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

by C. J. Pinard

  “Let me guess, yours is super-strength?” Adam said facetiously.

  Tony shook his head. “No, actually it’s not. The added strength and heightened senses, like hearing and eyesight, go with the immortality, but you haven’t seen super-strength until you’ve seen Jonathan Murphy in action.”

  Adam gasped. “The owner of the Murphy Architecture Building?”

  “Yes, the very same. He’s a very, very old Immortal, one of the first, I believe.”

  “Ya know, now that you say that, he did seem pretty strange.”

  Tony laughed. “He’s English. What can I say?”

  “That explains the strange accent. You can’t really notice it unless you pay close attention,” Adam said. “And I am a close-attention-paying kind of guy.”

  Tony chuckled and patted Adam on the back. “Yes, you are.”

  “So, if I’m to believe all this, I think I need more proof. It’s just so unbelievable to me.”

  Tony nodded and pulled a switchblade out of his pocket and flicked it open. Adam watched curiously, then in horror as Tony pushed up his sleeve and sliced a two inch cut into the underside of his forearm. Blood trickled down the caramel colored skin of his arm.

  “What in the hell are you doing?” Adam gasped.

  “Just watch.”

  Adam stared at the cut and watched as it slowly began to knit itself together. After about 90 seconds, there was nothing there at all, not even a scar.

  He looked up at Tony and shook his head. “I need a cigarette.”

  PART II: CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – 1963

  Chapter 6

  ∞∞∞

  Special Agent Christian Estes leaned back in his chair, drumming a pencil against his large oak desk. He was completely lost in his thoughts as he pondered the photos spread out on his desk. They just didn’t make sense, and to make matters worse, they’d arrived anonymously via U.S. mail with no return address.

  Christian couldn’t figure out why someone would mail the FBI a series of photographs depicting a dark-skinned woman stripping her clothes off and seemingly turning into a large cat. Clearly this was a joke; these photos had to have been doctored.

  Right?

  Christian had used a large, heavy magnifying glass to study the pictures closely. They seemed to be legit, but he would let the lab analyze them. New, cutting-edge technology was being developed, like detection of fingerprints, and he would utilize that technology to see if he could identify the sender of these strange, yet intriguing photos.

  “What’cha got there, Estes?”

  Christian looked up to see his boss, Al Cartwright, standing in his doorway. Al’s small stature did not match his large attitude. Al was the SAC of the FBI’s Chicago field office, and he never let anyone forget it. Been at the job almost twenty years, and was nearing retirement.

  “Hey, boss,” Christian said. “Just some pictures I got in the mail.”

  Al adjusted his skinny black tie and walked to Christian’s desk. He took some reading glasses from his shirt pocket and slid them on. As he peered down at them, he gasped when he saw the last two photos. “Where did you get these, you say?”

  “In the mail.”

  “Do you still have the envelope?” Al asked.

  Christian nodded and pulled it out from the top drawer of his desk, handing it to Al.

  Al flipped it over then back to the front. “No return address, of course.” Then he sniffed it.

  Christian was watching him curiously and raised an eyebrow. “Smell any evidence on there?”

  “No, smartass, I don’t.”

  Christian chuckled. “Okay well, what do you make of these then? I mean, what is this? A hoax?”

  Al removed his glasses and slid them back into his shirt pocket. He stared at him for a long minute before asking, “Christian, how old are you?”

  “Uh, just turned twenty-nine, boss.”

  “What made you want to become an FBI agent?” Al asked.

  Christian smiled. “Nothing specific, just always knew I wanted to be a cop, but my parents made me go to college. So I figured FBI would be a good way to keep them happy, and myself. Got myself a degree in Criminal Justice.”

  Al sat on the edge of Christian’s desk. He studied Christian’s wavy light brown hair and the wonder and excitement in his blue eyes. He remembered being so young and excited to be working in federal law enforcement and the thrill of it all. “You think you have an open mind, Chris?”

