Blood and Apples: An Annora Park Novel: Book One

Chapter Seven: Imbued in the Blood

My head was pounding and it felt like something had died in my mouth...hell, maybe it had.  My memories from last night well, they're foggy at best.  I rub my temples, and wince when it only makes the screaming agony of drums thumping in my head worse.  I look around and scrunch up my nose in distaste.  Clearly I was in one of Walker's guest rooms...but really? This was the best that he could do?  Then again, considering the rest of his house, this probably WAS the least offensive and freakity fuck room that this house of horrors could claim.  The room was still black, everything from the walls to the curtains to the furniture (the bed was actually pretty damned comfortable) Hell what was I saying?  This was a recipe for disaster.  And what the heck was it with him and the color black—oh right—it didn't show blood when spilled.  God.  I needed to get out of here, and quick.  I jump out of the bed and immediately regret it as my head begins to spin and I feel a wave of nausea hit me.  Shit.  Shit.  Shit.  Just how much HAD I had to drink last night?  I actually think I lost count after the third or fourth tequila shot. 
   "Okay, what the actual hell." I catch my reflection in the mirror on the wall and narrow my eyes.  I'm wearing a long black silky negligee, the hem of said negligee is blood red, so are the tiny, and I mean, tiny straps holding the garment up. 
   "You're up, darling!" Walker comes busting through the door, his face wreathed in a wide smile.
   "Jesus Christ, Walker, you don't just bust into someone's room.  What if I'd been naked, you pervert."
   Walker grins.  "Then I'd been the happiest and luckiest man alive, dearheart."
   I narrow my eyes and clench my hands into tights fists before speaking.  "So what the hell, seriously Walker? Perfect gentleman?"
   Walker cocks his head to one side and looks genuinely confused.  "I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about, dear girl.  I've been an excellent host and yes, a perfect gentleman...which trust me..." his eyes twinkle, "...last night was hard to do..."
Oh God.  Oh God.  What the hell had I done? Did I do anything? Shit, why the hell couldn't I remember?  Yes, I sometimes got drunk, but I almost never lost memories or chunks of time.  What the actual hell had I done last night?
   "Relax, sweetie...I can see that brain working overtime and it's only going to make it hurt worse than I'm sure it's hurting right now."
   Well, he wasn't wrong in that regard.  I felt like crap on a cracker.   "Walker, why am I wearing this?"  Let's try another approach.
   "Don't you like it?  I think it's incredibly becoming on you, stunning in fact.  Black and red are definitely your colors, dearheart."
   "Walker, I need answers.  I may have gotten wasted last night, but I know for a fact that I was clothed...in MY clothes when I did.  Now I wake up wearing this...this...something that Morticia Addams would wear.  How did I go from wearing my clothes to wearing this?  And what...you just have women's sleepwear hanging around in your closets?  Is there something I should know?  Like are you a secret cross-dresser?" Shut up, Annora, just shut up.  You want answers, remember, let's try not to insult the man when you need answers.
   "Morticia Addams...hmmm there was a woman who had some taste, in fact that entire family was cool to the max."  Only Walker would consider the Addams Family, their house, lifestyle and wardrobe, cool.  "You couldn't sleep in those garments you had on yesterday.  I mean darling, it was like you'd worn them for days."
Two, but whose counting anyway?
   "No, no, what sort of host would I be if I let you fall into a drunken stupor wearing those monstrosities."
   "Hey, hey...you do not get to call my clothes monstrosities."
   "Dearheart...you dress like a fifty year old librarian."
   Hey! I wasn't as bad as all that?  So I preferred practical, no-nonsense garments, with no frills that covered me up.  Where did he come off telling me I dressed like a prude, the hell was he, the damn fashion police?  "You hardly have room to talk, Mr. I-dress-like-the unibomber or maybe a cat burglar."
   "Ahhhh but I have style, darling.  And you..." he lets his eyes rake up and down my form, and suddenly, even clothed, I feel completely naked.  "...you are stunning, Annora, you realize that, don't you?  You are, dare I say, the most beautiful woman I have probably ever seen, and trust me, I've seen many a beautiful woman.  You have a face that would makes Angel's weep, and your body...Jesus, darling, your body, there aren't words for it."
