“We had an unwelcome guest,” Ally said.
Sophie looked to James who confirmed it by nodding his head.
“What? They don’t even know where this house is? And how could they know where you were?” she asked, confused and very concerned.
“Logan asked me the same questions and I don’t know the answers.”
“Well this is very troubling indeed.” She sat down and put her hand to her cheek. “What are we going to do?”
James considered telling Sophie he had no idea and that they were probably all doomed but he had to at least try to inspire some hope. “I don’t know yet, we need to speak with Adele. The three of us will work something out.”
Ally reached out and took his hand again to comfort him. He looked down at their hands joined together and looked into her eyes. He hoped the gratitude was conveyed in them. James didn’t want to worry Sophie but this was serious and Ally seemed to understand that, without being told.
“Everyone here is ok?” he asked appearing to be bright and easy.
Ally knew it was only a mask that was being held in place by a thin thread.
“I think so,” Sophie said. “I saw Henry and Mackenzie not fifteen minutes ago.”
“Good, then everyone is fine.” James felt another surge of relief. No-one had been hurt. Perhaps they didn’t know where he lived after all.
Sophie was fidgeting so Ally thought it might be a good idea to give her a small task to keep her busy. “Would it be too much trouble to ask you for some coffee?’
Sophie smiled, “Not at all my dear.” She got up and started fussing about in the kitchen making a pot of coffee.
James smiled at Ally. “Thank you,” he whispered.
“Now we just need to find Gran,” Ally whispered back.
As if summoned Adele popped her head in the kitchen with a big bright smile and said, “Did I hear my name mentioned?”
She saw James and Ally holding hands and almost leapt with joy till she looked at their faces. Instantly she knew something was very wrong. “What’s happened?”
“A vampire,” Ally said.
“In broad daylight?” Adele asked shocked.
“So it would seem,” James replied.
“You’re both alright?”
“Fine, but we thought it best to tell you what happened,” Ally replied calmly.
Adele noticed how calm Ally was and looked to James for more information. He just shrugged his shoulders and looked down at Ally lovingly.
Sophie brought over a pot of coffee and four cups. Ally served everyone a cup while James relayed what had happened, in great detail, all except for the part where they had almost slept together.
Adele couldn’t seem to make heads or tails out of it either.
“This is a big problem,” she said absently.
“But what is the solution, that’s the bigger problem,” James said with a growing frustration. He felt helpless and it was not something he liked. Ally, Adele, Sophie, Henry and their family were all in danger. At least Adele was an immortal and Ally was half immortal but the rest of them were only human. If they were attacked when he wasn’t there, they wouldn’t stand a chance and depending on how many creatures attacked, they may not stand a chance even with him present. He wiped his hand over his face in an effort to remove some of the frustration. James felt like he was always running at a disadvantage these days, be it with the vampires or Ally. They needed to find a solution and fast.
Ally spoke up and grabbed their attention. “I think it’s time I learnt to hold my own against these guys.”
Adele smiled in approval of Ally’s idea, “I agree.”
They both turned to James. His expression made it perfectly obvious that he was reluctant to agree with the plan. “You’re only half immortal Ally. I don’t want you anywhere near the vampires yet.”
She looked at him deadly serious. “I don’t want to be anywhere near them either and I don’t intend on seeking them out, but the reality is that one managed to find us today. I need to know what I am capable of as a half immortal and what I can do to defend myself should the need arise.”
He looked at both women sitting in front of him and knew he was going to lose this argument.
He agreed that Ally should be prepared but he didn’t know what she was capable of at this point and he didn’t want to tempt the fates by teaching her yet.
In the end, logic won the day. He had to teach her, she was the prophecy girl after all. They were only delaying the inevitable by keeping her in the dark.
He nodded in agreement. “I will teach you, but promise me that you won’t take on too much in a battle until you have become a full immortal.”
“I promise.”
“Why do I have a bad feeling about this?” he muttered to himself.
Ally and Adele chuckled quietly at him.
“When do we start?” Ally asked.
“We might as well start this afternoon but I need to make a few inquiries beforehand about the information that has come to light. Perhaps another immortal has come across this before.”
“I will do the same,” Adele said.
James was grateful for the help. “Thank you.”
“Have you heard from Kat?” Adele asked Ally.
“No I haven’t actually.”
Adele appeared surprised that she hadn’t heard from them as yet. Fear slivered through her body. Ally had a feeling that something was wrong. Horribly wrong.
Ally pondered what Chase had told her for a moment. Chase said at the ball that he and Kat had lots to discuss. “Chase is an immortal right?”
“Aye, he doesn’t act like one though,” James answered with a voice that was full of annoyance.
“Don’t you like Chase?” Ally inquired.
“He needs to grow up,” he replied.
Adele rolled her eyes at him. “Chase is a fine young man. The problem is you still see that young boy who pulled a prank on you.”
