Page 151 of Anchor

Then the dust settled halfway.

“Would you look at that,” said the voice of a man.

“If it isn’t Alejandro Amizz himself.” A woman.

I looked up to find both of them by the door they’d blown off its hinges, calm and smiling, with wands in their hands and glowing blue light hanging over their heads in circles—like fucking halos.

The laughter continued for another moment—the Devil.

Seth grabbed Taland by the arm and pulled him to his feet, and I followed, having no clue what the hell was going on still.

But then I found Hakim with his arms raised and Bes and the other guards had made it to their feet, too, shaking their heads to clear out the confusion.

We were all covered in dust, but we were all alive. Taland was right there beside me, and on his other side was Seth, and we were alive.

Then the Devil spoke.

“The little mischiefs,” he said, his hands in his pockets still. The woman who was still sitting on that recliner had dropped her book again and was watching. “Welcome, welcome, I suppose. Welcome, Zachary, Aurelia. You could have just knocked, though.”

“We figured we’d make an entrance. We know you love drama,” said the woman—Aurelia, and she didn’t sound worried in the least, even though there was a wand in her hand ready to fire.

“You got me!” said the Devil, and he raised his hands and laughed.

Then her eyes landed on me.

I stopped breathing. “You must be Rosabel.”

Yes, I am,I thought, and Taland’s hand around mine squeezed, but I had no clue what he meant by it, whether he wanted me to engage in the conversation or not.

I did, anyway. “Who are you?” I asked because I needed to know what the hell we were up against before I could make an escape plan. Before I could figure out the best way to get the hell out of here and let these grownups talk—I had no issue with that. Let them talk, and we’d be out of their hair in no time.

But it wasn’t meant to be.

“Apologies for barging in like this—the door refused to let us through,” the man by her side said.

“This is my brother Zach,” the woman said, nodding her head at him and trying to appear at ease, but she was fully alert of everyone’s movements, too. “And I’m Aurelia Mergenbach. Pleased to finally meet you. We’ve heard a great deal.”

The Mergenbach siblings.

It wasthem,the same people who ran Selem with Taland’s brothers.

“I feel left out.”

We all turned to the Devil, who was still by that veil on the other side, pouting. A grown ass man pouting, but it was only to try to hide the anger his eyes reflected.

“We’re just here to pick up Rosabel and Taland—and Seth,” Zachary said, raising a brow at Taland’s brother. “We won’t bother you much.”

“We’ll be out in no time, and of course, your door will be as good as new before we leave,” said Aurelia, waving at the pieces of that sliding door she now stepped on. Behind them where the corridor was supposed to be was only darkness—which struck me as odd.

“I’d appreciate that very much,” said the Devil, and he began to pace forward and back, while the three men still stood in front of that veil with their hands raised, Bes and the other guard with guns in their hands, too, ready to attack. Sweating just as much as me.

“However,” the Devil continued. “We were in the middle of something when you came, Rosabel and I. I’d tell you to wait in the lobby while we finish, but something tells me you’ll want to stay.”

“We want to leave, actually. Right now,” said Zachary, and his smile wasn’t as wide, and his blue eyes weren’t as cheerful as a moment ago. He had sandy blonde hair and a sharp jawline, a crooked nose and a lot of muscle underneath a baby-blue shirt, whereas his sister was petite. They shared the same hair, though hers was longer and braided, the same blue yes, and the same energy—you could tell they were related at a glance.

“No can do, I’m afraid,” said the Devil. He wasn’t pouting nor smiling anymore.

I wondered, how much longer until these people stopped pretending that they didn’t know what the hell was happening here, and got to the fucking point? Why were they even wasting time with chitchat?

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