Ferus

Book 6 of the Heku Series

Published by T.M. Nielsen at Smashwords

Find us at

http://www.hekuseries.com/

Copyright © 2010 by T.M. Nielsen

This book is available in print at http://www.amazon.com

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Table of Contents

Chapter 1 - Starting Over

Chapter 2 - Obedience

Chapter 3 - Weakened

Chapter 4 - Compassion

Chapter 5 - Custody Dispute

Chapter 6 - Too Young

Chapter 7 - In Sickness

Chapter 8 - V.E.S.

Chapter 9 - Dain

Chapter 10 - Misconduct

Chapter 11 - Growing Up

Chapter 12 - Enemies

Chapter 13 - Laythan

Chapter 14 - Maid

Chapter 15 - Heku

Chapter 16 - Georgia

Chapter 17 - Guards

Chapter 18 - Yisolatara

Chapter 19 - Revenge

Chapter 20 - Behaving

Chapter 21 - Employment

Chapter 22 - Supervisor

Chapter 23 - Palau

Chapter 24 - Retribution

Chapter 25 - Defense

Chapter 1 - Starting Over

“That’s four attacks this week,” Zohn sighed, and turned to the other Elders. The Council sat quietly while the Elders tried to decide what to do.

“I don’t really understand, they know Emily is at Island Coven, why attack Thukil and Powan to get her?” Quinn asked.

Chevalier shrugged, “I suspect they are hoping she finds out and comes to them to stop the attacks.”

“Which will happen if she does find out,” Kyle told them.

“If she doesn’t fall for that soon, I’m guessing Island Coven is next on the attack list,” Chevalier said. “My coven can hold them off for a while, but not indefinitely. We’d need her here for that kind of protection.”

“I’ve tried three times in the last six months. She’s not coming back,” Kyle said.

“Did Mark, Silas, or Kralen make any lee-way?” Quinn asked Chevalier.

“Nope, she’s dead set on staying on the island.”

“She’s that stubborn that she’ll stay in harm’s way just to avoid running into me?” Zohn asked, frowning.

“Yes, she is,” Chevalier said, and grinned slightly.

“Then I should go talk to her.”

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

“Why not? No one else has been able to convince her to return to Council City.”

“Island Coven is her safe haven from you. I’m worried what would happen if you intrude on that.”

“Who haven’t we tried?” Quinn asked.

“We’ve tried everyone she’s close to,” Chevalier said.

“The problem is, she has no reason to come back. She feels safe on the island, she enjoys being there, and she has free reign. Until her safe haven is attacked, there’s no reason to return here,” Kyle explained.

“By the time it’s attacked, it could be too late though,” Zohn said. “The Valle and Encala aren’t going to send 100 heku into Island Coven. It’ll be thousands, and by that time, she may not be able to escape.”

“Maybe he’s right, maybe we should send Zohn,” Quinn said, glancing at Kyle.

“I really don’t think… who has Emily’s truck?” Kyle said, frowning.

The Council all listened to the sound of the Dodge Ram 3500 pulling out of the garage.

“Mark?” Quinn called out, and they turned to the trial area when he arrived.

“Yes, Elder?”

“Who has Emily’s truck?”

Mark looked shocked, “I wasn’t aware anyone had it. I’ll go find out.”

Quinn nodded and turned back to Kyle, “You were saying?”

“I was just saying, that I really don’t think sending Zohn over for a one-on-one with Emily is going to work.”

“It could backfire,” Chevalier said. “I know she’s been considering moving back into the mortal world.”

Zohn sighed, “Why would she do that? She would have to move constantly to avoid anyone noticing that she doesn’t age.”

Mark glared at the blue Dodge Ram and blurred toward it, “Who said you could use this truck?”

“I didn’t know I needed permission to drive my own truck,” Emily said, crawling out from under the horse trailer and brushing herself off.

Mark smiled, “You’re back!”

“No, I’m not back. I’m just getting the truck and trailer, so I can take some horses back to the island.”

“Still, we’ve missed you.”

“What’s that?” Emily asked, turning to look at the large building that was being built on the east lawn.

“It started out as just a pool. Now they’ve added guard training classrooms, and a new training gym.”

Emily pulled a pair of pliers out of her pocket and went back to work attaching the trailer to the truck.

“Can you stay for a while?” Mark asked.

“Nope, I’m leaving as soon as I can. I have a tiller I need to pick up tomorrow in Maine. I need to drive back and unload the horses, so I can use the truck.”

Mark frowned, “Alone?”

Emily smiled up at him, “Yes, alone.”

When she headed into the stables, Mark whispered to the Elders. She came back out with her stallion in tow, and stopped when she saw the entire Council surrounding her truck.

“I’ll get my truck off your lawn in a few minutes,” Emily told them, and led the horse into the trailer.

“We aren’t here because of the lawn,” Zohn said, and grew silent when Quinn glared at him.

“We’ve missed you,” Quinn said, smiling at her when she came out of the trailer.

“You should come to the island once in a while, call it a vacation,” Emily told him, and then leaned back against the trailer.

“Maybe I will… or maybe you should stay here.”

“If that’s why you are all out here, then you’re wasting your time,” Emily said, and looked over at Zohn. “Or will you blame this waste of time on me?”

Zohn sighed, “You aren’t wasting our time.”

Chevalier opened the truck and gently pulled Dain from the car seat when he started to fuss. The baby looked up at his Dad, and his bottom lip began to quiver, seconds before he started to kick and scream.

Emily pulled off her leather gloves and took the 8-month-old from Chevalier. He immediately stopped crying and began to gnaw on the knuckle of her right index finger.

“I told you not to let him do that,” Chevalier sighed.

“And I told you that he’s teething.”

“It’s not teething when you’re the only one he’ll chew on.”

Emily glanced at the Council and turned back to Chevalier, “I’m not discussing this right now.”

“Then let me hold him,” Quinn said, reaching out for the baby.

Emily handed Dain over to Quinn, and went back into the stables after another horse. The baby almost immediately started crying and when offered a knuckle, kicked and screamed harder.

“I think you may be right,” Quinn whispered. “Do you think he’s attempting to feed?”

Chevalier sighed, “Yes, I do.”

Emily came back out leading the mustang. She was talking on the cell phone, “No… why did you call me?”

She stopped when Mark took the reins, and leaned back against the trailer, “I have no desire whatsoever to talk to your new Elder.”

“Who is she talking to?” Dustin asked, watching her.

“Not sure,” Chevalier said, moving a step closer. He could hear the voice on the other end, but wasn’t able to make out the words. Emily learned early that if she wanted any privacy on the cell phone, she had to turn the volume down.

“What do you mean why not? I thought you were all supposed to hate me now,” Emily said, rolling her eyes.

Emily gasped and her eyes grew wide. The Council watched as the color drained from her face, “But…”

“Em?” Chevalier asked, frowning.

Emily slammed her phone shut and ran for the palace doors, followed by the Council.

“What’s going on?” Quinn asked. He handed Dain over to Silas and ran after her.

“Who was on the phone?” Kyle asked, running behind her.

Emily turned just inside the doors and ran to the former ancient’s room. She pushed against the door, and when it didn’t open, Zohn reached over and opened it for her. She walked inside and looked around at the small markings, then went over to the banishment sight of Exavior and started to dig.

Chevalier put a hand on her shoulder, “Why are you digging up Exavior, Em?”

She didn’t answer, but continued to dig until she found the small leather bag. She pulled it out and dumped the ashes into a pile.

“Revive him,” Emily said, turning to Kyle.

“We can’t revive Exavior,” Quinn told her.

“Do it.”

Kyle sighed, “Seriously, Em, why revive him?”

“I say just do it. We can re-banish him when she’s done,” Zohn said.

Emily looked at him, shocked, and then turned back to Kyle, “Just revive him.”

Kyle glanced at Quinn and Chevalier, and they finally nodded. He pulled the ceremonial dagger from his pocket and cut his finger, allowing one drop of blood to fall to the ashes as the entire Council crouched slightly.

The ash began to form and a scream was heard as the heku emerged.

“Who the hell are you?” Quinn asked, looking at the strange heku.

“Damnit, they revived him and he replaced Vizia,” Emily said, looking at the heku.

“Exavior’s the new Valle Elder?” Zohn asked, his eyes wide.

“Yes”

“I asked who you are,” Quinn repeated.

“Denkers, Chief of Defense for the Ferus,” he said, and crouched, facing the Equites Council. They gasped when he turned to ash.

“Stop it, no more,” Chevalier said to Emily.

Emily turned on her heels and walked out of the banishment room, headed for the truck.

“Zohn, lead a delegation to find out what the hell they were thinking,” Quinn growled. “We need to talk to Emily.”

Emily shut the door to her truck and took screaming Dain from Silas. He calmed immediately and leaned his head against her shoulder with his nose softly touching her neck.

“Ford!” Emily yelled, and then whistled. The Border collie appeared from the stables and jumped into the horse trailer before she shut it.

“Just stop,” Chevalier growled. “Do not leave right now, talk to us.”

“About what?” Emily asked, locking the trailer door. “About how Exavior’s now going to be on the warpath again, or how ashes were taken from a supposedly secure room in the palace?”

“About you staying here where it’s safe.”

“Island Coven is safe. You’ve always told me that.”

“It is, but the palace is safer,” Chevalier told her.

“Someone took Exavior’s ashes from the palace, that doesn’t seem safe to me.”

“We had a small… security issue when the alliance was broken. It had to have happened then,” Quinn explained.

“We haven’t had a security issue on the island,” Emily said, and tucked Dain into his car seat.

Emily got back into the Dodge Ram, and before she started it, Chevalier crawled into the passenger seat while Silas and Kralen each took up a spot in the backseat next to Dain. She shook her head and buckled in.

Most of the drive was in silence. It wasn’t until after their first stop that Chevalier finally spoke, “Do the other factions call you often?”

“Yes,” Emily said, and pulled her sunglasses out of her purse, slipping them on.

“Doesn’t that seem odd?”

“Yes”

“What do they want?”

“Usually they call with offers.”

“What kind of offers?” Chevalier asked, frowning.

Emily grinned, “Pretty good ones actually.”

“Like what?” Silas asked when Chevalier didn’t.

“The usual, my own coven, freedom, no attacks, husbands…”

“Husbands?” Chevalier growled.

“Yes, my pick, and as many as I want,” she said, amused.

“Why haven’t you told us that they are calling?”

“Why tell? Not like I’m going to take them up on their offer.”

“Because the Council needs to know.”

Emily shrugged, “Well, now they do.”

The rest of the drive was spent in silence or small talk. When it got late, Emily finally let Chevalier drive, and she leaned the passenger seat back and slept. She woke up as they were crossing into Jonesport.

“Oh, go to AQS hardware, there on Main Street,” she said, and then yawned.

Chevalier glanced at her and then pulled into the hardware store.

“Be right back,” Emily said, and got out of the truck. She didn’t realize until she was inside the store that Kralen was with her. They came out a short time later with four bags and a tiller. Kralen checked around carefully and then one-handed the tiller into the back of the truck. When they were on the ferry, they started to talk again.

“What exactly are you going to till?” Chevalier asked, looking over at Emily.

“I’m planting a garden.”

“Why?”

“Why not?”

Chevalier shrugged, “Just asking. I haven’t seen you do that is all.”

“I always had a garden at the Montana ranch,” Emily said, and watched as the tugboats hooked onto the ferry. She grinned when the pier guards caught sight of the Elder and stood at attention.

When they arrived at the castle, there was a line of guards waiting, and Storm was in the front, watching as Chevalier pulled the truck and trailer up to the front doors and the island returned to lockdown.

“Sir,” Storm said, smiling.

“Good morning,” Chevalier said, and got sleeping Dain out of the truck. “I’ll be ready for an update in a few minutes.”

“Yes, Sir… Lady Emily, a moment please?” Storm asked, and she and Emily headed off alone.

Chevalier watched them for a moment before heading in to his office. Kralen and Silas began unloading the horses as Ford ran frantically around the lawn, trying to herd the guards.

Chevalier called in the guard Generals and got an update on the happenings of the island. After a few hours, he called Anna into his office.

“Yes, Sir?” Anna asked, sitting down in a chair across from the Elder’s desk.

“Have you done as I asked?”

“Yes, I have.”

“And?”

“I would have to agree with you, Sir. The baby does seem more inclined to rest against the Lady’s neck. He often chews on her fingers, and rarely sleeps. He lies awake while she sleeps and again, his nose must be against her neck.”

Chevalier sighed, “This could be a problem.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Chevalier glanced at the baby as he slept, “So he mainly naps during the day. Does he sleep at night?”

“Not that I’ve seen. He naps around 3 hours during the day, and that’s all.”

“Did you try to allow him to chew on your fingers?”

“Yes, Sir, and he won’t do it. The Lady says he’s teething and allows him to do it to her often though. I do remember her allowing both Allen and Alexis to do the same, but they weren’t as… shall we call it… persistent with it,” Anna said.

“Suggestions?”

Anna shrugged, “None, Sir.”

“Where is Emily?”

“In her office.”

Chevalier raised an eyebrow, “She has on office?”

“Yes, Sir, and heku are forbidden from entering.”

“She said that?”

“Yes, Sir,” Anna told him, and grinned.

“We’ll see about that,” Chevalier said, and stood up, smiling. “I think I’ll go check out this new office.”

“It’s Perk’s old office,” Anna said, and followed him out after grabbing the baby.

Chevalier knocked lightly on the office door. He could hear Emily inside as she came to the door. She opened it enough to slip out and then shut the door behind her.

“Yes?” she asked, looking up at Chevalier, her back to the door.

“Hiding something?”

“No”

“Then why is no one allowed in your office?” he asked, amused.

“Because it’s mine.”

“Interesting”

“There’s no reason for anyone to be in there,” Emily told him, and headed toward the back exit.

Chevalier grinned and followed her out after whispering for Silas to check out her office while they were gone.

“Damnit, Kralen, what are you doing?” Emily asked, crossing her arms. Kralen was just finishing up tilling a fenced off section of land by the barn.

“I was bored,” he said, turning off the tiller.

Chevalier chuckled, “You were going to till it?”

Emily glared at him, “Yes, I was.”

“Sir?” Storm said from behind them.

Chevalier turned toward her.

“There’s a Valle delegation on the pier. They arrived by boat a few minutes ago.”

He frowned, “What do they want?”

“They want a word with the Lady. I don’t think they know you are here.”

“How many are there?”

“Four”

“Kralen, take Silas and a handful of guards, escort them in to the main conference room… don’t mention I’m here,” Chevalier ordered, and headed inside.

Emily followed him, “Why don’t you let me meet with them alone?”

“Why would I do that?”

“They aren’t going to tell me whatever it is they want if you are sitting there,” she said, and stepped into the conference room when he opened the door.

“Damn, that’s true,” Chevalier said, and sighed. “I’ll be next door listening, though.”

Emily nodded and sat down at the table. A few minutes later, Kralen and Silas entered the conference room with Exavior, Alec, and two Valle guards who were in dark gray robes with the hoods covering their faces, normal travel attire for the Imperial Guards. Silas shut the door behind the Valle and then took a spot by the door next to Kralen.

Exavior and Alec sat down across from Emily and she glanced at Silas nervously.

“Thank you for seeing us,” Exavior said, smiling.

“You’re looking well,” Alec said, a little stiffly.

“Why are you here?” Emily asked.

“I got the divorce papers,” Exavior said. “I’ll admit I was shocked.”

“You came here to ask about the divorce?”

“I’ve contested it.”

“Of course you have,” Emily said. “Again… why did you come here?”

“I wanted to apologize, and to ask what it would take to get you to join us, your family, at the Valle.”

“My family? You tortured me into marrying you, and Alec made it perfectly clear that you are his family, not me,” Emily said angrily.

“You obviously are uncomfortable with the Equites. Otherwise, you would still be at the palace.”

“I’m not uncomfortable with the Equites.”

“Then why are you here on the island?”

“I like it here.”

“Emi, please, give us a month with the Valle,” Alec said, leaning forward. “See what it’s like, and if you don’t like it, you can come back.”

“Yeah right, the Valle would just let me walk out.”

“We would,” Exavior said. “We want you to be where you’re happiest, but you haven’t given us a chance.”

“Stop it!” Emily yelled, and stood up. “Alec, you have no idea how fast I could turn on you.”

Alec smiled slightly, “I had to try.”

“Try what?” Silas asked, tensing.

“I’m not sick, I’m not tired, and you most certainly aren’t an ‘old one,’ so don’t even give it a try,” Emily said, sitting back down.

“You were trying to control her?” Kralen asked, taking a step forward.

“For her own good,” Alec said, and glanced at Exavior.

Emily’s eyes narrowed, “Wait… why would you try to and not Exavior?”

“I don’t know what you mean. I wasn’t aware he was trying,” Exavior said.

“You… there’s something missing… something…”

“I just wanted to try it, Emi. I heard it can’t be done,” Alec said.

“Why do I get the feeling you came here thinking I was weak enough that’d work? Then you had Alec try because you think I trust him.”

“That’s not true,” Alec said, glancing nervously at Kralen.

“Did I dodge an attack?” Emily asked.

“No, there’ve been no attacks on you, Elder’s orders,” Alec explained. The room fell silent for a few minutes while Emily thought.

Suddenly, Emily frowned, “What’s going on?”

“What?” Kralen asked, crouching.

“I feel weird,” she said, frowning.

Chevalier appeared in the doorway. Exavior and Alec both stood up to face him, and crouched as their guards moved to the side of them. Suddenly, the castle was full of Island Coven guards.

“Time for you to leave,” Chevalier hissed.

“Call us if you change your mind,” Alec said to Emily, and then followed Exavior out.

“Wait…” The Valle turned as Chevalier spoke to one of their guards, “Who are you?”

The guard glanced at Exavior.

“He’s one of the Imperial Guards,” Exavior said.

Chevalier’s eyes narrowed, “Show me your face.”

“Don’t take orders from the Equites, come, let’s go,” Exavior said, and they all headed out again.

Chevalier put a hand on the guard’s shoulder, “Show me your face.”

“It’s ok, let them go,” Emily said, and touched Chevalier’s arm.

He looked over at her and then back to Exavior, “Just get off my island.”

“We need to do away with diplomatic immunity,” Silas growled as the Valle left the castle.

Emily started for the door, “I’m going with them.”

“You are?” Chevalier asked, turning to look at her.

She opened the door and ran out into the foyer.

“Em, wait,” he called after her, and she stopped and turned to him. “Stay, please.”

Emily nodded.

“Why would you go with them?” he asked, irritated.

“I better go with them,” she said, and started for the door.

“Stop!” he growled, and she froze in place, watching the door. “Just wait here.”

Kralen and Silas moved to her side while the other guards followed Chevalier out to make sure the Valle left. It was two hours before he returned, and found Emily in the exact same spot, still watching the door.

“What’s going on?” he asked, walking up to them.

Kralen shrugged, “We’re just standing here.”

“Em?”

“Yes?” she asked, and turned to him.

“Why did you want to leave with them?”

“He told me to.”

“Who did?”

“The guard told me to come with them.”

Chevalier frowned, “So you thought you’d do as he asked?”

“Yes”

“That doesn’t make any sense… Do you want to go to the Valle?”

She shrugged.

“Why would you do what he said?” Chevalier asked, getting frustrated.

Emily didn’t answer. She just stood perfectly still in the main-floor foyer.

Chevalier growled, “I don’t even know what you’re thinking.”

She shrugged.

He threw his hands in the air and stormed off to his office.

“Come on, let’s get you some lunch,” Kralen said, and turned for the kitchen. Emily followed him with Silas behind her. They walked into the kitchen and Gordon smiled.

“Welcome, Child! What would you like for lunch today?”

Emily looked over at Silas.

Silas glanced at Kralen and then back to Emily, “What do you want?”

“Would you like to make your own lunch?” Gordon asked when she didn’t answer.

Emily shrugged.

“Go ahead, it’s ok. Make whatever you’d like,” he said, and exited the kitchen. Emily set out making grilled cheese sandwiches.

“Make us some too while you’re at it,” Kralen chuckled.

Silas glared at him, “Stop it.”

“I was just kidding and she knows it.”

They both turned and watched her quickly make sandwiches. She sat a plate down in front of Kralen and Silas, and then sat with her own plate and started to eat.

Kralen looked down at the grilled cheese, “I was kidding, you know that…”

“It’s just a joke, right?” Silas asked, smiling, and looked over at Emily. She continued to eat in silence. When she finished, she sat perfectly still at the table and watched the wall. After almost an hour, Silas glanced at Kralen and he shrugged, not sure what to do.

“Did… did you maybe want to go start planting in the garden?” Silas asked, watching her.

Emily looked over at him, but didn’t speak.

“Come on, we’ll help,” Kralen said, and stood up. Emily got up finally and followed them out to the newly tilled land. She grabbed a set of tools and a bag of seeds, and began to plant while Kralen and Silas started at the other end.

Night fell and she continued to plant, even when a light rain began to fall. Silas and Kralen stayed at their task and kept a close eye on her, wondering when she was going to stop.

“What are you still doing out here?” Chevalier asked, walking up to the garden.

Kralen shrugged, “We figured we’d stop when she does.”

“Em, it’s 11 o’clock,” Chevalier told her, but she continued to plant.

“She’s not very chatty,” Silas whispered, too low for her to hear.

Chevalier sighed, “Just go to bed, Em.”

Emily nodded, stood up, and headed inside, followed by the three heku. They followed her in and watched, confused, as she crawled into bed fully dressed.

Kralen watched her for a few seconds, and then took up his post outside of her door, trailed shortly by Silas.

“Em?” Chevalier asked, sitting on the side of the bed.

“Yes?”

“Are you ok?”

“Yes”

“At least put on a nightgown before going to bed.”

Emily nodded and got out of bed. She pulled off her clothes suddenly as Chevalier rushed to shut the door. After putting on a nightgown, she got back into bed and shut her eyes.

Chevalier met Anna at the door and she handed Dain over. He was crying loudly and obviously upset. He took the baby and laid him in bed with Emily, watching closely as he scooted closer to her and leaned his head against her neck before settling down. Dain stayed awake, but lay perfectly still while Emily slept.

Chevalier joined Silas and Kralen out in the ante-chamber, and shut the door, “Something’s not right.”

“Maybe she’s just tired?” Kralen suggested.

“I don’t know… Silas, what’s in her office?”

“Not that much, other than one huge computer setup. Three small form computers and six wide-screen monitors, all running various things I don’t understand.”

Chevalier frowned, “That can’t be it then. I guess just see if she’s better in the morning.”

Chapter 2 - Obedience

“She’s not up yet?” Chevalier asked, glancing at the bedroom door.

“No, Sir, she’s awake, has been since about 7am, but she’s not gotten out of bed,” Kralen reported.

Chevalier knocked lightly and then entered the bedroom when she didn’t answer. He sat down on the side of the bed, “Are you feeling ok?”

“Yes”

“Just tired?”

“No”

“Did you just want to stay in bed today then?”

Emily shook her head.

“Then get up,” he said, and sat back when she sat up and crawled out of bed. She stood by the side of her bed and looked around as Dain reached out for her.

Chevalier sighed, “What?”

Emily looked over at Chevalier.

“Are you waiting for something?”

“No”

“Why are you acting so strangely?”

“I don’t know.”

“Get dressed and come talk to me in my office.”

“Ok,” she said, and stripped in the bedroom and then pulled on jeans and a t-shirt. She started for the door when Chevalier sighed.

“Em… get the baby,” he said, irritated.

Emily turned and picked up Dain, and then walked down after Chevalier to his office, with Kralen and Silas following.

“Sir, Elder Quinn is on the phone for you,” Storm said, walking to catch up to them.

“Ok, Em, wait out here until I’m done,” Chevalier said, and disappeared into his office.

Emily stood with the guards and waited for him to return. Twenty minutes later, Chevalier called all of them in.

“Have a seat,” he said, and leaned back in his chair.

Emily sat down in a chair across from him.

“Something’s up with you, and I want to know what it is,” he said, watching her.

She didn’t respond, but just sat and watched him. Tension grew in the office as they sat in silence, no one moving or speaking.

“Well if you aren’t going to help,” Chevalier growled, “Then we have to go back to Council City. Come with us.”

“Ok,” Emily said, and stood up.

“Ok? You’re coming?”

“Yes”

“Just like that? You changed your mind and are returning with us?”

“Yes”

Chevalier’s eyes narrowed, “What are you up to?”

After a few minutes of silence, Silas tapped her on the shoulder, “Answer him.”

“I don’t know,” she said softly.

“Emily, Kralen, wait for us outside in the hallway.”

Emily stood up and followed Kralen out into the hallway. He shut the door behind them and turned to look at her.

“Something’s different about you,” Kralen said, walking around her. “I can’t quite figure it out.”

She didn’t move, just watched the wall ahead of her.

“You’re quiet… you stand still…”

She didn’t respond or move.

“Look at me.”

Emily turned and looked into his eyes.

Kralen thought for a moment, “Feed me.”

She reached her wrist out to him.

“Damnit, put that down,” he whispered, glancing nervously around them. She lowered her wrist to her side.

They stood in silence for a few more minutes, until Kralen was sure no one in the castle saw their last interaction.

“Ok, let’s try this… Em… go kill your horse.”

Emily nodded, and headed for the back of the castle. Kralen followed her out into the barn where she dug a .357 out of the storage room and opened the stall, the gun in one hand, and Dain in the other.

“Wait!” he said hurriedly.

Emily stopped and looked at him.

“Come inside,” he told her, and walked quickly back inside. She had to run to keep up with him.

“Where did you go? I told you to wait for me out here,” Chevalier growled, then frowned slightly when he saw the gun in Emily’s hand.

Kralen turned to Emily, “You have to check this out.”

“What?”

“Just watch… trust me.”

“Ok”

“Emily,” Kralen said. “Let me feed from your neck.”

She pulled her hair aside and tilted her head slightly.

“Wait,” Chevalier growled.

“Trust me, Elder, just watch,” Kralen said, and glanced at Silas, then back to Emily.

“Ok, Emily, now go burn yourself on the stove.”

Emily nodded and headed for the kitchen, followed by the heku.

“Wait, Em,” Chevalier said when she turned on the stove. She stopped and looked over at him.

Kralen shrugged at Silas, and then took the gun from Emily.

“Sit down,” Chevalier said.

Emily immediately sat cross-legged on the floor.

Chevalier looked down at her, deep in thought.

“Em?” Silas asked.

She looked up at him.

“Do you want cheeseburgers or rat poison for lunch?”

“I don’t know.”

“Em, look at me,” Chevalier said sternly.

Emily looked up into his eyes. He had her locked in less than a second, and her breathing slowed to match his.

“Damnit,” he said, and broke the gaze.

“I can’t believe you locked her,” Silas said, shocked.

“Let me try, you’re an ‘old one’,” Kralen said, and knelt down beside her. “Look at me.”

He immediately locked her eyes and she relaxed under his control. After a few seconds, he stood up and frowned.

“She has no free will,” Chevalier said. “I knew something was strange about Exavior’s guard.”

“Like what? Who can do this?” Silas asked.

“His name is Rasmussen. He’s an ancient.”

“They brought an ancient here?”

“I met him once, sometime around 330 AD. I thought his scent was familiar when he was here. I listened to her though, and let him go.”

“So they were telling her to follow them yesterday when she kept trying to go with them,” Kralen said.

“Yes,” Chevalier sighed. “She’ll do anything anyone tells her, unless she’s told something else.”

“So what do we do now?”

“Take her back to Council City until we can figure out what to do,” Chevalier said. He sighed and walked out, followed by Silas and Kralen.

A few minutes later, Silas came back into the kitchen, “Follow me, Emily.”

She stood up with Dain and followed Silas out into the castle as he led her up to the waiting helicopter. He helped her in and told her to sit down. Soon, they were flying toward Council City. When the helicopter landed, the guards lined up and the three heku walked into the palace, followed by Emily and Dain.

“Give Dain to Silas,” Chevalier said. Emily handed the baby over to her guard and he left with Dain. Chevalier and Kralen headed into the council chambers.

“Oh, you’re back,” Quinn said. “How did it go?”

“Well…” Chevalier looked around. “Damnit, Kralen, go get her.”

“She came back?” Kyle said, surprised.

“Sort of,” Chevalier said, and they all watched when Emily and Kralen came in through the trial room doors.

“Stand here,” Kralen said, and Emily stood where he told her.

“It’s good to have you home,” Quinn said, smiling.

She watched the Council, saying nothing.

“There’s one small problem,” Chevalier said. “Kralen, show them.”

Kralen hesitated and then turned to Emily, “Emily, look at me.”

She turned to him.

“Give me your wrist to feed from.”

The Council gasped when she held her wrist out.

Kralen cringed, “Ok, put it back at your side.”

She dropped her hand to her side.

“I don’t get it,” Quinn said.

“Emily, go hug Zohn,” Kralen said, and watched as she headed up to the Council seats. Zohn frowned as she leaned down and wrapped her arms around him and then stood by his side.

“Oh... erm... come back down here,” Kralen said, and she joined him on the trial room floor.

“Ever heard of Rasmussen?” Chevalier asked, turning his seat.

“The Ancient?” Kyle asked, looking at Emily.

“Yes”

“He takes away free will,” Quinn said. “I take it somehow she met him?”

“Exavior and Alec paid a visit. They had the Ancient disguised as an Imperial Guard,” Chevalier said, sighing.

“So she’s completely obedient?” Zohn asked, raising his eyebrows.

“It’s more than that,” Chevalier said. “She can’t do anything on her own. We could all leave for weeks, and she would stay right where she is.”

“So order her to stop being obedient,” Quinn suggested.

“She takes the last order given, that might work until someone told her to do something.”

“Emily, go slap Richard,” Zohn said, and watched Emily walk back up to the Council seats.

“Stop,” Richard said, and glared at her.

“She’s not a toy,” Chevalier growled.

“Mark?” Kyle called out.

“Yes, Chief Enforcer?” Mark said when he entered the trial area.

“Take Emily. Kralen knows how to handle her,” Kyle said.

“Handle her?”

Kralen smiled slightly, “Follow me, Em.”

Emily and Mark followed Kralen out of the council chambers.

“Ok, so how do we get rid of that?” Quinn asked.

“Why get rid of it?” Zohn chuckled. “It’s handy.”

Chevalier glared at him.

“I was kidding!”

“I don’t know. We’ll have to hit the record books and see what we can find,” Chevalier said. “Until then, she can’t be alone.”

“It would be too easy to get her to leave,” Kyle said. “One small command and she’d be gone.”

“The Valle tried that. She tried to follow them off of the island.”

***

“She’ll do anything?” Mark asked, watching Emily.

“Anything,” Kralen said, “But she won’t do anything on her own, either.”

Mark thought about it while he watched Emily stand in front of the stables, doing nothing, “Jaron?”

A member of the Cavalry blurred to them, “Yes, Captain?”

“Take your mare and put her in the corral with one of the stallions.”

Jaron’s eyes grew wide, “Sir, she’s in heat.”

“I know,” Mark said, still watching Emily.

Jaron glanced at Kralen before doing as he was told. Emily didn’t react or say anything. The Cavalry slowly gathered and watched her, waiting for her to start yelling.

“Hm, that is odd,” Mark said. “Emily, look at me.”

Emily turned and looked at him.

“Go join the Encala.”

“Ok,” Emily said, and headed for the gates.

“Emily, stop,” Kralen told her, and she stopped moving.

Mark sighed, “Ok, let’s see… when did she eat last?”

“Damn, that was yesterday,” Kralen said.

“Ok, first things first then, Emily, go eat,” Mark said.

Emily headed inside.

“It’s not that easy,” Kralen said, and followed her inside. Mark thought for a moment and then went after them. He met up with them in the dining room.

***

Emily rolled over in the comfortable bed and sighed. She smiled when she smelled bacon and eggs. Opening her eyes, she sat up suddenly and looked around the room.

“Damnit, Sotomar,” Emily growled, and hopped out of bed. She looked around the room until she found a robe and threw it on.

Emily slammed open the door and stormed out of the room, followed by four Imperial Guards.

“Can we help you, Lady Emily?” one of the Valle guards asked.

“Yes, go jump off a cliff,” she yelled, and ran down to the Valle’s council chambers.

“They are in session,” the door guard said, but she glared at him and opened the door anyway.

“What the hell’s up with this?” Emily yelled, walking into the trial area. There were three heku on trial, and the entire Valle Council was in their seats.

“Good morning,” Sotomar said, smiling.

“Don’t good morning me. Take me back.”

“Dear, we’re in a trial,” Exavior chuckled.

Emily turned the three heku on trial into ash without even looking at them, “There, now you’re done. Take me back.”

“No, we feel it’s better for the heku if you are no longer with the Equites. The Encala agree with us,” Sotomar explained.

“What makes you think I’m not going to ash the entire city and just walk out of here?”

“Because we have Dain.”

Emily’s eyes narrowed, “Where is he?”

“We’re going to keep him for now, to protect ourselves.”

“So what now? How the hell did you even get me here? I don’t remember being drugged or kidnapped.”

Exavior smiled, “We have our ways, now run along. We have more trials this morning.”

“I hate you,” Emily said, looking at Exavior.

“I’m sure you do… guards, escort her out.”

The four Imperial Guards appeared and Emily followed them out, still scowling. They walked her back up to her room and she started going through it, looking for anything but the overly feminine dresses that Exavior ordered when she was there before.

***

Kyle walked into the council chambers, returning after a week-long mission. He briefly wondered why the sounds of Dain’s screams filled the palace. No one was in the trial area, but the Council was deep in conversation when he sat down, “What’s going on?”

Chevalier sighed, “Emily’s gone.”

“Gone? How?” Kyle asked, frowning.

“We had four guards on her during the Weicks trial… one of them was apparently a spy, and he told her to ash the three others…”

Kyle sighed, “Which she did.”

“Right, and then disappeared. We’re pretty sure the Valle have her, but as of yet, they aren’t talking to us.”

Quinn turned to Kyle, “It’s more than just them having Emily. They can completely control her. We need to prepare ourselves to be massively wiped out by her.”

“Damn, do you want me to go?” Kyle asked.

“We’re debating. Whomever we send could be turned to ash immediately to prove a point,” Zohn told him.

“The Encala are ok with the Valle having her then?”

“We haven’t asked them. We’re not sure they know.”

Kyle nodded, “If the Valle think that the Encala are going to sit back and let them take control of the only Winchester, they’re mistaken.”

“She’s not under their control right now,” Chevalier explained. “When she’s under the Ancient’s control, I get nothing from her. As far as I can tell… right now she’s furious.”

***

Emily screamed when she felt herself falling. Once her feet were on the ground, she glared at the Imperial Guard and turned to Sotomar, “Let me go.”

“No, and stop trying to scale down the side of the palace, you’re going to get hurt.”

“Then give me my baby.”

“Again, no. We need to protect ourselves.”

Emily glared at Sotomar, and he gasped and clutched his chest as a short burst of burning filled him. He looked up at her with furious eyes, “Do not do that.”

“Give me my baby! I can’t take out the city but I can ash the Council.”

“No you can’t, or you’ll never see him again,” Sotomar said, and turned to walk into the palace.

“Or I could just ash you,” Emily said, following him.

Sotomar ignored her comment and returned to the council chambers.

“The Equites are calling again, demanding a meeting,” Exavior said. “Pushy bunch.”

“I would imagine they would like to speak to us. Send a delegation. We can’t have them here,” Sotomar said, and sat down. He was still feeling the lingering effects of Emily’s burn.

“Are you ok?” Elder Ryan asked him.

Sotomar grinned slightly, “Just a little burn, more of a warning.”

Exavior chuckled, “It does sting for a bit.”

“When do you want to do it?” Ryan asked the other Elders.

“Soon… maybe tonight. We could just get it over with,” Sotomar suggested.

“I understand we need to show our power, but it seems risky for her to do that amount. She was in a coma, on the brink of death the last time she turned a large amount.”

“I know, but this isn’t nearly the 3400 she did here. This is a lot smaller. I suspect she’ll just sleep for a bit,” Sotomar said, and turned to the Chief Enforcer. “Do it, now.”

The Valle’s Chief Enforcer nodded and disappeared from the council chambers.

***

“All of them?” Quinn asked, shocked.

Kyle nodded, “Every one of them. General Skinner didn’t have time to call for an alert. From what I can gather, they let Emily walk right in.”

“Damnit, of course they did,” Chevalier growled. “Alert the covens not to let her in.”

“We’ll have a problem doing that with Thukil,” Zohn said. “They revere her.”

“Explain what’s happening, put out an order, no one’s to let her in.”

Kyle sighed and stood up, “This could take a while. I’ll be back once I’ve revived them.”

Once Kyle was gone, Zohn turned to the other Elders, “It’s happened then… they are going to try to wipe out the Equites.”

“It’s irritating how easily Emily can be controlled by an ancient,” Dustin growled, still angry over her mass ashing of his home coven.

“She’s going to be upset,” Chevalier said. “If she remembers turning Powan to ash, they are going to have an entirely new set of problems on their hands.”

“Why do you suppose she’s not just turned the Valle to ash and gotten away?” Zohn asked, frowning.

“I’m not sure. I told her to stop ashing, but I doubt she’s listening to me.”

***

“Emily?” Sotomar said softly. He sat down on the edge of her bed and touched her hand softly, “Child, wake up.”

“What do the Equites do with her?” Ryan asked, watching her sleep.

“I think they just let her sleep it off.”

“Her eyes are blood red though, that can’t be normal.”

“I don’t know… I’m usually on the other end of this,” Sotomar explained, and stood up. “Let her sleep.”

Exavior sat down on the bed and took her hand, “You do realize she’s going to be pretty mad when she wakes up.”

“Yes, I do,” Sotomar said, watching him closely.

“I’ll stay here with her.”

Ryan sighed, “You know we can’t leave you alone with her. That was part of the deal.”

“I’m not going to hurt her,” Exavior said, irritated. “She shouldn’t be alone.”

“Then I’ll stay. You two go deal with the backlash from the Equites,” Sotomar said, and moved to stand by her bed.

Exavior’s eyes narrowed, and he blurred from the room angrily. Ryan glanced at Sotomar before leaving.

The following evening, Emily finally started to stir. Sotomar sat on the edge of her bed and touched her shoulder, “Emily?”

She rolled over and looked at him, “You were my friend.”

“I still am, Child.”

“No… no you aren’t,” she said, and sat up slowly. Her head was pounding, and suddenly, the attack on Powan came back to her.

Sotomar frowned, “Emily?”

“Noooo,” she whispered, and she turned furious eyes to the Valle Elder. “You made me do that.”

Sotomar stood up, “Yes, we did.”

Emily scrambled out of bed and faced him in a crouch. Sotomar watched her, confused. He hadn’t seen her display any traits of a heku before, but realized that after almost 15 years, she managed to pick up some of them.

“Calm down,” he said sternly.

“Give me my baby and let me go.”

“No”

Emily flew at him and rammed her shoulder into his stomach. He wrapped his arms around her, spun her away from him, and held her tightly, “Stop it before you hurt yourself.”

She lowered her head and slammed it back into his nose. The sound of shattering bones filled the bedroom. He growled and gripped her tighter as he healed.

“I said stop it,” he hissed.

“They are my friends,” Emily growled, and jabbed an elbow into his stomach.

Sotomar groaned and tightened his grip, “Calm down, immediately.”

“Or what? You’ll make me attack my friends again?” she yelled, and kicked backwards, displacing his knee. Sotomar let go of her and fell back against the wall, growling. The room suddenly filled with Imperial Guards, and two of them tackled Emily and pinned her against the floor.

Emily screamed angrily and fought against them. The Council came into the room and watched her with wide eyes.

“Are you ok, Elder?” the Chief of Defense asked.

“I’m fine. She has quite the temper,” Sotomar said, and straightened his shirt.

Elder Ryan knelt down beside her, “Calm down.”

Emily tried to kick him, but another Imperial Guard caught her leg before it connected with his jaw.

Exavior blurred to her side and knelt down, his voice was angry, “Stop it right now or you’ll be punished.”

She froze, her eyes wide as she looked at him. The Imperial Guards were still holding her firmly to the floor. As she watched him, it became hard to breathe and she started to panic.

“Exavior, get out,” Sotomar growled.

Exavior reached over and took her face painfully in his hand, “Did you hear me?”

She nodded slightly, and Sotomar pushed Exavior from the room. The guards let go of her and she stayed on the floor while they left and shut the door, leaving her alone in the foreign bedroom.

“Exavior, she’s not to be harmed,” Sotomar yelled when they got to the council chambers.

“She’s young and needs to learn obedience,” Exavior said, and sat down.

“Not through discipline or punishment.”

“It’s the only way. She’s stubborn and defiant.”

“I don’t care. I don’t want her hurt.”

“Give it time. You’ll see what I do,” Exavior explained, and turned to the trial area.

Emily stayed on the wooden floor and looked up at the ceiling. She calmed the terror that grew when Exavior threatened her, and finally was able to breathe normally. The image filled her mind of the Powan guards smiling at her and letting her into the coven. She shut her eyes tightly as she remembered turning them all to ash almost instantly, unable to stop herself.

She stayed in her room for three days, refusing to talk to anyone, the trays of food left untouched. She never moved from the floor and only turned away from the ceiling when someone entered the room to talk to her.

On the evening of the third day, Sotomar came into the room and sat down on the floor beside her, “You have us worried.”

Emily watched him, unmoving.

“I know what you’re doing, and we can’t allow you to wither away.”

She turned back to the ceiling to count the holes in the tile again.

Sotomar sighed, “So here’s the deal. We’re going to only feed Dain when you eat, so if you decide to starve yourself, you are also starving your son.”

Emily looked over at him and glared.

“I want you to know, also, that we will not allow Exavior to punish you. That’s a promise.”

Sotomar waited for Emily to respond, and when she didn’t, he stood up and looked around the room, “I’ll have another tray brought up. Dain should be hungry soon, so I suggest you eat.”

Emily watched him leave and then turned back to the ceiling. When a tray of food was brought up, she waited until the servant left before crawling up from the floor to eat. Her mind was busy with thoughts of how to escape, but any option she had would leave the baby alone with the Valle, alone with Exavior.

“She ate some,” the Imperial Guard told the Valle Council.

“Some?” Sotomar asked.

“Yes, some.”

Ryan sighed, “Very well, let her be at that for now. We need to decide on an Encala target.”

“It’ll be harder. They aren’t going to let her walk in,” Exavior said, studying a book of known Encala covens.

“How close does she need to be?” the Chief Enforcer asked.

“Not very. She was able to ash our entire city from inside of this room,” Sotomar explained.

“Call Rasmussen, we will do it tonight. I suggest the Encala’s District Coven. It’s not far away, but has over 400 heku,” Exavior said, still studying the book.

“Maybe we should wait a week or so, make sure she’s feeling ok,” Sotomar said.

“Don’t coddle her,” Exavior growled. “She’s to do as we ask and without question.”

Sotomar nodded, “I guess you’re right.”

***

Emily squeezed her eyes shut. Her headache was much worse and the light from outside was shining into her eyes. Someone moved in the room and shut the heavy curtains, dropping them back into darkness.

“How are you?” Sotomar asked.

Emily finally opened her eyes, “Stop making me do that, please.”

“You didn’t answer me. How are you?”

“Like you care.”

“I do though. We don’t want to put you through unnecessary pain, and it seems to me as if your head hurts.”

“Go away,” she said, and rolled onto her side away from him.

Emily heard Sotomar leave her room. She glanced around quickly to make sure she was alone, and then crawled out of bed and stumbled into the bathroom. She ran a hot shower and got in, fighting to get the image of the screaming Encala out of her mind.

Sotomar returned to the Council, “She is not well.”

“She’ll survive. Do we hit the Equites Thukil Coven next?” Exavior asked.

“No, did you hear me? This is wearing on her. We need to back off.”

“She is faking to get her way. We need to keep with the assault until the other factions realize that we are in control.”

“I disagree,” Sotomar said. “If this is wearing on her body, then we need to give her a break.”

“Let’s get the Encala out of the way and we’ll continue,” the Chief Enforcer said. “Bring them in.”

The Valle Council sat back while Encala Elder William and four guards came into the trial room.

“Why have you asked to see us?” Exavior asked.

“Why the hell do you think? Why did you use Emily to attack an Encala coven?” William asked angrily.

“It is within our power, then why not?” Ryan asked.

“First you revive Exavior, and then you attack us? Consider our alliance null and void.”

“Strong words for someone who should fear us.”

“I’m not afraid of you. I’m afraid for you… you may think you’re in control, but soon, Emily will be out of your hands and we will retaliate for this.”

Exavior smiled, “I doubt that.”

“When we helped you get Emily, it was understood that we both stood against the Equites… Now we see that the Valle cannot be trusted.”

“You should have always known that. Just because we were forced into an alliance, doesn’t mean we agreed to stand by it forever… I’m done with you,” Exavior said, and grabbed a book from the table.

William’s eyes narrowed, and then he turned and stormed out.

“Send her to Thukil,” Exavior said, turning to Sotomar.

“No, if we have to send her out, then pick something smaller. She’s tired and sick.”

“Fine… have her take out the Avent Coven then. It’s only 300 or so.”

Sotomar nodded, “Rasmussen, do it.”

Chapter 3 - Weakened

“How are you, Dear?” Sotomar asked. He walked into the bathroom where Emily was sitting beside the toilet, then glanced over her quickly. She was pale and drawn, and her hands shook.

“Go away,” she whispered, and pressed the palms of her hands into her eyes.

“I’m trying to convince the Council to stop sending you out. To do this, I need to know the toll it’s taking on your body,” Sotomar explained. “Twelve covens in 7 days may be too many for you.”

“You have your weapon. Now go away while I suffer in peace,” she whispered.

Sotomar knelt down beside her, “I’m on your side. I want the attacks to stop, but the Council doubts that you are really ill.”

“If you’re on my side, Damon, then let us go.”

Sotomar frowned, “That, I cannot do. We can’t risk putting you back into the hands of the Equites.”

“Then, as I said, you get your ashing. All I ask is that you let me endure the aftermath alone.”

Sotomar stood up and sighed before leaving. He blurred into the council chambers, “She’s very ill, we need to stop. She doesn’t know where she is or who we are.”

“Why stop now? The other factions are running scared,” the Chief Investigator said proudly.

“We stop because she’s ill.”

“I agree with Exavior. She’s looking for sympathy… There’s nothing wrong with her, and I fully plan on sending her out to Potomac Coven this evening.”

“That young child is suffering. We need to stop.”

“I say keep going,” Exavior told them, and turned to Ryan. “Your vote?”

Ryan sighed and nodded, “Hit Potomac tonight. See what happens.”

Four hours later, Emily stumbled into the Potomac Coven, home to 377 Encala. She braced against the wall, too weak to stand on her own. One heku stood behind her, and ordered her to move further into the coven. She moved without question, and without thought, until she stood in the center of the compound.

“Turn them all to ash,” the heku whispered.

Emily nodded and turned to the heku as they ran away from her. She saw a swarm of red caped heku blur toward her as she began the assault. Soft hands gripped her as a cloth was held over her nose. Blackness engulfed her and she welcomed it.

***

“Emily?” William asked softly, and then touched her forehead. She was still running a high fever, “Shouldn’t she be awake?”

“I don’t know, I’ve never seen this,” the Encala doctor said, watching her. He took her blood pressure and checked her eyes again, “Unless we call the Equites, we’ll have to guess. Right now my instinct is to wait and see if her eyes clear up.”

“We can’t call the Equites. They don’t know we have her,” Encala Elder Aaron explained.

The doctor nodded, “You said she’s taken out how many of our covens in the past week?”

“Six, entirely wiped out. So if we factor in the same numbers for the Equites… then she’s turned no less than 3,000 heku to ash this week alone… that’s if the Equites suffered the same losses we have,” William said.

“If we notify the Equites and return her,” Elder Reese said, deep in thought, “We could realign ourselves with them and combine our efforts to pay the Valle back.”

“I’m not ready to side ourselves with the Equites just yet. Think how powerful we can be with the Winchester under our command,” William said. “However, we don’t know why she didn’t turn the Valle to ash, so we also run the risk of her wiping out our city.”

“There is a way to make us immune to her abilities. I just don’t know what it is,” Aaron told them.

“Let’s watch her until she wakes up and see how it goes,” William suggested. “Make sure she doesn’t leave her room without guards, and have her checked on every 15 minutes. I want to know if she wakes up.”

“Yes, Elder,” one of the guards said, and headed off to give orders.

The Encala watched over Emily for five days before she finally began to wake up. The Elders were summoned early in the morning to her bedside when the guards heard her stir.

“Emily?” William asked, sitting down on the bed beside her.

Emily frowned, her eyes were still shut, “William?”

He smiled, “Yes, you’re with the Encala now.”

“Did Keith join the Encala?” she asked, her words slurred.

“I don’t know a Keith, Dear,” William said, and glanced at the doctor. “Do you know where you are?”

Emily looked up at him, and he was shocked to see the whites of her eyes were still blood-red, “Yes, I’m with the Ferus.”

“No, Child, you are with the Encala… how is your head?”

She pressed her palms into her eyes, “I can’t think.”

William nodded to the doctor. He quickly gave her an injection of pain medication and she settled back down in bed.

“Those monsters,” Reese growled. “They used her like a mindless weapon and almost killed her doing it.”

“Leave it to the Valle,” William said angrily. “I still can’t believe they revived Exavior after what he did.”

“They don’t care. They will do whatever they can to get their way.”

“Well they won’t get Emily. She’s ours now, and I plan on keeping her safe,” William said, and took her hand.

“How do you plan on keeping us safe though?” Frederick asked. The Chief Enforcer had just walked into her room.

“I’m thinking on that. I wonder what the Valle did.”

“Ask her,” Frederick suggested. “While she’s drugged up.”

“Emily?” William said, and touched her shoulder.

She opened her eyes slightly.

“Child… why did you not turn the Valle to ash?”

“The Valle?” she whispered.

“Look at me,” William said. He was surprised when he was able to immediately lock her eyes, “Why didn’t you turn the Valle to ash?”

Emily could hear him, his voice was far off, but soft and flowing, “They have Dain.”

William frowned, “Did you see him?”

“No”

“Sleep, Child…” he said, and turned back to the other Elders when she fell asleep. “Do you think they still have the baby?”

“It seems strange that the Equites didn’t tell us the baby was missing also,” Aaron said. “They yelled at us for the Valle having Emily, but said nothing about the baby.”

“So… maybe they lied to keep her from turning them to ash?”

“Perhaps”

“Do we stoop to that level?” Reese asked.

“What are our other options?” William asked, looking at the Council gathered in Emily’s room.

“None that I can see. We can’t risk her turning the city to ash again.”

William nodded and turned back to her, “Let her sleep for now. Maybe when she wakes up, she’ll be more alert.”

***

“It’s disconcerting,” Kyle said. “Over the first 7 days she was missing, there were 7 attacks, one a day… now nothing?”

“The Valle aren’t answering, and I’m not picking anything up from Emily at all,” Chevalier said, his eyes furious.

“Seven attacks in 7 days… if they attacked the Encala also, then the number could be a lot higher,” Quinn said. “Maybe they overdid it and she’s asleep?”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.”

“At the very least, let’s send the baby to the Valle also,” Zohn said, irritated.

Quinn glared at him, “He’s a baby and he misses his mother.”

“So send him over!”

“No… we cannot send a heku baby to the Valle.”

Chevalier sighed, “I’ve tried to get him to stop screaming. He won’t do it.”

“Then take him to the island, let them listen to it for a while.”

“Stop it, Zohn! You aren’t helping things,” Quinn hissed.

“I can’t concentrate. It hasn’t been quiet for two weeks.”

“Deal with it. He’s a baby.”

“Dad?” Allen asked when he opened the door behind the Council.

Chevalier turned and sighed, “Let me have him.”

Allen hurried up the stairs and handed Dain over to Chevalier. The baby looked into his Dad’s eyes and started crying again. Kyle blurred away and returned with a bottle. The entire palace fell silent when the 8-month-old began to eat.

“Just keep a bottle in his mouth,” Zohn growled.

***

“William?” Emily called out softly. She looked around the familiar Encala bedroom and sat up slowly.

William came in and smiled, “You called for me, Dear?”

“Why am I here?”

“We rescued you from the Valle.”

“Is Chevalier here?”

“Well… no. The Equites don’t know you’re here.”

Emily frowned, “So the Valle kidnapped me from the Equites, and you kidnapped me from the Valle?”

William chuckled, “Yes, I guess that sounds right.”

“Are you going to force me to ash entire covens?”

“No, we’re not.”

Emily nodded slightly and looked around, “Did you get Dain also?”

“Yes, we did.”

“Can I see him?”

“No, we need to protect ourselves.”

“Please, let us go. I don’t feel well, and I just want to go home,” Emily told him.

“Tell me what’s wrong,” William said, and sat on the side of the bed. He noticed how shaky her hands were.

“Everything, headache, stomach ache, my entire body hurts, and I want Chevalier.”

“I know you do… right now, just rest here. We’ll give you anything you need to fully recover.”

“Then go away,” Emily said, and leaned back on the bed. She pulled the covers up and rolled onto her side away from him.

“If you need anything, just call,” William told her, and left the room.

As soon as William left, Emily stood up and stretched her sore back. She went to the window and looked out along the wall of the Encala Palace. She found what she needed, so pulled on jeans and a t-shirt from the closet and quickly slipped out the window. She maneuvered to the first drainpipe by edging along a small ledge. When she grabbed the drainpipe, she realized it was loose though, and she quickly looked around for another way down.

Above her window was another ledge and Emily looked up the wall and found a clear path to the roof. Not seeing a way down, she opted for the roof route, and within fifteen minutes, was on the roof of the Encala palace. There were four helicopters there, but she didn’t see anyone around them or in the small glass radio room.

Emily tried the door to the radio room, but found it locked. She was able to find a loose board and smashed the glass door. Ignoring the glass cuts on her feet, she went inside and thumbed through the radio channels. The LED was showing EN until the fifth channel where it changed to VL. She kept going and smiled when she saw EQ on the display.

“Base, is anyone there?” she whispered, and looked around the roof.

“Base here, who is this?” a strange voice asked. Emily gasped and turned the volume down quickly.

“I need to talk to Chevalier,” she said softer. The glass room seemed too open, so she crouched down behind the only desk and waited.

“Chevalier here. Who is this?” he growled.

“It’s me,” she whispered.

“Emily! Where are you?”

“Shhhh... whisper… I’m on the roof of the Encala palace.”

“The Encala? We thought the Valle had you.”

“They did,” she said softly. “The Encala kidnapped me from the Valle.”

“Do they know you are contacting us?”

“No”

“We’ll come see what we can do. Are you ok?”

Emily sighed and tears filled her eyes, “I’ve ashed a lot of Equites.”

“I know, and we know you didn’t have a choice.”

“Is General Skinner mad?”

“No, he knows about the Ancient.”

“They won’t let me have the baby. I don’t know if he’s ok,” Emily said, cupping her hand so she could talk quieter.

“Dain? Em, he’s here.”

Emily frowned, “The Valle took him, too… and the Encala took him when they got me.”

“No, Dain’s never been gone from the palace.”

“Seriously?” she sounded irritated.

“Yes, he’s fine… now stay out of trouble while we get you back.”

“Ok, I’ll…” Emily was pulled out of the command center by the back of her t-shirt and thrown to the ground.

“She’s ours. Try to get her and we’ll take her where you’ll never find her,” Frederick hissed into the radio.

There was no answer from the Equites, and Emily scrambled to run away from the Chief Enforcer. He slammed into her by the wall and pinned her against the hard stone, “Can’t stay out of trouble, can you?”

“Please, let me go,” Emily said, avoiding looking at him. His face was so close to hers that she could feel his breath against her skin. Her body tensed when she felt him run his nose up her neck and inhale.

She relaxed as his teeth sunk into her neck. Her body went limp against his, but he held her up against the wall. Emily fought to keep her eyes open, but grew tired quickly. She wanted to fight, wanted to turn him to ash, but she couldn’t concentrate enough. When his lips pressed against hers, she could do nothing but allow the kiss to happen.

“Good, now you’re more manageable,” Frederick said, and picked her up before her legs gave out.

William and Aaron met them inside the palace.

“Are you sure you didn’t take too much?” William asked.

Aaron was looking at her face, “She’s paler than she should be.”

“She’s fine… a little blood loss won’t hurt her, and now she can’t turn us to ash,” Frederick said proudly. “Quite succulent, I might add.”

“There has to be another way to keep the palace safe, other than keeping her blood supply low,” William said, frowning.

“Not really, and this way’s much more fun than any others,” Frederick told them, laughing. He laid her down on the bed, and her limp body stayed exactly where he put her.

“Get those fires going and warm up this room,” Aaron said, feeling her cold hand. He pulled the blankets up over here.

“How much information did she give?” William asked.

“Well, the Equites know she’s with us now, and in our palace. They also told her that the baby is with them and not here.”

“Damn, that’s what I was afraid of. Get bars on those windows and tell the guards to expect the Equites,” Aaron said, and left the room.

Frederick smiled down at Emily and disappeared to round up the guards.

William sat down beside her and took her cold hand, “Forgive us… if there were any other way.”

Several hours later, a guard came into her room and bent down by the Elder, “The Equites have representatives here to see the Council.”

William nodded and followed the guard out of the room. When he sat down with the Council, Reese told the door guard to let them in.

Zohn, Kyle, Mark, and Silas entered the enemy trial room.

“Is there a problem?” Reese asked.

“You know damn well there is. We want to see Emily,” Zohn said.

“She’s busy,” Frederick told them.

“No, she’s not. We want to see her immediately. We know she’s here.”

“Yes, she is here,” William said. “Where she’ll stay. As proven by past events, the Valle aren’t capable of handling the responsibility of a Winchester, and we aren’t so sure the Equites are either.”

“It’s more than that and you know it,” Kyle growled. “She has children that depend on her. She’s not a weapon to be handed around. We are her family.”

“Noted, and we’ll take that into consideration,” Reese said. “For now though, you may not see her.”

“What’s it going to take?” Zohn asked.

“For Emily’s return? It won’t happen,” William told him.

“She doesn’t want to be here, and I have a feeling you’ll pay for it if you don’t let her come with us.”

“No, we’ve taken precautions to ensure our safety, and I can assure you we are safe.”

“What precautions?” Mark growled.

“None of your concern… you may go. We have trials to attend to,” Aaron said, and watched as the Equites were escorted out by the guards.

“We can’t keep her blood drained for the rest of her life,” William said. “We need to come up with another safety measure or we could kill her.”

“I don’t know. I kind of like this way,” Frederick chuckled.

“Don’t push it. The rest of the feeding will be done by the Elders only, to ensure it’s not overdone,” Reese said, and grinned when Frederick’s face grew serious.

The first week passed, and Emily stayed in her room, away from the heku. She refused to eat and wouldn’t talk to any of the Encala.

She looked over at the door when someone knocked. Lieutenant Andrew came in and smiled, “Do you have a moment?”

He waited for a few seconds before coming in and sitting in a chair by her bed, “We were thinking about getting a football game going, would you like to join us?”

Emily didn’t respond. She just watched him.

Lt. Andrew sighed, “What about bowling? We can go set up the lanes.”

She looked back at her book and turned the page, ignoring the Lieutenant.

“Ok, if you change your mind…” Lt. Andrew said, and left the room quickly.

Only a few minutes later, Elder Aaron came in with a tray of food. He set it down on her table and then sat on the edge of the bed, “How can we get you to eat?”

Emily didn’t look up from her book.

Aaron sighed, “You know why I’m here…”

Emily threw the book down and scrambled out of bed. Before she even stood up, Aaron was standing in front of her.

“Don’t fight it. It’ll be easier if you just let it happen.”

She stood and spun, sending her elbow into his stomach. He bent slightly and growled, “Stop it.”

Aaron took her shoulders and turned her around to face him. He dodged when she tried to slam her palm up into his nose, and threw her down on the bed, “I said, stop it.”

Emily’s heel connected with his jaw, but failed to break it, and he quickly pinned her to the bed, restraining her extremities. She tried to head butt him, but his teeth were at her neck before she could connect and she relaxed beneath him.

Aaron finished and leaned his head on the bed, still pinning her down, “Damn.”

Emily couldn’t fight. She couldn’t even keep her eyes open and fell asleep almost immediately. Aaron finally found the willpower to stand up, and smoothed his shirt down. He watched her for a few minutes, ordered the fire stoked, and then left her room.

“It’s done,” he said, sitting down in his chair with the Council.

“Are you ok?” Frederick asked. Aaron was visibly upset.

“I don’t like this, at all. Plus… it’s hard to stop. I’m not sure we should do that alone.”

“I don’t like it either, but I don’t see an option,” William said.

Frederick grinned, “It wouldn’t be hard to drain her at all. It’s quite appetizing.”

William glared at him, and the Chief Enforcer looked down at the trial documents.

“She tried to fight me,” Aaron said, looking over at the other two Elders.

“I would imagine she did,” Reese sighed.

“You have to stop thinking of that mortal as a friend,” the Chief of Defense suggested. “She’s not… she’s an enemy weapon and needs controlled.”

“She was our guest once. We all got to know her, and it’s hard to just write her off as a weapon,” William told them.

“Still, that’s what she is,” Frederick reminded him.

“Do we still have that Equites we got from the Ferus? A member of their Cavalry that they assumed died?” Aaron asked.

“Yes,” William told him, and turned to the Elder. “Why?”

“Send him back as a show of good faith.”

William nodded, “It won’t replace Emily, but it might help relations.”

Reece shrugged, “I don’t care. He didn’t do anything to deserve prison… send him back.”

“Feed him first, it’s been a few years since he fed,” William told one of the guards, “Then let him go.”

The guard nodded and disappeared from the room.

The door guard stepped in, “Elders, the doctor is here with a report.”

“Let him in,” William said, and the Council turned to him.

The doctor stepped up and was visibly upset, “You can’t keep this up. She’s hit stage 4 of hypovolemia.”

“Meaning what?” William asked.

“That means she’s damn closed to dying from blood loss. Her heart is racing, she has a weak pulse, her breathing is too fast, she’s in and out of consciousness, and she’s cold and pale.”

“Can you help her?”

“Yes, with an I.V. I can replace some of the fluid in her body.”

“We can’t have her strong enough to turn the palace to ash though.”

“It’ll be a while before she recovers.”

“Do what you can to make her more comfortable.”

The doctor nodded and walked out.

Aaron sighed, “I didn’t realize I’d taken her down that low.”

“It’s not your fault. It’s hard to tell when she was just fed from a few days before,” Reese said.

“Give the doctor time to see if he can bring her around,” William suggested, frowning. “We really need to come up with a better idea.”

“Maybe we should ask her how to make us immune. She may take it over the continual feedings,” the Chief Liaison Officer said.

“Exavior only made himself immune, not his entire house… makes me think we couldn’t protect us all with it.”

“But if one Elder were immune, then it would do no good to turn the entire city to ash.”

“True, I guess we could ask her.”

***

Derrick walked into the council chambers, “Torrance has returned.”

Quinn frowned, “He has?”

“Yes, Sir. He showed up a few minutes ago.”

“Let him in,” Zohn said, and they watched for the missing Cavalry member.

A heku entered. He was wearing a dirty and torn Cavalry uniform, but looked to be in good health. He stepped before the Council.

“Are you ok?” Chevalier asked.

“Yes, Sir. The Encala fed me before letting me go,” he explained.

“You’ve been with the Encala this entire time?”

“No, I started off in the Ferus jail, but the Encala took me and put me into their prison.”

Zohn sighed, “Were you ever tortured or interrogated?”

“No, Sir. I wasn’t fed, but was never tortured.”

“Did they say why they let you go?” Quinn asked.

“No, Sir.”

“Did you see Emily?”

“No, Sir… is she with the Encala?”

“Yes, she is.”

“I didn’t catch her scent in the palace.”

Quinn turned to Chevalier, “Maybe they’ve moved her out of the palace.”

“Maybe,” he said, and watched the member of the Cavalry.

“Give Mark a full report. It’s good to have you back,” Zohn said, and smiled. They watched the heku leave.

“Check with some of our spies. See if we can find where they’ve taken Emily,” Quinn said to Derrick. He nodded and left the council chambers.

***

“Emily?” William said, sitting down on her bed.

She looked over at him and he was shocked by the lack of color in her face, and the dullness of her eyes.

“Please,” she whispered. “Don’t use my neck.”

William looked down at the blanket, “I’m sorry.”

“Just not my neck,” she said, and handed over her wrist.

The Encala Elder sighed, “If there was any other way.”

“Drain me, please,” she whispered, and looked into his eyes.

He reached over and touched her cheek softly, “I don’t want to kill you.”

“I can’t live like this.” Her voice was soft and desperate, “How long have I been here?”

“It’ll be five weeks tomorrow.”

“If you care about me at all, end it.”

William picked up her hand and hesitated before sinking his teeth into the soft flesh of her wrist. As her body relaxed, a tear fell down her cheek. When he was finished, he pulled a blanket up over her and kissed her hand before leaving.

Aaron met William out in the hallway, “How is she?”

“Not good. She wants us to kill her.”

“I wonder about trying her without the draining part… see if she’ll just behave.”

“Can we risk that? If she gets the strength to ash the palace, it would be too late.”

Aaron nodded, “That’s true.”

“I don’t like this either,” William said. “We’re slowly killing her.”

Frederick came up to them, grinning, “Enjoy your lunch?”

“No, as a matter of fact I didn’t,” William told him.

The Chief Enforcer shrugged and walked into Emily’s room. He was assigned to control her long enough to make her eat, though the day of a feeding, and several days after, all he could manage was for her to drink some. The doctor mixed up a high calorie drink for those days.

Aaron and William walked up and met Reese in the Elder’s conference room. The two of them sat down.

“The Equites’ Powan Coven wiped out our Scotch Coven last night. They killed all 251 and burned the main house,” Reese said.

“What caused that?” William asked, frowning.

“From what I gather, the Lord of Scotch Coven sent a message to the Lord of Powan. He bragged that with our possession of their Winchester, Powan would soon be obliterated.”

“Why would he do that?”

“I don’t know, but I don’t feel a retaliation is necessary… sounds to me like he asked for it,” Reese said, and looked over some papers.

“Have we heard back from the Valle?” Aaron asked them.

Chapter 4 - Compassion

“Please, not my neck,” Emily begged again. She couldn’t focus and wasn’t sure where she was. All she knew was that her neck needed protected, and she was desperate to convince him of that.

Aaron nodded, “I know, Child.”

She couldn’t find the strength to speak more. Her eyes were heavy and her hands and feet were so cold she could no longer feel them. She gasped slightly when she felt the Elder’s teeth against her neck, and the relaxing sensation no longer brought relief from the panic. He finished, and then kissed her cold forehead lightly.

“Sorry, Dear, it’s hard to resist your neck,” he whispered, and brushed the hair off of her shoulder.

“I said, no, Exavior,” she whispered, and her hand fell limply across her chest.

Aaron watched her sleep for a bit, and then held her hand while the sun set and darkness fell over the Encala palace.

Long after dark, Emily felt strong arms pick her up out of bed. She wasn’t sure why she felt so cold, but the warm blankets were left behind. She tried to open her eyes when she felt the cold breeze fly past her as she was blurred away from the palace. It seemed like hours passed before she felt the cold ground beneath her. Her nightgown became wet with mud, and the prick of branches dug into her skin. She shivered as a light rain began to fall and quickly soaked through her clothing.

“You’re just a moron,” the guard said, starting his nightly patrols with his partner.

“No I’m not, it’s just been too long since you were human,” the other guard said, laughing.

“You’re older than I am, and sorely mistaken.”

“Gah, no I’m not. I distinctly remember it… is that a body?” he asked, and stopped. His green cape was heavy with the rain as he stooped down to look at the still form lying silently on the forest ground ahead of them.

“It is a body…” the other guard said, and took a step closer. “Is it dead?”

“Doesn’t smell like anything, death or not… saw that once when I found a fully drained mortal body,” he said, and touched Emily’s arm lightly.

“It’s a mortal, a girl… she’s not dead though, not yet.”

The guards both stood up and looked down at her.

“What do we do with her?” the tallest guard asked.

The other shrugged, “I don’t know. Leave her here? She’s not really any of our concern.”

The taller guard smacked the other one upside the head, “We can’t leave her here.”

“Well we can’t take her into the compound. Lord Dexter wouldn’t like a mortal in there.”

“He is weird about that… no other coven has to feed outside of their own city.”

“So we leave her?”

“I say we take her back. She’s obviously injured or… almost dead,” he said, and touched her arm with his boot.

“Maybe we should ask Kralen. He’s back from Council City for a while. I bet as one of their guards, he’s seen everything.”

“Not gonna bug him with a dead mortal.”

“She’s not dead.”

“Well she will be in a few minutes. Take a whiff, no blood smell at all.”

The taller guard thought for a moment, still watching her, “She’s just a kid.”

“Kid or not, she’s a mortal,” the shorter one said. “I vote we just leave her.”

“I wonder if someone from our coven drained her accidentally, and left her here for dead.”

“I doubt it. No one’s dumb enough to do that.”

“I’d drop her here before I’d turn myself in for it.”

The shorter guard knelt down, “Are you alive?”

“She can’t answer you, idiot,” the tall guard said. “Ok… I’ll stay here. Go ask Kralen what the big wigs in the city do with a dead mortal.”

“You don’t think this is the Elder’s missing wife, do you?”

“Damn I hope not. She’s been wiping covens out all over the continent.”

“What’s his wife look like?”

“How am I supposed to know? Again… Kralen would know. He’s one of her guards.”

“Fine… stay here. I’ll go get him,” the shorter guard said, and blurred back towards the coven. The taller guard stood impatiently and watched over the still form on the ground as she slowly began to sink into the deepening mud.

The shorter guard, drenched from the rain, knocked on the door to the main house. The Captain of the Guard answered, “What do you want, Nate?”

“I’d like a moment with Kralen, please,” the shorter guard said.

“You aren’t coming in here dripping wet. What do you want with Kralen anyway? He’s here on a vacation and is relaxing right now.”

“I just… I just wanted to talk to him for a moment, about the missing Elder’s wife.”

The Captain of the Guard grinned, “Why do you care? Gonna go look for her?”

“Maybe, I just want to know what she looks like is all.”

“She’s tiny and has long red hair, enough said,” the Captain told him. “Now leave Kralen alone.”

“Yes, Sir,” Nate said, and headed back into the rain. By the time he reached the taller guard, the rain was starting to turn to snow.

“Where’s Kralen?” the taller guard asked.

“They won’t let me see him. The Captain said the Elder’s wife is tiny and has long, red hair,” Nate said, looking down at her.

“Is her hair red?”

“Looks wet to me, I don’t know,” Nate said, irritated. “It’s… mud colored.”

“Well, we need to decide, or she’ll freeze to death if she’s not already dead.”

Nate sighed, “Ok… here’s what I think. I say we take her down and put her in a cell. It’s warmer, and she won’t get up and run around. We’ll decide what to do with her without running the risk of her dying of exposure.”

“Sure, you get her. I’ll watch for city guards.”

“No way! You pick her up.”

“What are you two girls doing standing out here in the snow?” a gruff voice said from behind them. They both stood up suddenly and saluted.

“Sir,” Nate said. “We were trying to decide what to do with it.”

“It?” the Commander asked, and walked around to see behind them. He gasped and knelt down, “Damnit, she’s alive.”

“Yeah, barely. We aren’t sure what to do with her,” Nate explained.

The Commander picked her up, “Where’d she come from? I smell an Encala.”

Nate inhaled, “Oh, didn’t notice that.”

“An Encala feeding gone bad I’d guess. Trying to pawn it off on the Equites,” the Commander growled. “Let’s get her inside and see if we can take her home.”

The three heku went back into the coven’s compound, and the Commander headed into the main house with her. It was the only place he could think of that might have a bed or couch to lay her on.

“What’s going on?” the Captain of the Guard asked when the Commander walked in, dripping water and mud all over the floor.

“Nate and Elbin found this mortal outside on their patrols. Smells like an Encala to me, and almost dead,” the Commander said. “Figured if we could warm her up and find out where she lives, we could just take her home.”

The Captain looked over her, “Idiots almost drained her. Put her on the couch. Let’s see if we can get her eyes open long enough to control her and get her out of here.”

“Yes, Sir,” the Commander said, and laid her down. He touched her arm, “Hey… lady?”

The Captain watched nervously, “Try again.”

“Hey!” the Commander said louder.

Emily struggled toward the voice. She finally managed to open her eyes slightly. The Commander locked her easily, and when her breathing slowed to match his, he spoke, “Where do you live?” he asked calmly.

“Palace,” she answered, her words were soft and slurred.

The Commander frowned, “You live in a palace?”

“Yes,” she said, almost dreamily.

“What city?”

“Council City,” she whispered, and fell asleep when the Commander broke the gaze and looked up at the Captain of the Guard.

The Captain’s eyes were wide, “It can’t be.”

“Let me get Kralen, he’ll know for sure,” the Commander said. He stood up, looked down at the nearly dead woman, and then blurred to Kralen’s room, and knocked softly.

“So much for peace and quiet, come in,” Kralen said.

“Sir… can you come with me for a second?” the Commander asked.

“What’s up?” Kralen asked, frowning. The Commander was soaking wet and looked fearful.

“Maybe nothing. We need you to come see something.”

Kralen sighed, “Sure, I was just reading.”

The Commander led Kralen into the study where the Captain of the Guard was knelt beside the woman.

“We found her while out on patrols and…” the Commander stopped when Kralen gasped.

“My God, Emily,” Kralen said, and knelt down beside her. “Get blankets, warm up this room.”

“Yes, Sir,” the Commander said, and ran off.

“Call and get Chevalier here,” Kralen ordered, and pushed Emily’s hair to the side. Her neck was riddled with small puncture wounds.

The Captain ran off to notify Council City.

Kralen looked her over. He was furious at how much blood someone drained from her. Her pale complexion and cold skin had him worried that she may not make it until Chevalier arrived. He ordered one of the hallway guards to find some clothes, and tore her wet nightgown off underneath the blankets, then tossed it onto the fire.

“Em?” he asked softly, and touched her shoulder.

“Please, not my neck,” she whispered, never opening her eyes.

“Council City said that Chevalier is unreachable right now, they’re sending the Chief Enforcer and Elder Quinn… they should be here in about 4 hours,” the Captain said. “Is that really the Elder’s wife?”

Kralen nodded, “Yes, where did you find her?”

“Two guards found her out in the woods while on patrols. She was just lying in the mud,” he explained.

Kralen pulled her hands out from under the heavy down blankets and hissed when he saw more puncture wounds on her wrists, “Did they feed?”

“No! She was already like this… the Commander said he smelled the Encala around her.”

“Get something for her to drink, water’s fine.”

“Right away,” a servant said, and appeared with a glass.

“Emily, you need to drink this,” Kralen said, and reached an arm under her shoulders to lift her up. She wouldn’t wake up enough to take a drink, so he gently laid her back down.

“Sir, we don’t have anything even close to her size,” the heku said. Kralen just nodded and pulled another blanket over her.

He watched over her until he heard the helicopter arrive outside of the coven’s cement walls. He turned when Kyle and Quinn walked in, and then looked back at Emily.

Kyle sat down on the couch beside her and growled, “Who the hell did this?”

“Guards found her out in the mud. She’d already been close to drained. They said the Encala scent was in the area,” Kralen explained. “I had to take her clothes off. She was wet and shivering.”

Kyle picked her up, blankets and all, “We need to get her back to the doctor. Call ahead and have B+ waiting.”

The Captain nodded and followed them out.

“Kralen, search those woods,” Quinn finally said when his temper was under control. “Find the Encala if you can… see if you can find anything that will tell us what happened.”

“Yes, Elder,” Kralen said, and watched the Council City heku get into the helicopter and take off.

The sound of Equites 1 taking off filled the woods that were full of heku looking for any sign of where Emily came from.

Kyle glanced at Quinn. His eyes were solid black and a dark shadow was over his features, “Elder, she couldn’t have turned anyone to ash or fought off a heku… How do you think she got away?”

“I’ve been thinking about that,” Quinn said, calming some. “All I can come up with is that someone in the Encala palace didn’t like what they were doing to her, and brought her to that coven to be found.”

“It could be one of our spies.”

“I don’t think so. One of our spies would have stayed with her.”

“She has no scent.”

Quinn growled, “I noticed. They’ve drained her to the brink of death… I just hope the doctor can help.”

“I don’t like how fast she’s breathing, or how fast her heart rate is.”

“Have you ever watched as a mortal was drained completely?”

Kyle frowned, “Yes, but never paid much attention.”

“Toward the end… that’s what happens. Their heart speeds up, their breathing, too… they get confused, and then they get sweaty, cold, and pale.”

Kyle leaned his cheek onto her forehead, “She is sweaty.”

Quinn nodded and turned back to the window, too angry to speak.

Equites 1 landed softly on the roof, and the doctor ran out of the palace with the guards as they lined up. Kyle jumped out of the helicopter and blurred into her room.

“Get those fires going,” Quinn growled, and stood back to watch the doctor as a servant brought the fires back to life.

Dr. Cook hissed as he took her blood pressure and listened to her heart, “Get me 4 bags of B positive.”

“Yes, Sir,” a servant said, and disappeared.

Dr. Cook brought out the I.V. supplies and pushed her hair off of her neck, “Damnit.”

“What?” Kyle asked, stepping forward.

“Please, don’t bite my neck,” she whispered softly.

“I need a high flow vein. Usually we use the jugular, but look at her neck… my God, what did they do?” the doctor asked, frowning.

Kyle growled, “We’ll know soon enough. Can you not put an I.V. in there because of the bites?”

“I’m afraid the vein would be too weak and might blow.”

“So now what?”

Dr. Cook pulled the blankets off of one of her legs, “We go femoral.”

Kyle winced and watched as the doctor felt for the vein.

“This is going to hurt, hold her down,” the doctor said as he swabbed the area with betadine.

Kyle sat on the bed beside Emily and pinned her upper body to the bed. Quinn, silent up until now, moved forward and held her feet. She gasped and arched her back slightly when Dr. Cook inserted the large needle into her thigh. He quickly taped it down and she settled back onto the bed.

Within minutes, Emily had two bags of blood simultaneously being fed into her body through the I.V. in her leg. The heku stood back and watched to make sure she didn’t wake up and pull the I.V. out. Once she looked deep asleep, the doctor asked the others to leave and then gently pulled a clean nightgown on her, and re-covered her with blankets.

When two bags of blood were emptied into her, the doctor was able to put a second I.V. line in her arm where he started clear fluids. Kyle pulled the heavy curtains shut when the sun came up. The heku were uncomfortably hot, but the fires roared on and Emily stayed under thick blankets.

“Kyle, go,” Quinn ordered when he heard the Humvee pull into the garage. Kyle nodded and disappeared from the room.

Dr. Cook took another blood pressure and sighed, “It’s a little higher.”

Chevalier appeared in the door a few minutes later and looked into the dark room. Dr. Cook had a stethoscope at Emily’s chest and didn’t look up.

He took a few steps into the room. His keen senses quickly picked up everything about Emily, from her pale complexion and sweat covered body, to the numerous puncture wounds on her neck and wrists. A soft hiss escaped him and Quinn walked up and put a hand on his shoulder.

“He has a femoral I.V. going that’s putting blood back into her. The other I.V. is just fluids. She’s only woken up long enough to ask us not to bite her neck,” Quinn explained. “The doctor said she’s in end-stage hypovolemia, but she’s slowly coming out of it.”

Chevalier nodded, “Kyle told me they found her out in the woods in the mud?”

Quinn nodded, “We suspect an Encala freed her, and put her where they knew Equites guards would be. I don’t think she was left in the woods to die.”

Chevalier walked over and sat on the bed opposite the doctor. He took Emily’s cold hand and checked to make sure she had enough blankets. He noticed how thin she’d become, and realized she must not have been eating while she was away.

“No, not my neck,” she whispered.

“You’re ok, Em, you’re home,” he said, and touched her cheek lightly.

“Her blood pressure is coming back up, heart rate is slowing too, things are looking good,” Dr. Cook said, and stood up to change one of the empty bags of blood. “This’ll be the last one. The rest she’s going to have to make on her own.”

“Please, Aaron, not my neck,” she said again, and jerked slightly.

Chevalier growled and looked at Quinn.

Quinn’s eyes narrowed, “I’m going to talk to the Encala Elders.”

Chevalier nodded, and Quinn stormed out of the room.

“What else can we do?” Chevalier asked.

“Fluids, we need her to drink and then the normal, eat red meat, B12, and folic acid,” the doctor said, and checked on the femoral I.V.

Chevalier ordered some food and held her hand. He didn’t get any of the usual dream emotions, or even the flowing gray images that he usually picked up from her while she slept. Four servants came in with trays of food and drinks. As soon as they were gone, he turned back to her.

“Em?” he said softly.

Her eyes fluttered but didn’t open. Chevalier looked up when Kyle walked into the room.

“Quinn took Dustin, Jaron, and Kralen to the Encala,” Kyle said, and sat down in a chair by the bed.

Chevalier nodded and turned back to her, “Emily, look at me.”

Her eyes slowly opened and she looked around the room.

“Can you drink anything?” he asked her, and touched her hand.

She pulled her hand away from him, “Please, just not my neck.”

Chevalier sighed, “No… you need to drink.”

Kyle lunged forward and caught her hand when she reached for the I.V. in her leg. She looked over at him, confused.

“I promise I won’t ash you, if you’ll stop feeding,” she whispered, watching Kyle.

Kyle leaned down to look at her, “I won’t feed if you’ll take a drink.”

Chevalier reached over and grabbed the orange juice from the tray beside her bed, and handed it to Kyle.

Emily nodded slightly, “Ok.”

Chevalier slid an arm under her shoulders and helped her sit up. With his free hand, Kyle put the glass of cold juice to her lips, and she brought her hands up to hold it as she drank the entire glass. The doctor quickly crushed the B12 and folic acid pills, and then stirred them in another glass of orange juice.

“Come on, one more and we won’t feed, I promise,” Kyle said, and when Emily nodded, he gave her the new glass. She quickly drank it all too, and Chevalier laid her back in bed and pulled the covers up.

Emily started to reach for the I.V. in her leg again, and Kyle took her hand in his, “No.”

“So they kept her blood volume low enough she couldn’t turn them to ash,” Chevalier whispered angrily.

Kyle nodded, “They couldn’t use Dain like the Valle did. By that time, she knew that he was here.”

“She was taken from the palace again.”

“I know. I imagine she’ll go back to the island when she feels better.”

“I would.”

“We’ll talk to her,” Kyle said. “We have to let her see that it’s safer for her here.”

“She has an office on the island.”

“She does? Why?”

Chevalier grinned, “She’s banned all heku from entering.

Kyle chuckled, “So what did you find when you went in there?”

“I sent Silas. She has a bunch of computer stuff in there.”

“So give her an office here… one no one is ever allowed in.”

“It’s better than the Durango.”

“Yes, it is,” Kyle said. “The hard part will be keeping heku out… if she goes there to get away, and we intrude, the safety is gone.”

“Get with Allen. Set up an office for her and reinforce the door so even we can’t break in.”

Kyle raised his eyebrows, “You sure?”

“Yes, I’d much rather have her locked in the palace of her own volition, than out in the Durango, or alone on the island.”

“You ok here, or do you want me to stay?”

“Go, it’s ok… right now my temper’s under control.”

Kyle nodded and blurred from the room, calling for Allen.

The next evening, Emily began to stir. Chevalier moved from her bed to the chair beside it and watched her.

Emily opened her eyes and looked up at the ceiling and frowned. She reached up and touched the bandages around her neck, and then reached for the stinging pain in her leg, but someone quickly took her hand. She looked over at Chevalier.

“Leave it in,” he said, and also took her other hand.

Emily looked around the room and whispered, “Where am I?”

“You’re in the palace in Council City.”

“With the Equites?”

“Yes”

“Did you bite me?”

“No”

“I was in the mud.”

“Yes, in the path of some guards.”

“They were going to leave me,” she whispered, slowly remembering.

Chevalier frowned, “They were?”

“But… they went to get Kralen.”

“You’re back safe now,” he told her, and kissed her hand.

Emily looked over at Chevalier, and he saw from her expression that she was starting to remember the last two months, “I turned a lot of heku to ash.”

“I know. No one’s blaming you.”

She cleared her throat and looked around the room, “Why is Dain crying?”

Chevalier grinned slightly, “He’s cried since you left.”

“Let me have him.”

“Are you sure? You’re still pretty sick.”

She nodded, and Chevalier called for Silas to bring the baby. Dain immediately stopped crying when he saw his Mom, and Silas laid him down by her. The 11-month-old nuzzled to her neck, and then frowned slightly.

Chevalier let one of her hands go and she wrapped an arm around the baby, then caught sight of the I.V. and tried to get her other hand free.

“No, Em, you really need to leave that in.”

She kissed the top of Dain’s head lightly, and then frowned, “Why does my leg hurt?”

“There’s an I.V. in your leg, too,” he said, and grabbed her hand when she pulled it out from under the baby.

“Get it out,” she said, trying to pull her hands away from him.

“No, leave it in.”

“Get it out, now.”

“Stop it, we’re leaving it in,” he told her sternly.

Dr. Cook heard the small argument and came into the room, “We can take the femoral I.V. out now.”

Chevalier nodded at him, “Do it.”

The doctor walked up cautiously, and had the I.V. out in just a few minutes. He covered Emily back up with a blanket, “Can you eat?”

Emily just glared at him, but didn’t answer.

Chevalier smiled slightly, “Eat or we put it back in.”

“Take the other I.V. out and I’ll eat.”

Chevalier glanced at Dr. Cook, and he nodded, “Sure, we can do that.”

The doctor removed the last I.V., and Chevalier let go of Emily’s hands. She sat up slowly and looked around the room as Dain sat up next to her and leaned against her arm.

“The second I’m stronger,” Emily said angrily. “I’m wiping out both the Encala and Valle Councils.”

“Let us handle it, Em.”

“No, this is my fight and I’m not taking it.”

“I need you to tell the Council everything that happened,” Chevalier said. “It’ll help us deal with the other factions.”

“I don’t need the Council to remove the current leadership from the other factions.”

“You’ve done a lot of ashing over the last few months. You need to back off before you end up in another coma.”

Emily sighed, “I need to do it.”

She looked over when a servant brought in a tray and sat it down on the bedside table. Chevalier moved it to the bed and removed the dome. The bedroom door opened again, and the entire Council, except Quinn and Dustin, came into the room.

“Now?” she asked, frowning.

“Now,” Chevalier answered. “Tell us everything you can.”

Emily was too weak to fight back, so she ate the steak dinner while she told the Council everything she could remember, leaving out anything that she planned on dealing with later. She ignored the hisses and growls as she moved to her time with the Encala, and she was glad that her neck was covered with gauze.

When she was finished, she looked over at Chevalier, but his face was turned away. She reached out and took his fisted hand, smoothing it out gently, “I’m ok… however, I owe them all a visit.”

He looked over at her, “Let us deal with it.”

They all looked over when Quinn and Dustin joined them in the room. Emily caught a glimpse of Mark and Silas talking to guards posted outside of her door.

“What did they have to say for themselves?” Chevalier asked angrily.

Quinn glanced at Emily and then turned to the Council, “They deny ever feeding from her. They are claiming that the Equites that found her must have done it.”

“The Valle?” Emily asked.

“No, the Encala,” Kyle told her.

The Council all turned and looked toward the door. Emily glanced around them, but didn’t see anything happen.

“Mark, come inside,” Chevalier said, and stood up. He turned to the Captain when he came into the room, “Double up her door guards. The Council needs to meet.”

“With who?” Emily asked, gently rocking Dain.

“The Valle want to talk to us, and I don’t trust them,” Chevalier said, heading out the door.

Emily watched him go and then laid down after glancing at Mark, who was standing guard at her door.

Once the Equites Council was seated, Derrick showed in the Valle representatives, Elder Ryan and four Imperial Guards.

“What do you want?” Chevalier growled.

Ryan sighed, “We came with a peace offering, and a diplomatic solution.”

“Peace offering?” Kyle asked skeptically.

“Yes… we give him to you,” Ryan said, and turned to one of his guards. The Imperial Guard hissed and blurred toward the door, but the other 3 Imperial Guards caught up with him just as the Equites Guards flooded into the room.

“Why would we want one of your guards?” Zohn asked.

Chevalier hissed and then spoke, “It’s Rasmussen.”

The Ancient threw back his hood and glared at the Equites Council, “You can’t keep me here.”

“Put him in a cell for now,” Quinn said. “And new orders are that Emily is to be kept out of the prison. She no longer has free access.”

“Yes, Sir,” Derrick said, and the Equites Guards pulled the Ancient out of the room.

Once things quieted down, Ryan spoke, “Now the Valle wish to discuss an alignment of the Equites and the Valle, in hopes to take out the Encala together.”

“Why would we align ourselves after what you did?” Zohn asked. “You forced a member of our Council to turn seven of our covens to ash, against her will.”

“We realize now that was wrong. We apologize for taking it to that level and for the amount of pain it caused her,” Ryan said.

“Pain?” Chevalier asked.

“Yes… we should have stopped once she began to show signs of suffering, but things got out of hand,” Ryan explained. “We now understand that she is not a weapon and wish to return as her friends.”

“She failed to mention the suffering part,” Kyle said, narrowing his eyes.

“We as Elders recognize the mistake we made in breaking the alliance, and want to know what we would need to do to restore it.”

“That alliance was made by Emily,” Quinn said. “She took it personally when it was broken, and I’m not sure she would wish to continue it at this time.”

“Please, let me apologize to her.”

Chevalier thought and then called for Emily. A few minutes later, she came in through the back council doors, being supported by Mark. The brighter lights in the council chambers brought her paleness out further, and as she sat down in a chair beside Chevalier, the council members grew angry.

Emily looked over at Ryan, “What do you want?”

Ryan’s eyes grew wide, “Who did that to you?”

“The Encala did… why are you here?”

Ryan’s features softened and his voice quieted, “We want the friendship back, Emily. We want to realign ourselves with the Equites and to join them in exterminating the Encala.”

Emily took a glass of juice from a servant, and turned back to Ryan after taking a drink, “Bring Exavior here and I’ll think about it.”

Chevalier frowned and turned to her, “Why?”

“Elder Exavior was banned from coming to Council City. It was part of the conditions for his return,” Ryan explained.

“Then no,” Emily said, leaning back in her chair.

“Please, reconsider… the Equites and the Valle could wipe out the Encala quickly, and then peace would return to the heku again.”

“No”

Ryan sighed, “Think about it, at least.”

Emily shrugged, “I’ll think about it.”

The Valle Elder smiled, “Good, then we’ll return and wait for your call.”

Elder Ryan and the remaining Imperial Guards moved out of the Equites Council Chambers quickly, and the door was shut.

“That was interesting,” the Chief of Defense said, turning toward the others.

The Council all turned to watch Emily as she stared into the glass of juice. She finally sighed and called for the Cavalry to mount up. There was a rush of movement inside the palace as the Cavalry left for the stables and guards replaced them at their posts.

Mark came and helped Emily out of the Council room.

“What are we going to do with Rasmussen?” Kyle asked when they heard the Cavalry leaving the palace grounds.

“Banish him again, I guess,” Quinn said.

“I foresee Lady Emily going after Exavior,” Dustin said, deep in thought.

“I agree,” Kyle sighed. “She seems to still have a bit of a vendetta.”

“What do you think she’s thinking about?” Quinn asked Chevalier.

“Either going after Exavior, the Valle, the Encala, or all of them.”

“She’s still pretty weak. We have a week or so before she’ll feel up to doing that,” Zohn told them. “We either need to come to an agreement, or figure out how to stop her.”

***

“Emily?” Mark whispered, and touched her arm lightly.

She sat up and looked at him, “What’s wrong?”

“The Council needs you for a few minutes.”

“What time is it?” she asked, yawning.

“It’s 5 o’clock.”

“Ok, have some breakfast brought in, too?”

Mark nodded and left the room when Emily got out of bed. She’d regained most of her strength back in the week since the Valle visit, but was still pale and sometimes had dizzy spells. She dressed quickly and tied her hair up as she walked down to the back entrance to the council chambers. When she walked in, the Council turned to her.

“Sorry, we know it’s early,” Quinn said.

“Come, sit,” Chevalier told her, and motioned for the chair beside him.

Emily sat down after taking a tray full of fruit and coffee from a servant, and then turned to the trial area. Her eyes narrowed when she saw Encala Elder Aaron standing beside their Chief Enforcer, Frederick, and two guards.

“It’s good to see you are well,” Aaron said, smiling.

Emily frowned, “No thanks to you.”

“We regret what we had to do to protect ourselves.”

“Whatever… why did you wake me up?” she asked, grabbing a few grapes.

“We’ve come to ask the Equites to realign with us, so the Encala and the Equites can remove the Valle faction,” Aaron explained.

Emily grinned and looked at Kyle, “Is this a joke?”

“No,” Kyle told her, and grinned slightly.

“So… you all feed from me every three days until I can’t even move, and now you want to be friends?” she asked, frowning.

“We apologize for what we did, again… but we had to protect our city from your abilities.”

“You wouldn’t have had to protect yourselves if you had let me go.”

“That wasn’t an option either. We felt that the Encala would be the best place for you… at the time…”

“Until you almost killed me, and then you figured you’d drop me off in the middle of nowhere in the mud?”

Aaron frowned, “That’s another thing… we want to know who took you from the Encala palace.”

Emily smiled, “You have no idea who returned me to the Equites?”

“No, and we need to know, for security reasons.”

“Why would I tell you that? The heku saved me.”

“It’s important that we know.”

“I’m not going to tell you, and I’m not recovered enough to forgive you for the constant feedings,” she told him.

“At least think about it and let us know,” Aaron asked.

“Oh, one other thing,” Emily said. Everyone turned to her and then spun toward Frederick when he dropped to his knees, gasping for breath as he tore the shirt from his burning chest.

When the Encala’s Chief Enforcer fell to the ground, Emily released him, “That’s for the kiss.”

“You kissed her?” Chevalier growled.

Frederick growled, and then blurred toward Emily, but found himself quickly pinned to the dirt floor of the council chambers by Kyle and Dustin. He fought against them, and glared with feral eyes toward Emily.

“Calm down or we’ll put you in our prison,” Dustin yelled at him.

The Equites finally let him up once he calmed down, and he turned and stormed out of the council chambers, followed the other Encala.

Emily sighed and got up to leave.

“You neglected to mention the kiss during our briefing,” Zohn said, turning to her.

She paused at the door, and then left without saying anything.

Zohn frowned, “Strange, Aaron obviously fed from her, yet she chose to burn the kisser.”

Quinn grinned slightly, “You’d think after this many years, you would figure her out.”

“Meaning?”

“In her eyes, a kiss is worse.”

“How can that be?”

“Personal violations,” Dustin answered. “She takes them more seriously than physical assaults.”

Zohn turned and frowned at Dustin, “How the hell do you know that?”

“I pay attention.”

“Has she mentioned who freed her?” Quinn asked Chevalier, changing the subject.

“No, she hasn’t, and I haven’t asked. I’m guessing she wouldn’t tell us.”

“Why not?” Zohn asked, frowning.

“He freed her. She won’t turn him in.”

Chapter 5 - Custody Dispute

“Sir, there’s a problem in the radio tower,” Derrick said, looking at Kyle.

“What kind of problem?”

“The Valle are asking to land.”

Kyle frowned, “Why the hell would we let them land?”

“It’s… well… they say they are bringing a gift for Lady Emily.”

Kyle shook his head and headed up to the roof of the palace to find out what exactly was going on. He took the radio from the heku, and glanced up at the waiting helicopter. The Bell 429 was painted white with a thick strip of maroon crossing from the nose and fanning out into maroon feathers at the tail.

“Base here,” Kyle said. “What exactly do you have for Emily?”

“Delivering the helicopter to the Lady,” the pilot said, still hovering 50 feet above the Equites’ helipad.

“You are bringing Emily a helicopter?” Kyle wasn’t sure he heard correctly.

“Yes, Sir.”

Kyle glanced at the heku in the radio tower, and then turned to Derrick, “Get 20 guards up here.”

“Right away,” Derrick said, and turned to the stairs. Within seconds, guards flooded onto the roof.

“Land it,” Kyle said. “Then stay in the cockpit.”

“Coming down,” the pilot said, and gently set the helicopter down between Equites 1 and Equites 2.

Kyle and Derrick walked around the helicopter, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Derrick pointed when he saw the name of the helicopter, ‘Winchester 1’ was written in white flames inside of the maroon stripe.

One of the guards opened the side door, and Kyle stepped in and his eyes grew wide. The inside of the helicopter looked like a living room. It was equipped with a soft, plush couch, TV, DVD player, a small fridge, and a wet bar.

“Well, that’s new,” Derrick said, shocked when he saw the inside.

“Come on out,” Kyle said to the pilot as he and Derrick moved back out onto the helipad. The heku pilot stepped out and crouched slightly.

“Why are the Valle giving Emily a helicopter?” Kyle asked him, ignoring his defensive posture.

“I don’t know. I was told to bring it here and then I’m free.”

“Free?”

“Yes, I’m an Encala, been imprisoned by the Valle for almost 5 months.”

“Escort him out of Council City,” Kyle said, still looking at the Bell 429 helicopter. “Get the Elder.”

Derrick nodded and disappeared. A few minutes later, all 3 Elders came up to the roof. They stopped when they saw the strange helicopter, and immediately noticed the name ‘Winchester 1’.

Kyle turned to them, “Seems the Valle think Emily needs her own helicopter.”

Chevalier’s eyes narrowed, “This is Emily’s?”

“That’s what the Encala that brought it told us.”

“An Encala flew a helicopter to the Equites from the Valle?” Quinn asked, confused.

Kyle grinned slightly, “My guess is they thought we’d keep him, so they sent a prisoner. If you think that’s odd, go look inside.”

Chevalier quickly disappeared inside the helicopter and came back out, grinning, “Interesting… never seen a living room inside of a helicopter.”

Quinn and Zohn both peeked inside.

“Bring Lady Emily,” Quinn said, sliding into the cockpit.

Emily came onto the roof a short time later, covered in sweat and still wearing black cut-offs and a sports bra, “What’d I do now… wait… you all got a new helicopter?”

Chevalier grinned, “You… got a new helicopter.”

“Why would you buy me a helicopter?”

“The Valle bought it for you,” Zohn said, obviously irritated.

“Ok then, why would the Valle buy me a helicopter?” she asked, and crawled inside. She sat down on the soft couch and looked around.

“Not sure exactly,” Chevalier said. “Come on out until we can have a crew search it.”

Emily opened the fridge to look inside before leaving, and pulled out a card. She sat back on the couch and opened it.

“Seriously, Em, come out.”

Emily grinned and stepped out, shaking her head, then handed the card to Chevalier. He opened it and chuckled.

“Guess you have a helicopter,” he said, and gave the card to Zohn.

“Seems a little extravagant for a bribe,” she said, walking around to look at it.

Zohn frowned, “We should send it back.”

“Why’s that?” Quinn asked, stepping out. “It’s pretty nice, though it won’t carry many at once.”

“I’m sure that was the idea behind it,” Chevalier said, still looking at it.

“Because… I don’t want the Valle thinking they can bribe us into aligning with them,” Zohn said.

A heku crew appeared and began going over the helicopter. One started with the engine while the other three went inside.

“It’s not hurting anything in letting them send Emily a little gift,” Quinn told him.

“Little gift? A flower is a little gift,” Zohn growled.

Emily smiled, “It’s nice and all, but I don’t need a helicopter.”

“Keep it, it’s not hurting anything,” Chevalier suggested.

“Doesn’t replace all the ashing they made me do,” she said, and headed back inside the palace.

The Elders followed her down the stairs.

“When it’s inspected, do you want to take a ride?” Quinn asked.

Emily stopped on the stairs, “I guess… still don’t know why I need a helicopter when I can’t even fly one.”

“I can teach you.”

“I should rephrase that… I don’t want to fly one.”

“Why not?” Quinn asked.

“If I need to go somewhere, I have a truck, a Jeep, and an Aero to choose from. Flying isn’t my favorite way to travel,” she explained.

“Because of the wreck?” Zohn asked.

Emily’s eyes narrowed, “I’m not afraid to fly.”

“Whatever you say.”

“Are you still leaving today?” Quinn asked.

“Yes, as soon as I shower,” she replied.

“Take the helicopter, it looks pretty comfortable.”

“I can’t fly, remember?”

“Kralen can. We’ll have him run you to the island,” Chevalier suggested.

“Then… let me guess,” Emily said. “He’ll stay and take me wherever I want by helicopter?”

“Sure, why not?”

“Because then I have a guard on the island… no thanks.”

“Then the fact that Silas is a certified co-pilot wouldn’t help either?” Quinn asked, grinning.

Emily’s face grew serious and she nodded, “I’ll take them… Silas and Kralen.”

The Elders watched while Emily walked down the stairs and turned toward the bedrooms on the fifth-floor.

“What was that?” Quinn asked, frowning.

“I’m not sure… I think she just agreed to Council City Guards on the island,” Chevalier said. “I better go find out what’s up.”

“Why? That’s what we want… guards with her on the island,” Zohn reminded him. “She agreed to them, let’s not push it.”

“Still, something’s not right,” Chevalier told him, and headed down to the bedrooms.

“Certified co-pilot?” Zohn asked, walking down the stairs.

Quinn grinned, “It worked…”

“Em?” Chevalier asked as he leaned against the counter in the bathroom. He didn’t like how the dark shower curtain blocked her from view.

“Yeah?”

“I get the impression you’re not telling me something about your stay with the Valle.”

“Like what?”

“If I knew, I wouldn’t be asking.”

Emily came out of the shower wrapped in a towel, “I’ll handle it.”

“So you did leave something out.”

“A few things… maybe.”

He stopped her as she walked past him with a hand on her arm, “Tell me.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

“Whatever it is, is causing you to take guards to the island. I want to know what happened.”

She pulled away from him, and disappeared into her closet to get dressed. When she came out in jeans and a t-shirt, she sat down on a soft chair to brush her hair.

“Was it something Exavior did or said?” he asked, watching her.

“No,” Emily told him.

“She’s lying,” Zohn said from behind Chevalier.

Emily gasped and turned around, “Get out of my room.”

“Our room,” Chevalier corrected. “I invited him.”

“Did Exavior threaten you?” Zohn asked.

Emily set her face and looked Zohn in the eye, “He threatened to pelt me with pink bunnies.”

Chevalier glanced at Zohn, and the former Chief Interrogator’s eyes narrowed, “Just tell us.”

“No”

“Why must you be so stubborn?”

“Why must you try to interrogate me?”

“Thanks to the Encala, that’s all we’ll get out of her,” Zohn told Chevalier, and left the room.

“Stop sending him in to interrogate me,” Emily said angrily.

“Then stop hiding things from me that I need to know.”

“I can take care of this.”

“Let me… for once… Let me do it.”

“I’m not doing anything right now. I’m going back to the island with Kralen and Silas, and I’m going to ride my horse, weed the garden, and sleep.”

Chevalier sighed, “Ok.”

Kralen and Silas appeared at her door, “We’re ready to go.”

Chevalier whispered for them to see if they could get out of Emily what she’s hiding, and then told them to head up to the new helicopter.

Emily picked Dain up when Chevalier grabbed her bags, and they walked up to the roof together.

“I’ll try to come in a week,” Chevalier said. “If you need me before then, let me know.”

Emily nodded and kissed him softly, “Try to get Alexis out of class for me, see if you can bring her with you.”

“I will,” he said, and then shut the door after she crawled inside. He watched as Kralen piloted the helicopter up and toward the island.

Once they were at the correct altitude, Silas crawled back and sat on the couch beside Emily, “They stocked the fridge and wet bar.”

Emily nodded, “Yeah, I saw.”

“Seems weird that the Valle bought you a helicopter.”

“Guilty consciences,” she said, and grabbed a juice from the bar. She sat Dain down to play on the soft carpet.

“I never got to ask how things went with Exavior while you were there,” he said, and noticed how she tensed.

She shrugged, “Didn’t see him much. I spent most of my time in the bedroom… when I wasn’t ashing covens, that is.”

“Harsh… I can’t believe they did that.”

“I can, they’re idiots… I do have to admit, this isn’t a bad way to fly.”

Silas grinned, “A bit cushy.”

“Some of us like cushy.”

“Are you feeling better now, then?”

“Yes”

“Did Exavior mention turning you?”

“No”

“What’re your plans for the island?” Silas asked, trying to be subtle about Chevalier’s request.

“Not much, I want to take the horses out onto the beach, sit and watch my garden grow.”

“How long are you planning on being gone?”

“A while… so you and Kralen can head back to Council City whenever you want.”

“What if we want to stay?”

Emily looked at him doubtfully, “Yeah right.”

“Maybe we do! It’s been pretty boring lately.”

“Yeah and the island is much more exciting.”

Silas glanced around the helicopter.

“Why did you turn?” Emily asked, drawing her knees up to her chest.

“Oh… well… why not?”

“That’s not really a good reason.”

Silas grinned, “Tell me why you won’t turn, and I’ll tell you why I did.”

“What if I don’t know,” she said, watching him.

“You don’t know why you won’t turn?”

“Nope”

“Do you know why the ceremonial room freaks you out?”

Emily frowned, “It doesn’t freak me out.”

Silas raised an eyebrow, “Yes, it does.”

“I don’t like it, wouldn’t say I’m afraid of it though.”

“How did Exavior get you into one?”

Emily tensed again and he noticed the change in her heart rate, “I thought he was just removing the runes.”

Silas touched her arm softly, “What did he do?”

She watched him, “If I tell you, then you’ll tell Chev, and before I know it, the entire Equites faction knows.”

“I won’t tell him then.”

Emily smiled, “Yes you will.”

“Did he hurt you?”

“I’ll deal with it on my own.”

“So he did.”

“I’m not telling you.”

Silas grinned, “What if I promise not to tell the Elder?”

“Then I wouldn’t believe you,” she said, and smiled slightly.

“Gee, thanks.”

“Heku rules… you have to tell him, don’t think I don’t know that.”

“I didn’t tell him about Truth or Dare.”

Emily grinned, “Because he never asked you.”

Silas nodded, “Yeah, that’s true.”

“Coming up on the island,” Kralen said over the speaker after a few hours.

Emily looked out as the castle came into view. She picked Dain up off of the floor and he immediately started to chew on her finger.

“I thought the Elder told you not to let him do that,” Silas said, watching him.

“Chev can’t tell me what to do,” Emily told him, and grabbed Dain’s bag.

“Oh yeah,” Silas chuckled. “Not sure I’ll ever get used to that.”

***

“Ew!” Emily yelled, and pulled a worm off of her shoulder. “Behave.”

Kralen chuckled, “Was just seeing if you were afraid of worms too.”

“I’m not afraid of mice, geesh.”

“Sure you aren’t,” Silas said, and moved over to the next row.

“Are you sure you’re not pulling the vegetables?” she asked, looking over at them.

“I’m pretty sure… well… actually no,” he said, and grinned.

“I don’t recall weeding a garden to be part of the guard or Cavalry training,” Kralen said, tossing another weed into the pile.

“I told you that you don’t have to be out here,” she reminded him.

“Yes, well, I can only imagine how much trouble you could get into out here by yourself.”

“Oh yes, I might kill myself on a dandelion.”

“When’s the Elder coming?” Silas asked, glancing toward the city.

“Tomorrow,” Emily said, and then looked over at Ford. He was suddenly holding very still and looking toward the city. She turned to look too, but didn’t see anything.

“Em, take Dain… get in the barn,” Kralen said, and she noticed he was also watching the city.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, standing up and grabbing Dain. She again looked toward the city, but didn’t see anything.

“Just get in the barn,” Silas said, and Emily shrugged and started for the barn. She turned suddenly when she heard the sound of hooves against cobblestone. She froze and looked toward the city.

“Go!” Kralen yelled, and Emily took off running for the barn. A dozen horses were stampeding through the town, headed straight for them. Her feet left the ground as Silas grabbed her and blurred her into the barn, just as the horses flew past them.

“What the hell!” Emily yelled, and handed Dain off to Anna, who was waiting in the barn for them. She quickly bridled her stallion and grabbed a lasso off of the wall.

“Em, no,” Silas said as she took off after the horses. He bridled his mare and took the other lasso, and followed them out while Ford took off after Emily.

Ford headed instinctively to the front of the stampeded and started trying to head them back toward Emily. She easily caught up to the first horse and lassoed him quickly, then wrapped the rope around her arm and slowed him to a walk. She led him back to the corral and turned to see where Ford was. She saw him off to the right and rode after him, re-setting the lasso.

Silas on horseback, and Kralen on foot, were on the opposite end of the field, rounding up the few horses that headed away from the others. Two hours later, Emily led the last horse into the corral and Kralen shut the gate.

She leaned her head against the neck of her stallion, panting to catch her breath, “What the hell was that?”

Kralen grinned slightly, “The pier guards said the ferry arrived with a dozen horses on it. They thought they could just lead them up here, but the horses panicked and took off through the island.”

“Who puts horses on a ferry?” Emily asked, looking over at them.

“And what kind of horse runs like that?” Silas asked. “That was weird.”

“They’re Tennessee Walking Horses… they have a unique walk that’s born into them. You can’t teach it,” she explained.

“So back to your question… who puts horses on a ferry?” Kralen growled, remembering how close Emily came to getting trampled.

“The pier guards want us to come over,” Silas told her.

Emily put a hand down for Kralen, and he jumped onto the stallion behind her. She kicked the horse into a canter and headed for the pier. They all slid off of the horses and tied them to a post, and then walked onto the pier.

“Ma’am,” one of the pier guards said. “There’s a package on the ferry for you.”

Emily frowned and walked onto the ferry toward a box wrapped in pink paper that was sitting off to the side of the bridge.

“Wait, Em,” Kralen said, and blurred to it. He picked it up and looked it over and then shrugged, “Has your name on it, but no sender.”

Emily took the package and opened it. She pulled out a maroon, diamond and ruby encrusted bridle and a note, “Dearest Emily, Please accept this small gift as a token of our enduring friendship. From, the Encala Council.”

“What!?” Silas growled.

Emily sighed, “Great… what am I going to do with 12 more horses?”

“Nice that they almost killed you with a gift,” Kralen said angrily.

Emily glanced around, “Have you seen Ford?”

“Last I saw him, he was rounding up the last few horses,” Silas said, and glanced around. Ford was always at Emily’s heels when she was on horseback.

“I’ll go find him,” Kralen said. “I want to get as many of those horses as we can into the barn, there’s a storm coming.”

Emily looked over as Silas spoke to the Captain of the ferry. She walked over to listen.

“They were mortals, said there was a horse delivery to the island,” the Captain explained. “I don’t ask. I just run the boat.”

Silas sighed, “No name?”

“No, Sir”

Silas turned to Emily, “We’ll fill the Elder in later, let’s go get the horses put up.”

Emily nodded, and soon they were both back on horses heading toward the barn. She looked over and saw Silas grinning.

“What?”

“Just seems like a divorced couple, fighting for the love of a child.”

“What does?”

“The Encala and the Valle… one buys you a helicopter so the other buys you horses,” Silas chuckled.

Emily sighed, “I need to put a stop to it before someone gets hurt.”

“Or something…” Silas said, and glanced off into the distance.