James’ face became indignant, “I do not.”
Ally laughed at his expression.
“I told you he was a bit serious,” Adele teased.
“Obviously,” Ally said joining in the fun, glad to have a moment to feel normal again.
James glared at them both and then something important dawned on him, Chase knew the location of the house and also that they had taken Ally there…
“I will kill him,” he growled as he jumped to conclusions.
Ally and Adele looked at him confused.
“Kill him over a prank? That seems a bit extreme don’t you think?” Ally said.
“No, little one, I believe he may have given away our location.”
It was Adele’s turn to be indignant now, “He would never.”
“Are you sure? If they threatened him with something important enough he might give away our location,” James said.
Soulmates could be used as pawns in this game of life and death with the vampires. Chase thought he had found his in Kathryn. He had no clue as to what the circumstances may have been but he was fairly certain that something had happened.
“I don’t believe it,” Adele said, but as she began to look at things from James’ point of view she started to wonder. “I will call him.”
With that, she pushed up from the table and went in search of her phone to make the call.
Ally looked at James. “Maybe I should call Kat?”
He put his arm around her. “Just wait, Adele will find out what is going on…”
“What aren’t you telling me?”
His face became pained; she could see the internal struggle he was facing.
This can’t be good, she thought.
“The thing is, vampires will use anything and everything at their disposal to get what they want and sometimes they manage to take something from an immortal that is irreplaceable and the most important thing in their lives.” He looked at her and the sadness weighed heavily on his heart. How do you tell someone that their best
friend might be dead?
She followed his train of thought. “That would be their soulmate right?” She felt rather proud of herself until a moment later she became aware who that was, “Oh god, Kathryn!”
He held her close. “I know little one, I know.”
She felt her heart rate increase, the room felt hot and stuffy, she couldn’t breathe couldn’t think. Blackness was threatening to consume her.
James could sense her inner turmoil and wanted to help her so desperately. He tried to think of something, anything that would make her feel better and calm down. Something dawned on him, there was one emotion he knew she felt that was stronger than the turmoil radiating out her.
He pulled her face up to meet his, looked deep into her eyes and whispered with a voice that was pure compulsion, “Relax little one.”
Her eyes were pools of sadness and hurt. He couldn’t stand seeing this any longer. It broke his heart. James pulled her against him and kissed her. She responded instantly to him.
All thoughts of hopelessness and despair were gone, even if it only lasted a moment, she was grateful. Ally was terrified for her best friend and Chase. What had happened to them? Were they ok?
So many questions…too many questions…
James pulled back slowly and she felt bereft again. She wanted to feel that sensation again that only James could give her, but she also needed to keep control of herself. Adele would be back soon with news, good news hopefully.
“Whatever happens, we will get through this,” he said to his love, with a confidence he wasn’t honestly feeling.
Adele walked back into the room. She was visibly shaken up and as she sat down at the table a tear rolled down her cheek.
Ally couldn’t speak, couldn’t breathe.
Adele looked to both of them to deliver the news, “It was Chase.”
“I will kill him,” James thundered.
“I don’t think you will have to,” she said with sadness.
“What about Kat?” Ally asked with hesitation.
Adele looked at Ally for a moment before replying, “The vampires have her. He doesn’t know if she is dead or alive.”
Ally gasped and James pulled her close in an attempt to comfort her.
“What happened?” he asked.
“They were ambushed when they got off the plane. It seems that someone knew of their plans and arranged it.”
“Natalia,” he hissed the word.
Ally looked up at him. “Who is Natalia?”
James looked ashamed and Adele looked stressed.
“She is Chase’s half-sister. Many years ago Vincent became fixated with her, obsessed even and we failed to save her. He stole her away from us and he made her one of them.”
Ally stared at him dumbfounded; there was a fate worse than death.
“An immortal can become a vampire?” she asked with hesitation.
“Anyone be it human or immortal can become a vampire,” he said with sadness. “She is the reason they learned what immortal blood could do.”
“And now this vampire has my best friend?”
“Aye,” he sighed with defeat.
Ally felt a surge of hope flow through her. She wouldn’t be defeated. Her best friend needed her. “We need a rescue plan.”
James looked at her incredulously, “What do you mean a rescue plan?”
“Well if you think I’m going to sit around while these creatures have my best friend you’re dead wrong.”
Adele smiled sadly at her granddaughter, she admired her spirit, but this was going to be too dangerous.
“We don’t even know where they are, if she is alive and what about your promise that you wouldn’t go looking for the vampires,” James said, trying to reason with his love.
“That was before,” Ally stated defiantly.
“I forbid it!” James said with finality.
Ally glared at him. “You forbid it? You’re not my lord and master James.”
“I bloody well am!” James said indignantly.
“No you’re not! My best friend needs me. This is my life and it’s my choice. If you think you can stop me, then you are going to be disappointed.”
