Immortal Souls (The Immortal Souls: Magic & Chaos)

Book 2 - Chapter 12

Jamie opened his eyes slowly, blinking in an attempt to get them to focus. His head was groggy from the short nap he'd taken; after so long without sleep the time he'd spent resting had done nothing but add to his exhaustion. He stretched his senses outwards to see who had made the sound that woke him, all the while knowing in the back of his mind that it would be Jade.

He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hands and stretched his arms above his head, letting a long heavy sigh before allowing them to fall back into place.

He cast a glance at Sam; she was still unconscious, lying in the same position Jamie had left her in when he'd placed her on the bed almost eight hours ago. A sharp pain erupted in his stomach, a pain which he recognised as guilt.

It was his fault that she was hurt.

It was his fault that she wouldn't wake up.

It was his fault that she lay in bed, looking more dead now than she had last night when her heart wasn't beating.

The sound of the door being opened snapped Jamie out of his reverie. Jade poked her head through the small opening and looked at Jamie, smiling. "You wouldn't happen to know where Sam keeps that mystical first aid kit of hers, would you?"

Jamie took a moment to try form a picture of the item she was talking about. He had been unconscious the only time Sam had ever used anything to heal him, and he wasn't sure what she had used to patch him back together, only that it stained his bandages blue. He shook his head in reply to her question. Jade sighed. He looked her over, wondering what was so wrong that she needed a magical fix rather than a mortal one. "Why do you need a 'mystical first aid kit' anyway? What's wrong with the regular kind?"

Jade looked down at her left hand and scrunched her nose up in disgust. She turned her hand to face Jamie so that he could see the gash across the palm of her hand. "This is what I get for trying to have fruit for lunch." Jamie gripped the arms of the chair he was sitting on so hard he was surprised they didn't snap. Your strength is depleted, a voice whispered in the back of his mind. How long has it been since you last ate?

Small amounts of blood flowed steadily through the tear in Jade's hand, staining it red as it wet her skin. Jamie's nostrils flared as he instinctually inhaled deeply, familiarising himself with the scent.

Jade continued talking to him obliviously, though he could barely retain focus for long enough to make out what she was saying.

Before Jamie could take the time to gain control of himself and calm down, he was on his feet and barely an inch away from Jade with her hand cupped in his. He could already smell the fear leaking through her pores as he stared transfixed at the blood on her hand. Quickly, he brought it to his lips to taste, and just as quickly Jade brought her knee upwards, hitting Jamie, at full force, between his legs.

The pain was enough to jolt him back to reality; he doubled over, the sudden agony leaving him with a feeling of breathlessness. Jade stepped away from him, holding her hand protectively. "What the hell is your problem!" she yelled. "You can't just go around attacking people whenever you feel like it!"

"I'm sorry," Jamie said quietly, trying to hold his breath and keep his eyes cast downwards. "Get me a scissors," he ordered. "Or a knife, just something sharp."

"I'm not giving you a weapon!"

"Jade, please."

She sighed in defeat and stepped further into Sam's room, she walked over to the desk on the far side and grabbed the scissors. Then she put it on the floor and used her foot to slide it over to Jamie. He quickly grabbed the scissors off the floor and opened them, using the sharp blade to slice his left hand open. Keeping all of his thoughts on his own blood and keeping the wound on his hand from healing, he stood and walked over to Jade.

She backed away as he got closer, keeping her hand cradled protectively against her chest as she watched him with suspicion. As he got closer, she looked to the side, her body tense and poised to run.

Before she had a chance to escape Jamie filled the space between them and grabbed onto her hand. She clenched it into a fist, making blood drip down her wrist. Jamie exhaled sharply at the sight of it, but quickly turned his thoughts back to his own wound.

Forcing Jade's palm open he rubbed his hand across hers, allowing his blood to mingle. He took a step back to show Jade that he was making a really good effort to not kill her. She relaxed a little, then looked at her hand just in time to see her skin stitch itself back together.

"Do yourself a favour," Jamie said, not taking his eyes off her. Jade looked at him cautiously. "Next time you've got a cut it might be wise to not show the Vampire."

Jade was silent for a moment as she looked at her now healed hand, still holding onto it. "Would you have killed me?" she asked, her voice quiet and frightened.

Jamie hesitated for a moment before answering. Jade was Sam's friend, he didn't know her very well but he liked her, and he hoped that one day they could be friends too. Which was why he told her the truth. "Probably," he said with a sigh. Jade's expression darkened. "Not under usual circumstances, I don't just kill humans at my leisure, but I'm sleep deprived and food deprived, so this time . . . probably."

Jade glared at him, her expression unamused and hostile. She furrowed her brow and pursed her lips, then quickly threw her arm out, her fist hitting him on the side of the arm.

It hurt a little, meaning she had made an effort to put her strength into it, though it didn't hurt enough for him to be angered by the fact that she'd struck him. Instead he looked at her with confusion. "What was that for?" he asked, instinctually rubbing his arm despite the fact that there was no longer any trace of pain.

"You tried to eat me!" Jade yelled. Before Jamie had a chance to correct her, or say anything at all, Jade hit him again, just as hard. "When you look at me do you just see a giant chicken leg!"

Jamie cracked a smile as the image of Jade dressed as a steaming cooked chicken leg formed in his mind. "More like a giant blood bag," he replied, trying to hold back his laughter.

Jade punched him again, looking furious when he let his laughter slip out. "You think this is funny?" She kicked her foot at his shin. Jamie dodged her, his reflexes kicking in even though he knew she wasn't strong enough to cause him any real pain. "Don't dodge me!" she yelled when Jamie took cover behind the chair. Using it as a barrier to protect his shins and the rest of his body from Jade's attacks. "C'mere and let me beat you!"

"Jade, I'm sorry," Jamie said when he managed to stop laughing.

"Yeah, you will be!"

"Jade!" Jamie spoke loudly, also projecting his voice into her mind. Knowing that it would make her pause, which it did. He sent waves of energy in her direction, encasing her in a warm, relaxing aura. Jade took a deep breath as she relaxed.

"I'm not your food," she told him, her tone calm but serious.

Jamie nodded in agreement. "You're not my food."

"Try it again and I'll kill you."

Jamie didn't say anything in reply. He knew that her strength was no match for his, if she tried to hurt him she wouldn't succeed, but that didn't mean he wanted her to try. He didn't want to be in a situation where he would have to hurt Jade or puppet-master her into being nice to him.

Hedidn't have many friends . . . or any friends really. And theones he did have, he would preferthat they were his friends because they wanted to be, not because he'd madethem think they liked him.