Chapter 16
Driving into the Founder's Club, I can't repress the flight response that takes over my body. My hands feel cold and clammy, my stomach ties into a knot, and I become acutely aware of every little detail from the beat of my racing heart to the ducks flying above.
Can I trust Anthony when he says that Maureen isn't home? Maybe it's a trap, or maybe Maureen told him to bring me home so they can imprison me. I clench my phone in my hands, ready to dial 911 if I find he has been lying about the whole thing.
"What does your mom want from me anyway?" I ask.
"Please, can you just call her Maureen from now on?" he says sternly.
"Fine, what does Maureen want from me?" I enunciate every word. I know I'm acting like a brat, but I can't help it. I have never felt this kind of fear or fury, fear for myself and for my mom's safety, and fury toward Anthony and his mom. It surprises me how quickly I have gone from almost loving him to completely hating him.
"Before a Huldra is induced into the Dynasty, she has the option to receive her fifth gift or to give it away to someone else."
"She's after my gift?" I am flabbergasted.
"Yes."
"What are the gifts?"
"Each one is different, but some examples of these gifts are gifts of discernment, or the gift of coiling.
I don't know what they mean at all, but I'm too tired to ask about them. "If Maureen is so almighty, can't she just get her own gift?"
"No, she was denied her gift by the governesses because she was unable to abide by the law of obedience before she was eighteen and then failed again to abide by the Huldra codes between the ages of eighteen and nineteen."
"What do you mean?" I ask.
"The law of obedience is this: Each Huldra or Huldu is told, without knowing the reason why, that they must not use their flair on anyone. It is the first test to see if you will be obedient to the laws given you."
My mom's words echo in my mind. In life, the test comes first, the lesson later. That must be what she meant by it. I exhale. I guess I failed that test.
"Don't worry, everyone fails that test. There is a second test after you have been to the Academy, and that test, well, I can't tell you about that test."
"Of course," I say dryly. So that's why my mom refused to tell me anything about who I am.
"Then there is a one year testing period after your training. If you pass the tests, you will receive your fifth Huldra gift and be accepted into the Dynasty."
"Quick question—did you go to the Academy?"
"Maureen and Olaf taught me."
I nod. "What happens if I don't pass the tests?"
"You will lose all your Huldra powers and become just like any other human."
"But if Maureen didn't pass the test, how was she able to..."
Anthony interrupts me. "She appropriated so many virtues from humans and from other Huldras and beings that her power continued to grow even though she was banned from the Dynasty."
"Did you pass your test?"
"Yes."
"What was your fifth gift?"
His expression becomes bothered and his eyes start blinking at a faster rate. "I would rather not say." The tone in his voice changes and becomes sad almost. He opens the garage door with the remote and then parks the car, turns off the engine, and slumps into his seat.
I'm not nervous anymore; his openness has cooled my anger and my anxieties about being here—for now at least. Large cardboard boxes are stacked up against the garage walls, leaving no space for anything else. "Were you planning on moving?"
"No. Those are Maureen's...weapons."
"What kind of weapons?" My fear comes back again. This day feels like a never-ending rollercoaster ride to, well, not heaven, that's for sure.
"Well, there are assault rifles, machine guns, pistols, Dane axes, machetes, switchblades, swords..."
I interrupt him. "I...I get the picture." I have never in my life held a gun or any type of combat knife or sword. "What could she possibly need these for?"
"I'm not sure. She didn't tell me everything, but there are enough weapons here for a small army. Mostly she talked to me about capturing your fifth Huldra gift, but I think her plans are much grander than just that, and I suspect she needs your gift for those plans."
His comment makes me feel like just another means to an end—to Maureen's end. At this point, I couldn't care less about my fifth Huldra gift or about Maureen's plans. I just want my mom to live. "I don't want my fifth Huldra gift. I'm going to give Maureen my gift so I can get my mom back."
"I wouldn't be so quick to decide," Anthony says.
"I don't care what my gift is because my mom's life is more important."
"Some of these gifts are more precious than existence itself, Sonia. Don't give it to her so hastily," he says.
"I've been able to live a fulfilling life up until this point without it, so how important could it be?" Not too important, I figure.
"You'll see. You're just going to have to trust me on this one. Take it from one who knows."
I roll my eyes. Trust? Him? Ha!
* * *
Once inside the house, we climb the stairs and enter Anthony's room. He offers me one of his soccer t-shirts and some way-too-big shorts to change into. After I get changed, I head into the rotunda in his room and look out the window. The lake mirrors the full moon, and it hangs low and golden in the black sky. It is a spectacular view—so beautiful it nearly takes my breath away. The blue light in the pool below moves with the water and reflects onto the column pillars that uphold the veranda. I notice that a swan has made its way into their white gazebo on the deck. The poor swan is probably stuck.
