Immortal Night Read online

  immortal night

  A companion novel to Dead of Night (Book One in the Thorne Hill Series)

  Emily Goodwin

  Immortal Night:

  A Dead of Night novella

  Copyright 2019

  Emily Goodwin

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events or places is purely coincidental.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  About the Author

  Also by Emily Goodwin

  Chapter 1

  There’s a darkness inside of me. A black void that’s been there for so long I don’t remember what it’s like to not feel the painful numbness. Maybe the darkness has always been there.

  Or maybe I’m so far gone into the dark there’s no coming out.

  There was a time when all I wanted was the dark. To become it. To let it consume me. To leave its trail everywhere I went. I found joy in the darkness. But now…now the darkness has taken everything I had left to give, chewed it up, and spit it back out.

  The void inside me is spreading, growing bigger and bigger, taking the ground out from under my feet like sand slipping away on the shore. I can step back onto more solid ground, but the tide will find me. No matter how many steps back I take, it always finds me.

  I want so desperately to find something to cling to, some sort of solid ground to stand on. I need a purpose, something to live for.

  But it’s impossible to do that when you’re dead.

  “Do you want to go out tonight? Look for some virgins to fuck and feed from?” Eliza’s blue eyes sparkle like sapphires even under the dim lights of my office.

  I sit back in the leather chair. “No, not tonight.”

  “Want me to bring one back for you?”

  “I’ve already eaten.”

  “Well I haven’t.” She puts a manicured hand on her hip and lets out a dramatic sigh.

  “Then go find someone to eat.”

  She narrows her eyes and purses her lips. I shift my gaze back to my computer even though I’m done going through the payroll reports. It’s entirely my fault Eliza is this codependent, and I’ve spent the last few years slowly pushing her away.

  It hurts her, I know.

  It hurts me too. Or at least it used to. Now I don’t feel much of anything at all.

  I put my hands on the armrests. “We should go to the bar.”

  Eliza cocks an eyebrow. “We?”

  “You have to learn how to manage the place.”

  Eliza rolls her eyes and tosses her head back, sighing once again. It’s my fault she’s a spoiled brat too. She wanted for not in her human life and her afterlife has been even more indulgent.

  But I love her, and seeing her happy makes me happy. Or at least it used to.

  “I don’t want to.” She crosses her arms and gives me a pouty grin. “I’m going out tonight.”

  Drawing my fangs, I spring up and speed over to her. She takes a step back, pressing herself against the office wall. Her eyes meet mine for half a second and then she looks down.

  If there’s one thing and one thing only in this world that Eliza is afraid of, it’s disappointing me.

  “Don’t make me command you,” I growl. Retracting my fangs, I inch back and cup my hand to her cheek. Her skin, now cold, is just as soft and smooth as it was the day I met her. The day I took her life and gave her so much more.

  “Fine,” she huffs. “But I’m keeping all the tips tonight.”

  “Of course.” I brush her blonde hair back and press my lips to her forehead. Eliza brings her hand up, wrapping her slender fingers around my wrist. “Your braids are exceptionally complicated today.”

  She looks up, smiling. “I know. It looks good, doesn’t it?”

  “It always does.” I break away, going back to my desk to power down my computer.

  “You’re biased.”

  “I am,” I agree, not seeing the point in denying it. Eliza is beautiful. “I wouldn’t have turned you if you weren’t. An eternity with someone ugly…” I shake my head.

  “Oh please,” she says. “You turned me to get revenge on my father and then left me in the ground.”

  “Only for a few days. And I came back.”

  She gives me her trademark glare followed by a rolling of her eyes. “I should hate you.”

  “You tried, and it didn’t take.”

  Her pout turns into a smile. “Fuck you, Lucas King. Now let’s go watch humans get drunk and do stupid shit.”

  “I was wrong.” Eliza closes the office door behind her, drowning out the sounds of the bar. Opening this hipster bar was her idea, and it brings in an obscene amount of cash night after night. I’ll compliment her on it someday.

  “That’s a first.” I look up from the calendar, done with scheduling employees for the rest of the week. “Care to enlighten me.”

  “We don’t have to go out to find virgins to feed from. There are plenty in here.”

  “There are always plenty of virgins in here.”

  “You should come see this pathetic one hitting on the least interested woman in this place.”

  “You?”

  She laughs. “Second least interested, I mean. Want to watch? She looks the type who has pepper spray on her keychain. It’s always so fun to watch humans writhe in pain.”

  “Another day.”

  Eliza zooms over and puts both hands on the desk, leaning over so her face is just a few inches from mine. “What is wrong with you, Lucas? Don’t you want to enjoy life?”

  “I’m not alive.”

  “Ugh!” She steps back and throws her hands up. “You fucking know what I mean. I miss the old days when it was me and you, fucking and killing whoever we wanted.”

