I, Immortal the Series, Book 3, Fire and Ice: I, Immortal The Series, #3

By M J Rutter

They spent years fighting for peace and humanity, years of putting everything else before themselves. This time though, it isn't just about them, this time it is about their son, Caleb.

Destroying the ruthless Fallen leader Cornelius should have been the end, but it seems it was only the beginning. A battle may have been won, but the war continues.

Can Amelia and Peter stop the destruction of earth and rid the world of evil? If one drop of her blood is spilled, that's it, game over. 100 years of fire followed by 100 years of ice, nothing will survive, they have to do all they can to stop it, to protect the human race once more. While we sleep sound in our beds, they are out there protecting us, only we'll never know it.

• Language: English
• Publisher: M J Rutter
• Release date: Sep 16, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386535003

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All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or distributed in any form, including digital and electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written consent of the Publisher, except for brief use in reviews.

This book is a work of fiction. Characters, names, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Acknowledgements

The I, Immortal journey was, I thought, over. This was the final instalment until my mother complained that she wanted more. Most who have read the series so far agree, they want more, so hold tight, because I am working on book four for you.

The series has bought me such joy while writing, the characters are impossible to leave alone and I am certain there is a lot more to come from my Humangels.

I want to thank my husband and children, the road is sometimes long, it may seem I am ignoring you, but I promise, I am not. I appreciate the support and encouragement you have shown me.

My mum, she adores these books and is one of my biggest fans. Our life hasn’t been easy, but when you have a mother behind you that cares and raises you to be good human beings, it makes it more bearable. Thank you, mum, you are the best.

To you my readers who are always there, reading these books, leaving amazing reviews and making it all worth it. Thank you so much.

Huge thanks to my team of Beta’s, Heidi Christensen-Wynne, Susan Scott, Denise Roberts, Angela Spivey and Katie Prior. Thank you all once again, you are awesome.

Thank you to the amazing author Eden Elsworth for your beautiful covers, I truly appreciate your help.

Finally, thank you to Rebecca Ponder, my amazing proof reader; I am astonished at how much you have helped me with this book. I appreciate your hard work, more than you could ever know.

One

Caleb

The second I laid eyes on her back when I was ten I knew there was something about her and not just her insatiable beauty, her raven wing hair or her crystal blue eyes, it was so much more. Like something moved my soul. Her smile is infectious and her love complete, I will literally follow her anywhere. When she arrived at my room that first night at Harvard, I knew then we had something special. Our secret letters, our secret meetings by the water fall in the Tibetan mountains with our first kiss she made my knees shake and my body tingle, I couldn’t imagine life without her, the last eight years had been the best of my life. She gets me and when you’re stuck with a family secret like ours, having someone you can talk to and be yourself with is worth its weight in gold. Raven York, daughter of my parent’s friends Tom and Maria, simply astounds my very core and I have been in love with her ever since we first met.

We’re Humangels you see, though you wouldn’t know as we do not resemble the Angelic creatures in any way, my eyes are blue and my hair brown and if I allow it to grow it’s curly, but I keep it short and in control. Our parents are the descendants of humans and Angels, back when the world was beginning Angels were working with humans and falling in love with them. My grandparents on my mother’s side Ontoro and Elizabeth met back in the sixteen hundreds in England and my father’s parents Caius and Constance in the eighteen hundreds, my parents Amelia and Peter met while training in Tibet for a war against all humanity. The Great War they called it, it almost killed them both and very nearly destroyed their love for each other. My Grandfather Ontoro died in that war when Angels were meant to be immortal; the evil Fallen Leader Cornelius found a way to kill them. Cornelius continued to track us down, well my parents, older brother Ethan and sister Lilly for years, they had to run and hide all of the time until Cornelius was finally captured and executed, he had captured my sister and was using her powers to hurt my mother by connecting with Lilly and trapping her soul, my mother captured him and it almost split my parents up permanently, I was the result of their re-union.

Raven and I have been hiding out for a few days in a motel on the outskirts of Boston, Caius my living Angel Grandfather warned me to stay away from her, but how could I? She’s the only one I trust now. I love her and I will always love her, my Law Degree can wait, besides my brother said he’d help me find a job when I was ready, he runs his own law firm in Boston and my sister is in with the Angels, suits her, she was always such a Goody, goody. My parents spent almost a hundred years on the run and I could do the same, as long as I was with Raven I could do anything.

I hang up the phone and turn to face her, her eyes glisten in the dark,

What are you doing? She asks with a frown and her nose wrinkles a little.

I just tried to call home, my parents aren’t there. I explain absentmindedly.