"You left this here the other day." Anthony lifts up the scroll as he sits down in the same seat he sat in the other day.
"Well, I don't want it anymore." I look at him. "When did you realize I was a Huldra? Wait, did you come to my school knowing that you were looking for me?" I sit down.
"One question at a time, please," he says. "I didn't know that you went to Sarasota High School, no."
"So was it all just a coincidence that you found me? It doesn't seem like your way of doing things...Maureen wouldn't have left finding me to chance," I say.
"She never brought it up to me until..." Anthony stops speaking, and then his face goes blank. He looks at me for a moment, before his eyes trail off into the distance.
Did she use him? No, it wouldn't make sense. He knew he was supposed to spy on me and bring me to his house, so surely he knew. He was part of Maureen's plan. "When did you know she was after me?" My voice is unyielding.
Anthony looks upset. "Let's get some rest. I think we'll both need it tonight." He stands up.
"I need an answer to my question." I rise to my feet—determined.
"I—"
"Are you telling me you're stupid and didn't know that Maureen has been using you for a long time?"
His eyes flash and he storms out of the rotunda, slamming his fist into the doorframe as he exits.
"What should we do about school?" I yell after him.
He turns around. "You must go and act as if everything is normal until we hear from Maureen and what she wants me to do with you."
His words frighten me and I gasp a little. Is he going to do what she says? Is he lying to me and going to bring me to Maureen?
Anthony says, "I won't actually torture you, if that's what you're freaking out about."
His words, though meant to calm me, do nothing of the sort. "Won't Olaf come after me?"
"No, he will be leaving for Wraithsong Island shortly too, if he hasn't already, but there may still be someone else guarding your house, so we can't go there right now."
There's probably more to the story than he's telling me, but I am so tired and overwhelmed, I let it go. I feel safe enough.
"Listen, I know this is all overwhelming, but I'll make things right," he says.
"Will you?"
His eyes darken. "I will."
I can tell he's at least trying to make the best of our bleak situation, and I want to believe him, but it's far too frightening. "I'm not going to pretend everything is all right when it isn't."
"Well, your mother's life is at stake so I'm sure you can manage," he says distantly and walks off.
I'd have to say I agree with him since I don't have any other choice.
* * *
I wake up to Anthony shaking me.
"Wake up!" he says. "Sonia, wake up!"
I open my eyes and see that the night is still dark.
"Are you all right?" He is still holding my arms tight.
I look around, trying to make sense of my surroundings and then remember where I am and why I am here. Anthony let me sleep in his bed while he took the couch.
"Did you have a nightmare?" He turns on the lamp on the nightstand.
The brutal images of my dream pour into my mind again. "Yes." I shudder at the images.
"Everything will be fine. We will be fine," he says.
I start to cry. "I dreamt that Olaf was torturing my mom, and that—he said he'd only stop if I turn myself in." Olaf had been kicking my mom as she lay curled up in the corner of a cell. After that he had broken her arm with his bare hands.
Anthony reaches to stroke my hair, but his touch is not welcome and I pull away.
"It was just a nightmare."
"No, it was real!" I yell.
Compassion shines from his eyes. Even in the dim light, they are an intense blue. "You don't know that," he says gently.
I bury my face in my hands and sob. I am exhausted and exposed, and have never felt so unsure about my life. I need comfort, I need support, and the only person here is Anthony—the last person I want comfort from.
"Hey, let me fix you a cup of hot chocolate," he says, standing up.
I lift my head up. "No, please don't leave." I am scared, and it is better to have Anthony here than no one. I grab his forearm, and immediately the electricity between us is back. It feels like my body yearns for him to be close, to touch, to feel, to hold, to kiss...I withdraw my hand and look at it. Is that my Huldra instinct? It must be because it is the only thing that makes sense. I am still furious at Anthony and want nothing more than to never see him again, but that is my mind speaking. If I listened to my body, I want to...never mind what it wants. I am not going to listen to its desires. Not after what Anthony has put me through and not after what I saw what they are doing to my mom. I hate Anthony.
He reaches for my cheek and I slowly pull back. Our eyes lock, and it is as if nothing can break his enchantment. He leans forward and kisses me gently on the forehead. I want to despise his touch, but I don't.
"I'm going to sleep now." His jaw tenses, and his eyes burn with determination. "Good night."
I won't admit it, even to myself, but I want him now more than I have ever wanted him. I hate my Huldra side for that. I pull the fluffy duvet over my body and make myself go back to sleep.