Lydia's eyes dropped, "Oh good. On the mend." She looked up at Aleksander when she said it. He nodded knowing exactly what she meant.
He looked at Lucas, "Tell Aimee to text me when she gets here."
Lucas nodded, "Alright."
Lydia looked at Aleksander horrified, "You can't!" She spoke in a whispered tone.
He nodded, "I can and I'm going to."
He was gone before Lydia could say anything else.
Chapter Eighteen: Miss Annabelle
Hanna
She drove confusedly for blocks. She didn’t know where she was only that they had headed east the one time she had been there. None of the streets felt right to her.
She drove until she smelled it. The amber incense she had thought was Marcus but had been in the wind at Lydia's old mansion.
She turned onto the street and within a few blocks of driving, with her head out the window, she was at the street lined in huge old trees. She turned onto the street and drove until the car died. She looked around. The car stopped in the same spot that Henry had stopped it the last time. She sighed and rolled her eyes climbing out of the car. The magical people and bullshit guards and weird cars were beyond annoying.
She looked up at the huge mansion at the end of the road. She walked along the road noticing the massive trees and the smell that always seemed to be around. If she was honest with herself she would swear the wind spoke to her, calling her name. It smelled inviting but scared her at the same time. She felt her skin shiver as walked into the yard.
She walked until she reached the front door. She rang the old fashioned buzzer.
The ghost maid appeared instantly at the door, "Miss Jekyll you be back. Ms. Lydia be up the stairs."
She floated back into the house never actually opening the door. Hanna reached out and opened the door. She walked inside noticing the silence of the house immediately.
She stalked silently into the kitchen. No one was there. She walked around into the sitting room to find it empty also.
She went to the grand staircase, taking it one stair at a time and listening for sounds.
"Are you crying dear?"
She jumped seeing Lydia at the top of the stairs.
"Are you alright?"
Hanna nodded, "I want you to put me to sleep."
Lydia's face dropped, "Why, what have you done??"
Hanna looked down ashamed of the pain she felt for loving someone who was using her, yes she could admit it to herself, she loved him. She felt horrified she had wanted to kill that woman and if she had hadn’t fought with every inch of her being that bitch would be dead.
"Darling those aren’t reasons to be put to sleep. We don’t call it that anyway. That’s barbaric."
Hanna sniffed, "I killed a deer too. Harmless little deer. He never did anything to me but I murdered him."
Lydia laughed softly, "Oh my sweet girl no. Murder is only something people do to each other. You accidentally hurt that animal. You weren’t in your right mind."
Hanna knew her suffering wasn’t about the deer but the loss of her heart. She'd left it back at the castle.
"Come, Annabelle pours the most remarkable healing bath. We have your room already done up."
She looked at the old woman and frowned, "You do?"
She nodded, "Yes of course. It's been ready for you since the day your father died. This is where he wanted you to come. We got your birthday invitation. Are you excited?"
Hanna felt shocked, she had only spoken to Roland a handful of times in the past days. He hadn’t mentioned the ball since she'd left him standing at the front door of the Tudor. He also had seemed to forget to mention she was supposed to be staying with Lydia. She wondered why they wanted her to live in the old house?
"Not really. Everything else feels pretty overwhelming right now."
Lydia took her hand, "Hanna sweetie, a girl only turns nineteen once. Try to enjoy it."
Hanna walked along the hallway letting Lydia push her until she heard a moan. She turned to see a stunning young woman, maybe her age in the bed of a massive room. She looked ashen and sick but absolutely gorgeous otherwise.
"Who is that?"
"A friend of Aimee's, she's not well."
Anger welled inside of Hanna, "Is she going to mercy kill her like she did my dad?"
Lydia sighed, "She wont get the chance I'm afraid."
Hanna felt her phone going nuts in her pocket. It was new so she knew who it was. She checked just to be certain it wasn’t Roland. She looked at the messages pouring and clicked the off button. She didn’t want to hear his pathetic attempts at getting her back. She knew it was the piece of paper he wanted.
She followed Lydia up a second set of stairs to a large room with a huge dormer. Annabelle was there, already pouring the bath, "Now miss you just lie back and lets Annabelle take good care of you."
For the oddest reason she couldn’t explain she let the maid undress her, she let her help her into the steaming hot water and she let her scrub her back. She looked out the window as Annabelle went to work all the while humming the most haunting song she'd ever heard.
