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

by Karen M. Dillon

  “Yeah.”  

  She turned her attention back to Jamie. He was staring at his knee. First time he’s looked at something else since I got here. Sam smiled internally.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, fixing his gaze on her. “I mean, you were in a really bad way the other night and I didn’t hear from you at all yesterday and . . . I was really worried. So, are you okay?”  

  Sam sighed and closed her eyes. She wasn’t in the mood for giving explanations. Especially to him, since all she had to do was say a spell to make it better. Jamie would think it was a simple solution, but it was more complicated than he would be able to comprehend.

  She opened her eyes and smiled as convincingly as she knew how. “I spent yesterday in bed sleeping, I’m fine now though.”  

  He studied her carefully. She flashed another smile, hoping it would keep him from noticing that she was wearing a glamour to make her look healthy. He sighed in defeat and closed his eyes. “Okay,” he said, nodding his head. “But, you know you can tell me if there’s something wrong?”  

  A bubble of guilt rose up through her stomach. Why did he have to say that? She suppressed the feeling and rolled her eyes. “I’m fine. It was just a bug or something.”  

  “A bug?” Jamie asked in disbelief.  

  “Yeah, I was sick, I slept it off, and now I’m fine.”  

  “I didn’t realise you could get sick.”  

  “Of course I can, so can you for that matter.” Jamie looked at her curiously, Sam continued, “We may not be human, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t be afflicted by illnesses. Most of them are the types that can’t be caught by humans, so they’re illnesses specific to . . . um . . . ” Sam searched for the right word, “ . . . supernatural beings. Most of those illnesses aren’t majorly serious or fatal. Some are, but most aren’t. And because of our supernatural resilience, we can get over sickness quicker than humans can. But we can still get sick.”  

  Jamie thought for a moment. “ . . . I don’t think I’ve ever been sick . . . at least not as a Vampire. Perhaps as a child, though it’s so long ago I can’t remember.”  

  “Lucky you,” Sam said with a smile. “Being sick is not all that fun.”  

  Jamie placed his hand on hers. Sam froze and she stared at it nervously. Her heart skipped a beat. Shit, he probably heard that. Sam glanced at his face, expecting him to be wearing a stupid grin, but he didn’t seem to have noticed. Good, she thought as she looked back at his hand on hers.

  He had never held her hand before.  

  “You’re alright now, aren’t you?” he asked  

  She looked at him in confusion, he seemed genuinely concerned for her wellbeing. Why should he care? she thought as she nodded her head slowly. “Yeah, I’m alright now.”  

  “Good,” he said with a smile.  

  Sam looked towards the window again, then checked her watch. Twenty-five to ten. She could see Jamie in the corner of her eye, he was staring at her . . . again. “Anything else?”  

  He looked at his hand, which was still holding onto hers and chewed his lower lip. Taking his time to think of an answer.  

  Jamie stayed like that for what felt like forever, occasionally looking at Sam as if he were about to say something, then looking away after deciding against it.  

  Sam slid her hand out from under his. “I should probably go home now,” she said, not wanting to sit around in silence for the whole night. She stood up and stretched her legs, which were numb from sitting cross-legged for so long.  

  “Oh,” Jamie said, seeming disappointed. “Are you sure?” He stood up and looked at her hopefully. “You could stay for a while longer . . . we could watch a film or something?”  

  Sam stared at Jamie, who was eyeing her with anticipation. “Why?” she asked.  

  He paused for a moment, confused by her question. “I don’t know,” he said, running his hand through his hair, messing it up completely. “I just like having you around.”  

  Sam thought about giving him the ‘You’d be better off if you kept me away from you’ speech, but decided not to. He didn’t listen to her warnings when he should have and now that there was a hit out on him it was probably better if he did stay near her. Safety in numbers.  

  “Maybe some other time.”  

  She picked her coat up off the back of the couch, and folded it over her arm. She wasn’t sure why she had even bothered to bring it. She’d used a portal to get here and was planning to get home the same way. It would be pointless to wear it since she’d only be outside for a minute, two at most. All it was doing was making it so that she had to stay in the awkwardness of having Jamie look at her in silence for longer than she’d like to.  

  Note to self: when travelling by portal leave the coat at home. “Bye,” she said after a moment, turning and moving towards the door.  

  Barely four steps later; “Sam!” Jamie called her as if he had forgotten something that was urgent.  

  Before Sam had a chance to speak, or even fully turn around to face him, Jamie had moved towards her faster than she could see, only stopping when he had her back against the front door and his lips pressed to hers.  

  She could feel Jamie’s surprise, which mimicked her own, as without thinking about it she started to kiss him back.  

  Automatic reaction, she heard the logical part of her brain whisper, when somebody kisses you, you have a split second to decide whether or not to go with it or push away. You didn’t have enough time to think about it, so you just went with it.  

  It’s okay, the whisper said, you’ve had the time to think about it, you can push him off you now.  

