Anna's Hope Episode One Read Online Free Page A

waved and sashayed off.
    “… Oh my god, what
have I just done?” Anna put her hand up to her head, suddenly
feeling faint.
    “You did what I told you to do, fool. Now
take me home. I wish to be comfortably in bed before you go out and
get yourself killed tonight.”
    Anna crumpled her hand over her mouth and
tried to breathe. “B-but you told me to accept the job.”
    “Of course I did – we need the money.
Other than that, though, it’s a goddamn terrible idea. You are the
worst witch in the world, and you have severe magical allergies.”
Luminaria tipped her small furry head back and cackled like only a
possessed cat could. “You are most definitely going to get yourself
killed. I suppose I shall be handed back to your mother for
safekeeping. Which will be infinitely better than you – your mother
can cook.”
    Anna closed her hands over her eyes and
slumped against the bar.
    Things couldn’t get any worse.
    Oh, wait, they could.
    And tonight, they would.

Chapter 4
    “ Ah, is this such a good idea?”
She turned over her shoulder and shot Meredith a pointed
look.
    Meredith shrugged, reached into her
pocket, pulled out a stick of fluoro pink gum, and proceeded to
chew it in a thoroughly non-caring way. “Who cares? We’ve got you –
an ex-police witch. You can always chuck a fireball or two if
things get hairy.”
    Anna took a calming breath. At least she
tried to. There was nothing short of valium that would settle her
nerves right now. “Ah, I really wasn’t a very good police witch,”
she tried to explain for the thousandth time.
    Meredith looked bored. She even stretched
her long, swan-like neck back and yawned. “If you were good enough
for Vale, you’re more than good enough for this piece-of-crap
town.”
    Anna swallowed uncomfortably and shook her
head.
    “Buck up, kid,” Meredith swooped an arm
around her shoulders and winked, “like I said before – this will be
a real simple case. All we have to do is go in there, get the
kingpin, and go.”
    Anna offered a meek smile. “…
Okay.”
    “That’s the way. Now once we’re done,
we’re really going to have to get you out of those frumpy damn
clothes, and into something more suited to Hellhole.” Hellhole was
what the locals – at least the dissatisfied ones – called
Marchtown.
    As far as names went, it wasn’t too far
off the mark. While there weren’t demons and the damned spilling
onto the streets, Anna was starting to learn this place certainly
wasn’t heaven.
    There was an odd feel about it.
Most cities usually felt alive, bustling with people as the hectic
pace of a metropolis drove them like cattle dogs.
    Despite its size and population, large parts
of Marchtown felt dead. You could go into a crowded shop and feel
like you were walking through empty ruins.
    It had a distinctly odd vibe. The
architecture didn’t help. It was a thoroughly ugly mix of old with
unappealing modern. Ornate, grand 1920s Art Deco frontages sat
alongside brick monstrosities from the ‘70s. Here and there new
glass and steel structures broke up the horizon, but they only
served to highlight how much of a mishmash this town
was.
    Vale had an ancient, powerful
vibe to it. Marchtown was simply confusing and chaotic. Great, epic
tales could and had happened in Vale. In Marchtown … oh boy, if the
vibe was enough to go off, anything could happen here.
    “Come on, kid, let’s do this. I’m pretty
sure he’s in there now. I probably don’t need to ask – considering
your pedigree – but do you remember the plan?” Meredith reapplied a
coat of luscious red lipstick. It was the kind of hue that belonged
in cut rubies or cut veins. It drew so much attention to her lips,
it was a surprise men didn’t walk straight into them.
    Anna wanted to ask – plan, what plan?
Meredith’s entire operation came down to two steps: walk into the
bar, and walk out with the kingpin. Everything else would be worked
out on the fly, as she’d put it.
    Anna had never