I told you no phone calls, no contact, she snaps and I jump, Caleb do you love me?

Yes. I smile, I do.

Then this is how it has to be, you have to do everything I tell you if we are to be together. She takes my hand in hers, it tingles with the energy between us, We are leaving tomorrow, she says, we should go to bed. My heart pops, although we have been together for eight years, we have only kissed, now we will be sharing a bed, I glared at the small bed in the corner of our motel room. I can feel your heart racing. She smiles with a subtle hint of pink to her cheeks. Listen, we are only sharing a bed, nothing will happen tonight Caleb, we’re not ready.

I know. I nod and she drops my hand, we lay on the bed, fully clothed and I am so rigid with fear of touching her inappropriately. I lay there not moving for hours, I can’t sleep I am too worried about my parents, I know that once they hear of my leaving Harvard they will naturally worry, especially my mom, we have a special closeness, I communicated with her before I could hold my head up un-assisted. So I know she’ll be frightened.

Eventually I drop off to sleep; the room is already light with the early sun when I eventually close my eyes. But it feels like only minutes have passed when Raven moves beside me, I flash my eyes open and she smiles.

Did you sleep okay? she asks.

Yeah, I lie, is it time to get up?

I suppose we should, we do have a long way to go. She sits up and stretches out her arms, We should try and get some money too.

We could go to my house, my parents would help. I suggest.

No, she snaps again, I roll my eyes, you cannot go home ever again Caleb She climbs from the bed. I didn’t like to hear that, to never see my parents again that would be intolerable. She turns and frowns, Sorry, I didn’t mean ever, just not for a while, I sit up and glare at the wall, What is it?

I don’t know, something about this feels wrong. I say. Why do we have to run away?

I have been banished they will send them after us.

We are on the same side Raven, I reply, they will help us, I can’t believe they have just banished you for no reason.

Well, they have. She storms into the bathroom and slams the door shut, I feel terrible, because fighting with her upsets my stomach.

When she comes out of the bathroom I have changed my clothes and put on my sneakers, I grabbed a few clothes from my room before we left, but I wish I had bought more now. Then I remember the money in my account to pay for my halls for the year, I don’t know what to say though, if I upset her again it will make me want to leave the room. I lift my tooth brush and go to the bathroom. While I am rinsing my mouth her arms wrap around me from behind, I spin around with water dripping from my chin, she smiles,

I’m sorry I yelled at you. She says.

I am sorry as well, I reply, she kisses me even though I have a wet, toothpaste covered face she doesn’t care and this is why I love her. She pulls back from my lips and smiles, I love you, I tell her sincerely.

She smiles warmly, And I love you, she replies staring into my blue eyes. They’re not as blue as hers, and my hair isn’t as dark as hers, that’s why they named her Raven, her hair is almost as black as the night sky and her skin a pale ivory color. I pushed my fingers through her hair and she kisses me again. I feel better now, my stomach has stopped swirling and we leave the motel room as we found it.

As we walk to my car I take her hand in mine and say, I have twelve thousand dollars in my account; let’s go and take it out.

But your parents will be mad at you. She says. 

By the time they see me again, I doubt they will care, I state, we need to go to City Bank to get it though.

Are you sure you want to do this?

Positive. I smile and unlock the door, as my trusty old Volvo roars into life. 

The bank teller would only allow me to withdraw five thousand, apparently that was my limit, but it would be enough for what we needed. Raven wanted to throw the poor girl across the bank and smash her into the wall. Sometimes her temper worries me, her eyes darken, and she has a short fuse. Although I have never seen her in flame up full fury and presently, I don’t want to and insist we leave before we draw attention to ourselves. I fill up the car at the gas station while she shops for snacks, chips and chocolate knowing her, as her sheltered life in Tibet meant that the resources were limited to fruit, vegetables and bread. Maybe the occasional egg if you were lucky and if Prudence, her pet chicken was feeling generous enough to produce one. Loaded up on junk food and soda we leave Boston and head west.

Raven has mentioned several times she needs to go to Arizona, so I am guessing that is where we are going. We can just shift, shifting is how we move at the speed of thought. We think of somewhere we want to be, we fizz in our tummies and when we open our eyes we are there, but Raven says that shifting will draw unwanted attention to ourselves and I remembered my mom saying once that when we use any energy it flashes up in the Monitoring room in Nurturing where the Angels train under the watchful eye of Elders, Raven is always looking out for us that way.

