Anna's Hope Episode One

  Chapter 15

  Anna stood at the open wardrobe, her toweled hair dripping down her back.

  Crunching her lips together, she thought about what she should wear.

  She was not stylish by any stretch of the imagination. Anna was textbook frumpy. Everything she owned had bright, ugly floral and rumples. She always wore socks with skirts, and had an astounding array of drab knitted cardigans.

  Most of her clothes were hand-me-downs, and usually sat bulkily over her slight frame.

  She didn’t have the money or class to afford good clothes.

  Well, right now she was facing a magical wardrobe that could make her any garment she wanted. She could grab her phone and look up an award-winning designer, or surf the style pages for the latest and greatest in elegance and fashion.

  “Are you going to stand there facing that wardrobe all day?” Luminaria snapped from the bed. “It’s magical, you know. And the last thing you want is for the sodding thing to start spitting twee British children at you and fauns with a penchant for toast.”

  “It’s not that type of wardrobe. Plus, I’m trying to figure out what to wear.”

  “How about nothing. It works for me.”

  “You’re a cat.”

  “And you’re a frumpy pathetic witch with no hopes, dreams, or aspirations. Just put on one of your usual floral affairs, and be done with it.”

  Anna tried to ignore her cat. She didn’t want to put on a cardigan and frilly white socks today. She wanted .... Ah! She didn’t know what she wanted.

  She rubbed her chest again. Before she knew what she was doing, she cleared her throat and asked the wardrobe for “blue jeans, boots, and a navy top.”

  The wardrobe closed the door she was holding onto with a magical fizz.

  Anna stood back and waited.

  She heard Luminaria shift on the bed. “... Seriously, little witch? Do you not realize what you’ve just asked for? That’s what he was wearing last night.”

  Anna gasped, slamming her hand over her mouth. Oh god, Luminaria was right – she had described his outfit without even realizing it.

  The wardrobe finished creating the garments, and opened its door with a light pop.

  Anna winced in preparation for what she’d find. She still had a mental image of that wizard walking down the stairs in his blue jeans, one hand held languidly in his pocket as he dragged her behind him with his ghostly grip.

  She put a hand up and felt her injured wrist. The butler was very handy, and had patched it up a treat. Without strong magic, however, she’d have to wait a while for it to heal completely.

  Warily, she peered into the wardrobe.

  She did not see what she expected.

  There were blue jeans, boots, and a navy top, alright – just not the same style. The jeans were tight, the boots knee-length black soft-suede with a generous wedge heel, and the top was made of a soft, dark cotton that bunched at the chest.

  She reached in and grabbed the clothes, biting her lip as she did.

  Though Anna was exactly the kind of self-conscious girl that hated wearing anything tight and revealing, she found herself dressing in the clothes nonetheless. She could at least try them on. If they looked hideous, she could chuck them back into the wardrobe and try again.

  She tugged on the top, fidgeted into the jeans, and zipped up the boots. Pulling the towel from her hair, she let her unruly mop taper down her back as she opened the wardrobe again to look at the full-length mirror attached to the inside of the door.

  She ran her hands up and down her jeans.

  She looked .... There was a word for it, she just couldn’t think of what it was.

  “Terrible,” Luminaria snarled with a choppy laugh that echoed through the room as if carried on a PA system. “You look terrible. You can’t pull off those heels and jeans – you’re not confident enough. That outfit might be suitably sexy for a real witch, but we both know you’re not one of those.”

  Just as Anna’s heart sank and she reached to pull off her top, she stopped.

  For the briefest second, she’d felt good in these clothes. Sure, she wasn’t a match on Merry, but who would be?

  The point was, however briefly, she’d felt good about herself.

  Anna was aware that she let people influence her too often. She did what she was told. Blame it on having a demanding, insulting heirloom cat in the family, or on magical allergies – but she didn’t stand up for herself.

  She never carved out her own path.

  “Go on, take it off,” Luminaria encouraged meanly, “get back in your cardigan and socks. You’re not born to impress people, Anna Hope Summersville – you’re born to get out of people’s way. Oh, and feed me tuna.”

