Immortal Destiny (The Immortal Prophecy Saga) (17 page)

Her mind sprang back to the night he found her out on the terrace when he had asked her to marry him and extracted a promise from her. It played over and over in her mind so vividly, she felt as though she was reliving it.

“Promise me you won’t run off again.”

“I promise I won’t run off again.”

The guilt sprang up and wound an icy coil around her heart. “I’m sorry, James, but you’ve left me no alternative.”

Ally had meant those words with all her heart when she had spoken them. Her heart and mind were in a deadly conflict. Her mind knew the reality of the situation, that James would never agree and she was Kat’s only hope, but her heart screamed at her to go back to James and spend the night safely in his arms. The simple thought of her hearts true desires sent a warm tingle through her and her heart started beating faster.

Traitorous body.

I can’t, I have to go…

She looked for what might be the last time at her handsome soulmate and drank in the sight of him. “I love you, James,” she whispered then ran towards the forest without looking back.

Chapter Twenty-four

“Here we go,” she said quietly to herself.

She walked over and stood on the edge, waiting. The trembling was unavoidable. She was scared. Not knowing exactly what to expect made the control freak in her anxious and knowing that she was about to come face to face with her former friend, quite simply terrified her. Not for the first time tonight she wished that James was by her side.

The clearing was silent, eerily so. She looked around trying to see something in the dimly lit hideaway. No one was there, not even a lonely cricket would sing tonight. Ally took a few steps further into the middle and called out, “Kat? Are you here?” She paused. “It’s me, Ally.”

The trees in the distance began to rustle and she could hear the very faint sound of twigs breaking. She tried to focus on the sound to work out exactly where the sound was coming from. She couldn’t pin point it exactly but she knew the general place.

“I came alone as you asked. I’m here to help you.” She looked again waiting for what she hoped was Kathryn to emerge from the trees. “Please come out.”

No sooner had she spoken the words did the shadow from the other night appear on the edge of the trees. She jumped at the sight but tried to remain calm and collected.

The shadow took a step closer.

“Kat?”

The shadow didn’t speak but it advanced closer. She noticed that it kept looking around as if it was expecting someone else and didn’t trust that she would come alone.

As the shadow grew closer she could see the long black gown that touched the ground and the hood that cloaked its face. She wondered why Kat felt the need to be clothed in such a way but decided that maybe that was what new vampires felt comfortable in.

Ally walked towards the shadow in a slow and steady pace, ready to run at a moment’s notice.

They met in the middle.

“Kat,” Ally said breathlessly.

The shadow spoke for the first time, but it was not what she had expected to hear. “Don’t run,” rumbled the deep male voice.

Ally stood frozen to the spot. It was a trap! They had all been right!

What am I going to do?

“Ally, don’t be afraid. I’m not here to hurt you.”

Her mind flashed back to her first encounter with a vampire. Vincent was the whole reason she was standing here in the first place. She remembered what she had done last time that bought some time, maybe James would save her again. “Isn’t that what the spider said to the fly?” she retorted.

The vampire let out a soft laugh. “I believe so.”

“Where is Kat?” Ally demanded and grabbed the knife from the back of her jeans.

“Vincent has here.”

Ally gasped. “I was afraid of that.”

The vampire nodded, seemingly agreeing with her sentiment.

Ally looked up and tried to see who she was talking to. “Take off the hood. I want to know who you are.”

The vampire lifted his arms up and pulled the hood back with both hands. Ally sucked in a breath at the handsome blonde vampire that stood before her. His brown eyes twinkled mischievously back at her and his smile was almost smug. She began to understand that he mistook her reaction for one of appreciation, when in fact it was surprise. Ally could still appreciate a beautiful man, but nothing compared to her James.

“I was surprised that you looked like a human that’s all, so you can lose the cocky smile.”

“Sure, sure.”

“What’s your name?”

“Tristan.”

“So Tristan, why are you here instead of my friend?”

“Vincent is holding her captive, and I need your help to get her out.”

