Haeven (42 page)

I tried hard not to think about my
circumstances. There was nothing I could do to prevent Finn from
following through with his intentions. I had told Daemon that Freya
would not kill me right away, that she would need to gloat, and all
I could do was pray that I was right.

"Oh, Herrik!" my mind whispered, "How has it
come to this? If there is anything left of you, if you can hear
me," I found myself concentrating, "I want you to know that no
matter what happens I still love you."

I saw the gates rising up and was surprised
by the number of guards stationed in front of them. It all looked
so different than what I remembered. The foliage had not been
cleared away and the new growth seemed just about to overwhelm the
narrow road that led into the garage.

"Say one word and I will end this now,
understood?"

I nodded.

Finn pulled to a stop in front of the guards.
Though there was some light filtering through from the garage it
was too dim to make out any details. I wondered who the guards were
and if I happened to know any of them or if they would recognize
me. I kept waiting for something to go wrong, for Finn's plan to
prove utterly in vain. Nothing unexpected happened though. After a
brief conversation with one of the guards explaining who he was and
what he was doing there Finn was told to wait while they verified
what they should do.

Several minutes later the gates slid back and
we were waved on through. Finn was directed to a parking space near
the elevator and there were two guards waiting there presumably to
take us to Freya. It was strange being in the compound again. It
should have been a happy occasion for me to see my adopted home
again as well as some of the friends and acquaintances I knew
there. Then there was the possibility of seeing Herrik.

I was so nervous by the idea and excited by
it, too. I couldn't help smiling and giddily looked from first one
then to the other of the guards. For a moment I thought I
recognized the second and that he flashed a brief grin back at me
but my heart assured me that I must have been mistaken.

We rode in silence all the way down to the
garden level where Herrik's and my old apartments were. The first
of the guards took me by the elbow and the second nudged Finn in
the direction we were supposed to go. As I expected we were led
down the hallway towards Herrik's apartment.

I looked around anxious to see all my
favorite and familiar things but I was disappointed to find that it
was all slowly going to ruin. The floors that once gleamed were
dull and dirty and so were the chairs, tables and other accent
pieces along the way. They all seemed to be resting under a thick
layer of dust and littered with various bits of debris.

The once brightly lit hallway was dreary as
well. It seemed as though no one bothered to replace the bulbs if
they happened to blow out and the ones that still worked cast an
eerie rather than a welcoming glow. The offices and common rooms
were all dark but I imagined them to be in similar disrepair.

My face fell as I took it all in, it was
absolutely heartbreaking to see all the majesty of Haeven veiled
beneath a layer of filth. Though I feared the worst for the garden
and vowed not to look as we went by I couldn't help turning my eyes
towards it. It was certainly no longer the lush, inviting and
well-manicured retreat it had once been. Now it looked like a
chaotic jungle of untamed growth.

As we neared the door to Herrik's apartment I
quickly remembered why I was there and all my sadness turned to
fear. There was a keypad outside the door which had not been there
before. One of the guards pressed the buzzer to let whoever was
beyond know that we were there and seconds later the latch clicked
and the door was shoved wide.

I was again overcome by the dilapidation but
the guards were suddenly as anxious as I was and they hurried us
towards the council chamber. It wasn't hard to imagine why and I
quickly guessed that they feared their new mistress as much as I
did. They probably couldn't wait to be done their duty and escape
her presence.

Once we were in the council chamber I noticed
that the magnificent oval table had been removed and in its place a
make-shift dais had been set up with one of Herrik's antique wing
chairs as the centerpiece and various plants and vases hemming it
in to make it look as though it was some sort of throne. There was
a long oriental style runner leading up to it with four armed
guards, two on either side of the carpet and sitting in the chair
was Freya. To her right and standing a foot or so behind her was
Herrik.

I tried to stand my ground and so did Finn,
suddenly realizing that I might indeed have been right and he
hadn't thought things through well enough. The guards forced us
forward as Freya gazed down at us from her perch. Her expression
was absolutely unreadable. I had expected to see her triumph
clearly written but if it was there it was indistinguishable.
Trembling I gazed up at Herrik but he just stood there like an
imposing statue devoid of life, devoid of emotion.

Freya cocked her head at me and smiled. I
didn't know what to make of it until she glanced over her shoulder
and someone stepped out of the shadows to stand in the empty space
to her left.

"Welcome home, Emily," Artur said. "We've
missed you."

I didn't want to believe it! It couldn't have
been possible. Avery and Daemon and the others had been so sure
that they knew where Artur was but they must have been wrong. "How
could they have been wrong?" I wondered. "Or...oh, no...did they
find him..." I glanced up at Artur, "could he have known they were
coming for him? Was he waiting? Did he kill them?" my thoughts came
one after another.

There was no way for me to know. After he
came forward and spoke Artur just stood there, very much like
Herrik, expressionless, emotionless.

My disbelief must have been clearly written
in my face, "You look surprised and a touch...disappointed," Freya
stood up.

