Heart and Soul

“Listen,” I spoke quickly as the hissing got louder. “If you don’t want to get hurt too badly then you’ll do as I say.” Annika nodded in response. “I’m going to tell them that I found you and talked you into helping Boss.”

“But I-”

“Listen,” I cut her off, “you protected us from Micah who attacked first. We ran here in case he had help. I followed you to the Willow where you agreed to help after I promised that no more of your friends will be harmed.”

“So, we make Leith think he’s won?” A sly grin found its way onto her chapped lips. The conniving mask her features took on reminded me so much of her ancestor. I shoved my emotions to the side and nodded. “How bad will he hurt me for escaping?”

“When he hears you’ve agreed to his offer he will forget about this.” I watched her. Cunning, glee, hope, happy emotions filled her face, even some I couldn’t remember. Her eyes met mine—for a moment I thought I saw pity—and she nodded again. “I’m sorry,” I whispered.

“For what?” She asked as the door flew open. I grabbed her arm a little too tightly causing her lips to pucker in a noiseless ‘owe.’

Henrik stared at me wide-eyed. He didn’t speak, but his body filled the doorway. Men stood behind him awaiting their orders. Annika struggled against my grasp. I shook her by the arm to make her stop. “What’s going on?” Henrik questioned.

“She escaped through a window, somehow, so I followed her.” His eyes watched my face intently, searching for signs of deceit. I remained cold and blank. “I talked to her again like Boss wanted. She’s agreed to help him, but she doesn’t want to go back.”

“I won’t go!” She yelled on cue. I loosened my grasp slightly so she wouldn’t hurt herself with her struggles.

“He’s looking for you, Nick. Cassius found Micah in front of that bar.”

I shrugged. “Figured he’d find him soon. I saw you guys coming that’s why we stopped here. Who wants to go into Black’s territory?” Annika stopped struggling and leaned in closer. Even though she reeked of hellhound fur, her interests were piqued.

“Nobody!” Henrik agreed gravely while walking toward us. “They couldn’t stitch the last guy up fast enough, remember?” Annika tried to take several steps back, but I held her in place.

“Yeah,” I nodded. “I was the one that found that guy.”

“We have to get her back. He is very upset.” He took her other arm, even less gently than my first attempt. She yelped in pain, but he ignored her and walked through the orb light toward his only home.

~~~

“What if I don’t believe you?” Boss questioned for the umpteenth time.

I rolled my eyes and shrugged. “She’ll confirm every word,” I answered again. The chair in his office had been replaced. This chair wasn’t soft like the leather one I was used to, but I pretended not to notice. My body relaxed while he searched for any signs. The only tell I ever had when it came to lying was the small twitch in my hands, but, with practice, I stopped twitching a long time ago.

“If I send you out?” He watched me while I stood and brushed a speck of dirt from my shirt.

I held out my hand and nodded. “I give you my word.”

He shook my hand. “Wait outside the door, Nick.”

The door opened behind me. I heard her take a sharp breath before she thudded into the seat I previously occupied. Without a word, I turned on my heels, gave a curt nod to Henrik, and shut the door behind me.

Half an hour later, Annika walked from the room without any guards or limbs bound. She offered that sly smile which was becoming more and more familiar each time she offered it. “I hear you know all about this place,” she stated while rubbing her wrists.

“Nicholai,” Boss called from his desk. I looked toward him through the open door. “You’ve worked in nearly all the areas here; I want you to give our honored guest the grand tour.”

“Yes, Sir.” I turned toward Annika.

“Be on your best behavior, Pet.” He laughed. She raised a brow; I shook my head in response.

“There are the bad parts, and then there are the even worse parts. Which do you want to see first?” I asked as Henrik shut himself in the office.

“I want to see where the souls are kept.”

“The grounds it is.”

I took her through the unguarded front door. Disbelief flooded my thoughts, but his desire for this girl overpowered his fear of escapes, his fear of the stealers, and possibly his fear in general. She watched as I took her through the twisting rows of dark houses, each belonging to someone important. “Which one is yours?” She asked.

“I never earned my own home. Or maybe he liked me being close?”

“Why?”

“The others watched me closely.” A flicker of some emotion I’d forgotten existed found its way to my voice. “I can turn my emotions on and off, kind of like lights in your world, and he admires that about me. They all say I’m his favorite watch dog. Just because the others listen to me doesn’t mean I deserve that title.”

She watched me intently as we walked. I pointed out Cassius’s house to her before explaining that he was my oldest, and probably only, friend here. He trained me to fight, to steal, and to survive. I showed her his practice room; the alarms, lights, and different overbearing scents to throw us off. Eventually, we ended the tour of the grounds at the main house. I skipped the Pitt.

“The souls are in the main house. He doesn’t like to keep them too far,” I explained before we walked through the door.

“I want to see them.”

“Come on, but we can’t get caught.”

I took her through the winding halls where I’d gotten lost looking for my witch. Luck wasn’t on my side then, and I was sure luck wouldn’t find me now. “It gets darker as we go down these halls. Light damages the souls, so we have to keep them undisturbed.”

She gasped as we turned down the final hall. Lights of every color imaginable fluttered from the cracks beneath the doors. Most of the glass wasn’t covered which made the souls glow brighter, but her soul would be dark in its wooden box. “How many are there?”

“Billions,” I answered. Her eyes widened. “Six billion and 3 to be exact. We’ve been collecting since before your ancestor was even thought of. She walked ahead of me; she seemed to watch each individual light as if she could see the people the colors belonged to. I couldn’t pull my eyes away from her as she put her fingers to some of the more subtle colors.

A hand clapped my shoulder before someone hissed in my ear, “What do you think you are doing with her here?”

“I’m following instructions,” I answered before turning toward the familiar voice. “She even got to see your house, Cassius.”

“Nick-“

“I can’t save her; I know that, but maybe she can save herself?”

“Nicholai, you can’t say things like that!” He scolded. “She’s not-“

“I know, Cass. She’s not Sora. Her name is Annika, and she’s stronger.”