Chapter 111

Anna had heard before that habitual mistrust spoke more of one's own nature than the motives of others. And maybe that was true, since all her childhood and adolescence, she had meticulously abused the trust she cultivated and garnered in everyone around her. She'd had no compunction about smiling prettily at someone then stabbing them in the back in the blink of an eye. Especially those who hadn't deserved it.

If she could go back and make different choices now, she would be a far different person than who she was today... But that said, it gave her insight into the dark nature of others, too. People who were just like how she used to be, how she could have been had she not been humbled and set on a different path.

Like Adrian Heether, or so he called himself. There was no way to verify his identity and it was an idiot's move to trust him blindly, but in particular, Anna's instincts told her there was something about him that didn't add up.

But what could she do about it? If she ignored his advice, she might never see her parents again. If she listened to him, the same might result, but at least she wouldn't be twiddling her thumbs and trying in vain to track her parents' kidnappers through all of this damned snowfall. No luck with the trackers. No luck with the scouts who had gone far and wide to try to pick up the attackers' trail.

All Anna could hope for was that her message reached Beth in time, and that they could work together to fix this.

"Adrian Heether."

"Yes, Annalise. I'm at your disposal."

She stared hard at Adrian and watched him, holding a short silence as she watched for and read even the slightest of movements. If he was lying, he was fearsomely skilled at it. She would never catch him this way.

"I don't know when all of my messenger-trackers will return, and there's no guarantee any of them will find Beth," she said curtly. "That would mean I have to act alone. But I want to wait in case she reaches out. It would take nearly a week even if they do find her right away, but do I even have that long? Will my parents' lives be forfeit if I wait?"

Adrian sat in the chair that had become his over the last day since he had first approached Annalise. He rubbed his chin. "I doubt they'll kill them, but a week is long. I would prepare other plans in case you hear no news of your sister. But then again, the snowstorm has kicked back up. If the enemy were to send you a message, directions on how to negotiate with them, the inclement weather will stall them. Which means more time for you."

They were inside her tent where the wailing of the wind beat against the taut canvas with ferocious strength. Anna narrowed her eyes and looked upward, imagining the sky was open above her.

"It'll be a long storm," she said. "This is the worst swing yet, and the trading post personnel says it's going to stick around for a while. At least a few days."

"Then let us hope it buys you enough time to do what needs to do be done."

"But my parents are in more danger with every hour that passes, regardless of the weather. There's no guarantee the enemy will keep them alive at all. They might change their mind on a whim."

"Which is why you should prepare to do this alone. For everyone's sake."

She dismissed Adrian without disclosing any more of her thoughts, but he was right. She couldn't hope and pray that Beth would come galloping along to the rescue. Anna had set out to be the one to get help, after all, even if things had turned upside down so swiftly.

She stepped out of her tent and glared at the wall of swirling white snow that bore down on her. Inclement weather indeed. The winking lights of the trading post nearby dulled and darkened as visibility plummeted, but Anna refused to fear the storm.

This was only the beginning.

***

COME BACK ASAP.

"How can Anna be here?" Beth stared at the slip of paper in her hand. It had been folded into quarters, and the sheet was heavily worn as if it had rubbed against something a thousand times. Made sense if someone had worn it close to their body or against the fabric of a satchel. And while her logical mind concluded that a messenger could have left this here in secret before fleeing, old mistrust flared up and warned her that Anna must be up to no good.

Annalise was on a different path than she had been in the previous life, but that didn't mean Beth trusted her implicitly. She was willing to give her a chance in this life because she had shown change, but that did nothing to erase a decade of suffering at her hands before. Like a learned flinch, suspicion jolted through her at the note. What if Anna's true, dark motives were behind this?

"Beth?"

"It really is her. I know it is. I can tell her handwriting from a mile away."

He came up and wrapped his arms around her, chin resting on top of her head. "We're in Pandemonium City."

"I know. It's illegal to go past the borders of the werewolf nations and there's no way Beth should know where we are, at least not in time to send messengers. But she found out. Maybe the doctor told her. She's my sister, that alone could have swayed him."

"Beth. Calm down. Your heart is pounding."

His senses were so acute that he could feel her heartbeat even like this. Or maybe that spoke more to how frenzied her emotions were. She forced herself to slow down and gather her nerves.

"I know this is Annalise," she repeated. "Trust me on that, even if it doesn't make sense. She says to come back as soon as we can, with no explanation or anything."

"If you're sure, you're sure. And it could make sense if she returned to Tahoe Village right after we left. Maybe something happened that forced her to return before she could get help. Another attack?"

"No. She would have said something else.. 'Come back' would have been written as 'under attack' instead. Something that would leave no room for doubt."

Daniel traced his hands down her arms until his palms were at her elbows. She remained staring at the slip of paper, however, mind stumbling over every possible hurdle.

"So you do doubt," he said after a pause. "Something's bothering you."

"... Annalise and I have never gotten along."

"You told me she stepped up in the village before she had to leave."

"It was barely a week that I was with her. Change can be faked. Believe me, she's a good actress."

"I met her at the party, I know. The way you said she's been behaving since you reunited at Tahoe is nothing like how I remember her."

"It's a damn good pretense, if she's lying after all."

"But do you think this is another lie?"

"Could be."

"This is about life and limb. We're in the middle of a war. I remember your sister being a piece of work, but do you think she'd play her games even now?"

The life before, Anna had exploited exactly that. It was no deterrent to her then.

But... there was a chance she really had changed.

Beth placed the note in her pocket.

"I'll go."

***

"This is terrible," said Marten. "I know I said recovery would be quick, but you can't simply leave. You have no idea whether you'll experience side effects to the medications, and the toxin might still exist in traces in your body. You can't leave now!"

"Something's come up. We're lucky you came so soon after we got here. I was worried I would have to leave a note." Beth sneaked a glance at Daniel, who was now obstinately arguing with the apprentice in her stead. Less than ten minutes ago, she had read read the note and decided she had to leave, but she hadn't gambled on Daniel coming along.

He had insisted, but the apprentice was right. His health was in danger. If they ran back toward the border only to discover he hadn't been totally cured, it might be too late to run back to Pandemonium again. She would never survive losing Daniel.

And yet he had refused to hear her out. He was coming too, he had said, and there was nothing she could do to stop him.

At last, Marten threw his arms up. "This is outrageous!" he exclaimed. "But fine. I'll give you the post-operative directions and the medication you will need to take. But mark my words. You're not out of danger yet! It's far too soon to leave. Hallucinations and nausia are just the beginning, you won't even be able to stand on your own within a night after the symptoms begin!"

"Is it guaranteed I'll take a bad turn?" asked Daniel.

"Well... no... But!"

"Then it's settled. I'll take my chances. Bundle up my medicine and I'll leave you more than enough payment to forget your worries, Marten." Daniel gave the apprentice a firm nod. "I'll take care of the rest."