Soul Snatcher (30 page)

“
He was known in the tracking society and when he was
turned it was a rather big event. There has only been one other
case of a tracker turned before and it was not something any of us
wanted repeating,” he said.

“
What other case?” She was still stunned from the
revelation.

Eli stood and
started moving around the room. At first he seemed aimless but he
eventually went to his desk draw and retrieved a tanned, leather
journal. He sat back in his seat and handed it across to Annie. She
looked at it before she took it from him. Very carefully she untied
the leather cord that clasped it together and opened the pages. He
explained as she looked.

“
I was not born when this happened so I only have the
journal to reference. No one has spoken to the one surviving
tracker that helped to contain the beast, “Eli said the word with
bite. Annie looked up at him but he was looking around the room so
she turned her attention back to the pages of the journal.
“However, we do correspond with him.”

“
Is this journal his?” She asked.

“Yes, it is
Timothy’s. He is the tracker that
helped to capture the first tracker-turned-snatcher and his journal
has been passed to me to analyse,” Eli confirmed. She was curious
as to why Eli had been given something so important but she didn’t
have time to ask before he continued. “A few hundred years ago the
tracker Stewart Mayclair was turned during a struggle with a
snatcher. He lost and for a reason unbeknown to any of us, the
snatcher turned him. It was not known that Stewart was turned until
sometime after the transition as he maintained pretence as a
tracker.” Annie continued to flip through the pages as he spoke.
The journal had sketches and musings along with entries.

“
He was helping?” She asked as she turned the
pages.

“
He did help in tracking and killing other snatchers,
yes,” Eli answered. She looked up to him in question. He turned his
gaze from the room and concentrated on her.

“
What happened when he was discovered?” She had a
feeling she was not going to like what he said next.

“
When it was discovered they plotted to kill Stewart,”
he informed. The words were said easily, as if he were speaking of
something other than murder.

“
They what? Did they not take into consideration that
he had been helping them?” Annie was appalled by this.

“
He was a danger. He killed many,” he
reasoned.

“
Was this before or after the trackers tried to kill
him?” She didn’t think anyone had a reason for murder, and she
wasn’t condoning what Stewart had done, but she also wasn’t in
agreement with what the trackers did either. Eli looked a little
put off, it was clear he had never thought of the point
before.

“
I cannot say with certainty,” he said almost
apologetically. After he saw that Annie wasn’t going to ask
anything else he went on. “The first tracker that was sent to kill
him never returned so two more were sent, then three. All died but
one, who managed to return before he died. He told them that they
had stabbed Stewart countless times but he would not die. The
tracker died shortly after his recount as he was fatally wounded.”
Eli went quiet for a moment as if in remembrance of those now
gone.

“
What did they do?” Annie asked to urge him to
continue.

“
Finally, when the situation was almost out of control
ten trackers were sent to kill him, Timothy was leading the group.
They lured Stewart to a thick forest where a secluded structure was
located. This was where the first soul snatcher was created.
Remember the woman who sacrificed the innocent?” He reminded but
she already remembered.

“
Yes, I do,” she said feeling nervous of where the
story was headed.

“
It is where she lived. Their plan was to get him
inside and stab him there. They were not sure if this would work,
as they were basing their plan on the vague information they had
from Timothy, but they could not think of anything else. They
fought him with all of their strength and he killed them off one by
one. The battle went for hours. Eventually it came down to two
trackers. One managed to push him into the house and stab him but
it did not kill him. There Stewart removed the dagger, killed the
tracker and went for Timothy standing outside the open door.
However, when Stewart reached the portal he could not step out.”
Eli sounded surprised even though he was the one telling the
story.

“
What did Timothy do?” Annie asked feeling as if she
were part of the story herself.

“
He stayed near the house and monitored Stewart as best
he could. Stewart tried to escape through every possible opening
but to no avail. He was prohibited from exiting just as snatchers
are prohibited from entering before they are invited in,” Eli
answered.

“
But you said
that none of the trackers have ever met Timothy. How do you know
any of this has happened?” Annie thought it strange to take the
word of someone they had never even met so seriously.

“He writes to
us,” Eli said, as if this would be enough.
She looked at him, dumbfound that never meeting
Timothy didn’t even seem to bother him.

“
Is Stewart still there?” Annie asked breathlessly. All
of it was becoming too strange for her.

“
Timothy is the only one who knows where the place is
located. He returns every so often to see what has come of Stewart
and he says that he lives.” Eli sounded amazed.

“
How is that possible?” Annie asked starting to realise
there was so much more to Baden than she knew.

“
We do not know. He does not look starved or dying. He
just lives forever in that place, unable to escape.” Still, Eli
sounded astonished.

“
So, what of Baden?” She asked trying to sound much
less interested than she actually was.

“
He has not been stabbed through before but we suspect
that he is quite the same,” Eli reasoned. Annie thought of when she
stabbed Baden and realised what had happened. She thought of
confessing but decided not to, Eli already assumed what he needed
to know.

“
Do you know Baden personally?” Annie asked, curious as
to Eli’s knowledge. Instead of answering he just looked at her for
a moment or two. He seemed to be having an internal battle but she
wasn’t sure why.

