by C. J. Pinard
Nathan plunked a warm beer down in front of him in a heavy glass. Jonathan took a sixpence out of his pocket and handed it to Nathan.
“Thanks. Let me know if you’ll be needin’ anything else, sir. Oh, and say ‘ello to Emma. Sweet little woman you got yourself there, my man.” And with that, he was off, back behind the bar full of waiting customers.
Jonathan cocked his head to the side, confused as to how Nathan knew Emma. He then eyed the warm beer but didn’t touch it. He had no intention of drinking it. He detested alcohol and never touched it. He rested his hand around the base of the glass and sat, observing the pub activities.
“Hey, Jonathan!” he heard a voice say from the left.
He looked over and saw Saul, a coworker. His best carpenter, actually. “Oh, hey, Saul, what’s the good word?”
Saul gave him a lopsided grin. “Whatcha doin’ here? I never see you here. Everything okay with your new bride?”
Jonathan could tell this was going to be a long night. He blew out a breath. “Yes, everything is fine. I’m just… unwinding, that’s all.”
Of course he’d rather be chopping wood at this point.
“Aye, yes, well I will let you get back to it. I’m meeting Noah and Tim here in a bit.”
Jonathan nodded and smiled weakly at him and went back to surveying the bar. After about three more encounters with coworkers, he grew weary and went outside for some air, grabbing his bow. He stood at the entrance for a few minutes then walked around to the back. Once he reached the backside of the pub, all he saw at first were trash receptacles, but then he spotted the couple he had seen earlier on the dance floor. They were heavily engrossed in each other and didn’t see him. Jonathan went to leave them to it but looking back one last time, he saw the man very discreetly place both hands around the woman’s neck. Jonathan stared, watching to see what would happen. The man then broke his kiss and began to squeeze the woman’s neck with force, both thumbs pressed into her windpipe. She tried to scream but no sound came out. Her eyes went fat and wide, as did Jonathan’s, but he did not hesitate. Grabbing his bow and loading it with an arrow, he aimed it at the man. He then yelled, “Stop what you’re doing and back away from the woman – slowly.”
The man did, in fact, let the woman go and she fell in a heap onto the ground, gasping and clutching at her throat. She crawled away, getting to her feet then running. But what the man did next took the breath from Jonathan, too. He ran straight toward him, and right before Jonathan’s eyes, the man’s body seemed to transform from a man to a wolf, the man’s clothes tearing from his body and discarding themselves in pieces on the alley floor.
Jonathan backed up and began to run, forgetting the able weapon he had in his hands. The black wolf lunged at Jonathan’s back and knocked him to the ground, sending his bow and quiver skidding away on the cobblestones. The wolf bit violently into Jonathan’s neck as he let out a bloodcurdling howl. Jonathan was now furious. He flipped his body around, and now the wolf was directly on top of him, drool dripping from its jaws, preparing to bite him again – but Jonathan had decided that was never going to happen. With one swift movement, he used both hands to push the wolf in the chest, straight up in the air. The wolf went flying, scaring a horse that was tethered to a nearby pole. Jonathan got to his feet and ran at top speed over to the wolf and grabbed its large head and snapped it to the right, breaking it and killing the wolf instantly.
Exhausted, Jonathan slunk to the ground and plopped himself onto the cobblestones, panting. Shaking off his disbelief, he scanned the street and located his bow and quiver. He picked them up, put them on his back, and went back over to the wolf to take him somewhere to bury him. But another surprise hit him as he went to the wolf, and a very nude human man was lying there, motionless. Jonathan decided he didn’t have much choice in the matter; he picked up the man and carried him to Dr. Porter’s house. Except this time, he didn’t knock. He just left the man on the doctor’s doorstep, figured it wasn’t his problem anymore.
As Jonathan made the trek back home, he ran a hand along the back of his neck, assessing the amount of blood lost. Pulling his hand away, he saw it was covered.
He shook his head and mumbled, “This is why I don’t go out at night.”