Emily followed his gaze and saw Kralen carrying Ford in his arms. Emily gasped and kicked her horse into a gallop, heading for them. Before the horse even completely stopped, Emily jumped off and ran to Kralen.

“What happened?” she asked, looking over the limp dog.

“I’m guessing he was kicked by a horse,” Kralen said. His shirt was covered in blood.

“We need to get him to the vet,” Emily told him, her eyes filling with tears.

Kralen glanced at Silas and the heku touched her arm, “Em, it’s too late.”

She rested her hand against the Border collie’s chest and waited for it to rise, but it didn’t. Emily took the dog from Kralen and started off across the field.

“Leave me alone,” she whispered when she realized the heku were following her. Both Kralen and Silas backed off to the barn and let her be.

“We should notify the Elder,” Silas said, turning back toward the barn.

“Let’s finish up in here and see if she comes back,” Kralen said. “We only have four open stalls though, that’s going to leave 8 of the horses out in the snowstorm that’s coming.”

“Can we double any of them up?”

“I don’t think so… let’s get with Kyle, he’ll know what to do.”

“Good idea,” Silas said, and headed inside the house. They went into Kyle’s office and called Kyle’s desk in Council City, but didn’t get an answer. Next, they tried the Council.

“Equites Council,” Zohn said, sounding irritated.

“It’s Kralen, we’re looking for Chevalier and Kyle,” Kralen told them.

“We’re both here,” Chevalier said. “What’s wrong?”

“A few things… first off, the Encala sent 12 horses on the ferry, which caused a stampede through town, and almost trampled Emily,” Kralen said. “We finally rounded them up, but Ford got stepped on and didn’t make it.”

A low growl sounded over the phone and Kyle finally spoke, “How is she?”

“I don’t know. She told us to leave her alone and she headed off carrying Ford,” Silas explained.

“She’ll go after the Encala for that,” Kyle said.

“What else, then?” Quinn asked after a few moments of silence.

“There’s a freak snowstorm coming, and the barn only had room for 4 more horses. That leaves 8 of them out in the corral and it’s supposed to dip well below freezing,” Kralen said. “We weren’t sure exactly what to do. We don’t have time to come get the trailer.”

“How big are they?” Kyle asked.

“Em called them Tennessee Walking Horses.”

“Big ones then… you’ll have to see if she has coats around. That’s about all we can do,” Kyle told them.

“Who the hell puts horses on a Ferry?” Chevalier finally asked, irritated.

“The Encala. They sent her a new bridle in a box with a card,” Silas said hesitantly.

“When’s the storm supposed to hit?”

“I can already smell it, it’s right on us.”

“So I won’t be able to make it before… you’re going to have to take care of Emily. Kyle’s right, she’ll go after the Encala for Ford.”

“We’ve already stopped the ferry because of the storm. We’ll lock up the yacht, so there won’t be any way off of the island,” Kralen said.

“We better get going and get those horses covered,” Silas suggested.

“Keep in touch and have Emily call me,” Chevalier said, and disconnected the line.

Kralen and Silas headed back out to the barn and started going through the storage room. They finally found a dozen heavy horse blankets and were covering the last of them when Emily came back to the barn.

“We moved the smaller ones inside, and these eight we’ve covered,” Kralen said softly. He looked out and saw the first flurry of snow.

Emily nodded and started to shut up the barn. The heku helped her, and then they all headed inside. She skipped dinner and went right to bed. From the bed, she watched the late spring storm from the window and drifted off to sleep.

She got up sometime after dark and looked around the dark room. The fire was roaring and she could hear the wind pounding against the castle. She quickly put on jeans and a sweater, and tied her hair up. Fishing under the big dresser, she found the sheet rope that she often used to get out of the castle.

Emily quietly opened the door to the balcony and was immediately pelted by stinging cold wind and snow. She finally got the door shut behind her, and started to tie the rope off to the balcony’s railing.

“Need help?” Kralen asked from the corner of the balcony.

His voice startled her, and she dropped the rope and turned around, “No… thank you.”

Silas opened the balcony door and stepped out, “Come on in, Em.”

Emily sighed and went back inside the room, followed by Silas and Kralen.

“We’ve stopped the ferry and tied up the yacht, there’s no way off the island right now,” Silas told her.

She didn’t answer, but sat down on a chair by the fire and watched the flames dance around the stone fireplace. Silas went out to the balcony, and Kralen went into the hallway and shut the door behind him.

Several hours later, Silas came inside the room when he heard Emily call to him faintly. Kralen heard also, and was coming in from the ante-chamber at the same time. They both looked at each other when they saw the empty room.

“Damnit, she didn’t come out the balcony,” Silas said, looking in the bathroom.

“Well she didn’t come out the front door either,” Kralen told him, and looked under the bed.

“Kyle told me she has a secret way of getting out of this room,” Silas said, and crossed his arms. “So that means she slipped us.”

“She still can’t get off of the island.”

“No, but she can freeze to death trying.”

Kralen growled and stormed out of the room. Silas looked around one more time and left after him.

“Wait,” Silas said, and frowned slightly, turning around.

Kralen came up to him, “What?”

Silas walked back into the room and looked carefully at the floors and ceilings, “There’s no way out of here other than the front door and the balcony.”

“Right,” Kralen said, “But I don’t see her.”

Silas inhaled, “She’s still here.”

Kralen nodded, “Yeah… she is.”

“So she hides until the guards think she’s missing and go looking for her… leaving her free to stroll out of here.”

“Hiding where though?” Kralen asked, looking around.

Silas turned to the hidden passageway down to the cave room, and opened the door. Emily glared at him as the door opened, “Come out.”

“I need off this island,” Emily said, sitting down in a chair by the fire.

“No, it’s below zero out there, and I’m not going to let you go attack the Encala alone either.”

“They killed Ford.”

“I know…” Silas said. “Please, just get some sleep.”

Emily watched as Silas returned to the balcony and Kralen took up a post in the ante-chamber. She watched the fire and tried to think of another way to get off the island. Her heart ached for Ford, her companion for over 8 years. She remembered the way he nipped at her heals when she readied her horse, excited for the impending run. She smiled slightly at how he used to try to herd Alexis and her toys into a circle.

Four more escape attempts later, and the sun finally rose to a frozen morning. Snow and ice covered every inch of the island, and the sound of a far away helicopter sounded through the crisp air. Gordon brought bacon, eggs, and coffee into the room, but Emily didn’t talk to him. She was sitting in front of the fire, thinking about ways to get to the Encala. When the helicopter landed, Kralen headed up to talk to them, leaving Silas behind in the bedroom. After the sixth attempt to escape, the heku overrode their orders to guard outside of her room, and moved inside for the rest of the night.

“Elder,” Kralen said, watching him jump out of the helicopter.

“How is she?” Chevalier asked, glancing back as Kyle and Dustin got out of the helicopter.

“She tried to escape 6 times last night. She’s determined to get vengeance on the Encala for Ford’s death.”

Chevalier sighed, “Six times?”

“Yes, Sir,” Kralen said.

Silas moved to the ante-chamber when Chevalier blurred into Emily’s room. He sat down beside her on the rug in front of the fire.

“They killed Ford,” she whispered, still watching the fire.

“I heard.”

“Silas and Kralen won’t let me go.”

“I know.”

“They posted themselves in my room.”

“You didn’t give them much of a choice.”

Emily glanced over at him, “They killed Ford. I can’t let that go.”

“Not to defend the Encala, but they didn’t know it would cause a stampede… I’m more worried that you were almost caught in it.”

“Silas and Kralen saw it coming before I did. They wouldn’t let anything hurt me.”

Chevalier smiled, “I know, that’s why they’re here.”

“We don’t have room for 12 more horses.”

“I’ve called General Sisko from Thukil, and they’re sending up a trailer to take them.”

Emily nodded, “I’d like to keep 2 of them.”

They both looked over when Anna brought Dain in. She put him on the floor, and left as the baby crawled toward them. He crawled past Chevalier and headed right for Emily. She picked him up and tried to cradle him in her arms, but he pulled away from her and stood up in her lap, leaning his head against her neck.

Chevalier watched him, still trying to decide when he needed to intervene. He knew it was going to be a huge fight when it came time to start treating the baby like a true heku, and not a human child.

Emily glanced over at the table when her phone rang. She watched as Chevalier grabbed it and looked at the I.D.

“It’s Exavior,” he said, holding the phone out to her.

She tensed slightly and shook her head, “I don’t want to talk to him.”

“What, Exavior?” he asked, answering it.

“I need to speak to Emily.”

“She’s busy.”

“I need to apologize, and would like to speak to her… now.”

Chevalier raised an eyebrow, “Apologize for what?”

“It’s of no concern to you. Have her call me,” Exavior said, and hung up.

Chevalier put the phone back on the table, “What’s he need to apologize for, other than the obvious?”

Emily shrugged slightly and brought her knuckle up for the baby to chew on. He gnawed for a few seconds, and she gasped and jerked her finger from his mouth. Chevalier took the baby quickly when he saw drops of blood on her finger.

“Gah, his teeth came in,” she said, and headed into the bathroom to grab a rag.

Chevalier held Dain when he struggled to get out of his Dad’s grasp and crawl to Emily as he chanted a soft, “Ma ma ma ma.”

She came back out a few minutes later with a small Band-Aid on her finger, and reached down to take Dain from Chevalier, but he didn’t let go of the baby.

“How’s your finger?” Chevalier asked.

“Just a scrape. I didn’t realize his teeth must have come in last night.”

“He’s tasted your blood now.”

Emily frowned, “He’s a baby, now hand him over.”

Chevalier sighed and handed the baby over to her. Dain stood up in her lap again and leaned his head against her neck. He watched Chevalier closely. Emily dropped him onto his back and pulled up his lips so she could see.

“I guess it shouldn’t surprise me that his canines came in first,” she said, and handed a toy to the baby.

Chevalier grinned slightly, “I suppose not.”

“He looks like a vampire.”

“Well…”

Emily glanced at Chevalier, “I need to go check on the horses, want to go?”

“Sure, let’s leave him with Anna and we’ll go.”

Emily nodded and handed Dain off to Anna. She could tell that Chevalier said something to the heku, but couldn’t hear what. One of the servants came in with a heavy parka, and Emily threw it on before walking hand in hand with Chevalier out to barn. She grinned when she saw Silas and Kralen up on the new horses.

“That’s the smoothest ride!” Silas said, riding up to them.

“That’s what they’re famous for.”

“Too bad they aren’t a little faster, I’d keep one.”

“I’ll keep 2 of them, the rest are going to Thukil.”

Silas grinned, “I bet that would please the Encala, to know their gift went to Thukil.”

“They’ll live,” Emily said, and crawled through the wooden posts into the corral.

“If Silas and I are going to be spending a lot of time on the island, can we claim one?” Kralen asked, riding up to them.

Emily shrugged, “Sure, have at it.”

“Was kind of hoping you’d all come back though,” Chevalier said. Silas and Kralen looked at him briefly, and then raced back toward the west beach.

Emily sighed and leaned against the fence, “I like it here better.”

“I know you do, but I don’t like to be away from you, and we need our Commanders back.”

“So send Silas and Kralen back. I’m ok here.”

Chevalier grinned, “You sure?”

“Well… mostly, yesterday was a fluke.”

“I gave you an office.”

“I have an office.”

“No, in the palace.”

Emily frowned, “Why would I need an office in the palace?”

Chevalier shrugged, “It’s full of computer stuff and is heku proof.”

“Heku proof?”

“Yes, a heku can’t break in.”

“Oh?” Emily asked, laughing slightly.

“Allen ordered all of the computer gear and set it up for you.”

“You’re worse than the Valle and Encala,” she said, watching Silas and Kralen race across the pasture.

“What? How?”

“Giving me things in hopes I’ll do what you want.”

“I’m allowed to give you gifts, though.”

“I heard they parked guard training facilities in my pool.”

Chevalier grinned, “Yes, we did.”

“Is it done?”

“The pool?”

“Yes”

“I’ll come back for a week. I was going to anyway.”

“You were?”

“Storm said they are turning someone this weekend… sounds to me like a hint that I need to leave.”

“Oh, damn, yes… I don’t have to be here for that though, Walen’s overseeing it,” Chevalier told her.

Silas and Kralen put their horses into their stalls and walked over, “Nice smooth horses, kind of fun to ride.”

“Well, let’s all go check out the ceremonial room,” Chevalier said, and put a hand out for Emily.

She looked at him, “Why?”

“We have a turning this weekend. We have to make sure everything’s in order.”

Silas glanced briefly at Kralen.

“You three can check it out without me,” Emily told them, still not moving.

“Oh come on, it’s a room.”

“No”

“Afraid?” Silas asked, grinning.

“I’m not afraid of a room.”

“Then come on.”

“No”

“Hey, leave her alone… she can’t help it if she’s afraid of it,” Kralen said, heading inside.

Emily glared at the back of his head, but didn’t move.

“Trust me,” Chevalier said, and held his hand out.

“Why do you want me to go? I’m sure the three of you can check it out.”

“Because, I don’t want you to be… nervous… around a room that’s this important to the heku.”

“If it’s that important to you,” Emily said after hesitating. She finally took Chevalier’s hand, and they followed Silas inside and down the spiral staircase into the round ceremonial room.

Kralen and Silas walked into the ceremonial room and turned to watch for Emily. She stepped in but stayed close to the heavy rock door. She avoided looking at the carved runes, but one caught her eye.

“Come, sit on my lap,” Exavior said. He smiled and put his hand out for her.

She felt the panic start, and it was becoming hard to breathe.

“Stop fighting me,” a strange heku growled, and then sunk his teeth into her leg

“Em?” Chevalier asked, watching her body tense.

Emily turned suddenly and ran up the stairs, leaving the three heku in the room.

“Damn,” Chevalier sighed, and looked at the others.

Silas shrugged and glanced at Kralen.

“Well… I don’t know,” Kralen said, and headed for the door.

“You two guard her more than anyone else, so I’m going to tell you something in confidence,” Chevalier said, glancing at the door.

Kralen and Silas moved forward. It was obvious the Elder didn’t want others to hear.

“When Emily was 3-years-old, Exavior tried to turn her… 10 times in 4 days.”

Kralen growled, “What!?”

Silas gasped.

“I don’t think she remembers, but obviously it affected her. We need to try to get her used to this room. It’s too important and used too often for her to be afraid of it,” Chevalier explained.

“No wonder…” Silas said. He started to say more, but just shook his head.

Kralen nodded, too angry to speak, and headed up the stairs to get the helicopter ready for take-off.

Chapter 6 - Too Young

“Seriously, Chev, 18?” Emily groaned, and looked at her new driver’s license again.

“I’m sorry… but if we start you off at 18, then you can keep the same I.D. for longer,” he explained.

“It’s just… a teenager?”

Chevalier grinned, “Some women would like being 18 again.”

“Yeah, well in a society where I’m considered an infant anyway, it’s not high on my list to relive my teenage years.”

“True… however… 18 is how you’ll have to start each new I.D.”

Emily sighed and nodded, then slipped the offending license into her purse.

Chevalier grinned as she pulled the sheet around her and walked into the bathroom, grumbling about how Allen was almost as old as she was.

She came out a short time later in jeans and a thin halter top. The weather in Council City was warm, unlike the late-season freeze the island was in the middle of.

“Plans today?” he asked, still lying naked in bed with a blanket up to his waist.

“Yes, I want to get new shoes on the horses before I go back to the island,” she explained, and sat to brush her hair.

“Why don’t you just stay here, with me?”

“I don’t like it here.”

Chevalier sighed, “Zohn doesn’t hate you. You two just have a personality clash.”

“It’s not just Zohn.”

“Then what else, tell me.”

“No”

Chevalier grinned, “As an Elder, I can order you.”

Emily glanced at him, “Try it, I dare you.”

“Just consider staying longer than a week.”

“I’ll consider it,” she said, and slid on her cowboy boots.

“Are you coming next week?”

“For what?”

“I thought I told you… Mark, Silas, Kralen, Jaron, and Horace are getting promoted.”

Emily frowned and sat up, “To what?”

“Just one rank level.”

“They won’t be in my Cavalry?”

“Yes, they will… the Cavalry’s getting big enough we need more ranking officers,” Chevalier explained.

“Oh… well… I guess I’ll go. No heku Barbie though, ok?”

“Promise… today though, Quinn, Mark, and I are going to be gone.”

Emily turned to face him, “All 3 of you?”

“And the Cavalry.”

“With their horses?”

“No, we’re taking the transport helicopter.”

Emily sighed and nodded slightly.

“Don’t worry, just stay away from Zohn, and he’ll stay away from you… if you need anything, Kyle will be here,” Chevalier said.

“Easy enough, I’ll be outside most of the day anyway.”

Emily grabbed her leather gloves and headed out of the room. She turned to look at the strange guards that fell in behind her.

“Who are you?”

“Your guards, Ma’am,” one of them told her.

“I don’t need guards, go away.”

“Elder’s orders.”

Emily glanced back in the bedroom.

“Just let them for today, please,” Chevalier asked, coming out of the bathroom dressed.

“Fine,” Emily growled, and headed down the stairs.

Chevalier chuckled and headed out to the waiting helicopter.

Emily looked up as the large Boeing Chinook Helicopter took off from the palace’s east lawn. She went into the stables and turned at the storage room.

“Guards stay outside, I’m going to be busy,” she said, and then went inside the storage room.

The guards moved to the doors of the stables and scanned the area. They were trying to get appointed to the Cavalry, and one of the new steps was a certain amount of hours guarding Emily, though they were also told not to tell her that.

Emily took the necessary tools out of storage and grabbed four shoes out of a box by the door. She headed deeper into the stables and stopped when she heard someone whisper her name. She looked over and saw one of the city guards motion her into the abandoned overseers room.

“Come… come on,” he whispered softly, and went into the room.

Emily frowned and followed him in. Another heku city guard shut the door behind them.

“You need something?” Emily asked, suddenly feeling nervous when they both stepped between her and the door.

The guard smiled at her, “Yes, we do.”

“Ok, what then?”

The second guard grinned and ran his eyes down her body, “We heard you step out from the Elder once in a while.”

Emily’s eyes grew wide, “Do what!?”

“We figured you might want to try to take on two heku this time… you know… I can be the Elder, and Anthony here can be the Chief Enforcer… a little game of role-play,” he said, and stepped closer to her.

“I suggest you walk your asses out of my stables,” she growled, and headed for the door.

“So you want to play the unwilling adulterous?” the closest heku asked, and quickly grabbed her into an embrace. He pressed his lips against hers while his hands fell onto her butt and squeezed painfully. She tried to push away from him, but he wouldn’t let go. The second heku pressed against her back, and then tore her shirt so he could kiss her neck and shoulder.

Emily screamed angrily and the two heku turned to ash, their clothes scattering across the wooden floor of the small room.

Wanting to avoid the guards, Emily left the room and headed up into the loft. From there, she climbed out the window and onto the roof, then jumped down into a large pile of hay and within minutes, was in her room, guardless. She packed a small bag quickly and grabbed Dain from his heku tender without a word, then ran down the stairs to the kitchen.

After grabbing a cooler full of blood, she buckled Dain into his car seat in the Aero, and was soon speeding through the city.

“Damnit!” Zohn growled to the Council. “Why the hell is she running now?”

“Well,” Dustin said, thinking. “As I don’t see that she got into an argument with you… that would leave personal violations, at least from what I gather from previous incidents.”

“Yeah… but what kind of personal violation?”

“Do you want me to find out?” the Chief Investigator asked.

Kyle turned to Zohn, “It might help relations if you fixed whatever she’s mad at.”

Zohn sighed, “Fine… go find out why the Princess ran, and I’ll ride up on my white horse and punish the heku who accidentally made her mad.”

Kyle turned away from him, and angrily started looking through the papers in front of him.

The Chief Investigator stood up, “I guess I’ll be right back, then.”

The two guards stood at attention when the Chief Investigator walked up. He shook his head, “Why did she leave?”

“Who, Sir?” the closest one asked.

“Lady Emily… your charge… just took off in her car.”

The other guard frowned and looked into the stables, “She was just inside doing something with the horses.”

“Return to your barracks,” he sighed.

As Chief Investigator, he was able to instantly take in an entire room down to the minute details. The only thing he noticed was a set of tools and horse shoes sitting in front of one of the stalls. He followed Emily’s scent past the new renovations of the stables and into the overseer’s room. He gasped when he saw the ash on the floor among scattered city guard uniforms.

“Kyle,” he called out, and then bent down to pick up one of the stark white shirts. He inhaled and caught both heku and Emily on it.

“Yes? Oh…” Kyle said, frowning as he walked into the little room.

“What would city guards be doing in the stables?” the Chief Investigator asked, rifling through the uniforms.

“They aren’t allowed to be in here,” Kyle said, grabbing the dagger. “So one way to find out.”

The Chief Investigator moved out of the way while Kyle revived the two sets of ashes. They both dressed as soon as they could move, and then looked up at the two members of the Council.

“Wanna spill it?” Kyle asked, crossing his arms.

The closest guard looked at the other nervously.

“Lady Emily came into the barracks. We tried to get her out, and she turned us to ash and must have dumped us in here,” he explained.

“I may not be the Interrogator, but I sure as hell can tell when I’m being fed a line of bullshit,” the Chief Investigator said, irritated.

“Let’s try this again… Lady Emily ran off, which usually indicates someone overstepped… we find you two in her stables…” Kyle said, glaring at them.

“He told the truth. We didn’t do anything but try to stop her from going into the barracks,” the other guard said.

“He just said she was already in the barracks,” Kyle reminded him. He grabbed the closest guard by the collar, and hauled him toward the palace, followed by the Chief Investigator with the other guard.

The council members dropped the two city guards to their knees and took their spots with the rest of the Council.

Zohn looked down at them, “What have we here?”

“We found their ashes in the stables,” Kyle said. “Their stories don’t quite match.”

Richard, the Chief Interrogator, looked down at them, “Let me hear it then.”

The older guard dropped his eyes, “The Lady came into the barracks. We tried to get her out, so she turned us to ash and dumped us in the stables.”

“Now, let’s try the truth,” Richard said, sitting back down.

“It’s the truth. We did nothing wrong!”

“Lies”

Zohn sighed, “I’m left with quite a problem… you see… I was entrusted with care of the Winchester, and at the moment, I have no idea where she is, and I suspect you are the cause of that.”

The guards glanced at each other.

“You aren’t even supposed to be in the stables,” Dustin reminded them. “That’s off limits except to the Council and the Cavalry.”

“We didn’t walk in there. I swear… we were carried in as ashes.”

“Lies… I hate being lied to by the guard staff,” the Chief Interrogator growled.

“Not as much as I do… tell us what happened or we’ll have to take you into interrogation,” Zohn told them.

“You know what?” one of them said angrily. “Yes we did walk into the stables, but you can kill me before I’ll tell you why.”

Zohn raised an eyebrow, “Oh?”

“I didn’t! I didn’t walk in,” the other one said, with wide eyes.

“Kyle, see if you can locate Emily… How hard can it be to hide a purple Aero?” Zohn said, and then turned to the others. “Who wants to find out what’s going on?”

“I do,” the Chief Investigator said. “I’m tired of being lied to by these two.”

“I’m in,” Richard said, and the Chief Investigator followed him out, while members of the palace guards hauled the two city guards with them.

“I’m not going to be happy if Emily had a valid reason to run,” Zohn growled.

Dustin shrugged, “It’s starting to look like she did.”

Zohn glared at him.

“Emily… what’s up?” Kyle asked, and the rest of the Council turned to him. They could clearly hear Emily.

“Nothing,” she said, obviously irritated.

“We revived the guards.”

“Ok”

“They aren’t talking yet… but we’ll know. Why don’t you save us time and tell us why you ran.”

“No”

Kyle grinned slightly, “Then let me know where you are so I can come talk.”

“No”

Dustin chuckled.

“Are you heading back to the island?”

“No, I can’t, they are turning a mortal.”

“Oh, that’s right. Going to Thukil?”

“No”

“Powan?”

“No”

“Em, please tell me, if for no other reason than the V.E.S.”

Emily sighed, “I don’t want to be around anyone right now… just let those two guards go, and don’t interrogate them.”

“We can’t let them go. They broke a direct order from the Elders. City guards aren’t to be in the stables,” Kyle reminded her.

“Then punish them, but don’t question them.”

“We won’t question them then if you’ll tell me where you are.”

Emily hung up the phone without another word.

“Well, it was worth a try,” Dustin said. “Obviously one of what Elder Quinn calls a personal violation.”

“Damnit, why does this always happen when I’m alone with her?” Zohn yelled. “We’ve spent years shaping up the guard staff and have come no further.”

“Maybe the infraction isn’t that bad, and we can deal with it quickly, and she’ll return,” the Court Reporter said.

***

Emily tipped the bellboy and then shut the door behind him, locking all of the locks on the door. She sat Dain down on the soft carpet and looked around the elegant hotel suite. She went to the phone and ordered lunch, and then started to skim through the TV while Dain used the wall to walk around the room and explore.

They stayed in the hotel room all day and into the evening. Just after dark, Emily curled up with the baby on the bed and fell asleep with the TV on to drowned out the normal sounds of a hotel. She didn’t wake up until she heard a knock on the door early the next morning. It took her a few seconds to remember where she was, and then she pulled on a robe and peeked through the peep hole in the door.

Sighing, she opened the door and let Zohn and Kyle in. They came in and quietly looked around the room, the tension growing.

“So… what?” Emily asked, picking Dain up off of the bed.

“We can’t get out of the guards what they did,” Zohn said. “Which tells us that they would prefer death over telling the Council.”

Emily shrugged, “Ok, doesn’t explain why you’re here.”

“We want you to tell us,” Kyle said.

“If they want death, then give it to them. I’m not telling either.”

Zohn looked at her, shocked, “You’d let us kill them?”

“Do I honestly have a say in it?”

“Well… not really.”

Emily picked up the phone and ordered pancakes and orange juice, then pulled her hair back, ignoring how they watched her.

Kyle walked over and touched a small puncture wound on her shoulder, “Did one of them bite you?”

“No”

“That’s an odd location for a heku bite,” Zohn said, bending down slightly to look at her shoulder.

Emily pulled her shirt to cover it, “Stop inspecting me.”

“Sorry,” Zohn said, and moved to the couch to sit down.

“You don’t have to stay here. As soon as Storm calls and tells me the ceremony is over, I’ll head back to the island.”

“Yes, well, you were assaulted somehow in my care, and I want to find out how,” Zohn told her.

Emily glanced over at him, “Like you care.”

“But I do.”

“You think I’m a pain in the ass that is always in the way and throws hissy fits to get my way.”

“True… however, when the others trusted that I would take care of you, I took that responsibility seriously, and I’m quite disturbed that I failed.”

“You didn’t fail,” Emily said to him. “They can’t blame you for this.”

“They will,” Kyle said.

“Well I don’t blame you,” she said, and started digging through the cooler.

“Appreciated, however, they will,” Zohn told her.

“So if I tell you what happened, will that fix it?”

“Yes, as long as it’s resolved by the time they get back… which includes you in the palace where they left you.”

“Fine… then punish them for hitting on me, but I’m not coming back.”

“Em, you’d never ash someone for hitting on you,” Kyle said, and took a pen away from Dain.

“That’s all you’re getting.”

“Let’s just call it a sexual assault then, and punish them accordingly,” Zohn suggested.

Emily cringed, “Let’s not.”

“Then tell us,” Kyle said, sitting down on a chair beside her. “Let us do our jobs.”

She shook her head and went to get the door when someone knocked. She took the tray and shut the door behind the delivery boy.

Zohn sighed and answered his phone when it rang, “Zohn here.”

Emily put the pancakes down and took a small bite, watching Zohn carefully.

Zohn frowned, “I figured he would eventually.”

The room was silent as Zohn’s face changed, a shadow passed over his features and his eyes darkened, “No… don’t kill them. I want them.”

Emily jumped slightly when Zohn slammed his phone shut.

“Sir?” Kyle asked, tensing.

“Why are you embarrassed about that? You did nothing wrong!” Zohn hissed.

Emily shrugged, afraid to speak when he was so angry.

“What happened?” Kyle asked.

“Zohn, please… no,” Emily begged.

“The others have returned, and Richard was able to get information from Anthony,” Zohn said, heading for the door. “He wants us all to return immediately.”

“Let’s go,” Kyle said, putting a hand out.

Emily shook her head, “I don’t want to see him right now.”

“Chevalier?”

She nodded.

“Why not?”

“He’s going to be… really… mad.”

Zohn nodded, “That’s putting it lightly.”

“I’ll go check out,” Kyle said, heading for the door with the card key.

Emily turned to Zohn when Kyle left, and his features softened some.

“I wish you would trust us,” Zohn told her. “What they did was uncalled for and inappropriate. You did nothing wrong, nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about.”

“It keeps happening to me,” she whispered, and started throwing her things in a bag.

She stopped when Zohn put a hand on her shoulder, “No one’s blaming you.”

“I don’t want to see them.”

“We need you to testify.”

She shook her head, “No.”

“I’ll talk to Chevalier. See if I can get him to let you miss this trial.”

Zohn grabbed her bag while she picked up Dain, and they headed out to meet up with Kyle.

She sat in her Aero in the palace garage and watched Kyle and Zohn get out of Kyle’s Ferrari. They turned to wait for her. She sat back until Zohn came to the Aero and opened the door.

“Do you want me to send Chevalier out?”

“No,” she said, watching the door.

“Come in with Kyle, then. I’ll go talk to him first.”

Emily nodded and watched him blur into the palace. Kyle walked over and got Dain out of his seat.

Emily finally relented and followed them into the palace. They quietly walked up the stairs, and Kyle handed the baby off to Silas and disappeared into the back of the council chambers. He started to fuss, so the heku blurred away with the baby and left Emily by the trial room doors.

“Going in?” Derrick asked.

“Are the heku in there… the ones on trial?”

“Not yet. The Elders want briefed by the Chief Interrogator first.”

“Is that what they’re doing now?”

“No, they are waiting for you to begin.”

Emily glanced down the stairs, “Tell them I didn’t come in.”

Derrick grinned, “They already know you’re out here.”

“I’ll give you $500,000 to blur me away.”

Derrick responded by opening the door to the trial area, “I don’t need $500,000.”

Emily sighed and headed in, and stood on the floor beneath the Council while they all looked down at her. She risked a glance at Chevalier, and he looked confused, yet on the verge of being angry.

“Lady Emily, we appreciate you returning,” Quinn said. “Elder Zohn made it perfectly clear that you do not wish to be here at this trial.”

“So I can go?”

“No, we need you to tell us if what we were told by the two city guards is correct. The Chief Interrogator was able to get them to talk, but still feels like something is left out.”

“What did they tell you?”

“We need you to tell us in your own words what happened,” the Chief Interrogator said.

Emily looked at Zohn, and he smiled, “It’s ok, tell us.”

“No, you ask them, and if they are telling the truth, I’ll let you know.”

“That won’t help if they are leaving parts out,” Quinn said.

Zohn stood up, “Come with me, for a moment.”

Emily nodded, glanced at Chevalier, and then followed Zohn out the back of the council chambers and into a private conference room.

“She just left with Zohn?” Quinn asked, wide eyed.

Chevalier was still staring at the door, “Without a fight, even.”

“Bring them in here, Derrick. At least let us make them squirm while we wait,” Quinn said.

“I don’t understand why you won’t tell us,” Zohn said, sitting down in a chair. “Is it because you’ve done something wrong and are afraid of getting into trouble?”

Emily shook her head, “No.”

“Are you afraid of the two guards?”

“No”

“Can you help me understand?”

Emily sighed, “It’s humiliating how the heku think of me.”

“There’s more…”

“Yes”

“Please, tell me.”

“Kyle and Chevalier… they get… really mad.”

“Yes, they do, but not at you.”

“This was pretty bad.”

“And you don’t want to see how the Council reacts.”

Emily nodded.

“Will you tell us if we swear not to get angry?” Zohn asked softly.

“Can I just tell you?”

Zohn grinned slightly, “We need a first person to testify. How will it be easier for you?”

“Have the heku tell their story, and I’ll tell you if they are correct.”

“Will you tell us if they are leaving something out?”

She thought about it and nodded.

Zohn smiled, “Ok… let’s go back in.”

The Council all watched, shocked, when Emily came in holding Zohn’s arm. She sat down between him and Chevalier, and tensed when she saw the heku on the ground. They both looked at the ground when she appeared.

“We will be doing this a little differently. Please question the city guards, and Emily will tell us if they are correct and if anything is left out,” Zohn told the others. They all nodded and turned to the trial area.

Richard, the Chief Interrogator, stood up, “This trial is against Anthony and John-Paul. They are city guards who were discovered yesterday afternoon. They were in the stables and had been turned to ash.”

“Upon interrogation, Anthony admitted that they went to the stables to find Lady Emily, and to clear up some rumors they heard about her. When they confronted her about the rumors, she became upset and turned them to ash.”

Emily leaned over and whispered softly into Zohn’s ear.

Zohn sighed, “So far it’s all wrong. They aren’t exactly lying, though.”

Richard turned to the heku, frowning, “What’s it going to take to get a straight answer out of you two?”

She reached over and whispered to Zohn again.

“Ok,” Zohn said. “Start when you caught her attention in the stables, and motioned her into the overseer’s room. You shut the door behind her and…”

“We thought the rumors were true,” Anthony said, still watching the ground.

“Shut up,” John-Paul growled at him.

“What rumors might that be?” Richard asked him.

“That… she… you know.”

“No, we don’t know.”

“That she sometimes cheats on the Elder.”

Chevalier growled softly.

Zohn nodded, “So… what? You decided to proposition her to get in line?”

Emily frowned and looked at Zohn, but he was glaring at the guards.

Anthony nodded, “Yes.”

“I thought we stopped those rumors,” Kyle yelled angrily.

Zohn glanced at Emily, “Was that all? They asked to… you know…”

Emily shook her head.

“We… we wanted… you know… both of us… at once…”

Emily cringed when the Council erupted in angry talking, until Zohn cleared his throat and they all calmed down.

“Was that the end of it?” Richard questioned.

“Yes, Sir,” Anthony said.

She looked down at her hands and whispered, “No, it wasn’t.”

“This really would go faster if you would just tell us,” Richard said bluntly. He was silenced by a glare from Zohn.

“They wanted to role-play,” Emily whispered softly.

“No… no we didn’t,” John-Paul said, glaring at Emily. “She’s lying.”

“Seems to me like you are,” Richard told him.

Emily leaned over and whispered quickly to Zohn, trying to make her voice low enough the others couldn’t hear. When she was done, she turned in her chair and ran out of the council chambers. She heard Zohn hiss as she shut the door, and she called for Silas to bring the baby to her, then took Dain and disappeared into the game room.

Once she and the baby were settled onto a large fluffy pillow, she started a movie and cuddled with him while he napped. Two movies later, she looked up when Chevalier, Kyle, Quinn, and Zohn walked in. She was gently running her fingers through Dain’s thick black hair as she watched them come in.

The heku all sat around her and she muted the T.V.

“We have one question, something not explained,” Kyle said, and smiled slightly. She could tell he was still fighting to control his rage.

“Ok,” she said.

“Who bit you?”

Emily frowned, “No one bit me.”

“How did you get a puncture wound on your shoulder?”

She smiled slightly, “I have another on my side, and one on my leg… I jumped off the stable roof into a pile of hay and jabbed myself.”

Quinn grinned, “Explains that, no one would bite you on your shoulder.”

“Did you kill them?”

Zohn glanced at Chevalier, so Emily also looked at him.

“Not yet, I want to talk to them first,” Chevalier explained.

“So can I go back to the island now?”

“They aren’t done yet, Storm will call when they are,” Kyle told her.

“How can we get you to stay here?” Zohn asked.

“You can’t,” she told them.

“We would all feel better if you’d stay,” Quinn said.

“No, not after this last thing… I’m going back to the island.”

“Ma’am?” Jaron asked from the doorway. All of them in the game room looked over at him, “There’s been some… deliveries for you.”

Emily frowned, “From whom?”

“I didn’t look at the cards. Should we bring them in here?”

She shrugged, “Ok.”

Emily sat up quickly when one member of the Cavalry came in carrying a squirming puppy, followed by another member of the Cavalry with another. The Cavalry set them down on the game room floor, and the puppies immediately began to wrestle.

She frowned, “Who would send me puppies?”

Jaron walked over and handed her two cards before bowing and leaving. When the largest puppy started to chew on a pillow, Kyle picked him up and Chevalier grabbed the other.

“Dearest Emily,” she read from the first card. “We heard that the Encala killed your precious dog, we do hope this will help. He’s a giant Malamute and should be a good companion. From the Valle.”

Emily shook her head and opened the other card, “My Dear, We were sorry to hear that our gift of horses injured your dog. Please accept this puppy in hopes he will fill the shoes of your lost one. Love, the Encala.”

“Ok, this is going too far,” Quinn said, watching the Malamute chew on Kyle’s cape.

“What is this?” Chevalier asked, pulling his finger away from the puppy’s mouth.

“I think it’s a lab,” Emily said, and smiled. “They are kind of cute.”

“I’m not sure the palace is ready for two puppies,” Quinn said, frowning slightly.

“Well… they won’t be here. I’ll have them on the island with me.”

“At least stay for the promotion ceremony,” Kyle suggested. “Mark is making General, Silas and Kralen are being promoted to Captains, and Jaron and Horace will be made Commanders.”

Emily frowned, “No, after yesterday, I won’t be seen in front of a crowd of heku.”

“As part of the Council, we need you to be there,” Zohn told her.

“I can’t do it,” she said, and picked Dain up when he started to crawl for the door. “Have Allen take my place.”

“It’s not the same,” Chevalier said, handing the Labrador puppy to Emily. The dog immediately burrowed his nose into her hair and started to nibble on her ear. She pulled him away from her some, and headed up the stairs, with Dain in one arm and the lab in the other. Kyle glanced at the Council and then followed her, pulling his cape out of the Malamute’s mouth again.

“You may not have a castle left when you go back,” Quinn chuckled.

“What are we going to do about the gifts?” Chevalier asked, heading with the Elders back to their conference room.

“It’s not really hurting anything,” Zohn said. “We can just watch and see if it starts to disturb Emily, then we’ll intervene.”

“They are trying to bribe her though,” Quinn said.

“She knows that,” Chevalier told him. “So it won’t work.”

Once they sat down in the private Elder’s conference room, Zohn sighed, “Now that we’re alone… Emily wasn’t telling the truth about hay poking her when she fell.”

“So she is getting fed from?” Chevalier growled.

“I don’t know.”

“If I had to guess, those two idiots did it when they attempted to have a threesome,” Quinn suggested.

“Odd places though, who bites on the shoulder… or side?” Chevalier asked, confused.

“Maybe it’s really nothing. We are all so paranoid that she’s being attacked in our care, that we may be seeing things that don’t exist,” Zohn said.

***

“Jump… come on, jump,” Emily said, smiling. She had her hands out to Dain and was trying to coax him to jump into the water.

“No, no,” Dain said, and shook his head as he stood naked at the side of the pool.

“Come on, Dain,” she said, and gently took his hands, pulling him into the water. “See, easy.”

“No, no.”

Emily leaned back to float on the surface of the water, and Dain leaned against her chest to float with her. She shut her eyes and only looked up when the one-year-old touched her stomach.

“Ow”

“Yeah, ouch,” she said, and glanced down at the tiny puncture wounds on the side of her stomach. “You better stop that before Daddy finds out.”

“Bad”

“Right, bad… we don’t bite do we?”

Dain grinned, “No, no.”

Emily kissed his soft cheek and put him back up on the cement. She pulled up against the side of the pool when Silas came in.

“Gordon wants to know if you want dinner in here,” Silas asked, grinning.

“I’m coming, take Dain will you? Have Anna dress him.”

“Come on, Screech,” Silas said, and held his hand out.

“Stop calling him that.”

“Sorry, Em,” he said, and airplaned Dain out of the pool room.

Emily got out of the pool and dried off with a towel. She glanced in the mirror, noticing how distinctive the six bites were on her body. One set on her upper arm, one on the back of her shoulder and the rest across her abdomen. It was getting harder to hide them from Chevalier, but so far she’d managed to. She dressed quickly in the dressing room and then headed out to have dinner.

“Lady Emily?” Storm asked, catching up with her. “One of our guards was caught with a member of the Encala. Chevalier is on a mission, and the Council asked if you can just take care of it.”

Emily frowned, “I don’t do that anymore.”

Storm smiled slightly, “What should I tell them?”

“What would you do to him?”

“Demotion and probation.”

“Sounds good. Tell the Council we’re demoting him and putting him on probation.”

“What about a trial?” Storm asked.

“Do we have to give him a trial?”

“I suppose not. I’ll write it up and send it to the Elders.”

Emily sat down at the table and looked up at the sound of a helicopter landing before picking up the cheeseburger and starting to eat. Several minutes later, Kyle and Zohn came in and sat down.

“You’re too late, I punished him,” she said, and grabbed a French fry.

“Who?”

“The guard who was fraternizing with an Encala.”

“You punished him?” Kyle asked, grinning.

“I demoted him and put him on probation.”

“Oh,” Kyle said, nodding. “Tell Storm thanks for taking care of that.”

Emily flipped a fry at him, and hit Kyle on the shoulder.

“We didn’t come for that,” Zohn said. “Seems the Encala thought you needed an airplane.”

She almost choked on a fry, “What?”

“The Encala sent you an airplane. It’s at the Equites hangar being checked over.”

“Why would they send me an airplane?”

“Because you don’t have one?” Kyle suggested, and took Dain from Anna. “Hi, Screech.”

“Stop calling him Screech! You have the Cavalry calling him that,” Emily said, frowning.

Kyle grinned, “It fits.”

“We also came because we heard that the V.E.S. is going to raid the island again, and thought we’d come help.”

Emily sighed, “You’re just afraid I’ll shoot another one.”

“That too,” Zohn said. He picked up a fry and smelled it, then wrinkled his nose and put it back down.

“Why don’t you two forget about the Council, and take a vacation… swim, ride horses, walk on the beach.”

Zohn grinned, “I don’t think that’s possible.”

“Sure it is. I ignore the Council all the time.”

Kyle sighed, “Would you stop doing that? It makes us nervous when we call and you don’t answer.”

“Ow,” Dain said, and pointed at Emily.

“Injured?” Kyle asked her.

“No, believe it or not, I’m not always injured.”

“I do smell a fresh wound,” he said, and smiled at Dain.

“Cut myself shaving.”

“No, bi,” Dain said, shaking his head.

“Nope, not going anywhere for a while,” Kyle told him, misunderstanding the 1-year-old.

Emily sighed, “What am I supposed to do with an airplane?”

“Fly places, explore the world,” Zohn said, glancing around the dark dining room.

“Why do I get the impression you two are babysitting?”

“You do?”

“Yes”

“We aren’t,” Kyle said, and put Dain down on the floor to play.

“I doubt you’ve missed me. I’ve only been gone for two months. It’s not the V.E.S. either. I can handle them… so spill it.”

Zohn glanced at Kyle, and then back to Emily, “Fine… Jaron reported to the Council that you seem to have a suspicious amount of small injuries lately.”

“Small suspicious injuries?” Emily asked, leaning back in her chair.

“Yes, nothing big or life threatening, but just little stuff.”

“I’m accident prone, always have been.”

“Very well, may I see the cut you got shaving?” Zohn asked.

“No”

“Why not?”

“Because maybe it’s not on my legs.”

Zohn grinned, “You forgot your poker face, and I know you didn’t cut yourself shaving.”

“Damn, that’s hard to do for long periods of time.”

“So tell the truth and you won’t need your poker face,” Kyle told her.

“I’m sure Jaron will tell the same thing to Chevalier, wouldn’t you rather we know, than him?” Zohn asked.

“There’s nothing to tell. I’m accident prone and I get cut a lot… big deal.”

“Ok, if that’s it, then we can go back.”

“Stay a while. Take a load off… shut off the cell phones.”

Kyle smiled, “We can’t do that.”

“Where’s Chev, anyway?” Emily asked, picking Dain up off of the floor.

“He and Quinn are visiting Thukil for a week.”

“They taking a vacation?”

“No, it’s business.”

“Lady Emily… he’s out again,” a heku servant said from the back of the dining room.

Emily sighed, “Is it a full moon?”

“Yes, Ma’am, and your horse is ready.”

Emily nodded and stood up, “Do me a favor, stay here.”

“Where are you going?” Kyle asked.

“Just stay here… I’ll be right back.”

“Sure,” Zohn said, and they watched her go. After giving her a few minutes to get to the barn, Kyle and Zohn blurred out the front doors of the palace and watched her from the shadows.

Emily hopped onto the saddled mare and kicked her into a gallop, heading out into the night. The full-moon helped show her the way, and she saw him, exactly where he was on every full moon.

Zohn and Kyle watched them closely, confused as to what exactly was going on.

Emily stopped at the naked heku that was kneeling down on the pasture’s grass. She got off her horse and touched him on the shoulder, “Nicholas, we talked about this.”

“Oh, Lady Emily, you’re here… you shouldn’t be out here at night,” he said, looking up at her.

“I have to come out, you know that. I told you already that when you come out here and howl at the moon, it scares the horses.”

“I forgot about that. I’m sorry.”

“Come on, I’ll walk you home,” she said, and the heku stood up. Kyle started to move toward them when they saw the large heku standing naked beside Emily, but Zohn held him back, watching curiously.

Emily put her hand on his hairy back and guided him toward the city.

“I can carry you faster,” Nicholas said to her.

Emily grinned slightly, “That’s ok, let’s walk.”

Emily took the reins to her mare and walked quickly to keep up with the heku.

“Nicholas… now… I understand, I really do, why you want to join Powan, but you can’t keep coming out here every full moon,” she said, glancing behind her. She had the feeling she was being watched.

“I almost had it this time though,” Nicholas told her.

“I bet you did, Nick. The problem is… you scare the horses and then I have to come out here and get you. Why don’t you just stay here on the island and forget about joining Powan?”

“I can’t stay here. I belong with the wolves.”

Emily nodded, “Ok… well… can you not howl so close to the barn? Why not go out onto the beach, away from the houses and the castle?”

“I have to go there. It’s the best view of the moon.”

“Then why don’t you try wearing clothes next time?”

“I can’t turn into a wolf if I have clothes on.”

Emily smiled and nodded, “Ok, Nicholas.”

“What the hell…” Kyle whispered as they followed Emily and Nicholas through the streets.

Zohn shrugged, “I have no idea.”

Emily and Nicholas got to a small house on the outskirts of the island city. The house was worn and unkempt. Kyle growled when Emily headed inside. Zohn appeared at a window and peered inside just in time to see Emily start going through a small dresser.

“Ok, here,” she said, and handed over a pair of boxers and a t-shirt.

“Thanks, Ma’am,” Nicholas said, and got dressed.

“I’ll tuck you in bed.”

“I am tired.”

Emily went to a large bed and pulled the covers down. Nicholas crawled into the bed and she pulled the covers over him.

“Promise me you’ll stay in bed tonight,” Emily said as she sat on the bed beside him.

“I will, I promise. I’m too tired to turn into a wolf tonight,” he told her.

“Ok then,” she said, and headed for the door.

“Lady Emily?”

Emily turned toward him.

“Did you talk to General Skinner?”

She smiled, “Yes, and they are still full over at Powan. You’re on the list though.”

Nicholas smiled, “Ok, good night.”

Kyle and Zohn backed away from the windows when Emily opened the front door. She turned the lights off and the heku shut his eyes, burrowing deeper into the covers. Emily shut the door and took the reins on her horse. She started to mount up, but someone called her.

“Lady Emily!” a woman said from a house a few down from Nicholas.

“Evening, Pam,” Emily called out.

“As promised,” the heku woman said, and walked up with a large tray.

“No way, the ones your grandma made?”

The heku smiled and nodded, “Hot from the oven. I figured you’d be out with Nicholas tonight.”

“Great, thanks,” Emily said, and grabbed a cookie. She took a bite and shut her eyes, “Oh my God, these are good.”

“Well… I’m sure they are,” Pam said, smiling.

Emily reached over and snatched a few more, “Some for the road.”

“Did you do what I suggested… talked to the Elder?”

“Nope, I can handle it. Thanks for the cookies,” Emily said, and headed off toward the castle. She walked the horse as she ate more of the cookies.

Kyle glanced at Zohn and they both followed her. As she neared the edge of the city, they watched a heku blur towards her.

“Lady Emily!” he called out.

Emily turned around, “Oh, hi, Blaine.”

“First one of the season,” the heku said, and handed her a long red rose.

Emily smiled and took it, “Thank you, it’s so pretty.”

“Did Pam find you? She’s been carrying cookies all over the city looking for you… nasty smelling things.”

Emily grinned, “She did and they were really good.”

Blaine smiled, “Out with Nicholas again?”

“Always”

“Did you talk to the Elder?”

“Nope, I have to head back though. Kyle and Zohn are up at the castle.”

Blaine glanced nervously toward the heku in the shadows, and then back to Emily, “Ok, have a good night, Dear.”

Emily watched him blur away and then continued up the hill toward the castle. She mounted her horse when the cookies were gone, and kicked her into a canter, then stopped when she heard someone else call for her.

“Commander,” one of the island’s Lieutenants called.

Emily turned around, “Good evening, Lieutenant.”

“I have it ready, can you approve it?”

“Sure,” she said, and took the clipboard from the heku guard. “Or not, it’s too dark to see it.”

The Lieutenant pulled out a small penlight and held it up for her to see. Kyle frowned and wondered when the Island Guards started carrying flashlights.

Emily studied the papers and flipped to the next page before speaking, “Oh, you can’t put Jamie and Dennis on the same shift, they argue.”

“Sorry, Ma’am, I didn’t see that,” the Lieutenant said, and glanced at the papers.

“Lewis can’t patrol outside of the cement fence. I told him one condition of his reinstatement, is that he can’t leave the walls, not even to the pier,” Emily said, and handed the clipboard back to the heku. “Other than that, it looks good.”

The Lieutenant glanced back at Zohn and Kyle and then back to Emily, “Did Pam find you with the cookies?”

Emily smiled, “Yes, thanks.”

The Lieutenant bowed and blurred away. Emily finally made it back to the barn and put the mare away for the night. Before she got back into the dining room, Kyle and Zohn returned to their seats and watched her walk in.

“Sorry,” she said, and sat down just as a servant brought her a cup of hot chocolate.

“Busy night?” Kyle asked.

“Not bad… what were we talking about?”

“You were trying to get us to stay on vacation,” Zohn reminded her.

“Oh right… anyway, you should stay.”

Kyle smiled, “We should leave in the morning. I have a few things I need to take care of here, first.”

She nodded and stood up, “I’m heading off to bed then, stay out of trouble.”

Zohn and Kyle watched her leave the dining room, and then they blurred to Kyle’s office and locked the door behind them.

“Damnit,” Zohn growled. “Now we have to call the Council and tell them it’s not going to work.”

Kyle nodded, “I had no idea what was going on here.”

“She has no reason, whatsoever, to come back to the palace. Seems like the heku here love her, and she’s wanted and kept busy.”

“Hell, I wouldn’t leave here either.”

“No matter how many positives we bring up about coming to the palace, they can’t compare to her life here.”

Kyle sighed, “After seeing tonight, I don’t even want to ask her to come back.”

“I’m thinking… there has to be some way to get her back to the palace,” Zohn said.

“I am concerned, however, about Nicholas.”

Zohn nodded, “Agreed. The worst part about that entire episode, was that it sounded like it’s a regular thing.”

“He can’t be all the way sane. She tucked him into bed.”

“Course, I don’t really want to tell Chevalier that Emily has to go out in the middle of the night to get a naked heku away from her horses, and then takes him home, dresses him, and tucks him into bed.”

Kyle grinned, “I don’t either.”

“What do you suppose happened to him?”

“I don’t even remember a Nicholas on the island,” Kyle said, and started thumbing through files in a cabinet. He stopped after a few minutes. “Nope, not a single Nicholas. That house used to belong to Debbie and Wynn, but last I heard, they moved over to Jacoba Coven to get away from the sand.”

Zohn frowned, “I wonder where he came from.”

Kyle called out for the servant that notified Emily about Nicholas. He stepped into Kyle’s office and looked nervously at the Elder.

“Where did Nicholas come from?” Kyle asked him. “He’s not in my files, and I don’t remember inducting him into Island Coven.”

The servant began to wring his hands, “Lady Emily asked that we not say, Sir.”

Kyle raised an eyebrow, “I do believe I outrank her.”

“I sure as hell know I do,” Zohn said. “Tell us.”

The heku servant looked down at the ground, “Please don’t order me. We all promised her we wouldn’t tell.”

Zohn sighed, “Too late, it’s an order.”

Kyle growled, “Keeping secrets from myself or Chevalier is grounds for immediate expulsion from Island Coven, and you know it.”

He nodded, “Nicholas… the Lady found him wandering the streets of Jonesport.”

“He was wandering around in the middle of the day?”

“No, Sir, it was at night.”

“What was Emily doing out in Jonesport at night?”

The servant shrugged, “We don’t ask, Sir.”

Kyle frowned, “So she does it often?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Who was guarding her when she found Nicholas?” Zohn asked. “The guard may know more.”

The servant sighed, “No one, Sir.”

“There are just too many things wrong with this,” Kyle said.

“Let’s keep with Nicholas for now. What’s wrong with him?” Zohn questioned.

“I don’t know, Sir. He mainly stays to himself, except on the full moon.”

“When he attempts to turn into a wolf?”

“Yes, Elder.”

“Silas, come here,” Kyle said angrily.

“Yes, Chief Enforcer?” Silas asked, coming in.

“What do you know about Nicholas?”

Silas thought, “I don’t know a Nicholas.”

“When you aren’t here, or are busy with Dain, who is watching Emily?”

“The General assigned Van and Chris as her personal guards.”

“Did you know she’s been wandering Jonesport alone at night?”

Silas gasped, “She has?”

“Fire Van and Chris.”

“Right away.”

“First though,” Kyle said. “Let’s go talk to Nicholas.”

Zohn nodded and blurred to Nicholas’ home with Kyle and Silas.

Kyle knocked on the door, and when there was no answer, Silas looked into the window.

“He’s in bed with his eyes closed,” Silas whispered, frowning.

Zohn opened the door and walked in, followed by Kyle and Silas. Nicholas didn’t move, but stayed in bed with his eyes closed.

“We know you aren’t sleeping,” Kyle said. “So I order you to sit up and talk to us.”

“Shhh, I am sleeping,” Nicholas whispered, not opening his eyes.

Kyle glanced at Silas, who walked up and pulled the covers off of him and then pulled Nicholas up to sitting by his neck.

Nicholas looked up with wide eyes at the others.

“How long have you been living on the island?” Kyle asked him sternly.

“Six months,” Nicholas told him. “Lady Emily said I can stay until I’m able to join Powan Coven.”

“Where were you before Emily found you in Jonesport?”

“I lived as a wolf.”

Kyle looked over at Zohn, and the Elder shrugged.

“When were you turned?” Kyle asked.

“Into a wolf?”

“No, into a heku.”

“After I became a wolf.”

“Which was how long ago?” Kyle was starting to get irritated.

“I became a wolf again 4 hours ago.”

Silas growled and hit Nicholas upside the head, “Pay attention and answer his question…”

“Give me a date. When were you turned into a heku?” Kyle asked.

“February 31st, Sir.”

Kyle rubbed the bridge of his nose, “There is no February 31st.”

“There is in wolf time.”

Zohn shook his head, “The problem is, he’s not lying.”

The door flew open and the heku all spun as Emily stormed in, still wearing a nightgown and robe, “Leave him alone.”

“Em, we aren’t hurting him,” Kyle told her.

Emily sat down on the bed beside Nicholas, and he leaned his head against her shoulder, “You scared him.”

Silas growled and roughly pulled Nicholas away from her.

Emily took Nicholas’ hand and glared at Silas, “Leave him alone.”

Zohn sighed, “Everyone calm down. Emily, do you know what’s wrong with him?”

“They woke me up,” Nicholas told her.

“I know. Go back to bed, we’ll leave you alone,” Emily said, and stood up. She tucked him back into bed and then turned to the others, “Let’s discuss this in private.”

“Why are you tucking him into bed?” Silas asked, confused.

“Out,” Emily growled, and opened the door.

The four kept quiet as they walked back to the castle and into the conference room. The heku were aware that Emily was livid, and she knew they were going to fight her over Nicholas, one reason she tried to keep him a secret.

Once they were all seated, Emily finally spoke, “Leave Nicholas alone.”

“No, he’s not completely sane. He’s dangerous,” Kyle said, irritated.

“No he’s not… he’s completely harmless.”

“Does he even know he’s heku?” Zohn asked.

“No, he doesn’t.”

“What possessed you to bring him here?” Kyle asked, standing up.

“Calm down,” Zohn ordered, and Kyle sat back down. “I want to resolve this before it gets back to Chevalier.”

“I couldn’t leave him… the store was calling the police because he was naked and howling in their parking lot. I brought him here to keep him from falling into the hands of the cops,” Emily explained.

“At which point you should have thrown him into prison and had myself or Chevalier come take care of him,” Kyle told her.

“Take care of him? You mean kill him?”

“If he can’t be rehabilitated, then yes.”

“No, I’m not going to let you kill him.”

Zohn held his hand up, “What exactly were you going to do with him?”

“He’s taken care of. I see no reason why he can’t keep doing what he’s doing and stay here on the island.”

“It’s not your coven to decide who joins it,” Kyle growled.

“I didn’t say it was… and if it’s a problem, then maybe I’ll start my own coven and Nicholas can join me.”

“That’s absurd.”

“No it’s not. He’s harmless.”

“So harmless you decided to not tell the Elder or I about him? Does Storm even know?”

“No, she doesn’t.”

“This is out of line!” Kyle yelled, standing up.

Emily stood up to face him, “It is not out of line. You and Chev have been gone from here for years, abandoned it… I’m doing the best I can and there’s no reason Nicholas can’t stay here.”

“He’s dangerous.”

“No he’s not!”

“Haven’t you learned yet? All of the heku that’ve turned on you, and you are still naive enough to think he’s harmless?”

“He is harmless! He’s confused about what’s going on, but he’s not hurting anyone.”

“Yeah, neither was Exavior,” Kyle yelled.

Emily reached over and slapped him, “How dare you…”

Silas grabbed Emily, while Zohn restrained Kyle as they started for each other.

“Calm down!” Zohn ordered.

“If you can’t even protect yourself, how do you expect to help this island?” Kyle hissed.

“Apparently, the only one I need to protect this island from is you!” Emily yelled, and pulled against Silas’ hands.

“This is not your coven.”

“It’s not yours either…”

“You have no authority to let that heku live here.”

“You have no authority to choose who I take care of.”

“Stop it!” Zohn yelled. “Kyle, meet me in the helicopter.”

Kyle growled and then stormed off.

“You need to calm down,” Zohn said to Emily.

“Leave…” she said, and glared at him.

“Silas, let’s go,” Zohn said calmly.

Silas let go of Emily, and she turned and disappeared up the stairs.

Zohn sighed, “Get him into the helicopter. I want to take off in 10 minutes.”

Silas nodded and blurred away.

The helicopter ride back to Council City was silent. Neither Silas nor Zohn had ever seen Emily and Kyle fight before, and they knew that by taking Nicholas from the island, Emily would be furious.

The Council was already convened when they arrived. Silas took Nicholas down into a holding cell, while Kyle and Zohn joined the others for an update.

“Welcome back,” Chevalier said. “Did you make any progress?”

Kyle didn’t answer. He was obviously angry, and the Council addressed Zohn so as to avoid Kyle’s well known temper.

“None at all,” Zohn said. “We had no idea the life Emily leads in Island Coven.”

“What do you mean?” Quinn asked.

“I mean… they love her. One heku made her cookies, one gave her a rose… the guard staff runs rosters by her. She has friends, family, a job… on Island Coven, she’s needed and wanted more than we could ever imagine.”

Chevalier sighed, “I guess I didn’t realize the extent.”

“She has no reason to come back here, where the guards talk about her, and the city fears her,” Zohn explained.

Chevalier glanced at Kyle, “So what happened?”

Kyle looked straight forward, not speaking.

“There’s… one… tiny… problem,” Zohn said. “That ended up in a bit of a fight between Kyle and Emily.”

Chevalier raised an eyebrow, “You fought with her?”

Kyle nodded, still looking forward.

“What happened, exactly?” Quinn asked.

“Silas, bring in Nicholas.”

Silas came in with Nicholas, who looked around the council chambers fearfully.

“This… is Nicholas,” Zohn said. “Apparently a new member of Island Coven.”

Chevalier frowned, “I wasn’t notified of any new residents.”

“This one is, unique,” Zohn explained.

While the Council watched, Nicholas began undressing as Silas moved away from him.

“Why are you undressing?” Chevalier asked, confused.

“I’m going to turn into a wolf,” Nicholas explained.

“A wolf?” Dustin asked, not sure if he heard correctly.

“Nicholas, are you a heku?” Zohn asked him.

“No, I’m a wolf.”

“Emily found Nicholas in Jonesport. He was naked and howling, and was about to be turned over to police, so she moved him to the island… about 6 months ago.”

“She did?” Chevalier asked, shocked.

“Every full moon…” Zohn hesitated and glanced at Kyle, “Every full moon, he strips and goes out by the castle’s barn and howls.”

“Every full moon?” Dustin asked, somewhat irritated.

“So… as is tradition, it seems, Emily goes out and walks him to his house, gets him dressed, and then… well… tucks him into bed for the night.”

Chevalier frowned, “Wait… what?”

“They woke me up. Emily’ll be mad,” Nicholas told the Council.

Kyle finally spoke, his voice angry, “Every full moon, Emily goes out in the middle of the night and gets Nicholas away from her horses… she takes him to his house, hands him clothes, and then tucks him into bed.”

“That just brings up more questions,” Chevalier said, and glanced at Nicholas.

“I’m going to Powan Coven to live,” Nicholas told him.

“I think not,” Dustin said angrily.

“Oh, Damn,” Zohn said when they heard Emily’s helicopter land on the roof.

“Did you not tell her you were bringing him?” Chevalier asked, cringing.

“No, we didn’t,” Zohn explained. “She thinks he’s harmless.”

“He has no right being a member of Island Coven,” Kyle growled. “He should be locked away.”

The Council heard Emily running down the stairs, and watched as she slammed open the door to the council chambers and walk in.

“There’s Emily,” Nicholas said, smiling.

Emily glared at the Council, “How dare you take him.”

“Em… we’re just… talking to him,” Quinn said.

“Here, Nicholas, get dressed,” Emily said, and handed his clothes over to him. Nicholas nodded and slipped his clothes back on. When he was dressed, Emily took his hand and started out of the council chambers.

“Wait,” Zohn said. “We can’t let you take him.”

Emily spun and looked at them, “You most certainly can. I am taking him back.”

Nicholas leaned way over and put his head on her shoulder, “They woke me up.”

“I know,” she said, and patted his head.

“We… we didn’t wake him up! He’s a heku,” Kyle growled.

“We’re just concerned about your well-being,” Quinn explained. “When a heku isn’t in his right mind, his instincts can take over and they become very dangerous.”

“He’s harmless,” Emily said, and slapped his hand when he started to undress again.

“How long has he been on the island?” Chevalier asked, still confused.

“6 months,” Emily told him.

“Storm was ok with that?”

“Storm doesn’t know.”

“You are not authorized to bring new heku onto the island,” Kyle growled.

“Bite me,” Emily yelled, and glared at him.

Kyle stood up, “When will you get it through your thick skull that that is not your island?”

Silas grabbed Emily when she headed up to the Council stand. Kyle sat back down and watched her.

“You be nice,” Nicholas said to Kyle.

“Em, you know there’s a process to be accepted into Island Coven,” Chevalier said calmly. “What made you think you could just bring him in without following proper procedure?”

“I knew you wouldn’t let him in, so I bypassed procedure, found an empty house, and moved him in,” she said, and Silas finally let her go.

“I wouldn’t have let him in because he’s dangerous.”

“No he’s not!”

“You said the same thing about David… and then Exavior,” Kyle yelled.

Kyle gasped and fell back into his chair. The burning pain hit him for only a brief moment. Dustin and Quinn jumped at him at the same time as he headed over the desk toward Emily.

“Mark!” Chevalier yelled, and landed on the trial room floor beside Kyle, who was fighting to get to her.

“Yes, Eld…” Mark froze, and then grabbed Emily when he saw how mad Kyle was, and pulled her out of the council chambers. He looked up when Nicholas followed them out.

“You let her go,” Nicholas said, frowning.

Kralen appeared and restrained Nicholas.

“Let him go!” Emily screamed, and fought against Mark’s hands.

“Calm down!” Mark yelled when Emily tried to head butt him.

“Kralen, get your hands off of him,” she growled.

“No, take him into the prison for now, until we figure out what’s going on,” Mark ordered.

“Then you better put me in prison too, or I’ll ash this entire palace,” Emily said angrily.

Mark nodded, “Fine… both of you go then.”

Once Emily and Nicholas were in a cell in the prison, Mark and Kralen blurred back up to the council chambers and stepped inside. Kyle was back in his chair, but his features were dark and menacing. The Elders were talking among themselves.

“Where did Emily end up?” Quinn asked Mark.

“She’s in a prison cell with the heku,” Mark said. “She threatened to ash the palace if we didn’t put her in with him… and… well… he cried… kind of, until she joined him.”

Chevalier sighed, “Ok, now, let’s calmly figure out what’s going on here. I’m still confused as to where Nicholas originated from.”

“She doesn’t know,” Zohn explained.

“So she found him in Jonesport and brought him to the island?”

“Yes”

“She somehow managed to keep him there for 6 months, unbeknownst to any ranking member of the coven.”

“Right”

“Then on full moons, he strips and howls, and she puts him to bed.”

Zohn grinned slightly, “Yes.”

“Has anyone tried to talk just to Nicholas?”

“Yes, and we couldn’t get anything out of him. I’m not sure he knows where he is or what he is,” Zohn said.

“And Emily thinks he’s safe to be around?”

“Apparently”

“If he’s truly confused, we’ll need to dispose of him before he hurts someone,” Quinn said, deep in thought.

“If you don’t mind facing the wrath of Emily,” Zohn reminded him.

“How intertwined is she in Island Coven?” Chevalier asked.

“Very much so… she corrected the guard roster, two of them can’t work together because they argue, and some heku named Lewis was reinstated as a guard with the condition he can’t leave the cement walls…”

“What did Lewis do?”

“I have no idea.”

“She’s completely taken over Island Coven,” Dustin said matter-of-factly.

“I’m not sure it’s on purpose. I know that we, as the Council, have asked her to handle a few discipline problems in Chevalier’s absence, and her very presence dictates she be consulted on important matters,” Quinn said.

“I don’t mind if she makes everyday decisions, but bringing a heku onto the island to live is not within her power,” Chevalier explained, and glanced at Kyle.

“She’ll never return here now… everything she wants and needs is on that island. She has friends, safety and stability. She’s needed and wanted,” Zohn said. “The fact that she allowed Nicholas to live on the island proves that she may not be ready for the responsibility that comes with being married to the Coven Lord, and live there in his absence.”

“So you suggest I move back?”

“No, of course not. Quinn and I don’t live with our covens either, it’s part of the responsibility of being an Elder.”

Chevalier tapped his pen on the table while he thought, “I guess I thought she merely lived there. I didn’t realize she made decisions.”

“How can she not?” Dustin asked. “You once put her in charge of the guard staff. Did you revoke that? They come to her because you put her in a position of authority with the guards.”

“I’m not as concerned about decisions with the guard staff, as I am with her allowing a strange heku to move onto the island.”

“It’s obvious that she has taken on a mother role with him, appealing to the human female’s instinct to nurture,” the Chief Interrogator said.

Chevalier nodded, “That’s where the bigger fight is going to come in.”

“We cannot allow him to live on the island,” Kyle growled.

“I realize that. What I don’t see is how to do that without further separating Emily from this Council,” Chevalier told him.

“We still need to ascertain what she was doing on the mainland without a guard,” Zohn said.

“I suggest we bring Emily into the Elder’s conference room and talk to her in there, just the Elders,” Chevalier said.

Kyle growled.

“You need to calm down,” Quinn said to Kyle before standing up.

“Mark, bring Emily to the Elder’s conference room,” Zohn called out, and followed Quinn and Chevalier out of the council chambers.

The Elders only waited a few minutes before the door opened. They were somewhat surprised to see Nicholas come in with Emily. She sat down, far from the Elders, and Nicholas sat down on the floor beside her.

“We apologize for the temper outburst,” Quinn said. “Things will be calmer in here. We just want to help you.”

“You can help me by letting Nicholas and I go back to how we were,” Emily said.

“We can’t allow him to run free on the island,” Chevalier said. “He has no control. His mind isn’t strong enough to restrain any of his innate desires.”

“In 6 months, he’s done nothing more than howl at the moon.”

“How does he feed?”

“He goes in with Henry and Yvonne.”

Chevalier nodded, “Ok… but that still doesn’t make us feel safe.”

“If you want me to feel safe, then get me out of this palace.”

“Nicholas?” Zohn asked, glancing at the heku on the floor.

The heku looked up at Emily, but when she smiled at him, he turned to Zohn.

“Who turned you?”

“Into what?”

“A heku.”

Nicholas shrugged, “I’m not a heku, I’m a wolf.”

“Do you know who we are?” Quinn asked.

“Yes, the Equites Elders.”

Quinn smiled, “Good, so you know we’re heku?”

“Yes”

“But you aren’t one?”

“No”

“How do you know who we are?” Zohn asked him.

“Because the Valle Elders said you are bad.”

Emily cringed, “Nicholas, enough.”

Nicholas nodded.

“So he’s a Valle,” Zohn said.

“No, he’s not… he has no idea what he is, and all he needs is a little care and maybe he’ll remember,” Emily said.

“He’s a Valle and needs to be returned to them.”

“No! You know as well as I do that they’ll kill him.”

“As will we,” Quinn said softly.

“Over my dead body!” Emily yelled, and stood up.

“You better not hurt Emily,” Nicholas said, and stood up next to her.

“Sit, please,” Chevalier said. “We haven’t decided anything yet.”

She hesitated and then sat back down, “I get the feeling I’m also about to get reprimanded for helping out on the island.”

“It does seem you have taken on a lot of responsibilities there. Some of which, we don’t feel is appropriate that you handle,” Zohn told her.

“I suppose that’s my fault! I get calls from the Council asking me to handle discipline problems when Chev’s gone… I get asked roster questions by the guards, because they don’t want to bother their Elder. I get woken up at 2am because two of the guards are fighting, and no one can calm them down but me,” Emily explained. “Yes, I have responsibilities, but none of which I’ve brought on myself… except Nicholas, and he’s none of your concern.”

“We aren’t blaming you, Em,” Chevalier said. “I just didn’t realize how heavily the coven was utilizing you.”

“What are their other choices? You abandoned them.”

Chevalier sighed and took a moment to calm his temper, “I didn’t abandon them, and they know that.”

“So what now? Are you telling me I can’t go back to the island?”

“No, I’m not saying that.”

“Are you telling me that I’m to ignore anyone that asks me for help?”

“No”

“Then what!? What is it you want me to do? I can go to the island and ignore any calls for help, anyone that needs an immediate decision… is that what I do?”

“Yes, that’s what I want.”

Emily’s eyes filled with hurt, “So when I’m on the island, I’m nothing more than a guest?”

“Is that so bad?” Chevalier asked.

“It’s your island, though Kyle has a lot of authority too… and I’m just your wife.”

“Just?”

“Yes, just. I have no responsibility, no authority, I can sit on my ass and be fed and catered too, yet I can’t help make a single decision… Do I have that about right?”

“It’s not your place to make decisions on my island,” Chevalier said softly. He frowned slightly at the look on her face. He could tell she was fighting back tears.

“I don’t think the Elder meant it that way,” Quinn said when he saw the hurt feelings. “It’s not that we don’t appreciate all you’ve done to help the coven. It’s just that we would prefer if you let the Elder or Kyle handle things, they can get dangerous.”

“I see,” she whispered, and looked down at Nicholas.

“Maybe if you made decisions along with Storm, then things might go smoother.”

“No, you’re right… it’s not my place, it’s Chevalier’s coven.”

Chevalier frowned, it wasn’t often she called him by his full name.

She stood up and put her hand out, “Come on, Nicholas, let’s go.”

Quinn frowned, “We can’t let him go. It’s not safe.”

“He needs me,” Emily whispered. She took his hand and turned for the door.

“Emily, we cannot let you go with him,” Zohn told her.

Emily slipped the phone out of her pocket and pushed it across the table, “Lewis is going to call, he wants reinstated to the pier now that his probation is over. Ying Lee wants to know if he can start guard training next week, and Wesley needs building rights for a greenhouse.”

Chevalier nodded and took her phone, “I’ll come to the island this weekend, ok?”

She nodded and opened the door, still holding onto Nicholas’ hand. Three members of the Cavalry were waiting outside of the conference room, and Emily looked up at them.

“We need to take him,” the new Cavalry Lieutenant said.

“I have to go with Emily,” Nicholas told him.

“It’s ok, he’s coming with me,” Emily said.

“Maybe if she agrees to never be alone with him,” Chevalier said, and turned to Zohn.

Dustin, the Chief Liaison Officer from Powan, appeared suddenly at Nicholas’ back and instantly removed his head. Emily watched, wide eyed, as the heku’s body fell to the floor, spraying blood across her and the walls.

She backed away slowly, watching Dustin as he looked down at the heku he just killed. She was finding it hard to breathe, hard to understand what happened. Nicholas trusted her. She took care of him and understood his needs and his kind nature.

“I had to,” Dustin said to her, and then turned to ash at the feet of the Cavalry.

“Hey!” one of the Cavalry started to yell, and then also turned into a pile of ash.

Zohn immediately ordered the hallways clear and all nonessential personnel were to leave the palace immediately. The council chambers were locked down, with the Council inside, and the Elders stayed in their conference room.

Emily turned and ran up the stairs to the roof. Her assigned heku pilot powered up the helicopter when she got inside, and soon they were flying toward Island Coven.

Chapter 7 - In Sickness

Emily rolled over and looked at the clock. It was 1am and she had yet to fall asleep. Her throat hurt, she had a headache, stuffy nose, and a dry cough. She hadn’t left her room in the two days since Dustin killed Nicholas. The coven was quiet. They knew Nicholas was missing and that Emily was being elusive.

After a couple more hours of tossing and turning in bed, Emily finally got up and threw on a robe. She left Dain for a few minutes and went out into her ante-chamber.

“Can I get you anything?” Anna asked.

“No,” she said, and sneezed into a tissue. Emily walked up to the infirmary and started digging around in the bottles of medicine, put there for her use. She pulled out another box of tissue and a nighttime cold medicine, along with a handful of cough drops.

After loading up on cold medicine, Emily went into the kitchen and started to boil some water.

“Can I make you something?” Gordon asked, appearing beside her in the dark kitchen.

“No, just making some tea,” she told him, and glanced up at the ceiling when she heard a helicopter landing. “Who the hell lands a helicopter at 3 in the morning?”

Gordon smiled, “We don’t think about it… the time, I mean.”

Emily dug the chamomile tea out of the cupboard and ignored the sound of heku entering the kitchen.

“Good evening, Elder,” Gordon said with a slight bow.

“Are you sick?” Chevalier asked.

When she didn’t answer, Gordon finally turned back to her, “Would you like some chicken soup or pancakes maybe?”

“Oh heavens, Gordon, don’t ask me… ask the Elder,” Emily said, and turned around with her cup of tea. She gathered up the cold medicines and cough drops and walked past Chevalier, Kyle, Zohn, and Quinn without saying a word, and headed back up to her room.

Gordon turned to Chevalier, “I… don’t know… why am I asking you?”

Chevalier shook his head, “Just ignore that… how long has she been sick?”

“Just about a day. She’s kept to her room since she got back.”

“I’m going to go check over the new roster and schedule,” Kyle said, heading out toward the barracks.

“Shall we wait until she gets up?” Quinn asked, looking around the kitchen.

Gordon hesitated and then started to leave, but Chevalier put his arm out, “Stay.”

Gordon nodded, “Ok.”

“You’re nervous,” Chevalier said. “Why?”

“The… members of the coven have grown close to Emily.”

“Yes, and?”

“They know something’s happened.”

“Ok… keep going.”

Gordon sighed, “There may be some… who aren’t happy about it.”

“How much do they know?” Chevalier asked.

“They know Nicholas is gone… they know Emily isn’t visiting in the city, and isn’t taking castle visitors.”

“They’re upset about Nicholas?”

“We’ve all been watching them closely… any time Emily was with Nicholas, someone was off in the shadows to make sure things were ok,” Gordon Explained. “She enjoyed taking care of him.”

“I didn’t realize that.”

“We protect her. She doesn’t allow it… so we do it in secret.”

Chevalier nodded, “We had to dispose of him.”

“I figured.”

“You may go.”

Gordon blurred from the kitchen and Chevalier turned to the other two Elders, “I’ll be in my office.”

Chevalier sat in his office, alone, and went over everything that happened on the island in the last few months. From what he could find, everything Emily took care of was handled appropriately and even the arduous paperwork was meticulously filled out and submitted. He had to remind himself that the big one, a new member of the coven, was the only thing left out.

“Come,” he said when someone knocked on his office door.

Quinn and Zohn came in and sat down. Zohn was holding a large manila envelope, and he tossed it onto Chevalier’s desk.

He picked it up and looked at it, “What now?”

“It came this morning for her,” Zohn explained. “Do we open it?”

“My vote is no. It’s specifically addressed to Emily,” Quinn said.

“But from the Valle, my vote is yes,” Zohn said, and they turned to Chevalier.

“No… and I need to apologize to Emily,” Chevalier said, and shut the log book. “Aside from Nicholas, everything’s been handled correctly.”

“She doesn’t have the authority though.”

“Maybe she does, as a member of the Council and my wife… she’s taken care of things that I would have had to fly out here to do, and from what I see, she did a good job at it.”

“But Nicholas…”

“Had I known my coven was watching over her… it wouldn’t have been a problem.”

Zohn sighed, “Except that no one with authority knew she added to your numbers.”

“True,” Chevalier said, and he grew silent when he heard Emily get up, coughing.

“So now what?”

Chevalier grabbed the envelope and stood up, “Let’s go see what they sent her.”

The Elders walked up the stairs to her bedroom, and Chevalier couldn’t help but notice how quiet the servants were being around him and how they sunk back into the shadows as he passed. Tension in the castle was high, and it started to irritate him.

“Elders,” Anna said when they walked into the ante-chambers. There was a hint of annoyance in her voice.

“Is there a problem?” Chevalier asked her.

“No,” she said bluntly.

Zohn knocked on the door and opened it when he heard Emily mumble for them to come in. The Elders walked into the stiflingly hot bedroom. Emily was sitting out on the balcony on a chaise. She had a heavy blanket over her and a box of tissues on her lap. Dain was on the floor playing with the puppies.

“What?” she asked, her voice hoarse from the cold.

Chevalier sighed, “How are you feeling?”

“You flew to the island to see how my cold is?”

Zohn handed her the envelope, “This came for you this morning,” he said, and leaned against the balcony railing.

Emily sat up and opened the envelope. She pulled out a large stack of papers and held it away from heku eyes to read. She tried not to react as she read the deed in her name to a plantation outside of Savannah, Georgia.

“Anything interesting?” Quinn asked.

“Another gift is all,” she said, and slipped the papers back into the envelope.

“What kind of gift?” Zohn asked.

“A personal one,” she told him, and grabbed a tissue when she started to cough again.

“I want to apologize,” Chevalier said. “I see now that I was being hasty in telling you to stop making decisions for the coven, and I appreciate you watching over things in my absence.”

“Yeah, no problem,” she answered sarcastically.

“No, no bi,” Dain said, walking out onto the balcony.

Chevalier picked him up, “Nope, not leaving right now.”

Dain shook his head and grinned, “No.”

Emily crawled out of the chaise, left the blanket, and grabbed the box of tissues.

“Dow,” Dain said, and pointed at the puppies. Chevalier put him down on the floor, and he walked over and started playing.

“Can you at least tell us why I smell another small wound?” Zohn asked, sitting down in a chair by the fire.

“No,” Emily snapped, and then walked into the bathroom and shut the door.

“Is it something dangerous?” Quinn asked her through the bathroom door.

“No,” she called out.

Kyle walked in and looked around the room, “Is she sick?”

“Just a cold,” Chevalier explained. “What did you find?”

“Nothing amiss, everything’s been handled and the rosters look good.”

“Damnit, I should have checked before assuming she shouldn’t be helping out around here.”

“She still shouldn’t… though… I can tell you the guards are all acting strangely, and I suspect they would rather deal with her than you or I.”

Quinn grinned, “Can you blame them?”

Zohn reached down when Dain screamed and then started to cry. He picked up the baby and comforted him, “What happened?”

“Bi,” Dain said through tearless sobs.

“Bi?”

“The dog bit him,” Kyle said, and showed Zohn a small trace of blood on Dain’s pants.

“No bi,” Dain said, and leaned his head against Zohn’s shoulder.

Chevalier frowned, “Do the dogs bite you a lot?”

Dain shook his head.

“Who says no biting?”

“Mommy no bi.”

Kyle chuckled, “Guess the dogs are chewing on Em. That explains the small wounds. She’ll get a hold on them soon enough.”

Emily came out of the bathroom dressed and started to tie her hair up.

“Are you leaving? It’s still early,” Chevalier reminded her.

“Yes, I’m not sleeping anyway, might as well go do something.”

“Do you want us to keep the puppies at the palace? We can see if we can find someone to train them for a while.”

“I’m training them, they’re good dogs.”

“Except for when they bite you?” Quinn asked, smiling.

“They don’t bite me,” Emily explained.

“No?” Chevalier said, and ran his thumb across a healing tooth mark on the back of her shoulder.

“No bi,” Dain said, still resting against Zohn’s shoulder.

“Oh, yes, they do… sometimes. I’m taking care of them though… well… unless you all decide to pull off their heads.”

“Em, we need to talk about Nicholas,” Chevalier said, and moved slightly to block her from leaving.

“Yeah and you might want to stay away from Dustin for a while,” Zohn told her.

“Dustin had no right to kill Nicholas… Nicholas trusted me, and I’ve taken care of him. He died in my care and someday, I’ll get Dustin back for that,” she said angrily.

Quinn’s eyes grew wide, “He did what he thought was best.”

“He made a rash decision based on an ego trip about the Powan Coven,” Emily told him, and started out of the room.

She walked out of the castle and headed for her garden, followed by the heku and the puppies.

“Lady Emily?” she heard, and turned around and smiled.

“Good morning, Tyson.”

The heku looked nervously at the council members and then back to Emily, “That thing we spoke about… have you decided?”

“Sorry, Tyson, I’ve been cut off,” she explained, and Chevalier sighed. “You’ll need to run that by Kyle or Chev.”

Tyson glanced over at them and then back to Emily, “Are you ok?”

“Yes… except they killed Nicholas.”

Tyson’s frowned, “I’m so sorry.”

“Yeah, well, apparently what I want doesn’t matter.”

“Em, you know…” Chevalier started, but Emily cut him off.

“I’m sorry, Tyson, I can’t help you with this,” Emily said, and crawled through the wooden posts and into the large garden. She sat down and started weeding, using the dawning light to see.

“What did you need, Tyson?” Kyle asked.

The heku shifted nervously, “Never mind, it was something I was doing with Lady Emily.”

Chevalier watched Tyson blur away, “I’m thinking I better stay here for a week or so, seems like it’s going to take some time to fix this.”

“I’ll stay and help,” Kyle told him.

“Oh joy, then you can both take turns telling me off,” Emily mumbled, and tossed another weed onto the pile.

“Go,” Chevalier said, and watched as the other heku blurred away, leaving him, Dain, and Emily alone in the garden. He walked over and sat down in a row beside her and started pulling weeds.

Emily glanced up at him, “What?”

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Taking care of the coven in my absence.”

“But…”

“No buts,” Chevalier said. “I was hasty in chastising you for it. I see now that things were handled really well, and the heku here love you.”

“Hasty in chastising me? Damnit, Chev… how old do I have to be to be an adult in your eyes?” Emily asked, irritated.

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

“You don’t chastise a peer… you chastise a child.”

“I’m sorry.”

“For now, until the young one screws up again, and then it’ll happen yet again.”

“I don’t view you as a child,” Chevalier said, pulling a weed out of the lab puppy’s mouth.

“I’ve heard that before.”

Emily looked up when Chevalier put his hand on hers, “I don’t… that wasn’t a case of being young, it was a matter of inexperience with covens… at least that’s what I thought. Seems I was wrong.”

“And Nicholas?” she asked, looking into his eyes.

“Dustin acted too quickly, I’ll admit that. The Council has never seen that type of situation turn out well, and you know we’re very protective of you.”

“Did he have to die though?”

He shrugged and moved back to pick up Dain, “No, he didn’t.”

“He trusted me to take care of him.”

“I know.”

She went back to picking weeds, ignoring how Dain and Chevalier sat and watched her.

“What would it take to get you to move back to the palace with me?” Chevalier asked after a few minutes of silence.

“Not a chance,” she told him.

“What if I need you there?”

“You don’t.”

“How do you know?”

“Let’s do the math, shall we? From 7am – 7pm, 7 days a week, you’re in the council chambers. Two to three times a month you have missions lasting from 3-4 days a piece.”

Chevalier nodded. He knew where this was going.

“I sleep 8 hours a night… so let’s say from 11pm – 7am. That leaves us about 4 hours a day, most of which is taken up by last minute meetings, interruptions for emergencies, or those missions,” she said, and sat back against the fence post. “You don’t need me. You just want the peace of mind of knowing I’m close in case I get into trouble.”

He grinned slightly, “Not a lot slips by you, does it?”

“I like it here.”

“I know.”

“When I can help around here… solve little disputes or answer questions, it lets me know that the heku here want me, trust me, and respect me. Not a lot of that going around the palace.”

“At least you seem to be getting along better with Zohn.”

“Yes, and now Dustin has taken his place.”

“He… never mind. What about a compromise? 2 weeks here, 2 weeks at the palace?”

“The palace holds one thing for me… that’s you. Nothing else, and I see you more here on the island because you have to leave the palace and the Council and all of its issues. When you’re here… we get more time.”

“I guess I didn’t realize that.”

“When are you heading back?”

“In a couple of days probably, now that we know how you’re getting wounded.”

She grinned slightly, “You came all this way to diagnose a puppy bite?”

“Yes, I did. Jaron was worried.”

“Speaking of Jaron… take the Cavalry back with you, I don’t need them here.”

“I would feel better…”

“Take them back,” she said, and stood up. She brushed herself off and then put a hand out for Dain, “Breakfast?”

Dain frowned, “No fast.”

“You’ll get your own breakfast,” she said, and took his hand. “It’s not my fault you decided to take a bite of my breakfast and hated it.”

Chevalier’s nose wrinkled, “He did?”

“Yes… stole it and then threw up all over the dining room,” she explained, and headed inside after whistling for the dogs to follow.

***

“Anna?” Emily called out and picked Dain up off the floor. She was in her bikini and sarong, and with the sunscreen, smelled like coconuts, which made Dain wrinkle his nose.

“Yes, Ma’am?”

“Can you take Dain? I’m going to go for a walk on the beach and he hates the sun.”

Anna smiled, “Of course I will, who can blame him?”

“I won’t be long. It’s just the first sunny day we’ve had in a few days.”

“Will the Elder be coming tonight?” she asked, and followed Emily down the stairs.

“I think so. He missed coming last week and promised to give me an extra few days.”

“Lady Emily?” Storm asked, walking up to them.

“Yeah?” she answered, and turned around as she braided her hair.

“There was boat seen off of the north side of the island this morning.”

“Did it dock?”

“No, it circled the island and then took off.”

“Ok, probably tourists. I’ll look while I’m out on my walk.”

“Also… Geoff didn’t show up for his shift this morning.”

Emily sighed, “Did he go feed last night?”

Storm checked the clipboard, “Yes.”

“I suspect he has a girlfriend,” Emily said, and headed outside, followed by Storm.

“You do?”

“Yes, I’ll talk to him. Girlfriend or not, he can’t keep missing his guard shift or I’ll have to move him.”

Storm nodded, “When you get back, Thomas wants you to drop by his house, he has something for you.”

“Damn,” Emily said, and cringed. “I know he wants to be my personal chef, but the stuff he makes is disgusting.”

Storm grinned, “I would imagine.”

Emily was relieved to get to the pier without too many interruptions. Once she was outside of the cement wall, there were only the occasional guards to bother her.

“Shall we go with you?” one of the pier guards asked.

“No, just a short walk to get some sun,” she explained, and left her shoes on the pier before heading off along the beach. The warm sand felt good against her feet, and she shut her eyes for a moment to listen to the soft rhythmic sound of the waves.

As Emily rounded the tree line to the north beach, she stopped. There was a boat docked a few yards off the beach and a raft was on the sand, surrounded by ten men. She quickly debated waiting for the guards that passed every 20 minutes, but decided to see what she could do before they got there.

“You can’t come on this beach, it’s private,” Emily told the men as she got closer. It was easy to see they were humans.

One of the men turned toward her. He was tall and muscular with a gray goatee and buzz cut hair, “Emily Winchester?”

She stopped a ways from them, “What do you want with her?”

He smiled, “We have a delivery.”

Emily sighed and wondered if it was from the Valle or the Encala, “I’m Emily.”

“Great, sign here,” he said, and held out a clipboard. When Emily got near him, someone grabbed her roughly from behind. She didn’t have time to think, but brought her arms up and slammed her elbows into his arms, spun, and smashed her palm up into his nose, dropping him to the sand.

She fell to the ground as electricity flowed through her body. She was remotely aware that the man had a Taser, and she was unable to fight against it.

***

“I’ll bet you one guard shift that I’m right,” the Island Guard said, watching his partner.

The other heku smiled, “Fine… one guard shift.”

“What’s that?” the first guard said, and blurred to a body in the sand. He reached down and pulled the mortal’s face toward him. “He’s dead.”

“Broken nose… look at all that blood around him. This wasn’t a heku attack.”

“Get Storm, alert the guards.”

Within minutes, the beach was full of Island Guards. Storm appeared by the mortal and knelt down beside him. She studied his injury and looked out over the ocean, “Lady Emily was out here… find her.”

“Storm,” the General said, blurring to her. “Emily’s scent ends here. We’ve circled the island. She’s not out here.”

“Damnit,” Storm said, and again looked over the water. “Get the jet boats out and see if you can find any boats in the area.”

“Right away,” he said, and the guards left the area.

Storm glanced down at the dead mortal again, and seconds later, appeared in her office. She sighed and dialed the Elder.

“Chevalier here,” he growled, evidently unhappy.

“Sir, it’s Storm.”

“I’m busy, what is it?”

“Lady Emily was out on the beach walking… the guards patrolling outside of the cement wall found a dead man and now we can’t find her.”

There was a pause, “Dead man?”

“Yes, Sir, it looks like his nose was broken, killing him. I don’t know if it’s related, but we had reports of a strange boat off the north side of the island this morning.”

“The broken nose, that’s Emily… get out on the water and find that boat, I’m on the way.”

“Already done, Sir,” Storm said, and hung up.

“What’s wrong?” Quinn asked Chevalier.

“Emily’s missing and the patrols found a dead mortal on the beach… I’m heading over.”

“I’m sure she’s just out of sight. She’s probably back in the walls walking,” Dustin said calmly.

“Except the broken nose is Emily’s MO,” Kyle explained. “That’s how she fights being restrained…. I’m coming too, Elder.”

“Take the Cavalry, see what you can find,” Quinn suggested. “If you don’t find her by the time Zohn gets back, I’ll head over.”

Chevalier called for the entire Cavalry and followed Kyle to the helicopter. They all jumped into the transport helicopter and took off for the island. When they arrived, Storm was waiting on the roof of the castle.

“Anything?” Chevalier asked, looking out over the island grounds.

“No, Sir,” she said. “The body is on the south lawn. We didn’t want to dispose of it until you had a chance to see it.”

“How long then?” he asked, heading down the stairs.

“We’re going on 4 hours.”

“Kyle, get the Cavalry out on the boats and get those helicopters up patrolling the water.”

“Yes, Sir,” Kyle said, and the Cavalry blurred down the stairs and out of the castle.

Chevalier knelt down beside the dead man and turned his face to the side, “That’s Emily’s way of fighting back, broken nose into the brain.”

Storm nodded.

He dug through the dead man’s pockets and pulled out a wallet, “Oscar Germaine, 37 years old from Viola, Arkansas.”

She watched silently as Chevalier pulled out useless items from his wallet and tossed them onto the grass. He pulled out a dark blue card and growled, “V.E.S. member.”

“We need to get in Emily’s office… she monitors their computer systems and tracks activity,” Storm explained. “She hasn’t in a few days though. She’s been busy with the garden.”

“Silas,” Chevalier called out, and headed into the castle. He stopped at the door to Emily’s office and turned to the Captain.

“Yes, Sir?” Silas asked.

“Get on Emily’s computer. She’s been tracking the V.E.S., see if you can find her.”

Silas nodded and stepped into the office. Chevalier sat down and watched the heku’s fingers fly over the keyboard as all six monitors lit up with different areas of the V.E.S. computer system.

“This is going to take a while… I’m not nearly as good as Emily is,” Silas said, and studied one of the top monitors.

Chevalier took Dain from Anna and moved up to the roof of the castle. With keen eyes, he scanned the horizon, waiting for any sign. When dark came, a few of the heku came back for fuel and then headed out into the night on boats and jet skis. He knew she was in pain, he could sense it, and it was infuriating to have her so far out of reach.

He turned and disappeared from the roof when Silas called out to him. He appeared in Emily’s office.

“I’m picking up a radio transmission near here,” Silas said. “It was one of the V.E.S. listed frequencies.”

Silas reached over and turned up the volume on the computer.

“Bloody vampires everywhere. My radar is picking up a lot of small craft around us,” a frantic voice said.

“Can you get a clear path to the mainland?” a woman asked.

“Not without risking running into one of them.”

“If they get to you they’ll kill you… try to get to the mainland, and we’ll wait for you.”

“I know that! I told Donald to wait, but he didn’t…”

“Damnit, tell him to stop this instant. If he kills her, we won’t get any information.”

A low growl erupted from Chevalier.

“He’s just trying to get the location for their main city, so far she’s not talking, but she will.”

“Just make sure he doesn’t kill her, and get to the mainland.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“There,” Silas said hurriedly. He pointed at a small blip on the computer screen.

“What is it?”

“The origin of the transmission. They’re only about 40 miles south of here.”

“Let’s go,” Chevalier said. He handed Dain off to Anna and blurred out to a waiting boat. Silas, Kralen, Mark, and Chevalier sped off toward the last location of the V.E.S. boat.

They had the advantage of the dark, and as they approached the coordinates, they could see the dark boat sitting still on the water. No lights were on. They were masking themselves with the night.

“Kill the engines,” Chevalier whispered, and the heku boat fell silent.

“Swim in,” Mark said, and pulled off his shirt. He sunk quietly into the water, followed by the others, and swam silently toward the unsuspecting V.E.S.

They approached the 45 foot cabin cruiser without being detected. One man on deck leaned over to check the port side of the boat. His neck was broken before Kralen dropped him silently into the water.

Chevalier was first to step foot onto the boat. The other three joined him and looked around the deck. Mark motioned for Silas to take care of the Captain, who was sitting on the bridge with a bottle of vodka and a Playboy magazine.

Kralen and Mark headed toward the back of the boat, while Chevalier took the first set of stairs down. He emerged in a hallway and grew furious when he smelled the distinctive Winchester blood.

Mark crouched low and peered around an open door. There were six men sitting at a table eating dinner and talking about the upcoming NBA playoffs. Kralen appeared suddenly behind one of them, and removed his head before the others even noticed. Mark took the second and third in quick succession, and Kralen slammed the heads of two of them together, shattering their skulls instantly.

The last man took a swing at Mark and missed, slamming his fist into the wall. He cradled it and turned as Mark and Kralen descended on him.

Chevalier opened the first door quietly and looked in on an empty bedroom. He looked in the next room and grinned, then killed a couple in the middle of the throes of passion.

Kralen headed alone down a narrow stairway, while Mark continued on toward the sleeping berths. As Kralen entered a large cargo hold, he froze and scanned the room quickly. Emily’s scent was much stronger in this room. A man was asleep on a cot beside the entrance to the refrigeration cargo bays, and didn’t stir when Silas entered.

Silas appeared beside the man and restrained him while Kralen peaked into the refrigeration storage. He growled loudly at the last freezer unit and tore the door from its hinges. He knelt down beside her and touched her, unsure if she was still alive in the sub-freezing temperatures. She was wearing only her bikini bottoms, and her hair was frozen stiff with blood.

Chevalier appeared in the cargo hold just as Kralen brought Emily out of the freezer. He laid her down on the cot beside Silas and disappeared from the room, reappearing a few seconds later with a blanket. Chevalier took her freezing hand in his and felt a weak pulse in her wrist.

“All of them are dead,” Mark said, walking into the cargo bay. He frowned and turned on the lights. Emily’s face was beaten beyond recognition and her body was a mass of dark, vicious bruises. Her back was covered in bloody welts and thick cuts, and she had crescent shaped marks all over her. She was frozen in fetal position under the blanket, no longer able to even shiver.

Chevalier hissed, “Kralen, get us back to the island and call Storm, have Dr. Edwards waiting.”

“Yes, Sir,” Kralen said, and blurred from the room.

“Em?” Chevalier asked softly. He pulled a lock of hair out of caked blood on her face and watched for any sign she was awake. The boat shifted as Kralen started up the engines and headed back for the island.

Mark stepped between Silas and Chevalier when the Elder stood up, fists clenched, and faced the one remaining mortal.

“Elder… don’t kill him… he deserves worse than that,” Mark said, putting his hands out to Chevalier. “Trust me, don’t kill him now.”

The man watched them with wide eyes. Silas was restraining him, and had a hand over his mouth so he couldn’t speak. It was obvious from the fear in his eyes that he knew he would soon be dead.

Chevalier carefully picked Emily up and carried her to one of the empty beds, then laid her down and covered her with another blanket. Sitting down beside her, he took her hand, the one thing on her body that didn’t seem bruised or bleeding.

“Em? Can you hear me?” he asked.

She nodded slightly, but only a soft moan escaped her swollen lips.

“You’re ok now. We’re headed back to the island.”

It took every ounce of control to keep his temper down. He knew he would get time alone with the one remaining V.E.S. member, but for now, he needed to stay calm and help Emily. When the engines slowed an hour later, he picked her up again with the blankets, and slowly walked up onto the deck. The sun was just coming up over the horizon and he saw the coven gathered inside the cement walls, all waiting for word on Emily.

Kralen and Silas cleared a path through the heku and Chevalier blurred Emily to the castle, followed by Mark, who had the V.E.S. member restrained and was headed into the prison.

Storm met them at the door, “Dr. Edwards is in her room.”

Dr. Edwards smiled when they came into the warm room, “Good to see you again. Storm wasn’t sure what the problem was but… oh my God.”

Chevalier laid her down and Dr. Edwards’ eyes grew wide. He sat down beside her and took her hand as she began to shiver violently.

“What happened?” he asked, looking her face over quickly.

“Mortals had her,” Chevalier growled. “The V.E.S.”

“Mortals did this?”

“Yes”

“Why is she hypothermic?”

“They kept her in the freezer.”

Dr. Edwards nodded, “Step out please, for now.”

“Why?”

“I need to look her over without tempers in the room.”

“Come on, Elder,” Kralen said, and put a hand on Chevalier’s shoulder. He nodded and backed out of the room slowly.

“Document all injuries,” Silas said, and handed the doctor a notebook and pen. “Everything.”

Dr. Edwards nodded and Silas left the room, shutting the door behind him.

A helicopter landed an hour later and there was still no word from the bedroom. The heku could hear inside and all they caught was Dr. Edwards cursing and mumbling under his breath, and the occasional groan from Emily.

“How is she?” Zohn asked, walking up with Quinn.

“We don’t know yet,” Kralen said when Chevalier didn’t respond.

Silas filled the Elders in on what they encountered, but stopped when the door opened and Dr. Edwards walked into the ante-chamber, visibly upset. He sat down, took a deep breath, and sunk his head into his hands.

“I’ve never seen anything like that,” he said softly.

“Is she ok?” Chevalier asked.

“Yeah, she’ll live, but I have a feeling that for a while she’ll wish she didn’t.”

“I want to know her injuries.”

Dr. Edwards nodded, “Come in and I’ll show you what I found.”

The heku followed Dr. Edwards into the room and he sat down by Emily.

“She’s sleeping?”

“I had to give her strong pain medications. The exam was too painful.”

“Ok… show us.”

Dr. Edwards sighed, “I’m a little afraid to show you some of this.”

Chevalier nodded, “Do it.”

“I don’t know her temperature, my thermometer only goes to 94 degrees, but I can tell you that she was close to freezing to death.”

The doctor paused when Emily sighed and then turned back to Chevalier and continued.

“I’ll start with her face, the most obvious. She has a broken nose and right cheekbone, her jaw was dislocated but I managed to get it back in. She’s lucky that she doesn’t scar, her face is pretty cut up. If I had to guess, I’d say it was done with a fist wearing a ring,” Dr. Edwards said, and moved the sheet down off of her neck. “There are ligature marks on her neck. She was choked with something thin. Her black eyes are from the usual, same with the swollen lip. I checked her teeth and some are loose, but none seem to me missing.”

Chevalier shut his eyes and leaned against the wall.

Dr. Edwards looked at the heku and continued, “She has bruises and abrasions around her wrists and ankles along with sprained wrists and shoulders… strung up, again. That seems to be popular with this girl.”

“Seems so,” Quinn said, stepping over to look at the fire.

“I’m not sure there’s an inch of her that doesn’t have a bruise,” he paused and then continued. “There’s a… well… a V carved into her stomach.”

“What!?” Quinn yelled, and turned around.

Dr. Edwards nodded and pulled the sheet over to show them. A large V was cut narrowly into her abdomen, but had already scabbed over, “There’s more… on her back.”

“More writing?”

“Yes,” the doctor said, and gently rolled her over. He’d cleaned up her back, leaving only the deep red welts and long cuts from a lashing. He motioned to her lower back where the word ‘traitor’ was cut with jagged lines above her tattoo, “I had to put stitches in some of that to stop the bleeding… again, she doesn’t scar, so it should fully disappear.”

Zohn walked over and angrily put his fist through the stone wall, growling.

“Lastly… and this… I just wanted to make sure that you said mortals did this?”

“Yes, why?” Quinn asked when he realized Chevalier was too angry to speak.

“There are 31 bites on her.”

“Bites?” Chevalier asked, through gritted teeth.

Dr. Edwards laid her back on the bed and pulled her arm out from under the sheet. He pointed to a deep red, crescent shape gash on her arm, “31 bites… if they are really mortals, then we need to be careful. The human mouth is full of bacteria and those will get infected.”

Chevalier walked over and violently tore the balcony door off and slammed it against the outside wall of the castle.

“What can you do for her?” Quinn asked.

“I’d like to take her to a hospital, but there’s no way they wouldn’t call the police. So I’d say antibiotics and bed rest, and we need to warm her up slowly. I opened the window to cool it off a bit in here. We can’t get her too warm at first. One of the bruises on her back looks a lot like a kidney bruise, and those can be painful and nasty. Before I go, I’ll treat the cuts on her back, wrists, ankles, and stomach, and the bites with an anti-biotic ointment. Once I’ve covered them with gauze, I’ll brace her nose and wrists.”

Quinn nodded and Anna appeared at his side, “Show us how to do it so we can change the bandages.”

Quinn and Anna watched carefully as the doctor showed them how to cover the wounds with the ointment and then wrap gauze around them to keep them clean. He left instructions to clean the wounds with peroxide before using the ointment, and to keep her out of a bath for a few days until they fully scabbed over.

Dr. Edwards handed over antibiotics and pain pills, glancing nervously at Zohn and Chevalier before leaving. He promised to be back in a few days to check on her.

“Mark,” Chevalier called out, and sat beside Emily in the bed.

“Yes, Elder?”

“Hurt him… if I see him I’ll kill him, and I want him alive… and in pain.”

Mark grinned maliciously, “Yes, Elder.”

Chevalier carefully put a nightgown on her and laid her arms on pillows before covering her with the warm down blankets.

She gasped slightly at the movement and mumbled, “I won’t tell you.”

He took her hand and immediately picked up swirling gray colors of her dream starting. She slept through the day and night as the Elders entertained Dain and sent regular messages to the Council. Over the course of 12 hours, they brought her temperature back to normal and soon had the room warm and comfortable.

Just after noon the following day, she started to stir and spoke, her words slurred, “Chev?”

“I’m here, Em,” he said, and touched her hand.

“Hurts”

Anna handed over three pills and held a glass of orange juice.

“Take these,” Chevalier told her, and slid an arm under her shoulders. He gently pulled her up to sitting and she took the pills, drinking all of the cold juice. Once she was done he laid her back down. “Do you need anything else?”

“Don’t leave.”

“I won’t, I promise… get some rest.”

Zohn growled, “I want to make sure he’s in enough pain.”

“Don’t kill him,” Quinn reminded him.

“Oh I won’t,” Zohn said, and disappeared from the room.

Chevalier was watching Alexis play with Dain on the floor when Emily finally woke up.

“Always hurt,” she said, and shifted slightly.

He looked over at her, “Here, take some pain meds.”

He helped her lean up as Zohn dug pain pills out of the bottle and handed them to Chevalier. She took them with juice and Quinn stuffed pillows behind her, so she could sit up a little. She looked around the room through swollen eyes.

“I didn’t tell them anything,” she told them, though her words were slurred because of her injured mouth.

“You should have told them and let us deal with it, instead of taking that,” Quinn said, and sat down beside her on the bed.

“It wouldn’t have mattered if I told them or not, they wanted revenge for Larry, Cody, and Bruce.”

“What did they want to know?” Zohn asked, pulling up a chair.

Emily cleared her throat, “Um… they wanted to know where Cody and Larry are, and also where the vampire’s main city is.”

“Can we get you anything?”

“I hurt a man on the beach…”

Chevalier nodded and lied, “Yes, I killed him.”

“They told me they had a package. I thought it was another gift… then I got hit with a Taser.”

Quinn removed the extra pillows when Emily began to drift off and her breathing slowed down. Chevalier pulled the covers over her and glanced around the room, safely locking away his growing fury.

“What is he saying?” Chevalier asked after a few moments of silence.

Zohn shrugged, “He’s trying to say he didn’t do any of the beating, that he was just told to watch the cold storage, but I find it odd that he has a pretty good cut on his neck, looks like fingernail scratches.”

“When she feels better, we’ll find out for sure.”

***

“How are you feeling?” Dr. Edwards asked.

Emily was sitting up in bed, propped against pillows with her arms resting in her lap, “Better, I guess.”

“What hurts the worst?”

“I think my kidney,” she said. “Course… the V on my stomach doesn’t feel all that hot either.”

“I would imagine not. Nothing’s infected though, so keep doing what you’re doing.”

“When can I get up and around?”

“It’s been a week… why don’t you get out today, go for a nice walk, it’s gorgeous outside,” Dr. Edwards suggested.

“Thank you for coming,” Chevalier said, and shook the doctor’s hand before he left.

Emily smiled, “I’m free.”

“Just take it easy and promise me you’ll stay inside the cement wall.”

“I swear,” she said, and swung her legs over the side of the bed. The dark bruises covering her body were healed down to purplish yellow.

“I wish you would reconsider coming back to the palace for a week.”

“I’m ok here, Chev. I don’t want to leave the island, and I’ll be good and stay up here.”

“Still…”

“I know you have an important trial, just go, I’m ok.”

He kissed the top of her head lightly, “Allen is staying, so is Jaron and Silas.”

“Tell Jaron and Silas to go back, no need to keep them here bored.”

Chevalier grinned, “They offered to stay. I think they want the V.E.S. to show up.”

She frowned, “I’d rather them not.”

“Be nice to them, they really do want to stay here.”

Emily nodded and watched Chevalier walk slowly out of the room. She knew he didn’t want to go, but also knew he didn’t have a choice.

“Margaret?” Emily called out. The heku came in with a huge smile.

“Yes, Lady?”

“I need a new swim suit, just when you get a second.”

Margaret’s eyes lit up, “Oh, right away!”

Emily stood up slowly, groaning with the pain in her body the movement caused. Every muscle was bruised and sore, and her shoulders screamed with every move.

“Mom?” Allen asked, appearing at her side.

“It’s ok, just sore,” she told him, and leaned against the bed post. “One of these days I’ll quit getting beat up.”

Allen grinned, “I bet not.”

“Gee thanks… where’s Alex?”

“Downstairs with Dain.”

“What are you up to today?” she asked, and grabbed some clothes from the dresser.

“Just stuff. Dad said I could patrol inside the cement walls with some of the guards.”

Emily turned to him, “You really want to be a guard, don’t you?”

“Yes, actually… I do.”

“What happened to medical school?”

“I got bored, and all I really want to do is help protect the heku.”

Emily walked over and kissed his cheek, “Too much like your Dad.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Allen chuckled, and watched her disappear into the bathroom.

“It is, do you know how much trouble your Dad gets into?”

“Not nearly as much as you do.”

“Hey, behave,” Emily said, laughing, and walked out.

“What are you doing today?” Allen asked skeptically.

“For starters, I’m going into my office.”

“The no heku aloud office…”

“Yes, and that includes you.”

Allen smiled, “That’s just because I’m the only one on this island that would understand whatever it is you use those computers for.”

“So true,” she said, and tied her hair up. “Come swimming later with Dain and I.”

“No thanks… heku don’t swim.”

“Why is that?”

Allen shrugged, “I don’t know… enjoy your office. I’m going to go talk to Captain Lon.”

Emily followed him out, and on the first-floor, she headed to her office and stopped at the door, turning to her guards, “Alone time… why don’t you two go watch Alex and Dain.”

Jaron glanced around, “You won’t leave your office?”

“If I do, I’m sure you’ll hear me,” she told him, and took a cup of coffee from a servant before going into her office and shutting the door.

Emily sat down and flipped on the six monitors. She knew Silas was messing around with her computers, but also knew that’s how they found her. She reissued the no heku rule and sat back to watch the logs of the V.E.S. flash in front of her, reading each one carefully.

After a few hours, she got up to stretch and moved over to a mirror on the wall. She studied her face. The nose brace was still taped on, but her black eyes were almost gone. Her bottom lip was swollen a bit and had a long scab, but that was healing too. Her left cheek was puffy because of the broken bone underneath and it was still showing a light purple bruise. She had one bite on her neck, but the rest were hidden beneath her clothes and all were fading with time.

“Ok, I can talk here,” she heard someone whisper from the hallway. She got nosey and froze, listening carefully.

“I don’t know. I can’t get into the prison at my rank… if I had to guess though, Ossie is probably dead. Her husband has been down there.”

Emily frowned. She wished she knew the name of the V.E.S. member they brought back from the boat.

“No, they sunk it. Everyone on board but Ossie was killed.”

“Yeah, she’s up and around again, so no time like the present to attack. How many are you bringing?”

Emily shut her eyes and concentrated, making sure to hear every word.

“That’s not enough, there are over 1200 vampires on this island…. No, no… don’t underestimate us. We can take out 10 humans a piece.”