  Anna tugged her top down. She turned, her wet hair flicking over her shoulder. She placed her hands on her hips. “I’m not taking them off. I think I look good. Or at least okay,” she said, as confidently as she could.

  Luminaria actually rolled around on the bed laughing. “You’re an idiot. Get back in your box, Anna. You’re never going to do anything with your life, so stop dressing like you will.”

  Anna ground her teeth together and took a firm breath. “No. And you’re wrong – I’ve already achieved things. I fought off that dark wizard twice.”

  “You must have hit your head last night, girlie, because I fought off that wizard, not you.”

  “He got away from you, Luminaria, and it was me who thought of destroying his book. Plus, I resisted his soul magic.” She levelled her chin. These clothes were having an odd effect on her. She felt confident, even though she wasn’t, just because in order to wear clothes like this you had to be confident. It was circular logic, but magic loves circles.

  She kept her chin lifted, and she stared right back at Luminaria.

  The cat stopped cackling, and narrowed her eyes. “There better be a good reason you’re looking at me like that, witch.”

  “There is. I’m wearing these clothes, and that’s it. And,” she brought a hand up to brush her fringe out of her face, “I’m going to fix my hair too.”

  Luminaria snorted, but the move wasn’t as loud and rude as her previous display. “He’s not going to notice you, you know, no matter what you do.”

  “... Who?”

  “Don’t be so obtuse. Arana. That pompous plastic-faced git. He’s never going to notice a girl like you.”

  Anna’s stomach sank. Or at least it started to. She lifted her chin. “I don’t care if he notices me. I’m not doing it for him.”

  “Really?” Luminaria laughed like a tinkling bell. An evil tinkling bell.

  “Yes,” she said firmly.

  “You tell yourself that, dear. I’ve seen the way you look at him, and I’ve seen the way he doesn’t look at you. He only brought you to stay here so he had a shot at luring that wizard. Don’t get thoughts above your station, girlie.”

  Anna took a heavy breath. Without another word, she turned and marched into the bathroom. Once there, she found another little magical cupboard that could produce any haircare or makeup she asked for.

  After a good half hour of experimenting, she found a product that did wonders for her hair. It turned her riotous mop into a soft, straight, sleek sheet that swooshed every time she moved. She could barely believe her reflection, and she kept patting at her hair compulsively, as if she wanted to catch the exact moment it would frizz again.

  When it didn’t return to its usual rat’s nest, she walked out of the bathroom.

  Luminaria was no longer in the room. The window was open, and no doubt the cat had tried an aerial assault on a bird. She was probably down under some bush somewhere eating her catch right now.

  Making a disgusted face, Anna decided to explore the house.

  Aaron had offered. She wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity either. The chance to explore more of Aaron’s incredible mansion – and life – filled her with a kind of skipping sense of curiosity. Curiosity usually didn’t skip, but around w
itches it did. With enough magic, anything could skip, let alone bubble and fizzle and pop.

  As she walked down the stairs to the first floor, the house was silent. The butler was nowhere to be seen. Either he was outside chasing Luminaria away from the birdbath, or he was doing whatever butlers did when they didn’t butler. Butler wasn’t usually a verb, but considering Anna had already reinvented herself with a brand-new set of clothes, she wasn’t above making up a word or two.

  She lightly pressed her lips together, patting her hands up and down her sleek and sexy jeans. Her wedge high heels made every step echo, punching out like a drum beat. Maybe Luminaria was right, and Anna wouldn’t have the balls to wear this outfit outside, but for now, she was determined to enjoy it.

  With curiosity still skipping and tumbling in her belly, she explored the first floor of the house. Disappointingly, more doors were locked than opened. She’d try the ornate brass handles only to hear them click and resist her grip.

  Maybe Aaron had changed his mind, and had realized that it wasn’t a good idea to have a witch with magical allergies exploring your very magical house. He probably didn’t want to come home to Anna sneezing all over his rare magical tomes and hideously expensive set of sacred knives.