As night closes in and the sky darkens from lavender to a deep blue, we stop at another motel just outside of New York State. I get that same twitch in my stomach as we enter the room with one bed. She changes into her night shirt in the bathroom and I wait on the bed, in my hand I hold my cell, it’s been switched off since she arrived at my dorm room, but I just want to send my parents a message, they need to know I am OK and that they do not need to come look for us. I switch it on and wait for the screen to light up; Raven comes out of the bathroom.

What are you doing? She yells and it makes me jump again; she snatches the phone from my hand and slams it on the floor. It breaks apart, I didn’t know you had that with you. She says, she picks up the sim card and snaps it in half, I think you should just go home. She says.

I just wanted to tell them... I begin, she cuts me off by raising her hand. That annoys me, she won’t ever listen to what I have to say. My blood begins to boil, fizzing and popping in my veins.

I told you, I keep telling you this will not work, if they find us its over, they will never let me see you again. She sits beside me on the bed, Caleb, do you trust me? she asks lifting my shaking hand, I am so angry now, she has destroyed my phone and she is yelling at me again, sometimes I feel like I am a child with her. I don’t answer because if I do, she’ll hear something she won’t like. I pull my hand out of hers, Okay, so now you are sulking. I stand from the bed and head into the bathroom; I lock the door and slam the toilet seat down. I am quite capable of getting angry too, only I have a calm nature, where as hers is on fire. I sit on the toilet and frown resting my head in my hands, wondering if I have made the right choice. I love her more than life, but I can’t just cut myself off from my family she has to understand that too. She knocks on the door, Caleb, she calls, Caleb I am sorry, and I’ll get you a new phone okay. I don’t respond again, I suppose I am sulking, she shifts into the bathroom, I said I will get a...

It’s not about the phone, I grumble, It’s the fact that you are treating me like I am five.

I am just trying to keep us safe. She explains.

Safe or hidden? I question.

Both. She replies and kneels on the floor in front of me, she gazes into my eyes, I love you so much, Caleb, I won’t survive this alone, we belong together. She folds her hands around mine, it makes me warm slightly. When we get to Arizona I will tell you everything.

Tell me now.

I can’t, I need to check that it is still there first.

What?

My legacy, she smiles and the excitement lights up her amazing blue eyes, everything will be revealed when we get there I promise and you will love it. I nod my head because I don’t want to fight her anymore, suddenly I feel safe with her and that I can trust her.

She kisses me and links her hands around my neck pulling me closer to her. Our energy fizzes around us, buzzing in my ears and lifting the hairs on my arms and legs. The back of my neck tingles under her fingers, when we part she smiles, We need to get some sleep. I nod my head and after brushing my teeth I climb into bed beside her, tonight though I fold my arms around her and hold her tight to my body, I think of my mom and how much I already miss her. I wonder if I will ever see her beautiful face again.

My dreams are filled with images of my family, going on as if I had never been born, as if I had never played a part in their lives, Ethan the successful lawyer, my mother and father still looking eighteen and desperately trying to appear older, they have kids now, all of which are eighteen they have to try and look older for that reason alone. We don’t age once we turn eighteen, we are frozen in this body for all eternity and if I ever have children the same will happen to them. My sister is working with the Angels and in my dreams, she is hunting someone down, then they hold up a picture of Raven, she was right; they are after us, my mother is crying at the waterfall in Tibet, the one Raven and I met at for the last eight years in secret. My father looks beside himself with worry, I am doing this to them and it’s not fair.

My mood when I wake is sullen, my dreams have left me weary and I am still tired. Raven doesn’t notice and I am happy about that because I don’t want to upset her anymore. We eat a muffin for breakfast before hitting the road again. I don’t want to sleep in anymore motel rooms, I just want to get to Arizona to find out what is going on now, what her legacy is. We drive for miles in silence, I guess she senses my apathy, driving is boring when you can shift anywhere in the world at the blink of an eye.

We hit Nashville that night and sleep in the car, before the sun comes up I am already driving, I am restless and the sooner we get to Arizona the better.

Morning, she smiles from the passenger seat, I need to pee.

I’ll stop at the next picnic area. I say, I hadn’t thought about that. A few more miles up the road and I pull into the picnic area, it’s deserted at six in the morning, the warm sun makes the air smell damp, I also use the bathroom and splash cold water over my face, ‘Caleb where are you?’ my mother asks in my head, ‘I’m worried honey, please call me’ I feel sick again now.

Caleb, are you alright? Raven asks through the closed door. I go out to her, I was worried about you.

I am fine, I lie, do we have anything to drink?

No, she shakes her head.

I’ll get something from the vending machine. I sigh and walk towards the row of machines. I always wonder how fresh the juice is in these things as I put in the coins required for two bottles of Minute Maid. They only have apple juice, Lilly’s favourite. As soon as I think that, she appears in the glass of the vending machine, like I am her looking into a mirror reflection of myself. She looks amazing, angelic.

