Haeven (37 page)

It was terribly unsettling and I was
desperate to escape the eeriness of everything that had just
happened. As I hurried toward the door Evan caught my eye. I shook
my head
no
hoping that he would somehow understand and not
come after me. He followed me outside though, and I tried to sound
convincing when he asked me what was wrong.

"Em, what happened? Why did you leave the
club?"

"Just not in the mood for dancing," I smiled
half-heartedly.

"Ah, come on, Em! There's obviously more to
it than that! Was it Miles? I can't imagine him..."

I shook my head, "No. It's not Miles. It's
me. I'm sorry, Evan. This just isn't me. I know you meant well
but...I've...I'm not...this is all so new to me. I can't
just..."

"Oh," he reached out and clutched my arms.
"Em! I'm so sorry. I guess I didn't think this through did I? 
I thought. God! You don't...yeah...just me and Mom and Dad...that's
all you know isn't it?" he pulled me close and hugged me. "I should
have made better plans for us. Wait here, I'll go get Sarah and
we'll take you back to the hotel."

"I can call a cab."

"No...aw...crap...no. You know I can't let
you do that."

"It's OK, Evan. Really. Go, spend some time
with your friends. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" and just as he asked me Sarah
strode up behind him and laid her chin on his
shoulder.  

"I thought the party was inside, not out,"
she nibbled Evan's ear.

He smiled and shivered as I watched him try
to hide his pleasure at her touch. "I was just saying goodbye to
Emily. She's not feeling well and is going to head back to the
hotel."

I opened my mouth to speak, utterly confused
at the sudden change in Evan's conviction that he needed to see me
safely back to my room.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Sarah cooed. "Would
you like me to drive you back?"

"No!" I cleared my throat. "No thank you.
I've already called a cab," I lied.

"Well, maybe we'll see each other tomorrow
then, and if not, some other time I'm sure."

"I'll look forward to it," I smiled first at
her then at Evan. "Goodnight."

He kissed my cheek, "Take care. Call me if
you need anything," he shouted as Sarah turned and led him
away.

I watched them for a moment while shaking my
head. I couldn't imagine what he saw in someone like her but I was
sure it couldn't have been anything more than the superficial. Once
they disappeared from view I asked the doorman if he knew of any
taxi services in the area.

"I'll call one for you...actually...why don't
you just take this one," and as he said it a cab pulled up to the
curb to drop off some patrons. The doorman bent down and asked if
he wouldn't mind another fare.

"Where to?" the driver leaned back and
questioned me through the open door.

I gave him the name of the hotel and the
street it was on.

Nodding he said, "Yep, I know it. Hop
in."

A moment later we were on our way. I didn't
realize it but in my mind I was replaying the events of the night.
I sighed more than once during the drive and I must have been very
expressive because eventually the driver glanced at me in his
mirror and asked, "Something on your mind?"

"Oh, no. Well, yes," I almost started to tell
him but then thought better of it. "It's nothing really," I mumbled
and slumped back against the seat. There was something about him
though and I couldn't keep myself from studying his reflection in
the mirror. He caught me more than once and when I realized what I
was doing I quickly apologized. "I'm sorry. I...you...you look
familiar."

He gave a little guffaw, "Do I?" There was
definitely something about him. "I get that a lot. Must just have
one of those faces."

I didn't want to press him and so I just
smiled and turned away. When we got to the hotel he quickly got out
of the car and hurried around to my door then let me out. I fished
around in my purse, "How much do I owe you?" I asked.

"Don't worry about it. You were my last fare
and your hotel was on my way. Have a good night," he called as he
slid back into the driver's seat.

"Huh!" I mumbled as I watched him pull away.
"Oh, well," I shrugged and made my way inside and up to my
room.

It was early but without anything to do I
decided I might as well go ahead and get ready for bed. When I was
done I sent a text to my mom and dad to let them know that all was
well and that after the long drive I was tired and decided to call
it a night. I tucked my phone away and propped myself up on the
pillows so I could watch a bit of TV.

