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

by C. J. Pinard

“Funny,” Jonathan whispered, his throat sore. He looked at Kathryn. “Water?”

  She grabbed an unopened bottle of water from the night stand, cracked it open, and put it to his lips.

  “I’ve got to call Malina, I’ll be back in a bit,” Thomas said.

  He walked out to the living room and muted the TV while dialing her number.

  “Good news, Jonathan’s awake!”

  Malina gasped. “That’s wonderful, oh so wonderful!”

  “Indeed, my love.”

  “How is he, everything seem to be working okay?”

  Thomas laughed a little. “I don’t know; we just know he’s sitting up, talking, and asked for water. Not sure about his legs or anything else.”

  “Well, I have some good news of my own. As luck would have it, we have ourselves a new Immortal in the Western U.S. region. He’s currently in Northern California but we are assigning him temporarily to Portland to help you.”

  Thomas knit his eyebrows together in confusion. “Why do we need him here?”

  “Because, my sweet, he is not only an Immortal, but a medical doctor. Since Jonathan’s accident, the council has decided we need at least one doctor per coven. It was pure luck that our newest Immortal is actually one already, but plans are being made to secure one in each region. This man’s name is Tyler James and he’s thirty years old. He’s on his way to you now. He will assess Jonathan for you.”

  Thomas was pacing. “Wow, okay. Well that’s good news, I guess. How long will he stay?”

  “After Jonathan recovers, you two are to train him. He will be under your care until we decide he’s needed elsewhere. He will be kind of an on-call, traveling Immortal,” she giggled at her own joke.

  Thomas shook his head, laughing at her.

  “But he will still obviously need to be trained on all things Fae. And who better to teach him than our best, right?”

  He laughed again. “Okay, well I’m gonna go back and check on the boss. I’ll send you a text when the new doctor gets here, okay?”

  “Love you.”

  “Love you, too,” he said, hanging up.

  Thomas walked back to Jonathan’s room and leaned against the doorframe. He brushed a strand of black hair out of his eyes, and smiling, he said, “You’re never going to believe this.”

  ∞∞∞

  The sun was still in the sky, about two hours shy of sunset. The vampires were in the house, waiting for their visitors.

  “What time did you tell them to be here?” Angel asked Pascal.

  “Five minutes ago, love,” Pascal answered.

  The vampires were waiting for the two human club bouncers, Jeff and Matt, from Night Crawlers. Pascal had a ‘special’ job for them tonight.

  “Who are we waiting for?” Smith asked, looking around.

  Just then, they saw Matt’s jacked-up Chevy truck rumble to a stop in front of the house. They were grateful the sun was setting on the opposite side of the house so no rays were peeking through their window coverings.

  Jeff and Matt approached the door, the weight from the two massive bouncers causing the old porch to creak in protest under their weight. The two were already dressed for work in blue jeans and their black Night Crawlers tees. Matt was wearing a baseball cap and had a huge wad of tobacco in his lower lip.

  Pascal opened the door. “Come in, gentlemen. Please sit.” He indicated to the red sofas.

  “Boss,” Jeff simply said, nodding.

  When they were all seated, Pascal remained standing with his hands folded behind his back. “This is simple. Matt and Jeff here are going to take our two newest recruits, Smith and Bryan, out into the backyard.”

  “What? But the sun is still out! What if I get burned?” Smith said, panicking.

  Bryan was thinking the same thing, and was glad Smith had asked.

  “That’s what we’re trying to find out,” Mike said, shooting a look at Smith.

  Pascal turned his attention back to the bouncers. “Your instructions are very simple. Escort them both out to the center of the backyard where the sun is directly shining. If one or both start screaming, smoking, or begin to develop burns on their skin, you are to immediately get them inside. Understood?”

  They both nodded.

  “Why are you doing this? I thought we all burned in the sun?” Smith was desperately pleading his case now. He even thought about trying to make a run for the front door, then quickly remembered it wouldn’t do him any good until nightfall. He was wondering what he had gotten himself into. He was trying to remain calm but panic was quickly bubbling up.