  “Times have changed.” Even I don’t believe the bullshit coming out of my mouth. Times have changed, now that vampires are out and have assimilated into the general public. But that’s not what’s changed me.

  What’s changed me is…nothing. The nothing that I feel. That’s taking over me. I’ve done so much in the sixteen hundred years I’ve bene undead.

  Eliza opens her mouth, fangs drawn, ready to come at me with something else, but we both stop, having smelled it at the same time.

  “Blood,” she whispers. “Someone better have dropped a bottle or something again. I’ll deal with it.” She lets out another dramatic sigh and I can’t help but smile as she speeds out of the office. Eliza can be a pain in my ass most of the time, but dammit, I love her. She’s the closest thing I’ll ever have to a daughter.

  I used to want a family back when I was human. Before I was captured in war and forced to fight for other human’s entertainment. I lost faith in humanity before I became a vampire.

  I stand and start toward the door. The boredom makes the emptiness worse. It reminds me that I have nothing to live for—being dead aside. The smell of blood grows stronger, but then I smell something else—magic.

  Speeding out of the office, I find Eliza heading toward the basement.

  “Wait,” I tell her, holding out my hand.<
br />
  “Do you smell that?” She turns, brows pinched together.

  I draw my fangs and move in front of her. “Yes. It’s a witch.”

  Chapter 2

  “Stay behind me,” I growl and tip my head to the side, cracking my neck. Virgin blood did sound tempting, but witch blood…witch blood is strictly forbidden.

  For them, that is.

  For us…it’s bragging rights.

  “Fucking witches,” Eliza huffs. “What are we going to do with her?”

  “I’ll deal with her.”

  Eliza pulls her lips into a smile. “And I’ll watch.”

  “Hey!” a feminine voice floats up the stairs. It’s soft and delicate yet strong and determined. The magic intensifies, but it’s more than a smell. It’s a feeling.

  This witch is powerful.

  Maybe I’ll get a break from my boredom tonight after all.

  “Let her go,” the same woman commands, and I move silently down the stairs. The door leading to the basement is open, and the scent of human blood wafts through, but is nothing compared to magic. It comes off in waves, smelling like the air right before it rains. It’s as charged as a lightning storm.

  I inhale, breathing in the scent of the magic and the blood. Blood itself doesn’t contain any magic. It’s one of the reasons vampires and witches historically don’t get along.

  They can walk in the light and the dark.

  They’re human yet have the power to kill us.

  Or at least they used to.

  Over the years, witches numbers have dwindled, as have their powers. Vampires aren’t the only ones who want to see all witches burn, and as it turns out, humans have killed many, many more witches than vampires ever have.

  With vampires and witches both in hiding, the feud seemed to die down over time, yet no one dared forget the great losses we both suffered in the War of Light and Dark…and how the witches nearly wiped vampires out of existence.

  And then when vampires had a resurgence and decided to make the general population know of our existence it put us at the top of a lot of other supernaturals shit lists. Problem is, they’re not strong enough to take us on.

  But the witches are.

  “Let her go,” the woman who has to be the witch warns.

  “Are you volunteering to take her place?” a man answers, and I recognize his voice to belong to Adam, a vampire who rolled into Chicago a few months ago, thinking he was tough shit because he was seven hundred and fifty years old.

  And then he ran into me.

  Signaling Eliza to stay behind me, we go through the basement door without making a sound. Adam has a human against a wall, with blood dripping down her neck. She looks terrified and on the verge of passing out. Per the new laws put in place by the Vampire Council, biting unwilling humans is prohibited. Adam could be jailed and having humans being attacked in my bar is bad for business. I like making money.

  “Sure,” the witch sneers. I round the corner, moving silently like a shadow in the dark, unable to be seen or heard. The last witch I came across was older, confident in her powers, and fucking terrified of me.

  This witch…she’s the last thing I expected.

  Her long brown hair hangs in messy waves down her back. Her face is set, staring daggers at Adam. One hand is extended, magically holding a dagger that’s plunged inside Adam’s chest. There’s wildfire inside her emerald green eyes, and my God, she’s beautiful.

  She narrows her eyes ever so slightly and magic radiates from her, pulsing through the dagger. Adam cries out and falls to his knees, tremors of pain plaguing his body.

  “Go,” the witch says, shifting her gaze from Adam to the bleeding human. She’s still holding her hand out, keeping the magic flowing into the dagger. “Get someone to call 911.”

  “That won’t be necessary,” I say and move down another few stairs, blocking the way for the bleeding human. The witch turns, eyes wide, and looks right into my eyes.

  I’ve heard humans talk of finding love at first sight. I don’t believe in that shit. You can’t know you love someone just from one fucking look. Hell, I don’t even believe in love. Not anymore.

  But when the witch’s eyes meet mine I feel…something.

