Soul Snatcher (29 page)

By the time
they arrived at Miss Darla’s house the event was already in full
swing. The manor was huge from the outside and the courtyard was
filled with endless carriages and their drivers, who mostly kept
out of sight. Eli helped Annie down from the carriage and they made
their way, arm in arm, to the door where they were greeted in the
doorway by their host.

“
Eli!” Miss Darla said loudly over the orchestral music
and came over to greet them. She was a rounder woman, her soft
chocolate hair touched with grey throughout. She gave Eli a
motherly hug and then turned her affections towards Annie. “You
must be Annie,” she proclaimed as she hugged her. “It is more than
a pleasure to meet you.” The foyer felt like it was filled with
people and it was incredibly hot. Or was that Annie’s
nerves?

“
As it is you,” Annie responded truthfully, trying to
forget her worry. Miss Darla looked at Annie for a moment before
she turned back to Eli.

“
There is someone here that may be of interest to you,
Eli,” Miss Darla said with a meaningful look in her eye. Annie
looked between them to see if she could read what it was she was
missing but failed. Eli’s expression turned a little sour but he
covered it quickly. He turned to Annie and smiled.

“
Annie, feel free to make your way into the dining
room. I will be there shortly,” he said. Before she could say
anything he was gone.

“
Annie, come with me,” Miss Darla offered as she took
her arm and led her away from the cramped doorway. They moved into
the extravagant dining room. It really was closer to a ballroom but
a table lined one side and was covered with every type of food
imaginable. It was out of the way of the main space, which seemed
to have hundreds of people filling it.

The place was
lit fiercely with a ridiculous amount of candles. Some were held by
candelabras, others by tall, gothic stands and some candles were so
huge they were tall enough to stand by themselves. The flattering
light fell on the crowd in a soft glow as they mingled in their
little huddles. The small orchestra was set in the corner of the
room so the crowd would have space to dance when it came to that
time of night.

“
This is amazing,” Annie whispered as she took it all
in. Everyone was dressed in ridiculously over-styled dresses and
suits but they all seemed rather proud of it. Miss Danes was
wearing a modest, blue dress but it was still lovely and Annie
guessed that it reflected the type of person that she
was.

As they made
their way through the crowd she received a few
appreciativ
e, sideways
glances from the men and the woman openly judged her for it.
Suddenly she remembered why she didn’t enjoy socialising all that
much.

“
Do not worry about such people, they are just jealous
of what you have that they do not!” Miss Darla said with a flick of
her hand through the air after she noticed the attention Annie was
receiving. “Now I do not like sitting down being stuck next to the
same dreary person at a dinner table so I do not sit my guests.
They eat from the table and then they move around. Simple,” she
explained as they came upon the table. Annie didn’t feel hungry,
she just felt out of place and nervous. Miss Darla went to say
something but someone came rushing up to her through the
crowd.

“
Miss Darla,” the person called to her as they
approached. The young man looked like he was a little flustered. He
must have been part of her hired help because he was dressed
moderately compared to the others around them. “I am sorry to
disturb you but there is a matter in the kitchen that needs your
attention,” he said breathlessly. After he finished he looked
towards Annie for the first time and a blush formed on his cheeks.
Miss Darla rolled her eyes.

“
Fine, I will come,” Miss Darla said to the young man.
She looked to Annie before she left. “I am sorry for this
interruption. I shall find you as soon as this matter is dealt
with,” she assured. Annie nodded and Miss Darla left, leaving her
alone in the snake pit.

Annie
inspected the food table and took a grape to eat, just for
something to do. She folded her arms self-consciously and began to
wish she hadn’t come at all. Great, now what was she meant to do?
When she started to look around for her escape route someone came
and stood next to her. She quickly looked around to the
person.

“
Good evening there lovely,” Micah greeted with a
smile. For the first time in what felt like forever, she felt happy
to see him. She smiled in relief.

“
I am so glad there is someone here that I know,” she
said. Before he could respond the orchestra struck a note that was
well received by the crowd. Everyone seemed to recognise it and the
crowd dispersed and made way for the dancers that were forming on
the floor.

“
Would you care to dance, Miss Belle?” Micah asked with
his hand extended. Her nerves became worse and she almost refused
but then she remembered how much fun she had dancing with
Eli.

“
Why not?” She reasoned as she took Micah’s hand. He
swept her onto the dance floor and into the motions of the music.
She instantly recognised the dance, it was a quick paced dance that
required a fair amount of coordination and stamina and she rose to
the challenge effortlessly.

It came to
the time when they had to switch partners and Micah reluctantly let
her go to a tall, young gentleman who was eager to take her. He
held her a little too close and tried to talk with her but she just
smiled and nodded, finding it hard to hear him over the music. As
they swept across the floor she glanced over to the watching crowd
and someone caught her attention but then they were gone in a
flash. He had looked familiar but she hadn’t had enough time to see
him properly.

Suddenly they
changed partners again and she tripped ever so slightly on her own
feet. She didn’t care though because she was too preoccupied with
the person she was searching for. Her new partner was yet another
young man, quite handsome really. He attempted to talk to her but
she down right ignored him.

Annie
frantically searched the crowd for the familiar man but it was hard
because she was being moved all over the dance floor. When she
started to lose hope she saw the top of the person’s head in the
far corner near the orchestra, close to the doorway that led to an
unlit room. Annie assumed he was moving towards an exit and she
begun to panic. Falling out of step with the music she tried to
push onto her tip toes to see him. It looked like he was talking to
someone.

