Immortal Destiny (The Immortal Prophecy Saga) (20 page)

Ally watched his face for every twitch or tick to betray how he felt reading it. He started with a sad sort of smile as he read the words his mother had written. But then his expression turned to one of suspicion and Ally knew he was not far away from the first bombshell. She tensed, the anxiety rolling around her body was practically making her sick to her stomach.

James gripped the book so hard his knuckles turned white. He looked at her, and she stopped breathing. His eyes were wild and she imagined it was what a jungle cat looked like trapped in a corner. Knowing the horrible but inevitable truth that it would be captured.

“I’m half vampire,” he choked out.

Ally nodded and laid her hand on his shoulder. “Keep reading,” she said quietly, as one would to a scared little child. “Remember this one thing James…I love you no matter what.”

James eyes widened, realising how bad his father must be. “I think I’m going to be sick,” he whispered and began to read again.

Ally watched him intently…waiting, knowing that he was only seconds away from the truth.

He turned to the last page and read the revealing entry.

He turned to look at her, his eyes wide with fear and a coldness she had never seen in them before. A chill had entered the room and it came straight from him.

Her heart skipped a beat.

“So, I’m the son of a monster,” he said as he stood up and walked to the fireplace.

“Yes,” Ally said.

He threw his glass into the fire and the flames exploded on contact with the alcohol.

“Why did you have to tell me?” he whispered.

“I thought you had a right to know.”

He let out a sigh and turned to look at her. “I may have had a right to know, but there are some things that should stay buried. This was one of them.”

She stared at the man in front of her. He was a stranger to her now. The warm loving man she knew was gone. In his place was a man colder than ice, a formidable creature that looked ready to kill. She stared in horror and flinched as a veil dropped over the eyes she had once loved so much.

“James,” she said almost pleadingly. “What’s happening to you?”

“Nothing,” he replied coldly.

She got up and went to stand beside him, and put a hand on his arm. “This isn’t like you.”

“What isn’t like me?” he snapped.

“This coldness. I didn’t expect you to be happy, but I didn’t expect you to shut me out, either.”

“Well how about you find out that Vincent is your father and see how you react?”

Ally recoiled as if he’d struck her, and for a split second she saw the warmth flicker in his eyes, before the veil dropped again.

She was standing right next to him, but it felt like a country was between them.

Before she could say another word he said, “I need to get out of here for a while. I’m not myself right now.”

Ally nodded sadly and told him what he needed to hear. “I’ll be here when you get back.”

He gave her a curt nod and walked out the balcony and jumped off without even looking back. She walked over to the window and saw a blur racing across the grounds towards the forest.

“What have I done?” She whispered and sank down against the back of the French door.

“Gran,” Ally cried when she found Adele sitting with Damian in the study. “I think I made a mistake.”

Adele pulled her granddaughter into an embrace. “What happened, sweetie?”

“He said I shouldn’t have told him and he just…went into some kind of lockdown. I’ve never seen him so cold.”

“Told him what?” Damian asked over her shoulder.

Ally let out a sigh and pulled out of her grandmother’s arms. “Now I’ve made two mistakes! I was so upset, I forgot you didn’t know,” she said to Damian.

He looked between Adele and Ally. “What’s going on, you two?”

They shared a guilty look and Adele started to explain. “Take a seat first… you’ll want to be sitting down when I tell you this.”

Damian looked at his soulmate expectantly.

“We found out who James’ father is…It’s Vincent.”

“What?” Damian roared.

Ally flinched and looked away from the furious immortal.

“Impossible! Who told you this?”

“Isabella found her mother’s diary and it revealed the identity of his father,” Adele said.

Ally found her voice again. “I thought telling him was the right thing to do, but now I’m not so sure.”

Damian pinned her with a hard stare. “Listen to me, Ally. It wasn’t the easy thing to do, but never doubt that you did the right thing in telling him. He had a right to know, and he will get through this, but it’s going to take time…probably a lot of time.”

