“And you saw the power of this Anaise?” David asked skeptically.
Without hesitation, Sturtagaard replied, “Yes. Release me and I will tell you when she receives them.”
“If you are lying—”
“I am not.”
David observed the vampire cautiously before releasing the magical ropes from Sturtagaard’s wrists. The vampire shook out his arms as if the bindings had blocked the circulation he didn’t have.
“When?” David asked.
“She returned to the twenty-first century. There are stories of her great heroics. She will be more powerful than you.” Sturtagaard sneered at him.
“If you are wrong, or if you are lying, we will find you and kill you.”
Sturtagaard nodded with understanding.
“When she is born, you will contact us here. You will keep an eye on the girl as she grows and keep us updated on what she has learned and accomplished. And when she returns with the power, you will report to us immediately,” David ordered.
Sturtagaard nodded, relieved David was taking the bait.
“If we catch you with King Solomon’s belongings again, this deal will be considered broken and you will be staked.”
Chapter 1
Annie sat on the window seat in her bedroom, observing the deep shadows that crossed the flower beds in her backyard. A fat billdad popped out from the garden and hopped across the grass. She smiled wanly at the momentary respite from the itching that bubbled under her skin, as the magic she received in ancient England possessed her body. Her skin now burned with raw, red scratches from her incessant rubbing, so much so that she had taken to wearing cotton gloves. If she were to be truthful, she would admit that it did little to ease her discomfort. She set her hand in her lap and sighed as she wiped away frustrated tears.
“Come back to bed, baby,” Cham murmured as he turned toward her.
Annie looked at his form in the moonlight. “I can’t sleep with the tingling and itching.” She leaned back against the wall.
The bed creaked when Cham sat up. “Did the potion help at all?” He moved to the edge of the bed and took her hand.
The potion was a stop-gap measure to relieve the itching. Annie had been hopeful when she left the past that Zola, her Aloja Fairy, would have found the answer to removing the magic from her without killing her. But when Annie returned, she was disappointed; in eleven hundred years, a solution hadn’t been found. For now, Annie knew she’d have to live with the itching if it meant the strength of the magic could help to defeat the Fraternitatem.
Annie squeezed Cham’s hand and then let go, returning to scratching against her stomach. “It helped and then it didn’t.” The magic coursed through her veins from her feet, traversing up her legs, through her body, down her arms, and to her head like clockwork, spreading the itch and pain.
Cham knew better than to stop her. Holding back and not relieving the itch increased her anxiety more than scratching it did. In the meantime, Cham continued to work with the doctors to adjust the potions and lotions to keep the magic from consuming Annie. Unfortunately, the last batch didn’t last long enough to get her through the night.
“Want me to fetch some more to help you sleep?” Cham asked.
She smiled at him, though in the darkness, he couldn’t see. She placed her hand on his knee and patted it.
“Can you add a sleeping draught. I’m exhausted and tomorrow’s my first day back. I’m investigating two locations tomorrow night,” Annie said.
“Yeah. I’ll get it for you.” He touched her shoulder and shuffled from the room.
Annie returned to peering out the window; the billdad’s shadow moved in and out of the garden.
Since returning from the past, Annie kept herself busy. It was easier to ignore the intolerable itching when her mind was occupied with something else. Tonight she was anxious about her first day back, the first time she would see the black market leads that Kathy’s son, Robin Price, had given her.
What if they’re nothing and we don’t find it?
Annie sighed. She wasn’t solely responsible for finding the market; this was a top priority for all Wizard Councils across the world. For Annie, though, finding the market was merely a way to keep busy. Her priority was closer to home: her own life and the threat of it ending at the hands of her mother, who Annie believed to be dead, up until three months ago.
Lights switched on downstairs as Cham pulled ingredients to create a sleeping draught that he would add to the anti-itching potion. While Annie waited for him to return, she stared at a picture of her family taken weeks before her mother died. At first glance they seemed happy, smiling broadly, hugging each other for the camera, unaware that their lives would forever change in a matter of weeks. Skilled in reading people, Annie began to notice how her mother’s body faced away from them, her hands rested loosely on Annie’s shoulders, not firmly gripped like Jason, who leaned into his girls. But what she noticed most of all was that Emily’s smile was too broad, as if she was trying too hard to appear normal, or was hiding a secret.
Or maybe I’m reading more into it.
She placed the picture back under the seat cushion.
It had been such a shock to Annie and her sister, Samantha Pearce Chamsky, when they discovered their mother hadn’t died and was alive, living across the world. Even today, Annie continued to have difficulty coming to terms with the fact that Emily Pearce had made the choice to leave them. Left them because she was a naïve nonmagical who was duped into believing her actions protected her daughter.
Always skeptical, Annie believed the Fraternitatem of Solomon would use her mother to come after her, having started the plan decades ago as they waited for Annie to come into the power. But what they failed to understand was simple: Annie had no emotional connection to the woman who had left long before a connection could be established.
