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  Forever Young 3 Copyright © 2019 by Daniel Pierce

  Book design and layout copyright © 2019 by Daniel Pierce

  This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living, dead, or undead, is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author.

  Daniel Pierce

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  Forever Young 3

  Book 3 in the Forever Young Series

  Daniel Pierce

  Contents

  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

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Epilogue

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  About the Author

  1

  Travel by train was new to me, and that made it exciting. I casually counted the ways having a sleeper car made my life better, and the list was impressive. I could stretch my legs. I could move around. We had privacy, a shower, and the possibility of sex. As travel went, the train was already my favorite mode of transportation, and I was still fully clothed and sober.

  Not a bad way to go.

  We could sit back and watch the world go by. The landscape was lusher and greener than anything I’d seen before. My previous experience with South America was only what I’d seen on the evening news, so I expected desperate poverty and drug wars. We did pass some pockets with decrepit buildings, but that was to be expected. Even in the States, real estate next to train tracks isn’t usually the most upscale.

  Here, though, we passed through some areas of intense beauty. We saw farms, of course, but we also saw wildlife I’d never imagined. Most of what we saw were birds, given that we rode a vehicle that was loud and unsubtle. Still, it fascinated me. The waterfalls and rivers we crossed stirred something, like a glimpse at something primordial and alive.

  We tried not to talk too much about what we would do in Brazil once we got there. Vampires have incredible hearing, and we didn’t want them listening in. On the rare occasions we did let ourselves talk about what was to come, we used the small radio that came with our sleeper cabin to blare music. We would hide, as it were, in a cloud of sound.

  A few days after we left Cartagena, we arrived in Santarém. The train station wasn’t much, a pretty basic 1950s place made of concrete and blue tiles. We disembarked and quickly made our way to a nearby hotel, where they took our Belize dollars somewhat begrudgingly and aimed us at a currency exchange not too far away.

  I headed over with Tess, where we exchanged a good chunk of our money for Brazilian reals. I had a feeling we were getting ripped off, but Tess didn’t seem too concerned.

  “It’s not like we didn’t steal it anyway,” she pointed out.

  I couldn’t deny that simple truth.

  We picked up some food on our way back to the hotel and settled in to finally talk strategy. I could see Tess and Kamila bursting at the seams to get started. I was eager to get down to business myself. I didn’t want to be stuck running around for the rest of my life, chasing after shadows. I also wanted my revenge on Dalmont, an event I intended on savoring when the moment came. And it would.

  My bruises were finally starting to fade, but my mental scars lingered like unwelcome houseguests.

  We poked at the takeout food for a few minutes, and then I spoke up. “Okay. So we don’t speak the language, and our funds are limited. We’re in the northern part of the country right now, and we’re going to need to get to the middle of the rainforest. Logistically, it all seems impossible, but we’ve managed the impossible before, and we’ll do it again.”

  Tess sat up a little straighter. “I’m not worried about cutting through the countryside. We’ve hoofed it before and survived.”

  Zarya gave her an incredulous look. “I’m sure you have, but that wasn’t in the middle of the Amazon. There are different ways to die here. Or not die, but linger in the gut of a giant snake.” She shuddered.

  I did think about it. Being digested for an extended period of due to my immortality seemed like a shitty way to go. “So, on to other solutions. We latch onto a tour bus or we can hotwire a car. Two choices, both might work.”

  Kamila shook her head. “Don’t you think we’re too close to the fangs? I don’t want to risk running into them if we can avoid it. We don’t want to involve the police, either, and stealing a car in a foreign country is a great way to do just that. If it comes right down to it, I can steal a car, but we don’t have to do that.”

  “We don’t?” I leaned back, eyes narrowed.

  “No, of course not. Money isn’t actually an issue for us. We can get whatever we need, one way or another.” She tossed her long red hair over her shoulder. “Anyway, we won’t let money hold us back from getting the job done. I understand why you feel that way. Money has been an issue for you all your life, but it isn’t now. Not anymore.”

  I ran my tongue over my teeth, thinking. I was glad she had such a blasé attitude about our financials. “So money just isn’t a thing once I hit my fourth century, huh? I look forward to it.”

  Zarya laughed, and her cheeks pinked up. “Yeah, something like that. No, what I’m saying is that we have access to money from other sources. It’s like we’ve got a network, you know? There are Ferin everywhere, and people who sympathize with Ferin everywhere.”