“Yes. She’ll come help. She can’t keep her nose out of anything,” the voice said, and paused before speaking again. “I’ll try, but damn, if they find out that I told you all when the bitch was going out of the walls… I’ll be dead next.”

“Sure, sure, I’ll be waiting, and I’ll make sure no one sounds the alarm in time to shut those bloody bars at the pier... Ok… if you don’t hear from me again, then consider it a go.”

As soon as he hung up, Emily narrowed her eyes and heard him scream as his cell phone crashed onto the floor. She heard heku from all over the palace run toward the screams and the hallway outside of her office filled with guards.

When she released him and stepped out, all eyes turned to her. The heku on the ground was panting and resting against the floor.

“Did you do that?” Jaron asked, turning to her.

“Get him to the helicopter, he needs to talk to Chevalier,” Emily said, glaring at the heku on the floor.

“Yes, Ma’am,” Jaron growled, and grabbed the heku from the floor.

“Lock down the island until we get back.”

Two of the Island Guards ran off to follow her orders.

“Get back to your posts,” Emily said, and watched the rest of the guards disappear. She followed Jaron, Silas, and an Island Guard up to the helicopter. Her personal pilot was just powering up Winchester 1 when Emily crawled in. She sat on the plush couch while the guards held the frantic prisoner on the floor, then she reached over and grabbed some juice as they headed for the palace.

“Please… let me go… I don’t know why I’m being taken to the palace,” he said.

“Shut up, Wade,” Jaron hissed, and tweaked his arm painfully behind him.

The prisoner screamed and tried to catch his breath, “She’s… wrong… I didn’t do… anything.”

Jaron brought his elbow down onto the back of Wade’s neck, and he fell to the floor as a loud crunching sound filled the helicopter, “I said… shut up.”

***

“It may not work,” Quinn said. “Plus… we don’t have room for any more horses to add members of the Cavalry.”

“Unless they share horses,” Zohn said, deep in thought.

“Not sure how well that’d go over, they’re pretty protective of their horses.”

“True”

“I’m guessing she would tell us to have the more experienced Cavalry train them though,” Chevalier said. “I doubt she’d move here for the six weeks of horse training.”

“Damn,” Kyle said, and stood up. “We have a helicopter asking to land.”

“Maybe it’ll bring us something to do,” Quinn said, and leaned his head back to stare at the ceiling. “It’s been too quiet.”

Kyle grinned and disappeared up the stairs to the roof.

Chevalier frowned and looked over at Quinn when the helicopter got closer, “That’s Winchester 1.”

He nodded, still looking at the ceiling, “She probably just came to get more of her stuff.”

“Yeah, true.”

“I’m surprised actually,” Dustin said. “I figured she wouldn’t come out into public until her wounds were completely healed.”

“I didn’t either,” Chevalier said. “Must have left something important.”

Quinn finally looked up when there was a scuffle outside of the trial room doors, “Hrm… then again, maybe there’s a problem.”

The door flew open as Jaron and Kyle roughly escorted one of the Island Coven Guards into the trial room. Chevalier’s eyes grew wide when he saw Wade, one of the castle guards, pushed to his knees before the Council. Wade looked up at the Council, his eyes full of terror.

“What’s going on?” Chevalier asked, angry that a member of his guard staff was brought before the Council.

The doors opened and Emily stepped in, blushing when the Council looked over at her.

“Welcome back, Dear,” Quinn said, smiling. “It’s good to see you.”

“Good to see you too,” she said, and stepped up under the lights. The Council gasped and fell silent when their eyes took in the visible bruises left on her even after a week.

Kyle walked up and sat in his place, noticeably angry. Jaron stayed with Wade on the trial floor, but the heku stayed on his knees, no longer struggling.

“Ok, now that the Chief Enforcer has returned… what seems to be the problem?” Dustin asked.

Emily glared at him and didn’t speak. He shifted nervously until Chevalier spoke.

“What’d he do, Em?”

She finally looked over at Chevalier, “I actually didn’t want to address the Council. I wanted him to talk to you and Kyle.”

“Why not the entire Council?” Zohn asked, confused.

Emily shrugged, “It’s just a matter of coven business is all.”

“It’s ok, we’re all bored… go ahead,” Quinn told her.

She started to panic. She envisioned Dustin ripping the head off of Wade, and blood pouring across the trial room floor, his dead eyes watching her. She felt the walls closing in and the old hatred creeping back.

“It’s… well… the, um… I changed my mind,” she said, and spun quickly, heading for the door. Mark stepped in just before she got to the door and she stopped and looked up at him.

Mark smiled and took her arm gently, “Come on…”

He walked her back to where Wade and Jaron were, and she looked up at the Council again.

Chevalier eyed Wade, “Tell me.”

Wade glanced up at Emily, “I… I don’t know why she brought me here…”

“He’s lying,” the Chief Interrogator said.

“Want to try that again?” Chevalier asked him.

“It was… it was a misunderstanding… it was just a phone call… to my Commander.”

“It was not a misunderstanding,” Emily yelled at him. “Did you or did you not tell someone on the phone that you told the V.E.S. when I went on a walk outside of the cement walls?”

“No! I wouldn’t do that.”

Chevalier’s eyes narrowed when the Chief Interrogator shook his head, “Lying… again.”

“Do you also deny that you told someone on the phone that you would let the V.E.S. onto the island before the security bars closed? And that they needed to bring more support because a heku could easily take out 10 mortals?” Emily yelled again. She headed for the heku, but Mark took her shoulders in his hands and held her back.

“No… no, I… I didn’t do that,” Wade said, fearfully watching Chevalier.

“Stop, don’t kill him yet,” Quinn said when Chevalier stood up. “I want to find out more.”

Chevalier growled, “How long have you been giving information about the island to the V.E.S?”

“I didn’t!” Wade yelled, panicking.

Quinn stood up, “Let’s start at the beginning… Emily, where were you?”

She looked up at him, “In my office.”

“Doing what?”

“Just stuff.”

“Ok… and then what?”

“I heard a voice in the hallway.”

“That’s when you heard what this heku was saying?”

“Yes… when he was done, I burned him until guards arrived, and then I brought him here.”

“Very well, Wade… were you in the hallway outside of Lady Emily’s office?” Quinn asked.

He nodded, “Yes.”

“Were you on the phone?”

“Yes”

“Who were you talking to?”

“My Commander, Rockwell,” Wade explained nervously.

“He’s lying… still,” the Chief Interrogator told the Council.

“Em, come here please,” Chevalier said, still watching Wade. Emily walked around the guard and up onto the Council stand. She knelt down beside Chevalier and he took her hand, then got a faraway look in his eyes, and she shut her eyes as the conversation she overheard replayed in her mind.

A low growl was heard as Chevalier let go of her hand and looked over at Wade. He blurred down to the trial floor and backhanded the guard, shattering his jaw and sending him to the floor as blood poured out of his mouth.

Emily stood up and looked down, wide eyed.

“Sit, Dear,” Quinn said, and motioned for Chevalier’s chair. She nodded and sat down. She’d seen the rage in Chevalier’s features before, and knew it was best to stay out of his way.

Chevalier grabbed Wade around the neck and hauled him out of the trial area, followed by Kyle. The door shut behind them and Emily turned to Quinn.

“It’s ok,” he said, and smiled at her.

She glanced at Dustin and back to Quinn, “I’ll be heading back then.”

“Wait…” Zohn said. “Stay… in case they have more questions.”

“Chevalier saw it all. He knows as much as I do now.”

“Yes… but what if there are more V.E.S. supporters on the island?”

Emily frowned slightly, “What can a heku gain by helping the V.E.S?”

“That’s what I keep wondering,” the Chief Investigator said. “What could they offer? Money? Protection?”

“Like a heku’s ever needed money.”

Quinn grinned slightly, “We don’t start off with fortunes. It’s gained over time.”

“Still… everything he needs is on the island right?”

“Yes, Chevalier’s coven is well provided for.”

Emily stood up, “Doesn’t matter, I’m going back anyway.”

“Lunch then?” Zohn asked, also standing. “Is it not lunch time?”

“I can eat when I get to the island.”

“We have a sick horse,” Mark said, and continued when she turned to him. “We’ve been treating it, but would you take a look?”

“What’s wrong with it?”

Mark shrugged, “Not really sure… runny nose.”

Emily sighed and started down toward Mark, “Why do I get the feeling this is just a ruse to stall me?”

Mark grinned, “Because you’re paranoid.”

“Let’s go then…” she said, and followed Mark out.

“Is there really a sick horse?” Quinn asked.

“Nope, he was lying,” the Chief Interrogator said.

“That just means she’ll be leaving in 5 minutes instead of immediately,” Dustin said.

Zohn thought for a moment and then called out, “Dunn?”

A heku appeared in the trial area after only a few seconds, “Yes, Elder?”

“Winchester 1 is here, why don’t you go give it a good look over and do some maintenance?”

“Sure, Elder, though we did that only a few weeks ago.”

“Do it again… this time, find something wrong.”

The heku nodded and disappeared.

“She’ll just drive it,” Dustin told him.

“Probably,” Zohn said.

The Council debated on various ways to make Emily stay, until Kyle came into the council chambers and sat down, “He sung…”

“What did you find?” Quinn asked.

“He’s been giving the V.E.S. information on Emily in exchange for donors…”

“Donors?”

“Yeah, free donors. There is an attack coming on Wednesday that he was supposed to help with. If the V.E.S. doesn’t hear from Wade, they will go on with their plan.”

“Where’s Chevalier then?”

“Just letting out some frustrations. We got all we need from him.”

Quinn thought for a moment, “I guess we reinforce the island. That’s a large number of mortals to kill though without risking exposure.”

Kyle shrugged, “Not sure the island needs reinforced… and I suggest we do the mass cult suicide setup.”

“For 800 humans though?”

“Sure, why not?”

“Send 100 of our army over, just in case,” Zohn said. “Then prepare for the suicide story.”

Kyle nodded and disappeared to gather the forces.

“Well how was I supposed to know?” Mark asked, opening the door for Emily.

They both walked into the council chambers, “You know because her snot is clear…”

“I didn’t inspect it.”

“You have to. Giving the poor mare antibiotics for no reason isn’t good for her.”

“Seriously, how can a horse be allergic to hay?”

“Just soak her hay before you give it to her, tell Linford.”

Mark nodded, “I will… but just imagine being allergic to your favorite food.”

“So the horse is well?” Zohn asked.

Emily nodded, “She’s fine.”

“We’re having some work done on your helicopter,” Quinn told her, and winced slightly when she turned to him.

“How convenient.”

“Your pilot said there was a light on the instrument panel that indicated a problem. We’re having it checked out.”

“Sure he did. I’m sure any pilot would fly a helicopter that’s broken… might as well go look at the pool.”

Quinn grinned when she left with Mark, “Doesn’t miss a lot, does she?”

Emily ended up with six Cavalry members with her by the time she walked the short distance to the new recreational out-building. The first room she stepped into was the small foyer, it was inviting with a fireplace, soft chairs, and black and white checkerboard tiles. The long hallway was just past the fireplace, and the first door she came to opened into a large classroom with rows of desks.

She shut that door and went to the next, which opened into a massive room with mirror lined walls, padded floors, and hundreds of stuffed dummies.

The pool was next. She stepped in, followed by the Cavalry. The pool was twice as large as the one in the castle, but the room was still warm and muggy. There were four hot tubs laid into the cement around the pool and a six-stall dressing room at the end of the room.

Emily reached down and touched the pool water. It was as warm as a bath and she smiled and looked around, “Pretty nice.”

“Never even been used,” Mark said as he walked past her to look down at the deep end. He gasped when two hands hit his back and pushed him into the water. He surfaced and turned toward Emily, who was smiling.

“Now… it’s been used.”

Emily screamed when Jaron picked her up, and she hooked her arm around his neck when he tossed her into the pool, bringing him with her. She surfaced and began to tread water as she laughed. Jaron surfaced shortly after her and swam over to the edge of the pool. Suddenly, two more of the Cavalry were thrown into the pool as Jaron pulled them in when they tried to help him out.

Emily laughed and swam a little ways from the others when they started to wrestle in the water. She used the ladder to climb out and pushed the last guard in when he brought her a towel.

“Hey… you aren’t drying off,” Mark said when Emily started for the towels. He blurred behind her and pushed her back into the pool, laughing.

They all turned when they heard someone clear their throats. It wasn’t until then that they noticed all three Elders were in the pool room.

Emily was in the middle of trying to dunk Jaron, and she climbed off his back when she saw them, “Oh… well… hello.”

Quinn was grinning at the sight of six members of the Cavalry, all soaking wet and looking guilty. Emily was the only one acting as if she wasn’t in trouble, though it was obvious who started it all.

“Having fun?” Chevalier asked, and put a hand out to help Emily out of the pool.

“Always,” she said, and grabbed his hand. He pulled her out of the water and handed her a towel.

Mark was just climbing out of the water when he turned suddenly at the sound of a splash. The Cavalry watched, in shock, as Emily pushed Chevalier into the water. He surfaced and even his face was surprised.

Emily was laughing until Quinn pushed her in, “Might as well face him on even terms.”

She faced Chevalier, but started to swim backwards, “I’m not afraid of an Elder.”

“You’re not?” he asked, moving slowly towards her.

Emily looked around when the entire room suddenly emptied out, leaving only herself and Chevalier, “Well… now I am, my backup just left.”

She turned back to him and found herself instantly in his arms. He pressed his lips to hers as she wrapped her arms around him.

***

Emily slipped on a fluffy pink robe she found in the robe warmer and cinched the belt, “Not what I expected when I came to look at the pool.”

Chevalier was already wrapped in a white robe, “I’m sure the poor Cavalry didn’t expect to go for a swim either.”

“It was good for them… I didn’t think I’d get them in the water.”

“If they knew it was coming, you wouldn’t have.”

“See, I was just keeping them on their toes,” she said as he held the door open for her. They walked out and headed for the palace, carrying their wet clothes.

“That you were, it’s good for them.”

“I can’t believe Quinn pushed me in!”

Chevalier grinned, “I asked him to.”

“Ah! That makes more sense.”

They walked in silence to the bedroom and Emily dug through the closet. She’d taken all of the jeans and t-shirts back to the castle, so she picked out a light summer dressed and slipped it on.

“Stay here with me,” Chevalier said, and pulled her close to him.

She rested her head against his chest, “I don’t belong here.”

“Yes you do. Give it another try.”

“Did you kill Wade?”

He kissed the top of her head, “Not yet, he’s still giving us information.”

“There’s going to be a big V.E.S. fight on the island isn’t there?”

“I wouldn’t call it big. They are only sending around 800 people.”

“Like cattle to the slaughterhouse… can’t you just lock the island and ignore them until they go away?”

Chevalier shook his head, “That’s the problem… they won’t go away.”

“I can’t ask your peaceful coven to go to war over this.”

“First off… don’t mistake quiet for peaceful, they are still heku. Secondly, they saw what the V.E.S. did to you, and because you’re one of us… they want revenge.”

Emily frowned, “Still…”

“Don’t worry about Island Coven, this is nothing compared to what we’ve encountered before.”

“I guess there’s no chance the heku will just scare them away?”

Chevalier chuckled, “No.”

Chapter 8 - V.E.S.

Emily was pulling weeds in the garden when she heard the island’s alarm go off. She sighed and set the shovel down. She’d noticed more excitement than tension while the coven waited for the impending V.E.S. attack. Chevalier, Kyle, Mark, and Kralen were with the 100 members of the army that Council City sent over. The last few days were spent waiting and watching the seas.

Anna appeared among the tall rows of corn, “Time to come in, Ma’am.”

“Take Dain,” Emily said, and handed the baby to Anna, then stood up and brushed the dirt off of her jeans.

“Hurry, we need to go to the cave room.”

Emily frowned, “Go… take Dain. I’m going to the pier.”

Anna gasped, “No, Dear, the Elder specifically requested you stay away from this fight.”

“When’s the last time I did what the Elder said?”

“I don’t think you understand… this isn’t something you’ve encountered before and you can’t help.”

“I bet I can, they are fighting because of me… now take Dain and go. Make sure Alexis goes with you and find Allen.”

“Allen is already with the Elder,” Anna said, and turned nervously toward the castle.

Emily sighed, “Of course he is… get the baby to safety.”

“Please… this once… come inside.”

“Go, Anna.”

Anna started to argue, but Emily took off running for the pier. The closer she got, the louder the sounds of blood-curdling screams grew. The city was empty. She didn’t run into a single heku as she rounded the corner and headed down the last road toward the island’s gate. The city alarm stopped just as she stepped onto the pier and looked around.

The sheer violence hit her immediately, the menacing growls and snarls of the heku, the bodies of humans piled carelessly along the sand, and their boats floating empty along the beach. Emily watched, horrified, as a man was drained in front of her. The teeth of the heku was at his neck as his eyes began to glass over and become lifeless, the color draining slowly from his face. He watched her with unseeing eyes and was callously dropped to the wooden planks.

There was no blood, with hundreds of bodies lying on the beach; there wasn’t the dark scarlet of spilled blood anywhere in sight. The hisses, growls, and snarls began to fade as the last of the humans were drained, their eyes going from frightened to motionless before her eyes.

Emily took a step back. She was finding it hard to breathe and the ruthless way the heku beat and then drained the mortals shocked her. The once friendly members of the coven had turned into evil, heartless killers who discarded the bodies when they were done, like tossing leftover trash into the garbage.

These were her people, her species, and their brutal deaths could be in her future. Many tried it, so far they all failed, but someday, it could be her body dropped unceremoniously to the sand. She took another step back as another body was dropped beside her, her unseeing eyes looking up at Emily accusingly. The woman looked like Jess, her dark hair and caring face now pale and forever frozen in horror.

Chevalier scanned the beach, no mortals were left standing. The only ones still alive were already in the grips of a heku, slowly being drained. He turned to watch Mark, who was facing the pier, frowning.

Chevalier turned toward the pier when Mark ordered all heku to back away. He immediately saw Emily as the heku moved away from her, watching her carefully. She was breathing rapidly, her eyes fixed on a dead woman ahead of her on the sand. She was pale and her face was a mixture of confusion and terror.

“Emily?” Kyle said softly. He was the closest heku to her.

She heard her name called, but couldn’t pull her eyes away from the woman. Her once blue eyes watched Emily as if condemning her for the death of hundreds.

“Em? Look at me,” Mark said, appearing beside Kyle.

Emily heard an angry hiss from ahead of her, and she looked up quickly to see a young heku crouched, facing her. He was watching the vein in her neck, and as she took a step back, he moved forward. She saw a flash, someone slammed into the hissing heku and Emily turned, and then took off running up the pier and toward the castle.

“Damnit,” Chevalier growled. He turned just as Kralen and Mark tore apart a heku, the heku that dared to hiss at the Lady of the coven.

“Do we follow her?” Kyle asked.

“Not unless you like being ash,” Chevalier told him, and turned to the heku. “Clean up this beach and go general quarters until further notice.”

Kyle turned to the pier guards, “When the last heku comes through, lock down the island.”

“Storm?” Chevalier said, and turned when she appeared at his side. “Find her. Stay far away from her, but make sure she’s ok.”

Storm nodded and blurred away.

“I didn’t see her in time,” Mark said, concerned.

“No one did… how much did she see?” Kyle asked.

“A lot,” Kralen told him. “She saw the last ten minutes or so… who the hell hissed at her?”

“That was one of the new members, still probationary,” Chevalier said, still watching the doorway to the pier. He kept waiting for her to come back.

The Council City heku watched as the beaches became clear of the bodies and the boats that brought the mortals were sunk far away from the island. As they stepped off of the pier, the iron bars were shut behind them, blocking off the island from the outside world.

“Storm lost Emily’s scent at the river,” Kyle said. “Emily knows we don’t track well through running water.”

“She is terrified… maybe we should just let her go for now. She’s safe here and can’t get over the wall,” Chevalier said, and started back for the castle.

Kyle sighed, “She’ll rot before she’ll come out on her own.”

“That’s true… take Mark and Kralen, see if you can find her.”

Kyle, Mark, and Kralen met up with Storm at the edge of the river.

“I haven’t been able to find a trace of her,” Storm told him.

“Mark, Kralen, you head north toward the waterfall… Storm and I will head south,” Kyle said, and took one side of the small river.

As soon as they were out of Kyle’s hearing range, Kralen stopped and turned to Mark, “Why did this even scare her? She knows we feed from mortals.”

“All I can figure, is she’s never seen one drained.”

“Still… she knows why.”

Mark shrugged, “True… but we’ve kept a lot of the brutality of mortal draining away from her. She’s never seen it or its aftermath as far as I know, except in one picture.”

Kralen started back along the river, “You’d think after the beating she took, she would be glad to see them dead.”

“These specific V.E.S. didn’t do it though.”

“Same cult.”

“Not sure she sees it that way… there’s the waterfall, I haven’t caught anything.”

Kralen put his hand up and inhaled, shutting his eyes.

“What’d you find?” Mark asked.

“Blood… not fresh, it’s not hers though,” he answered, and looked toward the waterfall. He followed around the small pool at its base and caught her scent on the rocks, “Found it.”

Mark followed him as they scaled up the side of the cliff and through a small opening, appearing behind the waterfall. The smell of death and decay assaulted them, and they had to cover their noses against the foul stench.

The area behind the waterfall was only about 10 feet by 10 feet. There were old boards lying across one end, and a small outcropping in the far corner.

“Em, we know you’re in here,” Mark said. “We just want to talk.”

“I need a second alone,” she whispered from behind a large rock. The heku’s acute hearing was the only reason they heard her at all over the roar of the waterfall.

“No one here is going to hurt you. I know what you saw on the beach looked bad… really bad,” Kralen said. “But it’s over.”

Emily stood up slowly, her arms were wrapped around herself and she was watching the floor, “I’m not afraid.”

Mark grinned slightly, “We know that… but we’d like you to come back and talk.”

“No, we don’t know that… you can’t even look at us. Of course you’re afraid of what you saw,” Kralen said, ignoring Mark’s glare. “You’ve been with us for 17 years, nothing’s changed.”

Mark took one step towards her, his hands outstretched in front of him, “Just come back, it’s wet and freezing in here.”

Still not looking up, Emily took a step away from him, placing herself over the rotting boards. She screamed and disappeared as the boards gave way, dropping her out of the heku’s sight.

Emily fell over twenty feet, landing hard against something soft, but the sound of crunching echoed through the room. She could barely see. The only light came in through the broken boards above her. She tried to get up, but her hand sunk into soft, squishy, goo. She felt something solid beneath the goo and pushed to sit up, her entire body was wet and she couldn’t tell with what.

The moment she inhaled, she began to scream as the bodies of hundreds came into view. Some were pure skeletons, while others, like the one she landed on, were bloated and decayed. The bodies were stacked in various stages of decomposition and the smell made her head spin. She fought to get up, to get off the bodies, but everywhere she touched, her hands and feet sunk into one of them and the bones at the bottom of the pile cracked.

Mark appeared beside her and finally pulled her off of the pile. He was also covered in decayed flesh and thick, congealed blood. She couldn’t scream anymore, she couldn’t breathe, and the feel of Mark’s arms around her terrified her. She pushed away from him and landed on the ground, still watching as one of the topmost bodies tumbled toward her, landing with a sickening thud on the ground at her feet.

“Em, calm down,” Mark said, looking around the room, confused.

Emily glanced over at him, and her eyes grew wide. Her eyes were adjusting to the dark, and she quickly ascertained that the room they were in was a heku ceremonial room. The round room with runes carved into the wall was all too familiar to her, and she screamed noiselessly as the panic set in. She was once again in the terrifying room heku used to turn mortals.

“We’re getting a ladder,” Kralen called down. “The Elder’s on his way.”

Mark turned and knelt down beside her, “Are you hurt?”

She scrambled away from him, hitting her back on the wall. Mark lunged to her side and quickly grabbed a mouse as it neared her. He broke its neck and tossed it over to the other side of the room before she even saw it.

“What the hell…” Kyle said, landing in the room. He had managed to kick away and not land in the bodies as Mark and Emily had done. He spun, taking in the runes, and then crouched down beside Emily. “Breathe, Em…”

Her entire body shook with fear, and she couldn’t focus enough to take a breath. Her short gasps were turning into hyperventilation, but she couldn’t control it. She knew she was covered in decayed flesh and slimy blood. She could feel it dripping down her back and squishing in her shoes.

Emily screamed again and began kicking as a rat ran past her carrying an ear in its mouth. The entire room was overrun with rodents, all feasting on what was left of the pile of dead bodies. There were tiny holes around the base of the room where they would disappear, but more seemed to come out than were going in, and they scurried across the three in the room, unafraid as they set their eyes on the feast.

“Damnit, lock her before she has a heart attack,” Chevalier said, leaning down into the hole.

“Em,” Kyle said, and forced her to look at him. He growled when, after a few seconds, she turned and looked to the side as a mouse ran across her hand. She could no longer scream, but jerked away from the rodents scurrying past her, her eyes still locked on the macabre pile.

Chevalier dropped into the room, also avoiding the pile, and appeared at Emily’s side with her face in his hands. He met her gaze and held her for a few seconds, and then began to talk softly as Kyle and Mark watched. They knew it usually took an ‘old one’ to control her, but were always amazed when it worked.

After only a minute, Emily jerked when a rat scurried across her legs.

“Damnit… you need to calm down,” Chevalier said, moving her face to look at him. The terror in her eyes was vivid and her color was draining as she hyperventilated.

“Where’s that ladder?” Kyle yelled up at Kralen.

“We’re looking for one… not like we have a lot of 20 foot ladders lying around,” he said, irritated.

“Stop it!” Chevalier said sternly to Emily. “Calm down before you pass out.”

Emily was beyond rational thought. The mice, the bodies, and the terrifying ceremonial room was like being caught in a nightmare. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move, and the room was slowly closing in around her.

“Fine!” Chevalier growled, and was instantly at her neck. Mark gasped when he realized the Elder was feeding from Emily. Kyle turned away, irritated, and stood up to explore the room.

Once her body relaxed, Chevalier released his bite and again locked her eyes. This time, he was able to keep her gaze long enough to put her to sleep. She slumped against the stone wall and he finally stood up and looked around.

Mark also stood up, and then wiped some of the sludgy blood off of his arms, “Have you seen this place before?”

“No,” Chevalier told him, and looked around. “I figured there was a space back here, but never bothered to have a look. Leave it to Em to find it.”

“She does have quite the knack… This holds all of her fears in one tight little room, too,” Kyle said, and came back.

Mark went over and started to look closer at the bodies, “Some of these are years old… only bones left… but this one on top can’t be more than a week old.”

“Gah, that smell,” Kyle growled, and covered his nose.

“Least you aren’t covered in it,” Mark said, grinning slightly. He pulled the newest body off the pile and bent down to examine it, “Teeth marks on the neck.”

“Someone’s been draining mortals and hiding the evidence down here for a long time.”

Mark nodded, “Looks like it.”

“Ceremonial rooms are to be kept secret, but this is going a little far,” Chevalier said, looking at the runes.

“Damn,” Kyle said, and bent down to pull the mice off of Emily.

“No ladders… here comes a rope though,” Kralen said, and lowered a rope down to them.

“No offense, Mark… but you take Emily up,” Chevalier chuckled. “I’d rather not smell like that if I can help it.”

“It’s disgusting,” Mark said, and threw Emily over his shoulder. He wrapped the rope around his arm and was quickly pulled up by the heku on the surface.

“Get the Chief Investigator down here. I want to know which member of my coven is doing this,” Chevalier told Kyle angrily.

Kyle nodded, “Will do… I’d like to know, too.”

Kralen leaned down into the hole with his hand covering his mouth and nose, “If you two smell like the last two, you can stay down there.”

Chevalier laughed, “We avoided it, luckily.”

Within just a few minutes, both Kyle and Chevalier were in the room behind the waterfall. Mark had Emily’s gaze locked again and was talking to her quietly.

“Damn, was hoping to keep her out until we got her back to the castle,” Chevalier said, and watched Mark pick her up gently.

Storm glanced down the hole, “What do you want us to do about those?”

“Leave it. I want a full investigation into who is doing it.”

Storm nodded, and turned to the others just as Mark was finally able to put Emily to sleep.

“General, with all due respect… stay down wind, you seriously smell,” Kralen chuckled.

Mark grinned, “Very funny. I heard her scream and jumped before looking down.”

Mark led the way and carried Emily out of the room behind the waterfall, and then blurred her back to the castle. He stopped at the back doors and turned to Chevalier.

“How exactly do you want to do this? We’re dripping mortal goo.”

Chevalier thought for a moment, “Not much of a choice… take her into the bathroom. Wake her up so she can shower, and then you get washed up. We’ll just clean up after you.”

The strong stench of decay immediately filled the castle when Mark stepped in. Servants fell in behind him and cleaned up anything he left behind as they covered their noses. Others peeked out from the shadows to watch as he walked past. Once he got into Emily’s bathroom, he woke her up and sent her in for a shower, then blurred from the castle and headed for the nearest shower.

Chevalier sat down in Emily’s room and waited for her to get cleaned up. Servants had already eliminated the smell from the castle, and Kyle was arranging for an investigative team to come to Island Coven and find out who hid the bodies.

After almost an hour, Chevalier knocked on the bathroom door, “Em, are you ok?”

When she didn’t answer, he opened the door and sighed. She was crouched down, fully dressed in the shower. Her arms were wrapped around her knees and her face was hidden between her arms. She was rocking slightly under the water.

He opened the shower door and turned off the water. The hot water had run out and she was sitting under the cold stream. Kneeling down, he touched her arm slightly but pulled his hand back when she jerked.

“Come on,” he said softly, and pulled her up to standing. He helped her peel off her wet clothes and then wrapped her in a warm robe, “You don’t have any more hot water. Come shower in my room.”

She nodded slightly and followed him across the hallway. He started the hot water in the shower and she stepped in, still shivering. After a few minutes, he stripped and joined her when she started to drop back down into the protective rocking ball.

Emily pulled close to him and leaned her head against his chest, “Please, take me away from the island.”

He wrapped his arms around her, “Where do you want to go?”

“I don’t care, anywhere but here.”

***

“She’s back though, isn’t that what we wanted?” Dustin asked.

“Yes… but not at the expensive of having her afraid of the island,” Kyle told him. “The screams at night are horrified.”

“I wasn’t here, what exactly made her afraid of the island?” Quinn asked, confused.

Kyle sighed, “After watching us kill almost 800 members of the V.E.S., she fell 20 feet through a hole and landed on top of a massive pile of decaying bodies, which were in a hidden ceremonial room filled with mice and rats.”

Quinn cringed, “Ouch.”

“Is she well enough to sit in on this… as a peace keeper?” Zohn asked, looking over at Kyle.

Kyle shrugged, “You’d need to ask the Elder. She’s not been out of the room since she got here four days ago.”

“I’ll go find out,” Quinn said, standing up. “We need Chevalier here, and this will go smoother if Emily is here to keep the peace.”

Quinn disappeared from the council chambers and appeared at the door to Chevalier and Emily’s bedroom.

“Elder,” Silas said, bowing slightly.

Quinn knocked softly, and opened the door when he was told to come in. Chevalier was sitting on the couch with Dain asleep in his lap, and Emily curled up against his side as they watched a movie.

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” Quinn whispered, trying not to wake up the baby. He reached down and pulled the edge of his robe out of the lab puppy’s mouth and walked up to Chevalier. “We have the Valle coming in, and we need you there.”

Chevalier nodded, “I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

“We also wondered if you might come,” he said, looking at Emily. “It could get heated, and you help keep things civil.”

“Is it Exavior?”

Quinn stood up and was silent for a moment before he answered, “Yes, he is one of them.”

Emily nodded, “I better go.”

Chevalier stood slowly and walked Dain into the nursery. Emily smiled slightly and pulled the Malamute puppy off of Quinn’s pant leg.

“Sorry about that,” she said, and put the puppy in the bathroom.

Quinn smiled, “It’s worth it to have you here.”

“Is Mark back?” she asked, running a brush through her hair.

“No, he’ll be back tomorrow night in your Jeep.”

Emily nodded and followed Chevalier and Quinn down to the council chambers. Once they were all seated, Quinn called for Derrick to let the Valle in.

Sotomar, Exavior, and six Imperial Guards came into the trial area. All seemed shocked to see Emily in a seat beside Chevalier.

“Merely to keep the peace,” Zohn said before anyone could ask.

“Of course, we understand that,” Sotomar said, and smiled. “It is good to see you again.”

Emily just nodded, but kept a close eye on Exavior.

“Might we inquire as to why you look as though you have been assaulted?” Exavior asked her.

“It’s none of your business… get on with this meeting,” she replied.

“It is my business, because I’m concerned about your well being.”

Exavior fell to ash at the feet of the Imperial Guards.

Sotomar glanced down at Exavior’s ashes and then back up to the Council, as one of the Imperial Guards gathered them, “We… erm… we came for a few things. The first is for the release of Madden.”

“Are we not going to address the fact that she just turned an enemy Elder to ash?” Dustin asked, frowning.

Emily glared at him, “Bring it.”

“I’m not concerned. We will revive him later,” Sotomar told them, trying to stop an obvious fight.

“I’m not sure we’re ready to release Madden yet,” Quinn explained. “We have yet to properly try him.”

“Please get on with it then, we need him returned.”

“We’ll keep that under consideration. We hope to start the trial as soon as our Chief Investigator returns… what else?”

“The second matter of business is a courtesy notification that not all of the previous Ferus agreed to join the Valle, and are still recruiting unfactioned into their numbers.”

Zohn sighed, “How many are there?”

“As far as we can tell, there are just about 1500 of them,” Sotomar told him.

“Are there uprisings, attacks, anything?”

“Not yet, no… but they do still consider Emily and Vaughn to be their rightful leaders.”

“Joy,” Emily mumbled.

“You have Exavior… well, had,” Chevalier chuckled. “Why don’t you get the locations from him and wipe them out?”

“They’ve changed their location. He no longer knows their whereabouts.”

“Ok, thank you for the information,” Quinn said.

“Lastly… have you thought more about forming an alliance with the Valle to exterminate the Encala?” Sotomar asked.

“We have, and we aren’t ready for an alliance with either of you,” Chevalier answered.

“Please reconsider, the Encala are growing in numbers quickly and will soon be back up to full power.”

“Understood”

“Might I have a word with Lady Emily, alone?”

Emily glanced up, “Why?”

“No, you may not,” Chevalier growled.

“I just want a word with you, in private.”

“Sure, why not,” Emily said.

“No,” Quinn said sternly.

“Leave your little boyfriends here and I’ll talk to you.”

“Em…” Chevalier growled.

“It’s Sotomar… I can handle him,” Emily told him.

“That she can,” Sotomar agreed.

“Derrick… show them to the Council’s conference room,” Zohn hissed.

“No,” Emily told him. “We’ll meet in the Elder’s conference room.”

“Why?” Chevalier asked, shocked.

“I know you all can hear into the Council’s conference room, but the Elder’s conference room is sound proof,” she said, and stood up.

“Fine,” Chevalier hissed, and nodded to Derrick.

Emily took a glass of Coke from a servant before she sat down and watched Sotomar take a seat across from her.

“Ok, talk,” she said, sipping her drink.

“Are you well?”

“Yes”

“You do realize I can see the bruises on your face, neck, and arms,” Sotomar reminded her.

“I figured.”

He sighed, “Did you receive the deed?”

“Yes… though I’m not sure what I am going to do with a plantation.”

“It’s for you to get away from the Equites, if needed.”

“The Equites didn’t hurt me.”

“Well… just in case.”

“Thank you though, the gifts are… sweet.”

Sotomar smiled, “Now… what can I do to get you to pay a visit to the Valle for a week? Similar to your visit to the Encala once.”

Emily frowned, “Not a chance… when I visited the Encala, we were friends.”

“We are friends, Dear.”

“No, we aren’t. We were, and it hurt a lot when you broke that. I’m not ready to accept you back or to trust you.”

“What happened to you in our care, I fought against that… it’s since been rectified and won’t happen again.”

“It doesn’t matter. I can’t come for a vacation.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t trust you, I don’t like you, and I refuse to be around Exavior.”

Sotomar smiled slightly, “You made that obviously clear.”

“How could you bring him back?”

“We didn’t have a choice.”

“What? From his ashes he put a gun to your head? You had a choice and you know what he’s like.”

“We needed him so we could bring the Ferus to the Valle. It was the only way, and it was done to protect you.”

“Bullshit… you wanted an Elder that you knew could get to me.”

“That’s not true,” Sotomar said, concerned. “We had no choice. I don’t trust him with you either… he’s an Elder with very limited power.”

“I can’t trust you again, not now.”

Sotomar reached over and put his hand on hers, “Emily, I consider you a friend, and I miss the interaction we used to have.”

Emily fought back the tears, “I can’t trust you.”

“Very well, I guess it’s deserved. Know though, that I bought you that plantation and no other soul knows you have it. If you go there, you should be completely safe from all heku.”

She nodded as a tear fell down her cheek.

“Let’s go back. I’m sure they think I’ve killed you by now,” he said, and held a hand out to her.

She stood up without his help and walked back to the council chambers. She sat down in the chair emptied by the Chief Investigator, and watched her hands as the Council looked at her. Sotomar came in the trial room and stood by the Imperial Guards.

“We are done. Please notify us when we can have Madden returned to us,” he said, and turned to leave.

The Council watched the Valle walk out, and then turned to Emily.

“What did he want?” Quinn asked as she wiped away a tear.

Emily stood up and headed for the door, but felt a hand on her arm. She turned and glared at Dustin.

“We aren’t done,” Dustin told her.

“Get your paw off of me,” she whispered.

“Dustin…” Chevalier said.

“Sit down until we are done,” Dustin said sternly.

Emily ripped her arm out of his grasp, “Touch me again and Kyle won’t be able to find enough of you to revive.”

Dustin growled and stood up, “You can’t talk to me like that.”

“Calm down,” Zohn said, stepping between them as Chevalier stood up.

“Dustin… Emily is free to go. We don’t question members of the Council,” Quinn said, and then turned to Emily. “Please try to show some respect for all members of the Council.”

She turned on her heels and walked out of the council chambers, slamming the door behind her.

“Never touch my wife again,” Chevalier said, and sat down.

“Sorry, Elder,” Dustin told him, irritated, and sat back also.

Emily walked out to the stables. She hadn’t been there in months and she wanted to check on everything. Four members of the Cavalry were there taking care of their horses as she walked through the stable.

“Things look good,” she said when Silas came in.

“We try. It’s good to have you back.”

She nodded and kept checking in each stall. She stopped at one and frowned at the horse. The white horse had pink and yellow ribbons tied through its mane and long garlands of roses falling with its tail. It had pink zebra type stripes painted onto its beautiful white coat.

“Um…” Emily started to say, but just stepped in and walked around the mare.

Silas grinned, “Hasad got married.”

“So you took it out on his horse?” she asked, running her hands along the pink stripes.

“He gets back on duty today. I’m sure he’ll fix it.”

Emily grabbed a bridle, and went into the stall with her stallion. As she led him out, she noticed the four members of the Cavalry were all mounted up also.

“I’m riding alone,” she said, and hoisted herself onto her stallion.

“I’d really like to get these horses out of the city for a run,” Silas said, and glanced back when Allen appeared with the lab puppy in his arms.

“Thanks,” Emily said, and took the puppy from Allen. She turned to Silas, “Did the Elders order you to stay with me?”

Silas smiled and lied, “Nope.”

“Fine then, you can come,” she said, and kicked her horse into a canter as she fought to keep control of the large puppy on her lap.

“Why don’t you let me take him?” Jaron asked, putting his hands out when the dog scratched Emily’s neck as he tried to get off the horse.

Emily handed the puppy over and touched the scratches, “Damn, that hurts.”

“Why do you have a dog with you?” Silas asked.

“We’re heading out to that pond up north of the trees.”

Silas glanced at Jaron and back to Emily, “Sorry, why is that again?”

Emily smiled, “It’s time to start training these dogs before they get too big to handle. This guy can get close to 80lbs, and the Malamute is going to be huge, closer to 120lbs.”

“Good, train them so they stop chewing on you,” Silas said, and glanced at the single puncture wound on the back of her arm.

“Sure,” Emily said, and stopped her horse by the pond. She dismounted and tied the horse to a tree, and then went on a stick hunt.

When Jaron put the puppy down, he immediately began to pull and tug at the guard’s pant leg, “Stop it.”

Emily grinned and whistled. When she got the puppy’s attention, she tossed the stick into the pond and watched as the lab ran to the edge of the pond and lunged into the dark, muddy water. He emerged a few seconds later, tail wagging.

After almost thirty minutes, Silas took over and threw the stick further out into the pond, where it took the lab a few minutes to get back. Emily sat down and slipped off her t-shirt, leaving just the light camisole so the sun could warm her shoulders. She leaned her head back and shut her eyes.

Silas turned when he heard a slight thud and saw Jaron hit one of the guards over the head. He had been staring at Emily, but shrugged apologetically and turned back to the dog.

“Hm, where’d he go?” Silas asked when he turned back around and the dog was gone.

Emily looked over at the pond, “He’s out there?”

“Yes, just tossed the stick in.”

She stood up and walked to the water’s edge, “Encala!”

“Emily… tell me you didn’t name that dog Encala,” Silas sighed.

She grinned, “I did.”

“Fun”

She whistled loudly and watched for the lab. The pond’s water had grown still, “Where the hell did he go?”

A ripple in the water started behind a group of reeds and soon the puppy appeared, dragging something behind him.

“What is that?” Emily asked, taking a step into the water.

Silas moved beside her and his eyes grew wide, “That’s not a stick.”

Silas jumped into the murky water, followed by Emily and the guards as they swam over to the dog. The water was only chest deep to the heku, but came up to Emily’s neck. She pulled the puppy away from what he was dragging as Silas pulled an arm out of the water.

“Oh my God!” Emily yelled, and started for the shore.

The puppy followed behind her, proud of his find. Jaron and the other guards disappeared back behind the reeds, following the dog’s scent as Silas moved to the shore with Emily.

Emily got to the shore and turned around to see where Jaron went.

“Um… Em?” Silas asked hesitantly.

She looked over at him and then down to her arm where he was looking. Hanging from her arm was a long, thin, leech. She screamed slightly and started to pick it off, but it slipped out of her fingers.

“Let me get them,” Silas said, and quickly pulled it off of her.

“Them?” she yelled, and scanned over her exposed skin. She felt Silas pull another off of her shoulder and yet another off of the back of her arm. Panicked, she pulled off her shirt and started to unbutton her jeans, but Silas stopped her.

“They can’t get under your jeans, let me get these,” he said, and she felt a slight tugging on her back. She looked down at her arm and there was a small red mark that had blood dripping from it.

“I think that’s it,” Silas said, and quickly looked over her skin again.

“How many?” she asked, and shuddered.

“Eleven,” he told her, and smiled slightly.

“Your turn,” Emily said, and ran her hands along his back.

“I don’t think leeches are interested,” he said, and looked down at his arms. Emily and Silas both turned when the other members of the Cavalry came back, Jaron was still carrying the arm.

Emily slipped her camisole and t-shirt back on as the others got to them.

“What did you find?” Silas asked, taking the arm.

“Nothing, we tracked to where the dog went, and there’re no other body parts,” Jaron explained.

“Let’s get back and we’ll bring a team out here to search.”

“Yes, Captain,” he said, and they all mounted up, though Emily kept jerking at tingles in her skin she thought might be another leech.

Silas chuckled, “I got them all.”

“I smell blood,” Jaron said, frowning.

“There are leeches in that water,” Silas explained, and kicked his horse to catch up with Emily.

Jaron grinned, “Nice.”

They rode up to the stables as the Elders were stepping out after talking about yet another addition. They watched the five ride up, and were both shocked and pleased that Emily was out with members of the Cavalry. As they drew closer, the Elders all caught the scent of Emily’s blood and then saw Silas carrying an arm.

“We’ll explain it all when we put the horses away,” Silas told them as he headed into the stables.

Emily was the first to step into the stall with her stallion, and as she slipped off his bridle, she felt an odd tingle on her ankle. She reached down to scratch it, and felt the soft, slimy body of another leech. Panicked, she stripped off her wet jeans and fell out into the stables.

“Silas!” she screamed, and began to pull at the leech.

The Elders were watching her, confused, as she fell out of the stall only half dressed and began clawing at her ankle.

Silas knelt down and pulled the leech off, tossing it over into a trash bin, “Got it.”

She scrambled to her feet and turned around, “Do you see more?”

Chevalier growled slightly when Silas stood up and looked along the back of her exposed legs.

Quinn put a hand on Chevalier’s arm when his hands tightened into fists. Silas froze when he heard the growl, and turned around to face them. Emily was still inspecting her arms and legs, unaware of the confrontation going on behind her, all because she slipped off her jeans.

“Sir…” Silas said, putting his hands out. “She went into a leech infested pond, that’s it… pulling leeches off, I swear.”

Once Emily was sure she had no more leeches on her, she turned to see everyone watching her, and saw how Chevalier was growling at Silas. She blushed and stepped back into the stall. A servant appeared and gave Zohn one of the robes from the pool, and he handed it over the stall to Emily. She slipped it on and came back out, placing herself between Silas and the Elders.

“Don’t be mad,” she told Chevalier. “He was picking leeches off me. I couldn’t get a hold of them.”

Chevalier stood up out of a crouch but kept an eye on Silas, “And the arm?”

“The dog brought it back when we were playing fetch,” Silas explained. “Jaron and Laythan went looking for the rest of the body, but didn’t find anything. I was coming back to get a search party.”

“Do it,” Chevalier growled, and the Cavalry blurred from the stables.

“Must you strip in front of the Cavalry?” Zohn asked, irritated.

Emily sighed, “I had another leech.”

Quinn grinned, “Go get cleaned up… but leave the dog. He needs a bath before he goes back in.”

Not wanting to argue, Emily nodded and headed inside.

“Calm now?” Quinn asked, turning to Chevalier.

He nodded, “I know I should trust them more than that…”

One of the servants assigned to keep the dogs clean came up and picked up the lab, “Come on, Encala, time for another bath.”

“Wait… what did you call it?” Zohn asked him.

The heku servant turned to the Elder, “His name, Sir, Encala.”

“Who named him?”

“Lady Emily, I presume. I didn’t ask… I just know the names.”

“I’m afraid to ask… but the Malamute’s name is…”

“Valle, Sir.”

“Of course, go ahead,” Zohn said, and watched the heku carry the soaking lab away.

“I forgot how there’s never a dull moment when Emily is in the palace,” Quinn said, and smiled. “I missed that.”

“Don’t underestimate the joy of peace and quiet,” Zohn told him.

Chevalier, his temper finally under control, turned to the stables, “Let’s not for now. See how this goes. I hate to build more stalls when we already have 8 free horses.”

“Agreed,” Quinn said. “We’ll tell Mark to fill those 8 spots and then we’ll be done with it.”

“I’m sorry I stripped in front of the Cavalry again,” Emily said from behind them. The Elders turned around, happy she was dressed.

“It’s just shocking,” Quinn said.

“I understand the leech problem, but maybe you could have stayed in the stall and called for me,” Chevalier explained.

“I fell from the stall, I didn’t mean to step out,” she said, and disappeared into the storage shed.

“Are you ok then? Has the bleeding stopped?” Zohn asked.

“Not entirely, odd isn’t it?”

“Not really. Leeches emit an anti-coagulant when they bite, keeps the blood flowing.”

They heard a slight laugh, “How convenient, ya’ll should look into that.”

“I don’t believe I’ve ever had a problem keeping the blood flowing.”

“Ew,” she said, and stepped out. She slipped on knee pads, elbow pads, gloves, and then pulled her hair up into a helmet as they watched.

As she sat down to pull on some roller blades, Quinn finally asked, “What exactly are you doing?”

“Dog training,” she said, and called for Allen to bring the Malamute.

“Is it that dangerous… to need pads?”

“Guess it could be,” she answered. Allen handed the puppy off and grinned before disappearing toward the barracks. The Elders watched in silence as she slipped a harness onto the puppy and stood up.

“Is that safe?” Zohn asked when he realized what she was doing.

Emily shrugged, “He wants to pull… this is all I could come up with.”

Once the puppy was given the order, he took off slowly, pulling Emily along behind him as he ran toward the city.

“If she dies… just call an ambulance,” Chevalier sighed. He watched until she disappeared around the bend and then headed back inside.

“That’s going to be one huge dog,” Quinn said, and followed him in.

“Should we send someone to watch her? That seems dangerous,” Zohn asked. He turned around and saw he was alone, so he ordered two members of the Cavalry to follow her in secret and went inside.

Chevalier stopped at the doors to the council chambers when he heard Alexis scream for him. She appeared on the stairs angrily carrying Dain down, and then shoved him into Chevalier’s arms.

“You take the little vamp. I’m done with him,” she yelled, and turned for the stairs.

“Wait, Alex… come back here,” Chevalier said, and looked down at Dain.

“What?” she asked, coming back.

“What did he do?”

“That little blood sucker bit me,” she said, and showed Chevalier one tiny puncture wound on her arm.

“No bi,” Dain said, and pointed at the wound.

“He bit you?”

“Yes, freakin’ vampire. I’m going back to my studies and you can get chewed on,” she said, and stormed up the stairs.

Quinn looked over at Dain, who was leaning his head against Chevalier’s shoulder, “Did you bite Alex?”

“No bi,” he said, and pointed at nothing.

“So you didn’t bite Alex?”

Dain nodded, “No bi.”

“Now I’m confused,” Quinn said.

Zohn looked over at the baby, “I don’t see how that was him. It was only one puncture and he has both of his canines.”

Chevalier held his wrist out to Dain, “Bite me.”

“No bi,” Dain told him, frowning.

“It’s ok… you can bite me.”

Dain reached over and bit Chevalier’s wrist with the side of his mouth, leaving only one puncture wound.

“Ouch, damn, enough,” Chevalier said, and pulled Dain off of him.

“Well, well… maybe the dogs aren’t chewing on Emily,” Zohn said, fairly impressed.

“Do you bite Mommy?” Chevalier asked him.

Dain shook his head, “No, no, ouch.”

“Bien, come take Dain,” Chevalier called out. A heku appeared and took the baby down to the game room. “I’ll have to figure that out later, let’s see what the Investigator found out.”

The Elders walked into the council chambers and sat down.

“Any news?” Chevalier asked the Chief Investigator.

“All leads come back to Wade, actually,” the Investigator said. “It appears to have started about 5 years ago, and every 2 weeks or so, a new body is dumped. He’s emptied some of them out when they turn to bones.”

Chevalier sighed, “So he’s managed to drain close to 130 mortals?”

“Yes, Sir, if the pattern of every other week was for the entire 5 years. There were only 18 bodies in that pile, though.”

“Bring him up here,” Chevalier growled.

Wade was brought in. He had already been stripped of any rank insignia and was thrown to his knees before the Council.

“Something distressing has come up,” Chevalier said angrily. “We found your pile of bodies behind the waterfall.”

“I… I don’t know what you mean,” he stammered, nervously watching Chevalier.

“He’s lying,” the Chief Interrogator said.

“No… I’m not! I don’t know anything about those bodies.”

“So you didn’t find an old abandoned ceremonial room about 5 years ago, and dumped hundreds of drained bodies into a mass pile?”

“No, I wouldn’t do that… I’ve done nothing wrong.”

The Chief Investigator stood up, “So you weren’t caught by the V.E.S. and spared in exchange for Lady Emily?”

Chevalier growled.

Wade began to breathe quickly, “It’s… it’s not what it sounds like…”

“Then offered free meals as long as the V.E.S. was present, so you didn’t drain anyone else?”

His eyes darted through the council members.

“A member of my own coven!” Chevalier roared.

“I… it… it was an accident. I didn’t mean to kill them.”

Chevalier was at his throat in an instant and hauled him from the room. The Council all heard Equites 2 take off for Island Coven.

“Well… that’s going to be an interesting visit,” Quinn said, and turned to Zohn. “Makes me want to go launch a surprise visit on my own coven.”

“I agree,” Zohn said, frowning. “Highly disturbing.”

“Well… his coven is 4 times the size of mine though.”

“Yeah, mine too.”

“Oh, Emily’s back,” Quinn said, and glanced at the door. “Derrick, ask her in please.”

Emily came in leading the Malamute puppy, still in a harness. She stopped when she got to the Council, “I haven’t been here long enough to do anything wrong.”

Quinn chuckled, “Did you enjoy your… pull?”

“Pull?” Kyle asked, and looked down at Emily.

She smiled, “Yes, I did. He’s going to be a strong dog.”

“We just wanted to inform you that Chevalier has gone back to the island for a bit. He’s taking care of some business,” Zohn told her.

“Oh… ok,” she said, and turned back for the door.

“One more thing.”

She sighed and faced Zohn, “Yes?”

“Is Dain biting you?”

Emily frowned, “No, why would you think that?”

“She…” the Chief Interrogator started, but quieted down with a glare from Zohn.

“He took a bite out of Alexis,” Quinn explained.

“It was probably an accident. He’s a sweet boy.”

“Yes, he is, thank you.”

Emily nodded and headed out.

“She’s lying,” the Interrogator whispered.

“That was obvious, but I don’t think we need to confront her about it. It sounds like something Chevalier would want to deal with,” Zohn said. “While he’s gone, let’s not start any wars.”

“Yes, Elder.”

Chapter 9 - Dain

Emily gasped and sat up quickly when she felt the pain in her shoulder, “Damnit, Dain… again?”

“No bi,” Dain said, and frowned.

Emily felt her shoulder. The small puncture wound was bleeding slightly. She picked Dain up onto her lap and looked at him, “That was bad, no biting.”

“Es Daddy?”

“Daddy’s gone, you better hope he doesn’t find out… now stop it.”

“He already knows,” Chevalier said, stepping out of the shadows of the room.

Emily pulled Dain close to her, and turned toward his voice while her eyes adjusted, “Stay away from him.”

“I’m not going to hurt him, Em. Let me hold him, though.”

“No”

Chevalier sat on the side of the bed, “How long has he been biting?”

“I can handle him.”

“No you can’t… how long?”

Emily sighed, “A few months.”

“Every night?”

“No bi,” Dain said, and put his hands out for Chevalier.

Chevalier reached over and took Dain out of her arms, “Just let me hold him.”

Emily watched them carefully, “He’s just a baby.”

“He’s still a predator, baby or not.”

“No, he’s not.”

“I need to talk to the Council for a second,” Chevalier said, and stood up.

“Then I’ll go, too.”

“No, stay here.”

“You aren’t taking Dain.”

“Don’t turn this into a fight. We aren’t going to hurt him.”

“Then why can’t I go?”

“Because I don’t want your scent around.”

Emily’s eyes narrowed, “I’m coming.”

Chevalier stood up and headed for the door, “I’ll be back in a little while, just stay here.”

“No,” she said, and tried to follow him. Silas and Jaron blocked her way, and she glared at them and slammed the door in their faces.

When he arrived, only a few of the Council was gathered. Chevalier sat down and put Dain down on the desk in front of him, “He bit her all right, savored her first, and bit her on the shoulder.”

“Es Mommy?” Dain asked, shrugging.

Zohn pulled his chair closer, “Savored her, you say?”

“Yes”

Quinn did the same and moved closer, “Interesting.”

“Not interesting. I can’t have him chewing on his Mom,” Chevalier said, and watched Dain.

“She let you take him?” Kyle asked, surprised.

“Nope, Silas and Jaron won’t let her out of her room.”

Kyle grinned, “For now.”

Chevalier sighed, “What to do with a 1-year-old predator.”

“Feed him more?” Dustin asked.

“We feed him all he’ll take.”

“Take his canines out,” Kyle said, and shrugged. “They’ll fall out anyway, right?”

“We don’t know that. Mortals lose their teeth, but what if heku don’t?” Zohn asked.

“My main fear is that we’ll do something to scare Emily off,” Chevalier told them. “She can’t run to the island right now, so where would she go?”

Emily slammed open the trial room door and came in followed by Silas and Jaron, “Times up… give him back.”

Chevalier chuckled, “They’re going to be mad when they remember.”

“Us?” Silas asked, confused.

Emily walked to the Council area and picked Dain up. Everyone noticed how he immediately leaned his head on her shoulder and ran his nose up her neck.

“Yes, you,” Kyle said, grinning. “You were supposed to keep her in her room.”

“Damn,” Silas sighed. “I don’t remember that.”

“One of these bites, Emily, he’s going to find a vein,” Quinn said to her.

“Has he come close?” Zohn asked.

“No, mainly it’s on the shoulders and arm,” she told them, and ran her hands through Dain’s black hair. “There’s nothing to worry about, he’s learning.”

“I suggest we at least move him to the nursery,” Chevalier said.

Emily frowned, “No, he cries when he doesn’t sleep with me.”

“Then he’ll learn to sleep alone.”

“I thought he didn’t sleep,” Dustin said, but leaned back in his chair when Emily glared at him.

“He doesn’t, and I watched him tonight. He spent a good part of the night savoring you before taking a bite,” Chevalier told her, and she frowned.

“You know no more about him than I do, and I’m not going to let you all make a big deal out of this.”

“We’re just concerned about where this might be going,” Zohn explained. “If he were to accidentally hit a vein… it could make the bites worse.”

“He’s not some starving wolf. He can learn.”

“All I’m asking is that he sleeps in the nursery.”

“He doesn’t… he just screams.”

“Then we leave him and let him scream.”

“Damn, we were supposed to keep her in the room,” Jaron said to Silas. They both quieted down when Emily glanced at them.

“If he sleeps in the nursery, will you leave him alone and stop talking about him like an out of control vampire?” Emily asked.

“He sort of is…” Dustin started, but Zohn glared at him.

“For now,” Chevalier told her. “But if his bites become more regular, we’ll need to intervene.”

Emily’s eyes narrowed, “What do you mean intervene?”

“He’s breaking one of the prime heku rul...” Dustin’s words were cut off when he fell to ash on his chair.

Silas gasped and moved a step away from her.

“What do you mean intervene?” she asked again.

Zohn looked over at Dustin and sighed, “He’s not going to be happy.”

“I don’t know yet, we don’t have any experience with this either,” Chevalier said.

“Well first off, get the Council’s nose out of it. It’s none of their concern what happens with my baby.”

“Our baby.”

“Our baby… still… none of the Council’s business.”

“Yeah,” Dain said, and grinned. His tiny arm wrapped around Emily and he rested his head against the throbbing vein in her neck.

“I’m not saying the Council is involved, but I have to get opinions on this, and they are the most qualified.”

“Oh yeah?” Emily asked, and turned to the Court Reporter. “When’s the last baby you had?”

He glanced toward the Elders and then back to Emily, “Well… never.”

“See, I’m more qualified than he is.”

“Let’s just move him to the nursery for now. We’ll handle the rest when it comes.”

“If it comes,” Emily said, and left the trial area, followed by Silas and Jaron.

Kyle glanced at Dustin’s chair, “I don’t really want to revive him.”

Chevalier grinned, “Just do it.”

Dustin screamed as he reformed and was immediately restrained by Kyle and Zohn.

“Calm down, we handled it,” Quinn told him, and he sat down, obviously furious.

“It’s actually nice that it’s no longer me,” Zohn said, and smiled.

“Stop complaining, I’ve been turned to ash more than any of you,” Chevalier told them.

“Yes, but we don’t get the fringe benefits that go along with it.”

“True,” he chuckled.

A piercing wail filled the palace and Zohn sighed, “I think I’ll go check on my coven.”

Chevalier glanced up at the ceiling, “This could be a long process.”

“At least he’s not snacking on her in her sleep,” Kyle said, and shrugged.

“Winchester or not, I vote that the palace has enough children in it,” the Chief Interrogator said, cringing at the shrill cries.

“Oh Lord, I hope there’s no more,” Zohn said, and covered his ears.

Chevalier smiled, “I hope so too or she’ll kill me.”

“I hear a donor calling,” Dustin said, and left the room along with the rest of the Council. All but Chevalier headed out of the palace, while he went to sit in the nursery.

Dain quieted down when Chevalier came in and sat down.

“Go Mommy,” he said, and put his hands out.

“Nope, you bit Mommy, so you sleep in here,” Chevalier told him.

“No bi.”

“Too late, I saw you.”

Dain frowned and Chevalier gasped when he hissed softly.

“Do not do that,” Chevalier growled, and then sighed when Dain started to cry again.

***

“It’s over,” Dustin said, and grinned evilly. “Chevalier is no longer here to protect you, and it’s time for you to go.”

Before she could run, Dustin had her in a tight grip as his teeth pierced her neck. She felt herself dying, the blood draining slowly from her. First she began to feel weak, and then her head began to ache moments before she stepped out of her body and watched as Dustin let go of her and dropped her to the sand.

He looked down at her, pleased with himself, and then picked her up roughly and hauled her across the island. Once behind the waterfall, he moved the boards and dropped her onto the pile. She stood inside the round ceremonial room and watched as he put boards back over the hole and left.

Her body lay motionless on the macabre pile, staring at the hated runes on the wall.

Emily tried to move her body from the pile, but her grasp went through it. She turned as she heard millions of mice stream out of the walls and begin to devour her flesh.

She screamed, tried to get someone to get the mice away from her as they tore violently at her skin and moved away from the pile to eat.

“Shhh,” Chevalier whispered, and touched her arm. She jerked out of his grasp and pushed at his arms and the blankets, struggling to get out from under them. When she freed herself from the phantom mouse infested blankets, she stood quickly and stumbled backwards, falling over a chair and landing hard against the wood floor.

Chevalier turned when four guards rushed into the room, crouched and ready to attack.

“It’s ok… she’s fine,” the Elder told them, and as soon as they left, he got out of bed and knelt down beside Emily. “Are you ok?”

She nodded, out of breath, and looked up at the ceiling.

He sat down beside her and took her hand, “I wish I could figure this one out… how to get rid of it, I mean. Six weeks is a bit long for one dream to continue.”

She looked over at him as she started to calm down.

“Would it help to know that I’m not the only one in this palace that would stop that?”

Emily smiled slightly, “Probably not.”

“Not to mention, Dustin would be offended at the thought that he drained someone,” Chevalier said, and stood up. He reached down and helped her to her feet.

“So don’t tell him. I don’t need more marks in his book,” she said, and fixed the chair she knocked over.

Chevalier started to put on his official uniform, and she turned to watch him.

“Why do you have to go?” she asked him.

“It’s my job.”

“Send Zohn or Quinn.”

“This is my area of expertise though.”

“Mass extermination?”

Chevalier grinned, “Yes.”

“I guess that means Kyle’s going too?”

“Yes”

“The Cavalry?”

“Yes, we’ll need all of them.”

“Dustin?”

“No, we won’t need him this time.”

“Take him anyway,” she said, and lifted the dome off of her breakfast tray and then put it back down.

“I can’t just take him with for fun,” Chevalier said, and kissed the top of her head. “I’ll be back tomorrow.”

Emily watched as he left and she grinned and rushed to get Dain dressed. She heard Alexis and Allen come into the room before she was done, and met up with them when the baby was ready.

“You both ready?” she asked, slipping on some shoes.

Allen nodded, “Yes, but Dad’s going to be furious.”

“I’m not afraid of Dad,” Alexis said, and grinned.

“Yeah well I can’t turn him to ash if he beats me.”

“Like Dad’s ever beaten you.”

“You know what I mean.”

“Will you two stop?” Emily whispered. “Who are my guards?”

“Abe, Randy, Bray and Terrell,” Allen told her.

“I don’t know them.”

“They’re city guards.”

Emily grinned, “I’m being guarded by city guards?”

Allen nodded, “Yeah.”

“Well this is going to be a piece of cake then,” she said, and grabbed her purse.

“How long do we have?” Allen asked, checking his watch.

“Plenty of time… ok, Allen, you take Dain. Alexis stay with me and keep quiet.”

Allen nodded and picked up the baby.

Emily stood by the door and put her hand on the door knob, “What rank are they?”

“Just general guards… so Privates,” Allen told her.

She laughed slightly, “I outrank them.”

“Order came from the Elders though.”

“Oh… right… well get ready.”

Allen nodded and Alexis moved up beside him.

They all stepped out and the guards moved in around them.

“It’s ok, you can take the day off,” Emily told them, and started for the back stairs.

“No, Ma’am, Elder’s orders that we stay with you,” one of them said.

She spun quickly and glared, “Then you’re behind on your orders. Chevalier just told me to back you four off, and I suggest you all go verify what the hell is going on before you get punished for this.”

“Wait… well… we… let’s go check,” he said, and the four blurred down the stairs.

“Now,” Emily whispered, and they all ran for the back servant’s stairs as Allen covered Dain’s mouth. They moved as quickly as they could down the stairs and out the back door of the palace. The guards glanced at them, but fell back into formation when Emily glared at them.

Allen had already moved the Jeep around to the back entrance, and they all piled in. Emily revved the engine and spun out, taking off from the palace just as her four guards and Dustin appeared at the front doors to watch them drive away.

Allen laughed, “You make that all too easy.”

“Not really, if they were Cavalry, I never would have gotten away with that,” she said, and pulled her sunglasses from the visor.

“What are we seeing anyway?” Alex asked, and handed Dain a toy.

“What did we decide?” Emily asked, glancing at Allen.

“I think we opted for that new zombie flick.”

“Zombies it is… though I’m the only mother on the planet that takes her kids to a zombie movie.”

“That’s why we love you,” Allen said, and smiled. He pulled out his cell phone when it rang and looked down at the caller I.D., “It’s Dad.”

“Damn, didn’t take them long to tattle… answer it.”

“Hello,” Allen said, and then chuckled. “Yes, we did.”

Emily could hear Chevalier’s voice, but couldn’t make out what he was saying.

“No, nothing dangerous, we’re just going to a movie.”

There was a long pause.

“We haven’t decided which movie yet, so we don’t know which theatre. Mom won’t tell us,” he lied, and then listened to his Dad for a bit. “Yes… I realize I’ll be punished for this.”

Emily grabbed the phone away from him, “Punish him over my dead body.”

“Emily, he knows better than to help you sneak out,” Chevalier said angrily.

“I forced him, a little burn and he doesn’t have a choice.”

“You burned Allen just so you could slip out to go to a movie?”

“Well… no, but I could have.”

“Still, with his position as guard trainee comes responsibilities.”

Emily sighed, “This had nothing to do with the damned heku or their army… this had to do with needing some fun time alone with the kids.”

“He accepted the position, knowing fully well what it entailed.”

Emily hung up the phone and turned it off before handing it back to Allen.

“He’s pretty mad,” Allen said, watching the business fly past.

“He’ll deal… and you aren’t going to be punished.”

“Oh, yeah I am.”

“We’ll see about that,” she said, and pulled into the multi-plex. They got their tickets, amidst astonished glares, and headed in to the theater. The kids were severely out of place in the all adult theater, but sat front and center and got comfortable for the show with Dain in Emily’s lap.

Allen grinned, “You’re right… it feels kind of good to break the rules.”

“Told ya,” Emily said, and took a bite of popcorn.

“Fancy meeting you four here,” Emily heard from behind them. She turned and put her hand out to stop Allen from getting up when they saw Alec, Exavior, and Sotomar sit down behind them.

“I’m warning you…” Allen growled.

“Just watching a movie, nothing more,” Alec said, and smiled.

Dain stood up in Emily’s lap and faced them, “No biting.”

Sotomar grinned, “Understood.”

“Sit down, Dain,” Emily whispered, and forced him to face the movie screen.

“Can’t you at least sit elsewhere?” Allen asked, glaring at them.

“Why? These are the best seats,” Exavior told him, obviously amused.

“Just watch the movie, it’s starting,” Emily said, and they all turned to the movie.

The zombie movie turned out to be a little scarier than she first imagined, and before the middle, Emily and Alexis were both gripping their seats and Alexis had her head buried in Allen’s arm through the rest of the movie. When the movie ended and the lights came up, Emily turned around, surprised to see the seats behind them were now empty.

“When’d they leave?” she asked.

“About 5 minutes ago,” Allen said. “They were pretty amused that you and Alex found that scary.”

Emily stood up and grabbed her purse, “It was!”

She shifted Dain around and gasped when his wet shirt soaked through hers, “What did you drop?”

“’S cold,” Dain told her, and pulled at his shirt.

She sighed, “Nice… I’ll take him to get cleaned up, you two wait in the hallway.”

Emily went into the ladies room, and stripped Dain to wash the sticky cold liquid off of him. He fought her as best he could, but she finally got him cleaned up and decided to leave him in just shorts until they got back. She stepped out into the dark hallway.

“Took long enough,” Alexis said, irritated.

“He fought me… they closed up already?” she asked, and they headed for the exit.

“Yeah, the theater emptied out about 15 minutes ago,” Allen told her and held the door open for them. They headed across the empty parking lot to the Jeep and got inside. Emily put the key in the ignition and turned it, but nothing happened.

“Damnit, not now,” she growled, and popped the hood before getting out. She lifted the hood and then slammed it back down and crawled into the seat, “The battery is gone.”

“Gone?” Allen asked, quickly looking around the dark parking lot.

“Yes, gone,” she said, and grabbed her purse. She dug through it, trying to find her phone, but couldn’t, “Let me have your phone, Allen.”

Allen reached into his pocket, then into his other pocket, and sighed, “I can’t find it.”

“Sotomar, I swear…” she yelled, and hit the steering wheel.

“Now what?” Alexis asked fearfully.

“Mom…” Allen said, and she followed his gaze to a group of men heading toward them.

“Heku or human?” she asked, reaching for the glove box. She opened it and found an empty holster.

“Both, from the looks of it,” Allen said. “Stay in the car.”

Emily quickly hurried after him when he stepped out, and ordered Alexis to lock the doors behind them. She stood beside Allen and blocked the Jeep as the men walked forward, and stopped a few yards in front of them.

“Can we help you?” Emily asked, squaring her shoulders.

“Yes, you can actually,” the tallest said. He smiled menacingly and his teeth shone in the dark like silver razors.

Emily put her hand out when Allen started forward, “Name it, then get out of here.”

“We came after the baby… Dain, is it?”

Allen crouched slightly and growled.

“You can’t have him,” Emily said, and the twenty four heku fell to ash, leaving only the fifteen humans.

“You shouldn’t have done that, Sweetheart,” one man said, and stepped forward.

She jumped at the first man to start toward the Jeep, and smashed her palm up into his nose, dropping him to the ground. She saw Allen beside her take down four humans almost at once, and then felt a stabbing pain as the sound of gunshots rang through the night.

Emily glanced down at her blood covered hand and dropped to her knees. The pain in her stomach was excruciating and she felt a burning in her left shoulder. She heard angry snarls and the sound of tearing flesh as she fell to the blacktop, and the world became dark.

Allen brutally broke the mortal’s neck and turned, still crouched, to face another, but there were none. Standing before him, also covered in blood, was Alec, Exavior, and Sotomar, all crouched and surveying the parking lot.

Alec was the first to drop to Emily’s side, “Get an ambulance. She’s been shot.”

“Don’t touch her!” Alexis screamed, and ran to her Mom.

“An ambulance is on the way, along with dozens of police,” Exavior said, and glanced around the parking lot. “They can’t find us here, not with that many dead humans.”

Sotomar nodded, “Allen, get Dain, and run back to Council City.”

“I’m not leaving my Mom and Alex,” he said, looking up at the enemy Elder.

“Listen to me. The three of us, you, and Dain, can’t be found here… not heku. Your Mom and Alexis are humans, they couldn’t have killed this many,” Sotomar explained. “You have to get out of here.”

“Hey!” Allen yelled, and dove for Exavior when he locked Alexis’ eyes.

Alec stopped him, “He’s just wiping her memory of this so she can’t tell the police. We won’t hurt you. Do what the Elder said, get Dain and get back to the palace.”

The sound of sirens were becoming clearer, and Allen looked up to see the Valle were gone. He noticed Alexis was sitting at Emily’s side, and he ran to the truck and grabbed Dain, then moved back into the shadows, and as soon as the Ambulance stopped at Emily, he started for the palace.

Derrick burst into the council chambers. Quinn started to yell at him, but stopped when he saw the frantic look.

“The police just called. They found Emily shot in a parking lot. She and Alexis are both on the way to the hospital,” he told them quickly.

Quinn got to his feet, “Are they ok?”

“They didn’t know yet, Emily’s been shot twice, and they said she was in a parking lot with about 15 dead men. It doesn’t sound like Alexis is injured.”

“Damnit,” Quinn growled, and hurdled the desk. “What about Allen and Dain?”

“They said she just had Alexis with her.”

Quinn nodded and blurred down to his car. Zohn slammed his book down on the table and ordered the prisoners returned to their cells.

“Get the city guards out there. See if they can find any trace of Allen or Dain,” he ordered, and grabbed his cell phone. The Council waited and watched him, “Chevalier’s phone is turned off.”

“So now what?” the Chief Interrogator asked.

“Now we wait,” Zohn said, obviously irritated at the lack of information.

Almost an hour later, Allen entered the council chambers with a death grip on Dain. He was out of breath and terrified as he faced the Council, “Did they call about Mom?”

“What happened?” Zohn asked, appearing at his side. “Your Mom’s in surgery, but we don’t know what happened.”

Allen nodded, clearly upset, “We got out of the movie and someone took the battery from the Jeep, and somehow managed to take our cell phones. We were attacked by 24 heku and 15 mortals. They wanted Dain.”

Dain wrapped his arms tightly around his brother, and his tiny body shook.

“Then what? It’s ok… no one’s in trouble,” Zohn said softly.

“Then Mom turned the heku to ash, but the mortals came at us. We were fighting when I heard gunshots and saw that Mom was shot. I couldn’t hold off that many of them… then the Valle appeared…”

“Wait… what Valle?” Dustin asked, suddenly interested.

“Uncle Alec, Exavior, and Sotomar. They joined in the fight and helped me kill the humans. Exavior called an ambulance, and then erased Alexis’ memory. Sotomar told me to take Dain and run back here, and then the three of them disappeared.”

Zohn nodded, “That was smart of them… very smart.”

“I didn’t want to follow his orders… but I panicked.”

“I’m glad you did, Sotomar gave you good advice.”

“How is Mom?”

“Dustin… take Allen and Dain to the hospital… I want to talk to Sotomar,” Zohn said, and went back to the Council’s area and sat down.

Dustin nodded, and disappeared with Allen and Dain.

“Valle Council,” a strange voice said, irritated.

“Is Sotomar there?”

“I’m here… we were expecting your call,” Sotomar said calmly.

Zohn sighed, “Thank you… first off.”

“Our pleasure, we wish you would trust us again. How is she?”

“We don’t know yet. She’s in surgery… who was it?” Zohn asked.

Exavior spoke, “The Ferus… they recruited mortals it seems. They knew Emily would turn them to ash and they had a backup plan.”

“Did we get any ashes?”

“I managed a few piles,” Sotomar explained. “But the police were coming too quickly.”

“Might we have them… please?”

“Right away, we’ll send someone over with them.”

“Very well, we’ll call you when we hear something,” Zohn said, and hung up.

“What’s their angle? Suddenly eager to help us?” the Chief Investigator asked. “They want Emily. That would have been their chance to take her.”

“I’m not sure, we’ll have to find out later,” Zohn said, and stood up. “I’m going to the hospital to see what I can find out.”

The rest of the Council nodded and began to talk about how to handle Chevalier. Zohn arrived at the hospital just after midnight and parked next to Quinn. He rushed inside, and saw Allen, Quinn, Alexis, and Dustin waiting in the lobby. Dustin was holding Dain in his lap.

“What’s going on?” Zohn asked, and sat down beside them.

“The doctor just barely came out. She was shot twice, once in the left shoulder and once in the abdomen,” Quinn explained. “The shoulder shot didn’t do a lot of damage, but they had to remove some of her small intestine. They said she got lucky though, no major organs were hit.”

Zohn relaxed some and sat back, “And the police?”

“They questioned Alexis, but she was asleep in the Jeep and didn’t see anything. They’ve towed Emily’s Jeep in for forensic testing.”

“Oh good, are you Emily’s husband?” the doctor asked, coming out to shake Zohn’s hand.

“No, sorry, I’m an uncle,” Zohn explained, and shook his hand. “We’re still trying to get a hold of her husband. Can we see her?”

“One of you can see her… we’ll keep her overnight, but she can go home in the morning.”

“So soon?” Zohn asked, surprised.

“Yes, we’ve repaired what we can, and now she’ll just need rest at home.”

Quinn stood up, “I’ll go with you.”

The doctor nodded, and Quinn followed him in to a hospital room where Emily was sleeping. Her left arm was casted and propped up and she had a pillow over her stomach. She had an NG tube in her nose and an I.V. running clear liquids into her arm.

“She’s no longer sedated,” the doctor said. “I’ll leave you two alone for a bit. Don’t upset her.”

Quinn nodded and sat down on the bed beside her. Her eyes opened slowly and she looked at him.

“How are you, Dear?” he asked, and smiled as he took her hand.

“Kids…” she whispered.

“They’re ok. They are all out in the lobby… the… Valle… appeared and helped.”

She frowned slightly, “Always hurt.”

He kissed her hand softly, “Part of your charm.”

“Chev?”

“We’re still trying to get in touch with him. He doesn’t know.”

She winced and inhaled sharply.

“Rest, ok?” he said, and slipped her hand back under the covers.

She nodded and shut her eyes. He watched her for a moment and then did a quick survey of the room, noting the one window in her room was on the ground floor. He headed out to the lobby and was on the phone ordering a guard for the window before he sat down.

“How’s Mom?” Allen asked, concerned.

“She doesn’t look that bad actually,” Quinn said. “She’s just tired.”

Allen looked up at Zohn, “Go ahead then…”

“With what?” he asked, confused.

“This was my fault, and I’m sure Dad will punish me. As I’m one of the guards, I expect you would like to get started with that.”

“I’m not sure now’s the time…”

“Now is the perfect time… Would you wait if I weren’t an Elder’s son?”

Zohn sighed, “No, I guess I wouldn’t.”

Dustin stood up, “I’m heading back. I’ll take Allen.”

“Take him before the Council, let them decide.”

Dustin nodded and escorted Allen out after handing Dain over to Quinn.

Alexis glared at Zohn, “That’ll tick Mom off. She ordered him to go.”

“They won’t hurt him,” Quinn told her. “Chevalier… however, will.”

Alexis eventually leaned over and fell asleep across two chairs. Dain was resting against Quinn’s chest and watching out the window behind him. They didn’t see the doctor again until late the next morning.

“No word from her husband?” he asked them.

“Nothing yet, he’s not due back until tonight though,” Zohn explained.

“We can keep her here, or you can take care of her at home… she removed her NG tube and I.V. though, so she might as well go home, as long as she won’t be alone.”

Quinn chuckled, “We’ll take her. She won’t be alone.”

Zohn took the kids back to the palace while Quinn went through aftercare with a nurse, and then brought Emily home in the Zonda. She didn’t say anything during the ride, but relented finally to being carried up the stairs to her room. Quinn carefully tucked her into bed and propped her left arm up onto a pillow.

“I just wanted to take my kids to a movie,” she whispered, watching the window.

“I know,” he said, and sat down in a chair beside the bed.

“Who were they?”

“The Ferus mostly… and a handful of humans.”

She finally looked over at Quinn, “He’s going to be furious.”

“Yes, he is.”

“I should take Allen and go then.”

“That wouldn’t help things.”

“What will?”

“I honestly don’t know.”

“I can’t take his anger right now,” she said, and her eyes filled with tears. “Because of me, my young son was forced to fight, and the Valle got involved.”

“I suspect most of his anger will be at Allen… we know you escape, we expect him to help us stop you, not help you do it.”

Emily frowned, “I want Allen in here then.”

“He’s down in prison, by his own choice.”

“You can’t put a 14-year-old in prison!”

“We can and we have, just until Chevalier gets back.”

Emily swung her legs out of bed, groaning at the pain in her stomach.

“Would you please, not get up?” Quinn asked, and moved to her side.

“Touch me and I’ll ash you, Quinn. Step back.”

He sighed and stepped away from her, “Where are you going?”

“Allen and I are getting away.”

“To where? The island?”

“No, I have a place no one knows about,” she said, and stood up on shaky legs. She steadied herself against the wall and gripped a small pillow to her stomach as she inched out of the room.

“It’s too dangerous. Just stop,” Quinn growled when she got to the door.

“Back off,” Emily said to the strange guards at her door. They looked at her and took a step away.

“What’s going on?” Zohn asked when he appeared on the fifth-floor landing.

Emily caught her breath before speaking, “Move back or I’ll ash you.”

“What? Why?” he asked, and took a step back.

“She’s running off with Allen before Chevalier gets back,” Quinn told him.

Emily took a step down and moaned as the pain in her abdomen shot into her chest. The fourth-floor guards glanced at her nervously.

“Em, you need to lie down,” Zohn told her.

The Elders followed behind her as she made her way slowly down into the prison.

“Ma’am?” one of the prison door guards said nervously.

She passed him and sweat dripped down her face as she moved toward the cells, “Allen?”

“Mom?”

Emily ignored the growing pain and the feel of wetness below the pillow as blood soaked through the bandages. She stepped to his cell, “Open it.”

“Mom, what are you doing?” Allen asked, coming to the bars.

“I can’t open that until Elder Chevalier gets here,” the guard told her.

She was able to release the smallest bit of burn, and he fell back against the wall, clutching his chest.

“Damnit, just open it,” Quinn growled when the guard got back to his feet. Emily sunk to her knees. The energy it took to burn the guard overwhelmed her, and it was too hard to stay standing through the pain.

Allen rushed out of the cell and picked her up, “Let me get you back to bed.”

“No, we have to run,” she whispered.

Allen looked up at Zohn.

“Put her back in bed. She’s trying to protect you from Chevalier,” Zohn explained.

“Mom, I can take it. It’s ok,” he told her, and looked down at her shaking hand.

“Go, to the helicopter… I have a house…” she said, trying to catch her breath.

“I’m not afraid of Dad.”

“I am… I’m afraid…” she whispered, and the Elders were shocked in the sudden change in Allen. His features grew dark and he stood taller and looked over at them with malicious eyes. A low growl started from deep within him as he took a step towards them.

“Allen, listen to me… she needs to be in bed. She needs to rest,” Quinn said, and anger filled his voice. He saw Chevalier’s rage come through in the young boy, and knew there was no way to convince him now, they would have to stop him.

“Please…” she whispered, and then groaned. The pain was growing worse.

“Get back,” Allen hissed.

“We’ll stop you,” Zohn said. “We can’t do it without hurting your Mom though, so let her go, and calm down.”

Allen unexpectedly shot past the Elders. They hadn’t seen him move that fast before, and didn’t know he could do it. They easily caught up with him in the main foyer and froze. The 14-year-old was now face-to-face with his Dad, and the first-floor filled with the scent of fresh blood.

Kyle and Chevalier were blocking the stairway and instinctively crouched when they saw Allen and the rage in him.

“Get back,” Allen growled at them, his posture ominous and tense.

“What’s going on, Allen?” Chevalier asked angrily.

“We’re leaving… now.”

“Car,” Emily barely managed to moan.

Allen turned and blurred toward the garage, but Mark stood in his way.

“You’re not taking her out of this palace, Boy,” Mark said, his hands balled into fists.

“Allen, you can’t fight us with your Mom in your arms,” Chevalier said from behind him.

Allen turned and glared at his Dad, “Alexis…”

“Lexi, no!” Silas yelled, and grabbed her when Mark turned to ash. He carried her, kicking and screaming, up the stairs and away from the impending fight.

“Your sister’s not here to do your dirty work. Put Emily down, and then you’re mine,” Chevalier said to him.

Allen turned when he heard a noise and saw Kyle block the garage door, he was crouched and furious.

“Mom,” Allen whispered. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Get me away from Exavior,” she whispered, and her hand fell limply at her side.

“She doesn’t even know where she is,” Quinn said. He was the only one in the hallway that was calm and thinking rationally. “You can smell her blood, we all can. We need to help her.”

Kralen appeared when called, unsure what was going on. He stepped up beside Allen, “Let me have her.”

Allen looked over at him. He knew he couldn’t win. They were right, he couldn’t fight them off with Emily in his arms and he knew she needed help. Hesitating, he handed Emily gently to Kralen and was suddenly pinned against the cold tile by his neck as Chevalier knelt above him.

“You have a lot of explaining to do,” Chevalier said, and lifted his head slightly, then slammed it onto the tile.

Kyle, Zohn, and Jaron pulled the Elder off of his son, while two prison guards roughly hauled Allen back down into the prison. Quinn blurred up the stairs to take care of Emily, while the other three helped Chevalier to calm down.

Once Chevalier was calm, he started for the stairs and Kyle began to revive Mark. He appeared in the bedroom and watched Quinn pull the blood soaked bandages from Emily’s abdomen.

“What happened?” he asked irately.

Quinn focused on cleaning the wound, “She was shot, twice… once in the arm, and once in the stomach.”

“What?!” Chevalier roared.

Quinn shut his eyes, his hands covered in blood, “Let me concentrate.”

Chevalier spun angrily when he heard someone behind him, and relaxed when he saw it was Zohn.

“That’s a lot of blood. Let him do that, and I’ll tell you what happened,” Zohn said, and motioned for the hallway.

Chevalier stepped out of the room and joined Kyle, Mark, and Jaron.

“Emily slipped out with the kids to go to a movie,” Zohn explained. “When they came out, the battery was gone from the Jeep and they were attacked by heku and humans. Emily immediately took care of the heku, and then she and Allen fought the mortals. One of them shot her.”

“And the others?” Kyle asked when he realized Chevalier was too angry to speak.

“Allen was still fighting, and was joined by Alec, Exavior, and Sotomar.”

Chevalier growled slightly.

Zohn sighed and continued, “The three heku finished off the mortals and called for an ambulance. They told Allen to bring Dain back here, and then Exavior wiped Alexis’ memory, so she couldn’t tell the police what happened. Quinn was talking to Emily, and she started to panic about what you would do to Allen when you returned, so she decided to take him.”

“She was going back to the island?” Chevalier asked, fighting to calm himself.

“No, she told Quinn that she owns a house that no one knows about. They were going there.”

“Do we know who the attackers are?”

“Yes, I asked Sotomar. He said they were Ferus,” Quinn said from behind them. They all turned and saw he’d cleaned the blood from his hands. “She wants to talk to you.”

Chevalier looked behind Quinn and saw Emily watching him from the bed.

“Don’t go in there if you’re mad,” Quinn said. “She’s pretty upset.”

Chevalier nodded, “I’m ok.”

“I want to go talk to Allen,” Kyle said, and turned around.

“No,” Chevalier told him. “We’ll bring him before the Council when I’m done.”

“Yes, Elder.”

Chevalier went into the bedroom and walked over to the bed. He left the door open in case he lost his temper with her. She watched him carefully as he pulled a chair up to her side.

“Don’t take this out on him,” she said, her words slightly slurred.

“Why, Em? Why do you have to slip out and put yourself in danger?”

A tear fell down her cheek, “I wanted a normal night with the kids… movie, popcorn, no guards… no palace… just us as a family… a regular family.”

“We don’t have a normal family.”

“Just one night, that’s all I wanted.”

“I do everything in my power to give you anything you could ever want, and it’s just never enough, is it?”

Emily frowned, “That’s not true.”

“It is… when you’re better, I suggest you move back into the mortal world. Get a mortal husband, and then you can have your normal family.”

“That’s not what I want.”

Chevalier stood up and headed for the door, “Apparently it is.”

Emily heard him send her guards away, and start down the stairs. She glanced at Kyle, who shook his head and followed the Elder.

“It’s natural for her to want a day alone with the kids,” Quinn said as they took their seats in the council chambers. “It doesn’t mean she’s not happy here.”

“She’s not,” Chevalier said. “All she does is undermine what I try to do to protect her. She spends her day trying to figure out how to escape and do things the mortal way. I’m tired of it, and if that’s what she wants, she can have it.”

“You don’t mean that,” Zohn said, frowning. “You’d be lost without her.”

“Doesn’t matter, I’ll get over her… bring in Allen.”

“Belay that,” Quinn said, and turned to Chevalier. “Sneaking out to a movie doesn’t mean she doesn’t want to be here. We don’t lock her here, she is free to leave as she pleases, and I don’t see her running off to start a new mortal life… she’s not even truly mortal.”

“Why else have a secret house then? If she’s not planning on moving away from us?”

“I don’t know… though we all have secret houses, and yet we stay here.”

Zohn sighed, “She wasn’t running to this house to get away from the heku…”

“She was just running to get away from me, I see that.”

“No… she was trying to protect her son.”

“Our son. She seems to forget I helped.”

Zohn grinned, “I think we all do at times. I apologize.”

“I have as much right to punish him as she does to protect him from it,” Chevalier said, somewhat calmer.

“Yes, you do.”

“Bring in Alexis, let’s start with her.”

Several minutes later, Derrick opened the door and Alexis came in, carrying Dain. She walked up to the trial area in front of the Council, looking fearful.

“Um… you called me?” she asked, unsure.

“Yes, Alex,” Chevalier said. “I wanted to hear from you about the plans made to escape the guards.”

“No biting,” Dain said, and shook his head.

“It was actually my idea,” she said, and looked at the ground.

“Yours?”

She nodded, “We never get to go out like normal kids… I’m not as… well… heku as Allen and Dain. For all we know, I could be fully mortal.”

“I doubt that… ok, so you asked your Mom to go out to a movie?”

“Yes, and she said no… because she didn’t want to leave the palace.”

“Did she say why?”

“Yes, but I don’t want to tell you.”

“Bad, Daddy,” Dain said, and pointed at Chevalier.

“Hushup, Dain,” Alexis whispered to him. “So she said no, and then Allen said no, and so… I kinda… got mad.”

“So how did you change their minds?” Zohn asked, now curious.

“I told them that it’s not fair. I’m mortal, and Allen and Dain aren’t, yet I don’t get to go out with friends or go to movies or even go shopping.”

“If you told us that’s what you want to do…”

“Then I’d go with guards. Yay, that sounds like fun… plus, I don’t have any friends younger than dirt.”

Chevalier grinned slightly. Emily used that phrase a lot, “I didn’t realize you had these thoughts.”

“I wish you’d just turn me and get it over with, so I can fit in.”

A murmur ran through the Council, but was silenced by Quinn, “That’s something you can discuss with Chevalier when you’re older. So you finally talked Emily and Allen into going to a movie.”

“Yes, after about 2 weeks of begging. I told them if they didn’t take me, then I’d just go alone. I know how Mom slips out most of the time, I can do that.”

Chevalier sighed, “You and I will talk about that later.”

Alexis nodded.

Dain pointed at Dustin, “E’s a mutt?”

Alexis wrapped her hand around Dain’s mouth, and quickly carried him out of the council chambers.

Dustin cleared his throat.

“Ok, bring Allen in,” Chevalier said.

Zohn grinned, “I changed my mind. I don’t wish to find a mate.”

Allen was brought in by a single prison guard and pushed to the front of the trial room. Chevalier couldn’t help but notice that even though Allen knew he was in trouble, he stood tall and met the Council eye-to-eye.

“Is she ok?” Allen asked.

“Yes, she’s fine,” Chevalier said. “Alexis told us it was her idea to go out, and then explained why it was you and Emily finally relented.”

“Ok”

“But what concerns me now is the standoff with the other Elders and then myself.”

“Mom was afraid. She asked me to take her away.”

“These Elders outrank your Mom, and you are never to defy them.”

Allen looked at his Dad, “No one outranks my mother.”

“We know you’re protective of her,” Zohn said. “But so are we, and we were only looking out for her best interest. Keeping her from us made it worse.”

“Do whatever punishment you want, but if my Mom is afraid and asks me for help, she’ll get it.”

“I’m not sure she was afraid… by that time, the pain was too intense and I suspect she forgot where she was,” Quinn said.

“I see that now,” Allen told him.

“How do we make you realize that you are not your Mom’s protector?” Chevalier asked. “First and foremost I am, followed closely by the Council and this entire palace.”

“That’s handy when you’re around,” Allen said snidely. “She asked me for help, not you, not the Council… me. I can’t turn down my own Mom.”

“Keep the attitude down, Boy,” Kyle growled.

“I’m moving you back out to the barracks,” Chevalier said. “You will begin training as a city guard.”

“Wait… that means I don’t have permission to enter the palace,” Allen said, shocked.

“That’s right. You will need permission to enter, until we feel you are ready to freely walk these halls.”

“Mom won’t stand for that.”

“I’ll deal with her. Now report to Mark immediately,” Chevalier ordered.

Allen turned and blurred from the room.

Chevalier stood up, “I’ll go talk to Emily.”

“Are you sure?” Quinn asked, frowning.

“Yes, and I need to be there alone,” he told them, and disappeared.

“Well… he doesn’t seem mad,” Zohn said, and turned back to Dustin. “Update on Loki Coven.”

Chevalier walked into their room and shut the door softly behind him. He could smell the medicine on her blood and smiled slightly at how soundly she was sleeping. He sat down beside her and took her face gently in his hands.

“Em?” he whispered.

Her eyes fluttered and finally opened. He was immediately able to lock her gaze, aided by the injury and the medication. He held her gaze long enough to ensure it was strong, and finally spoke, using the soft, flowing voice he needed to control her.

“Can you hear me?”

“Yes,” she whispered, her green eyes locked on his.

“Do you want to move back to the mortal world?”

“No”

“Where do you want to live?”

“In the palace.”

“Are you happy there?”

“Yes”

“Why did you tell Alexis that you didn’t want to leave the palace?”

Emily’s breathing picked up, and she came close to breaking the gaze, but he was able to hold it.

“Why are you afraid to leave the palace?”

“Exavior,” she whispered.

“Did he hurt you when the Valle kidnapped you?”

“No”

“Did he talk to you?”

“Yes”

“Did he threaten you?”

“Yes”

“Emily… the ceremonial room behind the waterfall is gone, there are no more bodies, no more mice or rats… no one is going to drain you and no one is going to throw you down there.”

“The bodies,” she whispered.

“They are gone.”

Chapter 10 - Misconduct

“Ask Emily in here please,” Quinn said when they heard her bare feet padding down the stairs.

When she walked in, the Council shifted nervously and glanced at the Elders. She was wearing only a bikini and sarong and had a towel in her hand.

“Must you run around the palace like that?” Dustin asked, irritated.

“Must you always be a dick?” she asked, glaring at him.

“You’re the first one to complain when a guard propositions you, yet you…”

“You’re just grouchy because you haven’t been neutered yet.”

“Stop it, both of you,” Quinn growled. Emily looked at him and smiled slightly as Dustin sat back in his chair.

“It’s amazing how your bullet scars are gone,” Zohn said. He was more comfortable looking at Emily because Chevalier was out on a mission with Kyle.

“Yeah, only took 6 months, but they’re gone… one plus of the odd immortality thing.”

“I asked you here because Skye fell off of his horse again,” Quinn told her.

Emily sighed, “I thought heku were supposed to have excellent balance?”

“Most of us do… can you work with him?”

“What was he doing when he fell?”

“Chasing Mark, I do believe.”

“Yeah, I’ll see what I can do… but no guarantees.”

“Thank you, that’s all we can ask.”

Zohn looked up, “The Cavalry is using the pool right now.”

“Damn,” Emily said, and thought. “I guess I’ll just sit in the hot tub until they’re done.”

“Why don’t you throw on a robe before you arouse the entire Cavalry?” Dustin growled when she turned to leave.

Emily reached down, dropped her bikini bottom, and then pulled it back up, “What? No howling at the moon, wolf boy?”

“That’s it!” Dustin yelled, and stood up.

Emily walked out of the council chambers, ignoring the growling from behind her.

“Sit down,” Quinn said, and then laughed.

“Let’s just keep that little bit of rebellion to ourselves, shall we?” Zohn said, and turned to Dustin. “Take it from someone who’s been there… your life will be easier if you stop antagonizing her.”

“It’s aggravating how she complains about being hit on by the guards, yet she parades around barely dressed!” he said, exasperated.

“She’s merely going swimming, and isn’t wearing anything less than you would see at a beach. Now stop provoking her.”

Emily was still grinning when she got out to the pool. Zohn was right, and the Cavalry was doing water rescue training. They glanced at her when she walked in, but Mark immediately called them back to attention. She sat down in a hot tub to wait, while Kralen and Silas walked over to her.

“What are you up to? You have that mischievous look on your face,” Silas asked, and knelt down beside the hot tub.

“I just mooned the Council.”

“You did not!” Kralen said, shocked.

“I did… it was kinda funny.”

“Just have to push it don’t you?”

“Why yes, Captain… What are you doing in here?”

“Water rescue… Cooper there in the water plays scared and helpless, and we have to rescue him,” Silas said, and they all watched as Jaron dove into the pool, fully dressed, and took the heku’s arm and drug him to shore.

“You have to do something, Cooper,” Mark said. “If you’re out in the water and need rescued, you aren’t going to casually float along with the rescuer. I’ve rescued four heku from water, and they damned near drowned me in the process.”

“Is this all because of me?” Emily asked, suddenly interested.

“Nope,” Kralen answered, and watched the next rescue.

“Cooper!” Mark yelled when he was again pulled to the side of the pool. “Are you listening to me?”

“Yes, General… I just…”

“Move over, Cooper,” Emily said, and got out of the hot tub. He looked over at her, shocked, and then scrambled up onto the cement when she dove in.

“Oh this should be good,” Kralen chuckled.

Mark shook his head, “Can you at least make it hard for them?”

Emily frowned, “Do you even know me?”

“Alright… Jaron, show them how it’s done.”

Emily took a deep breath and fell into a dead man’s float. She heard Silas tell Kralen that even fake, it bothered him. She looked up when she heard Jaron speaking.

“Um… Sir… Elder’s orders, we can’t touch Lady Emily,” Jaron reminded Mark.

“Well hell. She’s the only one that can pull this off… Silas, Kralen, go see if the other 2 Elders will override that order for this.”

They both nodded and blurred away.

“We need to speak to the Elders for a moment,” Kralen told Derrick.

“Go on in,” the door guard said, and opened the door.

Dustin sighed when the two Cavalry Captains entered, “What’d she do already?”

Silas frowned, “Nothing but offered to help us do some training.”

“Oh, that’ll be good for her,” Zohn said, and looked up at them.

“Problem is… it requires rescuing her from the water.”

“Ahh, completely breaking the no touching rule.”

Kralen grinned, “The General hoped you two might veto that order for this specific training.”

Zohn shrugged, “I’m ok with that.”

“If she gets hurt, you get to tell him,” Quinn said, and glanced down at a book.

Kralen and Silas returned to Mark with the new orders and Emily again fell into a dead man’s float. She heard the splash and felt hands on her arm, trying to pull her to safety.

Emily looked up from the water, “You do realize I’m mortal, and I can drown while you drag me to safety.”

“Oh, right,” Jaron said, and tried to pick her up. She went into fake panic mode and began to claw at him, and tried to crawl onto his shoulders. He fought to stay surfaced as she scrambled to keep him under.

After a few minutes of struggling and fighting, Jaron finally picked her up onto the cement, and rested his head against the side of the pool, completely out of breath.

“Now that’s what I call realistic,” Mark said, and helped Emily to her feet.

Emily grinned and pushed one of the strange heku into the water and jumped in after him.

“Hey, what was that?” he asked, surfacing.

“Let’s see how they do a dual rescue,” Emily said, and swam to the center of the pool.

Mark studied the Cavalry, “Levi, you’re up.”

“I can’t fight both of them off, I’ll drown,” the heku told Mark.

“We’ll even play unconscious for you,” Emily said, and fell into a dead man’s float, as the heku victim did the same.

“You wanna know how I’d handle this?” Levi asked.

“Yes, I do,” Mark said.

Levi shrugged and dove into the water. He flipped Emily over so her face was above water, and easily moved her back to the cement and lifted her up.

She sat up, “You forgot the other victim.”

Levi got out of the water, “Are you kidding? The Elder’s wife is unconscious in the water, to hell with the heku. I get her to safety first.”

Mark started to laugh, “That’s so true.”

“Gee thanks,” the heku victim said, and crawled out of the water.

“Back in, Em, you’re best at this,” Mark said, and pushed her into the water. The newer Cavalry looked at him, shocked.

Emily splashed Mark before swimming over to the end of the pool and falling into the float. She was exhausted by the time the last member of the Cavalry gave it a try. She was successfully able to keep four of them from rescuing her, but the others all got her to the cement.

“You’re on your own now, Em… change and mount up,” Mark said to the others.

Emily swam over to the edge beside him, “What are you going to do?”

“We’re just going out for a bit.”

“Can I go? I want to see how Skye keeps falling off of his horse.”

“Sure, meet us at the stables,” Mark said, and blurred away.

Emily ran up the stairs and opted to just quickly toss on a pair of shorts. It was almost 100 degrees outside and she thought the sun would feel nice. She tossed her hair into a braid, and then ran back down to the stables. Her horse already had a bridle and saddle and was waiting at the hitching post for her. The others were already mounted and waiting.

“Damn, you’re fast,” she said, and mounted.

Kralen reached over and slapped one of the members of the Cavalry upside the head when he caught the heku looking at her lower back, where her tattoo peeked out from under her shorts. He immediately straightened up and looked at Mark.

They kicked their horses into a canter and moved as one unit through the city. Mark and Emily fell to the back and she studied Skye. He looked uncoordinated and wobbly on top of the horse, when most of them naturally took to riding.

When they reached the hills outside of the city, they took off toward the north tree line in pairs. Emily watched as Skye struggled to stay on his horse and almost fell off when he banked left and returned to the others.

“What do you think?” Mark asked. “Honestly, he’s one of the best guards, but he and that horse…”

“Skye, come here,” Emily said, and slid off of her horse. She handed the reins up to Mark.

“Yes, Commander?” he asked, looking down at her.

“Get off,” she told him, and he slid off of the horse. Emily unbuckled the saddle and slipped it off, dropping it to the ground. She hoisted herself onto the horse bareback, and then turned to the heku, “Up you go.”

“Umm… behind you?”

“Yes”

Skye glanced at Mark. He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do. The rule to not touch the Elder’s wife would most certainly pertain when she wore only a bikini top and shorts.

“Don’t look at Mark… get up here like I told you to,” she said sternly.

The heku nimbly mounted the horse behind her, but was almost on the horse’s rump as he got as far away from her as he could.

Emily sighed and looked up at the sky, “Come on, Boy, up here…”

Skye nervously moved forward until he was directly up against her back.

“Ok, lean forward a bit against me… and wrap your arms around me and take the reins,” she said, and guided his hands around her and handed him the reins.

“Is… this…” Skye stammered, looking over her head at the trees, nervously.

“Shut up and kick the damn horse,” she said. She understood how hard it was for a Powan to break orders, and knew the only way it would happen is from a direct order.

The heku kicked his horse and soon they were in a full gallop across the field. Emily felt him steady himself against her and soon he was comfortably moving with the natural flow of the horse. When they turned to come back, he easily leaned with her and smoothly returned to the others.

“So… if I fall off my horse a bit…” one of the Cavalry said when the two headed back to them.

“Laythan, do you want to be put on probation?” Kralen hissed at him.

“No, Sir… sorry,” he said, and quieted down.

When Skye and Emily returned, she slid off the horse and turned to him, “Much better. You need to hold on more with your thighs…” She touched his inner thigh slightly, “Here, not with the back of your legs.”

Skye got down and re-saddled his horse as Emily got back on her stallion and took the reins from Mark.

“Now that that’s over with, I want full contact tackles from horseback, get into pairs,” Mark ordered.

Emily watched beside Mark, Silas, and Kralen as the heku tackled each other off of horseback over and over. She enjoyed being out in the sun and there were enough funny moments to keep herself entertained.

“Gah, Emily,” Kralen growled.

She turned to look at him and saw him taking off his shirt, “We’re stripping because….”

“Because you’re burning,” he said, and handed his shirt over.

Emily looked over at her shoulders, “Ew… ok, thanks.”

She slipped on his shirt and continued to watch them over the next few hours. She finally grinned and looked over at Kralen.

“What?” he asked, frowning slightly.

“Chevalier’s gone all night,” she told him.

“Ok… and…”

Emily turned to Mark, “I vote for dancing.”

Silas chuckled, “Last time I took you dancing, I got arrested.”

“True… just don’t drink this time.”

He stopped smiling and glanced nervously at Mark.

Mark thought for a moment, “Why do I get the feeling I’ll regret this?”

“We can go?” Kralen asked.

“I’m not sure…” Mark said, still deep in thought.

Emily’s grin widened, “I could always go alone.”

“Fine,” Mark said, and turned to the others. “Head back!”

“Oooh yeah,” Kralen yelled, and kicked his horse back toward the city.

Emily kicked her horse and passed the others as they headed in through the city gates. She was the first back to the stables, and quickly got her horse ready for the night. When she was done, she ran inside and changed into jeans and a western-cut shirt and black cowboy boots.

She started down the stairs and saw the Council on the fourth-floor, and they turned and looked at her.

“Going out?” Zohn asked.

“Yes, we’re going dancing. Want to come?”

Zohn grinned, “No, you’ll have more fun if no Elders are watching.”

“You did say, we, correct?” Dustin asked.

Emily frowned at him, “Yes, I’m heading out with Frederick and Exavior.”

“Go… have fun,” Quinn said, and ushered Dustin back into the council chambers.

“Last chance, Elder. Can you dance?” she asked, and headed down the stairs.

“Yes, I can… and no thank you,” Zohn told her, and went back into the council chambers.

***

“Are you questioning me, Laythan?” Mark asked angrily.

One of the members of the Cavalry crossed his arms, “Yes, I am… seems like a lot of fun tonight and not a lot of guarding… what happened to remembering she’s a charge and not a friend?”

“So we should just let her go alone?” Kralen asked, visibly irritated.

“Of course not… but out of uniform and only 3 of you, when normally there are 4 guards with her at all times.”

“I won’t be questioned by you about this. Report to your quarters and be in my office at 8am,” Mark said to him.

“If you’re in by then,” he said, and started to walk off, but fell to his knees and screamed.

Mark turned suddenly and saw Emily behind him, “That’s enough.”

The guard fell to the ground, panting, as the burning pain ended.

Emily walked up to him and looked down, “Are you having obedience issues?”

“No,” he hissed.

“Excuse me? No…”

“Commander,” he said, through gritted teeth.

Emily felt a hand on her arm and turned around to face Kralen, “Let’s go… we get to take the truck again.”

She smiled, “Oh good, I hate being crammed into a tin can.”

“Stop referring to my car as a tin can,” Mark said.

The four walked out to Kralen’s waiting truck and were soon on their way into the city.

“What’s up with disobedient guard?” Emily asked, and turned around.

“Not sure, it’s just recently he’s started being obstinate,” Mark explained.

“Is he a Powan?”

“No, we’ve had no problems with any of the Powans.”

Emily turned away from Mark when Kralen pulled into a parking lot, “I haven’t seen this place before.”

“I’ve been here a few times,” Kralen said, and shut off the engine. They all piled out and walked into the club. They found a seat, and Emily ordered a rum and Coke while the heku checked the area.

“Any boogie men?” she asked, taking a sip.

“There’s a heku here, just can’t find them,” Mark told her.

“Relax, let’s dance,” she said, and took Kralen’s hand. They moved out onto the dance floor and began a fast two-step to the music. When a soft ballad came on, they changed styles and danced through the song.

“May I cut in?” Emily heard from behind her. Before she could turn around, she felt a low growl come from Kralen. She turned and gasped.

“Exavior… what are you doing here?” she asked, and moved closer to Kralen. Silas and Mark appeared beside her.

“I just wanted a dance… wouldn’t be the first one,” Exavior said, unphased by the guards.

“No,” she told him, and headed back for their table. The three Equites placed themselves between her and the enemy Elder.

They all sat down and Exavior pulled up a chair.

“What?” she asked, frowning.

“No reason to sit apart,” he said, and ordered a gin and tonic.

“Why are you even this close to Council City?” Mark asked, irritated.

“That’d be none of your business,” Exavior told him, and downed his drink.

“I don’t like you and don’t want to be anywhere near you,” Emily whispered, harshly. “So I suggest you walk your ass out and leave the way you came.”

“Or what?” he asked haughtily.

“Don’t push it,” Mark growled. “I’d like nothing more than to tear your limbs from your body, and being in public may not stop me.”

“Calm down, Boy. I’m not here to start trouble,” Exavior said, moving slightly away from Mark.

***

Zohn sighed and studied the member of the Cavalry standing in front of the Council, “We’re just finding it hard to believe… the General and the two Captains have been Emily’s guards since she came to the palace.”

“I know, but some of us are worried that it’s moved beyond that and due to a conflict of interest, could someday harm her,” he told them.

“So there are others who share your concerns?” Quinn asked, shocked.

“Yes, there are.”

The Council turned when Chevalier and Kyle came in the back door and took their seats. Chevalier glanced over at the member of the Cavalry, and the heku seemed nervous at Chevalier’s appearance.

“What’s going on?” Chevalier asked, eyeing the anxious heku.

“Mark, Silas, and Kralen accompanied Emily to go dancing tonight,” Zohn told him.

Chevalier shrugged, “Ok… so.”

“Laythan believes that by going out of uniform, and with only 3 guards as opposed to the normal 4, that the three heku might be too attached to Emily and might put her at risk with feelings of their attachment,” Zohn explained.

Chevalier looked over at Laythan, “Interesting…”

“They are too attached to her… attracted you might say,” Laythan said, watching Zohn, “It’s dangerous.”

“How so?”

“If she were to be attacked, I don’t believe they would be able to act in full capacity because of their overwhelming feelings for the girl.”

Chevalier frowned slightly, “Are you saying that Mark, Silas, and Kralen are so in love with Emily, that they wouldn’t be able to protect her?”

The guard nodded, “Not in so many words, but yes.”

“That’s stupid.”

Laythan frowned, “I’m not the only one worried about her safety in their care.”

“There are others?”

“Yes, a lot of the Cavalry feels the bond between them is too tight, and it would be a conflict of interest to keep them with her.”

“I seriously doubt they love her,” Quinn told him. “I won’t deny a strong attachment, but they’ve guarded her for long enough it’s hard not to make strong bonds.”

“It’s love, trust me,” Laythan told him.

Chevalier sighed, “I trust those three with Emily more than anyone but myself… and it’s not love. I’d say it’s more like she’s a sister.”

“Derrick, tell all four of them to wait here,” Dustin said when they heard the four arrive from dancing.

Laythan glanced nervously behind him, “I stand by what I say. It’s dangerous to keep those three around her.”

Dustin frowned and turned to the Elders, “Derrick said we need to see them immediately.”

“Laythan, you may go,” Quinn said, and the heku blurred from the room.

“Ok, let them in,” Dustin said.

Silas and Kralen came in first, both looking angry. Emily was next. She had her arms wrapped around herself, and a hand bruise was forming on each of her upper arms. Mark was last, his shirt was torn and there was blood caked on it. He was shaking and visibly furious.

Chevalier sighed, “Em, are you hurt?”

She shook her head.

“Let’s start with the obvious bruises on her arm,” Quinn said, irritated.

“We did that… Silas and I,” Kralen told him.

“What!?” Chevalier growled.

“Wait… we were just trying to keep her out of the fight,” Silas told the Council quickly.

Emily nodded, “They wouldn’t let me go.”

“We held on as she fought us,” Kralen said. “She just kept pulling and we couldn’t help but leave marks.”

“He was going to get killed,” Emily whispered. Her body posture showed the terror she felt.

“I was not!” Mark yelled. “Had you not stopped me, he would be dead.”

“Calm down… who were you fighting?” Dustin asked.

Mark hissed and his body shook with anger, “Exavior.”

