The Immortal Truth

Chapter Seven

            My anger faded the second I walked into my apartment and saw Chase lounging on the couch, his long jean-clad legs hanging off the end while his normally bright hazel eyes were hidden behind his closed lids. “Get your ass up and give me a hug!” I yelled, embracing my friend when he jumped up. His face broke into his trademark grin, all goof and teeth. “Where’s T?”

            Chase pointed to Tia’s bedroom, waggling his eyebrows at me as he ran a hand through his spiked black hair. “She needed a shower, had some dirt to wash off if you know what I mean,” he replied with a burst of laughter.

            I laughed along with him, momentarily forgetting about the whole Christopher situation as we talked. When I looked back at Chase, his playfulness disappeared and was replaced by a shadow of fear and grief. “Bella, the Council called. They’re looking for you. Councilman Brookes was killed last night.”

            My blood went cold, my nightmare racing through my brain as I shook my head. “How?” I managed to whisper, my body shaking as I dropped onto the couch. “He’s Immortal, he can’t die.”

            Chase sat down beside me, hands wringing themselves together as he looked at me with concern. “Someone was able to strip him of him Immortality and then burn him to a barely recognizable corpse. Bella, do you have any idea why the Council would be looking for you? You didn’t have anything to do with this right?” he asked, putting a comforting hand on my back as I tried to force the memory of the nightmare into the very back of my brain.

            “No, Chase I had nothing to do with this! I just-I had a dream last night, and Councilman Brookes was in it and everything. Chase, I think I saw his death.” I dropped my face into my hands as I forced myself to take a few shuddering breaths.

            Chase laughed nervously, and I peeked through my fingers to see the disbelief darkening his eyes. “That’s impossible, you can’t wield magick. You’re a vampire,” he finally said, and smiled at me. “They probably just want you to make sure you haven’t broken the terms of your sentence.”

            I nodded, but no part of me believed that. Just as I was standing up to face the Council, Tia popped out of the bathroom. As soon as she saw me, her blood drained from her face and she ran to wrap me in a hug.

            I fell into the comfort of her embrace, her touch calming the tremors in my body. “It’ll be okay Bella, don’t you worry. Do you want Chase and I to come with you?” she asked me, but I quickly shook my head no.

            “I can handle it, thanks though. I should go-don’t want to keep the Council waiting.” Tia and Chase both smiled comfortingly at me, but I could still see the fear in their eyes. Something was happening, and we all could feel it.

            I stepped outside, not even taking a step before Christopher appeared before me. This day just keeps getting better and better. “I am sorry Isabella, you are right about the way I spoke to you. I tried to come inside, but it seems that your friend Tia put a block around the apartment building to keep me out,” he said, and I couldn’t help but smirk at that.

            “Yeah, she doesn’t like you much.”

            Christopher smiled, his dimples showing and causing a shiver to run down my back and heat to pool between my thighs before I shook myself out of it. Someone just died, and I’m standing here getting turned on by a Fallen who could be a part of the murder! If my dream wasn’t actually just a dream but a premonition of sorts, then that means Lucy Caro was Councilman Brookes’ killer. “I can’t talk right now Christopher,” I managed to say, my eyes darting around the crowded New York City streets in case someone was spying on us. “Councilman Brookes was murdered last night, a murder that I think I might have been a witness to. I was dreaming but it felt so real, and now the Council wants to see me.”