What are you doing? she asks, I look around; am I imagining this? Caleb, she frowns wrinkling her nose, her blue eyes sparkle and her long brown hair is waving in a breeze I cannot feel and her voice sounds like she is in a cave or a hollow room.

Go away, I groan through my teeth, trying to look like I am not talking.

Raven is dangerous, Caleb; you need to get away from her. She warns.

Don’t talk about her like that, I snap, you don’t know her like I do.

No, because she hasn’t told you the truth about herself.

Just stay away, Lilly, tell Mom and Dad I am fine and not to look for me, I will be in touch soon. I walk away from the machine, luckily Raven didn’t notice me talking to the vending machine. How Lilly was capable of doing that is beyond me, I try not to think about it though because Raven will see it. I hand her the juice, It’s all they had.

I feel like I am five. She smiles and opens the bottle. So, are you tired or can you continue to drive? She asks and takes a large sip of juice.

I can drive, I smile and guzzle my juice emptying the bottle. Seeing my sister like that has unnerved me slightly, I do miss her. But deep down I know she will not do as I have asked, she’ll find me again. I have to admit though, that reflection thing was pretty impressive.

We drive back onto the highway and Raven switches the radio on, we laugh at the country music, I prefer rock and so does she, but in Nashville they play country on almost every channel. I think back to the first time I met Raven when we took Lilly to join the Angel called Seth and his Humangel wife Esther, she became fascinated with them and what they did, tracking down Angels and Humangels that might need help from them. So she is now a Tracker, a calling usually only given to Angels, but because of our Grandfather Caius, they allowed her to do the job also. My mother said if we choose an Angel calling we have to sacrifice the ability to love, she doesn’t know that Lilly is in love with an Angel, and that he is in love with her. 

We cross the border into Louisiana and head towards Texas. We stop for gas just before the Texan border and when I come from the store with more bags of chips and sodas she is in the phone booth talking, she sees me and turns her back. The conversation is heated and now I am not only annoyed that she gets to make calls and I can’t, but I am also curious, however I don’t question her when we get to the car, I slam the door shut so she knows I am upset and say nothing as I start the engine,

I was only making sure they are preparing for us.

So, I snap.

Caleb... she frowns.

No, Raven, you can call who you want, I am just your little puppy following you on this crazy adventure, I don’t need to know anything, do I? I put my foot down on the pedal and we screech out of the gas station like we have just committed a crime. In the back ground the radio plays softly, a love song that I have liked for a while, but I am boiling mad and I don’t adjust the volume. She sits fumbling with her fingers, I have never displayed anger like this before and I am sure she doesn’t know what to say or do so I let her stew a little while longer. When the song finishes I switch the radio off, the wind from her open window is blowing her hair gently. So, you can use the phone, but I can’t. I snap.

No, but still you took that call from your sister though. She scoffs and folds her arms.

That wasn’t call, I didn’t even think it was real. I frown, how she knew about that was beyond my wildest.

I had to check that they were ready for my arrival.

Who are ‘they’? I demand as my patience is wearing thin.

I told you...not until Arizona. She shrugs with a condescending tone, now I am really hacked off. 

Fine, I pull the car over to the side of the road and stop with a screech; I switch off the engine and remove the keys. Either you tell me why I have walked out on a Harvard scholarship or I turn this car around and go back.

If I tell you, you will leave me anyway, she frowns. I just glare at her, she glares back and opens the door. Have it your way, go, go back and be a stupid lemming following them around doing whatever the hell they tell you to do because that’s how your life will end up. She snarls. You can’t even tell anyone who you are or what you can do. We have these amazing gifts and yet we have to hide it like they are some contagious disease. This way you get the chance to do whatever you want.

The only way you can do that is to become part of the Fallen army, but that was disbanded when they killed Cornelius and his soldiers were all executed, I frown.

Were they, all of them? she asks, What about the few hundred hiding out in caves?

Are we going to fight them? I ask panicking slightly.

No, we are going to find them, I have just been talking to Rathbone he was a General and he has been hiding for years, preparing for me.

Why?

I can’t tell you that yet. She admits. Look, do you want to be what you are, doing what you like or spend an eternity never using your powers in public and forever hiding it? She asks. I frown again, thinking about her words, they sound like an ideal, like a story someone has made up, I will tell you everything when we get there.

If you are so worried about me leaving you here, why will you not worry there? I ask.

I am, but I am hoping that once you see, you will want to stay with me. She