Annalise jolted as if she were going to fight, but the two men flanking the woman hit her with something. It burned, but only so much as touching a stinging nettle. It was all over her face, small wet droplets that irritated her cheeks and mouth.
"What the fuck." She hissed, rubbing at the sore points. She glared up at the group.
"Holy water. Thanks to the Pope of course." The blonde woman smiled, gesturing to the small vial two of the men had been holding. Annalise stared dumbly at them for a few minutes, not entirely sure how she should react. "If I were being honest, i' was hoping it would have a bigger effect. But I suppose you being a half demon does come in handy." She helpfully explained.
Annalise's heart froze, dropping to her stomach. Anxiously, she bit her lip. They knew who she was. Exactly, what she was. No one outside of her normal group knew. No one. Unless they'd been to hell themselves and had watched her take the Seven Trials. But that was impossible for a human, it just couldn't happen.
She didn't know how to get out of this situation. The half demon settled for keeping quiet.
"You're not going to ask me how I know?" The woman questioned, tilting her head as if she was genuinely surprised.
"It's supposed to be your deepest darkest secret." She continued, stepping closer to her.
"Well, keep quiet, I suppose it doesn't matter in the long run." With a dismissive wave of a hand, she circled Annalise, as though she were prey. The woman was rigid, hand behind her back and shoulders straight. Dressed head to toe in some sort of designer suit. But, and ever so slightly, her arms were shaking .
She was afraid of her.
Annalise was about to run to use it to her advantage, dash between the group, using her telekinetic powers to shove them out the way but before she could she heard the audible, unmistakable click of a gun.
One of them held a pitch black rifle, its sight directly between her eyes. She might be part demon, but as she just found out, she couldn't outrun a bullet. Sweat began to build up in her palms, her breathing quickened.
"Now, i am sorry about how we got you. But it had to be done quietly, what with all the public outcry surrounding you. What did your mother call you? A demon, no, a witch." Annalise winced, the wound was still all too raw.
"So we had to do this very hush hush. I work for the government, Miss Redwood. More specifically, I run a sector of the Government specifically for manners of the supernatural."
Annalise's hazel eyes widened, if what she was saying was true-
"We've known about your kind for millenia now. In fact, a group of Supernaturals used to work for us. Helping The United Kingdom to keep the peace. The status quo. It worked, as you can tell, in the public eye supernaturals were not real until recently. The Invulnerables, that's what they called themselves. Most of them retired to Miami now I think," The woman trailed off.
"And now, this is what I'm offering you." It took a minute for Annalise to digest what she was saying. She shook her head, confused.
"What, what are you offering me? I don't follow." Annalise said.
The rigid woman smiled. "I'm offering you a job officially, under the British Government, as public liaison for all supernatural matters. Unofficially, however, you will be our first line of defence against The Revolution. I'll give you a few days to decide. But in the meantime you can leave. Go home. Think about it a bit."
Annalise blinked, once then twice. What she was offering was the exact same thing she initially set up to do. She was planning on contacting the government, with a set of other supernaturals, to campaign for their rights and to show them that they had nothing to fear.
It was good that the Government already knew about the Revolution and the fact that they did not represent the entire community. But, it was a shake up of everything she'd previously known. And once she got the information back to her friends, there was no telling how they'd react.
This. This was something she could do, though. Annalie could make a real, tangible change But first. First she wanted to go home. Back to Eugene.
The woman straightened up, and the gun that was traced to the half demon's head lowered. She fished something from the pocket of her suit jacket. Pressing a small white card into Annalise's hand. There was no name on the card, nothing all expect for a phone number written in gold.
"Ring this number and tell them you wish to speak to Annette Carpenter." She informed. Annalise narrowed her eyes at the blonde.
"Is that your real name?" She questioned, picking up on the subterfuge immediately. That same, dead, smile crept up on 'Annette's' face, causing the lines beneath her eyes to crinkle.
"No one uses their real name in this business." Annette made a gesture with her hand and the people flanking her gave way, stepping out of the way from the cell door. "Now, i'll have Bob here direct you outside the building, I do hope to be seeing you soon, Miss Redwood."
The man who'd put the rifle to her head stepped forwards. He was tall, and bulky, even more so than Raul. He nodded at her, and unwilling to have another gun pointed at her, Annalise followed. Not once looking back.
----
Dawn was breaking by the time Annalise got back to Harvey's house. Birds were tweeting, and she had to fight back a yawn. Having not slept was taking its toll on her and all she wanted to do was collapse back in bed.
The irritation from the holy water had settled, leaving only a small red rash on her left cheek. Barely visible. Annalise knocked on the door, and silently prayed someone was awake to answer.
The door swung open, and for a second time that day, she was almost swept off her feet. "Jesus christ, watch out." Annalise huffed, it seemed that even now she couldnt catch a break. Silence answered her. Gathering herself, she looked back up to the door frame. There Harvey stood, dishevelled and panicked, hand gripping the door frame turned white.
"What the fuck." He uttered, and then, over his shock, it quickly turned to anger. "Where have you been!" The witch admonished, grasping her shoulder and heaving her into the house. "We've been looking for you all day! We thought something had happened. Gene's still out there looking for you!!"
Ah, so Noah and Mia had come here when she inevitably hadn't turned up to their meeting point. "Oh my god, I need to call him. Sit down." Harvey snapped, and obeying she obliged, sitting down on the sofa. The seconds turned to minutes, and it was like time simply passed her by. Like she was an observer watching her own life unfold before her, as Harvey fretted.
The front door opened, ricocheting off the outside wall, and slamming back closed again. Annalise jumped, but immediately softened as the smell of smoke and the forest after it rained enveloped her.
"Anna." Eugene said simply, clutching her close to his chest. "I thought something had happened. She melted into his warm embrace, and if she closed her eyes hard enough she could pretend to hear the beat of his dead, dead heart.
"Eugene," The words spilled from her lips. The worry, the anxiety and fear for her own life confounded into that moment, as she finally allowed herself to feel. "I, I-" She was going to tell him what happened, what Annette had offered her and how she planned to take it. But, something stopped her.
And in that moment, she said nothing.
She'd regret that later on. Because, maybe, if she'd been more open. If she had just said those simple words. Nothing would have happened.
----
Authors Note:
Hey guys! What do you think about this chapter? Why do you think Annalise will regret not telling Eugene? Who is Annette, and who were the Invulnerables? Id love to hear from you, it always makes my day <3
Thanks so much for reading!
Lots of love,
Sam.E
YOU ARE READING
The Vampire And The Demon
Romance[BOOK TWO OF The Vampire and The Ghost Series] Hell, it turns out, wasn't half as bad as it seemed. It wasn't half as bad as earth. As being human, Annalise would come to find out. Having been thrust down under, quite literally, by her new found Aun...
