The Witchfinder Wars (25 page)

My voice trailed off when I got to the kiss
and the silence was suddenly deafening.

I watched him; he was taking this in all too
easily. I couldn't understand how he was still here. Sitting in
this place, listening to things that aren't supposed to happen,
while every part of me wanted nothing more than to keep him with
me.

Keep him bound to me.

"Hun...you know...do you really..."

The words left me. I wanted to make sure he
was going to stay with me, despite my status as an outcast. Being
the poor, uncultured girl I was sure his family wouldn't approve
of. But I didn't want to break the beauty of this moment when we'd
had so few. Instead, I snuggled down against his chest as his arms
tightened around me once more, his head resting on top of mine.

My voice returned to me.

"Please, just...don't go. Don't ever
go."

I couldn't think of anything else to say.
After fighting the binding for so long, I'd given up. He seemed as
much a part of me as my soul, and I silently thanked the Goddess
for not listening to me in my attempts to push him away.

This was too nice; too sweet. My heart was
selfish, and I wanted to make sure he felt the same.

"Okay. I won't."

The words were simple; matter of fact. I
wanted to believe them. I
needed
to believe them. But
another question came out into the open before I could stop it.

"Tommy, what happens if you have to leave
Manning? You...your family...well, you've had to move so
much..."

My voice trailed off as he sighed, tilting
his head so it rested against mine, before he spoke. "Yeah, we
don't have the best track record for stability, huh?" Then, he
shrugged. "I'll be eighteen in January, Annie. So I won't have to
go if they do. Unless you come with us. I won't—no, I can't—leave
you behind."

I gave him a small smile before wrapping my
arms around his neck. "Are you sure your Grand would approve of
such a thing? Me tagging along?"

Tommy chuckled and held me tighter. "Well,
it wouldn't go along with her Southern sensibilities, but...she
understands. I told her about you, when I thought you had, um, got
caught in the fire. And I'm planning on going to Oxford next year
for college, anyway. I think you'd like England."

England. It was a world away from the home
I'd always known. A place where no one would know me. A place where
no one would suspect I'm different. I grinned at the thought of it
before I nodded.

"England sounds perfect, love. Just perfect.
I wonder if I could get into the literature program at Oxford."

I relaxed against him. We stayed that way
for a while, planning a future I wished desperately would come to
pass. A future where we could be normal, filled with the events and
things most kids our age took for granted. But the realist in me,
the girl who had seen too much, knew better. I knew it wasn't going
to be easy for us. No matter how much we wanted it to happen. Our
words died away, and we enjoyed a comfortable silence before I
spoke again.

"Tommy, what happens if I have to run?"

His body stiffened at the question, and he
shook his head so hard I was afraid it was going to aggravate his
injury. "You won't, Annie. You won't. I'll make sure...damned
sure...that you..."

I reached up and placed my hands on either
side of his face to make him stop. When his eyes met mine, I smiled
sadly.

"Hun, stop. Breathe. I'm not saying I will
just up and leave. I...I can't. I
wouldn't.
But you can't
stop these people who are after me. The ones that...did what they
did the other night. I should be safe here, now. But if they do
come after me, and I have to run, I'll find my way back here. Back
to you. That's more than a promise, love. It's an oath
.
Just
tell me...well, you'll still be here. Still want me, if I ever do
have to leave you."

Tommy nodded, leaning forward once more to
kiss me, to hold me against him, before he spoke. "I won't go
anywhere. I won't leave Manning until I have you with me."

Then, a crooked grin I was starting to love
so much crossed his face. "And it'll be hard...but I think I'll
still want you."

I laughed, pushing against him playfully, as
I said, "All right, all right. Point taken. What time is it,
love?"

He glanced down at the watch on his wrist.
"Just before two in the morning."

"Seriously?"

Tommy shrugged before grinning down at
me.

"Yeah."

I smiled, slipping out of his lap to pull
him to his feet.

