Chapter 44 Hector
HECTOR
Granted, I had left room for error in my plan, but having my head whacked was very bottom on my list of possibilities. So when I came around, blinking away a heavy fog that seemed to sit behind my sensitive eyes, I felt pretty pissed off.
“I’ve checked the wound,” a calm voice said across from where I was sat. “It’s nothing serious. No stitches needed, at most a doctor might prescribe a couple of pain killers and tell you to get some rest.”
Verena was still sat against the wall I’d last seen her by. It was a relief that I’d not lost her when I was attacked from the back. At least my plan wasn’t completely foiled.
“How long have I been out for?” I grumbled, my mouth feeling as dirty and dry as the bottom of a bird cage.
“I’d say a few hours. Well rested. Now, keep your eyes open and keep talking. It’s not worth the risk playing with a possible concussion,” she replied.
I blinked away my grogginess, trying to separate the pain into a distant part of my mind. Looking up, I pinned my eyes on Verena. Relief unfurled within me like a rose to bloom to see her.
Verena leaned over her raised knees, chin rested on them as she hugged her legs to her chest with firm, unwavering arms. “He’ll be back soon,” she said.
“Good,” I replied, keeping my voice as chipper and light as I could muster.
There was barely any room between us. Apparently Tomin hadn’t felt the need to move me once he knocked me out, because we were still in the dim-lit cabin.
It took me a moment to realise the need for his action.
It was to get me secure; thick chains had been cuffed around both of my feet.
I blinked away dust and salt as I trailed the chains up to a rusted-looking bolt on the wall above me.
“Chains have always excited Tomin,” Verena said, noticing the shifting of my attention. “I would say it was his speciality. Thanks to the last trial, he struggled. His hands have not healed… nor have mine.” She lifted her broken fingers, the skin an off colour as the digits bent to an awkward side.
“You should really do something about that,” I said, finding conversation hard.
How or what could I possibly say to the mother of my best friend…
My eyes snapped to the singular door in the tiny cabin. It was closed. It didn’t quite fit the frame so I could see beyond it, enough to know it was raining heavily outside. A puddle was growing, spreading across the wooden floor and staining it a muddy brown.
“When will he come back?” I asked. “How long?”
Verena shrugged, her eyes never leaving me.
“That would depend. He comes and goes. Don’t bother asking me where to exactly, because I don’t know.
Since my stunt the first night of the trials, he’s kept me at a distance.
Distrust is a poison in Tomin’s eyes. Once it takes root, there’s never a chance of hoping to cure it.
The only thing keeping me alive is his need for me, thank Hekate. ”
My sore head raced to make sense of what potential outcomes I had missed.
Tomin had been here, knocked me out and tied me up.
It had been hours since, so there was no telling if my coven were coming after us.
I had to hope that Kai was sticking to his part of our plan.
The verdict was, I didn’t have long to act.
My free hands started patting my pockets, delving into them in search of something.
“I’ve already checked you over, Hector. Whatever you brought with you, Tomin now considers himself the owner of.”
Verena was right. When I found my pockets empty, I smiled wider.
“Now that’s the best news I’ve heard all day,” I muttered, heart beating slightly too fast in my chest.
“It was foolish of you to come,” Verena said with an ounce of motherly condemning. “You know that, don’t you?”
“Of course I do,” I said, jutting my chin as my confidence returned. “Foolish on whose behalf is yet to be determined, though. Foolishness is exactly why I came.”
Her deep eyes narrowed on me. It hit me just how much her eyes looked like the jewels set into Romy’s face. Bathed in the light of a singular orange bulb, there was no denying the truth anymore.
Verena must’ve read my mind, because her expression softened as the barriers came down, and pain was let in. “How… how is she?”
“Your daughter?” I asked as if I really was the fool.
“Oh, you know. Furious. Confused. Focused. Intelligent. Capable. Brilliant. All the things she was before your little revelation was spilled out before her.” I leaned forwards as much as my chains allowed.
“Romy’s the sunshine, and the moon. She’s light incarnate.
And she doesn’t deserve to be hurt by anyone. Especially not you. Am I clear?”
“Crystal.” Verena blinked, eyes glistening slightly more than they had a moment before. “I had always hoped as much. I’ve only ever wanted the best for her.”