The two weeks since returning home had been difficult for Annie. Bringing Gibbs back to the present and attending his funeral had drained her, and she missed him terribly. But after his ashes were laid to rest in the Wizard Guard mausoleum, she experienced the constant reminder of the magic under her skin. But more importantly, the magic reminded her that Emily Pearce would strike soon. Not knowing when that would be left Annie feeling vulnerable and out of sorts. She longed to jump in, find her mother, and finally end the Fraternitatem of Solomon. As much as she wanted to strike first, Annie knew the best course of action was to learn all she could about them, not just where they made their headquarters but also how they operated and the magic they used. She believed that knowledge would help her defeat them. She spent much of her time since returning reviewing their Book of Shadows and rereading her father’s notes, learning nothing new. Annie sighed.
The downstairs lights flicked off as Cham made his way back upstairs. Annie climbed into bed and pulled the blankets over her bare skin. Though it was the middle of summer, she shivered under the coolness of the sheets.
“Here, this should help you sleep,” Cham said.
She grimaced at the liquid before swigging it down and placed the glass on her bedside table. “Bah. That tastes horrible.”
He chuckled lightly and climbed in beside her, wrapping his arms around her. His natural body heat warmed her, and she squirmed beside him.
“Me or the itching?” he asked.
“Itching.” Annie yawned, the sleeping draught already taking hold.
“I love you,” he whispered in her ear.
“Hmmm,” she said as sleep overtook her.
*
There wasn’t an official classification for Annie’s trip to the past. While it was considered a case, there was something far more that couldn’t be put into words. It rewrote wizard history, it exterminated a species of demon, and Annie had returned changed. All of the artifacts, notes, and case files had been packed away at Artifact Hall as Annie used her compensation time to heal.
While she remained holed up at home, secure and away from mos
t people, she did allow a few visitors. Kathy, Ryan, Samantha, John, and even Marina and Don Chamsky stopped by with dinner. Their visits were light and enjoyable, and allowed her, for a short time, to forget the pain and itching.
After a restless night, Annie woke early, giving herself time to dress and eat. She still had difficulty using her hands after they were broken by the evil wizard Everard while in the past. While mostly healed, they were still stiff and sore, another reminder of what she had suffered while in ancient England.
Alone for the first time in days, she sat in her den and watched the Witch News Network as she sipped her tea.
“Hey. I’m on my way. Meetings all day. Need anything before I leave?” Cham asked as he shrunk his field pack.
“Nope. I’ll be in later to check messages before I head out with Robin.” She glanced at the notebook Robin had given her prior to her trip to the past. He’d promised Annie multiple leads to the new black market. She had circled the two locations for the night.
“Text me if you need something. Go home if it’s too much.”
“Will do, boss.” She offered a smile.
Cham should have left. He stood still and watched her.
“What.”
“Boss. That sounds funny.”
“Why? It’s what it is. Besides, I’ve known for years that Ryan wanted you in that position. The council let me stay there even though we were dating.”
Cham frowned. “Now that we’re engaged, the Wizard Council isn’t too keen on you staying my employee.”
Annie stood and walked to him. “I never had a problem with you becoming the manager. If I did, I would have said something.”
“But it’s your career. You always wanted to do this.”
Annie wrapped her arms around his waist. “I love you. As much as I wanted this growing up, I always knew once I became a parent, I’d quit. I never wanted to do this as long as I had kids.”
Cham kissed her forehead. “You don’t have kids yet,” he whispered.
Annie pulled away. “I’m smart, I’m good at what I do. I’ll find something that makes me just as happy.” Cham touched her cheek.
“I was going to petition the council to let you stay as long as you need. I had an idea.”
He piqued her interest, she raised her eyebrows. “How?”
He chuckled. “You can’t report to me. Doesn’t mean you still can’t be a guard.”
Annie laughed. “That’s just working around the problem. Though… who would I report to?”
“I haven’t thought of that yet. Once you’re a wizard guard, you’re always a wizard guard. If I’m not directing you or giving you performance reviews, you can stay. Until you’re ready to leave.”
She gave him a kiss. “Go be a boss.” She watched him leave for work, before checking her phone again. While she didn’t have to leave until late afternoon, she was feeling anxious for her first day back. She finished her tea, still chuckling at his plan. When she finished, she placed the notebook in her field pack and found herself roaming through the house, rearranging items on the shelves and organizing the spice cabinet to keep busy.
“Excuse me. What are you doing?” Zola asked. But when Annie looked at her, the fairy took up a wash rag to wipe up the counter. From what Annie could see, Zola’s eyes were still bright, emerald green, but they were crinkled at the corner as if she were either worried or annoyed. Annie assumed it was a little of both.
“I need to stay busy,” Annie said as she scratched her leg.
Zola glanced at Annie and quickly turned her head to the side. “I wish I could have found the solution to removing the magic,” she said, not making eye contact with Annie.
“You’ve been avoiding me since I got back. Are you upset or embarrassed because you couldn’t find the answer? What aren’t you telling me?”
“I can’t. I’m…” Tears rolled down Zola’s cheek.
“What?” Annie reached for Zola, but her fairy pulled away and wiped her cheeks.
“In order to keep you safe, I… I had to make some… choices. I can’t tell you.”
