by S. M. Bowles
"Humph," Freya sounded her disbelief. "Artur," she called and nodded him towards me.
He came forward and the guards seized me by my elbows so I wouldn't attempt to avoid his touch. I clung to everything I knew and that I didn't dare share with a fierce determination but when he laid his hand across my forehead my thoughts erupted in a spasm of agony. I screamed as I fell to my knees in a torrent of pain and utter defeat.
Artur stepped back and turned to Freya, "There's no one else," he definitively stated.
His words didn't register I was so disoriented by the throbbing ache that was making my head feel as though it was ready to implode. To Freya the pain he had caused and my lack of response seemed like an absolute confirmation of Artur's words.
She smiled in satisfaction. "Take her!" she commanded.
The guards jostled me back to my feet before I realized what she had said. "No...NO!" I screamed. "Where's Evan? What have you done to Merry? Herrik! Please, please," I begged. "I love you!" I sobbed when I realized the futility of my words.
Freya laughed at my outburst, her sneer clearing showing how useless she knew my efforts would prove to be.
Then a rich voice echoed in my mind, "Save you strength, Emily."
"What..." I started to ask before I realized what had happened. "What are you going to do with me? Where are you taking me?" I shouted to Freya hoping to cover my confusion as I was dragged away.
"All in good time, Emily...all in good time," she called after me then bending down she coiled herself around Herrik and kissed him again.
They walked me back the way we had come; out of Herrik's apartment and past the garden. I couldn't put my finger on it but something seemed to be unnerving the guards. They kept glancing over their shoulders into the dense foliage and trying to peer through the condensation into the darkness beyond the thick glass walls. I felt it too and wondered if it was just an instinctive fear of what could not be seen or if there was something more to it than that.
We hurried past before I could decide and from there I was taken to a part of the compound that I had never been to before. There used to be several levels of dorms for people transitioning into or out of Haeven. Each of the small rooms had once featured a kitchenette, a living/sleeping area and a bathroom. All the furniture and appliances had been removed from each of the rooms, though, and the doors had been replaced with metal ones which had heavy bolts and a small, barred window that allowed the guards to see in.
We went by several doors and though I tried glancing in each of the rooms we walked past they were all dark and it was impossible for me to see whether or not they were occupied. If Evan or any of the others were still alive, I knew this is where they would be.
"Evan!" I called out. "Merry?"
"Emily?" Evan anxiously answered. He came to one of the windows and gripped the steel bars as he peered through. "Oh, God! Oh, no! Emily, no...not you, too!"
I wondered how much he knew. The guards stopped in front of his cell. Apparently we were going to be confined together.
"Step back!" one of the guards growled at Evan, "And don't do anything stupid!"
For a moment it looked like Evan might defy the guard, "Please, just do what he says, Evan." I encouraged him.
He grudgingly stepped back and I was sure it was more out of concern for me than for himself. The guard unlocked the door, shoved me roughly in and slammed it closed behind me. I stumbled into Evan who threw his arms around and hugged me close.
"I'm so sorry, Emily! This is all my fault. What was I thinking? How could I have been such an idiot and fallen for someone like Sarah?!" He pulled back and grabbed me by my shoulders, "Did they hurt you? Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Evan," and looking into his eyes I nearly cried from all the shame and guilt I felt.
"What's wrong, Em? Are you sure they didn't hurt you?"
I choked back some tears, "It's not your fault. None of this is your fault," I bit my lip, "it's mine. I'm the reason you're here," I sniffled.
"What? What are you saying, Emily? Don't be ridiculous?" he nearly laughed until he saw the seriousness of my expression.
"This is where I was for all those years. This is where I lived, this was my home."
So many emotions were warring in his expression that it was impossible for me to tell what he was thinking.
"No," he shook his head. "That can't be true. You're...you're not one of them."
"No, I'm not," I admitted, "but neither were half the others that lived here, either."
"There were others?"