  “Let’s not waste any more time, gentlemen. If you will,” Pascal ushered a hand toward the two newborn vampires.

  Each bouncer grabbed an arm and the four walked toward the back door, which lead to the yard.

  Mike called out, “Hey, kids, if you try to hurt our guys here or escape in any way, the sun will be the very least of your problems.”

  Both new vampires just nodded and swallowed hard.

  Jeff opened the back door and ushered the boys outside. Matt spit a brown stream of tobacco onto the back porch.

  ∞∞∞

  Newcastle, England – 1814

  It was early morning, and Emma was sitting in the rocking chair, reading a book and singing absently to the tiny growing life inside her belly.

  Jonathan looked at her and smiled. “I’ll be home at the usual time. Venison stew for dinner tonight?” he asked, smiling.

  She looked up from her book. “Sure, whatever you’d like.”

  Jonathan mounted a horse tethered to a pole he’d erected in front of his humble home. He had gotten the horse from a vampyre he’d staked and killed the week before. He figured the vampyre wouldn’t mind. Besides, what type of humanitarian would he be if he didn’t care for an owner-less horse?

  He decided to name his new animal ‘Sonny.’

  “Hut, Sonny!” he said, kicking at the animal’s sides to get him to hustle. The tool bag on his back swayed from side to side as Sonny galloped along the road into town.

  Once Jonathan reached his newest jobsite, he tied Sonny to the post in front of the post office, which stood next to the bank he was building with a group of rag-tag construction workers.

  “Hey, boys. How are you all this glorious morning?”

  Noah grinned at him. “What are you so happy about?”

  Noah was a young man, only twenty-one years old, his brown hair, brown eyes, muscular build, and enchanting smile he used as weapons to render the young maidens in town helpless.

  “I have three beautiful children, a beautiful wife, and another child on the way. What’s not to be happy about?” Jonathan replied.

  Noah shook his head. “You are so old.”

  Jonathan thrust a shovel at him. “Get to work, kid. Dig until you find water under this site. I’m determined we can pump water into these buildings via these pipes.” He pulled out a large piece of paper from his tool bag and unfolded it, laying it flat against the ground.

  “And how shall this water pump itself into the building we are erecting?” Noah asked.

  “In the same way the pumps we use do,” Jonathan replied.

  And so began Jonathan’s work day.

  ∞∞∞

  It was getting dark. Emma hated the winters; it got dark much too early for her liking. She loved the sun and grieved its absence during the cruel England winters. She had returned from walking the two children home from school in town and was heating water over a fire in the yard to boil for the venison stew Jonathan had requested. She had to stop intermittently to vomit from ‘morning’ sickness that seemed to plague her at all times of the day. She was looking forward to it stopping in a few weeks, as her mother assured her it would.

  She wiped her mouth with her apron. Her head jerked to the side when she heard the cracking of a twig to her left. She let go of the wad of red curls she had been holding behind her head during her retching and crept quietly over to the tree where she had heard t
he noise. She had her hand up in case she needed to call a portal to escape danger. Animals didn’t normally come this close to the house, so she couldn’t imagine what was creeping around her property.

  Before she knew what was happening, she felt her hair being jerked back and a strong, cold hand wrapped itself around her waist. Both of her arms were forced down to her sides and locked into place by the same cold hands. She felt an excruciating yet familiar sting in her neck. She attempted to fight off her attacker, but it was no use. Quickly falling slack in her assailant’s arms, her head lolled back in relaxation.

  When the vampyre had drained her, he dropped her limp body to the ground, where she landed in a crumpled heap. The vampyre noted how especially delicious her blood had tasted in comparison to other mortals. His keen hearing had detected another very fast heartbeat in addition to hers, and knew from experience that women who were with child had particularly tasty blood.

  He raced off for the forest at preternatural speed, smiling in satisfaction at his conquest; he had waited five years for this. His brother, Silas, had been killed while hunting this particular redhead and he finally had his vengeance. He was feeling especially virile and strong after drinking the sylph’s blood and zoomed around the forest like a dervish, laughing to himself at his triumph.

