race and kill Vincent. He will die at your hand if the prophecy is fulfilled.” The fortune teller paused for a moment, feeling desperately sorry for the sweet innocent girl sitting before her, but she knew that hiding the truth from her would ultimately lead to her demise. She leaned over and grabbed Ally’s hand in an effort to offer her some comfort. “The destiny that has been chosen for you will not be an easy one, but you were born to do this. No matter what do not lose hope, if you lose hope, then you have already lost, and you will die. Vincent will win, and the human race will be slaughtered with no one to protect them.”
Ally snatched her hand back as if it was burned. With a deceptively calm voice she said, “I want to go home, Kathryn. Now!”
“Of course,” Kathryn said as she helped her friend up.
“Ally,” Madame Isabella continued. “Remember that when you lose those people, things will have been set in motion that no one can stop. It will have begun.”
Unable to form any words, Ally glared at the woman, until Kathryn pulled her along and got her outside the tent.
Once outside, Ally felt like she could breathe again. They started walking so fast it was almost a light jog. Both were eager to get as far from that place as possible.
Madame Isabella watched the girls leave with a peculiar look on her face. “So the prophecy is true,” she muttered, shaking her head slightly in disbelief. “Poor girl, you have no idea what is coming for you.” A tear rolled down her cheek as she turned and walked back inside.
“I’m so sorry, Ally. I should never have forced you into that.” Kathryn felt dreadful for insisting that Ally have a reading too.
“It’s not true,” Ally muttered shaking her head. “It can’t be.”
Ally was still walking without a destination in mind, the only requirement she had was to be far away from Madame Isabella. Kat was walking with her, gently guiding her through the crowds. She could tell her friend was not watching where she was going.
“Not a chance that was way too bizarre,” Kat said, trying to be reassuring. However, they both knew that it more than likely was true. Madame Isabella seemed to be the real deal.
“Right.” Ally smiled trying to perk up. If I don’t believe it, then it won’t happen, right? Losing two people close to her, Vincent, a guardian and soul mate named James. It was all too much. Then the reality of what she had been told hit her. The air was knocked from her lungs, she couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, and then everything went black…
Ally woke up to the sounds of her parents’ voices whispering quietly somewhere in the room.
“Mum, Dad? Is that you?” She felt her warm quilt smothering her. The sensation was one she welcomed. But how did she get home, let alone get into her bed?
Her mother, who had been talking to her father on the other side of the room, abruptly looked up and came over to sit down by the bedside and took her hand. “Ally, sweetie, how are you feeling?”
Ally’s father came over and sat on the opposite side. “You gave us quite a fright.”
“What happened?” she asked whilst trying to sit up.
Her mother gently encouraged her to lie back down. “You don’t remember anything?”
She looked at her mother, trying to work out why she looked so worried. “Um, not really. I was at the Fair with Kat. We went to see a Fortune Teller and…” Her voice trailed off as it all came rushing back to her. Ally felt herself starting to black out again, but as she got control of her breathing, the unnerving sensation disappeared.
“Kathryn told us that the Fortune Teller predicted some awful things. Is that right?” her mother asked as she gently stroked her daughter’s cheek. It was something her mum had done to calm her for as long as she could remember.
Panic flooded Ally when she looked at her adoring loving mother and father. What if they were the two people close to her that Madame Isabella had been referring to? If the prediction came true, and it involved them, how could she ever live without them? Ally caught hold of herself before her thoughts started to run away with her, as they so often did.
“It wasn’t a nice prediction,” Ally said quietly, then realized Kathryn might have told them what was said. “Did