Immortal Craving: Immortal Heart Read online

  Immortal Craving

  An Immortal Heart Novel

  By

  Magen McMinimy

  ©2012 by Magen McMinimy

  Acknowledgment

  A big thank you to Cynthia Shepp for her mad editing skills, to those of you who patiently waited for this book and especially to those of you who impatiently waited; you kept me glued to the computer!

  Thank you to S.L Dearing for her help on the blurb for this book and to all those Indie authors out there who encourage me daily, you are an amazing community to belong to and I feel honored each day I get to connect with you all. And finally to the wonderfully talented Rene Folsom of Phycel Design for her help with cover!

  Table of Contents

  Immortal Craving

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  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

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-One

  Epilogue

  Also By the Author

  Copyright

  About the Author

  Prologue

  “Darion, do not cause a war over this. Release him. Now.” Rowan felt fear and panic slithering through her veins, but she held her head high, her eyes daring him to deny her, and her voice steady and strong.

  “You come to my land making demands?” Darion smirked. The young Light Fae leader was in over her head. “Your warrior broke our laws.”

  “No, he broke your rules. As a Light Fae, he is not bound by your rules.”

  “Ah, but he broke my rule and was on my land when he did so. That means he is subject to my punishments.”

  “Do not delude yourself, Darion. I will go to war for him—these four men standing behind me are only the beginning of what I will bring to you if you do not release Kale now.”

  Darion continued to smirk, but with a discreet flick of his finger two men entered his affluent throne room, dragging a beaten Kale with them. There was an ominous, low growl that sounded behind Rowan as her four warriors took in the sight of Kale’s slumped body.

  “You may have your warrior back, but keep him on your land. Perhaps you should invest in a leash for him.”

  Rowan turned to Cree, sending him a message to take Bain and for them to get Kale out of there, while she finished with Darion. Cree did what was asked of him but made it very clear that he did not want to leave her with the Dark Fae Leader.

  Lothar and Uriah took up closer flanking positions next to Rowan.

  “What will become of Katarina?” Rowan asked.

  “Katarina is not your concern. She’s the one who led your warrior here—what do you care of her future?” Darion’s eyes held a deep satisfaction as he answered Rowan.

  Rowan’s eyes flared, causing a deep chuckle from the Dark Leader.

  “Did you not know? She betrayed him. She set a trap for him and delivered your warrior to me.”

  “No, she loves him,” Rowan argued.

  Rowan had met Katarina, had given her passage onto the Light Lands, and had allowed her to be with Kale—though their allegiances screamed for their separation. She had welcomed Katarina to the world of the Light Fae.

  “I assure you—she never loved him. She may have enjoyed him; his chi is strong because of the Immortal Blood you all drink. But no, she never loved him. When I learned of their relationship, she gladly delivered your warrior to me. And now she will pay for her discretions.”

  “How?” Uriah spoke for the first time since they entered the Dark Fae castle.

  “With her life, of course. She betrayed her leader, and while I do not care that she betrayed your warrior, it should bring you all some closure. It’s a fitting punishment.”

  Chapter One

  Fifteen years later...

  Kale’s feet pounded the pavement, Bain dropping in thirty feet ahead of him, blocking the only escape route for the Brownie fleeing from them.

  “I didn’t do nothin’,” the Brownie yelled as the two warriors closed in on him.

  “Then why’d you run?” Uriah asked as he jumped from the roof above them.

  “You’da run too, if you were me and being chased by you.”

  Kale raised a brow and smirked as he caught Bain shaking his head with a smirk of his own.

  “We only chased you because you ran when we tried to talk to you. So now, we’re going to have a conversation.”

  Bain grabbed the Brownie by the arm, unleashed his massive white wings, and shot into the deep night sky—carrying the dangling and screaming Fae through the air.

  “He has a flare for the dramatics,” Uriah said, shooting Kale an amused look.

  Kale smiled back, releasing his own raven-colored wings. “If you had a woman like Izzy waiting at home, in bed, for you—wouldn’t you rather be there, then here?”

  Uriah smiled and nodded. What man wouldn’t want to be home with his love, rather than chasing some random creature through the dirty streets of the Human World, when all they needed from him was to ask a few questions?

  By the time Uriah and Kale had made it back to Hawk’s Eye Security, Bain already had the Brownie in one of the conference rooms.

  He’d chosen the one room that held the bare necessities. It was called a conference room, but it felt more like an interrogation room. Everything was set up to make the one being questioned uncomfortable—the chair was hard metal with one leg just a fraction shorter than the others, making it all but impossible to get comfortable or relax. The temperature was also kept at a balmy seventy-six degrees, the lighting was harsh, and Bain was a big scary fucker looming in the corner of the room.