After flipping through the channels once or
twice I settled on some sci-fi movie and put the remote aside. It
must not have been very engaging and before I realized that I was
drifting off I was asleep. Hours later I woke to someone gently
rapping on my door.

"Emily? Emily, are you awake?"

"Sarah?" I thought to myself and unable to
imagine why she would possibly be there I cautiously approached the
door and looked through the peephole just to be sure. It was
definitely her. "Is that you Sarah?" I asked even though I had
already verified the fact.

"Yeah. I'm sorry. Is Evan in there with
you?"

My heart skipped a beat as I suddenly
realized that something must be very wrong if she didn't know where
he was. I unbolted the door and let her in. "Evan's not here," I
confessed.

She was disheveled and looked as though she
may have been crying. When she stepped into the room she peeked in
the doorway to the bathroom and closet as though she were assuring
herself that what I said was true and that Evan wasn't with me.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Yes. Yes indeed what happened," Sarah went
to the door and deftly bolted it. She whirled to face me, her
expression vastly different than it was a moment ago. "Ah, Emily,"
she leaned her weight against the door and crossed her arms in
front of her chest. "How long has it been now? A year? More?"

I shook my head nervously, "I don't know what
you're talking about. Why are you here and what happened to Evan?"
I demanded. My thoughts went into a flurry of activity and couldn't
settle on any one particular concern as she eyed me from across the
room.

"Aww, he's quite a doll that one," she
smiled. "Don't worry, Evan's fine. I don't have quite the resources
that Herrik had, but I'll be sure to take good care of him for you
once I've settled things with Freya."

"Did you hurt him? What did you do to
Evan?!"

"Nothing that he wouldn't beg me to do to
him...over and over and over again!" she laughed.

I grabbed the first thing I could reach and
threw it at her head. To my amazement she seemed to disappear
before it even left my hand. I watched the remote strike the door
then fall uselessly onto the carpet.

"Tsk, tsk. That is no way to treat and old
friend!" Sarah called from behind me.

"Oh, God!" I cried out.

"God can't help you now!" she bellowed.
Instinct told me to run but as soon as I tried to move Sarah seized
me and forced me to my knees. "You can't imagine what it's like out
there! Freya has been searching high and low, picking us off one by
one. She won't stop! She'll never stop until she's killed us all.
But maybe she would for you. If I bring you to her, if I give her
the one thing that will break Herrik and bind him to her
forever!"

I watched in horrified disbelief as Sarah
grabbed my face in her hands and her eyes bore into mine. She
leaned down closer and closer. I saw her lips curl back and the
vicious flash of her teeth just before she sunk them into my
neck.

I closed my eyes. There was a faint click. I
thought I heard the door swing open then close abruptly.

"Let her go!"

I fell to the floor in a heap. Dizzily I
clawed at the bedspread and pulled myself up. My gaze fell on Sarah
first.

"No!" I scrambled away. "No! NO! It can't
be!" I turned towards the doorway and nearly fainted from the
weight of all the memories that were assaulting me but I felt Avery
bolstering me with his sensory gifts.

"Come, Emily," he held his hand out to
me.

"Yes, go to him Emily, unless, of course, you
ever want to see your brother again!"

I looked from one to the other.

"She's bluffing," he said.

"Am I?"

I didn't think she was.

"Do whatever you want to me Carah but please,
please don't hurt Evan!" I took a step towards her and she smiled
victoriously.

"Damn it!" Avery cried and lunged for me.

He threw his arms around me and ran us
towards the door. It gave way as he rammed his shoulder into it and
we crashed through the hallway into the wall opposite my door. The
impact made a huge divot in the plaster but Avery quickly recovered
himself and tossing me over his shoulder bolted for the stairwell.
He jumped over the rail and we plummeted all the way down to the
main floor.

The jolt from the landing knocked the wind
from me and all I could do was lay limply over his shoulder as he
raced us through the lobby. Suddenly we were outside and he was
stuffing me into the backseat of the cab he had dropped me off in
just a few short hours ago. He gunned the engine just as Carah came
running out of the hotel. Her fist came down on the truck but she
couldn't hold on. In a few short moments she was nothing but a
pinprick in the distance.