“
I did know him but he turned into a monster,” he
answered eventually. His tone was level but there was emotion in
his eyes.

“
How do you know he is a monster?” She couldn’t help
but ask, even though part of her was too fearful to know the
answer.

“
He has only been turned for a few years and he has
killed more than any other snatcher we know of. Once I heard of a
whole inn full of people he killed.” Eli sounded
disgusted.

“
Are you sure he did that?” Annie hoped with everything
in her that somehow he was mistaken.

“
He made it quite clear it was him. He was gracious
enough to send correspondence to keep us updated of his pillages.”
Eli looked repulsed to have to even say the words. Annie started to
feel sick.

“How was he
changed?” She asked, trying to block out the thoughts in her mind
of Baden being a nightmare to others.
Eli looked taken back by the question, like he wasn’t
sure what to say. “Eli?” Annie said, waiting for him to say
something. He snapped out of his daze and focused on her
again.

“He…uh,” Eli
stumbled over his words
and
cleared his throat. “He was on a routine scout for snatchers one
night with his partner. They followed two people into the
graveyard, a man and a woman. They thought only the man was a
snatcher. The woman had disappeared by the time they caught up to
them. They killed the snatcher easily and the woman came out from
hiding. Baden got too close and she lunged at him, biting him
before they even realised what she was.” His recount sounded like a
list rather than a story and he looked utterly detached from
it.

“
And…is there a
trigger why he did the things he is known for?” Annie wondered.
Surely there had to be a reason, not that it would really make it
any better.

This was a
moment that Eli could use to tell her the truth, a truth that he
had kept to himself for so many years.
A secret that had plagued him until he felt lost
within himself. But as he looked into her eyes he couldn’t come to
terms with facing her reaction, so he let it go.

“No,”
he
lied. The word was so
final that it felt like a bucket of cold water had been thrown over
her.

“
I do not think I can listen to another word,” she said
as she closed the journal. She stood and handed it back to Eli. He
stood with her and took the book from her.

“
I know this is all quite overwhelming but you need to
stay away from him. If he ever comes near you again or tries to do
anything, you must tell me,” he instructed. Annie simply nodded.
For a reason she could not deduce she still kept her secret from
him.

“
Good night, Eli,” she said avoiding having to answer
him.

“
Good night,” he replied. She left and went to her
room, passing Garrick on her way out.

“
Goodnight, Miss Belle,” Garrick said, moving out of
her way as she came through the door.

“
Goodnight, Garrick,” she responded quickly then was on
her way. She rushed to her room hoping she would be able to forget
everything she heard tonight but knowing that she probably never
would.

Garrick
walked up to Eli who remained standing after Annie’s
exit.

“
Would you like me to arrange other accommodation for
Miss Belle, now that Baden has made an appearance?” Garrick
asked.

“
I do not think that is necessary. Baden does not know
she lives here and he definitely will not be coming here any time
soon. This is the last place he will look for her,” Eli reasoned
confidently. Garrick hoped that he was right.

CHAPTER
29

Annie went to
her room and closed the door. It was as if she was running from
everything she heard. She made her way through the dark room and
lit the lamp on her bedside table. She turned to move to the
fireplace to light a fire in hopes to ease the chill that had
seeped inside. Before she made it very far she froze.

Baden was
standing only a few feet away. He was still dressed in his formal
attire as was she. He stood with his hands in his pockets, his head
slightly bowed as if he were under submission. His posture made him
look vulnerable and almost defenceless, maybe with a hint of
regret.

Only moments
passed but it felt like days standing there looking at him. He
stood there as perfect as an oil painting, just watching at her.
She played with the material of her skirt nervously. She could die
at any moment and still her heart beat fast because of him, fast in
the good way.

“
I can feel your fear,” he said breaking the silence.
She tried to slow her heart but failed.

“
How is that?” She had no idea how she pushed the words
out.

“
For one thing, your heart is beating faster than it
usually does,” he explained. He decided that being honest with her
was the only way he was going to prove how he felt. He had always
been a closed off person, especially in the last few years as he
was hardened by his hatred and secluded by his own choices. But for
her he would show himself.

“I think fear
may only be part of the reason for the pace of my heart,” she
whispered but he still heard. Trying to act as casual as possible,
she pulled her gloves off and threw them on the bed. He noticed the
goose bumps on her skin.

“
You are cold, you should move over to the fire,” he
suggested glancing back at the fireplace then looking back to her.
She looked past him and noticed for the first time that it was lit.
She looked back to him in question. Half a smile moved to his lips
and he looked down as if he was embarrassed.
“
I thought you might be
cold,” he explained.

Annie blinked
a few times as if this would help her to understand. She went to
move towards the fire but hesitated because she would have to walk
past him. He sensed what she was feeling and walked over to the
fireplace to clear her path. He stepped off to one side of the
fire, hands still in his pockets.

He looked
over to her and casually leaned against the wall, looking
beautifully otherworldly in the dim glow of the flames. Before she
had decided whether or not she should, she walked over and stood on
the opposite side of the fireplace, keeping her eyes on him the
whole time. She watched him as he stood there, not because she was
afraid but more so because she couldn’t look away.