  Christian nodded. “Yes, I’d like to think so.”

  “We have an elite branch of the Bureau that nobody really knows about. It’s pretty hush-hush but if you’re interested, I can see if I can get you in.”

  Christian’s eyes lit up. “Really? What kind of work is it?”

  Al’s eyes slipped down to the photos on his desk, then looked back up at Christian. “Stuff like this.” He jabbed at the photo of the large cat with his stubby forefinger.

  “Are you saying these photos are real? Like this lady just stripped her clothes off in Lincoln Park and literally turned into this damn tiger or whatever this is?”

  Al squinted at the pictures. “That cat has spots. I’d say it’s probably a leopard.”

  “I don’t give a good god damn what it is! You believe this broad turned into this cat? Come on, Al, shoot straight with me here.”

  “What do you believe, Special Agent Estes?” Al’s tone and facial expressions were almost mocking.

  Christian raked a hand through his hair and blew out a breath, leaning back in his chair as if to get some distance from the offending pictures. “Honestly, I don’t know. The pictures look real enough, it’s just that…”

  “It’s incomprehensible that this could actually happen,” Al finished for him.

  Christian nodded. “Yes.”

  “Son, these pictures are real. That is a shapeshifter. The Justice Department has a branch of agents who handle these things. You interested?”

  Christian’s eyebrows shot up. “Are you screwing with me?”

  Al laughed. “No, I’m not. You want in?”

  Christian nodded. “Oh, hell yes I want in. When do I start?”

  ∞∞∞

  The fourteen-week course had been both grueling and informative. Sent away to a remote town in Georgia for training, he’d been practically sequestered for the entire fourteen weeks on a large former military base, converted for training of all federal law enforcement, including his… special branch.

  His mind was both on fire and numb at the same time. His body was now more fit than it had ever been, and his nerves – shot. So much information was fed to him during his training that by the time it was done, he wasn’t sure if he was excited or terrified to get back in the field and actually start learning how to both deal with and detain these creatures that roamed the cities and towns of Illinois.

  Hell, the whole country, for that matter – according to his instructors.

  Not much was known about the shapeshifters and vampires, but what they did know was that both species were essentially immortal, meaning they didn’t age, were not susceptible to disease, and could heal quickly. It did not, however, mean that they couldn’t die. The shifters were especially vulnerable to death in their animal forms, as a lot of times they were caught off-guard, distracted by things around them.

  “The easiest way to kill one is to shoot it, either with a gun, an arrow, whatever, then once its down, stab it in the heart or cut its head off,” Annette said to Christian as they sat in a parked car.

  The pair was assigned to watch the house of an alleged local vampire clan, and they’d been parked about an hour in the dark across from a large mansion that sat on the edge of a lake. The mansion was surrounded by a black wrought iron fence. Occasionally, Dobermans could be seen roaming the property. Two small windows high on the third floor were lit up, and aside from the flickering of decorative outside lights, no other activity was happening in the house that they could see.

  “And how do you know
so much about how to kill them?” Christian asked, sliding a piece of gum from its wrapper and folding it neatly into his mouth while fixing Annette with an intense stare.

  Annette watched the gum slip into Christian’s mouth past his full lips and perfect teeth and realized he had asked her something. She smiled at him, her light brown eyes flashing with embarrassment.

  He grinned at her. “How do you know so much about these things?” He pointed at the mansion.

  “Well, I transferred from the L.A. field office. I had my fair share of run-ins with vamps and shifters.”

  Christian studied her pretty pale elfin face that was peppered with freckles, and wondered if her curly red hair was as soft as it looked. “You’re awfully young to not only be an agent, but to have already been in long enough to have earned a transfer.”

  She shrugged. “I’m not as young as I look. Besides,” she said, plucking the pack of gum from his shirt pocket and helping herself to a piece, “I was done with California. I had a friend there who was from Chicago and she told me all about it, so I decided to transfer here, see if I liked it or not.”

