Dark Hunger (Immortal Legacy Book 5)

  Immortal Legacy 5

  Dark Hunger

  Lorraine Kennedy

  CopyrightÓ 2016 Lorraine Kennedy

  All Rights Reserved

  Lavine Press 2016

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and places are of the author’s imagination and not to be confused with fact. Any resemblance to living persons or events is merely coincidence.

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Author

  Chapter One

  Nicole

  Looking down at the scene below, I saw my own body and Alec’s unbearable grief. I could feel his pain and wanted to comfort him, but he was oblivious to my presence.

  My body was dead, but somehow that didn’t matter. All that mattered was the pain that my death was causing to the man that was my heart, the one who mattered to me more than life itself.

  Drifting down from the ceiling, I reached out to touch him but my hand went through his arm. I was nothing more than invisible energy now. He would never hear my words again, nor feel my touch.

  “Nikki.” The small voice seemed to come from everywhere at the same time, surrounding me with warmth.

  There was a golden light so bright that it should have blinded me, but I no longer had mortal eyes. I could look upon the light with the eyes of the dead. Silhouetted in that light was the form of a small boy.

  It was my little brother, Jay. I could feel his love radiating toward me, showering my soul with a love so complete that it could not be experienced in life.

  “Jay,” I called to him - not with my mortal voice, but with my mind.

  Then he was there, standing right in front of me. As he held out his small hand, it occurred to me that he appeared as beautiful and healthy as he had in life, maybe even more so.

  “Nikki, you shouldn’t be here.” His small voice was just as I remembered it, but so crystal clear and loving that I knew it was truly the voice of an angel.

  “I’ve missed you so much.” My words were pure thought, but I could still hear them in my head, as if I were speaking them.

  Jay shook his head. “Come with me.”

  The instant I took his hand, I was gone from the tomb where my life had ended, but the part of my soul that could not let go of Alec, yearned to stay behind.

  “Come, Nikki, come and see.” Jay’s voice was a melody of heaven.

  For so long his voice had been inaudible to me in life that I couldn’t help but submerge myself in it now.

  Then I was somewhere else. It was dark, but flickering candlelight cut through that darkness. On the stone floor, a young girl lay curled into a ball, sleeping. Right now the girl was alone, but I sensed that someone had been there. The darkness of the Immortal still hung in the air like a black fog that no light could penetrate.

  “Your sister,” Jay told me.

  “Why do you show me this now?”

  As soon as the thought formed, he was answering. “Her name is Sarah. She can hear you, she can help you.”

  “Sarah.” My thoughts echoed her name.

  Suddenly the girl blinked rapidly and opened her eyes.

  Chapter Two

  Dash

  The rope around my upper body was meant to keep me from escaping. As the slayers held the other end of the rope, I walked ahead of them, pulling them faster than they could keep up.

  Every few moments one of them would prod me with a wooden staff that they each carried with them. “Slow down!”

  I’d never been so close to a slayer before. Father Rovati was in the lead, carrying a torch to help light the way. If the vampires were still in the catacombs, the priest would see them first, but he seemed to have no fear of the Immortals.

  “Hey father, do you think it such a good idea to go ahead of us?” I asked.

  “They can take my life but not my soul. That’s all that I need worry about.”

  It would be nice to have the same confidence as the priest, but I knew better. The vampires could take your body and soul, at least to the point that heaven no longer mattered, if it existed at all.

  “How much further?” Rovati turned around.

  Up ahead, I saw that the tunnel curved to the right. “It was just after that turn that they grabbed her. They were dragging her for a bit before I lost them.”

  Just as I spoke the last word, I felt the air stir in front of me and he heard Father Rovati cry out.

  There was a blur of movement and I saw the priest pull a machete from his robes. With liquid-smooth movement, the blade cut through the vampire’s neck and his head rolled to the ground.

  Just beyond the light of the torch, there was more movement and the two slayers moved past and ran into the darkness. The sounds of a struggle echoed through the tunnels, and I felt the dread of someone who would soon be facing an executioner. If the slayers failed, I would be killed as a traitor.

  To lead a slayer to another vampire was an unforgivable sin among the Immortals, but I’d only done it to save Nicole. Of course, that part wouldn’t matter in the end. None of it really mattered. Even if the slayers did kill the vampires, the humans would then turn on me. The only real difference being that if I were killed by the slayer’s death would be quick. Not so with the Immortals.

  The howling scream of a vampire could be heard over the commotion ahead of us. There was another scream, but this scream was different. It was a scream of pure anguish, and with that scream, the howling of a single word - a name.

  Nicole.

