Deathless Night – Into the Dark – Box-Set (EBOOK)

My name is Killian Rice, and I am a vampire.

Come into the dark by L.E. Wilson, and enter her Deathless Night.

A world of immortals with only one weakness: The witches who can destroy us…

Killian walked into my new voodoo shop late one night with an urgent request - he needed me to heal his friend. Only I know absolutely nothing about voodoo, or healing. I’m just trying to start a new life with what little family I have left after my dream of becoming a star on Broadway went up in flames. Literally. At first glance, he was an average looking guy with a European flair. Nothing outside the ordinary in the city of New Orleans. But despite his nerdy-boy attire, Killian was most definitely all man. And as his black eyes made their way up my body to my face, the look reflected within them wasn’t the least bit tame. More like predatory…I expected her to cast me down the moment I walked through her door. But I had no choice. One of my own was dying from a witch’s curse, and only another witch could undo the spell. However, Lizzy was not what I’d expected to find. Stunned by her beauty and overwhelmed by her scent, I burned with thirst until the blood raced through my veins and my body tightened with need. But with one taste, she calmed the beast within me as the truth flooded my wicked soul. The witch is MINE. She is the pulse that feeds my immortal life and the bearer of my death.Taking Lizzy as my mate will bring about the end of my coven’s uneasy truce with the witches. Leaving her will mean my demise…

Killian

"They'll kill you, Killian. You know that, right?"

My eyes burned. No matter how much I blinked, I couldn't get rid of the grit within them. "They can't kill me. I'm immortal." 

Kenya sighed, her chest rising and falling in jerks. Breathing had been a struggle for her the last few nights. I could hear the strain of it on her lungs. Just like I could hear her heart weakening with every laborious beat. It was unusual to see a supernatural creature struggling to survive. Unusual and...terrifying.

A vampire was one of two things at all times. Alive or dead. Never anything in between. 

But Kenya's warm, brown skin was ashen from lack of blood because she couldn't hold anything down. Her black hair was plastered to her head instead of sticking out in a riot of curls around her pretty face. It was unnatural for an immortal to look this way. We'd tried everything to get her to feed--animals, reptiles, even some bagged stuff stolen from the hospital. 

Well, everything except dragging an unwilling human off of Bourbon street to supply her with blood. But that was against the rules of the ones who'd done this to her. And it was quite apparent we'd already angered them enough.

"Are you willing to bet your life on that? Or the life of this coven?"

I crossed my arms over my chest in a vain attempt to hold in my own pain as I searched her weary face for the tiniest sign of improvement. "No," I told her honestly. "I'm not. But I don't know what else to do." I felt helpless, and it didn't sit well with me. "This is my fault, Kenya. I have to fix it."

She held out her hand to me, her arm shaking with the effort. Quickly, I clasped it within my own and let her draw me to the bed. "It's not your fault."

I knew well from experience that arguing with her wouldn't help anything, so I didn't bother. 

But she wasn't fooled by my silence. "Tell me a story." Her pale lips curved up into a smile, trying to distract me.

"A story, you say?"

"Yeah. A bedtime story."

"It's barely past midnight."

She raised one eyebrow. "And? I'm tired." Giving my hand a tug, she tried to pull me down to the bed.

Giving up, I sat beside her on the sweat-soaked sheets. The smell wasn't pleasant, but I resisted the urge to wrinkle my nose. Or to breathe, for that matter. For it was no fault of her own. "What would you like to hear, then?"

"I don't care. I just like to hear you talk. You have such a musical accent."

"It's an Irish accent."

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, I know. I love your accent. Or what's left of it. I don't know why you hate it so much."

"I don't hate it." My heart clenched tight as a fist, making me catch my breath. I tried to rub away the ache with my free hand, to no use. "Kenya..." My voice broke, the rest of what I'd been about to say caught in my throat.

"Stop it, Killian. Just stop it. You couldn't have done anything to keep this from happening."

"You're wrong." This I knew down to my very bones. "If I'd only been with you, instead of running off as I did..."

"If you'd been there, it would be you lying here in your own filth instead of me." She leveled her most severe stare at me, and I hitched in a breath, knowing she was right. Our enhanced abilities were nothing when faced with the magic of the witches. "And how would that help our coven?"

I looked around the room, unable to meet her eyes. The hideout Elias had found for us was hidden in the swampland of Lake Pontchartrain just outside of New Orleans. It was suitable, but nowhere near the luxury we were all used to in the Quarter. However, I'd thought it best to bring Kenya out here as she was in no condition to defend herself or even to run if they came after her again. 

"Perhaps with me gone they could manage to get themselves out of this bloody swamp and back to our rightful home in the Quarter."

"You know that isn't true. Besides, this is only temporary until we know we won't be beheaded in our sleep. We're already putting ourselves within easy reach just keeping the club going."