  “Did you get anything out of him?” Uriah asked as he and Kale entered through the heavy metal door.

  The Brownie looked pale, and his eyes were wide as saucers as they flicked between the three brothers.

  “Nope. I didn’t ask him anything yet.” Bain smiled, his fangs peeking from behind his lips.

  “I think we got this handled. Go see Izzy,” Kale said as he took the seat across from their detainee.

  Bain smirked. “You sure?”

  “Yep, get out of here.” Uriah waved him off.

  Bain gave them a parting good night and hurried out the door.

  “So,” Kale started, looking down at a folder Lucas had compiled for them. “It says here you’re going by the name Jerry Smith. That’s very original,” he said dryly. “So tell me, Jerry—who are you, really?”

  “Your file doesn’t tell you that?�
�� the Brownie questioned.

  Kale smirked. “What it tells me is that you don’t belong here, that you are aligned to the Dark, and that you’ve been causing some mischief here in the Human World.”

  The Brownie’s eyes narrowed.

  “So, my suggestion is that you knock off the attitude and answer my questions. Maybe then we can work something out that will keep me from having to return you to Darion. If I remember right... and I do,” Kale made the statement very clear, “Darion doesn’t appreciate his subjects jumping ship. You’ve been here for nearly eight months. Seems to me you’re making a life in this world.”

  “He’ll imprison me and my family if you send us back.”

  Kale nodded. “I know, so let’s talk.”

  “What do you want to know?”

  “First of all, how did you get here?” Kale knew the answer, but he was hoping for details.

  “The Drifters.” Jerry confirmed what the brothers already knew.

  “Yes, that much we figured out—now tell me about the Drifters.”

  “I don’t know what to tell you. It took me close to a year to find them. The rumors have been floating around for a long time. I followed leads that led me between the Dark and Light lands. They found me when I had pretty much given up my search.”

  “Where did they find you?” Uriah asked.

  “When I returned from my search, they approached me outside of my home. Told me if I wanted passage into the Human World, I needed to come up with a trade worthy of their help. Only then would they would bring me, my wife, and my two children here. I had two days to be ready and have their payment.”

  “What did you trade?”

  “Everything we owned,” Jerry said sadly.

  Kale and Uriah traded glances before Kale asked, “And how did you get here?”

  “That I can’t tell you. I don’t know what kind of Fae they are, but I don’t remember much of the following two days. The next thing I knew, we were through a portal and in this World. I met a Succubus who helped us once we were here. We stayed with her in a large house, though I don’t remember any details—it’s like a fog comes over me when I try.”

  Kale tapped his fingers against his thigh. There were plenty of Fae who could tamper with Jerry’s memories.

  “The Drifters,” Jerry continued, “gave her some of the gold we had used to pay them. She took it and traded it for human money. She took that money, got us an apartment, and then gave us the remainder.”

  Kale raised a brow in Uriah’s direction. “Have you seen her since she took you to the apartment?”

  “She checks in on us about once a month, but only by phone.”

  “No chance you remember where about the house you stayed in was?”

  “We were blindfolded when we got there; the rest is fuzzy. Though I don’t think it was her home. There were others there but we didn’t see them.”

  “Alright, did the Succubus have a name?”

  “They called her Mistress.”

  “That’s original,” Kale quipped.

  “Sit tight, Jerry,” Uriah told him.

  Kale and Uriah headed for the door, Kale shaking his head.

  “Wait, what are you going to do with us?”

  “That depends entirely on what Rowan wants us to do. We’re responsible for this World and you’ve been up to your Brownie ways... causing mischief.”

  Uriah closed the door behind them. “I’ll call Ro,” he said, pulling his phone out and dialing the Light Fae Leader.

  “What do we know, Uriah?”

  Rowan’s voice wasn’t as bright as it used to be. She’d been under too much pressure lately. Uriah wanted to give her good news, but all he had was more questions.

  “As we figured, the Drifters helped this Brownie family into the Human World. They gave up everything they owned for passage. Once they were here, a Succubus helped them get settled. That’s all he knows.”

  Rowan sighed. “A Succubus? That means most likely a Dark Fae is helping others escape.”

  Uriah nodded and confirmed with a, “Yes.”

  “What of this family—is their mischief something to worry about?”

  “I don’t think they’re a threat—it’s minor things. From what I can tell, it’s mostly to create work so he can support his family. He’s taken on a job as a handyman.”

  “If he’s not hurting people he can stay. Make him register with Lucas and tell him we’re going to be keeping an eye on him. Oh, and tell him he needs to register with his Fae information and his human information—including his alliance date. I want to know everything about the Fae we’re allowing to stay in the Human World.”

  “Of course. Many Blessings, Rowan.”

  Uriah could hear the smile in Rowans voice as he used the formal good-bye.

