Immortal Souls (The Immortal Souls: Magic & Chaos)

Chapter 58

Sam was sitting on the couch for well over an hour while Jamie buried the chest. Physical tasks had been taking more and more effort lately. After her eighteenth birthday her body had lasted longer than she'd expected in its deteriorating state, she had managed to keep her condition hidden for three months and it had been easy. But last week she had reached the final stages.

Her body was broken.

She was weak.

Her mortal vessel was no longer able to contain the amount of Power she had, and so it was tearing her apart from the inside. She knew that she didn't have more than a week left.

Three months ago she would have been happy about that, but now she wasn't so sure if death was really what she wanted.

She'd made a mistake.

She'd allowed herself to feel happiness when she knew it would do nothing but make her reluctant to do what needed to be done.

She needed to die.

She knew that.

But Jamie . . . Sam tried her hardest not to think about him and how nice he was to her, how much he cared about her.

She had been more than ready to die.

At least she had been . . . until the point she had met Jamie and realised that she lo—

Sam jumped at the sound of the doorbell ringing.

She pushed herself off the couch and slowly walked towards the door. Opening it with trepidation at what she might find, only to discover Jamie on the other side, his clothes covered in dirt from digging outside. "What are you doing out here? The back door is open."

"I accidentally locked myself out," he said.

Sam looked at him curiously. There was something off about him, but she couldn't quite figure out what it was. She stepped aside to let him in.

He walked past her into the living room. Sam stared out at the streets which had not a trace of light—they were pitch black because for some reason all of the streetlamps had been switched off.

She jumped slightly at the sound of a high-pitched scream echoing somewhere far off in the distance.

"Did you hear that?" she asked, turning to Jamie. He shook his head slowly. Sam's heart pounded. You know what that was, her head whispered. You're not safe.

Sam ignored the voice and closed the door. She turned to Jamie, who was standing next to her, staring . . . again. Before Sam had a chance to tell him to stop, his mouth was on hers, and he was kissing her. Sam didn't push him away, mostly because she didn't really want him to stop.

But then he suddenly stopped himself and stood there, holding her face in front of his, a devious smile slowly spreading across his face. Something is very wrong, she thought. That smile isn't his.

"You've always seemed like the sort of person who's scared of nothing," he said, his voice quiet and malevolent. "But you're scared right now, aren't you?"

"What?" Sam asked in confusion. "I'm not scared."

"You are." Jamie grinned at her, showing all of his teeth. Then he moved his face so close to hers their noses were touching. He inhaled deeply. "I can smell it," he drawled, then lightly kissed her lips. "I can taste it."

Get away from him, her head yelled at her.

Sam ignored her thoughts and stayed where she was. Jamie would never hurt her. He wouldn't. "Most people who live in the dark learn to live there," he continued. "They embrace it . . . but not you. You don't want to live there because you're scared of the dark. You're scared of the Shadows."

Something's definitely not right, she thought, her mind starting to panic as her instincts urged her to run. "I'm not afraid of the dark," she said slowly, not sure why he would be saying any of this to her. " . . . Or of shadows."

"No?" he asked, as a flash shot across his eyes, and what looked like a black mist filled his irises. "What about now?"

Before Sam had a chance to work up the energy to defend herself, his mouth was on her neck. She felt a sharp pain pierce through her skin as she was filled with a burning ache, the sensation like fire in her veins as what remained of her Power fled her body.

And then she was paralyzed.

Her lips moving even though she could no longer speak . . .

And then, the world seemed to disappear.