Immortal Souls: The Immortal Souls, Magic & Chaos (Book 1)

by Karen M. Dillon

Jade sighed impatiently. “Then what are you going as? And don’t say ‘Human’ because Sam already tried that one and it didn’t fly.”  

  “Do I have to dress up?” he asked, his voice coming out more whiney than he’d intended.  

  “YES!” she replied aggressively. “It’s a costume party. That means you have to dress up. What is with the two of you? First Sam didn’t want to dress up, and now you! Do neither of you enjoy having fun?”  

  Jamie tried not to laugh. “I enjoy having fun,” he said. “I just don’t enjoy looking ridiculous while doing it.”  

  Jade raised an eyebrow. “Ridiculous?” She placed her hands on her hips. “Are you saying I look ridiculous?”  

  He shook his head quickly. “No, I—”  

  “Are you saying Sam looks ridiculous?” Jade interrupted.  

  “Sam feels ridiculous,” Sam interjected.  

  “Shhhhhhhh!” Jade ordered.  

  Jamie took a breath. “That’s not what I’m saying,” he stated calmly. “You look great,” he said to Jade, then looked at Sam. “And Sam looks . . . um . . . she looks . . . ” He glanced at Jade questioningly when he heard her repress a laugh.  

  Jade turned to Sam and sang, “I think someone likes you.”  

  Jamie looked at Sam to see what her reaction was. She was watching the door like it was the most interesting thing she had ever seen. The light rose-coloured flush of her cheeks was the only visible response to that statement. “Danny might have some Halloween stuff in his closet,” she mumbled as she walked out of the room.  

  “Who’s Danny?” Jamie asked curiously.  

  Jade looked at him as if he should know the answer to that. “Sam’s brother,” she said. “Duh.”  

  Jamie had forgotten that Sam had a brother. Which wasn’t surprising considering that she never said a word about him. “He’s in the army, right?” Jade nodded. “How come Sam never talks about him?”  

  “Because Sam doesn’t like to,” Sam said as she walked into her room carrying some clothes hangers with costumes on them.  

  “Oh, I’m sor—”  

  “Just drop it.” She placed the costumes out on her bed for Jamie to sift through. “You can wear one of those. Change in the bathroom, and then we can all get this over with.”

  CHAPTER 47

  Jade knocked on the door. “Smile,” she hissed at Sam.  

  Sam grinned widely, showing all of her teeth. “How’s this?” she asked through them. Jade elbowed her in the ribs. Sam laughed.  

  Jamie sighed beside her and looked down at the torn and fake blood stained clothes he wore . . . after spending forever searching through some of Danny’s costume choices he’d decided to dress as a zombie. “I feel ridiculous.”  

  “Stop complaining!” Jade ordered, just as the door swung open, allowing the music that was blaring inside to spill out into the streets.  

  “Hi guys.” Madison, dressed as Little Red Riding Hood, smiled and stepped aside to let them pass. “Come on in.” Jade walked in first, followed by Jamie. Sam hesitated before stepping inside.  

  The air within the house felt cold and heavy. Like a dark mist was infecting the building.  

  Something was wrong.  

  “I’m glad you could make it.” Madison placed her arm around Sam to lead her inside.  

  She shied away from her touch. “Me too,” she lied, forcing a smile to make it convincing.  

  Jade gave her a questioning look. Sam’s hands started shaking. Something is very wrong here, she thought and tried her best to project that thought to Jade with her eyes.  

  Jade smiled and shook her head. “You’re fine,” she said dismissively. “Go get a drink and calm down.”  

  Sam looked at Jamie, who was watching her intently. His senses are more fine-tuned than Jade’s, maybe he feels it too.  

  Sam projected to him. Jamie nodded, his eyes never breaking contact with hers.   

  Jamie’s eyes widened as he looked around the room. His hands clenched into fists at his sides. he asked.  

  Sam replied as she smiled at Madison and pretended to be listening to whatever she was babbling on about.   

  Sam steadied her shaking hands. She knew there was a threat, there was no need for her hands to still be shaking. She had dealt with threats before. She always survived. It’s everyone else who dies.  