  “Janie, where’s mother?” Ben asked as Janie sat in her room, reading her Shakespeare homework.

  Fifteen-year-old Janie shrugged. “How am I to know? She has not asked me to assist her in making the evening meal, so she is probably outside, getting sick as usual!” She flipped her eyes back to the book she was glued to.

  Ben rolled his eyes and went back to the kitchen. There were multiple vegetables and spices lined up on the counters, so he could tell Emma was preparing dinner. He was confused as to why she was not in the kitchen. He wandered outside. A cold chill brushed his body as the wind blew and the glare of a full moon illuminated his body.

  “Mum? Are you out here?”

  He was met with silence. He padded around to the back of the house and cried out when he saw Emma’s pale body lying next to the water pump, a small clump of vomit not five feet from her body. A trail of blood was seeping away in a thin stream from her body.

  “Oh, Mother, what has happened to you?!” he cried as he picked up her limp body and cradled it. Just then, he heard a yell.

  “Emma!” Jonathan roared. He dismounted Sonny and dropped his tool bag and ran over to Ben and his wife. “What’s happened to her?” he cried as he reached down and snatched her from Ben’s arms and ran to his horse, awkwardly mounting it, planning to head into town.

  “I don’t know, Father. I found her out here like this,” Ben called out to Jonathan’s retreating figure.

  When Jonathan reached town, he again found himself in the same position he had five years ago – pounding on Dr. Porter’s door, yelling for help for his injured redhead.

  Dr. Porter opened the heavy wooden door and raised an eyebrow at what he saw. “You know what to do, son, place her on the table in the back.”

  They both walked to the back of the house and Dr. Porter inspected Emma’s neck, observing the two holes. He put two fingers to her carotid artery and shook his head.

  Jonathan was pacing the floor in the tiny infirmary.

  Dr. Porter put his fingers to Emma’s wrist, then laid his head on her chest.

  He lifted his head and looked slowly over to Jonathan and shook his head. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Murphy, but she’s gone.”

  Jonathan fell to his knees and put his face in his hands and sobbed uncharacteristically in the presence of the good doctor, wailing in pure agony.

  CHAPTER 13

  ∞∞∞

  Portland, Oregon – Present Day

  Thomas rose from Jonathan’s side when he heard the doorbell chime.

  “That must be him, I’ll be right back,” he said.

  Thomas had already relayed the information about the new doctor to Jonathan and Kathryn.

  He opened the heavy door to see a young man standing there. He was a little shy of six feet tall and appeared to be partly African-American, his warm, brown skin was very light. He had striking green eyes and a very short, clean haircut. He was dressed in a white dress shirt, a red tie, and black slacks. Shiny black shoes encased his feet and he was carrying a black Samsonite suitcase. A messenger bag he used for his medical tools was slung around his shoulder.

  “Hello, you must be Thomas O’Malley? I’m Doctor Tyler James,” the stranger said, extending a hand toward Thomas.

  “Yes, nice to meet you. Please come in.” Thomas shook his hand and relieved him of his suitcase, setting it down next to the kitchen. “Please, follow me.”

  He led the newest Immortal to Jonathan’s bedroom.

  “Kathryn, Jonathan, this is Dr. Tyler James.”

  Tyler nodded politely and walked confidently over to Jonathan’s beside.

  “Nice to meet you,” Kathryn said, rising from her place at Jonathan’s side.

  Tyler grinned at her. “Likewise.” He slid his eyes over to the patient. “And you must be Jonathan. Mr. Murphy, I understand you’ve had quite the injury. We’re going to go over your accident in detail. But before that, do I have your permission to do a quick physical examination on you?” He fixed Jonathan with a direct, confident stare.

  “Yes, doctor, whatever you need,” Jonathan replied.

  Tyler pulled the messenger bag off his shoulder and set it on the edge of the bed. “I insist you call me Tyler. While I’m here to help you with your injury, I understand you will be helping me a great deal, too – once you feel better, that is,” he smiled.

