the main reason he stayed in the Yucatan jungle studying the ancient Mayan ruins: blood. He wanted to understand why his body required it, why on some level his thirst was never quenched. How many more centuries could he endure the sick hunger, feeding like a cannibal on this former kin?

  His immortal transformation had been an accident, but that didn’t lessen the horror of his fate. He’d been changed without any choice in the matter, and the effects proved irreversible.

  Initially his thirst had been insatiable. His maker held him back, screaming at the mortal women to run. Later, he’d instructed Lukas to feed only on animals, and he tried to live on the blood of beasts—he still did today—but human blood remained too great a temptation.

  Memories of the slaughter of a native family near the Mission De Alcala still haunted him. Almost three hundred years had passed, yet the echoes of their cries for mercy continued to linger in the dark corners of his mind. Images of the terror in their eyes while he drank from them until the entire family lay lifeless on the floor taunted him, reminding him of his sin.

  His gut clenched at the memory. He closed his eyes, taking a long, slow breath. That single night led to years of madness. He’d fled far from the coastal village they now called San Diego so that he couldn’t hurt anyone again, and he could search for answers in peace. He wanted to know what a Night Walker was and where it had come from.

  And how could he kill it.

  It wasn’t until he began studying the Native American tribes of North America that he found a breakthrough that had led him here, to this jungle, to the Mayans.

  And to Gretchen.

  Quietly, he opened the door to the tent. He needed to be certain she was safe.

  A note hung from the lantern in front of his face.

  Lukas—

  An enormous owl almost attacked me, and I narrowly escaped being smashed by a large tree. Forgive my cowardice, but I am NOT setting foot outside this tent again tonight. I hope you get back safely to read this note… I’ll search for you again in the morning if you aren’t here when I wake up.

  Gretchen

  He couldn’t help but smile, gazing over at her sleeping form. That’s why she fired the flare gun into the storm. She’d been looking for him. His chest tightened with unwelcome emotion, and he tore the note down from the lantern. After one last look, he forced himself to crumble the paper like it meant nothing to him.

  “Lukas?”

  He flinched with surprise when he heard her voice. “I’m sorry I woke you.”

  Gretchen sat up. Her red hair spilled over her shoulders, like fire in the darkness, and he realized he was definitely growing far too fond of seeing her smile.

  “I was worried about you. Did you see my note?”

  Lukas nodded, slipping the wadded up ball of paper into his pocket. “Are you all right?”

  “Shaken up a little but otherwise unharmed. Why on earth were you out in the jungle all alone, at night, in a storm?”

  “You make it sound dangerous.” He smiled when she rolled her eyes. “I went for a walk, but the rain started before I made it back. I found shelter until it eased up.” Lukas sat on his cot and unlaced his hiking boots. “Any luck translating that last glyph from the altar?”

  “Not really. I’ll have to take a closer look in the morning. I agree with your Night Walker translation, though. I just wonder what it means. Maybe they were elite priests or something?”

  “I don’t know, but the answers are here, we just need to decode them.” He pulled off a boot.

  “You aren’t going to be here when I wake up again in the morning, are you?”

  He set the other boot down and slowly lifted his gaze to meet hers. “Probably not. Why?”

  Gretchen got up with a yawn and walked back over to the worktable. “Then I better show you this now.”

  He followed her to the table, trying not to notice her shapely, slender legs exposed beneath her nightshirt, or the way she tilted her head and pulled her long hair to one side to look down at the stone tile. He bit back the wave of desire and forced his attention to their work.

  “Do you see it there, at the bottom? I’m pretty sure they’re referring to the woman as a Goddess. Maybe of the Moon? See how the wolf is howling up at it? I’ve never seen another glyph quite like it. Have you?”

  She turned her head to glance back at him as he leaned in to look at the image.

  For a moment he forgot what he was, swept up in the closeness and the scent of her. For just a moment, he was simply a man.

  He moved toward her, part of him hoping she would resist and save them both from the dangerous emotions churning inside of him. Her breath on his skin was like the brush of angel’s wings as his lips parted. His gaze searched hers, but she didn’t pull away.

  Lukas cleared his throat, forcing himself to put distance between them. But before he could stop himself, he raised his hand to caress the softness of her cheek, his thumb brushing along her jaw.