Chevalier’s hands balled into tight fists, “What happened?” he asked through gritted teeth.

When Mark didn’t answer, Silas stepped forward, “We were dancing, and Exavior showed up at the club. He wanted to dance, but Em said no and we all sat down, and he came with us. She asked him to leave, but he refused and then… well… he reminded Emily that as his wife, he has the right to punish her if she denied him.”

Chevalier growled, “Go on.”

“That’s when we got kicked out of the club and in the parking lot, Mark and Exavior started fighting. Emily… she tried to get into the middle of it to stop them, but Kralen and I held her back…”

“You should have helped him,” she whispered.

Silas glanced at her and then back to the Elders, “Mark didn’t need help. Keeping her out of the fight is when we bruised her arm. We’ll take punishment for that if there is any… we didn’t see as though we had a choice.”

“Go on,” Quinn told him.

“It was a fairly short fight, as soon as Mark pinned Exavior against the ground, ready to remove his head… Emily screamed at him to stop.”

“Begged Mark to stop, more like,” Kralen said. “I reminded Mark that Exavior’s now an Elder, and after a few moments, Mark broke his neck and we left him in the parking lot and returned here.”

“Mark, go calm down. We have more business tonight and we need your head here,” Zohn told him, and he blurred from the room.

“I’m confused about something,” the Chief Interrogator said after a few minutes of silence. “I thought you filed for divorce about 2 years ago.”

“I did,” she said softly. “He was un-banished and is contesting it… his lawyers and my lawyer are still in negotiations.”

“They’ve assured us it won’t be long,” Chevalier told him.

Mark came back into the trial area a few minutes later and grinned slightly, “Sorry about that.”

“We understand,” Zohn said. “Now the four of you need to stay for this next investigation.”

“Wait? What?” Emily asked, frowning.

“Any time a concern is brought to the Council, we take it seriously, and will get to the bottom of the complaint.”

“Someone complained about us?”

“The heku, more like, but you are involved so you will need to stay.”

“I suspect it’s Laythan,” Mark said. “Let’s get on with it, it’s almost 2am.”

“Oh, right… we forgot that Emily needs to sleep. Shall we just do this tomorrow?” Quinn asked the others.

“No, I can’t sleep if I think I’m in trouble,” she said. “Get on with it.”

“Very well… reports came from one of the members of the Cavalry, accusing the General and the two Captains of misconduct in regards to Lady Emily, along with a dangerous conflict of interest in respect to her safety,” the Court Report said.

“Misconduct?” Silas asked, frowning.

“Says who?” Emily said angrily.

“Em… calm down,” Chevalier said, looking into her angry eyes. “We don’t believe it, but it’s our duty to follow up.”

“Do I get to face my accuser?” Mark asked.

“No, we feel that’s not necessary though you were correct, it’s Laythan.”

Kralen growled, “This coming from a heku we had to reprimand for rude comments, and for trying to get a better view of Emily’s tattoo!”

“What!?” Emily gasped, wide eyed. “What did he say?”

“We know this is a touchy subject, but everyone just calm down!” Dustin yelled, and the room fell quiet.

“What exactly did Laythan say?” Chevalier asked.

“It was while Emily was helping Skye today…” Silas said, and sighed. “She was tandem with Skye, trying to help him get the feel of being on a horse, and Laythan mentioned wanting to fall off his horse a bit to get the same treatment.”

“And the tattoo?” Zohn asked.

“What’s wrong with my tattoo?” Emily asked, irritated.

“How did he even see it?” Dustin asked.

“Nothing’s wrong with your tattoo,” Zohn told her.

Emily sighed, “It was hot and I’d just been swimming. I wanted to get some sun…”

“So you weren’t dressed, is what you’re saying?” Dustin asked.

Emily glared at him, “I was too! You sound like I went all Lady Godiva on them.”

“She was covered… he just saw the edge of her tattoo from the top of her shorts and tried to get a better look,” Kralen said. “I hit him upside the head and he straightened up.”

“He watches her too, a lot. I’ve had to correct him several times this week,” Silas added.

“Is he being reprimanded?” Quinn asked.

Mark nodded, “Yes, he’s reporting to my office at 8am. I am relieving him of Cavalry duty and putting him back in the city.”

“He confronted the three of us tonight about going out dancing. We changed to fit in better with the mortals and decided that only 3 of us were needed,” Silas explained.

“I understand that,” Chevalier told them. “I often back off 2… or even all of her guards when I’m with her… I can see how the three of them together can do as much as 4 regular guards.”

“It was obvious he wanted to be the 4th guard, and this all stemmed from when I told him no,” Mark said. “As for the other accusations, I don’t feel there’s been any inappropriate conduct.”

“Not with these 3,” Emily said, and glanced at them.

“We, as a Council, have seen no misconduct around Lady Emily either,” Zohn told him. “Though he claims there are more of the Cavalry that agree with his statement.”

“I dare him to find one other,” Silas said.

“Did he give examples of misconduct?” Emily asked, confused.

“One example he told us, was that apparently Silas entered your room uninvited while you were sleeping and touched you to interrupt a nightmare,” Quinn explained.

Chevalier frowned, “Had it been anyone but these 3, then I would tear them apart… however, if Silas wants to stop her nightmare, then so be it.”

“I don’t remember that,” Emily told them.

Silas smiled slightly, “I actually do that a lot when the Elder is gone… I don’t wake you.”

“It only takes a touch to stop the screaming,” Chevalier explained.

“Well hell, you make it sound like I scream all the time in my sleep,” she said, frustrated.

Chevalier grinned, “You’d be amazed.”

“Well anyway… I don’t care if any of these 3 come in while I’m sleeping. I trust them.”

“Again… as do I,” Chevalier said, and turned to the Council. “Any other examples of misconduct?”

“Yes, quite a few,” the Court Reporter said as he thumbed through the notes Laythan gave them. “Last Tuesday, Kralen picked Emily up off the ground when the Malamute knocked her down, and then lifted the back of her shirt slightly to look at the road rash…”

“Wait… he’s been keeping notes on this?” Mark asked.

“Yes, he has,” the Court Reporter told him, and then continued. “Two weeks ago on Sunday, Mark pushed Emily into the pool. Last Friday, Silas embraced her while they were alone…”

“Hold on!” Silas yelled. “That was not an embrace…”

“Stop doing that, anyway,” Emily said to him.

“Then stop trying to run off when we call a doctor.”

“I did push her into the pool,” Mark said, smiling slightly.

“We all realize that was deserved,” Quinn told him.

Emily frowned, “I don’t want to hear any more of this. It’s ludicrous! There is nothing inappropriate going on and even the thought of it just infuriates me.”

“I agree,” Chevalier said to the Council. “Laythan is apparently either jealous of the friendship they have, or trying to get them into trouble for some reason.”

“I second that,” Zohn said. “Destroy those papers and bring the entire Cavalry in here.”

The Court Reporter nodded and disappeared to shred the notes from Laythan. Derrick called for the Cavalry, and they blurred into the trial area. Mark, Silas, Kralen, and Emily moved off to the side as the Cavalry faced the Council. Silas put his hand on Emily’s shoulder when she headed after Laythan.

Zohn stood up, “We’ve brought you all here to get to the bottom of allegations that there is inappropriate conduct going on between Lady Emily, your General, and the two Captains. No one’s leaving until we get some answers.”

“Laythan, step forward,” Chevalier said, and watched the heku proudly step to the front.

“Let’s start simple,” Quinn said, and stood when Zohn sat down. “If you have witnessed any misconduct or inappropriate and/or unjustified touching, step forward.”

Quinn sat down, and the Cavalry shifted nervously, but no one stepped forward.

“How can you not see it?” Laythan said. “He’s doing it now… in front of the Council.”

All eyes fell to Emily and Silas’ hand on her shoulder. He didn’t move it, but looked Laythan in the eye, “If I let her go, you will be assaulted.”

“Likely excuse.”

“Emily!” Mark yelled when she started to concentrate on Laythan.

The heku turned to look at her with wide eyes.

“Em, please try to refrain from torturing the guard before we’ve finished,” Chevalier chuckled.

Emily nodded, and Silas let her go.

“I don’t see that as unjustified touching,” Quinn told him. “Emily has… well… a temper, and at times it’s prudent to restrain her to keep her safe.”

“Anyone else? Laythan made it clear that others feel as he does and we need to find out who and what you’ve seen,” Chevalier told them.

“They won’t step forward with the General and his temperamental girlfriend watching,” Laythan spat.

“Kiss my what?” Emily yelled, and lunged toward him.

Mark wrapped an arm around her waist and lifted her so her feet were off the floor. He headed for the door, “Come on, Killer. We’ll wait out here.”

“Silas, Kralen, wait with them,” Zohn said. They both nodded and left the trial area, shutting the door behind them.

“Yet again… there was no need to lovingly wrap his arm around her,” Laythan said, turning to the Council.

“Lovingly?” Chevalier asked. “Looks to me like he was justified… again.”

“Justified? Will you find it justified when his tongue is down her throat?”

Chevalier growled and Zohn stood up, “That’s enough of that kind of talk.”

“Laythan, tell us who among these guards agree with your opinion,” Kyle said, irritated.

“They all do.”

“Jaron, step forward,” Chevalier said. The Commander stepped up to stand by Laythan. “You’ve witnessed inappropriate or unwarranted conduct?”

“No, Sir, I have not.”

“He’s telling the truth,” the Chief Interrogator told the Council.

“She’s more comfortable with the three of them,” Jaron said. “It stands to reason that they have certain lenience when it comes to the rules set forth by the Council.”

“Yes, they do… step back,” Zohn told him. “It’s important that anyone who has any misgivings about the actions of Mark, Silas, or Kralen, step forward now. It is your duty, first and foremost, to protect the city and Lady Emily… any misconduct is a grave mistake and should be reported immediately.”

“Sir?” one of the Cavalry’s Commanders said, and stepped forward.

“Go ahead, Kain.”

“There is no misconduct… there is no inappropriate touching going on. Those three heku are well respected by all of us… well, excluding one obviously and I swear to you… if I thought for one moment that anything were happening to the Lady, I would handle it myself. There’s nothing improper going on.”

“We know that,” Chevalier told him. “But thank you.”

The door burst open and Emily came inside, furious, “You said what about Mark’s tongue?”

Laythan’s eyes grew wide as Emily ran up to him. He put his hands out to stop her, but she knocked them away, kneed him in the groin, and then slammed her palm up into his nose, shattering bones into his brain. He fell to the ground, unconscious.

“I’m your Commander, Damnit,” she yelled at him, and kicked him in the side as Jaron took her arm and pulled her away from him.

“Sorry, Sir,” Mark said, grinning. “We aren’t supposed to touch her.”

Chevalier chuckled, “Em…”

“What?” she asked, pulling against Jaron’s grasp.

“Calm down,” he told her, and then sighed when the Cavalry began to cover their noses against the smell of burning flesh. Laythan couldn’t scream, couldn’t fight back against the burning, as he was only barely starting to come out of unconsciousness.

“That’s enough, Emily,” Quinn said sternly, and the burning stopped.

Jaron let go of her and returned to the rest of the Cavalry.

“Now, I want one thing made clear,” Chevalier said to them. “This questioning was a legality. In no way did the Council ever consider the General or the Captains to be breaking any laws, or to be acting in any way unbefitting of one of our elite.”

Laythan slowly got to his feet, out of breath slightly as the burning lingered in his chest, “You’ll see that I’m right.”

“You won’t, you’re hereby relieved of duty. You may return to your coven,” Zohn told him.

“What!?” Laythan yelled. “I look out for the best interest of my charge and I’m punished for it?”

“I’m not sure what exactly you’re up to,” Quinn said. “But I doubt it has anything to do with Emily’s safety.”

“Fine, I’ll return to my coven… with honor,” he said, and disappeared.

“Damn, guess we get to clean out his stuff,” Mark sighed.

“I’ll help. I’m too mad to sleep,” Emily said, and followed him out the door.

“You may go,” Zohn told the rest of them.

“You’re taking this well,” Quinn said, turning to Chevalier.

“If it were any of them but those three, I wouldn’t be.”

“Are they too close to her though?”

Chevalier shrugged, “Maybe, but I don’t see how it’s affecting their ability to protect her. Proven by tonight’s encounter with Exavior. Yes, she got bruises, but sounds to me like she caused them by once again trying to get into the middle of a heku fight.”

Zohn frowned, “I still want to know what Laythan is up to… what caused all of this?”

“He really wanted to go dancing?” Dustin suggested.

The Cavalry matched Emily’s speed as they walked to their barracks. No one was in a very happy mood after the accusations by Laythan.

“Where’s his area?” Emily asked, stepping into the Cavalry’s barracks.

“Over here… but we can get it, Em,” Silas said, and sat down at a chair to start gathering Laythan’s clothes into a bag.

“I’m already here… besides, I read it was the Commander’s responsibility,” she said, and smiled. She sat down on the floor and started packing up his books.

“You ok then? After that?”

She nodded, “Irritated I guess.”

“No one agrees with him,” Jaron said, and hauled out the mattress. Emily looked over at the bed frame and saw a wooden box sitting under the bed. She pulled it out and flipped it over.

“What’s this?” she asked, running her hand over the rune etched into the top. It looked to her like an arrow with two of the feathers pointing toward the arrow-head instead of away from it.

Silas glanced over, “That’s the Nordic rune for love.”

Emily grinned, “Laythan has a girlfriend?”

“Not that I know of,” Kralen said, and started going through Laythan’s dresser.

“Well… I’m just nosey enough to open this,” she said, and pulled at the lock. “Anyone have a screw driver?”

Jaron reached over and pulled the lock off easily with his fingers.

“Thanks,” Emily told him, and opened the lid. Her face fell as she saw the top picture. It was an 8x10 black and white photo of her on horseback. She flipped it aside and the picture beneath was a smaller color photo of her swimming alone in the pool.

“So is his girlfriend cute?” Kralen asked, grinning. He turned to look at Emily, and she was quickly going through the photographs, frowning. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s…” she managed to say, and quickly read a hand-written note she’d once left for Sam.

“What?” Kralen asked, and sat down. He picked a handful of pictures from the pile and gasped, “Mark…”

“What now?” Mark asked, turning around. Kralen handed the pictures up to Mark as Emily continued to look through them.

“Oh my God!” she yelled as she held a picture in her shaking hand. The black and white picture showed her asleep in bed, Dain as a newborn was curled up next to her.

“Get the Elders and clear out the barracks,” Mark said, motioning for Silas and Kralen to stay as Jaron blurred to the council chambers.

“What’s this?” Emily asked, and held a picture up to Mark. This one was a full color photograph of her from the chest up, and someone had drawn puncture marks on her neck with red pen.

“Fantasy, I’m guessing,” Mark said, and took the picture from her.

“This one’s a note I wrote to Chev a long time ago… told him I went to get my hair cut. Why would he have this?”

“Is there a problem?” Zohn asked when the Elders arrived.

Emily kept looking through the odd assortment of items in the box while Mark filled the Elders in. She picked up a leather glove, one that she’d lost a few months earlier, and set it down on the growing pile beside her.

“Let me see,” Chevalier said, and picked up the stack of pictures.

“Where is he?” Quinn asked.

“He left immediately, didn’t even come back here,” Mark said. “He has to know we’d find this stuff.”

“He might have assumed we’d ship it to him and not go through it.”

“Well… I wouldn’t have gone through it… but…”

Quinn nodded, “But Emily found it.”

“Track him down… I want him,” Chevalier said. Silas and Kralen disappeared to gather the Cavalry to search for Laythan.

Emily finally dropped the pictures in her hand and stood up. She glanced once more at the stack of personal items and headed for the door.

“Em?” Chevalier called. “Where are you going?”

“To sleep,” she told him, and walked out of the barracks.

“For now,” Mark said, irritated. “That’s one huge personal violation.”

***

Emily woke up and glanced over at the clock, it was 1pm and she still felt tired from being up all night. She quickly looked around the room and saw that she was alone. The window was open and a cool breeze was coming in through it.

She rolled onto her back and watched the sun shine patterns onto the ceiling above her. She wondered what to do about the pictures. Both Chevalier and Mark were furious, actually madder than she was about it. It suddenly occurred to her to let them deal with it, to let them do what they were inherently born to do.

Emily crawled out of bed and threw on a t-shirt and shorts, opting to not wear any shoes. She called down for some pizza, and then grabbed a bucket of tennis balls she kept in the closet.

“She’s out of bed,” Quinn said, stating the obvious.

“This is it then. She’ll run,” Zohn said, and glanced over at Chevalier.

“Derrick, call her in,” Chevalier called out.

The Council braced themselves for the angry lashing they were about to get from Emily. The pent-up fury at Laythan that was about to be released on the Council caused them to tense. She came in a few minutes later with both the Labrador and the Malamute with her. The Council was shocked at how large the Malamute was, and how Emily was dwarfed as she stood beside the giant wolf mix. She had a piece of pizza in one hand and a bucket in the other as she walked up to stand in the trial area.

The Malamute sat, facing her, then howled slightly and wagged his tail.

“No,” she told him and took a bite. “You called?”

“How are you?” Quinn asked, watching as the Labrador stood perfectly still and stared at the bucket in Emily’s hand.

“Fine, why?” she asked, and then gasped. The Malamute jumped suddenly and put his front paws on her shoulders as he reached to bite her pizza, which she had at arm’s length above her. “Get down!”

The dog answered her with a cross between a growl and a howl, his tail wagging happily behind him.

“Do you require assistance?” the Chief Interrogator asked, somewhat amused.

Emily finally managed to push the dog off of her shoulders, “No.”

She walked up and put her pizza on the desk in front of Zohn, and then turned to the dog, “Valle, sit down!”

The Malamute stomped his feet and lowered his chest to the floor playfully, while the Labrador kept a close eye on the bucket of balls.

“Sit!” she yelled at him, and he stood up fully. Emily walked around to his hind end and pushed on his rump above his tail, “I said sit.”

Valle turned suddenly and put his paws on Emily’s back, sending her to the floor. He licked her face as she struggled to get away from him. When she fell, the bucket of balls spilled across the trial room floor and the Labrador picked one up, excited, and ran up to the Council’s chairs and dropped the ball at Quinn’s feet.

“Umm…” Quinn said, and looked down at the ball.

When the Council turned back to the trial area, Emily was rolled into a ball on her knees and the Malamute was standing over her, licking the back of her neck as she screamed at him to get off.

Zohn’s hand flew up to cover his mouth as he started to laugh and Kyle appeared beside them and pulled the dog off of her.

The impatient Labrador growled slightly at Quinn and stomped his feet, looking quickly from the heku to the ball.

“He wants to play fetch,” the Chief Investigator told Quinn.

“Oh, right,” Quinn said, and tossed the ball back to the trial area.

Emily finally got to her feet and called for Jaron, who appeared almost instantly with 3 other guards. They saw the fray and immediately hauled the dogs out.

Emily walked over and picked up her pizza from the desk, “Ok… where were we?”

Kyle blurred around the room and picked up the balls, then handed the bucket back to Emily and returned to his seat.

“Em…” Chevalier said, and then started to laugh.

“They’ll learn, I swear… they’re just puppies,” she said, knowing already what he was laughing at.

“That puppy is close to 130 pounds already,” Dustin said. “He may be too big for you to handle.”

Emily glared at him and Kyle spoke quickly, “He didn’t mean that.”

“They’re just excited because they haven’t been out to play today,” she told them, and took another bite while Chevalier calmed down.

“Did you get hurt?” he asked finally.

“No”

“Fine then… we are wondering if you were planning on leaving the palace,” Zohn said, suddenly serious.

Emily frowned, “Why would I leave?”

“It seems a violation, what the guard did.”

“Oh, that… I figured I’d let Mark and Chevalier handle that.”

“Wait… do what?” Chevalier asked, shocked.

“I have 2 dogs to train, a horse that needs broken in, one heku that can’t stay on his horse, and a group of new recruits starting… I don’t have time to seek revenge on the little git… so I leave that to you.”

“Wow,” Quinn said, glancing at Zohn.

“That’s new,” Zohn said, impressed.

“Now I’m off to play fetch,” she said, and started for the door. She turned and looked at Dustin, “Or did you want to join us?”

Dustin glared at her and she smiled and walked out of the trial area.

Chevalier’s eyes narrowed, “Not sure I trust that.”

“It is odd,” Kyle said, frowning. “She’s never let us handle things like that before.”

“So does that mean she’s already gone?” Zohn asked.

Quinn whispered and then shrugged, “Nope, she’s out with the dogs.”

“I still don’t trust her,” Chevalier said, and blurred from the room.

“Let’s go to Morse Coven then,” Zohn said to Kyle. “We’ll see if Laythan is there and leave instructions if he’s not.”

“Why not call?” Dustin asked.

“To scare them,” Kyle said, and he and Zohn left.

Chevalier walked out and pulled on some sunglasses, it was mid-summer and already up to almost 100 degrees. He heard Emily on the south lawn and walked over. Silas was tossing a ball for the Labrador, far enough it took the dog several minutes to return with it. Kralen was crouched down, pulling on a leash attached to the Malamute’s harness while Emily called the dog to her. The dog was pulling frantically against the heku, his tail wagging as he struggled to get to Emily. Mark and Jaron were off to the sides, scanning the area.

“Seems just a little mean,” Chevalier said, walking up to Emily.

“He loves to pull, this works better than tying him to a horse,” she explained, and held out a treat.

“What are you up to?”

Emily looked up at him, “I’m playing with the dogs.”

“You know what I mean.”

“No, actually, I don’t… Pull harder, Kralen,” she said when the dog inched forward a step.

Emily looked at Chevalier and saw his lips move quickly and with a flash of blurring around her, they were alone on the grass.

“Hey, why’d you do that?” she asked, standing up.

“Come here,” he told her, and led her to the empty out-building. They stepped into the swimming pool room and he sat down and patted the chair beside him.

Emily ignored the chair and sat on his lap, straddling his legs so she could face him, “What?”

“Tell me what you’re up to.”

“I’m not up to anything,” she said, and started to unbutton his shirt.

He took her hands in his, “Stop distracting me… I want to know why you said we could handle Laythan.”

“I told you, I’m busy and you always want to handle things, so I’m letting you.”

“Then what?”

“Why do you assume that’s not the end of it?”

“Because I know you.”

“You can have him, no strings attached,” she told him, and then leaned forward to run her lips along his neck.

He let go of her hands and lifted her face to look at him, “Stop it… I don’t trust you and I want to know what you have planned.”

Emily’s eyes narrowed, “Nothing.”

“Promise me.”

“I swear, Chev, I’m not going after him, ok? I like it here… I’m comfortable here and my friends are here. Yes I miss the island, but it’s nice to see you every day and I’m not going to risk getting hurt by running after someone with a crush.”

Chevalier sighed, “Thank you.”

Emily crawled out of his lap and stepped out into the hallway.

“Wait… I’m not done,” Chevalier said, and appeared at her side.

“I’m done.”

He grinned, “I’m not talking about the talking part.”

“Oh, I know,” she said, and stepped out of the out-building. “Moment’s passed, you lost your chance.”

“I did?”

“Yes, you did… once and for all you need to learn who’s in charge here,” she said, and took off running for the palace. She only made it a few steps before Chevalier grabbed her arm and spun her into an embrace. He lifted her up and kissed her passionately.

Emily wrapped her arms around his neck and laced her fingers through his hair.

All of a sudden, Chevalier gasped and let go of Emily. She fell to the ground, frowning, “What’s wrong?”

Chevalier slowly sunk to his knees, his eyes wide.

“Chev…” Emily said, and took a step toward him. He fell forward onto his hands and she saw an arrow sticking out of the center of his back.

She looked up and saw Laythan in the trees holding Keith’s compound bow. He grinned at her, and she took a step back and screamed, “Mark!”

Silas and Kralen blurred past her as Laythan disappeared into the woods. She knelt down beside Chevalier and watched Mark pull the arrow out of his back.

“Is he going to be ok?” she asked, and looked down at his blood soaked shirt.

“He’ll be fine,” Mark told her, and disappeared into the trees.

Zohn and Quinn appeared and helped Chevalier to his feet.

Emily screamed and took off for the stables.

“Where’s she going?” Zohn asked, and then slung one of Chevalier’s arms over his shoulder.

“Not sure,” Quinn told him, and helped support Chevalier as they took him into the palace.

“Damn… Jaron!” Zohn yelled when Emily flew past them on her horse, headed into the trees.

Within seconds, Jaron and two other members of the Cavalry rushed past them on their horses.

“Now I’m really pissed,” Chevalier growled, fully healed, and disappeared into the trees.

Zohn wiped the blood from his hands onto the grass and stood up, “So much for her letting us handle it.”

Emily finally stopped her horse and looked around. She didn’t see any sign of where the heku went. She turned when she heard footsteps behind her and saw Chevalier walk up with Jaron.

“Which way did they go?” she asked, and turned back to the trees.

“There are 5 heku out looking for him, let’s go back,” Chevalier told her.

“No, no one messes with my family.”

Jaron grinned slightly and looked away.

“Again… my job, come on,” Chevalier said, and slid onto the stallion behind her.

Emily crossed her arms angrily when Chevalier took the reins, and they followed Jaron out of the trees where the entire Council was waiting.

“Any sign of them?” Dustin asked, scanning the trees.

“I don’t know. We went after Em,” Chevalier said, and dismounted. “She went the opposite way the others did.”

“Nice,” Emily grumbled, and steadied the horse.

“I thought you were going to let us handle him,” Zohn said to her.

“That was before he shot my husband with my own bow.”

“Ahh, I see.”

“I think he may have been trying to shoot Em,” Chevalier told the Council. “One second sooner and he would have.”

“Elder?” a strange heku said from behind them.

Zohn turned around and the heku handed him a package, “This came to the farmhouse for Lady Emily.”

“Very well, go,” he said sternly, and the heku blurred away.

“Be nice,” Emily told him, frowning.

Zohn shrugged and handed the box to her. She opened it and took out the card, read it, and then looked down into the box with a smile.

“So?” Chevalier asked.

“Present from William,” she told him, and put the card back into the box.

“What is it?”

“An M26.”

“The Encala bought you a grenade?” Quinn asked, frowning.

Emily reached into the box and pulled out a strange looking handgun. She triggered the laser sight and pointed it at Dustin’s chest, “Nope… not a grenade.”

Dustin shifted nervously, “You’re going to shoot me?”

“It’s not a gun,” she told him.

Mark walked up behind her, “Why do you have a Taser pointed at a member of the Council?”

Silas and Kralen were behind him.

“Or… why do you have a Taser, period?” Silas asked, and stepped in front of Dustin so the sight was on his chest instead.

Emily sighed and turned off the laser, “Apparently William thought I needed one.”

Chevalier thought for a moment, “Damn, that’s not a bad idea… Derrick, bring Wade to me.”

“Just, please, don’t use it on Dustin,” Zohn said, looking her in the eye.

“For now, I agree,” she said, and watched two guards blur out with Wade struggling in their grasp.

Everyone on the lawn turned to Wade as he was knelt on the grass. The guards let go and took a step behind him.

“Ok, let’s see it,” Chevalier said, and crossed his arms.

Emily shrugged, turned on the laser, and pointed it at the heku’s chest. Wade started to get up moments before she pulled the trigger and dropped him to the ground. He screamed in pain as electricity filled his body and incapacitated his senses. The initial shock was fast, but he remained in agony for several minutes before falling silent to the grass, panting.

“Hmm, interesting,” Quinn said, and walked up to Wade.

“What’s the range on that thing?” Zohn asked, and turned to Emily.

When she shrugged, Mark spoke up, “35 feet.”

“Handy… but too dangerous,” Chevalier said, and put his hand out. “Let’s lock it in the weapons room.”

Emily frowned, “No.”

“No?”

“No… William gave it to me for protection and I like the idea.”

“Em…”

She sighed and handed it over, and then kicked her horse into a canter toward the stables.

“Wow, she gave it up,” Zohn said, impressed.

Jaron grinned and followed her, along with the other two members of the Cavalry.

“So?” Chevalier asked, turning to Mark.

“No sign. He ran off pretty fast when he saw us coming.”

Chevalier glanced over his shoulder to make sure Emily was in the stables before returning to Mark, “If she leaves the palace, make sure the woods are covered anywhere near her.”

“Yes, Elder,” Mark said, and took the Taser from the Elder when he offered it. “And this?”

“Lock it up, we’ll need it locked away to protect Dustin.”

“Oh, ha-ha,” Dustin said, and headed inside.

Mark chuckled and blurred to the weapons room as Silas and Kralen went to the stables.

Chapter 11 - Growing Up

Emily sighed and pulled closer to Chevalier in her sleep. He tightened his arms around her and shut his eyes to continue with her dream. It was uncharacteristically calm and relaxing, with no horror or drama to fill it. He grinned when it started to turn risqué, with scenes of them out on a deserted beach together.

“Mama,” Dain called from the nursery.

Emily opened her eyes and sat up.

“Damn,” Chevalier mumbled.

“What?” she asked, and looked over at him.

He smiled, “Nothing… let me go get him. He’s not eaten.”

Emily nodded and watched Chevalier go into the nursery, “It’s not right that I can’t hold him until he’s fed.”

“It’s all we could come up with until he stops biting everything he comes in contact with… Damnit, Dain, no biting!” Chevalier growled.

“No biting,” Dain repeated, and Emily grinned. She knew Chevalier had just been bitten.

“I’m sure it’s just a phase,” she told him.

“It better be, this is getting old.”

“Good morning, Baby,” Emily said, and smiled at him when they walked out.

“Daddy bit me,” Dain said, and frowned.

“No… you bit me, Screech,” Chevalier said, and took the sippy cup from the table and handed it to him.

“Stop with the Screech already, it’s awful.”

“Sorry,” he said, and sat down with the baby on his lap.

“Tell me again why you have to go?”

“We’re turning four mortals this weekend. I need to be there.”

“Why though? I can hit 13 heku with one stone from here.”

“Two of them are important, and all three Elders need to be there,” he explained, and brushed the hair out of Dain’s eyes.

“So the other two get measly un-ranking heku?” she asked, somewhat irritated.

“Measly?”

“You know what I mean.”

“There’s no need for all 3 Elders to be at the other ones.”

Emily grinned, “How many Elders would need to be there if I turned?”

“Eight,” he said without thinking.

“What? Eight Elders?”

“Yes”

“You’d call in the Valle and Encala Elders if I turned?”

“Yes, to warn them of the impending end of the world.”

“Very funny, and why 8? Who’s missing?”

“I would be missing,” he said, and handed Dain another sippy cup.

“Why? Where would you be?” she asked, and headed into the bathroom.

“Hiding, I don’t like being turned to ash.”

“Let’s count them before we start feeling sorry for you… what’s more? You biting me or me ashing you?”

“Not fair,” Chevalier said, and put Dain down on the floor to play when he finished drinking. “Mine’s more fun.”

“For you,” she told him, and came out in a robe.

He watched her get ready to go swimming, “Do me one favor, wear the one-piece.”

She grinned and tossed her bikini at him, “Swear to never bite me again and I will.”

“No way, I like biting you.”

“Mmm, I’ve had better.”

Chevalier gasped and then grinned, “You have?”

“Sure… lots bite better than you. Don’t make me name them,” she told him, and started to tie her hair up.

Chevalier stood slowly, “Want me to remind you?”

She gasped and turned toward him, “Don’t make me ash you.”

“Maybe you’ve just forgotten how good it feels.”

“Yeah for like 3 seconds… hey… get back,” she said, and took a step away from him. She knew the predatory look in his eyes and realized it was almost too late, “You’ll regret it.”

“Yeah, for like 3 seconds.”

“It’s not funny, don’t bite me.”

“No biting,” Dain said, and grabbed a toy truck.

“Or what?” he asked, and pinned her to the wall, running his nose along her neck.

“Trust me, I’ll make you pay.”

She felt the familiar pressure from his teeth sinking into her neck and her legs grew weak as her body relaxed against his. He stopped after only a few seconds and kissed her softly, then caught her hand when she tried to slap him.

“You’ll pay for that!”

“I doubt it,” he said, and went over to pick up Dain.

Emily glared at him and disappeared into the bathroom.

Chevalier glanced around the room once and then looked at Dain, “Ready to eat?”

“No,” Dain said, and shook his head.

“You have to be thirsty, you haven’t had anything since yesterday,” Chevalier said, and sat at the table. He looked at the empty sippy cups, “Did Mommy feed you?”

“No biting,” Dain said, and pointed at the bathroom door.

He heard a weak call for Mark from the bathroom, and by the time he sat Dain down on the bed, Mark and Silas were already in the room. He walked in and growled when he saw her, sitting against the bathroom wall with a towel against her neck. He didn’t see blood, but there were two fresh puncture wounds on her neck.

“Who did it?” Mark growled, and looked around the bathroom.

Chevalier stormed into the bedroom and searched it quickly.

Emily fought to keep her face fearful and finally whispered, “Leave me alone.”

Silas checked to make sure the windows were locked, and stepped out of the bathroom and shut the door. When the door was shut, Emily dropped the towel and grinned. She got up and looked into the mirror, frowning. She knew he didn’t drink much, if anything at all, and was just proving a point, but the puncture wounds were still there and she hated the look of them.

“Em, are you ok?” Zohn asked from outside the bathroom door.

Emily grinned and whispered, “Just stay out.”

She grabbed a bottle of fingernail polish and sat down to paint her fingernails.

Mark, Chevalier, Quinn, and Kralen, began a systematic search of the entire palace, smelling each heku they came to, but catching no hint of the Winchester blood. No one saw anything. Her door guards saw no one enter or exit the room, and there was no sign of anyone having scaled the building.

After almost an hour, they all met back in the main floor foyer and looked around.

“I’m not catching anything,” Mark said, and shrugged. “How could someone get to her? You were in the bedroom.”

Suddenly, Chevalier sighed, “Damnit.”

“What?” Quinn asked.

“I did it,” he told them, and started up the stairs.

“You did what?”

“I bit her.”

“You did?” Kralen asked, shocked.

“It was a bit of a challenge,” he explained, and entered the room.

“She won’t allow us in,” Silas said, concerned.

“She’s faking,” Chevalier said, and opened the door. He looked down at Emily as she painted her toenails. “I didn’t even feed, I just bit.”

“Don’t mess with the master,” she said, and put the cap on the polish before looking up at him. “And don’t bite me again or I’ll ash you.”

“Threatening never works.”

She stood up on the sides of her feet and faced him, “It’s not a threat. It’s a promise.”

Chevalier chuckled, “Waddle out here. It’s time to go.”

Emily glared at him as she walked on the outsides of her feet into the bedroom.

“What’s wrong with your feet?” Silas asked, still slightly confused.

“Wet nails.”

“No biting,” Dain said, and frowned at Chevalier.

“Oh good one, Chev. Bite me in front of an impressionable vampire,” she said.

“Sorry, I didn’t think about that.”

Silas shook his head and picked up Dain, and then quickly moved his arm, “Damnit.”

“Damnit,” Dain said, and smiled. “No biting.”

“Well then stop biting me!” Silas said, and held the baby at arm’s length as he walked up to the helicopter.

“Serves the heku right to be bitten once in a while,” Emily said, and started up after them. “I’m going to start taking a chomp out of random guards.”

“Nice,” Mark grumbled, and walked up with the Elders.

They all watched as Equites 1 took the Elders away for the weekend and Emily turned to Mark, “Where’s Allen posted today?”

He grinned, “Just because the Elders aren’t here, doesn’t nullify their orders.”

“Oh come on, you know I’ll find him. Save me an hour and just tell me.”

“Nope, leave him alone.”

“No, he’s not allowed into the palace… which, by the way, I have issues with. If he can’t visit me, then I’ll go to him.”

Mark shrugged, “Fine, but you won’t find him by asking.”

Emily glared at him and headed inside to her office. She knew it would be easier to find Allen’s post if she studied a spreadsheet she kept of his location. A pattern was emerging and she was very close to figuring out his exact schedule.

Silas and Mark stayed on the roof for a bit when she left.

“She always has to find trouble when the Elder is gone,” Silas said, and moved his hand seconds before Dain bit him.

“I know, and it worries me,” Mark told him. “Get rid of Dain. Let’s get the Cavalry on their horses and in those trees.”

“No problem, I’m not his guard today anyway. Time for someone else to get eaten.”

Emily looked over the spreadsheet and found where she thought Allen might be. She moved to the stairs, ignoring the four strange guards behind her, and once Mark and Silas were out of the building, she ran down the stairs and headed for the city.

“Ma’am,” one of the city guards said when she rounded the corner.

Emily sighed, “Where’s Allen today?”

“Elder’s orders…”

“I know, I know,” she said, and took off for the next location as four palace guards followed her.

When she checked a few more places guards were normally posted, she decided to head back to her office and check her references again. As she walked back toward the palace, something off in an alleyway caught her eye. There were heku kissing in the dark corner. The man had the woman pressed against the wall and her hands were laced around his neck.

Emily grinned and moved on, but then stopped suddenly and returned back to the alley, “Allen?”

Allen spun suddenly, his eyes wide. The heku he’d been kissing gasped and looked at her too.

Her guards chuckled a bit behind her back, but her anger grew and she took a step toward the woman, “How old are you?”

“Mom, calm down,” Allen said, and stepped between his girlfriend and Emily.

“Answer me!” she screamed.

“I’m… I’m… only 224,” she said. The heku was pretty, with long blonde hair and dark brown eyes. She stood only a few inches shorter than Allen and had broad, strong shoulders.

Emily grabbed Allen by the ear as the heku fell to ashes in the dark corner. She started to drag him back toward the palace. Fearful of what was coming, her guards called for Kyle to the alley, and for Cavalry backup. This was their first day watching Emily and they weren’t sure what was going to happen.

“No!” Allen growled, and pulled himself out of Emily’s grasp. “You have no right to do that.”

“You’re 14!” she screamed at him. “What the hell do you think you’re doing with her?”

“She’s my girlfriend,” Allen said, and stopped when Emily slapped him.

“No, she was your girlfriend… I’m not going to let this happen.”

“You don’t have a say in it,” Allen told her glaringly. He crouched instinctively and his hands balled into fists.

“I do too! I’m your mother and you’re a minor… you’re moving back into the palace and are no longer a guard.”

“You can’t do that. Elders orders are higher than what you say.”

“Em… calm down,” Mark said as he and Silas appeared with her guards.

“I don’t care what the Elders say. I’m your Mom, and you are no longer allowed out of the palace!”

Allen took a menacing step toward her, “Don’t talk about the Elders like that, and you no longer have a say in what I do or don’t do.”

“I don’t care how tall you are, or how intellectually advanced you think you might be, I’m not going to let your 14-year-old hormone driven body out of my sight!” Emily said, and stood her ground.

“When Kyle brings her back, you owe her an apology.”

“I do not!”

“I love her, and you’ll treat her with respect.”

“Allen, back off,” Silas growled when he took another step toward his Mom. “That’s an order.”

Allen ignored Silas and blurred to Emily, pinning her to the stone wall with a hand around her neck, “Is that understood?”

Emily brought her knee up and caught him in the groin. He growled and tightened his grip on her.

Silas and Mark pulled Allen away from his Mom.

“You’re 14!” Emily yelled, and pointed at him. “I’m not going to allow you to hook up with every slut in the city.”

Allen growled and pulled against Mark and Silas, “Take that back!”

“I will not… you have a new education coming, Boy, and it’s going to be a hard one.”

“Just because you chose to marry the first loser who came along doesn’t mean that’s going to happen to me,” Allen yelled at her.

Jaron appeared behind Emily and caught her as she lunged at Allen.

“You have no idea what you’re talking about and you are not seeing her again. If I catch you with her, I’ll spread her ashes!”

“Stop it, Em,” Jaron said, and kept a restraining arm around her.

“Touch her, Bitch, and I’ll destroy you,” Allen yelled, and again tried to get away from Mark and Silas.

“Allen!” Mark yelled, and then called for Allen’s direct supervisor.

“You can’t talk to me like that!” Emily whispered, and narrowed her eyes. Allen began to scream and the heku let go of him as he fell to his knees, clutching at his chest.

“Emily, stop it!” Silas yelled. Allen’s Captain appeared, wide eyed when he saw the standoff between one of his guards and the Elder’s wife.

Emily released Allen after only a few seconds, “It’s final. You are moving back to the palace.”

Allen snarled and instantly appeared in front of her. He backhanded her against the wall and she slunk to the ground as Silas and the city Captain grabbed Allen and hauled him to the palace prison.

Kyle blurred onto the scene and gasped when he saw the blood trickling from the corner of Emily’s mouth, and the bruise forming on her cheek, “What the hell happened?”

“Get away from me!” Emily yelled at him when he tried to help her up. She got to her feet unsteadily and started back for the palace.

“Why did I just have to revive Miri?” he asked, following her.

Mark caught up to them and whispered too low for Kyle to hear, “Miri is Allen’s girlfriend.”

Kyle sighed, “Did Allen hit her?”

“Yes, in front of his Captain… He’s being taken to the prison,” Mark told him. “We’ll have to see what’s going on. If it weren’t Allen, and a city guard hit Emily, it would mean instant banishment.”

“Back off the Captain, let the Council handle this one,” Kyle said, and followed Emily into the palace.

Kralen rushed up to Emily when he saw her and put a hand on her arm, “Em, what happened?”

Emily turned and glared at him.

He took a step back, “Whoa… was just asking…”

She continued up the stairs and disappeared into her office, locking the door behind her. The Elders gave strict orders, under no circumstances was a heku to be in her office. Her guards took up their post outside of her office door immediately.

“Let’s go talk to Allen,” Kyle said, and he and Mark headed into the prison. They met up with the city Captain and Silas outside of his cell. Allen was sitting on the bed with his face in his hands.

“Allen?” Kyle asked, walking up to the bars.

“I hit my Mom,” he whispered, his voice full of anguish.

“Things got out of hand, I realize that,” Kyle said. “But you have to learn to control those instincts.”

“I hit her…” he whispered again.

Mark dismissed the Captain, and he headed up the prison stairs, livid that a member of his guard unit assaulted the Elder’s wife, even if he was the Elder’s son.

“I’m going to convene the Council to discuss this. We’ll call you when we’re ready,” Kyle said.

“And Miri?” Allen asked, finally looking up.

“I revived her. She’s gone home to rest.”

Allen nodded, leaned back on the hard cot, and then put his arm over his eyes.

“You two come with me,” Kyle said, and he was followed up the stairs by Silas and Mark.

The Council was in their seats by the time Kyle sat down. Mark and Silas stayed on the trial room floor. Richard, the Chief Interrogator, was acting superior while the Elders were away.

“What’s up?” Richard asked, eyeing the guards.

Kyle turned his seat toward him, “Not sure how to deal with this… what would you say if I told you that one of the city guards attempted to strangle, and then backhanded Lady Emily?”

Richard frowned, “I’d say 800 years for that, banish him.”

“Ok then, what if I told you that city guard is Allen?”

“Is this a hypothetical question?” Dustin asked.

Kyle shook his head, “No… and he’s in our prison.”

Richard sighed, “Ok, what happened?”

Kyle looked over at Mark, “I only caught the aftermath.”

“I didn’t see the original confrontation,” Mark explained. “But to make a long story short. Allen has been seeing Miri, from the city. Apparently Emily caught them kissing. She ashed Miri, and began to drag Allen back to the palace.”

Dustin chuckled, “Nice.”

Kyle glared at him and he shut up.

Mark waited for Dustin to be quiet and then continued, “Emily was determined that Allen is moving back into the palace and will no longer be a guard. They both started screaming, things got out of hand… he choked her… she burned him, so we let him go to suffer a bit… he blurred to her and backhanded her.”

“Derrick, bring Allen here,” the Chief Investigator said.

“Why don’t we just wait for Elder Chevalier’s return?” the Court Reporter asked.

“I think it might be better if we handle this before he gets back,” Kyle explained. “Otherwise, we end up with a three-way fight instead of just the two of them.”

Allen was escorted in by two guards, though he wasn’t fighting and his hands were restrained behind his back. They could tell by the look on his face that was feeling bad about hitting his Mom. The guards pushed Allen to his knees before the Council and then left. Mark and Silas moved to stand behind him.

“Now bring in Emily,” Richard said, and looked down at Allen.

Allen looked up at Kyle, “I’m ready to be banished.”

“We aren’t even sure you can be banished… you’re only three quarters heku.”

“Shouldn’t matter… I was told I would be treated with no preferentiality because of my heritage, and I expect that to be followed through.”

Kyle smiled slightly, “That was easy to say… not as easy to carry out.”

Derrick entered the trial area and faced the Council, “She said no.”

“No?” Richard asked, frowning.

“That’s all she said… no,” Derrick explained.

“Mark…” Richard said, and the General nodded and disappeared. He blurred to Emily’s office door and knocked.

“Em?”

“No,” she called out.

“We need you to come talk to us.”

“No”

“Will you at least let me see how badly you’re injured?”

“No”

“Allen feels really bad and he’s worried about you.”

“No”

Mark sighed and glanced at her guards, they all just shrugged.

“We can just break the door,” one of her guards suggested.

“No,” Mark told him. “No heku is to enter her office, ever… besides, it’s reinforced against us.”

“Sorry, Sir.”

“Emily,” Mark tried again. “We really need you to come talk to the Council.”

“No,” she said, and there was a crash against the inside of the door.

Mark thought for a moment before returning to the council chambers. He stood beside Silas, “She still won’t come out.”

“If you won’t banish me, then I suggest you leave me for Dad,” Allen said.

“You really want to face your Dad over this?” the Chief Interrogator asked.

“He won’t have a problem punishing me like the Council is.”

“It’s not that we have a problem doing it… we just need to come up with what. This doesn’t warrant being killed, and we aren’t sure we can banish you,” Dustin explained.

“How badly is she injured?” Richard asked, looking at Mark.

“She won’t come out of her office, but from what I saw, she had bruises forming on her neck and cheek and a small amount of blood from the corner of her mouth.”

“Is he an official member of Island Coven?”

Kyle shrugged, “He’s not been made official, though the son of the Lord of the coven would probably warrant immediate membership.”

“Then I propose we strip him of guard rank and send him back to his coven,” Richard said.

Allen looked down at the ground.

“All in favor?” the Court Reporter asked, and glanced at the votes.

Richard stood up, “Allen, it is then decided by this Council that you are to be stripped of all guard rank associated with Council City and are to be returned to your coven.”

Mark reached over and removed Allen’s green cape and the rank insignia on his collar.

“I’ll take him,” Kyle said, and unbuckled Allen’s handcuffs. He helped Allen to his feet and both left for Island Coven on Equites 2.

“Notify his Commander,” Richard said to Mark. Mark and Silas both bowed slightly and blurred from the trial area.

“Sir,” Derrick said, stepping into the trial area. “We have a coven in revolt. I’ll put the line through.”

Richard sighed, “Perfect, we have no Cavalry… send it in.”

Derrick nodded, and a few seconds later, the Council’s phone rang.

“Council,” Richard said, and cringed slightly at the frantic sounds of fighting.

“We need help out here!” a furious voice said. “Tell Elder Zohn the coven is in revolt, they are rioting in the compound, 27 have been killed… and…”

The line was suddenly cut off.

“Derrick!” Richard called out.

“Yes, Chief Interrogator?”

“What coven was that?”

“Elder Zohn’s Coven, Sir.”

“Coven information?” Richard asked the Record Keeper.

The heku blurred away and returned with a file, “Coven of approximately 391 located in the Appalachian Mountains in Alabama.”

Richard turned to the others, “We don’t have a Cavalry, and our city guards aren’t trained for re-taking hostile covens.”

“Emily is,” Dustin said, and then the others looked at him he continued. “She’s done it before and she is a member of the Cavalry.”

“Elder Zohn tried to send her on a mission without Chevalier or Quinn’s approval once, it didn’t turn out well.”

“But to that mission, she said no… I suggest we ask her.”

“Mark, Silas…” Richard called out, and turned to them when they entered. “We have a coven revolting, just under 400 of them and some are dead already. Please ask Emily if she can help and then gather what’s left of the Cavalry.”

“Right away,” Mark said, and he went to talk to Emily while Silas went to get Jaron and Kralen, the only other members of the Cavalry left behind in Council City.

Mark knocked on Emily’s office.

“Go away,” she said to him.

“Em, there’s a problem... we need your help.”

There was a pause, “What kind of problem?”

“The Cavalry’s gone with the Elders… Silas, Jaron, Kralen and I are all that’s left. We have a coven revolting and they are killing members.”

Her door opened slightly, “They are killing members of their own coven?”

“Yes, it’s Zohn’s coven… we really need your help on this. The four of us are heading out, but it won’t turn out well, us against 400,” Mark told her.

“Are you lying to get me out of my office?”

“No, we really need your help.”

Emily sighed, “Meet me at my helicopter in 20 minutes.”

Mark nodded and disappeared. He blurred into the council chambers, “She agreed, we’re heading out in Winchester 1 in 20.”

Dustin gasped, “She agreed to go?”

“Yes”

Richard smiled, “Good, then we won’t need to call in Powan for this.”

The four members of the Cavalry met up with Emily at the helicopter. She was in uniform with her .45 in its holster. They all crawled in, and Mark gave directions to the pilot and they were soon heading off.

“Zohn’s Coven is located on the shore of Lake Guntersville, outside of Scottsboro, Alabama. There are 391 registered members, and as far as we know, 27 of those are now dead. We don’t know what’s causing the problem, we just know they are out of control,” Mark said during the briefing.

“What am I allowed to do?” Emily asked.

“I hate that we don’t know what we’re getting in to… if it gets too bad, ash them all and we’ll sort it out later.”

Emily nodded.

“We’ll land outside of the cement walls and see what we find. Stay behind us, Em, and we’ll try to clear it out so you can take over. I hope it works like Michael’s coven and they freeze when they see you.”

“Not a clue what the fighting is over?” Silas asked.

“Nope, the phone call was cut short, we really have no idea.”

Emily curled up on the couch in the helicopter and watched out the window as the clouds turned gray. They heard the pilot call out the 5 minute warning just as lightning and thunder started.

“I’ll have to carry you. We’re still about 5 miles away,” Mark told her.

“I can run 5 miles.”

Mark grinned, “Not fast enough, sorry.”

Emily started to get sick to her stomach when they landed. The five of them running into an unknown environment made her nervous, and she dreaded the possibility of turning 400 heku to ash and then having to face Zohn afterwards. They stepped off the helicopter in a torrential rainstorm and were immediately completely soaked.

Mark picked Emily up in a cradle and began to blur toward the coven. His speed made the raindrops turn into hard pellets that stung when they landed against her. She buried her face in his shoulder to keep them off of her, and pulled the cape around her. Finally, he set her down and she saw Silas and Jaron knelt down, peering around a rock outcropping.

“There are two guards,” Silas said. “Still standing at the front gates. I would imagine Zohn would have more than 2 normally though.”

“I just wonder if they’re friendly,” Mark said. “From the sounds of it, that’s one nasty riot going on inside.”

“So how do we get past them? Want Silas and I to take them out?” Jaron asked.

“Oh for hell’s sake,” Emily said, and before they realized what she was doing, she stepped out of the cover and walked up toward the gate.

“That’s one way I guess,” Mark chuckled. “Let her approach them first.”

They watched as she walked up to the guards.

“Turn around, mortal… get your ass out of here,” one of the guards said.

“You will address me as Commander or I’ll have your head,” Emily growled at him.

“I’ll not address you as anything but Sweetheart, now get out of here before I make you.”

“Fine then,” Emily said, and the two guards turned to ash. She was soon joined by Mark, Silas, Kralen, and Jaron.

Silas frowned, “Did you notice their guard uniforms didn’t fit?”

Emily nodded, “Yeah, I saw that… one had high-waters.”

“Jaron, Silas, hold the entrance… don’t let anyone through,” Mark said.

“Yes, Sir,” they both told him, and fell into position.

“Let’s get in there. There’s a fountain in the middle of the coven… I’ll blur you there and we’ll see if they will stop when you talk,” Mark said to Emily. She felt her feet leave the ground and she was soon standing on the edge of the fountain, which put her almost on an even level with the heku.

“Hey!” Emily yelled, and some of the sounds of fighting slowed. “I had to bring my ass all the way here from Council City, so if you aren’t lined up in nice little rows by the fountain in 30 seconds… I’ll turn you all to ash and let Zohn sort through this!”

“They don’t listen to anyone but me, Gorgeous,” a heku said from behind her. She and Mark both turned and came face-to-face with a grinning heku in a torn guard uniform.

“And who might you be?” Emily asked.

“I’m the new leader of this coven, and I suggest you stop threatening us and get your asses out of here.”

“No,” Emily said, and he fell to ash. She turned, “There… now I’ve turned your new leader to ash and no one’s lined up… so let me introduce myself… my name is Emily Winchester… now you know… so turning you all to smoldering piles in 3…”

A few timid heku appeared and started to form rows.

“2!” she shouted.

More started to appear, unsure what to do, but when they saw Emily and the Council City heku standing beside her, word soon got out that she wasn’t kidding about turning them all to ash.

“1!” Emily yelled, and there was a mass of blurring as the others joined in.

“How many are there?” Emily asked Kralen.

“I see 333.”

“We’re missing quite a few then.”

“Hold them here. I’ll do a quick sweep of the compound,” Mark said.

Emily smiled at the ones gathered, “Hold tight, we’ll sort through things in a second.”

After almost 10 minutes, Mark returned, “I didn’t find anyone. They are all here.”

Emily frowned and pointed at a shy looking heku on the end of the first row, “You, come here.”

He walked forward and Emily noticed he was almost a foot shorter than Mark.

“There should be 391 of you, correct?”

“Well… 390 when the Elder’s gone.”

“Right, and 27 were killed? That means we’re missing 30.”

“You’ve turned 3 to ash,” Mark reminded her.

“Oh, that’s right… so we’re missing another 27?”

“Dead,” another heku said.

“Get back in line,” Emily said to the one in front of her and he returned to the line. “I turned your leader to ash. Who’s next in line?”

A tall, muscular woman stepped forward, “That’d be me.”

“Come here,” Emily said to her. She stayed on the edge of the fountain where she was closer to their height. The woman stepped forward. She stood as tall as Mark and had a thick neck and broad shoulders. “Who are you?”

“Sheryl,” she said seethingly.

“Ok, Sheryl, what caused all of this?” Emily asked.

“I don’t think that’s any concern of yours.”

“Oh, I think it is… I was sent here to clean this mess up and I want to know what it is I’m doing it for.”

“This coven no longer belongs to Zohn, so I suggest you back away and let us be.”

Emily shrugged and turned the woman to ash, “She wasn’t very helpful.”

Mark put a hand against her back when she swayed slightly.

“This was quite the fight, which tells me that some of you don’t agree with the new leadership… if you are still loyal to Zohn, form a line behind me… the others can stay where they are.”

***

“Seems quiet around here,” Zohn said when they stepped into the palace. They knew there would be no guards to meet them, other assignments were given when the Cavalry left with them. The Cavalry followed the Elders down to the council chambers.

Derrick glanced at them nervously, “The Council is waiting for you.”

“Very well,” Quinn said, and the Elders headed around back. They heard Derrick tell the Cavalry to stay and glanced at each other before walking in and taking their seats.

“What’s going on that has everyone so tense?” Chevalier asked, turning to Richard.

Richard glanced at Kyle and then back to Chevalier, “There have been a few problems with… well… first off, your family.”

“Such as?”

Richard turned to Kyle again and he spoke, “Em caught Allen kissing his girlfriend, Miri… she turned Miri to ash and then began to drag Allen into the palace by his ear.”

“Oh God,” Chevalier sighed.

“Then they got into a bit of a fight… he strangled her, she burned him, he backhanded her…”

Chevalier’s eyes narrowed, “Allen and Emily?”

“Yes, Elder,” Kyle said. “We’ve taken Allen’s rank away and returned him to his coven. He wanted banished but…”

Chevalier sighed, “I’ll go there and deal with him later then, now that he’s fully a member of my coven.”

Zohn grinned slightly, “We just can’t get away without your family causing problems… maybe you should be forced to stay here, never to leave.”

Chevalier glared at him, but turned to Richard when he started talking, “Actually, Sir, there’s more.”

“Hold on one,” Quinn said. “Is Emily injured?”

“Just a bruise on her neck and cheek. We don’t know if there’s anything else,” Richard explained.

“What do you mean you don’t know? Go ask her,” Chevalier told him.

“That’s what we are getting to… Mark, Silas, Kralen, Jaron, and Emily are out helping with a riotous coven.”

“We have a coven rioting?” Quinn asked, surprised.

“Yes, Sir, we do.”

“Why?”

“We don’t know. The caller was disconnected before giving any information.”

Chevalier growled, “You forced Emily to go?”

“No!” Richard said quickly. “When Mark told her we needed help, she agreed.”

“That’s odd. She swore she wouldn’t help anymore.”

“I think she was doing it out of… well… to help a friend.”

“Because Mark asked her…” Chevalier said, misunderstanding.

“No, Sir,” Richard said. “To help Elder Zohn.”

“How is that helping me?” Zohn asked, confused.

“It’s your coven, Sir,” Richard explained.

Zohn gasped, “My coven is in a riot?”

The Chief Interrogator nodded, “Yes, we’ve been trying to get in touch with them, or one of ours from Council City, but so far no one’s answering.”

“How long have they been there?” Chevalier asked.

“Three days,” Richard told them. “We had Derrick hold back the Cavalry, so we can send them in.”

“I’m going too,” Chevalier said, and quickly left for the helicopter.

“I damned well am too,” Zohn growled and followed him.

“Kyle, go… Emily may have turned a few to ash,” Quinn said.

“A few?” Kyle chuckled, and went after the Elders.

Equites 2 and a transport helicopter landed beside Winchester 1 outside of Scottsboro, Alabama, just after dawn. The heku quickly made their way the 5 miles to the location of Zohn’s coven. They stood behind the same rock as the first crew had and peeked around it.

“There are four guards,” Chevalier said, peeking around the rock.

Zohn looked around, “Those are my regular guards.”

The Cavalry followed Chevalier and Zohn to the entrance into the cement compound. The four guards stood at attention and saluted Zohn, but then stepped to block the door.

“Sorry, Elder, our orders are to let no one in,” the Lieutenant said nervously.

Zohn frowned, “I’m the Coven Lord.”

“Yes, Sir, but she threatened to turn us to ash if we let anyone in. She didn’t make an allowance for you.”

Chevalier grinned slightly, “Emily is running the show?”

“Yes, Elder,” he said, and again glanced nervously at Zohn.

“Let them in,” Silas said from behind the guards. They parted and let the others in.

“What’s going on here?” Zohn asked as they headed for the center.

“Right now things are calm. The non-guard staff are all in their houses, afraid to step foot out for fear of being turned to ash,” Silas explained. “The guard staff is patrolling the streets, and Emily has a handful that she’s… well… sort of torturing.”

Zohn stopped and turned to Silas, “What caused it?”

“The guards punished someone from the town for saying something bad about you… apparently a large group from your city retaliated against the guard staff and overthrew them.”

Zohn growled and headed for the center.

“Sir,” Silas whispered, walking beside Chevalier. “She won’t sleep.”

“How long?”

“At all, as far as we know it’s been 3 days. She won’t eat or sleep. The only reason she showered and changed clothes was because she got covered in blood.”

“Ok,” Chevalier said, and they stepped out into the center of the compound beside the fountain. Emily was sitting on the edge of the fountain wearing only a long black dress shirt that came to her knees and had the sleeves rolled up. She was watching six heku that were stripped to their boxers and sitting on their knees in the sun, obviously uncomfortable and highly angry.

Mark glanced over at the new arrivals, “Em…”

Emily looked over and smiled, “Aha! You thought I was being mean.”

Zohn’s features were dark and malicious. He walked over and stood before the six kneeling heku, “You did this?”

They looked at Emily when he asked them a question.

“Don’t look at her! Answer me… she’s no longer in charge,” Zohn yelled.

Emily smiled, “Oh good. I’m off the clock.”

“Now will you sleep?” Mark asked, aggravated.

Emily moved quickly to Chevalier and wrapped her arms around him. He kissed the top of her head and she saw Zohn look at him and nod. He pulled away from her and took her hand as they followed Mark into the main house.

When they got to the front door, Emily let go of Chevalier’s hand and started back to the others, “I forgot to tell Zohn…”

Chevalier put a hand around her waist and stopped her, “He’ll figure it out.”

“But…”

“Inside,” he said, and led her through the door that Mark was holding open.

“I don’t want to be in here. If I’m done, let’s go back,” she said, and looked around the spacious mansion.

“I’m not done here, and you’re not doing anything until you eat and sleep,” Chevalier told her.

“I already sent Jaron out for pizza to try to get her to eat. He shouldn’t be long,” Mark explained.

“Don’t talk about me like I’m not here,” she said, and crossed her arms.

Chevalier smiled at her and then his face fell, and he lifted her chin so he could look at her. He studied the hand bruise on her neck and her swollen and bruised cheek.

“Stop inspecting me,” she said, and moved her head out of his grasp.

“You’re grouchy, get some sleep,” Mark said before grinning and walking out.

“I suppose you know about Allen,” Emily said when he took her hand and led her up the stairs.

“Yes, I do.”

“I’ve been thinking about that…”

“So have I.”

“Did you know he has a girlfriend?” she asked, and stopped walking.

“No, I didn’t.”

She started up the stairs again, “I’ll admit I shouldn’t have burned him, but he’s still too young for a girlfriend, especially one that’s over 200 years older than he is.”

Chevalier walked her over and sat her down on Zohn’s bed, “200? That’s young, Em… He doesn’t know anyone younger than that.”

“I don’t care, he’s 14.”

“14 isn’t too young to have a girlfriend,” Chevalier told her, and slipped off her shoes.

“Yes it is…”

“No, it’s not… are you more upset about the fact he has a girlfriend or that you didn’t know?” he asked, and pulled off her socks.

“That he has one and was mackin’ on her in the alley.”

“Macking?” Chevalier asked, and sat down beside her.

“Yes, macking with that little slut,” Emily spat.

“Miri is a very nice woman,” Chevalier said, and then smiled when Emily glared at him. “Let him grow up… If you think about it, how many boys his age have girlfriends?”

“No,” she said, and crossed her arms.

Chevalier looked up when there was a knock at the door. He saw Jaron standing in the doorway with a pizza and a 6-pack of Sprite.

Emily looked up, “I said Coke.”

“I know,” Jaron told her and sat it all down. “Then Mark said to add pizza and no caffeine.”

“Thanks, you may go,” Chevalier told him, and handed Emily a piece of pizza.

“What? I get a spanking if I don’t eat it?” she asked angrily.

Chevalier grinned, “No, but I might bite you.”

Emily frowned and took the pizza, “Not funny.”

He watched her as she ate, relieved when she grabbed another slice when she was done.

After her second piece, she looked over at him, “What are you going to do to Allen?”

“I just want to talk to him,” Chevalier said. “He’s already been punished by the Council, so I don’t have to do that.”

“I’ve eaten, now let’s go back,” she said, and stood up.

Chevalier caught her wrist and kept her from leaving and then looked over the black shirt she was wearing, “Where did you get that?”

“I stole it from Zohn’s closet… I didn’t exactly think to bring a change of clothes,” she told him.

Chevalier got up and went to Zohn’s closet and came back out with a t-shirt and tossed it to her.

“I don’t need to change. I can wear this on the helicopter,” she said, and tossed it back.

“Put it on, Em.”

“No”

Chevalier chuckled, “Just do it.”

Emily started to unbutton the black shirt as Chevalier rushed to the bedroom door and shut it.

“Why do I have to sleep in Zohn’s bed?”

“It’s the only bed in the house,” Chevalier explained, and helped her slip the t-shirt on.

“I hate this,” she said, crawling into the covers. “I don’t see you forcing Mark to sleep.”

Chevalier grinned and shut out the lights.

“I’m not even tired.”

“Yes you are.”

“Seriously, I’m not tired.”

“Fine then,” he said, and sat down. “Sit on my lap for a bit.”

Emily smiled and crawled into his lap and he wrapped his arms around her as she leaned her head against his shoulder. The feel of protection from his strong arms and the sleepless three days put her almost immediately to sleep. He held her until he was sure she was deep asleep and then kissed the top of her head before laying her in bed and covering her with the blankets.

Chevalier sat on the edge of the bed and watched her sleep, again amazed at how incredibly frail she could sometimes seem, yet able to drop a thousand-year-old creature to his knees. He often wondered if he was doing the right thing, keeping her in the palace, close to beings that could kill her, but the thought of being away from her was too much to even think about.

He quietly snuck out and shut the door softly behind him.

“Is she asleep?” Jaron whispered. He’d taken up the post outside of the bedroom door.

Chevalier grinned, “Of course not. She’s not tired.”

Jaron chuckled as the Elder walked down the stairs to join the others in the main square. Zohn had his guard staff lined up as they explained how the coven mutinied and imprisoned the guards in makeshift cells.

Zohn turned when Chevalier walked up and then looked at Mark, “Now that the other Elder is here… I want to hear what happened when you arrived.”

Mark nodded, “We first ascertained that the two guards at the entrance weren’t supposed to be guards because their uniforms didn’t fit properly. Emily walked up to them and they made a few snide remarks to her, so she turned them to ash.”

Zohn turned to the coven’s Captain, “Who was it?”

“Garth and LJ, Sir,” he told the Elder.

“Go on,” Zohn told Mark.

“I posted Silas and Jaron at the gate, and Kralen and I brought Emily here. She yelled a warning that she was going to ash anyone who wasn’t lined up in 30 seconds, but the only one that appeared was the one that considered himself the new leader of the coven,” Mark explained. “He told us to leave immediately, and without a second thought, he fell to ash also. Emily then yelled out an introduction and again threatened to turn the entire coven to ash so you could sort it out later.”

Zohn nodded, “That brave leader would be Abe.”

“After that threat, and after calling herself Emily Winchester, the coven finally lined up for us. She did a head count and found out that 27 more died, 31 if you count the 4 she’d turned to ash by that point. She was mad and asked that all 54 bodies be brought to the fountain…”

“So where is Abe then?” Kyle asked. “I’d like to revive him.”

“Well…” Silas said, and glanced at the fountain.

Chevalier gasped, “She didn’t!”

He nodded, “In front of all of them… just picked up a handful and tossed it into the fountain.”

“Does she know what that does to a heku?” Mark asked the Elder.

“No, she doesn’t. I don’t want to tell her, or she’ll feel bad for doing it to so many. If she knew it caused them an eternity of pain and hunger, I’m sure she’d hate herself for it.”

“Go on,” Zohn said to Mark.

“Oh, sorry, Elder. Once she ascertained that it was the coven, not the guards that caused the problem, she reinstated the entrance guards and told the towns people that she was going to treat them like little children and they were to go to bed without supper. She warned that if she saw one door crack, she would ash anyone inside. Not a soul stepped out after that.”

Silas grinned, “She had them scared to death.”

Mark cleared his throat and then continued, “Kralen and I interviewed a few trusted townsfolk and found the six leaders… there were eight, but obviously we couldn’t talk to the main leader. Emily brought them out here, stripped them for some reason, and then made them kneel out in the sun. While they were out here, for two entire days… they knelt in the blazing sun and recited Zohn Coven’s policy manual verbatim, over and over.”

“And at night?” Zohn asked.

“Same thing… they knelt and recited. It just wasn’t as bad as doing it during the day in the sun.”

Zohn nodded and turned to the guards, “Interview everyone, if they are suspected of being part of that mutiny, I want to talk to them.”

“Yes, Sir,” they said in unison, and broke into groups.

Zohn turned to Chevalier, “I owe her… 54 deaths was nothing compared to what 3 more days would have brought.”

Chevalier nodded.

“You also,” Zohn said to the members of Cavalry. “I owe you more than you could imagine.”

“It’s our duty, Sir,” Mark said, and bowed slightly.

“Did she fall asleep then?” Zohn turned to Chevalier.

“Yes, after eating… I borrowed a t-shirt for her to sleep in.”

“Why was she in my black shirt?”

Mark chuckled, “She got covered in blood when one of the townsfolk tried to grab her… the black shirt was what one of your guards brought her to wear.”

“I’m ok here, why don’t you go back,” Zohn suggested.

“Mark, take the Cavalry back… I’ll take Winchester 1 with Em when she wakes up,” Chevalier said to him.

Mark nodded and the Cavalry all headed to the helicopters.

Chevalier returned to Zohn’s room and watched Emily sleep for over 12 hours before she started to stir. She finally rolled over and looked at him and then sat up and looked around.

“Forgot where I was for a second,” she said, and crawled out of bed.

“There’s no food anywhere on the compound, but I have the pilot grabbing something for the trip back,” he said, and pulled her into an embrace.

“So we can go back now?”

“Sure, I just wanted you to get some sleep.”

Within the hour, they were flying over Alabama and headed north toward Council City. Emily fell asleep again after eating breakfast and didn’t wake up until the pilot announced their arrival.

Chapter 12 - Enemies

Chevalier looked up when there was a knock at his door, “Enter.”

Kyle came in and shut the door behind him, “Do you have a moment?”

“Sure, sit down.”

“Miri, Allen’s girlfriend, has asked to become a member of and move to Island Coven.”

Chevalier sighed, “How long were they together?”

“Six months… and he’s been on the island for a bit.”

“Emily would be livid.”

“Probably, he’s 15 though. In my day, you were married and running a farm.”

Chevalier chuckled, “Don’t even ask about 15 in my day… she sees him as a child.”

“When did she start dating Keith?”

“She was 17, met him at 14, and it took 3 years for Keith to talk Allen into letting them date.”

“So tell Allen he has to wait 2 more years,” Kyle suggested.

“Tell Miri she may move to Island Coven, probationary for the first 75 years…”

“75?”

“Yes, I’m adding 25 years to the normal. I’ll talk to Allen and the house staff. She’s never to be in the castle for any reason, and he’s not to be in her house… put her in Nicholas’ old house for now.”

Kyle nodded, “And Em?”

“I’ll have to think on that one. Luckily, she’s not been back to the island since the V.E.S. raid, so we have some time. I haven’t even told her about the awakening.”

“It’ll be interesting. He retired after the Winchester killings and at the height of trying to find a descendant.”

“That’s why he retired. He spent his last 100 years trying to get his hands on a Winchester, and came up with nothing but a distance male cousin. Don’t think I’ve not been thinking about that.”

“Well, Em can hold her own,” Kyle said, starting to get irritated at the thought of an awakening that might bring Emily danger.

“I’m busy here. Why don’t you go tell her,” Chevalier said, and grinned.

Kyle chuckled, “No way, I can’t be turned to ash. Who’d revive me?”

Kyle stood up and opened the door when someone knocked frantically.

“Sir, there’s a problem by the stables,” a servant said, and glanced at Chevalier nervously.

“What kind of problem?” Kyle asked, crossing his arms.

“I don’t really know… something about a horse being shot.”

Kyle sighed, “Laythan…”

Chevalier and Kyle both blurred out to the stables and joined the six members of the Cavalry gathered around a dead horse. Emily was on her knees and was resting her head against the body, obviously crying. She had bleeding scrapes along the back of her arms and blood seeping through to the back of her shirt. There was a single arrow sticking out of the horse’s chest.

Chevalier started forward, but Mark stopped him and he looked down, wide eyed at the full-sized Malamute. The dog had grown into a 150lb hulking mass. His hackles were up, and he was low to the ground and growling at any heku that stepped near her.

“We can’t get near her,” Mark whispered. “There are 21 members of the Cavalry out after Laythan. He was on top of the out-building and aiming at Emily, but Skye’s horse got in the way.”

Chevalier nodded and watched Silas come up with a lasso. He swiftly slid it onto the Malamute’s head and with considerable strength, was able to pull the dog away from his master as the angry canine snarled and pulled against the heku.

Kralen blurred to Silas when he heard the angry growls and guttural roar of a fighting dog.

Chevalier knelt down beside Emily and touched her shoulder, “Em…”

She looked up at him and he felt the fury rising at the pained look in her tear-filled green eyes. Without a word, she stood up and disappeared into the stables. The heku listened for the sound of a stall door opening, but didn’t hear it. She came back out a few minutes later. Her eyes were fixed on the trees, and she carried a double-barrel 12 gauge shotgun in her hand.

“Oooh no you don’t,” Chevalier said, and blocked her way. “First off… he’s out there trying to kill you, you can’t go into the trees. Second off… the shotgun won’t do anything.”

“Wanna bet?” she scowled, and tried to step around him. “I’m banking with these 2 slugs I can remove his head.”

“Let the Cavalry handle it.”

“I have… and now it’s my turn… Mark!” Emily yelled when Mark blurred to her and took her shotgun.

“He’ll kill you,” Mark told her, and tossed the gun to a member of the Cavalry who took it back into the stables.

Emily tried to rush around Chevalier, but he caught her arm easily and Jaron took her other. She froze in place and stared into the trees.

“Em, we can’t let you go in there,” Chevalier said softly. They watched her and wondered at how still she stood and the concentration building in her face.

“Wait!” Mark yelled. “I have Cavalry in there!”

“Em, stop it,” Chevalier said, and shook her arm slightly to break her concentration.

“You have 30 seconds to get them out of there,” she whispered, still staring at the trees.

Chevalier let go of her arm and stood in front of her, “No…”

Jaron was ready, and when Emily spun suddenly and tried to slam her palm into his nose, he easily caught her wrist, turned her, and soon had her restrained with her arms crossed over her chest and her hands pinned at her sides.

“Stop,” Chevalier said sternly, and used his hand to bring her face up toward his.

“He killed a horse,” Emily yelled.

“He tried to kill you.”

“He killed a horse…”

Chevalier sighed, “I know you value those horses more than yourself, but the rest of us prefer if you’d stay alive.”

Silas and Kralen both came up, and Silas had blood on his shirt.

Emily looked over at Silas and glared, “What did you do to my dog?”

“What did I do!?” he asked, aggravated. “That damned dog tried to tear my throat out! This blood is mine.”

“Let go of me!”

Jaron glanced at Chevalier and when he nodded, let her go.

Emily turned and screamed at Jaron and then stormed off to the palace after whistling for the dogs. The others turned toward the trees when the Cavalry headed out of them.

“Well?” Mark asked one of the Commanders.

“Nothing, we tracked him to the river and then lost him.”

“Get that horse taken care of,” Chevalier said, and started for the palace. “I still have to tell Em about the awakening.”

“How many Cavalry did you want at the reception?” Mark asked, following him in.

“Oh, well… I guess as many as you can find clothing for. Last I heard, the tailors were pretty busy trying to get ready.”

Mark chuckled, “You’re going to get Emily to the reception?”

“I’m going to try.”

“You better hurry. The Thukils are arriving in an hour.”

“I know,” Chevalier said, and stopped at Emily’s office door. He knocked a few times, “Em?”

“I’m busy,” she said, irritated.

Chevalier grinned, “Em… I need to talk to you about something that’s going on tonight.”

“Are you retiring?”

He frowned slightly, “No.”

“Then I don’t care.”

“It’s important, and the Council has to be there.”

“No”

“A former Elder is coming out of retirement.”

Chevalier stepped back when he heard Emily’s chair and then her door open, “What?”

“Come into the bedroom,” he said, and they walked up to their room. Emily looked down the stairs and saw that heku were beginning to haul boxes into the reception hall.

Chevalier shut the door behind them, and Emily sat on the edge of the bed, “I’m not in the mood for a reception.”

“Ok…” Chevalier said, and pulled a chair up to face her. He sat down and explained, “When a former member of the Council comes out of retirement, there are a lot of things that have to be done. For instance, he’s never seen a phone… or a car… computers… that type of thing.”

“Ok”

“So we start off with an induction back into the Equites. The Council, in robes, lines up and welcomes them back.”

“Fine, I can do that.”

“Then… the reception is done in period clothing to help usher them into the new world, as a means of respect for when they retired.”

Emily frowned, “It’s a costume party?”

“Sort of… then after the reception, he’ll be assigned a mentor to help him understand the new world he’s waking into.”

“So… you’re waking up a heku that’s been dead for 500 years and bringing him back into the Equites followed by a dance?” she asked, sounding confused.

“He only retired for 200 years.”

“So he’s starving and you’re going to lead him into the grand room to face the Council… he’ll eat me.”

Chevalier chuckled, “He’ll be fed first.”

“But you told Larsen he was no longer an Equites.”

“Larsen was banished… Camber retired with honors.”

“Camber?”

“Yes, he retired in 1810.”

“This doesn’t really sound like my thing…”

“I know, but it’s important for me if you’re there.”

Emily looked into his eyes and saw he was being serious, “He’s going to try to eat me.”

“You’ll be with the Council, and we’ve elected to have some of the Cavalry on the stage with us.”

Emily sighed, “It’s important to you?”

Chevalier smiled, “Very… Camber was my Elder for over 1200 years.”

“Ok, I’ll do it… I don’t have any clothes from 1800 though.”

“I’ve already had them made.”

“Of course you have… 1800… so he knows about the Winchesters.”

“Yes, in fact… he retired because of the Winchesters.”

“Why?” Emily asked, confused.

“He lived in Europe during the Winchester’s rein, and then made it his life work to find the descendants… he was determined to… well… own a Winchester for the Equites. When he didn’t get one, he retired.”

“Oh my God, and you want me to meet him??”

Chevalier took her hand, “It’ll be ok.”

She stood up and headed into the bathroom, “If I show up at the reception and I’m the only one in a hoop skirt, I’ll ash the entire faction.”

He grinned, “You won’t be, I promise.”

She shut the bathroom door and went in for a shower. Chevalier grinned and headed down to let the others know she was going to attend.

***

Emily entered through the back entrance. She had the hot green robe on with the hood down. The rest of the Council was already standing in line and the great hall was almost full to capacity. She heard the irritating murmur begin when she appeared on stage.

“Em, put your hood on,” Kyle said. She heard his voice but wasn’t sure which one was him.

“Oh right… I’m sure the hood will help hide the fact that I’m not heku,” she said, and pulled up her hood. “Like the height won’t give it away.”

Chevalier chuckled, “Just keep it up.”

“Can you make these any hotter? I’m naked under here and still cooking.”

“What?” Dustin asked, shocked.

“I’m kidding…” she said, grinning. “Where do I stand?”

“Beside Chevalier,” she heard Zohn say.

Emily scanned the tall figures in green robes and sighed, “If I’ve ever slept with you, raise your hand.”

Chevalier chuckled and put his hand out, “Over here…”

Emily took his hand and stood beside him. Six members of the Cavalry moved to stand behind the row of heku, and she heard the fans kick on, ones that were installed when she was pregnant to keep her scent from the audience. She looked out over the crowd and the faces all turned, staring at her. She caught sight of Lord and Lady Thukil and broke out of the line, then jumped off the stage and ran toward them, throwing her arms around Lady Thukil.

“I’m so glad to see you!” Emily said, and then hugged Lord Thukil.

Dustin cleared his throat, “We aren’t to leave the platform.”

“Shut up, Dustin,” Quinn said, irritated.

“Good to see you too, Dear,” Lord Thukil said, and then whispered. “I don’t think it’s customary for you to leave the others though.”

“They’ll live, how have you been?” she asked, ignoring the eyes on her.

“Good, and you?” Lady Thukil asked, smiling widely.

“Child, they’re waiting to start,” Lord Thukil said nervously.

Emily finally turned and went back up the stairs and stood by Chevalier. The robe was swelteringly hot and with the lights on the Council, she thought she might faint.

The doors at the end of the great hall opened and everyone turned to look. The former Elder stepped in wearing a blue robe. Emily tried to see what he looked like, but wasn’t able to from this distance.

Quinn stepped forward, and his voice boomed through the great hall. Emily sighed when he spoke in Latin, and resigned herself to another ceremony she wouldn’t be able to understand. After a few minutes, Quinn stepped back with the others and Camber began to walk toward them.

Emily could tell he was tall, even for a heku, and his muscles were bulging from under the robe. He had massive broad shoulders, long brown hair that was tied back into a single low ponytail, and a brown goatee. He looked angry at something, and his mere presence made the audience stir uneasily.

When he got to the stairs for the stage, he stopped, and Chevalier began to speak. Emily shifted uncomfortably as Cambers eyes fell to her and he frowned slightly. Chevalier stopped speaking and Zohn began, again in Latin, yet the former Elder’s eyes never left Emily. She felt herself starting to panic. She knew he couldn’t see her face, but his eyes bore into her and his angry expression deepened. Before Zohn stopped talking, she slowly moved so she was halfway behind Chevalier.

“Salvē, Camber,” Quinn said, and the audience began to clap.

Camber finally turned to look at Quinn, “Thank you. It is good to be back.”

Emily watched as the audience began to quickly file out, while the Council stood still, with Camber before them. He again turned his eyes to Emily, and she moved another inch behind Chevalier.

Once the audience was gone, Quinn spoke, “Now for the introduction… this is the current Council of the Equites…”

“It’s disturbing though… and confusing…” Camber said.

Quinn stopped and turned to him, “What is?”

“Quid nōmen tibi est?” Camber asked Emily.

“She doesn’t speak Native,” Chevalier said, a slight irritation in his voice.

“I’ve never seen a heku that small,” Camber said, and then frowned. “Nor one that hides behind another.”

“She is not a heku,” Zohn said. “We will explain it…”

“No… has the Equites fallen to having a mortal on the Council?” Camber asked angrily.

Emily felt her heart skip a beat. His voice was malevolent and threatening.

Zohn’s voice was calm and steady, “Let us explain… She is a member because she is bonded with an Elder.”

“It doesn’t matter who stooped to marrying a mortal. She shouldn’t be in the palace, shouldn’t be a member of the Council, and should not be here in front of me!” he roared.

Emily gasped and started for the back doors, but Mark stopped her.

“Brave too, I see… how embarrassing.”

Chevalier lowered his hood and his eyes were furious, “Do not talk about her like that, and I didn’t stoop to anything.”

“The great Equitis married a mortal?” Camber asked, shocked. “Maybe I should be talking to the Valle…”

Camber gasped, his eyes wide, and he grasped his chest.

“Emily…” Zohn said softly.

The burning pain within him lasted no more than five seconds, and he stood up straight. The look on his face changed from hatred to confusion.

Emily started for him, “Don’t talk badly about the Equites!”

Mark reached out and took her shoulders to stop her from advancing.

“What…” Camber said, watching her.

“My wife,” Chevalier said, and put his hand out for Emily, “Is the last remaining Winchester.”

Mark let her go, and she took Chevalier’s hand and lowered her hood to look Camber in the eye.

“Mē miseret,” Camber said, and his usual angry expression returned. “No other faction has a Winchester?”

“No,” Chevalier told him.

“Fascinating… you found one.”

Emily frowned, “Don’t talk about me like I’m a car.”

“A what?” he asked, frowning again.

“Never mind,” Quinn said. “But I suggest you show respect to this Council. Emily is quite passionate about loyalty to the Equites.”

“Why don’t we let Emily go while we do the rest of the introductions,” Zohn suggested. “We can meet back up with her at the reception.”

Mark nodded and held his hand out for her. Emily glanced again at Camber, and then took his hand as the Cavalry followed her out of the great hall.

Camber grinned when she left, “Leave it to Chevalier to not only find a Winchester, but bond with her.”

“What exactly do you mean by that?” Chevalier asked, frowning.

“Nothing bad… I assure you. It’s just a shock to find that you’ve done what my life’s work could not accomplish.”

Emily grumbled under her breath all the way to her room. She couldn’t believe the nerve of that heku, and she was ready to ash him and be rid of him. Mark and Silas walked into her room with her while the others stayed out by the door. She stopped just inside the door and frowned at the clothing covered bed and her tailor standing beside it.

“I stayed to help,” he said, and smiled.

“I’ve been getting dressed long enough I can do it alone,” she said, irritated.

Mark chuckled, “Not like this you haven’t.”

“It used to take two or three handmaids to get someone dressed,” the tailor explained. “You, my Dear, are stuck with me.”

“Why do I get the feeling I’m going to regret this?” she asked, and turned to Mark.

“Just go get the basics on in the bathroom, you’ll be covered enough to come out and get the rest on.”

“The basics?” she asked, confused.

“Here,” the tailor said, and handed her a stack of white cloth. “Come out when you are done.”

Emily shook her head and took it into the bathroom. She laid out the three items of clothing and studied them. First, she slipped on the thigh high stockings, those were simple and something she’d seen before. The next was a simple, white, knee-length chemise that she easily slipped on. The last was obviously calf-length pants, but was also the light white linen with an elastic waist and elastic at the calf with a small ruffle at the bottom. She looked into the mirror and frowned at the odd clothing after putting them on.

Next, she turned to her hair and put it in a simple bun at the nape of her neck. She’d seen hair similar to that in old movies and thought it would be the easiest.

Emily stepped out and gasped at Mark and Silas. They were each in waistcoats that were tightly cinched at the waist, and tall hats with white ruffled collared shirts and long pleated pants. Mark had a cloak tied around his neck, but Silas had on a dark cravat instead.

“Nice,” she said, and couldn’t help but laugh.

“Don’t even go there… wait til you get in yours,” Mark said, and leaned back against the wall.

“Dear…” the tailor said nervously. “Remove the brassier.”

Emily blushed and disappeared into the bathroom and came back out shortly.

“Ok,” the tailor said, and held up a whale boned corset.

Emily gasped, “I have to wear that?”

She turned and glared when Mark started to chuckle.

“Come on, I’ll put it on you,” the tailor said.

Emily sighed. She’d already agreed to go to the reception, so she went over to the tailor. He wrapped it around her and then began to fasten the ties.

“Ok, hold onto the bed,” he told her.

“Do what?” Emily asked, and turned around.

“That bed won’t hold,” Silas said, and walked up. “Hold onto me.”

For the next thirty minutes, Emily held tightly to Silas as the tailor tightened the whalebone corset. She felt like he was breaking ribs as he tightened it so tight that Silas had to hold onto her so she didn’t fall. By the time he got to her waist, she felt like she could no longer breathe.

“You, Dear, will be the only one at the reception with a waist,” the tailor said, and she felt him tighten another strap.

Emily tried to talk, but no noise came out. She just held tightly to Silas as another strap tightened.

“There, that part’s done,” the tailor said, and moved to the bed.

“I… can’t… breathe,” she managed to say.

“That’s why women used to faint all the time,” Chevalier said from behind her. Emily turned to find him in period clothing already. His waistcoat had a high stiff collar and was also cinched at the waist, and fit snugly against his massive shoulders. He had on a black cravat and a knee length black cloak.

“I don’t… want to… faint,” she said, still trying to breath.

Chevalier grinned, “Then take small breaths.”

“We have a long way to go,” the tailor said, and held up the first of many stiff, ruffled petticoats.

“What… is that…” she gasped when Silas came toward her with what looked like a belt with a pillow attached.

“This goes over your butt,” Silas said, amused.

“Why?”

“I have no idea,” he told her, and tied the thin belt around her waist. The small pillow rested just over her butt.

“That’s… stupid…” she gasped. She was getting mad at the amount of laughing coming from Mark and Chevalier by the wall.

Silas returned to the bed and came back with a 6-boned hoop skirt. She carefully stepped into it, and he tied it at her waist. Next, the tailor began to tie on the first of six thick, ruffled petticoats.

Emily was finding it a tad easier to breathe, “Why do I have on bloomers when no one can see under all of these skirts?”

“It was proper,” the tailor told her, and finished off the skirts.

“I’ll show them proper. Get me out of this and hand me my jeans.” She turned and glared at Chevalier and Mark when their laughter grew louder, “Stop it.”

“Sorry, Em,” Mark said, stilling grinning.

“Time for the frock,” the tailor said, and picked up the black and green dress.

Emily lifted her arms and he slid the thick dress over her. The heavy dress was cut low and the neck was wide, showing more cleavage than she was comfortable with, while the dropped shoulder fell to puffed elbow-length sleeves. The bodice was black with dark green overlay, and the skirt was floor-length and black with what she could only describe as dark green curtains. As the tailor tied the thick green belt, she looked in the mirror and wrinkled her nose.

She sighed and turned slightly in the mirror, “I look insane.”

Chevalier moved to her and kissed her shoulder softly, “Southern bells would have killed for your figure.”

He fastened a beautiful platinum necklace around her neck with teardrop diamond and emerald embellishments. He looked at her in the mirror and grinned, “I like it.”

“How am I supposed to go to the bathroom?” she asked, and then turned to the tailor, who was looking at her in admiration.

His eyes grew wide, “Do you?”

“Well… no… but I will at some point.”

“Well then, we get to start over,” he told her.

Emily frowned, “I’ll hold it.”

The tailor knelt down with her shoes and started pulling up skirts, “Last part… I promise.”

“Why have shoes? No one can see my feet.”

“In case you accidentally show your feet. Bare would be worse than shoes.”

Mark chuckled, “Yes, make sure you don’t show your feet.”

“I have miles of cleavage, but can’t show my feet?” Emily asked, confused.

“That’s about right,” Chevalier told her, and held out his arm. “Ready?”

“If I fall down the stairs, can I change into jeans?” she asked, and took his arm.

“Nope,” he told her, and started for the door. “Mark and Silas are your guards tonight. I think 2 will be enough.”

“Good, I’ll need them to catch me when I pass out.”

Chevalier helped her walk down the stairs, and it helped when Mark showed her how to successfully pick up all of the layers of skirts so she could walk easier, but reminded her that after the stairs, she couldn’t show her feet. They walked up to the reception hall, and she saw the entire Council standing in a line with the Elders at the back.

“Beautiful,” Quinn said, and smiled, bowing slightly to her.

Emily just blushed and stood beside Chevalier, “Why are we in line?”

“We walk in last,” Zohn told her, and couldn’t help but run his eyes down her.

“Peachy, a parade,” she said, and tried to pull her top up further, but it didn’t budge.

“Stop fidgeting, you look fine,” Dustin said, irritated.

“Bite me, pup,” Emily growled.

“Not tonight, you two,” Quinn said sternly.

Emily sighed and held Chevalier’s arm as they were paraded past the coven dignitaries. The Council lined up at the end of the room and turned to face the others. Emily was relieved that all of the women were dressed similar to her, though she wondered briefly if they had pillows on their butts, too.

Mark and Silas stood behind her through the night, and she wished she could hear what they kept whispering about. Chevalier explained that they had to greet the dignitaries before Camber would enter and begin his new life as a coven leader of the Equites. A coven was established for his use, and already had over 120 members.

The night drew on as the dignitaries filed past them. Most took her hand and kissed it softly, while others just bowed and moved on. The few that hadn’t met her before, seemed to hold their breath around her, and moved quickly to the next council member beside her. The room became warmer and several times she felt like she would actually pass out as she’d joked about earlier. No one else seemed to notice the heat, and she kept willing herself to stay focused.

When the dignitaries were done with the greetings, she heard the doors open again and then the murmur of greetings to Camber. She couldn’t see him over the tall heku, but knew he was moving closer by the sound of the heku talking to him.

Camber finally made his way to the Council’s line and started with Dustin on the end. They spoke briefly, and he moved on. When he came to Chevalier, the greeting was tense and brief. He moved to Emily and kissed her hand softly. Before he stood back up, she heard him inhale and then he stood suddenly and his eyes fell to her neck. Emily was pushed quickly behind Silas and Mark as they joined Chevalier to block Camber’s way to her.

Emily heard a hiss, followed by Chevalier’s angry voice, “Control… Camber…”

She could see his face between their shoulders, and saw his eyes roll slightly before he shut his them and sighed, “My God…”

Quinn appeared beside Camber and put a hand on his shoulder, “Enough.”

“Mmm, for just one taste,” he said, and opened his eyes to look at Emily again.

As if on cue, Lord Thukil arrived and put his hand out, “May I have this first dance, Commander?”

Emily nodded and took his hand, anything to get further away from the thirsty heku. As Lord Thukil swept her out onto the dance floor, others began to join in, and Mark and Silas stayed close to Camber. The former Elder’s eyes never left Emily as she danced and tried to ignore him.

Quinn broke in for the next dance, and Emily was amazed how neither heku stepped on her billowing skirts while they spun her around the dance floor. She started to enjoy herself as the night drew on as dance after dance she was passed through most of the Council and some of the more well known dignitaries. Chevalier cut in often, mostly for the slow dances, and by midnight, she started to get tired.

“You all seem quite smitten with the Winchester,” Camber said, watching Emily laugh as she danced with the Lord of Dell Coven. “It’s strange to see so many heku infatuated with a mortal.”

“You just don’t know her. Stay on her good side, and she’ll do the same to you,” Quinn told him.

“I intend to,” Camber said, and strode forward haughtily to cut into her dance. She glanced nervously at the Equites Elders as he wrapped a hand around her waist and took her hand. Anyone not dancing watched them closely, waiting for any sign of trouble. Each wanted to be the one to protect the Winchester and gain the favor of the Elders.

“Your family, Child, caused quite the commotion in my day,” he said, and spun her suddenly, bringing her back against his chest.

“So I’ve heard,” she said, not sure where this conversation was going.

“For over a hundred years I did nothing but search for any female descendants of the Winchesters.”

“Sounds like a waste of 100 years.”

Camber grinned, “One might think… Then to find out that during my absence, another found you.”

“Yeah, lucky him.”

“You don’t like me, do you?”

“I don’t know yet.”

Camber dipped her and looked into her eyes, “You will.”

She wasn’t aware how exposed her neck was until Chevalier broke in and lifted her, while Mark and Silas ushered Camber off to the side.

Emily jumped when she felt a hand on her arm and calmed when she saw it was Zohn, “Come, I’ll help you to your room.”

She nodded, taking the hint that her scent was too strong, and took Zohn’s arm as he led her though the dignitaries to the foyer. Once there, Zohn helped her control her skirts and she walked up the stairs. She was ready to get the dress off. Four hours in a corset was all she could stand, and she wanted nothing more than to take a deep breath.

The tailor was in her room to help, and Zohn excused himself and returned to the reception. It took almost twenty minutes to get her layers of clothing off, and as soon as the tailor left, she stripped off the chemise and took a cold shower.

Emily felt better when she got out. She could breathe and was no longer sweating. She crawled into the cool sheets and fell asleep to the sound of music and talking from below.

The next morning, she could still hear the music and banter of the reception and was shocked that it was still going on. Not wanting to re-join them, she slipped on her bikini, tied her hair into a braid, and then grabbed a towel and threw it over her shoulder as she headed down the stairs, followed by four members of the Cavalry.

“You’ll enjoy a lot of the changes over the last 200 years, and we’ll help walk you through them slowly. Your coven is outfitted for the latter part of the 1800’s and we’ve assigned Yishir to be your mentor, to help you understand things like cars and phones,” Quinn explained as the Elders walked Camber toward the stairs.

“The biggest change will be clothing,” Chevalier explained. “Women no longer wear long…”

The Elders stopped when they ran into Emily coming down the stairs. Camber’s eyes grew wide, and he turned away from her suddenly.

Chevalier chuckled, “Did I mention that clothing would be a big change?”

“Or lack thereof,” Camber said, obviously embarrassed.

“I’m… I just wanted to swim,” Emily said, blushing at Camber’s reaction.

“You may turn around, Camber. What she’s wearing is perfectly acceptable swim attire,” Zohn said, amused.

Her blush deepened when the former Elder turned around and looked at her.

Chevalier started to get uncomfortable and turned to her guards, “Check for Laythan before you let her past the south lawn… I don’t trust him.”

“He better damn well hope I don’t see him,” Emily told him. “Or hear him for that matter. He’ll be ash before he can raise the bow.”

“Just let them check,” he said as they headed out.

Camber grinned, “She must be new to her abilities if she thinks she need only hear a heku… Winchesters must see their eyes.”

“Not that one,” Zohn said, and watched Emily leave. “She doesn’t even have to look toward a heku to turn one to ash.”

Camber frowned, “She doesn’t need to see their eyes?”

Chevalier shook his head, “Her father was an ancient. She once turned over 3400 Valle to ash, including their entire city, all from within the confines of their palace.”

“3400? In how long?” he asked sarcastically.

“Seconds,” Quinn said.

“An ancient father, you said?” It was obvious to them that he didn’t believe it.

“Yes… shall we move on?” Chevalier urged.

“That would be remarkable,” Camber whispered, his eyes glued to the door Emily left from.

The Elders turned when Alexis came up carrying Dain. She had blood coming from her forearm, and she looked angry.

“You take the little vamp. I’m tired of getting chewed on,” she said, and handed Dain to Chevalier.

Camber inhaled and frowned, “Similar…”

Alexis glared at him, “Mom said I can ash anyone who sniffs me…”

Camber’s eyes grew wide.

“Alexis, go,” Chevalier ordered, and she turned and walked toward the library.

For an unknown reason, Dain bared his teeth and hissed at Camber.

Camber gasped, “You turned a child!”

“We most certainly did not!” Zohn said, irritated.

“He is my son,” Chevalier told him, obviously offended, “And that was my daughter.”

“But that child is heku,” Camber said, confused.

Quinn sighed, “Emily’s father was an ancient, so she is at least 51% heku, which makes these children 75% or more. Chevalier and Emily have an older son that is mostly heku, their daughter that you met keeps most of her mother’s traits, and then the youngest, which as you see, is full heku.”

“A world full of heku children… who would ever have imagined.”

“Not full of… these three are the only ones.”

“Who he?” Dain asked, looking at Camber.

“His name is Camber. He’s a friend,” Chevalier told him.

Dain frowned, “No biting Mommy!”

Camber gasped, “I wouldn’t…”

“Don’t worry, he says that to everyone,” Mark chuckled from behind them.

“Might I?” Camber asked, holding his hand out for Dain’s hand.

“It’s ok, go ahead,” Chevalier said to the baby.

Camber took the toddler’s hand, flipped it over, and inhaled at his wrist, “Full heku…”

“Yes,” Zohn said, annoyed.

Camber glanced up to look at Zohn and then cried out and pulled his hand away from Dain, “He bit me!”

“He bites everyone,” Silas said, and took the baby from Chevalier.

“He… he bites?”

Silas chuckled and took Dain back up the stairs.

“Yes, he does,” Zohn answered, now amused.

“Might I meet with the Winchester again?”

“Yes, if you’ll call her Emily and not ‘the Winchester’,” Chevalier told him.

“Oh, of course,” Camber said, and followed them to the out building. The four guards were standing outside of the door to the pool room and saluted when the Elders walked up.

“Trust me,” Zohn said before Camber walked in. “Don’t irritate her.”

“Is she easily prompted to turn a heku to ash?”

“Not really, but she can still make your life hell if she doesn’t like you, and that’s from personal experience.”

“Interesting,” Camber said, and walked in.

Emily was at the deep end of the pool in the middle of swimming a lap when they walked in. She stopped and looked over at them.

“Sorry to interrupt, Em,” Chevalier said, and moved over to the deeper end.

Emily watched them walk closer, unsure what they were doing.

Camber knelt by the side of the pool and smiled, “Come, Child, I just want to talk to you.”

Emily’s eyes narrowed, “I’m not a child.”

Zohn chuckled and whispered softly, “You’re not scoring points.”

“I apologize, will you talk to me?” Camber asked.

Emily swam closer, “About what?”

“I’m intrigued by the burning sensation you sent to me last night. Did you mean to turn me to ash, yet could not accomplish that?”

“Excuse me?!”

“Strike two…” Zohn whispered.

Camber glanced up at Zohn and then back to Emily, “I didn’t mean to offend you. I’m just curious as I’ve never heard of a Winchester that could simply burn, except for one and she was unable to turn one to ash.”

“Want me to demonstrate?” she asked, obviously mad.

“Em…” Chevalier said.

“Yes, I can ash you,” she told him.

“So you have quite a bit of control?” Camber asked.

“More than you could imagine.”

“Can you revive the ashes?”

“No”

“I figured, that was only just a theory.”

“Stop it!” Emily yelled, and spun in the water to face away from him. “I don’t like that.”

Camber stood up and grinned slightly, “I was… I just wanted to calm you.”

She turned back to him, “Try it again and I’ll demonstrate the Winchester ability you’re so interested in.”

“Understood, I am sorry.”

Quinn turned to Camber, “If Emily is sick or injured, an ‘old one’ can usually control her, and it seems as though ancients can at any time… but that’s about it except on rare occasions.”

“Handy that she married an ‘old one’.”

“Meaning what?” Emily asked, getting angrier.

“Just a comment. How old are you?”

“Why the 20 questions?”

“I’m just curious. You seem very young to be with Chevalier.”

“And… strike 3…” Zohn said, and grinned.

Emily crawled out of the pool and was suddenly toe-to-toe with the 7 foot tall heku, “I don’t like you.”

Camber looked down at her, “You’re not afraid of me?”

“No, I’m not,” she growled.

“Interesting… and how tall are you?”

Chevalier reached out and put a restraining arm around Emily, just as the words came out of Camber’s mouth. He pulled her back a few steps.

“I merely asked because Winchester women weren’t normally that short.”

“Seriously, now’s a good time to stop talking,” Quinn told him as Chevalier pulled Emily out of the pool room.

“So she’s temperamental?”

“Very”

“Interesting”

“Let’s get you settled in your new coven, shall we?” Zohn asked. He was ready to get the former Elder out of Council City.

“Might I stay and evaluate her further?”

Zohn frowned, “She’s not a thing to be studied.”

“Later, perhaps… when she’s calmer,” Camber said, and walked back toward the palace.

Zohn rolled his eyes at Quinn, and they followed him.

Camber stopped on the lawn and looked over at the stables, “There are horses here?”

“Yes, we have a Cavalry now, our elite unit of guards,” Zohn explained.

“Interesting,” Camber said, and headed for the stables. Kralen and Jaron came out to meet them.

“This is Captain Kralen and Commander Jaron of the Cavalry,” Quinn said. “They can answer any questions you have about this guard unit. Zohn and I must get to a meeting. They can show you to where Yishir is waiting for you.”

“Very well,” Camber said, and headed in to the stables. Zohn gave Kralen and Jaron a warning about if Emily came out, and then the Elders left.

“Right now our Cavalry consists of 42 guards, and we’re bringing 8 more recruits in next week to begin training,” Kralen said, and watched closely as the former Elder began to look through the stables.

“And your responsibilities?” he asked, turning to the Captain.

“We have several. We are over the palace guards, we handle disturbances in the city, and we are the personal guards of Lady Emily.”

Camber grinned, “Doesn’t seem fitting for an elite guard to babysit the mortal.”

Jaron’s eyes narrowed, “It is and we’re proud to do it. She’s of great importance to this faction, and is often in danger.”

“By whom?”

“The Valle and Encala both want her, the rogue coven Ferus does also, and lately, we have a former Equites out to kill her. She keeps us busy.”

“She’s successfully wrapped this faction around her small finger, intriguing.”

“Rumor has it, you went into retirement because you weren’t able to locate and procure a Winchester,” Kralen said, and leaned up against the stall door to his mare.

“It is true.”

“Then what would you have done with her if you had gotten your hands on a Winchester 200 years ago?”

“That’s easy, plans were already in motion to confine her to a home here in Council City, and force her to do our bidding. She would defend us, annihilate the other factions, and do whatever else we saw fit.”

Kralen frowned, “So you wanted a weapon only?”

“Yes,” Camber said, and glanced at him. “That’s all the Winchesters are good for, weapons.”

Jaron growled, “You’re so wrong.”

“If she were to fall into my control, I would carry out the plan to use her to destroy the others and defend us from attacks… nothing more. She should be confined and controlled.”

“I’d like to see you try it,” Emily said from the doorway. She’d changed into jeans and a t-shirt. Her four Cavalry guards were watching Camber angrily.

“Maybe things have changed,” Camber said to her, unphased by the fact she overheard his conversation. “In my time, they were sought for one purpose… course at that time we didn’t know a Winchester could produce unique children.”

“You sound like the Valle,” she said, and walked over to shut the stall door he’d opened. She turned to him and slipped on her riding gloves. “They also seem to think I’m good only for burning things up and popping out kids.”

“What other purpose do you serve here?”

Emily glared at him, “I don’t have to take that from you, get out of my stables.”

“Your stables?”

“Yes, she runs them,” Kralen said, irritated. “She’s a Commander that’s in charge of Cavalry horse training.”

“Oh, they gave you a job so you could stay,” Camber said, smiling.

Emily disappeared into the storage closet. Kralen shrugged at Jaron, and they both looked over when she came out with the Taser.

“You’re going to shoot me for telling the truth?” Camber asked, amused. “You know you can’t kill me with that thing.”

“I don’t plan on killing you… if I wanted that, I’d ash you… I want you in pain,” she told him. His eyes grew wider and she pulled the trigger. The two probes shot out and embedded into his chest. He fell to the ground convulsing as Kralen blurred to Emily and took her Taser. Jaron called for Mark, and then picked her up so her feet weren’t on the ground.

It only took a second for Mark to get an idea of what happened. He took the Taser from Kralen and looked down at the former Elder, who was slowly recovering from electrical burns.

“This was locked up in the weapons room,” Mark said, turning to Emily.

“Not for long it wasn’t,” she said, and grinned slightly. “Former pain-in-the-ass over there is lucky it was the Taser.”

Camber slowly got to his feet and leaned against a stall door, “Have you tried pain to get control of her temper?”

“That’s it!” Emily screamed, and Mark immediately threw her over his shoulder and blurred to the palace. “Put me down! I want at him.”

“Yishir is waiting for you,” Kralen said shortly. “Let’s go.”

“Very well,” Camber mumbled, and stumbled after Kralen. The electrical burns were healing too slowly, and he was weak from the electricity.

Chapter 13 - Laythan

Emily’s favorite part of swimming laps was the lazy float after, where all she could hear was the sound of the filters and water sloshing against the side of the pool. Camber quit inviting her to visit his coven finally, after four weeks of being ignored. The Elders backed her, and not once asked that she take him up on his offer. She grinned when she thought about how mad Chevalier was when Mark explained why she tasered the former Elder.

A crash outside of the pool door scared her, and she stood up quickly and looked toward the door. The sounds continued and when she heard someone shatter the glass doors at the front of the building, she crawled out quickly, slipped on a robe, and ran out. She avoided the glass covered hallway and went around back.

Seeing the blur of two fighting heku, she ran forward to stop them, but still yards away, she felt an arm around her waist.

“Nope, not joining in this one,” Kralen said, and lifted her so her feet were off the ground.

“Who is it?” Emily asked, her eyes wide. The fight seemed more brutal and vicious than ones she’d seen before.

“Mark and Laythan,” Silas said, coming up beside them.

“Help him!” Emily yelled, and looked over at the Cavalry, who were all just standing around watching. “That’s an order!”

“Belay that,” Silas told them when they started to move forward.

“He doesn’t need help,” Kralen told her. “He needs to handle this alone. Laythan was one of Mark’s subordinates… makes things worse.”

“Damnit, help him!” she screamed again, this time catching the attention of the Council, who blurred out and stood beside the Cavalry. “Chev, help him.”

Chevalier shrugged, “Doesn’t look like he needs help.”

“Gah,” she yelled, and tried to get out of Kralen’s grasp. “Then put me down and I’ll help him. I can’t see well enough to ash Laythan.”

“Not going to happen… ouch, stop it!” Kralen growled when Emily used her fingernails to try to pry open his hands.

The fight finally stopped with Laythan on his knees facing the Council and Mark at his back with his hands wrapped tightly around Laythan’s head, ready to remove it with a simple nod from the Elders. Both heku were breathing rapidly and Mark was growling softly, his hands shaking with fury.

Zohn stepped forward and looked down at Laythan, “It’s a sad day when one of our elite turns on us… we leave your fate to the victim.”

Emily was staring at Laythan and didn’t realize that Zohn meant her.

“That’s you, Killer,” Kralen said, and put her down on the ground.

“What?”

“It’s your decision… what do you want done with him?” Zohn asked her. Laythan’s eyes were frantically searching the gathered guards, looking for someone that would help him.

“I don’t want to decide,” she said, frowning.

“It was you he was trying to kill.”

“He shot Chev, make him decide.”

Zohn grinned and turned to Chevalier, who was angrily watching Laythan, “Elder…”

“See if 600 years of suffering will teach him to mess with me.”

Mark swiftly shifted his hands and broke Laythan’s neck. He fell limply to the grass, but began to heal.

“Kyle will be back tonight. Take him to the prison to await banishment,” Quinn said, glaring down at Laythan.

Emily moved forward and knelt down, with Kralen standing close behind her. She leaned over and locked Laythan’s eyes, “Never… shoot my horses.”

She stood up, leaving just the pile of ash on the ground in front of her.

“Or… we can just have Emily do it,” Quinn said, and headed back inside.

“Never shoot my horses? So it’s ok to shoot her husband…” Zohn whispered, and then laughed and headed in after Quinn.

“Come on, Em, it’s almost time to go,” Chevalier said, and held his hand out. She took it and followed him inside.

“I don’t want to go,” she said, and headed up the stairs.

“I know, but we need you out of here for the weekend.”

“I know, the yacht is the best choice… what would ever make you think I’d want to go spend the weekend with Powan?”

Chevalier chuckled and opened the bedroom door for her, “Thukil is doing their own turning this weekend… it was pretty much Powan or the yacht.”

“Then make it easier and send half of the guards you are planning on,” she suggested, and started to throw things into a bag.

“What’s wrong with 15?”

“It’s 15 bored guards. There’s nothing for them to do… why don’t I just take Alex and Dain out by myself? I can drive it.”

“No, too dangerous… plus, Alex isn’t going.”

“What? Why not?”

“She wants to study for her history test.”

“What if she ruins the turning?”

“She won’t,” Chevalier told her, and took Dain from Silas.

“Whatever… we’ll have fun, huh, Dain?” She looked up, and smiled at the baby.

“Yeah”

“Why can’t we just wait a few hours and take Kyle?”

Chevalier grinned slightly, “He’s hesitant to do this again… for obvious reasons.”

“That was 500 years ago.”

“Still… and let Kralen take control… sit back, soak up some vitamin D.”

“Hint taken, oh oldest of wise ones… I’ll sit still and be quiet.”

Chevalier blurred to her and kissed her softly before looking into her eyes, “That’ll be the day.”

“Come with.”

“I can’t… I wish I could. I haven’t been out on the yacht for a while.”

Emily sighed and turned away from him. She picked up her bag and grumbled about having to leave, as Chevalier followed her up the stairs with Dain.

She stopped at the helicopter that was already full of guards, then frowned when the only one she recognized was Kralen.

“Where’s Mark and Silas?”

“They are staying here,” Chevalier said, and handed Dain in with instructions to make sure he didn’t chew on Emily.

“Jaron?”

“Busy… Kralen’s in charge, be good.”

Emily crawled in and sat on one of the hard vinyl seats beside Kralen. Her helicopter couldn’t accommodate this many, so they were taking one of the transports.

“Remember, we don’t know how well she’s going to respond to being on the island, get immediately to the yacht,” Chevalier whispered to Kralen, too low for Emily to hear.

“Stop whispering about me and let’s get on with this,” she said, and got Dain settled on her lap.

Kralen grinned and shut the door. Chevalier watched as the transport helicopter took them to the island before he headed inside to begin the ceremony.

Four hours later, and without incident, Kralen was pulling Emily 2 away from the pier and headed out onto the Atlantic. Emily was sitting behind him on a little plastic chair, and Dain was down in the hold with some of the guards.

Kralen pulled on some sunglasses and turned to Emily, “Why don’t you go get some sun? It can’t be fun watching me up here.”

“I don’t know any of those guards.”

“They are Cavalry.”

“I know their faces… no names, nothing else.”

Kralen grinned, “The Elders like it that way.”

