Love and Blood (Evening Bower Book 2) Read online

  Praise for the Evening Bower Series

  TIME AND BLOOD

  “Three-dimensional characters so real, I half expected to get Christmas cards from themdiabolical twists of folklore and mythology seduced me all the way to the surprising end.” -Terri A. Wilson, author of Forgiveness for My Mate

  “…one of the best I’ve ever read…keeps the reader on the edge of their seat…characters are brilliant… …fight scenes leave one breathless.”

  -Yvonne Mason, host of Off the Chain podcast and bestselling author of Silent Scream and many others.

  “Lush, polished, seething with intrigue…for those who love fantasy…a rather compelling novel.” -Grady Harp, Art and Poetry Reviewer for Poets and Artists magazine and others, Amazon Hall of Fame Top 100 Reviewer

  “characters have a mysterious quality…fascinating tidbits of mythology…a voice that speaks well to the paranormal romance genre.” -Elaine Calloway, Amazon Bestselling Author of The Southern Ghost Series, and Elemental Clan Series

  THE GYPSY THORN

  “My kind of female lead character…strong, resilient, beautiful and smart. Descriptive storytelling…readers are in for a treat.” -PJ LaRue, author of The Mystic Princess’ Series

  “5 Stars – …intriguing character…so many layers…fans of vampires and angels will enjoy. Betrayal, backstabbing, and deceit…” -Michelle Randall, reviewer for Readers Favorite Book Reviews

  MIDNIGHT ASSASSIN

  “Wow…dialogue was natural…story was sexy, fun and moved quickly.”

  -Alyne Hart, author of The Men of Evansdale County series

  “Awesome…loved the characters, the plot, the setting, and even the steamy factor.” -Robbie Cox, author of Warrior of the Way series and others

  “Lots of intrigue…not your normal vampire story…wasn’t able to guess the ending!” -Christie Silvers, author of the Penny Montegue series and Liz Baker Series

  Table of Contents

  Also by Sherry Rentschler

  Love and Blood

  Dedication

  Legend of the Scarlet Phoenix

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  The stories continue!

  Also by Sherry Rentschler

  Fiction

  Midnight Assassin – A Tale of Lust and Revenge

  The Gypsy Thorn

  Time and Blood

  Memoir

  Breaking the Glass Slipper

  Poetry

  Paper Bones

  By Light Betrayed, Poetry of the Vampires

  The Book of Now

  Photography

  (as Sheryl Rentschler)

  I Wish You Joy

  Anthologies

  Mirrored Voices, Best Contemporary Poetry (2015)

  It All Changed In An Instant:

  Six Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure (2010)

  © 2018 by Sherry Rentschler. All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the author.

  ISBN-10: 1717499899

  ISBN-13: 978-171749989

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2018909446

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or when real, used fictionally. Where historical references are given, no guarantee is made that timelines are accurate nor should this book be used as a reference. Mention of actual locations do not constitute an endorsement of same nor have there been monitary gains for giving mention.

  Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in the work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

  No offense is intended to any person living or dead, of any sex, color, nationality, religious preference or creed. No supernaturals were harmed in the writing of this novel.

  Cover design by Marisa-rose Robyn © Cover Me Darling Designs

  Author photograph © Amanda Goforth Photography

  Formatted by Cassy Roop of Pink Ink Designs

  Printed in the United States of America

  Dedication

  for Karen T. who never left the bower

  and waited for my return,

  this is for you.

  Noble blood cannot lie.

  (bon sang ne peut mentir)

  -French Proverb

  Good blood cannot lie.

  -Hindu Proverb

  RHEA, THE ORIGINAL Scarlet Phoenix, is the last of her kind.

  Born in Atlantis, a creature of the sun, resplendent in glorious iridescent feathers of all colors, her destiny had been to rule the heavens once shared with cousins of the phoenix, the legendary dragons. For several millennia, she, once known as Ethyrea, and her eternal mate, Khnuman, enjoyed a peaceful and happy co-existence with Man. Ethyrea and Khnuman were First Phoenix, their great passion a model that inspired a myriad of legends. All Atlanteans worshipped and revered them for their beauty and immortality.

  Atlantis’ Great Dragon Sage proclaimed that Ethyrea would produce an even more powerful phoenix. Atlanteans held this prophecy sacred, an edict made before human memory, as documented in The Great Book of Forgetting. The sage promised a phoenix who would be a great ruler of the sky, and more powerful than any previously birthed. This legendary bird would wield the gifts of Man as well as control the power of the sun. Moreover, this incredible being’s fire would combine the power of phoenix and dragon, control the will of earth and sky, and command the powers of life and death. However, this destiny never manifested in Atlantean memory or history.

  Events came to pass that Man in his greed and curiosity killed one of these resplendent phoenix creatures. He butchered her for sport and feathers. This thoughtless act broke the harmony between Man and Phoenix. The phoenix population, enraged at such a sacrilege and with bodies flaming with rage, used their great wings of fire and exacted terrible retribution for such senseless slaughter. Man was afraid of their vengeful demonstration and developed a fear of the phoenix’s power. Trust crumpled between Man and the Eternal Ones.