  Once she was done with the first floor, she explored the second and third. By the time she made it to the fifth, she was tired and bored. She shouldn’t be – this was wizard Arana’s own house, and he was practically a celebrity in the magical world. But the fact was, there was nothing here of note. Or, rather, all the note was firmly tucked behind magically locked doors.

  Rather than return to her bedroom and wait out the rest of the day twiddling her thumbs, she decided to go outside. Aaron had said she could explore the house and grounds, as long as she didn’t open the front gate and head out onto the street.

  She had no intention of wandering onto the road and offering herself up to the dark wizard. Just the thought of it made her chest hurt.

  She headed down to the front door, and opened it cautiously. When the world didn’t end and the scrap of dark soul within her wasn’t ripped from her chest, she let out a trapped breath and walked outside.

  She sneezed. A light breeze was blowing through the trees, collecting along the protective symbols carved into the wood and sending their magic tumbling through the garden.

  Reaching into her pocket for a hanky, but realizing her jeans were too tight to hold anything but air, she patted her nose instead. Then she walked down the garden path. With her hands clasped behind her, and her heels clicking along the cobble, she enjoyed the mid-morning sun. Despite the magic wafting around the place, messing with her allergies, it was quite a pleasant way to spend the day. There were birds tweeting in the trees (a comforting sign which meant Luminaria hadn’t managed to kill them all off yet). There were bumblebees and dragonflies buzzing about, too, bursts of color against the luscious green of the lawn.

  Just before Anna could find a nice oak tree to settle under for a nap, she heard somebody clear their throat. She snapped her head around to see a man waiting by the front gate. There was a sturdy, low sandstone wall that ran around the property, a secure wrought iron gate leading onto the street.

  Before Anna could freak out at the prospect the wizard was back, she caught sight of the man. “Scott?”

  “That’s right, doll face. Now where the hell did you get to last night? You had me worried, you know that?”

  “Oh my God,” she trotted down the main path and reached the gate, “I am so sorry. I … a lot happened last night,” she swallowed uncomfortably, “I’m so sorry.”

  Scott, wearing the same heavy pants, sturdy boots, and grey top, locked one hand on his side and shook his head. Then he levelled his eyes at her and grinned. For the briefest moment, his eyes flicked down her outfit, and he raised his eyebrow appreciatively.

  Though Anna was busy blushing, if she’d been observant, she would have noticed his eyes linger on her injured wrist.

  “So, are you going to come out here, or what? If you’re going to apologize to me, do me the dignity of facing me in full, hon.”

  She went to open the gate, but stopped, just in time. “Sorry, sorry,” she stuttered quickly, “but I can’t. I can’t leave this house. Or at least not until Aaron sorts this whole mess out.”

  Scott didn’t react to hearing Aaron’s name. Even as she said it, she gulped. She expected him to go ballistic, to explode like an emotional bomb. One that had the added advantage of knowing magic.

  He didn’t. He raised an eyebrow as his gaze flicked over her again. “Well then, if you can’t come out, let me in.”

  “Of course.” Anna reached for the gate latch. It didn’t look particularly sturdy. It wasn’t some megalithic lock attached to a chain thick enough to tug a container ship. It was just a latch. And yet, it would be able to keep out an army. She felt its magic crackle under her fingers as she clasped it.

  Scott smiled at her encouragingly, reaching one hand into his pocket as he rested it casually by his side.

  Something about the move caught her attention. It kindled a memory.

  “I don’t have all day, doll face.” Scott latched a hand on the opposite side of the gate, clearly getting ready to push it open. He’d only be able to do that once she undid the latch. He could be one of the strongest wizards in the world, but unless he was stronger than Aaron and this magical house, Scott wouldn’t be able to force his way in.

  “What happened to you last night, anyway?” Anna asked curiously.

  He shrugged his shoulders, one hand still perched in his pocket. “Like I said, you disappeared, I didn’t hear anything from you, and I kind of got worried. I haven’t known you for long, Anna, but you’ve made an impression on me.” He looked right into her eyes as he spoke.

