Immortal Destiny (The Immortal Prophecy Saga) (3 page)

A crimson flower sat on her chair…

Chapter Four

Ally gasped, and her eyes widened at the surreal sight before her. She backed up against the door, unable to breathe or utter a sound. The sight of the crimson flower flung her mind back to last night and her dream came flooding back.

Trembling like a leaf as she brought her hand up to cover her gaping mouth, she muttered, “Oh my god…was she really here? I thought it was a dream?”

Ally tried to get control of her breathing and nerves. The shaking began to subside to a manageable level, and she forced one hesitant foot in front of the other as she made her way over to the flower. Part of her hoped it wasn’t real, that it was just some strange figment of her imagination brought on by stress.

She inched closer and closer until she stood before the light gold chair, leaning down with her hand outstretched hovering above the flower.

Taking a deep breath, she lowered her hand and curled her fingers around the green stem. She lifted it up and took a closer look.

It can’t be the same flower
, she thought trying to convince herself, but Ally knew it was…

The flower was a message.

Did it mean death? And did it mean the dream had actually been real? How else could it possibly have been in her room?

This can’t be happening
, she thought and dropped the offending flower back on to the chair.

A knock on the door brought Ally back to reality. She quickly turned to face it and hesitantly called out, “Come in.”

Mackenzie opened the door and popped her head in. “Morning, Ally.”

Visibly relieved that it was only Mackenzie and not James or another one of the growing number of immortal residents in the house, she let out a pent up breath and brightened, making sure to stand in front of the flower.

“Morning, Mackenzie,” she said, and pasted what she hoped was a smile on her face. “What can I do for you?”

Hesitating, the young woman stepped into the room and closed the door behind her, then leaned back against it awkwardly. She opened her mouth to speak but then closed it again. Ally felt a real smile form over the forced one.

Am I really that hard to talk to?

She obviously had something to say, but was so painfully shy, Ally decided to help her out and started the conversation. “Sit down if you like,” she said with a gesture towards the bed.

Mackenzie sat down. Once Ally knew the flower was out of her line of sight, she went over and sat next to her. “Now, what’s wrong?” Ally gently prodded.

Mackenzie big blue eye’s widened slightly. “Oh, nothing’s wrong. I just I wanted to ask you something, but I don’t want to sound...cold, I guess.”

Mackenzie was a sweetheart; she didn’t believe that she could ever say something cold, unintentionally or otherwise. “I’m sure you won’t. Out with it.”

“It’s about Chase.”

Ally frowned, but nodded encouragingly.

“How is he? We haven’t seen him since he lost Kathryn.”

“James spoke to him last week and he’s doing ok,” Ally said. “James got the feeling he’s still pretty cut up about what happened to Kat…But I guess we all are.”

Mackenzie dropped her head and began to fiddle with her dress. Ally could see the slightest bit of pink colouring her creamy white cheeks.

“Do you know where he is?” Mackenzie asked.

“London.”

She looked up and her eyes met Ally’s. “London? What on earth is he doing in London?”

“Killing as many vampires as he possibly can, I believe,” Ally informed her.

Mackenzie gasped and her blue eyes widened again. “But he could be killed himself!”

Ally cocked her head to one side and began to speak. “You’ve known him for a long time, but that isn’t the voice of someone concerned for a friend…”

Turning a very bright shade of red, Mackenzie turned her head away from Ally.

“I’m sorry,” Ally said. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”

“I know that…” she replied as she felt the unshed tears threatening to fall. “I’m just living in a fantasy land when it comes to Chase.”

Ally raised her eyebrows. “I’m not sure that’s true. But I still don’t understand why you thought you would offend me.”

She bit her lip and hesitated before revealing the truth to Ally. “Because your best friend was his soulmate, and now she’s dead. And here I am asking you about him, when I should just forget about it. It was never meant to be…”

The unshed tears began to fall unbidden from her eyes. Ally wrapped her arms around her and let the girl sob into her shoulder. Her heart was breaking for Mackenzie. She remembered those five lonely years after she had met James, when she thought that he hadn’t cared. It was a feeling she wouldn’t wish upon anyone, especially not Mackenzie.

