Haima: The Artefact Series Book Two

Grey clouds covered the sky, but held no promise of rain. It was as bleak as the air that surrounded the kingdom, along with the tell-tale signs of sorrow and hidden secrets.

Jolene walked out of the inn. The small building, nestled between two other run-down establishments, didn’t draw much attention. Its outer walls were just as worn its neighbours, except for the huge sign outside that showed that it was still in business. They had both visited the market to try and see if she could glean any news about her attack on the council member, when they caught sight of the three goons who had attacked her. They went after them, sneaking through the crowd without drawing unwanted attention to themselves.

Their stalking brought them to an inn, where Jolene entered while Jidenna stood guard outside. The place was strangely empty, its inner décor looking just as bad as its outer one. She had heard voices coming down from a passage, and driven by curiosity, she followed it, only to stumble upon a conversation between her preys and a voice she never expected to hear.

‘It better be your very best, unlike the last time,’ Lord Aiken had said, his gentle voice freezing her in place.

’My lord, if not for the strange man that interrupted us, we would have brought her to you.’

‘I told you to get rid of her child, and you almost killed her!’

An echoing void rang loudly within her, and she ignored a perplexed Jidenna, who moved towards her.

‘Are you okay?’ he asked. ‘What happened?’

She wasn’t okay. She wasn’t okay at all. Her already fractured spirit had fractured even further, the pieces now impossible to mend. Her emotions were all over the place, her mind a labyrinth of different emotions seeking to escape. She continued walking, her pallor ghostly, looking like it was rooted in time. Her eyes were hollow, her movement tense, and she seemed to be carrying the weight of the world atop her shoulders.

I told you to get rid of her child. Who could they be talking about, if not her? Just when she thought she couldn’t be hurt further, the universe proved her wrong. Not only did the man she loved deny and abandon her, he was also the cause of her child’s death. Her child, a small being growing in her belly, whose arrival she eagerly anticipated. Despite Lord Aiken’s betrayal, she found solace in the happiness the child brought. It was the only positive gift he had left her with—a person she had dreamed of calling her own, one who would never abandon her.

But fate struck hard, and she never got her wish.

‘Jolene!’ Jidenna called after her, but she didn’t stop. ‘Jolene!’ he called out again, louder this time, drawing attention from a few passers-by. ‘Why are you ignoring me?’ He rushed to her and blocked her front, stopping her from going further.

She glanced up at him. ‘What did I do,’ she began, ‘to ever warrant this type of pain?’

Jidenna frowned, cocking his head. ‘What are you talking about?’

She let out a solemn sigh, then walked past him down the street, Jidenna following after her. Dusty, dirt-stained earth lined their pathway. The busy echoes of passers-by, along with their moving chariots, seemed like a monotonous song played in the background. They walked far away from the inn, past several market stalls and a few cloaked figures who stood huddled around them.

They arrived near a hidden alley, and Jidenna, unable to endure Jolene’s silence any longer, held unto her arm and guided her into it. He then positioned himself by the entrance, blocking it, and stared her down.

‘Now tell me, what happened?’ he said, not budging from his position.

Jolene remained silent, keeping her eyes away from Jidenna. He had a way of knowing what she thought, an attribute that both comforted and scared her.

‘Jolene,’ he urged.

‘Lord Aiken, he was in there,’ she said, her voice a whisper. She could feel his confusion without even looking at him.

‘What did you hear?’

‘Those men attacked me on his order.’

Silence. The tension around them thickened, both their breaths suspended as anger and distraught silently weaved through the environment.

‘I have to go back,’ she said suddenly, her voice tinged with determination and a hint of madness. She pushed against Jidenna, but he stood firm, not moving a muscle.

‘Jolene,’

‘I need to go back. I can’t…I can’t—’

‘You are not in the right frame of mind, Jolene. We went there with the aim of attacking just the goons. We have not made the necessary preparations to attack Lord Aiken.’

‘We have attacked a noble before without much planning, how can this be any different?’

‘Jolene, you were thinking straight then. You are not now.’