CHAPTER 10
∞∞∞
Portland, Oregon – Present Day
The van careened out of the trailer park, kicking up dust and gravel as Thomas slammed the gas pedal all the way to the floor.
Yelling back over his shoulder while alternatively keeping his eyes on the road, he asked, “Is everyone okay back there?”
Kathryn began to answer him when she saw fire. “Oh, my God, Jonathan, your foot is on fire!”
She yanked off her jacket and patted his foot until the flames were extinguished. She stared at Jonathan, wondering why he hadn’t noticed his foot was on fire. She saw he was lying with his head at an awkward angle, his face smashed against one of the metal legs of the van’s backseat. He was out cold.
Kathryn lightly slapped his face. “Jonathan. Wake up. Jonathan!”
She got no response.
Kathryn felt around his neck for a pulse, then noticed a large bone almost protruding from the back of his neck, and she let out a scream.
“Kat, what’s wrong?” Thomas asked, panicked.
“Jonathan, he’s… he’s… he’s not waking up. I think his neck is broken. Oh, God, Thomas, get us to a hospital!”
Thomas grabbed Kathryn’s cell phone off the front seat and used the GPS to find the nearest hospital while trying to drive. He made it onto the nearest freeway onramp. “The closest one is like forty miles from here!” Thomas called out. “Does he have a pulse?”
Kathryn frantically felt around his neck and then his wrist. “I don’t feel one!” she almost sobbed. Then she had an idea. “Hold on, be real quiet for a few minutes.”
Kathryn’s mind-reading ability, she found, was especially keen when someone was asleep. The dreams often came to her in almost a picture-like realization, and it was very easy to hear everything.
She remained very still with her eyes closed, listening for Jonathan’s thoughts. She laid a hand on the side of his head. At least he felt warm. Five whole minutes and she heard nothing. She began to cry.
“I think he’s dead, Thomas,” she whispered through her sobs.
“Okay, let’s not panic. I’m going to pull over to this rest area.”
He careened the van over three lanes of traffic, cutting everyone off, to exit where the rest stop was. Once he was parked, he went to the back of the van and could see Jonathan’s head at the strange angle and the bone almost popping out.
“Oh, Lord in heaven, that’s not good,” he breathed. “I don’t think we should take him to a hospital, though. If he dies, they will keep his body, and who knows what will happen to it. Do you think he can heal?”
“I don’t know,” Kathryn whispered. “We’ve all been gravely hurt – even close to death before – but never a full death like this. I don’t know if he can survive it.”
Thomas looked at him again and felt his head. “He’s still warm. That’s good, right? Let me try something.”
He pulled one of the removable van benches up and placed it on top of the one in front of it. Then he laid Jonathan out flat on the floor of the vehicle, carefully twisting his head and neck with an audible crack back into a more normal position. He was hoping the bones would heal themselves. They decided to let Jonathan lie there while they drove back.
“What happened?” Thomas asked as they both exited the back of the van to get into the front seats.
Kathryn wiped her eyes. “I don’t know. When we dove into the van, he must have hit his head on the bench and broken his neck. Oh, God, Tom, did you see that bone? How can he come back from this? We can’t go on without him, we just can’t!”
Thomas hugged her. “Shh, we’ll get through this. Should I call Malina? Maybe she knows about death in Immortals.”
“Okay,�
�� Kathryn squeaked out.
Thomas pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed Malina. After briefly explaining the situation, he hung up.
“She says even if he has a faint pulse, he should live, but it will take a long time for him to heal.”
Kathryn almost yelled, “But he doesn’t have one! I couldn’t find one!”
Thomas pocketed his phone and went back into the back of the van. “Wait out here,” he instructed.
Kathryn complied, staying outside the van, pacing while chewing on her thumbnail.
As Thomas entered the van, he knelt next to Jonathan and felt his neck for a pulse, then his wrist. Laying his head on Jonathan’s chest, he closed his eyes and held his breath.
After a about a minute, he thought he heard something. Maybe I’m imagining it? He thought to himself. No, it was there, he could hear it. Thud-thud. Thomas kept his head on his friend’s chest for a while longer, listening to the faint sound. A sigh of relief escaped his lips. He wiped the tear that had leaked.