“Are you certain Chase doesn’t feel that way about you?”

Mackenzie sniffed and lightly she shook her head. “I’ve seen the way James looks at you. The look an immortal gives their soulmate is unmistakable.”

Ally thought for a moment. “Something wasn’t right between Kat and Chase. And I’ve seen him look at you in the way you’re talking about.”

A small light of hope flickered in Mackenzie’s eyes. “Chase was acting strange the night before he left to rescue Kathryn. I thought that maybe…but I was wrong.” She looked up at Ally, the guilt was there to see. “I felt
terrible
because I was so happy that he might feel the same way about me, but at the same time I knew Kat had been taken by the vampires and was in serious trouble…I never wished her any harm, I promise.”

“Oh Mackenzie, please don’t feel terrible. Anyone in love would have felt the same way as you did. And I know you would never have wished Kat any harm,” Ally said reassuringly.

“Thank you,” Mackenzie said. You’ve made me feel a lot better. I’ve felt so guilty ever since that night.”

Ally put her arm around Mackenzie’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. “What are friends for?”

Mackenzie raised her eyebrows in surprise. “I’d like to be friends.”

“We already are,” Ally said, with a warm smile.

“Do you think he will come back soon?”

“I hope so,” Ally said, trying to give her hope.

Mackenzie brightened and stood up. “I feel so much better now. I’m glad I spoke to you.”

“Anytime,” she said, as she gave Mackenzie a warm hug.

Mackenzie walked to the door and paused, glancing at the chair. “What a gorgeous flower! Did James leave that for you?”

Damn
.

“Umm…not exactly.”

“Are you alright, Ally? You’ve turned as white as a ghost.”

Ally waved it off. “Yeah, fine. I, uh, just need to meet James. He’s waiting for me in the kitchen.”

Mackenzie gave her a broad smile. “Don’t let me keep you then,” she said and left the room.

Making her way back over to the flower, she muttered, “Now what do I do?” Deciding there was nothing more to be done, she unwillingly picked up the flower to take downstairs with her to show James, and walked over to the door. As she grabbed the handle, a voice shimmered in her mind.
“Trust your instincts, Alessandra. They will light the way on the darkest of nights.”

She turned around so quick she almost gave herself whiplash, but Ally saw that no one was in the room.

Who the hell was that?

Completely freaked out, she dashed out of her room without a backward glance and hurried to the kitchen. She didn’t want to be alone.

******

Ally held the flower behind her back as she entered the kitchen. James was sitting at the table, with a coffee in his hand reading the local newspaper. She noticed the light blue button up shirt he was wearing. The colour brought out his eyes and made him look even sexier, if that was possible. She wished he was standing up so could get a look at him in jeans, but that would have to wait.

He noticed her entrance and he gave her a look that wondered where she’d been.

She walked over to the table and sat down, and nestled the flower behind her back. “Sorry, got held up.”

“Is everything alright?” he asked as he nudged a cup coffee in front of her.

“Thanks,” she said and grabbed it with both hands. “Mackenzie wanted to talk to me.”

“About?”

Raising an eyebrow at James and taking a sip of her coffee, she asked, “What’s with the twenty questions?”

He gave her a half smile, and shrugged implying indifference.

James watched her as she sank into her own world, deep in thought. 
She’s forgotten about the conversation we had before I left her room. What in the world made her forget that?

He was about to say something, when he noticed a foreign smell in the room, not at all unpleasant but one that hadn’t been there until Ally arrived.

“That’s a nice perfume you’re wearing.”

Coming back to reality at the sound of his voice, she looked at him confused. “I’m not wearing perfume. I got distracted by Mackenzie and forgot to put it on.”

“So what do I smell then?”

So much for working up to it
…

She brought the flower out from behind her back, and placed it on the table in front of James. He glared at the flower in front of him, and looked up at Ally with a question in his eyes. “Is that what I think it is?”

“It certainly is.”

“Where did you find it?” He had a sneaking suspicion he wasn’t going to like her answer.