I took a deep breath, "It was never like this. It was beautiful and friendly and a refuge for many, many people. Not just people like Carah but people just like you and me."
"Carah? Is that her name?"
"Come," I took Evan's hand, "I don't know how much time we have but I will tell you everything I can."
I led him to one of the walls and together we sat down with our legs stretched out in front of us and for the next couple of hours I told him all that I could of the story from beginning to end. When I was done and I had managed to answer as many of his questions as I safely could he turned to me, "How...how can any of this be real?"
"It's...I know it's hard to believe."
"Hard? Try impossible! And you talk about this Herrik as if...as if you are in love with him."
My heart withered.
"Good God! You are! You're in love with a monster, you know that don't you? He's just like Sar...Carah!"
"No! NO!" I shook my head vehemently, "Herrik is not a monster! He is the most incredible man I have ever met. He is intelligent and kind and loving...you can't imagine how...self-sacrificing and honorable he is! You don't know him like I do!"
"I know enough! He's one of them and they are killers! They are all killers every last one of them!" he stood up and began pacing angrily.
"You don't understand," I implored.
"He's done something to you, hasn't he?! That's it!" he stopped in his tracks. "Just like Carah did to me. You're not really in love with him."
"No, Evan. He hasn't. Herrik would never do that. He loves me and I love him."
"If he loves you the way you think he does then why are you here, locked up and about to be..." he couldn't finish the thought.
For a millisecond I questioned whether or not Evan was right. "He...he...Freya..." I couldn't find the words to explain what had happened to Herrik.
Evan held his hand up, refusing to hear anything I had to say. "We've got to find a way out of here," he said. "Once we're out we can go to the police and let them deal with this!"
"There's no way out, Evan," someone called from one of the rooms across from ours.
"Carah!" it took me a moment but I recognized her voice.
"And for your information Herrik does love her," she asserted, "and you'd better pray that he remembers just how much before Freya makes up her mind what to do with all of us," her laughter was cold and sinister and it seemed to echo throughout the entire level we were on.
"Oh...Shuddd up you bitch!"
"Wyatt?! Is that you? Is Merry with you?" my heart leapt as soon as I realized that we weren't the only ones imprisoned on our floor.
"Yep, I'm here," I could hear the smile in her voice.
A moment later someone else chimed in, "What is no one going to welcome us to the party?!"
I moved to the window, "Colin?"
He didn't answer but I heard him chuckling then Ares' distinctive barking coming from across the hall. I looked in the direction of the sound and saw both their faces in the window of the cell directly across from mine.
"Colin! How could you?! I told you not to bring Ares and now you've both been captured?"
Carah guffawed, "All those lessons with Artur and you still have no power of deduction, do you? They let themselves get caught, you idiot! So they could rescue you!"
"Bingo!" Colin replied. "Now, if I could just figure out this lock."
Carah came to her window. She was
in the cell directly to the right of Colin's. She interrupted his efforts, "I could open it if you and I worked together."
Colin stopped what he was doing and everyone grew unnaturally quiet. Letting Carah help us was the last thing any of us wanted and if we made the bargain Colin would have to release her, too.
"No!" Evan was the first to voice an opinion.
"There's no fucking way she can be trusted," Wyatt added.
"I don't see that we have a choice," Merry muttered and Colin reluctantly agreed as he took up his efforts with his lock again.
"I think it's up to you to decide, Emily. Fuck," Colin glanced down the hall towards the elevator. I couldn't see it myself but I knew that he was looking at the panel and that someone was in the elevator on their way up. "Well, what's it gonna be?" he looked across at me.
"Merry can you open the other locks once Colin is free?"
"I think," she began, "yes! I can do it."
"Let Carah help," I said, "but open her cell last."
Carah grumbled but grudgingly agreed. From there it only took a matter of seconds for them to release the lock. Once he escaped Colin went straight for Merry's door then to mine and Evan's. When they came to Carah's, Evan grabbed Colin's arm.
