Haeven (27 page)

“Daemon,” I don’t know why but his name
popped into my head and I couldn’t shake the idea that Avery
believed that Penny was in love with Herrik’s son.  The more I
considered it the more likely it seemed.  If they were openly
lovers that would explain why Herrik was so determined to spare her
all those years ago at Jesse’s judgment.  He might have done
it for Daemon’s sake and not for mine.  And Herrik would have
had intimate knowledge of Penny and the kind of person she
was.  He wouldn’t have trusted her to look after me if he
didn’t.

“I didn’t mean to tell you so much. 
Actually, none of this is what I wanted to talk about.”

“Oh,” I was puzzled by the sudden change in
Avery’s tone and expression.

“I think you were right.  I think...”
Avery took a deep breath and lowered his voice, “I think Carah
tried to kill Herrik.”

“I…I…” I was in shock and couldn’t imagine
why Avery would suspect Carah just as much as I did.

“Herrik is waiting for us.  But you…you
and I we need to talk…soon.”

“Yes!  Yes!” I nodded
enthusiastically.

“Herrik will be busy with Artur all
day.  I’m sure of it.  Send Penny out for something…food,
clothes, whatever you can think of that will buy us the most time
and I will come by as soon as Herrik can spare me.”

I readily agreed to what he was
suggesting.  He gave me a brief moment to collect myself so I
wouldn’t arouse Herrik’s suspicion if I walked in looking as
agitated and on edge as I was.  A minute or two later Avery
led me through the door to Herrik’s apartment where we found him,
Carah and Artur all anxiously awaiting our arrival.  

Herrik immediately stood up and came to me,
“Good. You’re here!” he took my hands and kissed my cheeks.

I was completely flustered. I wasn’t
expecting him to be so openly affectionate in front of everyone,
especially Carah knowing how distasteful it must have been for her
to see Herrik with me. I looked confusedly from one to the next to
the next as Herrik led me to the chaise and sat down beside me.
Artur gave me a warm encouraging smile, Avery seemed utterly
indifferent and Carah…I couldn’t put a finger on it.

“Smug?” I asked myself. Carah seemed oddly
pleased with the fact that Herrik wanted everyone to know exactly
where I stood in his eyes.

“Well, you are all aware of why you are here
so I won’t go over it again. What we need to do now is try to find
out who and why. Emily, you and Avery were the only ones who might
have seen anything other than myself. If you’re both willing I
would like to share your perspectives with you.”

“Of course,” Avery nodded. He stood up and
took Herrik’s hand.

Carah and Artur stood up as well. Artur
clasped Avery’s hand on one side and Carah’s on the other while
Herrik grasped mine. Carah stood to my right and stretched her
fingers towards me to complete the circle. I tried to hide the
revolt I felt from having to touch her then cautiously took her
hand in mine. I felt dizzy at first, so many images were happening
all at once and I think there may have been some small part of me
that reflexively resisted sharing my thoughts with the others.
Herrik was there, though, and feeling his reassuring presence
allowed me to relax enough to open up my mind to him and the rest
of the group.

He carefully obscured my most recent and
prominent memories and avoided all the personal sentiments that
were at the forefront of my mind then searched for the moment just
after we left the theater. We were walking and talking, slowly
making our way to the car. The scene changed slightly and it was a
new and odd perspective, a rooftop perhaps. That must have been
Avery’s view. He was too far away to see anything in any great
detail. Then I saw myself running away and knew that was from
Herrik’s perspective. When he forced me to face him it switched
again and I realized that it was my eyes everyone was seeing
through.

“Huh!” I sucked in my breath, “How did I not
notice that? It must have been when Herrik tried to convince me
that it was time for me to go home. I wasn’t thinking clearly and
then he fell and I…I…saw
him
running away. Not the gunman, I
didn’t recognize him and he was dead anyway – Avery had made sure
of that.”

“Jesse,” Herrik nodded and slowly withdrew
from all of our thoughts.

“Well, that explains a great deal,” Carah
grumbled.

“And leaves a lot of unanswered questions,”
Artur added.

“But it’s a good starting point,” Herrik
affirmed.

