Soul Snatcher (26 page)

“
Sorry to ask but would you be able to close that
window for me?” She requested as politely as she could. The cool
night air was only adding to the ache.

Micah was up
then back in a flash. The only reason why she knew he had moved was
because the window was no longer open. It made her feel
even more uneasy. From what Eli had
taught her, snatchers usually only used their heightened abilities
when they needed to. For instance; in defence or when they were
stalking someone. It made her wonder why Micah had needlessly run
so fast just then. The scary part was, he still felt like the same
old Micah to her and she knew that he shouldn’t.

“
You seem well,” he said happily as he inspected her
shoulder from his seat. She smiled at him trying to disguise her
discomfort.

“
I am,” she lied. Right now she felt anything but fine
but she didn’t want him to know that. He moved the chair closer to
the bed and took her hand. The fever made it difficult to focus and
she had to try harder.

“
I need to say thank you, Annie,” he said, emotion
thick in his voice. This brought her out of her pain for a moment
and she concentrated her attention on him. He looked to her with
almost a longing in his eyes. “You saved my life. No one has ever
touched my heart like you have and I know that you may not feel the
same for me…but I will always love you.”

The words
came out as if they were lyrics to a beautiful song that was
missing a tune. If there was a tune then it felt like it would be a
solemn one because he was right, she never would love him like
that.

“
Micah, you would have done the same for me.” She
avoided having to reject him again. A little bit of the light left
his eyes when she did not return his feelings, though he knew she
wouldn’t.

“
I know your heart belonged to Baden,” Micah said his
name coldly. “And though he is gone, your heart is still with him
but there are some things you must know about him.”

Annie’s heart
started beating terribly fast. She wasn’t sure if her palms were
sweating because of the fever or because of her nerves. She knew
that whatever she was about to hear was going to hurt, regardless
of whether Baden was still alive or not. She looked at Micah
waiting for words she knew would break her heart.

“
I met Baden when he had first been turned,” he
started. Annie was surprised by this and it showed on her face. “I
would venture with him in the night trying to show him a better way
to live.” She didn’t know why but she was angry that he had known
Baden before her. “But he was bent on creating havoc. He had been
wronged by someone he thought he could trust and he gave up hope
for the human race. He…” Micah paused, like he couldn’t bring
himself to say it.

“
What?” Annie asked anxiously.

“
I do not know if I should continue,” he said looking
away as if to contemplate what to say next.

“
Please, I want to hear,” she asked, feeling desperate
to know. He looked back to her and saw that he should not have
started in the first place but found it useless refusing
now.

“
He was easily angered. Any person that reminded him of
the one who betrayed him, he killed. Any person that became a
hindrance or irritated him enough, he killed.” Each time Micah said
the word killed felt like another dagger through her. “It was
almost as if Baden received a sick pleasure from hurting them. He
felt it was ridding the world of another useless human.” Micah
found it hard to recount the story. It was as if he were
expurgating the account.

“
Micah, what are you not saying?” She wondered how
there could be more to it. He took a moment to decide on the right
wording.

“
Annie, I do not want to hurt you. I only say this
because you need to know, so you can move on,” he said with a hint
of sorrow in his voice. She waited nervously for whatever it was
that he was going to say. “He has stolen a soul before,” Micah said
and then there was silence.

The words
took a moment to sink in but when they did they made her feel sick.
The symptoms of the fever seemed to erupt within her and she wanted
him to leave. Perspiration started to cover her body and the aches
that were dull before were now sharp and noticeable, particularly
the one around her heart.

“Well, he
was a soul snatcher,” Annie reasoned
weakly, trying not to care but failing. She didn’t realise she
could have offended Micah. He wasn’t offended at all though, only
concerned for how she felt.

“
I know you hurt for him but knowing that he never
really loved you will make it easier for you to move forward,”
Micah opined and it almost sounded liked he got satisfaction from
being able to bring Baden down. Hearing the words from someone else
made them feel more real.

He never
really loved you.
Somehow it
didn’t make her angry or bitter, it just made her feel hollow and
sad and so close to dishevelling that she desperately needed to be
alone.

“
Thank you for your visit, Micah but I am feeling
rather drained. Would you mind if we cut our visit short?” Annie’s
voice was a little strained but she held herself together better
than she thought she would. Leaning over, he took her hand and
kissed it as if to apologise for being the bearer of bad news. Then
he stood to leave.

“
Do not fret, Annie. You will love again,” he assured
her. She half smiled at his attempt to comfort her and however
realistic his words may have been they didn’t stop the pain in her
soul that threatened to consume her.

“
Goodnight, Micah,” she said. He knew he had hurt her
but he only did it to help her move past loving a heartless
snatcher.

When the door
was closed after his exit tears loomed in Annie’s eyes but she
pushed them back. She refused to cry over someone that did not love
her. No, she would not cry for someone who would not cry over her.
Before she could defeat the internal battle raging inside her there
was another knock at the door.

“
Yes?” She asked brusquely. Eli came in with a ready
smile that she was not in the mood for.

“
How are you feeling?” He asked as he approached her.
She ignored the fact that her skin was burning up but inside she
felt ice cold to the bone. She overlooked the fact that she had a
splitting headache and was struggling to breathe. Her heart hurt
too much to notice any of that.

“
Eli, I am sorry if I sound ungrateful or harsh in any
way but I would very much appreciate having some time to myself.”
The words put together sounded like he had an option but it was
obvious that he didn’t. He spoke from where he stood across the
room.

