Cold Hearted - Chapter Ninety Nine

Annabell found Nolan on the dance floor. "I'm going to put my little brother to bed when I find him. He's running around here somewhere. I'll be back soon," she told him as she walked off.

Little Jamie was running through the halls bored of the party already. He was trying to find something to get into. Knowing everyone was outside, he was sure to get away with anything. As he rounded a corner, he heard his name being called.

For fun, Jamie hid under the table, thinking it was a fun game.

The man must have been a guard. As he approached closer to the table, Jamie could see his boots. "Jamie, where are you. Your parents are looking for you," he called out.

Little Jamie crawled out from underneath the table to find that the guard had a knife in his hand. This scared Jamie when he looked up to see that the man didn't look that nice either. Jamie started to scoot back toward the wall as the man started to come at him. "I thought my parents were looking for me," Jamie choked out.

Jamie kept scooting, and it became clear that this guy wasn't nice. "Oh, did I say that," he told Jamie with a smirk on his face? Jamie knew he had to get away as fast as he could. Jamie kicked the guard in the leg, throwing him off balance allowing him time to get to his feet and run out the door.

It didn't take the guard long to recover and was fast after Jamie.

As soon as he got close enough, he slashed Jamie in the back, causing a long gash that caused stinging pain to shoot through Jamie's back. Jamie staggered, falling to his knees to only feel the blade pierce his back, digging deep into his flesh. A few more sharp pains and the world started to spin. Jamie struggled to breathe, only to find that he couldn't catch his breath. After a few moments, Jamie's world went dark.

The guard picked Jamie's lifeless body up and took it to a cell in the dungeon that was not occupied. No one would know to look for the boy there. He could hide him there until he could find a way to hide the child's body later. Feeling guilty for taking a young life, he gently laid the boy down that appeared to be only sleeping. He kept telling himself over and over that it was for the best that these creatures of the night be destroyed.

When Annabell walked into the room, she was grabbed up by the throat suspended in the air as her feet kicked to reach the ground. Struggling to breathe while trying to pry the hand that was wrapped around her throat, she was helpless to do anything.

"Time to die, the queen sends her regards," he laughed at her as he tightened his grip around her throat. Annabell gasped for air that would not come and soon blacked out.

Her body slumped, hitting the ground hard with a thud. She laid there unconscious and not breathing.

The guard picked her lifeless body up from the floor and headed to the dungeon just as he had told Kristen.

Annabell finally came to, to find herself laying on a cold floor covered in straw. She jumped to her feet to see the same man that attacked her earlier, coming at her with a knife. She couldn't react fast enough before he reached her.

A sharp pain shot through her. She looked down at the knife sticking in her stomach. Shocked with the site of the blood started to seep around the knife, she couldn't move. The guard then twisted the knife some more, making the wound bigger. Blood poured through the wound when the knife was pulled out. Slumping to the ground, she fell, landing in the straw. The straw became red with the stain of her blood that spilled through her wound. She soon became limp as the life slipped from her body.

Nolan went from room to room, trying to figure out where Annabell and Jamie could be. He had already checked their bedrooms to find no one there. So where would he look if he was a kid playing in a big castle?

Nolan made his way down to the dungeon.

When he walked around the corner, he saw Annabell lying in a pool of blood on the floor. Nolan ran over to Annabell. Dropping to his knees, he began to wake her.

"Annabell! Annabell! Please don't go, don't you leave me. I love you," he cried out as he stroked her face. Her ghostly look only brought more tears to his eyes when he realized she was truly gone.

Then without warning, Nolan heard the sound of someone approaching by the sound of the straw under their feet. Leaping up, he was greeted by the guard that was swinging a knife. Nolan dodged the attack without any injury. The guard stopped looking at Nolan. "You will not win. They didn't stand a chance, nor will you," he laughed at Nolan as he charged him with the knife again.  

Nolan didn't say anything. He threw up his hands while chanting something. The guard froze right in his steps. "You underestimated me. You will be the one to feel the pain. You have innocent blood on your hands, and you will pay," Nolan told him in a cold tone.

Then with another swing of hands, the guard fell down and curled up in a fetal position. Screaming with agony was all he could do. "Pain, do you feel it? Your pain for taking an innocent life," he mocked the guard.

Then Nolan cast another spell and watched the life leave his body. The horror was only unfolding for Nolan. As he dragged the guard into the room to hide him, that's when he discovered little Jamie's body. 

When he propped the guard up against the wall as if he was sleeping, Running over to him, Nolan tried to wake him, only to find out that Jamie was cold and unresponsive. When he rolled him over, he could see the wounds that Jamie had on his back. Nolan fell down to his knees and began to cry. He had not only lost his best friend and love, now he was looking at Jamie that he had known since he was a baby.

Nolan then left the guard and little Jamie in the cell and went back to Annabell. Pulling her up from the floor, he pulled her into his arms, burying his face in her hair as he cried. He couldn't believe she was gone. He started to blame himself for not listening to her when she came to him about her grandmother's plots. Now it was all too real, she was taken, and he could do nothing to bring her back. Or could he?

