Immortal Souls (The Immortal Souls: Magic & Chaos)

Chapter 6

The first time Sam noticed the guy standing behind the railing by the books was about five minutes after Elle left. She was surprised to find him watching her and making no effort to hide it. When her eyes caught his, his expression turned to one of surprise; he ran his hand through his hair as though he was flustered by the fact that he had just been noticed, but he didn't look away.

With the lack of other people being present, Sam came to the conclusion that he must have been the one who had attempted to push into her mind earlier. Sam studied him—trying to do it inconspicuously—as she wondered who he was, and more importantly who he worked for.

He was about six foot tall, give or take. With raven black hair which was an extreme contrast to the pallor of his skin, which practically glowed in his all black outfit. He was youngish, maybe slightly older than her. And she supposed he was moderately attractive.

Sam didn't recognise him at all, which was the first thing to arouse her suspicions.

Abrams Place was a fairly small town. It was large enough for someone to get lost, but small enough for them to be found quite quickly.

It was also small enough for everybody to know everybody else. Usually, when Sam came across people she didn't know, bad things happened.

The second thing that fuelled her suspicion was his wardrobe choice. All black was the colour palette of the Underworld Demons that hunted her.

Could he be one of them, or did he just have an affinity for the colour?

The first two reasons to find this guy suspicious wouldn't mean much to Sam if it wasn't for the fact that he was staring at her and making no effort to hide it. It was almost as though he wanted her to know that he was watching.

<Is he one of them?> Sam thought to Jack, who was also watching the guy cautiously. Obviously, she wasn't the only one who found him suspicious.

"I don't know," Jack whispered, despite the fact that the guy wouldn't be able to hear him. Generally Sam was the only one who could see Jack, unless he felt like making himself visible to everyone. "But he's staring at you like it's nobody's business."

Sam resisted the urge to roll her eyes, or give any indication that she was having a mental conversation with someone. <Can you find out if he is one of them, please?>

"Can't you just break into his mind?"

<I feel wrong when I do that> Sam said.

Jack let a sigh and shook his head. "He started it . . . just do it."

Sam didn't think about the fact that she was intruding into someone's private thoughts; instead she focused on the fact that she was only doing to him what he had done to her earlier.

She reclined in her chair and pretended to be reading her book, while concentrating really hard on hearing his thoughts. In her mind she focused on his energy, then pictured a vault door. She imagined turning all of the locks and opening the door to the vault. And pictured that inside the vault lay his thoughts and secrets.

Jamie.

That was his name.

He wasn't from outside of town; he had lived here for quite a while. Sam got a picture of a house surrounded by trees. She didn't recognise it, but then she'd never spent that much time wandering through the forests. He was at the library because he was looking for information on—

His thoughts stopped there. He had somehow managed to push her out of his head.

Jack looked to Sam expectantly. "Well? Is he one of them?" he asked.

<I don't know> she said mentally. <I think he pushed me out>

Jack gave the guy an uneasy look. "I'll go wander around Limbo for a while and see what my sources have to say about him."

<Thanks>

"You got your dagger?" he asked.

Sam frowned as she looked to her bag which lay on the floor by her feet, safely tucked beneath her desk. <Yes> Sam thought. <Not that I ever need it>

"I know you don't need it Sam," Jack said. "I just want you to have a back-up plan for if the Magic fails."

My Magic never fails, Sam thought to herself as Jack disappeared.

*

Jamie stood at the railing after managing to rid himself of a sudden headache. He stared at Sam, unable to look away, or walk away, or even go talk to her.

He just stared. Overcome with a sense of anxiety and desire rolled into one.

Sam met his gaze and stared him in the eyes. Hers were a perfect shade of indigo-blue, which burned brightly as though there was a fire raging within them. She glared at him, the expression she wore on her face causing her to look far tougher than her soft features should allow.

Stop staring at her you fool! his head yelled at him when he didn't look away. He wanted to look away. He felt like a fool just staring at her openly. After a moment, she turned her head away from him, appearing to be annoyed and slightly confused by his attention. She was probably thinking there was something wrong with him. Who stares at someone so blatantly and makes no effort to turn away when caught staring?

Those would be his thoughts if the situation were reversed.

Jamie closed his eyes for a moment as he gathered all the courage he could, took a deep breath to help keep himself calm, and began walking up to the desk where she sat.

She looked even more beautiful up close. And as he drew nearer he found himself overcome by the same feeling of desire and anxiety, only stronger than before; his fingers twitched nervously by his sides.

As he moved closer he could pick up the scent of her shampoo, mixed with the scent of her deodorant and perfume, and her own delicious fragrance. It was so appealing; everything about her was so appealing.

She looked so soft.

With hair like strands of golden silk, skin as perfectly smooth as the petals on a magnolia blossom and lips with curves his fingers longed to trace.

And above all else, the familiarity of every one of her features. He felt that if he were to close his eyes, he would still be able to trace her every outline.

It took all the restraint Jamie had not to reach out his hand to her. He may not have had the self control to keep his eyes off, but he had enough brains to keep his hands to himself. He didn't want to scare her or have her call the police on him, which was how it would have ended if he had allowed his hand to reach out as it ached to.

Jamie shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jacket, just in case.

And then he was at the desk, less than half a foot away from her. "Excuse me," he said, trying to keep his voice controlled. Sam put her book down and looked into his eyes. A sudden smile formed on her lips, as if with that one glance into his eyes she could see every one of his secrets.