“I…I…” I wanted to say something but wasn’t
sure what. There was something still missing, something not quite
right about what we all just witnessed.

Herrik looked at me full of concern, “What’s
wrong? Does it hurt? It can be painful sometimes, especially if you
resist.”

I shook my head as if to clear it, “No. I’m
fine,” I laid my hand on his thigh and gave him a reassuring
squeeze.

I couldn’t stop thinking about it though,
that wrongness with what we had all seen. Herrik and the others
were talking about discrete ways to interrogate the residents of
the upper levels without raising any suspicions. They wondered if
any of his old friends still resided there in the compound and if
Jesse’s memories might have somehow been restored. Perhaps he had
come across one of his old bandmates and convinced them to help him
get his revenge.

Herrik was quiet but Carah, Avery and Artur
were all presenting theories one after the other. I tried to listen
but I was too busy trying to puzzle through my misgivings. Herrik
held his hand up and the others quieted down, “Are you sure you’re
alright, Emily. I glanced up and happened to catch Avery’s eye
before I turned to Herrik, “I’m fi…” I started to say then I let
out a hefty sigh thinking that if I could get away it might give
Avery and I a chance to speak and that he might be able to help
clear up the confusion about the images we had all just shared,
“well, maybe I am a little uncomfortable.”

“Do you want to lie down for a bit? You can
rest here if you like,” Herrik suggested.

“No, I promised Penny I would have lunch
with her today. Maybe if I head back I can get some fresh air along
the way and clear my head. I really don’t want to disappoint her
again.”

Herrik smiled, “Penny’s going to have to get
used to disappointment,” his voice echoed in my thoughts unheard by
anyone else. He took my hand and walked me a few steps away from
the group, “I’ll come by once we’re done here,” he kissed me
goodbye and as I left he made his way back to the others.

I took my time walking home thinking all the
while what errand I could send Penny on that would give Avery
enough of an opportunity to come talk to me.

“Food, clothes,” Avery had suggested,
“Lingerie?” I giggled. It seemed like a viable and a worthwhile
endeavor.

When I got home I found Penny folding
laundry in her room, “You’re back early,” she said.

“Yeah, Artur just wanted to know what I
thought of the opera last night. We’ve been studying Greek
tragedies and he was curious about the types of comparisons I would
be able to make. Honestly,” I chuckled, “I hadn’t really thought
about it until he asked. I just enjoyed the performance and the
time I spent with Herrik. I didn’t realize Artur would consider it
an educational outing.”

“He would,” Penny smiled back. “So what are
your plans now?”

I yawned and stretched, “I think I might go
lie down for a bit.”

“Ah,” Penny nodded, her expression implying
that she knew very well why I wasn’t feeling rested.

I wasn’t sure how to introduce the topic I
chose for sending her out and stood in the doorway biting my lip
while trying to come up with a way to ask.

“Is there something wrong?” Penny picked up
one of her camisoles from the stack of clean laundry she was
working on.

I looked up, “No,” I mumbled then “oh,
that’s pretty,” I said and took a few steps forward so I could get
a better look. “I wonder if…” I pretended to be too embarrassed to
finish the thought.

“Wonder what?”

“If…Herrik would like something like this,”
I couldn’t help blushing as I thought about him and about all that
we had so recently shared.

“I’m sure he would,” Penny brightened at my
reluctant boldness. She came and laid a hand on arm, “You shouldn’t
be so embarrassed by what you’re feeling. It’s perfectly natural,
especially when it’s so new. It’s exciting and probably all you can
think about. He’s…he’s a good man, Emily. I couldn’t imagine you
with anyone less.”

“I know. Really I do. Thank you, Penny,” I
sighed deeply, “I wish everyone wasn’t so busy. I’m sure Herrik
would let us go out together if Avery was free and could come with
us. Oh, well,” I started to turn away.

Penny’s natural goodwill took over and she
quickly made her offer, “I could go out for you.”

“Really?” I whirled back. I didn’t have to
feign my excitement.

“Sure. I have a few things I’d like to get
for myself and today is just as good as any other to get them.”

“Oh! Thank you! Thank you!” I gleefully
hugged her.

