White - Cheating Death

Cheating Death

Book Five

The ImmortalDescendants

April White

The Immortal Descendants Series

Marking Time

Tempting Fate

Changing Nature

Waging War

Cheating Death

This is a work of fiction. All of thecharacters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel areeither products of the authors imagination or are usedfictitiously.

Cheating Death. Copyright 2017 by AprilWhite

All rights reserved. Published by CorazonEntertainment

Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA

No part of this publication may bereproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in anyform or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,recording, or otherwise, without written permission of thepublisher.

Edited by Angela Houle

Cover Design by Penny Reid

Cover images by Shutterstock

Quote in Acknowledgements used by permissionof Neil Gaiman

ISBN 978-1-946161-01-7

Library of Congress Control Number:2016921068

Smashwords edition, January, 2017

Beware; for I am fearless, and thereforepowerful.

-Mary Shelley,Frankenstein

Table of Contents

Cast of Characters

The Immortal Time Jera

The Immortal Fate Aislin

The Immortal Nature Goran

The Immortal War Duncan

The Immortal Death Aeron

Descendants of Time The Clockers

Saira ElianDevereux Clocker/Shifter mix. Can Clock to any time and place. Can Shiftinto a Cougar with the help of the Shifter bone. Native time:Modern.

Claire Elian Sairas mother, bornin 1850. Clocked forward from 1871 to give birth to Saira. Nativetime: Victorian.

Millicent Elian SairasGrandmonster. Great grand-niece to Claire. Native time:Modern.

Charlotte Charlie Kelly Otherworld Seer, and a Clocker conduit who makes time travel easyfor the Clocker shes with. Native time: Victorian.

Valerie Grayson Took Charlie to1554 as her ward. Native time: Tudor.

Descendants of Fate The Seers

Ms. Simpson Headmistress of St.Brigids School.

Ava Arman Twin to Adam and next inline for Seer Head.

Adam Arman Twin to Ava, boyfriendof Alexandra Alex Rowen.

Camille Arman The twins mother andcurrent Seer Head.

Tom Landers Seer/Monger mix, cousinof Ava and Adam.

Archer Devereux Seer on hismothers side, turned to Vampire by Bishop Wilder in 1888. Nativetime: Victorian.

Tamerlane Tam Roth Seer/Mongermix. One of the mixed-blood captives rescued from the ghoststation.

Descendants of Nature The Shifters

Will Shaw Sairas father. Lion.

Mr. Shaw Medical doctor and scienceteacher at St. Brigids, descended from Sairas uncle. Bear.

Connor Edwards Nephew to Mr. Shaw.Wolf.

Logan Edwards Connors youngerbrother. Able to Shift into any animal.

Liz Edwards Mr. Shaws sister andthe boys mother.

Descendants of War The Mongers

Bishop Wilder Bishop responsiblefor infecting Archer with Vampirism and killing Sairas father in1888. Native time: Edwardian.

Spencer Rothchild Monger Head in1871 responsible for the Council massacre that imprisoned Will Shawand sent Sairas pregnant mother forward in time. Native time:Victorian.

George Walters Grandfather to SethWalters. Died in the Underground explosion that split time in 1944.Native time: WWII era.

Seth Walters Monger enforcer andSairas nemesis. Currently in possession of the Monger ring withthe power to compel.

Tom Landers Seer/Monger mix.Biological son of Seth Walters.

Raven Rothchild Walters Sethsniece, Sairas former roommate.

Descendants of Death The Suckers

Archer Devereux Seer, turned byBishop Wilder in 1888. Native time: Victorian.

Tom Landers Seer/Monger mix, turnedby Bishop Wilder in 1428. Native time: Modern.

Sebastien Bas Tousi ShifterEagle. Moor. Native time: 12th Century.

Bishop Wilder Monger. Native time:Edwardian.

Mixed-blood Descendants

Saira Elian Devereux Clocker/Shifter.

Tom Landers Seer/Monger.

Cole Moore Ravens boyfriend.

Melanie Moore Coles sister.

Tamerlane Tam Roth Seer/Monger,Cole and Melanies friend, one of the mixed-blood captives.

Other Important People

Ringo Victorian thief Saira broughtforward from 1888.

Bishop Cleary Bishop at GuysChapel, understands the world of the Immortal Descendants.

Rachel Jewish mechanic who survivedthe WWII massacre at Oradour-sur-Glane.

Nightmare

My feet pounded the cobblestones of CoventGarden. Moonlight, and the certainty I would find him this timewere my only guides as I ran.

Archers life depended on my speed and mydetermination. Panic had replaced the bone-deep sadness that hadtaken root deep inside me, and I was almost glad for somethingdifferent to feel.

The London streets were empty andunnaturally silent, and the silver light threw the scene into thehigh contrast glare of a video game. The shadows were endlesslyblack and full of menace. I knew I wasnt alone. In fact,everything about this place was a gamers nightmare. Every wrongmove stopped me in my tracks or worse, until I finally learned tonavigate each fresh horror and move on to the next.

I kept going though, pushing harder andfaster. I knew in my soul that if I could just find Archer thistime, Id beat the game and wake up with him next to me.

I rounded the corner as The Ripper steppedfrom the shadows. Moonlight glinted on his raised blade. Jack theRipper, dead by Ringos knife a lifetime ago, smiled, a horriblegrin full of rotten teeth.

Ah, Pet, ye cant stay away, can ye? hesnarled.

I put on a burst of speed, but he was infront of me again. Yell not escape me this time. He lunged, butI leapt to the side before his knife could slash down and buryitself in my back. No amount of anticipation could erase the fearthat coursed through me at the sight of The Ripper. I had died atthat corner the first time I saw him there, and woken up with theecho of a searing pain between my shoulder blades.

His snarl lingered behind me as I sprinteddown the next street, away from his lethal menace. The pounding ofmy feet began to match the rhythm of a distant hum. I knew thesound and I hated it, but still I flew toward it like a shard ofiron to a magnet.

There, down the next street and tucked intoan alcove, was the Seer bodyguard who had murdered young HenryGrayson in medieval France. He had threatened me with rape anddeath then, and now his knife hung loosely in his hand as if I wasno danger to him at all. Ye came back fer more, did ye, lass? Hisvoice was oily, and the stench of him hadnt improved in death.