Immortal Souls (The Immortal Souls: Magic & Chaos)

Book 2 - Chapter 27

Jamie walked through the crowd at a brisk pace, following closely behind Jack who was dragging Sam away from all of the people. They walked along the pathway beside the stone wall that surrounded the library to the back of the building where it was isolated.

"What do you mean you saw it?" Jack asked, releasing Sam's arm from his grasp once he'd stopped walking. "When was this?"

"Um . . . well . . . I didn't really see it, it was more like I dreamed it."

Jack let a sigh. "When?"

"Before I woke up, I had this dream where I was in the library at night, and then I went down to the basement and was attacked by one of those Shadow things I saw before, remember?" she paused and glanced at Jack, who nodded his head. "And then, I don't know, it was weird . . . it was like, me but not me. And there was a ritual, runes written on the walls with blood and these people—"

"What people?" Jack asked. "What did they look like?"

"Four women and two men, I didn't really get a good look at them."

Jack nodded his head, his expression somewhere between concentration and worry.

"We need to get inside," Jamie said. "We should see if everything looks like it did in Sam's dream or if it's different."

Jack nodded his head. "He's right, it may be different."

"What if it's the same?" Sam asked. "Am I psychic now? Because I don't want to be psychic now, not if my visions are going to be like that one."

"Visions are a common thing with Magic users," he said, his eyes wandering over Sam in a silent assessment.

"But those are forced through spells or rituals."

Jack let a frustrated sigh. "I don't know then," he said with a shrug. "Someone could have gifted you with it."

"Gifted me?"

"I've heard stories of powerful psychics being able to gift people with visions. Was there anything in the dream that would indicate it may have come from someone?"

Sam's expression went distant. She chewed her lip as she thought. Jamie watched her expectantly, as did Jack. He noticed her eyes grow wide, before she scowled as in her mind she seemed to remember something of importance. "A bandage."

"What?" Jack asked, his tone confused, his expression puzzled.

"A bandage!" Sam repeated loudly, her voice filled with rage as she spoke. "A ratty looking, blood covered, disgusting old bandage. Covered in red and black blood, wrapped around my hand."

"Um . . . " Jack watched her for a moment. "Does that mean something important?"

At the mention of the bandage, Jamie's mind went immediately to Tír na nÓg, where he had spoken with that girl. The one whose veins were filled with poison that couldn't be cured by Vampire blood.

"Effie," Jamie said, remembering the small girl's name.

Sam seemed to get angry at the mention of her. "I knew there was something off about her," she said, looking at Jamie with an expression of ire. "I told you there was something off with her and you didn't believe me."

"Well Sam, I don't think—"

"Don't try to defend her!" she cut him off.

"Sam," Jack said, the tone of his voice was kind, which appeared to be the tone he used when he was attempting to reason with Sam when she was being difficult. "I don't think someone who gifted you with a vision is your enemy. It's someone who's trying to help you."

"Why?" Sam asked. "Why would someone who doesn't know me try to help me?"

"You'd be surprised," Jack said. "A lot of people out there, who've never met you, do all sorts of things to help you."

Sam snorted in disagreement.

"At least eighty percent of the Hunters refuse to help capture you."

Sam looked at Jack with an expression somewhere between disbelief and shock. "What?"

"The bounty was put on you when you were two days old, they refused to hurt a baby. And once they saw what those bastards were capable of, they refused to hunt you altogether."

"I get shot at by Hunters all the time!" Sam argued.

"That would be the twenty percent who are assholes, and have no moral standing. We're not serial killers," Jack said. "We have society and rules, and morals. One of the rules is we don't hurt people who we know to be innocent. And a baby who's been alive for two days isn't guilty of anything. Everyone was horrified that someone even dared ask them to hurt you."

Sam looked completely unconvinced of what Jack was telling her. Jamie had only encountered one Hunter, other than Jack. And he had been murderous, almost psychotic. He attacked Sam outside, in a place where humans could have come in at any moment, for anyone to behave in such a way they'd have to be insane.

Jamie knew Jack, and Jack wasn't psychotic. He was kind . . . he was protective . . . he was the polar opposite of the other Hunter. Having seen the difference between the two was why—despite Sam's disbelief—Jamie found Jack's claims to be believable.

"I don't think Effie is dangerous," he said with a sigh. "I think, if she is the one who gave you that vision, that she did it to try help you."

Sam scowled at him and folded her arms across her chest. "Whose side are you on?"

Jamielet a frustrated breath. "The same side I'm always on . . . yours."