   I narrow my eyes.  "Try."
   "Excuse me?"
   "You were saying there aren't words to describe my body, and I'm saying try.  Because you ought not to have seen my body, Walker.  Because if I remember correctly you said you'd be a perfect gentleman and perfect gentleman DO NOT strip unconscious girls and redress them before depositing them in a room that would make a vampire happy."
   Walker laughs.  He actually laughs and I want to punch his handsome smug face.  "Darling, is that what has your knickers in a twist right now?"  He grins,  "Annora, darling, I didn't see anything, promise...well almost nothing."
   I narrow my eyes.  "Walker—"
   "—Darling, I kept my eyes closed.  Trust me I saw pretty much nothing.  And believe me I regret that to a stunning degree.  But I'd promised and I keep my promises darling."
   "You were able to undress me, and redress me with your eyes closed the entire time."
   "Yes.  More or less.  I opened them toward the very end, just when that delightful garment was sliding into place...so sue me, I wanted to see it on your beautiful body.  But your naked form, no, darling, I didn't see you naked."
   "I find that hard to believe."  I watch as Walker's features harden and he narrows his eyes.
   "Don't ever question my word, Annora.  I do not lie.  I have no need to.  I kept my damn eyes closed, and I used magic to undress and redress you."
Magic.  Now that I could believe.  For what Walker lacked, really lacked in Treader abilities, he more than made up for with magic.  He was after all the son of probably the most powerful witch in the world.  She had definitely passed on a shit-load of abilities to her son, who was himself probably one, if not the most powerful Warlock in the Western World.
"Okay, I'm sorry, Walker. I didn't mean to doubt you. I was just...a little taken aback, that's all."
"Oh, two apologizes in a matter of days from the great Annora Park...the world really must be ending," Walker laughs, "...Or you're finally coming around and realizing that we're just meant to be, my darling."
I snort. "In your dreams. You wish."
"Oh yes, in all of my dreams, darling girl. And I do, wish, that is."
I wasn't touching that one with a ten foot pole. "Walker, listen, can you leave now. I need to dress, and where are my clothes for that matter?"
"I burned them."
"WHAT?" I shriek and instantly my head begins to throb. What the hell. He'd burned my clothes?
"Darling, they weren't any better than Goodwill castoffs. And they smelled."
They certainly hadn't smelled THAT bad. "You'd better be joking, Walker. You'd better not have actually burned my fucking clothes!"
"Sweetheart, when have you ever known me to joke? Well...much." Walker grins. "Trust me, it's better this way. Those clothes were seriously terrible, my dear girl."
I drop my head into my hands and pray for merciful patience. "Jesus, Walker. And what the hell do you expect me to where now? Because you're even crazier than I know you are, if you think I'm walking around in this thing you put me in." I mutter from between my fingers, where my head is still being cradled.
"Oh darling, darling girl, I can't believe I forgot. The only excuse I have is that your beauty stunned me to stupidity. Here! I have something for you. It'll fix you right up. No more headache, no nausea and you'll get an energy boost to boot."
I lift my head up and stare at him warily. "What? You have some Tylenol for me, maybe some Excedrin?"
Walker appears horrified. "You must be joking, darling. Oh no, no, no, none of that will do at all. God, I barely understand human medicine, what's the point, it really doesn't do anything and God they charge ludicrous prices for drugs that may as well be damn placebos for all the good they do."
"Do I take it you don't like over the counter medications, Walker."
"Do I look like someone that would appreciate over the counter medications my dear?" Walker grins, and pulls from his jeans pocket (black jeans of course) a small pill case. "Here...this...this will fix you right on up."
"And what is it?"
"Does it matter? It's going to make you feel like a million bucks, darling in a matter of minutes."
"It sure as hell DOES matter, Walker. I don't' know what you do around here...or in that lab, and yes I know you have a lab downstairs, so don't even try to deny it, I don't know what you concoct or what goes into your potions and pills, so excuse me if I'm a little wary."
"Again...so distrustful, darling."