Ally scrunched up her face and tried to work out if he was telling the truth. She had an uncanny ability to sense when people were lying to her, but this guy was tough to read. “So you need a human to help you?”

He nodded.

“And what exactly can I do that a vampire can’t?” Ally asked, deciding that something was definitely off, but he didn’t appear to be a danger to her at this point in time and he had been with Kat and that was all that mattered right now.

“You’re the prophecy girl, right? That’s makes you half immortal, so not exactly your run of the mill human. The part I really need you for is to get Kat to come with me. She knows you, Ally. Even in her vampire form, she knows you and she will trust you, therefore trusting me to get her to safety and away from the piece of…well, that vampire.”

“And why would I help her to escape from Vincent and into your clutches? For all I know you’re just as evil as he is! And did it occur to you that she may not want to come with me? In case you’ve forgotten, she’s a vampire now and probably just wants to kill me. Especially if Vincent has her!”

“She’s not evil!” Tristan cried. “There is still a lot of humanity in her.”

She desperately wanted to believe him, but it went against everything she’d been told by the immortals she trusted. “So you’re telling me she’s not a danger to me?”

Tristan shook his head. “I didn’t say that. She’s a vampire, and you’ve got blood running through your veins which is a big temptation, but she’s trying to stay good and fight the evil.”

Ally sighed quietly. “So the Kat I knew really is gone then?”

“James was right in a way when he said Kat was gone, but there is still hope. She just won’t ever be human again.”

Ally’s eyes narrowed and her mind starting ticking.
How does he know so much about me and what we’ve been talking about?

“You’ve been watching us, haven’t you?” Ally accused him.

Tristan shrugged casually.

“You’re the one who left all of the flowers for me to find, aren’t you? And it was you the other night.” It all started to fall into place. “Kat was never here, was she!”

“No.”

“You tricked me into thinking it was her! And all because you want to free her?”

“Yes.”

To his credit, Tristan did look a little guilty at the deception. But Ally was unmoved. “I don’t believe you and I don’t appreciate being lied to. I also think there’s a lot more going on here than I know about, so start talking or I’m not helping you.”

Anger flashed through Tristan’s eyes. He didn’t like the way modern women spoke to men, and a human woman at that. “You will help me unless you want to die.”

Ally just smiled smartly because she had realised something. “You can't kill me, Tristan. For some reason you’re desperate to get Kat away from Vincent, but without me you won’t succeed. So no, you won’t kill me regardless of what I say or do…Now start talking or I’m walking!”

Chapter Twenty-five

This was not how Tristan had planned on things going. He did not want to discuss his reasons for taking Kathryn with Ally. But after watching her for so long, he really should’ve seen this coming, and he mentally slapped himself that he hadn’t.

Tristan watched her sit down on the grass and get comfortable waiting for him to share his story. “First, I want to know why you want Kat?”

He sat down opposite Ally and looked at her with sparkling brown eyes. “She’s my soulmate.”

Ally snorted. “Yeah right. Try again.”

He growled in response. “It’s true.”

She gave him a hard stare. “Alright, so vampires can have soulmates…I find the very hard to believe but go on.”

Tristan glowered at her, but started to explain. “We can, but most never notice because they’re too busy killing everything around them. Only the few vampires, like myself, would notice.”

“What do you mean vampires like yourself?”

Tristan looked off into the distance and picked a blade of grass. “I’m not a typical vampire, Ally. I used to be, I will admit that, but I haven’t killed a human in a long time. There aren’t many but a few of us have wanted more than just taking innocent lives. It’s hard still, but it gets easier as time goes by.”

“How is it even possible? The only vampires I’ve seen haven’t been ready to embrace that kind of lifestyle.”

“It’s very possible, but like I said not many vampires have the strength or willpower to be anything other than evil.”

Ally was totally shocked by the new information that she barely knew what to do with it, how to even begin processing, or if she even believed it yet. “So you’re a good vampire and there aren’t many of you. How did it even come about?”

