Immortal Souls (The Immortal Souls: Magic & Chaos)

Chapter 57

Jamie hit the dirt back into place around the replanted flowers. It was dark now, the sky a shade of navy blue with black swirling clouds slowing floating across the sky. Completely blocking out the light of the moon.

He opened the tool shed and put the shovel back inside, casting a glance towards the kitchen window. The lights were on inside the house, but he couldn't see Sam from where he was. There was nothing but an empty kitchen.

As he closed the shed door, Jamie saw a shadow move across the lawn in the corner of his eye and jumped. He squinted to try focus on where he thought he had seen someone.

But there was nothing.

Just an empty garden.

For a moment, he just stood there and stared at the empty space, a thousand theories rushing through his brain all at once. Most of which were him listing off the many kinds of creatures that could be here in an attempt to attack Sam while she was weak and vulnerable. He stared, thinking that if there was something there he was bound to see it again.

But still, even after the countless moments he spent staring, he saw nothing. Jamie let a breath, shaking his head as if to shake away his paranoia. It's probably just a cat, he thought as he walked towards the back door.

Just before his hand reached the doorknob, there was a loud crash which sounded like it had come from the front of the house. Jamie froze where he was, his hand hovering above the handle. Slowly he turned to face where he had seen the shadow.

A cat could have knocked into some bins, he thought, willing his brain to believe that there were no threats around. But a feeling stirring in the pit of his stomach urged him forward. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew that there was something more dangerous than a cat lurking around in the darkness.

Outside the front of the house, the streetlamps flickered on and off.

Jamie covered his eyes, turning his face away from the lights when they started to hurt them. That was when he noticed a pool of black liquid on the ground. Slowly, he walked towards it and knelt down beside it. He cautiously dipped a finger in the puddle, thinking it must be oil from the car that was parked there earlier.

The liquid didn't feel like liquid. It felt light, cold and dry when it should have felt heavy and sticky. He brought his hand up to his face to examine the substance. His finger was stained with black, but the closer he brought it to his face, the more the substance seemed to disappear. He stared at his hand, bewildered as the black 'liquid' turned to smoke and floated away.

He jumped with fright as he saw movement in his peripheral vision. Jamie didn't bother to turn around. Instead he stretched out his senses. The only creatures he could sense were the humans safely tucked away in their houses and a few wandering cats. All of which were too far from him to be the cause of the movement.

He snapped his head to the side, hoping to catch a glimpse of whatever was there.

But there was nothing.

The street was empty of any signs of life.

He shook his head, thinking that his mind must be playing tricks on him.

As Jamie stood up, he swayed, suddenly feeling dizzy. The streetlamps flickered once more, before the light was sucked out of them. The next thing Jamie saw was what seemed like a black tidal wave of shadows, all coming towards him at a rapid pace.

He tried to run, but like in a nightmare he was stuck, unable to move forward. He was being held in place by some unseen force, and before he could think of a way to escape, the shadows took him over.