  “‘People who sympathize with Ferin?’” I glared at Tess. “If we’re supposed to keep absolutely silent about who we are and what we do, I need to know specifics. Now. I won’t operate blind, especially when it comes to financing our safety.”

  Tess nodded. “We met some folks who are probably sympathizers, maybe without even knowing it. It’s like this. Vampires are a thing, and they suck.”

  I grinned and rolled my eyes. “Thank you for that startling revelation.” I shook my head. “Seriously, what’s going on?”

  Kamila chuckled a little. “Okay, sure. Most humans will usually make something up to justify things that can’t possibly exist. If their boss only shows up at night, doesn’t age, and they never see him eat, they’ll just say he’s quirky and has great skin. Some humans do notice, though. They don’t dismiss what they can see and hear and feel. There are—a few people, let’s say, who are aware of us. Like the people at the nightclub. They knew.”

  “So, people like that kno
w about vampires?” I asked.

  Kamila nodded. “And they’ll do what they can to fight the vampires. No one wants anything to do with monsters that feed on the blood of humans. Hell, we kill mosquitoes and ticks, don’t we?”

  I nodded, scratching at the stubble on my chin. “So, what you’re saying is, they build these networks with us, thinking we’re just fellow travelers on the road to exterminating the vampires?”

  “Exactly.” Tess beamed at me. “And they’re not wrong. They’re just missing a few key facts.”

  “Like the fact that we also have really good skin.” I winked at her. “And so, we’ve just got a lot of dough? Like, tons?”

  “That’s more or less right.” Zarya rubbed at the back of her neck. “It’s a little more complicated than that. I think any Ferin trying to live the high life off of these funds would probably find himself cut off pretty quick, but then again, I haven’t met a Ferin who would do that. I’ve met plenty of Ferin who wouldn’t mind luxury, but they also tend to want to earn it themselves, if that makes any sense.”

  I hadn’t picked up on many similarities between the people who’d turned into Ferin after being attacked. We all came from different backgrounds and had different talents. One thing that was consistent was an independent spirit and a tendency to act rather than wait.

  “And people just give us money?” I still couldn’t get over that one point. “It seems weird to me.”

  “People have been doing it for a long time.” Kamila put a hand on my shoulder. “I know it seems a little weird, but the money gets managed by certain people who help it to grow. That makes it possible to ensure there’s always money in the pot. That way, we’re not completely screwed and starving in the street if we can’t work because we can’t get documentation or if we need to go on the run because we don’t age or whatever.”

  I nodded. It made a little more sense, although I couldn’t say it made much. “If this network exists, though, why is it so hard to connect with other Ferin? Why all the cloak and dagger stuff? Wouldn’t it be easier and safer to be able to reach out and say, ‘Hey, there’s a pack of vamps headed your way?’”

  “No. On the surface, you’d think it would be, but anyone can be followed, and anyone can be compromised.” Kamila shook her head, just once. “Remember what happened to that little coterie Margaret was building up in Maine.”

  I shuddered away from the memory of Margaret’s dead body going up in smoke. “I remember,” I said quietly.

  “It’s best if we try to keep to a cell-like structure.” Zarya toyed with her fork. “There’s a reason terrorists use it, after all. It’s safe and effective. If the authorities catch you, well, you only know me, Kamila, and Tess. If they catch Tess, she only knows us and a couple of other people. They can’t grab everyone and do real damage to our people just because they grab one of us and find their weak spot.”

  I wanted to protest that I had no weak spots, but I wasn’t insecure enough to give it voice. Everyone had a weak spot, something they’d do anything to protect. I wouldn’t let the vampires hurt a child, for example. And I’d do almost anything to save my women.

  We finished our meals, and I headed out for a walk. I needed to get some practice in with my latest superpower, and for the first time, I didn’t have anyone around who could help me. I was on my own without a map, but I knew it was better to work on this where no one else could get hurt.

  I found a cemetery. Of all the places I was least likely to be disturbed or to hurt someone, a city of the dead was probably my best bet. This graveyard was old and full of trees with ancient tombs falling into disrepair. I headed into the oldest part of it, already astonished by how easy it was to read the earth.

  Tess had said there were doors in the mind, hiding the key to my abilities. To master them, I had to unlock the doors. If I knew about the doors, unlocking them should be that much easier, shouldn’t it? I could already see that theory working, in the way the earth told me how long it had been since the last grave had been dug in a particular plot or how sick the lead-lined casket in a given grave made it feel.

