Immortal Souls (The Immortal Souls: Magic & Chaos)

Chapter 7

Sam smiled as Jamie stood on the other side of the desk eyeing her, anxiously waiting for her to speak. Vampire, she thought. It was so obvious now that she could see him up close. His aura was what gave him away. It was a mesh of many different energies, from many different blood donors.

"Need some help?" Sam asked, while wondering what a Vampire would be doing at the library. But then, if he could read why wouldn't he go to the library?

Briefly she wondered if he'd been sent by Aleczander to check on her, but then she thought that if he had, he wouldn't have been watching her as he had been. He simply would have walked up to her and stated his purpose.

Jamie flashed a shaky smile, exposing more teeth than he should have. Although Sam knew his canines weren't at their full extent, they were still obviously longer than any human's should be. "Yes, actually. There is something I need help with," he said, a slight nervous hint to his voice.

Sam wondered what he was so nervous about. Was he planning to try to feed off her or something? Not likely, she thought. His Vampire strength would be no match for the kind of Magic she possessed. One move in the wrong direction and he was gone.

Sam was nobody's victim.

She watched him unwaveringly, waiting for him to finish speaking.

He just stood there.

Staring.

"Uh, am I supposed to guess the rest of that sentence or are you going to tell me what it is you need help with?"

He smiled. "Sorry," he mumbled and ran his hand through his hair again. "I've been through all of the shelves and I can't find any of the books I'm looking for."

Sam noticed that he spoke with an accent. English, slightly diluted, which would mean he had to be over a century old at least. "Okay, well what books are you looking for?" she asked, knowing that she could find any book quite easily.

Jamie took a moment to think about it, then sighed. "I'm not really sure."

She felt her eyebrows pinch together as she looked at him in confusion. Was he serious, or was this a joke? "I'm no detective," Sam said slowly. "But if you're not sure what you're looking for, that's probably why you can't find it." He laughed a little. "What's the subject?" she asked, trying to narrow down the search.

"The subject of what?"

Sam rolled her eyes. Why is everyone so stupid today? "Of the books you're looking for," she said, her voice tinged with the irritation she felt. "What subject are they on? What are they about?"

Jamie placed his hands on the desk and lightly tapped his fingers on the edge. He stared at his hands as if they would hold the answer to her question. "I'm not sure if I should tell you or not, you might think I'm weird."

Sam looked Jamie over sceptically, now thinking that his shiftiness had been for other reasons. "If you're looking for porn, you're in the wrong place."

Jamie's head shot up and he looked at her, his eyes wide with shock, his hands went still. "What?" He spoke slowly, as if taking a moment for his mind to process what she'd just said to him. "No," he said and shook his head. "No, I'm not looking for . . . porn." Jamie appeared a little embarrassed, his lips twitched as though he were trying not to laugh. "Why would you even think that?"

"You're acting suspiciously," Sam stated frankly.

"I am?" he asked, his expression surprised, as though he hadn't realised how shifty his behaviour had been.

"Yes."

"Oh." Jamie rested his arms on the desk and leaned forward a bit, bending slightly so that he was closer to her eye level. The more Sam spoke to him, the braver he seemed to be getting.

One wrong move, Sam thought.

"I don't mean to be suspicious," he said and smiled slowly, appearing more amused than he should have been. "I'm sorry if I've frightened you."

Sam knew exactly what he was trying to do with the way he was watching her and the tone he was using to speak. He was trying to be charming and mixing that with some slight Vampire influencing tricks. Not that she could be affected by the psychic Powers of a Vampire. The fact that he was trying was amusing though, and she wondered if he knew what or who she was, or if he believed her to be an easily malleable human.

She couldn't help smiling; this conversation was the most entertainment she'd had in a while. "I've seen plenty of suspicious people," Sam stated. "I'm not frightened of you and stop looking at me like that."

"Like what?" Jamie asked, his tone sounding deceptively innocent, but Sam could tell by the artful smile on his lips that he knew exactly what she was talking about.

Sam stood, placed both of her hands on the desk and leaned slightly forward, looking straight into his ice-blue eyes, their faces barely three inches apart. She looked at him the same way he had been looking at her. "Like this," she said slowly.

Jamie licked his lips and breathed in. Sam knew that Vampires didn't necessarily need to breathe, the only reason he would be inhaling would be to pick up her scent.

One wrong move.

"So," Sam said, staying in his personal space, not that he seemed to object to her closeness. "You can either tell me what books you're looking for, or you can leave." She sat back in her seat and folded her arms across her chest.

Jamie let his eyes wander down to just above where she had her arms folded. Unbelievable, Sam thought, what the fuck is wrong with this guy? He looked back at her face and smiled. "This is a public library," he stated. "You can't make me leave."

Sam smiled to herself. "You'd be surprised at what I can do."