 Nolan choked back his tears, lifting Jamie up to take him where his sister's body was resting on a table. He laid Jamie next to Annabell. Staring at them both, he was grief-stricken at the thought that someone could do such a horrible thing. He had to fix this, and the book was the key.

Nolan desperately looked for a spell to restore Annabell and Jamie back to life. He searched through the thick book of spells. When he finally comes across a spell to keep a soul from crossing over. He quickly gathered all the ingredients that were needed for the spell and went to work.

Mixing them in the order that it described, he began to put it together as he recited the spell on each step.

After everything was added, the mysterious liquid glowed a purple color. Nolan took a glass vial out and filled it up.

Walking over to Annabell and Jamie, that laid on the table lifeless. Nolan opened Jamie's mouth and poured in some of the potion, then did the same to Annabell. Within a few minutes, they went transparent, not moving at all. Nolan stumbled backward in shock of their appearance. Wondering if he did something wrong or messed the spell up, Jamie started to move.

Little Jamie leaped off the table and took one look at Annabell lying on the table, all gray and see-through. He began to scream, but Nolan was there to calm him. "Shh, Jamie, it's me, Nolan. Don't be scared," he told Jamie as he stepped closer to him. "I'm dead, that awful man.................." Jamie mumbled. "No, your not. You're just in between worlds until I can find a way to restore you and your sister back to the way you were. This was the only thing I could think of until I can find the right spell," he explained to Jamie that still looked frightened. Moments later, Annabell started to move.

When Annabell finally came to, she saw that little Jamie was crying. Shocked by his appearance and looking down at her hands to find out that she was in the same condition, she slid off the table and began to comfort her little brother."Don't cry, Jamie. You're not alone, and we are clearly not completely dead. Nolan will fix this, and mom and dad don't need to find out yet. "It was horrible, Annabell. That terrible man, he.....stabbed me in the back, I felt the blood pouring out and then everything went black. And now, look at me, I'm transparent, and I feel weird," he told her. "I know, I feel the same way too. That man stabbed me too, but we are very lucky to be like this and not meeting death completely. After she managed to get Jamie to settle down, he went off into another room so Annabell and Nolan could think of a plan.

"What are we going to do?" she asked. "Look at me, I'm dead. I told you that she was up to no good. That man told me that the queen sends her regards before choking me to near death and then finishing the job with a knife to the stomach," she explained. "I don't know, I found this one in panic. I know there has to be a spell in there somewhere to resurrect the dead or something," he replied.

"We have to come up with a plan so that me and Jamie can hide until we can find a way to fix this. If they see us like this, then everything that we worked so hard for will be for nothing, and of course, mom and dad will freak out," she told him. "I know, I'll make up an excuse while you look through the book to see if you can find something until I get back," Nolan told Annabell.

When Nolan left, Annabell began to search the book in hopes of finding a solution. The text was hard to read through, and she knew Nolan would find something much faster than she could. All she could do was hold on to some hope that she could find something and fast.

Nolan went upstairs to see if anyone might be missing them. The party was coming to an end. "Oh Nolan, there you are. Have you seen Annabell or Jamie?" James asked.

 "Oh yeah, she took him out to play. They will be back in a bit. If you would allow it, I thought that Jamie and Annabell could come with me to give you and Amelia some time to yourselves. We were going to head over to visit my parent's house. If you don't mind," Nolan asked, almost holding his breath. "Sure, I"ll tell Amelia, so she doesn't worry. You know her. She does that a lot," James giggled.

Annabell took the vial into her hands and drank it.

After a few seconds, Annabell drank the potion. She was hit with a pain that was unreal, almost as bad as when she was stabbed. Her transparent body began to flicker as if she threatened to disappear. Then suddenly...............she vanished.

With a flash of light that stunned Nolan, Annabell reappeared. Her body was restored like it was before she was dead, but with one twist. She was no longer a wondering soul of the undead. She was alive.

"Am I real? I feel real, but do I look real?" Annabell asked Nolan with a worried look on her face. "Of course your real," he replied as he stroked her cheek. "Not only are you real, but you are also just like me," he told her. "What do you mean?' she asked, confused. "Your skin is warm and pink, your eyes are no longer golden, but brown. Your not cursed as they would call it," he told her.

Little Jamie was next to take the potion. Annabell tried to prepare him for the pain. Jamie drank the potion, and with the same results, was restored back to life.

Jamie ran to Annabell with hurt and relief flooding his emotions. What if that bad man comes back and kills us again," Jamie asked. "No one will ever hurt us again. I will protect you from all that would do us harm," she reassured him. "But why did he want me dead?" Jamies asked. "Not sure, but I think I have an idea. No need to worry, your big sister will take care of it," she replied.

Annabell scooped Jamie up into her arms, hugging him tightly. "I love you, sis," he whispered. "I love you too.

Nolan pulled Annabell into his arms. Revenge will be ours," he told her. "Yes, a horrible fate," she replied.