Mini-Handbook -- The Immortal Guardians

Logline

When Professor Sarah Bingham rescues a wounded stranger, she unexpectedly finds herself thrust into a war that erupts between vampires and immortals, then loses her heart to the dark, enigmatic warrior who seeks to protect her.

Terms of Interest

Gifted Ones:  Men and women born with unusual talents and abilities (healing, telepathy, shape shifting, telekinesis, teleportation, etc.) as a result of far more complex DNA than that of ordinary humans.

Immortals (Immortal Guardians):  Gifted ones who have been infected with a rare symbiotic virus that first conquers, then replaces their immune system, lending them incredible strength, speed and longevity.  Unfortunately, it also leaves them vulnerable to sunlight and in need of regular infusions of blood. 

Vampires:  Ordinary human men and women who have been infected with the same rare symbiotic virus that infects immortals.  Because they lack the advanced DNA of gifted ones (which mutates the virus into something less corrosive), they suffer brain damage from the virus’s continuous assault and rapidly descend into madness.

The Network:  A network of humans amassed over the centuries to aid the Immortal Guardians.  The employees range from Seconds (personal assistants and guards of individual immortals) to cleaners (those who “clean up” the messes immortals sometimes leave behind when hunting vampires) to doctors and scientists who are searching for a cure for the virus or at least some way to prevent the brain damage that occurs in vampires.

Cast of Characters

Sarah Bingham:  A music theory professor at UNC Chapel Hill.  The spring semester has ended and her only desire is rest and relaxation . . . until she finds Roland staked to the ground, being tortured by two others, in the meadow behind her home and uses her trusty shovel to liberate him, becoming the target of a vicious vampire army.

Roland Warbrook:  A nine-hundred-and-thirty-six-year-old immortal born with the ability to heal with his hands.  Betrayed one too many times in the past by those he loved the most, he now distances himself from relationships of any kind and trusts no one . . . until Sarah charges into his life.

Bastien (Sebastien Newcombe):  Roland’s new nemesis.  He has done what was previously considered impossible -- raised a vampire army large enough to pose a serious threat to the Immortal Guardians -- and intends to eradicate them one victim at a time while pursuing a personal vendetta against Roland. 

Marcus Grayden:  An immortal who disregards Roland’s reclusive disposition and calls him friend.  He recently lost the woman he has loved for eight centuries and, consumed with grief, is skating the edge as he aids Roland in battling Sebastien and his vicious army.

Seth:  The eldest and most powerful Immortal Guardian.  He possesses all of the paranormal abilities the others boast combined and then some.  As their self-proclaimed leader, he considers it his responsibility to seek out all newly transformed immortals, ease their transition into their new life, train them, guide them, give them a new purpose and, if necessary, punish them should they stray from the boundaries he sets for them. 

David:  The second eldest and most powerful Immortal Guardian.  Like Seth, he considers all immortals and their Seconds family and opens his homes to them, aiding them in any way he can and putting their safety and happiness above his own.

Amiriska (Ami):  A mysterious woman of unknown origins Seth and David rescue from a facility heavily guarded by either the military or mercenaries. 

Favorite Quotes

“Beautiful, brave and possessed of violent tendencies.  I like her.” 

~ Marcus ~

“I’m not antisocial.  I just want to be left alone.” 

~ Roland ~

“I may be small, but I can put away a lot of food.” 

~ Sarah ~

“What -- are you high?  You just told me my hair is beautiful.” 

~ Seth ~

“Speaking of bloodbaths, what happened at the meeting?” 

~ David ~

“You stabbed me in the ass?” 

~ Bastien ~

Blurb

Once, Sarah Bingham’s biggest challenge was making her students pay attention in class. Now, after rescuing a wounded stranger, she’s landed in the middle of a battle between corrupt vampires and powerful immortals who also need blood to survive. Roland Warbrook is the most compelling man Sarah has ever laid hands on. But his desire for her is mingled with a hunger he can barely control . . .

In his nine centuries of immortal existence, no woman has tempted Roland as much as Sarah. But asking her to love him is impossible -- when it mean forfeiting the world she’s always known, and the life he would do anything to protect.