It took great focus not to let her reply crack my soul in two. Having a focus, something so intense as the secret plan I carried, was enough to keep my emotions at bay. “Verena, I do understand.”
Her brows quivered. “How could you possibly…”
“I said I understand,” I repeated, firmly.
“That doesn’t mean that Romy does. Not yet.
I may not have played the game of life the way you have, but I can see that your intentions towards her are pure.
I mean, how can they not be? But it’s going to take a lot of time to stitch the wounds between you.
Blood is thick and all, but time really is the gaping wound we all fear it can be.
Be patient with Romy. Let her come round to the idea that her mother is alive, and has been this entire time. ”
A flush crept across Verena’s cheeks, exaggerating the warmth of her skin. I felt, for just a moment, that she looked at me differently. Perhaps it was the tilt of her head, or the inquisitive gleam in her eyes. “You remind me a lot of her, you know.”
“Who?” I asked.
“Your mother. Heather.”
Hearing her name spoken aloud was a medicine to my soul. In a way, I wanted to demand Verena say it over and over, just to recognise that she’d existed.
Instead, I swallowed a stone, a thick and bulbous stone of sudden grief. “You knew her?”
“Romy isn’t the only person who can be described with the impressive nature of a planet, Hector Briar. Heather was someone you gravitated towards. She was someone the world gravitated around. Not only when she became Grand High, but long before that.”
It took everything in me to steel my expression, but I failed. I felt the muscles in my forehead tense, and my lips draw tight into a line. “I didn’t realise you knew her.”
“Because the moment you became aware of me, I was dead to the world, right?” Verena asked.
I nodded.
“Heather was determined. She was clever. But she was also sly. Serpent, we used to call her. ‘As slippery as a serpent whose scales are slick with melted sugar’. Her smile was so impressive, it distracted the recipient from the sharp teeth she had hiding behind her upturned lips. And before you ask, this isn’t me bashing your mother. I was… in awe of her.”
My reason for being in this cabin, the plan that smashed on my skull in determination not to be forgotten, all but faded to the wayside. “It’s not often I get to hear people talk about her.”
“That’s because she was so incredible that words could barely do her justice.”
I shrugged, looking down at my nails for something else to do. “Or because death is such a frightening concept that people are worried that even remotely referring to it will bring the same shadow over them.”
“Cowards, the lot of them.” Verena got comfortable, letting her legs fall in front of her until she sat like a discarded doll. “You don’t strike me as someone scared of a little death, Hector Briar. Is that assumption correct?”
“I welcome it,” I lied.
That fact used to be true, but nowadays not so much. I supposed I had found something to live for… people to live for.
“Which brings us to why you are here,” Verena said, directing the conversation back onto a comfortable path.
“I watched Tomin empty your pockets. Not a single weapon on you. Not that it’s too surprising, considering you’re pretty adept with your old magic now.
Unless that piece of paper he took out of your pocket was a well-written plea that you hoped would soften Tomin’s blackened heart… ”
Being reminded that Tomin was in possession of the paper made me smile a toothy grin. “I hope he treasures it. Keeps it close.”
“That man treasures nothing more than his own desires in life. Tomin, a little bit like you, he doesn’t fear death either.
He thirsts for it. Odd, isn’t it. How simple life would be if Tomin finally got his wish and died.
Except, reading between the lines, I think you’ve worked out that that wouldn’t exactly be true. ”
My smile only grew wider. “I don’t think you need to worry about that anymore.”
“Which brings us back to why you are here?”
I focused on my inner voice, calling out through the tether in my mind. “Emon, you can come out now.”
Once the link between me and the demon was opened, his grumblings came rushing out. “I have waited for what feels like a lifetime for that order. Next time, do not even think of banishing me. You were in danger. I could have helped.”
“Aw, my darling. Are you worried about me?”
The shadows in the corner of the room shivered, uncoiled and began to slither across the floor towards Verena. She sucked in a sharp inhale as she noticed my demon, scales as dark as Hades’ soul, reaching towards her.
“You’re safe, Verena,” I said before she could give in to those dark thoughts plaguing her mind. “I didn’t come here with any intention but getting you out of here. Reuniting you with your daughter. In fact, if you wouldn’t mind, I’m going to need something of you before you go.”
“Go?” Verena barked, eyes not leaving Emon for a second. “Go where?”