‘How am I different from then?’ she shouted, her jaw quivering in rage. ‘I shouldn’t have left. That was my first mistake.’ She quickly wiped the tear that managed to escape from her eyes. ‘You need to move away, Jidenna.’

‘Jolene,’ Jidenna said, keeping his voice level. ‘Even though I do not regret what happened to the council member who had hurt you, that action has brought you unnecessary attention. There are people after you. If you attack Lord Aiken again, you might get caught.’

‘And I don’t care!’ she screamed.

‘Then what about me?’ Jidenna said much louder, his patience wearing thin. ‘You promised to help me.’

‘He killed my child,’ she whispered, enunciating each word. ‘Do you expect me to just sit back and do nothing then? When I have the perfect opportunity to avenge my child?’

Jidenna sighed, then gently wrapped his arms around her, hugging her close. He rested his chin atop her head, closed his eyes, then sighed again.

A while passed, and Jolene slowly pushed him away.

‘Don’t go,’ Jidenna whispered, hugging her tighter.

‘I have to,’ she answered, her voice firm. ‘Thank you for your help all this while, Jidenna, but I think it’s time to part ways. It will be against my conscience to see you punished for something you were against doing, and I have to do this.’

‘You can’t leave me yet,’ he stated, his brows tightly furrowed and etched with lines of displeasure. ‘You promised to help me.’

‘I am sorry then,’ she apologized. ‘I’d have to break my promise.’ She shook herself away from his hold and pushed him, and this time, he gave way. She walked out of the alley, boiling with resentment. Within her heart festered a poison of animosity, slowly growing like an ember in her soul. She could feel his stare boring into her back, but she didn’t regret it, couldn’t regret it. She was going to avenge her child –let come what may—and she didn’t care what sacrifice she had to do to obtain it. Walking away from the inn had been a mistake, and she was going to rectify that. Jidenna had helped her a lot. Perhaps it was time for him to see that she wasn’t worth his time at all.

‘You made me a promise, Jolene,’ he called out, stopping her in her tracks. ‘You made me a promise and now you want to break it. I had promised you that we will go through it all together. We are partners, and have been together for a year. You want to throw that all away just for a tiny, hasty moment of revenge?’

‘What will you have me do then?!’ she shouted, turning around to face him, her expression livid. ‘Our whole partnership is built on vengeance. Who are you to stop me? Why do you stop me when you clearly know what this man did to me?!’

‘What will you do then? Go to him, then what? You use your powers on him? Do you know what happens next? Let me tell you what will happen,’ he moved away from the alley and walked up to her, bending slightly until his eyes were level with hers.

‘If you do not kill him, he will go after you with everything he has. You expose yourself, and he will pursue you. He works with the council. They have resources far beyond what you can ever comprehend. If you do kill him,’ he paused, letting the gravity of that statement hang in the air, ’the council will paint him as a hero. He will be remembered as a man who was unjustly killed.

‘People do not complain about the council member you attacked the last time because he was known to be a dog. Commoners were happy about it. But no such thing has been heard of about Lord Aiken. Even if the horrors you endured under him come to light, it will be dismissed immediately. They will think, that of all people to have relations with, why will Lord Aiken choose you? But this wouldn’t happen,’ he shook his head. ’Because despite all these, you can’t take a life. Especially the life of a man you once loved.

Jolene gave him a piercing stare, trying to prove to him that she was strong and he was wrong. She could do anything for her child, anything at all. Killing someone who was the cause of her child’s death wouldn’t be a hard task to do, it certainly can’t. But Jidenna held her gaze, his eyes daring her to do as she wanted. The weight of his words hung over her head, and she relented, dropping her gaze to the dusty earth they stood on.

‘What do I do,’ she said, clenching her hands into fists. ‘to avenge myself?’

Jidenna’s eyes softened, and he held unto her forearm, gently pulling her into his embrace. She didn’t fight him.

‘Let’s go home,’ he said, and he held onto her forearm, gently pulling her into his embrace. She didn’t fight him.