Soul Snatcher

by annie nadine

  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.

  The time it took for Martha to answer felt like a lifetime of waiting and Annie’s heart started to chip away and break as she was sure she would be refused. Before she had lost all hope Martha nodded her head subtly then it moved into a more definite movement.

  “Yes.” Martha finally said the word and it was like a chorus to Annie’s ears.

  A smile stretched across Annie's face and she started laughing in relief. Martha joined in her joyous laugh and they both pushed away their little internal voices telling them that it would be near impossible to find him. Even if they did they wouldn’t be able to release him. They ignored the doubt and just celebrated for the moment.

  “Let us get you settled in,” Martha said as she gently placed a hand on Annie’s back and started to lead her through the kitchen. They walked towards the upstairs bedrooms.


  And Annie was starting to get that little seed of hope that she might see Baden again. This made everything seem just that much brighter and made it easier for her to breathe.

  When Annie had settled into her room and dinner had long passed, she laid in her comfortable bed staring out into the moon filled sky and thought of Baden.

  Baden sat in the open doorway of his new residence, resting his back against the frame and leaning his head to one side against the door as he gazed up at the stars. As he sat looking up into that same night sky as Annie and he thought of her, as he had unceasingly and as he always would.

  His past had already started to catch up with him and now Annie was the one who would be burdened with the consequences of his mistakes, all because he loved her. He had left a trail of enemies and regrets longer than he could count and now she was defenseless against them all, he couldn’t even protect her. He doubted that even Eli would be able to defend her. Now he had an eternity for the guilt and fear to bury itself deeper and deeper into his soul until there was nothing left of him.

  Just thinking about her vulnerability caused him no end of pain. Surely there had to be a way to keep her safe? He refused to believe that there wasn’t. Right there he promised himself that he would find a way for her to have her life back, not matter what it took.

  “Until next time,” Baden whispered to Annie through the cold night air.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  First I would like to thank my brother, Timothy for the splendiferous cover. I spoke my vision and he brought it into reality with his skilled hands and a computer. Thank you for being there to churn through many details of my book and tirelessly helping with the entire process. You have been invaluable through this whole journey and I will be forever grateful to you.

  Thank you to my niece, Tempany for reading my books from the beginning. You gave up your time to read them and loved the characters in the process. My mother, who also read my books and fell head over heels for the wrong character every time! Elisha, I may have had to put you on a reading plan but you read them in the end and thankfully fell in love with the characters along the way, few!

  My other brother, Peter. I do not think that my books are your style of read but you are an oracle of sorts for me. You are the sense when everything else is madness and the madness when sense is useless. I thank you for the quiet love you give in your own special way, you are irreplaceable.

  To the random people along the way whom I was only rewarded a short season of friendship with but it touched my heart just the same. Donna from Bill’s Bakery, I value the person you are and am better for knowing you. Elisa from my school days, I hated school but it was worth it to meet you. You were my best friend who helped me grow and I wish all the best for your life. To the young man on the bus, 334 who extended his love to someone in such a genuine way that it brought tears to my eyes. Joy from college, you are truly special. And David, you have been one of the truest friends I might ever have.

  Heather and Jeff…I think you know how grateful I am for you both but so the world knows I want to say thank you for giving me much more than just a house in which to live, you gave me a home. Your boys; Joel, Troy, Adam and Jarred are a motley crew of sorts in their diversity but they are special because of that.

  To my twelve nieces and nephews; Ebony, Tempany, Brittany, Hayley, Ashley, Carly, Elisha, Isaac, Joshua, Lukas, Elijah and Hannah. You may have driven my desire not to become a mother but you have also engulfed my heart. And to all those who may be to come, I will love you with fervor as I do your cousins.

  To my brothers and sisters; Lynette, Timothy, Kerrie, Rochelle and Peter, genetics may bind me to you but love is what makes me stay. Danielle, you have been in the family for so long it wouldn’t surprise me if you have caught our DNA.

  Ah, Shelly. I left you to till the end because this will be the longest. You know what it has been like because you have had this dream from childhood. Writing is who you are and it has changed the experience of my own dreaming to have someone to dream along with. You know the heartache and you know the elation. Many sleepless nights and glassy eyes from staring at a computer screen just to create the perfect chapter, that perfect kiss. You read my work and critiqued and were there when the rejections came in. From the bottom of my heart I thank you for letting me come along with you on the journey of writing. I think we shall never be the same again.

  And in the most humble way possible, I give thanks to my Jesus. As I do not have endless pages I will say only this, You know.

  Annie grew up and currently resides in Newcastle, Australia. She is the youngest in a family of six and very much enjoys her solitude. She hated school with a passion and found it tedious beyond compare. She would much rather spend her time in her fantasies opposed to, a sometimes boring, reality.

  She began her love of writing in her early teens with poetry. She branched out to novels in her late teens and though poetry is still a love of hers she finds herself becoming more lost in her novels as the years pass.

  Her aphorism for life is: Dream. Believe. Do. So much so that it is now living as a tattoo on her arm. And her personal motivator which is also one of her tattoos: ‘unless’…because there is an ‘unless’ to everything in life.

  She likes to keep her biggest dreams a secret, a special treasure just for her to reflect on. She believes in being all that you can be.

  Your dreams are out there if you only go searching for them.