Blackness surrounded her, then a flash of colour lit up the entire night sky. She snuggled closer into James’ embrace and enjoyed the fireworks show that marked the official opening of the fair.
They had all been right. So far she was enjoying herself.
She looked around at all the families that had gathered to watch the show, and saw little boys and girls perched up on their father’s shoulders, some clung to their parent’s legs in fascinated fear and others squealed excitedly begging for more.
An old couple in front of them held hands like the other young lovers that were scattered amongst the crowd, and the gypsy troupe all huddled together off to the side, relaxed and laughing.
All these people were hers to protect. Whether they knew it or not…she did.
What would happen to the little boy on his dad’s shoulders, or the girl clinging to her mother’s leg, and the young lovers who wanted nothing more than to be together? And then her eye’s finally rested again on the elderly couple whose love shone through the darkness. What of them? If she lost this fight against Vincent and the other vampires, they would consume this earth like a plague, and the people around her would become nothing more than a memory.
She understood how the Immortals in hiding felt, her heart went out to them in a way, because she too knew what it felt like to be so terrified that all you wanted to do was hide. But that wasn’t her role in this life, and the crowd of strangers around her further cemented her determination to win this fight. And she knew, as much as she didn’t want to admit it, that James was right. They did need to wait until they found the last elder and her training was more thorough. She could take down a vampire and had done in the recent past, but not Vincent. He was too strong, too cunning and too damn good at being evil.
The fireworks ended and she watched the crowd disperse into the waiting stalls and the gypsies began to ready themselves for their first performance. But a weathered face and piercing pale blue eyes caught her attention. An old woman stood on the edge of the stalls and stared at her with an intensity that made Ally feel naked and uneasy.
James spoke, breaking the trance and making her jump. “Let’s go look at the stalls,”
“Those eyes!” Ally exclaimed as she recognised the reason for her discomfort. “It’s the woman from my dream.”
He turned his head in the direction she had been looking and scanned the area. “There’s no one there.”
She whipped her head around. “But she was just…” The sentence trailed off without her finishing it.
“Maybe you’re just nervous, sweetheart.”
She shook her head defiantly. “No, she was there. I know it.”
James looked around again, but detected nothing that was of a threat to Ally. “I believe you, but whoever she was, she’s gone.”
Ally still wasn’t convinced, but let herself be led away from her spot towards the stalls. She took a deep breath and shook off the panic that had started to swell in her breast.
It’s nothing, just a harmless old woman. Maybe it was just a coincidence…oh who am I kidding?!
“We can watch the fire breathing, play the side show games or wander around the stalls. What do you wanna do?” James asked.
“Wander around the stalls.”
“Alright.”
They walked hand in hand with Ally gushing over all the handmade scarfs, jewellery and anything else one could think of, until the creepy old woman from earlier in the evening had almost been forgotten.
“Stay right here,” James said suddenly as they approached another stall.
“Why?”
“Because there’s something I want to get for you. I’ll only take a second.”
Ally smiled up at him indulgently. “Alright, but don’t be too long.”
“I’ll be right there,” he said pointing to the stall just in front of them. “You’ll be able to see me, just not what I’m buying.”
Ally nodded and watched him wander off. Exotic music began to fill her ears and she turned around to find the source of the mystical sound. A breathtakingly beautiful woman was on the stage surrounded by lit torches. Her body appeared to be made of jelly and Ally was captivated in an instant by the alluring dance. She watched fascinated by the way the exotic brunette moved so fluidly and seductively. Rolling in and out to the tune of the music, the woman’s hips swayed at the same time as her belly advanced and retreated. Watching the performance, her mind jumped back to the night she first met Isabella and that she had reminded her of a belly dancer at the time. A small giggle almost escaped her. Now that she knew Isabella the idea had been a ridiculous one. The young woman was beautiful and seductive enough to be a belly dancer, but Ally had the impression she’d rather gnaw her own arm off than perform for a group of gawking males. She was not someone to fuss with. And Ally secretly loved that about her. Not that she’d ever let that pass her lips of course.
She was so enthralled in the performance she didn’t notice anything until a hand grabbed her arm with surprising force. She whirled around on instinct and found herself staring into the blue eyes from her nightmare.
She gasped and tried to back away, but the old lady had a firm grip. She could have shaken her off with very little effort, but she didn’t want to risk hurting her, just in case she wasn’t evil.
Ally looked into her eyes, mesmerised by the colour of them. It was the palest blue she had ever seen. But it wasn’t just the colour that entranced and freaked her out; it was the depth of knowing she saw in them.
“Who are you?” Ally demanded. “Why are you haunting my dreams?”
The old woman opened her mouth and disbelief filled her eyes. “You’ve been dreaming of me?”
“Yes!”
“Something’s coming for you, Alessandra.”
“Tell me something I don’t know,” she answered warily.
The old woman’s grip tightened around her arm. “Your anchor is the only thing that will release you. Never forget your anchor.”
Ally drew her eyebrows together and her mouth opened slightly. “My anchor? As in James. What do you know?” She demanded angrily.
“Never forget your anchor,” the woman practically shouted.
“Who are you?” Ally asked with a feeling she was in the presence yet again of another fortune teller with bad news.
“I am a gypsy with a gift.”
“Curse is more like it,” Ally ground out.
She shook her head firmly. “No, if you can help people then it is always a gift, even if it is a curse to yourself.”
The woman looked in James’ direction, and dropped her arm as if it burnt. “Your anchor…never forget him,” she whispered one last time with urgency as she melted back into the crowd.
Ally stared into the dark night, and cursed the moment she had agreed to attend this fair. “Bloody seers…” She muttered.
“Ally,” James called out, as he reached her side. “Who was that?”
“The old woman from my dream,” she said dryly.
His intense gaze fixed on her. “What did she want?”
“What all fortune tellers want…she wanted to give me some bad news.”
James looked uneasy. “What was the bad news?”
Ally relayed what had happened, and James grew more pale by the minute.
“Are you alright?” She asked him and placed her hand on his arm.
“The gift I bought you,” he paused and took her hand. He slipped something cool into her hand. “Look at it.”
She opened her palm and saw what he had bought her. Her eyes widened and she looked up at him. “Oh dear.”
He nodded.
In her open palm was a silver necklace with an anchor pendant, the words ‘Never Forget’ written across it.