“On the chair in my room,” she answered. “In the same corner that Kat stood during the dream. Or perhaps what I thought was a dream.”

He ran his fingers through her hair, and spoke the awful truth. “If it had been real, you would be dead.”

Ally’s voice rose. “Have you ever heard of softening the truth, James? Perhaps you should try it sometime. You’re talking about my best friend killing me, not some random!”

“What happened to your thirst for the truth?” he drawled, throwing her words back at her from the masquerade ball.

“There are exceptions to every rule, and this is it!” she shot back.

He looked at her again and his face softened. “You’re right. I’m sorry. You know how I get when I’m worried.”

“Hmmm…” she replied, still not entirely satisfied.

“Ally.” He pleaded as his eyes beseeched her forgiveness.

“Oh, alright. I know you didn’t mean any harm.”

“No, I didn’t.”

“So what do we do?”

“We need to leave the manor.”

Ally drew her eyebrows together. “
Leave?
Don’t you think that’s a bit of an overreaction, James?”

“An overreaction?” James gave her a hard stare. “No, I don’t think trying to keep you safe is an overreaction at all!”

Ally let out an exasperated sound and rolled her eyes. “For god’s sake, James. Yes, ok there was a flower in my room. Not great…but leaving? I don’t think that’s necessary.”

“You might think differently when you hear what I have to tell you.”

Her body tightened in anticipation.

“Vincent’s here…”

“Here in Scotland?” Her voice rose with each word.

James gave her a short nod.

“What! He isn’t supposed to be here yet, James.” She stood up and paced around nervously tugging at her hair. “I’ve only been in Scotland for two months. Why is he here?”

“You know why he’s here.”

“You know what I meant.” She sighed in frustration. “So what do we do?”

Getting up from the table, James walked over to the white French doors and looked out over the snow-capped mountains to gather his thoughts before answering her. “Between Vincent arriving, Kathryn being turned and a flower ending up in your room, we need to do something and I think that something is leaving.” He spun around to look at her. She could see the situation weighing heavily upon him and wanted to relieve his suffering in some way. Unfortunately, Ally was struggling with new information as well.

“We do have a few advantages if we stay here,” Ally pointed out.

“Like what?” he asked with a small humourless laugh.

Ally walked over to the doors to be closer to him. “We have Damian back, so that is another immortal to stand with us. We also have Chase, if he decides to come back, and Gran. We aren’t alone in this.”

He turned his body so he was facing her. “I know and having them will be an advantage, but Damian isn’t the warrior he once was, and may never be again. Besides, we only got him back a few weeks ago. It’s too soon for him to be anywhere near a battle.”

“I know that, but he’s recovering so much every day,” she countered.

“You’re right, he is. But the emotional trauma may cripple him if he finds himself up against the vampires again, even a year from now. Fifty years at the hands of those creatures is a long-time, Ally.”

She shuddered, thinking of all that her grandfather would have endured at their hands. “I guess we won’t know until it happens.”

“
If
it happens.” He sighed and turned to look at her. “There’s only one way that flower made its way into your room.”

“A vampire?”

“No,” James said shaking his head. “I would have smelt the creature in your room. There’s no way one would even make it onto our property without one of us noticing. The vampires have a very distinct smell…it’s unmistakeable and rather potent.”

“So if it wasn’t a vampire, then what was it?”

James didn’t want to even contemplate the idea, but he knew there was only one conclusion to be drawn. “A human. More specifically, one of my staff.”

Ally gasped. “But no one here would ever do such a thing! These people love you, James. How could you even suggest that?”

His face was filled with a mixture of sadness and guilt. “You’re right, no one here would
willingly
place that flower in your room, but they could easily be compelled to do such a thing and have no recollection of the event.”

Ally sat in stunned silence.

“So any of them could be used against us, or rather, used against you. They could do little harm to an immortal, but you can easily be killed.” James voiced changed. Gone was the warm man she knew and loved, and in his place was the dominating immortal. “I can’t and
won’t
keep you somewhere that is unsafe.”