  From this fear, Man taught the phoenix deception, cruelty, and murder. While these beautiful creatures grieved for a death that should not have happened and wondered at their new emotion, they supped on the heart of their dead sister (fearing to let Man have her body) and tasted blood. The blood taught them to hunger and showed them Man’s mortality. This blood drinking unexpectedly altered the phoenix’s appearance. With time, the current multicolored birds gradually evolved into a single color species, including the current immortals.

  Many centuries and Beginnings (rebirths) later, the birds displayed solitary colors of the rainbow, with every pre-destined pair retaining one color, blue-to-blue, yellow-to-yellow, indigo-to-indigo. These colors repeated in the many remaining eternal pairs except for one. The First Phoenix, Khnuman and Ethyrea, rema
ined the only birds whose feathers turned scarlet, the colors of fire, heart, and blood. No other phoenix ever developed this particular color.

  The Scarlet Phoenix pair thrived and reigned over the heavens, hunting only the men who sought their destruction. With eternal patience, the resplendent birds waited for the time when they would meet the call of their blood, sing the soul song of mating, and birth a new life, a new beginning, for Atlantis. They believed their child would be a testament to their glory and of their immortal strength and undying love.

  However, Fate played against these mighty birds. One day, Man captured the legendary Khnuman and publically butchered him. Screaming in terror, Ethyrea knelt by her mate, holding him in her great wings as her beloved’s lifeblood drained away. As he died, Khnuman reminded his beloved that their love was unending and promised her they would be together again.

  Sadly, she disbelieved. How could a creature believed to immortal perish? However, his heartfire faded. If the heartfire extinguished and her mate died, so faded hope, love, and the future destiny of their child. Without them, the ancient prophecy became a bedtime fable.

  Khnuman’s final sigh became an angry gale and exploded into the heavens.

  Ethyrea’s retribution was horrible. She rallied the phoenix, and they rose up against Man, killing for vengeance. They took pleasure in Man’s death. The great birds’ jaws would lock to Man’s throat and, as they drank his blood, they shared their visions of their loss and grief. Finally, they burned Man and his villages with their glorious, flaming wings. Those who remained faced a changed reality.

  Anger spent, the reality of Ethyrea’s eternity was grim. None of the remaining birds could be her mate. As Ethyrea’s anger died, then despair isolated her. By her Twenty-third Beginning, Ethyrea’s evolution produced enhanced human characteristics, a result of regularly consuming man’s blood. No new scarlet phoenix would emerge, and now Ethyrea’s body was more than a simple bird. Alone and changed, she felt ostracized. Khnuman’s spirit roamed lost to the great winds, haunting her with his loss. In despair, Ethyrea broke her convent with her kindred.

  She left Atlantis, her phoenix and dragonkin, flew across the Great Ocean and sought a new life in the outside world. Soon after her departure, the Great Cataclysm occurred, and Atlantis disappeared. With its destruction came final grief, losing any hope of going home or finding comfort from her feathered brethren. Ethyrea faced a destitute future and extinction.

  Ten thousand years later, a whisper and a vision of Khnuman lured Ethyrea, a woman known to modern humans as Rhea, to New Orleans and into the arms of a vampire, named Amor-el. Dreams summoned her toward an unbelievable union. She followed the ghosts in her mind, placed her hope on the wind, and trusted in the immortal love of her long-dead mate.

  Had Khnuman been reborn by some miracle of destiny and strength of spirit?

  No one could have foreseen that Khnuman’s spirit could merge with a vampire. Nothing prepared Rhea for the shocking discovery of Khnuman in the blood of this dark immortal. No one warned her of the battle she must face protecting her beloved’s re-awakening. Nevertheless, Khnuman’s great fire re-ignited in this dark creature called and he whispered for his Ethyrea to come to him and mate.

  Nothing prepared Amor-el for the taste of fire in the woman’s blood or the welcome familiarity in her fiery arms. Why he did not burn alive as he drank her fiery blood was a mystery he pondered as her blood altered him, and ignited something ancient within him. Why did he dream these dreams of ancient places and of holding Rhea in his arms in the light of the sun? How did he know her beyond blood and time? Nevertheless, he knew he could not be with another after her.

  Rhea and Amor-el finally welcomed this ancient love they felt and prepared for whatever sacrifices they must take to reclaim their future. When history tried to repeat itself, they battled an army of vampires and their minions who intended to stop the immortal beloveds from answering their instincts and fulfilling their destinies.

  History nearly repeated itself by destroying Amor-el, but this time Rhea would not permit her beloved’s death. Together, locked in fire and blood, they defeated their attackers and prevented the loss of The Great Book of Forgetting. No Man, human or otherwise, would ever separate these two again.