“Yeah… well… I don’t want to spend 3 days with them on a boring yacht.”

He glanced up at the sky, “Clouds are coming in. If you wanted sun, now’d be the time to do it.”

“Oh, joy, a storm… that’s worked out so well for us in the past,” she mumbled, and headed down stairs to change. She put on her bikini and slathered in sunscreen before sitting down on a chaise. She had to admit, the sun felt amazing after sitting in the cold helicopter, and then the cold bridge. It wasn’t more than an hour before the sun disappeared behind dark gray clouds and lightning flashed in the distance.

Emily got up and pulled on some shorts before making a quick lunch. She ate by herself and then pulled Dain over to the couch for a movie. The boat started rocking with the worsening tide, and she started to get nervous. This all seemed too familiar.

Hard rain began to pound against the side of the yacht, and she heard the sound of guards shutting windows and tying things down on the deck. Four members of the Cavalry came down the stairs, dripping wet, and Emily threw them each a towel.

“Thanks,” the closest one said, and they dried off so they weren’t dripping. The four stood at the bottom of the stairs, which put them down in the living area. Emily tried to watch the movie, but kept glancing at them as they stood motionless and without saying a word.

A violent wave shook the boat and slammed Emily back onto the couch. Dain laughed and Emily glanced over at the unmoving guards, seemingly undisturbed by the sudden shift in the boat.

“Are you all from Powan?” she asked.

“Yes, Commander,” the blond said.

“Do you have to stand there, or can you come sit down and watch a movie?”

“This is our post.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

“No, Ma’am, no enjoyment. We’re on assignment.”

“Are all of the guards on this yacht from Powan?”

“All except for the Captain.”

“Whose idea was that?” she grumbled, and turned back to the movie.

“That information is unknown,” he told her, still standing at attention.

Dain crawled down off the couch after only an hour, and began to play with his fire trucks. Emily sighed and laid down on the couch. The constant rocking of the boat was starting to make her feel queasy. She shut her eyes tightly when it got worse, and she felt like at any minute she might have to make a mad dash for the bathroom.

“Commander, are you unwell?” the blond guard asked.

She couldn’t answer. Another wave hit and her stomach lurched, sending her running for the bathroom. After a few minutes, she heard a knock on the door.

“Em, are you ok?” Kralen asked.

“No,” she said weakly.

Kralen opened the door and looked down at her. She was leaning against the side of the toilet, deathly pale, and sweating slightly. He sighed and picked her up.

“No, put me down,” she whispered.

“You can’t feel better down here, you need to look at the horizon,” he said, and one of the Powan guards followed them up the stairs with an umbrella. The rain was still pounding the deck, and the white crested waves were slashing against the side of the boat.

“Ma’am, look out there… at the horizon,” the guard said, moving the umbrella a bit so she could see.

Once Emily caught sight of the horizon, her stomach started to settle down and she was able to stand on her own. Kralen went back up to the bridge, and she stayed out on the rain drenched deck and watched the waves and storm. After a few hours, the storm began to subside and the boat stopped rocking as badly. She finally was able to go back down and lay down in bed for the night.

Kralen watched out over the dark ocean. He stayed alert as he watched for any sign of an approaching boat.

“Emily 2 from Island,” the voice came over the radio.

Kralen picked it up, “Emily 2, go.”

“CC advises Valle are aware of your location, move to point 2.”

“Copy that, point 2.”

“Radio silence initialized, continue to point 2 with mission beta 4.”

Kralen hung the microphone back up and started up the engines to move to the next staging location.

Emily sat up in bed when she heard the engines roar to life and felt the boat begin to move. She turned to the guards at the door, “Why are we moving?”

“We were not informed,” the blond told her.

She glanced over at the clock and figured because it was already 6am, she might as well get up. She made a fresh pot of coffee and took a steaming cup with her when she went to talk to Kralen. She stepped onto the bridge and sat down.

“Sleep well?” Kralen asked, glancing at her.

“No… where are we going?”

“It’s customary to move, so we keep our location a secret.”

“Oh… Do the Powans have an off-button?”

Kralen chuckled, “Not sure what you mean.”

“They’re too… well… by the book… they need to lighten up.”

“Not sure they can. That’s why all of the guards are now being trained there.”

“So are any of these Powans wolves?”

“Just one, the rest were taken to Powan from other covens for training.”

Emily glanced up at the cloud covered sky, “Any chance of sun?”

“Not on this trip. We have storm after storm rolling in.”

She smiled, “Let’s go to the island.”

“We can’t, they are turning a mortal,” he reminded her.

“Not Island Coven… our island… the one we shipwrecked on.”

“Why would you want to go back there?”

“Just to see.”

“Well we can’t. The Council is keeping tabs on our location.”

“So tell them.”

“We’re on radio silence.”

Emily frowned, “You’re keeping something from me.”

Kralen’s body tensed, “Get below… now.”

“What’s going…” before Emily could finish, she was blurred below deck by one of the Cavalry. The four guards on the stairs moved back down into the living area. She heard the engines slow and then stop. The silence was deafening as she listened to try to figure out what was going on.

She moved forward to see if the Powan’s would stop her, but they didn’t. She ran up the stairs and peeked out. They were floating alongside another larger boat, and two of the guards were tying their boat to the other while another guard put a plank between them.

Kralen appeared on deck and Emily went up beside him. He glanced at her and then yelled over, “Is anyone on board?”

“What’s up?”

“This boat was putting out an unmanned distress call.”

“Meaning…”

“Meaning the distress call was started by the automated system. The boat thinks no one’s driving.”

“Let’s go check it out then,” Emily said, and started for the plank. Kralen grabbed her arm.

“Stay here,” he said, and quickly crossed onto the other boat. She grinned and followed him across.

“Hello?” Kralen called out again, and then headed up to the bridge.

Emily saw a door heading below and opened it, “Is anyone down there?”

“Commander, the Captain asked you to stay over here,” the blond guard told her.

“I know,” she said, and propped open the door. She started down the stairs slowly. The first door she opened was the dining hall. She noticed the plates set out were partially full, but the chairs were thrown around.

She shut that door and went to the next, which was a long room with 12 bunk beds. The beds weren’t made and the sight of a red stain caught Emily’s eye. She walked forward and touched it, and it looked like blood on the sheets. She wiped her hand off on a bedspread, and then checked the bathroom at the end of the room, but it was empty.

When Emily got back into the hallway, she head an odd scratching sound coming from down in another room. She opened the door and looked into a large stateroom. There was a single bed with silk sheets and a TV mounted to the wall. In the corner, was a tall cage and scratching on the inside, was a ferret with black feet and a raccoon like mask. He was angrily scratching at the door. Emily unlocked the cage and gently pulled him out. She held him up, and he began to nose around in her hair and tried to crawl onto her shoulder.

Taking the small animal with her, she went to check the last door in the hallway. The door only opened an inch or two, so she pushed harder, but it didn’t move. Bracing herself, she cradled the ferret in one hand and pushed with her other, using her legs for force. The door broke free of its restraint, and she fell forward into the room, coming face-to-face with a purple, bloated corpse.

Emily screamed and scrambled to her feet as she realized she’d fallen into a room full of bodies. All of the guards appeared in the room behind her, and she backed into one of them, screaming louder.

“Em… it’s us,” Kralen said. She finally calmed down and turned around as the heku were moving throughout the room.

She ignored the ferret as he hissed at the guards, “What happened?”

One of the Powan guards whispered to Kralen, but she couldn’t understand. Kralen nodded and said something to the others.

“Tell me,” she said. It was obvious they were keeping something from her.

Kralen sighed, “These bodies have all been drained.”

“What?” she yelled. “By who?”

“No way to tell,” he said, and then stood up. “17 bodies in all… we’ll have to burn the boat. We can’t risk this getting into the news.”

“No! We need to take them back. Their families will be worried.”

“We can’t… it’s obvious they were drained, and there are puncture wounds all over them.”

She frowned, “Who would do that?”

“Smells Encala to me,” one of the guards said, and then quieted down when Kralen glared at him.

“Everyone out,” Kralen said. “Get back to the boat, I’m burning it.”

“Wait! I have to get that cage and food,” she said. Kralen turned and looked at her, instantly catching sight of the ferret.

“Why do you have that… thing?”

“It’s not a thing, it’s a ferret, and he’s scared.”

The ferret hissed angrily at one of the Powan guards as they passed.

Kralen sighed, “I suppose you’re keeping it?”

“Of course, not going to let you burn it,” she told him, and headed out. One of the guards brought the cage, and another grabbed a large bag of food. Emily stuffed the rest of the ferret’s things into a pillow case, and then carried them all across to the yacht.

Kralen appeared after a few minutes, and they untied the boat and watched it float away from them as smoke began to pour out of the windows.

Emily watched as a tear streamed down her face, 17 mortals killed at the hands of the Encala. Kralen started up the yacht and pulled away from the burning wreckage. When she could no longer see anything but smoke, she went down the stairs with the ferret to clean his cage and put him away.

“Can you hold him while I clean?” she asked one of the guards. He reached out and took the ferret by the scruff of his neck as the animal hissed and chirped at the heku, then tried to bite him, “Just be nice to him, I’ll hurry.”

The guard didn’t answer, but continued to hold the squirming ferret at arm’s length. Emily plugged her nose as she cleaned out the bottom of the cage. It was obvious that it hadn’t been cleaned in a long time. Once it had fresh wood chips, food, and water, she took the ferret from the guard and put him back in his home, then locked the door and sat down to watch him play.

“What’s that?” Dain asked, sitting down by the cage.

“It’s a ferret.”

“Ew,” he said, and wrinkled his nose.

“Not ew, he’s cute.”

“Tinky,” Dain said, and moved away from the cage.

“No it’s not stinky. I just cleaned it.”

“I beg to differ,” Kralen said from the stairs.

Emily knelt on the couch to look out the window when she heard thunder, “Damnit, I hate storms.”

“Do something fun, get your mind off of it.”

She smiled, “Poker?”

Kralen shrugged, “Poker’s no fun with 2 of us.”

“Do you four know how to play?” she asked the stiff guards.

“Affirmative, Commander,” the blond answered.

“Come play then. It’ll be fun,” she said, and pulled out a deck of cards.

“Sorry, Ma’am, this is a mission. We can’t play games.”

“It’s not strip poker, now sit down, and play,” she said, and sat down at the table to shuffle. Kralen chuckled and sat beside her, and then looked up at the unmoving Powan guards.

“I think that was an order,” he said, and the guards all moved to the table.

“Hmm, what are we going to use as a wager?” Emily asked, still shuffling. She winced slightly when thunder cracked above them.

“Guard hours,” one of them said, and smiled.

“I can’t work guard hours,” Emily said. “What will I use?”

“We have cleaning hours too, the barracks.”

“Ok… but what do I win?”

“Babysitting?”

“Deal, Kralen, cut the deck.”

Emily got up and grabbed a bag of spaghetti. She handed each player eight pieces to represent a guard hour.

Kralen sighed, “I don’t think the Elder would like it if you clean the barracks.”

“He won’t care… come on, cut it.”

Kralen shrugged and cut the deck.

“Blondie, what are we playing?”

“5-card draw,” he said, and then glanced at Kralen. “Will we log these hours?”

“Yes, we will,” he said, and chuckled. “It was an order.”

“Ok, Sir, are we to let her win?” the guard asked Kralen, too low for Emily to hear.

“Not a chance,” Kralen whispered back, and watched as Emily dealt each player 5 cards.

Everyone shifted their cards and then Emily turned to Kralen, “You’re up.”

“I’m opening with 3,” Kralen said, and slid 3 pieces of spaghetti across the table.

The guard beside him thought, and then slid 3 pieces forward, “Call.” Everyone else called and slid 3 pieces of spaghetti forward.

“How many, Kralen?” Emily asked, and handed him two cards when he asked. She went around the table and gave each guard the cards they asked for.

Kralen grinned, “Opening with another 1.”

“Fold,” the guard next to him said, and laid the cards down.

“Raise 1,” the next guard said, and slid 2 more onto the pile.

The next guard looked around at everyone’s face, and then slid 2 spaghetti onto the pile.

“Fold,” the next said.

Emily thought and then smiled, “Call it at 2.”

Kralen showed his cards. He had three of a kind with Queens.

“Ouch,” the guard said, and then grinned, “But not enough… full house, 2’s and Jacks.”

Everyone looked at Emily and she shook her head, “Damn… I only have a flush.”

“Ooooh yeah,” the winning guard cheered, and pulled the spaghetti toward him.

Five hours later, one guard held almost all of the spaghetti and the last round was just ending.

“Fold,” Emily said, and laid her cards down.

“Open with 2,” Kralen told them.

“Fold”

“Fold”

“Fold”

“Calling 2,” the guard by Emily said.

“Show’em,” Emily told them.

“Flush, aces high,” Kralen said, and showed his cards.

“Damn, flush jack’s high,” said the guard, and Kralen collected his spaghetti.

“Back to work,” Kralen told them, and the four guards disappeared up the stairs and were soon replaced by four different ones.

Emily smiled and started picking up the cards, “Thanks… that was fun.”

“Won’t be when Chevalier catches you cleaning the barracks.”

“Oh he won’t care. He knows I have small betting issues.”

“Is that what you call it?”

“Yup,” she said, laughing. “He better get used to it, I owe 6 hours of cleaning.”

“Yeah well I owe 2 hours of guard duty, and I’m not even assigned to the city like they are.”

“Nice,” Emily said, and wiped down the table.

“We get to go back tomorrow and it’s supposed to be sunny out,” Kralen said, and started up the stairs.

Emily shooed the guards to the top of the stairs and got herself and Dain ready for bed. Once she was tucked in bed, two guards moved to the living area and shut off the lights. She tossed and turned. Every time she shut her eyes, the image of those 17 dead bodies filled her mind. Her screams pierced the night as she cried out in her sleep. They became bad enough that Kralen sat beside her on the bed so he could touch her arm when she began to get upset.

She woke up early the next morning to the sound of another boat approaching. She looked up and her guards weren’t by the door. Dain was already on the floor playing, so she snuck up the stairs and listened by the door.

“Why are you following us?” Kralen growled angrily.

“We’re out looking for anything suspicious, and look what we found… Equites…” a voice gruff voice said.

“Yeah you found us. Now get lost.”

“I think not, prepare to be boarded.”

“You have no right to board this boat.”

“You’re outnumbered, that give us a right. I want to know why the Equites are out on a leisurely cruise… that’s more something the Valle would do.”

“What we’re doing is none of your business,” Kralen said, angrier.

“As Encala, we have a right to know everything the enemy is doing… again, we’re boarding.”

Emily stepped out onto the deck, still in her nightgown, and faced Frederick, the Encala’s Chief Enforcer, “Freddy, are you causing problems?”

Frederick gasped, “We didn’t know you were on board.”

“Doesn’t matter if I am or not, seems to me you’re being a pain in the ass.”

“Winchester or not, we’re on orders to stop any ship we find.”

Emily’s eyes raged, “Including helpless mortals. Decided to drain 17 of them did you?”

Frederick’s eyes narrowed, “We did no such thing.”

Emily held a hand out, “Phone.”

One of the guards handed her a cell phone, and she dialed while the others watched her.

“Let me talk to William,” she said, irritated.

Frederick watched her carefully.

“Don’t give me any lip! This is Emily.”

She rolled her eyes, “William… I’m at a bit of a stand-off with your Chief Enforcer. I suggest you tell them to leave us the hell alone, or you’ll have a boat load of ash and no one to revive them.”

“Heku tradition says you can’t hurt me,” Frederick said haughtily.

“Yeah, that’s what he just said, and I want you to name one heku tradition that I haven’t broken yet,” Emily said, and grinned when Frederick shifted nervously.

There was a pause and then Emily spoke again, “One other thing… 17 mortals out on a boat were drained by the Encala. What are you going to do about that?”

She nodded, “I better not find out any different.”

Frederick sighed and glanced at the heku next to him.

“Fine,” she said, and hung up, then handed the phone back to the guard.

The Encala all looked up when their radio sounded. Emily couldn’t hear what was being said, but knew the rest could.

Frederick glared at her, “You’ll pay for that.”

“Bring it on, Freddy,” Emily yelled.

“Stand down,” Kralen ordered when a few of the guards started to advance on the Encala.

“Get us out of here,” Frederick said, and the Encala ship moved away quickly.

“Bring it on?” Kralen asked, turning angrily to Emily.

Emily sighed and walked down into the living area to make coffee.

“She called the Encala Elder on my phone,” the blond guard told Kralen.

“Yeah, I saw that… I’ll let the Council know,” Kralen said, and headed down after her. “What’s with picking a fight with the Encala?”

“I wasn’t picking a fight.”

“Sounded like it… saying ‘Bring it on’ to Frederick is dangerous.”

“I can handle them, should have ashed them all.”

“No, you should have stayed below where you belong and let us handle it.”

Emily turned to Kralen, “Where’s this coming from? You always let me do whatever I want.”

“Not when I’m in charge and you’re about to get us all killed.”

“Oh, sorry, Captain…”

Kralen turned and walked up the stairs, “Stay down here, that’s an order.”

***

The line of guards to the helicopter ended with the Elders by the door.

“Welcome back,” Zohn said, and smiled.

“Thanks,” Emily mumbled, obviously not happy about something.

“What is that?” Quinn asked when one of the guards pulled a large cage out of the helicopter.

“He’s mine,” she told him, and started down the stairs without another word to anyone.

Chevalier’s eyes narrowed, “Was there a problem?”

“A couple,” Kralen said. “I’m ready to give a full report.”

“I guess we should make it official. Let’s go to the council chambers,” Zohn said.

“I’ll meet you there,” Chevalier told him, and blurred down to his room. He shut the door and looked over at Emily as she unpacked, “What happened?”

Emily ran into his arms and buried her face in his chest.

“Next time there’s a turning, I’ll go to my own house, by myself,” she said, and wrapped her arms around him.

Chevalier sighed, “Did you get into a fight with the guards.”

“Just one of them.”

“Kralen?”

Emily shrugged.

“Over what?”

“Telling Frederick to ‘Bring it on’.”

“When did you see Frederick?” Chevalier asked, confused.

“Out on the water after they drained 17 mortals,” she explained.

“Come, I want to hear this briefing and you should be there.”

“I don’t want to. I want to get on my horse and head out alone.”

“For me,” he asked, and kissed the top of her head.

“Fine, let me change and I’ll be down.”

Chevalier nodded and blurred to the council chambers. He sat down and sighed, “She’ll be right down. From the sounds of it, I want her here.”

A few minutes later, Emily came in dressed for riding, with her hair pulled up into her cowboy hat and as she sat down, she slipped on her riding gloves.

“Going out?” Quinn asked.

“Yes… alone.”

He sat back in his chair and turned to Kralen, “We’re ready for a full report.”

“Other than the storm, the first day went smoothly,” Kralen started. “Nothing happened until the next day when I received an unmanned S.O.S. We followed it to a boat adrift out at sea. I headed up the stairs and gave strict instructions for everyone else to stay onboard Emily 2.”

“He means me,” Emily said, irritated.

“I didn’t find anything up on the top decks but heard a scream below. That’s when I realized Emily followed me and started her own inspection. She somehow managed to fall into 17 dead mortals… all drained and covered in the distinct smell of Encala.”

Unaware of what she was doing, Emily wrapped her arms around herself and leaned forward a bit.

“Fell into them?” Zohn asked her.

She nodded.

“Emily found a new pet, and after supplies were taken, I burned the boat to hide any evidence,” Kralen said.

“Pet?” Chevalier asked.

Emily didn’t answer. She just stared down at the desk.

“Ok… then what?” Zohn asked when it became quiet.

“Storms again that night but nothing happened… until the next morning when I saw a boat approaching. It was a larger class boat, and there was no way we could outrun it, so I dropped anchor and they pulled alongside us. It was the Encala being led by Frederick.”

Kralen glanced at Emily and then continued, “They were insisting on coming aboard until Emily appeared, but that didn’t stop them. The next thing I knew… Lady Emily was on the phone with William.”

“The Encala Elder?” Dustin asked, shocked.

“Yes, he pretty much agreed to stand down, and told the ship’s Captain as much. Frederick told Emily she’d pay for that, and she told him to ‘Bring it on’,” Kralen told them, still angry. “Luckily, Frederick decided not to defy his Elders, and they left.”

“You picked a fight with the Encala’s Chief Enforcer?” Kyle asked, frowning.

“Yes, I did,” Emily told him.

“That’s pretty dangerous.”

“So I’ve heard… I’ve already gotten reamed by Kralen, and then he pulled rank and grounded me,” Emily said, and stood up. “So you all can just sit here and bitch about me all day, I’m going out alone.”

“Em…” Chevalier whispered, and tried to take her hand. She pulled away from him and left the council chambers.

Kralen waited until she left, “She started having nightmares again, after the drained humans.”

“Nothing else?” Zohn asked.

“Nothing… she stayed in the living area with Dain and didn’t speak until we arrived here.”

“48 hour pass to all from the yacht,” Quinn said, and Kralen nodded and disappeared from the council chambers.

“Back to our original discussion. What do we do?” Zohn asked.

Chevalier sighed, “I’d personally like to keep him as far away from here as we can… however, he is a former Elder and his request isn’t unheard of.”

“We can’t send Emily away yet, not this soon… shall we just accept his request and then warn him to stay away from her?”

“Except that’s why he’s coming… back in the 17 and 1800’s he was the foremost authority on the Winchesters. It’s only natural that he wants to study her,” Dustin said.

“If he has to come, I suggest Kyle mentor him here,” Quinn said, and turned to Kyle. “You know her well. Let him know about things like bringing up her height or calling her Child, that sort of thing.”

Kyle nodded, “Yes, Elder.”

“I will notify Camber that he may visit,” the Court Reporter said, and left to make the phone call.

“A new group of Cavalry members starts in 4 days. Why don’t we tell Emily that Camber is here to study them?” Quinn suggested. “He gets to watch her, she gets to train, and think that Camber is merely studying the Cavalry.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Chevalier said, thinking. “If she finds out though.”

“True… it’ll be best if we tell her the truth.”

“Silas?” Chevalier called out when the Council heard Emily’s Aero leave the garage.

“Yes, Elder?” he asked, stepping into the council chambers.

“Where has Emily gone?”

“She won’t say, and she wouldn’t let us go.”

“No idea at all where she might have gone?” Quinn asked.

“No, Elder… she won’t talk to anyone at all.”

“Camber is coming to stay for a week… please advise all involved with guarding Emily to be wary of those two when they are together.”

Silas nodded, “Understood.”

Chevalier picked up his phone and dialed.

“Hello,” she said softly.

“We’re worried about you. Where are you going?”

“I’ll be back soon. I needed to run an errand.”

“Where are you?”

Emily sighed, “I’m on the way to a ferret rescue.”

Chevalier’s eyebrows rose, “You’re getting more?”

“No, apparently ferrets like the heku as much as cats, he’s terrified.”

“Oh, you’re getting rid of the ferret.”

“Yes”

“Can you return and take Silas?”

“No, I won’t be long. I love you,” she said, and hung up.

Chapter 14 - Maid

“Still not talking to me?” Kralen asked as he followed Emily out to the pool along with three other members of the Cavalry.

Emily shrugged.

Kralen grinned, “Be mad if you want… you can’t stay mad for too long though.”

She stepped into the pool room, turned and glared at Kralen, and then shut the door in his face. He opened it and stepped in.

“Sorry, Ma’am, we’re to stay in sight of you at all times for the next week,” one of the guards told her.

“Joy,” she mumbled, and slipped her shoes off. There were 4 hot tubs lining the pool, and one was designated as hers, though she wasn’t sure why. No one ever used it, even if they had to cram into the other three. She’d argued and complained, but still no one got into her hot tub.

Emily walked over, aware of the eyes on her back and flipped on the switch for the jets. She walked over and started to step in.

“Wait!” Kralen yelled and blurred to her.

“What?” she asked, irritated.

Kralen bent down by the hot tub and inhaled, “Something’s not right.”

She sighed, “What do you mean? It looks fine.”

“He’s right. I smelled it when I came in, but wasn’t sure what it was,” another guard said.

Kralen smelled the water from the other hot tubs, “Something different is in yours, something with a strong smell.”

Emily bent down and smelled, but didn’t catch anything. She shrugged and started into the water again, but one of the guards pulled her away. She growled slightly and crossed her arms, waiting for the guards to let her into the water.

One of the guards knelt down beside the tub and stuck his hand in. He screamed and the smell of burning flesh filled the room.

Emily’s eyes grew wide when he fell backwards, his hand nothing more than bone and he screamed in agony. Suddenly, there was a blur of Cavalry as they ran into the pool area, led by Mark. Emily rushed to his side and bent down. She wrapped a towel around his hand as the muscles very slowly began to reform. He leaned back, eyes shut tightly, and groaned.

“What happened?” Mark asked, watching the guard on the ground with Emily.

“That hot tub is full of acid,” Kralen said, shaking from how close Emily came to getting in.

Mark knelt down and inhaled over the steaming water, and then glanced over at Emily, “Did you get hurt?”

She shook her head. It was obvious she was upset about it, “No, they stopped me.”

“Get the Chief Investigator,” Mark growled.

Emily helped the guard to his feet, “Come into the palace.”

He nodded, and she helped him toward the palace as the guards spread out through the entire building, searching for other problems. Emily was shaking. She’d come very close to getting into the hot tub. By the time they got to the palace doors, her eyes were full of tears, someone tried to kill her again.

“What happened?” Zohn asked, rushing down the stairs. The guard was still in excruciating pain and Emily wasn’t able to talk.

Emily went to the closest bed she could think of, the holding cell by the front door, and helped the guard sit down. She pulled the towel off, and Zohn gasped at the sight of the bones in his hand. The flesh was creeping down slowly from his forearm, but it was agonizing and he leaned back on the hard cot, trying to breathe.

“Mark!” Zohn called out. The General appeared in the holding cell, “Explain this.”

“Someone put acid into Emily’s hot tub,” Mark said, outwardly furious.

“What!?” Chevalier roared from behind them. Emily turned around when she heard him, and quickly moved into his arms, burying her face in his chest.

“We have the Chief Investigator out, and the entire Cavalry is canvassing the building. We’ll find out who did it,” Mark assured them.

“Did you touch it?” Chevalier asked, and Emily shook her head against him.

“Kralen noticed an odd smell and stopped her,” Mark explained. “This guard reached into the water and within seconds, his hand was only bone.”

“I want to know who did this,” Chevalier growled, and then blurred Emily up the stairs to their room. Alone with Chevalier, Emily’s entire body began to tremble.

“I almost stepped in.”

Chevalier nodded and sat down with her cradled in his lap, “I know.”

“He… lost… was… bone,” she stammered, and gripped his shirt tightly.

He nodded again, now too furious to speak.

“Is he ok?” she asked, and looked up at him.

Chevalier whispered toward the door, and then turned back to her, “He will be, it’s taking a while.”

“Will they ever stop trying to kill me?”

“No, that’s why we need your guards.”

“I don’t like when they get hurt because of me.”

“I know, but they love their jobs and would die for you.”

She frowned, “Why is that exactly? I’m just… me.”

Chevalier smiled, “When will you believe me, that you are very important to this faction. More important than even myself?”

She shrugged.

Chevalier cocked his head slightly to the side, “That was fast… seems they caught who did it. Do you want to come?”

“No,” she whispered, and crawled out of his lap. “I’m going to take that extra mare out. She’s afraid of heku.”

“Take Silas, please.”

She nodded, “Sure, I’ll meet him in the stables when I get changed.”

Chevalier kissed her softly and then blurred into the council chambers. The heku knelt down before them looked at him with terrified eyes. He knew that Chevalier was easily the most dangerous member of the Council, and he also knew how protective he was of his wife.

Mark and Kralen stood behind the quivering heku and watched him angrily. The Chief Investigator was just sitting down.

“That didn’t take long,” Quinn said to him.

“It wasn’t on purpose, though extremely careless… it wasn’t an attack,” he explained.

“How do you call filling Emily’s hot tub with acid, harmless?” Zohn asked, frowning.

“I didn’t say harmless… stupid is what it was,” the Investigator said. “This is Geoffrey, and his job is to keep the outbuilding clean.”

Chevalier growled and the heku looked up at him.

“Start talking…” the Investigator said to him.

“It’s common… to clean hot tubs with acid, I swear,” he finally managed to say in his defense.

“So if you were cleaning Emily’s hot tub, there must have been signs… warnings, so she wouldn’t get in?” Kyle asked, irritated.

“Yes! I put up a warning sign.”

Kralen slapped him on the back of the head, “Where?”

“In… in… the dressing room… on the inside door.”

Dustin leaned forward, “General… Captain… when’s the last time you saw Lady Emily use those dressing rooms?”

Mark’s hands tightened into fists, “Never… she goes to the pool already ready, and then puts on a robe and returns to the palace afterwards.”

“I didn’t know!” the cleaner said frantically.

Derrick appeared in the trial area, “Camber would like to observe.”

“Let him in,” Zohn said, and turned back to Geoffrey when Camber stepped in and leaned against the back wall in the shadows.

“Did you attempt to harm or kill Emily?” the Chief Interrogator asked him.

“No! I wouldn’t do that.”

“He’s telling the truth.”

Zohn nodded, “Stupidity will not be tolerated. You are hereby charged with attempted murder of a member of the Council and unwarranted attacks on the Cavalry.”

“I didn’t attack anyone or attempt to murder the Lady,” he said pleadingly.

“You removed the flesh from the hand of one of the Cavalry. That sounds like an assault.”

“It was an accident.”

“Again… stupidity is no defense. Anyone vote not-guilty on this?” Zohn asked, and looked around. “Fine, then we will decide on a punishment.”

Before anyone could react, Chevalier blurred to the heku, grabbed him by the neck, and disappeared, almost instantly appearing at the interrogation room door.

“Or we can just let the Elder handle it,” Quinn said, grinning slightly.

“Would not want to be that heku right now,” Dustin chuckled.

“Interesting,” Camber said, and stepped out of the shadows. “Does the Winchester often elicit attacks?”

“Emily… is frequently attacked, yes.”

“And not just by the Valle and Encala?”

“No, not just by them.”

Camber thought for a moment, “Is she rude, demanding, maybe highly unkind to the heku?”

Zohn growled slightly, “No, she is not.”

“She has a great deal of respect and loyalty to the heku. She treats us with nothing but kindness… unless one manages to get on her bad side,” Mark said, and glanced at Dustin.

“You then?” Camber asked Dustin.

“Yes, I fall into that category.”

“What exactly did you do to the Winchester then?”

Dustin’s eyes narrowed, “Conflict of personality, nothing more.”

“I see.”

“Camber… did you listen to nothing I said to you?” Kyle asked, irritated. “She’s not ‘the Winchester’.”

“Oh, right, sorry,” he said, obviously anything but sorry. “Where is she now?”

“She’s out on horseback with a Captain of the Cavalry and a problem horse,” Kralen told him.

“Might I observe?”

Kralen glanced at Zohn, and when he nodded, Kralen sighed, “Sure, I’ll take you up there.”

Camber smile and headed out after Kralen. They both ignored the screams echoing through the palace from the interrogation room.

***

“Maybe she’s a lost cause,” Silas said, watching Emily comfort the mare.

“I don’t understand how she’s not getting used to you,” Emily told him, and rubbed the mare’s nose. “Let’s try again, move off about 20 feet.”

Silas nodded and moved his horse back. Emily mounted the mare and turned her to face Silas. He slowly inched his horse forward, and stopped only when he heard others approach. He turned and saw Kralen stop a few feet behind him.

“Camber, no!” Silas yelled when Camber continued on and blurred to Emily’s side.

“Beautiful horse,” he said, and smiled.

Emily’s horse immediately reared back violently and sent Emily flying. She didn’t see Camber approaching, and wasn’t ready for the sudden shift. The horse stumbled backwards and fell directly onto Emily and then got to her feet. Kralen rushed forward and took the horse’s reins and struggled to get her way from where Emily fell.

“Damnit!” Emily groaned.

“Oh, so sorry,” Camber said, watching her intently.

Silas dismounted his horse and knelt down beside her, “Get back,” he said to Camber when he smelled fresh blood.

Camber took a few steps back, seemingly amused by the entire incident.

“Lay down,” Silas said, and held Emily down on the ground. She put her forearm over her eyes and winced slightly, not sure where the blood was coming from that was covering her shirt. She was having a hard time catching her breath, and was furious at the intrusion on her horse’s therapy.

“What happened?” Dr. Cook asked, kneeling down beside her.

“Wh…” Emily started to say, but gasped when it hurt to talk.

“Bucked off a horse and it fell on her,” Silas said, and angrily glared at Camber.

“Look at me, Child,” Dr. Cook said, and moved her forearm. Emily looked up at him, still short of breath, and hurting too badly to fight back.

Silas watched carefully as the doctor looked her over, and Kralen returned their horses to the stables, and then stood by Camber, making sure he didn’t do anything stupid.

“Mmmm, that blood,” Camber said, and shut his eyes.

Kralen put a hand on his shoulder, “Watch it…”

“Hold her down,” the doctor whispered. Silas leaned over her gently, trapping her body under his, and held her hands to the ground.

“Emily, this is going to hurt,” Dr. Cook said. He grabbed her right thigh between his hands, took a deep breath, and then jerked it. Emily screamed as a crunching sound was heard across the hills. Silas was amazed at her strength, but was able to hold her down.

“What was that?” Kralen growled.

Dr. Cook sat back, “Her hip was displaced. I put it back in.”

Silas sat up and studied her. She was sweating from the pain and breathing in short gasps.

“What else?” Kralen asked.

“Concussion, broken clavicle, and I want to watch her for internal bleeding… we have to get her back to the palace though.”

Silas glanced at the doctor, “Any way to do that without pain?”

Dr. Cook glanced back at his bag, “Well…”

“Do it,” Silas said. “I’ll take the heat.”

“What?” Emily asked, out of breath.

“Emily,” she heard a familiar voice call to her. She glanced up and gasped when she saw Maleth standing beside her. “Let them help you, Child.”

“Maleth… you’re back,” she said, and smiled weakly.

Silas glanced in the direction she was looking, and then back to Kralen. Kralen shrugged and watched the doctor give her an injection of pain medications.

“Don’t go,” she whispered when Maleth began to walk away. She felt her eyelids growing heavy as the pain began to back off.

“She’s out,” Dr. Cook said when Emily’s body fell silent.

Silas gently picked her up and looked again to where she was watching when she fell asleep, but saw nothing. Kralen had already filled Chevalier in by the time Silas blurred into the palace. He tried to take Emily from the Captain, but Dr. Cook stopped him.

“I don’t want to move her again, let him put her to bed,” the doctor said.

Chevalier nodded and followed them up the stairs. Silas laid her down, grimacing when she moaned slightly.

“I want to see her hip,” Dr. Cook said, and tore her jeans from her waist down to her knees. Her hip was black and blue and swollen, “That’s going to take some time to heal… four weeks on crutches, and she’ll have a limp for quite a while.”

“What else?” Chevalier asked, sitting down beside her.

“She has a concussion, that’s nothing new to us. She broke her clavicle though, so she’ll need a sling for a while. I want to watch for internal bleeding over the next 24 hours. If I find any signs of that, we’ll need to take her in to a hospital.”

Chevalier nodded, “And the blood.”

“Head wound, I don’t think it needs stitches, but… she was talking to Elder Maleth.”

“She was?” he asked, shocked.

“Yes, not uncommon after a head injury.”

“I want that horse dead,” he growled.

“Sir… it wasn’t the horse… it was Camber,” Silas said. “The horse was slowly getting used to me, when Camber ignored Kralen and appeared by its side.”

“Where is he?”

“Kralen was yelling at him in the stables, last I saw,” Silas told him.

“Out,” Chevalier ordered, and within seconds, he was alone with Emily. He finished tearing off her pants and did the same with her shirt, being extra careful not to move her injured shoulder. After he slipped her into a nightgown and pulled the covers over her, the doctor came back in.

“I just want to check for internal bleeding again,” he said. Chevalier watched carefully while the doctor lowered the sheets and pulled her nightgown up to expose her abdomen. He pressed a few times and then pulled the covers back down. “So far it’s looking good.”

After only a few hours, Emily opened her eyes slowly and looked over at Chevalier, “Hurt again.”

He smiled, “Yes, you are. How are you feeling?”

“Like a horse landed on me.”

“Can I get you anything?”

“Camber is dangerous. I never trusted him,” Maleth said from beside her. She looked over at him and smiled weakly.

“I’m glad you’re back. I missed you.”

Chevalier frowned and followed her gaze, but saw nothing.

“You too, Dear,” Maleth said, and stepped toward her.

“Why don’t you trust him?” she asked.

“He’s dangerous. He’s a danger to you as a Winchester,” Maleth told her.

“Em... who are you talking to?” Chevalier asked, concerned.

“Maleth, of course,” she replied and turned back to Maleth. “What do you mean danger to me? What is he doing?”

“Don’t turn your back on him, he’s not to be trusted,” Maleth said, and then walked into her bathroom and disappeared.

“Wait, come back,” Emily said, and tried to sit up, but Chevalier held her down.

“Stay down,” he told her, and called for the doctor.

“Oh, good, you’re awake,” Dr. Cook said.

“She’s talking to Maleth.”

Dr. Cook frowned.

“You didn’t even say hi to him,” Emily said to Chevalier, frowning.

“Because he’s dead. He’s not here.”

“Yes he is. He just walked into my bathroom.”

Dr. Cook stood up and went into her bathroom. He looked around and then came back out, “No one’s in there.”

Chevalier turned back to her, but she was already asleep.

“It’s the concussion, it’s normal,” Dr. Cook said, and bowed slightly before disappearing.

Emily slept through the night and woke up late the next morning when the doctor was pressing on her stomach.

Dr. Cook smiled up at her, “No internal injuries. I wanted to check one more time.”

She nodded, “Can I get up?”

“Yes, you may, you can’t be alone for a while though, until your concussion gets better. I can either stay here with you, or I can put you in your wheelchair and you can go to the council chambers.”

“Those are my only options?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“Ok, council chambers it is.”

Dr. Cook helped her into the wheelchair, and then put her left arm in a sling. He propped the feet up on the wheelchair and laid a blanket over her, “Ready?”

“Sure,” she said, and he carried her, in the wheelchair, down to the council chambers and set her down beside Chevalier.

“How are you feeling this morning?” Zohn asked.

“Ok,” she said, and looked down over the empty trial area. “What’s up?”

“Waiting for the Interrogator to finish with someone before we try them.”

A servant appeared, and handed her a cup of hot coffee and a plateful of muffins. She sipped the coffee using her good hand, and looked around. She smiled when the trial room door opened and Maleth came in.

“Good morning,” she said to him.

“Good morning, Dear,” he told her, and stopped where the prisoners normally stood.

Chevalier sighed and motioned for the others to just let her be.

“Will you be back on the Council now then?”

“No, they won’t accept me back.”

“Why not?” she asked, frowning.

Some of the Council shifted nervously as she spoke to no one.

“It’s not their way,” Maleth told her. He looked over the Council, “Some new faces.”

“Yes, lots of changes.”

“Leonid… he needs your help,” Maleth said, looking at her.

“What’s wrong with him?”

“He’s awake and starving. He’s suffering badly.”

Emily gasped, “He is?”

“Yes, he’s screaming for someone to help him.”

“But… you said he would be asleep the entire time.”

Maleth shrugged, “That’s what we thought, but we were wrong.”

Emily looked over at Chevalier, her eyes panicked, “Do something.”

Chevalier glanced at Quinn and back to Emily, “Em… no one’s there.”

“Didn’t you hear him? We need to dig up Leonid.”

“We can’t dig him up, he’s retired.”

“No, didn’t you hear Maleth? He’s suffering, screaming for someone to help him.”

“No, he’s not. If he were screaming, we would hear him.”

“Why can’t they hear you?” Emily asked Maleth.

“I don’t really know,” Maleth told her, and looked over the Council.

“Jaron!” Emily yelled, and the guard appeared before the Council. “Dig up Leonid immediately, that’s an order.”

“Belay that,” Zohn said. “We can’t do that.”

“It’s an order, Jaron… do it now,” Emily yelled.

Jaron glanced nervously at the Council.

“I outrank you, Emily,” Zohn said softly. “We cannot dig him up.”

“But…” Emily looked back, but Maleth was gone. “Where did he go?”

“Where did who go?” Jaron asked.

“Maleth, he was standing right beside you.”

“I… I didn’t see him.”

“Em, calm down,” Chevalier said. “Maleth is still dead, you just have a concussion…”

“No, he’s not, and Leonid is suffering, we have to help him,” she told him.

“Em…”

Emily tried to stand up, but cried out when the pain hit and sat back down in the wheelchair, “We have to get him.”

“Take the pain medication. We’ll help Leonid when you wake up,” Maleth said, kneeling down beside her.

Emily looked down at the side of her wheelchair, “What pain medication?”

Maleth smiled, “It will help.”

“Maleth, no!” Emily screamed when he disappeared. She felt the familiar pinch in her arm, and turned just as Dr. Cook stood up behind her. She fought it for as long as she could, but soon slumped down in the wheelchair and fell asleep.

“Am I digging up Elder Leonid or not?” Jaron asked when no one spoke.

“No, you are not,” Quinn told him, and motioned for Jaron to leave.

“That’s a little unsettling,” Zohn said, and watched the doctor take Emily away.

“Yes, it is,” Chevalier agreed.

“Camber has decided to return when Emily is well,” Quinn said, after taking a brief phone call.

“Good, we don’t need his input on this right now,” Zohn told them.

“When the concussion is gone and she no longer sees Elder Maleth… will she believe that Elder Leonid is resting peacefully?” Dustin asked.

“I’m not sure,” Chevalier replied. “I certainly hope so.”

“If all else fails, we’ll have her talk to Camber. He’s back from retirement and can explain to her how he wasn’t suffering,” Quinn suggested.

Chevalier nodded, and turned when the Chief Interrogator returned with their prisoner.

***

“Maleth, help me,” Emily begged as she dug in the mud. The rain was pouring, and she was soaking wet. Her hands dug at the soft mud, but every handful removed sent more mud falling into the hole.

“You must do it, Child. I cannot help you,” Maleth said calmly.

“I can’t do this, not fast enough.”

“You are the only one that can help him.”

“Leonid!” Emily screamed, and kept digging. Blood from her hands mixed with the sticky mud.

“Keep digging, he’s dying.”

“I’m trying,” she cried out, digging faster.

“I’ll help you,” Exavior said. He knelt down and began to dig.

“No, he’ll kill Leonid!” Maleth yelled.

“Stop it, Exavior,” Emily told him, and pushed his hands away.

“No, let me help you. You can’t get to him in time.”

“Stop him,” Maleth begged.

“Go away, Exavior!” Emily yelled.

“Let me get a backhoe,” Frederick said from behind Exavior.

“No! You’ll kill him with it.”

“Oh trust me… it can only hurt a little.”

“Stop it!” she screamed, and sat up in bed, breathing rapidly.

“It’s ok,” Chevalier whispered. “Lay down, it was only a dream.”

“Can’t we just dig him up and check on him?”

“Lay down,” Chevalier said again.

Emily laid down and looked up at the ceiling, “Just to see if he’s ok… even just a few feet, so we can hear if he’s screaming.”

“No, we can’t dig him up… you haven’t seen Maleth in four weeks. It was part of the concussion, including what he said.”

“It can’t hurt to dig a little.”

“Talk to Camber. He’ll be here this afternoon.”

“Why?”

“He just came out of retirement. He can tell you what it was like.”

“What if something got messed up with Leonid then? What if he really is buried alive while we all think he’s sleeping?”

Chevalier sighed, “I’m going to try not to take offense to that. I’m the one that put him to sleep.”

“Just let me check on him.”

“No, that’s final,” he said, and crawled out of bed.

Emily got out of bed too and headed for the bathroom. All that was left of her injuries was a limp that infuriated Chevalier when he saw it.

“Em… no more digging, promise me,” Chevalier asked, and turned around.

She disappeared into the bathroom and shut the door.

When she didn’t answer, he walked out and turned to her guards, “Who are you?”

“City guards, Sir. The Cavalry is on a mission,” the closest guard said.

“She’s going to try to get away from you and dig up Leonid… I’m warning you once… do not let that happen.”

“Yes, Elder,” he said, and they all bowed slightly.

Chevalier quickly made his way down to the council chambers and sat down, turning his chair to Camber, who was in the trial area.

“Any better?” Quinn asked.

“No, she’s still begging to dig him up,” Chevalier said. “Plus, she has new guards.”

“She’ll be digging again within the hour,” Kyle sighed.

Chevalier turned to Camber, “Before I allow you to speak to my wife again, I want to know what your intentions are.”

“I merely want to study her behavior and personality, her temper, and everything that might be inherent.”

“To what means?”

“To learn, of course. I’ve been filled in on her immortality, which makes her even more amazing to me. If we can learn everything about her, we might be able to harness that power.”

Chevalier’s eyes narrowed, “She won’t turn.”

“I have heard that… I won’t turn her without her approval.”

“You have to be around Kyle at all times.”

“I understand that.”

“Don’t so much as breathe around her without his permission.”

Camber nodded, “I am sorry about the horse incident. I didn’t realize she was working with a problem horse.”

“We’ve postponed Cavalry training until tomorrow, so you should be able to speak with her today, maybe follow her a bit as long as she doesn’t get annoyed,” Quinn said. “We’re still dealing with after effects of the concussion, and she doesn’t need any more stressors.”

“Understood”

“I have a few banishments to do, and then I’ll take you to her… if we can find her by then,” Kyle said, and blurred from the room.

“We’ll simply ask her guards where she is,” Camber suggested.

“These aren’t her regular guards. She’ll slip them out of annoyance,” Quinn explained.

“She can slip past heku guards?”

Zohn chuckled, “Amazingly easy.”

“It’s harder for her to slip past her Cavalry, and nearly impossible if they are high ranking… as for city guards, they don’t know her ways,” Chevalier explained.

Derrick stepped in, “Elder Chevalier, Cornell needs to speak to you about the baby.”

“Bring him in,” Chevalier said, and Camber stepped aside.

One of the Powan guards came in and bowed, “I need the child for 4 hours, Sir.”

“What for?” Chevalier asked. It was highly unusual for guards to do anything with the children.

He sighed, “Poker, Sir, I am to watch him for 4 hours.”

Zohn grinned, “You played poker and lost babysitting hours?”

“Yes, Sir, I did.”

Chevalier frowned, “Whose idea was that?”

“The Commander’s, Sir. She ordered us to break post and play Poker. I’m sure Captain Kralen can verify.”

“No, no, I believe you. He’s in the game room with Alexis.”

The guard bowed and left the room.

“Well…” Zohn said, confused.

“I don’t want to know. I just hope he doesn’t get hurt.”

“You’d let a guard handle your baby if there’s a possibility of him being injured?” Camber asked, shocked.

“I’m worried about the guard, not my son,” Chevalier told him. “He’s in a… biting… phase.”

“Oh yes, I remember. While we are waiting, I’m very interested in this Cavalry of yours. Mounted guards sound intriguing and I’m considering starting up a unit.”

“We are doing an inspection this morning. You may go if you’d like. You will learn a lot about our Cavalry on the way, though most of them are out right now on a mission.”

Camber nodded, “That would be great, thank you.”

“Kyle can meet us,” Zohn said, and stood up. “Let’s get this over with so we can get on to the Lokesh Coven trial.”

Quinn stood up, “Sounds good to me.”

Soon, the three Elders and Camber were out in the stables checking on the new horses. Emily wasn’t able to get around well, so Mark, Kyle, and Kralen had picked them up at a ranch in Colorado.

“Each member of the Cavalry is assigned their own horse, and is responsible for their care… though I do believe Emily inspects them often and does anything past their regular daily care, such as shoeing, and immunizations,” Zohn said, walking into the stables.

Camber wrinkled his nose, “Why does it smell like a cat in here?”

Quinn chuckled, “We’ve never been able to get rid of that smell. We suspect he marked his territory in here somewhere that we haven’t found.”

“It’s atrocious.”

Zohn blurred to the end of the stable and then returned with a squirming mouse in his hand, “Best get rid of this.”

Chevalier took it, killed it quickly, and disposed of it in the trash bin.

“These horses on the end don’t have name plates,” Camber mentioned.

“One is mine, the Arabian. I’ve never been able to think of a name. The other is Emily’s, and I’m not sure why she hasn’t named hers yet. He’s the fastest out of all of them, and was once a prized racing stallion,” Chevalier explained.

“I see… and these eight over here?”

“For the new recruits. Emily will match them up with a heku.”

“You trust her for that?”

Chevalier frowned, “Implicitly.”

Quinn decided to change the subject with a large chart on the wall, “This is the duty rosters, broken up by day and shift. Our regular city guards do most of the patrols, but our Cavalry also posts in the city and they handle smaller things that the Council used to do… small domestic type issues.”

“I see,” Camber said, and looked at the chart. “Emily then, is assigned 4 members of your elite Cavalry, except for 8 hours during the day.”

“That’s when she’s in Cavalry training, surrounded by them.”

Camber smiled, “Interesting how much protection you give her, when she’s able to instantly turn a heku to ash.”

Chevalier started to get irritated, “She’s almost killed herself doing that too… not only is she hunted by the V.E.S., but we also protect her from things before she even sees it coming. If it were up to me, she would never ash again.”

“Never? Then why have her?” Camber asked, confused.

Chevalier growled slightly, so Zohn spoke up, “We were heading to the barracks next, to check on the accommodations for our new arrivals.”

Camber nodded, “Ok then, I’ll follow.”

As they walked toward the barracks, Quinn broke the silence, “We’ve started sending any guard prospects to Powan for training. It’s amazing what General Skinner can do, and the strict guards he’s sent us from there.”

“We were having a problem with security once the alliance with the other two factions ended,” Zohn explained. “Years and years of not fighting, turned some of our guards useless, and we had to replace them all.”

“I still find it hard to believe that all three factions aligned for a Winchester… I’m sorry, for Emily,” Camber said.

“Again, you just don’t know her.”

“It sounds like someone’s cleaning. We’ll just be brief,” Quinn said, and opened the door to the barracks.

“Each member of the Cavalry must be a Lieutenant, they are each assigned…” Zohn’s explanation broke off when the shower door opened, and they saw Emily crawl backwards out of the door, scrubbing as she went. Her hair was tied up high and she had a bandana around her head. She was sweating and soaked from the sponge in her hand.

Chevalier frowned, “Em?”

She froze and dropped her head, and then put the sponge in the bucket before turning around and sitting on the ground. They were shocked how filthy her clothing was, and how she had a dirt smudge on her nose.

“I guess I should explain?” she asked, wiping the sweat from her brow.

“I… well… yes,” Chevalier finally managed to say.

“Why, Dear, are you cleaning the barracks?” Quinn asked, and stepped forward.

Emily grinned “I lost guard hours in a poker game, and I can’t patrol the city, so mine are cleaning hours.”

“Still… you’re the wife of an Elder,” Zohn said, and put a hand out for her. She stood up and brushed her shirt down.

“Wife of an Elder or no… I lost at poker,” she said, and leaned back against the wall.

Zohn sighed, “Does Mark now about this?”

“No,” Emily said, and shrugged. “That’s why I’m doing it now, so he won’t find out.”

“I don’t care about the poker game. We can’t have you cleaning the barracks. It’s not right,” Zohn told her.

She frowned, “I lost a poker game… I won’t back out on the stakes.”

“What the hell?” Kyle asked, stepping into the barracks. “Are you cleaning?”

“Believe it or not, I’ve cleaned a room or two in my day and I’m not going to back out on this,” Emily said, irritated. “So I suggest you get on with your tour and let me finish, I have an hour left.”

“Still…”

“If I can make Exavior clean a kitchen…then I sure as hell can clean some barracks,” she said, and crossed her arms.

“The Valle’s Exavior?” Camber asked.

Emily glared at him and then continued, “So if you’ll excuse me, I was in the middle of the shower floor.”

“Fascinatingly strong-willed,” Camber whispered. “Winchester women were shy and timid in my day, elusive to the public eye, and obedient to their husbands.”

Chevalier chuckled, “Sounds boring.”

“I wouldn’t knock it if I were you,” Camber said, and watched as Emily limped back into the bathroom and the sound of scrubbing continued.

“Wait,” Kyle said, and looked around. “Where are her guards?”

Chevalier looked around, “I hadn’t thought of that.”

Zohn whispered and then smiled when he was told by her guards that she was in her room sleeping.

“I have an idea. Let’s put a cage in the council chambers, and we’ll just keep her in there all day,” Kyle suggested, irritated.

Zohn chuckled and called for her guards to watch the door to the barracks. They weren’t authorized to enter the Cavalry living quarters, so they took up post outside.

Camber watched the shower door for a few extra seconds, and then blurred to catch up with the Elders when they went back to the council chambers. They all sat in their chairs with the Council, and Camber returned to the trial area, being quiet and uncharacteristically still.

“So?” Zohn asked, turning to Dustin.

“They have agreed to random inspections and understand that one more incident will result in a disbanding of their coven and each member will be assigned to different covens.”

Zohn nodded, “Very well, you and Kyle can handle those inspections.”

“Yes, Elder,” Dustin said.

The Court Reporter started handing out large binders full of papers, “Here is the information for the trial that starts tomorrow.”

Each member of the Council opened the binder and began looking through the papers, photographs, and documentation, while Camber stood silently in the shadows, all but forgotten.

“Elder?” Derrick said, stepping in and breaking the two hour-long silence.

“Yes?” Zohn asked, looking up.

Derrick sighed, “She’s digging again.”

Quinn frowned, “Where are her guards?”

“Still guarding the door to the Cavalry’s barracks.”

“Of course they are… send them away,” Chevalier said, and stood up.

“Let me go,” Camber suggested. “I can talk to her about retirement.”

“Kyle… go with him.”

“Please, Elder… let me talk to her alone,” Camber said. “She may be more open with me if we are alone… I’m the only one she knows that’s ever come back from retirement.”

“I don’t know,” Chevalier said, and his eyes narrowed.

“He has a point,” Zohn said.

Quinn nodded, “I agree… let him try.”

“Very well, but watch yourself,” Chevalier warned.

Camber bowed slightly and disappeared from the room. He walked up slowly to Leonid’s grave where Emily was digging with a shovel.

“Can we talk for a moment?” Camber asked.

Emily turned around and then started to shovel again, “Start talking.”

“Stop shoveling, please.”

“No… he’s suffering, and I need to help him.”

“He’s not suffering… my retirement was peaceful. I don’t even remember it, but awoke feeling refreshed and more alive,” Camber explained.

Emily stopped shoveling and looked over at him, “What if the ceremony was preformed wrong? What if he’s simply buried alive?”

Camber glanced around to make sure no one was looking, “If I dig down enough you can hear if he’s screaming… will you sit and let me talk to you?”

Emily looked down at her measly hole and then nodded, “Yes.”

“Is 5 1/2 feet enough then?” Camber asked, taking the shovel.

“Yes, I think I can hear him scream from there.”

Camber began to dig, and Emily sat to watch, unsure if he was going to fulfill his part of the bargain or not. After only half an hour of digging, Camber jumped out of the hole.

“5 1/2 feet,” he said, and stood back.

Emily looked down in the hole and jumped down. She noticed how the hole was taller than she was, but ignored that and bent down to the ground, “Leonid?”

She listened with her ear to the dirt.

“Leonid, if you need help, you need to tell me now.”

She strained to hear anything, but the cold ground was eerily silent. After a few minutes, she sighed, “Ok, let me up.”

“First, let’s talk,” Camber said, and sat down beside the hole.

Emily frowned, “Get me up and then we’ll talk.”

“No, there you are confined… and let me warn you, if you try to use your abilities on me, you could spend a long time in that hole. I’ve told the Elders that I was taking you to my coven for a week to help buy horses, and you know how often the heku come out here. You would be down with the heku’s dead.”

Emily gasped, “You wouldn’t.”

“I would… now listen to me…” Camber said, and tried to lock her gaze.

“Stop it!” she yelled, and turned her face.

“Hmm… have it your way,” he said, and jumped down into the hole with her. Emily wasn’t ready for his sudden movement to her arm, and tried to jerk away from him when his teeth sunk into the soft side of her upper arm. She started to scream, but felt the familiar relaxation take over.

Camber immediately locked her gaze when he finished feeding, taking enough blood to weaken her resolve and allow her to be controlled.

“Alieno,” he whispered. “Forget, Child… tomorrow, two hours after you wake, you will forget all… Alieno. Look into yourself, what the Council wants you to be. Alieno… forget your life and become what they desire. Alineo and Verto, become what they want you to be, show them how life with a Winchester should be.”

“Yes,” she whispered.

“Alieno et verto qui consilium votum,” he chanted softly. “Alieno vestry, alieno quisnam vos es.”

Camber dipped his finger into the mud, and lifted her shirt slightly. He wrote an intricately designed rune on her abdomen and the mud turned to stain and sunk into her soft white skin and then faded until it became invisible.

He smiled, “Sleep, Child.”

Emily immediately fell asleep, and he caught her before she fell to the ground. He quickly jumped out of the hole and laid her down. Within minutes, the entire hole was filled in and hidden beneath perfectly preserved sod.

Camber whispered and then said, “So you understand now?”

Emily sat up and nodded, “I guess… I just wish I knew for sure if he’s ok.”

“I’m sure he is. I enjoyed my retirement.”

She looked over at Leonid’s tomb marker.

“Come inside, it’s going to rain soon.”

Chapter 15 - Heku

“Good morning,” Chevalier said, and kissed the tip of her nose.

“You too,” she said, and sat up and looked around the room.

“You ok?” he asked, and gently ran his fingers up her back.

She shivered and grinned at him, “Yes.”

“Any reason for the long sleeved flannel nightgown… it’s… ugly.”

Emily grinned, “I was freezing.”

“Are you ready for the Cavalry training?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be. It’s not as much fun with the guards coming out of Powan,” she told him, and pulled the sheets up to cover herself when Chevalier called out for the servants with her breakfast to enter.

“That’s good though,” Chevalier said, and watched the servants deliver coffee and pancakes before leaving.

“No, it’s boring,” she told him, and ran to the bathroom. She came out a few minutes later in her guard uniform as she buttoned her shirt and looked up. “Are you staying in bed all day?”

“Thinking about it.”

“No! You aren’t allowed to stay in bed on a day that I can’t join you.”

He grinned and got out of bed, and he was already wearing pants.

“No fair, you got dressed while I was sleeping.”

“Yes I did,” he said, and moved to her quickly. He wrapped his arms around her and began to kiss her softly, then reached to her back and unfastened her bra.

“Chev! Stop it,” she said, and pulled away from him to reattach it. She grinned, “Do that again and I’ll just go braless today.”

His eyes narrowed, “Hmm.”

Emily dug around in her dresser and finally found the belt and holster with her .45. She slipped it around her hips and fastened it.

“One heku Barbie at your service,” she said, and looked in the mirror.

“I told you, I like it.”

“Of course you do! Seems all heku like heku Barbie.”

“Have fun,” he said, and smiled at her as she grabbed a pancake and ran out the door.

“I’m late!” she yelled as she ran down the stairs. She ran out to the barn where Mark was waiting for her, having just barely gotten in from a mission. “I’m sorry, the Elder was having issues.”

Mark grinned, “I bet… are you ready?”

“Sure,” Emily said, and walked over to the eight new recruits, all standing perfectly still and in perfect form. “Good morning.”

No one said anything, and Emily glanced at Mark, but he nodded for her to go on.

“I’m Emily. I’m a Commander in the Cavalry and will be hooking you up with a horse and training you how to take care of it. From here on out, you are responsible for your horse, making sure it’s fed, watered, has a clean stall, and anything else involved with that. Any questions?”

None of the new recruits even blinked. She turned when Silas, Kralen, and Jaron walked up.

Emily frowned at the new recruits, “Can you talk?”

It irritated her that it wasn’t until Mark nodded that they all responded in unison, “Yes, Ma’am.”

She sighed, “Fine, be that way… you, Shorty, come with me.”

Emily motioned for the tallest recruit to come into the stables. He was close to 2 ½ feet taller than she was, and she had just the horse picked out for him. After grabbing a bridle, she headed deeper into the stables with him.

“I have a stallion for you, tallest horse in here,” she said, and stopped at a stall. She leaned against it when she started to feel dizzy.

“Are you ill?” the guard asked when she sat down.

“Just give me a moment,” she whispered, and sat back against the door with her eyes shut.

“Em?” Mark asked, kneeling down.

“I’m ok… just got dizzy,” Emily told him, and stood up. She opened the stall door and showed the guard how to put on the bridle, then handed him a brush and went out to the next.

“Are you ok? You look pale,” Silas asked.

“I’m ok, just got dizzy in there for a sec.”

She showed each guard to his new horse, and then climbed on her stallion that was already saddled and waiting for her at the hitching post.

“Head on out with them, just walk them to us,” Emily said.

The new recruits lined up with their horses, facing the commanding officers.

“Great… now…” Emily started. All of a sudden, her eyes rolled back into her head and Kralen caught her as she slipped off of her horse. He laid her down on the ground.

“Em?” he asked softly.

“Get a cool rag,” Silas ordered, and one of the guards disappeared, and then reappeared with a cold wet rag. Silas put it across her forehead.

“Emily,” Kralen said again, and touched her face.

Emily’s eyes flew open and she sat up suddenly, “What happened?”

“Are you feeling ok?” Mark asked.

“Yes, General, I’m sorry,” she said, and stood up.

Mark frowned slightly. She only called him General if she was angry at him.

Emily walked over, still limping slightly, and stood beside Jaron.

Silas shrugged and tied up her stallion. Mark waited for Emily to continue, and when she didn’t, he began going over some of the basics of horse care. Silas watched Emily closely and noticed she hadn’t moved, and was standing perfectly quiet at Jaron’s side.

“Do you have anything to add?” Mark asked, turning to Emily when he was finished.

“No, General,” she said. Her tone of voice was off, and the heku that knew her all turned to face her.

“You sure you’re ok?” Kralen asked.

“Yes, Captain.”

“Did you tick her off again?” Silas asked, too quietly for Emily to hear.

“Not that I know of… must have though. She’s only called me Captain once before, and she was mad.”

Mark shook his head and turned to the new recruits, “Put your horses back, give them fresh food and water, and then we’ll go for uniform fittings.”

“Yes, General,” they all said in unison, and headed inside.

Mark walked over to Emily, “You need to go eat. It’s lunch time.”

Emily frowned, “Is that a joke, General?”

“No… it’s lunch time.”

“I’m not thirsty. I fed a few nights ago.”

“You fed?”

“Yes, General.”

“Suit yourself,” he grumbled, still not sure why she was mad at him. “I’ll finish here. Why don’t you go take your posts?”

Silas glanced at Emily when she nodded and got onto her stallion. He, Jaron, and Kralen mounted their horses and started for the city.

Silas stopped his horse and turned around to Emily, “Where are you headed off to?”

“The roster board said Commanders were covering southwest area 9 today,” she told him.

“Oh, and you want to come out with us today?” Jaron asked.

She frowned, “I’m a Commander, am I not?”

He nodded, “Yes, you are…we need to get permission for you to hang with us though.”

“I’m a Commander, and if my post says area 9, then that’s where I’ll be,” she said, and kicked her horse, heading to the southwest corner of the city.

“Captain?” Jaron asked, glancing at Kralen.

Kralen shrugged, “If she wants to play guard today then let her, it’s quiet.”

“Ok,” Jaron said, and kicked his horse to catch up with Emily. They rode to the post for area 9 and both pulled their horses beside the two other Commanders, who were already there. They sat quietly at their post, all uncomfortable with Emily being there, and how silent and still she was.

When a light rain began to fall, Jaron turned to her, “This is going to turn into snow tonight. Do you want to head in?”

“Why would I head in? This is my post.”

Jaron frowned slightly and called for Mark.

“Emily? You’re still out here? It’s been 8 hours,” Mark said when he rode up.

“My shift is 12 hours long,” she informed him.

Mark looked at Jaron when he explained how quiet and still Emily was being, uncharacteristic for her.

“Are you feeling sick still?” Mark asked her.

“Sick, Sir?”

“Yes, sick… You passed out on horseback earlier.”

“Impossible, Sir, heku don’t get sick.”

Mark frowned, “Since when do you consider yourself a heku?”

“I don’t understand the question, General.”

Jaron shrugged when Mark looked at him, and then he looked up at the sky, “Snow’s starting.”

“Emily, it’s late, so you need to get inside before you catch pneumonia,” Mark said.

“It’s an odd joke, Sir… is there a reason for it?”

“What joke?”

“The mortal comments… heckling, is it not?”

Mark sighed and watched her, deep in thought. He finally called for Silas and Kralen, who rode up a few minutes later.

“What’s up?” Silas asked, surprised to see Emily out in the snow.

“Em…” Mark said.

“Yes, General?” she asked, looking over at him.

“How long have you been a heku?” he asked.

“What…” Silas began, but Mark held a hand up.

“39 years, Sir,” she said bluntly.

Kralen frowned, “So you’re a heku?”

“Of course, Captain.”

“I can smell your blood from here,” Silas said. “What are you playing at?”

Emily looked straight ahead, obviously insulted.

Mark sighed, “Kralen, Silas, and Emily… head inside, and that’s an order.”

“Yes, General,” she said, and followed Silas and Kralen to the stables. One of the Cavalry came out and took their horses, so they could more quickly go into the palace.

Derrick greeted them, “Did you need to speak to the Council?”

“Yes,” Kralen said, and glanced at Emily nervously.

Derrick stepped inside and then held the door, “Enter.”

The three stepped up to the trial area and all bowed slightly, again something Emily never did.

“Is there a problem?” Zohn asked.

“We’re not sure,” Kralen told him.

“Em?” Chevalier said.

“Yes, Elder?” she asked, and looked at him.

He frowned, “Are you mad?”

“No, Elder.”

“If you’re not mad, why are you calling him Elder?” Quinn asked her.

“He is an Elder, is he not?”

“Well… yes…”

“Then I will address him as such,” she told him.

Kralen grinned slightly, “Emily, when did you turn?”

“39 years ago, Captain.”

“Wait… what?” Chevalier asked, not sure he heard right.

“If you’re mortal, step forward,” Silas said, and the Council watched as Emily held the line with Silas and Kralen.

“I’m confused… Is this a practical joke?” Zohn asked.

Silas shrugged, “Honestly, Sir, we aren’t sure.”

“Curious,” the Chief Interrogator said. “Emily, are you mortal?”

“No, Sir.”

“Are you heku?”

“Yes, Sir.”

The Chief Interrogator frowned, “She’s not lying… well… she thinks she’s telling the truth.”

“Emily, look at me,” Zohn said, and studied her. “Are you heku?”

“Yes, Sir,” she said to him.

“He’s right… she’s telling the truth, as far as she knows.”

Dustin thought for a moment, “Hmm… full moon out tonight.”

She didn’t respond, and didn’t seem to notice everyone watching her.

“Em, are you playing a joke?” Chevalier asked.

“No, Elder, that would be unbefitting of a member of the Cavalry,” she answered.

“Why don’t you go grab some dinner,” Silas told her.

“I’m fine. I fed a few days ago.”

“Well… this is new,” Zohn said, studying her as he tapped his fingers on the desk.

“When did this start?” Chevalier asked.

“Thinking back… she fainted earlier this morning, and I think it started then, though we at first assumed she was just mad because she only uses our rank when she’s mad at one of us,” Silas explained.

Quinn studied her, and noticed her guard uniform was soaked and she was shivering, “Emily, go get into something dry while we discuss things.”

“Yes, Elder,” she said, bowed slightly, and then walked out of the room.

Kralen turned toward the door, “She headed down the stairs.”

“She’s going to the barracks,” Silas suggested.

Chevalier sighed, “Go get her.”

Kralen disappeared and came back in with her following him.

“You needed me, Elder?” Emily asked.

“Change of plans. Go guard my bedroom door,” Chevalier told her.

“Right away, Sir,” she said, and walked out of the room.

“Did she hit her head when she fainted?” Quinn asked.

“No, Sir, I caught her,” Kralen explained.

“She was fine before that?”

“Yes”

“Nothing else?”

Silas thought for a moment, “I did detect a small wound… but that’s not abnormal.”

“I caught that today too,” Chevalier said. “It was pretty tiny though.”

“She’s not using her poker face,” Zohn told them. “She truly believes what she’s saying.”

“How can she all of a sudden think she’s heku?” Quinn asked.

“I have no idea… She has to have things we don’t though… sleeping, eating… those will need to be taken care of until we figure this out.”

Chevalier thought for a moment, “Maybe she can sleep it off, whatever it is.”

“We’ve already suggested she eat. She won’t do it,” Kralen said.

“Can she survive off of blood then?” Dustin asked.

“We can’t give her blood,” Chevalier said. “Not only is her body not equipped for that, but if she ever finds out, she’d kill us all.”

“See if she’ll sleep it off then. It’s already past when she normally sleeps,” Quinn said.

Chevalier nodded and appeared at his bedroom door. Four members of the Cavalry were standing at their posts, and Emily was beside them. They glanced nervously at the Elder when he approached.

“Commander, in my room please,” he said, and opened his door.

“Yes, Elder,” she replied, and stepped in. He shut the door behind her and studied her for a few moments.

“You’ll obey any order?”

“Yes, Elder.”

“Good, then get in bed,” he said, and stoked the fires. She was still shivering from being out in the snow.

When he stood up, he saw a brief look of panic cross her face and then quickly disappear, “Did you want me undressed?”

“Why would… oh wait! No, no, you misunderstood,” Chevalier said, finally understanding what she thought was going on. He started to dig around in her dresser and pulled out a nightgown, “Go into the bathroom and put this on, and then come out.”

She nodded and did as she was told. When she came out, she was wringing her hands nervously.

Chevalier pulled the covers aside, “We are afraid of an attack, someone out to get me while I rest. You’ll take my place in case it happens.”

“Yes, Elder,” she said.

“Get in.”

Emily nodded and laid down in the bed. Chevalier covered her up with the blankets and then stood up and looked around the room, making sure everything was covered. When he turned back to her, she was lifting her arm to adjust the pillow, and he caught sight of the two puncture wounds on the underside of her arm.

He grabbed her wrist and pulled her arm up, “Who bit you?”

Emily looked over, “Why would a heku bite me?”

“Just answer me,” he growled.

“I don’t know, Elder… I don’t think I was bitten… I must have leaned up against something, though it’s odd it hasn’t healed.”

“Just shut your eyes until 7am,” he said, and disappeared from the room when she complied. He left orders for her guards to alert him if she got out of bed, and returned to the council chambers.

“What’s wrong?” Quinn asked.

“She has bite marks on her arm.”

“What!?” Kralen growled. “Who?”

“I asked, and she doesn’t know.”

“If she’s been fed from, then she was weak enough to be controlled,” Zohn said, deep in thought.

“No one was around her this morning, we had sight of her at all times,” Silas told them.

“Alieno?” the Chief Interrogator suggested.

Chevalier’s eyes narrowed, “That takes privacy… time… and usually a calm mortal. Emily would have been fighting.”

“Not to mention, who would tell her she’s heku? What good would that do?” Zohn asked.

“I’m the only one she’s alone with for any length of time.”

“We sent Camber to her yesterday,” Kyle reminded them as he started to get irritated.

“Why wouldn’t she ash him though? She’s not going to let anyone, especially Camber, feed from her.”

“Let’s find out,” Kyle said, and called for Derrick to bring Camber to them.

Derrick stepped in a few minutes later, “He’s no longer in Council City. Shall I send guards to his coven?”

“No, let’s not point fingers until we know what’s going on,” Zohn said. “First, bring me all the information on Alieno that we have in the library.”

“Yes, Elder,” Derrick said, and left with the Records Keeper.

“You have her asleep, correct?” Quinn asked Chevalier.

“No, I have her in bed with her eyes shut. The guards say she’s not fallen asleep yet… she thinks she’s my stand in for a coming attack.”

Two hours later, Derrick and the Records Keeper returned with stacks of books, all containing information about Alieno. The books were handed out, and each member of the Council began to read.

“This says it can be delayed if the giver sets a time frame… so no one had to be with Emily when it happened. They just had to specify when to start,” Dustin said, still flipping through the book.

“There has to be a rune,” Quinn said after a long silence.

“Yeah, I’m reading that too,” Kyle said. “Derrick… I want everything searched, her car, stables, her room, everything. Look for any runes, even small insignificant looking ones.”

Derrick nodded, “The ones on her headboard… I won’t know if those have been added to.”

“I’ll check those,” Chevalier told him. “You all do the rest, call in the entire Cavalry.”

“It’s almost 7am,” Quinn told Chevalier.

“She hasn’t slept at all. I’ll go see if we got lucky and it’s worn off,” he said before disappearing from the council chambers and appearing in his room. She was lying exactly how he’d left her and her eyes were still shut, but she was obviously not asleep.

Chevalier sat down on the side of her bed, “Look at me.”

Emily opened her eyes and looked at him.

“Someone’s done something to you, and I want to know who.”

“Like what, Elder?”

“Like someone bit you, controlled your mind, even wrote a rune somewhere around you.”

She frowned, “No one’s done those things.

“I want Dr. Cook to have a look at you.”

“Ok”

“That’s it, ok? Not going to argue.”

“With an Elder? No, Sir.”

Chevalier sighed and called for Dr. Cook. When the doctor came in, Emily stood up and faced him.

“What’s the problem?” Dr. Cook asked.

“I don’t believe there is one,” Emily told him. “However, the Elder thinks I should be seen.”

“Just give her a complete physical. I want anything out of the ordinary, though I already know about the marks on her arm,” Chevalier told him.

Dr. Cook nodded, “Have a seat.”

Emily walked over and sat in the chair beside him. He was starting to get nervous, waiting for her to turn him to ash at any moment. When he started to get into the physical and met no resistance, he relaxed some.

After poking her finger, Dr. Cook frowned, “Your blood sugar is way low, when’s the last time you ate?”

“I fed a few nights ago,” Emily told him.

“Why has it been so long?”

“That’s not long, you know as well as I do that heku need only feed every few weeks.”

“Yes, I do know that… humans, however, should eat at least 3 times a day.”

“I’m aware of that, but as I’m not human, I don’t see the reason to bring it up.”

Dr. Cook glanced at Chevalier.

“She’s heku,” Chevalier said, and shrugged. “Just finish.”

Dr. Cook nodded and continued, quickly figuring out why he was called. For the next hour, he checked her over, finally realizing he couldn’t ask her anything and get a straight answer. When he was done, he turned to Chevalier.

“Other than the bite mark and the low blood sugar, I’d say exhaustion and that’s about it. She’s starting to get dehydrated though. She should drink something.”

Emily nodded, “I can go find a donor tonight after duty.”

“Water would be better.”

“Why?”

“It’s… that’s just what I recommend. Heku have to drink water to survive,” Dr. Cook lied.

“Any sign of a head injury?” Chevalier asked.

“None at all.”

“Poisoning?”

“No”

“Then what can cause her to… do this?”

Dr. Cook shrugged, “I’ve never see it before, so I’m not sure. You may need a psychiatrist, not a general practitioner.”

“Would that help?”

“I honestly don’t know, but that would be my next course of action.”

“Find one and get them here quickly,” Chevalier said, and turned back to Emily. “I order you to drink water.”

Emily glanced at the pitcher of ice water on the table and then nodded and poured herself a glass. She smelled it and wrinkled her nose before taking a timid drink. She immediately began to gag, and sat the glass back on the table.

“More… finish it, now,” he told her sternly.

Dr. Cook watched her force down the rest of it, and then sighed before leaving to find a psychiatrist.

“Done, Elder,” she said, still looking sick.

Chevalier handed her jeans and a t-shirt, “Put those on.”

“I have my uniform.”

“Do as I said,” he snapped.

She nodded and went into the bathroom to change.

Chevalier called for Mark, and both were waiting when she came out.

“Elder’s orders, Sir,” she said, saluting Mark.

“What is?”

“The clothing, Sir.”

“Oh, right… I need you reassigned, for now you will be one of 5 guards on Dain,” Mark told her.

“Yes, Sir, are we expecting trouble?”

“No, but just in case.”

“Right away, General,” she said, and followed her guards down to the game room where Dain was playing.

Mark watched her leave and then turned to Chevalier, “Did the doctor find anything?”

“No, other than what’s resulted from not sleeping or eating… those bite marks though… I can’t figure out who Emily would allow to do that. It had to be someone she knows and trusts.”

“Or someone who threatened her,” Mark growled.

“That, too.”

Kyle knocked and then entered the room, “We’re certain it’s Alieno.”

“Great… so we have to find out who did it before we can stop it.”

“Quinn got a hold of Camber. He vehemently denied turning her into a heku.”

“Of course he did, who would admit to that?” Chevalier asked.

“Either way, he’s on his way back and should be here tomorrow,” Kyle told him. “Have you… have you tried controlling her?”

“No, why would I?”

“Her subconscious might still know who did this.”

Chevalier whispered to one of her guards, several floors below, “See if you can lock her gaze.”

There was a brief pause before a hurried answer, “Not at all.”

***

The Council sat around the large conference table with Mark, Silas, and Kralen. Camber disappeared the night they called for him, over a week ago, and since then, Emily began to deteriorate. Not eating or sleeping was beginning to take its toll, and this private meeting was to discuss options.

“Reports… Kralen?” Zohn asked.

“Nothing, we can’t find any runes on anything she’s been near.”

“Silas?”

“We’re still trying to track Camber down. His coven said he came here, but no one’s seen him in 9 days.”

“Mark?”

“My part is fine. She’s now guarding Dain during the day and still in bed at night, though she doesn’t sleep.”

“I can see how her mind might think she’s heku, but her body has to know it needs to sleep,” Quinn added.

Chevalier shrugged, “She won’t… she lays in bed with her eyes shut, but never sleeps.”

“How did it go when we told her to check food for poisons?” Zohn asked.

“Not well. She had to forcefully take each bite and gag it down. She didn’t get enough to help.”

“Have you just tried to reason with her?” Dustin asked. “There are obvious signs she’s human.”

“We tried, and she gets irritated and drops into guard mode, answering with curt, yes and no, answers.”

“Dr. Cook said if we can’t find a solution, she’ll need to go on I.V.’s,” Kyle reminded them. “Maybe we should do that before it gets worse.”

Chevalier shrugged, “At least this time she would leave it in.”

“Which is almost worse.”

“What are we going to do about tomorrow’s meeting?” the Chief Interrogator asked. “We need Emily there as a peace keeper if all 3 factions are to be present.”

“I know, but what are we supposed to do?” Kyle asked, irritated.

“She can act… tell her we need her to pretend to be a human,” Quinn suggested.

“Then do what when she doesn’t act like Emily, or when things get out of hand and she doesn’t turn anyone to ash?” Chevalier asked.

“For now, tell them Emily is sick and request a new date,” Zohn said, and the Court Reporter wrote down instructions.

“I think we need to go to extreme measures before Emily becomes seriously ill,” Kyle suggested.

“Like what?” Chevalier asked.

“Like… feed from her to lock her gaze and see if you can undo what was done.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Dustin said.

“I can try,” Chevalier said. “To make it more effective though, I should feed while another tries to control her.”

“It’ll take an ‘old one’ if it’s going to be done,” Quinn said.

“He’s right, or we risk having to do it again,” Zohn added.

“Derrick, bring Emily in,” Chevalier called out, and then turned to Kyle. “You do it, wrist only.”

Kyle nodded.

“Mark, Silas, and Kralen… you may have to hold her down.”

“Yes, Elder,” they all said.

Emily stepped in and bowed slightly, “You called for me?”

“Yes, Emily, come lay on the table,” Quinn said, and smiled.

Emily frowned slightly and then did as she was told, laying down on the table the Council was seated around.

“Give Kyle your hand,” Chevalier said, and took up a position by her head.

“What’s going on?” she asked, and held her hand out for Kyle.

“Nothing much, just do as you’re told,” Chevalier said.

Kyle nodded at the Elder and quickly sunk his teeth into Emily’s soft wrist. She gasped and started to struggle, but the three guards pinned her down easily.

“Em, look at me,” Chevalier whispered when her body began to fall limp. Silas, Kralen, and Mark let go of her and moved back, ready to restrain her again if the need arose.

Emily looked up with sleepy eyes and he was immediately able to lock her. Kyle let go of her wrist and she blinked a few times, starting to come around.

“Keep going,” Quinn whispered.

Kyle sighed and returned to her wrist, drinking slowly so as not to drain her.

Once Emily’s breathing matched Chevalier’s, he spoke, “Can you hear me?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

“Are you heku?”

There was no answer, so he concentrated more.

“Answer me,” he whispered. “Are you heku?”

“I don’t know,” she said back dreamily.

“I need you to think back… follow with me as we go back to last Monday.”

“Ok,” she whispered.

“You were cleaning the barracks.”

“Yes”

“Why?”

“I lost guard hours in a poker game.”

“Right… good… after you cleaned the barracks, what did you do?” he asked, his voice soft and rhythmic.

“I went to get Leonid.”

“You were digging?”

“Yes”

“Who was there?”

“No one.”

Chevalier paused when Kyle let go of her wrist. He was afraid if he kept going, he would take too much. Once Chevalier was sure he could keep her controlled, he continued.

“Think harder, while you were digging, who came out?”

“Camber”

“To talk you out of digging?”

“No”

Quinn glanced at Zohn quickly and then back to Emily.

“What did he say about rescuing Leonid?”

“He’d help if I would talk to him,” she said, her speech soft and slow.

“He would help you dig?”

“Yes”

“Did he?” Chevalier asked.

“Yes”

“He dug up the Elder?”

“No, he went down 5 1/2 feet only,” she told him, her body completely relaxed.

“Why only 5 1/2 feet?”

“Close enough I could hear if Leonid was screaming.”

“Was he?”

“No”

“Then you got out of the hole?”

“No,” Emily said, and her breath caught. Chevalier held her gaze while she calmed down.

“Why didn’t you get out?”

“It was too deep.”

“Camber wouldn’t help you out?”

“No”

“Why?”

“The Council thought he took me away. I was going to stay down with the dead,” she whispered, and her body tensed for a brief moment before relaxing again.

“Damn, he’s losing control,” Zohn whispered to Quinn.

“Camber told you he would leave you in the hole?”

“Yes”

“Unless what?”

“I listened to him.”

“Then what?”

“He tried to lock my eyes,” she said, and frowned slightly. Chevalier knew he only had limited time.

“Did he?”

“No,” she whispered.

“Then what did he do?”

“Jumped down and…” She started to breathe faster but eventually relaxed again, “Fed.”

“After he fed, he locked your eyes?” Chevalier asked, controlling his voice to keep it calm and comfortable when his insides were raging with anger.

“Yes”

“I want you to tell me, word for word, what he said to you,” Chevalier told her.

Emily’s voice rang softly through the quiet conference room as she repeated the words Camber used for Alieno.

“Then what did he do?” Chevalier asked, still holding her head gently in his hands.

“Then he drew on my stomach.”

“What did he draw?”

“I don’t know.”

“Did it hurt?”

“No”

“Then what did he do?”

Emily blinked a few times, “I’m sorry, Elder. What did you want?”

Chevalier let go of her and stood up, “Nothing, you may go.”

She nodded and quickly climbed down off the table and disappeared out the door. Mark, Silas, and Kralen left for their posts after being excused by the Elders.

“That idiot,” Zohn growled. “He didn’t place anything into her head. He let her decide what she thought we wanted her to be.”

“So she thinks we want her to turn?” Quinn asked, frowning.

“Not necessarily. She may just think we want her to be heku or like a heku… obedient, quiet, patient, that sort of thing,” Zohn said.

“Then the rune is on her body,” Kyle said, thinking.

“I’ve seen her stomach, when the doctor was giving her a physical… there’s no rune there,” Chevalier told them. “Unless he used something to hide it.”

“Like what?”

Chevalier’s eyes glared, “Like something he can’t hide from an ‘old one’.”

“Find Camber,” Quinn growled.

Chevalier disappeared from the room and appeared in the game room, “Clear out.”

All of the guards, including Emily, began to leave, but he reached out and held her back. Silas came and took Dain.

“Is there a problem, Elder?” Emily asked.

“Lift up your shirt, I want to see your stomach,” he ordered. It was unsettling how quickly she obeyed and without questioning or complaining. She lifted her shirt up to expose her abdomen, and waited patiently while Chevalier pulled up a chair and began to stare at the tight contours of her stomach.

Slowly, his keen eyes began to pick up the faint outlines of a rune, and within a few minutes, it became clear to him, “Very well, guard my bedroom door.”

“Yes, Elder,” she said, pulled her shirt down, and left.

Chevalier reappeared in the conference room at sat down, “I can see it now, I just wasn’t close enough before, nor did I concentrate.”

The Court Reporter shut his phone, “Neither the Valle nor the Encala want to cancel. They said if Emily is too ill to attend, then it will have to be done without her.”

“It won’t be nearly as civil,” Zohn said. “But I don’t see as though we have a choice in the matter.”

“Unless we can find Camber,” Quinn said angrily.

“Council… Camber is on the phone for you, shall I patch him in?” Derrick asked from the doorway.

“Do it,” Chevalier growled, and then hit the phone when it rang. “What have you done?”

“Please, understand, this isn’t what I meant to happen… it’s all gotten out of control and I fear for my life,” Camber explained.

“Undo it.”

“I will if you’ll just hear me out… I wanted you to see the true Winchester personality, not the strong-willed, stubborn Child that one represents.”

“So you told her to become what we wanted… or what she thought we wanted?” Zohn yelled.

“I didn’t realize she thought you all wanted her to be a heku.”

“We don’t! We need her back by tomorrow. We have a meeting she must attend,” Quinn said.

“Assure my life will be spared, and I will do it,” Camber said pleadingly.

“Why would I do that? I can find you,” Chevalier reminded him.

“I know… but you’ll have your wife back sooner if you will promise that this will be forgotten.”

“Why did you do this? It doesn’t make sense…” Dustin told him.

There was a sigh across the phone, “Winchester women were beautiful and elegant. They were the most loyal and obedient wives. They were adoring mothers with calm, sweet personalities. I just wanted you to see that, for only a moment, to truly realize how wonderful the Winchester women used to be.”

“How wonderful they used to be?” Quinn yelled. “We much prefer the little red-headed spitfire who challenges us to stay on our toes and never lets a day pass without bringing joy to this palace.”

“I realize you all adore her, but if you could see a glimpse of her history…”

“Bring back my wife, or when I do find you, I will make it more painful that you could ever imagine,” Chevalier growled.

“I want to return to my coven, unharmed,” Camber said. “I will release her if you will guarantee my safety.”

Zohn hit the mute button, “Do it… we need her tomorrow.”

“He will mess up later,” Quinn told him. “Every Coven Leader makes mistakes… we’ll be watching him.”

“He can’t let her go though… he’s too infatuated with her history,” Kyle said. “I can’t see him ever just letting her be.”

“We need her back,” Zohn said softly.

Chevalier growled.

Quinn sighed, “It’s two to one… agree to his terms.”

“We’ll get him later,” Zohn said.

Dustin pushed the mute button, “We agree to your terms. Release her immediately and we will leave you alone with your coven.”

Camber sighed with relief, “It’ll take some time. She will regain herself soon.”

“We need her by tomorrow.”

“I understand,” Camber said, and hung up.

“Keep this quiet for now,” Quinn ordered. “If he doesn’t come through, we need to lessen the impact and right now, things are going smoothly with heku Emily.”

The Council all agreed.

“For now, it’s bedtime,” Chevalier said, and stood up. It was obvious to everyone there that he wasn’t happy with the decision to let Camber go.

“Elder,” Silas said when Chevalier came up to the bedroom door.

Emily bowed slightly and stood at her post.

“Inside, Commander,” Chevalier told her. It hadn’t taken long for everyone to realize she responded better to her title than her name.

“Yes, Elder,” she said, and stepped inside. “Same routine?”

“Yes,” he replied, and sat down on the chair. She got her nightgown out of the dresser and went in to shower. Several minutes later, she came back out and slipped into bed. The nightgown revealed how much weight she’d lost over the last 10 days without eating. Her lips were parched from being dehydrated and she had dark circles under her eyes from the lack of sleep.

“Shut your eyes. You may get up at 7am,” he told her.

Emily nodded and shut her eyes. Chevalier was relieved when, at 3am, she actually fell asleep. Her breathing became slow and rhythmic, and she moved out of the position on her back and curled up on her side. He watched her sleep and reveled in the emotions that were coming from her, emotions that disappeared when she believed herself to be heku. He was irritated when he was called away to an emergency meeting.

Emily sighed and rolled over, stretching in bed. She saw it was already 8am, which meant she was late for Cavalry training. Unsure why she was so tired, she groggily got out of bed and grabbed a pancake from the table before getting dressed. She started for the door, but went back to the table and grabbed a couple more pancakes before heading out.

The guards fell in behind her as she ran down the stairs. She finished her second pancake as she approached the stable, then stopped and frowned when she saw the new recruits with horses already, as they lined up in front of Mark.

“Today we’re going to learn basic tackle techniques,” Mark told them.

“Who the hell assigned those horses?” Emily asked, walking up to Mark.

Mark’s eyes grew wide, and he turned to her, “You did.”

“I did not! When was I supposed to do that, when it’s the first day today?”

Silas grinned, “Emily?”

She turned, “Yeah?”

“Are you human or heku?”

Emily frowned, “Have you gone mental?”

“I think Chevalier was looking for you,” Mark chuckled.

Emily frowned and walked backwards away from them, “You are all completely insane, and when I get back, I’m checking into those horses…”

“You do that,” Kralen said, and laughed.

Emily glared at him and almost ran into one of the door guards.

“Sorry, Commander,” he said, and opened the door.

“No problem… Private,” she replied, shaking her head. No one called her Commander unless they were asking her something official.

“Commander, do you need to see the Council?” Derrick asked, bowing slightly.

“I was told Chev was looking for me.”

Derrick smiled, “Good to have you back.”

“I wasn’t gone!” she yelled, and stepped into the trial area when Derrick opened the door.

“Good morning, Commander, is there a problem?” Chevalier asked.

Emily stopped and frowned.

Chevalier looked at her and smiled, “Em?”

“No… I’m freakin Dracula, have you all lost your minds? Is there some like… heku psychosis no one’s told me about?” she asked, irritated.

“Sorry, Em, I can explain.”

“Good, then while you’re at it, explain why Mark is training the new recruits without me.”

“What did you do yesterday?” Zohn asked.

Emily crossed her arms, “I cleaned the barracks.”

“Yesterday?”

“Yes”

“And tried to dig up Leonid?”

Emily’s eyes narrowed, “Maybe.”

Zohn smiled, “Explains a lot.”

Emily turned and headed for the door.

“Wait, where are you going?” Chevalier asked.

Emily glanced back at him, “Going to get something to eat, for some reason I’m starving.”

“Come back please, just for a moment.”

“No,” she said, and walked out the door.

Chevalier grinned, “Never thought I’d be pleased to hear her tell me no.”

“Great! We’re back on for a peace keeper at the meeting,” Zohn said, pleased.

“Yes, well… she’s bound to be tired, which makes her really grouchy,” Kyle said, and then grinned. “Could be interesting.”

“I better go explain what’s going on,” Chevalier said, and stood up. “The chef just handed her a glass of water for lunch.”

Kyle chuckled and Chevalier blurred from the room.

“Calm down, let me explain,” Chevalier said when he entered the kitchen. Emily was throwing around some pans while she fixed her own food and the chef was standing in the corner, confused.

“Explain what? Why everyone’s calling me Commander, or why others are looking at me like I’m a leper?”

Chevalier took Emily’s hand and led her into the dining room, “Cheeseburger and fries,” he said to the chef.

Emily sat down, “What’s going on? I’m starting to panic.”

Chevalier started to explain everything that happened over the last 11 days, and continued even after she got her lunch and started to eat.

“He better hope I never get near him,” Emily said angrily, before taking another bite.

“Me too. Quinn and Zohn agreed to let him be, but I may have to veto that.”

Emily ate for a few minutes in silence before looking up at Chevalier, “What’s the name of his coven?”

Chevalier grinned, “Sorry, Em, we need you here, not running off to ash Camber.”

She shrugged, “Fine… but I need to go check on some things with the Cavalry first.”

“The meeting isn’t until 4. You have plenty of time for the Cavalry and a nap,” he told her, and refilled her glass of juice.

“I am tired,” she said, and pushed away her half-full plate.

“Go talk to the Cavalry and then I’ll tuck you in.”

She nodded, “I’m serious though, if I see him…”

“Understood,” he told her, and kissed the top of her head before leaving. Within a few minutes, she was back out with the Cavalry.

“Line up,” Mark yelled when she approached.

“Sorry about yelling,” Emily said, and then watched the recruits line up.

“It’s ok… you picked out their horses but nothing else. After that, you just stood back and watched,” Mark explained.

“I see…” Emily said, deep in thought. She walked up and started adjusting the stirrups on several of the saddles without saying a word. The guards glanced nervously at Mark when she touched them, but he stood and watched her.

She stopped at the last guard and looked closely at his legs, “How tall are you?”

“Seven six, Commander.”

“Slip your foot out of the stirrups and let your legs hang.”

He did as he was told and Emily frowned, “You are going to need a longer fender… Mark… we’ll need to special order him some. We need another 6 inches.”

“We’ll get it ordered,” Mark said, and wrote it down in a ledger.

“I want to see you each, one at a time, ride to the north lawn and back… go out at a gallop and return at a walk,” she said, and moved back some.

The third heku looked uncoordinated and gangly on top of the sleek stallion. Emily frowned slightly when he walked the horse back.

“Damn, another one,” Mark sighed.

“Get off,” Emily said, and the guard did as he was told. She slipped the saddle off and put it on the fence before hoisting herself onto the stallion, bareback. “Ok, up you go.”

The new recruit looked at Mark, who nodded, and he hesitated before quickly jumping up behind her, making sure there was 6 inches between them.

Emily sighed and lowered her head, “Come on, Big Boy, move your ass up here.”

The guard moved an inch forward.

She looked over at Mark, frustrated.

Mark whispered something to the guard, and he nodded and moved up against her. She took his hands and slid them around her so he could hold the reins, then put her hands on his forearms and kicked the horse slightly.

“We’ll be right back,” she said, and kicked the horse into a gallop.

By the time they cleared the city gates, the heku was starting to get the feel of the horse and moving in rhythm was becoming more comfortable.

“Let’s run him,” Emily said, and kicked his stallion into a gallop. She grinned when she felt the heku almost fall off, but he soon settled in and became more comfortable with riding. “There, feel it?”

Emily turned when the guard didn’t answer, and his arms tightened around her. She followed his gaze and saw two black Ferrari’s parked alongside the road. The heku slipped off the horse just as Emily saw three men approaching. They were still too far away to see who they were, but she could guess they were either the three Valle Elders or the three Encala Elders, as they were all coming in for a meeting.

“Stay back,” the heku guard said, crouching slightly.

“We’re not here to cause trouble,” William said, and bowed slightly to Emily.

Emily stayed on the stallion and watched them, “Then why did you get out of your cars and come up here?”

“We saw you up here and thought we’d come say hello.”

“New boyfriend?” Encala Elder Aaron asked.

“No, he’s a new member of the Cavalry,” Emily explained. “We’re training. Why don’t you all go back to your cars and head into the city?”

“That took way too long,” William said when the rest of the Cavalry blurred onto the hills around them. “We had ample opportunity to abduct you if we wanted.”

Mark growled.

“You’re not helping,” Emily told him.

William’s eyes narrowed, “You don’t look well.”

“Why thank you,” she sighed.

“I just mean you are pale and thin. Is there a problem?”

“She’s of no concern of yours. Get back in your cars… the Elders are waiting for you,” Mark told them angrily.

“Not until we come to an understanding about her safety,” Aaron snapped. “It took her guards way too long to get here.”

Aaron dropped to his knees and screamed as he clutched at his chest. The heku guard that Emily was working with glanced at her with wide eyes.

“Emily…” Mark growled, and Aaron slumped over, panting to catch his breath.

“I don’t need the Cavalry to keep me safe,” Emily reminded them, and Aaron finally got to his feet unsteadily.

“Do not do that again!” Aaron growled.

“What’s going on here?” Sotomar asked as the Valle Elders appeared on the mountainside.

“Well hell,” Emily yelled. “Would you all go to the palace where you’re supposed to be?”

Exavior looked over at Aaron, “Why did you burn him?”

“None of your damn business.”

“That’s it… we are not authorized to talk to the enemy Elders… Equites, all head back, and I suggest you six do the same,” Mark said. Silas slipped onto the horse behind Emily and kicked him before she could say more. Soon, they were in a gallop heading back to the city. One of the servants took their horse when they got off, and they headed into the palace.

“The Council has been waiting for you,” Derrick said as he opened the door.

Emily and Silas entered, and it was obvious that she was livid.

“What’s wrong?” Chevalier asked.

Emily walked up without saying a word and sat in the chair beside Chevalier.

“The Encala and Valle Elders saw Emily riding and decided to pay her a visit,” Silas explained. “The Cavalry was summoned by the guard with her, and there was a bit of a standoff… they are now coming in here though.”

Derrick came into the trial area, “They are here.”

Quinn looked over at Emily, “This could get heated.”

She nodded and turned to the door.

The three Encala Elders came in first, followed by the three Valle Elders. Emily turned around and took a glass of orange juice from a servant when he called for her, and then faced the enemy Elders again.

“Let’s begin then…” Zohn started, but Exavior held a hand up.

“First… the six of us are not happy with how Emily looks, and we demand an explanation.”

“Kiss my what?” Emily yelled.

“He’s not meaning to be rude,” Sotomar told her. “You are thin and pale with dark circles under your eyes, it’s disconcerting.”

“She has been ill,” Zohn told them.

“Are you better?” Exavior asked her.

“Like you care… get on with this. I don’t want to sit here all day and babysit,” she said, and sat back with her orange juice, propping her feet up on the desk.

Zohn stood up, “Agreed, let’s get this over with.”

“First, we agreed Elders only, with the exception of Emily,” Encala Elder Reese reminded them.

“Very well, we’ll move to the conference room,” Chevalier said, and stood up. He put out a hand to help Emily up, and she headed into the conference room with him.

“Why are you limping?” Valle Elder Ryan asked her.

“Because I’m accident prone,” she told him, and sat down at the head of the long table. The Elders came in and sat also.

“A limp and an illness…” Exavior said, irritated. “Can the Equites not properly care for you?”

Emily glared at him, “Watch it.”

“Let’s start with information… how many Valle covens have been attacked?” Quinn asked, quickly changing the subject.

“Over the last 3 weeks, seven of the smaller covens,” Exavior told them. “Four of those were completely wiped out, 17 heku killed.”

“And the Encala?”

“Again, over the last 3 weeks when this all started, nine of our covens have been attacked. We’ve lost 23 heku,” William said.

Quinn checked a paper in front of him, “We’ve had 8 attacks and 19 dead.”

“Who?” Emily asked, surprised she hadn’t heard any of this.

“The Ferus,” Exavior told her.

“Still liking the idea of your own faction, Moron?”

Exavior stood up, and the Equites and Encala Elders did the same.

“Sit down,” Sotomar growled at him as Exavior glared at Emily. He finally sat back down, followed by the others.

“Em… let us do this, please,” Chevalier whispered, and she nodded.

“We know they are launching attacks out of Texas, but as of yet we haven’t been able to get an exact location,” Zohn explained.

“From what we can tell,” William added. “They don’t have many scattered covens like we do. They have two or three very large ones, each one well over 2,000 heku, but we foresee that changing to fit the norm.”

“Who is leading them?” Sotomar asked.

“We don’t really know, though Vaughn is still considered a leader,” Quinn told them.

“Is he still imprisoned?”

“Yes”

“And Emily?”

“They want her banished as a former Elder,” Zohn explained.

Emily frowned but stayed silent.

“They’ve petitioned the Encala four times to be elected as a fourth faction,” William said.

“Us also,” Sotomar said, and nodded.

Chevalier sighed, “When will they get it that we aren’t going to approve a fourth?”

“When you find them, just let me go in and take them out,” Emily suggested.

“No!” all nine Elders said in unison. She raised her eyebrows and sat back.

“Yes,” Chevalier said out of the blue. A servant came in and handed Dain over to Emily, bowed, and then left quickly.

Dain immediately leaned his head against her shoulder with his nose resting against her neck while she cuddled him.

“That child is full heku!” Aaron gasped.

Emily’s arms tightened around him.

“We’re not here to talk about my son…” Chevalier hissed. “Now get on with the Ferus. We can’t have them around any longer… even if it means collaborating on a mass extermination.”

“We as Encala feel that the Valle should handle it, it’s their mess,” Encala Elder Aaron said.

“It isn’t just our mess,” Sotomar growled.

“It is so. Exavior started it, and we don’t feel like we should have to clean it up.”

“There are as many Encala in that faction as there are Valle!”

Aaron stood up, “I doubt that… Exavior had more Valle supporters, and we didn’t have a lot of banished revived either.”

“Sit down!” Emily hissed, and Aaron glanced at her before returning to his chair.

“As long as they attack all three factions, then it’s the responsibility of all three factions to help,” Quinn told them calmly.

As the arguments drew on, Emily felt her eyes getting heavier. Dain was comfortably resting against her chest and she soon drifted off. The heku lowered their voices when they noticed she’d fallen asleep. It was two hours before they came to their first agreement.

“900 are not enough,” Exavior snapped at William. “If each compound holds 2,000 or more heku, then we’ll need twice that to ensure our safety.”

William grinned, “I’m sorry if each Valle warrior can only kill half of an enemy, but the Encala could wipe out the 2,000 with only 800.”

Exavior hissed.

“No biting,” Dain said, and pointed at Exavior.

Exavior frowned slightly and then turned back to William, “I’m not saying it takes 2 Valle to kill a single Ferus…”

“That’s what you said.”

“Stop it,” Chevalier growled. “Bickering is getting us nowhere.”

“You have the largest coven in Texas. Send them out to find one of the strongholds,” Sotomar suggested.

“They are already out looking… Do you know how big Texas is?”

“Well tell them to look harder… Send out the wolves if you have to.”

“What exactly are you doing to find them?” Quinn asked.

“We’re doing plenty,” Sotomar said, irritated.

“Still your fault. I hate having to waste Encala time to clear up the Valle’s mistakes,” Aaron growled.

“Vaughn is still in the middle of this…and he is yours,” Exavior told them.

“He’s imprisoned here and no longer involved.”

“So you say… I was able to get orders out of this prison easily enough.”

Zohn hissed softly.

Reese gasped and looked at Emily with wide eyes. Chevalier looked over at her and saw Dain readied to sink his tiny teeth into her neck. He quickly took the toddler from her and sat him on his lap.

“Does the child feed from her?” Reese asked, shocked.

“No… he does not,” Chevalier said glaringly, and ordered something for Dain to drink. After the servant left, Chevalier handed the toddler a sippy cup and he settled down in his Dad’s arms.

“To have a heku child…” Sotomar said, watching Dain with amazement.

William growled, “Have you interrogated Vaughn to find a location?”

“Yes, and he doesn’t know anymore. His information is greatly out of date,” Quinn explained.

“This meeting is getting us nowhere,” Reese sighed. “Until we have a location of one of the Ferus strongholds, we can’t do much else. Let’s make arrangements for when we do find them, and disperse.”

“Agreed,” Exavior said, watching Emily sleep.

“Equal numbers… no prisoners… we kill them all,” William suggested.

“If we keep high-ranking Ferus, they can tell us more information,” Sotomar said, and hit Exavior’s leg under the table to get his attention away from Emily.

“We need at least 2 high-ranking officials, or we’ll be on the hunt all over again,” Quinn said. “We suggest we match their numbers, 2,000, in case our sources are wrong. That would be roughly 700 heku from each faction.”

“Fine, we agree,” William said after the Encala discussed it.

“So our staging point will be your Thukil?” Exavior asked.

“No, we won’t use a coven as a staging location. It’s too dangerous,” Chevalier said.

Sotomar grinned, “You don’t trust us near your coven?”

“No, actually, I don’t.”

“Interesting”

“No!” Emily yelled, and sat up suddenly. She blushed and sat back in her chair when the heku all looked to her.

Chevalier chuckled and turned back to the others, “Staging will be a neutral location. We each will send 700... As soon as we find them, that is.”

Emily reached over and took Dain from his Dad when he reached out for her. He sat in her lap and took another sippy cup.

“Agreed,” William said after a long pause.

Exavior nodded, “We agree also.”

“He is 2, correct?” Valle Elder Ryan asked.

Emily nodded, “Yes, he will be three next month.”

“Two,” Dain said, and held up his two fingers.

“Have the Ferus attempted to take Emily recently?” Sotomar asked.

“Not recently, no,” Chevalier told him.

“They’d be pretty hard pressed to get me without my entourage,” Emily said, somewhat irritated.

“We didn’t have a problem finding you with only one guard,” Exavior reminded her.

“The guards are to appease the Council. I can take care of myself.”

“Against the V.E.S. too?”

“Shut up, Exavior,” she growled.

“Was just making a point that guards are necessary.”

“Save your breath. We’ve tried that,” Zohn said.

“The plan is laid then. We’ll be in touch,” Quinn said, and was the first to stand up. The others stood up, followed by Emily.

“I can help you with your injured leg,” Sotomar told her.

“I’m fine.”

“If you change your mind, you know where to find me.”

“Yes, I do.”

The enemy Elders left the conference room and Emily turned to the Equites Elders, “I want a meeting of my own.”

Zohn glanced at Chevalier and they all sat down.

“I want Allen back in the palace,” she told them.

“He cannot return. His offense was too great,” Quinn reminded her.

“I don’t care what he did. He needs to be with his family.”

“Last I heard, he’s enjoying his time on the island,” Chevalier told her.

“I miss him,” she whispered and looked at Chevalier.

“He cannot come back.”

“He’s your son too. Don’t you want him back?”

“Not if he’s a risk to you.”

“Why aren’t your kids as important as I am?” Emily asked, frustrated.

“They are, but he’s not a child. He’s a fully grown heku.”

“Next month is Dain’s 3rd birthday… Allen should be here.”

Chevalier sighed, “Emily… no.”

“What do I have to do to get him back then?”

“Nothing, it was settled by the Council,” Zohn told her.

“Go to the island. You can visit him,” Chevalier suggested.

“I don’t want to visit my son. I want to live with him. He’s only 15…”

“He’s an adult, and made a decision that he now has to pay for,” Quinn said.

“Go to the island… that’s your only solution?” she asked, irritated.

“Yes, that is, you may visit him whenever you wish.”

“So nice to have visiting rights to my son.”

“He assaulted you, Em,” Chevalier reminded her. “He could kill you and you know it.”

“You’ve assaulted me too, but I don’t see you staying away.”

Chevalier sighed, “That was a long time ago.”

“You’re all in agreement over this?”

Zohn nodded, “Yes, we are.”

“Fine… then I’m going to the island,” she said, and stormed out, still carrying Dain.

“Wow, I didn’t think she’d go back to the island this soon,” Zohn said.

Chevalier frowned slightly, “I didn’t either, which makes me nervous.”

The Elders were just joining the Council in the council chambers when they heard Winchester 1 take off for the island.

“Who is with her?” Zohn called out.

Silas’ voice ran through the palace, “Alex and Dain. She left without guards.”

He sighed, “Of course she did.”

“Mom, I’m missing class,” Alexis grumbled, and crossed her arms.

“I don’t really care. We’re going on vacation,” Emily told her, and put Dain on the floor to play. She reached into the cooler and got a cold orange juice and then offered one to Alexis, who just rolled her eyes and declined.

“What fun is the island? It’s boring,” she complained.

“We’re not staying on the island, and watch the attitude.”

“Where are we going?”

“My house. A heku-less place where we can celebrate Dain’s birthday.”

“What about Dad?”

Emily sighed and looked out the window, “I don’t think heku really care much about birthdays.”

The rest of the flight was quiet, and only Anna came up to greet them.

“I’m sorry it wasn’t more… We didn’t know you were coming,” Anna said.

“We’re not staying. Where is Allen?”

Anna shifted nervously, “I’m not sure, Ma’am.”

“Fine, if you see him, tell him to pack… I’m going to check on the horses, and then we’re taking the truck.”

“Yes, Ma’am, shall I take Dain?”

“Yes, please. I’ll be right back… Alex, don’t go far.”

Alexis nodded and sat down in Chevalier’s room with a book. Emily went out to check on the two horses left in the barn. There was an overseer hired from the town that was watching over them, but she preferred to check up on them anyway. She got out to the barn and opened the first stall, but turned when she heard an odd noise from the loft.

Frowning, Emily climbed the old rickety ladder up into the loft, a part of the barn she avoided because of the potential for mice. What she saw made her blush deeply, the gentle rise and fall of the blanket in the corner where two heku were kissing softly.

Emily started back down the ladder, leaving the two lovers alone, but when the girl caught sight of her and gasped, Emily felt her temper rising.

“Allen!?” she yelled, and jumped back into the loft.

“Mom!” he gasped, then stood up quickly and began slipping his pants back on.

Miri wrapped herself in the blanket and began to grab her clothes.

“Mom, listen to me. I love her,” Allen said as he pulled his shirt on.

“Get in the truck,” Emily said through gritted teeth.

“Mom, no.”

“Do it or the slut gets ashed.”

Miri gasped and walked behind a stack of hay to get dressed.

“Listen to me. I’m not a child!” Allen yelled.

“Allen, maybe you better do what she says,” Miri said from behind the hay.

“Get in the truck,” she said again, and pushed Allen toward the ladder.

“I’ll be back,” Allen said to Miri, and went down the stairs.

Emily spun toward the pretty blonde heku, “Stay the hell away from my son, or I’ll hide your ashes where no one will ever find them.”

“Please, Lady Emily, we’re engaged... I love Allen,” Miri said softly.

Emily’s eyes narrowed, “You heard me, and get off this island.”

“I’m a member of this coven now.”

“Chevalier knows?”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Miri told her, her voice calm and polite.

“We’ll see about that,” Emily growled, and crawled down the ladder. She heard Miri jump down behind her, but ignored her and got into the truck. She didn’t say anything to Allen when she pulled up to the front of the castle and got out to get Dain and Alexis.

“Shall I go with you?” the door guard asked.

“No,” Emily said bluntly, and buckled Dain in. Soon, they were on the ferry headed for the mainland.

“Where are we going? I’m not allowed back in Council City,” Allen said.

“We’re getting away from the heku for a while and spending family time for Dain’s birthday,” Emily said, still angry.

“Can we get out and walk around?” Alexis asked.

Emily thought and then nodded. There wasn’t anywhere for the kids to go, so it seemed safe. She leaned back in the truck and thought about what to do with Allen.

Two hours into the trip, Emily grabbed her cell phone when it rang. She saw the caller ID and answered, “Hello, Chev.”

“Em, where are you headed to?”

“Away”

Chevalier sighed, “I’ve been talking to Allen.”

“Either he moves back into the palace, or we stay in my house.”

“Which is where, exactly?”

“Far away from Council City.”

“He’s in love with her, Em.”

“He’s not old enough to be in love… Right now, he’s thinking with his teenage hormones.”

“No he’s not. You know as well as I do that he’s advanced for his age. I’m guessing he’s closer to 25.”

“So if you caught Alexis fucking some heku at 15, you’d be ok with that?”

There was a soft growl, “That’s different. She’s mortal.”

“No it’s not different. I’m not going to let my 15-year-old sleep around.”