As he was exiting, he said, “I think I hear a heartbeat when I listen very closely. Let’s get back to Portland – no hospitals. They will think something fishy is going on if they see his broken neck. Besides, the police are probably looking for this van.”
Kathryn nodded and went around to the front. Thomas yanked the license plate off the back as he went around to the driver’s side. Although it was now dark, he wasn’t taking any chances.
∞∞∞
Joshua pulled the Towncar into the driveway of Pascal’s house. The rain had let up but was still lightly drizzling. Other than that, the night was quiet.
Just as Joshua cut the engine, Bryan awoke with a gasp. They all looked over at him.
“Where am I?” he asked groggily.
“Let’s get you inside,” Mike said, picking him up by the arm.
As they all entered the house, they instructed Smith and Bryan to sit on the dusty red sofa in the front room. Pascal went to the fridge and pulled out two blood bags, placing them in the microwave for 30 seconds. He then poured them into glasses and walked into the front room with them, handing each new vampire a glass.
“Drink up, boys. Welcome to immortality.”
Smith did not hesitate. With both hands wrapped around the glass, he tipped his head back and greedily sucked it down.
Bryan eyed the glass and said, “Is this blood?”
Pascal rolled his eyes as Angel let out a little giggle. “Yes, drink it if you wish to remain undead,” Pascal commanded.
Bryan sniffed the glass, then tipped it toward his mouth and dipped his tongue in.
“Bloody hell, would you just drink it already?” Pascal sighed.
Bryan muttered under his breath, “Bottoms up,” and gulped it down. He made a surprised face. “Not bad, not bad at all. Can I have more?”
“Me too, that was wicked good!” Smith said.
“One more bag each, Mike,” Pascal commanded.
Mike went to the fridge and pulled out two more bags. “Last two, boss,” he said.
“Shit,” Pascal said. “Okay, Mike, let’s break into the blood bank tonight. Joshua, Angel, you stay here and babysit.” He finished by pointing to the newborns.
Joshua smiled. “No problem, boss.”
Within ten minutes, Mike and Pascal were off to the blood bank. Angel, Joshua, Smith, and Bryan were all sitting on the sofas.
Joshua ran a hand through his sandy blonde hair and said, “Damn, I’m thirsty. I’m gonna get a drink, you want one, gorgeous?” he asked Angel.
“Sure,” she grinned at him.
“Can we have some?” Smith asked.
“Um, sure, I guess.” Joshua went to the kitchen and popped four beers and distributed them.
Smith took a big swig of his beer and made a face. “Blah, what is this?” he looked at the bottle.
“It’s just plain ol’ Bud, man. You don’t like it?” Joshua replied.
“Bud don’t taste like this, dude. This tastes like shit!” Smith replied.
Angel laughed. “Uh yeah we should probably tell you that stuff is going to taste very differently to you now. And it’s going to take a lot more to get you drunk, because your metabolism is going to be very fast.”
“Oh great,” Bryan said, sipping his beer and making a sour face. “Hey, I have a question. Can we eat food?”
Joshua shook his head. “Definitely not. But I dare you to try,” he laughed.
“Why? What will happen?”
“Our body completely rejects regular food now. We can tolerate most drinks, as long as they’re not thick like milkshakes and smoothies and such, but no food at all. Our body will reject it in the most violent way possible,” Angel said, sticking a finger down her throat.
A few hours passed and after about six beers each, Angel indicated she was going to go upstairs and go to bed, as Pascal was due home soon.
“Me too,” Joshua said, beginning to climb the stairs.
“What about us?” Smith asked.
“Just sleep on those sofas for now, we’ll get you set up in rooms when Pascal gets back. Oh! Let me check the window coverings. Getting awakened by a sun sizzle is no fun!” he laughed.
Bryan glanced nervously at Smith.
When Joshua was sure the butcher paper was taped up securely, he went upstairs.
The newborns watched the elder vampires ascend the stairs.