She slowly moved towards me and though my
impulse was to run and hide I was paralyzed. I couldn't turn myself
or even just my gaze away I was so stricken by her as she
approached. When she was near enough Freya took my chin in the tips
of her fingers and peered into my eyes. Instantly, instinctively I
tried to cover up everything I was thinking.

"Still up to your old tricks, huh? No
matter...I could have your thoughts if I wanted them," she bared
her fangs at me challengingly. "However, I don't think there is any
chance you could cause much harm at this point," she looked
meaningfully at the marks Finn had left on my neck then turned
confidently from Artur to Herrik, "since you are so sorely at a
loss for friends and allies."

She seemed to frown as she gazed at Herrik
and I wondered if they shared some secret exchange or if she was
simply trying to get a sense of whatever it was he may have been
thinking or feeling. After taking a deep breath she lifted her chin
and turned her gaze on Finn.

"What was it you wanted in return for
bringing me this sweet gift?" her smile was full of false
charm.

"D...Davit," Finn mumbled. "I want you
to..."

Freya interrupted him before he could finish,
"Oh, yes...Davit," she motioned to one of the guards who hurried
off.

Finn tried to speak again but Freya held her
hand up and his mouth snapped shut.

There were several moments of confusion as we
waited for Freya to make whatever point she was trying to make.
While she was distracted by Finn I looked longingly from Artur to
Herrik and wished there was some way to break whatever hold Freya
apparently had on each of them. I couldn't keep my eyes on Herrik
for very long for fear that I would have an uncontrollable
emotional outburst and in desperation launch myself at him heedless
of the consequences.

But Artur.

The longer I looked at him the less he
appeared like Herrik. He didn't have the same aura of stupefaction
that Herrik seemed to have and as soon as the thought crossed my
mind his eyes seemed to twinkle with mirth in the dim light.

"I'm delusional!" I thought.

Then we heard the guard Freya had sent off
returning and the foolish hope I had just had was completely
forgotten when I realized he had someone with him. There was a
great deal of protest and cursing as he approached and while I
strained my eyes and ears I quickly learned why. He and another
guard each had a hold of Davit's feet and they were dragging Davit
along behind them. His hands were bound with thick shackles that
had vicious little barbs wrought into the cuffs and despite the
obvious pain and discomfort he felt Davit fought them every step of
the way.

"Fucking cowards!" he bellowed. "Take these
off and I'll show you what I think of your shit-forsaken little
coven of whore-worshippers!"

Freya shook her head disappointedly, "Stand
him up."

As soon as he was on his feet Davit caught
sight of Finn. "You! You son of a bitch!" he lunged away from the
guards and tried to wrap his chains around Finn's neck. "I trusted
you! I loved you! How could you betray us all like this! You
worthless piece of shit!"

Finn opened his mouth to explain but Davit
launched a projectile of spittle at him. Tearful and ashamed Finn
turned away as the barrage of insults continued.

"Enough!" Freya commanded. "Why don't you two
run along and settle your lover’s quarrel in private?"

As soon as the words were out of her mouth
two new guards seized Finn and before he could fight himself free,
he, too, found himself shackled. Then Davit and Finn had their
knees knocked out from under them and they both left the same way
Davit had come. I felt a spasm of satisfaction knowing I had been
right about Freya and that she had no intention of striking any
deals of honor.

"Now, then," Freya sighed melodramatically as
she played at being exhausted from her confrontation with Finn.
"We've had quite a few unexpected guests these past two nights and
Herrik and I are finding that we are sorely at a loss for ideas as
to how to entertain them all. Though," she eyed Herrik
appreciatively and I felt my stomach turning with anger and
revulsion, "we don't seem to have any trouble entertaining one
another."

Dazedly he took a step towards her then
another. On the third he appeared to stumble and I saw a flash of
anger raging in Freya's eyes. Then Herrik slowly, "Reluctantly," I
wondered, knelt down in front of her. She took his face in her
hands and he gazed up at her longingly. Herrik seemed to have no
will but Freya's and when she pressed her lips to his he wrapped
his arms around her waist and passionately kissed her back.

Freya pulled away and when she did Herrik
laid his head against her thigh while she stroked his hair as
though she was comforting a lost child. It was devastating to
witness and I felt my insides crumbling when I realized the depth
of the power she held over him.

"Herrik?!" I whispered in heartbreak and
disbelief, his name coming out in an airy tremor.

"Now what was I saying...ah,
yes...entertaining. Carah...Davit...Finn...Evan...hmm...who else? I
seem to have forgotten though I'm sure there was someone else...a
Mary or some other horrid name of the sort. She was with a striking
fellow named..."

"Wyatt," Artur offered.

"Yes, that's it!" she glanced over her
shoulder, "Thank you, Artur. Anyway, Herrik and I," she gazed
lovingly down at him, "would like to know if we should expect
anyone else to drop on by. It would be a pity if we were to make
plans and for anyone to be left out."

"There's no one else," I mumbled.

"Are you sure?"

Herrik lifted his eyes to mine. It was the
first time he had looked at me since I was brought to the council
chamber. I felt like he was imploring me but whether it was to say
something or to say nothing I honestly didn't know.

"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.