  “Same to you, Uriah. I’ll see you soon.”

  Uriah ended the call and returned to Jerry. “Good new, my leader has given you a pass. Now we need to fill out some paperwork.”

  Jerry titled his head. “What kind of paperwork?”

  Uriah grinned. “The kind that will allow us to keep tabs on you.”

  Chapter Two

  “Admit it, Izzy. You loved it,” Kale pushed, a glint in his dark eyes and mischief playing over his lips in the form of a playful smirk.

  “I will not,” Izzy said, shaking her head as she walked through the parting crowd at the packed arena.

  “You should admit it, sweetheart. He’s not going to let it go,” Bain said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and dropping a kiss on her temple.

  Izzy stepped from Bain’s arms and turned to face the two Immortals. It was they who had just subjected her to three hours of grown-ass men throwing each other around a squared ring. “Fine, the pyrotechnics were cool, though super loud, and I’ll admit the one you called the Viper was pretty talented.”

  “Ah, she’s a Randy Orton fan,” Kale cooed.

  Somehow Izzy had been dragged out on a Monday night to watch WWE Monday Night Raw live, along with Bain and Kale. She couldn’t deny that the superstars were talented and Kale’s obsession with the wrestling franchise was not news to her.

  Izzy had already had six month to learn all about her Immortals brothers. Kale being the one she felt a true kinship with. She loved the youngest Immortal as the brother she never had. It was a good thing too. The more time she spent in the Fae world, the more she lived the link between Bain and Kale. They were free-spirited best friends.

  Bain placed his hand on the small of Izzy’s back and the three of them continued to make their way back to her car.

  Kale felt a small, electric charge against his skin; awareness that something he hadn’t felt in years was close. Kale’s back went ramrod straight as his eyes devoured the crowd around them. With a nonchalant movement he took a step closer to Izzy. She was basically immortal now, but she was too important to his brother to risk.

  “You ok?” Bain asked, giving Kale a cautious look before scanning the crowd around them.

  “Yeah, I think. No worries—just got a weird feeling.”

  Izzy’s blue eyes questioned Kale, but he smiled and shook his head. With a gentle shrug, Izzy let it go.

  Kale wrestled with the facts and the feeling he was having. There was no way what he was feeling was her—she was gone, had been for years now, but what she was... Well, they were a thriving Fae species, dark creatures, and apparently there was one busy in the Human World. After his chat with Jerry, he was more than aware of the Succubus presence.

  Bain opened Izzy’s door for her and she started to crawl in the back seat.

  “No, take the front,” Kale told her. They’d argued about who got the front on the way over—her logic winning out over his chivalry. He was six-foot-three to her five-foot-five or so height. She fit better in the back of her little Audi.

  “Not this again?” She raised a brow at him.

  “Nope, I’m going to do a sweep.”

  “What’s going on, brother?” Bain aske
d, questioning Kale’s odd behavior.

  “Just need to clear the weirdness in my head.”

  Bain chuckled. “So what, I’ll see you in a few years?”

  Kale smirked. “I don’t know if even years would do it.”

  Izzy rolled her eyes at them, dug out her spare house key, and dropped it in Kale’s palm. “You know the code. We’ll see you later... tonight,” she emphasized.

  Kale smiled and placed the key in his pocket after giving the flaming wings keychain a good once over. “Probably in the morning,” he corrected.

  Izzy gave him a quick hug. “Be careful.” She smiled and patted his cheek before sliding onto the soft leather of her seat.

  Bain closed Izzy’s car door and then turned to Kale. “One last chance, brother—what’s got you all of a sudden on edge?”

  Kale’s eyes narrowed. “Like I said, it’s probably nothing, but I felt the charge of a Succubus.”

  Bain’s head tilted and his eyes closed as he tried to feel what Kale was feeling. “I don’t sense any Fae.”

  “I know, but I swore I felt one.”

  Bain nodded, his eyes remaining impassive as he spoke his next words cautiously. “One—or do you think you felt her?”

  It wouldn’t be the first time Kale’s mind played tricks on him and he thought he’d seen, smelled, or heard Katarina.

  Kale smirked. “That would be crazy, because she’s gone—has been for over a decade now.”

  Bain lifted one shoulder in agreement, which said he knew that but wasn’t sure Kale had accepted it. “I can take Izzy home and go with you.”

  “Nah, stay at home with your female. No sense in spending your night with me when you could spend the night with her.” Kale smirked, letting his eyes drift to Izzy’s profile through the tinted window.

  “True that, brother,” Bain agreed, a smug smile playing across his lips.

  “You are one lucky bastard. You know that, right?” Kale said with a grin.

  Bain nodded. “Don’t I know it. Call if you need anything.”

  Kale nodded and headed off towards the charged air while Bain slid into the car.