Anna's Hope Episode One Read Online Free

she purred.
    Anna opened her mouth to say
no.
    She could never be a bounty hunter. She’d
barely managed to scrape by as a police witch in Vale, and only
with the welcome help of Benjamin Tate.
    She wouldn’t have a Benjamin in Marchtown.
There’d be no police back up. She’d be on her own.
    “Just think about it, kid,” Meredith
winked, “you need money, and you can clearly do the work. I promise
you, knowing what you put up with in Vale, police work in this old
hole of a town will be a walk in the park.”
    Considering the evil that had
lurked in Vale City Park, that wasn’t as reassuring as it should
have been. “Ah … look, thanks, but—”
    “She accepts,” Luminaria spat as she
jammed her head out of the bag like an aggressive
meerkat.
    Meredith tilted her head and laughed.
“Well that’s a deal then. I’m glad to have a witch like you on the
team.” She offered her bony, elegant hand to Anna.
    “Hold on, I—”
    “I make the decisions around here,”
Luminaria cut in, “and I accept this offer.”
    “But—” Anna stuttered.
    “This witch,” Luminaria gestured to Anna
with a clawed paw, “is under my heirloom contract. She is indebted
to me. She is magically bound to care for my every need. And she is
currently out of work,” she spat, her long whiskers bristling. “So
she accepts this job. Because if she doesn’t, I’ll break her
leg.”
    Anna winced. She got the threat. While she
wouldn’t put it past Luminaria to attack her, that’s not what the
cursed cat meant. Oh no, she was referring to the contract. It
really would crush a bone or two if Anna didn’t keep up her end of
the bargain.
    Meredith chuckled. “I can’t say I usually
like demon cats – but maybe I’ll make an exception for
you.”
    “I am not a demon cat, madam.” Luminaria
pulled herself up to her full height. Though she was as tall as a
garden gnome, she held herself like Mount Everest incarnate. “I am
possessed.”
    “Yeah, there’s no difference. You still
claw the couch and drag in the occasional angel through the cat
flap. But what I’m really interested in, is getting a signature.”
Meredith shoved the contract under Anna’s nose again. “Dotted line,
sweetie. Come on now, I’ve got a whole bar to keep happy
here.”
    Anna wanted to protest. She wanted to
point out she couldn’t be a bounty hunter.
    Yet she couldn’t afford not to be. She
needed the money, and she very much needed to appease the contract
before it started breaking her legs.
    Driving her teeth into her lip until the
pain cut out her nerves, she cautiously pulled the contract towards
her.
    She took a calming breath, then jammed her
thumb onto the bottom of the contract. A few sparks of magic jumped
over her flesh, flashing along her nail and sinking into the
parchment.
    Immediately, she sneezed.
    “Bless you, if you’re into blessings, of
course,” Meredith mumbled as she snatched up the signed contract
and stuffed it under the counter. “Right,” she clasped her hands
together and leaned in, “pleased to have you on board, Ms
Summersville. You begin tonight, right after I knock off work at 3
AM. Bring your hexes, your weapons, your blessings, and your balls.
We’re taking down a kingpin.”
    “S-sorry a kingpin?”
    Meredith shrugged, the silver rings
embellishing her fingers clinking together as she ran her pinkie
over her teeth. “Runs a dark establishment in Course Street. Up to
all sorts of no good. I don’t have all the specifics – the MEC
don’t always share their reasons with us. From my own experience,
though, I know this guy’s a real low life. All we have to do is
force our way in the front door, deal with his hired muscle, and
drag him back to MEC HQ. Simple and quick. Trust me.”
    “Ah, how much hired muscle? And what is
this guy? A wizard, a magician, a troll? And do we have
backup?”
    “Questions, questions, questions. They can
wait. Now I have to deal with my customers. See you, sweetie.”
Meredith