And so the story continues fifteen minutes at a time…
Day 18: Once she decided to try and look it up to find out details.
Once she decided to try and look it up to find out details. Her cousin had begun training for his initiation and was quite pompous about being chosen. He claimed that he was told that he would be on track to be one of the powerful and let it slip that he was being groomed for a place of leadership.
As Anna had not been impressed with the thought of cousin Jared in charge of anything, she wanted to research it and figure out what he was actually controlling. She found that all information regarding the Devra was held in restricted areas and that no matter who she talked to, she could not gain access. Her uncle Colin pulled her aside and assured her that one day she would be trained for initiation and the secrets would pass to her, but not until she was ready.
Anna smiled, remembering how she confided her fears of Jared in charge of anything. Colin was amused.
“I agree with you and think you have good judgement when it comes to others. Which is why his important role is mostly ceremonial,” Colin then looked side to side to make sure no one was listening. He dropped his voice to a whisper. “He gets to hold my ceremonial staff when I am not using it. And then hadn it to me when I do need it,” he confided. Anna remembered stifling a giggle and then watching Colin touch a finger to his lips.
‘And I promised not to tell Jared or anyone else for that matter,” Anna recalled. Her smile fell. Less than a year later both Colin and Jared were dead.
“He never got to hold the ceremonial staff,” Anna recalled. She thought of Marcus. “And I’m no longer a good judge of character.”
She felt her calm start to wear at the edges and took a deep breath to steady herself. Realizing that the rinse was complete, Anna went to the bathroom, drained the water and then put it to spin the remaining water out.
When the machine was done, she could leave. Anything that would track her would be gone and she did not think they had anyone watching her.
‘How Christopher knew I was in the archives I something to figure out,’ Anna thought. He had been there for a few weeks at least. She wondered why he didn’t approach sooner. ‘Maybe making himself a familiar sight so I would recognize him as being from here and not just a new person.’
Anna frowned and went to her bags. She pulled out the letters Marcus handed her. They were dated about two weeks prior. ‘Christopher has been her only about a month.’
Anna put the pages back in the bag. “Christopehr found me and called it in,” Anna tried walking herself through the timeline. “That would be protocol no matter how he found me. “So he called it in and instead of sending a retrieval team they got a pardon and sent Marcus.”
Marcus was too high up the ladder to be sent with a retrieval team. He was also high enough to be trusted with official papers like the documents he gave her.
A thought hit her. “Official pardon papers.”
One of the reasons she never contacted anyone was because she didn’t want them to feel compromised. Some of her friends she knew might want to help her, but she knew they would have to report contact.
“But if I have been pardoned then that is not an issue.” It was a way she might be able to get information. They wanted her back for a reason and she no longer knew the details of what was going on. ‘But if I am pardoned someone might tell me.” Anna wondered who would be the best to contact.
Ten til Midnight 