  For a brief second, he set aside his guilt, his quest for knowledge, the entire world, and for a moment he truly saw her. They’d shared a tent in the rainforest for ten months, and until now, he’d never allowed himself to see the caring in her gaze. She had gorgeous green eyes, lush like the jungle that surrounded them. Easy
to lose himself in.

  Lukas straightened and shook his head. He couldn’t do this. This attraction put her in more danger than the jungle around them.

  “I’m staying until we finish this. Don’t even think of sending me back,” she whispered, throwing him off-balance.

  That was exactly what he thought he should do.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Don’t lie to me.” She crossed her arms. “We’ve known each other too long for lies.”

  Lukas dropped his gaze, staring at the floor. “You’ve already stayed longer than you should. You and I both know that.”

  “You need me here. I’m the best chance you have at translating those glyphs.”

  “You almost died tonight.” He met her eyes again. “You’ve already risked more on this project than I ever should have asked. Go home. Live a happy life.”

  “You think leaving will make me happy?” She shook her head slowly. “I didn’t think you were the kind of man who assumed a woman needs a home with a husband and child to be happy. Guess I was wrong.”

  “That’s not what I—”

  “It’s exactly what you meant.” Gretchen shook her head again and turned to go sit on her cot. “I’m not going anywhere. I signed on for another six months and that’s how long I’ll stay… Unless you fire me.”

  “I have no intention of firing you, but I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

  She shrugged and slid her feet into her sleeping bag. “I’m capable of taking care of myself.”

  “Fine.” Lukas rubbed his forehead and nodded. The sunrise neared, leaving his body heavy, and his patience fading into frustration. “Nothing has to change for now. Let’s just pretend tonight never happened.”

  She clasped her hands together, staring at her fingers. Gradually her gaze met his, and for a moment, he was tempted to peer into her mind. In all their months together, he’d never breeched her privacy. He respected her far too much to use his inhuman power on her.

  Her thoughts were her own.

  He could see her mixed emotions about his suggestion, but he saw no other solution. His future didn’t include her.

  “I know you don’t have any family, and you haven’t left this jungle in nearly a year.” She lowered her voice. “You’re an intelligent man and a brilliant archeologist. Why keep everyone at such a distance?”

  Lukas rubbed the ache in his chest. “Because I’m not like everyone else.”

  He turned and walked out into the darkness without another word.

  The shadow loped across the desert sand toward the sea, powerful haunches lunging forward, pushing it faster until it became invisible to the human eye. Issa enjoyed the sound of the wind whistling past his feline ears, reminding him that he remained part of this world, even though he no longer felt connected to it.

  When his black Jaguar paws finally reached the sandy shore, he halted. Energy swirled around him, brushing up the fine sand as his body arched and the transformation from beast back to man began. His thick paws became hands and feet, his face regained human features, and his sleek coat mutated into smooth, tanned skin, blending him into the canvas of the night. Only the whites of his eyes betrayed his position.

  His tall, muscular frame appeared like a silhouette in the moonlight. The moon cast his shadow on the ground, enhancing his sloped forehead and angular features, while the desert wind ran its fingers through his long, black hair.

  A single ship waited at the dilapidated dock, and a hint of a smile washed over Issa’s face, disappearing almost as suddenly as it had come. Money could still buy just about anything.

  He’d lived in Egypt since the great separation destroyed his civilization over a thousand years earlier. Finally, the time had come to return home. From around the world, his brothers would also have heard the Guardian’s call to make their pilgrimage back to the Yucatan.

  Home.

  Issa strode silently toward the ship, adjusting the hood of his robe to keep his face in the shadows. No human could look into his eyes anymore without coming under his spell. Centuries ago he had considered it a gift, but with each passing year it grew infinitely stronger, until he no longer met a mortal’s eyes without entrancing them. Every year it further alienated him from the rest of the world.

  He sought refuge and some semblance of peace alone in the Sahara. He hadn’t used his voice to speak in nearly a century because it wasn’t necessary. He was an immortal Night Walker, and over the millennia that he had walked in darkness, his preternatural powers had multiplied many times over.

  Regardless of his strength, he kept himself hidden from the world, a long-forgotten god of the past, useless in this world of the future. He fed on desert creatures, or an occasional thug or thief, and gathered information about the modern world around him from the collective thoughts that drifted on the night wind from the humans in nearby cities.