  Sam felt her hand clench into a fist, ready to punch him in the chest to make him stop. But then he placed a hand on her head, running his fingers through her hair and wrapped his other arm around her waist, pulling her closer and— 

  —she froze.  

  Suddenly unwilling to push him away.  

  Her head was teeming with activity, as she started arguing with herself in her head.  

  Stop it.  

  Images flashed in her memories.  

  Demons.  

  Warlocks.  

  He’s not safe.  

  Shifters.  

  Hunters.  

  He saved you.  

  Always following her. Coming after her. Trying to kill her. Hurting her. Hurting those she cared about.  

  He won’t hurt you.  

  Jade  

  Push him away.  

  Madison.  

  Elle.  

  Scott.  

  He’s not like them.  

  She had tried so hard to push each one away because they’re fragile.  

  He’ll die like everyone else.  

  Because they’re weak.  

  Stop it.  

  Because they’re human.  

   . . . he’s not.  

  Sam felt her hand relax as her mind came to that realisation.  

  He’s not human.  

  He’s stronger. He’s faster. He doesn’t act like them. He doesn’t think like them. If Sam were to let Scott kiss her like this he’d think it meant that she loved him. He wouldn’t understand that she just needed to have someone to feel close to.  

  Just for a moment.  

  But Jamie, he wasn’t human. He wouldn’t think like that.  

  Think about this, warned the logical whisper in the back of her head as she slid her hand down Jamie’s side to the end of his shirt and started moving it upwards.  

  “Sam,” Jamie breathed, his tone infuriatingly similar to the whisper’s, his voice wavering slightly.  

  “Don’t!” she hissed and pulled him to her. She didn’t want to think about this anymore; with the possibility of attacks every minute of her life, she had to think about everything she did, ten times over, then another twenty just in case, alwa
ys wondering what would happen after.  

  Right now, with Jamie, she felt . . . wonderful.  

  She felt safe.  

  For once in her life Sam didn’t want to think about it, she just wanted to act. She was sick of worrying about what might happen tomorrow.  

  “Just shut up,” she ordered and kissed him again. She knew that right now he wanted her, and she had already decided to give him what he wanted.  

  I’m not thinking about it, she commanded herself, I just want something physical, exciting, amazing.  

  Don’t do it, said a tiny voice in one half of her brain. While the other half whispered . . .

   . . . fuck it.  

  CHAPTER 50

  Jamie couldn’t believe he had kissed her so fast, and so sudden. But he had, and it had resulted in her accepting his touch. She wanted him, just like he wanted her.  

  He pulled her closer, strands of blonde hair falling in front of her face. He wiped them away and kissed her again. This time longer than before. He kissed her until she was left breathless. Her heart pounding so hard that he could feel its beat in his own chest.  

  He touched his hand to her cheek. Her skin feeling as soft as flower petals, and getting warmer as her body temperature rose. Her indigo eyes met his and she smiled, giving him that look. The one that made him feel like she could see into his soul.  

  Jamie returned her smile and picked her up, wrapped her legs around his waist and ran, carrying her upstairs, both of them laughing as they went. He opened the door to his bedroom and dropped Sam on the bed, she laughed as she landed on the mattress, he smiled and climbed onto the bed in front of her. Pulling her towards him and kissing her, making it deep and meaningful, trying his best to ensure she knew how he felt.  

  Then, with none of the hesitation he had felt before he first kissed her, he grabbed the end of her t-shirt and pulled it over her head. He got to his knees to take his shirt off and she unfastened his belt, ripping it off aggressively.  

  Jamie unbuttoned her jeans and they fell back to the mattress, tumbling over and laughing.

  He spun her onto his lap and unhooked her bra, throwing it to the floor. 

  Pressing their bare chests together, he kissed her again, entangling his hands in her hair. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him as close as she could.  

  Almost as if she was scared he might try to let her go.  

  But he never would.  

  He loved her.  

  And it was clear in this moment that she loved him too.  

  CHAPTER 51

  Jamie watched Sam as she lay on her side, with her back facing him. A smile grew on his lips as he watched her body move slightly with each breath she took.  

  He felt complete.  

  It wasn’t until he had Sam lying next to him that he even realised anything had been missing.  

  My whole life, he thought, she’s what I’ve been waiting my whole life for.  

  He just hadn’t realised it until now.  

  Not even Bethany, whom he had loved and held so dearly ever made him feel as whole as Sam did right now.   

  Jamie wrapped his arm around her and lay closer to her. She jerked at his touch and then went very still. He loosened his grip, thinking he may have held her too tightly. He pushed himself up, leaning on his other arm so that he could see her face.  

  She said nothing. She just lay there silently and in complete stillness with her hair hiding her face from his view.  

  Jamie smiled at her even though she couldn’t see.  

  He leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her shoulder where her skin was exposed. “I love you Sam,” he whispered, not thinking she would hear.  