  Ultimately, when their time and their blood converged, blood won, and they fulfilled their ancient destiny. In a passionate miracle made possible from Khnuman’s spirit and the heartfire from phoenix blood, Rhea and Amor-el welcomed a natural-born son, Destin. Finally, they fulfilled the ancient, long-forgotten prophecy.

  In a strange twist of fate, this phoenix child with fire in his eyes was also a vampire. Could he be the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy? Or could he be the final destruction of a legend and all humankind?

  Three months ago

  THREE OLD MALES from different times and places gathered in a dilapidated and nondescript shack on a cliff’s edge. The sparse furnishings included a small oak table, three chairs, and a lantern. No fire. No comfort. They stared at one another in calculating silence.

  A tall, imposing man with gray-haired temples, though not the oldest, moved first. He bent over and slammed his fist on the table. His ring embedded a deep S in the surface. The raw, aged wood visibly cracked under the punishment, yet the others never flinched.

  The secret meeting came to order.

  “We failed. Not only is the bitch alive but she infected my childe, and that mysterious, damned book remains hidden from us.” The words pushed through long fangs and a clenched jaw.

  “My spies say she produced a child and how did she manage it? Not with your man, obviously, but wait, she did. And how did that happen? Was it magic or did your bastard get some fleshy knowledge?” An abrasive snort followed the words uttered by the second male seated at the opposite end of the table, a position he took as his right. He smirked and continued, “I suppose it may have been both, for I hear she is very desirable. Some say, ‘hot.’ Though I’m sure the carnal knowledge is possible, I doubt the veracity of this child.” He leaned back, and his thick fur coat partially covered his sneer.

  A third male sat between the other two, motionless in his hooded white coat edged in pale green stones. He was striking, pale not unlike the others, but he pulsed with ancient life. “I know nothing of these rumors, only that my queen is furious over the lost book. And the prophecy?” Green eyes in shifting shades of ocean green glanced at the one who opened the meeting.

  Standing man snarled and folded into his chair. His fluid and elegant movements belied his advanced age and masked his usually volatile emotions. He nodded to the third man in the white coat, ignoring the second man’s disgusting suggestion and comment.

  “Completed. According to my man, the phoenix infected my childe and gave birth though we still do not understand how or why. I’ve lost him to her blood, and now he has some obscene powers. All our futures, perhaps our lives, are threatened.”

  The man in white set his hands on the table. Each finger held a ring; every ring held a pearl and every pearl pulsed with living swirls of pale blue and misty green. “At least you still have a child. And more, there is the new babe. Because of her, all my progeny are dead. All that remains are mist and ash.” Menacing rows of sharp teeth peeked between thin lips.

  For a moment, silence smothered the space, and the other two men studied their grieving compatriot.

  Finally, the tall man stood again, and his yellow fangs glistened in the lamplight. “Each of us has losses. Unfortunate events. You have my condolences and complete understanding, but we have no time to grieve. When our journey reunites us, we will use the book, and end the threat. I care no more beyond my own. The rest you may take, but the boy is mine. I have your assurances of this agreement?”

  The others nodded.

  “We have an accord.” He checked his watch. “I have several stops before I leave tonight.”

  “What can you do at this juncture?” The second man in the wolf cloak pondered aloud. “At least I
have reasons. I go to steal a bride, take a country, and bring extinction to vermin. Why else do we continue?”

  “I go for the future,” said the first with a tap to his watch.

  “I go for my queen,” said the third man, the mourner, with a whisper. His luxurious white cloak fell away and white hair trimmed in black tumbled out.

  Wolves howled in the distance, a mocking, mournful wailing.

  “To each his own. I must leave you before the trackers discover this place,” huffed the second man as he turned toward the mournful wails and opened the door. “One last thing. To hell with the prophecy. I never believed in curses anyway, save one, and it is soon at an end. As will this one end for you both.” He saluted, pulled his fur close, and disappeared into the swirling gale with a derisive laugh.

  The other two followed in silence, swallowed by night, sea, and magic. Seconds later wolves burst through the door of an empty cabin. The wolves could not track the stink of vengeance.

  HOME. THE RIVIERE mansion’s new mistress exhaled a soul-deep sigh and settled into a comfortable wing chair. The library, a favorite room for obvious reasons, currently served dual roles as parlor and family room following the recent, violent events. The original salon and morning rooms suffered terrible burning and scaring during the great battle, but even after months of reconstruction, half of the plantation still did not feel comfortable. Franklin, the family’s manservant and current overseer, endlessly complained about the new deposits of demon goo clogging the floorboards.

  To the unknowing, nothing was amiss. No one seemed aware that three short months ago, the Riviere Plantation and surrounding grounds suffered a malicious attack both supernaturally and regularly. Demons, faerie, vampires and other supernaturals, along with a few humans, fought over and hoped to abscond with The Great Book of Forgetting, Rhea’s legendary tome from Atlantis. The assassins failed to discover the book and attempted to kidnap, or failing that, kill the phoenix. All to prevent a prophecy that only the Fae held to be absolute truth and more than a legend, and one that the rest of the supernatural community doubted yet feared.