Blood Entwined (Blood Enchanted, Book 2): A Vampire Hunter Paranormal Romance Series Read online

  Blood Entwined

  Blood Enchanted Book Two

  Nicola Claire

  Contents

  About the Author

  Free Download

  Also by Nicola Claire

  Definitions

  1. And My Sigillum Burned

  2. There Is No Iunctio In Istanbul

  3. Light Swelled

  4. Is There Going To Be A Problem?

  5. Now, What The Hell Did That Mean?

  6. Words Could Cut But Not Kill

  7. I Gave Him Nothing

  8. Time To Dance

  9. Say What You Really Think, Nothus

  10. And My Broken Heart Spilt Its Love

  11. Don’t Mess With The Dark Shadow

  12. Never Again!

  13. Even Her Tears Are Enchanted

  14. Making My Scream Shatter Glass

  15. Choose Well

  16. And Then No More

  17. Stop Being A Perv And Bite

  18. I Expected Light

  19. And Realised It Had All Been A Lie

  20. Try That Again, Vampire, And I Will Slice Off Your Balls

  21. It Is The Start

  22. I Am Nosferatin; I Don’t Run

  23. I Would Never Beg

  24. I’m Coming For You, Luc

  Review Request

  Free Download

  Kindred: Preview

  Copyright © 2016, Nicola Claire

  All Rights Reserved

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organisations is entirely coincidental.

  All rights are reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author.

  ISBN: 978-0-473-38365-7

  Created with Vellum

  About the Author

  Nicola Claire lives in beautiful Taupo, New Zealand with her husband and two young boys.

  She's tried her hand at being a paramedic, bank teller and medical sales representative, (not all necessarily in that order), but her love of writing keeps calling her back.

  She has a passion for all things suspenseful, spiced up with a good dollop of romance, as long as they include strong characters - alpha males and capable females - and worlds which although make-believe are really quite believable in the end.

  There's nothing better than getting caught up in a compelling, intriguing and romantic book.

  When she's not writing or reading, she's out on her family boat at Lake Taupo, teaching her young boys to fish, showing them the beauty that surrounds them in nature and catching some delicious trout for dinner.

  Creating rich worlds with dynamic characters and unexpected twists that shock and awe has been pure bliss for this author. And just as well, because there's a lot more story yet to tell...

  For more information:

  @NicolaClaireNZ

  168567699926093

  www.nicolaclairebooks.com

  [email protected]

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  Three free books to get you started!

  Starter Library

  Also by Nicola Claire

  Kindred Series

  Kindred

  Blood Life Seeker

  Forbidden Drink

  Giver of Light

  Dancing Dragon

  Shadow's Light

  Entwined With The Dark

  Kiss Of The Dragon

  Dreaming Of A Blood Red Christmas (Novella)

  Mixed Blessing Mystery Series

  Mixed Blessing

  Dark Shadow (Coming Soon)

  Sweet Seduction Series

  Sweet Seduction Sacrifice

  Sweet Seduction Serenade

  Sweet Seduction Shadow

  Sweet Seduction Surrender

  Sweet Seduction Shield

  Sweet Seduction Sabotage

  Sweet Seduction Stripped

  Sweet Seduction Secrets

  Sweet Seduction Sayonara

  Elemental Awakening Series

  The Tempting Touch Of Fire

  The Soothing Scent Of Earth

  The Chilling Change Of Air

  The Tantalising Taste Of Water (Coming Soon)

  H.E.A.T. Series

  A Flare Of Heat

  A Touch Of Heat

  A Twist Of Heat (Novella)

  A Lick Of Heat (Coming Soon)

  Citizen Saga

  Elite

  Cardinal

  Citizen

  Masked (Novella)

  Wiped

  Scarlet Suffragette Series

  Fearless

  Breathless (Coming Soon)

  Blood Enchanted Series

  Blood Enchanted

  Blood Entwined

  Blood Enthralled (Coming Soon)

  44 South Series

  Southern Sunset

  Southern Storm

  Southern Strike (Coming Soon)

  Lost Time Series

  Losing Time (Coming Soon)

  For:

  My Kindred-ites!

  You make it easy to be back in this world.

  Definitions

  Accord – A blood binding agreement, often between two parties of equal power; cannot be broken.

  Álfheimr – (Fey) Faerie. Home to the Fey.

  Command – A directive given by a Master vampire to one of his line. It requires Sanguis Vitam in order to enforce obedience. It cannot be ignored.

  Dökkálfa – (Fey) The Dark Fey.

  Dream Walk – A Nosferatin power, enabling the Nosferatin to appear in a different location. The Dream Walker is invisible, cannot be sensed or smelled, and only heard if they talk when in this realm. They can, however, interact and be harmed. The only exception to a Dream Walker's invisibility is another Nosferatin. A very rare power.

  Erbörü - (Turkish) Shapeshifter native to Ottoman Empire.

  Elska – (Fey) Literally love. An elska is a mœðr. A member of the fey can only ever have one elska in their lives. They are in tune with the Light or ljós within their matched fairy and potentially will become their one true love.

  Fīfrildi – (Fey) A type of winged fairy. Yellow Dökkálfa Fey.