"Not to kick you out or anything, but don't
you think your Grand is worried sick about you by now?"

His face flashed with a fear I recognized
easily. It mirrored the look on mine each time I thought I might
never see him again. It was one that said I may not be here when he
comes back. I leaned up on my toes, pressed my lips to his for a
moment, and whispered against them.

"I'll be here tomorrow, Tommy. And the next
day. And the next. I won't go anywhere that you won't."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

We said our goodbyes with reluctance, and I
waved as he began to cross back over the field toward his car. When
he was out of sight I went back inside. I pushed the door closed
before I turned to slide down the smooth wood on the inside.

The world I knew was gone, shifting in the
ashes of the house I used to know.

I was being hunted.

I was practically homeless.

But Tommy was mine.

I smiled as I leaned my head back against
the wood, remembering each and every second that had passed between
us.

Anya...you have to go, child. Now!

The thought was so sudden, so unexpected, I
pushed myself to my feet and turned to see who had spoken, even
though I knew it was the Goddess.

What?

I shook my head as the voice returned,
urgent and insistent this time.

You have exactly thirty minutes to get out
of here. The Witchfinders are already on the road.

I was stunned. How could they know I
survived the fire? How could they know I was here?

Tommy
.
I won't leave him, Great
Mother. I promised...I just promised....

Just go. Go now. Grab the money and the
book. Hide in the trees. I will let him know you are safe
.

You...he can hear you?

Anya, it is not yet your time. Now go!

Her word was all I needed to get moving.
Somehow I managed to throw on my ruined jeans and discard the
skirt. I snatched a bag from the bottom of the armoire, filled it
with the money and the book. My last thought was to grab the man's
raincoat since it had the hood to hide my hair.

I closed the door in silence as I heard car
doors being slammed up by the road. The bag was heavier than it
looked, but I broke out into a run as I heard the shouts behind
me.

"Check the barn!"

"Get the witch, boys!"

My Goddess led me deeper into the woods
until she stopped me next to the largest tree on the property.

Climb it
.

I had no choice but to obey. My hands and
knees were shaking as I scrambled up to hide in the branches.

Tell him I'm safe! Please....

I'd made a promise to Tommy; I'd be damned
if I broke it.

I stifled a sigh as I released the branch to
brush against my lips where his had been. It wasn't fair for this
to happen so soon.

I won't leave Manning until I have you
with me
.

The memory of Tommy's words filtered through
my panic and I felt better at once. If all else failed, I knew he
would be here, waiting until we could be reunited again.

The crashing in the underbrush filled my
ears, made me focus. Bodies in black were sweeping the grounds
beneath me. The letters glowed white across their backs as they
passed.

WFG Limited.

Witchfinder General.

Tommy's family. Their company.

Oh, Goddess.

I shoved the connection out of my mind as I
watched them continue the search for someone they would never
find.

It is done, child. He has been told.

Relief flooded through me like nothing I had
ever felt before. I leaned back and rested against the branches as
I relaxed to watch the spectacle below.

Thank you, Great Mother. For everything.

I would find my way back to Manning. Very,
very soon. I couldn't bear to be away from Tommy any longer than I
had to be.

Not while I had a choice.

Chapter
Sixteen

Tommy

As I drove home, I could feel the weight of
the blue stone lying against my heart. I could taste Anya's last
kiss on my lips.

I should have been worried, scared,
concerned, but nothing seemed to matter to me.

Anya was alive.

As long as that one fact was true, was real,
then I could handle everything else that came at me.

But it seemed like the further I got away
from Anya—from Annie—the more the worries came, piling up, one on
top of the other. They marched through my mind line a line of
soldiers, threatening, persistent: Ivy, Annie's mom; Grand and my
sisters; Clay and Kinsey; WFG and my position as Matthew
Hopkins.

And one single, burning question rose above
it all.