James looked like she had slapped him in the face, she didn’t want to hurt him but she wouldn’t let him stop her. “Now you either help me or you continue being stubborn and I will most certainly perish.”
He looked at Ally with defeat in his eyes, “What choice do I have?”
Ally turned to her grandmother. “Where is Chase and what does he have planned?”
“He will be here within the hour. He was on his way when I called him. As for what he has planned, I don’t know exactly, but he won’t be in any condition to plan rationally.”
Ally felt her skills as a private investigator kicking into action. They needed a plan. More importantly they needed to do some ground-work to help them formulate a viable plan of attack. That was one thing that she had learned very early in her career. To find a mark successfully you needed to do some research, find out their habits and haunts. What moves they made and why. Ally decided that these were all skills that would come in very handy for finding the vampires and saving Kathryn.
“How do we track them? Do we know where their lair or whatever you call it is?” she asked. “If we are to find them then we need to know their habits.”
“Vampires rarely stay in one place for long. Once the source of blood has dried up or too many vampires are around they move on. They are nomads, I suppose you could say,” James answered.
“Do they move around in a pack normally or stay solitary?” Ally was in detective mode now.
Adele answered, “It depends, but being a group has benefits for the vampires. If they have a strong leader running things they don’t have to worry about taking care of themselves. Life is easier.”
Ally nodded taking the information in. “When Chase gets here then I can get more specific information about what happened. Hopefully he will give me what I need.” Ally started to lose herself in thoughts about potential scenarios the vampire would be found in. Everything that popped into her mind was something that she had seen or read in vampire books. None of it was probably true but there was that old saying where there is smoke there is fire.
Maybe, just maybe, something that was floating around in her mind would be right.
James stood up and walked over to the terrace doors, he needed some air so he slipped outside. The girls would continue planning whether he was there or not and Adele knew as much as he did.
Things were getting out of hand fast, he felt like everything was going against them. His greatest fear was that he would lose Ally and with her going off to save her friend she was running into certain death.
Ally watched James walk out the door and her chest tightened. She turned to her Gran, who put a comforting hand upon her shoulder. “He is just terrified of losing you, sweetheart.”
Ally sighed. “I know and I don’t want to hurt him by saving Kat if we can, but if there is even a slim chance of rescuing her, then I will do it. She would do the same for me.”
Adele smiled sadly at her. “He will come to see that, just give him a bit of time.”
“A few hours ago it was James giving me time.” Ally did not miss the irony of the situation before her. James was normally the pushy one, now it was her.
“The world around us can change in the blink of eye and we have to adapt or perish,” Adele said.
Ally looked at her grandmother and then found her eyes pulled towards James. He was leaning against the terrace railing. She couldn’t see his face but she knew he felt helpless.
Adele spoke again and caught her attention. “There is something else you must know.”
Ally waited for more bad news.
“Kat has gone through the conversion, she is now an immortal.”
“What? I don’t understand. How is that possible?”
“Chase believes that she is his soulmate so he made her an immortal.”
Ally thought her head might explode she didn’t see that one coming. She wondered what the process of conversion was again.
“Is this a good thing or a bad thing for the present situation that she is now an immortal?” Ally asked, trying to understand what this all meant in regards to Kathryn being held captive.
“To be honest, it could go either way. She might have the skills to escape but she may not know they are available to her or how to use them. It depends on what Chase told her. On the other hand they may use her now that she has immortal blood running through her veins.”
Ally nodded taking it all in. Something occurred to her. “Now that she is an immortal, can’t we communicate with her?”
Adele smiled proudly at Alessandra, “If she was conscious, perhaps we could but the connection will be strongest with Chase and he can’t get any response from her.”
She thought a moment. “I haven’t experienced that yet with James. Is there something wrong with me?”
“No sweetie, you just don’t know how. Look over in his direction and clear your mind of anything but him.”
Ally shrugged her shoulders and did as she was told. At first there was nothing, then she heard it. James’ voice was clear as day in her mind. She listened intently to what he was thinking.
“How am I supposed to protect her? It wasn’t supposed to be like this, we were meant to have time to get to know each other, fall in love not be invaded by vampires or Chase screwing things up because he couldn’t protect Kathryn. What the hell did he think he was doing by bringing her here anyway!”
Ally sat quietly listening and getting an insight into James that she needed. “This might come in handy,” she said to her Gran with a smile.
“It worked then?”
“It did, he is sad, angry and scared.”
“I could have told you that without reading his mind.” Adele said with a smirk.
Ally glanced back at James once more before turning back, “So what are we going to do about Kat? You agree with me don’t you?”
“I don’t like the idea of you being anywhere near the vampires at this point in time or ever preferably, but I agree we need to get Kathryn back if she is alive.”
Ally didn’t want to even think about what might happen if Kathryn had become a vampire but she needed to know. “What happens if she has been turned?”
Immortal Prophecy (The Immortal Prophecy Saga) Page 19