  Sam looked around the open space. There were people everywhere. Standing around in groups or sitting on the couches that Madison had moved to the room on one side of the staircase to clear out space for dancing on the other. Would they really attack with this many people around?  

  She concentrated on the people in the rooms that she could see, attempting to separate their auras so she was no longer surrounded by one massive pulse of human energy. If she could separate them, then maybe she could single out the source of her discomfort. 

  Sam took a breath to calm herself. “I think I need a drink.”  

  “I’ll get you one,” Jamie volunteered. “Anything specific?”  

  She shook her head. “I don’t mind. Surprise me.”  

  He gestured to the others. “Anyone else want a drink?”  

  Madison held her cup up for Jamie to see, indicating that she already had one. “I’ll go with you,” Jade said with a smile. “I know where she hides the good stuff.”  

  Madison laughed. “Stay away from my parents’ liquor. They know what’s there and I am not getting in trouble because of you.”  

  Jade laughed before walking away with Jamie, who glanced over his shoulder at Sam.   

  she assured him, even though she didn’t feel so sure. He looked away and continued making his way towards the kitchen.  

  “Come meet my date!” Madison grabbed onto Sam’s arm and pulled her through the crowd of people to the corner of the room, where a tall man with broad shoulders and dark hair stood on his own, looking at the people around him as if their presence made him uneasy. Madison latched onto his arm, he looked down at her and smiled in amusement. “This is my friend Sam,” Madison said and directed to her. The man turned his head to study her.  

  She froze when she saw his face but tried to keep a mask of indifference covering her expression. Where have I seen him before? she thought as she frantically searched through her memories to try place his face. “Sam, this is Malachi. He thinks it’s funny to come to a costume party in normal clothes and claim he’s dressed as a human.”  

  “Hello Sam.” He looked her directly in the eyes, his expression making it appear as though he was placing a dare before her.  

  Sam simply looked at him for a moment. “Have we met before?” she asked.  

  He smiled widely. So the answer is yes then. “I don’t know . . . have we?”  

  Sam took a step away from him as her brain went back to her childhood. More specifically, when she was twelve. “I know you,” she snarled. “You tried to kill me!”  

  Malachi’s brows pinched together, he looked genuinely confused. “Sam!” Madison looked shocked. Sam took another step away, not wanting to get too close to him in case he tried anything.  

  She concentrated on his energy. It wasn’t human. He wasn’t human, he was a Warlock. And from the amount of Power that rolled off him, she could tell that he was quite a powerful one. But . . . no matter how hard she pressed at his energy, or how hard she tried to make it fit, he wasn’t the source of her discomfort. He wasn’t the entity that tainted the house. 

  But it had to be him, who else could it be? 

  Malachi slipped his arm out of Madison’s grasp. “Perhaps it would be best for me to leave.”  

  “No, don’t go.” Madison shot Sam an angry glare. “Sam apologise!”  

  “No,” Sam said simply, without taking her eyes away from Malachi. “I also think it would be best for him to leave.”  

  Malachi smiled. “Thanks for the invite,” he s
aid to Madison. “Be seeing you.” Sam watched as he pushed his way through the crowd towards the front door. He stood in the doorway for a moment, and glanced at Sam before stepping outside.

  He left the door open.  

  Leaving her a clear invitation to join him.  

  “What’s your deal!”  

  Sam ignored Madison, instead she pushed her way through the crowd of partygoers, moving towards the front door. She sent the message to Jamie so that he and Jade wouldn’t come looking for her.   

  “Oh, Sam!” She stopped moving for just a moment to see Scott coming up behind her.  

  “Sorry Scott.” She started walking backwards to the door, in her peripheral vision seeing Elliot at the top of the staircase, sitting on the landing with a drink in his hand, smiling at the people below as if he were watching a mildly entertaining show. “I really have to go,” she said to Scott, turning away from him and everyone inside.  

  “No, but . . . wait!”  

  Sam blocked him out as she walked outside, slamming the door behind her. She hurried down the driveway to the street. Malachi was a few feet away from her, his hands in his jean pockets.  