“He’s completely devoted to her. There’s nothing wrong with it.”

Emily hung up the phone and ignored it when it rang again. When land was in sight, she called the kids back into the truck.

“Give me your cell phone,” Emily said, and held her hand out.

“No,” Allen told her. “I’m not going to let you cut me off from Miri or Dad.”

“Give it to me or so help me you’ll never see her again.”

Allen growled and slammed the phone into her hand. She rolled down the window as she pulled off of the ferry, and tossed it into the water.

“It’s a 24 hour trip, get comfortable,” Emily told them, and headed south along I-95.

“When do we get to know where we’re going?” Alexis asked.

“When we get there. I’m not going to have your brother telling his Dad, and find my new house surrounded by guards.”

Allen crossed his arms and glared at Emily. Night fell only a few hours into the trip, and Emily stopped just long enough for fuel and strong coffee.

“Mom, just let me drive for a bit,” Allen said when Emily almost ran off the road.

She pulled over and nodded, “Just keep going south.”

Allen pulled out into traffic while Emily kicked back to get some sleep. After 6 hours, she started to drive again and felt relieved when they finally passed into Georgia.

“When did you buy a house?” Allen asked. He’d decided while driving to let his Mom cool off and do as she asked until he could talk to Chevalier and get help with Miri.

“I didn’t. It was a gift,” she said, and slipped on her sunglasses.

“From?”

Emily grinned, “Sotomar.”

Allen gasped, “Mom! This could be a trap… We could be going into the hands of the Valle.”

“We aren’t.”

“You have to stop trusting heku.”

“Apparently,” she said, in a tone that let Allen know she meant him also.

“It’s not safe.”

“It is too… You aren’t allowed in the palace, and I don’t want to stay on the island. This was the only choice I had for us to be together for a while.”

“Together, except Dad,” Alexis reminded her.

“That was his choice.”

Emily stopped just outside of Savannah and pulled out the manila envelope with the deed and directions. She found the correct route and stopped at a grocery store before taking the small road out to the plantation known as Four-Winds.

“Wow,” Alexis gasped when the large white plantation came into view. It was lined with tall white pillars and huge bay windows. The driveway looped in front of it and off to the side was a large garage.

Emily stopped by the front doors and turned off the truck.

“Let me go in first. One sign of heku and we need to leave,” Allen said, and stepped out.

Emily got Dain out of his seat and started around the house. The side opposite the garage was full of peach trees inside of a fence and the back yard was massive with a white gazebo containing hammocks and tables. There was a flower garden lining a small white fence on what Emily thought must be the property line, and a wishing well was situated off to the side of the gazebo.

She smiled and went over to check out the garage while Allen went inside to look for intruders. She opened the side door to the garage and flipped on the lights. She was surprised to see a new silver Dodge Durango parked with a big red ribbon on it. She looked inside and saw the keys in the ignition.

“The house is clear. I’m not seeing any signs of a heku,” Allen said, walking into the garage.

“Get the groceries in. I’ll be in in a second,” she said, and looked through some of the drawers in the garage. They were full of miscellaneous tools, most of which she wasn’t sure what were for.

After looking around the property again, Emily headed inside. The plantation was a good sized house, not overly ostentatious like Chevalier’s mansion. It was homey, warm, and inviting. The dual staircases leading up to the second floor were in the main foyer and doors off to the side went into sitting rooms and a large dining room.

Alex came running down the stairs, “Can I have the room in purple?”

Emily smiled, “I’ll go look.”

They both headed up the stairs and Emily immediately found the master suite with its own fireplace and master bathroom complete with a jetted tub built into the floor. She went to where Alexis was yelling for her, and saw a large bedroom decorated in various shades of purple.

“Yes, you can have this room.”

“Sweet!” Alexis yelled, and jumped onto the bed. The bookshelves in her room were lined with both educational and casual reading books, perfect for the 10-year-old.

Emily walked back out into the hallway and saw Allen in a doorway, “I’ll stay in here.”

She nodded, “I’m going to take a nap. You all are ok?”

“Sure,” he said, and looked around. “We’ll just explore, see if there’s a game room or anything.”

Alexis took Dain and Emily fell fast asleep.

Chapter 16 - Georgia

“Mom, someone’s at the door,” Allen told her. Emily put down her book and got out of the overstuffed chair. She opened the door to two gentlemen. One was an older man with short silver hair and thick rimmed glasses. The other was younger with a handsome face and messy brown hair.

“We’re sorry to interrupt. We heard someone was here,” the younger man said.

“No problem. What can I do for you?” she asked.

“I’m Aiden and this is Courtney,” he said, and motioned toward the older man.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Emily.”

The man tilted his cowboy hat and smiled.

“Well we just talked to your husband a bit,” the older man said. “He thought we’d need to run an invitation by you.”

Emily frowned, “You talked to my husband?”

“Yes, the man who answered the door.”

“That’s not my husband,” she said, irritated.

“Oh, I apologize. Anyway, we’re here on behalf of the town council. There’s a barn raising tonight, and we’d like to invite you.”

Emily smiled, “Really?”

“Yes, everyone in town’d like to meet you. We knew Four-Winds sold a few years ago, but haven’t seen anyone in it.”

“Sure, where is it?”

The older man handed her a paper with directions, “We look forward to ya’ll being there.”

Emily nodded, “Ok, we’ll see you there.”

She shut the door and put the paper on a table in the hallway.

“How are you going to explain me?” Allen asked. “I look older than you do.”

Emily frowned, “I hadn’t thought about that…”

“I mean… feel free to tell people I’m your son, but your driver’s license says you’re 19.”

“Damn”

“Brother then?”

She sighed, “That seems wrong.”

“You’re too young to even be Alexis’ mom.”

“Then you be her brother, and I’ll be her sister. She can still have Dain,” Alexis suggested. “It’ll be fun.”

“Yeah, fun,” Emily said, and headed into the kitchen to make lunch.

“How long are we staying?” Allen asked, following her in.

“I don’t know. I kind of like it here.”

“It’s been a week. We still need to talk about Miri.”

Emily looked over at him, “Let’s go tonight and have fun at the party. You and I will talk tomorrow, I promise.”

Allen shrugged, “Sure.”

“Go get dressed, and tell Alex to get ready. We’ll leave in thirty minutes.”

Allen nodded and left to get dressed. Emily ate quickly and took Dain from Alexis. They all met out in the garage and Allen tore of the big ribbon before they crawled into the new Durango and set off.

***

“Mom, you promised,” Allen said as he walked into the kitchen.

Emily dried her hands off on a towel and sat down, “Fine, let’s talk about Miri.”

“I want Dad in on this too.”

Emily grabbed her cell phone and dialed Chevalier, then put it on speaker and set it in the middle of the table.

“Good morning,” Chevalier said.

“’Mornin Chev… Allen’s here and he wants to talk about his little girlfriend.”

“Mom…”

“Sorry, Miri.”

“Ok,” Chevalier sighed. “This’d be easier in person. Why don’t you let me come over?”

“I don’t want to wait that long. I want to go back to the island,” Allen told him.

“That far away is it?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Enough… I don’t like it, he’s 15,” Emily started.

“Yes, I’ll admit he was born 15 years ago, but he’s not 15, not in body or mind,” Chevalier told her.

“I love her, Mom… We want to get bonded.”

“At 15? Over my dead body!”

“Em… you got married at 17…” Chevalier began, but Emily cut him off.

“Yeah and that worked out really well for me, too.”

“I’m not you, Mom. I’m not some hick marrying…”

“Hick?” she yelled.

“I just mean that you were in a different environment that I’m in.”

“15 is too young to get married, and having sex with Miri is statutory rape.”

“Emily!” Chevalier said, shocked.

“Well it is! She’s over 200 years older than he is.”

“Everyone I know is at least that old,” Allen reminded her.

“Exactly, which is why I suggest we stay here for a year and you attend high school. Get to know girls your own age.”

“I have issues with that,” Chevalier said.

“Then in the city. He can live in Council City and go to school in town.”

“I don’t want to go to high school,” Allen told her.

“What is the problem, then? Is it that he’s had sex, that he did it in your barn, that he has a girlfriend, or that that girlfriend is too old?” Chevalier asked, trying to clear things up.

“Yes,” Emily said, irritated.

Chevalier sighed, “Let’s deal with one thing at a time… starting with Miri’s age. 224 is not old, by any means, and Miri was turned at a very young age by the Encala.”

“Oh good, so she’s an enemy heku, too,” Emily added.

“No, she’s not. She immediately left for the Equites and has been with us for 221 years.”

“Ok then, 224 is too old for a 15-year-old.”

“How much older is Dad than you are?” Allen asked.

“I’m not talking about me. I’m talking about you.”

“224 is not too old for him, Em,” Chevalier explained. “She’s still very young.”

“Even if 224 wasn’t too old for him… 15 is too young to be having sex,” Emily told them, and glared at Allen.

“I’m only 15 in your mind.”

“Funny… I gave birth to you 15 years ago. Am I wrong to assume that makes you 15?”

“You know that’s not what I mean,” Allen said. “In many ways I’m older than you are.”

“Allen… now’s not the time…” Chevalier started.

“Don’t make me ash you, Boy… I can and you know it, then we can revive you when you’re 25,” Emily yelled.

“25? Is that when I’m old enough to have a girlfriend?”

“Yes”

Allen sighed, “You try, Dad. I’m not getting through.”

“Don’t even gang up on me about this. The entire heku population can try to tell me he’s old enough to have sex, and I’m not going to budge.”

“How old were you the first time then?” Allen asked.

Emily frowned, “That’s none of your business.”

“She was 17,” Chevalier said.

“Hey!” Emily yelled. “I was married though.”

“How old were you, Dad?” Allen asked.

Chevalier chuckled and Emily cut him off, “That doesn’t matter… things were too different when he was a kid.”

“That’s true,” Chevalier said, “But you need to realize that in the world of the heku, things are different now, too.”

“No, damnit. He’s too young to have sex, and he’s too young to get bonded to her.”

“Why?” Chevalier asked bluntly. “Let’s name the 3 main reasons humans don’t… religion, pregnancy, and disease. Those 3 aren’t a factor here.”

“Age… emotional maturity… He can’t go off and marry the first girl he finds!”

“Why keep looking when I’ve found the one I love?” Allen asked.

“Oh and Chev, don’t think you’re off the hook for allowing the little tramp to live on the island.”

“Mom! Stop calling her names or I’ll make you,” Allen growled.

“You’ll make me?” Emily asked angrily.

“Stop it you two! You’re going to end up killing each other, and I can’t come stop it,” Chevalier yelled.

Emily stood up and faced Allen, “As long as I’m alive, you won’t bond to any girl who opens her legs for you.”

Allen stood, throwing his chair back into the wall, “I warned you…”

“Damnit, stop it!” Chevalier growled.

“It’s a stupid, immature decision that only proves to me that you’re 15!” Emily screamed.

“Stupid and immature? Like dragging your kids out to stay in a house an enemy Elder gave you?” Allen yelled.

“Wait… what?” Chevalier yelled.

“That’s it…” Emily yelled, and hung up the phone.

Chevalier slammed his fist down on the table and called for Zohn.

“Enter,” Chevalier yelled when he heard a knock. Zohn walked in, frowning at the rage on Chevalier’s face.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m going to make some phone calls, and I want to know if they’re lying to me.”

Zohn nodded, “Ok.”

He sat down while Chevalier dialed.

“Encala Council,” a man’s voice said.

Zohn gasped.

“Which of you Elders bought Emily a house?” Chevalier growled.

There was silence for a few seconds before William spoke, “We’ve purchased her a few gifts, but none of them was a house.”

Chevalier looked at Zohn and he shook his head, indicating that William wasn’t lying.

“Aaron?”

“No houses,” Aaron responded.

“Reese?”

“Nope, no houses.”

“They aren’t lying,” Zohn whispered.

“Fine,” Chevalier said, and hung up the phone. He dialed again.

“Valle Council,” Exavior said.

“Who bought Emily a house and where is it?” Chevalier growled.

“Well hello, Chevalier, problems?” Exavior asked.

“Answer my question.”

Exavior sighed, “We’ve purchased several things, but not a house.”

“Ryan?”

“No, no houses.”

“Sotomar”

“Is there some kind of problem?” Sotomar asked.

“Yes and I need to get to that house as soon as possible,” Chevalier growled. “Where is it?”

“I swore I wouldn’t tell,” Sotomar said, sighing.

“You bought the Winchester a house?” Ryan asked, shocked.

“I did and it seems it’s serving its purpose.”

“Tell me, now,” Chevalier yelled.

“No, it’s her vacation home to get away from the heku,” Sotomar said calmly.

“So help me if I lose her because of your stupidity, I will kill you.”

“If there’s a problem then I will go.”

“Tell me.”

“No… I will go check on her,” Sotomar said, and the line disconnected.

Chevalier stood up and threw his chair against the wall, shattering it into small wooden splinters.

“What’s happening?” Zohn asked.

“Emily and Allen are about to kill each other, and I can’t get there to stop it.”

Zohn sighed, “You’ve tracked her phone?”

“Yes, but I doubt she’s in Siberia.”

“Allen’s?”

“It shows his last location was on the island.”

Sotomar took the Valle jet and arrived in Savannah within only a few hours. A rental car was already waiting for him, and he hopped in and sped toward the plantation. He gasped and pulled over when he saw Allen hitchhiking on the side of I-95.

Allen looked at the sleek red jaguar with the dark tinted windows, and bent down to look in when the window rolled down.

“Get in, Son,” Sotomar said.

“That’s ok. I’ll get another ride,” Allen said, and stood up.

“Just get in,” he growled.

Allen stood his ground, “I don’t fraternize with the enemy.”

“Oh for hell’s sake,” Sotomar said, and dialed the Equites Council.

“Zohn here.”

“This is Sotomar. I’ve driven to Emily’s location as promised, and found Allen hitchhiking at the side of the Interstate, but he won’t get in my car.”

There was soft talking and then Chevalier spoke, “Give Allen the phone.”

Sotomar handed it over, “Your Dad wants to speak to you.”

Allen grabbed the phone, “I didn’t kill her.”

“Where are you?”

Allen shut his eyes, “I can’t say.”

“Someone better tell me,” Chevalier yelled.

“There’s no reason to get mad. I’m hitchhiking back to the island, and then Miri and I are going to go live at Kail Coven,” Allen explained.

“Get in the car with Sotomar,” Quinn said when Chevalier didn’t answer. “Have him take you back to your mother and see if he can mediate this thing.”

“You want me to ride with a Valle, and let him interfere with my family?” Allen asked, shocked.

“As we have no other option… yes.”

Allen shut the phone and handed it back to Sotomar when he crawled into the car. Sotomar finished the drive in silence and pulled up in front of the plantation as the sun began to set.

“Get in there,” Sotomar said sternly. He and Allen walked up, and Sotomar knocked on the door.

Alexis answered and gasped, “Mom!”

“What, Alex?” Emily asked. She appeared in the doorway with Dain in her arms, then looked from Sotomar to Allen and stepped aside for them to come in.

“I came in lieu of telling Chevalier where your home is,” Sotomar explained. “Now that Allen is here, let’s go into the study and discuss things calmly.”

“You didn’t tell anyone?” Emily asked, and handed Dain over to Alexis.

“No, I did not… as promised.”

Alexis glanced nervously at Sotomar, and then took Dain up the stairs.

“Please…” Sotomar said, and opened the door to the study. Emily walked in after Allen and sat on the small couch while Allen and Sotomar sat in chairs. “What exactly caused this fight?”

“His little slut girlfriend,” Emily said, and glared at Allen.

“Take that back!” Allen yelled, and stood up.

“Sit!” Sotomar demanded, and Allen sat down with wide eyes. Sotomar’s voice calmed, “So the argument is about a girl?”

“Yes, a heku that’s too old for him and loose at that.”

Sotomar smiled slightly at Allen, “Do I understand correctly then, that you have a girlfriend and that you were engaged in sexual relations?”

Allen nodded, “Yeah, and we kinda got caught.”

“You are 15?”

“Yes… but…”

Sotomar held up his hand, “I understand that you are advanced beyond your age.”

“I don’t care if he has the mentality of an 80-year-old… he’s 15!” Emily yelled.

“Please, Dear, we’re speaking calmly here.”

Emily continued to glare at Allen.

“So this, heku, she is how old?”

“224,” Allen told him.

“Wow, a young heku.”

“224 is not young,” Emily said, irritated.

Sotomar smiled, “I see… so what is the problem then? The older girlfriend or the sexual relations?”

“She doesn’t like any of it,” Allen told him. “Nor the fact that we plan to be bonded.”

“Ok then… there must be a way to compromise.”

“Like what?” Allen asked.

“No compromises when it comes to my son,” Emily hissed.

“See! I can’t work with that.”

Sotomar put his hands up, “I am here to help as a neutral party. We have to find a solution or I will need to bring in Chevalier.”

“Fine by me, at least he’s an adult,” Allen said, and crossed his arms.

Emily stood up and got in his face, “Don’t you dare talk to me like that!”

Allen reached out and pushed against Emily’s shoulders, easily sending her backwards onto her butt on the carpet, “Try to stop me, Tiny.”

Emily scrambled to her feet and stared at Allen. He gasped, eyes wide, and groaned.

“Emily! Stop it this instant!” Sotomar yelled, and Emily looked over at him and sat down as she released Allen from the burning. “I have negotiated agreements with all three factions that had less hostility than you two… my word… Can you just calm down!?”

Allen nodded, “Sure, if she’ll keep a civil tongue in her head.”

“Let’s start with no more name calling. What is the young heku’s name?”

“Miri,” Allen told him.

Emily started to speak, but Sotomar hushed her and she glared at him.

“Very well… you two reside in Council City?”

“No, we live in Island Coven.”

“Emily… are you opposed to Allen having Miri as a girlfriend if there is no sexual conduct?” Sotomar asked.

Emily sighed, “No kissing?”

“That’s asking a bit much, Dear.”

“I guess not,” she grumbled.

Sotomar smiled, “You, Boy, are you ok to back off and go no further than kissing?”

Allen shrugged, “That’s how it starts…”

“I’m well aware of that.”

“I don’t know.”

“If it’s that or your mother keeping her a pile of ash…”

“Fine, then, for now we can do that,” Allen agreed.

Sotomar nodded, “Then no more bonding talk either until… what age?”

Emily thought, “20.”

“Twenty!? No way, I’m not waiting 5 more years to marry the woman I love,” Allen said.

“Can we say 19 then?” Sotomar asked.

“19 is too young,” Emily said.

“You were 17 though, were you not?”

Emily glared at him, “I was, and it was the dumbest thing I’ve ever done.”

“19 sounds reasonable to me,” Sotomar told them.

“Fine,” she yelled.

“That means we can get engaged when?” Allen asked.

“17?” Sotomar turned to Emily.

“Whatever”

“That is acceptable to both of you then? Engagement at 17 and bonding at 19?”

“I guess,” Allen said.

“Yes,” Emily finally told them, after a few minutes of silence. “But you keep it in your pants until 19.”

Allen sighed, “Mom…”

“No exceptions.”

“What’s it hurting? You do realize you didn’t catch us the first time…”

Emily glared at him, “No.”

Sotomar smiled, “Maybe it would be best if he discussed this with his father.”

“No way, Chevalier’s fine if he wants to screw the entire faction.”

“I love her,” Allen growled.

“You’re too young to know what love is.”

“I am not! I’ve been with Miri for 8 months, and every moment I spend with her, I fall that much more in love with her.”

“So you think!”

“Calm…” Sotomar reminded them. “Just hold off on anything more than kissing until things calm down a bit, and then bring it up with your Mother and Father together.”

Allen sighed and nodded, “Yeah, ok.”

“You two have got to learn some control,” Sotomar told them. “You are both aware that at any moment you can kill the other… especially you, Allen.”

Allen nodded and looked down at his hands, “I know.”

“I need to get back to the Valle Palace. Shall I take Allen to Council City on my way?”

Emily looked up at Allen, “You want to go back?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Fine, then you can go… but don’t tell anyone where this place is.”

“I won’t. I know how important it is to you,” Allen promised her.

Allen walked up to get his things, and Emily turned to Sotomar, “Thank you.”

Sotomar smiled, “My pleasure, Child. I wish we could be friends again.”

She shrugged, “I do too, but after what you and William did, I just don’t know.”

“Maybe, someday.”

“Yes, maybe.”

“I’m ready,” Allen said.

***

“Elder,” Derrick said, walking into the council chambers. “Valle Elder Sotomar is at the front gates with Allen, but the guards won’t let him.”

Zohn gasped, “Sotomar has Allen?”

“Let Allen in and bring him here,” Chevalier said.

“Yes, Elder,” Derrick said, and disappeared. Only a few minutes later, Allen came in with a bag over his shoulder.

“I just need to get back to the island,” Allen explained.

“First off, where is your mother’s house?” Chevalier asked.

“I won’t tell you that. I promised her.”

“It’s not safe, and it’s negligent of you to keep that from us.”

“Nevertheless, I am.”

Chevalier growled, “You are looking for a lot of trouble.”

“I am either way I answer that. Right now, Mom and I are on shaky enough ground without adding this.”

“It’s not safe.”

“It is safe. I checked it out myself, and we even went to a community event and I saw no heku.”

“Still…”

“If there is an emergency, then I will reconsider, but for now, she’s safe.”

“What did Sotomar do?” Quinn asked.

“He negotiated something that both Mom and I can live with for now,” Allen explained.

“Very well, we’ll have you taken back to the island.”

Allen nodded and headed for the door.

“We can reconsider letting you stay in Council City,” Chevalier told him.

Allen turned at the door, “I prefer the island. Both Miri and I like it there.”

Chevalier nodded and Allen bowed slightly and left.

“Sotomar is slowly weaseling his way into Emily’s life,” Zohn said, irritated.

“Yes he is, and I wish I knew his intentions,” Chevalier told him.

“It may be a ploy to get us to side with the Valle in exterminating the Encala.”

“Maybe… let’s get on with this land dispute. I’m tired of being in here.”

Quinn grinned, “I second that.”

***

“There’s no use fighting. You can’t get away,” the heku in black said as he shut the door to the ceremonial room. This one was different. The runes on the ceiling were painted instead of etched.

“Don’t do this,” Emily warned.

“Why not? There are no guards. Not even your son is around,” he said, and grinned.

Emily looked around at the 12 heku in blue as they began to sway slightly.

“No!”

“It’s all too perfect. No one knows where you are… you’ll simply disappear, and you’ll be one of us,” another heku told her, a tall woman with fierce black eyes. “Yisolatara.”

Emily sat up suddenly in bed and flipped on the light.

The voice rang through her mind, clear as a bell, a harsh whisper, “Run.”

Emily scrambled out of bed. She could feel eyes on her. She was being watched from the shadows of the room and from the dark window. Everywhere she turned, there were eyes on her. She grabbed Dain out of bed and rushed to Alexis’ room.

“Shhh, Alexis, be very quiet,” Emily whispered as she picked the young girl up from her bed.

“What’s wrong?” Alexis whispered. Emily didn’t answer, but carried them quickly down the stairs. She ran across the yard, still in her nightgown, and sat Alexis down in the back of the truck, then put Dain into his car seat. Emily glanced back one more time and then spun out and left the plantation.

“Mom, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Emily whispered, and glanced nervously in her rear view mirror.

“Then why are we leaving in the middle of the night? You don’t even have shoes on.”

“We just are.”

Alexis looked back behind them, “No one’s back there… you’re afraid of something. What’s wrong?”

“Just go to sleep, Alex.”

Alexis crossed her arms and watched her Mom driving quickly, swerving in and out of any traffic they came to. Emily didn’t speak, and when she stopped for fuel, she paid at the pump and quickly left.

Two days later, they arrived at Council City and Emily sped through the front gates and pulled up into the garage. She leaned her head on the steering wheel and wrapped her arms around herself.

Alexis opened the door and ran into Chevalier’s arms, “I missed you!”

Chevalier kissed the top of her head, “I missed you too. What’s wrong with your Mom?”

Alexis shrugged, “She won’t say. We left in the middle of the night. She didn’t even let us get dressed, and she’s been driving fast and watching everyone around her like they were going to attack… it was creepy.”

“Get Dain inside,” he told her, and as she followed his request, he opened the driver’s door. Emily looked over at him and lunged into his arms, burying her face in his chest. He held her tightly until she calmed down, “What happened?”

She shook her head, “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Come on inside,” he said, and pulled away from her. She wrapped her arms around his arm and let him lead her inside.

“Welcome back,” Quinn said when they entered the main foyer.

“Thanks,” she mumbled, and tightened her grip on Chevalier.

“We have something we need to do for about an hour,” Chevalier told her.

“Do you have to?”

Chevalier frowned, “No, I guess not… We can postpone it.”

“Yes, we can,” Quinn agreed. “Is there a problem?”

“No,” Emily said softly.

Chevalier whispered too low for her to hear, “She won’t say.”

“Let’s meet in 2 hours?”

Chevalier looked at Emily, “Will that be ok?”

“Actually, go now.”

“Are you sure?”

She nodded, “Yes.”

“We won’t be long. May I bring your guards?” Quinn asked.

“Give me 30 minutes. I’ll head out to Cavalry training to see what’s happening.”

Quinn nodded and left with Chevalier. Emily waited until they were gone, and headed to the secret door leading to the ceremonial room. The only time she was in the secret room in the palace, was when she was under the influence of an ancient, and she didn’t remember it. The only others she’d seen were in the castle, in Exavior’s coven, and in a remote Encala coven.

Emily checked around to make sure no one was watching, and opened the door. As she walked, her heart began to pound in her chest and she couldn’t hear past the sound of it in her ears. Her breathing got faster and she felt a sweat forming. The heavy stone door came closer. She knew it was normally propped open, and was relieved to see it still was.

As she got closer to it, she got on her hands and knees and slowly inched toward the ominous room. She fought to breathe. She had to see into the room, but it held fear beyond her memory. When she was within arm’s reach of the room, she stretched forward, keeping her body as far away from it as she could, and craned her neck to see into it. She needed to see the ceiling, needed to see if the voices were warning her of something about to happen in Council City.

She had to wait for her eyes to adjust, and when they did, she saw the dark etchings of the runes on the ceiling.

“What are you doing in here?” a gruff voice said from behind her.

Emily screamed and turned the strange heku to ash, then hurried to her feet and ran for the hidden door in a panic. As she barreled through the hidden door into the palace, Silas and Kralen both froze and looked at her with wide eyes.

“Emily, did you scream?” Silas asked curiously.

She ran past them. Panic had taken over, and she rushed to get as far away from the ceremonial room as she could.

“Em?” Kralen called after her, but she disappeared around a corner.

“Why in the world would she be in there?” Silas asked, and walked through the secret door. Kralen followed him toward the ceremonial room until they came to the pile of ash on the floor.

Kralen growled and called for Kyle.

“What’s up?” Kyle asked as he approached them in the dark passageway.

Silas moved aside and Kyle caught sight of the ash.

His eyes narrowed, “He brought Emily down here?”

“I suspect so. She’d never come down here of her own volition,” Kralen said. “We were walking down the hallway when she came running out of here like a bat out of hell.”

“Time to talk then,” Kyle said, and pulled out the dagger. He let a single drop of blood fall onto the pile of ash, and screams filled the hallway as the heku reformed. As soon as he was whole, Kralen and Silas restrained him.

“That Bitch!” the heku servant screamed.

“You have a lot of explaining to do,” Kyle growled. “Why did you bring Lady Emily down here?”

The servant’s eyes grew wide, “I didn’t! I heard someone in the passage and came in here. She was here by herself.”

“I doubt that,” Kyle said, and headed into the palace while the Captains brought the servant with them.

“I swear, I didn’t take her down there,” he said pleadingly.

“I wouldn’t want to be you when you have to explain to Elder Chevalier why you took his wife into a restricted section of the palace,” Silas said, grinning.

“I didn’t!”

“Sure you did. She’d never go down there by herself,” Kralen yelled, and pushed the heku harder.

Derrick opened the door for them and they all stepped into the council chambers. Chevalier and Quinn were the only ones missing, and the guards brought the servant forward while Kyle took his seat.

“What’s the problem?” Zohn asked, eyeing the servant.

“Found this guy as a pile of ash in front of the ceremonial room,” Kyle explained.

“In front of the hidden door?”

“No, in front of the stone door.”

Zohn’s eyes narrowed, “I take it you didn’t turn him to ash?”

“No, Elder, I didn’t,” Kyle said, and looked down at the servant.

“You have to believe me! I didn’t take her in there,” the servant said, nervously glancing along the row of council members.

“Hmm, he’s not lying,” the Chief Interrogator said.

“If you didn’t take her, then who did?” Zohn asked.

“She was there alone… I heard a noise and went to see who was down there,” the servant said hastily. “She was on her hands and knees, and was stretching to see the ceiling… I asked what she was doing, and the next thing I knew I was being revived.”

Zohn frowned, “No one else was there?”

“No, Elder.”

Zohn glanced at the Chief Interrogator, and then to Kyle, “He’s not lying… why would Emily be down there?”

“I can’t imagine her going in there alone.”

“Neither can I.”

“I swear to you… I didn’t take her there.”

“Didn’t take who where?” Chevalier asked as he and Quinn entered the council chambers.

“Lady Emily, I would never take her into the ceremonial room!”

“I would hope not,” Chevalier said as he raised his eyebrows. “What exactly did we miss?”

“He was found as a pile of ash just before the stone door into the ceremonial room,” Kyle explained again. “Kralen and Silas found him after Emily ran from the hallway.”

“What were you hoping to accomplish?” Chevalier asked the servant angrily.

“I didn’t take her down there!”

“He’s not lying,” the Chief Interrogator told them.

“Derrick, bring in Lady Emily,” Quinn called out.

A few minutes later, Derrick came in, “She’s in her office but won’t talk… I can hear her breathing, but she won’t answer.”

Chevalier sighed and walked out to her office. He knocked, “Em, can you come to the door?”

Slowly, the door opened and she peeked out.

“Before we banish a servant… were you taken to the ceremonial room, or did you go there on your own?”

She looked at the ground, “I went there.”

“You’re not lying to me to protect him?”

She shook her head.

“Why would you go there?”

Emily shrugged.

“Come tell the Council, please.”

“No,” she whispered.

“You’re not in trouble for going there. We just want to make sure you weren’t taken.”

“I wasn’t.”

“Then why did you turn him to ash?”

“He scared me.”

Chevalier watched her, and then shook his head, “Ok… the Cavalry is waiting for you though.”

“Ok,” she said, and watched him.

He watched her for a second, and then returned to the council chambers and sat down, “She says she walked there by herself and he scared her… Let him go.”

Kralen and Silas nodded and let the servant go. He bowed slightly and made a hasty exit.

“She’s heading out to the Cavalry training. See if she’ll talk to you,” Chevalier said.

They both bowed slightly and disappeared.

“Why would she go in there? She’s terrified of that room,” Zohn said.

“I don’t know. I’m guessing she won’t tell anyone.”

Emily finally went out to the stables and threw a saddle and bridle on her stallion, then hoisted up onto him, and walked him out to where the Cavalry was going over how to tackle a heku from horseback. She rode up and stopped beside Kralen and Silas.

“Welcome back,” Silas said, and smiled.

“Thanks”

Emily turned and looked at the trees to their back when she felt eyes on her. She scanned the forest carefully and then turned back around, noticing both Silas and Kralen were also looking toward the trees, but turned around when she did.

“Got it,” Emily said as a horse took off running in a panic when the heku rider dove off. She kicked her stallion into a gallop and leaned forward with the lasso in her hand. She was out beyond the trees when she got control of the frantic mare, then spun suddenly in the saddle and looked around. She could no longer see the Cavalry and was completely surrounded by trees.

She could feel the hair on the back of her neck stand up as she heard the wind blowing through the tree leaves, sending a soft whisper down through the forest. Emily kicked her horse again into a gallop and tore through the trees, emerging onto the green lawn quickly. She took a deep breath and walked the mare back to its rider before returning to Kralen and Silas.

“You ok?” Silas asked, frowning. He could hear her heart pounding rapidly in her chest.

She nodded, and then turned to look at the trees behind her again. She couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being watched. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a shadow dart behind the corner of the palace. She gasped, and crawled down off her horse and put her back to the wall, inching along it toward the corner.

Emily wasn’t aware she was being watched by the entire Cavalry as she crouched low to the ground when she reached the corner, and carefully peeked around the brick building, keeping as low as she could.

“What’s wrong?” Silas asked from directly behind her.

Emily screamed briefly and stood up to face him. When she saw who it was, she calmed some, “Nothing.”

“Then why so jumpy?”

“I’m not.”

Silas stepped to the corner and looked across the lawn carefully, but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. When he turned back, Emily was already mounting her stallion and Mark had called the Cavalry back to training.

He shrugged and remounted his horse and began watching the new recruits.

Emily turned suddenly and looked behind her toward the trees again. This time she was certain someone was watching her. She strained to see who it was, but saw nothing but the forest.

“Would you stop that? You’re making me feel like I need to go kill something,” Kralen said to her. When she didn’t turn around, Mark noticed.

“Em?”

Mark, Silas, and Kralen watched her scan the trees. She was breathing shallowly.

“Emily!” Mark said, louder.

She jumped and turned around to face him, “What?”

“What are you looking for?” Mark asked.

“Nothing”

He sighed, “If you were in trouble, you’d tell us, right?”

“Probably”

“Gah, I hate that word… yes or no?”

“Probably,” she said again.

“Are you?”

“No”

“Training’s almost over, let’s go get some pizza,” Silas suggested.

“Great idea,” Mark said, and called for the new recruits to get their horses put away.

Emily tried to calm her voice, “No thanks.”

“Steak?”

“No, really, I just want to stay in tonight.”

“Dancing?”

“Really…”

“Something’s wrong,” Mark said, and narrowed his eyes. “I don’t like it.”

“I’m fine,” she said, and slid off of her horse and headed him into the stables.

When his horse was put away, Silas turned to talk to Emily, and saw her standing at the stable door with Mark and Kralen off in the shadows watching her. She leaned forward and looked around the area, and then took off running for the palace entrance.

Mark growled, “She’s not telling us something.”

“Agreed, maybe we should keep her guards at Commander and above for now,” Kralen suggested.

Mark nodded, “Good, you two get Jaron, and I’ll meet you up at her door.”

Silas and Kralen disappeared and came back with Jaron. They all headed inside and were quickly told she was in her office. They met Mark at her office door and they all turned to stand guard.

The Elders, on their way to their own offices, saw Emily’s guards and walked over to her door.

“Quite the high-ranks tonight. Is there a problem?” Chevalier asked.

Mark shrugged, “We don’t know. She won’t tell us.”

“Sounds familiar.”

“Something’s up though,” Silas explained. “She’s jumpy, she keeps checking around corners, and scanning areas around her.”

Chevalier frowned, “She won’t say why?”

“Nope”

Emily opened the door at that moment and screamed, then put her hand on her chest, “Don’t do that!”

“Do what? We’re just standing here,” Zohn told her.

“Jumpy tonight?” Quinn asked.

“No,” she replied, and went to shut her office door.

“Wait, Em… come to my office for a sec,” Chevalier told her, and put his hand out.

Emily nodded and took his hand. The others waited by her door as they walked to his office and went inside, shutting the door. Chevalier sat down in his large leather chair and motioned for her to sit in a chair beside him. She stepped past the chair and sat on his lap, facing him.

He took her face in his hands, “Tell me what’s going on.”

She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his as her hands started to unbutton his shirt.

***

Chevalier chuckled, “That’s not why I asked you in here.”

Emily pulled his cape over her and leaned back against him, “I know.”

“You’re stalling… not that I really mind.”

“My house…”

“Yes?”

“It’s outside of Savannah, Georgia. A plantation called Four-Winds.”

He sighed, “Why are you telling me?”

“I thought you wanted to know.”

“I do… but didn’t think you’d tell me.”

“Just don’t fill it full of guards.”

He moved her hair off of her neck and ran his lips along it softly. She shivered and grinned.

“I won’t fill it full of guards… Did something happen there?” he asked her, and wrapped his arms around her.

“Not really.”

“Not really?”

“Have you ever been in a ceremonial room where the runes were painted on the ceiling instead of etched into the rock?” She turned to face him.

Chevalier frowned, “No… have you?”

“No,” she said, and leaned back against him again.

“Why do you ask then?”

She shrugged and ran her nails along the muscles in his forearms.

“Tell me,” he whispered into her ear.

“I can’t.”

“Why?”

“You’ll think I’m crazy,” she said, and got up to get dressed.

“I already do.”

Emily turned around and smiled, “More so.”

Chevalier got up and began to get dressed, “Until you calm down, you have the highest ranking in the Cavalry watching you.”

“I’m calm,” she said, and waited for him to get dressed before opening the door.

“No, you’re not,” he said, and followed her out.

“The Elders need you in the council chambers,” Mark told him.

Chevalier nodded and blurred away.

“What’s going on?” Emily asked. There was an air of tension in the palace.

“Not sure,” he lied.

Four strange guards came up to them, “We’re here, General.”

“Em we’re letting them take over for a bit… please don’t slip them,” Mark said as they headed off.

Emily glanced at the four city guards and shrugged before heading down to the council chambers.

“We can’t go in there, Ma’am,” the Lieutenant said.

“You don’t have to. I’ll be right out,” she said, and stepped into the ante-chamber. She started to open the door to the council chambers, but stopped when she heard Quinn.

“What the hell were they thinking?!”

“I don’t know, but the repercussions for wiping out that entire city are astronomical,” Chevalier said angrily.

“Did the Encala’s Council get away?” Zohn asked.

A strange voice answered, “I don’t know, Sir.”

“The entire city?”

“Mostly, they burned a lot of the houses and the heku that survived fled.”

Emily frowned and her heart sank.

“Get them on the phone. I want answers,” Quinn growled.

Emily glanced back at the door her guards were at, and used the other door out the side, then took the steps down two-at-a-time and crawled into her Aero. Before she floored it, a strange guard jumped into the passenger seat, and she took off as he buckled in awkwardly, unable to sit up straight in the short car.

“Who are you?” she asked, flying past the gate guards.

“Liam, Ma’am. I’m one of the palace guards.”

“And why the hell did you get into my car?”

“I’m not really sure… but you aren’t supposed to be out alone, and I was the closest.”

Emily sighed and slowly took the Aero up to 6th gear once she hit the Interstate.

“Where are we going?” Liam asked.

“West”

At top speeds, she was at the Encala Palace turnoff in just under 8 hours. She ignored her cell phone, and when Liam tried to make a call, she took his and tossed it out the window. Since then, he’d sat quietly in his seat and watched.

As they passed into Encala City, Emily frowned when there were no gate guards.

Liam gasped, “We’re in Encala City?”

“Yes”

“I can’t be here!” he yelled.

“Then you shouldn’t have gotten into my car,” she told him. Emily gasped and watched sadly as they passed the burnt out ruins of houses, and the lifeless city passing them by as she headed for the palace.

She parked in front of the palace and got out. There were no guards at the front doors, and the double-doors stood slightly ajar.

“I can’t be here,” Liam said again.

“Shut up, Liam.”

Emily opened the doors and her heart sunk. There were dead heku all over the main foyer, torn to pieces as blood covered every surface. She took the stairs up quickly, ignoring Liam behind her, and opened the door to the council chambers.

“William?” she called out, but no one answered. She slowly took the stairs up to the Council’s chairs, afraid of what she might find, but the platform was empty.

“I can’t be in here,” Liam told her.

Emily ignored him and stepped out into the hallway, and yelled, “William?”

Seeing a gray cape, Emily knelt down by the dead heku and took the cape in her fingers, running her thumb along the intricately designed V.

“The Valle,” she whispered, and looked around at the pieces of heku strewn around the stairs.

“Seriously… I can’t be…”

“Shut up!” she screamed, and started up the stairs. “William!?”

The sound of raspy breathing came from up the stairs, and Emily ran up them. She knelt down beside one of the Encala Guards and looked him over. He was covered in vicious bites and his head was almost completely removed. He looked up at her with panicked eyes.

“Can he survive this?” Emily asked, turning to Liam.

Liam was looking around, “I can’t be in here…”

“Liam! Can he survive this?”

He looked down at the Encala, and nodded.

Emily took his hand, “I’ll wait while you heal…”

The Encala Guard stopped moving and his eyes fell motionless. Emily leaned down and listened to his chest, but heard nothing. She put her head against his chest and squeezed his hand as she cried.

“Emily?” William said from behind her, shocked. Before she looked up, she heard the angry hiss of the Equites Guard.

She looked up with red eyes at the entire Encala Council, “I don’t think he can heal.”

William knelt down beside her and looked at the guard, “No, he’s gone.”

“Get away from her!” Liam growled.

“He’s not hurting her,” Encala Elder Aaron said, still surprised to see Emily in their battered palace.

Suddenly, the palace filled with Encala guards as they began to arrive from nearby covens to reinforce the palace. Four of them surrounded the lone Equites Guard and crouched.

“Stand down,” the Chief Interrogator said to them. “I don’t think he’s here to hurt us.”

Emily kept the dead heku’s hand in hers and looked around at the carnage. Her heart ached at the deaths, “The Valle did this?”

William glanced at Aaron, and then back to Emily, “Yes.”

“Why?”

“We’re in a dispute with them over claims to land in Europe.”

Emily frowned, “This was over land?”

“Yes, important land.”

“Dear, do the Equites know you’re here?” Aaron asked her.

When she didn’t answer, Liam spoke, “I don’t think so.”

William stood up and pulled Emily up to standing, “You shouldn’t be here.”

He led her into the Elder’s conference room, where there was no sign of the bloodshed. The Council followed them in and she sat down with Liam standing behind her, then sunk her head into her hands.

“Emily, listen to me. You need to go back to Council City… This isn’t a game, and it’s too dangerous for you to be here,” William told her.

“Let’s go, Ma’am,” Liam said, and tried to help her up.

“The Valle?”

William nodded, “Yes.”

She reached over and hit the speakerphone on the conference table and dialed.

“Surprised you found a working phone,” Sotomar said, amused.

“How could you?” Emily whispered.

There was a long pause, “Who is this?”

“Hang up the phone,” Aaron said, and reached over to hang it up.

Emily batted his hand away, “How many did you kill?”

“Emily!?” Exavior gasped. “Why are you there?”

She nodded and her eyes filled up again, “You’ll pay for this.”

“What!?” Sotomar yelled.

“Damnit,” William growled, and hung up the phone. “We’re getting a helicopter to return you to Council City.”

“We drove,” Liam told him.

“We’ll return her car. She needs to get out now.”

The guard nodded, “Let’s go then. I’m not supposed to be here.”

William grinned, “Neither is she.”

“Where’s Reese?” Emily asked when they all stood up.

William glanced at Aaron, “He was in the initial attack.”

She frowned, “He’s dead?”

“Yes”

“How many are dead?”

“Emily, you really need to get out of here. The Valle can come back,” Aaron said, and put a hand out to her.

“Good, I’ll wait for them.”

“No,” William, Liam, and Aaron all said at once.

Emily crossed her arms and sat back in the chair, “Touch me and I’ll turn you to ash.”

“Lady Emily, we have to go. Council City has no idea where we are, they must be worried sick about you,” Liam told her. He was starting to shift nervously.

“How many, William?” she asked again.

He sighed, “Approximately 1800.”

“That’s all?” Liam asked, surprised.

“We were able to get a lot out of the city in time.”

“That’s all?” Emily yelled. “What the hell kind of statement is that! That’s all? Oooh, only 1800 dead… no biggie.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Liam told her.

“I apologize,” Frederick, the Chief Enforcer said to her.

“For what?” she asked.

Frederick blurred behind her and gave her an injection before she could protest.

“No!” she screamed. “Why did you… do… that…?”

Liam growled when William began to pick her up, and lifted her into a cradle instead.

“The helicopter is waiting to take you back… Her car is already on the way,” Aaron said to him.

Within a few minutes, Liam and Emily were flying out of Encala City toward Council City.

“Equites Base from Encala 2,” the pilot called.

“Go for base,” a man’s voice replied.

“Requesting permission to land.”

“Permission denied, Equites out.”

“Wait… we have Lady Emily,” the pilot said, and there was a long pause.

A few seconds later Kyle spoke, “Repeat last, Encala 2.”

“I’m just returning Lady Emily and her guard, and then I’ll be off.”

“Permission to land on the roof of the palace.”

“Roger that,” the pilot said, and glanced back at Liam, who was still holding Emily. When the enemy helicopter landed, the entire Cavalry filed out of the doors and surrounded it.

“Stay in there,” Mark yelled at the pilot, and he nodded.

Liam opened the door and jumped out, still holding onto Emily as she lay motionless in his arms. As soon as they were out, the Encala pilot took off back to his own city.

“You have a lot of explaining to do!” Chevalier yelled at Liam when he stepped out onto the roof.

“I know, Sir. I have a lot of answers,” Liam said.

“What’s wrong with her?”

“Frederick drugged her, Sir. She wouldn’t leave.”

“Mark, take her to bed. I want to talk to Liam,” Chevalier said, and eyed the guard carefully. The frightened palace guard handed Emily over to the General and followed Chevalier down the stairs. He headed toward Derrick, while Chevalier went through the back and sat down in his seat.

“Bring him in,” Zohn called out.

Kralen and Silas entered with Liam, who was now restrained and was forced to kneel in front of the Council.

Chevalier growled and Liam looked at him nervously.

“There are just too many questions to even ask,” Quinn said angrily.

“I… I can explain it all… I broke no protocol,” Liam said fretfully.

“Start with how in the hell you left with Emily,” Kyle snapped.

Liam sighed, “I was on duty in the garage when she came running in without guards. I debated, and then jumped into her car at the last minute.”

“So you didn’t help her escape?” Kralen asked.

“No, Sir, I did not… I merely saw her leaving alone and decided she needed a guard.”

“Then you thought it safe to head to Encala City… a city that was just attacked?” Chevalier yelled, and pounded his fist on the table.

“No! I didn’t know where we were going, and she threw my phone out the window. It wasn’t until we pulled through the gates to Encala City that I knew where we were, and by then, I couldn’t get her to turn around.”

“So far he’s telling the truth,” the Chief Interrogator told them.

“Of course I am! I did nothing wrong.”

“Keep going…”

“She wouldn’t answer her phone, and when we got to the Encala Palace, she stopped the car and got out. Again she wouldn’t stop and I felt if I were to force her she would turn me to ash… so I followed her. She ran inside and looked at all of the dead heku.”

Chevalier calmed slightly, “Go on…”

Liam swallowed and then continued, “She ran into the council chambers, yelling for William, but no one answered. I again told her we needed to come back, but she wouldn’t listen. She then ran into the hallway to call for William and found an Encala Guard, badly injured. She knelt down by him, but he couldn’t talk… his head was only hanging on by a small piece of skin.”

Kyle shut his eyes. He already knew this was going to cause a lot of emotional problems for her.

“She asked if he could heal and I said yes… I honestly thought he could, but he ended up dying as she held his hand. That’s when the Encala Council arrived, except for Reese, who was already dead.”

“Elder Reese is dead from the Valle attack then?” Zohn asked.

“Yes, Elder. William finally got her into a conference room, and that’s when she called the Valle and threatened them…”

“Wait, she what?” Chevalier asked, shocked.

“She told them they’d pay for what they did to the Encala, Sir.”

Kyle sighed, “Of course she did, damnit.”

“Sotomar yelled, and William hung up the speakerphone and told Emily she had to get out of the city. That’s when Emily crossed her arms and said anyone that touched her would be turned to ash. She got the number of dead… 1800… and William told her she needed to leave, that the Valle could be back, but she said she was going to wait for them.”

Chevalier sunk his head into his hands.

“Frederick appeared with some type of shot, and before I could stop him, he’d given it to her. William offered us a ride back and her car is being returned by an Encala,” Liam finished, almost out of breath.

Quinn nodded, “Report to your General, you’re granted a week long furlough.”

Liam sighed, “Thank you, Sir.”

Derrick released Liam’s restraints, opened the door for him, and Liam blurred out.

“We’ll need damage control over this,” Dustin said. “The Valle may see us as a threat now that Emily has threatened them.”

“I don’t think they would dare touch us,” Zohn told him. “They know that Emily is upset about the Encala, but they would already be dead if they tried to attack any Equites.”

“I’m not as worried about the Valle attacking us as I am Emily attacking them,” Chevalier said, mostly to himself.

“She’ll take this as a personal attack, even though it had nothing to do with her,” Kyle explained to the others.

“How can she? It was a land dispute, and we all saw this coming,” the Chief Investigator asked.

Chevalier sighed, “She’s somehow appointed herself to protect the entire heku species… mostly the Equites, but in a smaller part all of the others. She was once friends with the enemy Elders, and although they betrayed her, she’s always felt a connection to them, Reese included.”

“You think she might honestly go after the Valle?” Zohn asked.

“I think she’ll be torn… She’s not going to want to hurt the Valle either… Kyle, come with me. She will wake up soon if it was just a sedative,” Chevalier said, and stood up.

“We’ll call Sotomar and smooth things over,” Quinn whispered, deep in thought.

Chevalier and Kyle left just as Zohn dialed the Valle Council.

“Valle here,” a strange voice said.

“This is Zohn. I need to talk to an Elder.”

“They… they aren’t here right now,” the man sounded nervous. “They are on the way to Council City.”

Kralen and Silas glanced at each other.

“Oh?” Zohn said. “Not enough to attack the Encala?”

“No! Not to attack… not to attack the Equites… to talk to the Lady, to see if they can make it up to her.”

Zohn raised an eyebrow, “All three Valle Elders are coming here to try to make nice with Emily?”

There was a brief pause, “Yes.”

“How long until they arrive?”

“Later this morning.”

Zohn smiled and hung up the phone, “This should be interesting.”

Emily felt herself rising out of the drug induced fog. She wasn’t sure where she was, and her eyes were too heavy to open.

“Em?” Chevalier asked softly, and touched her cheek.

She heard his voice and was finally able to open her eyes.

He smiled, “We got you some coffee to help you wake up.”

Emily sat up slowly, her head swimming, and took the coffee from Kyle.

“You scared us to death. Do you know that?” Kyle told her.

She nodded and sipped her coffee as the memories from the last 24 hours swept back to her, “Heku need to stop drugging me to get their way.”

Chevalier grinned, “Sometimes it’s the only way to keep you safe.”

“It’s not funny. It’s an assault,” she said, and finished her coffee.

“Understood, sometimes we forget,” Kyle told her, and then took the empty cup.

“Don’t be mad at Liam,” she said, and looked over at Chevalier.

“We aren’t. He told us everything and has been given a vacation.”

“Encala City is in ruins.”

“We know,” Kyle told her. “What concerns us is that you went there… there could still have been fighting.”

“I could have saved some of them.”

“You could have died in the process.”

Her eyes became pained, “They left some of them to suffer.”

Chevalier simply nodded.

“1800 dead… not turned to ash… dead.”

“Em, we know,” Kyle said softly.

Her eyes filled with tears and she wrapped her arms around her knees and sunk her head between her arms, “How can the Valle do that?”

“The Encala and the Valle both want land in Europe. It’s critical land that could be used as a central staging point for attacks and defense in Europe,” Kyle told her.

“So they kill one another over it?”

“Yes, just like humans have done in the past. Land can be very important.”

“I threatened the Valle,” she said, and looked up at them.

Chevalier smiled slightly, “We heard.”

“While we’re talking, do you want to let us know who’s after you?” Kyle asked.

Emily shook her head.

“So someone is after you.”

“I don’t know.”

“What makes you think someone may be?”

She shrugged.

“Mark said they could use your help today,” Chevalier told her, and touched her arm.

“Let me take a shower and I’ll go.”

Kyle and Chevalier left and went back to the council chambers. They were both shocked to hear that the Valle Elders would be arriving that morning to speak to Emily.

Emily quickly showered and braided her hair before pulling on a light sun dress. It was warm out and she didn’t feel like riding anyway. She’d rather stay on the ground in the shade. She smiled at the door guards, and then checked the lawn before heading out to the stables. Everyone knew by now that she’d made an impromptu trip to Encala City immediately following a Valle attack, and were furious.

She walked up to stand by Silas and Kralen, though they didn’t talk to her at all. She watched as Mark leveled a rifle at a nearby tree and shot. One of the horses reared angrily, sending its rider flying over his head and onto the ground. Emily quickly moved forward and took his reins, and was able to calm him down.

As the rider approached the horse, the stallion’s ears laid back against his head and he whinnied angrily and stomped at the heku.

“Hey!” Emily yelled, and pulled the horse to look at her. “Stop it.”

The stallion lowered his head to her, but kept a close eye on the heku. She rubbed his nose softly and leaned her head against his muzzle.

“Fascinating to watch her with animals,” Exavior said from behind them. Suddenly, the entire Cavalry was off their horses and surrounding the Valle Elders.

Sotomar smiled, “We’re not here to cause trouble.”

Emily looked over at them and decided to let Mark have at them. She wanted to calm the horse.

Mark crouched slightly, “If you have a meeting with the Council then get inside, if you don’t, then I suggest you leave Council City immediately.”

“It’s actually Emily we wish to talk to,” Exavior told him calmly.

Mark stood up and listened to something, “You’re to meet with the Council first. We’ll bring Emily in when they are ready.”

“Very well,” Sotomar said. The three Valle Elders followed four members of the Cavalry inside.

“Walk up here slowly,” Emily said as she rubbed the horse’s neck.

The heku inched forward with his hands out, but the stallion began to shift nervously. Emily held it still, and within a few minutes, the heku was able to touch the horse’s nose and rub it softly.

“Ok, hold his reins,” she told him, and hoisted herself into the saddle. “Hand me a gun.”

“You sure that’s a good idea?” Mark asked as he handed it to her.

“No, I’m not,” she told him. She leveled the rifle at a nearby tree and then felt the familiar sensation of being watched. She turned suddenly in the saddle, and carefully looked at the woods behind them.

Emily lifted the rifle, and used the scope to better see the distant trees, looking for any sign of someone in them.

“Go,” Mark whispered, and four of the full Cavalry members took off on foot toward the trees she was looking at.

She turned back to Mark, “They don’t need to go search the woods.”

“Then what were you looking for?”

Emily sighed, “Nothing.”

“Then they look,” he told her, irritated.

“Ok, hold on,” she said, and again leveled the rifle at the tree. She shot a single bullet and then held on while the horse began to step backwards away from the heku. She patted the stallion’s neck, “Shhhh.”

Once he calmed down, she again shot a single bullet and this time the horse’s ears laid back briefly, but he didn’t move. Another shot rang out and the horse stayed steady. Emily slipped off of him and motioned for the heku to take her place. He easily jumped onto the horse, and Emily shot off the final round.

“There,” she said, and handed the rifle back to Mark.

“The Elders would like you in the council chambers,” Derrick said from behind her.

“Tell them no,” she told him, and headed into the stable.

Derrick grinned and shook his head, while the new recruits gasped and looked at one another nervously.

Mark sighed, “Tell them we’ll work on it.”

“Will do,” Derrick said, and blurred away.

“Start shooting while on horseback. I’ll be out in a bit to check on you,” Mark told the recruits, and then headed into the stables with Silas and Kralen.

Derrick stepped into the council chambers and everyone turned toward him, “The Lady Emily said no… however, the General is going to see what he can do.”

Chevalier grinned, “I’ll never get used to that.”

“Yes, well it’s unacceptable behavior,” Dustin growled.

“It’s Emily,” Exavior told him.

“Kyle…” Chevalier said, and Kyle disappeared.

The Chief Enforcer walked into the stables and headed for where he heard Mark talking.

“Don’t you at least want to hear what they have to say?” Mark asked. He was looking down at her while Emily cleaned out the horse shoes on Chevalier’s Arabian.

“No,” she said, and glanced up when Kyle came in.

“They want to apologize,” Kyle told her.

“They need to apologize to the Encala, not to me.”

Kyle smiled, “You know that’s not going to happen. They don’t want to apologize for attacking the Encala.”

“Then what do they want to apologize for?”

“For upsetting you.”

“No,” she said again, and brushed the dirt off of her skirt. She stood up and grabbed the little foot stool, and carried it over to her horse.

“Em… just come with me, please,” Kyle said, following her.

“Why? Do I get to ash them?”

“We’d prefer if you didn’t.”

Emily looked down at the ground and softened her voice, “I don’t want to see them… what they did was… it was inexcusable.”

“It’s what heku do to solve disputes,” Silas said softly.

“That’s what humans do to solve disputes,” Mark added.

Kyle put his hand out, “Come on.”

Emily stood up and brushed the straw off of her dress and then slipped her shoes off, and carried them in one hand as she took Kyle’s in the other.

They stepped out of the stables and Emily stopped. She looked hard at the tree line.

“What did you see?” Kyle asked, carefully scanning the trees.

Emily didn’t answer, but once she was sure no one was watching, she took off running across the lawn. Kyle easily kept up and watched around in case she’d seen something dangerous. Once they got into the palace, she slowed to a walk.

“What was that?”

“What?” she asked.

“Are you being followed or threatened?” Kyle asked, frowning slightly.

“No”

Derrick smiled and opened the door for him. When Emily saw the Valle Elders, she gripped tightly to Kyle’s arm and stepped inside. She walked with him up to the council members and let go to sit down beside Chevalier, her eyes never leaving the enemy.

“Thank you for coming,” Sotomar said, and bowed slightly.

“Why are you here?” she asked, taking Chevalier’s hand under the desk.

“We want to apologize for upsetting you with the attack on the Encala,” Valle Elder Ryan told her.

“You need to apologize to them, not me.”

“We aren’t sorry for what we did, it was necessary… but we are sorry for causing you unnecessary stress and grief.”

Emily frowned, “You left some of them alive to suffer.”

Exavior nodded, “Yes, we did.”

“You don’t find that at all uncivilized?”

“No”

“So it’s ok if I just sit and torture you for fun?”

“No… what we did was necessary. You’re just being illogical and emotional,” Exavior told her.

Emily’s eyes narrowed, “Shut up, Exavior… nothing else from you.”

“But…”

Sotomar held his hand up, “She warned you.”

Exavior sighed and stepped back.

“We wish you wouldn’t have seen what you did. We didn’t expect you to rush into Encala City,” Sotomar explained.

“Neither did we,” Zohn explained.

“So that’s how it’s going to work? How long before you attack us?” Emily asked.

“We have no plans on attacking the Equites. They are too strong,” Ryan explained.

“For now… but in 100 years when you’re bigger, you’ll do the same to us… What stops me from taking pre-emptive measures and doing away with the Valle Elders right now?” she asked.

Sotomar smiled slightly, “We’ve done nothing to the Equites to warrant that.”

“Besides… if you did that, you’d feel guilty, and no one needs that kind of regret right now,” Exavior said haughtily.

Emily turned him to ash in an instant and sat back in her chair, “Nope… not feeling guilty or regretful.”

Quinn chuckled, “She did warn him.”

Sotomar nodded, “That she did.”

“What are you doing to help the Encala now? Their city is in ruins,” Emily said to the Valle.

Ryan frowned, “Nothing… we made our point, and we will allow them to rebuild.”

“Since when, in the history of your species, have you stayed around to help clean up after a mess?” Dustin asked, laughing slightly.

Emily glared at him, “One more word and I’ll mix you up with Exavior.”

Dustin stood up, “You cannot speak to me like that!”

Emily stood also, “Wanna watch me?”

“Sit down!” Quinn yelled, and both sat suddenly at the furiousness of his voice.

Emily sighed and turned to Sotomar, “Now tell me the real reason you came here.”

“We told you…”

“No you didn’t. You don’t need to apologize to me, and I suspect you are here because you’re afraid I’m going to seek revenge for the Encala deaths.”

“Well… that too…”

“You did say we would pay,” Ryan reminded her.

Emily smiled slightly, “You’re afraid of me?”

“Yes, of course we are,” Sotomar said.

“Yet you were brave enough to bring idiot back.”

“That wasn’t really bravery, that was strategic.”

“Emily, Yisolatara…” someone whispered softly from behind her. Emily turned suddenly in her chair, but no one was behind her. She ran and opened the ante-chamber door, but it was empty also.

“Em?” Chevalier asked, and when she turned, she saw the entire Council looking at her.

“Just… never mind.” She walked back over and sat down.

“So are we ok to return to our city and know you won’t personally be launching an attack on us?” Ryan asked.

“Is your ceremonial room ceiling painted or etched?” Emily asked Sotomar.

He was taken aback, but then answered, “It is etched.”

“Have you ever seen one that’s painted red?”

“No, I have not,” Sotomar answered, unsure of why he was being asked.

“And what’s Yisolatara?”

“What!?” Sotomar screamed, his eyes wide.

“Where did you hear that?” Chevalier yelled, and stood up.

Emily stood up and took a step away from him as the entire room erupted in angry shouts.

“Tell me!” Chevalier growled, and took her arm. “Where did you hear that?”

“Answer him,” Kyle yelled, and stepped toward her.

“Stop it!” Emily screamed, and Chevalier turned to ash as the rest of them looked at her with piercing and accusing eyes. She turned and took off running, not sure exactly where to go, but she knew she had to get away from the heku in the council chambers.

“Emily!” Kyle yelled after her.

Emily didn’t stop. She started toward the garage, but Jaron stepped out, “Why are you running?”

She stopped and took a few steps backwards.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, taking a step towards her.

She spun and ran for the stables, relieved when Jaron didn’t follow her.

“Emily, what’s wrong?” Mark asked when she flew past him and dug around in the storage shed. She came out with a cell phone and her Taser, and pointed it at where Mark, Silas, and Kralen were talking.

“Whoa… what’s up?” Kralen asked, taking a step back.

Emily grabbed a bridle and slid it onto her racing stallion, keeping a close eye on the heku.

Silas suddenly moved toward her, “You can’t leave. The Council wants to talk to you.”

“Get back, Silas,” Emily said, and inched her horse forward.

“No,” Kralen said, and stood beside him. “The Council wants you to stay here.”

Emily took aim and shot Mark in the chest with the Taser. The sound of electricity filled the stables and he writhed in agony on the floor. Silas started toward her, but he and Kralen both turned into ash. She kicked her horse and jumped Mark as she headed toward the trees. The Council stepped out of the palace as she disappeared into the city.

“Mark!” Kyle yelled, and ran up to him. He removed the Taser electrodes when Mark stood up, shaky and still in pain.

When Emily was deep into the trees, she opened the cell and quickly dialed William.

“Good afternoon, Emily,” William said, sounding pleased to hear from her.

“Help me,” she whispered, and kept the horse steadily running toward the west.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m in trouble. I don’t know what to do… I ashed Exavior and Chevalier, and a few guards, I Tasered the General…”

William spoke quickly to someone else and then came back to the phone, “Calm down and tell me what happened.”

“I need one thing… tell me what Yisolatara is.”

William growled, “Where did you hear that?!”

“Just tell me damnit! What is it?”

“Did the Valle say that to you?”

“Tell me!” she screamed.

“No… can you get to Encala City?” William asked hurriedly. She began to weave a pattern through the trees, crisscrossing and doubling back to confuse anyone tracking her.

“I doubt it,” she told him, and stopped when she got to the old log she found a few years ago. She slid off the horse and hit him on the rump, sending him flying back toward the palace.

Emily slid easily into the hollowed out log, making sure her feet were hidden deep inside.

“Please,” William asked calmly. “Tell me where you heard that word.”

“I can’t… why can’t you just tell me what it means and why when I asked the Council, they turned on me.”

“It’s unspeakable. No one’s spoken that word in thousands of years.”

“Why?”

“Even the reason isn’t spoken, Child. It’s too… well it just isn’t.”

Emily whispered, “They’re coming to get me.”

“Go to them, they won’t hurt you. I would imagine you just surprised them,” William told her.

Emily hurried and turned off the phone, and then shut her eyes to control her breathing. She was ready to turn as many of them to ash as she had to, to get away.

“Emily?” Chevalier called out. “We know you’re around here… I’m sorry I yelled, and I’m not mad.”

She could hear her own heart pounding and prayed the heku didn’t.

“You know we won’t hurt you,” Zohn said.

Emily almost cried out when someone jumped up to stand on the log above her.

“Damnit, her scent is all over here,” Mark said. “I can’t narrow down a specific location.”

“The rain’s coming, so we’re about to lose it all,” Kralen told him.

“Yes, but we have a cold front coming and it’s going to dip below freezing, so we have to find her.”

Emily shut her eyes tightly when pieces of rotted log began to fall in on her when another heku stood on the log.

“Did they tell you what happened?” Kralen asked.

“No, all they said is they aren’t mad, but they really need to talk to her,” Mark explained.

“Quinn here,” she heard from somewhere near the log.

Quinn sighed, “Yes we are looking for her.”

There was a long pause.

“We did not use that word near her!” Quinn growled.

Emily jumped slightly when thunder crashed and the sky grew dark. She heard the first taps of raindrops hitting the forest floor as Quinn slammed his phone shut.

She listened as footsteps came closer.

“She called William and asked about it,” Quinn said.

“I figured she would,” Chevalier sighed. “Head back in. She’ll just turn us all to ash if she sees us anyway.”

“But it’s going to be freezing tonight,” Silas told him.

“I know… and maybe she’ll come in, but it won’t do us any good to stand out here looking.”

“Yes, Elder,” Mark said, and Emily heard him step off the log and then the woods grew perfectly silent.

Chevalier and Sotomar stood at each side of the log and waited for her to come out. They would have very limited time to do what they needed to to calm her down, and as it took an ‘old one,’ they had only one try before they risked being turned to ash.

Emily strained to hear anything. All she could hear was the crash of thunder and the raindrops falling against the trees. She was trapped, didn’t know where to go. She couldn’t get away without a car, and she was too afraid to hitchhike as she’d done in the past. All three factions now seemed mad that she knew the odd word, and she wondered how one word could cause that kind of a reaction.

Emily’s mind ran through what happened when she said the word, and the fierceness it brought out in the heku. The feel of Chevalier’s hand grabbing her arm roughly while his eyes blazed kept coming back to her. It wasn’t often that she feared the heku, but in that moment, their anger sent a panic through her.

As the rain picked up and the night started, she began to get cold and to shiver. The log was no longer protecting her from the elements, and she was soaking wet inside of it. Late into the night she stayed in the log, unsure where to go or what to do. She was shivering uncontrollably and her teeth were chattering. Her wet hair was now frozen to hear head, and she could see her breath.

Unable to take it any longer, Emily slid backwards out of the log. Before she could even see, she was shoved against the ground and felt teeth against her neck.

Sotomar waited the few seconds it took her to relax against Chevalier, and took her face in his hands, “Look at me.”

Emily looked at him for a split second, but it was long enough for the ‘old one’ to gain control. Chevalier released her and knelt on the frozen grass while Sotomar held her eyes.

Sotomar’s voice became like a song, soft and flowing, “Calm down, Child. We won’t hurt you.”

She took a deep breath, and her body began to relax more, the shivering stopped and her teeth no longer chattered.

“Do you know what Yisolatara is?”

Chevalier stiffened at the word and watched Sotomar carefully.

“No,” she whispered.

“Did you read it?”

“No”

“Have you heard it?”

“Yes”

“Who said it to you?” Sotomar asked, controlling his voice to stay calm.

“I don’t know.”

“Where were you when you heard it?”

“In my dreams and in the palace,” she said. Her voice was far away and soft.

“Where in the palace?”

“In the council chambers.”

“A member of the Council said it to you?”

Chevalier growled slightly.

“No”

“Who then?”

“I don’t know.”

Sotomar paused while he regained control, “When did you hear it in the palace?”

“Tonight”

He frowned slightly, “While you were talking to the Valle?”

“Yes”

“Was it when you ran from your chair to the ante-chamber?”

“Yes”

Chevalier frowned.

“Then in your dreams you hear it?”

“Yes”

“Who says it to you?”

“The heku in black,” she whispered.

“In a ceremonial room?”

“Yes”

“With runes painted on the ceiling?”

“Yes”

“When have you been in that room before?”

“My dreams”

“When outside of your dreams?”

“Before”

“Think back, Emily, when was the first time you heard the word, Yisolatara?”

“Three”

“Three what?”

Emily gasped and pushed Sotomar’s hands away. He growled and stood up. Emily scrambled to her feet, her dress soaking and frozen, and she began to shiver again.

“Don’t ash us,” Chevalier said quickly. “We’re not here to hurt you, and we aren’t mad.”

Her hand moved up to her neck, “You bit me?”

He sighed, “Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because we needed to calm you down and the only way to do that is if you’re weakened, and there’s an ‘old one’,” he explained.

Emily wrapped her arms around herself and looked around the dark forest, “I don’t know where to go.”

Sotomar slipped off his gray cape and wrapped it around her shoulders. Chevalier began to argue, but realized it would be warmer than his shirt.

“Come back to the palace. No one’s mad… you just surprised us,” Chevalier told her.

“They seemed mad.”

“I know, I’m sorry… but no one’s mad.”

“I promise you, no one’s mad at you, other than maybe Exavior, but he had it coming,” Sotomar said, and smiled.

Emily laughed slightly, “He won’t shut up.”

“Yes, we have that problem often.”

“What does Yisolatara mean?” she asked, and looked from one to the other.

“It’s…” Sotomar started, and then paused to think.

“It’s a ritual, an old one, and one that’s now not only restricted to perform, but even to speak of,” Chevalier told her.

“What did the ritual do?”

He smiled slightly, “Not even I am authorized to say that.”

“Then who is?”

“No one.”

She shivered harder and looked around when it began to snow slightly.

“Come on back where it’s warm,” Chevalier said, and put a hand out for her.

“Sotomar, tell me, please.”

He smiled, “I am unable to, Child.”

“Will Exavior tell me?”

“No,” Chevalier said, and picked her up into a cradle. She wrapped the gray cape tighter around her as they blurred back to the palace. The speed caused the wind to lash at her skin and the sleet bit at her painfully.

Emily looked up when she felt warmth against her arm and Chevalier put her down in their bathroom and began running a hot tub. She shivered and pulled the gray cape around her. The tub filled the bathroom with steam and Chevalier left and slammed the door behind him.

Emily’s eyes narrowed and she stormed out of the bathroom, also slamming the door behind her. She went over and grabbed a nightgown out of the dresser and started for the door.

“Where are you going?” he asked angrily.

“Away from you,” she said, and left the room. She turned to the guards at her door, “Follow me and pay.”

They backed away when Chevalier ordered them to, and Emily headed down the stairs.

“Where are you going?” Kyle asked, shocked to see her in the cape of a Valle.

Emily yelled, “I’m headed out to get Yisolatara tattooed across my ass!”

Kyle gasped and took a step back. She spun and left the palace.

“Elder…” Kyle said when Chevalier flew down the stairs in a rage. Kyle stepped in front of him.

“Move,” the Elder growled.

“Calm down,” Kyle said, and soon, Zohn and Quinn were at their sides.

“We heard, but she didn’t mean it,” Zohn told him. “She doesn’t even know what it means.”

Chevalier started around them, but Quinn blocked his way, “Leave her alone until you both calm down.”

“If she’s so hell bent on acting like a child, then I’ll treat her like one,” he growled. “It’s high time someone threw her across their knee.”

Kyle gasped, “Elder!”

Zohn grinned slightly, “While I tend to agree… now is not the time.”

Chevalier turned angrily and blurred to his office.

“Kyle, go make sure she’s not… I don’t know… just go,” Quinn said.

Kyle shrugged, and followed Emily’s scent out to the overseer’s room in the stables. He knocked lightly and entered when no one answered. Emily was curled up under numerous blankets, shivering.

He sat down on the side of the bed, “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Do you want to tell me what Yisolatara is?”

“Not really, no… I’m not in the habit of doing things that will get me banished.”

Emily peeked over the blankets, “Telling me what it is will get you banished?”

“Saying the word will get me banished.”

“It’s a word.”

“It’s… dangerous.”

“Chevalier bit me,” she told him accusingly.

“I know. He did that so Sotomar could get a lock on you.”

She shivered under the covers, “Everyone was yelling and screaming, and all I did was ask a question.”

“It was shocking, to say the least, to hear that word come out of your mouth,” Kyle told her, and added another blanket onto the pile.

“Then Chev drew me a bath like you would a toddler and slammed the bathroom door.”

“He’s most upset by how stubborn you are… you would freeze to death out there before coming in here to face us.”

“Everyone was yelling!”

“I’m sorry.”

“You all keep telling me how violent and hostile the heku are. Yet when you all blow up at me and scream, you think I should stand there and take it.”

“I hadn’t thought about that.”

“I’m out in the woods, no car, no coat, nothing… I don’t even have shoes on, and the closest place to go is filled with these volatile beings that I’m supposed to be afraid of… and to be honest, I am.”

Kyle nodded, “We just didn’t think of it like that. All we saw was you freezing to death in a dead log.”

“I’m not going back in there, just to be treated like some child… Next thing you know, I’ll be getting a spanking.”

Kyle stifled a chuckle, “He wouldn’t do that. Now come inside and get warm. No one’s going to yell at you, I swear.”

“Can I use your shower?”

Kyle stood up and put his hand out, “Yes.”

Emily crawled out of the blankets and pulled the Valle’s cape close around her as they walked back to the palace. She bypassed the front doors and went around to the side.

“I can get you a green cape,” he said, frowning at her in the enemy colors.

“As soon as I get warm I’ll take it off,” she said. “Plus, I don’t want to run around in my nightgown.”

As soon as they went up the back stairs to Kyle’s room, he sat down in a chair by the fire and she disappeared into his bathroom.

“Come in,” Kyle said when he heard a knock.

Quinn and Zohn came in, “She came in here?”

“Yes, she wants to take a shower, and if I know Em, she’ll sleep in here tonight,” Kyle explained.

Zohn nodded and sat down, “Did she say anything?”

“No, other than making sense of hiding in a log. I think we forget how terrifying we can be at times, and she had the entire Council screaming at her.”

“That is true,” Zohn said, and looked at Quinn.

Kyle glanced at the door and then whispered, “Did Chevalier find out where she learned the word?”

“He said she hears it in dreams, and then tonight someone said it in the council chambers.”

“Tonight?” he asked, shocked.

“No one else heard it, but she said it under control, so she honestly believes that.”

“If it’s in her dreams, then she must have heard it at some point in her life.”

“She started to tell Sotomar something about three… but she broke the gaze, so we don’t know if it was 3 days ago, 3 weeks ago, or what.”

Kyle nodded, “And the ceremonial room with the painted ceiling?”

“She’s seen it both in dreams and maybe for real,” Quinn told him. They all turned when Emily came out of the bathroom.

Zohn smiled, “Feel better?”

“Warmer,” she said, and walked over to crawl into Kyle’s bed, still freezing.

“In the morning, can we talk?” Zohn asked, moving to stand by the bed.

“Depends, are you going to yell?”

“No,” he said, and grinned slightly.

“Accuse?”

“No”

“Raise your voice even a little?”

Zohn chuckled, “No, just talk… Quinn and I.”

“Ok”

“Are you going to stay here tonight then?”

“I don’t know.”

He nodded, “Ok, well, get warm…we’ll have some dinner brought up.”

Quinn and Zohn quietly left and shut the door behind them.

Kyle grinned, “It makes them nervous that you might stay in here.”

“Why?” she asked, pulling up another blanket.

“They are afraid of what Chevalier will think.”

“He knows us better than that.”

“I know,” Kyle said, and stoked the fire.

“If I were heku, would they have killed me tonight?” She looked over at him.

“Yes”

“What if I didn’t know what it means?”

“They still would have.”

“Is it in a book?”

“Not that I know of.”

“How do you know about the word then, if no one’s allowed to talk about it?”

Kyle grinned, “I’m not telling you that.”

He got up and answered the door, then took the tray from the servant and put it in bed next to Emily. She sat up and pulled the dome off and grabbed the plate of spaghetti.

“Looks disgusting,” Kyle said, remembering the taste.

She took a bite and then thought, “How long have you known what Yisolatara means?”

“Damnit, stop saying it,” Kyle said, frowning.

“Sorry, how long?” she asked, and took another bite.

“A long time.”

“Is it a bad ritual?”

“Em…”

“Fine,” she sighed, and finished eating in silence. She put the tray on the bedside table and pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them.

“Do you think you’ll ever stop running at confrontation?” Kyle asked after a few minutes of silence.

Emily shrugged, “I don’t know. When I’m cornered, I just feel like I need to leave.”

“Do you know how much easier life would be if you wouldn’t?”

“No, I don’t actually.”

He grinned, “It would, trust me.”

“Where’s the irate Elder?”

“In his office.”

She yawned into her hand and watched the fire.

“Get some sleep,” Kyle said, and started for the door.

“Where are you going though?”

“To my office, I have paperwork to do.”

“Kyle?”

“Yeah?” he turned to face her.

“Thank you.”

He smiled and left the room, shutting the door behind him. Emily nestled down in the warm blankets and soon fell asleep. She woke up late in the morning and looked around the room. She was alone, and the fire was still going, so she slipped out of bed and looked out the window at the thin blanket of snow. She hated this weather, just the day before she’d been in a summer dress because of the heat, and one cold front later, it was snowing.

Emily had a plan on finding out what the word meant. She needed to start in her office, one of the only places in the entire palace with an Internet connection. Still in her nightgown, she quickly ran to her office and shut the door.

She turned and looked at her office, with its soft beige walls, and maroon trim. There were books lining one wall and three computers sitting under the desk with six monitors attached to them. She had a phone, fax, and copier, anything she needed to do whatever she might find useful.

She turned when there was a knock on her door.

“Who is it?” she called out.

“Breakfast, Ma’am,” a timid voice replied.

Emily opened her door just enough for the servant to hand her a tray, and then shut it quickly, latching all of the locks.

She flipped on her computers and grabbed an English muffin while she waited. Soon, she had all 6 screens up with different search engines on each of them. She typed in the word ‘Yisolatara’ and let them go to work.

She frowned when they all came back with no search records, not even a close hit. She narrowed it down to Yiso and found that to be a popular search engine in China. Expanding to Yisol only came back with a lot more names.

Emily grabbed a cup of coffee and thought before typing ‘aratalosiy’ into a search engine. She growled slightly when it came back with no hits either. Aside from more Japanese names and a sushi restaurant, there was nothing helpful.

Deciding to try a Latin to English site, she entered the entire word, the word backwards, and parts of the word, with no luck. After a few hours of trying everything she could think of, she decided to get dressed and head out to the stables. Four members of the Cavalry were now at her door, but looked away from her when she stepped out, and she thought they looked nervous and on edge.

Shrugging it off, she headed up to her room and quickly got dressed. Before heading out, she wanted to ask one last heku what the word meant and she thought of one that might actually tell her.

When she opened the door to the prison, she turned to her guards, “You might want to stay here.”

“No, Ma’am,” the highest ranking said.

“Is there another way out of the prison?”

“No”

“Then wait here. I’ll be back.”

He frowned slightly and then shrugged, “Fine.”

Emily ran down into the prison. She hadn’t been down there in a long time, but knew exactly where she was headed. She rounded the corner and walked to the end of the row of cells.

“Greg?” she asked softly.

The insane heku turned to her and grinned, “She came to me… she came by herself.”

“Greg, come here,” Emily whispered, and moved closer to the cell.

“Greg wants to feed,” he said, and moved closer.

“I’ll let you feed if you’ll tell me one little thing.”

“Anything for my daughter.”

Emily glanced around and then whispered, “What is Yisolatara?”

“Bad, very, very bad,” Greg whispered, and watched the vein in her neck. “Bad ceremony it is, no longer done…”

“Hey!” Emily screamed when someone grabbed her arm.

“Up you go,” one of the prison door guards said, and roughly pulled her up the stairs. “Elder’s orders, stay out.”

“Let her go!” Jaron growled at the guard. He let go of Emily quickly, bowed, and headed back down the stairs.

Emily rubbed her arm and walked toward the doors.

“Did he hurt you?” Jaron asked angrily.

“No,” she told him, and the guards followed her out to the stables.

Chapter 17 - Guards

Emily walked up and untied her horse from the hitching post and slid onto him. She rode over to where Silas and Jaron were talking.

“Em, if you don’t want another screaming uproar in the castle, stop asking about it,” Silas whispered.

“I would stop asking if someone would tell me what it means.”

“No one is going to.”

“Greg almost did, if that guard wouldn’t have stopped him.”

“He was doing you a favor,” Jaron whispered to her.

Emily shrugged and watched the Cavalry train on lassoing. She usually found this part amusing, watching them try to lasso something stationary, and missing enough they began to growl and hiss. Today, she was too preoccupied with the mysterious ‘Yisolatara’ to enjoy it.

“Lady Emily?” someone said from behind her.

Emily turned to the strange heku.

“You aren’t to speak to her!” Silas growled.

“There… the… is… someone…”

“Spit it out, what?” Emily asked.

“Package at the farmhouse, Ma’am. They won’t let anyone sign for it but you,” he said, and then glanced at Silas and blurred away.

Emily slid down off her horse and tied him up to the hitching post.

“Take guards,” Silas reminded her.

“I don’t need guards to go get a package at the farmhouse,” she said, and started for the city.

“Jaron…” Silas said.

Jaron and three other members of the Cavalry caught up with her and followed behind her. They followed her silently until she turned at the back of the farmhouse and smiled.

“Are you afraid I’ll say it?” she asked, grinning.

“Yes, Ma’am, I am,” Jaron said sternly.

“I’ll be good,” she told him, and opened the door. The casually dressed heku in the farmhouse stood full at attention when the Commanders came in.

“He’s at the door,” was all the heku said.

She nodded and opened the door, “Yes?”

“Package for Emily Winchester,” the delivery man said, and handed over a clipboard for her to sign. She signed and then took the package.

When she shut the door, Jaron’s eyes grew wide, and he grabbed the large box from her, “Get her out of here!”

Everything happened fast, Jaron threw the box toward the far wall, as three heku guards dove at her and knocked her to the floor. The explosion sent flames and shrapnel through the house, and Jaron was the last to throw himself on top of Emily. He braced as the roof caved in, slamming into the guard’s backs, and as the floor gave way, they all tumbled to the dirt basement floor with Emily at the bottom of the pile.

Smoke filled the room and the crashing of falling debris sounded endlessly. The fire grew hotter around them as the wood from the structure started to cave in and fall into the flames. Emily ducked her face toward the ground where the air was fresher but had a hard time breathing. The four heku were still lying on top of her, unmoving, and she felt pain shoot down her back and through her legs.

The Council all stood when the explosion shook the palace. They rushed outside and pushed through the crowd of servants and guards.

“Get the Elders out of here!” Kyle yelled, and ran for the plume of flame and smoke rising from the farmhouse.

“Let’s go,” Zohn said, and the Elders moved back into the palace.

“The Lady’s in that house!” one of the servants said, rushing up to Chevalier.

“What!?” he yelled, turning around.

“Lady Emily, she’s in the farmhouse picking up a package,” the servant explained quickly.

Chevalier disappeared from the stairs.

“You and I better go,” Quinn said, and he and Zohn quickly went to the roof and took off in Equites 1.

Chevalier appeared at the remains of the farmhouse just after Kyle. Mark and Silas were digging through the burning rubble, their hands blacked and charred as they dug. Sirens sounded from the distance. Kyle and Chevalier began throwing flaming support beams out of the way as they searched for any sign of her.

“Emily!” Kyle yelled into the burning house.

Chevalier jumped back just as the rest of the roof collapsed, and the fire rose higher. Six fire trucks arrived from the city and the firefighters scrambled to get their hoses out.

“Was anyone in there?” the lead fireman asked him.

“Yes, six are in there,” Kyle told him.

“Get them out of there!” the fireman yelled when he saw Mark, Silas, and Chevalier digging through the burning debris.

Kyle beat the fireman to the heku, “Get back and let them do it.”

“No,” Chevalier growled, and moved another beam. Mark and Silas took his arms and began to drag him away. “Let me go!”

“No, Elder,” Kyle said, and faced him. “They can put out the fire faster than we can search through this… Let them do it.”

“I’m not getting anything from her,” Chevalier said angrily.

“Just let them get to her,” Kyle said, and turned to watch the firemen work while Mark and Silas held Chevalier back.

“Whose house is this?” the command leader asked.

“Mine,” Chevalier whispered.

“Who’s in there?”

Chevalier couldn’t talk. The last wall of the farmhouse fell with a deafening crash and added to the fire.

“His wife,” Kyle told him, “And five friends of ours.”

“Where in the house were they?”

“I don’t know. We were away.”

“Do you know what happened?”

“No, there was just an explosion.”

Mark was eyeing a delivery truck that the explosion threw up against some of the trees. It was lying on its side, back away from the house.

“That your truck?” the fireman asked.

Mark’s eyes narrowed, “Yes.”

When the fireman walked away to talk on the radio, Mark glanced at Silas, “Search that truck. I want to know whose it is.”

“Yes, General,” he said, and let go of Chevalier’s arm, then blurred to the truck, making sure none of the fireman saw him, and began to go through it.

After four hours, the farmhouse was nothing but ash and smoldering beams. The Command Leader walked over to Chevalier again.

“We found one set of remains, big fella. I’m so sorry… are you sure the other five were in there?”

“Yes,” Chevalier whispered. The absence of emotion and feeling from Emily was harrowing.

He turned back to the firemen, “Keep digging, look for 5 of them.”

The heku knew what he was referring to. The heat, the smoke, and the collapse of the building would be too hostile to survive, even for a heku.

***

“Jaron?” Emily was able to whisper through panting. Her lungs burned from the inhaled smoke, and the pressure of four heku and rubble from the house were making it hard to breathe, even little gasps, and her chest hurt. She tried to shift under them, but wasn’t able to move and the injury to her back was excruciating.

She shut her eyes and groaned, “Tunnels.”

Chevalier gasped, “She’s in there.”

Kyle turned to him, “She’s alive?”

“Yes,” he growled, and ran for the back end of the tunnels to the farmhouse.

“Where are you going?” Mark asked, keeping up.

“She’s in the tunnels,” the Elder said, and ran into the tunnels, followed by Mark and Kyle.

The three heku came to where the tunnel caved in and began to clear away rocks and dirt. They were soon joined by the entire Cavalry as they formed a line to get the fallen debris out of the way.

Chevalier and Kyle worked feverishly to clear away the tunnel. After two hours of digging, they’d managed to clear out 10 feet of the tunnel and kept working as night fell.

Emily could hear something, something far away that sounded like rocks falling.

“Emily?” Jaron whispered, obviously in a great deal of pain.

“I’m… here…” she panted, and groaned slightly. She felt him move above her slowly.

“I can’t get the boards off. I need to heal longer,” he told her.

“Others?”

Jaron caught his breath and answered, “Three are dead, burned… Ryder is badly injured, but still alive.”

“You?”

“Healing,” was all he told her. She felt some of the weight lessen off of her, and Jaron groaned as he tried to lift the beams lying on them.

“Stop,” she whispered. “Don’t hurt… yourself.”

She could hear the smile in his voice, “Too late for that.”

“I… hear…” She couldn’t talk anymore. The pain in her chest and back was growing worse and she leaned her forehead against the cold dirt ground.

“They’re coming, digging through the tunnel. I smell blood. Where is it coming from?”

“Allen… needs… a bottle.”

“Em, stay with me,” Jaron said, and struggled to relieve more of the weight off of her.

She tried to get the breath to answer him, but couldn’t through the pain. She started to feel dizzy and leaned her head against the dirt as she fought to breathe.

“Get here, now…” Jaron growled as he heard a strange sound coming from Emily when she gasped for breath, and he could feel her skin becoming cold and clammy.

“Almost there,” Chevalier yelled back, and fought harder to get to them.

“Get an ambulance,” Jaron yelled. “She’s crashing!”

Jaron looked up when he saw light for the first time since the explosion. He was able to see Kyle and Chevalier as they slid under the rubble toward them.

“I can’t move, it’s too heavy,” Jaron told them, and pushed against the heavy wooden beams on his back.

“We’ll push with you,” Kyle said. “Silas… get ready to pull her out, but don’t move her any more than you have to.”

“Yes, Sir,” Silas said.

Kyle and Chevalier moved to Jaron’s sides and braced their arms against the beams, while Silas positioned his hands under Emily’s shoulders after moving some rubble away from her face.

“On 3,” Kyle said, and counted to 3. The three heku pushed against the beams and were able to lift them the few inches it took for Silas to slide Emily out from underneath them. Sirens sounded from above them, and they could hear the Chief Interrogator talking to the paramedics.

Silas slid Emily into the tunnel, and four other heku moved around them to help get the guards out. As soon as the four heku were released, Kyle and Chevalier let go of the beams at the same time, and were barely able to get out of the way as the ash and rubble crashed into the basement.

“Em?” Chevalier asked, moving her hair aside. She was still stomach down on the dirt, unmoving, and breathing in short, rapid gasps. Once they could clearly see her face, they saw dried blood across her forehead and her lips were turning blue.

Mark put his hands up for everyone to stop, “Don’t touch her. If we move her wrong, we could break her spine. Get me two boards and everyone hand me your belt.”

Chevalier slipped off his belt and handed it over to Mark. He pulled his shirt off next and laid it over her, her clothes were soaked from the water the firefighters used to put out the flames.

Mark gently slid the two boards under her and fastened her to it snugly using belts. Once he was satisfied she wasn’t going to be jostled, he lifted one end as Kyle lifted the other and they quickly moved out of the tunnels to meet up with the ambulance.

Silas and the rest of the heku stayed behind in the tunnels to help Jaron and Ryder as they healed from broken bones and burns. The two deceased guards were carried out immediately and moved to the palace lawn.

“Put her on the stretcher!” one of the paramedics yelled, and immediately began looking her over. He listened to her back for a moment with the stethoscope and then called out to the other, “Only breath sounds on one side, pneumothorax. I’m seeing signs of cardiovascular collapse, hand me the kit.”

The other paramedic handed the first a large bore needle and the first unwrapped it quickly, and without even pausing, shoved it into Emily’s side, sinking it deep into her chest. She groaned slightly but was unable to move away from the pain.

Chevalier started forward, but the Court Reporter and Chief Interrogator held him back.

The second paramedic began taping Emily down to Mark’s makeshift stretcher as a third started an I.V. in her arm, “I.V.’s in, going bolus. She’s in shock and we need to watch out for crushing syndrome.”

“What’s going on?” Chevalier asked angrily.

“Push Mannitol in the back, let’s get out of here,” the oldest paramedic said, and jumped into the front of the ambulance. The other two loaded Emily in and talked quickly as they shut the door. The ambulance sped away with the lights flashing and the sirens blaring.

Kralen appeared with his truck and stopped long enough for Kyle, Mark, and Chevalier to jump inside before speeding off after the ambulance.

“I want to know what caused that,” Chevalier said angrily.

“We already know,” Kralen told him as he wove in and out of traffic. “The V.E.S. handed Emily a package with a bomb in it. Jaron told Silas that he picked up the scent, and was able to take the package from her, but they didn’t have time to get her out before it exploded.”

A shadow crossed Chevalier’s face, “Get all three factions together, we need to dispose of the V.E.S. immediately.”

“I’ve called Quinn and Zohn back in,” Mark told him. “As soon as they get in we’ll tell them.”

Kralen screeched to a halt behind the ambulance as twelve doctors and nurses met the ambulance and Emily was rushed into the hospital.

“I want CBC, SMA-12 and Chem 20 stat, call in help if you have to,” one of the doctors yelled. He had taken over from the paramedics and was barking orders angrily as he cut Emily’s clothing off and shut the curtain around her.

Chevalier lunged forward when Emily screamed, but the other heku were able to hold him back.

“Let them do what they have to,” Kyle told him, fighting the urge himself to go in and kill whoever made her scream.

Her scream stopped almost as abruptly as it started, and all that was left was the sound of people moving frantically around the room, yelling out results and ordering more tests.

“Do you want a 2nd I.V.?” one of the nurses asked.

“Yes, go through the jugular and push saline,” the doctor ordered.

“Doctor, potassium came back. She has hyperklemia, 7.1,” a strange voice called out frantically.

“Get 15u of regular insulin and 50ml of 50% dextrose hung up now!” the doctor yelled, and a nurse ran out of the small room and returned shortly with an armful of supplies.

“Are one of you Emily’s husband?” someone said from behind them. Mark, Kyle, and Kralen all turned to face another doctor.

“Yes, he is,” Kyle said, motioning to Chevalier, who was concentrating to hear everything that was going on in the room.

“I’m Dr. Sauts, I’m Dean of Medicine here. We have a room ready for you to wait in. It’ll be more comfortable.”

“No,” Chevalier whispered.

Dr. Sauts sighed, “I was trying to be polite. You gentlemen are in the way.”

Mark grinned slightly, “Sorry.”

“Just wait in the waiting room. It’s a private one, and then the doctors will know where to find you when they have an update.”

“Come on, Elder,” Kralen said, and took his arm. He hesitated, and then turned to follow the others into the private room.

“Have a seat. I’ll go see what I can find out and come back,” Dr. Sauts said, and shut the door.

After twenty minutes, they all looked up when Silas came in. He sat down next to them, “How is she?”

“We don’t know yet,” Kralen told him.

“We got the delivery guy. He knew exactly what was in that package,” Silas whispered. “He’s waiting in the prison.”

Chevalier nodded.

“We lost three guards, Ryder and Jaron are still healing. Jaron remembers the most,” Silas explained. “When the explosion happened, they all dove onto her and took the brunt of the roof caving in and the fire from the initial explosion. What they didn’t expect was that the floor would cave in, and that’s how they all ended up trapped on top of her.”

They all looked up again when they heard the door open. The lead doctor from Emily’s room came in, covered in blood and looking exhausted.

He sat down, “I’m Dr. Anderson, Head of the Emergency Department. Which of you is Emily’s husband?”

“I am,” Chevalier said, and watched him closely.

“I’ve talked to the fire department, and I just want to say… she’s lucky, very lucky. I honestly don’t know how she survived that.”

“How bad is she?”

“Right now she’s stable. She had two big issues when she got here. The first was a collapsed lung and the other was crushing syndrome, from having her muscles with that much weight on it for that long. The minor things are a laceration to her scalp, that’s where most of the bleeding was initially, and a back injury.”

Chevalier sunk his head into his hands.

“We’ve re-inflated her lung, but we’re going to leave the chest tube in for a few days to let it heal. The crush syndrome is now under control, and she doesn’t seem to have any long-term renal problems. She has twelve stitches in her forehead, and an I.V. in her arm and another in her neck. We’re going to wait and deal with the back problems when she’s more stable and breathing better.”

“Can I see her?” Chevalier asked.

“Not quite yet, I’m running EKG’s on her just to check that the crushing syndrome didn’t affect her heart. I can’t have anyone in there while that’s done. I’ll send a nurse out as soon as you can come in.”

“She won’t leave the I.V.’s in, and I’m not so sure about the chest tube,” Kyle told him.

Dr. Anderson smiled slightly, “I saw that in her file, so she’s restrained to the bed.”

It was two hours after the doctor left that a nurse came in and said that Chevalier could see Emily, but only him. Mark, Silas, and Kralen left to go back and help with the arrival of the enemy Elders, while Kyle stayed in the small waiting room.

Chevalier opened her door and stepped inside. Aside from a swollen, bruised forehead, and the mass of gauze taped to her neck, Emily looked like she was peacefully resting. Her hands were secured to the bed frame with soft leather restraints, and Chevalier took one of her hands as he sat down beside her in a chair.

She opened her eyes and looked over at him.

He smiled, “Hi.”

She looked around the room and pulled slightly to free her hands, “Where…”

“You’re in the hospital.”

She frowned and whispered, “Why?”

“Do you remember anything about being in the farmhouse?”

She shook her head.

“You went to the farmhouse to get a package… it was a bomb from the V.E.S.,” he explained. He’d decided earlier that he wouldn’t lie to her about this.

“Who…” She tried to clear her throat but could only get enough breath for small words. “Alone?”

“No, you had four guards with you, and the farmhouse guard.”

“Ok?”

“Jaron and Ryder are alive. The other three didn’t make it.”

She pulled again against the restraints.

Chevalier smiled slightly, “You have too many things holding you together right now. We can’t take them off.”

***

Chevalier, Kyle, and Dr. Cook waited in the room while the nurse unhooked Emily from all of the tubes and I.V.’s. Dr. Anderson was with them going over her chart.

“Change the bandages over the chest tube twice a day for a week, that should be enough. Can you remove the stitches in a week?” he asked Dr. Cook.

Dr. Cook smiled, “Yes, I can manage that.”

“Bed rest for 4 weeks, I want you off that back,” Dr. Anderson said to Emily.

“What, no marathons?”

“If you feel like running a marathon, let me know,” he told her, and grinned. “If she gets short of breath, call an ambulance immediately, don’t let it go.”

“Understood,” Dr. Cook said, and took the prescriptions from Emily’s doctor.

“You said you have a wheelchair somewhere?”

“Yes, we do.”

“An electric one? I don’t want her wheeling one around.”

“Yes, it’s electric.”

“No stairs?”

Dr. Cook smiled slightly, “No, no stairs.”

“Don’t believe him, I live in an eight story palace,” Emily said, and winced when the nurse pulled the I.V. out of her neck.

Dr. Anderson chuckled, “Good, then have your servants carry you around.”

“Don’t think they won’t.”

“At least you kept your sense of humor… any other questions?”

Dr. Cook checked the paperwork and prescriptions again, “No, I think we’re good.”

“I’ll give you one more pain medicine before you go. It’s going to be a painful trip until they can lay you down in bed,” Dr. Anderson told her, and signed something for the nurse.

“No shots,” Emily said, and frowned.

“Pills aren’t strong enough, it’s just one quick shot of morphine.”

“No”

“Ok, ok, I guess we can just give you an oxycodone,” he said, and nodded to the nurse. She came back in with two green pills and some apple juice and a wheelchair.

“I don’t know…” Emily said, and looked down at them.

“Just take them, Em,” Chevalier sighed.

She hesitated and then downed them both with the juice.

“Ok then, Emily, follow up with me in 4 weeks and call if anything changes,” Dr. Anderson said.

Emily nodded and looked over at the wheelchair.

“Can I just carry her?” Chevalier asked.

“No, that would put a curve in her back. We need to keep it as straight as possible. The brace will help, but let’s not push it.”

Chevalier nodded and helped Emily sit up. She cried out when she sat up and the pain shot down into her legs.

“You sure you don’t want a shot?” Dr. Anderson asked.

“No shots,” she panted.

After twenty minutes of slow moving, they were all on their way back to Council City in the Humvee.

Emily sighed, “I think out of all of the injuries I’ve ever had, my back is the one that ticks me off the most.”

Kyle grinned, “You just don’t like being waited on.”

“That and so much as blink and it hurts.”

“That, too.”

“This neck I.V. hurts, like one of you attacked me in my sleep,” she said, and looked out the window at the scenery.

Dr. Cook chuckled when her words began to slur some, “Medicine kicking in?”

“Some,” she said, and leaned her head back in the car. “My teeth itch.”

“Your teeth itch?” Kyle asked, glancing over at her.

She sighed and began to relax in the seat as she fell asleep.

“Are the other Elders still at the palace?” Kyle asked Chevalier.

“Yes, they’re waiting for me to arrive.”

When Kralen pulled up in front of the palace, Silas was waiting by the doors with the wheelchair. They decided to carry her up in it instead of cradling her, as the doctor warned them about. He wheeled it up and opened the door.

“Damn, I hate that smell on her,” Silas said as he locked the wheels on the chair.

“I hear ya,” Chevalier told him, and stood by his side. “So how do we get her in the chair?”

Kyle walked over and looked, “Seems it’d be faster if you picked her up and just blurred her up there, as opposed to us trying not to move her.”

“I could make it worse.”

“How many Equites does it take to lift a Winchester?” Exavior joked from behind them.

“Shut up, Exavior,” Chevalier said, without even turning around.

Sotomar stepped up and looked from Emily to the wheelchair, “What were the exact orders?”

“Not to pick her up or bend her back.”

“So you get under her arms, I’ll get under her knees, and we’ll lift her that way and set her down in the chair,” he suggested.

“No, I’ll get her knees,” Kyle said, and moved Sotomar out of the way.

Sotomar smiled, “Of course.”

Mark cleared his throat, “We have this. Why don’t you return to the council chambers?”

“Hint taken,” Exavior said, and disappeared, followed by Sotomar.

Chevalier gently slid his arm behind her back, “Lift on 3.”

Kyle nodded and on 3, both lifted gently and sat her down in the chair. She groaned slightly but didn’t fully wake up.

“Ok, up to bed and then we’ll do it again?” Chevalier asked, and lifted Emily and the chair.

“Sure,” Kyle said, and followed them up.

After they moved her to the bed, Dr. Cook checked her over and nodded, “She’ll be asleep for a while. Go ahead down, I’ll wait here.”

Chevalier nodded and walked down with Kyle to the council chambers. They each took their seat, and then turned to the enemy Elders.

“How is she?” William asked.

“She’ll be ok. All that’s left of her injuries is a bad back, but had she been alone in that house, she wouldn’t be alive,” Chevalier told them angrily.

“We had a package delivered for her that same day, though they wouldn’t leave it with us because she wasn’t there to sign.”

“As did we,” Sotomar said. “It seems as though they were quite adamant on finding her.”

Chevalier glanced over at Frederick, “You’re the new Elder?”

He grinned, “Yes.”

“As I said, it was by sheer luck that her guards saw what was coming and risked their own lives to protect her, we may not always be that lucky.”

Zohn nodded, “The last time they had her, she was badly beaten and almost froze to death. This is getting too common.”

“Seems lax on the part of the Equites that they keep getting her,” Exavior told them.

Chevalier growled, “It is not lax on our part. She’s free to do what she wants and it keeps getting her into trouble.”

Exavior just grinned.

“We could threaten to kill Cody and Larry if they don’t stop,” Sotomar suggested.

“I think they would gladly die for the cause and would probably agree to be killed for it,” Quinn told them.

“So how do we do it? How do we get them off our backs without risking exposure?” Valle Elder Ryan asked.

“That’s what we’re here to decide. Even before the alliance happened, it was well understood that the safety and protection of the only Winchester fell to all factions, and it’s now that we have to act,” Zohn told them.

“The only way would be complete annihilation,” Frederick said, and turned to William.

“But how to do it without exposing the heku,” William told him.

“800 of them were just found as victims of a… what did they call it… cult suicide. We might be able to get away with that façade,” Encala Elder Aaron said.

“You might think that would have deterred them, but it only made them stronger,” Chevalier said.

“Turn her, make her strong enough that their attacks won’t hurt her,” Exavior suggested.

Chevalier growled deeply.

“No, that’s out of the question,” Sotomar said angrily. “Do not even suggest that… it’s part of our agreement.”

“I know that, but it still seems logical and always has.”

“No,” William said bluntly.

“Fine,” Exavior said. “Then turn all the V.E.S. one at a time… teach them to hate themselves.”

“Would you stop with the turning ideas?” Valle Elder Ryan snapped.

“We could call a meeting with the V.E.S. leaders and see if we can come to an understanding,” Dustin suggested.

“The V.E.S. has hated us since the first Winchesters, they aren’t going to compromise,” Kyle told him.

“We can get rid of some of them by implicating them in the attack on Emily, put the pressure back on them,” Encala Elder Aaron said.

“That would get rid of a few, but every time they end up in the news… their membership goes up,” Kyle replied.

“We have to outnumber them,” Quinn said, deep in thought. “Would it be possible to control every one of them and return them to their pre-V.E.S. lives with no hatred anymore?”

“We’re talking thousands,” Zohn said, but nodded slightly. “We do outnumber them.”

“As soon as we control the first 100, they will begin recruiting,” Sotomar said.

“But still… that idea has merit,” William told him. “If we combined forces and set a date… even if only 2-300 were left, it would drastically hurt their chances of rebuilding.”

“Do we know of all of the V.E.S. locations? That could take years to find,” Frederick brought up.

“Silas?” Chevalier called out. They waited until the Commander came in.

“Yes, Elder?”

“When you were on Emily’s computer, you said that she tracks everything the V.E.S. does that’s logged, correct?”

“Yes”

“Would that include locations of any compounds or strongholds?”

“I think so, but that would take Emily to find. The system is too advanced, and I’m not familiar enough with computers,” Silas said.

“We could get her a laptop,” Quinn said, and turned to Chevalier.

“It’d take a few days, until she’s off pain medication and able to focus.”

“It will take months to alert all of the covens,” Exavior said. “It can’t be done.”

“Yes it can, with time,” Sotomar told him. “The idea is solid and we gain the advantage of staying out of the public radar.”

“As soon as Emily is well enough to get us the locations, we’ll meet again and divide the list up by proximity to a large coven,” Chevalier said.

“Agreed,” Sotomar said.

William talked briefly with Frederick and Aaron before turning to them, “We also agree.”

“We’re going to trust the Encala to help with this? Seems unstable at best,” Exavior said, amused.

William glared at him, “We can be more trusted than the Valle. We’ve never tried to turn her, nor have we spent time with her in an interrogation room!”

The Elders all looked up when Alexis walked into the room through the back doors and sat down by Chevalier.

“We’ve called in Alexis to keep the peace,” Zohn said. “Remain civil, this isn’t time to bicker.”

“What am I supposed to do, Daddy?” Alexis asked, and glanced nervously at the enemy Elders.

Chevalier smiled, “If one of them yells at another, simply turn him to ash.”

“But…”

“It’s ok,” Chevalier told her, and smiled. “They will behave.”

Alexis scanned the Elders in the trial area. Her dark hair and hauntingly dark eyes were all that set her apart from looking exactly like Emily. The 10-year-old girl’s eyes stopped on Exavior.

“Aren’t you the heku that hurt Mom so badly?” she asked him.

Exavior shifted nervously, “That was a long time ago.”

“So it was you?” her voice was soft and timid.

He sighed, “Yes.”

Alexis reached under the desk and took her Dad’s hand.

“So it’s settled. Wait to hear from us about the locations, and we’ll set a time and date for the next meeting,” Quinn told them.

“We still haven’t dealt with the Ferus,” Sotomar told them. “While we’re all here.”

William frowned, “We haven’t had an attack in a while. Are they still even out there?”

“Oh, they are,” Exavior said, and smiled slightly. “I built a strong… coven… for a reason.”

“Again, the Encala feel it’s the Valle’s mess to clean up,” Frederick growled.

“We’ve been too busy obliterating you!” Exavior yelled.

“Hey!” Alexis yelled. The second she met Exavior’s eyes, he turned to ash.

Chevalier chuckled, “Good girl.”

“While we do take responsibility for Exavior’s actions, it affects us all and will need to be dealt with by all,” Sotomar said, unaffected by Exavior’s current state.

“This is simple, alert our covens to kill any unfactioned heku on sight,” Quinn said.

“What about unfactioned that aren’t with the Ferus?” Kyle asked.

“They pose a threat, dispose of them,” Frederick suggested.

Quinn nodded, “Agreed.”

“If we start wiping out their numbers, soon they will attack,” Valle Elder Ryan said.

“That’s good, if they attack, then we can wipe them out on a larger scale,” Zohn replied.

“Agreed, let’s just implement that with us all. Unfactioned heku are to be killed, no questions asked,” Sotomar said.

William nodded, “Consider it done.”

“Very well, we’ll adjourn,” Zohn said, and stood up.

“We have one other thing…” Sotomar said, and glanced at William.

Zohn sat down, “What?”

“The Encala and the Valle have had some time to discuss things… and we would like to reconsider the alliance from a few years ago.”

Zohn grinned slightly, “The one you broke in the middle of the night, sending Emily into panic and tears?”

“I’m sorry about that,” William told him. “It was hasty and uncalled for.”

“The Valle wiped out your city not even a month ago. You’re willing to form an alliance with them?” Chevalier asked, shocked.

“The alliance won’t be between us and the Encala,” Valle Elder Ryan explained. “It would merely pit both factions as friends of the Equites.”

“You mean Emily,” Quinn said, and sat back in his chair.

“Pretty much, yes.”

“Why?” Alexis asked, and turned to Chevalier. “What benefit would they get if Mom considered them friends?”

Chevalier looked over at her, “It would ensure she won’t eradicate them in the middle of the night.”

Alexis smiled, “Oh, yes, she can do that.”

“You look amazingly similar to your mother,” Sotomar said to the girl.

She nodded, “So I’ve heard, though I hope to be taller.”

Chevalier chuckled, “There is a chance you will be.”

“And stronger… she’s not nearly as strong as she thinks she is.”

“Enough, Alex,” Chevalier said, and turned away to hide a grin.

“So is the alliance agreed on?” Frederick asked them.

“I tend to say that that would be up to Emily, when she’s feeling better.”

“Will she not abide by it if you form it?”

“I’m not saying that, but she has emotions to deal with, and she’s highly upset at the Valle right now, and very protective of the Encala.”

Frederick grinned, “Interesting.”

“No, it’s not interesting. She had nothing to do with that attack,” Sotomar said, irritated.

“We know that,” Quinn told him. “Again… she’s dealing with human emotions.”

“Very well, we’ll ask her when she’s better,” William told them.

“Before we leave, might we see the heku child again?” Sotomar asked, and smiled nervously.

“Why?” Alexis asked him.

“He’s fascinating, and we wish to see him.”

“Alexis is pretty protective of her little brother,” Zohn explained. “We’ll bring him here, but I warn you to watch it around him.”

“We won’t hurt him. I promise,” Sotomar said.

“I’ll go get him then,” she said, and walked out of the room.

“Charming girl,” William said. “She seems more quiet and reserved than her mother.”

“She is,” Chevalier told him.

“We count ourselves lucky,” Dustin said, and then sat back in his chair when Kyle glared at him.

Alexis came back a few minutes later holding Dain’s hand. He put his hands up for Chevalier and his Dad picked him up.

“Who they?” he asked, pointing at the trial area.

“Those are… just some heku that want to meet you,” Chevalier told him.

“Can you smile for us, Child?” William asked, and moved a step closer.

Dain frowned, “I don’t bite Mommy.”

“That is good.”

“Mommy has owie.”

“Yes, we know.”

“Fascinating,” Sotomar said, watching Dain closely.

“I has an owie too,” Dain said, and lifted his pant leg slightly to show them his ankle.

“I’m sure you did,” William told him when there was no sign of an injury.

“Is all gone.”

“Is his growing accelerated?”

“No, at least, not yet,” Chevalier said.

“How often does he feed?”

“Enough about my son,” Chevalier said. “It is time to adjourn. I’d like to go check on Emily.”

“Might we pay her a visit?” Sotomar asked.

“No”

“We will be quiet,” William told him.

“No… the guards will see you out.”

***

“Are you sure that’s what the instructions say?” Emily asked, looking up from a knotted string of yarn.

“Yes,” Mark told her, and turned the book over.

“Let me look,” Silas said, and took the book. He glanced at it and turned the page, “I’m sure that’s how it’s done.”

Emily looked up at the yarn and crochet hook, “It doesn’t look like it should.”

“Here, let me try,” Jaron said, and took the hook from her. He looked at the instructions carefully and went to work.

Emily grinned, “I appreciate you trying to find me something new to do, but I’ve never really been good at stuff like that.”

“We’re pretty limited with you bedridden,” Mark said. “We can try something else though.”

“Did you ask Chevalier?”

“Yes, but he wants to check with Dr. Cook first.”

“It’s only a week early, and I’m dying to get in the pool.”

Mark nodded, “I know, but I’m sure Dr. Cook will have something to say about it.”

Chevalier stepped in and everyone looked up at him except for Jaron, who was completely absorbed in trying to figure out how to crochet. The Elder grinned and crossed his arms as he saw one of the top ranking guards doing yarn work.