"Did we lose her?" I gulped and nodded at his
reflection in the mirror while a steady stream of tears slid down
my cheeks. Avery's eyes filled with pity, "Sleep," he whispered. I
tried to fight his mental command but I hadn't needed to use the
trick Herrik had taught me for so long that my natural guards were
too weak to resist. My head lolled and my body slumped sideways
down the back of the seat and I fell sound asleep.

My fingers twitched as I woke and I quickly
came to when I realized that someone was holding my hand.

"Evan?" I blinked.

"Ssh, Emily. No. It's Avery."

"Avery!" I tried to sit up too fast and my
head protested with a violent stab of pain.

"I'm sorry. I know it hurts. You should know
better than to resist," I could hear a faint smile in his
voice.

I cautiously opened my eyes. "Where are
we?"

"Just somewhere safe," he stroked my forehead
and some of the pain and tension eased up, "for now," he added. "I
need to take you home soon. We'll wait until you feel a little
stronger then once I can get Artur's blocks back in place..."

"What?" I swatted his hand away. "No!" I
shook my head and winced. "How could you even suggest that? I won't
go! Not this time! I need to find Evan. I need to see Herrik. I
need to..."

"You can't Emily. It's too late. Maybe not
for Evan but for Herrik...he's not the man you remember. Not
anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"I can find Evan for you. Carah may be a
formidable tracker but she is lazy when it comes to her own
concealment. It shouldn't take more than a night or two."

"Let me help you!" I clutched at his hand,
"Then together we can all find a way to help Herrik!"

"We?! Emily, there is no
we
anymore!
They're gone! Every single one of them is gone, including
Herrik!"

"What do you mean gone?!" for a moment I
thought the unimaginable.

Avery took a deep breath, "I cannot tell you
everything but from what I understand Freya has...she's made Herrik
take the pledge...she drained every last drop from him and replaced
it with her own. Herrik is hers and with him every vampire that
ever pledged themselves to him!"

I covered my mouth and gasped, "No...no that
can't be possible!" I studied Avery's expression and my heart sank.
"But how are you here then?"

"Artur." Avery shared the images of his
experience with me and watched the understanding unfold on my face.
"Yes, Emily. I am bound to him and he gave me but one command and
it cannot be broken."

"Me?" I suddenly remembered the incident on
the greenway.

"You."

"But what if...there must be some way...Where
is Artur?"

"I don't know. He...I wasn't strong enough.
There was no one to undo Herrik's pledge for him. I...I think he
may have taken his own," Avery cleared his throat, "and even if he
is still alive it is beyond hope that he could help us. Not as long
as Freya lives."

I sat there for an endless moment considering
everything that I had just learned.

"Daemon!"

"What?"

"Daemon! He never took the pledge. Herrik
wouldn't let him."

"That's impossible."

"No. It's not Herrik told me himself."

"But we...all...saw...Good God!" Avery stood
up and began pacing back and forth as he considered what Herrik
must have done and the possibility of my words being true. "You're
sure? Are you absolutely sure?"

"Yes. Herrik wouldn't have lied to me, not
about something like that."

"Daemon."

"Daemon."

"No one has seen or heard from him for years.
Not since..."

My fingers flew to my neck but the object I
was looking for wasn't there. "She must have it!"

"Who? Have what?"

"Daemon's charm. He gave it to me the night
he left the compound. He told me it was his blood and that if I
drank it and called to him he would come to me!"

"Where is it?"

"It's either at the hotel or...or Carah has
it," I reluctantly admitted.

"Well, that's that then. It's too dangerous
to take you back to the hotel. I'll find Carah and make sure that
Evan is returned home safely."

"But..."

"I only have one objective. I'm sorry Emily,"
he reached out and before I could stop him the world went
black.

Later that evening I found myself pulling
into the driveway at home, my head full of all the good times Evan
and I had shared over the weekend. Ares was at my window as soon as
I could bring the car to a stop. I was just as anxious to see him
as he was to see me and after I managed to urge the door wide
enough I squeezed out and hugged him close.