  She could kid herself and say his sudden attention for her was due to her clothes, but that would be missing something. In fact, it would be missing everything. Scott let his eyes slide down her outfit once or twice, it was true, but every time his gaze lingered on her wrist before returning to her eyes.

  She started to feel cold. She swallowed uncomfortably. Maybe this was all in her head, or maybe—

  “You stupid witch, get away from that gate now.” Luminaria von Tippit roared up the garden path, her paws scattering over the stones as she raced madly towards Anna.

  Anna squeaked in surprise, and jerked out of the cat’s way.

  “You’re about to let in our friend from last night,” Luminaria snapped as she skidded to a halt, the hackles along her back rising as she flared her tail from side to side. Revealing her teeth, she hissed at the man.

  Though Anna had already realized something wasn’t right, Luminaria’s revelation made her shudder. She twisted her head to stare at Scott.

  He started to smile. It was the kind of slow move that spread across his face like oil from a spill. It poisoned his once handsome features, contorting them with a familiar expression of cold rage. “Why don’t you open the latch, Anna Hope Summersville? Why don’t you make this easy for yourself?” he suggested, his voice low and calm.

  She shivered, backing away from the gate and almost falling into a rose bush.

  “Why don’t you stay out there and slowly disappear while she holds onto a part of your soul, wizard?” Luminaria suggested instead. “You must be in a mighty amount of pain, hey? As your soul desperately searches for its missing half, you must be enduring agony.” Luminaria took a lot of pleasure in what she was saying, her golden green eyes sparkling as if she were reciting poetry and not a death threat.

  Scott’s lip kinked. “Pain brings power, witch,” he snarled. “Now open the gate, Anna,” he said in an almost singsong tone.

  A cold drenching sweat travelled down her shoulders and forehead. Though the sun was full and shining above, she felt as if she were floating in the dead vasts of space.

  Scott smiled at her, his once handsome features contorting with hatred and greed. He patted his hand on the gate, the
move slow and deliberate, the sound echoing around her like a clock ticking down. “Open the gate, doll face.”

  Luminaria hissed aggressively. “Why don’t you go and hand yourself in to the Magical Enforcement Council, wizard? They will be much nicer to you than I will be.”

  “You want to fight me again, witch?” He turned his attention on Luminaria. “Then open the gate.”

  “Listen here, we are not men and we are not wizards,” Luminaria pointed out as she tipped back her head haughtily, “and we will not accept such a ridiculous challenge. Now stand there and disappear, boy, while I watch.”

  Scott snarled, his lips crinkling and kinking until they tucked under his nose. “You have no idea who you are messing with. I am the most powerful wizard this age has ever seen. And once I’m done with you,” his eyes darted towards Anna, “I’ll have more power than this world has ever seen.”

  “You have a mighty big head, I’ll grant you that,” Luminaria chuckled at her own joke, “but you are not the most powerful wizard in the world. My little witch here bested you twice, and she has magical allergies.”

  Though Anna was frightened out of her wits, she was cognizant enough to realize Luminaria had just complimented her. Well, kind of.

  Scott let his eyes slide towards Anna. He looked her up and down, his gaze attentive and thoroughly creepy.

  She shivered again, backing even further into the rose bush, the thorns snagging against her bare arms.

  “She’s nothing. But I will make her into something. With her soul, I’ll complete my spell. And then—”

  “Come on, Anna.” Luminaria suddenly turned her tail and started trotting down the path.

  “What?” Anna twisted her head to watch her go.

  “We’re not going to stand there and listen to that silly man aggrandize himself. Nobody cares what he’s going to do once he’s the most powerful wizard in the world, because he is never going to be the most powerful wizard in the world. At midnight, he’s not even going to be a wizard, as he’s going to be dead. Good riddance, I say. Now come on.”

  Anna made the mistake of turning around to look at Scott once more.

  His head was tilted to the side, his gaze locked on hers, his eyes glittering with a keen interest that made her want to throw up.