  He would have happily remained there, hidden away in his solitude, but the Guardian’s call was proof that the Demon had awakened. He had no choice but to answer.

  Walking onto the ship, Issa handed the captain a satchel of gold, with the promise of another when they safely landed on the Central American shore. His homeland was now called Central America, the Yucatan Peninsula. He wondered if he would recognize it anymore.

  He watched the desert sand fade from view before turning to look ahead at the blackness of the ocean. He hadn’t seen his brothers—the Gods of the North, South, and East—in over a thousand mortal years. They had nearly lost their lives fighting to silence the Night Demon the first time she walked among the mortals. He wondered if they would be able to quiet her this time.

  Nothing would save this world if they could not.

  Chapter Three

  Lukas rushed through the forest toward the cave where he’d spend his day. Deep inside, he would take refuge from the sun. Alone.

  Why had he allowed her to stay? He’d lived on his own for centuries. In that time, he’d occasionally shared his bed, but never his heart.

  Working so close to Gretchen, he hadn’t noticed how accustomed he’d become to her company. He hadn’t noticed his eagerness to awaken each night, just to see her eyes light up while she discussed her latest theories and translations.

  Not only did he never tire of what she had to say, but until he lived in the jungle with her, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d smiled or laughed.

  And he’d never in his long life yearned to kiss someone so much, to taste her lips and feel her body in his arms.

  She made him feel human again.

  He reached the opening of his daytime resting place and settled onto his canvas cot at the back of the cave. He growled in frustration. What could he offer her? Pain, heartache, loneliness, danger. He was quite a catch.

  He almost wished she’d pulled away from him, or at least chastised him for touching her. Knowing that she might welcome his caresses made it impossible to stop thinking about her soft skin, her full lips, and how it would feel to tangle his hands in the fire of her long, red hair.

  Lukas let out an annoyed groan. He didn’t deserve her. He should be strong and send her back to civilization.

  But what he should do and what he wanted to do were two very different things.

  Tormented with emotions he never asked for, Lukas closed his eyes. His heartbeat slowed to a stop and his chest no longer rose with breath while the morning stole his life away.

  Issa crept silently through the sleeping city of Cancun. He’d lost count of the centuries that had passed since his feet last touched these sands. He had been worshiped as a lesser god, but a god nonetheless.

  In those days, he was known as Ik to his Mayan people, the God of the West. Of his immortal brothers, he was the only one who resembled their people, with dark, tanned skin and black hair spilling past his shoulders. Together with his brothers, he ruled over the Maya for centuries.

  Until the Demon was unleashed…

  He no longer recognized this place;
everything had changed. A busy city grew from the deserted beach of his memories. Moonlight still danced on the water as it had for millennia, but huge glass buildings now lined the coast. Man-made pools of water sunk below the sand, as if the oceans given by the gods were not enough. Mortal music rang through the night, masking the glorious sonata of the night’s creatures.

  People no longer listened to the world. The world was forced to listen to its people.

  The stench of blood hung heavy in the warm breeze. How many humans slept in these high-rise hotels, jutting up like monstrosities beside his ocean?

  He sucked in a deep breath, forcing himself toward the lush rainforest that welcomed him back into her arms, past the temptation of human blood, and on to face the evil that awaited him and his brothers. And the Guardian—very soon, he would once again look into their creation’s dark eyes.

  And death would surround them all.

  He hadn’t thought it possible that Camalotz would awaken. She had been silenced forever, or so he had thought. He had hoped.

  Issa closed his eyes, welcoming his black jaguar and allowing his animal spirit to take control. Magic energy sparked the air around him as his body made the graceful metamorphosis from man to jungle cat. The jaguar chuffed, loping deeper into the trees and ferns. His immortal eyes saw every branch in the darkness, and when he caught sight of the pyramid, he found himself overwhelmed with emotion.

  Home.

  Padding through the rainforest toward the ancient meeting place he never dreamed he would see again, the jaguar rose and once again took his true form as a man. His tanned skin helped him blend into the night as he ran, not at the pace of a mortal man but with the speed of an ancient Night Walker. He was nearly invisible to the human eye.