Annie firmly held Zola’s hand, not allowing her to leave. She stared at her fairy, held Zola’s chin steady so she could look her in the eyes. “Thank you for saving me. However, you had to do it. Please don’t shut me out because of it. I still need you.” Annie let go of Zola’s chin and placed her hand against her own stomach, feeling the heat of the magic as it traveled upwards. She closed her eyes and took a breath.
Zola rolled up Annie’s sleeve and stared at her burning skin.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t aware I had pulled away so far. I promise I am still working to keep you safe, and I’m trying new potions to keep the itching at bay.” Zola touched Annie’s cheek. “Your skin is hot. Are you okay to work today?”
Annie pulled her arm away, rolled down her sleeve. “I need to get back to work.” She turned and began to empty the dishwasher. “I’ll be fine.”
They remained silent as Zola pulled plates from the dishwasher putting them in the cabinet. “Who are you working with?”
“Actually, Robin is coming with me tonight. He wants to find the market as much as the Wizard Guard. Finding it will help him do his new job as well,” Annie said.
Zola took the glass from Annie’s shaky hands. “I am so happy I was able to accomplish my biggest task,” she murmured as she patted Annie’s hand.
Annie thought back to her hospital stay, when Zola had admitted that Annie’s lifeline had been cut short; she was supposed to die in the past. Zola was able to fix that in eleven hundred years, though Annie didn’t know what she had done to accomplish that.
“You never did tell me how you saved my life. Is that what you can’t tell me?” Annie asked.
Zola nodded. “I was sworn to secrecy. Though if it will help you find peace, I can tell you that I worked with my sisters and petitioned the Fates to help.”
Annie looked at Zola with concern. She knew better than to press Zola any further. If Zola had gone to the Fates to save her life, that meant she had given up something in return for Annie’s life.
“Thank you.”
“You’re that important to me. It was your life, and I’ll be damned if you were going to die so young and for them,” Zola said.
Annie wrapped her arms around Zola and lay her head on her shoulder. Zola rubbed Annie’s back with soft, cool hands, just like she used to do when Annie was a child.
“I will never let anything happen to you,” Zola murmured in Annie’s ear.
Annie hoped Zola really felt that and wasn’t just trying to convince herself.
*
Annie stepped through the employee entrance accessed through the courtyard. Manny, the new assistant manager, was on the desk. “Welcome back,” he said with a wide smile.
“What are you doing behind the desk?” Annie asked as she shot her spell through the security box at the end of the tabletop.
“Oh, well, I missed my old job and thought I’d pick up the slack. We’re down a guard today,” he said as he opened the security gate for Annie to step through.
“It’s always good to see you,” Annie said on the other side.
“Glad to have you back to the future.”
Annie waved as she entered the hall and headed down the back entrance into the main building.
The familiar buzz of Wizard Hall was comforting to Annie. In the present moment, she relished in feeling like a cog in a very big machine, without others noticing her. She slunk to the back hallway and took the stairs to the fifth floor.
It was harder to hide on her home floor, where she knew so many people after working there for six years. She waved to some and greeted others. When she reached her cubicle, she glanced inside. Her desk was covered in piles of folders, notepads, scribbled-down phone messages. Her eyes roamed to the cubicle next to hers, where Gibbs had spent a better part of thirty years. It was spotless, just as he had left it: his inbox, his outbox, the top of his credenza. Annie ent
ered and looked inside at a box that was sitting on one of two visitors’ chairs. It was empty, as though no one had the desire to box his things up.
“You didn’t have to come in today. Not with the market investigation tonight,” Cham said from behind her.
“I’m restless at home. I thought it was time to check my messages and files.” She leaned against Gibbs’s desk. “I miss him.”
“I do, too. He was a great resource and a loyal friend.”
Annie picked up a jar filled with liquid and a small elf ear floating inside. Annie had once asked Gibbs why he had it. He had responded simply that it was a reminder that evil was in the world, and he was determined to make sure all creatures had the opportunity for a good life. She placed the jar into empty box, then thought better of it and placed back on his desk.
“Zola intervened with the Fates to spare my life,” Annie told Cham.
Cham frowned. “The Fates? Why would they interfere in the process at all?”
“I expect there was a deal of some kind,” Annie said.
Cham looked at her carefully. “You think Zola made a deal to save your life?”
“Zola said I was supposed to die in the past. Why else am I alive?”
Cham leaned against the cubicle wall, his arms crossed, his face crinkled in worry. “Maybe she did something else to change the future. The charm she gave you before you left?” Cham offered.
Annie grimaced. “Maybe. Whatever it is, she’s acting funny, like she can’t look me in the eyes. I’m concerned there’s something else going on.”
“Give her time. She’ll be honest when she ready,” Cham said.
“I hope so. Because right now, I think I need her the most.”
Chapter 2
Along the border between Georgia and Florida, a creeping spiral of Spanish moss hung from the trees and slowly choked the life from them. Annie sighed woefully and yanked a handful of the parasitic plant down before stepping onto the trail that should, if the coordinates were accurate, take them to a black market.
Annie blew wayward hair from her face as she pushed vines from the trail. “I wish I had a machete to clear this path.”
Wizard Hall Chronicles Box Set Page 139
