a chance to run or stay and fight. I would prefer running, but I know that you won’t do that, so I need to make sure you have as much information at your fingertips as possible.”
She smiled at his comment. He knew her well enough to know that she wouldn’t run from a battle.
“You have to pick your fights well. Even I will turn tail if I think I’m out manoeuvred, unless it’s vital that I stay and fight. This afternoon was a perfect example of being at a disadvantage and turning.”
“Would you have done that if I wasn’t there?” she asked.
“No, I would have stayed and fought.”
“So I was the disadvantage,” she said sadly.
He replied firmly, “No it was the situation not you. My job is to keep you safe.”
She shook her head still not convinced.
“Look at me, Ally.”
She glanced up and was greeted by warm eyes filled with love and concern. “You once asked me if I was a bodyguard. Do you remember?”
“How could I forget?”
“I am a bodyguard, Ally. Yours,” he said with conviction. “I will keep you safe at all costs. I don’t care if it means running away, that’s what I will do, every time.”
“No, you won’t,” she replied. “We both know that when the time comes, you must let me face a battle on my own no matter the cost. My safety won’t be the number-one priority. Fulfilling the prophecy will be the goal.”
He knew that one day it would come to that, but he intended for her to be completely prepared. He would not sit back and watch his soul mate die. But this was now, and they needed to focus on the task at hand, not the future battles.
“We need to stay focused on the problems of now. We can deal with the prophecy when it comes, but know this Ally, I won’t lose you! Damn the consequences.”
Ally was touched. How could she not be, hearing that he loved her so much? But he would see in time that this was bigger than them.
“How do we test my reflexes?” she asked, gently changing the subject.
He held his hand up and opened his palm face up.
“Watch my hand,” he said, as a ball of white light appeared to hover slightly above his palm.
She looked on in amazement. “How did you do that?”
“I will explain it later when you have the ability. This is just a harmless ball of light. We can create fireballs, and running with the theory that the vampires now have our abilities, you will need to know how to dodge them.”
She shook her head in confusion. “How am I supposed to dodge a fireball?”
“Instinct,” he said simply, then continued. “I’m going to throw this at you, it won’t hurt. Try to dodge it.”
She shrugged. “I’ll try.”
He gave her no warning and threw the ball straight at her heart, which is where the vampires would aim. For an Immortal it would just wound them, but for a human, it would be fatal.
She instinctively threw her hand up and the ball of light bounced off, hit the wall and then dissolved into nothing. James stared blankly at what he had just seen, his mouth was hanging open slightly and his mind was racing with questions.
“How did you do that?” he asked, completely stunned.
“I don’t know,” she answered. “I just reacted instinctively. I didn’t really think about it.”
He threw another one without warning, and she held up her hand with the same result.
“What the hell was that for?” she squealed.
“An experiment,” he said, turning the information over in his mind. “That shouldn’t happen; it should just dissolve into nothing the second it comes into contact with something. It bounced right off you,” he said, rubbing his chin in thought.
“Would the same thing happen with a fireball?” she asked.
“I don’t know and we aren’t finding out,” he said with a firmness which indicated he wouldn’t be discussing it further.
She rolled her eyes at his obstinacy. “Think of what we could do if it did. The vampires would never see it coming.”
He saw the excitement forming in her eyes, and attempted to cut the thought dead in its tracks. “Not a chance, lass.”
Not one to give in, Ally called his bluff and said, “If you don’t do it, then I will find someone else that will.”
He loved her attitude but it wasn’t worth the risk. “I’ll kill anyone who tries.”
“No you won’t,” she said defiantly.
James pinned her with a hard stare, and she realized that