  Chapter Three

  Sarah

  All I could do was stare at the vapor-like image peering at me from a dark corner of the tomb. The woman’s black hair was in contrast to her extremely pale face. The pale color of her skin was unusual, even for a ghost. Her dark eyes were like orbs of night. But unlike the emptiness or anger that I usually encountered with earth-bound spirits, the woman’s eyes were curious. There was something else in the girl’s eyes that I found unsettling - fear.

  Pushing into a sitting position, I figured that as soon as I moved the specter would disappear, but it didn’t.

  “Sarah.” The woman’s voice seemed to come from far away as if I were on a call with a bad connection.

  “Who are you and what do you want?” I asked.

  Though I’d been dealing with spirits my entire life, it always startled me when one showed up next to me while I was sleeping.

  “I am Nicole, your sister.”

  Lex’s words suddenly came back. I had sisters - two of them. We had to fight some conspiracy my uncle was perpetrating.

  How could we do that if one of them was dead?

  “This is important,” she said. “You must do something for me, and do it quickly.”

  “What?” I asked, worried about what she would ask me to do. Most often, the dead wanted me to make contact with the living but wasn’t in any position to do that now. Not with Omar’s vamps hunting me.

  “Call my phone.” Nicole’s voice was hollow, but still, the urgency of the request was clear. “Give a message to the person
that answers.”

  My thoughts went to the phone in my backpack. Darrien had asked me to turn it off. He worried we would be tracked through the phone’s GPS. If they’d found a way to track us through my phone, it could be very risky to turn it on.

  “Please!” The ghostly voice begged. “You are the only person that can help me.”

  Shrugging, I reached for the backpack. Somehow, I doubted that Omar had turned to technology to find me. From everything I’d heard about him, he seemed to be someone stuck in the past, refusing to accept anything new or different.

  Pulling the phone from my backpack, I held down the button to turn it on. A moment later, the screen came to life, but there was no reception.

  “I’m not getting any service,” I said.

  “Go outside.” Nicole’s voice quivered as she tried to break through to the lower vibration so I could hear her.

  Getting to my feet, I ran to the entrance of the tomb. Pushing the door open, I stepped outside. All around me were monuments to the dead, stark white tombs against a black sky.

  From the corner of my eye, I saw the movement of shadow. I jumped and was ready to flee when Darrien stepped out from behind a nearby crypt.

  “What are you doing?” he asked.

  “Making a phone call,” I told him as I looked around for Nicole’s ghost.

  “I’m still here,” Nicole whispered in my ear. I could hear her but now I couldn’t see her.

  “Now what?” I asked.

  “What do you mean?” Darrien stepped closer, but I held up a hand to stop him.

  “I’m not talking to you,” I told him.

  “What do you mean you’re not talking to me? Who are you talking to then?” He was clearly confused.

  I wasn’t listening to him. I quickly dialed the number Nicole was giving me.

  The phone rang several times but no one was picking up.

  Chapter Four

  Dash

  When I heard Nicole’s name I sprinted forward, barely noticing when I was forced to step over Julia’s headless body.

  Now I stood behind the priest while the man broke through the locked door. Beyond the door, I could still hear the cries of agony that led us to the hidden tomb. As we stepped inside, I felt my stomach twisting into knots at the spectacle that greeted us.

  Alec still cradled Nicole’s body in his arms, his features marred by the pain and torment that ripped at his soul.

  “You fed on her!” I yelled as I flew at Alec in full attack mode. But I was still bound with rope, and the priest’s slayers managed to take me to the ground.

  Alec’s voice shook with a depth of emotion rarely shown by an Immortal. “I beg of you, destroy me, but please take her back to New Orleans. She must be laid to rest with her little brother. She should be near those who loved her in life.”

  “You bloodsucker!” Again I tried to break away so I could get at Alec.

  Father Rovati turned to glare at me. “Be still!”

  Kneeling beside Nicole, the priest placed a finger on her neck to check for a pulse. “We are too late. She is gone,” he announced.

  As from a distance, I heard the wailing of a tormented soul. At first, I didn’t realize that those cries were coming from me.

  “You did this?” Father Rovati’s hard eyes fell on Alec.

  “They kept me from feeding and locked her in with me. I tried to resist, but she would not let me suffer.”

  An eerie silence descended as all eyes rested on Nicole’s pale form. The stillness of the moment was shattered when the mobile phone in Nicole’s pocket started ringing.

  Chapter Five

  Alec

  The sound of the phone seemed to spur the priest into action. He turned to the two slayers. “In the chapel is my emergency bag. Get it quickly!”

  Both of the men took off and Father Rovati turned to me. “There is a chance we can save her.”

  I shook his head. “She is already gone.”

  “We have a small window, but I must act now,” Rovati began performing CPR.

  “It is important that we get what blood she has left, circulating.” Father Rovati said as he was pushing down on Nicole’s chest in an effort to get her heart to work.

  The phone kept ringing but it was ignored.