  Final death – The true death of a Nosferatu. There can be no survival from the final death.

  Glaze – The ability to influence another. It requires direct eye contact and Sanguis Vitam to insert the influence. Usually a Nosferatu skill, allowing a vampire to influence a human.

  Grey Lords – The Dökkálfa law keepers.

  Günaha - (Turkish) Temptation.

  Hanımefendi - (Turkish) Consort to a Mhachkay lord.

  Hyrða – (Fey) Fairy guards. Green Dökkálfa Fey.

  Iunctio – (Latin) The Nosferatu connection and governing power. All vampires are connected to one another via this supernatural information exchange highway; enabling sharing of rules, locations of safe havens and hot spots to avoid. It is powered by both Nosferatu and Nosferatin Sanguis Vitam, but is operated by the Nosferatu in Auckland. There are twelve members of the Iunctio council, headed by the Champion. The Iunctio is tasked with policing all supernaturals throughout the world.

  Joining – The marriage of a kindred Nosferatu with a kindred Nosferatin. Upon joining the Nosferatu will double their Sanguis Vit
am and the Nosferatin will come into their powers, but for the Nosferatin, their powers will only manifest after reaching maturity; the age of 25. The joining will also make the Nosferatin immortal. A symbiotic relationship, should one member of the joining die, the other will too. Without a joining, the Nosferatin would die one month past their 25th birthday. The joining also increases the power of the Iunctio and Nosferatu as a whole.

  Kan büyülü - (Turkish) Enchanted blood.

  Kindred – A Nosferatu or Nosferatin sacred match, a suitable partner for a joining. To be a kindred there must exist a connection between the Nosferatu and Nosferatin; only those suitably compatible will be kindred to the other.

  Kral - (Turkish) King.Line – The family of a master vampire, all members of which have been turned by the master, or accepted via blood bond into the fold.

  Ljósálfar – (Fey) The Light Fey.

  Lux Lucis Tribuo – (Latin) The Giver of Light. The third part of the Prophecy. The Lux Lucis Tribuo is charged with balancing the Dark in Dark vampires out with their Light.

  Master – A Nosferatu with the highest level of Sanguis Vitam. There are five levels of Master, from level five – the lowest on the Sanguis Vitam scale, to level one – the highest on the Sanguis Vitam scale. Only level one Masters can head a line of their own. Some Nosferatu may never become Masters.

  Master of the City – A level one Master in control of a territory; a city.

  Mœðr – (Fey) Mother or mate. A human capable of parenting fey offspring.

  Norm – A human unaware of the supernaturals who walk the Earth. They also do not have any supernatural abilities themselves.

  Nosferatin – (Nosferat–een) - A vampire hunter by birth. Nosferatin were once of the same ilk as Nosferatu, descendants from the same ancestors, or God. The Nosferatin broke off and turned towards the Light. Their sole purpose is to bring the Nosferatu back from the Dark, this can include dispatching them, bringing them the final death, when they cannot be saved. They are now a mix of human and Nosferatin genetics.

  Nosferatu – A vampire. The Nosferatu turned towards the Dark, when their kin, the Nosferatin turned towards the Light. They require blood to survive and can be harmed by UV exposure and silver. They do not need to breathe or have a heartbeat. They are considered the undead.

  Nothus - (Latin) An illegal combination of two species, for example Nosferatin - Nosferatu mix. Considered illegitimate by the Iunctio and a kill-on-sight order stands for any Nothus uncovered.

  Píka - (Fey) A gift or prize, usually a virgin girl.

  Prohibitum Bibere – (Latin) The Forbidden Drink. The second part of the Prophecy. The Prohibitum Bibere is a siren to the Dark vampires throughout the world, calling their Darkness towards the Light.

  Pull – The Nosferatin sense of evil. Guides a hunter to a Dark vampire; sometimes, but not always a rogue, who is about to feed off an innocent.

  Rogue – A vampire no longer controlled by a master, full of evil and Darkness, feeding indiscriminately and uncontrolled.

  Sanguis Vitam – (Latin) The Blood Life or life force of a Nosferatu. It represents the power they possess. There are varying degrees of Sanguis Vitam.

  Sanguis Vitam Cupitor – (Latin) The Blood Life Seeker. The first part of the Prophecy. The Sanguis Vitam Cupitor can sense and find all Dark vampires throughout the world.

  Savaşçı - (Turkish) Warrior.

  Sigillum – (Latin) A permanent mark of possession.

  Silah - (Turkish) Weapon.

  Taniwha – (Maori) New Zealand Shape Shifter. Dangerous, predatory beings.

  Teşekkür ederim - (Turkish) Thank you.

  Turned – The action of changing a human into a vampire.

  Vampyre – Old term for vampire; used rarely in modern language.

  Veðr - (Fey) Wind Fey, small Dökkálfa creatures that live in trees.

  Vinr – (Fey) Vanguard. The first of the fey to cross a portal. Their job is to ensure it is safe for other fey to follow.

  “Two hearts. Two souls. And they have chosen.”