  “Why can’t any of you just leave me alone!” Sam threw a blast of energy at Malachi that flung him several feet before he crashed heavily to the ground.  

  She stayed where she was and watched as he slowly pushed himself to his feet, laughing as if she hadn’t just attacked him.  

  “Come on Sam,” he said, wiping blood from his lip. “I know you can hit harder than that. And so can I, but if I had come here to hurt you don’t you think I would have already?”  

  Sam shook her head. “I know you’re one of them.”  

  “You know me then?” Sam nodded. He smiled and shook his head. “I don’t think you do.”  

  “Yes I do!” Sam screamed as she clenched her unsteady hands into fists.

  Why won’t they stop shaking?  

  “Would you like to know a secret?” he asked, taking a few steps towards her and leaned in to fill the rest of the space between them. Sam didn’t flinch, instead she stood her ground. One wrong move, she thought, one wrong move and he’s dead. “If it wasn’t for me,” he whispered, “you’d be dead by now.”  

  Liar! her head screamed.  

  Sam hit him with all the energy she could manage, which only threw him about ten feet away from her. Her hands started shaking harder.

  I should have been able to kill him.  

  Malachi stood up and looked at her curiously. “You’re getting weaker?” Sam opened her mouth to deny it, but Malachi shook his head. “I don’t want to fight you, especially not like this . . . but others will.” He turned his back to her and walked away.  

  Sam stood there helplessly, not knowing what else she could do.

  My Magic never fails.  

  The streets filled with loud music. Sam turned her attention to the door to Madison’s house, where she saw Jamie rushing towards her with Jade following close behind. “What happened?” Jade asked. “Jamie got a distress call.”  

  Sam looked at Jamie, who was staring at her in bewilderment. “I never sent you any call.”  

  “You did,” Jamie insisted, as he looked around the street, his eyes frantic as they strained to find a threat. “I felt it. You sent out a distress call.”  

  Sam looked around her, but Malachi was nowhere to be seen; the use of a portal would be the only way he could have disappeared so quickly, but she hadn’t sensed one opening, which only added to her distress.

  “Sam,” Jade said, as she placed her hand above her lip. “Your nose.”  

  Sam wiped under her nose with the back of her hand, then stared at the blood which now stained her skin. “Remember on your birthday when Jack gave you a spell to say?” Sam nodded as she looked at Jade without actually seeing her. She couldn’t make her eyes stay focused. “You didn’t say it, did you?”  

  Sam shook her head. “I can’t stop shaking.” She looked at her hands . . . then at Jade . . . before her eyes finally met with Jamie’s. “What’s wrong with me?”

  CHAPTER 48

  They left the party pretty quickly after arriving. After her encounter with Malachi, Sam didn’t feel in much of a party mood.

  Her Magic had been getting steadily weaker over the past few weeks, that was something she wasn’t in denial about.

  She knew that it was happening.

  She knew how to stop it.

  And yet, in spite of that knowledge she did nothing.

  Jamie walked them to Sam’s house and offered to stay. But Sam sent him home. He was the last person she wanted to be around right now, because she knew what he’d say to her when he discovered what the problem was. So she managed to convince him that she was tired and just needed to rest.

  In the end, he only left when Jade assured him that she’d stay with Sam and ensure that she was well taken care of.

  The only issue then, was that Jade refused to leave.

  Sam threw herself down on her bed, face first, and groaned silently into her pillows.

  Jade stepped into the room and shut the door behind her, taking a seat on Sam’s bed.

  “What the fuck is wrong with me?” Sam asked, her voice muffled by the pillows.

  Jade let a sigh. “Where do you want me to start?”

  Sam turned herself around so that she could see Jade’s face. Jade just watched her, one perfectly shaped eyebrow raised, her lips forming a half smile as she watched Sam, all knowing and disapproving.

  With a sigh Sam pushed herself upright.

  “Okay,” Jade said, moving further onto the bed so that she could get herself in a more comfortable position. “Let’s play what the fuck is wrong with Sam . . .