Mark cleared his throat and Jaron looked up.

“Oh! Sorry, Elder,” he said, and put it down.

“I thought you were supposed to teach Emily how to knit, not the Cavalry,” Chevalier said, amused.

“We’re having… issues… figuring it out,” Silas chuckled.

“What did he say?” Emily asked.

“He said… be careful.”

“I can go!?”

“Yes, but there are to be three guards in the water with you. He doesn’t want you swimming, just floating.”

“That’s great! Can I go now?”

Mark shrugged, “We’ll go get changed.”

“How do I get down there?” she asked Chevalier.

“Dr. Cook suggested in a chair.”

Emily frowned, “That’s too heavy with me in it.”

“No it’s not. I can stay if you’d like, go into the water with you.”

“It’s ok, I know you have to go punish the innocent,” she said, and grinned.

“We don’t… never mind… just be careful and if it hurts, get her back up here,” Chevalier told Mark.

“Yes, Elder… our replacements are here. We’ll be right back,” Silas told her, and the three of them disappeared.

“Heard you got sprung,” Kralen said when he walked in with three other members of the Cavalry.

“Sort of… at least I get to get out of this room,” Emily told him.

“Scram for a sec, I’ll get her ready,” Chevalier told them, and they disappeared and shut the door behind them.

“How am I going to get back into a nightgown?” she asked as he gently slipped it off and dug through her drawers for her swim suit.

“I’ve been thinking about that, and Mark knows to bring in Rhonda.”

“I hate Rhonda. She treats me like a toddler,” Emily said, and then gasped slightly when the movement of putting on her swim suit jerked her back.

“Still, it’s her or Kyle,” he said, and grinned.

“Nice… ok, Rhonda it is.”

As gently as he could, he slipped his hands around to her upper back and tied off her bikini top. She took the opportunity to kiss him softly and then wrapped her arms around his neck. He pressed his lips to hers and then pulled away and grinned.

“Your back…”

“What I had in mind didn’t include my back,” she said, and kissed him again.

“Have fun swimming,” he told her, and stood up. “Ready to stand for a second?”

“That’s the plan eh? Sure…” she said, and took his hands. She cried out when she first sat up and her back spasmed. The room suddenly filled with palace guards along with Mark, Silas, and Jaron in long cut-offs they were using as swim suits.

“Just us moving,” Chevalier said, and helped her to her feet. Mark quickly slipped an arm around her waist when her knees started to give out, and Silas pushed a plastic chair up behind them so Chevalier could sit her down.

Emily breathed through the pain and then opened her eyes when her back calmed down, “What is this chair?”

“That was Mark’s idea,” Silas said. “With a plastic chair, we can put it all the way into the pool to get you in and out.”

“Nice,” Chevalier said, raising his eyebrows.

Mark reached down and easily picked her up, still in the chair.

“Mark, no!” she screamed, and he put her down gently.

“Did that hurt?” Chevalier asked, kneeling beside her.

“No, he’ll hurt himself doing that,” Emily said, and frowned.

Mark rolled his eyes, “I’m apparently stronger than I look.”

Chevalier chuckled, “He won’t hurt himself.”

Mark picked her up again, and all six heku guards followed him down. Emily heard Equites 1 take off as they walked into the out-building. Four guards stopped outside the doors to the pool, while Mark, Silas, and Jaron went into the warm steamy room.

Silas jumped down into the pool and took Emily from Mark. He sat her down in the water, and she relaxed and leaned back.

“Oh my God that feels good,” Emily told them as she floated on the water.

“I bet,” Jaron said, and quickly glanced around the room.

“Are you all better now?” she asked him.

Jaron smiled, “Yes.”

“And Ryder?”

“He is too. He took a little longer because of the burns, but he’s back at his post.”

“How does that feel on your back?” Dr. Cook asked from the side of the pool.

Emily looked over at him. She hadn’t noticed he was there, “Feels great.”

“If you have the energy, the hot tub might help too.”

“I don’t know…”

“Just if you want. I’ll be in the training room if you need me.”

Mark nodded at him and he blurred from the room.

Emily jerked when a loud crash sounded from outside of the building. She groaned when the movement caused her back to spasm again. Silas and Jaron were at her in an instant, making sure she didn’t go under the water. They supported her with their hands as her back relaxed enough she could talk.

“What was that?”

“I don’t know. Mark went to see and hasn’t been back,” Silas told her.

“Can we go back?” she asked, obviously in pain.

They walked her over to the chair and she slowly bent to sit into it. Silas grabbed her and handed her up to Jaron once he climbed out. Jaron put her down on the cement, so she could settle down in the chair.

“We need to wait a minute,” Silas said, and went to stand by the door.

“What’s going on?” she asked, gripping the plastic chair tightly.

Silas glanced at Jaron and then sighed, “Ferus attack.”

“Outside the pool house?” Emily gasped.

“Calm down… just relax,” Jaron said softly when her body tensed and the pain got worse.

She cried out when the pain kept going as her back tightened into knots.

“Enough of that,” Silas growled, and knelt down beside her. “Look at me.”

Emily glanced over at him, and in an instant, he was able to lock her gaze, which shocked both he and Jaron. It took Silas a moment to regain control, and then he spoke softly and her body began to relax.

“You’re going to stay relaxed when I carry you,” Silas’ voice was calm and flowing.

“Yes,” she whispered.

“Now relax, shut your eyes,” he told her, and she went limp in the chair.

“Open the doors, I’m going to run her past it,” Silas told Jaron.

Jaron nodded and within seconds, Silas was laying Emily back in bed. She moaned slightly when he laid her down, but soon relaxed and fell asleep.

“How did you control her?” Jaron whispered.

“I’m not sure… pain maybe?”

“I want to fight.”

“Go, I’ll bring the Council up here.”

Jaron nodded and blurred from the room. Dustin, the Chief Interrogator, and the Chief of Staff came into the room with Silas and Emily.

“How was the fight going?” Dustin asked, and looked out the window.

“I think the Cavalry is playing with them. The Ferus were on even numbers, so not sure what’s taking so long,” Silas told them as he covered Emily up with a blanket.

The Chief of Staff picked up Emily’s hand and smelled her wrist, “She’s not medicated, why is she asleep?”

“I controlled her,” Silas told them, and grinned slightly when they all looked at him, shocked.

“You did?”

“Yes, she was in a great deal of pain. I’m guessing that’s why.

A stout, older woman with long, gray hair and thick broad shoulders walked in, “Out, all of you… she can’t lay there in wet clothes.”

Silas grinned at how Rhonda treated the Council like children about to be chastised.

“Respect, Rhonda… We’ve told you that and it’s getting old,” Dustin said as he walked out.

“Elder’s orders that she’s to be put into dry clothes immediately. Take it up with him,” she said, and shut the door after them.

Mark, Kralen, and Jaron came up the stairs toward the Council. They were laughing about something, and Mark and Jaron had changed back into their uniforms.

“My turn,” Silas said, and blurred down the stairs.

“So?” Dustin asked when they arrived at the fifth-floor.

“Nothing much,” Mark told him. “The Ferus somehow managed to get to the out-building, though, and I’ll find out how when I’m done here.”

“How many?” the Chief of Staff asked angrily.

“Twenty of them, they came to get Emily,” Kralen told him.

He growled and blurred down the stairs.

Rhonda came out of the room and glared at them all, “Whoever controlled that child should be ashamed of themselves. She’s still asleep!”

“Who controlled her?” Mark asked the others.

“Silas did,” Dustin told him. “Now that her guards are back, I have a meeting.”

Rhonda grumbled as she walked down the stairs.

“Why did Silas control her?” Mark asked when they walked into her room.

“She was in pain, and he wanted her to relax, so he could quickly get her up here,” Jaron explained.

“How hard was that?” Kralen chuckled.

“It wasn’t at all, first shot.”

“Really?” Mark asked, shocked.

“She had to have allowed it then,” Kralen told them. “I’ve suspected she has some control over that.”

Mark looked over at him, “So she can be controlled if she wants to be?”

“Just a theory. If she was hurting badly enough, and knew Silas was helping… maybe. She trusts him.”

“And you’ve been suspecting this for how long?”

Kralen shrugged, “A few years, never had enough proof to say anything.”

“Well now I want to know. That could really help things if she’d not fight it at times,” Mark said, and sat down.

“Stoke that fire,” Jaron called out when he saw the orange embers of what was left of the fire. Two servants appeared and began to warm up the room.

Kralen grinned, “That fight was great.”

“Just what we needed,” Mark chuckled. “We should invite them over more often.”

“But how long before they get their hands on her?” Jaron asked seriously.

“Hopefully never.”

“They seem to be more organized and stronger. I wonder if they’ve found a suitable leader now.”

“No,” Emily whispered in her sleep, and her hands clutched into fists.

The heku looked over at her.

She jerked slightly, “No… don’t do it…”

Mark went over and touched her shoulder lightly, “Shhhh.”

“Why Yisolatara?” she whispered, and then calmed down.

Mark frowned and looked over at Silas.

“What the hell is going on with that?” Silas whispered, frustrated.

“I don’t know,” Mark said, and let go of her shoulder.

“We’ll need to tell the Elder she’s dreaming of it again.”

“That’ll be your job,” Mark said, and grinned slightly.

“Oh no, that sounds like a job for the General.”

“Nope, I’m not telling. I order you to.”

“Tell me what?” Chevalier asked, and stepped into the room.

“Better yet… touch her,” Mark said, and moved away from Emily.

Chevalier walked over and gently laid his hand on her arm.

“Don’t do this…” Emily screamed, and fought against the restraints. She was shackled to the floor of a ceremonial room, one with the runes painted red across the ceiling.

“It’s all that’s befitting of a Winchester,” a strange heku in black said to her.

“I don’t understand what Yisolatara is,” Emily told him.

“You don’t have to understand for it to work… let’s begin,” he said, and knelt down by her.

Emily screamed, “I can’t turn you to ash!”

“Of course not, silly girl. This is a dream… When it is time to do it for real, then we’ll protect ourselves against it,” he said.

“Yisolatara,” another heku in blue said. He stepped forward and began etching runes into the ground around Emily with a long stick.

“Stop it!” she screamed at him.

“Let us begin,” he whispered, and stepped back.

“No!” she screamed, and fought against the restraints. The twelve heku in blue started for her and knelt around her. They slowly brought their teeth down against her flesh.

“Emily… wake up,” Chevalier whispered, and shook her lightly.

Her eyes fluttered open and she screamed, “No!”

“Shhh, it’s ok, it was a dream.”

She looked over at him, panting, and shut her eyes tightly.

“It’s not going to happen,” he said to her softly.

She opened her tear filled eyes and looked at him, “Someone’s going to try it.”

“Who?”

“I don’t know.”

“No one will. It’s not only banned… but only a few of us even know how to do it.”

“You do?”

Chevalier glanced briefly at Mark and then back to Emily, “Yes.”

“Tell me what it is… what are they trying to do?”

He shook his head, “It doesn’t matter, no one knows how.”

Chapter 18 - Yisolatara

Dr. Anderson looked over Emily’s chart as she sat on the examination table, “Things are really looking good. Keep the brace on for another 6 weeks, and take it easy. That means no horseback riding, and no sitting or standing for long periods of time.”

She nodded and glanced at Mark.

“I’ll want you back in 6 weeks. Keep going into the water as much as you can, and sit in the hot tub afterwards.”

“Ok,” she said, and shifted slightly when her back started to ache.

Dr. Anderson looked up, “Like now, if your back aches, move… lying flat is the best.”

“Easy enough,” she said, and grinned slightly.

“Do you need more pain meds?”

Mark grinned, “We have plenty. She won’t take them.”

The doctor sighed, “If you’re hurting, take them… no use being in pain.”

“I don’t like feeling druggy,” she told him, and slowly slid to standing.

“Do it anyway. Call if you need me.”

Mark shook the doctor’s hand and then helped Emily out of the doctor’s office. Kralen and Silas were waiting in her Jeep. The police investigation into her attack and the death of the mortals was over, and it was finally released from evidence.

Kralen started the engine, while Mark helped her into the passenger seat, “We still stopping for onion rings?”

“Please,” she said, and smiled slightly.

“Anywhere else?” Kralen asked, and slowly pulled out of the parking lot. The small dip of the curb made Emily gasp slightly.

“Let’s just get her back and we’ll come after the onion rings,” Silas said.

“No, just grab them, I’m ok,” she said, and relaxed some into the seat.

After stopping at her favorite restaurant for onion rings, they quickly headed back to Council City. The Council was waiting for a report from Mark on recent Ferus activity in the area, but he insisted on coming into town with her first.

Emily began to eat as they pulled onto the Interstate. After a few minutes of silence, she looked up and noticed Kralen’s knuckles were turning white as he gripped the steering wheel.

“What’s wrong?” she asked. She saw Silas out of the corner of her eye and he was looking behind them.

“Stay in the Jeep, no matter what happens, and don’t ash anyone,” Mark growled from the backseat.

“What!? Who?” she asked frantically.

“I don’t know. We’re being followed.”

Emily heard a phone shut and then Silas spoke, “Council City is sending backup, stay on the Interstate.”

“Damnit!” Kralen growled when one of the black Jaguars pulled ahead of them. “Take it off road?”

“No! Emily’s back can’t take that… we’re going to have to face them,” Mark said.

“There are Yukons back there,” Silas told him. “We can’t handle that many.”

“They’re slowing us down…” Kralen said when the Jaguar began to slow.

“Emily, no ashing!” Mark said again, and jumped out of the Jeep as soon as it stopped. Kralen and Silas jumped out also, and she could hear what was going on because they left their doors open.

“What the hell is this?” Silas growled.

“Easy answer… we’re taking her,” a strange voice said.

“I think not,” Kralen yelled.

“You’re gravely outnumbered,” the strange man said. “However, we don’t want you three dead. We’re taking you too.”

“You just…” Silas’ voice was cut off, and Emily heard the thud as the three heku guards hit the ground, followed by the quiet hum of electricity.

She gasped and started to slowly get out of the Jeep, ignoring the pain in her back.

“Where you going, Sweetheart?” she heard, just before the slight pinch in her arm. She saw the face of a strange heku as darkness took over.

***

“I don’t see the sign of a struggle,” Kyle said, looking through the Jeep.

Chevalier walked around, looking at the ground, “No blood… nothing.”

“I don’t see any sign of the guards either,” Dustin said, returning from a run in wolf form.

“Tell us again,” Chevalier said, and turned to Jaron.

“Silas said they were getting followed by four black Yukons, two silver Jaguars, and two black ones. They told me they were passing mile marker 322 and were being boxed in.”

“Why not go off-road?” Dustin asked. “There’s plenty of field out there to leave the others in the dust.”

“My guess is Emily’s back,” Kyle told him. “They wouldn’t risk permanently injuring her.”

“But who takes the guards with them?” Jaron asked, frustrated. “I knew I should have gone.”

“It wouldn’t have mattered. If those vehicles were full, that’s 43 heku,” Dustin said, and looked around.

“Damnit, why didn’t she ash them?” Kyle asked. “She can ash 43 in her sleep.”

Jaron sighed, “Mark’s always told us that if we’re attacked, to first tell Emily not to turn anyone to ash.”

“Why?” Kyle yelled.

“I told them to,” Chevalier said, and began going through the Jeep. “I don’t want her doing that anymore… though normally I can’t stop her.”

The Chief Investigator came out of the nearby trees, “There was no struggle, but I see signs that three bodies were lying here on the ground.”

Chevalier got out of the Jeep and walked over to see what the Chief Investigator was looking at.

“There are lots of footprints here too. If I had to guess, the guards were incapacitated and taken with her.”

Chevalier growled, “Let’s get back. I want to be there if anyone calls.”

He got into the Jeep and sped back to Council City with the others following in his Humvee. He screeched to a halt in the parking garage and then blurred into the council chambers.

“Nothing so far. No word at all but we’ve alerted the Valle and Encala,” Zohn told him.

***

Emily could feel her back aching badly and the hard surface she was lying on was making it worse. She felt life coming back into her body and she was able to move slightly, though her legs had painful stabs running down them from her back.

“Emily?” she heard Mark say. His voice sounded like he was calling from down a long tunnel.

“Mark…” she finally managed to whisper.

“Open your eyes, Em,” he said softly.

She fought and finally got her eyes open, and looked around at the gray walls and ceiling when her eyes adjusted, “Where are we?”

“Ferus custody,” Silas said angrily.

“Can you move?” Mark asked her.

She shifted slightly and cried out as her back spasmed and sent excruciatingly painful stabs down her arms and legs.

“Ok, ok, don’t,” he whispered.

Emily fought to relax and her back finally relented, though it continued to ache.

“Kralen?”

“I’m here too,” he said, obviously furious.

“What do they want?”

“We’re not sure,” Mark told her. “They haven’t said anything to us.”

“If you can, get out a message to Chevalier that it’s the Ferus,” Silas told her. She shut her eyes and concentrated. Hundreds of miles away, Chevalier froze and a low growl erupted from deep within him.

The cell door opened, but Emily couldn’t see who walked in, turning even a little caused pain.

“Time for lunch, Sweetheart,” a gruff voice said. Emily watched as the heku came into view. He was dirty and covered in tattoos and vicious scars. He grinned down at her and then set the tray at her side.

“I’m not eating,” she told him.

He ran his eyes over her, “Look at that body.”

Emily frowned, “Go away.”

“Leave her alone!” Silas growled when the heku knelt down beside her.

“What’s wrong, Princess? Never seen a real heku?” he asked, and gently ran his hand along the vein in her neck.

She pushed his hand away, “Get away from me.”

“I like’em feisty,” he said, and bent down to press his lips hard against hers. She pushed against him with her hands, but he wouldn’t move.

Emily finally managed to shift her face away from his, but exposed her neck in the process. He ran his dry, cracked tongue up the throbbing vein and then looked at her face as he began to unbutton her shirt.

“Leave her alone!” Mark yelled, and Emily heard the heku guards struggling to free themselves.

“I guess I’ll get me a piece of this before we have to kill you,” he said, and grinned.

“Stop it,” another heku said angrily. “You know good and well she don’t belong to you.”

He ran his fingertips lightly along the top edge of her bra, “He won’t even know.”

“Yes he will you idiot, now get out of here,” the other yelled.

“I guess you’re right,” he said, and kissed her again. He looked down into her eyes, “You’re missing out, Gorgeous.”

“Get out of here,” the heku at the door ordered, and the one on the floor stood up and disappeared.

Emily quickly re-buttoned her shirt with shaking hands, then covered her face with her hands and fought back the tears.

“Em,” Mark said softly.

She took a deep breath and lowered her hands, “Where are you?”

“Right behind you. We’re shackled to the wall.”

Emily braced herself and flipped quickly onto her stomach, crying out when the movement sent painful stabs down her back and legs. She rested her head against the floor until the pain stopped, and then looked up. Mark, Silas, and Kralen were all sitting beside one another up against the wall with their hands shackled at their backs.

“What are the restraints made of?” she asked, watching their furious faces.

“Just iron, but if we move it connects a circuit and electrifies them,” Silas explained.

“Can I get them off of you?”

“I don’t think so, and if you connected the circuit it could kill you.”

“Who were they talking about? Those heku mentioned I belonged to someone.”

Mark shook his head, “We don’t know.”

She laid her head against the cool cement, “How long have we been here?”

“Four days.”

“Tell me what Yisolatara is,” Emily said softly.

“What good would that do?”

“That’s why I’m here.”

“You don’t know that,” Kralen told her.

“It has to be, just tell me what I’m up against, please.”

Mark sighed, “We can’t, we don’t really know.”

She looked up, “You are all afraid of a word and you don’t know what it means?”

“We know what the outcome is, and that’s enough… We know that it was banned by the ancients, so it has to be worse than anything we’ve encountered,” Mark explained.

“What’s the outcome?”

“It’s…” Silas started.

“No,” Mark growled. “You’ll be banished.”

“So what? Maybe she’s right. At least we have to tell her what’s going to happen. It’s only right.”

“No, it’s not going to happen. There are probably 20 heku alive today that know how to perform it, and those heku are well respected and honor the ban by the ancients.”

The door suddenly slammed open and four heku stepped in. One handed Emily a glass of orange juice, “Drink it.”

She looked down at the drink, “I’m not thirsty.”

“Do it or we’ll kill one of your guards.”

“Emily, no! Don’t drink it, they can kill us,” Mark growled.

Silas screamed as one of the purple clad heku sunk a dagger into his stomach and cut open his chest, “I’ll remove his heart… it’s slow and painful.”

She grabbed the straw and quickly drank the entire glass.

“That’s a good girl,” he said, and pulled the dagger out of Silas.

“No… Emily…” Mark said sadly.

She frowned, “That’s… salty.”

“Won’t matter in a few minutes, Sweetheart,” the heku said, and watched as she slowly relaxed and fell asleep.

“Where are you taking her?” Mark growled.

“To do what she’s here for… you’ll know soon enough when she kills you,” he said, and two of them took Emily’s arms and roughly dragged her out of the room.

“Oh my God, they are doing it,” Kralen gasped.

Mark watched the door, speechless.

“The… the factions will have to kill her,” Silas said, his voice cracking slightly.

“We’ll be dead,” Kralen told him sadly.

“She may be dead before it ends,” Mark said, and his eyes fell to the floor.

Emily was fully aware what was going on, but she couldn’t move her body or speak. Her back was screaming as the heku dragged her down a flight of stairs and into a round ceremonial room, one with the familiar runes etched into the walls. They laid her down on the cold, damp floor and secured her feet together and then anchored them to the floor. Her arms were lifted above her head and fastened, leaving her in a Y shape. She could see the red painted runes on the ceiling and tried to scream, but nothing came out.

An angry looking heku looked down at her, “Now it begins… he said the first stage was starvation. She’ll be here for seven days with no food or water. He’ll give us further instructions when that’s over. For now… we wait and keep her drugged up. He says she has to be conscious though, so keep with what we’ve already used.”

“Can she turn us to ash though?”

“He doesn’t think so. He thinks she’d need control of her body to do that.”

“She’s done, bring in the three she’s close to,” one of the heku said, checking the tightness of the restraints.

“Right away, Sir,” someone said, and blurred from the room.

Mark, Silas, and Kralen were all wrestled into the room and restrained high above the floor. They were situated where they could easily watch what was being done to Emily, but each knew their purpose and they wouldn’t live to tell anyone.

As soon as the door was shut, Mark looked down at Emily, “Em… can you hear me?”

She tried to answer him, but couldn’t move her mouth.

“If you can hear me… do it, ash this entire place, us included… do it now,” Mark urged.

Emily couldn’t tell him she’d already tried. She could concentrate, and it felt right, like it was happening, but no one was turning to ash.

“Tell Chevalier the word, Emily… scream it at him if you can,” Silas told her. “He has to know what’s happening.”

Emily decided it was worth a shot. She concentrated and screamed ‘Yisolatara’ in her mind as loudly as she could.

***

All across the planet, ‘old ones’ heard the forbidden word in their minds, a word that sent shivers up their spines. They glanced nervously at any heku near them to ascertain if they all heard it, but the rooms remained silent, as if no one beyond their ‘old one’ senses heard the most prohibited of words screamed.

Chevalier jerked and looked around, wide eyed.

“Elder?” Kyle asked, looking over at him.

Sotomar, standing down in the trial area, took a fast step back, as if suddenly hit in the chest. Exavior put his hand out to steady him, “Elder?”

Chevalier stood up, “Did you all hear that?”

“Hear what?” Zohn asked, looking up.

“I heard nothing,” William said, and frowned, then glanced at Sotomar.

Sotomar nodded and whispered, “Yes.”

“Well I didn’t hear anything,” Frederick growled.

“Is it just the ‘old ones’ in the room then?” Quinn asked.

Sotomar looked up at Chevalier, his eyes wide, “It’s happening isn’t it?”

Chevalier nodded, “I think so.”

Quickly, Sotomar grabbed his cell phone and dialed, “Alton, did you just…”

There was a pause while the others listened.

The Valle Elder nodded, “Yes.”

“What’s going on?” Exavior yelled.

“Shut up until he finishes,” Valle Elder Ryan hissed at him.

Sotomar shut his phone and looked up at Chevalier, “Alton is an ‘old one’, he leads one of our covens in Bangladesh… he heard it also.”

“Heard what, exactly?” Zohn asked, and turned to Chevalier.

Sotomar nodded, “We might as well.”

“Emily just screamed Yisolatara,” Chevalier whispered. The room filled with angry gasps and surprise that the Elder spoke the word.

Sotomar sighed, “They need 3 of her closest friends.”

Chevalier sat down and rested his head in his hands, “They have her 3 closest guards… I didn’t even imagine what that meant… I couldn’t figure out why they took the guards.”

Quinn finally gained his composure, “Did… did she say more? Like where she is?”

“No, just a single word that rang out to those of us with ancient’s blood,” Sotomar told him. His shoulders were sunken and his eyes downtrodden.

Zohn turned to Chevalier, “No more forbidden word. We need to know everything that we’re dealing with now that it’s happening.”

“It may not be happening,” Frederick said. “She may just be questioning…”

“It’s happening. How she said it was too personal,” Sotomar told him.

Chevalier suddenly disappeared from the room.

“Very well, are all Elders in agreement that I am no longer bound by the restrictions set forth by the ancients over Yisolatara?” Sotomar asked.

“Yes,” Quinn whispered.

“Yes,” Zohn, William, and Frederick said together.

“Go on…” Exavior told him.

Aaron nodded, “Yes.”

Ryan glanced around, “I agree.”

Sotomar sighed, “For seven days, she’ll be starved, no food, no water…”

Kyle hissed softly.

“During that time, she’s to be bound, forming a Y on the floor of the ceremonial room, and kept conscious,” he continued in a whisper. “On the eighth day, they play on fears, by the ninth day the human is starving and almost mad from the lack of sleep and food.”

Dustin growled, “That’s enough!”

“No, we have to know what we’re up against,” Quinn said, and turned back to Sotomar.

“It’s on the ninth day that the blood of the human’s closest friends begins to flow. They have to be near the human, so he begins to crave it,” Sotomar said, and shut his eyes before continuing. “On the tenth day pain is inflicted, it doesn’t matter how, but the pain has to be unending for 12 hours. On the eleventh day, the turning ceremony is done with the human restrained. Even those performing the ceremony would now be at risk from what they have created. On the last day, day twelve, the new heku is released and set to kill 3 of their closest friends. Once they are dead, it’s complete. After that time, the only way to stop… her… will be to kill her.”

“No!” Kyle growled and stood up. “We won’t kill her.”

“We won’t have a choice,” Zohn whispered. “If they succeed, she will be the most powerful Yisolatara ever created… an unfeeling monster set to kill both the immortal and the mortal. Yisolatara are massive heku with an appetite and anger beyond your imagination.”

“I won’t let you kill her,” he yelled, and his hands balled into tight fists.

“You won’t have a choice,” William told him softly.

“So she could be on day 5 of the process already. One week to find her to stop it,” Ryan said, and turned to Sotomar.

“There are preparations to be made, those that cannot be done in advance,” Sotomar told him. “That may buy us a couple of days.”

“However, we have no idea where she is, not even a continent,” Zohn reminded them.

Kyle slammed his chair back, shattering it against the wall, and disappeared from the room.

“Good, we need him gone,” Quinn said sadly. “If we have to kill her, we may need to get through Chevalier and Kyle to do it.”

“We can just imprison her… keep her alive,” Ryan suggested.

“She’ll most likely still be able to turn a heku to ash… that would risk the entire city,” Sotomar replied.

“You’re all assuming that the turning ceremony will work on her,” Exavior said calmly. “What does history tell us if the turning ceremony fails?”

“I’ve never heard it to fail, as we’ve… well most of us… have never tried to turn a Winchester.”

“What do you mean by most of us?” Frederick asked, frowning.

Exavior smiled slightly, “I tried to turn Emily when she was 3.”

“You what!?” William growled. “You attempted to turn a child?”

“10 times in 4 days,” Quinn said.

“Minor details, it didn’t work, obviously.”

“You’re pretty calm about this,” the Chief Interrogator said. “Aren’t you all upset about Emily being a Yisolatara?”

“Oh, yes I am, though getting irate about it won’t help,” Exavior told him.

***

Emily had never before felt such hunger or thirst. Her entire body ached from being restrained on the cold, dirt floor, but the worst pain was in her dry throat and aching stomach. She’d lost track of how long she was there. Every few hours, a heku came in and gave her a shot of something that paralyzed her body, but kept her mind alert. She could hear her heku guards talking to her through the day, but they fell silent at night, hoping she was asleep.

Her parched lips were cracked and bleeding, and she could taste the salty blood on her tongue. She could feel her resolve weakening and began to beg for death. She could no longer feel her legs. The back spasms caused them to fall numb after a few days. Her arms ached in the position, and she could feel her wrists swelling beneath the iron shackles.

“Can’t you leave her alone?” Mark yelled when four heku came into the room.

The heku ignored him and sat around Emily, “Congratulations, Winchester, you’ve made it past the first phase. You’re almost there now.”

He took her head in his hands and turned her to face him. Mark growled when he saw how easily the heku was able to lock Emily’s gaze and had her fully under control.

“News from the home front, your beloved husband came to rescue you and fell at the hands of my guards… funny how easily his head was removed from his body as his blood saturated my boots,” he whispered.

“No! Emily, snap out of it!” Kralen yelled.

“Fight back, Em, come on,” Mark growled.

“Not very smart of them to allow Allen to also come. He didn’t die as fast as his father, we had to torture him a bit first. He cried like the mortal he is, sad really. He didn’t stop until I removed his heart.” The heku’s voice was soft and flowing.

“Stop it!” Silas yelled.

“Come on, Emily, don’t do this,” Mark said, frustrated.

“Four thousand and eighty four Equites died today, trying to get you. I wonder why they would do that. You’re useless, nothing but a human. You cause more problems in that faction than you are worth, and now you’ve lost most of their army. The heku will figure it out, and will kill you, they hate you… the heku are bad and they want nothing but to hurt you and cause you pain. Everything that’s happening to you right now is done by a heku.”

He paused long enough to regain some lost control, and continued, “That dear daughter of yours, she’s with the Valle. Last I heard, Exavior was going to make her his bride now that he’s lost you. She’ll make beautiful children for him in a couple of years. She’s been taking care of Dain, that’ll have to stop. A child heku is against everything we believe in, and I assume the Valle will dispose of him.”

“Emily!” Mark roared.

“Now we release the rats and the mice, the ants and spiders, the snakes and scorpions… feel them as they crawl across your body. Feel them as they nibble at your skin and tear at your flesh,” he said, and grinned slightly. “They flood in, a never ending parade of them, all bent on coming to you and feeling your warmth against their wet noses and pointed claws.”

Another of the heku tore open the side of her jeans and removed them, leaving her in only a short halter top and panties, to maximize the amount of skin for their imaginary horde of scavengers to torment her.

The heku broke his gaze and glanced up at another, “No more medication is needed. She won’t be able to focus enough to turn anyone to ash.”

“Yes, Sir,” he replied, and left with the syringe.

“Enjoy, I’ll be back for more,” the heku said, and kissed Emily lightly.

Over the next few hours, the heku guards watched as Emily began to move. At first, slight movements that built up to blood curdling screams and violent thrashing as she fought to get away from the imagined rodents that tore at her skin, and the painful stings and bites of spiders, snakes, and scorpions.

“Emily, look at me,” Mark growled.

“Can you control her from this far away?” Kralen asked, pulling at the iron shackles.

“Emily!” Mark yelled again.

Her inhuman screams slowly faded as her voice gave out, but her panicked movements and painful whimpers continued for hours as the guards watched her helplessly.

On the morning of the ninth day, Emily was still screaming silently on the floor as imaginary rodents tore at her flesh. She pulled against the restraints and her wrists and ankles were swollen and bloody.

“Your turn,” a heku said, and walked in with a scalpel and clamps.

“Let her go or so help me…” Kralen growled.

“Oh do behave, you’ll be dead soon enough,” he said, and cut Kralen’s right wrist until his blood trickled out. The heku then used a small clamp to hold open the wound and soon, a slow stream of blood was dripping down his arms.

“What the hell!?” Mark growled when the same was done to him, and then Silas.

“Enjoy,” the heku said, grinning, and walked out.

“Why would they… Em?” Kralen asked when he saw her. She was now perfectly still as she watched the blood on their arms.

“Emily can you hear us?” Mark asked.

“She’s watching the blood,” Silas said, and tried to get at the clamp with his teeth.

A slow hiss escaped her lips as she watched the blood drip to the floor. She could almost taste it and feel how it would wet her throat and stop the painful starvation.

***

“How can we not find her?” Chevalier growled, and threw a chair through the wall of the conference room. Chevalier, Sotomar, Zohn, Quinn, Kyle, Aaron, and William were all that was left in the council chambers. The other Elders had returned to take care of their factions and to send out new scouts to look for the Ferus.

“We’re looking!” Zohn growled. “We’ve taken out four Ferus compounds, and we’re still trying.”

“There are just too many,” Sotomar whispered. “I keep hoping she’ll tell us where she is… If she can contact the ‘old ones’ again.”

“She can’t,” Chevalier said, and leaned his hands against the wall, lowering his head. “She’s no longer thinking rationally.”

“That makes it day… eight or nine, correct?” William asked.

Sotomar nodded.

“How is this working?” Kyle yelled, and stood up to look out the window. “She’s a Winchester for hell’s sake! She can’t be controlled… she can’t be anywhere near a turning ritual… how is this working?”

“What I don’t understand is how she dreamed of this,” Sotomar said, and shook his head.

“She dreamed of the Yisolatara ritual?” William asked, shocked.

“Yes, that’s where she first heard the word.”

“How can she dream about something that’s been outlawed for over 4,000 years?”

“If we knew that, we could probably find her.”

“We should have found that damned painted ceiling,” Kyle growled, and put his fist through the wall.

“The what?” William asked.

Chevalier sighed, “In her dreams, the ritual was performed in a ceremonial room where the runes were painted on the ceiling instead of etched.”

William looked over at Aaron with wide eyes and then turned to Chevalier, “Was the paint red?”

Chevalier turned to him, “Yes.”

“We had a coven, hundreds of years ago, that used a cave… the ceiling was made of something that couldn’t be etched, so it was painted in red,” William explained. “We had to kill off that coven about 80 years ago, though.”

“Where is that cave?” Chevalier asked, stepping closer to him.

William was on the phone, instantly, “Get me the location of the Armstrong Coven in Wyoming.”

Aaron turned to Chevalier, “We were all Coven Lords at the time. We’ll get the location, but it can take time. Some of those records were sealed by the Elders that ruled then.”

***

“Want some of the blood now, human?” the heku asked, grinning. “See… you can’t take your eyes off of it. Don’t worry, you’ll get it soon enough.”

Emily hissed softly and pulled her eyes away from her bloody companions to watch the heku in the room.

“Day ten, my dear, tomorrow we turn the infamous Winchester,” he told her, though she didn’t seem to understand.

“It won’t work! Stop now before you kill her,” Silas growled.

“Oh this’ll work. Master was very sure of that,” he said, and grinned.

“Who is your Master?” Mark asked scathingly.

“In due time. He’ll be here for the turning, I’m sure,” he told Mark, and then leaned over her. “This part won’t be hard at all, not with that back injury of yours.”

She watched him with angry eyes. His words were foreign and confusing.

“Course, you have no idea what I’m talking about, Sweetheart, do you?” he asked, and smiled at her.

“Stop this! You know it’s wrong,” Kralen yelled.

The heku took a short log from a servant and turned back to Emily. He quickly lifted her back from the floor and slipped the log beneath her. When he let her go, she screamed in agony as her back began to spasm again at the odd angle.

“See, easy enough, there’s more though… 12 hours is all, and we’ll be done with it. Then we turn you,” he told her, and left the room.

When the spasms began to die down, the heku returned with a sharp knife and proceeded to slice long, deep cuts into her arms, legs, and abdomen. He grabbed a small bag from his coat and sprinkled salt into the bloody wounds as her silent screams became more harrowing.

“Do you have no compassion? Why are you doing this?” Silas asked. His heart ached from watching Emily in so much pain.

“Compassion for a Winchester? None,” he said bluntly, and then left the room.

***

“It’s almost 12 hours,” Kralen whispered as Emily groaned in agony, her arms and legs shook with the pain and her blood saturated the dirt beneath her.

Mark nodded, “Then they turn her.”

“No!” Silas screamed when thirteen heku entered, twelve in blue robes and one in black.

“Don’t do this,” Mark growled.

The heku in black knelt down beside Emily and touched her cheek softly, “It will be over soon.”

“Stop this!” Kralen yelled.

“Mortal, do you know where you are?” one of the heku in blue asked.

“She does,” the heku in black replied.

Mark gasped, “Exavior!”

“Do you know what is about to happen?”

“She does.”

“Do you do so willingly and without coercion?”

There was amusement in his voice, “She does.”

“Proceed”

Hisses were heard from around the room as the heku in blue knelt down beside her and sunk their teeth into her soft flesh. She gasped at the pain and her back arched.

“Exavior, stop it!” Silas growled. “There are other ways to get back at Chevalier.”

As she was about to lose consciousness, she felt something placed against her mouth. At first she struggled, but when the blood wet her dry lips, she began to drink feverishly.

The twelve heku in the blue robes all pulled away from her and stood back along the circular walls. Exavior stayed knelt by her as she drank heartily from his wrist. After a few minutes, he stood up, pulling himself forcefully away from her.

Exavior took a stick and wrote runes in the dirt around Emily as she began to convulse and her eyes rolled back in her head. The twelve in blue began to chant and sway slightly in place as the runes were etched into the blood soaked mud.

“Stop!” Mark yelled. “Exavior, stop it!”

He brought the stick above his head, and poised it over her chest, ready to plunge it into her heart, stopping it and bringing her into immortality. The runes around the round ceremonial room began to glow and a grin formed on his face.

***

Chevalier, William, Sotomar, and Kyle stepped up to the cave entrance and tore down the boards that covered it.

“I smell her,” Kyle whispered from the entrance.

Chevalier nodded and quietly walked farther into the cavern. The others followed behind him and kept a close eye out for signs of any heku.

Suddenly, Chevalier held a hand up and motioned off to the side. The others walked to see what he was pointing at, and saw a type of recreational room carved into the cavern. In it were eight heku, lying motionless on the damp floor. Kyle moved forward quickly and knelt beside one of them, then frowned. He’d never seen an unconscious heku with no obvious signs of injury.

Kyle motioned to the others, to indicate that they were still alive, and stood up to join them. Following her scent, Chevalier passed through the labyrinth of caves, quickly following it. They stepped over many unconscious heku, all bearing the purple capes of the Ferus. None were dead, yet none seemed to be healing and coming out of their unconscious state.

Chevalier’s body tensed when he came face-to-face with a heavy stone door, and the others moved up to face it. He nodded at Kyle, and Kyle reached out and opened the door to the round ceremonial room.

The heku instantly took in the scene. Emily was lying motionless on the floor, still shackled in a Y position. She had brutal cuts all over her body and thirteen fresh bite marks. Blood dripped down the corner of her mouth. The ceremonial rod was lying at her side, and a small bloody mark was on her chest where it fell. There were thirteen unconscious heku lying across the floor, twelve in blue, and one in black. Mark, Silas, and Kralen were hanging from shackles on the wall, all unconscious.

“Em?” Chevalier asked, kneeling down beside her. Kyle quickly broke off the restraints on her ankles and wrists, and Chevalier gently wiped the blood away from her face and ears.

“Oh my God,” Sotomar gasped when he lowered the hood of the heku in black.

William hissed and Chevalier looked over at the unconscious Exavior.

“It was him this entire time!” William growled.

Chevalier turned back to Emily and pulled the log out from under her back. He gently picked her up in a cradle, “Kyle, get them down.”

Kyle nodded and went to the hallway to turn off the electrical current to the shackles. Once dead, he was easily able to free the heku guards from the wall, “They’re unconscious too, but I don’t see any injuries.”

William gently touched the blood on Emily’s chest, “They made it that far.”

Chevalier fought to control his rage, “It looks like they only pierced the surface. Something stopped it from going into her heart.”

A sickening tearing sounded, and Chevalier turned just as Sotomar tossed Exavior’s head off to the side of the room.

“We… we have a coven near here, only about 10 miles away,” William said. “I’ll call them in to clean this up… What do you want done with the Ferus?”

“Kill them,” Chevalier said, and started out of the room with Emily.

“And your guards?”

“I want them brought back with us,” he said. Kyle, Sotomar, and William each picked up one of the unconscious members of the Cavalry, and headed after Chevalier.

Once William had his coven on the way to dispose of the Ferus, Equites 1 headed back for Council City.

“Will this affect her?” William asked, motioning toward Emily.

“I don’t know,” Chevalier told him.

“Yisolatara is two parts,” Sotomar said. “The first of which is to drive the human insane. The second is to turn them. Once turned, they are then emotionless creatures with one purpose in mind, to kill. If it worked, which I’ve never heard of it not working... She may be insane.”

Chevalier pulled her tighter against his chest, “She’s Emily though.”

Sotomar nodded, “She has overcome a lot.”

“Are we sure she’s not been turned?” William asked. “I mean… I’ve seen the mortal smell last for a few days.”

Chevalier lifted the blanket discreetly and looked at the mark on her chest, “It didn’t puncture the rib cage… she couldn’t have turned.”

Kyle, too furious to sit still, leaned over and touched Mark on the shoulder, “Mark!”

The others looked at the General, but he didn’t move.

“So that’s what happens when you try to turn a Winchester,” Sotomar said softly. “She wipes out the entire coven… not dead… not ash… just… gone.”

“Don’t talk about her!” Kyle growled at him. “If you hadn’t brought him back, this wouldn’t have happened.”

“I didn’t know…” Sotomar whispered.

“You should have! You knew he was after her.”

The Valle Elder had nothing else to say, he knew Kyle was right, and felt the weight of what happened on his shoulders.

William’s phone rang and he answered it in whispers, “William here.”

There was a pause while he listened, “Yes, do it.”

He shut the phone and turned to Chevalier, “There were 1,193 Ferus in the caves, all have been disposed of. We are setting explosives to block the entrance and leaving them there to rot.”

Chevalier nodded and watched as the pilot gently set Equites 1 down on the palace roof.

Kyle was first out of the helicopter, “Clear out, general quarters!”

The guards blurred away immediately and the palace corridors emptied.

Chevalier jumped out with Emily in a cradle and quickly blurred into her room, where Dr. Cook was waiting.

The doctor hissed as he ran his eyes over her, taking in the cuts, the bites, and the bloody ankles and wrists. He pulled out his bag and dug through it, pulling out his stethoscope. He moved the blanket and gasped at the cut on her chest before listening to her heart.

“Her heart is strong,” he whispered.

Chevalier looked up when Quinn and Zohn came in.

“Kyle filled us in,” Quinn whispered.

“Where are her guards?”

“They are in the infirmary, still unconscious.”

“Breathing’s good,” the doctor said aloud. He took out a yellow salve and began gently applying it to all of her wounds.

The Elders watched as he carefully took care of her.

“She has thirteen bites and 43 cuts on her… Those cuts have had salt thrown into them,” he growled angrily as he wrapped gauze around one of her wrists. “We won’t know the damage to her back until she wakes up, though there’s odd bruising on it.”

“They had her on a log,” Chevalier whispered.

The doctor nodded and started to wrap gauze around her other wrist.

“Mommy?” Alexis asked timidly from behind them.

Chevalier turned quickly and ushered her out of the room, “What do you need, Alex?”

“I want to see her.”

Chevalier knelt down so he was closer to her height, “She’s hurt pretty bad right now. We’ll let you talk to her when she wakes up, ok?”

Alexis nodded, “She says she’s hurt a lot.”

“This one’s different,” he explained. “This one was done to her on purpose.”

“Who?” Alexis asked, frowning.

Chevalier sighed, “Exavior.”

She looked around the hallway, “Where is he?”

“He’s dead.”

“Will she be ok?” Alexis asked, her voice soft and concerned.

“I don’t know.”

She nodded and pulled away from him, “I better take Dain down for lunch.”

Chevalier nodded, and then returned to Emily’s side when Alexis headed down the stairs.

Dr. Cook stood up and looked down on Emily, “Leave her as she is, on top of the covers. I want those wounds covered in salve and untouched by even sheets, it may lessen the pain from them.”

Chevalier nodded and began to stoke the fires to warm the room.

“I’d like to stay in here,” Dr. Cook said.

“Yes, please,” Chevalier told him, and moved to the second fire.

“If you need us… just call,” Quinn said, and shut the door when he and Zohn left.

Over the next six days, the heku watched over her as she slept. The guards in the infirmary lay as motionless as she did, and no one was able to wake them. The Valle were cut off from all communication with the Equites, and only the Encala were able to get information updates on Emily’s recovery, which they then enjoyed keeping from the Valle.

“Her wounds are really looking good. She’s healing well,” the doctor said on the morning of the 7th day.

Chevalier nodded, “I see that, though the bites look worse than the cuts.”

“As is…” Dr. Cook stopped talking when Emily sighed softly.

As previously decided, to ensure the safety of Council City, when Emily began to wake, her room was to be filled with the Cavalry and any sign of the concentration it took to turn a city to ash, she was to be immediately sedated. Any violence left-over from Yisolatara was to be dealt with directly by the Cavalry, and not any of the Council, including Chevalier.

“In,” Dr. Cook whispered, and the entire Cavalry filed into the room and stood back against the walls. A deathly silence filled the palace.

Emily’s hand twitched slightly and her eyes fluttered open. She blinked a few times and looked at the ceiling.

“Emily?” Jaron whispered softly, and touched her arm.

She met his eyes and jerked her hand away from him, gasping. He moved a step back when her cautious eyes bored into his.

The heku in the room were perfectly silent as they watched her for the telltale signs. Jaron was elected to be the main point of contact, until they could ascertain her memory and mental status.

Jaron cleared his throat, “Emily, do you understand me?”

She nodded and her dry, cracked lips moved some, but no noise could be heard.

“Do you know who I am?” he asked softly.

She moved slightly to shift away from him, and cried out when her back spasmed. Everyone in the room tensed and watched her breathlessly.

“Your back is injured. It’ll only hurt worse if you move,” Jaron explained when she relaxed some. “Do you know who I am?”

Emily looked around the room, meeting the eyes of each heku before turning back to Jaron.

He sighed, “Please… do you know me?”

She had no voice, but the word was easily readable on her lips, “No.”

“Do you know anyone in this room?”

She raised one arm and lightly touched the elongated scabs that covered her arm from the knife cuts, and softly whispered, “Why…”

“We didn’t do that,” Jaron told her.

Chevalier was glad she hadn’t yet noticed the bite marks on the soft side of her arm.

“Can… can I get you a drink? Some juice maybe?”

She swallowed dryly, “Are… you… heku?”

Jaron glanced at Chevalier and then nodded to Emily, “Yes.”

Emily’s eyes fell to Chevalier and he could see hatred in them. He took a step back as her hands tightened into fists. She lunged from the bed and reached for his throat, but was quickly restrained against the floor by four heku. She screamed and fought against them, ignoring the pain from her back.

Mark appeared in the doorway and gasped. He quickly went over to her, “Let her go!”

“We can’t, General,” one of the Cavalry said to him.

“Emily,” Mark whispered, and her entire face changed when she saw him, the anger and rage softened.

“Help me,” she whispered.

“Let her go, now!” Mark growled.

The guards looked up at Chevalier, and released her when he nodded at them. Emily threw her arms around Mark and he gently picked her up, being careful to keep her back as straight as possible.

“Run,” she whispered. “The heku will kill us.”

“I won’t let them,” Mark told her, and turned to Chevalier.

Chevalier nodded at him.

“Everyone out, I order you,” Mark growled.

The heku, Elders and Council included, left the room with Mark’s orders. They hoped it would help Emily to feel safe around him if he could control the heku. He gently laid her down on the bed, and she cried out softly at the movement.

“It’s ok, they’re gone,” Mark told her. “You remember me?”

“You were hanging,” she whispered, and took his hand.

“Yes”

“Why?”

“Because I would have let you go.”

She nodded slightly.

“Do you remember my name?”

“No”

“I’m Mark.”

“Where are your friends?”

“Sleeping, they haven’t woken up yet.”

“You’re heku?”

Mark sighed, “Yes, but a good heku, not the kind that took you.”

She looked around the room, “I need to get out of this house.”

“Not until your back is better, ok? It’s pretty bad, and you need to stay down for it to heal.”

“They’ll kill me if I don’t leave.”

“I won’t let them. Now… you need to drink something.”

“No”

“It won’t be orange juice and it won’t be salty, I promise.”

“No,” she yelled.

“Ok, I’ll just put some ice water by the bed in case you change your mind,” he told her, and ordered it. Kyle retrieved the water from the servant at the door and put it on her bedside table.

“Don’t go!” she said when Mark stood up.

“I’ll just be outside of your door… I need to give orders to those heku that were in here,” he told her, and smiled reassuringly before stepping out into the hallway. He shut the door behind him.

“You have impeccable timing,” Zohn told him.

“How are you?” Quinn asked.

“Where’s Exavior?” Mark asked angrily.

“He’s dead,” Chevalier told him. “Sotomar killed him before he even woke up.”

“Mark… how are you feeling?” Quinn asked again.

“Fine, rested actually,” Mark told him. “I saw Silas and Kralen though, and they are still… well… sleeping I guess.”

“Thank you,” Chevalier told him. “It’s good that she has someone to trust now.”

Mark began to explain everything that happened, from the first moment they noticed the car was being followed, up until the end.

“He was so pleased when the runes began to glow, I couldn’t believe it. I honestly thought her abilities would have kicked in by then. He had the staff high above her, and suddenly, he lowered it quickly. I waited for her to scream… they always scream when it enters their heart, but there was no scream and then… I was here,” Mark finished.

“We’d like to go back in,” Quinn said.

Mark nodded and moved to the door. He opened it and turned to the others, announcing loudly, “I will allow you four to come in.”

Emily watched as Mark returned with Kyle and the three Elders. She was sitting up in bed and held an empty glass in her hand, and they were pleased to see that almost half of the pitcher of ice water was gone.

Mark sat down beside her on the bed, “I’ve allowed them to come back in for a while. If they bother you, we can have them leave. Why don’t you lie back down?”

She nodded and slowly laid back on the bed, keeping a close eye on the others.

“We’d like to ask you some questions, if that’s ok,” Quinn said softly.

She glanced at Mark.

“Go ahead, it’s ok,” he assured her.

“Ok,” she told Quinn.

“Do you know who kidnapped you?”

“Heku”

“Do you remember when?”

“No”

“What about where you live. Do you know where?”

“No”

Everyone turned when the doctor came in uninvited. He had an I.V. bag in one hand, and a needle in the other, “Sorry to interrupt…”

His words were cut short when he fell to a pile of ash on the floor.

Emily tried to roll out of bed, but Mark held her arm, “Don’t go… it’s ok, that was stupid of him.”

Chevalier whispered, too low for her to hear, “Revive him in my office later. I want an explanation, and it better be a damned good one.”

Kyle nodded and scooped the doctor into a small leather bag.

Emily lifted her hand when she felt a tickle under her nose, and saw blood on her fingers. Mark handed her a tissue, “It’s ok. We’re accustomed to it.”

“Why did you do that to him?” Emily asked, trying to stop her bloody nose.

Mark glanced toward where the doctor was, “He was uninvited. That’s unacceptable.”

Emily let go of the tissue and pressed her palms against her eyes.

Kyle dug through the doctor’s bag and handed two pills to Mark.

“Will you take these? It’ll help your headache and your back,” he asked her, and showed her the pills.

Surprising all of them, Emily nodded and he got her fresh water and helped her take them. She leaned back and took his hand in hers, and he held her hand for comfort until she drifted off.

“Who the hell told the doctor he could come in here?” Quinn whispered when she was deep asleep.

“No one, I’ll deal with him later,” Chevalier growled. “He had no right, and it was stupid to come in here with that stuff.”

“I’ve never seen her get a nosebleed after just 1 incident,” Zohn mentioned, and moved to look out the window.

“I haven’t either. I suspect it’s because it’s too soon after the turning ritual,” Chevalier told him, and sat down on the edge of the bed. He touched her cheek lightly and was suddenly thrown into her dream.

“Oh my God,” Sotomar said. His eyes were terrified as he stood along with the rest of the Valle Council.

“I’m tired of it,” Emily told them, and took a menacing step forward.

“Please… it was an accident,” Exavior told her, his voice shaky.

“You can go to your graves knowing that as soon as I turn you all to ash, I’ll scatter it across half of the state.”

“Emily, don’t… please… you can’t wipe out the entire Council, it’s not done,” Sotomar plead.

“Watch me, as you fall to your death… so will your city,” she said, and the three Encala Elders moved to stand behind her.

“The Equites have aligned with the Encala?” Valle Elder Ryan asked, shocked.

“The Equites aren’t involved in this,” Emily told them. “You just have to deal with us.”

“Don’t do this…” Sotomar said, and fell to ash.

Emily smiled, “Any last words?”

Suddenly her dreams filled with screams.

Chevalier let go of her and frowned, “She’s dreaming about turning the Valle Council to ash… Exavior is there, and the Encala were with her to wipe out the city.”

“Interesting,” Mark said, still holding her hand. “So she doesn’t know you, but she knows the Valle?”

“Maybe in her subconscious it’s all still there,” Kyle said. “Which is hopeful that she’ll remember us eventually.”

“Does that mean she plans on getting revenge then?” Quinn asked.

Chevalier shrugged, “I don’t know… maybe.”

“The scary thing is, if she went to the Encala with an offer to help them take out the Valle’s main city, they would do it, regardless of the impact on her,” Zohn told them.

“Yes, they would.”

“Speaking of the Valle… guess they decided to pay us a visit,” Quinn said, and turned to the door. “They are requesting a meeting with us and Emily.”

“She’s out for a while, shall I go also?” Mark asked.

“Yes, you can be our witness if we need one,” Chevalier said, and he gently kissed Emily’s forehead before following the others down to the council chambers.

They all took their seats and Mark stood alongside the back wall with Derrick, as requested by the Council. The three Valle Elders, Sotomar, Ryan, and Elder Randall, new in for Exavior, stood before the Council in the trial area.

“Ok, we’re here… what do you want?” Chevalier asked.

“We requested Emily be present,” Sotomar reminded him.

“Yes you did, and you have us… so why are you here? We made it clear we didn’t want you to come.”

Sotomar glanced at Valle Elder Ryan before continuing, “We are afraid that this situation may cloud the work we’ve done on forming an alliance with the Equites.”

Chevalier smiled, “Yes, I can see how you would be afraid of that.”

“We feel it’s imperative that we take out the Encala while they are still weak, even with some of the bad decisions made by the Valle.”

“Bad decisions? You mean stealing the ashes of, and then reviving a heku that tortured the last remaining Winchester, allowing him to do it again?” Zohn asked angrily.

“We had no idea he was still that infatuated with her.”

“Of course he was!” Chevalier yelled. “He never once denied his feelings for her.”

Sotomar sighed, “Nevertheless, the Encala need dealt with.”

“They have done nothing to us to warrant an aggressive relationship,” Quinn said. “In fact, in the kidnapping of Emily, they were nothing but helpful.”

“It’s a façade for their true nature, you know that!” Ryan said, his voice rising.

“We do not know that, and if you raise your voice again, you will be forcibly removed.”

“How can the Equites not see that getting rid of the Encala would force the heku into thousands of years of peace?” Sotomar asked calmly.

“You’re afraid of Emily… make friends with her and you’re safe… this is nothing more than an attempt to get the Equites to sign an alliance with the Valle, in hopes you can regain the friendship that you so easily threw away,” Kyle said smugly.

“That’s not true,” Ryan told him.

“We’re not forming an alliance,” Zohn said. “If there’s nothing else you want, then you may go.”

“How is she?” Sotomar asked, looking at Chevalier.

His eyes narrowed, “Why do you care?”

“We do! We care deeply… when we left, things didn’t look well.”

“She’s of no concern of yours, and I would advise you not to speak about her,” Dustin said.

“Can we see her?”

“No!” Chevalier growled.

“Please, let us talk to her. We need to see if we can smooth things over,” Sotomar begged.

“That’s out of the question. You are forbidden to speak to her,” Quinn said.

“That’s it then… you are speaking for her now?”

Chevalier stood up angrily, “Yes we are! Thanks to you, she’s not in the position to answer for herself right now.”

“Is there anything we can do?”

“You’ve done enough,” he said, through gritted teeth.

“Just… we just want to see her, to talk to her and apologize,” Ryan told them.

“No, now if that’s all, then you can leave,” Quinn said.

“That is unacceptable,” Sotomar said. “We demand to see her!”

Chevalier’s eyebrows rose, “You what?”

“You yourself have said that the Winchester does not belong to the Equites… therefore, we don’t feel that the Equites can speak for her.”

“As her husband, I have that right.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Emily said when she opened the door. The heku turned toward her as Mark and Derrick blurred to stand between her and the Valle.

“Emily!” Sotomar said, and smiled. “May we talk to you?”

“I said no!” Chevalier yelled, and appeared between Mark and Derrick.

“Please, Emily, talk to us,” Ryan called toward her, but she was obscured by the Equites.

“Chev,” Emily said softly, and touched his arm. Chevalier spun toward her and he saw recognition in her eyes, “Let me say something.”

Chevalier stood up out of a crouch, and moved to the side so she could see the Valle. She moved forward slightly, in obvious pain.

“I can help that,” Sotomar told her softly.

Emily glanced at the Council, and then to the Valle. Her whisper carried to the Council, “I’m going to say this nicely, and only once… Leave Council City, and don’t come back. I want nothing to do with you.”

Sotomar gasped, “Emily… please…”

“No,” she whispered, sadly. “I’ve said what I wanted.”

“Please,” Ryan said, but she turned slowly and used the wall as support to leave.

“Emily,” Sotomar called out, and started toward her. Derrick jumped for him and slammed into the Valle, pinning him to the ground.

“The Lady spoke her peace,” Derrick growled.

“Let him up so they can leave,” Quinn said as he walked down to the trial area.

Derrick stood up and straightened his uniform.

Ryan blurred out into the hallway and looked up at Emily as she struggled up the stairs, “I thought we were friends.”

Before Mark could reach him, the three Valle Elders fell to ash where they stood, and Emily sunk slowly and sat down on the stairs, her head in her hands. Chevalier appeared out in the hallway and walked up the few stairs to her. He sat down beside her and she leaned against him as he wrapped an arm around her.

“Are you ok?” he whispered, and kissed the top of her head.

“No,” she said, her voice cracking. “I don’t want them here.”

“I know.”

“I want to go lay down, but my head…”

Chevalier picked her up gently and carried her to their room. She laid her head against his shoulder and relaxed onto the bed as he pulled the curtains and turned off the lights.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know they were in there… I just wanted to let you know I remembered,” she whispered.

Chevalier smiled, “It’s a good thing. I would hate to have to woo you again. You weren’t an easy catch.”

She smiled slightly, “You make me sound like prey.”

He disappeared for not even a second, before returning with a cold rag and laid it across her forehead.

“How’s your back?”

“It hurts… they put a log under it.”

“I know, I took it out.”

She reached her arm up and touched one of the long thin scabs with her hand, “Why did they do this?”

“It’s part of the ceremony.”

She looked over at him, “Can I know now what Exavior was hoping to accomplish?”

Chevalier nodded, and over the next hour, explained the history of Yisolatara and how it was performed and then banned by the ancients. He also explained that only the few ‘old ones’ left knew how to do it, and that Exavior must have learned the ritual from Ulrich.

“How could he ensure that I wouldn’t have killed his coven when I was freed?” she asked, still surprised that Exavior was willing to make her a killing monster.

“He couldn’t have. I think he figured they could control you… but that’s the problem with Yisolatara, they can’t be controlled.”

“You would have had to kill me?”

Chevalier sighed, “Yes.”

“Where are Silas and Kralen?”

“They haven’t woken up.”

“Will they?”

“I don’t know… Mark did, and he said he’s refreshed, like he had a long deep sleep,” Chevalier explained.

Emily touched his arm, “Are you sure he’s dead?”

“Yes”

“That ancient can reattach heads though. You said he could bring back a heku.”

“That ancient is buried far beneath this palace.”

“If Exavior comes back …”

“He won’t.”

“What happened to the Ferus in that coven?”

“William sent an Encala Coven in. They beheaded all of the Ferus and then set explosives inside the cave.”

“I’m hungry,” she said, looking around.

Chevalier smiled, “Name it.”

She looked up at him, “I drank blood… a lot of it.”

“I know.”

“It was so good though… I was… thirsty.”

“That’s normal for the ritual… and now?”

“I’m thirsty, but I’d much prefer a Coke,” she said, and grinned slightly.

“What do you want to eat?”

“I want a triple cheeseburger with chili cheese fries and cheese cake.”

Chevalier chuckled, “You shouldn’t have said that.”

“Wait, I was kidding.”

“Too late… it’s ok… they are enjoying cooking.”

“I’m sorry I turned the doctor to ash. I didn’t know who he was and he had a needle.”

“Oh, I know exactly why you did it, and we’re making him wait a bit to revive him… so he knows he did something wrong.”

“He’ll be mad.”

Chevalier looked over at the door and stood up, crouching slightly.

“What?” Emily whispered.

“The Valle are revived and trying to get up here,” he hissed, and then stood up with an odd expression on his face.

“Not anymore.”

He sat down, “Would you stop?”

“I would say I’m sorry…”

“But you’re not, I know… I’m not worried about the Valle. I’m worried about you,” he told her.

“I know. I’ll stop for today.”

“Kyle’s going to go revive them at the front gates.”

“Chev?”

“Yes,” he said, and took her hand.

She sighed, “I hurt really bad… do you think… well… did the doctor…”

“Did he leave you anything?”

“Yes”

“Let’s see,” Chevalier said, and picked up the doctor’s bag. He dug through it and produce a bottle, “I’ve seen him give you these before… 2 of them.”

She nodded and he helped her sit up and take them. After going to the door, Chevalier came back with Emily’s order and she grinned at the size of it.

Chapter 19 - Revenge

“One more lap and we’ll call it good,” the heku said from beside the pool. Emily’s arms shook as she struggled to make it another lap across the pool. She’d been working with a Physical Therapist that Chevalier drummed up out of Canada. In the three weeks since her rescue from the Ferus, she’d spent two of those in the company of the stern heku.

Mark, Jaron, and two other members of the Cavalry stood inside the pool room and scrutinized everything the therapist did. For no good reason at all, they didn’t trust him, and any time Emily was in pain, they would hover over the therapist until he nervously changed what she was doing.

Emily stopped at the edge of the deep end and rested against the side of the pool, panting. Her back wasn’t hurting as much lately, but the laps in the pool made it ache for a few hours.

“Good job today!” the heku said, and stood up. “Want to get into the hot tub?”

“No,” she panted. She’d refused to get into the hot tub since she got back, and no one pushed it.

Mark reached down and helped Emily up out of the pool, steadying her with his hand when she swayed slightly. After swimming that many laps, her legs were shaky.

“Go get something to eat and I’ll see you in the morning,” he said, and left Emily alone with her guards.

“Go get something to eat,” Emily said, mimicking the heku.

Mark grinned, “It’s not just you, none of us like him.”

“He’s a pain in the ass. Why won’t Chev send him home?”

“Because the Elder thinks he’s doing some good.”

“Yeah, well let Chev do ninety minutes of hard laps,” she said, and reached for her phone when it rang. “Hello?”

“Emily, it’s William… are you alone?”

“No,” she said, and glanced up at Mark.

“Please call me when you are,” he said, and hung up.

“Who was that? Didn’t say much,” Mark mentioned.

“Wrong number… let’s go,” Emily said, and slipped on a robe.

“They aren’t awake yet.”

“I don’t care,” she told him, and slowly limped out of the out-building. Mark and Jaron walked alongside her as the other two guards fell in behind. All of the heku were suspecting that Silas and Kralen weren’t going to wake up. They weren’t dead though, and talks were set in motion for their retirement, to see if a few hundred years of rest would help them wake up.

She took the stairs slowly, using Mark’s arm as leverage. The heku were all trying to decide how to hint that they carry her up the numerous flights of stairs, but they knew she would refuse. When they got to the floor with the infirmary, she stopped in the foyer and waited until she could catch her breath.

“Ok, wait here,” she told them, and went into the infirmary and shut the door while guards waited in the foyer.

Emily walked over and slowly sat down on the chair beside Silas. She could see the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed, and was somewhat comforted by that, “Silas?”

He didn’t respond or move at all. She took his hand in hers, “Silas, please wake up. I’m sorry I did this to you.”

She studied his face and kissed his forehead lightly before standing up and sitting down on the side of the bed Kralen was lying on.

“Kralen, please wake up. I’m sorry,” she said, and took his hand. She watched him sleep for a few minutes and then moved to a chair where she watched them sleep for almost an hour.

She looked up when there was a knock on the door. Mark poked his head in, “Dinner’s ready, you still want to eat in the dining room? We’re a lot closer to your room.”

“No, the dining room is fine,” she said, and checked Silas and Kralen again before leaving. She suffered through the pain it took to walk back down the stairs, but smiled when she saw Alexis and Dain already seated.

“Do I have to, Mom?” Alexis asked, looking down at a plate of lasagna.

“Yes, you do,” Emily replied, and sat carefully.

“Owie?” Dain asked.

She smiled, “Sort of… drink up.”

Alexis gagged down her spaghetti while Dain took one of his sippy cups, and they all began to eat together.

“Mom, I miss Allen,” Alexis said between bites.

“I do too,” she said, and felt the familiar hole in her heart, made by her missing son.

“Can’t we go see him?”

“Soon, I promise.”

Alexis nodded and finished her small bowl of spaghetti, then reached over to help Dain. Afterwards, Alexis and Dain went to watch a movie while Emily headed up to her room, telling her guards she wanted to lie down. Once she was alone, she moved to the back of her room and returned the phone call.

“William here.”

“It’s Emily,” she whispered.

“Are you alone?”

“Yes”

“This is private, and we’d appreciate if you didn’t share any of what we’re about to tell you.”

“Ok,” she said, not sure she wanted to hear.

“The Encala have obtained a list of every known Ferus coven location.”

She gasped, “You did?”

“Yes, the other factions know we have it, but the alliance was terminated before we gave out copies.”

“So why tell me?”

“We want to exterminate them… the Encala do, with you.”

Emily glanced toward her door, “The Equites wouldn’t like that. I’m not supposed to ash anymore.”

William chuckled, “So is that a no?”

“No, it’s not… what are your plans?”

“Can you still slip out of the palace unnoticed?”

“Yes”

“Out of the city?” William asked.

“Yes”

“Good, next Friday night, meet us at your old Durango at 1am… can you do that?”

Emily thought, “Yes, I think I can.”

“Please, don’t mention this to anyone.”

“Oh, I won’t. If I do, they’ll stop me.”

“We’ll see you then,” William said, and hung up.

Emily sat on her bed and laid back, deep in thought. She felt the need to get revenge on the Ferus, not just for the Yisolatara, but everything they’ve done. The Equites made it abundantly clear that she wasn’t to turn anyone to ash, except for emergencies, and asked that they be allowed to handle the Ferus situation on their own.

The Encala’s offer sounded intriguing. If they could go coven to coven and wipe out the Ferus without the Equites knowing, then she could handle it without angering the Council. Her back was still touchy, any wrong turn would send painful stabs down into her legs and render her incapacitated for days. If the Encala were there with her though, she could merely wipe out some of them, and let the Encala handle the rest.

“Penny for your thoughts,” Chevalier whispered from the doorway.

Emily jumped slightly at the sudden voice and smiled at him, “It’s probably not worth a penny.”

He shut the door and walked over to the bed, “Had to have been, you were quite deep in thought. You didn’t even hear me come in.”

“That’s because you sneak.”

“I don’t sneak.”

She raised an eyebrow, “You all sneak.”

“Maybe… so what were you thinking about?”

“Silas and Kralen,” she lied, and looked over at him.

“We’re going to have to put them into retirement soon.”

Emily propped herself up on one elbow, “No!”

“We don’t have a choice… they aren’t waking up and we hope that a few hundred years of sleep will revive them.”

“No! I did this to them. I’m not going to let you put them in the ground.”

“They wouldn’t blame you.”

“I don’t care, you aren’t burying them alive.”

“What do you want us to do with them?”

“They aren’t hurting anyone sleeping in the infirmary.”

“They wouldn’t want to stay in there.”

“No,” she said sternly, and frowned.

Chevalier sighed, “The Council is talking about it.”

Emily slowly stood up and headed for the door.

“Where are you going?”

“To talk to the Council.”

“Em…” Chevalier said, and followed her as she slowly made her way down to the fourth-floor.

“I need to see the Council,” Emily told Derrick. He glanced at Chevalier and then opened the door.

“Go on in.”

Emily walked into the trial area and stood before the Council while Chevalier took his seat.

“Good to see you,” Quinn said, and smiled.

“I just have a message for the Council.”

“Go ahead,” Zohn told her.

“If Silas and Kralen are put into retirement, I’ll ash the entire Council.”

Dustin gasped, “What!?”

“Emily!” Chevalier growled.

“That’s a promise,” she told them, and turned to leave.

“Wait… you can’t just threaten the Council and leave,” Zohn told her, still shocked at what she said to them.

Emily sighed and then turned to face them, “What else is there to say?”

“Retirement is our way of protecting them.”

“Retirement is your way of sweeping them under the rug.”

“That’s not true,” Quinn said.

“I’m not going to let you bury them.”

Mark came into the trial area after being called by the Dustin.

Emily glanced at him, “He’s not going to change my mind.”

Dustin stood up, “He’s not here to change your mind. He’s here to protect the Council.”

Emily smiled, “Mark is going to keep me from turning you all to ash?”

“What?” Mark growled, and turned to Emily. “Why would you do that?”

“Simple… if they bury Silas and Kralen, I will ash the Council.”

“So now you can consider yourself in custody,” Dustin growled.

“No… she’s not,” Chevalier and Quinn both said.

“She threatened the Council, that’s grounds for death,” the Chief of Staff reminded them.

Emily crossed her arms and looked at him, “You going to kill me?”

“No, I was merely saying that being in custody is calm compared to what normally happens.”

“I suggest she return to the island and be kept there under house arrest,” Dustin said, and sat back down.

“Try it, Toto,” Emily yelled.

“Stop it!” Quinn growled, and then his face calmed and he faced Emily. “Before you decide to do away with the Equites Council, why don’t you just let us explain why this is best for them?”

“No, burying someone alive is never the best… if it were up to me, we’d go dig all of the retirees up immediately.”

Quinn smiled, “That would make a lot of heku very mad.”

“Custody or not… do it and burn,” Emily said angrily, and then walked out, followed by Mark. Three other guards fell in behind her, no longer guarding her, but set to protect the Council.

***

Emily rode through the dark trees, heading toward the Durango. It was harder at night. She hoped if she got lost, that the Encala would find her. It wasn’t hard to slip out of the palace. They thought they were keeping a closer eye on her since she threatened the Council, but putting city guards on her was a big mistake.

After a few minutes of wandering in what she thought might be the wrong direction, she finally gave up and called out, “William, I’m lost.”

“Starting to wonder,” Frederick said from just behind her.

“Sorry, I’ve never done this in the dark,” she explained, and pulled her horse around to follow him. She was further from the Durango than she thought. When Frederick joined William and Aaron by the Durango, Emily slid off her horse and tied it to the fender.

“We appreciate you coming,” William said, motioning for her to sit in the Durango. When she sat down, Aaron handed her a warm blanket.

“No problem, your offer is intriguing.”

“I’ll tell you what we propose, and you can add what you’d like. First off, we want to hit covens away from Council City at first. We don’t mind the factions knowing the Encala are going on a killing spree, but we’d rather not let anyone know that you’re involved.”

Emily nodded, “That would be my preference also.”

“Because the Ferus covens are so large, and we’ll be limited by transportation… we’ll need the numbers evened up a bit before we can go in without risking any Encala lives.”

“So I ash a few and then you all take over?”

“Yes, we know that you’re limit is about 400 before you require more than a full night to recover.”

Emily grinned slightly, “Nothing’s secret, eh?”

“No, not really,” William chuckled. “So after we wipe out a Ferus coven, we’ll return you to a home… we’ll purchase one if we need to. We don’t want to overdo it and risk hurting you, so we’ll space things out, making sure you’re completely recovered before going after another. In this manner, we hope to be done in just over a year.”

“When do we start?” Emily asked.

“Do you have anything to add?”

“Not that I can think of.”

“What is done to aid in your recovery after a mass slaying?”

“Sleep, they just let me sleep.”

Aaron nodded, “We’ll contact you with a location where we can start.”

“Any Ferus factions by Savannah, Georgia?” Emily asked.

“Yes, there are three,” William told her. “Why?”

“I have a home there, a plantation. No one would think twice if I was to go visit for a few weeks, and Chev has promised me no Equites guards when I’m there.”

“That’s perfect. We can do a trial run and make sure you recover easily.”

“I’m on house arrest right now,” Emily said. “So I’ll be ready to leave in the morning.”

“Why are you on house arrest?”

“I threatened to turn the entire Council to ash if they put two of my friends into forced retirement.”

“The two sleeping guards?” Frederick asked.

“Yes”

William grinned, “Did you really threaten them?”

“Yes, I did. So I’m not allowed to leave… no better time to head to Georgia.”

“We’ll be ready… when you get to Savannah, let us know, and we’ll arrange the troops. We have two large covens near there we can elicit for help,” William told her.

“You better get inside before you catch pneumonia,” Aaron told her.

Emily handed the blanket back and smiled, “Thanks… this’ll be fun… maybe we’ll do the Valle next.”

William chuckled as she got onto her horse and disappeared into the night. She rode into the stables, fully aware that someone was in there as she’d turned the lights off when she left, and they were back on.

“Do you want to explain where you’ve been?” Chevalier asked angrily. The entire Cavalry was gathered. They were headed out to find her.

“No, I don’t,” she said, and slid off her horse. One of the members of the Cavalry took the stallion to put him away for the night.

“What would possess you to go out in the middle of the night in freezing temperatures?” Mark yelled.

“None of your business,” she told him, and headed for the door. Chevalier grabbed her arm and flung her around to face him.

“Where were you?”

“Out riding,” she told him. “I needed to think.”

“Alone? At night?”

“Yes, some of us actually think at night, too.”

Chevalier began to drag her into the palace.

“Stop it!” she yelled at him.

“No, I’m going to personally make sure you get in bed and stay there.”

“No, I have other plans.”

He didn’t speak until they got into the room and he threw a nightgown at her, “Get ready for bed.”

“No,” she yelled, and threw the nightgown onto the dresser. “I told you, I have other plans.”

“Get in bed,” he growled.

“No”

“Stop telling me no… now get in bed.”

Emily sighed and pulled out her suitcase and began packing.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“I’m going to Savannah, and it damned well better be heku free and remain heku free for my stay,” she told him, and zipped up the suitcase.

“Don’t leave, not now,” he said, calming some.

She picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder, “I’m taking Dain, and we’ll be back in a week or so. The threat still stands, so I suggest you keep Silas and Kralen above ground.”

“Em, it’d help the Council a lot if you’d abide by the house arrest.”

Emily reached up and kissed him softly, “I’ll be back in a while.”

“Don’t go, please, the Council needs to talk to you about the threat.”

“Stop making me talk to the Council… You’re my damned husband, and I’m talking to you only… no more Emily vs. the Council,” she yelled. “Alexis! Bring me Dain.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Get away from heku and get some rest… no Council, no Physical Therapists, no guards, nothing.”

“Just take Mark.”

“No,” Emily told him, and took Dain’s hand.

“Then wait an hour and I can go.”

“No, it’ll be good, everyone can stand down and relax,” she said, and smiled.

“Yeah because we’re all relaxed when you’re alone,” he growled.

***

Emily, dressed in head-to-toe black, peered around the cement wall. Frederick and the Encala’s Chief Enforcer were with her along with a coven of 800 Encala heku.

Frederick whispered, “Just 350 if you can… we’ll get you back and William’s waiting at your house with Dain.”

Emily nodded and replied, “Clear the gate and get me inside so I can see better.”

Frederick motioned for the coven army and they descended on the front gate guards and quickly took them out.

“Go,” Frederick whispered.

Emily stood up out of her crouch and took off running for the Ferus compound. As soon as she stepped inside, with the Encala behind her, the city alarm sounded and Ferus flooded out of their homes. She concentrated and easily took out 350 of the enemy, then stumbled back slightly and felt a strong hand supporting her.

The Encala moved, en mass, into the Ferus coven and Emily could hear the sounds of heku fighting as someone picked her up. She fell asleep as she was blurred back.

“How did it go?” William asked, taking Emily from one of the guards.

“Easy enough. I’m imagining they’re done by now,” the guard said, bowed, and then left.

William laid Emily down and covered her with a blanket. He gently washed the blood from her nose with a warm rag and then waited for the others to return. Before dawn, he shut the heavy curtains and sat down on a chair to wait for her to wake up. Dain stayed on the floor playing with the two dogs.

He looked up when there was a knock on the door and Frederick came in, smiling, “Simple.”

“The entire coven, then?”

“Yes, all gone. Emily turned 350 to ash and put us on a more even playing field. They’re all dead now.”

“So next we can try one a little bigger.”

Frederick nodded, “I’d say so. There’s one nearby that’s 1200. If she can take out 400, then we’ll be good.”

William nodded and watched her sleep.

“Fascinating, isn’t it?”

“What is?” William asked.

“Sleep”

“Yes, it is… she doesn’t sleep peacefully though. She’s quite restless.”

“Have you considered damage control, for if the Equites find out?”

“I don’t think it’ll be us that needs saved,” William explained. “I think it’ll be her that’s in trouble, and if she needs a safe haven, we offer it.”

“You’ve fallen for her.”

William frowned, “I have not.”

They both fell quiet and watched for 26 hours until she woke up. She opened her eyes and looked around the room until her eyes fell on them, “What time is it?”

“4am,” William whispered. “Can we get you anything?”

“Juice and ibuprofen,” she said, and sat up. She pulled Dain off of the bed next to her and cradled him in her arms. “How did it go?”

Frederick went to get what she asked for, so William could give her an update, “It went well. You took out enough that we didn’t lose anyone.”

“Good, so we go again tonight?”

“I’d like to wait a few days, until you’re feeling all the way normal.”

She grinned, “It’s just a headache.”

“If we go tonight, it’ll get worse, and then we’ll be no better than the Valle.”

Frederick came back in and handed her two pills and juice, “Anything else?”

Emily smiled briefly before taking the pills.

“What?” William asked.

“I was just thinking how livid Chev would be if he knew I was housing a few hundred Encala.”

“That he would be.”

“Let’s just hope he doesn’t find out.”

Frederick changed the subject quickly, “The next Ferus outpost by here is about 1200 heku.”

“How many do I need to clear out?”

“400 should do it.”

Emily nodded, “Ok… leave so I can get some sleep.”

“Shall we take Dain?”

“No, it’s… hold on,” she said, and grabbed her phone. “Hello?”

She grinned, “Hi, Chev.”

William grinned.

“No, I’m ok, just a headache.”

Frederick heard a noise downstairs and left the bedroom.

“Yes, lots of rest, I promise.”

She nodded, “I promise, ok, love you.”

Emily hung up the phone and put it on the bedside table.

“If you need anything, just call,” William told her, and left her alone to get some rest.

***

“Good morning,” Chevalier said, and kissed the tip of her nose.

She wrapped her arms around him, “Good morning to you, too.”

“We need some help in the council chambers.”

“Is that a ruse to get me to come talk to the Council?” she asked, and sat up.

Chevalier chuckled, “No, the Valle and the Encala are here to talk about attacks on the Ferus.”

“Tell them I’ll come down when I’m more awake.”

“Are you feeling ok?”

“Yes, why?”

He studied her, “Just lately there’ve been days when you don’t get out of bed.”

“I’m getting old, what can I say?” Emily told him, and started to get out of bed. “I’ll be right there. See if someone can scrounge me up some coffee.”

“Ok,” Chevalier said, and watched her disappear into the bathroom. He blurred back down to the council chambers and sat down. A servant delivered coffee just before Emily arrived and sat at her chair with the Council.

“Thank you, Emily. We were worried this could turn nasty,” Zohn said.

Emily nodded and put her feet up on the desk, leaned back, and sipped her coffee.

“I don’t see why we brought in Emily. She’s threatened to turn this Council to ash,” Dustin growled.

“We aren’t going to bury Silas or Kralen today, so I think we’re safe,” Quinn said, and grinned slightly.

“It’s ok, Scooby. If I do it, I’ll ash you first so you won’t worry about the others,” Emily said, and took another sip.

“How dare you!” Dustin yelled, and stood up.

“Sit down, she was kidding,” Chevalier sighed.

Dustin sat back down angrily and yelled for Derrick, “Let them in.”

The three Encala and the three Valle Elders all came in and stood with their factions in front of the Equites Council.

“Good to see you, Emily,” Sotomar said, and smiled.

Emily ignored him and studied her coffee. She was afraid to look at the Encala. Any wrong glance could let the other Elders know that she’d spent a lot of time with them over the last few months.

“Why were we summoned?” William asked.

“It was actually because of the curiosity of this Council and the Valle Council,” Chevalier told him.

“Ok… curiosity about what?”

“About how you’re able to take out so many Ferus over the last four months, when we are all aware you have very low numbers.”

“There’s no law about taking out the Ferus. I don’t see as though this should be an issue,” Frederick said, starting to get irritated.

“No, we’re not at all mad about their slow extermination. We are more concerned about how you are doing it,” Sotomar told him.

Encala Elder Aaron grinned, “We have our ways and it’s nothing illegal.”

“How then? Enlighten us.”

“No, it’s not any of your business how we have grown a strategic advantage.”

“Strategic advantage?” Quinn asked.

“Of sorts, yes,” William answered.

“How many Ferus strongholds have you destroyed in the last 4 months?” Valle Elder Ryan asked.

William smiled, “We’ve completely wiped out twelve of them.”

“As Valle, we’ve managed four, and we are stronger. How are you doing it?”

“Again, we don’t wish to give away our secrets… We may need to use it on you someday,” William said, and grinned.

“Is that a threat?” Sotomar growled.

“Calm down, that didn’t sound like a threat to me,” Emily told him.

Sotomar glanced at Emily and then back to William, his voice now calm, “It just seems to the Valle and the Equites that you may have some type of weapon that could be beyond what is allowed by this species.”

“We don’t, rest assured, we are breaking no laws,” Frederick told him.

“To gain a tactical advantage then, why not tell us so we can assist in exterminating the Ferus?” Zohn asked.

“No, we do not wish to divulge our methods.”

“Have there been Ferus attacks on the Encala?” Chevalier asked.

“No, they are leaving us alone,” William replied.

“Then why are you doing it?”

“I saw what was done to Emily, and consider her a friend. We won’t stand for a Valle mistake to cause her harm.”

Emily smiled slightly and set her coffee cup on the desk.

Sotomar’s eyes flared, “They are trying to butter up the Equites to form an alliance!”

“As have you, so calm down,” Emily told him.

“No I will not calm down… if the Encala think for one second that they can align themselves with the Equites to fight the Valle, they are gravely mistaken.”

“No one’s said anything about forming an alliance with the Encala,” Zohn told him. “But Emily is right. You’ve both tried to turn her to your side.”

“It’s preposterous if the Encala think they can befriend her and win an alliance,” Valle Elder Ryan snapped.

“Excuse me?” Emily said, irritated. “I don’t want in on this little…”

She stopped when the trial door suddenly flew open and Silas came in, enraged, “Where is Exavior?”

“Silas!” Emily yelled, and stood up.

“Where is he?” Silas growled, and stepped toward the Valle.

“Silas…” Chevalier said softly.

Emily ran down to the trial area and threw her arms around him, “You woke up!”

His body was tense and he ignored Emily as he focused in on Sotomar.

“He is dead. I killed him in the Ferus’ ceremonial room when we released Emily,” Sotomar explained.

Silas pulled away from Emily and used his hand to gently lift her face to look at him, “Are you ok?”

She nodded, “I’m fine… that was months ago.”

Silas frowned and looked at the Council, “Months?”

Mark stepped into the trial area when the Council called him, “Yes, Eld… Silas!”

“General,” Silas said, and bowed slightly.

“He’s a little behind,” Chevalier said, and smiled. “Please see if you can help.”

Mark nodded, “Come, we have a lot to talk about.”

Emily hugged Silas again and then started out with the guards.

“Emily? We’re not done,” Quinn told her.

“Oh, ok,” she said, and hesitated before returning to the Council stand. She glanced briefly at William before sitting down.

“Sorry for the interruption,” Zohn told them.

“Are they all awake now?” Sotomar asked.

“No, we still have one… sleeping, for lack of another word.”

“I think that until we deem the Encala’s methods safe, they should refrain from taking out any more Ferus covens.”

“No, you don’t have the authority to order us to stop,” William told him angrily.

“As worried as I am about how they are achieving this, we cannot ask them to stop and expect them to comply,” Chevalier said.

“We can if we threaten to wipe them out,” Valle Elder Randall suggested.

“I won’t allow that,” Emily said, and glared at him.

Randall’s eyes grew wide and he took a step back.

“Calm down,” Chevalier said calmly. “They are doing better than we are at eliminating the rogue covens and I see no reason why they should stop.”

“I concur,” Zohn said, and looked at Quinn.

Quinn nodded, “Let them wipe them out. It’s for the greater good of the species.”

William smiled, “And Emily’s safety.”

“So because the Equites say it’s ok, then it is?” Sotomar yelled. “Just because you have the last remaining Winchester, doesn’t make you the supreme ruling body of this species!”

“I didn’t say it did. However, to eliminate the Encala entirely, you would need the Equites assistance and we will not give that,” Chevalier told him. “As for Emily, she would take it personally if you did harm the Encala again, and we do not control her or her actions.”

Sotomar’s eyes narrowed, “This feels like the Equites and the Encala have already joined.”

“We have not,” Quinn assured him.

“In your attacks, have you yet found out who is leading the Ferus?” Chevalier asked.

“We know it was Exavior for certain. Right now we know his second in command has stepped up, but we don’t yet know who he is or where he is located,” Frederick explained.

Sotomar shifted nervously at the mention that a Valle Elder was doubling as the leader of the Ferus.

“So now what?” Ryan asked. “We stand by and let them continue?”

“I see no reason why not,” Chevalier said. “Destroying the Ferus is for the benefit of us all.”

William smiled and risked a glance at Emily.

“This isn’t the end of this!” Sotomar said, and stormed out, followed by the other two Valle Elders.

When they slammed the door, William looked at the Council, “Will that be all?”

“Now that the Valle are gone, will you tell us how you are doing it?” Zohn asked.

“No, we will not.”

Zohn sighed, “Very well, that is all.”

Derrick appeared at the door to escort the Encala Elders out. When they were gone, Emily stood up and started to leave.

“Em?” Chevalier asked.

She turned around and saw the Council looking at her, “What’d I do now?”

“The Council is curious about what you do at night alone.”

Her eyes narrowed, “None of their business.”

“It’s just odd,” Quinn said softly, “And disconcerting, how you sneak out every couple of weeks and even hordes of Equites can’t find you… then you return and sleep for days.”

She shrugged, “I get tired.”

“By doing what?” Zohn asked.

“I wasn’t aware that my nightly activities were of any concern of the Council.”

“I wouldn’t say it’s of council concern exactly.”

“If it’s a marital concern… then I will remind you all again that I did not marry this Council… it was forced on me later, and I do not report to you,” she said, and left angrily.

Emily ran down the stairs and headed out to the stables, hoping to find Silas. She smiled when she saw Mark, Silas, and Jaron talking.

She ran up and threw her arms around him again, “I’m so sorry.”

Silas chuckled, “It’s ok, I feel fine. Just worried.”

Emily pulled away from him and frowned, “About what?”

“You, sneaking out all night.”

She grinned, “It’s nothing dangerous and I won’t stop.”

“What do you do?”

“I can’t say,” she told him, and leaned up against one of the stall doors.

“How’s your back?”

“It’s ok, I just can’t lift a lot is all.”

“And the other… cuts and such?”

“Almost gone,” she told him.

“Em?” Chevalier said from the door.

“Come on in,” she said, but didn’t move.

“Actually, I need to talk to you in private.”

Emily watched as Mark, Silas, and Jaron disappeared, “Ok, we’re alone.”

Chevalier walked in and sat on a bale of hay by her, “Not for the Council then… but for me. Why are you sneaking out?”

“I need to do something alone.”

“What?”

She walked over and sat down beside him, “I can’t say… but it’s not dangerous. It’s just something I need to do.”

“You aren’t working again are you?”

“No”

“I don’t like secrets.”

“Neither do I, so you know this has to be important.”

Chevalier nodded, “Important enough to keep from me.”

“I don’t like when you say it that way.”

“That’s the way it is.”

“It’s not bad though. I’m not having an affair. I’m not killing small children… I just need to be alone sometimes and it would be easier if the guards would let me go… I have to get more creative to slip them,” she told him.

Chevalier grinned, “We could just put Mark, Silas, and Jaron on your tail.”

“I’d still get away.”

“Is this a game to you?”

“No, it’s very serious.”

His eyes narrowed, “Now I’m nervous.”

Emily smiled, “Don’t be.”

He reached over and kissed her softly, “Promise me it’s not dangerous.”

“It’s not.”

Chevalier stood up, “I’ll be upstairs in a bit. I have one more trial for today to sit through.”

“Ok, will see you later.”

Emily watched as he left the stables and grinned when she realized she was alone. Tonight would be the easiest night yet to get away. She quickly threw a bridle on her horse and slid onto his back, then checked the lawn, and kicked him into a gallop out of the city. The way to the Durango at night was becoming familiar and she saw the Encala waiting for her.

“We half expected you to not be able to get away tonight,” William told her as he tied her horse to the bumper.

“Yeah, I wasn’t sure I could. Chev threatened to put Mark, Jaron, and Silas as my guards… if he does, it’ll be a lot harder to get away.”

“How do you elude heku?” Frederick asked.

Emily grinned, “I can’t tell you that. I may need it against you someday.”

William grinned and picked Emily up, “Let’s get going. It’s a two-hour ride tonight.”

The heku quickly blurred into the city where their helicopter was waiting. Once inside, Emily changed in a separate room into all black and came back out while she tied her hair up. She sat down next to Frederick, and William started the briefing.

“This coven’s larger than the others. Emily, can you handle 400 of them?”

Emily nodded, “Yes, is that enough?”

“I don’t want to risk more,” William told her. “We have two covens helping today, as there’s probably 2,000 in this one coven. If we get lucky, it’ll be their main one and we can stop these.”

“I don’t know, they’re kind of fun,” one of the guards said, and there was a loud round of agreement.

“Speak for yourself. If the Equites find out, I’ll be locked up,” Emily said with a slight grin.

“Then come live with us. We have to be more fun than those stuffy heku.”

“They’re just… a tad… overprotective.”

“As I said, then join the Encala.”

Emily just grinned and turned back to William, “Where is this one?”

“Northern Illinois,” he said, and then paused when the pilot gave the 10 minute warning. “We’re dropping into the middle. I’ll take Emily, the rest drop in first.”

She sighed, “Seriously, I hate that.”

William grinned, “You just really hate when you can’t do something on your own, don’t you?”

She ignored him and readied for the mission. When the pilot gave the signal, the Encala began jumping from the helicopter and by the time she climbed onto William’s back, the sounds of fighting could be heard. She shut her eyes tightly and couldn’t help but scream when he jumped the thirty feet down to the ground.

William chuckled when he landed, “Em, let go.”

Emily opened her eyes and grinned slightly before crawling off. The fighting stopped immediately when the Ferus caught sight of her.

“This is new,” Frederick said, looking around at the Ferus as they fell back slowly.

She frowned, “What do I do now? They aren’t fighting.”

William shrugged, “Well… we still need to get rid of them.”

“Please, Lady Emily,” one of them said, and stepped forward. “We need you to help us.”

“Do not talk to her,” one of the Encala guards yelled.

Emily took a step back.

“Go, Emily, we can’t let them go,” Frederick told her.

She nodded and then fell to her knees after 400 of the Ferus turned to ash, and the fighting resumed. William gently picked her up and stepped out of the way of the fighting. As soon as he was sure things were going well, he blurred back to the staging location and met up with the helicopter assigned to return her. He laid her down across the seats and she immediately fell asleep. Just before arriving outside of Council City, William quickly cleaned the blood from her face.

“Emily,” he whispered, and locked her gaze once she finally got her eyes open. “You need to ride your horse back to the palace, then go inside and lie down. Tell no one what happened. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” she replied.

He blurred her back to the Durango and helped her up onto the horse, then followed her into Council City, but stayed at the tree line. When she disappeared into the stables, he quickly disappeared.

“Out all night again,” Mark commented, irritated.

“Yes,” she said, struggling to put her horse away. She just wanted to sleep.

“We’ve had guards out looking for you.”

“I figured.”

“Where were you?” Chevalier growled from the stable doors.

“I was just out riding,” she told him, and leaned against the stall door when she felt like she might fall.

“I suppose you’ll go sleep now?”

“I am tired.”

He watched her closely, noticing she was slightly pale and shaky, “Out riding?”

“Yes,” she told him, and then shut the stall door. She fought to steady her walk and started for the palace, followed by Chevalier and four members of the Cavalry.

“Why won’t you tell me?”

“It’s personal.”

“It’s dangerous or you’d tell me, and to be honest, I’m starting to get angry about it.”

She looked over at him when they reached the bedroom door, “Please don’t. It’s not dangerous.”

“Then tell me.”

“I can’t.”

Chevalier glared at her and then stormed off. She winced when she heard his office door slam from two floors away and then disappeared into their room to sleep.

Chapter 20 - Behaving

Emily could feel the tension in the palace and knew she was the cause. Chevalier was no longer speaking to her, and her guards were curt and almost rude. She decided to behave as much as possible until her next mission, in hopes that everyone would calm down. Even watching a movie with Dain seemed to make the Council angry, and she wondered how close the long nights with the Encala were to being done.

In her room late at night, Emily snuck into her closet and called the Encala.

“Kind of late at night, isn’t in?” William asked, and she could tell he was smiling.

Emily whispered back, “We need to not go out this week. Things are getting pretty tense.”

“Are you ok?”

“Yes, but everyone’s really mad and no one’ll talk to me. They know I’m doing something, and if we can just wait until things calm down a little.”

“We have the Ferus’ main city,” William explained. “We wanted to go as soon as you’re ready, so they don’t have time to move their leader.”

She sighed, “When?”

“Friday, will you be recovered in 4 days?”

“Yes”

“After that, we’ll take a month off, ok?”

“Things are really bad.”

“We can’t risk him leaving. They move him around a lot,” Frederick told her. “We need you, this compound has over 3,000.”

She sighed, “Ok, Friday it is.”

“We’re sorry. After Friday though, we’ll take a break.”

Emily shut her phone and went to bed, but stayed awake for hours, tossing and turning. She knew that Chevalier would be furious when she disappeared for another night, and she wasn’t sure the Council would be any happier.

“Can’t sleep?” Chevalier asked, walking into the room.

She rolled onto her side and propped up on an elbow, “No.”

“That means you’re about to disappear again,” he said, irritated, and sat down on a chair by the fire.

She returned to her back and stared up at the ceiling. She could feel the anger emanating from him, but didn’t know how to calm things down.

“I need you to trust me on this,” Emily said softly.

“I need you to trust me enough to tell me what you’re doing.”

“Fair enough, but I can’t, not right now.”

He got up silently and left the room, slamming the door behind him on the way out. She sighed and began to think about how to get out of the killing spree the Encala initiated. If she could do just one more, then things would probably calm down and her nightly visits would be forgotten. She hopped Chevalier would trust her, and her guards would talk to her again.

As soon as dawn broke, she got out of bed, having not slept at all that night. She spent the day quietly with Dain. They watched a movie and then played with the dogs. Dain loved to throw the ball to Encala, the Labrador, and she was amazed at the strength the almost two-year-old had, though the guards didn’t seem surprised at all.

She wasn’t surprised when the change of the guards brought Mark, Silas, and Jaron. She figured if Kralen was awake, he would be there too. They knew it was about time for her to slip out for the night, and were prepared to use their high-ranking guards to keep her in the palace. Tension grew and Emily began to wonder if she would even be able to get out of the palace for this important mission.

After dark on Friday night, Emily rode up to the Durango.

“You made it,” William said, and smiled.

Emily nodded. She didn’t like what she had to do to get free, and knew that she was going to pay for it later.

William put a hand on her arm, “They’ll forgive you.”

“Let’s get this over with,” she said, and slid off of her stallion, tying him to her fender.

“If it gets too bad, we can come help.”

“That would make it worse.”

William nodded and picked her up, quickly blurring through the woods. She didn’t say a word as she climbed into the helicopter and changed into black.

Frederick glanced at William before beginning, “There are over 3,000, and we suspect this is their main city. If we can find the leader and dispose of him, we could end this a lot sooner than expected.”

William took over, “The Equites and Valle have all but extinguished the Ferus in the northern U.S. and Equites’ Thukil took care of the bigger covens in Texas. Same plan, we’re going to drop in, let Emily take out as many as she can…”

“I’ll do 700,” she said, watching her hands.

William frowned, “That’s too many. We agreed on 400.”

“Doesn’t matter, am going to do 700.”

“The Elder said 400,” one of the guards told her.

“He’s not my Elder,” Emily reminded him, still watching her hands.

“Em, you can’t do 700 and get back into the palace to sleep,” Frederick said.

Emily shrugged. She wanted this over with and hoped ashing the 700 instead of 400 would make it faster.

“Stick with the plan. We take out 2600 and Emily will take care of the other 400,” William said. The rest of the way was in silence. Emily was normally happy and chatty, but tonight there was a dark shroud over her and only William knew how much pressure she was under because of the Equites suspicions.

“5 minutes, Elder,” the pilot called back.

“I’m staying in for this one. Frederick is leading,” William told her. Emily nodded, and when it was time, she crawled onto Frederick’s back and wrapped her arms and legs around him tightly. She squeezed her eyes shut and then dropped to the ground when she felt Frederick land.

“Ouch!” Emily yelled, and Frederick turned to her, his eyes wide. She reached over and pulled a small dart out of her arm, then heard Frederick calling a retreat as darkness engulfed her.

***

Emily felt the fog of sedation lift slowly and she realized she was sitting on a hard surface with her hands restrained behind her back. She was finally able to open her eyes and looked up at the cement cell.

“Are you ok?” Frederick asked from behind her.

She pulled at her restraints and felt Frederick at her back. They were restrained together, back-to-back.

“Yeah,” she mumbled. “What happened?”

“They saw us coming, reinforced. You were sedated almost immediately, which left us gravely outnumbered.”

Emily sighed, “He’s going to kill me for this.”

“I would imagine so.”

“Can’t you get free?” she asked, feeling the restraints.

“No, if I pull too hard, it will electrocute you,” Frederick explained.

“Where are the others?”

“I don’t know, dead I suspect.”

***

“Just William is here?” Chevalier asked Derrick.

“Yes, Elder.”

Kyle returned to his seat, “No sign of her, just her horse tied to the Durango.”

“Damnit,” Chevalier sighed. “She’s never been gone for this long before. It’s usually just at night.”

“I know, I hope nothing happened.”

“Let William in. Let’s get him out of the way and we’ll talk about what to do about Emily’s disappearance,” Quinn said.

Derrick nodded and let William in.

William walked up to the Council and stood before them. It was obvious he was nervous.

“What can we do for you?” Zohn asked.

“We were ambushed in the main Ferus city. They kidnapped our main response team,” William explained.

“Ok, and we care because?”

William sighed, “Well… Frederick was the Elder leading this one…”

“Spill it, the Equites don’t care about Frederick,” Chevalier said, irritated.

William squared his shoulders and took a deep breath, “Emily… is on our main response team.”

Chevalier’s hands balled into tight fists, “What?”

“She’s been helping us take out the Ferus.”

“How dare you!” Kyle yelled. “You had no right to put her in danger!”

“She wasn’t forced,” William told them. “In fact, this was her last mission. She refused to deceive you any longer.”

“Mark!” Quinn yelled.

Mark appeared almost instantly, “Yes, Elder?”

“Get the Cavalry ready for an attack mission, call in Powan, Thukil and Samuel Covens.”

Mark nodded, “Right away.”

When Mark disappeared, Zohn turned to William, “Tell us what you know.”

Chevalier growled and blurred from the room.

William sighed, “Our sources listed 3,000 heku in this city, and we suspect the leader was there. Our troops dropped in from above and were immediately ambushed, Emily was shot with a dart and fell first.”

Kyle slammed his fists on the table, “You put her in danger… if she’s dead...”

“They won’t kill her… Her uncle is the Ferus leader,” William whispered.

“You knew that!?” Quinn screamed. “This entire time you knew that Alec was leading?”

William nodded, “Yes.”

Zohn slammed the speakerphone on and dialed.

“Valle Council,” a strange man said.

“This is Zohn. I need to speak to your Elders.”

“We’re here,” Sotomar told him.

“The Encala have been using Emily to wipe out the Ferus compounds,” Zohn hissed, his voice evil and malicious.

“What!?” Sotomar yelled. “For how long?”

William spoke, “The entire time, she was not forced.”

“Now they have her,” Quinn said, obviously irate.

Sotomar growled, “Tell us where…”

“We’re sending in troops, but would like the Valle to assist as there may be a lot of Encala prisoners we’ll need to deal with.”

“Where?”

William proceeded to tell the Valle and the Equites where the Ferus’ main city was, and anything he knew from their many encounters with the Ferus recently.

“We’ll send 1,000 Valle to meet you in 24 hours,” Valle Elder Ryan assured them.

“We’ll be there,” Quinn said, and shut off the speakerphone.

“I’m sure we’re not quite done with you,” Zohn said to William. “Chevalier will be back in a few minutes.”

William nodded. He knew this was coming, but couldn’t leave Emily in the Ferus compound. Mark returned a few minutes later, surprising all of the Council with Kralen.

“Good to see you awake,” Zohn said to him.

Kralen grinned slightly, “Sorry about that. I didn’t realize when I woke up how long it’d been.”

“You’re just in time… Emily is being held captive by the Ferus again.”

“What!?” Mark growled.

William grimaced and took a step away from the large heku.

“Emily’s disappearances…” Quinn told him. “She’s been helping the Encala take out Ferus covens, and the last one got a bit out of hand, we’re going in after them.”

Kralen frowned, “What if they try to turn her again?”

“Then I suspect they will all fall asleep, similar to what happened to you.”

***

“Then why did you go to Island Coven?” Frederick asked. He and Emily had nothing to do but visit.

“What was I supposed to do? Chev’d just killed my husband, Ulrich was after me, and I was injured… it just kind of happened,” Emily explained.

“You weren’t upset that he killed Keith?”

“Not at all, sort of relieved actually.”

“Hmm, interesting.”

“What is?”

“Just, not the story we heard.”

“Oh, do tell…” Emily said, and smiled slightly.

“We were told that after he killed your husband, you stayed on the ranch and late that night, were kidnapped by the Equites… pretty much brainwashed.”

“No way!”

“Yes, that’s what we were told.”

Emily grinned, “That’s kinda funny.”

She tried to see when the door opened but couldn’t turn around enough.

“What do you want?” Frederick asked angrily.

“Just to talk to Emily.” She was shocked to hear Alec’s voice.

“Alec?” Emily asked, making sure she’d heard right.

Alec walked around so she could see him, “Good to see you, Emi.”

“What are you doing with the Ferus?”

“Leading them…”

“Damnit, Alec.”

Alec smiled, “Surely it doesn’t surprise you that I took over when Exavior was maliciously murdered.”

“Maliciously murdered? He tried the Yisolatara ritual on me!” She felt Frederick tense at her use of the forbidden word.

“I’m not one to judge… but I am here to offer you a more pleasant environment.”

“I’m fine, Freddy and I are just visiting.”

“Obstinate to the end,” he said, and leaned against the wall.

“Me? Obstinate? Why? Because I’m not willing to turn traitor to my friends and family like you are?”

“I did not turn traitor. I owe my new life to Lord Exavior. I wish you could see the wonderful thing he’s created with the Ferus, and take your place at my side.”

Emily’s eyes narrowed, “I much prefer sitting on cement at Frederick’s back.”

Alec knelt down in front of her, “They want to banish you if you do not take your place with the Ferus.”

“I can’t be banished…”

“Yes, you can… burned at the stake and buried for eternity.”

Emily gasped

“Don’t touch her!” Frederick growled. “She doesn’t want to be with you.”

“Your father had such high hopes for your future,” Alec told her, and sighed before standing up.

“Funny, my father had the wrong impression of you too. He had no idea how low you could stoop.”

Emily fell to the side when one of the Ferus’ slammed their knee into the side of her face, “Do not talk to him like that!”

With Frederick’s help, she was able to sit back up, but felt her cheek swelling, “He doesn’t deserve to be spoken to in any other manor.”

The same guard kicked out and connected with her ribs. The sound of breaking bone filled the small cell and she groaned and leaned back against the Encala Elder.

“Stop it, Emily, don’t make it worse,” Frederick told her.

“When you are done with the Encala, call me and we’ll talk,” Alec told her, and left. The heku guard slammed the door shut after them.

“Are you ok?” Frederick asked.

She nodded. The familiar stabs of broken ribs made it hard to talk. She leaned against Frederick and rested her head against his back. He fell silent while she drifted off to sleep. After a few hours, Fredrick woke her up.

“Em?” he whispered.

Emily groaned slightly, “What?”

“There’s fighting around us.”

“Who is it?”

“The Valle and the Equites.”

Emily sighed, “What if I don’t want rescued?”

Frederick chuckled, “Whatever Chevalier has in store, can’t be worse than this.”

“Wanna bet?”

After an hour, Emily was able to hear the sounds of fighting also, and soon, there were heku outside of their cell door. The door flew open and Emily’s head sunk.

“In here!” Mark yelled. “Cut off the electricity.”

When he was sure the current was cut, Frederick tore open the restraints and flew to his feet, grinning, “Good to see you all.”

Emily stayed on the ground and brought her knees up. Laying her elbows on her knees, she put her head between her arms.

“Are you coming, Emily?” Frederick asked.

“No,” she whispered.

“Come on,” Mark said, and put his hand out for her.

“He’s going to kill me.”

“Probably”

“Why don’t you save him the time and just drain me here.”

Kralen appeared in the door, “Not a chance, Em, come on.”

She smiled slightly, “You woke up.”

“Yup, and then spent my first day back saving your ass, let’s go.” She noticed a hint of irritation in his voice.

Her smile faded as she took Mark’s hand and stood up slowly, ignoring the rib pain because she didn’t want them to know.

“Watch her, Equites. She has broken ribs,” Frederick said, and followed some of the Valle out.

Emily sighed, “I don’t either.”

Mark’s eyes narrowed, “Just the bruise on your cheek?”

“I don’t have a bruise on my cheek,” she grumbled, and walked out, following Silas and Kralen. She heard Mark fall in behind her.

They all walked out, and she noticed the fighting was over. Valle and Equites were scattered across the compound. She walked up to William when she finally saw him.

“Where’s Alec?”

William looked over the compound, “I think the Equites have him.”

“We do,” Mark told her. “Get in the helicopter.”

“I’ll give you $500,000 to drain me now,” Emily said to William.

William smiled reassuringly, “He’ll calm down.”

“After he kills me,” she said, and let Kralen help her into Equites 1. Mark, Silas, Kralen, and Jaron were the only heku that accompanied her back to Council City. Silas kept Kralen company in the cockpit while he flew, as Mark and Jaron took turns yelling at Emily in the back. She kept quiet and took it, knowing that was nothing compared to what Chevalier was going to do.

“Landing in 5 minutes,” Kralen called back after many tense hours. When they landed softly on the roof, Mark threw open the door and Emily looked up to see the line of guards, but they were absent. The Council was in their place and the look on Chevalier’s face was pure anger.

When she got out of the helicopter, she noticed that Quinn had a hand on Chevalier’s shoulder and she could only surmise that he was holding him back.

“Council chambers,” Zohn said, and turned abruptly. The Council all headed down the stairs with Emily following them, and her guards behind her.

Derrick opened the door without a word, and Emily walked into the council chambers and moved up before the Council, her eyes still on the floor. She could feel Mark, Silas, Jaron, and Kralen behind her.

“I’m not even sure how to start this,” Quinn said. The sharp anger in his voice made Emily wince.

“Let’s start with what you have to say about it,” Zohn snapped.

“I have nothing to say. Let me have it,” Emily whispered, still watching the dirt floor.

“Before we get to business. What are your injuries?”

“Nothing to worry about.”

“Frederick said she has broken ribs,” Mark informed them.

“Frederick is a moron,” she said timidly.

“How could you, Emily? Go behind our backs… join up with the Encala…” Quinn asked her.

“I didn’t join the Encala.”

“Sure as hell looks like it!”

She ignored the influx in his voice and stayed calm, “I wanted to help exterminate the Ferus after what they did to me. I knew it was wrong… I knew it was underhanded, and I’m prepared for whatever the Council decides.”

“Anything?” Zohn asked skeptically.

“Yes”

Zohn turned toward Chevalier, “What do you want to do with her?”

“Expulsion from the Equites,” he growled, glaring at her.

“You want to send her back to Island Coven?”

“No, I want nothing to do with her,” Chevalier growled. “Let her join the mortal world… the Encala… hell even the Ferus. I don’t really care.”

Emily wiped away a tear that betrayed her and trailed down her cheek.

Zohn sighed, “I don’t want to do anything hasty.”

Kyle glared at her while he spoke, “The Elder is right, nothing we do is appreciated, nothing we do to protect her is followed… She does what she wants, when she wants, and that makes her a liability to this faction.”

“I agree,” Dustin said, leaning forward onto the desk. “We would be better off if she would find another place to live and stay away from the Equites.”

“Well I don’t agree,” Zohn said. “I don’t know what to do with her, but I don’t think sending her out on her own is our answer.”

“I concur, Elder votes are two to one to keep her here,” Quinn said.

Emily reached down to her hand when she felt the ring slip off of her finger. She bent down and picked it up off of the dirt floor and held it tightly in her hand.

“As both an Elder and her husband, I’m done with her,” Chevalier yelled, and blurred suddenly from the room.

“I’ll speak for Island Coven. She’s not welcome there,” Kyle said, still watching her.

“For now, house arrest, and we’ll let tempers calm before we decide,” Quinn said, and nodded to Mark.

“She’ll just slip out,” Jaron said angrily.

“I won’t,” Emily whispered.

Mark grabbed her arm a little too roughly, and dragged her to an empty room on the fifth-floor. She stepped inside and heard the door shut and lock from the outside, then sat on the bed and finally allowed herself to cry. After almost an hour, Dain was let into the room, but the door was shut and locked behind him.

Emily stayed quietly in the strange room for four days. No one talked to her, and the only company she had was visits from Alexis and Dain. Meals were dropped off and she dutifully ate them. The palace seemed quiet to her. Even the guards outside of her door rarely spoke loud enough for her to hear. She watched out the only window, but it overlooked the out-building and all she could see was its dark roof. She took out her ring often and looked at it, several times she slipped it on, but it never stayed.

On the fifth day, she heard a knock and turned, expecting to see Dain. She was surprised to see Chevalier come in and shut the door behind him. She could feel the rage pouring off of him, and her eyes fell to the stark white bedspread.