“
Annie, you need to be watched,” he argued.

“
Please!” She almost yelled the word. She felt like she
couldn’t hold back the hurt that was barging against the unstable
wall she had built to keep it all in.

Eli waited
for a moment but saw the seriousness in her eyes. Without another
word he left and shut the door behind him. She would usually feel
uncomfortable with the fact that she just hurt someone’s feelings
but at the moment her empathy was clouded by her own
sadness.

Still she did
not cry. She laid down under the covers and fell into a fever
filled sleep, one that would find her no rest from the tormenting
pestilence of a broken heart.

CHAPTER
24

Baden quietly
snuck into Annie’s room that night. It was the first time since she
had been hurt that she was left alone. He had no intention to wake
her, just to see her would be enough. He closed the window silently
so she wouldn’t be chilled by the night air but he left the
curtains open because he loved the way she looked with the night
sky flooding in. The moon was full and cast a blue light that
rested on the room.
He stood
by the bed watching her and he couldn’t help but smile to himself
as he did.

After a time
he was about to leave, he had granted himself only a glance but
after seeing her he found it hard to go. Giving in, he crept over
to the seat near her bed and sat next to her. Being near her gave
him a peace that he was only starting to realise came from loving
someone. From loving Annie.

Before too
long she started tossing and turning. She was restless from the
fever but mostly from Micah’s words. She felt herself going in and
out of sleep, not really sure which moments were a dream and which
were reality. Or were they all just nightmares?

Baden
remained perfectly still so as not to disturb her any further. He
had not planned to touch her but he heard her wound rip slightly
from her movements. She sat up in pain, which caused her developing
scar to rip further from her abrupt movement. Baden was at her side
in an instant and held her gently by her arms to stop her from
doing any more damage. Her mind was blurry and she found it hard to
make sense of anything because of the fever.

“
Eli?” She said through the night, her voice husky as
if she had been crying. Baden waited a moment before he
answered.

“
You have hurt yourself,” he whispered. He glanced
around the room and found fresh dressings, cloths and a bowl of
water on her bedside table.

“
You sound just like him,” she said hazily, struggling
to flutter her eyes open. He quickly decided his course of action
and went to work.

“
Like who?” He asked as he sat behind her and carefully
rested her against him. He moved her so her back was against his
chest as he leaned against the headboard of the bed, with his legs
either side of her. He would be able to easily reach the dressings
and hold her so she could not move too much.

“
You sound like Baden,” she said painfully. He paused
for a moment then looked down to her face. Her eyes were closed as
she slumped against him in what seemed like defeat. He ever so
carefully slipped her arm out of the sleeve of her nightgown and
placed the extra material under her arm, so that only the skin of
her shoulder was bare. He made sure she was covered by the blankets
as much as she could be.

The vicious
stab marks looked strange against her soft, delicate skin. He
gently stroked the unmarked skin of her shoulder with his thumb
because he couldn’t help himself. He had been outside when he heard
what went on in the library but there was nothing he could do to
stop it. He pushed the memory out of his mind and reached for a
cloth nearby. He dipped it in the water and slowly dabbed it
against her skin. It was cold and he regretted that there was
nothing that could be done about it. A single line of blood trailed
down her shoulder to her chest and he carefully wiped it
away.

Annie
breathed deep from the shock of the cold against her chest and
Baden waited a moment before he placed it directly on her wound
again. When he put it against the swollen mess she gasped a little
and fidgeted for a moment before settling. When she seemed calm he
reached for another cloth to clean the back of her
shoulder.

“
It hurt less,” she mumbled to him.

“
What did?” He asked softly as he dabbed the exit point
of the wound. She winced a little from the sting of the water but
seemed to be accustomed to the chill.

“
Being stabbed hurt less than him not loving me,” she
said breathlessly. The tears that she refused to cry before
stubbornly broke through and silently trickled down her cheeks.
Baden froze and peered down to her face. Her eyes were still closed
but the tears ran down her neck and mixed with the new line of
blood on her chest.

He quickly
reached over and grabbed another cloth. He carefully wiped her face
with more care than if he were holding a priceless gem. He used the
tips of his fingers under her chin to lift it slightly so he could
wipe her neck clean. Before he realised, his own tears had started
and it all felt like a mess of blood, pain and tears.

“
How do you know he does not love you?” He asked and it
felt as if his heart was slowly tearing apart from knowing that she
was so hurt. That she didn’t know he loved her.

“He has
stolen a soul before so why would I be different?” Her tears came
in earnest now and she moved to try and rest more comfortably
against Baden, who she drowsily thought was Eli.

But no matter
how much Annie
moved it did
not change the sadness she felt. With all the care and gentleness
within him, Baden pulled her a little closer and finished wiping
her clean. He had to manage with hindered vision because of his own
tears, which he was not used to. He carefully wrapped her shoulder
and slipped her arm back into her dress. She moved onto her side
that was unharmed and nestled into him.

“
Annie,” Baden whispered.

“
Do you know what the worst part of it is?” Her voice
was smaller than a whisper from her heartache but he could still
hear her. His tears prohibited his response so he tenderly brushed
her hair away from her face, waiting for her to speak. “I had never
loved someone before him and I do not think I will love another.”
Her words squeezed around his heart in a painful way. He was elated
that she felt that way about him but it hurt him to know that she
thought he didn’t love her.