Soul Snatcher (41 page)

“
No one will hear you Annie,” he said calmly as he held
her tightly around the waist and forced her to move along with
him.

“
Please, Micah. Please let me go,” she pleaded but he
remained silent.

He dragged
her toward the staircase as she tried to pull away from him. He
overpowered her easily, no matter how much she resisted him. The
manor was completely empty, with not a soul in sight to save her.
He had fired the rest of Martha’s help and now they were the only
ones in the manor. Her heart stammered in fear when she realised he
was taking her to the master bedroom. She kicked and scratched at
him but he restrained her effortlessly as he dragged her up the
stairs.

“
Help!” She screamed as the tears fell and she realised
there was nothing she could do.

Without a
word Micah pulled her into the room and locked the door. The latch
sounded like it echoed in her ears as she heard her way out stolen
from her.

“
You do not have to do this,” Annie said quietly as she
tried to control her tears. He pulled her in and held her as if
they were in a lover’s embrace. It was like he was ignoring the
fact that he was forcing her to be there. He softly touched her
face with his hand as he held her close around the
waist.

“
Annie, this can be something you enjoy.” His voice
sounded like a caress but it felt like needles all over her skin.
The tears ran down her cheeks as he started to pull her dress up.
She pushed her hands against his chest in protest but he held her
tighter, almost uncomfortably.

“
Or this can be something that hurts you. You decide,”
he growled into her ear.

She had no
other option than to switch off. So when he went for her lips she
stood there unmoving. His lips moved against hers but hers remained
motionless.

“
Kiss me,” he demanded in a low, breathy voice. When he
started kissing her again she complied emotionlessly. He shook her
a little but it was enough to demand some passion from her. He
gripped her harder as a warning to show he would inflict pain if
she would not do as he wanted her to.

Annie closed
her eyes and thought of Baden as she cried silently. She moved her
lips against Micah’s, letting the adrenaline from the fear drive
her movements. He moved them towards the bed and Annie’s heart
started racing with terror. She tried to tell herself it was Micah,
she had known him for years, but however much she tried she could
not rid herself of the dread she felt.

Lifting her
off the ground he took her to the bed and laid her down. He either
did not notice her tears or he did not care as he laid his weight
on her. He moved his lips away from hers and started kissing down
her neck as his hand slid under her dress and up along her leg. She
couldn’t help the gasp of disgust that escaped her but she muffled
it as best she could.

Without
warning Micah bit her neck and drew blood from the
wound.

This was not
like Baden’s bite where he released bane to ensure her enjoyment,
this was simply a bite to drink and it felt like the life was being
stolen from her. It felt like her veins tightened every time he
sucked and she could feel her blood slip through them towards his
mouth. She couldn’t help the chilling scream that burst from her
lungs from the pain as the blood stuck to her neck in a
mess.

She was about
to give up as Micah’s hand slipped higher on her leg. This was it,
he was about to have his way with her then drain her of every drop
of blood. Seeing no use for it and not being able to hold the pain
any longer, she cried her tears aloud.

“
Baden,” she whispered his name just to say it one more
time before she died. Just so he was the last thing on her lips as
she lost the life in her.

Micah froze
at the word and moved his head back to look at her. Her blood
covered his lips and a drop fell on her face. She tried to move out
of the way but it landed on her cheek and rolled down into her
hair.

“
What did you say?” He asked as if she had insulted him
to the greatest degree. Somehow the terror mutated into anger and
she wasn’t afraid any longer.

“
I said, Baden!” She spat the words at him as if it
would curse him to do so. Rage filled his face as he sat up and
straddled her on the bed, keeping his eyes on her. He lifted his
hand and struck her across the face. Her head snapped to one side
and she felt the heat on her face build until hot blood seeped from
where she was hit.

He lifted his
hand to strike her again but someone burst through the door. They
slammed into Micah and dragged him away from Annie. She was dragged
off the bed and fell to the ground in the chaos but managed to keep
away from the actual fight. As she sat up and looked around she saw
Eli and Micah fighting with every bit of strength they held.
Furniture had no chance as they smashed each other into anything
they could find. The room was quickly being turned to rubble so
Annie jumped up and ran out the door. She felt dizzy and lost her
balance from the blood loss so she leaned her weight against the
wall. She slid her way along and moved as fast as her weakened body
would allow.

When Annie
reached the bottom of the stairs she heard an almighty smash of
glass come from the bedroom and it did nothing but spur her on. She
ran to Martha as quickly as she could.

It was
difficult to pull the iron bar back but she managed it after a few
tries. When she walked through the door Martha looked up at her
with an expression filled with surprise and concern.

“
Annie,” Martha gasped and ran to her but everything
went black and Annie passed out.

EPILOGUE

Eli stood at
the door
of the cottage in
front of Baden. He didn’t know why he had come, after everything
that had passed between them, but Eli felt as if he owed Baden
something.

“Where is
Annie now?” Baden asked coldly after Eli had told him what
happened.

“
She is at my manor,” Eli informed.

“
And where is Micah?” Baden said the name as if it
tasted like poison.

“
I stabbed him through the chest but…” Eli
paused.

“
But what?” Baden asked angrily.

“
But I think it missed. He fled after I threw him out
of the window. I thought he might have been headed for Annie again
so I ran to her.” Eli knew he had failed and the excuse wasn’t even
enough for his own soul to believe.