Did Annie even know her mom was still alive,
a prisoner of Clay and his Dark Side of WFG? WFG Limited—my
family's company? Did she even suspect I'd been there when her Aunt
Evie had been struck down, when her mother had been taken?

I'd been so happy to see her, we hadn't even
discussed the role I'd played in the fire.

If she knew I'd been there, if she knew my
connection, would she still love me? Still trust me?

Still want me?

I pulled into the drive. The whole house was
lit up from top to bottom, and there were three Hummers parked in
the driveway.

I groaned.

This was not going to be good.

Then a funny thing happened.

The moonstone around my neck gave off a kind
of tingle, almost like a tiny electric spark. And I heard a voice,
far away and yet deep inside me, all at once. It was the most
beautiful voice I'd ever heard, soft yet strong, deep but feminine,
full of the most potent care and concern.

Your Annie must leave this place. There is
no safety for her here. You must let her go so you will find her
again. She will be back, and she will love you always.

I jumped. I couldn't help it. But the voice
went on:
Do not doubt, my son. Do not fear. Stay strong, and you
will hold her in your arms again. My love enfolds you both.

Okay. That proved it. I was crazy,
definitely crazy, and hearing voices.

But I felt better all at once. Even though I
was insane, I wanted to believe, I had to believe what that
distant, lovely voice told me. I had to trust the words. I had to;
I had no other choice. Because if I didn't believe, I might as well
die right then and there. Without Annie, I had no future. Without
Annie, I was nothing.

So I decided, against all reason, to
believe.

Whatever came in the future, Annie would be
back with me, and she and I would meet it all together.

I parked in the street; there wasn't room in
the drive for even my small sports car, and I couldn't get it
around the huge vehicles to the garage in back. I got out and
headed inside.

People, way too many men and women I'd never
seen in my life, all dressed in black, seemed to fill even our huge
house.

Sally appeared in the hallway, holding a
tray with a coffee pot and cups, and started up the stairs. She
didn't even notice me until I called out to her as I dodged three
guys and walked toward her.

"Sally!"

She turned, her face pale and drawn. "Tommy!
We've all been worried about you. Your Grand is upstairs calling
hospitals right now."

Uh oh. "Tell her—no, never mind. Give me
that tray."

I grabbed it and ran up the stairs to
Grand's room. It was hard to open the door with my hands full but I
managed it.

"Grand! I'm home, I'm okay!" I yelled.

Grand sat at her desk, her back to me, the
phone to her ear. She dropped the phone and turned, relief and joy
and anger and all sorts of emotions racing across her face.
"Tommy!" she said. "We've been worried sick!"

"Well," I said as I set the tray down on her
desk, "I'm okay. Who are all these people?"

She reached up and patted my arm. "Clay's
back. He's had reports another powerful witch has been detected in
the area. Oh, Tommy, honey, is it...is she...?"

But before I could do more than grin down at
her, someone said

, "Tommy?" Clay was standing in Grand's
doorway. "Good to see you. Your grandmother was worried, but I told
her you could take care of yourself."

"Yes," I said, facing him. "I can. And I can
take care of everyone I love, too. Clay, there are some things we
need to discuss."

"Yes," he interrupted me, "there are." He
came inside and shut the door behind him. "Something has happened,
Tommy. The most amazing thing." He grinned at me, looking like some
predatory animal on the search for prey. "And it's really funny,
Tommy, but you're involved in it. Involved for a while, looks
like."

Clay came toward us, and I noticed for the
first time he had a folder in his hand, one of the grey ones with
WFG Ltd. on the front. He opened it and pulled out a photograph and
some other papers. "Recognize this girl, Tommy?"

I took the photo. Of course I recognized it.
The girl it captured was Anya.

"Never seen her in my life," I said, and I
was amazed at how calm and breezy my voice sounded. Then I looked
again. "No, wait. I think I've seen her at school. What are you
doing now, Clay, stalking schoolgirls?"

He didn't say a word, just handed me a sheet
of paper.