Ally nodded. “Thank you, but you don’t understand how distant and cold he was.”

Adele laid a hand on her arm. “I do, Ally. I’ve seen him like this once before. Don’t take it to heart, it’s just how he copes with devastating news.”

“Really?” Ally asked.

“Yes. He just shuts down and begins to resemble an iceberg, but I promise you will he come through this.”

“I hope so,” Ally said sadly.

“Where is he?” Damian asked.

“I don’t know, he just said he needed to get out, that he wasn’t himself.”

“He’s probably at the waterfall then,” Adele said to Damian, who nodded in agreement.

“All will be well, Ally,” Damian said reassuringly. Ally just wished that she could believe them.

“Come on,” Adele said leading her granddaughter out of the room. “Let’s go get you a coffee. You look like you need one.”

She nodded gratefully and let Adele lead her to the kitchen.

Chapter Thirty

Night fell and James still hadn’t returned. She was sick with worry, but Adele and Damian had promised her he would return when he was ready. She hoped with all her heart that it was true.

She gathered her knife again, just in case and went outside to wait for Chase at the rendezvous point. He was waiting for her when she got there.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this Ally,” Chase said as she got closer.

She waved off his ominous warning and started walking towards the forest, her mind elsewhere.

Chase shrugged and followed her. “Do you have a plan for once we get there?”

“Honestly, no. I think we just have to see how it plays out.”

A look of unease flashed in his eyes. “Personally, I’d feel better if we had some sort of plan.”

Ally looked frustrated. “I’m all for plans, Chase but my instinct tells me that Tristan is a bit unpredictable, so if we go in with a plan chances are it will play out differently anyway. So the best plan in this case is to be ready for anything.”

“You’re probably right but still…”

“How about this… I go in first and talk to him, tell him you are here and if I get into any trouble, it’s your job to keep me safe.”

Chase looked at her with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “It’s not the best plan, but at least it’s something.”

Ally nodded. “Right, so let’s keep going before James comes back and discovers I’m gone.”

They made their way to the meeting place in silence, both unsure if this really was the best idea and thinking about the girl they were doing this for. The names of the council elders was information they desperately needed, but Kat was the driving force behind them both.

The clearing came into view and Ally gave Chase a nod to slow down and take cover. She had to go on her own from here. Chase took cover behind some bushes on high alert, ready to come to Ally’s aid if necessary.

Ally entered and looked around, waiting for Tristan to make his appearance. The unease of the situation was working its way around her body and slowly taking on a life of its own. She was nervous about meeting Tristan again, but she was more worried about what would happen afterwards. There was every chance she would run into Natalia, or worse, Vincent. Having Chase by her side would help, but all it would take is him to be fighting another vampire whilst one grabbed her and her life would be over before she could blink.

I really do need to think seriously about becoming an immortal… I’m too fragile as a human… A liability…

A movement at the edge of the forest caught her eye. It was Tristan. She went forward to meet to him.

“You showed up,” he said, sounding a little surprised.

“I have to help her, so here I am.”

Tristan appeared to be friendly and at ease, but she sensed an underlying current of anxiety and an unwillingness she couldn’t place.

His voice interrupted her thoughts. “Ready to go?”

Ally nodded and started to speak, but she was interrupted again.

“
NO!”
Chase screamed at Ally as he came running towards her.
“
Ally it’s a trap.
RUN!”

Startled by Chase’s frantic voice, she spun around to see him running at her, full speed. The whole scene turned into slow motion and her eyes widened as his words registered. Ally managed to gather her thoughts enough to realise Chase had read his thoughts and that she needed to move away from Tristan. She took one step forward before she felt an iron band grab her around the waist and a sweet smelling cloth was pressed over her nose. She knew it was chloroform by the smell and not to breathe it in, but the surprise caused her to gasp and then the world went black…

Chapter Thirty-one

“Put her down, Tristan,” Chase growled.

Tristan gave him a deadly glare. “Not a chance.”