“
So he is still out there?” Baden shook his head in
disbelief. Eli nodded and looked down disgraced at his own failure.
Baden let out a disgruntled breath but remained silent.

Moments
passed before either one of them said anything. Eli was too ashamed
of himself to look anywhere but at his feet.

“
Take care of her,” Baden said breaking the silence.
Eli looked up at him and saw no hint of anger. “You are the only
one out there to protect her now,” he said with an ache in his
heart that he suspected would remain eternally.

And Eli saw
that Baden truly loved Annie.

“
I will,” Eli promised as much to himself as to
Baden.

When it was
obvious there was nothing else to be said Eli left.

Closing the
door Baden moved to the room he was starting to think of as his own
and locked the door. After all these years he finally got what he
deserved for his despicableness, he was going to suffer an eternity
without the one he loved. And it broke him.

After time
enough to mend physically, Annie sought Eli out and found him in
the library. When she came through the door he stood from behind
his desk and quickly walked over to her.

“
What are you doing up?” He asked, alarm drenching his
voice. Annie smiled at his overprotectiveness.

“
I am feeling much better,” she assured him as he
checked her over with his eyes. “Eli, I need to ask you to do
something for me,” she said with all seriousness. He looked to her
and waited for the question he knew was coming. “Please, can you
take me to Baden?” Her voice was soft and pleading and her sadness
rang through as clear as a bell.

“
Annie, you know I cannot do that,” Eli refused her as
kindly as he could.

“
Please, you do not understand,” she started to
argue.

“
No,” he said cutting her off. And the word sounded so
final that it brought on the tears that she had hidden under the
surface. He reached out to touch her but she moved away so he
couldn’t. It hurt to move abruptly but she hid the pain from
him.

With nothing
but a betrayed look Annie left the room silently. Eli stood there
and decided not to go after her. They would work it out in
time.

As soon as
Annie was in her room she locked the door and packed as many things
as she could fit into a bed sheet. She wrapped it into a bindle and
threw it out her window, landing with a soft thud on the ground
below. She quickly changed into her training gear; her pants, shirt
and vest and tied her hair back in a braid. She laced up her knee
high boots and with a breath to calm herself, she eased out onto
the window sill and started climbing down the lattice. Every now
and then she slipped a little and her heart would race with
adrenaline from the fear of falling. Her relief knew no bounds when
her feet touched solid ground.

She picked up
her things and made her way to the stables as discreetly and
quickly as she could. She was surprised when Joel, the stable boy,
came out of one of the stalls. He was fifteen, with sandy coloured
hair, rosy cheeks and pale skin. His eyes were dark but friendly
and his face was well on its way to developing a strong jawline.
When he saw her he fumbled with the bucket he was carrying and
dropped it.

“
S-s-sorry,” he stuttered from his nerves.

“
It is fine. Please, can you saddle a horse for me?”
She asked with urgency.

“
There is a horse saddled but it is Mr. Brighton’s. He
will be using it momentarily,” he explained looking at his
feet.

“
Please tell Mr. Brighton I apologise for the
inconvenience but I needed his horse immediately. Bring it to me,”
Annie instructed.

Joel looked
conflicted but eventually he did as he was told. He gave her a leg
up onto the horse and she put a leg either side of the mount. Eli
would be out any moment according to Joel so she had no time to tie
her bindle to the saddle. Instead she placed it between her legs,
grabbed the reins and rested her elbows on it to keep it
down.

“
Miss, where shall I tell him you are off to?” He asked
feeling brave enough to look up at her this time.

“
Unfortunately I cannot tell you. Now start saddling
another mount so you do not get into too much trouble. Tell him I
gave you no choice,” Annie said knowing that Eli would be fair to
the young man.

Joel nodded
and moved out of her way. As soon as he was out of the way she
kicked the horse’s side and shot off towards the gates. Her heart
was racing and the deep breaths she was taking burned her throat.
She soon felt a little relief when she was well clear of the
grounds and she had not been followed.

As long as
she got a head start, and Eli didn’t know where she was going, then
she should be able to make it.

After Annie’s
legs and backside started to get sore beyond bearable limits, she
spied the manor up ahead and she closed her eyes momentarily in
relief. She kicked the horse into a gallop and finished that last
part of her journey as quickly as she had started it. Near the back
of the manor she threw her things on the grass, jumped off herself
then turned the horse back around. She gave it a slap on the
backside and sent it running back in the direction they just came
from, she knew it would make its way back to Eli because it had
been trained well.

Annie grabbed
her things and ran to the back entrance of the familiar manor.
Before she could knock on the back door Martha opened it, as she
had seen Annie coming.

“
Annie, what is the matter?” She asked concerned for
her young friend’s wellbeing.

“
I need to ask you to help me with something,” Annie
said, still catching her breath. She was a little puffed from the
run. Martha ushered her inside to the kitchen and closed the
door.

“
What is it?” Martha asked, horrified that Annie had
travelled there on her own. Annie took a short moment to catch her
breath as she held her humble bundle of belongings close to her
chest, as if it was her comfort.

“
Can you please help me find Baden?” Annie let all of
her desperation and vulnerability fall into her words. She looked
at Martha with wide eyes and a pleading face, begging her silently
to say yes.