  “Make this easy on yourself,” he whispered, his lips moving sharply around each word, his clean-shaven chin crinkling and slackening. He leaned forward and placed both hands on the gate. While he could rest them on the metal, he wouldn’t be able to reach over and grab her. Still, the move sent electric shots of fear convulsing through her back and arms. “Give into me, Anna. You know you want to.”

  She turned sharply from him, her boot snagging on the grass and sending her tumbling towards the gate. She managed to grab the metal bars before she fell face first into them. Then she pushed herself up.

  The wizard darted his head down, until he stared right into her eyes.

  “You might not want to let me in, but you fail to realize I’m already inside,” he said quietly, as if to himself.

  She let go of the metal bars, her fingers trembling as she stared at him. “What?”

  He brought a hand up and tapped the center of his chest. “I’m already inside you, Anna. Do you honestly think a weak little witch like you will be able to fight me off forever?”

  She staggered backwards. “You ... you’re wrong,” she stuttered desperately, hoping she was right. For even as she said the words, a pressure built up in the center of her chest. She crumpled her fingers over it, digging into the fabric of her top as she tried to release the tension.

  Scott tipped his head to the side, until it was almost horizontal. Half a lip kinked into a grin and he chuckled. “Did you sleep well last night? I’m in your head, Anna. And by midnight, I promise you, I’ll rip my way out.” With that, Scott took a sudden look over his shoulder, then disappeared in the same cloud of writhing black symbols she’d seen from last night.

  Though the gate and fence did a sterling job of blocking out the wizard’s dark magic, enough of it leaked through that Anna began to itch. A rash rose up her back, burning her stomach and arms.

  “Just try to keep me out, Miss Summersville, just try.” The wizard’s voice was cut short as he disappeared completely.

  Anna fell over. She couldn’t stand. Her heart was a trembling, wild, beating mess. It felt as if her legs had turned to jelly, and her arms wouldn’t stop shaking.

  Tears streaked down her cheeks.

  “Stop crying in the rose bushes,” Luminaria scolded from the front door, “and come inside at once. Wizard Arana will be home shortly, and though I detest the man, it is impolite to hide in his rose bushes.”

  “Aaron?” She said his name, and just the mention of it gave her hope. “But he’s at work.”

  “Not for long. Not after a display of magic that strong right outside of his house. Mark my words, he’ll be home any instant.”

  Suddenly the sound of a door opening loudly filtered out from the house. There was a series of strong, quick steps, then the front door opened. Aaron, in his impeccable grey suit, raced down the garden path, his sleeves rolled high.

  “Too late, you’ve already missed him,” Luminaria snarled.

  Aaron reached the gate, latching his hands on it as he checked up and down the road. His eyes quickly settled on the patch of pavement where the wizard had disappeared. After a few seconds of staring at it with a narrowed, worried gaze, he turned and quickly dropped to one knee. “It’s all right, it’s all right,” he repeated.

  It was? A pressure was building in her chest. It wasn’t her imagination, she wasn’t being pathetic and letting Scott’s words get to her – it felt like something was growing in the center of her sternum. She collapsed a hand over it.

  “Come on.” Aaron gently helped her up. “It’s safer in the house.”

  “Are you sure about that?” Luminaria hissed at him as she sat imperiously in the middle of the garden path. “If I hadn’t stopped Anna from opening that gate, our friend would have forced his way in.”

  “I wasn’t going to open the gate to him; I realized something was wrong with Scott,” Anna tried to defend herself as she pressed her hand harder into her chest.

  Aaron twisted his head down so fast, it was a surprise he didn’t shatter his spine. “Sorry, what? Was Scott here?”

  “The dark wizard, it was Scott,” Anna managed as she let Aaron lead her forward.

  Though Aaron’s cheeks paled with anger, his eyebrows also crumpled. “What are you talking about?”

  “I was in the garden, then Scott walked up to the gate. He asked me to come outside, and when I wouldn’t, he wanted to come inside. He was … the dark wizard.”

  Aaron’s cheeks now paled so much it looked as if the skin and blood and muscle had disappeared to reveal nothing but smooth white bone. “That’s impossible,” he said firmly.