  The doctor began a basic examination of Jonathan with the medical tools he kept in his bag. He listened to his heart with a stethoscope and checked his elbow reflexes. He then pulled the sheet back and produced a simple sewing needle from the side pocket of his bag. He pricked the bottom of Jonathan’s right foot with it.

  “Ouch!” Jonathan said.

  Tyler smiled. “That’s good news.” He then moved onto Jonathan’s left foot and gasped. “Oh, my. What happened here?”

  Jonathan knitted his eyebrows together and turned his head to the side. “I don’t know, but that looks disgusting.” Then he had an idea. “Kat! Get in here!”

  Thomas and Kathryn had left the room to give the new doctor and Jonathan some privacy.

  “What is it?” Kathryn asked as she appeared in the doorway.

  “What in the hell happened to my foot?” Jonathan asked, pointing to his left foot.

  She grimaced. “Well, your foot was kind of on fire after we – uh, after you fled the burning trailer,” she said vaguely.

  Jonathan blew out a breath and ran his hand through his hair. “Okay, thanks.” He looked at Tyler.

  “I have no doubt, now that you’re up and alert, that this will heal quickly. I’m still marveled at the speed in which we heal,” Tyler said. “I once sliced my finger open chopping vegetables, and I literally sat in amazement and watched as the cut healed itself within an hour.”

  Jonathan smiled. “It never ceases to amaze me, either.” Then he paused. “So, am I gonna live, doc?”

  “Of course. Let me check your neck, though. I understand you broke it.”

  “So I’m told,” Jonathan replied.

  Tyler gingerly ran his fingers along the tender spine in his neck. Jonathan drew in a sharp breath when the doctor ran his fingers over the two broken vertebrae that were obviously healing quickly.

  “Well, being as you have feeling in most of your body, I’m going to venture to say you will make a full recovery,” Tyler said.

  Jonathan smiled. “That’s great. How long ‘til I can get back into the boxing ring? We’ve got a lot of training to do.”

  “Ha – well not for a week at least. That bone is still sticking out a bit much for my liking, but to be on the safe side, no activity for a week. I’d like for you to stay in bed, but I have a feeling that’s not an argument I’m going
to win,” Tyler said.

  “I’ll keep that in mind, doc,” Jonathan said.

  As Tyler left the room, he was greeted by an anxious Kathryn and Thomas. Seeing their obvious concern, he quickly said, “He’ll be fine, I’m sure of it.”

  They both visibly breathed sighs of relief.

  “Now that we have that out of the way, which room is mine?” Tyler asked.

  ∞∞∞

  “Take your shirts off and leave them on the porch,” Matt ordered.

  The two new vampires did as they were told, albeit reluctantly.

  “Guys, can’t we talk about this?” Smith whined as he tossed his T-shirt onto the porch. Jeff had a tight grip on his arm and was walking him down the three creaky steps from the covered back porch. Smith had the feeling he could probably take Jeff, but he also knew Pascal was watching out the window.

  “Sorry, we don’t take orders from you,” Jeff replied.

  Bryan was looking around nervously. He felt like he was going to be sick. It had been drilled into their heads since their new existence began how dangerous the sun was. They were warned to stay away from the windows during the daytime, and to wait until the sun had completely set before going outside. While he usually welcomed the sun in this normally rainy climate, today he cursed its presence.

  Bryan surveyed the backyard. There was nothing really special about it. A patch of green grass and a wood fence, its red paint chipping. There was a small apple tree in the corner which badly needed pruning, and Bryan wondered briefly what they needed it for. The sun was shining very brightly, smack dab in the middle of the yard.

  “Here goes nothin’,” Matt said around a mouthful of dip.

  The bouncers dragged both men into the middle of the backyard.

  The other four vampires were inside at the kitchen window, watching intently with their breaths held, grateful the back porch covering kept the sun far away from that particular window at all times.

  The minute they hit the sunlight, Smith’s skin began to smoke like charcoal on a barbeque pit. He screamed out in agony as his skin turned beet-red and began to form blisters inside a minute. Jeff quickly escorted Smith back under the covered porch, and he was still howling.