  As a Ferin, I feared little, but turning into a tree-hugger gave me pause. I smirked and lowered myself to the welcoming ground, settling against one of the older tombs as I began to open up. This time, I was prepared for the shift in perspective, the sudden heaviness coursing through my senses. I could feel everything for miles around, all the way to the river and the ocean. The land teemed with life here, even where it had been cut into and paved over. Grass tickled my skin as it shot up, surging forward in response to my mere presence.

  I extended my will, and a wall of earth grew around me.

  I laughed, pulling my thoughts back in. I’d just built an eight-foot wall around myself, and it didn’t even feel difficult. Hopefully, I would find another teacher, someone to help me get better control over this whole earth power thing. In the meantime, I was having fun with it. I might have launched myself into a very weird world indeed, but I was finally starting to enjoy it.

  2

  I headed back to the hotel and got a little rest, but none of us except Daisy slept well that night. That dog could probably sleep through anything. We were all committed to the mission, but being so close to the vampires’ mecca gave us a certain amount of hesitation. Fortunately, it was momentary. My gears were in motion; my path was set. When it was just the four of us against an entire race of monsters almost as old as time itself, supported by a demon, cold feet were natural. Unless you were a Ferin with multiple abilities. I took solace in that truth and let it settle in my bones. No hesitation. No despair. Just work—grim work, but a job to be done, and we would do it.

  True courage was getting up, doing what you had to do, and not letting fear stop you.

  Still, I knew so much more now than I ever had before. Vampires were everywhere, and if their haven or whatever was in Brazil, it only stood to reason there would be more of them here in Santarém than in Maine or Idaho or even Belize. I wouldn’t always be able to detect them, either. I had my ways, but the vamps were predators, and that meant they were driven by their hunger. Easing up on them was no option.

  The next morning, we got up and found breakfast in the hotel lobby. It was easier for us to move around by day. Vampires couldn’t go out in daylight; a fact I was thankful for every day. They could stay indoors, of course, provided no sunlight touched their skin. That was nigh impossible, though. Buildings without windows had gone out of fashion in the 1980s. It would be a real challenge to find such a place down here, where the sunlight was more abundant.

  Once we’d had breakfast and coffee—locally grown, much to my delight—we were able to sit down and figure out where to go next.

  “So,” Tess said, by way of beginning. “I say we get a map and head right in toward Patagonia.”

  I glanced around and saw a couple of people giving us odd looks. Maybe they didn’t get a lot of English-speaking tourists in Santarém, which would be a shame. It was a beautiful city, once you got away from the train station. My worry was that the name Patagonia stuck out, and not because the people listening in thought we had a long journey ahead of us. Vampires might not be able to wander around in the hot, tropical sun, but their minions could do whatever they wanted.

  And anyone could be working for the vampires.

  Kamila bit the inside of her cheek and pursed her lips. She’d almost certainly had the same thoughts. She shook her head and grabbed for her coffee. None of us were at our best in the morning, although Kamila kind of took the cake. “I think it’s best if we do a little more scouting, try to get the lay of the land a little bit better. We aren’t on a time table right now.”

  “But why wait?” Tess lowered her voice, apparently picking up on Kamila’s hint. “Why let them get even an ounce more power than they already have? We can strike now, so we should. It’s not like we’re waiting to see if they’re going to turn over a new leaf. They’re vampires—parasites who specifically want to kill us. We
don’t give them second chances, we kill them.”

  I shook my head. “As much as I’m eager to get in there and burn everything to the ground, I have to agree with Kamila here. I’m excited about the map, and I want to use it to strike true.” I turned my cup around in my hands a few times before Zarya finally got sick of watching me. She refilled my coffee, and I shot her a quick grin before continuing.

  “This might be a trap, and that’s fine. It fit with information we already had, which is why we’re here. But it also—I mean, we don’t have any other sources; no smoking gun that will cut through the fangers and their ability to hide the truth. Their intent. Their purpose. I’m fine with walking in there, kicking ass, and taking names. I just want to make sure we have the right tools for the job. If there are a thousand of them in there, I want to go in with a plan for how we take them on. Just going in and winging it might have worked the first time we took on the vamps, but it’s not going to cut it this time.”

  Zarya put the carafe down and put a hand on my shoulder. “Jason is right. We’re on the right path, but we need to make sure we aren’t stepping in a pile of shit once we get there.”

  I snorted, then sipped my coffee. Zarya rarely cursed. Maybe we were rubbing off on her, after all.