Soul Snatcher (36 page)

“
Garrick, what on earth is going on?” She asked, worry
evident in her voice. He remained silent for a moment before he
responded.

“
Eli has requested my presence for his meeting today
and he feels you will be fine with one of his other coachmen.” He
sounded as if he had rehearsed the sentence and it came out a
little strained.

“
I see,” she said irritated, looking at her hand as she
pulled the other glove on. After it was in place she looked up and
forced a smile. “Then I shall see you when I return, Garrick.” She
left before he could say anything about her mood. She felt
suspicious of what was going on, like she was missing something but
she had no idea what.

Garrick
followed her out to the carriage and helped her into her seat. He
closed the door and looked at her for a moment.

“
Stay safe Miss Belle.” And his words held more meaning
than what he had actually said. With a half-smile between them the
carriage lurched into motion and soon she was out of the gates and
headed for town.

Before too
long the carriage pulled up to the town gates and stopped. The
coachman jumped down and opened the door for Annie to get
out.

“
Thank you,” she said when both her feet were safely on
the ground. “I will look around for a while and meet you back here.
If there is a need, feel free to look for me,” she instructed
politely. With a nod from him she was off.

As Annie made
her way down the busy street she felt eyes on her. Pausing, she
looked around but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Deducing it down
to her own paranoia she continued through the crowd trying to
ignore the feeling.

She walked
past the corner of a tall building and came upon a small alley that
led behind the structure. As she walked past she was grabbed and
pulled into the shadows by strong hands. She had no time to scream
because her assailant had their hand over her mouth instantly.
Their other arm gripped so tightly around her that they pinned her
against them so she could not move an inch. She was stuck with her
back against them and there was nothing she could do to save
herself. Tears were just starting to sting her eyes when the person
leaned down and whispered into her ear.

“
Annie, would you like to have a little fun?” Baden
asked mischievously. She let out a huge sigh of relief and he
loosened his grip so she could turn around in his arms. When she
was facing him he saw the tears glistening in her eyes and the
smile dropped from his face immediately. He pulled her into an
embrace as he realised the adrenaline he had felt rushing through
her was from fear not fun.

“
I am so sorry. I did not realise it would frighten
you,” he said frantically. She buried her face into his chest and
let the relief seep into her.

“
No, it is fine. I am just so glad it was you,” she
spoke into his shirt. Her breathing was still heavier than normal
from the surprise. He waited for her to look up at him before he
spoke again.

“
I will not let anyone hurt you,” he promised and she
felt comfort from his words. Leaning down he gave her a sweet kiss
that soothed her fear and replaced it with peace.

From across
the street, hidden by the passing crowd, Micah and Eli witnessed
the encounter. They were watching from a far distance away and made
sure they were out of the breeze so their scent wouldn’t be carried
by it. They stayed out of sight and silent so Baden would not
detect them. Eli silently looked to Micah who had an arrogant
expression on his face. Discreetly they moved away and started back
to their carriage.

“
I told you,” Micah said with satisfaction.

“
We will talk when we are back at the manor,” Eli said
bluntly. He didn’t like Micah much but most of all he didn’t like
his brother and now Baden was kissing the person he cared for. That
changed everything.

The trip back
to the manor was silent and tense but Micah didn’t care, he was
just happy that his plan was finally picking up pace. Soon they
were in the library, Eli in his seat behind his desk and Micah in
one close by. Eli looked at nothing in particular, he didn’t feel
rude that he was ignoring Micah’s presence.

“
Sometimes the perils of love are too much,” Micah
commented with a hint of mocking in his voice. Eli still did not
face him.

“
You wrote and insisted you must show me something and
now you have. I am assuming that there is some motive behind this,”
Eli said unemotionally as he fiddled with a small, torn piece of
paper.

“
Yes. Baden needs to go.” Micah’s voice was harsh and
his words were blunt. Eli darted his eyes to Micah and waited for
him to continue. “We know how you can rectify this situation,” he
said alluding to the legend that he obviously knew.

“
And what is in it for you if Baden is out of the way?”
Eli asked letting his despise show.

“
Baden has no right to her,” he said
angrily.

“
Even if Baden was gone, what leads you to believe I
will allow you to be anywhere near her?” Eli found Micah’s
reasoning confusing.

“
At the very least you know I would not hurt her
if
I was around but I do not want the woman I love near that
monster,” he spat the words. Eli’s jealously sparked when Micah
said ‘love’. How many people would he have to go through to get
Annie?

“
What is your plan? It is not as if we can kill him.”
Eli thought this whole thing a waste of time. He just wanted to be
alone to deal with how he was feeling.

“
I will deceive Baden into believing I have abducted
Annie. I will lead a false trail into the forest where the first
soul snatcher was created and then you may step in and finish the
task,” Micah explained as if it would be clean and easy. No mess,
no fuss.

Eli
considered this for a moment. Could he do this to his only brother?
Before the sentiment had time to sink in he pushed it away. Baden
was no longer his brother, he was a creature that must be kept from
hurting others. He threw the scrap piece of paper he held on the
desk and leaned forward.

“
How will you make him believe you have taken Annie? I
will not allow you even a brief opportunity to be alone with her so
you can attempt to draw her into your snare,” Eli said harshly. He
did not like that he was dealing with a snatcher but he seemed to
have no choice.