“What the hell did you get me into, Smith?” Bryan said, angry.
“What do you mean? This is going to rock, dude! We are never going to age, and we don’t have to work stupid mundane jobs anymore. We get to be gods!”
Bryan fought to keep the tears in his eyes at bay. “I just don’t understand this. The people in my life are going to wonder what happened to me.”
Smith softened a little. “I know, mine too. Maybe they will let us say goodbye to them. Hey! We can tell them we’re joining the military and we get killed in the war or something.”
Bryan just nodded and downed the last of his beer. The two sat in silence for a while.
“Hey, let’s go explore the house,” Smith said with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old.
Bryan shrugged. “Sure.”
The two crept up the staircase as quietly as possible. The first door they came to was an empty bedroom. The second door was a bathroom. The third appeared to be someone’s bedroom, as it had an unmade bed in the middle, clothes on the floor, and a bunch of girlie posters taped to the wall.
“Is this a vampire’s lair or a frat house?” Bryan whispered.
“I know, right?” Smith replied, muffling a laugh.
The next door they came to was closed. Smith looked at Bryan. “Should we go in?”
“Sure,” he said.
As Smith opened the door, both Joshua and Angel were too involved in the throes of passion to notice the two newborns standing at the door. Angel was on top wearing a cowboy hat, Joshua had both his hands around her bared butt cheeks, and he was grunting.
“Oh shit!” Smith said, then closed the door.
The two vampires bolted down the stairs and stood in the kitchen, unsure what to do.
“Holy crap, that was awkward!” Smith said, snorting.
Bryan shook his head. “I know, damn, we aren’t getting off on the right foot here, are we?”
“You can say that again.” Smith began to pace.
“I got the feeling that Angel was Pascal’s girlfriend. I guess I was wrong,” Bryan said.
A wicked smile spread over Smith’s face. “Hey maybe she’s the house whore, we all get to share her.”
Just then Angel, half dressed, appeared seemingly out of nowhere, grabbed Smith by the shoulder, whirling him around. She laid a well-placed slap across his cheek.
“Ow!” he bellowed.
Just then, Joshua appeared in the kitchen and grabbed Bryan by the neck. “Listen here and listen good. Neither of you saw what you saw, understand? If Pascal gets wind of this, we are all dead. D-E-A-D. Do y
ou both understand?”
Both boys nodded furiously.
“Good, I’m glad we understand each other. And for the record, that was the first time that’s happened,” Angel said.
Joshua let Bryan go and he rubbed his neck.
“That’s cool, we won’t tell, we promise. We just want to fit in around here. We aren’t going to cause any trouble for you guys, honestly. We don’t care what you do in your private life…” Bryan was rambling.
“Just shut up and go lie down on those couches right now.” Joshua pointed toward the living room.
Joshua and Angel disappeared upstairs again as the boys settled on the couches. Just then, they heard the Towncar pull up.
∞∞∞
Newcastle, England – 1809
Jonathan dragged himself home from Dr. Porter’s house, weary, and traumatized. This was way worse than the vampyre attack he had saved Emma from.
He walked through his front door, dropped his bow and quiver to the floor, and went into the bedroom to inspect his wolf bite in the dim, scratchy mirror. He grabbed a rag and carefully wiped the blood away.
Just then, Emma came over to him. “Oh dear! What happened to you? Are you all right, my love?” She grabbed the rag from him and helped him take off his shirt. She put her face close to his neck to inspect the wounds and cleaned the rest of the blood away.
“How does it look? Is all the skin gone? A wolf bit me! I mean, a man. Well, a man-wolf...”
Emma couldn’t help but grin. “Met your first shifter, did you?”
Jonathan narrowed his eyes at her. “I’m glad you find this amusing, Emma.”
“Well there’s nothing here, just a couple of scratches,” she replied.
“That’s not possible,” Jonathan said, bolting up off the bed and going back to the mirror. But Emma was right; the wound had almost fully healed.
“How in the world….?”
“It appears you possess quick healing, like me,” she grinned.