Chapter Nineteen: I. Will. Owe. You.
Aleksander
He had always considered the old gloomy castle as over the top, he had despised Marcus for years. Seeing Henry brought back memories of the time they had all spent together before.
He knew he was desperate if he was making the walk up to the ostentatious heap of glamour and attention seeking.
Henry answered the door smiling wickedly.
"Is he home?" Aleks didn’t have time for the nonsense.
Henry nodded opening the door and walking from the massive entryway. It was the size of an apartment.
"What could you possibly want beyond the moments gloat I will permit? You have won but I will not give up."
Aleks frowned, "I have no idea what you're on about and honestly I neither care nor have time for it. I need a favor." He struggled to maintain his composure, "I. Will. Owe. You."
Marcus burst into a fit of laughter, "You don’t have her then? Where would she have gone? I've spoken to Roland but the old goat told me she wasn’t there. He could have lied."
"MARCUS!"
Marcus turned to him suddenly, "What?"
"I need you to save someone."
Marcus looked puzzled, if not a slight bit intrigued, "Save? Like create?"
Aleks nodded. He was unable to speak. He knew what he was doing was wrong but he had no choice. Giselle had suffered more than anyone deserved to and Aimee had nearly died saving her. Aimee would never come back from the brink of insanity if Giselle died. He feared she would end up with the Dark Ones.
"You? You want me to save someone? A human?"
"For Christ sake, yes. How else can I explain this? Do you have some paper and a pen? I could draw it like we all did in the eighties."
Marcus beamed, "You would owe me?"
Aleks nodded, "Yes."
Marcus thought for a moment and then shook his head, "No."
Aleks frowned, "You understand what you are turning away?"
Marcus nodded, "As much as I want you dead, because I can't stand your tormented soul nonsense, no. Who ever it is will just have to die."
Marcus turned away stalking down the hall. Aleks wanted to go after him but he knew Henry could hurt them both. Aleks didn’t want that anymore than Marcus did.
"I will kill you before I let her die."
Marcus turned back, "We're deadlocked mate. You can't kill me and unfortunately I can't kill you. Shall we wrestle in the garden like men?" He turned and walked away again.
"I know where she is."
Marcus stopped. Aleks was bluffing but Marcus didn’t know that.
He turned back, "You're lying."
Aleks shook his head, "She wants to be with me now. We had a thing, not sure if she told you about it." It was a gamble but it was entirely worth it watching Marcus's face bend.
Aleks beamed, "Surely you must have smelled me on her that morning you came for her. I had been there first. If you know what I mean."
Marcus screamed running at him. He dove in the air moving as quickly as a bullet. Aleks whisked himself to the right suddenly letting Marcus hit the wall with a thud. Bits of rock and castle fell to the floor spitting dust into the air.
Aleks laughed sending Marcus into a fit of rage.
Something black moved in the background and before Aleks could leave the castle he was slammed against a wall.
He watched as Marcus too was ripped from the ground and flung against the opposite wall.
Henry walked into the room pulsating energy at them both.
Aleks groaned desperate to breath, "Henry. Please. Stop."
Marcus laughed, "Henry, we will stop this nonsense if you could put us down, if you please."
As abruptly as they were dangling in the air, they were both on the ground in a heap.
Aleks wheezed for a moment trying to get his collapsed chest to puff back up. He watched as Marcus did the same.
"You bring her back to me. We have a deal."
Aleks nodded vanishing from the castle before Henry killed them both.
Chapter Twenty: We can do it the nice way or Aimee's way
Hanna
Voices filled the space, it sounded like the house was full. She walked from the room she'd been given down the hall.
"You the Hulk?"
She turned sharply seeing a guy about her age, "What?"
He smiled making her smile. His face was handsome with dark hair and eyes. She felt herself getting lost in the dark pools beneath the long thick lashes.
"The Hulk, you know turns green, rips his clothes off as he grows huge and acts like a giant psycho."
She laughed, "I don’t turn green."
He laughed with her, "That does make all the difference in the world."
"Do I know you? Who are you?"
"Sam."
She put a hand out, "Hanna."
He looked at her hand. He took it in his own and pulled it up to his lips, kissing it softly. She felt heat spread from her hand to the rest of her body. Her face flushed.