  For a man who hated Scott as much as Aaron did, his admission was too adamant. Surely wizard Arana would take glee in the fact Scott was a bad apple.

  But Aaron shook his head again. “It can’t be Scott, trust me. My brother is a lot of things, but if he were a dark wizard practicing soul magic, I’d know about it by now.”

  Anna gave a stage blink. “Brother? Scott is your brother?”

  “Yes. And he’s not the dark wizard. It just means ...” Aaron trailed off as he turned over his shoulder to stare at the street. You would be a fool not to note the worry slackening his features.

  “It just means what?” she prompted as she took a hesitant swallow.

  “That Scott has been captured,” Aaron conceded in a quiet voice, “if that dark wizard is mimicking his appearance and speech, it means he’s got Scott.”

  Anna inhaled sharply. “Oh my God. Is he going to ... is the wizard going to—”

  “He’ll do nothing until he has all of his soul back.” Aaron helped her up the steps and through the door. “Which we’re going to make sure doesn’t happ
en.”

  Still rubbing her chest, Anna nonetheless appreciated the feel of Aaron’s arms around her shoulders as he helped her towards his drawing room.

  “All we have to do is wait until midnight. If my calculations are correct, the dark wizard only has until 12 o’clock tonight to get his soul back. If he can’t, he’ll disappear. Then one of my agents will be able to track Scott down, wherever he is.”

  She wanted to believe that Aaron’s words were dismissive of Scott, but that would be denying Aaron’s expression. It was composed, granted, but only in a way that hid the tension. His torso was locked, his fingers crooked as they rested on her arm, and his jaw was straight and closed.

  He led her over to a chair, flicking it out with his foot and helping her sit. Then, with a worried glance through his window, he walked around to the front of his desk. He rummaged in a drawer for several seconds before pulling out a small black book.

  He sat down and started to leaf through it.

  ....

  He wasn’t going to start reading in front of her again, was he? Aaron had a habit of ignoring her while he immersed himself in his latest read. But now really wasn’t the time for some light literature.

  Before she could clear her throat, he settled on a page, nodded, and looked up at her. “I think I have something of interest.”

  “What do you mean? Before that dark wizard left, he threatened that he was still inside me,” she tapped her chest with an open, sweaty palm, “and that he could take control and breakout.”

  Aaron nodded solemnly, still holding onto the book, keeping the correct page with his thumb. “I know, that’s what I’m talking about. I think I have a talisman somewhere that might help you fight him off.”

  “So ... it wasn’t just an empty threat? He really could break his way out of me?” Her eyes became steadily wider and wider until the skin along her temples and cheeks threatened to crack.

  “I’m ashamed to say I’ve been underestimating this wizard. While Luminaria may be correct and the wizard’s own magic may not be substantial, I cannot ignore he has powerful friends. I doubt he alone has been calling the soul catcher. It makes more sense to believe that somebody else, someone far more powerful, has been telling him to do it. That same person, or creature, or group,” Aaron qualified, his voice becoming unsettlingly ominous, “could help to magnify the wizard’s magic.”

  “And if he gets strong enough, he’ll break his way right out of my soul,” her voice shuddered as she sank further into the comfort of her chair.

  “He’ll try. But we will stop him.” Aaron got to his feet, still holding onto the little black book as he walked to the opposite side of the room and checked through his bookcase. Neat, colorful-spined magical tomes were lined up, their covers untouched by sun and age, despite how old they were. Aaron looked thoughtful as he selected one and brought it back to the desk.

  “I don’t get it. Last night you seemed to already know that this guy had friends. Or at least that’s what you told Luminaria. That’s why you brought me here, right?”

