Soul Snatcher (2 page)

She wore what
looked like a long, shapeless coat with the sleeves falling loosely
to her wrists and the length flowing all the way to her feet. The
colour was silver but had a white lining running along the seams
and it was almost as if it was made from the stars
itself.

It looked
like she came from a different place than humans altogether. It
didn’t seem like she
had
a soul, it was as
if she
was
a soul that was shaped like a human.
There was no good or bad part of her from what he could see, she
just existed and nothing more. She certainly wasn’t human but he
had no idea what she was and he could sense straight up that she
wasn’t impressed with him in the slightest. In fact, it almost felt
as if she despised him already. The feeling was mutual.

“
Who are
you?” He asked, thinking this woman was already starting to annoy
him. He could tell she was aged though her face was
ageless.

“I am known
as, Aliyah,” she answered. She spoke with no emotion and she gave
off the feeling that she was in control but entirely uncomfortable
with being there. Most of all, Baden could tell she wasn’t afraid
of him. “And I have come to strike a bargain with you.”

“
And what
type of bargain is that?” Baden wasn’t in the mood for this. She
stood there emitting her aversion to him and he did the same to
her. As far as he was concerned she could just join the queue of
people who found him abhorrent.

“
It has come
to our attention that you are creating quite a disturbance here and
we are required to arbitrate…” she began to say but was cut
off.

“
Who is
‘we’?” He asked bitterly. He wasn’t impressed with the idea of
being watched.

“
That is none
of your concern!” She snapped at him. She didn’t like Baden in the
slightest but she was chosen to be the one to confront him because
she was part of the few who created him. But something had gone
wrong and now it was her job to fix it. “There is much you do not
know and I am here to negotiate your assistance.” Baden almost
laughed at her.

“
And why
would I help you?” He sneered.

“There are
many reasons to help someone…” She paused as she looked at him,
almost as if she was disgusted. “But from what I can tell of you,
you are someone who thinks only of himself.” Even though it was
true Baden was still offended. “So name your price…” He looked at
her for a moment and could sense that she had the ability to do
more than just give him money, which he didn’t need. She had the
power that he could use for his revenge.

“
Kill the one
who made me,” he asked.

“
That is out
of my control,” she shot back instantly.

“
Kill the one
who betrayed me,” he threw at her. She abruptly tilted her head to
one side, as if she was trying to understand his
strangeness.

“
I can offer
more than revenge, Baden…I can offer you redemption,” she
countered. This time he did laugh.

“Listen
Aliyah
,” he said her
name with disdain. “I may not know what you are but I can sense
enough to tell that you would be able to see my soul,” he reasoned.
“And I would wager there is nothing in there that makes you believe
that I would want anything other than revenge.”

Aliyah took a
breath, trying to hold back her anger. She hated dealing with
beings in this realm and this was adding to her many reasons why.
She had been told he would refuse to change his ways and that is
exactly the reason why they had already put a different plan in
motion. A plan that would change Baden entirely, whether he liked
it or not. The only reason she had attempted to intervene was to
abide by the laws she was bound by.

“
If this is
what you choose then you have just made your life more difficult
than it needs to be,” she said through gritted teeth.

Before he
could say anything else the wind picked up again, blowing dirt into
his eyes. He closed them abruptly, brushing his eyes free of the
dirt as quickly as he could. When he looked up again she was
gone.

“Good
riddance,” he whispered to himself. He continued his trek into the
darkness alone, not even fazed by what had just happened. He may
have just encountered a creature completely foreign to him for the
first time but, if his life had taught him anything, it was easier
not to care. Anyone else would be unnerved that an unearthly being
had just threatened them but not Baden. He only had room for one
emotion and that was enmity.

Finally he was alone,
separated from everyone else like he always wanted to be. The
foolish belief that his future was now in his own hands was sinking
deep into his bitter soul but it didn’t fill him with peace, it
only filled him with more hatred than before. Hatred that had
already wreaked havoc on so many lives and was set to do the same
to so many more.

CHAPTER
1

ENGLAND
1804

As the afternoon grew old,
the sun was gently warm as it shone brightly, almost happily as it
caressed the earth. Not a cloud was in sight for miles and it was
the most perfect of days. Just the type of perfect day to change
everything…

Baden’s blue eyes saw her
from across the way. He stood undetected in the crowd of people,
unrecognised though once known in this area. Or was it that no one
was brave enough to look at him? He observed her as she went about
her daily chores. He kept his distance purposefully, for the first
time hoping he could stay away. He remained where he was and
watched.

The markets were full of
people and their hurried feet on the cobbled stone walkways, mixed
together with the hagglers at the small stalls, made everything all
the more confusing. The stalls that lined the streets had
everything ranging from poultry to vegetables to jewelry. The stall
owners looked a little scruffy but tidy none the less, as they
called out to the people passing by. Hard workers yet hardly paid.
Their presence annoyed the owners of real stores that lined the
walkways because it sometimes caused their customers to avoid
walking past and was bad for business. But amongst all the chaos
was the young woman that Baden had been watching.

Annie stood in the crowded
markets collecting the food items she had been instructed to
retrieve. There was something altogether quite special about this
girl. There was something exceptional about her soul that not even
she was aware of. It would bring her all kinds of attention, the
question was; would it be to her benefit or detriment?