Chase moved a step closer. He needed to get Ally out of his grip, but he also needed to be careful. One wrong move and she could get crushed. “You’re as good as dead already, so you might as well hand her over and get a head start on James.”

Tristan laughed arrogantly. “James doesn’t scare me. I’ve been watching them over the last week and not once did they sense my presence. I even managed to sneak into Ally’s room without anyone noticing. So I don’t think they are the big scary immortals everyone makes them out to be.”

“Want to go up against us and find out?” Chase asked, trying to bait the vampire into a fight.

“Why would I bother with you? You’re just a Callaghan, nothing special about that now, is there?”

Chase’s anger was spiralling out of control, but he needed to keep a check on it. Damian had taught him you never win a fight by losing control and giving into your emotions. Instead you had to channel them to make you stronger. So channel he did…

“I may be a Callaghan, but I was trained by the Carlisles,” he shot back and took another step forward. “Afraid an insignificant little Callaghan might kick your arse?”

That taunt did it. He tossed Ally to one side and advanced on Chase. Tristan began to circle, looking for a weak spot. Chase knew what he was doing and used it to his advantage; he ran at Tristan and grabbed him around the waist, throwing him to the ground. Within a second of being thrown down, Tristan was back on his feet and hurled Chase across the other side of the clearing. He got up and they ran at each other, Chase ducked at the last second and spun around grabbing the other vampire by the neck and pulling over his shoulder. He landed with a sickening crack on the ground. Dazed for a minute, Chase saw another advantage and went in for the kill, but Tristan rolled at the last minute and sprang up. He threw a right hook and then kicked him in the stomach with all his might. Chase fell backwards and Tristan thought he smelled victory, but Chase held a card up his sleeve. He manifested a fireball in his hand and threw it at Tristan. It caught him off guard and he dodged at the last second. It still made contact and left a burn mark on his now dirty, crimson shirt.

Chase threw another, and another. He kept going until it looked like a meteor shower was taking place. The trees were beginning to catch alight, and Chase hoped that it would catch someone’s attention back at the house. He was holding his own, and he would go out fighting if that’s what it took, but he needed back up to ensure Tristan didn’t run off with her.

Tristan managed to dodge most of the fireballs, but soon realised that Chase was a worthy opponent after all and would eventually kill him if he kept up with the fireballs. A thought struck him, so he moved next to Alessandra’s unconscious body. “Still want to throw fireballs at me,” he taunted, knowing very well that Chase would never throw one near her.

God damn it!
His hands were tied.

Chapter Thirty-two

James sat on the mossy green boulder staring out into the darkness. The sound of crashing from the waterfall was so much louder at night, but he barely even registered the sound of it.

His mind was filled with a million thoughts that were racing and competing against each other to be heard over the beehive buzz that they had created.

Half vampire? Vincent? Seriously?! Thank you universe, you couldn’t have picked a worse father for me if you tried…I can’t believe that Ally was hiding this from me? I wish she had never told me, but I should never have said that to her.

What an ass I am! She had to courage to tell me and I react like that…

Ergh…who am I kidding? I don’t even know who I am anymore…

A bone chilling wail erupted over the mess of spiralling thoughts. He turned his head towards the sound and it stopped for a split second. A cold sweat broke out and a slight tremble ran through him.

It can’t be
…

The wailing began again, only this time it was louder…and closer…

“Oh my god,” he cried and jumped off the boulder. “Ally!”

As his feet touched the ground, something flicked his ankles and he jumped back. The wailing continued and he thanked his lucky stars that immortals must be immune to the paralysing effect of the washing that he’d heard mention of.

“Thank you,” he yelled out to the creature that had warned him there was danger nearby. James ran back to the manor as fast as he could.

He reached home in record time, ran into the house and was on his way to their room, when something caught his eye outside the window. Smoke was coming from the forest. As he looked closer, he could see a lightshow was taking place. He stood frozen for a minute knowing that only a few people here could create fireballs and Ally was one of them…