"We need to feed. Without the club we'd have to hunt, and with that comes the risk of being hunted ourselves."

"Or we could learn to like gators."

"Not going to happen. Their skin is too tough and their blood is cold." I'd meant it as a joke, but the humor was lost on us both as the reality of my coven lowering ourselves to feeding on reptiles became very real. My head hurt. Gently, I pulled my hand from hers so I could rub my temples. "I need to do something besides hide out in this house."

"Marching into a group of witches demanding they lift this death spell isn't it. We don't even know if they could do anything. Or if they would if they could."

"Why wouldn't they? It was one of their own who cast it."

"Exactly."

I got up to pace the floor, needing to work off all of this pent-up frustration. I felt Kenya's eyes on me as I wore a trail in the wood, but I couldn't look at her. "I don't understand why they came after you, Kenya. You, the nicest one of all of us." I gave a derisive laugh. "I thought the high priestess liked you, for Christ's sake."

"Killian, if you go to the witches and they don't throw you out into the sun, and you bring one here...they'll know where we are. They could kill me anyway. Take out the entire coven. Kill you."

"They wouldn't do that. We have a pact."

"The pact they already broke?" She started coughing and grabbed a tissue from the table beside the bed. When she pulled it away from her mouth, it was red with blood. "Killian, we would be completely at their mercy."

I tried to meet her eyes, but she wouldn't look at me. "We have a pact," I repeated. "It can't be broken without bloodshed on both sides."

"The 'pact' didn't protect me from this." Kenya pointed at herself.

"This must've been a mistake, Kenya. I just can't fathom it otherwise."

"I wish that were true."

"If I don't try, you will die." My words were cold, giving nothing away. But my chest already ached with loss at the thought of losing her. I couldn't...I would have nothing if I lost her. I would be completely alone. Punishment for my selfish actions, I suppose. But not one I chose to accept. "I can't lose you, Kenya."

She waved one hand in the air, dismissing my words. "You'll be fine. You have Jamal, and Elias...."

"Jamal hates me."

She continued as if I hadn't spoken. "Dae can do the books at the club for you." 

"That's not what I'm talking about," I growled.

Her face softened. "I know." 

I rubbed the throbbing pain in my thigh. The scar was ancient, the pain all in my head. Just an old injury from my days as a young vampire, but I still felt the invasion of the sword's steel blade slice through my thigh. How odd it had felt, my leg split into separate pieces, much like the icy burn of my heart being torn apart in my chest at this moment.

I'd won that fight despite my injury. I didn't know that I could say the same for this one. Going to the witches was a risk. Kenya was right when she said it was very likely my going to the witches would put our coven in more danger. But if I didn't, I would lose her. My only true friend. 

Was that selfish of me?

Aye, it was. But my self-serving nature was the reason she was in this predicament to begin with. It was up to me to fix it.

"Jamal told me he'd heard rumors of a new witch in town. I'll go find her. From what I was told, she just moved down from New York City a week or two ago." I couldn't help but feel hope. "What are the chances, do you think, she hasn't been jaded by the others yet and won't cast me down on sight?"

Kenya was quiet for so long I stopped pacing and turned to see she was still with me. I found her running her fingers along the edge of the sheet that covered her to the waist. She raised eyes glazed with exhaustion to mine. "What do you know about her?" she finally asked.

"Not much," I admitted. "As I said, she just moved here. And Jamal's source said he'd seen her go over to the High Priestess's home." I thought back to our conversation. "She has a dog."

"And that's an important fact?"

I narrowed my eyes at her, but it did nothing to quell the smirk on her face. "Yes, it does. A dog makes noise."

The smile faded from her face as she caught my meaning. "Killian, what are you planning to do?"

I stared down at her, this female who--other than Jamal--had been the closest thing I'd ever had to a friend in all of my nearly two hundred years. At least he had been, before I’d made him what he was now. So that left me with one. "Whatever I have to."

What readers are saying:

★★★★★ - " the perfect blend of humor and dark intensity for me.   I can't wait to read Aiden's book! He's my favorite character. Which is a little disturbing since he has a severed head collection. But he likes marshmallows. A man after my own heart." - A Vampire Bewitched Reader

★★★★★ -  "Thoroughly enjoyed every word. The plot, pace and character development were well thought out and written. "Buff and fangy" indeed! It keeps you enchanted from start to finish. HOT, HOT, HOT sex, a feisty leading lady and the HEA we all need. Will definitely recommend this series. - A Vampire Bewitched Reader

★★★★★ - "I truly enjoyed reading this story, it's one of the Best vampire stories that I've read 😃. Fantastic characters, great setup for a new series and a addicting storyline 😊. Thanks L.E., I'm so looking forward to reading more 🤓. - A Vampire Bewitched Reader