Haeven (43 page)

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.