  Her hair curtains her pretty face, casting shadows over her brilliant eyes. She’s tall and fit, wearing tight jeans, black heels, and a low cut, midriff showing black top.

  It’s not love, but it’s definitely lust. I run my eyes over her, imagining what she’d look like, what she’d feel like, what she’d taste like naked. I want to find out, and I always get what I want.

  No…not tonight won’t be boring at all.

  She holds my gaze, but her expression wavers ever so slightly and then looks at Eliza behind me. She’s alone in the basement with three vampires, and along with the magic, she smells like vodka.

  She’s drunk.

  Is that why she followed Adam into the basement? Something tells me she would have if she was sober. She’s not afraid of us, even though she should be.

  “What is going on here?” I ask though I already know exactly what’s going on.

  She sucks in air and pushes her shoulders back, inadvertently drawing my eyes back to her tits. They’re ample and round, pushed together by a padded bra I want nothing more than to take off.

  “Vampires feeding on unwilling humans,” she spits out, gritting her teeth. She sways on her heels but holds her ground. Anyone smart would be calculating their escape. Fear would be creeping down the back of their necks, and the body’s chemical response would be letting off a certain smell.

  But not this witch.

  She flicks her wrist, sending the dagger from Adam’s chest flying through the air and right at me. Eliza lets out a quiet whimper, watching the dagger come hurdling toward me.

  I bring my hand up and catch it, fingers wrapping around the hilt. I can feel the magic vibrating through it. In all my years walking this earth, I’ve never felt anything like this.

  “Interesting.” I look at the dagger. Magic can’t be seen, only felt, and there’s a good chance a human would pick this up and not feel a damn thing. Vampires are made from magic. Dark, ancient magic. We’re able to sense things humans can’t.

  “She’s…she’s a…a…witch,” Adam grunts and falls forward on the basement floor. If I cared, I’d be embarrassed for vampire kind by his pathetic behavior.

  “You’re just now figuring that out? And a powerful one at that. You’re lucky, Adam. She could have killed you.” I look from the dagger to the witch, who’s still standing rooted to the same spot, fighting to hold her ground.

  “Kill her!” Adam sneers and clambers to his feet. He makes a move to run at the witch. I’m older, stronger and faster. I could easily stop him, but I’m so damn curious about this woman.

  She’s unlike any witch I’ve come across.

  Witches are human. They have human blood and overall smell human, mixed with the faint sweet smell of magic. But this witch…she has an overwhelming scent about her, as if someone bottled up the ocean and the sun and all the stars in the sky.

  She whips around, holding out her hand. A brilliant blue light erupts from her fingers, flowing through the air so fast it’s just a flash. It hits Adam square in the chest, and it’s as if he was tased. His body goes rigid before shaking as the magic ripples through him.

  Then he collapses on the ground.

  Fuck, that was impressive.

  The witch rounds on us, holding out her hand and conjuring another string of magic, but this one takes the form of a ball, hovering in the air a mere inch from her hand. It doesn’t burn her skin, but will melt mine right off the bone.

  Eliza moves behind me, knowing how easily she could be hit. I’d kill the witch before she got a chance to lay a finger on my daughter.

  “I suggest you let the human go and get medical attention.” The witch raises her hand, illuminating her face with the light of her own magic.

  Adam struggles to get to his f
eet again. “You…you’ve got to get her…Lucas.”

  Dagger in hand, I move at vampire speed down the stairs and over to Adam. I grab his shirt collar. “Is what she’s saying true?” I raise Adam off the ground. “Did you feed off a human without consent?”

  “I…I…she wouldn’t have said anything. I had her spell bound.”

  I shove Adam against the wall and bring my hand up, shoving the dagger into his heart. I let go and step back, expecting the magic to ripple through his body again until it causes him to explode. But it doesn’t.

  How fucking disappointing.

  “This didn’t kill him.”

  “No shit, Sherlock,” the witch says. “It won’t. But it will do this.” She doesn’t even move, yet magic ebbs through the air, and it’s as if someone is holding the taser to Adam’s chest again. He yells from the pain and his body twitches.

  “I like it.” I watch the magic sear through Adam for another second before whirling around. The witch is only a few feet from me. I could have her in my grasp in less than a second. If she commands the energy with her hands, I’ll hold her wrists behind her back.

  I let my eyes wander her body. She’s fit, but I don’t think she works out just to look good in a bikini photos for Instagram. No, she works out so she can handle situations like this.

  But why? Why go after vampires and save ungrateful humans?

  I drag my eyes up from her long legs, legs I want to wrap around my shoulders as I put my mouth over her tight cunt, tongue lashing her clit and feeling her come against my lips before I turn and sink my teeth into her thigh. My cock tingles thinking about it, and I look up, meeting her eyes.

  The lust that’s been stirring inside me intensifies, but then I feel something else. Something that—for a brief moment—dulls the pain of the emptiness inside of me.