Anna's Hope Episode One (14 page)

“There is every possibility, Luminaria,
that if he attacks you, he’ll win. Do you need me to describe what
will happen if you’re defeated by magic in your current
form?”

Luminaria stiffened.

Aaron ignored her and continued, “your
magic and your contract will pass to another. And you, Luminaria,
you will cease to exist.”

“I know the terms, wizard,” she
snarled.

“I’m sure you do. I’m simply reminding you
of them. And now you are reminded, perhaps you will agree returning
home and waiting for this wizard to reappear is a particularly bad
idea.”

“What are you suggesting instead?”
Luminaria flashed her tail.

“That we return to my place and we think
about this. At this stage, we have no idea how big this group is,
nor do we know how many resources that dark wizard has access to.
If he could spare enough magic to continually relocate this chapel,
then he is easily the strongest practitioner I have seen in
Marchtown for years.”

“You think I couldn’t feel his power? I
could taste it, boy. But you’re wrong – he’s not as strong as you
think he is. My estimation is he is merely a foot
soldier.”

“Hmm,” Aaron stowed his hand in his pocket
and looked thoughtful, “to you he may be merely a foot soldier, but
to me, that means he has powerful friends. Now, we should probably
get out of here before this chapel crumbles around us.” He made a
point of wiping some dust from his silver-grey jacket.

Even though her home wasn’t a comforting
place, Anna still wanted to crawl into bed. She wanted to pull the
covers over her head, cradle her wrist, and pretend none of this
was happening.

….

She had a part of a dark wizard’s soul, and
sooner rather than later, he’d be back to claim it.

Though she’d been through a lot
that night, and she
was dead on her feet, it was still interesting to see where
Aaron lived.

He hadn’t taken her back to the
offices of the MEC. Nope, after a painfully quiet but thankfully
short car ride, they’d arrived at a colonial-style
five-story house.
It was red-brown brick rimmed with white window frames and capped
by a baby-blue roof. There were white roses in the generous yard,
and a well-kept sandstone path leading to an ornate red
door.

It was exactly like its owner: distinguished
and regal.

Anna
pressed her injured wrist against her
chest and wandered up the path, her head turning in every direction
as she spied something new to stare at.

Though the place appeared traditional in
design, if you looked carefully, you could see something … a little
extra. There were magical enchantments, talismans, and hex wards
dotted throughout the garden and grounds. A few well-placed nicks
in the large birch by the fence would protect the house from demons
and ghosts. The tiny golden symbols etched into the door with a
sacred knife would ensure no vampires entered, even with an
invitation. The tiny scribbled leafs of parchment half-buried under
the roses would prevent the undead from digging their way out of
the mulch.

Aaron cleared his throat.

She barely noticed. She spied a few
malachite stones scattered around the grass by the path. Malachite
was known throughout the ages for its ability to protect and
heal.

Aaron cleared his throat again. “By this
rate, you’ll never make it into the house.”

She looked up at him and made an awkward
face. She was good at awkward faces; she’d spent most of her life
practicing. In fact, when Anna wasn’t being embarrassing, she was
usually having an accident that would lead to future
embarrassment.

Usually it didn’t bother her. Around Aaron
and his lovely house, she couldn’t ignore it.

He was everything she wasn’t. Sure of
himself, powerful, distinguished, and forthright.

“Anna, come in,” he said pointedly as he
opened the door and gestured into the hallway.

“Oh, sorry.” She hurried up the stairs and
over the threshold. As soon as she crossed it, she
sneezed.

Magic.

Everywhere. The wards and talismans
protecting the outside of the house were nothing compared to the
objects and spells within.

She put a hand up to her mouth and coughed,
trying to ward off another sneeze.

Aaron turned and walked into a
room to his left. She caught sight of his expression, and it
was
to be as
expected. He looked bothered. Clearly protecting a silly witch like
her wasn’t how he preferred to spend his nights.

“I’ll have the butler take you to a room.
You’ll be safe there. I’ll sort out everything else.”

“So … that’s it?” She stood in the
corridor and shuffled her feet. Her skirt was dirty and ripped. In
fact, everything she wore was worse for wear, including herself.
She was in dire need of a bath, a drink, and a lie down.

Leaving everything up to Aaron didn’t feel
right, though. It felt too much like giving up.

“You’ll be safe here,” he
repeated.

She looked down at her feet and distractedly
rubbed her wrist.

He tipped his head down, tilting it as he
tried to look up into her eyes. “Are you alright?”

She forced herself to nod. “Yeah,
fine.”

“I’ll have the butler see to your wrist.
He’s accomplished in both normal and magical first aid. Considering
your particular allergies, it might be best to see to your wrist in
a more mundane manner.”

“Thanks,” she managed. Then she fell
silent.

Aaron stood
on the threshold to his drawing
room. Clearly he was waiting for her to go away. A man like him was
busy every second of every day, and her escapades tonight had only
added to that.

“I’ll just go look for the butler,” she
pointed in a random direction over her shoulder.

“He’s not hiding in the broom cupboard.”
Aaron raised an eyebrow, but at the same time, he smiled. Softly.
Honestly, the move was barely there. You had to be paying as much
attention as Anna was to his chiseled jaw and defined cheekbones to
even notice it. “He’s just over there,” Aaron continued, pointing
towards the end of the hall.

A man was standing with a white-linen
towel folded neatly over one arm. Lord knows how long he’d been
there, as Anna hadn’t heard him approach.

She stifled a startled yelp, and coughed
instead. “Okay … um, thanks.”

“This way, ma’am,” the butler said as he
turned stiffly on one heel, his shoes crushing the plush pile of
the cream carpet.

Aaron entered his drawing room and closed
the door without a word.