  Hakan Bahar

  1

  And My Sigillum Burned

  I held a severed limb in one hand and a sword in the other. It didn’t look good. The cop at the end of the alley studied me for a long moment, trying to decide if I’d throw the foot or use the sword. His hand shifted to his gun, finger twitching.

  I wasn’t sure I could survive a gunshot wound. For starters, I wasn’t immortal yet. Not that joining with a kindred Nosferatu would make me immortal as such. But it would make me harder to kill.

  The cop didn’t seem worried by that fact.

  We stared at each other. The heat of a Turkish evening seeping into the dank alleyway we were standing off in. The pungent odour of rotten food, rat faeces and human waste added to the miasma of ghoul.

  The cop blinked. His nose twitching. Even Norms could smell stink like this.

  “Lower your weapon,” he said in Turkish. I’d picked up a word or two, but I wasn't fluent.

  Not that I needed to speak Turkish to understand his instruction.

  I dropped the foot.

  His eyes followed its tumble to the dirt strewn ground as though drawn to the macabre sight against his will.

  “Where’s the body?” Or, at least, I think that’s what he said.

  I made a show of looking around the small alley we were in and then shrugged my shoulders. The foot hadn’t belonged to the ghoul.

  “Are you a vampire?” he asked, his hand shaking. So, that’s why he hadn’t drawn the gun yet. Everyone knew not to pull a weapon on a Nosferatu. It was a sure-fire way to get fang to neck.

  Vamps could move fast. Faster than a Norm. Drawing a gun was practically an invitation to “bite me!” This cop had a modicum of intelligence, then.

  But he clearly didn’t know how to tell a Nosferatu from a Nosferatin.

  I smiled, showing teeth. Not a fang in sight.

  “No vamp,” I said.

  “You kill one?” he asked, switching to heavily accented English.

  Now would be the right time to make him think I was a hero. In some regards, that’s what a Nosferatin is. The Norms’ hero. We take care of the monsters from under their beds. The rogue vampires who have gone batshit crazy. We are the good guys.

  Or so they all said.

  I sighed. The smell was starting to get to me. The cop stiffened at my change in demeanour.

  At one time, I would have said I was one of the good guys. But that one time had long passed.

  “Iunctio business,” I said and watched as all the colour drained from the officer’s face. His eyes widened, his jaw dropped, his hands trembled. I wasn’t sure, but the smell of urine did seem to increase.

  Nosferatin good.

  Iunctio bad.

  Oh, how the times are a changing.

  “There is no Iunctio here,” the guy said, voice shaking. He pulled his gun.

  I was tired, hungry, and pissed off. Dealing with a Norm who’d decided to protect the streets of Istanbul from the big bad nasties was not appealing. But taking my anger out on an upstart policeman was.

  “You might want to reconsider this,” I suggested, dusting my fingers off on my leather trousers, flicking the blood off the end of my Kilij sword - oh, how I missed my Svante - and then spinning the hilt on top of my outstretched palm.

  Kilij swords are curved, wicked sharp, and impressive. This one was in excellent condition, but from its former position on the ceremonial weapons wall of Hakan’s home, I was picking it was a showpiece. Silver not being a vampire’s favourite metal and all. It also didn’t spin like a Svante did.

  The sword wobbled alarmingly on my palm. I sighed. Then shrugged my shoulders.

  What’s the saying? Never bring a knife to a gunfight? Apparently whoever coined it hadn’t met a Nosferatin with a sword. Any sword.

  I pushed off my feet and spun in the air, silver glinting, my boots bouncing off the brick wall, my dreads flying. The cop raised his gun, a bang
sounded, I watched as the bullet arced through the air, embedding itself in the frame of a nearby window.

  Then landed behind the copper and tapped him on the shoulder. “Boo!” I said.

  Definitely pee reeking. And then he was running, screaming something in Turkish about “Don’t bite my neck!” and waking up half the residents in this hellhole corner of a ramshackle city.

  Not that much in the world wasn't ramshackle anymore.

  I sighed. Again. Then sheathed my sword at my hip - having to take two attempts to get the curved weapon back in its scabbard - and then walked toward the foot I’d dropped earlier.

  I stared down at the lovely yellow leather shoe - at least, I thought it was standard leather and not the skin of a Fīfrildi - noting absently the clean cut the sword had made just above the ankle. A thin line of blood dribbled over the side of the finely woven silk stockings the fairy had worn. Cinderella this was not. Somehow I didn't think this princess would turn into a pumpkin.

  I snorted. Pulled a baggie out of a pocket in my jacket and slipped the foot and shoe inside. Evidence. I was becoming a regular Nancy Drew.

  Smiling to myself, offering up a cheerful whistle to the dark windows above me, I sauntered out of the alleyway and started heading toward the centre of the city. News would travel fast. If I were lucky, the Ljósálfar, or Light Fey, wouldn’t let this slip.

  That’s what I was counting on, anyway.

  With eyes peeled and senses on high alert, I strode through the dark streets, the moon the only illumination for my quiet footsteps. Someone knew something, and so far all evidence had pointed to the trickier cousins of the Fey. Once word made it back to the Prince of Ljósálfar, he’d send the vinr: the vanguard.