“I’ve researched where I can and I’ve found that a few things make a difference. Vincent for example was a real piece of work when he was a human. You name any heinous act and I can almost guarantee you he’s done it. There wasn’t much humanity in him to begin with.”

“So the more humanity in a vampire, the more chance they have of turning things around.”

“Essentially, yes.”

Ally began to wonder how many of the immortals actually knew this. The two species didn’t spend much time getting together for a cup of tea and a chat. “Does James know about this?”

“That vampires don’t have to be evil? I doubt it.” Tristan grabbed a new blade to play with. “He doesn’t really associate with my kind, regardless of what I might say to him. Besides, I can’t blame him, I’d do the exact same thing in his shoes.”

“How do you know that Kat is your soulmate?”

Tristan smiled at her and his face lit up. “My heart started beating again.”

“What!” Ally exclaimed. “But you’re dead. It’s not possible.”

“I’m still dead in that sense. I’ll never grow old or die in the conventional ways but my heart started beating the second I laid eyes on her and it hasn’t stopped.” He grabbed her hand and put it against his heart. “Do you feel that?”

Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open, as she stared in astonishment.

“Incredible.”

“I’d read about the soulmate phenomenon in an ancient tome hundreds of years ago, but never gave it much thought after that. As far as I knew it was just a myth. A vampire urban legend if you like. But when it happened…I knew exactly what it was.”

Ally shook her head in amazement. She had not seen that coming and she couldn’t wait to tell James about all this. The immortals needed to know that there was hope for some of the vampires. Not all…but some. And James more than anyone would need to know this.

“You can’t tell James. He’ll never let you help me, you know that.” His eyes implored her. “I
need
my soulmate and you’re the only one that can help me.”

She was torn. Ally knew what it was like to have a soulmate and the thought of him being held by Vincent made her feel ill. She had seen what being without a soulmate had done to Adele. In short, Ally knew she had seen too much not to help him.

“Kat will be aching for me as well until we are together. It’s not just me that’s hurting without her. Everything I feel, she feels. You know that. You’ve experienced it.”

“I do know. I want to tell James and I think he could really help us out, but you’re right. He won’t let me help.” Ally felt heartsick and the thought of keeping this from him as well. They had argued this afternoon but that didn’t change a single thing about the way she felt about him. Nothing would ever change that. But she was keeping too many secrets from him.

Tristan smiled gratefully. “In return, I’ll give you the information you need to defeat Vincent.”

Ally looked puzzled.

“The council elders. I have the second part of the parchment. It was originally with the prophecy but it was decided they should be separated in case the information ever fell into the wrong hands.”

“What does it say?”

“Their names…”

Her eyes widened. “I hope you give that to me when all of this is over. But know this Tristan, I’m doing this for my friend. Not you.”

“I know that, but you need this information. Trust me!”

“We’re a long way from trust, buddy.”

Tristan rolled his eyes. “Ally, you cannot win without them.
All of them
. If one dies, you will all die.”

“That was never mentioned before,” she said.

“It’s mentioned in my half.”

Ally sighed. “Typical.”

“I want to break her out tomorrow night.” He rose from the ground. “Meet me here at midnight. I’ll give you the parchment, then we’ll go.”

Ally nodded in agreement.

“Until then…” He gave a bow and had disappeared before she even had a chance to say goodbye.

Ally couldn’t believe what she had found out. It all seemed too good to be true, but her instincts had been screaming at her to come tonight, which made her think it might actually be real.

She stood up and left the clearing destined for the manor.

*****

Ally crept back into the house via the kitchen door again. She was careful not make a sound and felt a rush of relief as she closed it.

A voice from the dark startled her. “Ally?”

Her heart was beating out of her chest and her stomach had lodged itself in her throat.

The figure stepped forward. “Ally, it’s Chase.”

She almost crumpled with relief. Ally thought for a moment it was Tristan, or worse, James. “Thank god, I thought you were someone else.”