   "Hell right I am." I plant my hands on my hips and glare at him.  "So either you tell me what is in those pills, or God himself won't convince me to take them.  Oh, and I want clothes..."
   "Well that goes without saying, love.  I mean, I think you look sensational.  But I can't have every man ogling what only I should be able to ogle."
   "Walker..." I whine...I actually freaking whine.  My head is killing me, and this crazy conversation isn't helping matters any.
   "Okay, okay, distrusting darling.  It's Halifax, a very small portion of Quintinimime, Legar, and Canterberry root, ground all up, and yes, bound with some magic.  So you see, nothing harmful at all, merely ingredients that are going to make you feel so very much better."
He was right.  Damn him.  If he was telling the truth, and we'd already established how he felt about me questioning his honesty, then yes, the ingredients in the pills would definitely be beneficial to me right now.
   I hold out a hand.  "Okay, fine, hand them over."
   "What do you say?" Walker says with a smirk on his face.
   Asshole.  "Please..." I bite out.
   "But of course, dearheart."  Walker hands me two pills and once again I pool some saliva and swallow them down.  Gross maybe, but I'd done this so many times before I barely tasted the weird pill aftertastes anymore.  "Now, now, that wasn't so hard, was it?"
   "Walker...clothes.  And as much as I would like to continue to lay into you about your completely inappropriate actions, and insane audacity in burning my clothes, I just don't have it in me right now.  So, either find me some clothes or I'm going to call..." and I smirk, "...Garrett and have him bring some over to me."
   "How does that boy have your clothes, Annora?" Walker grinds out through clenched teeth.
   "Focus here, Walker, not the point."
   "It most certain IS the point.  You said you weren't fucking him anymore, Annora.  Was that a lie?"
   Oh my God.  He really was just a total asshole.  "Again, who I choose to sleep with is none of your damn business.  And no, I didn't lie to you, Garrett and I aren't sleeping together.  If you have to know, you inappropriate, rude, nosy Nelly, he has a key to my apartment, and he'd easily be able to bring me some stuff."
   "I don't like it, Annora."
   "What? You don't like what? I mean, hell, Walker, you don't like much."
   "I don't like that that kid has a key to your apartment."
   "Walker, Garrett and I, we've been partners for almost four years.  He's had my back more times than I can count, and I've had his.  He's even watched my apartment and watered my damn plants when I've been taken out of the city on jobs.  He is a good guy, a really good, decent guy, Walker.  And you've been treating him like shit on the bottom of your shoe.  It needs to stop, especially if you're going to be working this case with us.  I honestly..." I sigh, "...I honestly with what I do...I just don't need the added stress or aggravation that comes from you baiting him every time you see him."
   "Annora, darling." Walker comes over and takes my hands in his.  I work hard not to stiffen at the touch.  I definitely have to work on that.  Touch and I...we had issues.  "It's my turn to apologize it seems."
   "Huh?" My mouth drops open in shock
   "Yes, I'm sorry.  Now I cannot promise that I will never make another dig at the kid, but I will try...try to...curb my tongue a bit when it comes to him.  Don't forget though...I'm not the one that starts all the...'banter' the kid definitely doesn't love me the way you do."
   I roll my eyes.  "I don't love you, Walker."
   "But of course you do.  You're just fighting it.  But no worries, I'm a patient man.  I have all the time in the world to win you, darling."
   He was totally nuts.  All the time in the world.  Now that was a sobering thought.  Because whereas he might have a longer lifespan now, I certainly didn't.  What was I up to now...five, six years maybe, if I were lucky.  And I never seemed lucky these days.
   "You look much to serious right now, darling.  Oh, and how are you feeling? Headache gone?"
   Now that he'd mentioned it.  It was.  In fact the nausea was gone too.  Actually I felt quite good, no terrific actually.  "Yes, thank you Walker, those pills really did the trick."
   "Glad to be of service my dear."
   "Now...about those clothes."
   Walker sighs.  "Oh but you look so very lovely like this." When I shoot him a nasty look he laughs and holds up his hands, "Fine, fine, I'll be right back, I have just the thing for you.  Trust me."
Trust him.  Now wasn't that a loaded statement if there ever was one.