“
I do not even need to be near her. Just send her
somewhere, making sure Baden is unaware and I will do the rest,”
Micah said easily. He obviously had thought this
through.

“
How do you know the location of where the first soul
snatcher came from?” Eli questioned. No one knew that, not even
him.

“
I do not. I will have to be shown,” Micah said it as
if it would not be an issue.

“
I will have to discuss this with the other trackers
and then get back to you.” Eli gave nothing else away, his game
face was flawless.

Eli was glad
that he had met with some of the trackers as soon as he had
received the most recent correspondence from Baden and they had
come to town with his request. Eli was sure they would approve,
they would do anything to confine Baden.

“
Very well. Contact me as soon as you would like to
begin the plan,” Micah said as if Eli had already decided to do it.
Micah stood to leave but spoke before he moved away from his seat.
“The sooner the better,” he said as if to warn Eli. Then he was
gone.

Eli decided
then and there to deal with Micah as soon as all of this was over.
However many times Micah claimed he loved Annie, and no matter how
many years had passed since he was in her life, it did not prove
anything. Eli refused to believe that Micah would not hurt her
eventually.

Whether that
was Eli’s jealousy or tracker instincts making him feel that way,
he wasn’t sure but either way Micah’s fate was sealed in Eli’s
eyes.

CHAPTER
34

After Annie
and Baden had a lovely day together she made her way back home. The
carriage ride was just long enough for her to become nervous of
what the reception might be when she arrived. Unfortunately she was
about to find out.

She came
through the door to find the place empty. She wasn’t sure if this
was a relief or something to be concerned about. She hurried to the
staircase but as her foot touched the first step she paused out of
guilt. Eli was obviously upset about something and she couldn’t
call herself a friend if she ignored it. With forced movements she
made her way to the library to check for him. To her surprise she
found the door locked. After rattling the handle a little she gave
up and knocked.

No answer. So
she knocked again. The library door was never locked so he must be
in there. She knocked harder until her knuckles hurt and she gave
up. Seeing no use for it she turned and started to walk away. The
sound of the door unlocking and opening stopped her and she turned
back to find Eli standing there.

“
Did you have a nice day in town?” He asked finding it
hard to hide his contempt. Annie felt there was more behind his
words.

“
It was wonderful,” she answered watching him
carefully. His face turned from ice cold to wide-eyed shock.
Suddenly he started laughing then walked back into the library
without any explanation. The act made him look insane. Annie
stormed in after him and headed to his desk where he was walking
to.

“
What is going on?” She asked louder than she intended.
He spun around and faced her as she kept moving toward
him.

“
Would you really like to know?” Eli asked harshly and
it surprised her. He kept his eyes on her as he moved around behind
his desk. She stopped in her tracks and stood staring at him as he
stood there piercing her with accusing eyes.

“
If there is something you would like to say then by
all means, say it!” She found some of the fervour she had lost. He
looked like he was holding himself back as he stood there silently
fuming. “Fine, keep it to yourself like you do everything else!”
Her hands gestured wildly as she yelled.

“
That is hypocritical of you!” He yelled the words so
loud Annie was stunned into silence. “How can you stand there and
say anything to me?”

“
Why do you not say what is actually on your mind
instead of implying everything? Just say it!” Her face was red from
her anger as she threw the words at him.

“
Why him?” He yelled.

The room was
left in silence, as if all the lies and facades had been shattered
into a thousand pieces to the floor and they were planning the best
route so as not to step on them. She stared at him and was about to
ask who he was referring to but she knew he was talking about
Baden. She remained silent, trying to regain her breath and think
of something to say.

“
I…” She went to speak but Eli interrupted
her.

“
No, I do not want to hear it. Surely you must know
that you are being played a fool? Everything he does is to steal
your soul!” He was still angry and she could see his body was
tense.

“
He does not need anything to survive and you know it,”
she argued.

“
Who knows? All I know is he has done it before so he
could do it again.” He was frustrated at her way of
thinking.

“
Then why has he not stolen my soul yet?” She
countered.

“
Because he has to make sure you truly love him first,”
he said as if he was speaking to a child.

“
I do love him!” Annie yelled before she could stop her
words.

Eli’s face
turned in pain before he had time to cover it. He looked disgusted
and bewildered at what she just said. She slowly clasped her hands
together in front of her and bowed her head slightly like a scolded
child. She wished with everything in her that she could take it
back, not because it wasn’t true but to spare Eli the
hurt.

It was
apparent when the full impact of what she had said seeped in. Eli’s
shoulders slumped and he lost the air right out of his lungs. After
a moment he blinked away the tears and looked away from her, like
he couldn’t stand the sight of her anymore. He placed his hands on
his sides and looked down at his desk.

“
How can you say that?” The words came out as if he was
pleading for them not to be true. When she didn’t answer he looked
up to find her staring at him with no explanation and he could see
in her eyes that she really did love Baden.

Eli closed
his eyes trying to push away the intense pain that was burrowing
its way into him. Knowing the truth was like burning coals burying
him alive. He let the anger rip right through him because it was
better than feeling the pain. Without thought he swept everything
off his desk in a fit of rage and it flew across the room, smashing
into the bookshelves. Papers fell like feathers after being thrown
in the outburst. He grabbed the lamp, which had somehow dodged the
wreckage, and threw it against the wall along with the other items
on his desk. It smashed loudly and the oil started dripping slowly
down the wood of the shelves.