Her dance
partner was finding it difficult to maintain the pretence of the
dance though he didn’t mind too much, as long as he got to hold
Annie. Before too long the music came to an end and so did the
dancing. Everyone started clapping so she mindlessly did the same
as she looked in the direction where the familiar man stood. She
started to move towards him, ignoring the glances of the people she
walked past. He began to move away so she picked up her pace. All
of a sudden the crowd felt overwhelmingly thick and she was worried
that she would lose him. When the stress to push past everyone
started to mount the crowd suddenly parted and she saw the
mysterious person she was searching for. She stopped breathing and
completely froze as he turned to face her, like he had been
expecting her.

Baden stood
there amongst the crowd looking more beautiful than he ever had. He
was dressed in a full suit and he looked utterly perfect. The crowd
bustled around them in preparation for the next dance but Baden and
Annie remained motionless. Baden had been trying to leave when
someone he had known from years ago started to persistently talk to
him. He had heard Annie coming towards him and he decided not to
hide anymore. As he felt her soul so close to his he couldn’t help
but be grateful for giving up, just so he could soak her in. But
now Annie knew he was alive. Part of him felt relief but mostly he
felt dismay as now he had no idea what was going to come of
it.

She blinked
repeatedly, expecting him to disappear but he didn’t. There he
stood, alive. The orchestra struck up a song that Annie new was
meant for an uncommonly slow dance and the dancers gathered
themselves on the floor again. Baden slowly made his way over to
her and stopped when he was close enough that he could embrace her
if he wanted to. He let out a long breath before he
spoke.

“
Annie,” he said her name tenderly. “Would you do me
the honour of giving me this dance?” The words were humble and
vulnerable. Her eyes were glassy from tears but she managed to hold
them back. She had no hope of finding any words so she simply
nodded.

Baden took
her hand and led her onto the dance floor. She rested into his arms
and they moved easily together with the music. It felt like a dream
touching him, having him touch her.

“
Baden I,” she whispered but he stopped her.

“
Let us just enjoy this one moment…where we can pretend
complications do not exist,” he said quietly.

And for that
one song they held each other close and pretended that they were
two people who had no other care in the world, other than the love
caught between them. Baden held her closer than anyone else had and
she felt safe with him. He felt like home.

Before enough
time passed, the music ended and the crowd clapped softly in its
enchanting wake. They held each other for a moment longer than the
song allowed then reluctantly let each other go. Baden gently
brushed a small tress away that had fallen onto her cheek. He heard
Eli approaching and started nodding, knowing he had to
leave.

“
Until next time,” he said then he disappeared into the
crowd.

Before Annie
even realised Eli was walking towards her she rushed after Baden.
He had made his way outside and when she was past the crowd she ran
through the doors into the cold night air. It was like waking up
from a dream you didn’t want to end. She stood peering across the
empty courtyard feeling as if she had just lost everything. She
heard footsteps and swiftly turned to whoever it was.

“
Tonight has been eventful in a way that I had not
anticipated,” Eli said as he stood a few feet away from
her.

Annie had no
idea how she was going to explain anything but all she cared about
now was that Baden was alive.

CHAPTER
28

The carriage
ride home was excruciating. Annie and Eli had left immediately
after Baden had gone and hadn’t said a word to each other
since. Their silence made the time
slow to a deathly pace and neither had felt more uncomfortable in
their lives.

They arrived
home and were now headed to the library. Annie was becoming more
and more uncomfortable with each step and she was completely
unprepared for what she was going to say. She followed next to Eli
until they arrived at the door of the room where he let her enter
first.

She took a
leather reading chair and he took one close by. After the leather
had stopped squeaking when she was settled, they sat in awkward
silence. Eli did not even look at her. When it felt like she was
going to go insane from the suspense he finally spoke.

“
I am sorry,” he said. It took a moment for her to
realise what he had said but when she did she looked at him
quizzically.

“
What?” She asked in confusion.

“
For letting him get that close to you,” he explained.
What did he know of Baden and her relationship? What was he talking
about?

“
I…do not understand what you are saying,” she said
expecting more of an explanation. Eli became a little lost in the
conversation himself.

“
The last man you were dancing with tonight is a soul
snatcher, his name is Baden.” He was acting as if this would be new
information.

It dawned on
her that he didn’t know that she knew Baden. Should she admit what
was really going on or should she play dumb? Looking at Eli now
helped her make up her mind. Play dumb, at least for the time
being.

“
How do you know?” She asked wondering what Baden’s
story was.

“
It is complicated but he is one of the most dangerous
soul snatchers ever to exist,” he informed. Annie didn’t like where
this was going. She swallowed back her fear and asked her next
question, though part of her wanted to stay ignorant.

“
Why is he so dangerous?” She asked quietly, as if
speaking too loudly would expose her.

Eli took a
moment to think about what he should do, tell her everything or
keep most of the story to himself? Looking at Annie now helped him
make up his mind. Keep most of it from her.

“
He was once a tracker,” he said and Annie’s expression
was worth a thousand words. Her eyes went wide with
shock.

“
Tracker?” She repeated to clarify. Maybe she had heard
him wrong? He nodded and decided to give her some more
details.