If Luminaria were here, she’d snap at him
for being rude. The possessed cat was currently outside chasing
mice. As soon as they’d arrived, she’d spied one and pursued it
around the side of the house. For a witch trapped in a feline’s
body, she sometimes forgot about her human roots and ate entirely
too many lizards.

Still, even though it was nice
when Luminaria left her alone, right now,
Anna could use the snide cat. She’d
know exactly what to say to Aaron. She also wouldn’t take a back
seat. Luminaria von Tippit was not the kind to let others fight her
battles.

Anna
apparently was. She turned and
followed the butler up the stairs.

Once she entered her room and closed the
door behind her, she let out a sigh. It shook with emotion and
exhaustion.

So much for her first solo bounty hunter
mission. Far from proving herself to Scott and Aaron, she’d proven
they were right.

Scott ….

She hadn’t thought about him since he’d
left her at that bar. He could be worried about her, she realized
as she bit her lip. Or, more likely, he could have forgotten all
about her, as she was the most forgettable witch and woman in the
city.

Sighing heavily again, she flopped onto
her bed. It was covered with an intricate soft-white bedspread. And
now that was covered in soot and dried up blood.

“Oh god,” she pushed herself up and made a
face. She darted over to the en suite, but soon realized she was
trailing mud and ash with every step of her dirty shoes.

She couldn’t win.

Anna
never could.

Once the butler attended to her
injuries,
Anna went to bed. It was a relief to close her
eyes.

Her dreams were ... unsettling, though.
Anna usually dreamt of inane silly things.

Tonight, she dreamt of dark rituals and
hidden magic. By the time she woke in the morning, she was
sweating.

She shifted up, pressing a hand to her
sweaty brow.

That’s when she noticed Luminaria was
sleeping on the pillow beside her. The cat opened one eye, the move
slow and dangerous. “You’re disturbing me,” she warned. “Also, move
over – your massive body is taking up too much room.”

Anna
shifted to the side. That’s when she
noticed Luminaria had something pinned under her paw. On close
inspection, it turned out to be a rat’s tail.

“Eww.” Anna leapt out of bed, jumping from
foot to foot. “You had that thing in the bed the whole night!
Where’s the rest of the mouse?” She made a face as she drew back
the covers and checked for the remains.

“In my belly.” Luminaria still had half of
one eye open.

“Why didn’t you leave the tail
outside?”

“Because it is enormous fun to see you
squirm, child. Now shut up – I’m tired and I need my rest. I had a
big night last night.”

Anna
was about to point out she’d had a
big night too – but thought better of it.

Instead she turned and walked around her
room.

It was generous, and had plenty of space
for a large queen bed, a dressing table, a wardrobe, a desk, and a
recliner. Everything was antique and looked more expensive than
anything she’d ever be able to afford.

Standing awkwardly in the middle of the
room, her bare feet sinking into the invitingly plush carpet, she
scratched her arms. She didn’t want to touch anything in case she
broke it. Aaron seemed like exactly the kind of guy to make her pay
for any damaged goods.

After a minute or so, she walked carefully
over to the window. She pressed a hand onto the sill and stared
down at the garden below. It was even more beautiful in the
daylight. The old oaks and birches stood tall and proud, their
verdant leaves casting a mottled shade against the side of the
house.

Aaron’s house was, appropriately, in the
expensive section of town. It was easily on an acre or two of
sprawling gardens, and if you angled your head right, you could
block out the rest of the city and pretend you’d been transported
to the countryside.

It should have been idyllic – and was –
but Anna was in no mood to appreciate it.

She brought a hand up and compulsively
rubbed her chest.

Though it sounded crazy, she swore she could
feel the fragment of that wizard’s soul in there. It felt like a
shard sticking into her heart. Not enough to kill her, but enough
to cause constant discomfort.

She wanted it out, and she wanted this
damned situation resolved.

She sighed heavily.

“Oh, for the love of god. Stop standing
there and sighing like the most pathetic witch in the world. If you
want to find out if Aaron’s caught that little snot from last
night, just go and ask him,” Luminaria snapped as she rolled over
and curled with her back to Anna.

He’d probably already left for work –
considering how monumentally busy he always was – but Anna
nonetheless dressed and wandered down stairs.

The butler instantly appeared from
somewhere, with all the suddenness of an apparition. “Wizard Arana
requests your presence in the dining room.” He swept his arm to the
side, revealing a door at the end of the hall.

Realizing she was underdressed for this
house, let alone breakfast with Aaron, Anna tried to arrange her
ripped top so it didn’t look so bedraggled.

It was a thankless task, and she gave up by
the time they reached the dining hall.

The butler opened the door to reveal an
enormous room. While the house was large, this room looked like it
belonged in a castle. A really fancy castle.

There were large, gilded windows to the left
that offered sweeping views of the garden, with the stacks and
towers of the city only barely visible over the tops of the
trees.

If the view from her room was idyllic, this
was mesmerizing.

In the middle of the room sat one of those
mile-long extravagant tables you only ever see in illustrations
from fairy tales. No one in the real world could afford a table
that immense, made from a single continuous piece of the most
luxurious red-brown wood in the world.

Aaron wasn’t from the real world.

He was sitting at the head of the table,
reading the paper and eating marmalade toast.

She shuffled her way over to him, her hands
clasped awkwardly before her, as if she expected to be told off for
muddying his perfect room with her disheveled presence.

“There are clothes in the wardrobe in your
room.” He took a sip of his coffee from a hand-painted bone china
cup. Still reading the paper, he didn’t turn to her once. “It’s
magical – it will produce whatever apparel you desire. You can ask
the butler if you can’t figure out how to work it.”