  “I think a good place to start is that your life is pretty shitty, what with all those crazy people wanting you dead.”

  Sam nodded her head. “Always a good place to start.”

  “So those crazy people do bad things to you and the people around you, and instead of blaming them you blame yourself. And because you blame yourself, you think that you need to be punished. So you punish yourself, by making your own life more difficult than it has to be. You have the Power to fight, so do it. Simple as.”

  Somewhere inside her Sam knew that Jade’s words made sense. But there were other voices within her mind that spoke louder than Jade’s reason. Sam rubbed her eyes, smudging her make-up all over her face. “I just want it to be over.”

  “Sam, listen, I’m your friend and I care about you. But if you don’t cut the crap I will hit you.”

  Sam rolled her eyes.

  “Seriously,” Jade placed her hand on Sam’s, “everyone goes through dark times. Ending yourself is never the best way to make the bad things end. You have to fight through all of the crap, because the only way to win against the inside monsters is to get through to the other side. Don’t let them win, you’re better than that.”

  There was a long moment after Jade had stopped speaking in which there was nothing but silence. Sam just thought back to when Jack had given her an immortality spell and told her that if she didn’t say it before the end of the year that she’d lose her Powers.

  That was all he’d said to her, because he didn’t need to tell Sam what would happen to her if she lost her Powers completely. As Sam was born with Magic, her body wasn’t one that could survive being human.

  Jade let a sigh. “I’m not going to tell you to say the spell, but I do think you’re being stupid by refusing to . . . I mean, if you die, I’ll have to make new friends. And Jamie, he’ll have to find a whole new girl to stalk . . . ”

  Sam laughed a little. Jade smiled. “I think I might be the only other girl he knows in town. So I need you to stay alive, because if you die, I think I might be next. Just saying . . . he did say I look great.”

  Jade kicked off her sandals and lay down on one of Sam’s pillows. “I hope you’re being
nice to him, because I think he likes you.”

  Sam rolled her eyes and lay down next to Jade. “Well obviously he likes me, I’m not stupid.”

  “So have you kissed him yet?”

  Sam stared in Jade’s direction and laughed as though that was the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard. “I said I knew he liked me, who said I liked him?”

  Jade smiled widely, and rolled her eyes. “Oh, please . . . he’s like the only person—apart from me and Jack—who you’ve willingly hung out with in the past, like, two years . . . why would you hang out with him if you didn’t like him?”

  Sam scoffed a little. “I hang out with him because he’s ridiculous and I think that if he’s left alone he’ll probably die. So I’m doing a good deed by keeping him alive.”

  Jade laughed so hard she almost fell off the bed. “Yeah right, like I’m falling for that one. You totally like him, and I’ll be right here to say I told you so when you’re finally ready to admit that.”

  “Whatever, shut up and go to sleep.”

  CHAPTER 49

  Jamie leaned forward, his eyes still on Sam. She let an irritated sigh; he had been watching her like that for at least four hours.

  “So, how come I have no heartbeat then?”  

  “Of course you have a heartbeat you idiot. If you didn’t your body wouldn’t have the ability to pump all that blood you drink,” she stated. Jamie raised a sceptical eyebrow, then placed two fingers from his right hand onto his left wrist. Sam rolled her eyes. “You won’t be able to check your pulse the way a human would. A Vampire’s heart, on average, only beats once every two minutes, making it virtually undetectable. You could probably hear it if you listened through a stethoscope or something, but you’d have to have the patience to sit there and wait for it to beat.”  

  “Hmmm . . . ” Jamie moved his wrist to his ear. “If I stayed like this for five minutes would I hear it?”  

  She shrugged. “Maybe.”  

  Jamie smiled and let his arm fall to his side. “I’ll check it later.”  

  “Any more questions?” Sam asked with a sideways glance towards the window. Outside the sky was completely black. There were no streetlamps anywhere near Jamie’s house, which meant that it was so dark outside, she couldn’t even see how dark it was. When she looked out the window all she could see was a void, a black space of nothing. Meaning it was very late and she should probably go home soon.