  A moment later, the two men returned with a large black bag.

  The phone went silent.

  “Take over!” the priest told me.

  I did as I was instructed, without a second thought. Although I didn’t believe it would help, I was ready to grasp at any chance of saving her, no matter how small that chance.

  Father Rovati pulled a small cooler from the bag and opened it quickly. Inside, there were several bags of blood. He hooked the bags to an IV tube with a flow chamber and a needle. The priest then inserted the needle and started the blood flowing while I continued to perform chest compressions.

  “What if it’s the wrong blood type?” Dash asked.

  “It’s O Rh negative. It won’t hurt her, any more than she already is.” Rovati told him while motioning for me to stop.

  The priest quickly checked for a pulse before continuing the chest compressions himself.

  Again, the phone started ringing.

  “Will someone get that?” Rovati panted, obviously the effort to resurrect Nicole was taking its toll on the old priest.

  I pulled the phone out of Nicole’s pocket. “Hello.”

  A female voice came on the line. “I have a message from Nicole.”

  Black fury took hold of me. “Who is this? What kind of joke are you trying to pull?”

  “No, wait! Don’t hang up,” she said just as I was ready to end the call. “She said to tell you that your blood can reanimate her, without turning her.”

  I was silent.

  “Do it now!” the girl yelled.

  Dropping the phone, I turned to the priest. “Give her my blood.”

  Rovati looked up. “I cannot be responsible for turning her.”

  “She won’t turn. Please, just try it.”

  In a flurry of movement, the priest quickly inserted the transfusion line into one of my veins so that Nicole would begin getting my blood.

  Within seconds, Nicole was gasping for air and the color was slowly started coming back to her face. When her breathing was steady, Rovati stopped giving her my blood and returned to giving her the blood from the IV bags.

  Caressing Nicole’s face softly, I asked, “Is she okay?”

  I was still worried that she would turn, in spite of the girl’s words.

  Father Rovati shrugged. “As far as I can tell she will live, and there are no signs that she will turn, but why?” The priest eyed me curiously.

  I shrugged. “I don’t have all the answers. That is why I came here, to seek answers. The only explanation I can offer is that she is the daughter of an Immortal.”

  “Who was on the phone? That is the person that told you how to save her.”

  “I don’t know. She said that she had a message from Nicole.”

  Shock and disbelief entered the priest’s eyes.

  “Call the number back,” Dash suggested. “And do you think you can see fit to untie me yet? That is unless you still plan to kill me.”

  My eyes narrowed with suspicion. “Why did you bother to save her? And why didn’t you kill us?” I asked the priest.

  Rovati frowned. “She is human, it was my duty to do what I could for her, and she was with you. I suspect that you are different and maybe even important in preventing a vampire infestation.”

  “And you just happen to have blood with you?” I arched one brow.

  “You do not fight vampires without bringing a supply of blood with you,” Father Rovati pointed out.

  “Untie him,” The priest directed his companions.

  For the first time, I took notice of the men. To most, the slayers would have appeared to be the average everyday people, maybe even someone you might meet while having coffee in a café. But that would be
far from the truth. These men were professional vampire hunters. I’d come across their kind many times.

  Father Rovati was no longer paying attention to the others in the room. He was checking Nicole’s vital signs. “I think she is comatose,” he said.

  “Shouldn’t we like, get her to a hospital or something?” Dash asked, kneeling down beside her.

  Just then the phone rang again and I answered it. Suspecting that it was the same caller, I put it on speakerphone so that everyone in the room could hear the conversation.

  “Hello.”

  “Nicole is still with me,” the girl said

  “Who is this?” I asked.

  “This is Sarah, Nicole’s sister.”

  At first I was too shocked to say anything, but I quickly recovered as a torrent of questions stormed through my head. “What do you mean she’s still with you? We brought her back.”

  “But she’s in a coma, right?” Sarah asked.

  “Yes,” I said.

  “Then she is still separated from her body. I can communicate with those who are between worlds, or on the other side,” she explained.

  “Well, what can we do for her?” At this point, I didn’t care how or why the girl knew what she knew. All that mattered was Nicole’s recovery.

  After a long silence, Sarah came back on the phone. “Don’t take her to a hospital. Bring her to New Orleans. I might be able to help her.”

  “How do we know that you’re not working with Omar?” Dash asked loudly.

  “You don’t, but keep in mind that they are hunting me too,” she said, her voice ringing with impatience.

  “So what then? What do we do when we get her to New Orleans?” I asked.

  Again there was a short silence before she answered. “Nicole is telling me that you should take her to Donovan. I will meet you there.”

  The line went dead and I looked to the priest. “How can we get her back to the United States?”

  “I can use a private jet to take her back. Of course, it would be too risky for the two of you to travel,” he said, looking from Dash to me. “It will be light soon.”