  She jerked again. This time when he spoke. She curled herself up tighter, moving further away. Jamie sat up, now realising that she wasn’t asleep. He brushed her hair away so that he could see her face. She moved, trying to bury her face in the pillow. He slid his hand under her head to try turn her towards him. His hand became wet when it touched her skin.  

  Jamie took his hand away and looked at the wet on his fingers. He knew before he looked at Sam’s face that she was crying. “What’s wrong?” he asked.  

  Sam didn’t answer.  

  “Did I do something wrong?”  

  Sam breathed heavily, obviously trying to stop her tears. Jamie placed his hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. She pulled away quickly, causing his hand to fall to the sheets. Sam got out of the bed and frantically started searching for her clothes.  

  “Sam.” Jamie sat up to watch her. She didn’t answer; she kept her back to him as she pulled her clothes on. “Sam.” Jamie reached his hand out to her.  

  She pulled away before his hand had even made contact. “What did I do?” he asked as he sat on the bed, feeling helpless, not knowing what to do, or what was wrong. “What did I do?” he asked again. A lump formed in his throat, making it feel tighter as he started to panic.  

  Sam ignored him. She picked up her shoes and started to put them on. Jamie jumped out of the bed and stood in front of her, blocking her before she had a chance to get away. He grabbed onto her arms and tried to make her look at him.  

  “What did I do?” he asked yet again, his desperation for an answer evident in his voice.  

  Sam pushed hard against his chest, he let go of her arms and stumbled back. Without putting her shoes on, she ran out of the room. Jamie hurried to throw his trousers on, and followed her out. “What did I do?” he called.  

  Still, she didn’t answer.  

  “Sam!” She kept her back to him as she opened the door. Jamie thought about following her outside. But all he could do was stand in the doorway, staring out into the night, watching as Sam ran away from him.  

  All the while thinking to himself, What the hell did I do?

  CHAPTER 52

  With his back to the wall and his eyes checking all directions for as much as a moving shadow, Malachi descended the stone staircase as quietly as possible. He could tell from his last encounter with Sam that her Powers were getting weaker. Which was strange because she was getting older, so her Powers should have been getting stronger.  

  There was absolutely no reason that she should be growing weaker and her Powers diminishing.  

  It had always been Malachi’s job to find a way to get Sam’s Powers from her. He was the one who made the plans. He was the one who told people what parts they played in his plans.  

  And in the past few months he had made no plans.

  Because for some inexplicable reason he had been demoted from plan maker . . .

  The only thing Malachi could think of to explain why she would be weakening would be if someone else was making plans and executing them behind his back.

  Even though Sam was his job.

  Ever since a few months ago things had been strange. He’d notice that people would suddenly stop talking when he walked into the room. Kraven had been avoiding him, refusing to answer his questions about why he was no longer in charge of Sam. And refusing to say who he’d placed in charge instead.

  He kept saying that there was no one else. That they were just avoiding Sam for now.

  But clearly that was a lie.

  Because clearly there was something going on with her.

  So clearly someone was doing something and they were doing it behind his back.

  For a while he had managed to convince himself that he was just being paranoid about his thoughts. But his encounter with Sam proved to him that he wasn’t.  

  Someone was making plans that he was supposed to be making. And what was worse was that he wasn’t being told about it.  

  Malachi stepped off the stairs and into the hallway. To avoid making any unnecessary sounds he had taken his shoes off in his room. He needed to get to The Oracle without anyone knowing.  

  Usually if Malachi was bothered by something, or needed
answers, he would talk to Kraven about it.  

  But in this instance he got the feeling that he was the one making the plans behind his back.  

  So that meant that the only way to get answers would be to ask The Oracle, which was kept in a locked room that everyone thought only Kraven had a key to. But as second in command, Malachi had a master key that allowed him access to any and all rooms on the property.  

  Malachi came to the door leading to the room where The Oracle was kept. He knew he would find the answers to all of his questions in there. Pushing aside the guilt he felt about going behind Kraven’s back, he tried not to dwell on the fact that he was also about to touch one of the man’s most treasured possessions.  

  Respect is a two way street, he thought, if he can’t respect me enough to keep me in the loop, then why should I show him a courtesy he’s refused me?  

  For eighteen years Malachi had been in charge of dealing with Sam. It was his job to find a way to get her Powers from her. No one else really cared whether she lived or died.  

  But Malachi did.  

  He’d prefer not to have a young girl’s blood on his hands, so he had been trying to come up with a way to get her Powers without killing her—at times he’d gone completely out of his way to ensure that she stayed living. And there was no way he was going to let someone ruin all of his plans before he even had a chance to execute them.  

  Malachi unlocked the door and stepped inside, closing it carefully behind him.  

  The room was dark.  

  He reached into his pocket and pulled out a short, thin candle. He lit it with a match and used it to illuminate the room slightly. He didn’t dare use Magic in this room. Kraven would have been able to sense the residue when he was next in here.

  Malachi walked forward slowly, shuffling his feet along the floor to avoid tripping over anything.