The Dealers

Chapter 47 - Lena

In and out of consciousness as Noah and Azrael tore apart my house, I only heard fragments of their conversation but Noah knew more than he was telling me. When I asked him what the plan was, he claimed not to know but from what I overheard, that wasn't the case.

An anchor?

Not sure what any of it meant, I wasn't going to beat around the bush. The second I asked Noah, his face confirmed that he didn't want me to know about it—which made me only want to know more.

"How do you anchor someone?" I asked Noah and his eyes fell to the floor. Raking his hand through his hair I knew that he wasn't sure what to tell me. "What does that mean? I added.

Sitting on the nearest unbroken chair, Noah sighed, "Finn's friend suggested a binding ritual."

"Binding?" I raised my eyebrow.

"Not physically." Noah explained. "Two souls are bound together and they become one. The magic used to bind them is more ancient than Azrael himself and it might be able to keep him in check. Once the two souls are bound, they belong only to each other."

Holy fuck.

"That's...that's really intense." I said slowly. "Would it really work?"

Noah looked at me and narrowed his eyes. He was almost in shock. "Yes, it's likely that it would but with magic, there are no guarantees."

Magic?

A story for another time.

"You think that could help us?" I clarified and Noah wasn't sure how to approach the topic.

"Do you understand what that means, Lena?" He asked me as if I wasn't fully aware how ludicrous it all sounded. The severity wasn't lost on me but, if Noah thought it would help, I wanted to know more.

"Not completely but I get the gist of it." I admitted. "Reapers and magic are all knew to me, remember? But, if you say that it'll work, that is something to consider, right?"

Noah stared at me like I was crazy and I was suddenly self conscious as I sat there. He was the one that used anchoring as a threat to Azrael but maybe, Noah didn't actually mean it.

"Consider?" He asked me, his eyes wide.

I shrugged, "—or not?"

Noah looked at me but, I couldn't read him.

"I can't take away what normalcy you have left, Lena." Noah said as he stared at the floor and I knew then that the emotion on his face was guilt. He felt guilty that I would actually consider it.

"Wait a minute," I said frustratedly, "let's not get ahead of ourselves here, okay?" Noah looked over at me but didn't say anything. "Before now, I had no idea that magic even existed. This is all a lot to process but no one needs to jump the gun."

Noah seemed less anxious as I spoke but he still had that look of uncertainly. "I shouldn't have told Azrael about anchoring." He said as he moved to sit closer to me. "I gave up the advantage because I couldn't swallow my pride."

"What are you talking about?" I asked him but he wouldn't make eye contact with me as he continued.

"Now that Azrael knows we're even considering the option of anchoring," Noah sighed, "he'll try to find a way to stop us. That was supposed to be our Hail Mary and I spoiled it."

I could see what Noah meant but I also knew how much Azrael could get under someone's skin. "It's not your fault, Azrael is..."

"—it is my fault, Lena." Noah scoffed. "All of this is my fault. I should have left the club and you at the bar. I should never have spoken to you."