  “Well, do you?”

  She flipped the gum into her mouth and shook her head. “Ya know, it’s too early to tell. I think I need to experience more of the nightlife, see some shows, that sort of thing.”

  He nodded. “I also hear you’re the first female BSI agent. Not very common to have broads as agents, let alone in this division.” He turned his head to look at the mansion once again, lifting a set of heavy black binoculars to his eyes to make sure they didn’t miss anybody coming or going.

  Annette didn’t want to, but she took a little peek into Christian’s mind. She didn’t care about where he came from or how much money he made, she was more curious to see if he had a problem with a female partner. His mind seemed to be on the house at the time though, but she really didn’t get the feeling that he would treat a female colleague in a derogatory manner or that he held any deep-seated chauvinistic views.

  “Yeah, well I aced all the tests and beat out most of the guys in both physical tests and speed at the academy, so it’s not like they could refuse me. Besides, I make good bait, don’t I?”

  Christian slid the binoculars down from his face and looked at her and laughed. “Yes, you do. You want to go scale that fence with the sharp points on each rail and go ring the doorbell, pretending to be lost? Maybe we can get you a Girl Scout’s uniform and you can pretend to be peddling cookies.”

  She punched him in the arm. “Very funny.”

  “Shit, look,” Christian said, pointing toward the house again. “Looks like we have ourselves a vampire.”

  Annette looked to where he was pointing and frowned. She then opened the door to the clunky 1961 Ford sedan and slipped out as quietly as she could. With her enhanced hearing, she heard Christian whisper-yell, “What in the hell are you doing?”

  She slunk around the car, crouching down to stay hidden, and peered at the house. She raised the large camera up to her face and cranked the lens to get the camera in focus and began snapping pictures of the two vampires exiting the large house. I bet Leo knows who these bloodsuckers are, she thought to herself.

  Leo was the head of the Chicago Immortals coven. Annette Russell had left the Los Angeles coven three years before to move to Chicago. Her friend, Kathryn, had told her about her human life here, and Annette thought it sounded like a nice place to start over. She had been in Los Angeles for almost forty years and needed a change. When the BSI formed almost twenty years prior, word spread amongst the Immortal covens and they tried their hardest to get at least one Immortal into each field office, at least in the large cities, to monitor what the U.S. government – the humans – knew about the supernatural. Annette had gladly volunteered and was surprised when she was accepted into the position. Being highly male-dominated, she knew she had to prove herself, but her combination of enhanced senses and strength, along with her extensive knowledge of vampires and shapeshifters, impressed the Justice Department officials greatly, and they were happy to have her onboard.

  Annette slipped back into the car, closing the car door as quietly as she could.

  “What in the hell do you think you’re doing?” Christian asked her, an incredulous expression on his handsome face.

  She raised the camera that was hanging from a strap around her neck. “Taking pictures.”

  He shook his head. “They could have seen you.”

  She looked at him with amusement and raised her chin. “So?”

  He turned his head in the direction of the mansion again to see the two vampires getting into a large black chauffeured town car and then watched as one large, burly man used a key to unlock a padlock on the wrought iron gate. He swung it open so the car could pass through.

  “We following?” Annette asked.

  Christian nodded, pulling the gum from his mouth and flicking it out the window. “Oh, yeah.”

  Annette smiled.

  Chapter 7

  ∞∞∞

  Leo Burton swallowed the last of his whiskey and set the empty tumbler on the bar, signaling the waiting bartender for a refill. The bartender quickly complied, pouring another measure while Leo slid him a generous tip. He quickly pocked it and set the bottle down, wiping off the counter, but staying close to Leo and Annette.

  “You’re not drinking?” Leo asked in his deep, booming voice. His feet practically reached the floor, even though the barstool was set high off the ground. He barely fit on it anyway. Leo looked like he could bench press a steam train. His Marine Corps haircut was always in a sharp flattop that looked like you might hurt yourself if you touched it.