  Aaron didn’t answer immediately. Instead he peered up into the furthest reaches of his bookcase, clearly searching for something important. Only when he found it several seconds later and brought it back to the desk did he look at her. Setting the book down slowly and pressing one hard-knuckled fist into the cover, he shook his head. “There’s something you need to know about magic in Marchtown. This city isn’t particularly old, and neither is it placed over some hell portal or magical site. And yet ...” he trailed off and looked pensive as he clearly tried to sort through his thoughts, “I have faced more magical crime here than I have anywhere else, and that includes Vale. It’s varied, it’s chaotic, and no matter how many criminals you wipe off the street, more grow up to replace them. That’s why I’m here. I head up security for the Council of Eight, and out of every city in the world, I choose to live in Marchtown, because I’m needed here more than anywhere else.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “That I have been guilty of underestimating a threat before, and I’ve done it again. I want to tell you I know what we’re dealing with. I want to tell you that if you stay here behind these walls you’ll be fine. But I can’t know for sure. If that wizard managed to capture Scott ...” he trailed off and shook his head, bringing two fingers up to press them hard into his brow. “There is every possibility he has access to people or a source of power I don’t know about. And if I don’t know about it, I can’t predict what will happen next. I thought bringing you here would be enough, and I hope it still is, but I realize now we should prepare for the worst.”

  Anna brought a shaking hand up and pushed her hair from her face. It had gone back to being a mess. Either the magical wonder product she’d used on it this morning hadn’t lasted, or her fright had frazzled her body and hair too.

  “Come with me, that talisman is in my storeroom.” He shrugged towards the door.

  She got to her feet, latching a hand on the armrest as she pushed the other hard into her sternum, trying to chase away the growing tingle building there. “Hold on, you said before he might have access to a kind of magic you’ve never encountered.”

  “It’s possible. There are things out there both extremely ancient and extremely new that are not documented. It’s very unlikely though. It’s far more likely that new powerful criminals have moved into town and they are helping him.”

  There are things out there both extremely ancient and extremely new. Aaron’s words echoed in her mind.

  She pulled her hand off her chest and brought it up to stare at it. She remembered the awful prickling tingle that had escaped across her body when she’d met that wizard. When she had felt him practice that strange magic.

  Her allergies had reacted to it in a mega way. And her allergies were proportional to power. The more magic she encountered, the worse they got.

  Should she say something? Or was she just being an idiot? Aaron was right; the likelihood that she, Anna Hope Summersville, had somehow encountered a completely new kind of magic was astronomically low.

  Yet the lifeblood of magic was possibility – making the unlikely real.

  She trotted quickly behind him until she reached his side. Wiping her sweaty hands on her jeans and tucking her hair behind her shoulders she took a breath. “I know this is going to sound weird, but maybe there is a possibility he’s practicing some kind of new magic.”

  Aaron looked like he ignored her as he reached past, grabbed the door handle, and muttered a quick spell under his breath. The door was bright fire-truck red and had a single gold symbol painted in the middle encircled by a dragon eating its tail. It swung open gently to reveal a massive room. The room had to be much bigger than the house. It looked as though it sprawled for acres. In the style of a hangar, with a tall rounded ceiling, it had stacks after stacks of shelves, all full with boxes.

  As Aaron walked in, he flicked his finger to the side, and rows of lights lit up from above, turning on with a hiss and a buzz.

  “You might not want to breathe too hard when you’re in here; there’s a lot of concentrated magic. I would leave you out in the corridor, but ...” he didn’t finish his sentence. Did he have to to?

  If he left her out in the corridor, unsupervised, she might suddenly crack in half as a dark wizard claimed her soul.

  She hurried up and slipped into step behind him.

  Though he’d completely ignored her before, she cleared her throat again. “I know you’re not going to take much stock in what I say. I’m just a stupid little witch with allergies. But listen, I think those allergies might be trying to tell me something.”

  Aaron stopped, just as he reached for a box on the shelf before them. He turned over his shoulder and locked her in his gaze. “I don’t think you’re stupid, Anna.”

  Well you sure act like you do, she thought bitterly. She didn’t say it out loud, of course – she wasn’t that kind of girl. What she did instead was try hard to keep his ga
ze. “My allergies are proportional to what I face,” she said, suddenly sneezing and making her point perfectly. She gestured around the room. “This place would be enough to give me a headache, a rash, and a nasty case of tingles. But whatever that wizard was practicing,” her eyes drew wide, “it was awful. I’ve never felt anything like it. And I know you may think I’m not up to much, but I did work on the Vale police force for several months. I’ve encountered demons, vampires, dark magic, you name it. I have never felt anything like this though.”

