Heart and Soul

Held by both arms, I didn’t bother to struggle. Sharp hands dug into my skin no doubt leaving marks on my pale flesh. My captors were stronger than me and my magic was gone, I didn’t need to be a genius to know this wasn’t looking good for me.

Dragged into a different room, Leith’s office I assumed, I was stood before his desk. He sat back in his chair and smiled smugly. In his hands he played with a small wooden box, one that was familiar to me but I didn’t know why.

Had I seen him use it before? Every time I tried to think about how this man before me could be the tutor who’d trained me, my eyes began to burn with pain. I stared into those dead eyes as waves of déjà vu washed over me, I’d seen those before, but again if I tried to remember where, my eyes and head would burn until I could see nothing but pain.

From where I’d fought as his henchmen had carried me up the corridor, I could feel bruises forming. My ankle ached where I’d kicked the wall and me right cheek bled from where the creature on the right had backhanded me as I wriggled loose. I probably would have swayed with lack of energy if it wasn’t for the dead hands holding me steadily.

During my trip to Leith’s office I’d seen my creature. The Uninvited monster who’d snuck into my home and left with more than he should have. He’d been in a different room, I had no idea where, down one of the endless corridors I’d travelled. He’d looked weak – good – I thought, I want him to be suffering. When I eventually escape from Leith, I’m going to find that monster and I’m going to get my soul back.

Our eyes had only locked for an instant, but I’d instinctively known that he no longer held me soul. He’d looked vaguely disgusted, probably at me as I’d fought my captors and threatened them with a fate worse than death. Maybe it was my loud, brash cursing that had displeased him, or the way I’d bitten one of the creature’s hands. I didn’t care, he could be disgusted if he wanted, he was the true evil here though.

Focusing back on Mr Leith, I froze as he leant forward, placing the Wooden box delicately on the desk and gathering his elbows in front of him. Head on hands and a smirk on his face he widened his smile until it showed those sharp teeth that I knew I’d be having nightmares about for a while.

“Annika.” He practically purred with a smug smile, “I knew you’d come and I know that despite my slight change, you recognise me.”

I growled under my breath and for a moment began to fight my captors, an anger I didn’t know existed rose within me. It was like my body knew something that I didn’t. “I don’t understand.” I bit out as I stopped fighting when the creature’s arms became painfully tight. “I just want my soul back, I don’t care if you have some kind of double life, Mr Leith. I just want my soul.”

He laughed, loudly. His voice booming off of the walls around me. I flinched at the sound, it was not a happy laugh like the one I’d heard from him during our lessons, it was a cruel laugh with a hidden darkness.

“I don’t have a double life, Annika. I’m assuming you’ve heard the phrase, ‘if you want something done right, do it yourself?” he went on conversationally, “Well I took that literally in your case. You see, you’re actually quite special Annika.” I automatically rolled my eyes, how many times had I heard Cosmina say that? “No really, you are.” He insisted as he leant back and stood up, walking around the desk until he stood opposite me.

Leaning back against the hard wood he crossed his arms over his chest, “I knew your mother.” He stated. I felt my heart clench and that burning pain in my head began again. He’d said before, that I’d looked like her.

“I thought she was going to be special. I’d done my calculations and I was sure of it. I didn’t want to make another mistake like last time.” He continued as my breath caught in my throat, last time? ‘Special’? What is he on about?

“When I took her soul, your mother’s that is,” he continued as if discussing the weather, “I was hoping and waiting to see if she’d make it. She didn’t though. She died. Then you walked in, a bundle of youth and energy. I took one look at you and knew that you were the witch I was after. So I became your tutor, trained you, your magic and your soul until it was perfect, then I just had to sit back and let it all happen.” He took a couple of steps forwards, I flinched internally, my eyes had already begun to water.

My hands were folded into tight fists, this monster had killed my Mum, more importantly, I hadn’t killed her. All this time, all these years I thought I’d killed her when my magic went wrong. Everybody thought I had, that was why my Dad had hired Leith in the first place. All this time and it wasn’t me.

My stomach felt like it had dropped through the floor, my knees had given away, but still the unrelenting dead hands held me up. I felt that same anger as before bubbling inside of me and knew that on some level, I had always known that I was innocent.

“The only thing was, I hadn’t expected you and my soul-stealer to develop a link. Not again.” I focused on him now, a link? Me and that creature? I hardly think so.

“Sure I knew you’d come and track him, hell I even laid on help to guide you here. You’ll be pleased to know that your friend Darcy has now earned her Father’s soul back.” I jumped, Darcy, Darcy – Darcy – who was Darcy-Madon? Madon had betrayed me? “But I hadn’t expected you to be able to control him whilst he had your soul. Impressive little witch. To think your mother did nothing but beg for her life and then crumple, you on the other hand fought back both physically and mentally. Shame you couldn’t follow through with your little vendetta mission though. “

I was fighting again now, partly against the crippling sense of loss and betrayal that was building inside me, plagued by a darkness from the anger I knew I needed space. Just some time to understand and process all this information.

“Now I’m giving you a chance Annika. I’m giving you a chance to be great. I had a witch like you before. She was of your blood line but a century or so before you. She too survived her soul-loss but she became uncontrollable—useless even, so she met her end. You and I have been friends for years Annika, I have trained you to be the perfect witch. I now offer you the chance to become the witch you should be and help me to recreate a new world.”

He was talking, practically to himself. As he spoke he looked up and off into the distance slightly as though speaking to a crowd of thousands. You could hear his self-appreciation in every syllable. He was a murderer. He’d killed my Mother, my own mother. He’d tricked me into believing that Madon was helping me, he’d lured me to this place to use my power – and he’d done it before, to some other poor defenceless witch who’d met her end at the hands of the beast in front of me.

A dark, twisted gurgle left my throat as with wild eyes I bucked towards him, momentarily losing the dead hands that had held me. I lunged at Mr Leith, arms outstretched, ready to end him, but before I got the chance, arms held me, claw type fingers dug into my delicate skin. Screaming out in pain I fought harder and harder against the shackling hands that held me, but to no avail.

Then suddenly pain, nothing but pain. Vice like grips held my head, my heart beat fast in my chest. All of my limbs ached as a sharp, high pitched pain buried itself into my brain. A magic attack, I realised. Without my magic to defend me, I was powerless so instead had to endure the agony as tears ripped down my cheeks. Finally I gave in and fell limp into my captor’s embrace. Feeling for the first time, truly beaten and lost I dropped my eyes to the floor and let the heavy tear drops fall from my cheeks.

Mr Leith was laughing once again as he had me dragged from the room and down more endless corridors. He’d promised to give me time to think – time to come to terms with my ‘inevitable future’. I shivered and shuddered as I remembered the way his mouth had twisted into a disturbed smile.

Even as I was thrown hard against a wall, the door slammed behind my captors as they left the dingy room I’d been dumped in, I could not get that image of him from my mind.