She was the lovely age of
nineteen and she was beautiful. Her hair fell in soft curls to her
waist and was elegantly black, shining when the sun kissed it. She
was slightly taller than most girls with lovely curves. Her face
was delicately feminine, with skin all peaches and cream and hazel
eyes. Usually when she was back at the manor she wore her hair atop
her head but when she was away she wore it down, just as she did
now. Simplicity was something she valued but it was becoming
scarcer by the minute everywhere she looked, she was just glad that
her life didn’t feel as frenzied as the markets did.

The blue dress she wore
was modest. A simple empire line accentuated her ample bust with a
black, plaited leather cord running along the trimmings and a
flattering curved neck line. The dress hung freely to the ground
and covered her flat slippers.

A sudden gust of wind blew
through the markets, creating havoc where things were not weighed
down. Stall owners wildly grabbed at their possessions, trying to
maintain as much order as possible. And just as quickly as the
breeze arrived it disappeared just the same, everyone
none-the-wiser of the visitor that had just left to another place
entirely. They had come to see that their plan had commenced and
left to inform the others that it had.

People took the gust as a
warning of a coming storm so they began to rush around frantically,
trying to buy their items and leave as soon as possible. Annie
moved to avoid the scurrying crowd but she still managed to run
into someone. Her basket was almost full with vegetables and some
of the contents fell to the ground.

“I do apologise,” Annie
said to the stranger as she bent down to retrieve her items. She
hardly even glanced at whoever it was before she bent down and
started quickly picking up the vegetables. She brushed the muck off
as best she could, thinking that it would have to do. She hoped the
lady of the manor would not inspect her food too
closely.

To her surprise the man
bent down and started to help her. She peeked up just enough to see
that this man was well dressed and that meant well to do. The crowd
moved around them, occasionally bumping into them and throwing a
disgruntled look their way. After they had salvaged most of the
food they both stood clasping the basket.

“Thank you for being so
kind,” Annie said as she looked to the ground. She wasn’t meant to
interact with anyone and she dare not be late back to the manor,
the consequences weren’t worth the risk. Lately, the lady of the
manor would be easily exasperated for seemingly no reason,
especially when it came to Annie.

“No, it was I who moved in
your way,” the man insisted, trying to take the blame. He remained
silent for so long that Annie couldn’t help but look up.

He had blonde hair that
sat a little longer than most and had a slight wave to it, making
it flick out in random places. His skin was tanned, his eyes were
beautifully dark and he stood taller than her. He kept a rather
polished, meticulous look that made him seem very in control of his
life. She realised she was gawking so she looked back to her
basket. She needed to take the hamper back but she thought it might
be rude to tug at it. She hesitated, unsure of what to do. Finally
she decided just to ask, after all it was her basket.

“Sorry, Sir. I hope you do
not find this rude but may I have my basket back?” She asked as
politely as she could. He smiled just a little at her
manner.

“May I exchange your name
for it?” He bargained. She paused for a moment but saw no harm in
the deal, as long as it helped her get on her way
faster.

“My name is, Annie,” she
answered and he let go of the basket as promised. She took it and
let it hang by her side, feeling a bit awkward with this stranger.
The crowd was still surging around them and managed to push them
closer together, so close that it was almost inappropriate. She
looked up at him with a shy smile before she moved to leave through
the crowd but he followed after her.

“Annie…that is quite a
lovely name. Are you not curious as to what mine might be?” He
asked as he walked beside her, both of them weaving around people.
She really didn’t have time for this but she didn’t want to be
impolite either, especially to someone with money who could get her
into trouble. Pushing away her urgency she said the first thing
that came to mind in her rush.

“If you wish to give away
more than you have bargained for then feel free, Sir.” Annie was
heading towards her waiting chaperone, her best friend of many
years, Micah Amerson. He had a single horse for them both to ride
home. Annie and Micah worked in the same manor and had become fast
friends a few years ago when they had started working together. The
man following after her smiled at her cheekiness, she was sassy and
he liked it.

“Well, you drive a hard
bargain, Annie. My name is Eli.” He tried to have fun with her but
she was too focused on the task at hand. Before they reached the
end of the crowd she stopped and turned to him. She completely
missed the fact that he was flirting with her.

“I do not wish to be rude
but I must be off. I am due back and must get this food where it
belongs. It was a pleasure to meet you Eli, good day.” Usually she
wasn’t that abrupt with anyone but she was truly starting to become
alarmed at the time. She had to get back or it would mean trouble
for not only her but Micah also.

After a small respectful
nod she ran to Micah before she could be held up any longer and
they rushed back to the horse together. He looked back over his
shoulder towards the man he had seen speaking with Annie to try and
get a good look at him but it was hard to see through the crowd,
which he found irritating. Who did that man think he was, talking
to Annie?

Once they were at the
horse he focused solely on her, helping her into the saddle before
he jumped up himself. Annie sat on his lap whilst they rode, as she
always did, legs to one side of the horse as she leaned into his
chest. She nestled the basket close to her, being careful so as not
to drop it.

Micah was a little thinner
than some but strong enough, with a handsome face. His hair was
brown and neat, his eyes were dark green and he had a smile that
could light up a dark night. He was the stable boy at the manor,
though not resembling a boy in any way with his strong, adult face.
He always managed to find time to spend with her even if Miss Danes
was unreasonable.

“Who was that?” He asked
as they rode away, trying his hardest not to sound like he cared.
She was so preoccupied trying to manage the basket that it took her
a moment to realise what he had said.