A Legacy of Serpents

Chapter 17

Wind rushed past Anne's face, stealing the air from her lungs in a cacophony of unfamiliar sounds and blurred images. She lost track of how many times they disapparated after the third instance, recognizing her surroundings only twice when they reached Feldcroft and then London. After that, they disapparated into a forest and then another city before finally landing in a dusty, empty building.

Anne stumbled forward and crashed onto her hands and knees, coughing when the dust layering the ground kicked up and grabbed her with suffocating talons.

Her hand darted toward her wand, but Solomon beat her to it. He snatched it away and tucked it next to his own in its holster. Her uncle was in a state she'd never seen before. Blood-shot eyes glared back at her. His bearded face was pulled into a snarl. His clothes were a rumpled mess, and his breath carried the heavy stench of alcohol.

His attention immediately honed in on her as he moved to stand in front of a door that rested on its hinges, blocking the only way of escape.

"You made me the entire laughingstock of the hamlet!" he shouted, spittle flying from his mouth. "Getting married behind my back? At fifteen, no less!" His foot shot out and kicked a dusty chair, breaking the leg clean off, the rest crashing against one of the walls. "You're not ready for the real world. You can't even go a day without your curse acting up." He smirked. "Ah, there it is. Right on time."

She clutched herself around the midsection, breathing slowly through the intense pain raging through her body. Fear crashed over her head like icy water dunking her into a dark abyss. She'd never seen her uncle like this. Ever. This wasn't just his usual anger.

There was murder in his eyes.

A sob escaped her as she struggled to push herself to her feet, using an empty table to help keep her balance. No one knew where she was, and she was without her wand.

She was going to die here. Just like how her parents had died. All alone. No one to help them.

"You do not get to decide what is right for me!" she cried, finding what remained of her strength to stand up to her uncle. If she were to die today, then she would die with dignity.

"And you think that blind boy is right for you? You are delusional if you believe a marriage will work with someone like him."

"He married me to protect me. From you. Besides, I know you think highly of him—"

"Not anymore!" He slammed his fist against the wall, rattling what felt like the entire building as if the structure might collapse at any moment.

She glanced toward the warped glass window to find gray clouds hovering outside, along with several other run-down buildings within immediate view. But otherwise, she still didn't know where she was.

But then she gasped when she recognized the curve of the empty bookshelf in the corner and the brick fireplace forming an arch on the opposite side of the room where she had spent many evenings lying on the floor, listening as her parents got into heated debates over the proper techniques of flicking one's wand, all in good nature. She hadn't seen this place for years, but...

"This is my childhood home." Her eyes flashed open wide, followed by a wince of pain when the agony in her midsection continued to grow. "Why did you bring me here?"

He grabbed another chair and tossed it aside. It, too, broke against the wall, shattering into pieces. "Your father ruined my entire life!" he shouted with slurred words.

Anne straightened, trying her best to ignore the pain as she gripped the top of a nearby chair, keeping it between them. "My father was an honorable man."