  Aaron looked like he wanted to ignore her and turn around to keep searching through the boxes. Or maybe that was just her impression of him. Maybe she had trouble reading his smooth brow and blank gaze, because maybe Aaron never let his true feelings show.

  She swallowed, waiting for him to dismiss her or laugh her off.

  He did neither. “Are you sure it wasn’t just soul magic? It is a very rare form of magic, and it wouldn’t surprise me if you’d never encountered it, even in Vale.”

  She shook her head impassionedly, her hair scattering over her shoulders and cheeks. “No, I know it’s not soul magic. It ... I felt it most when he called the soul catcher. I thought my back was going to burst into flames.”

  Aaron looked at her. His expression was irritatingly blank. Even a team of magical psychologists wouldn’t be able to predict what he was thinking.

  After several agonizing seconds he sighed. “I want to tell you you’re wrong, and that it’s impossible, but I’m starting to realize I know nothing about this city. I’ve been working here for several months, and I have barely made a dent in crime.”

  He sounded frustrated. He didn’t look it though. He still had that same controlled, relatively blank expression. Aaron was clearly a man who hid his true feelings well.

  “If it is some kind of new magic, or very old magic,” he added in a low, not particularly comforting tone, “then ...” he trailed off.

  She swallowed. “Then what?”

  “We should hurry and find you that talisman.”

  She placed a hand on her stomach and tried to fight back the queasy wash of nerves that threatened to engulf her.

  If this situation was starting to worry Aaron, then ... oh lord, it was serious. Deadly serious.

  She let Aaron work, and she dutifully followed him, always keeping at a distance whenever he opened a box. The trapped magic would make her eyes water.

  After what felt like an hour, he stopped, the slightest of smiles curling his lips. “I’ve got it,” he said triumphantly as he pulled something out of a dusty brown wooden box.

  Anna expected to see a talisman befitting a man like Aaron. Maybe it would be gold studded with rubies that shimmered even under the darkest night. Or maybe it would be carved out of light itself, and would sit around one’s neck, blazing like a mini sun.

  What she got, however, was a chunk of wood. It wasn’t even carved. And it was hung on a particularly drab, dirty piece of string. It looked like something a child would make.

  “Ah, is that it?” She tried to keep the disbelief from her voice.

  She clearly didn’t manage it, as Aaron raised an eyebrow. “What, you can’t feel its magic?”

  She opened her mouth to say no, then she sneezed. So violently she almost hit her head on the shelf. Leaning back with a hand over her nose as she blinked her eyes she muttered an “oh.”

  “Yes,” he agreed. “It’s very powerful. And hopefully it will be enough.”

  “What exactly is it meant to do?”

  “Magnify your own soul.”

  Magnifying magic and power she had heard of, magnifying souls was new to her. Dropping her hand from her nose, she stared at it warily. “And what exactly does that entail?”

  “This,” he patted it gently, “will help you become more like yourself. Your true self,” he qualified quickly.

  It sounded like a self-help book.

  He handed it to her reverently.

  She took it, biting her lip as she did. “So it will keep the dark wizard back? Stop him from pushing his way out of my soul?”

  Aaron held her gaze then shook his head. “No, I’m afraid it can’t do that. If that dark wizard really has a way to gain control over the scrap of soul he has left in you, then there’s nothing I can do and nothing I have that can stop him.”

  She paled. She must have looked like she’d died, or was just about to.

  “But there’s something you have and something you can do,” Aaron emphasized. “When the dark wizard tries to gain control of you, this will help you to stop him.”

  She looked up, and she was unashamed at the pleading edge to her gaze. This guy was wizard Arana. He was on the Council of Eight, and he was easily one of the most powerful wizards in the world. As pathetic as it sounded, she wanted him to fix this. She wanted to collapse into a chair knowing that he was here and would make everything okay. Yet as he held her gaze and swallowed, she realized that wasn’t going to happen.

  It was now up to her.