"We could leave her...God knows she deserves far worse," he hissed.
They both turned to me and for half a moment I stood there considering the possibility of betraying Carah.
"Oh, but it wouldn't be just me you're leaving behind!" she held someone's face up to the bars.
"Penny!" I cried out.
She was clearly unconscious and her face and neck were badly bruised. There were puncture wounds on her throat and by the look of them the injuries were fairly recent.
"I'll kill you myself!" I lunged forward and seized the bars challengingly.
Just then the elevator rang out signaling that it had reached our floor and collectively we all whirled to face whatever threat would be stepping from the car as the doors slid back. All I saw was a blur as something or someone whizzed by us. Carah seemed to vanish as she flew back against the wall of her cell. Her door was ripped from its hinges and while we watched in fascinated horror we saw Daemon standing in the threshold. He raised his arm; there was a bright flash and a loud crack and before any of us could make any sense of what had happened Carah's lifeless body was kicked from the cell.
"Penny," I heard the agony in Daemon's voice. "Penny?" he called again.
I moved to the open doorway and looked in. "No!" I thought as Daemon gathered her up into his arms. I was sure she was gone but then I heard her moan and weakly mumble his name.
"She'll never make it," Avery thoughtlessly stated when he saw her. Without hesitation he opened a vein on his wrist and held it out to Daemon. "If you won't do it I will!" his voice cracked.
Daemon shook his head no but we all knew there was no way he could refuse Avery's offer. He met each of our eyes as if he was searching for approval. I reluctantly nodded yes and watched as Daemon knelt down and Avery moved to let the open wound weep past her parted lips. Drop after drop fell and for a moment it seemed like it was too late. She was lifeless in Daemon's arms but suddenly she gasped and her eyes went wide.
Her body went into a violent spasm then slowly shuddered into stillness. Afterwards Penny curled herself into Daemon's chest while he cried into her hair. It was incredible to witness, I thought I could actually see Avery's blood coursing through her and reanimating her body from the inside out. One moment she was weak, wounded and dying in Daemon's arms the next she was standing beside him confused but unblemished from head to toe.
When I looked at Avery he seemed to be trembling with grief and sorrow. I took his hand, "I'm sorry," I mumbled. He lowered his head, gave my hand a squeeze but didn't say anything other than, "We need to go!" he looked up and there wasn't a trace of whatever it was he had or had not been feeling. Then he motioned us all to hurry into the waiting car.
"I'll make sure you're not followed," Avery called to Daemon once we were all crowded in.
"No. Wait. No! Avery!" I cried out when I realized he wasn't coming with us.
"Aww, fuck! I'll stay, too!" Wyatt jumped out. "We'll see you topside!" his face was bright and confident.
Merry tried forcing her way out so she could stay with Wyatt but the doors slid closed before she could reach them. The elevator lurched slowly upwards. We made it several stories up but then the lights began to flicker and the car seemed to grind to a halt between two floors.
"Shit!" Colin cursed.
Then we heard someone hammering on the doors and trying to pry them open.
"We need to climb," Daemon lifted his eyes to the roof of the elevator and told us all to step back.
Together he and Colin jumped up, once, twice then finally they pounded enough of the ceiling open for Merry to squeeze through. One by one Colin and Daemon handed us up through the rough breach they had created while the elevator door was inched wider and wider. Ares was barking wildly and snapping his jaws through the narrow gap.
Evan was the last one Colin handed up before he urged Daemon to go next. Once Daemon was through it was just Colin and Ares left in the elevator. By then the door was wide enough that we could see out and down to the floor below.
"Colin, get Ares and get up here!" I screamed and even as I said it I knew there was no way he could get Ares and himself through the hole he and Daemon had made.
Colin glanced up and saluted us, "See you topside!" he mimicked Wyatt's voice and words then urged Ares to jump through the open doorway with him.