  Annette smiled. “No, not tonight.” She paused, watching him throw back his third dose of Irish poison. She knew his body chemistry would burn it off fast and understood why most Immortals drank. She used to love tequila shots but decided about ten years ago they were a waste of money and stopped drinking altogether. “So what do you say?” She pointed at the photo again.

  Leo slid the tumbler back toward the bartender, who lifted the bottle questioningly. Leo shook his head no. He picked up the eight-by-ten photograph and looked at it. “That’s definitely Jeremy.”

  She lifted a ginger eyebrow. “Jeremy? What kind of name is that?”

  Leo chuckled, his hazel eyes glossy. “Who the hell knows. He’s the head of the local vampire clan, though.” He poked the photo with his middle finger. “Devious, mean little bastard too. I wish the council would just let me kill him. He’s a prick.”

  “Gee, don’t hold back, Leo. Tell me how you really feel,” Annette replied, laughing. She shuddered at the venom in his voice, though. Leo’s Immortal gift was super-strength and she’d seen him in action.

  Leo was still looking at the photo. “I don’t know who the broad is, though. He usually hangs out with a female vamp named Vivian but this doesn’t look like her. Although,” he put the photo close to his face, “I suppose if she put on a blonde wig, maybe. This photo is really bad.”

  Annette nodded. “I know, I was kind of in a hurry when I took it.”

  He put the picture down and looked at her. “Why?”

  “I was with my new partner, Estes. He wanted me to get back in the car. We were on a stakeout.”

  “You liking the BSI?” he asked, seeming genuinely interested in the agency and her job.

  She nodded, grabbing a handful of peanuts from a bowl on the bar and popping them in her mouth. “Yes, it’s very interesting. The government has no flippin’ clue about the shifters and vamps though.”

  Leo raised both eyebrows. “No clue at all?”

  She swallowed the dry peanuts then signaled the bartender for a drink. “Well, I mean, they have a general idea, but they don’t know half the stuff we do,” she said. She looked at the bartender. “Just a Coke, Rick.”

  Rick nodded.

  “For instance, when we saw ol’ Jeremy and his date here leaving the house, we followed them in their car. They m
ade about three stops before ending up at some god-awful nightclub for the rest of the night. It was actually quite boring. We followed them into the club but they didn’t do much except sit there and stare at the humans.”

  “No feeding?” Leo asked, interested. “Normally they use those clubs to find their next meal.”

  “Not that I could see, but I did see a few disappear into a backroom. What bothered me is that Christian didn’t want to get out of the car during the three stops they made. I wanted to know what they were stopping for.”

  Leo waved his hand. “Probably visiting blood whores.”

  Annette nodded. “Probably. But still.”

  “Tell me something, does your partner know about us?”

  She looked at Leo incredulously. “Of course not. And I don’t plan on telling him. Why do you ask?”

  “Just to hear you answer the question correctly. And you passed.” Leo winked at her.

  ∞∞∞

  “So, where are you from, Estes?” Annette asked, licking barbeque sauce from her fingers.

  He looked at her messy fingers and the sauce on her lips and shook his head, smiling. “I’m an Illinois native.”

  She nodded. “That’s great you got to stay local for the job.”

  “I know,” he said, sipping his iced tea. “I hear the Bureau is starting to send people out of their hometowns. I guess it does put a damper on undercover operations if someone from your high school is a shapeshifter and recognizes you.”

  She laughed as she wiped her mouth with a napkin. “Yeah, that would definitely be very awkward.”

  He stared at the napkin she had tucked into her black button-up shirt and was amused at how down-to-earth Annette was. “So you said you’re from L.A.?”

  She shook her head. “No, born in Oklahoma, actually. Took off to L.A. to find work when I was eighteen. I grew up on a dairy farm with six siblings. I had to get the hell out of there.” She set down the rib she had gnawed clean and picked up another one.