“It’s no problem, really. Just let me finish
this up and I’ll head on out.”

“That was too easy,” I thought to myself and
feeling guilty I offered to help. There wasn’t much left by the
time we finished our conversation and when I yawned again Penny
reminded me of my intentions.

“Weren’t you going to lie down?”

“Soon,” I said then I asked her if there was
anything she wanted me to do around the apartment while she was
gone. She said she couldn’t think of anything then smiling she
brusquely shooed me away. I went to my room and after closing the
door quickly realized that I was just as tired as I pretended to
be. I stretched out on my bed and closed my eyes hoping to get a
little rest before Penny left and Avery arrived.

I knew he would try to come as soon as
possible but would wait until he was sure Penny was gone before
letting me know he was there to talk to me. It didn’t take long for
me to doze off and I slept so soundly I didn’t hear my buzzer when
it rang. I didn’t hear Carah when she came into the apartment
either or when she opened the door to my bedroom. I must have been
utterly exhausted from the emotional overload I was under and when
she came to the bed and brushed the hair back from my forehead I
just smiled happily imagining that it was Herrik standing beside my
bed trying to wake me.

“Herrik,” I said dreamily.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you,” Carah
apologized. Hearing her voice and not the one I expected abruptly
brought me to wakefulness.

“Carah!” I cried out sitting up and
clutching my blankets to my chest.

“Yes, Emily. It’s me. It was me!” her voice
whispered harshly.

Frowning and full of wonder I started to ask
why but in my hazy, half-wake state I suddenly realized that she
was holding me in that dreadful mental paralysis similar to what
Avery was so adept at. I tried to break free but I was so full of
fear that I couldn’t shake her. I tried to cry out for help but she
seemed to have control of my voice as well. I couldn’t move,
couldn’t scream. All I could do was stare blankly at her as I tried
to figure out what she was doing and why.

“That bullet was meant for you, Emily!”

“Me?”

“Herrik would have had no choice but to try
and heal you! I knew he was in love with you! He would have broken
every one of his own laws to keep you alive. Then I could have
brought him before the council and that would have been that!
Herrik’s little
haven
would have been mine. God, how I would
have loved to have pulled that trigger myself! With you gone and
Jesse to blame I could have turned them all against having your
kind here!” Carah took a deep breath, “But I guess Freya was right
when she insisted that I limit my involvement.”

“Freya?”

“Well, there’s no help for it now,” Carah
seemed to be bolstering herself for whatever it was she was
planning to do. Then suddenly she latched on and for a fleeting
moment I knew exactly what her intentions were.

“I need his secrets, Emily,” her mind seemed
to say. “I need to know all of Herrik’s secrets and you’re just the
one to tell them to me!”

I desperately tried to hang onto them, to
cloak my thoughts the way Herrik had taught me. Carah was too
strong though. I saw them slipping across my mind’s eye and Carah
was drawing them away from me and into herself. I felt my soul
crying out to her, “Stop, please stop! You love Herrik! I know you
do! How could you do this to him?!”

Then I understood. He had rejected her, more
than once. When she finally realized that she would never, could
never have him she decided to take the compound as her revenge.
What I couldn’t understand was how she thought killing me and
destroying Herrik would give her what she wanted. No one would ever
follow her once they realized what she had done.

“They’ll never know. No one will ever know,”
Carah insisted. “Besides I’m not going to kill you. You’re my
insurance. Once I show the council what Herrik has done…all the
laws that he has broken…the very laws that he himself made and
insisted we follow…he’ll confess if he thinks they’ll spare you.
And then it will be over…it will all be over!”

“No!” I shouted finally breaking free from
her. I tried to open my mind to Herrik to call out to him but Carah
was too fast. Her right hand flashed out and seized my face. I
couldn’t break free from her gaze and I felt it all crumbling in my
mind. Everything she had done, everything that had just happened
was swept away. My head lolled, my eyes rolled and I fell
lifelessly back onto the bed.

Carah checked my pulse, laid her palm on my
forehead searchingly and once she was satisfied tucked me beneath
the covers and made sure there was absolutely no indication that
she had ever been there.