Merry seized me against my vehement protests and started climbing up the ropy wire that held the elevator in the shaft. Penny, followed directly behind us then Daemon with Evan on his back. As Merry carried us upwards I could hear the devastating ferocity of the fight below. I couldn't stop myself from crying as I strained my ears and heard the unmistakable sound of Ares being hurt over and over again.
It soon died away and I had no idea whether the fight was over or if we had just climbed out of my range of hearing. Then Merry suddenly stopped.
"Someone's coming down from above," she exclaimed.
"Go back!" Daemon said. "Two floors down - there's a ventilation shaft."
He loosened his grip and slid down while Penny and Merry did the same. Daemon took Evan's hands and swung him twice to get the right momentum then flung him into the duct. Merry chucked me in a second afterwards. Then Penny launched herself after us and was immediately followed by Merry.
"I'll hold them off! Don't look back and don't stop moving!" We all stared at Daemon in disbelief, unable to obey. "Go, God damn it! Go!"
Suddenly, all my hope faded and my mind went blank. I let Merry drag me away knowing it would be useless to fight and thinking that it wouldn't matter anyway. We would all be caught. We were all going to die. I had dragged nearly everyone I loved into a situation it was impossible for any of them to escape.
Minutes later, however, I found myself on the grassy plateau at the summit of the canyon. I had no idea how we had gotten there but Merry was dragging me to my feet and shaking me by the shoulders.
"Emily! Emily!"
I was consumed by my guilt. I shook my head trying to clear it. Something wasn't right.
"Snap out of it!" Merry slapped me.
My body recoiled and my mind slipped further away from me. I spun around and around. There was Evan, and Penny and Merry all watching me in confusion. I saw the faint outline for the hidden door that led down to Herrik's private elevator and instantly knew that that was where I needed to be. I started to walk away from them.
"What is she doing?" Evan yelled. He tried to come after me but only took a single step before his legs gave out and he fell to the ground.
Merry bent over and tried to help him back to his feet but she, too, found herself stumbling to the ground and unable to move. The door sprung open and as it did Penny collapsed as well. The three of them lay there staring up into the night sky while I
continued to walk towards the hidden chamber. Then a figure appeared slowly stepping up from the hidden doorway onto the grassy plain.
"Herrik!" my heart soared.
It took me a moment to realize that he wasn't alone. Freya moved from behind him, "Well," she breathed, "Daemon's little rebellion has failed and his attempt to save you and those," she pointed, "pitiful souls as well. It's over Emily. Come. Come to me and I'll let them live. Give me your life and I'll give you all of theirs!"
My eyes darted back and forth between Freya and Herrik. I glanced over my shoulder to where my brother, Penny and Merry were laying. My mind was immediately made up. I turned back, took a deep breath and resumed walking towards Freya and Herrik.
When I was just a step or two away from them, however, Artur's rich voice called out to me, "Emily! No!"
His voice seemed to be everywhere at once, echoing across the field. Freya fretfully searched for him but before she could locate him Artur was on her. Her efforts to defend herself released the hold she had on Evan and the others. Merry and Penny bound to their feet and were about to join the fray and help Artur but Herrik seized me.
"Interfere and she dies!"
He was touching me, holding me... "Oh," I sighed and opened my mind to him. I tried to show him how much I loved him, how much we had been through, that I hadn't forgotten and that I was a part of him, would always be a part of him.
He shuddered, momentarily releasing me. "Lies! You don't love me! You never loved me! You left me! You hated me! You think I'm a monster!"
The images flooded my mind.
Then you know how much I hate you!
Those were the very words I had used when he told me I wouldn't be able to leave Haeven.
"No," I cried. "I didn't mean it. It wasn't true. I...I didn't know...you..."
Don't...want...to be...like you...
Again my own words and they were echoing in my head and I couldn't escape them. His mind kept insisting that I was lying...that I never felt for him all that he felt for me. My voice, my words...they were torturing him and tormenting me. I felt all over again the horrific desperation I had felt when I first came to Haeven and realized that I couldn't live in such a strange, unnatural world.