Immortal Souls (The Immortal Souls: Magic & Chaos)

Chapter 9

Jamie looked at her curiously. "Are you saying I should give up my search?" he asked. Then after a moment's pause in which he seemed to have realised what he'd just said, he smiled and jokingly added, "How can I ever become Van Helsing if I do that?"

Vampires were usually extremely careful about what they said, they made sure to act as regular as possible when around anyone they thought was human, so if there was a trophy for 'Most Obvious Vampire' Jamie would be a definite winner. Sam had spent maybe twenty minutes in total talking to him and he naturally came across as a Vampire, with his attempts at normality being an afterthought. She smiled and shook her head. "Start thinking more about where you would be likely to find one."

Jamie looked at her for a moment, he clucked his tongue as he considered what she had said. "And where would I be likely to find a Vampire?"

"Have you ever tried a Blood-Bar?"

"What's a Blood-Bar?"

"It's exactly what the name says it is. It's a place where Vampire wannabe's go to dance to heavy metal music, get it on and drink blood. What better place to search for a Vampire than a place where they serve blood?"

Jamie's expression grew sceptical. "Is that a real thing?"

Sam nodded. "Yep."

He looked Sam up and down, wearing the same sceptical expression. "And how would you know of a place like that?"

"I have a friend who visits one frequently. It's underground and very exclusive. But I can get the address for you if you want."

"If it's very exclusive how am I supposed to get in?"

"Because you'll know where it is," Sam stated. "Anyone who doesn't have an invitation wouldn't have the address." And the security guard will sense that you're a Vampire, Sam added in her head.

Jamie smiled. "Would you go with me?"

Sam sighed internally, she knew he would try to ask her out before the night was over. "No," Sam said simply. Going to a Blood-Bar with a Vampire wasn't exactly her idea of a fun night.

"Why not?" Jamie asked smiling suggestively. "Don't you want to go dance to some heavy metal, get it on and drink some blood?"

Sam laughed. "If I do all of that during the summer, I'll have nothing to do at Halloween."

"Well, the offer stands if you change your mind."

Sam took her jacket off the back of the chair and pulled it on while simultaneously putting the book into her bag. "Thanks," she said. "But Blood-Bars aren't really my thing." Sam walked out from behind the desk. Jamie stood and watched her as she walked away. She paused and looked over her shoulder at him when she realised he wasn't following. "Are you coming or are you planning to sleep here tonight?"

Jamie smiled slightly as he pushed himself away from the desk. "Can't wait to get rid of me," he said sarcastically and walked past Sam out the library doors.

Sam switched off the lights.

A chill went through her body as she looked around the darkened library. Without the lights it looked terrifying. The lack of windows made the room pitch black, though Sam was sure she could see shadows moving in the darkness. Her instincts took over for a moment, causing her to slam the door shut and lock it quickly, so that nothing had a chance to step out of the darkness.

Sam stood at the door for a moment, one hand on the handle, the other gripping the key tightly. She let a sigh of relief before pulling the keys out of the door. She turned around to find Jamie watching her, his expression half confused, half concerned.

"Everything alright?" he asked.

Sam tightened her hands into fists, not sure why they were shaking, or why the darkness had caused her heart to race with panic. She looked at Jamie and forced a smile. "Yeah, everything's fine." Her eyes drifted towards the library doors.

"It's okay, you know?" he said. When Sam looked at him in confusion he gave her a kind smile and elaborated, "To be afraid of the dark." He put his hands into the pockets of his jeans and shrugged his shoulders. "Everyone's got something they don't like."

"I'm not usually," Sam explained. "I don't mind the dark, it's just, it felt like . . . I don't know, I just thought . . . "

"Thought what?"

Sam shook her head and laughed. "Nothing . . . I'm just tired I guess. It was nothing."

Sam stood there for a few minutes, just staring at the door, pushing at it with her senses, trying to feel if there was a presence behind it.

There was nothing.

She really must have imagined the whole thing.

But then she remembered the runes, and the feeling she'd had earlier that there was something to be seen that she just couldn't focus on.

"So, what is your thing?" Jamie asked, after standing with her in silence for countless moments.

"What?" When she turned around he was still standing in the same place he had been when she'd turned her back to him.

Still with his hands in his pockets.

Still watching her.

"You said that Blood-Bars aren't your thing. So what is your thing?"

Sam sighed and thought, getting people killed. She looked at Jamie, he was probably in danger right now just for the crime of talking to her. Although it wasn't as if she could tell him that. She shrugged. "The usual boring things."

"Is that all your going to tell me?" Jamie asked as if he had been expecting her to divulge every minor detail of what she liked to do.

"Yep," Sam said and started walking away.

"Hey, Sam!" Jamie called. She turned around to look at him. "Uh, do you want a lift home?" he asked, and pointed to the only car in the parking lot, indicating that it was his.

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Are you insane?" she asked. He gave her a confused look. "I don't ride home with strangers. What if you're a serial killer?"

Jamie smiled and raised his left hand, placing his right one over his heart. "I hereby promise that I am most definitely not a serial killer."

"That's exactly what a serial killer would say."

Jamie laughed. "We were in an empty library all night," he stated. "Don't you think if I was a serial killer you would be dead, or at the very least, kidnapped by now?"

Sam gave him a sceptical look. "Not unless you were trying to lull me into a false sense of security before you killed me."

Jamie thought about that for a minute, then shook his head. "That's just ridiculous, I'm not a serial killer."

"I watch pretty much every crime drama on television," Sam stated. "I know how serial killers work and I'm not falling for your act."

"When was the last time anyone in this town died of anything other than natural causes?" Jamie asked. All of the police reports said natural causes, but Sam knew better than that. People get murdered in this town more often than anyone realises. "When did this conversation go wrong?" he asked rhetorically while laughing. "I only asked if you wanted a lift home."

Sam smiled. "I wasn't serious," she said. "Thanks for the offer, but I still don't ride home with strangers."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I only live about ten minutes away so it's not like I'm travelling for miles or anything."

Jamie shrugged. Sam thought that he looked a little disappointed, but it was difficult to tell with the lack of light. "Well, bye, I guess."

"Bye," Sam said and turned to walk away.

"Maybe I'll see you again sometime?" he called after her.

Sam smiled to herself. "Maybe," she said without looking back.