“What were you thinking?” he hissed.

“I wanted them gone,” she whispered, unable to even look up at him.

“I can’t do this anymore. I want nothing more than to give you everything you could ever imagine, to protect you from harm, and to be with you for eternity… All you do is undermine what I do.”

She nodded as her eyes filled with tears, “I’m sorry.”

“I can’t trust you anymore.”

“I love you and I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“I’m not sure you do. You love yourself. You care only about yourself, and I’ve been delusional to think that you cared even one ounce about me or this faction.”

She finally looked up at him, “That’s not true.”

“I was outvoted. The other Elders have decided to keep you here in the palace, where they can keep an eye on you,” Chevalier said, and opened the door. “As for me… stay away from me.”

Emily jumped slightly when the door slammed and then she sunk down against the wall, her head buried in her hands. She stayed there, deep in thought until the door opened again. She looked up and saw Kyle and Dr. Cook come in.

“I was told you are injured,” Dr. Cook said, and sat his bag down.

“Nothing bad,” she whispered, and risked a glance at Kyle. He was still angry, but not quite as bad as the day she got back.

“Nevertheless, I’d like to see your side.”

Emily nodded and stood up. She’d already decided to do whatever she was asked. She sat down beside the doctor and lifted her shirt slightly, ignoring the low hiss from Kyle. Dr. Cook poked her ribs painfully and then began to tape up her side.

“Four broken ribs,” he said, and then pulled out a syringe and needle. “Do you need pain medications?”

“Whatever you advise,” she said, watching her hands.

Kyle frowned slightly, but fought the desire to forgive her.

“I advise this,” he said, and she held out her arm. Dr. Cook glanced at Kyle before giving her an injection. She lay back in bed when he was done, and they left, locking the door behind them.

“That’s new,” Dr. Cook said when they walked into the council chambers.

“I suspect she’s laying low and will do whatever we ask,” Kyle told him, and glanced at Chevalier before taking his seat.

“As Frederick stated, she has 4 broken ribs.”

“And the bruise on her face?” Quinn asked.

“Superficial, nothing broken.”

“Very well, thank you.”

Dr. Cook bowed slightly and then left.

“How is she?” Quinn asked, turning to Kyle.

“Quiet, timid, and very compliant,” Kyle reported.

“You have nine days,” Zohn said to Chevalier.

“No, I don’t… I have no desire whatsoever to forgive her.”

“For now, you’re even calmer than you were a few days ago. You must surely see that what she did wasn’t as bad as we originally thought,” Quinn told him.

Chevalier glared at him, “No, I don’t see that.”

“I agree, what she did undermined everything this Council has done for her,” Zohn said.

Quinn stood up, obviously irritated, “We’re done for the night, and I’m going back to my coven for a few days while the tempers die down.”

The rest of the Council left until only Zohn, Kyle, and Chevalier remained.

“We can’t keep her locked up forever,” Zohn said, turning to the other two.

“Pack her things and send her away,” Chevalier suggested.

“I disagree,” Kyle said. “With all due respect, Elder, you are mad now, but you still love her and you’ll regret it if she leaves.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I think I do. I’ve been around you two longer than any other heku.”

“Still, things have changed. I’m not going to spend any more energy trying to make her happy, trying to keep her safe or worrying about her,” Chevalier said, and blurred out of the room.

“If she leaves, he’ll regret it and we’ll all pay,” Kyle said, turning to Zohn.

“I know.”

Chevalier stood in the dark corner in Emily’s room and watched her sleep. Aided by the medication, she was quieter than usual and her scent was off. He studied her closely, the bruise on her cheek was fading and even in her sleep, an arm guarded her broken ribs. His heart ached. He wanted nothing more than to forget her and to walk away, never looking back.

***

Emily looked up from her breakfast when the door opened.

Mark walked in, still mad at her, “The Elders have granted you the ability to roam the grounds, with the condition you don’t slip your guards.”

She nodded and sat her fork down.

“Here’s a change of clothes,” he said, and tossed a pink summer dress onto the bed. They brought her clothing each day, and let her shower, but other than that she was forced to sit in the bedroom with nothing more than a book. She refused to complain, but looked forward to getting out into the sunshine.

Changing quickly, Emily sat back down in the chair to wait for them. She heard a light knock on the bedroom door.

“I’m ready,” she said softly.

Mark opened the door and she saw four of the Cavalry waiting for her, “They will be your guards.”

She nodded and followed them out. The servants all looked at her briefly and then turned back to their jobs. No one stopped to talk to her, or even acknowledge she walked past them. She merely followed the four members of the Cavalry outside and into the stables.

“We’re to wait at the door,” the Commander told her.

Emily inhaled deeply, enjoying the smell of fresh hay. She immediately went to the stall with her stallion and ran her hand along the lock.

“They don’t want to risk you taking off,” Silas told her.

She didn’t turn toward him, but nodded and reached down to pet the dogs at her feet.

“How are you?” Kralen asked her.

She finally turned toward them, “I’m fine.”

“The two of us,” Silas said, “May be the only two heku in the city who aren’t still mad at you.”

She nodded as tears filled her eyes, “Help me then.”

“Do what?”

“Get forgiveness.”

Kralen leaned up against the wall, “You’re doing the only thing I could suggest… keeping a low profile and doing as you’re told.”

“Chev…”

Silas sighed, “He’s going to take more time. You betrayed the Equites… but you lost the trust of your husband.”

“I can’t live without him,” she whispered, and turned back to pet her horse over the door.

“The same goes for him, he’s just forgotten,” Kralen told her.

Emily sunk down on the wall, “I don’t know what to do… how to make this right.”

“Why did you do it? Why not tell the Equites what you were doing?” Silas asked.

“They would have told me no.”

“Right, and then you would have done it anyway… I think they’re madder that you didn’t tell them, than they would have been if you’d have told them, and then did it anyway.”

“You tell me this now?” she asked, looking up at him.

“Let’s take the Cavalry out for a ride,” Kralen said, and then called for them to mount up.

Emily moved back, “I’ll go back to my room.”

“You’re allowed to come… you can tandem with me,” Silas told her, and slipped a bridle on his horse. He mounted and then put a hand out for her.

“The Council’s ok with it?”

“Yes, they are,” Mark said from behind her.

She sighed and then let Silas pull her up onto his horse. She sat against his back and held onto his sides. Mark led the Cavalry slowly out the front gates and toward the north hills. She watched as the Cavalry ran through a few drills, just enjoying being out in the fresh air and the feel of the hot sun against her face.

Something caught Emily’s attention and she turned toward the road. Chevalier’s McLaren, Kyle’s Ferrari, and Quinn’s Zonda were all headed for the Interstate, followed by four black Suburbans. She wondered where they were going, but knew she had no right to ask.

After a few hours of drills, Mark finally called for them all to head back in. She gripped Silas’ sides again as he took off at a gallop for the city. She slid off just outside of the stables and patiently waited for her guards. Kralen and Silas both blurred from the stables and stopped when they saw her.

Emily glanced over at the out-building when she heard a loud cheer erupt.

“Want to go see?” Kralen asked.

“What are they doing?”

“Come see, it’ll be entertaining,” he said, and started for the building. Emily followed as Silas and Jaron fell in behind her. The cheering got louder as they approached, and once inside, she could tell it was coming from one of the sparring rooms. When Kralen opened the door, she stepped in and her eyes grew wide.

There were heku guards lining the walls while two stood in the middle. Their hands were clasped behind their backs and their heads were low. Emily gasped when the two heku rammed their heads into each other and stumbled backwards, and then fell forward to do it again. They continued to pummel each other with their heads as blood coated the mat and the cheering grew even louder.

Emily watched, somewhat fascinated, and somewhat terrified of what she was seeing. The stupidity and sheer brutality of it was amazing, yet they didn’t seem to mind the pain or the blood. From what she could gather, the first heku to fall, lost, and was soon replaced with another.

“Why?” Emily asked, not taking her eyes away from the challenge.

“Why not? It’s just for fun,” Silas told her, and leaned back against the wall.

She stood, speechless, while the guards slammed their heads into each other until one of them stumbled to their knees and lost the fight. Few of them even acknowledged she was in the room, but they often came to talk to the Cavalry.

When it was over, Emily followed her guards out and couldn’t help but smile. The simple absurdity of the challenge was fascinating to her, and she found it humorous how rowdy the guards were, and how brutal the challenge.

“Good to see you smile again,” Silas said, and grinned.

She shrugged and fell serious again, “I’m ready for bed.”

“Let’s grab dinner first,” Mark told her, and headed inside.

Though not hungry, she nodded and followed him in. There was a large pizza sitting on the table for her and sippy cups for Dain, who was waiting for her.

“Mommy!” he yelled, and smiled when she walked in.

Emily kissed the top of his head and sat down to eat. She only managed a piece, but it satisfied the guards and she picked Dain up before heading up toward their room.

“Commander?” one of the Cavalry said, running up to them.

Emily turned toward him.

“My mare, I think she’s having the colt.”

Emily smiled slightly. She was extremely tired, but knew she would have a long night ahead, “Ok, let’s go see.”

Silas took Dain as she followed the others out into the stalls. The panting mare was leaning up against the stall wall and had over thirty heku watching her.

Emily slipped off her long sleeved shirt, leaving only a t-shirt, and stepped in, then ran her hand along the mare and smiled at the nervous guard, “It’s ok. She’s doing well.”

The guard was wringing his hands nervously, “She looks bad.”

“She’s ok, trust me,” Emily said, and moved out of the way just as the mare laid down. She whinnied loudly and nipped at one of the heku, “There may be too many in here though.”

“Clear out,” Mark ordered, and all of the heku left, including the guard that owned the mare.

Emily sat down beside the mare and rubbed her large belly.

“Em, we’re getting called in by the Council,” Mark told her. “There are four city guards posted outside of the stables.”

She nodded, “I’m fine here.”

Emily was somewhat relieved when the stables cleared out. She was able to concentrate on the mare without worrying about keeping up the perfect pretenses.

“Pretty horse,” a strange heku said as he leaned up against the stall door.

Emily glanced up at him, “Yes, she is.”

“Pretty girl, too,” he said, and grinned.

“Are you my guard?”

“Nope”

“Then you aren’t to be in here,” she reminded him, still rubbing the mare’s belly.

“From what I heard, they wouldn’t care if you donated a little nourishment… plus, I don’t see no ring on your finger.”

Emily sighed, “Thousands of years old and you have the grammar of a turnip.”

He frowned, “Pretty sassy for a useless, helpless, human.”

“Whatever you say.”

Emily gasped when she was suddenly pushed down against the hay in the stall. The heku pinned her body with his, “I like the sound of that… whatever I say.”

“Get off me,” Emily mumbled, and tried to roll out from under him. He quickly pinned her hands above her head.

“That smell,” he whispered, and ran his nose along her neck.

“You’re hurting me,” she gasped as the weight of his body pressed against her broken ribs.

“Pain is good,” he told her, and lightly ran his tongue up her neck.

“Mark!” Emily screamed as his teeth sunk into the soft flesh of her neck. She began to relax as he fed and only briefly had time to wonder why her guards didn’t come when she called.

“General?” Derrick said, stepping into the council chambers. “The guards reported that Lady Emily yelled for you.”

Mark frowned, “Did they see what she wanted?”

“No, Sir, they just called for you.”

“That was stupid, go see what she needs,” Mark told him. Derrick nodded and blurred away. He stepped into the stables, past the four guards, and immediately smelled fresh blood.

“Damnit,” he growled, and blurred through the stables until he found her. Emily was in front of a mirror. She had a towel pressed to her neck and turned when she saw him in the mirror.

“Don’t tell him,” she pleaded. “Please, Derrick, don’t say anything.”

“Who did it?”

“I don’t know him,” she said, then turned back to the mirror, and checked under the towel, the bleeding had finally stopped.

“I have to tell the Council.”

Emily turned and put a hand on his arm, “I’m begging you, don’t tell them.”

“Why didn’t you turn them to ash?”

“I did what I was told, and let the heku deal with it… but no one came,” she whispered, and turned back to the mirror.

Derrick sighed, “I have to tell them.”

“No, you don’t,” she fought back the tears. “I can’t handle them knowing. I don’t want to go to the council chambers and face them, I can’t see… him.”

He stepped forward and put his hand on her arm, “He doesn’t hate you, and the Council needs to know you were attacked.”

“I’m going to go to bed. I’ll wear turtle necks until this heals, they don’t need to know,” she told him, and turned her collar up before heading into the palace. Derrick sighed and looked around the stables. When he saw no sign of any heku, he returned to the council chambers and stood outside at his post.

Quinn frowned when they heard Derrick return, “Derrick, come in.”

Derrick sighed and stepped into the council chambers. He walked up to stand by Mark.

“What did she need?” Mark asked.

Derrick looked at Chevalier nervously, “She… she asked that I not say.”

“But she called for Mark,” Quinn reminded him.

“Yes, she did.”

“Now she doesn’t want Mark to know?”

“She didn’t mention Mark, but asked that I not tell the Council.”

“Do you feel the Council should know?”

“Yes, Sir,” Derrick told him. He knew he would soon be ordered to tell them, but understood why Emily requested that he not.

Mark frowned, “Well I want to know.”

“As do I,” Zohn told him. “So now it’s an order.”

Derrick sighed, “She was attacked in the stables.”

“Attacked?”

“Yes, fed from.”

Chevalier’s eyes narrowed.

“What!?” Mark yelled. “By who?”

“She doesn’t know who it was,” Derrick explained.

“Then send Kyle out to find who it is,” Quinn yelled.

Kyle stood up, but Derrick motioned for him to stop, “She didn’t turn the heku to ash.”

“Why not?” Zohn asked, irritated.

Derrick sighed, “She’s trying to do nothing more than follow instructions right now, so she did as she’s been told, and let the heku handle it. The problem is, she yelled for help and no one came.”

A low growl erupted from Chevalier.

Mark hissed and blurred from the room. Derrick turned to leave, but Zohn called him back.

“Where is she?”

“She went to bed,” Derrick told them.

“Is she ok?” Kyle asked, frowning.

“Yes, he didn’t overfeed. She’s just shaken and… well… confused.”

“Understood,” Quinn said, and turned to Kyle. “Go talk to her.”

Kyle nodded and stood up.

“No, I’ll go,” Chevalier told him, and stood also.

Kyle sighed, “Are you sure? She doesn’t need yelled at right now.”

Chevalier glared at him, “I don’t plan on yelling.”

Kyle nodded, and sat back down while Chevalier went to Emily’s room. There were four members of the Cavalry outside of her door.

“Were you guarding her in the stables?”

“No, Sir,” Jaron told him. “It was four city guards.”

Chevalier nodded and knocked. He opened the door when she told him to come in. She looked up as she sat on the bed reading, then saw it was him and sat her book down. She’d already changed into a turtle neck to cover her neck.

“Yes?” she asked timidly.

Chevalier shut the door and sat down on a chair, “Are you injured?”

“No”

“You have no idea who it was?”

“No”

He sighed, “Why didn’t you ash him?”

She looked down at the bedspread, “I let the heku handle it, as instructed.”

“But when no one came…”

“Then he finished and left.”

“You can’t let heku do that! You have to ash them if they attack you,” he told her, fighting to keep his voice calm.

“Maybe I just don’t care if he fed.”

Chevalier frowned, “You don’t care?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Is that how it’s going to be then? You either lie to me and defy the Council, or let the heku walk all over you?”

Emily didn’t answer, and couldn’t even look at him.

“Great, well next time I’m thirsty, I know where to find you!” he yelled, and then stormed out, slamming the door behind him. He almost instantly appeared in the council chambers and sat down.

Zohn sighed, “So much for not yelling. We could hear you down here.”

“Did you hear it all?” Chevalier asked angrily.

“Yes… she didn’t mean it.”

Quinn cleared his throat, “There’s one other thing… Alec is requesting a private audience with Emily.”

“What about?” Chevalier asked.

“He didn’t say… Zohn and I are ok with it. If you agree, we suggest the conference room, so we can hear what’s being said.”

“Derrick, bring Alec to the conference room and Mark, get Emily,” Chevalier said.

The Council listened carefully as Emily met with her uncle.

She walked into the conference room and sat down, frowning slightly, “You called for me, Alec?”

Alec smiled, “Yes, thanks for meeting me. Things have gotten out of control and I still worry about you.”

“I’m fine,” she told him, but it was obvious she was lying.

“What’s going on?”

“Nothing”

Alec paused and then sighed, “Emi, it’s no secret that you are lost. You aren’t mortal, you aren’t immortal… The Equites no longer care about you, the Encala use you, and the Valle fear you.”

The Council waited for her to argue, but she kept quiet.

“Exavior built the Ferus for you, so you would have a place to finally belong, a place that you could go to be one of them. No guards, no getting yelled at, or chastised. The only reason he wanted to turn you was if you were heku, then you would truly belong in the world of the heku.”

Emily nodded slightly, “I realize I’m a freak of nature, and have nowhere on this planet that I belong… but I can’t join the Ferus.”

“What will you do then? I’ve been listening. The Equites are fed up with you and your disobedience… It’s only a matter of time before they throw you out, and then what will you do?”

“I’ve been thinking about that a lot… and I realize it’s only a matter of time before I’m completely ostracized from the heku world.”

“And what have you decided you will do?”

Emily shrugged slightly, “I have two options… I go to my home in Georgia and try to fit in for a few years until they realize I’m no longer aging, and then I move and do it all over again.”

“Your other option?”

“I very nicely walk up to the next heku I see and ask to be drained,” she whispered. “I’m not immortal, I can die.”

“You would rather die than to live with the Ferus?” Alec asked, confused.

Emily nodded, “The Equites are my life…”

“Even if they throw you out?”

“Yes, I can’t live without Chev, my children are Equites, my friends are Equites… I refuse to be a traitor and join another faction. I’d rather live alone as a hermit or just… end it.”

“Damnit, Emi, how can you say that?”

“Because it’s true.”

Alec leaned over and took her hand, “I’m your family… you belong with me. You’re Encala by blood, Valle by marriage, and Equites by bond… but you’re Ferus by family, the strongest of all of them.”

“You made it very clear that I’m no longer your family.” Her voice was soft, and the Council could tell she was fighting tears.

“So you consider the Equites your family? You disobey them, you defy the Council, you lie, and deceive Chevalier. It’s no wonder they want nothing to do with you,” Alec told her. “The Ferus, Emily, was made for you, and they will respect you, and help you fit in and understand what you’re going through.”

Emily whispered, “I don’t disobey and defy the Council just for the purpose of getting my way or rebellion. I attacked the Ferus with the Encala, to keep the Equites from having to go to war over me again.”

“Damnit,” Chevalier growled from the next room.

“You won’t have to protect the Ferus, they’re strong.”

Emily frowned, “The Ferus have nothing on the power of the Equites.”

“If you have to protect them, then they can’t be that strong.”

“Don’t talk bad about the Equites in front of me,” Emily yelled. “You have no idea the strength and compassion of these heku. I don’t protect them because they can’t protect themselves… I protect them because I’m a burden here, and the only thing I have that they don’t… is the ability to mass exterminate heku without risk to themselves.”

Alec nodded, “You are a burden here… You take from them and give nothing in return. The Ferus would be different, you would make decisions and rule them. You wouldn’t be a burden.”

“I say we end this,” Zohn hissed angrily.

Chevalier shook his head, “No, I’m learning too much.”

“Agreed,” Quinn whispered, watching his hands.

“Alec, I’m not going to join the Ferus. I’m an Equites and I always will be. Even if I’m alone in a shack in Alaska, I’ll still be proud to call myself an Equites. When they throw me out, then I’ll keep that love and devotion for this faction in my heart for eternity.”

“They will kick you out. Since you were a child you were disobedient and head-strong. Heku don’t know how to deal with that and soon, they will have had enough,” Alec explained.

“You don’t think I know that?” Emily yelled. “You don’t think I see that and fear that every day I’m here?”

“There’s nothing I can do to make you see how much better your life will be if you join the Ferus?” Alec asked.

“I already see that. I would love nothing more than to be needed and actually be a part of a faction, other than just causing problems. However, I can’t join the Ferus. I don’t think I could live with myself if the Equites considered me an enemy.”

“You don’t think you will be on their enemy radar when they kick you out?”

“No, I don’t. I think they will wash their hands of me, and I’ll be a distant memory to them. Something they had to deal with and once taken care of, would be forgotten.”

Alec sighed, “I promised your Dad I would watch over you… there has to be something I can do.”

“There is,” Emily said, and her voice cracked.

“Name it, Emi.”

“Lock my eyes, control me… Change me to be what they want. Make me obedient and quiet, peaceful… take away my personality and change it so I don’t have to leave.”

“I’m not an ‘old one’ or an ancient, I can’t control you,” Alec reminded her.

“I have control over who can do it,” Emily said, watching her hands. “I will allow it.”

“And if it doesn’t work, and they kick you out anyway?”

“I’ll then decide if I want to live alone or if I want to end it.”

“I can make you forget the heku, forget the species and your life here… forget your children, and maybe even take away the pain from being away from Chevalier,” Alec told her.

“Maybe that’s even better, then. They wouldn’t have to kick me out, I would just leave.”

“That’s enough,” Chevalier said as he walked into the conference room. Alec stood up and crouched instinctively. Four guards came in and pulled him from the room. Emily didn’t look up from the table, but she was aware that the Elders and Kyle sat down at the table and shut the door.

“You don’t have to do this… I’ll make it easier,” Emily whispered.

“Let us talk,” Zohn told her.

“No, I won’t make you do this and this way, you’ll never have to feel guilt or remorse for doing it,” Emily said. “I’ll just leave. I’ll get my stuff, and if you can just give me the Jeep and an hour…”

“Listen to us, Em,” Chevalier said, and reached out and took her hand. She frowned slightly and looked at their intertwined hands.

“You’re right. I deserve this,” she whispered, and pulled her hand away from his.

“Alec couldn’t be more wrong,” Kyle told her.

She frowned slightly, “You heard all of that?”

“All of it,” Quinn said. “Let’s just start off by saying you aren’t a burden, and we would never ostracize you from the Equites.”

“That’s true,” she whispered. “I would then become a danger.”

“That’s not why. You’re important to us, and it has nothing to do with your abilities,” Zohn told her. “We care about you and your welfare, and have never considered you a burden.”

“I am though. What do I give in return? He was right, I take and take, and all I do is cause trouble.”

“You train our Cavalry,” Zohn told her.

“You mediate hostile meetings,” Quinn added.

“You’re my wife,” Chevalier said, and took her hand again, squeezing it slightly.

“You’re more devoted to the Equites than most of the city,” Zohn said. “You don’t take and take and, Dear, please… stop trying to protect us.”

“I can’t seem to behave. It’s not in my nature to take orders and sit around doing nothing. It will be easier on all of us if I just go now,” Emily said, and pulled her hand away from Chevalier’s.

“That’s the problem here,” Chevalier told her, and took her hand again. “We are a protective species, and you’re a free spirit that doesn’t like to be protected. However, can we all agree that you do need it?”

Emily smiled slightly, “Kind of hard to deny that.”

“So how do we make you see that you aren’t a burden? If you could see the kings and queens of long ago, you’d see that they were worshipped, protected, spoiled… and they did nothing in return, but be there to give hope and guidance to their subjects.”

“I don’t give hope or guidance to anyone.”

Zohn smiled, “You do though. The Equites revere you, and you give them another reason to be proud to be in this faction.”

Emily sighed, “I don’t know what to do.”

Chevalier grinned slightly, “First thing’s first, give me your ring.”

“I’d like to keep it, to remember you by when I leave.”

“Give it to me.”

She nodded and reached into her pocket, then looked at it briefly before handing it to Chevalier with shaking hands. He took it and gently slipped it back on her finger where it sealed itself.

Emily looked up at him, shocked, “You told me…”

“Ignore me… I have news for you. I have a bit of a temper,” Chevalier said, and took her hand.

“We’re ok?” she asked, looking directly at him.

He nodded, “Yes, we’ll work through this.”

“And the Equites?” she asked, and looked over at Quinn and Zohn.

“We’re good too,” Zohn told her, and smiled.

“I will try to be better, I promise,” she said.

“We know that… and we’ll try to be more understanding but we beg you, protect yourself if you are attacked, and leave the Ferus to us.”

Emily smiled slightly, “Deal.”

Chapter 21 - Employment

Emily rolled over in bed and curled up next to Chevalier. It was still dark outside, so she planned on spending more time in bed. She felt his strong arms wrap around her, and she smiled and pulled a little closer to him.

He kissed the top of her head, “If we’re going to sleep all day, we should call for breakfast.”

Emily opened her eyes and looked toward the window, “It’s still dark out.”

“It’s 9am, there’s a pretty nasty storm though.”

“So you’re late?” she asked, and kissed his shoulder lightly.

“Not really, we’re just hiring today, no trials.”

“Hiring, for what?”

“Staff Supervisor for the palace. Jack resigned and moved back to his coven.”

“Why?”

“Stress,” he said, and grinned. “I guess it’s pretty hard keeping up with the entire palace.”

“How do I get in on the interviews?” she asked, propping herself up on one elbow.

“You want to come to the interviews?”

“No, I want the job.”

“You want to take care of the palace staff?” he asked, amused.

Emily’s eyes narrowed, “Yes, I do.”

“You know, that may not be a bad idea.”

“Of course it’s not. It’d give me something to do.”

“I’ll ask, but they may find it unbefitting of an Elder’s wife.”

Emily sighed and rolled her eyes, “That’s stupid.”

Chevalier grinned, “Why don’t you wear a long dress and tiara and make them happy?”

“Why don’t I run around naked and start a new heku fashion?”

“Only you can get away with that,” he chuckled.

“Meaning?”

“Meaning… this palace is full of men. No one wants to see a naked man running around… you, however…”

Emily blushed and sat up, “Will you ask for me? I really would like that job.”

“I’ll ask,” he said, and slid out of bed.

She frowned when she saw he already had pants on, “Stop getting dressed while I’m sleeping, it’s not fair.”

He knelt on the bed and kissed her, “I can always take them off.”

“Go ask,” she said, grinning, and pushed away from him.

“Fine,” he sighed, and pulled a shirt on.

“When’s the last married Elder before you?”

“Maleth was married for almost a thousand years.”

“He was?”

“Yes, to Pamela.”

“What happened?”

“Valle attack,” Chevalier said, and pulled on his green cape.

“That’s awful.”

“There’s a reason we keep an eye on you.”

“A reason?”

He grinned, “Ok, more than one.”

“How cold is it?”

“It’s ten below and it’s windy and snowing.”

Emily sighed and got out of bed, “I better go check on the horses.”

“In this? Send the Cavalry, you should stay inside.”

“I’ll take the Cavalry, but I’ve been in cold weather before.”

Chevalier grinned, “I forbid you to stay inside then.”

Emily smiled and slipped on her jeans, “Won’t work, I’m going.”

“I figured, had to try,” he told her, and then left. Emily watched him go and then slipped on a warm turtle neck sweater and boots, followed by a heavy parka.

She was surprised when she stepped out of her room and saw no guards by her door. The Council had become even stricter about guards since her time helping the Encala three months before. She shrugged and headed down the stairs.

“You’re going out there?” one of the door guards asked her, frowning.

“Yes, why?”

“It’s pretty bad.”

“I have to check on the horses,” she told him, and pulled up the parka’s hood.

“Where are your guards?”

“I have no idea,” she said, and stepped out into the snow. The wind was blowing huge snowflakes sideways and was strong enough she had to brace against it. The strong wind immediately seeped through her coat, and she began to shiver within a few seconds. Emily looked up, but couldn’t see more than a couple of feet ahead of her, so she ducked her head and started for the stables.

Two dark forms appeared out of the snow, and she smiled when the large dogs came into view. She reached down to pet the lab but quickly slipped her hands back into her coat. The dogs seemed to be enjoying the snow, and ran around trying to catch snowflakes.

She finally made it to the stables and pulled the heavy door open. The wind caught it immediately, and it slammed loudly into the side of the stables. Once inside, she grabbed the door with both hands and tried to pull it shut. After a few attempts with no luck, she decided to try to shut it from the outside and use the smaller side-door. When she stepped back out into the snow, strong arms pulled her back inside.

“What are you doing?” Mark asked as he easily shut the door.

Emily pulled down her hood, “I came to check on the horses, but that door wouldn’t shut.”

“Where are your guards?”

“I don’t know. They weren’t at my door.”

“None of them?” Jaron asked from behind her.

She shook her head, “No.”

“Go find them, I want them in my office,” Mark said to Jaron, and the Commander disappeared.

Emily went through and checked on the horses. The heater was on and the stables were warm and comfortable. The two dogs followed her through the stables as she checked on each horse.

“I thought we agreed you wouldn’t leave the palace if you didn’t have guards?” Mark said, following them.

“I figured the stables are an extension of the palace.”

“It’s not,” he told her, sounding a little irritated.

Emily turned to him and smiled slightly, “I didn’t slip them.”

“I know. That’s why I want them in my office.”

“Don’t be too hard on them. They probably figured I wouldn’t leave in this weather.”

“They are assigned as your guards, no matter what, they are to follow orders,” he said, leaning up against the side of the stables as she checked on the horses.

“Well, everything looks good here,” she told him, and wrinkled her nose. “Except that smell.”

“What smell?” Mark asked, and started towards her. When he got beside her, he covered his nose with his hand.

Valle and Encala both crouched, growling, and faced the far end of the stables. The currently unused portion of the building was too dark for Emily to see.

“Stay here,” Mark growled, and disappeared into the dark, followed by the two dogs.

Emily sighed when he didn’t return after a few minutes, and she sat down on a bale of hay to wait. She looked over when the door to the stables burst open and twelve members of the Cavalry came in, ran past her, and disappeared into the dark side of the stables.

A few minutes later, Chevalier blurred into the stables and stopped at her, “Are you hurt?”

She looked up at him, “No, why?”

“Where’s Mark?”

“Back by the trailer door.”

Chevalier nodded and also went to the dark side and disappeared. Emily laughed slightly when Quinn and Dustin came in quickly, as if there was an emergency.

“Are you injured?” Quinn asked.

“No,” she told him.

“Let’s go. We came to escort you inside,” Dustin told her, and started for the door.

Emily whistled and the two dogs came running at her from the other side of the building.

“What’s going on then?” she asked, and stood up.

“We’ll talk inside where it’s warmer,” Quinn told her, and held out his hand.

“It’s 72 degrees in here, not exactly freezing.”

“Stop being a problem and come inside,” Dustin said, irritated.

Emily’s eyes narrowed and she took Quinn’s hand. They started out into the frigid weather as the dogs ran ahead of them. She grinned and let go of Quinn’s hand. Bending slightly, she got a handful of snow and carefully formed it into a tightly packed ball. Quinn shook his head and moved away from her, as she took aim and threw. The snowball connected with Dustin’s neck, sending snow down the back of his shirt.

He gasped and quickly pulled his shirt from the back of his pants and shook out the snow as Emily laughed. He turned toward her and it was obvious he didn’t find that funny. Quinn quickly took her hand, and she saw him say something to the Liaison Officer just before Dustin turned angrily and walked inside.

“He’s not in a good mood, let’s leave him alone,” Quinn yelled over the howling wind. Emily nodded, and they walked inside. The door guards took her parka and she looked around the empty foyer.

“Where’d the dogs go?”

One of the door guards smiled, “They were immediately taken to get dried off.”

“Come, someone wants to talk to you,” Quinn said, and headed up the stairs.

“Joy,” she grumbled, and followed him up.

“Where are your guards?”

“Not a clue.”

Quinn frowned and then walked around to the back of the council chambers, with Emily lagging behind. She hated when the Council wanted to talk to her. It usually meant she’d done something wrong. She walked in and sat down in Chevalier’s chair, and her eyes grew wide when she saw Camber standing in the trial area. The recently awaken former Elder kept to his own coven since he’d messed with Emily’s mind and made her think she was a heku.

Camber smiled, “Good to see you, Dear.”

Without blinking, the former Elder fell to ashes.

“Emily!” Dustin growled.

Kyle chuckled, “He deserved it.”

Zohn smiled, “Revive him please.”

“Good, I can burn him again,” Emily said, and sat back in the large chair.

“Hear him out first,” Zohn suggested.

She shrugged, “Ok.”

Camber screamed as he reformed and then leaned over with his hands on his knees, while the burning pain subsided. The Council watched him quietly, and Kyle returned to his chair.

“Ok, ok, I’m sure I deserved that,” Camber panted.

“Yes, you did,” Quinn told him.

“So much for protecting myself by not looking her in the eye.”

“We told you she doesn’t need to do that,” Kyle told him, and grinned.

Emily took some hot chocolate from a servant and then turned back to Camber. He finally stood up, “That stings… a lot.”

“Does Chev know you’re here?” Emily asked.

“No, he doesn’t.”

“You may wish you’d have stayed ash.”

“I’m sure I will. However, I wanted to see you.”

“Why?”

“May we meet in private?” Camber asked her, and looked into her eyes.

“No,” Zohn told him. “You may not.”

“Stop it!” Emily screamed at him. “Do that again and I’ll scatter those ashes next time.”

“What?” Kyle asked, standing up.

“I’m sorry… it’s a habit to calm the situation,” Camber told her, and glanced nervously at Kyle.

“Try to control her again and we’ll deal with you before she can,” Quinn growled.

Kyle sat down, but glared at the former Elder.

“Again, I’m sorry… I just want to talk though, and it would be easier in private.”

“No,” Quinn said, letting him know that both Elders agreed.

“Very well,” Camber said, and glanced nervously at the Council. “The questions were to finish a book I started about the Winchesters. There were lots of places left blank that I was trying to find answers to.”

“Like what?” Emily asked, leaning forward slightly.

“Like… well… do you find that mortals are also attracted to your scent?”

“No”

“Yes,” Kyle said, and grinned when Emily looked at him.

Camber smiled, “I see… and… have you noticed that heku are physically attracted to you, in addition to your blood?”

“No”

“Yes,” Kyle chuckled.

“Stop it,” Emily said, and frowned at him.

“Do you believe that if you lost the Winchester scent, that Chevalier would leave you?” Camber asked.

The council chambers fell quiet and they all turned to Emily. It was obvious she was having a hard time answering that question.

“It’s just…” Camber started, but Emily held her hand up.

“It’s crossed my mind,” she whispered.

“That’s not true,” Kyle said to her.

She shrugged.

Camber smiled at her, “I’m sure it’s not true, Dear. I just know that there were Winchesters who had heku admirers, they lost some of their scent with age, and also lost their heku.”

“Really?”

“Yes”

“Oh,” she said, and sat back in the chair.

“Do you frequently have nightmares?”

“Yes,” she said softly.

“About how many heku have fed from you in uninvited attacks.”

“I’ve never counted.”

“Did any sexually assault you after?”

Emily’s eyes grew wide and she gasped.

“That’s out of line,” Quinn snapped at him.

“It’s a simple question.”

“One more like that and you will be removed.”

“Understood,” Camber said, and pulled a notebook from his bag and began to write. Suddenly, Emily was feeling uncomfortable and just wanted to leave.

“Do you want us to stop this?” the Chief of Staff asked.

“No, I’m ok,” she whispered, and watched her hands.

Camber looked up and smiled, “Back on the Winchester appeal to both mortal and immortal… in the scenario where you lost your enticing scent, do you feel you would be ostracized from the Equites?”

“That’s pushing it,” Zohn told him.

“I apologize, I just wonder if she didn’t have her scent and if she were unable to produce more children… would the hold she has on the Council be nullified.”

“No, it would not,” Quinn said. He turned when Emily spun in her chair and disappeared out the back door of the council chambers.

“Define hold,” Zohn said, turning back to him after Emily was gone.

“It’s obvious to me that the entire Council… maybe excluding the Powan, have unnatural attractions and affections for the girl.”

“Unnatural?”

“Yes, it’s not in our species to like mortals.”

“She’s not exactly a mortal.”

“That is true,” Camber said, and wrote something down.

“It’s not her scent that attracts us to her,” Kyle said angrily.

“Of course not. She’s quite beautiful.”

Kyle’s eyes narrowed and he started to speak, but quieted when Chevalier came and sat down with the Council. He glared at Camber and then looked around the Council chairs.

“Where is she?”

“She left,” Zohn told him.

“Upset?”

Zohn sighed, “Yes.”

“What did you do?” Chevalier asked Camber, his voice turning menacing.

“I merely asked some harmless questions.”

“They didn’t seem harmless to me,” Kyle told him.

“That’s just because you are all too attached to her and care too much about her feelings.”

“What!?” Chevalier growled.

“No offense…”

“Get out before I lose my temper.”

Camber glanced along the Council, nodded, and blurred from the room.

“What did you find in the stables?” Zohn asked, turning his chair toward Chevalier.

“A wild one, believe it or not. He’s been living in the trees, but came in out of the storm.”

“Into our stables!?” Quinn growled.

“Mark’s furious,” Chevalier told them. “Emily’s guards are MIA and she went out to check on the horses… if Mark wasn’t in there to check on the horses too, she would have been alone.”

“Just Mark?” Zohn asked.

Chevalier grinned, “I told him not to kill them, and then I get a chance.”

Zohn chuckled, “Figures.”

“So what did Camber want?”

“He wanted to speak to Emily in private, but we agreed to let him ask her questions with us present.”

“Why did she leave?”

“Because he’s an idiot,” Kyle said, obviously still angry.

“Why do I get the feeling I need to go do some damage control?”

“We stopped a few annoying questions… but one specifically bothered her,” Quinn said, and glanced at Zohn. “We let the question go, because we thought the answer would be a solid no… however…”

Chevalier sighed, “What question might that be?”

“It was about if she thought you would leave her if her scent disappeared… which apparently it has in some of the Winchesters when they grew older,” Zohn told him.

“She didn’t say no?” Chevalier asked, frowning.

Zohn looked over at Kyle and then Kyle added, “There was also a question about if you left her, and she no longer had children, if the Equites would pretty much kick her out.”

“Why is he asking that?” Chevalier asked, irritated.

“I don’t know… I apologize for letting it go. We really thought she would just tell him no,” Quinn told him.

“I’ll go talk to her,” Chevalier said, and walked out of the council chambers.

“Sir?” Silas said, blurring up the stairs to him.

Chevalier turned, “Yes?”

“Just an update, her guards assumed she wouldn’t go outside in this weather, and started a poker game in the game room.”

Chevalier’s eyes narrowed, “Where are they?”

“Mark has them… if they live he’ll let you know,” Silas chuckled.

“Cavalry?”

“No, Sir… palace guards. The rest of the Cavalry was all out at Powan.”

“Go make sure he doesn’t kill them,” Chevalier told the Captain, and went up to the bedroom. He peeked in and saw no one, so he tried the kitchen, the game room, and even the stables again. After almost an hour, he finally found her up in her helicopter. He stepped in and shut the door behind him.

Emily looked up from her book. She was kicked back on the couch reading.

“Heard about Camber,” Chevalier said, and sat on the plush rug by the couch.

“He’s an idiot,” she said, and sat down her book.

“I’m just going to come out and say this. I’m not just attracted to your scent.”

She smiled slightly, “I know that, and I’m not upset about the questions.”

“So you know if anything happens to me, that the Equites won’t kick you out.”

“Well… no I don’t know that, but I have enough in my account to buy a small country, so I’d just move out.”

“Everyone but Dustin would need to disappear for that to happen.”

“If he’s all that’s left of the Council, I think I’d go join the Encala.”

Chevalier chuckled, “Not the Valle?”

“No, they’re too serious.”

“The Encala are reckless though, prone to moody attacks on innocents.”

“And you don’t think I’d fit in?”

“Come in,” Chevalier said when someone knocked on the door.

Quinn and Zohn crawled into the helicopter, and after shutting the door, sat down against the wall, “What’s up?”

“We’re trying to decide if I’d fit in better with the Encala or the Valle,” Emily explained.

“Encala,” both of them said, and chuckled.

“See,” Emily told Chevalier, and hit his arm lightly.

“When is the change of faction happening then?” Quinn asked, amused.

“As soon as Dustin is the only member of the Council left.”

“I see.”

“Because of the weather, we’ve put off the interviews for Staff Supervisor,” Quinn told Chevalier.

Emily smiled, “Let me give it a try.”

“You?” Zohn asked, surprised.

“Yes, me… It’d give me something to do.”

“We’ve never had anyone but a heku as a supervisor in the palace.”

“You’ve never had a mortal live here either.”

Zohn chuckled, “That’s true.”

Chevalier shrugged, “Let’s let her take it until we have more time to find someone else.”

“I’m ok with that,” Quinn said.

“You’d need to allow heku into your office,” Zohn said to her.

“Or we give her a supervisor office with the others, and let her keep the private one.”

“That’s true, it’s not like we’re strapped for office space.”

“So?” Emily asked.

Chevalier glanced at Quinn and Zohn and then smiled, “Sure.”

“Nice!” Emily yelled, and wrapped her arms around him. “Thank you.”

Chevalier sighed, “However, if the Elders ever feel it’s too much, or too stressful, we will pull the position. It’s also only temporary, until a heku can be found.”

Emily nodded and sat back on the couch, “Ok.”

Quinn nodded and stood up, “I’ll go have uniforms made.”

“Wait… what uniform?”

“The maid uniform.”

Chevalier grimaced, “Let’s let her use the Cavalry uniform.”

Quinn grinned, “Ok.”

“When can I start?” Emily asked, excited.

Chapter 22 - Supervisor

“Enter,” Emily said when there was a knock on her office door. She shut the ledger and looked up when one of the floor leaders came in. “Have a seat.”

The heku bowed slightly and sat in a chair by Emily’s desk.

“What’s up?” Emily asked.

“Floor five again, Ma’am,” he said, and frowned slightly.

“The same thing?”

“Yes”

“Ok, I’ll go talk to them,” Emily said, and stood up. She pulled down her shirt, still trying to make it an inch or so longer to cover the band of skin on her abdomen.

Emily followed the floor leader up to the fifth-floor. She ran up the last flight when she heard them screaming at each other and saw a chair fly across the hallway and slam into the wall. As she rounded the corner, she was hit in the hip with another flying chair and she fell back against the wall as the heku gasped and immediately fell quiet.

“Damnit,” she yelled, and grabbed her throbbing hip. “What the hell is going on?”

The three heku all began yelling an explanation at the same time, and Emily wasn’t able to pick out any of what was being said.

“Stop it!” she yelled, and they all quieted down. “Get to my office.”

The heku blurred away and she sighed and looked at the floor leader.

“Are you ok?” he asked nervously. No one wanted to have to be the one to tell the Elder his wife was injured.

“I’m ok, get another crew up here for now,” she said, and limped down the stairs to her office. She opened the door, “Get in.”

“Winder threw it!” one of them yelled, and pointed at another.

“I did not!” was the heku’s reply.

“Sit,” Emily said sternly, and then sat down. “I’ve about had it with you three… I’m splitting you up.”

“Please don’t, we’ve been a team for over four hundred years!”

“I don’t care. You can’t seem to stop fighting, so I’m splitting you between floors and on different shifts.”

“We won’t do it. We’ll quit first.”

“Fine, then I’ll just replace you,” Emily said, and grabbed a stack of applications.

The heku’s eyes narrowed, “We’ll go to the Council.”

“If you feel that’s necessary… as of right now you are all on suspension until I can re-work the schedule,” Emily told him, then watched as they blurred angrily from her office. She looked up when she saw someone appear in her door.

“Guess what?” Derrick asked, grinning.

Emily sighed, “I’m coming.”

She stood up and stretched her sore hip and then followed Derrick toward the council chambers.

“Ma’am?” someone said from behind her.

Emily turned toward the Head Chef.

“Can you approve this?” he asked, and handed her a clip board.

Derrick waited while Emily looked over the schedule and signed at the bottom, “Looks good.”

“Thanks,” the Head Chef said, and disappeared.

When they finally reached the council chambers, Derrick opened the door and Emily walked in and moved up to the trial area beside the three servants from the fifth-floor.

She looked at them, “I thought I took care of you.”

Quinn grinned, “They wanted to tattle tale, but ended up mentioning that one of them threw a chair at you.”

Emily sighed and looked at them, “That was smart, now wasn’t it?”

They all looked at the ground.

“Are you injured?” Zohn asked.

“No,” Emily told him, glad that Chevalier and Kyle were away for a week.

“So instead of suspension by you, they get to be punished by us for assault,” Quinn told them angrily.

“What can I say? You’re fired,” Emily told them, and started for the door.

“Em?” Zohn called out.

Emily stopped and turned around, “Yes?”

“You’re limping slightly.”

“It’s purely a figment of your imagination,” she said, and left the room.

Quinn chuckled and then turned to the three on trial, “Who threw the chair?”

None of the three answered.

“Fine then, we’ll just charge you all with assault.”

They nodded.

“Are we charging them with assaulting a supervisor or a member of the Council?” the Court Reporter asked.

Zohn grinned, “Assaulting a member of the Council.”

“Yes, Elder.”

“Report to General Mark immediately,” Quinn said, and watched as Derrick escorted them out.

“With the reports we’ve had about Emily, I’m surprised this is the first she’s been assaulted,” Dustin said.

“It was an accident, but an assault nonetheless. I don’t think any of them would dare touch her,” Zohn told him.

Quinn grinned, “Besides, the reports we are getting that she’s too strict aren’t all that bad, in my opinion.”

“Agreed,” Zohn said, turning to the Council. “Too strict is just what they need.”

“As long as it’s not abuse,” Dustin said.

“It’s not… we just didn’t realize that the previous supervisor let a lot of little things slide, and Emily’s not like that.”

“I like it,” the Chief of Defense said. “There’s no such thing as too strict.”

“Still, she’s taking it a bit far, don’t you think?” Dustin asked. “The staff is scared to death of her, and I’ve seen them do the same job three times just to make sure she wouldn’t find fault with it.”

“We should clarify that, they aren’t afraid of her… they’re afraid of Chevalier,” Zohn told him.

“Still, afraid of their supervisor, it causes tension.”

“I’m shocked that one of General Skinner’s people would think being too strict is bad,” the Chief of Staff said.

“I’m not necessarily saying it’s bad…”

“Yes you are,” Zohn told him. “You think we don’t see what’s going on? Quinn and I were on Emily’s hate list for years longer than you have been. We understand.”

“This has nothing to do with my dislike of her.”

Zohn grinned and went back to his roster.

***

“Em?” Kralen asked as he knocked on her office door.

Emily looked up and smiled, “Come on in. I’m almost done.”

“Good, Silas and I want to show you something.”

She nodded and quickly filled out a form before shoving it onto the top of her out box, “Done.”

“Ok, we have a surprise,” Kralen said, grinning.

Emily’s eyes narrowed, “Do I trust this?”

“Probably not…” he said, and held up a blindfold.

Emily grinned, “This should be interesting.”

Kralen tied it over her eyes and took her arm, then led her down the stairs and just grinned at anyone they passed. Emily was walking slowly with her hands out, not fully trusting Kralen not to get sidetracked and run her into a wall.

“Ok, ready?” she heard Silas ask.

“Nope,” she told him.

Kralen lifted the blindfold from her eyes and she gasped at her truck. The dark blue Dodge Ram 3500 was jacked up, had KC lights, fog lights, and huge over-sized mudding tires.

“Oh my God!” Emily yelled, excited.

“Like it?” Silas asked, leaning back against his car.

“Yes!” she screamed, and used the step to look inside. “Speakers too?”

“Yup, woofers… for your… country music,” Kralen chuckled.

Emily reached in and popped a CD into the drive and cranked the volume up. Suddenly, the palace filled with Black Sabbath’s Paranoid.

“What in the world is that?” Zohn asked, glancing toward the door.

“Get in!” Emily yelled, and crawled into the driver’s seat. Kralen and Silas both hopped into the Ram and she spun out and headed out of the palace’s garage, taking the loud music with her.

“I do believe that is Black Sabbath,” Dustin said, grinning.

“Yes, but who is filling my palace with it?” Zohn asked, and then heard it disappear. “There, much better.”

“Derrick?” Quinn called.

“Yes, Elder?” the door guard asked.

“Who do we have to blame for that?”

Derrick grinned, “The Cavalry tricked out Emily’s truck.”

“Tricked out her truck?”

“Yes, jacked it up, better tires, sound system.”

Quinn grinned, “That explains everything, thank you.”

Emily waved as they flew by the front gate guards and the guards grinned at the blaring music, shocked as the rest that Emily was listening to something other than country.

“Where are we going?” Silas yelled over the music.

“I don’t care!” Emily yelled back.

“We better not stop. We didn’t get permission to leave,” Kralen said, laughing.

Emily reached over and turned down the music so they could talk, “I’m hungry. Can we grab some Chinese food?”

“Nasty, but sure,” Silas said, and opened his phone. He quickly called Mark and filled him in.

Emily pulled over at a little Chinese restaurant and stopped the truck. Silas looked over at the building beside the restaurant, “That’s where a lot of us get donors.”

She looked over at the dark biker bar, “Seriously?”

“Yup,” Kralen said. “I’m thinking that sounds like a good idea.”

“I want to see,” Emily said, and jumped out of the truck.

“I’m not sure about that,” Silas told her, glancing at the bar.

“So you just go in there and… I don’t know… drink?”

Kralen chuckled, “Pretty much. There’s a back bar, and if you’re back there, you’re either a donor or a heku.”

“No way!”

Kralen nodded.

“I want to see.”

“Didn’t you hear? If you go in there, they’ll think you’re a donor.”

“Who besides Equites goes in there though?”

“All factions use it if they are in the area.”

“They know me and know I’m not a donor, let’s go,” she said, and slid her purse over her shoulder before walking in.

“I’m not feeding in front of her,” Silas whispered.

Kralen grinned, “I will.”

“That is not a good idea. I’ve seen you feed, your hands travel.”

“I’ll behave.”

“Right,” Silas sighed, and followed Emily into the bar. “Mark’s going to kill us.”

Kralen waved at the man behind the bar, who smiled and yelled over the music, “Go on back.”

Emily smiled at Kralen and followed him through a large black door, into an adjacent room. She stopped inside and gasped. The dark room was full of both men and women who were waiting to be donors. She was surprised at how many were waiting for heku to enter.

Off in the corner, Emily saw two familiar city guards already feeding from the same pretty blonde. She was obviously enjoying it and winked at Silas when he glanced at her. Emily blushed and walked over to the bar to sit down.

“What can I get you?” the woman behind the bar asked. Emily was surprised to see two fresh puncture wounds on her neck.

“Rum and Coke, please,” Emily said, and watched Silas sit down beside her. The bartender pushed the drink toward Emily, and she paid and then glanced around for Kralen. She finally spotted him in the corner with a long-haired brunette. All that was visible of Kralen was his knees as she sat on his lap facing him and his face was buried in her neck.

“Don’t wanna feed?” Emily asked Silas, and took a drink.

“Not in front of you, no,” Silas told her.

“Kralen didn’t seem to have a problem… course…” she glanced back and saw Kralen slip his hand under the brunette’s shirt. “I don’t think he’s just feeding.”

“He never does.”

“Ahhh… want me to go eat so you can?”

“Nope, can’t let you go.”

“Oh, that’s right.”

“The Elder will kill us both if he finds out we brought you here,” Silas told her, grinning slightly.

“Why’s that?”

“Because the heku in here that don’t know you, think you’re a donor. I’ve already had to back four of them off.”

Emily gasped and looked around, “Really?”

“Yes”

“Maybe I should go.”

“Let’s wait for Kralen and then you can go get some Chinese food.”

She nodded and took another drink, trying to find something to look at other than feeding heku. She knew they fed, but hadn’t really witnessed it much, and was surprised to find herself uncomfortable being around it. After only twenty minutes, Kralen joined them at the bar.

“Done?” Silas asked him, irritated.

Kralen grinned, “Yup.”

“No, she’s mine,” Silas said, and took Emily’s arm. “Let’s go.”

Emily nodded and left with the guards. Silas was obviously mad at Kralen, and Kralen was pleased with himself for his actions with the brunette. When they stepped out into the parking lot, it had begun to snow again. They walked across to the Chinese restaurant, but stopped when they heard laughing.

“Dang, seems we missed the opportunity to snack on the Elder’s wife,” someone said from behind them.

Silas and Kralen both turned and crouched slightly. Emily spun to see two Valle watching them.

“Why are you this close to Council City?” Kralen growled.

“Calm down, passing through and felt the need to feed,” the taller one said, and ran his tongue over his teeth as he watched Emily.

“Feed and get out. You’re not welcome this close,” Silas told him.

“Oh, we know… just surprised to see the Winchester here… mind if we try some?”

Emily gasped and covered her neck with her hand.

“She wasn’t here as a donor.”

“Pity,” he said, and took a step closer and then crouched. “If the Equites fed correctly, she’d like it well enough to keep you all satisfied.”

“Stop it!” Emily yelled. “No fighting. We were just leaving.”

“Letting the little mortal tell you what to do? Typical Equites,” the smaller one said, laughing.

Emily’s eyes narrowed, but she didn’t have time to respond before Kralen blurred into a fight with the taller one. She headed in to stop them, but the other Valle grabbed her arm hard enough that his hands dug into her flesh.

“Where are you going, Sweetheart?” he asked her.

Emily heard Silas growl and slam into him. His hands were pulled off her arm, leaving deep red fingernail scratches on the bruises. She rolled her eyes and headed back for the truck, deciding to let the two guards fight it out themselves.

When she got to the truck, the sounds of fighting stopped and she turned, just as the Valle fell to the ground, groaning and clutching wounds. Kralen and Silas were both standing, but also injured. She ran to Silas, who seemed hurt the worst, and put his arm around her neck. She helped him to the truck and then went back for Kralen.

Once her guards were in the truck, she ran back to the closest Valle and kicked him in the face, shattering his cheek bone, “Get away from Council City,” she growled at them, and then jumped into the truck after both turned to ash.

Emily started out for Council City as the heku healed.

“Damnit, Valle don’t fight fair,” Silas groaned.

“There’s a fair way to fight?” Emily asked.

“Yeah, in casual fighting like that, we don’t normally bite.”

“Fucker got me good,” Kralen panted.

Emily sighed, “You two are more trouble than I am, I swear.”

“You don’t have to yell at us, Mark’ll have our heads for this,” Silas told her.

The rest of the drive was silent. Emily killed the headlights and music when she got into the city, and then stopped in front of the Cavalry’s barracks.

“Mark won’t know if you two go to bed and heal before he sees you,” she told them, and jumped out of the truck. She opened the back first and helped Kralen out. He was still slouched over, grasping vicious bites on his side and his shirt was covered in blood.

Hidden by the blizzard, Emily helped Kralen into the barracks. As soon as she opened the door, the Cavalry inside grew quiet and then ran to her when they saw their Captain.

“What happened?” Jaron asked, taking Kralen from Emily.

“Nothing happened,” Emily said, and went back after Silas. Another of the Cavalry came and helped him to his bed.

“We’ll need to report this as an attack,” Jaron said to her.

“We weren’t attacked.”

His eyes narrowed, “Then how did they get hurt?”

Emily went over to Silas and slipped off his cape and shoes, and then covered him with a blanket, “They aren’t hurt.”

“What are you playing at?”

“Nothing, ok? They aren’t hurt,” she said again.

“And this?” Jaron asked, pointing to her bruised and scratched arm.

Emily looked down and noticed it was in the exact shape of a hand, “That’s… I did that to myself.”

“It’s impossible to turn your own hand in that direction.”

“Drop it, Jaron, please.”

The Commander sighed, “Fine.”

“You aren’t going to get very far into the palace. You’re covered in heku blood,” one of the Cavalry said to her.

She looked at her shirt, “Damnit… I can get in though. No one’ll see me.”

“They’ll smell you.”

“One second,” one of the Cavalry said, and he blurred from the room. He returned a few minutes later with clean clothes. “Go shower and change.”

“Thank you,” Emily said, and went into the shower.

Jaron shook his head at Kralen, “You’re going to be lucky if Mark doesn’t find out.”

“I know,” Kralen said, and smiled slightly.

“We cannot allow Lady Emily to lie and cover for one of us,” a newer member of the Cavalry said, one obviously from Powan.

Jaron turned on him, “It’s her choice. If we break and tell the General, she’ll get mad, and that only causes trouble for us.”

The guard, obviously irritated, returned to his bed and began to read.

Jaron walked over to stand by the shower door, ensuring no one went in while Emily cleaned up. She came out a few minutes later, no longer smelling of heku blood.

“Who are my guards?” she asked, heading for the door. Four members of the Cavalry fell in behind her, “Get in the truck, let’s go back.”

They nodded and walked out to her truck while she checked one more time on Silas and Kralen. Silas was already sitting up, almost completely healed, but Kralen had one bite that was still hurting. Once she was sure they were ok, she met up with her guards and returned to the palace.

***

Emily jumped slightly and sat up in bed when someone knocked on the door. She told whomever it was to enter, and then yawned and glanced at the clock.

“Sorry to wake you,” Derrick whispered. “The Council wants to see you.”

“Right now?”

“Yes”

She sighed and slipped out of bed. She was still groggy from sleeping, and walked out the door in her nightgown. Derrick grimaced and followed her out, along with her four guards. They all looked anywhere but at her. They knew she was too tired to realize she was walking through the palace in a short pink silk nightgown.

“Sorry about this late hour,” the Chief Interrogator said, and shifted nervously at how she was dressed.

“Ok,” she mumbled, still trying to wake up.

“We need to know what happened tonight that caused you to turn two Valle to ash in the parking lot of one of our donor bars in the city.”

This immediately woke Emily up, “That wasn’t at a donor bar. That was at a Chinese restaurant.”

“Oh, we’ll make sure and mention that so they don’t think we took you to a donor bar,” Dustin said.

“Of course no one would take me to a donor bar.”

“True”

“Good night then,” she said, and turned to leave.

“Wait, we’re not done,” Dustin called after her.

She sighed and turned back to the Council, “What then?”

“Why did you turn them to ash?”

“Where’s Quinn and Zohn?”

“Out for a few days… you didn’t answer my question. Why did you turn them to ash?”

“I don’t think that’s any of your concern.”

“It is,” the Chief of Staff told her. “The Valle Elders want a reason, so they know if they need to punish them.”

“Nope, I already handled it,” she told them, and again turned to leave.

“We’re not done with you,” Dustin told her.

She glanced up at the ceiling and then walked over to the trial area, “What?”

“What happened?”

“Nothing important.”

“Tell us, please.”

“No”

Dustin frowned, “I’m not accustomed to being told no.”

“I don’t feel that it’s any of the Council’s business what I was doing or what happened.”

“It is our business when one of the Equites is attacked by a Valle.”

“Who said I was attacked?”

“Your arm speaks for itself,” the Court Reporter told her.

Emily looked down at the deep purple bruise and dark red scratches, “I did that to myself.”

“It’s physically impossible for your hand to be at that angle,” Dustin told her.

“Don’t try to dig up trouble where there is none,” Emily said to them. “Nothing happened, no one was attacked, and those Valle should be sent on their way with no further punishment.”

“If you refuse to tell us, then we will have to confine you to quarters until Chevalier returns,” the Chief of Staff told her.

Emily’s eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms, “I’m not telling him either, so that won’t do any good.”

“It doesn’t matter if you do or not. This would take the decision of all three Elders for a punishment.”

“You can’t keep me in my room, I’ll get away… and I’d like to see this Council toss me into prison while the Elders are away.”

“Guards, take her to prison,” Dustin said, smiling.

“What!?” Emily yelled as one of the palace guards restrained her hands behind her back.

“If you decide to talk, you may request a meeting with the Council. Until then… you are confined.”

The guards walked Emily out and as she passed the four members of the Cavalry, they gasped and started to follow her, but were called into the Council.

“Yes, Sir?” the highest ranking of the Cavalry asked.

“You are relieved of guard duty for now. Tell the Cavalry that they are hereby banned from the prison until further notice,” Dustin told him. “Make sure and advise the General.”

“Yes, Sir,” he said, and they walked out of the council chambers, confused.

Emily was taken to a cell across from Vaughn, and as the cell door was slammed shut and locked, he looked over at her and laughed.

“See they finally found a way to restrain you.”

“Shut up, Vaughn. I can still turn you to ash,” she grumbled, and sat down on the cold, hard bed.

“Is that what you sleep in?” Vaughn asked, smiling at the small amount of fabric covering her. “No wonder the Elder stays jealous.”

Emily sighed and looked around the cell. There were no blankets or pillows, nothing she could use to cover up with.

***

“What!?” Mark yelled.

“They took her to prison and have banned us from going down there,” the Cavalry member told him.

“Why did they put her in prison?”

“She turned some Valle to ash and won’t say why.”

“Damnit,” Mark growled. “I can get her to tell them.”

“Not if we can’t get into the prison.”

“When is Chevalier supposed to return?”

“In 6 days. The other two Elders will be gone about that long also.”

Mark sat down, obviously furious, “They can’t keep her in prison, it’s freezing down there.”

“And they didn’t allow her to get dressed.”

“What’s she wearing?”

“Some little pink thing. She was asleep or I would imagine would have grabbed a robe.”

“Great,” Mark growled, deep in thought. “Get Tobin, now.”

“Yes, General,” he said, and blurred away to get one of the palace’s prison guards that was applying for a position on the Cavalry. It was only a few minutes later that the heku guard came into the Cavalry barracks where Mark was waiting.

“You called for me?”

“Emily’s been put in prison…”

“Yes, she has.”

“She’s not sufficiently dressed to keep warm in there. She’ll need a robe and blankets.”

“Sorry, Sir,” Tobin said. “We’ve been banned from taking anything to her, food and blankets included.”

“Why?” Mark yelled.

“I don’t know. It just came down from the Council.”

Mark sighed, “The Elders aren’t going to like this.”

“I fully expect them to punish us for this,” the prison guard explained. “However, right now Dustin has been put over the Council.”

“Go away,” Mark growled.

***

“Emily! I still love you,” David yelled across the dark prison. Emily shivered on the cold bed. Her arms were wrapped around herself and she was curled up on the cot. As procedure dictated, all lights in the prison were turned off.

Vaughn chuckled from across the hallway, “You have quite the following.”

“You Bitch!” Larry yelled. The former leader of the V.E.S. was still serving time in the Equites prison, “It’s about time they threw you in here to rot with us.”

“I hope you die down here,” Cody yelled.

“Leave her alone!” David screamed.

“Ask your precious guards to let you in my cell. I’ll warm you up,” Vaughn said, still amused.

Emily sighed, “Just shut up.”

***

“We can’t leave her down there,” the Chief Interrogator said, turning to the Council.

“Yes, we can. She needs to answer my question,” Dustin told him.

“The Elders will be back in four days. If they find out we kept her down in the cold prison without food or warmth, they’ll banish us all,” the Chief Investigator told him.

“I’m tired of this! I’ve been listening to you all complain about this for two days and I won’t have it,” Dustin said. “Either deal with it quietly, or visit your covens.”

The Chief Investigator, Chief Interrogator, Records Keeper, Faction Liaison Officer, Chief of Staff, and Chief of Defense all got up as one and left the council chambers.

“Anyone else want to complain?” Dustin growled.

“No, Sir,” the rest replied, and turned back toward the trial area.

At the front doors to the palace, the Chief Investigator turned to the others, “We can’t let this happen.”

“He is starving her, she has to be freezing, and I can hear the prisoners yelling at her from here,” the Chief of Staff said, obviously upset.

“If we defy him, then we essentially defy the Elders, as they’ve left him in charge,” the Chef of Defense reminded him.

“I know, let’s all just go.”

The others nodded and left for their individual covens.

***

“Sir, here they are,” Derrick said. His tone was respectful, but it was obvious he wasn’t happy about what was going on.

Mark, Silas, Kralen, and Jaron walked in leading the rest of the Cavalry, all surrounded by city and palace guards.

“I’m highly disappointed in you,” Dustin said to them angrily. “My orders are law right now, and I forbade you from going into the prison or helping Emily. Right now she’s a traitor to the Equites, yet you chose to defy the Council and help her.”

Mark glared at him, “She’s cold, hungry, and scared down there.”

“I can tell you what happened,” Silas said. “Kralen and I were there too.”

“No, she should answer my question, and I will let her go,” Dustin told him. “As for the Cavalry, you’re all relieved of duty… return without honors to your covens.”

“Don’t you realize what’s going to happen when the Elders return?” Silas growled. “You could be banished for this.”

“Do not speak to me like that!” Dustin said. “I am in charge, and if she won’t answer my question, then she can stay in there.”

“With all due respect… you’re wrong,” Silas told him.

“Derrick, take him to the prison,” Dustin yelled. “The rest of you leave immediately.”

Silas was hauled way to the prison, while the rest of the Cavalry began to fight and argue with the city and palace guards. Before the mutiny was over, Mark and Kralen were also thrown into the prison, and the rest of the Cavalry was forcibly removed from Council City.

Dustin sighed and looked over at the Chief of Finance, “This is out of control. How can our elite guards turn on the Council?”

“Lack of respect. Their leaders are too attached to her.”

“I’m right though. One simple answer, and I’ll let her out of prison, out with food and warmth.”

***

“What happened?” the Chief of Finance asked when Allen, Miri, and Alexis were thrown into the council chambers onto their knees.

“Where is the Coven Liaison Officer?” one of the guards asked.

“Dustin is away, what happened?”

“Allen and Miri attempted to get into the prison, after Alexis turned the two prison guards to ash,” the guard explained.

“You turned two guards to ash?” the Chief of Finance yelled at Alexis.

The 11-year-old nodded, “Yes, I did.”

“Leave Alex alone,” Allen growled. “You cannot keep my mom down there. She’s mortal. She can’t live without food and in those cold conditions.”

“She can and she is,” he told the young heku. “All she has to do is answer the Council’s question and we will let her go.”

“My Dad will be back in two days… you can either let her go now, and lessen your punishment, or wait until he gets back and face him directly,” Allen said angrily.

“I should banish you three for this insubordination.”

“You can’t touch Alexis. She’s mortal,” Miri yelled. “Do what you want to me. It won’t change the fact that you’re killing Lady Emily because of your pride.”

“Shut up, girl,” the Court Reporter yelled.

“I’m sentencing Miri to banishment for 300 years,” the Chief of Finance said. “Put her in prison until the Chief Enforcer returns.”

“No, don’t touch her!” Allen said, and stood up. He began to fight with the guards, and was soon pinned to the floor by three palace guards.

“It’s ok, Allen, the Chief Enforcer won’t banish me,” Miri said, and calmly walked out with the palace guard.

“Now what to do with you two,” he said, watching Allen and Alexis.

“Alexis is too young to be held responsible for her actions. Let’s just confine her to her room with Dain,” the Court Reporter suggested.

The Chief of Finance nodded, “Very well, take her to her room and confine her there.”

“No!” Alexis screamed. Allen could tell she was trying to catch the eyes of one of the guards.

“Alex no, just go, wait for Dad to get back.”

Alexis looked over at him and nodded. She then walked out after the palace guards.

“You, Boy, have already been stripped of your rank and guard title… what to do with you now?”

“It won’t matter, not when Dad gets back,” Allen told him.

“We’ll see about that. He’s going to be concerned about the mutinous nature of his elite guards and now his family.”

Allen grinned, “Keep thinking that.”

***

“Lady Emily?” Miri called from two cells down.

“Who is that?” Emily asked, and sat up, shivering.

“It’s Miri.”

“Miri? Why are you here?”

“Alexis called us… Allen and I came and tried to get to you.”

Emily’s lips were dry and cracked and she shivered uncontrollably in the cold, “Where are they?”

“I don’t know… I’ve been banished, but I honestly don’t think the Chief Enforcer will do it. I was brought here before Allen and Alexis were sentenced.”

“You tried to get me out?”

“Yes, I’m sorry we failed.”

“If you’d have joined the Ferus with me, you wouldn’t be in prison,” Vaughn said to her.

“Emily! I love you and I’ll get you out!” David yelled.

“Listen to them call for you… these beings you once loved… they turned on you and you can meet them in hell,” Larry shouted.

“Shut up!” Mark yelled. “I will get out of here, and I’ll make sure you pay for this.”

Miri sighed, “Lady Emily, ignore them. The Elders will be back in two days and this will all end. I’m sure of it.”

“Look at me, Emily,” Vaughn said, suddenly standing at the bars to his cell. “I can make your body warm. I can make the hunger go away. Just trust me enough and let me control you for only a short time.”

“Don’t do it, please… just two days,” Miri said.

“Shut up, Girl!” Vaughn hissed.

“Listen to me, Emily,” Miri said softly. “Two days… this will all be over.”

Emily spoke through chattering teeth, “It’s just so cold.”

“I know… do what you can to stay warm, he’ll be here.”

“Trust us, Em,” Silas said from far away. “We’ll get out, I promise.”

She nodded and sat against the wall of her cell on the floor and pulled the thin, stiff mattress over her. The cement was freezing and uncomfortable, but the mattress kept some of her body heat in. She coughed into her arm and tried to focus on Chevalier’s return.

***

Dustin returned from a short absence and sat down with a smile, “How are things going?”

“We cannot do this anymore,” the Court Reporter told him. “We’ve been to see the Lady. She’s going to die down there if you don’t let her back up here. She’s not a heku.”

“I know that and all she has to do is answer me.”

“Then I will be going,” he said, and stood up to leave.

“As will I,” the Chief of Finance told him. “Her children risked their lives to help her, and have been punished. I can’t do this and I won’t be here when the Elders come back to a dead Winchester.”

“Go then!” Dustin growled. “They will stand by my decision.”

“Think of what you’re doing… remember when Zohn sent her on a mission? The other Elders were livid… this is much, much worse.”

“Go,” Dustin said, and pulled out a ledger. He began to write as the rest of the Council left for their covens. When he was done logging what happened, he sighed and decided to give Emily another chance.

“Good evening, Sir,” the prison guards mumbled.

Dustin ignored them and walked over to Emily’s cell, “Are you ready to tell me what the Valle did?”

“No,” she whispered, shivering. He could hear the slight wheeze as she breathed.

His eyes narrowed, “Guards, get that mattress. She’s too comfortable with it.”

“Please, no,” Emily said when the only source of warmth was ripped out of her hands. She curled up into a ball on the cement and began to rock as her cell door was slammed shut.

“Last chance. If you don’t tell me now, then I’ll let the Elders deal with you.”

She began to cough into her arm as Dustin shrugged and walked away.

“Dustin!” Mark yelled. “Listen to her. She’s getting sick… she needs warmth.”

“Traitor,” Dustin growled, and walked up the stairs.

“Miri, can you see her?” Mark asked.

“No, I can’t,” Miri answered.

“Silas?”

“No, Sir, I can’t.”

“Oooh, I can,” Vaughn said, and grinned. “She’s pretty bad off. She’s pale, running a fever, and that cough is getting worse.”

“Kralen?” Mark called out.

“No, I can’t see her,” Kralen said.

“I love you so much,” David yelled.

“Oh, shut up!” an unknown prisoner yelled at him.

“Who can see Emily, other than Vaughn?” Mark called out. “I can reward you.”

“I can see her,” one of the prisoners said. He was housed in the cell next to Vaughn.

“Who are you?” Mark asked.

“Pollard, I’m an Encala.”

Mark sighed, “Can you lock her gaze? As I said, I will reward you for it.”

“Emily?” he said, and went to his bars.

“Oh sure! Trust the Encala,” Vaughn said, laughing.

“Emily, look at me,” the Encala said.

“No,” Emily whispered, and then started to cough.

“Emily, trust me, just let him get a lock on you,” Kralen said. “I know you can control that… he can help.”

“Just look at me,” the Encala tried again. One of the door guards blurred to his cell and opened it. He quickly pulled the Encala out and hauled him to the other end of the prison to a different cell.

“Damnit,” Mark growled.

“You all be quiet!” the guard growled. “The next one to make a noise gets the interrogation chamber.”

The prison fell quiet as Emily rocked on the hard cement and coughed often. She could no longer feel her hands, and she watched her breath in the freezing air as it drifted off and disappeared. She could feel it getting harder to breathe, and her head began to pound as her fever grew.

***

“Wow, it’s quiet in here,” Quinn said when he stepped off of the helicopter.

“Yeah, it is, where are the guards?” Chevalier asked, and looked around the empty roof.

Kyle walked over and looked over the side of the roof, “Hmm, the Cavalry’s horses aren’t out in the corral.”

“The quiet is good after that nightmare,” Zohn said, and headed for the door. “I’m thinking about taking a week vacation.”

Chevalier opened the door, “Go to the island, it’s much more peaceful than your warring coven.”

Zohn laughed, “It’s peaceful now! They are all too afraid Emily will come back.”

Quinn frowned and glanced around as they walked down the stairs, “Where are all of our guards?”

“Odd, isn’t it?” Zohn said, noticing that there were no floor guards.

Kyle blurred down the stairs and then returned, “Powan is guarding outside of the palace.”

“Powan is?” Quinn asked, confused. “Did they say why?”

“They just said to speak to Dustin,” Kyle answered, and stepped into the council chambers.

Dustin smiled, “Welcome back.”

“Where is everyone?” Chevalier asked. Dustin was the only council member left and it was during regular hours when the entire Council should have been convened.

Dustin sighed, “It’s been a long week, to say the least.”

“What happened?” Zohn asked.

“Well, for starters, I dismissed the entire Cavalry, except for the General and the Captains, and they are imprisoned.”

Kyle gasped, “Why?”

“Traitors, they broke a direct order from the Council.”

“The Cavalry did?” Chevalier asked, shocked.

“Yes, and then started a fight when they were told to return to their covens. The fight was led by Mark, Silas, and Kralen, and they were imprisoned. The rest were sent back to their covens without honor,” Dustin explained.

Quinn sighed, “Great… what was the direct order?”

“That involves another explanation on something,” Dustin said, and braced himself. “They broke a direct order to stay out of the prison.”

“Why was the Cavalry so bent on getting into the prison?”

“To help Emily.”

“Emily’s in prison?” Chevalier yelled.

“Yes, she is,” Dustin said proudly. “She refused to answer a simple question and was thrown in there. The Cavalry tried to get a blanket and food to her.”

“Wait!” Zohn growled. “She’s in the prison with no food or warmth?”

“Correct, and I took her mattress because she was using it to get warm.”

Kyle followed the three Elders when they blurred down to the prison. They could hear the heku prisoners screaming for Emily’s blood as they entered the front foyer. Using rage, they instantly appeared in the prison and the guards turned on the lights.

“Elders,” the guards said, and bowed.

“I love you, Emily!” David screamed.

“So help me, when I get out of here you’re dead!” Silas growled.

“Feel that hatred, Bitch!” Larry yelled. “How are those warm, carrying vampires now?”

“Silence!” Zohn shouted. “The next one to speak will be killed.”

The entire prison fell silent when they heard the Elder. Chevalier quickly found Emily and waited for a guard to open her cell. She was no longer able to rock as she sat on the cement, her fever was too high and she was breathing in short raspy breaths. Her thin nightgown was wet with sweat, and she was coated in dirt from the cement floor.

Kyle rounded the corner and gasped when he saw her. Chevalier walked in and picked her up, wincing at how hot her body was.

“Chev,” she whispered, and leaned her head against his shoulder.

“Damnit,” Kyle growled as he felt her forehead.

Mark quickly ran to her cell as soon as Zohn released him, “We tried…”

“I know,” Chevalier told him. “Make sure anyone involved with this is released and taken to the council chambers.”

“Yes, Elder,” Mark said, and started going cell to cell.

“Elder!” Miri yelled, and ran out of her cell.

Chevalier turned and frowned, “Miri?”

“They have Allen. He wasn’t brought to the prison.”

“Kyle…”

“On it,” Kyle said, and disappeared.

Chevalier turned and handed Emily to Kralen, “Get Dr. Cook, as soon as he comes, meet us in the council chambers.”

“No,” Emily whispered, and reached out to Chevalier.

“I need to deal with Dustin, Em, go with Kralen,” he said, and kissed her forehead.

She nodded and wrapped her arms around Kralen.

Kralen immediately started up the stairs with Emily.

“Get the Cavalry back here,” Quinn said to Silas.

“Right away, Elder,” Silas said, and also headed up the stairs.

Chevalier took a deep breath, his features were dark and ominous, and he was obviously furious. The Elders all left the prison once they were sure anyone involved with Emily’s imprisonment was released. Dustin cringed slightly at how angry the Elders were when they returned to their seats and sat down.

“Where’s the rest of the Council?” Quinn asked.

“They had the choice to either be quiet about Emily or to leave,” Dustin said. “They all chose to return to their covens.”

Chevalier couldn’t yet speak. He concentrated on those in the trial area to try to keep from ripping Dustin apart.

Kyle came in with Allen and shut the door as Allen ran to Miri and pulled her into his arms. Kyle walked up and sat down in his chair.

“I’ll handle this,” Zohn growled. He knew Chevalier was too angry to speak.

Dustin smiled, “I agree, Elder. Such insubordination can’t be tolerated.”

Zohn glared at him, “Don’t think you’re off the hook. Before we deal with the insubordination of those in the trial area… I want to deal with you.”

“Me?” Dustin asked, shocked.

“How dare you put Emily in the prison… she obviously was dragged out of bed and thrown into a cell without any warmth or food.”

“She directly refused to answer my question about why she turned two Valle to ash.”

“So for that you condemn her to death?” Zohn yelled.

“No, I put her in prison as a punishment.”

“Did you check on her?”

“Yes”

“Did you see she can hardly breathe and has a fever?”

“Yes”

“She could have died!” Quinn yelled.

Dustin sighed, “I would have released her the second she answered my questions.”

“So this all started because Emily told you no?” Zohn growled.

“Correct”

“Derrick!” Quinn yelled.

“Yes, Elder?” Derrick asked, walking into the trial area.

“Get the Council back here, now.”

“Right away,” he said, and disappeared.

Zohn shut his eyes for a moment and then looked out over the trial area, “First, let’s start with the Cavalry.”

Mark, Silas, and Kralen stepped forward.

“You were given what orders?”

“We were banned from the prison and from attempting to bring Emily food or warmth,” Mark told him.

“And you chose, as a unit, to break those orders?” Zohn asked.

“Yes, we did,” Mark said, not ashamed of that choice.

“You then attempted to do what?”

“We got Emily’s robe and slipped a sandwich and drink into the pockets… we then tried to get it into the prison,” Mark explained.

“Who stopped you?”

“The prison guards did. Kralen and Silas attempted to restrain them while I got to Emily, but they called for backup and we were stopped.”

“Then imprisoned?”

“Not at first. The entire Cavalry was called into the council chambers and relieved of duty. Silas was the first to be sent to prison, and then Kralen and I when we began to fight the guards.”

“You disobeyed a direct order by the Council,” Zohn said. “Then when you were relieved of duty, you fought the palace guards?”

“Yes, we thought it was our last chance to get help to Emily.”

“Is the Cavalry on their way back?”

Silas nodded, “Yes.”

“And all are willing to be punished for attempting to help a prisoner?”

“Yes,” Mark said proudly.

Zohn nodded, “You three will be Emily’s guards until the Cavalry returns. As soon as this is over, return to your posts.”

“What!?” Dustin yelled.

“Yes, Elder,” Mark said, and grinned.

“Be quiet,” Quinn said to the Coven Liaison Officer. “We will deal with you later.”

“Allen and Miri, step forward,” Zohn said. Hand in hand, the two moved toward the front when the Cavalry stepped back.

“Yes, Elder?” Allen asked.

“How did you get involved in this? You aren’t even supposed to be in the palace.”

“I know, Elder. Alexis called and told us that Mom was in prison and that the Elders were gone. Miri and I came to free her,” Allen explained. “So Alexis ashed the guards, and Miri and I tried to get to her… but the prison guards caught us.”

“I’ve been banished for 300 years,” Miri said, and looked at Kyle.

“No, you have not,” Zohn told her. “Miri, you were in prison?”

“Yes, Elder,” she said softly.

“Allen, where were you?”

Allen glanced quickly at his Dad and then back to Zohn, “I was in the interrogation chamber.”

A low growl escaped Chevalier.

Kyle looked at Zohn, “He was left on the rack.”

Zohn nodded, “Are you injured?”

“I’ve healed,” Allen told him.

“Where is Alexis?”

Dustin cleared his throat and then answered, “She is too young… so we confined her to her room with Dain.”

“Has she also been starved?”

“No”

“Allen, Miri, step back,” Zohn told them. They both bowed and moved back by the Cavalry.

Chevalier blurred instantly from the room.

Zohn looked over at the last remaining heku, “Why do we have an Encala in here?”

Mark stepped forward, “I put out a call in the prison for help… anyone that was in sight of Lady Emily that could lock her eyes and try to help her… the Encala answered.”

“So you attempted to lock her?” Zohn asked.

“Yes… at first she refused, and then the guards found out and moved me.”

“I promised to reward him for his help,” Mark said.

Zohn nodded, “You are free… get out of Council City.”

The Encala smiled and blurred away.

“He was spying on us!” Dustin said angrily. “You let him go for attempting to help a prisoner.”

“I can’t even deal with you right now. It will take the entire Council to decide,” Quinn snapped at him.

Dustin leaned back in his chair, “I did nothing but punish someone for refusing to answer a question.”

“Shut up,” Zohn told him.

“Allen, Miri, stay in Council City for now… all of you get out of here,” Quinn said to those in the trial area.

Mark, Silas, and Kralen immediately went to the bedroom and walked in when they found the door was open. Dr. Cook was sitting on the edge of the empty bed.

“How is she?” Mark asked angrily.

“She has pneumonia,” Dr. Cook told him. “The Elder has her in a cool bath, trying to get her temperature down.”

Mark sighed, “We tried to get to her.”

“He almost killed her. She’s pretty sick.”

Silas growled lightly and turned to Kyle when he walked in with a tray.

“We thought soup maybe,” he said, and sat down the tray.

The heku all waited silently until Chevalier came out with Emily cradled in his arms. She was in a clean nightgown and had a tight grip on him.

“It’s down to 102 degrees,” he told the doctor, and laid her down in bed.

“Much better,” Dr. Cook said, and listened to her lungs again.

Chevalier looked over when Allen and Miri came in.

Allen walked over and sat on the bed next to Emily, “We… tried…”

“I know,” Emily said softly, and started to cough. Chevalier was able to bottle up the fury so he could help Emily.

“Permission to deal with David, Sir?” Mark growled.

“What did David do?” Kyle asked.

“He yelled for her the entire time, expressing his love and devotion.”

“Granted,” Chevalier told him, and watched Mark disappear from the room.

Miri walked into the bathroom and came out with a cold rag. She gently laid it across Emily’s forehead.

“Get me supplies, anything she’ll need in the next few weeks,” Chevalier said, then stood up and started packing a bag for her. “Allen, go pack for Dain and Alexis.”

Allen nodded and walked into the adjacent room.

“She’s too sick to travel,” Dr. Cook said.

“No, I’m not,” she whispered, and started to cough.

“Do what I said,” Chevalier ordered.

The doctor nodded and went through his bag, setting out enough antibiotics and fever reducers to last. Miri disappeared into the bathroom again, and came out with an armful of things that she slipped into the bag before Chevalier closed it.

“Where are you going?” Zohn asked when he stepped in.

“I’m taking my family away until she’s well,” Chevalier told him.

Zohn nodded, “Once the Council is here, we are going to deal with Dustin.”

“I’ll have my phone,” he said, and gently picked Emily up. Miri slipped leashes on the two dogs and followed him up to the roof. They both got into Winchester 1 and Chevalier laid Emily down on the soft couch.

“Where to, Elder?” Emily’s pilot asked as he crawled into the helicopter.

“You… out, get me Kralen,” Chevalier told him, and covered Emily with a blanket. Miri took the bags from Allen when he got there, and then took Dain as Alexis and Allen got in.

“Please… may I come?” Miri asked softly.

Chevalier nodded, “Yes.”

She smiled and sat in front of Allen, and leaned back as he wrapped his arms around her.

“Elder?” Kralen asked when he got to the roof.

“You’re coming with us. I’ll tell you where once we’re in the air, and then we go to radio silence.”

“Yes, Sir,” Kralen said, and went to the cockpit to start pre-flight checks.

Mark appeared on the roof, covered in blood, “David is taken care of… might I suggest Jaron come also? In case you need to leave for any reason.”

Chevalier thought and then nodded, “Do it.”

Jaron blurred onto the roof a few seconds later and crawled into Winchester 1 next to Kralen. Thirty minutes later, the helicopter took off from the palace. Chevalier heard Kralen talk to the palace base and then announce radio silence. Chevalier handed a paper up to Kralen with coordinates on it, and then sat back and watched Emily during the flight.

Chapter 23 - Palau

Chevalier carried Emily into the white bedroom and laid her down on a soft bed surrounded by sheer white netting. He covered her up and checked her temperature before leaving her to sleep. Allen and Miri were helping Alexis and Dain get settled in the house, while the dogs played out on the sand, chasing the waves off of the white beach.

“This home is beautiful,” Miri said when she walked out and found herself alone with the Elder.

“It’s secluded, that’s what I wanted.”

Miri nodded and looked out the large picture window that overlooked the beach.

Allen finally came out, “They’re settled. Do you want me to head to the mainland and get some supplies?”

“Yes, you and Miri go,” Chevalier said, and turned toward the bedroom door when he heard Emily coughing.

“Island is secure,” Kralen said as he and Jaron walked in.

“This will be a boring mission. Find a bedroom and make yourself at home,” Chevalier told the guards.

“Yes, Elder,” Kralen said, and walked down the hallway with Jaron.

“Daddy?” Alexis whispered, and he turned toward her. “Am I in trouble for ashing the prison guards?”

Chevalier smiled, “No, you aren’t.”

They both turned when Dain ran out of his room, completely naked, and ran across the large living area and into the kitchen after the dogs.

Alexis giggled, “Mom said it’s better than his biting phase.”

Chevalier grinned, “I’ll agree with that… see if you can get him dressed though.”

She nodded and ran after her little brother.

***

“Check,” Chevalier said, moving a piece on the chessboard.

Kralen’s eyes narrowed as he studied the board.

Alexis turned a page in her book, and without even looking up, spoke, “He’s naked again.”

“Jaron will get him,” Kralen said, and moved his queen.

Miri came out of Emily’s room and shut the door softly, “Her fever’s gone, but she’s still sleeping.”

“Thank you, Miri,” Chevalier said, not looking up from the game.

She smiled, “Not quite fair is it? A Captain can’t win a game against an Elder.”

Chevalier chuckled, “Now you tell him. He’s won the last two.”

Allen came in from the back of the house and kissed Miri lightly.

“Gag,” Alexis said, still reading.

Allen grinned, “Get used to it, Shorty.”

“Dad!” Alexis yelled.

“Stop calling her short… Check mate,” Chevalier said, and grinned.

“Damnit,” Kralen growled, and then looked out the window as Jaron chased after naked Dain on the beach.

Chevalier turned suddenly when he heard his name called from the bedroom. He walked into the room, shutting the door behind him.

Emily looked over at him when he walked in and whispered, “Where are we?”

He sat down on the side of her bed and took her hand, “We’re in one of my homes.”

She nodded and tried to take a deep breath but started to cough.

“I brought you here to recover, away from Council City,” he explained.

When she could finally talk, she looked over at him, “Dustin?”

“I haven’t heard. They had to call the Council back first.”

“Don’t leave me with him again, please.”

“I won’t, I swear. I didn’t even know that the other Elders put Dustin in charge… enter,” he said, and turned to the door.

Miri came in with a glass of juice and a bowl of fresh fruit, “I thought you might be hungry.”

Emily nodded, “I am.”

Chevalier helped her sit up and she took the glass from Miri.

“Thank you,” she said, and watched the pretty heku.

Miri smiled, “If you need anything, just let me know.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. Emily hadn’t notice before, but Miri had beautiful brown eyes and possessed a natural grace and softness.

“It’s ok, I understand,” Miri said, and then left her room, shutting the door behind her.

“What will they do to Dustin?”

Chevalier handed her the bowl of fruit and then sat back, “I’m not sure exactly. Zohn and Quinn will try to find if he broke any laws, if he did, he’ll probably be banished.”

“If he didn’t?”

“Then I’m not sure… it’s not that easy to get rid of or punish a member of the Council.”

“So he’ll still be on the Council when we get back?”

Chevalier sighed, “Maybe.”

After another coughing fit, Emily put the empty bowl aside and laid down, “Who all is here?”

“The kids, Miri, Kralen and Jaron.”

“Where is here exactly?”

“We’re on an island outside of Palau.”

Emily smiled slightly, “You have another island?”

“Yes, no one knows where this one is… except Kyle, that is.”

Chevalier grabbed his phone out of his pocket when it rang and answered it, “Yes?”

“Quinn here, just have an update for you.”

“Go ahead.”

“We can’t find any rules broken. She directly disobeyed an order from the leader of the Council. Obviously, he went overboard and is aware that we’ll be watching him closely.”

Chevalier sighed, “I figured as much.”

“How is she?”

“Awake, the pneumonia’s slowly going away.”

“When will you be back?”

“I’m not sure. I’ll let you know as soon as I do.”

“We’re still looking for a way to relieve Dustin.”

Chevalier answered by shutting his phone.

“He’s still there, isn’t he?” Emily asked.

“Yes, they can’t find a way that he broke the rules,” he explained, obviously angry.

Emily took his hand and pressed it against her cheek, “You need to eat.”

“I can manage.”

“Go, all of you. I’m ok here.”

“I can’t leave you here alone. You’re still too weak.”

“I’m just going to take a nap. You’ll be back before I wake up.”

Chevalier sighed. He knew it was getting harder for all of them to resist her scent. In the three weeks they’d been on the island, no one had fed and most of them were going on almost a month.

“You won’t get out of bed?”

“I swear.”

“This island is secure, it has a quarantine warning.”

“Go,” she told him, and then rolled onto her side.

He kissed the top of her head lightly and went into the large living room.

“Anyone that’s not fed in 5 weeks needs to come with me,” he said, and looked over the heku.

Kralen sighed, “That’s all of us.”

“Go, I’ll stay here,” Miri said. “I fed the night before we were thrown into prison.”

“Mom likes to ash you,” Allen reminded her.

“I’ll stay out of her way unless there’s a problem,” Miri said, and smiled.

“Can I come?” Alexis asked.

“No, you can survive off of mortal food,” Chevalier told her.

Alexis wrinkled her nose, “I can… but it’s gross.”

“We’ll bring you and Dain back some.”

“Fine,” she said angrily, and went back to her book.

Chevalier grinned and followed the others out to the beach where his boat was waiting. Miri waved as they set off for the mainland and then returned to the house.

“Mom’s calling you,” Alexis told her.

Miri turned to the door and cringed slightly, “Ok.”

Alexis grinned and watched Miri nervously walk into her Mom’s room.

“You called for me?” Miri asked softly when she walked into Emily’s room. Emily’s breathing was not as raspy and her color was returning.

“Sit, please,” Emily said, and watched Miri pull a chair up by the bed.

“Can I get you anything?”

“No, just visit with me for a bit.”

“Ok, about what?”

“You… Chev said you were turned very young by the Encala?”

Miri shifted slightly, “Yes, I was only 18.”

“Why did you, then?”

“Well, my Mom and Dad died of scarlet fever,” Miri started. “I was engaged to a family friend, but he was sent to war and killed. When I first became familiar with the heku, I was instantly infatuated and just decided to join them.”

“Why did you leave the Encala for the Equites then?” Emily knew it was a rude question, but wanted to know everything about this heku.

Miri smiled and Emily found it hard not to notice how pretty she was, “I quickly found out that the Encala attacked others unprovoked, and that’s not the kind of life I wanted. I got to know someone from Council City and the Equites seemed like a perfect fit.”

“And Allen?”

“I love him, very much.”

“He’s only 16.”

“I know that he was born 16 years ago, but he’s more than that.”

Emily sat up slightly and slid another pillow behind her head, “Why would you try to rescue me after I turned you to ash?”

Miri smiled again, “I told Allen that we made a huge mistake in not telling you about our relationship, and then on the island… well… another mistake. I don’t blame you for what you did. It was our fault for keeping it a secret.”

“Why did you keep it a secret?”

“Allen was afraid about how you might react.”

Emily smiled slightly, “Do you realize how completely screwed up this family is?”

Miri laughed, “Let’s see… the Chief Enforcer marries not only a mortal but the last Winchester, and then becomes an Elder. They have a son that tries to eat his Mom, a daughter that can ash her brother, and another son who is full heku… yes, I see how that could be considered screwed up.”

***

“Are we taking bets on if Miri is ash or not?” Kralen chuckled as he steered the boat toward Chevalier’s island.

“Ugh, I just hope Mom stayed asleep,” Allen said, and looked out over the clear blue water.

Chevalier grinned and slapped him on the back, “If she is, it’d be your fault for bringing along your girlfriend.”

“Is it true that Em… ya know… caught you?” Kralen asked, grinning.

Allen nodded, “Sadly, yes.”

Jaron’s eyes grew wide, “Did she ash both of you?”

“Not that time, no, but she did drag me off to the middle of nowhere and made me do things like go to barn dances.”

“Keep it in your pants, Boy. It’ll make your life easier,” Kralen chuckled.

“You’re one to be talking. I’ve yet to see you merely feed,” Allen reminded him.

“What? I like to explore.”

Chevalier shook his head, “Your Mom would kill us if she knew we had to take you to a brothel to feed.”

Allen laughed, “Mom would? Miri would kill me first.”

“You have double the trouble coming,” Jaron said, and grinned.

“Well… didn’t see that coming,” Chevalier said as he looked out toward the island.

Allen joined him and gasped, “Wow.”

“What?” Jaron asked, and stood up to look. He quickly turned away when he saw Emily, Alexis, and Miri all lying out on lawn chairs in bikinis, while Dain ran across the beach naked. Miri had the addition of a sun hat and sunglasses, but they were all talking as they watched the boat come closer.

Chevalier looked surprised, “Maybe they made friends.”

“How the hell does she stand the sun?” Jaron asked.

Allen chuckled, “She said she refuses to hide from it, though I didn’t know she had a bikini… I kinda like it.”

“Of course you do,” Kralen said, and then grinned. He docked the boat off of the small pier and the heku walked toward the women.

“Feeling better?” Chevalier asked as he reached down to kiss Emily on the tip of her nose.

“Some, the sun helps,” she told him.

“I called the doctor first and asked,” Miri told him. “He agreed as long as she didn’t walk.”

“Never been carried by a woman in a bikini,” Emily said, and laughed. “So I opted to walk.”

“Hmm,” Kralen sighed, and then headed into the house when Chevalier looked over at him.

Allen bent down and took Miri’s face between his hands to kiss her.

“Ew,” Alexis groaned.

Chevalier sat down on the chaise beside Emily, “I take it things went well.”

“Yes,” Emily said, after a short bout of coughing. “I’ve gotten to know a lot about Miri. She’s just as screwed up as the rest of us.”

Miri started to laugh, “You swore you wouldn’t tell!”

“I won’t,” Emily promised her.

“Tell what?” Allen asked, and sat down beside Miri.

Alexis made fake gagging noises, “Those two didn’t shut up long enough to get any reading done.”

“Stop complaining, Alexis, your two hours is up. You can go inside,” Emily told her.

“Finally!” she yelled, and ran into the house after Jaron.

Chevalier watched Dain run past again without any clothing on as the dogs lopped after him.

“I am no longer dressing that boy. He won’t keep it on,” Miri said, and shook her head.

Emily grinned when her cell phone rang from inside the house.

“Want me to go get that?” Allen asked.

“Nope,” Emily told him, and glanced at Miri.

Miri smiled and leaned back in the chair.

“Em, caller I.D. says Valle Council,” Kralen called out.

“Oh, I know who’s calling,” she told him. “Just let it ring.”

Miri grinned, “Are you going to tell him or should I?”

Emily shrugged, “We could make him suffer a few more days.”

“Me or Dad?” Allen asked, frowning.

Miri leaned up and kissed him softly and then grinned, “You, I refuse to torment the Elder.”

“At least someone refuses to,” Chevalier said, and stood up. He reached down and picked Emily up, “You’re burning.”

“Tell me what, then?” Allen asked.

Chevalier turned when Miri grinned, “Your Mom said it’s ok… as long as the Elder agrees.”

“Wait… she did?” Allen gasped.

Miri nodded, “Yes, but the final say is the Elder’s.”

Allen grabbed Miri out of her chair and wrapped his arms around her, “She really said yes?”

“Yes, I did… now you just have to convince your Dad,” Emily told him as Chevalier carried her inside.

“What am I having to be convinced of?” he asked as he laid her down. He sat down on the side of the bed and waited for her to stop coughing.

“I’m ok if they want to get married.”

“You are?”

“Yes, I got to know Miri and she’s really sweet and cares a lot about Allen.”

“Still, he’s 16.”

“I guess we just hope that his judgment is better than mine was at 17,” Emily told him.

Chevalier nodded, “I’ll think about it, both of them are pretty young.”

“She’s 225, Chev.”

“That’s young,” he told her, and then smiled.

Emily’s eyes narrowed, “No, it’s not.”

“No clothes!” Dain screamed, and they heard him run across the living room followed by heavier footsteps.

“Let’s give them Dain as a wedding gift,” Chevalier said, and then grinned.

Emily leaned up and coughed before finally laying back down.

Chevalier got up and went through her bag. He tossed some clean clothes on the bed, “Get some rest, we’ll talk more later.”

She nodded and watched as he left.

“Elder?” Miri asked when he stepped out into the living room.

Chevalier turned to the young heku, “Yes?”

Miri sighed and took Allen’s hand, “I spoke to the Valle Council, without authorization.”

Kralen stopped as he walked toward the kitchen and turned. Speaking to an enemy without approval was grounds for being put on trial, and usually resulted in a long prison sentence.

Chevalier’s eyes narrowed, “Did you just answer Em’s phone?”

“At first, Sir, then she asked me to relay a message… I wasn’t sure what to do, so I did.”

“Go on.”

She glanced at Allen and then back to the Elder, “It was Valle Elder Sotomar. He asked me if I would ask Lady Emily why the Valle were turned to ash a couple of weeks ago.”

“Did she tell you?”

“No, Sir, her message was to tell him to…” Miri looked down at her hands, “To… suck it, Sir.”

Chevalier grinned slightly, “And did you relay that message?”

“Yes, Elder.”

“It’s ok, Miri. She’s a member of the Council and can give permission… though I wish her message had been different, you did nothing wrong.”

Miri breathed a sigh of relief, “Thank you, Sir.”

Allen grinned at Miri when Chevalier walked out of the room, “If we’re going to be bonded, you’re going to have to stop being afraid of my Dad.”

Her eyes grew wide, “He’s an Elder!”

“Keep thinking that,” Kralen said, and Allen turned to him and saw he was serious. “I wouldn’t let yourself get too comfortable with an Elder, even bonded to his son.”

Miri nodded, “I completely agree.”

Allen sighed and patted Miri on the leg, “I better go talk to Dad.”

“Good luck.”

“I’ll need it,” he told her, and then followed after Chevalier. He caught up with the Elder as he headed into the small office. “Dad?”

“Have a seat,” Chevalier said, and motioned into his office.

Allen sat down and looked around, “Do you have an office in every house?”

“Yes, I do.”

Chevalier sat down and then put his elbows on the desk, waiting for Allen to speak.

“So,” Allen said, and began to wring his hands.

“So… what?”

“About Miri.”

The Elder grinned and sat back, “I bet you thought the hard part would be telling your Mom.”

“I guess I didn’t realize I needed your permission also… so yes, I did.”

“Of course you need my permission. When were you thinking?”

“Soon… actually… She and I were talking last night about how perfect it would be here on the island.”

“That soon, eh? Does Em know that?”

“I’m not sure. I’m a little afraid to ask what all the two of them talked about.”

Chevalier grinned, “Be very afraid.”

“I’m almost 17.”

“I’m aware of that.”

“How long are we going to be here?”

“Until your Mom is well. Dustin’s still on the Council and she’s going to need her strength back to even be around him.”

“So it’ll be another couple of weeks. That’s plenty of time.”

“I’ll talk to Em about it,” Chevalier told him.

“I also want to address the Council when we get back.”

“Oh? About what?”

“About having the ability to come to Council City when I want.”

Chevalier nodded, “Seems fair, however, I’m worried about your temper around your Mom.”

Allen nodded, “I know I screwed up, but honestly, so have you.”

“That’s no excuse.”

“I realize that, but there are no more secrets. She knows about Miri.”

“Something else can always come up, you have to get some control because,” Chevalier leaned forward and lowered his voice. “You know she’ll push your buttons and can fly off the handle in the blink of an eye. The heku have to use control.”

Allen smiled slightly, “Some more so than others.”

***

Chevalier looked out over the stark white beach and then turned to Emily, “They’ll understand if you don’t want to be here.”

She was pacing nervously, “I have to be here, I’m his Mom.”

Kralen grinned and watched her pace.

“It’s not going to be in English,” Chevalier told her.

“I figured. Still have no idea what was said at ours.”

“Then there’s the exchange.”

She shivered, “Just… warn me to look away.”

Jaron frowned slightly, “It can’t be that bad, you did it.”

“I did not!” she said, shocked.

Chevalier chuckled, “I tricked her into that. She thought it was wine.”

Jaron gasped.

Emily turned and glared at Chevalier, “Still not funny.”

“Sorry,” he said, and fought to hide the grin.

“Renew your vows and try it again,” Kralen suggested.

“Ew, no!” Emily grimaced.

“It’s common to exchange blood every so often, it re-strengthens the bond.”

“Oh, I think he’s had plenty of mine.”

“You make it sound like I feed off of you regularly,” Chevalier said, and shook his head.

“Some like it… actually…” Jaron said, and then quieted down quickly when Emily looked at him.

“So I’ve been told.”

“Mom!” Alexis screamed from down the beach. Emily looked over and saw Dain running naked towards her. She gasped when his image blurred and he appeared in front of her with his hands up.

Emily quickly picked him up and turned to Chevalier with wide eyes, “He…”

“I saw,” Chevalier said, impressed.

“He can’t do that! How am I supposed to catch him?”

“I honestly have no idea.”

“This is my penis,” Dain said to Kralen, pointing down.

Kralen started to laugh, “Yes, it is.”

Emily sighed and took the clothes from Alexis. She finally managed to wrestle a t-shirt and shorts onto him, just before Allen and Miri came out. They were walking hand in hand across the beach as the sun set behind them.

Chevalier reached out and bound their wrists with a thin black ribbon and began to speak to them in Latin. Alexis, Kralen, and Jaron paid close attention, but Emily’s mind started to take in the beauty around them. The sunset over the ocean was a vibrant orange and the water turned a deep purple as night fell. Dain leaned his head against her shoulder and watched the others.

“Em?” Her name brought her out of the trance, and she looked over at Chevalier.

“Oh!” she said, understanding, and turned away from the others. She winced when she heard the soft hiss.

“No biting!” Dain yelled, and Emily hurried and turned him around. She turned around when Chevalier started to talk again and grinned slightly when Dain frowned at his older brother.

Emily felt tears welling up in her eyes when they exchanged rings. She marveled at the look on their faces as they looked into each other’s eyes, then wiped a stray tear that fell down her cheek. It was hard for her to imagine that her son was old enough to get married. A small part of her resented the wedding and how it seemed she was losing her son after 17 short years. She handed Dain over to Jaron, and took a tissue from Kralen when he offered it.

When the ceremony was over, Chevalier quickly moved to Emily and pulled her against his chest, wrapping his arms around her. She leaned against him and the tears began to flow. He grinned at the show of emotions, and held her tightly against him.

“Congrats, Boy!” Kralen said, and slapped Allen on the back.

Jaron smiled and shook his hand, “Congratulations.”

Allen smiled and took Miri’s hand, “Mom?”

Emily turned around and dabbed at her eyes with the tissue. She tried to speak, and when she couldn’t, she pulled Allen in to a tight hug.

She pulled up against Chevalier as the newlyweds walked down the beach and got into a boat. They both waved at those on the beach as Allen pulled the boat away from the island.

“I have a penis,” Dain said, breaking the silence.

Emily frowned and hit Chevalier on the chest, “What are you telling him?”

Jaron grinned and walked away, carrying Dain back to the house.

“I haven’t said anything about that,” Chevalier chuckled, and put his arm around her, leading her back to the house.

“Boy just knows what’s important,” Kralen said, laughing.

Alexis shook her head and walked around to the side door.

Emily sighed, “Kralen, did you give him an anatomy lesson?”

“Nope, I didn’t… though if I knew he’d keep bringing it up, I would have told him a long time ago.”

“Nice,” she mumbled, and walked into the house. She headed for the kitchen and started up the stove, then grabbed her phone when it rang and without looking, flipped it open and rested it against her shoulder. “Yeah?”

Chevalier and Kralen stopped when they realized they could hear the conversation.

“Emily, it’s Sotomar,” the voice said.

“Ok, what do you want?”

“The divorce was finalized.”

She smiled, “Good to know.”

“Because of his sudden departure, you took everything in the divorce,” Sotomar explained.

“What do you mean? We didn’t have anything.”

“Exavior did, and now it’s all yours.”

Emily sighed, “I don’t want anything of his.”

“Nonetheless, it’s yours… we’ll send the information to Council City.”

“What exactly is it?”

“15 houses, six cars, an island off of Australia, and then his fortune.”

“Sell it all and give the money to charity,” Emily told him, and stirred the stew she was making.

“It’s yours, do with it as you wish. As I stated, all is on its way to Council City.”

“Fine”

“Now that that is over, can you please tell me why you turned 2 Valle to ash, and what you were doing at a donor bar?”

“No, and I wasn’t at a donor bar, I was at a Chinese restaurant.”

“So you say, but we’ve revived our heku and they saw you come out of the bar.”

Kralen’s insides turned when he heard that.

“Then they’re delusional. Why would I go to a donor bar?”

“That’s what we want to know.”

“Fine, I go there sometimes to make extra cash, it beats hooking,” Emily said, and shut the phone.

Chevalier chuckled, “That should keep his mind busy for a few minutes.”

She turned and leaned back against the counter, “I don’t want all of Exavior’s crap.”

“I’ll help you take care of it,” he said. “As soon as we get back.”

“You could give a house or two to Allen and Miri,” Kralen said, and shrugged. “It’s always nice to have some privacy.”

“That’s true,” she said, and filled two bowls with stew. “Alexis!”

The 11-year-old came in and sighed, “Mom, seriously, I can’t eat that.”

“You can and you will,” Emily said, and sat down.

“Dad!”

“I’m sorry, Alex. You do have a mortal body that needs fed,” Chevalier told her, and headed out as he wrinkled his nose. Kralen covered his nose with his hand and followed the Elder out.

Chapter 24 - Retribution

Kralen gently set the helicopter down on the roof and powered it down while the Cavalry formed a line into the palace. Chevalier opened the door and helped Emily out of Winchester 1. She clung to his arm. It was obvious to everyone that she didn’t want to be back in Council City. Jaron took Dain from Alexis and went inside as the others followed the Cavalry.

“I need to go in there,” Chevalier said when they got to the fourth floor.

She nodded, “I know, I’ll go too.”

“You sure?”

“I’m not going to hide from him.”

When they walked in through the back door, the Council turned. All but Dustin watched them and smiled.

“Welcome back,” Quinn said.

“How are you?” Zohn asked Emily.

“I’m fine, thanks.”

“We heard a congratulations is in order,” Kyle said, grinning.

She nodded, “Yup, he got hitched.”

Chevalier sat down and began talking quietly and quickly to the other Elders, so Emily sat down in the empty chair beside him.

“Here, Em, this is for you,” Kyle said. He got up and grabbed a long banker’s box and sat it down in front of her on the desk. He sat down beside her in an empty chair.

“What is it?”

“Exavior’s possessions, according to the Valle that delivered it,” he told her, and tore off the string holding the lid on.

Emily pulled a file from inside, “6,200 square feet, 6 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms on 6 acres.”

Kyle grinned, “It’s a shack really.”

“Here, Merry Christmas,” she said, and handed the deed over to the Chief Interrogator.

He chuckled and handed it back, “No, thank you anyway.”

“What am I going to do with all this crap?” she asked, and grabbed another file.

“I wouldn’t exactly call it crap, it’s some pretty nice mansions and…” Kyle pulled out a file and flipped through it, “Cars, I guess.”

“Here,” said the Chief Interrogator after reading one of the files. “1,000 acre horse ranch in St. Barthelemy.”

“I don’t even know where that is,” she said, glancing over at the file.

“Here’s the good stuff,” the Chief Investigator said. He’d joined them in going through the box and handed Emily a bank book.

She sighed and opened it, “Oh my God.”

Kyle looked over at it, “What?”

“How the hell did he get this kind of money?”

He grinned, “Em… that’s not that much.”

“Not that much? I could buy Canada for this!”

“It’s really not, not for a ranking heku,” the Chief Interrogator said.

Emily rolled her eyes, “You all need lives. Do you know that?”

“He must have made some big purchases, or did something to get rid of a lot of it,” the Chief Investigator told her.

She frowned, “You all really don’t think this is a lot?”

Kyle chuckled, “Em, you have more than that in your bank account right now.”

“I do not. I have $534,000.”

“No, you had $534,000… Chevalier’s been adding.”

“Wait? Why am I getting dragged into this?” Chevalier asked. He looked over when he heard his name.

“How much money do you have?” Emily asked, shocked.

He grinned, “Not something we really talk about.”

“Wow, you own a 1908 Model T,” the Court Reporter said, also digging through the box.

“I don’t want a car from Exavior,” she said, and handed the bank book over to Chevalier.

“You took one from the Encala.”

“Yeah, so?”

He shrugged, “Just saying…”

“What am I supposed to do with all of this?” she asked, looking over at Chevalier.

He shut the bank book and set it down, “It’s up to you. You can keep the houses or sell them, give the cars away, whatever you want.”

“But these… these are all known by the Valle,” Emily told him. “Not sure I’d want to go there for vacation.”

“Wow, Em, that’s impressive,” Kyle said, shocked.

“What is?”

“That you saw the obvious danger in that.”

Emily frowned, “Not funny.”

Chevalier chuckled, “It’s just surprising to hear you say that is all.”

“Believe it or not, I can spot danger,” she said, irritated. She grabbed another file and began to go through it.

Kyle just grinned and grabbed another file.

“It’s his house in Alaska,” she whispered, and stared down at the picture.

The Council all looked over at her. They knew she spent time in that interrogation room and was put through horrors only she and Chevalier knew about. She shut the file quickly and sat it down, as if touching it might put her back into the pain.

Kyle finally spoke to break the silence, “These houses are all going to have interrogation chambers in them, ceremonial rooms, that type of thing. She can’t exactly sell them to just anyone.”

“If she wants to sell them, we can renovate first,” Zohn suggested.

“Burn them,” Emily whispered, and sat back in the chair. She rested her feet on the seat of the chair and pulled her knees up close to her and wrapped her arms around them.

“They are all in your name, the government would get suspicious,” Quinn told her.

“This one’s only 10 miles from here,” the Court Reporter said, and held up a file.

Emily took it and began to look through the pages, “Mark?”

The General came in a few minutes later, “Sorry for the delay. I was out on horseback.”

“Let’s go for a ride,” she told him, and grabbed the key from the file.

“Em, are you sure?” Chevalier asked.

“Just going to look,” she told him, and headed out after Mark. Silas and Kralen crawled into the back of the Jeep when Mark called them and he got into the passenger side. Emily turned up the heater and started out.

“Where are we going?” Silas asked.

“Exavior’s old house,” she told him, and flipped on the headlights.

“Why?”

“It’s mine now, I guess. I’m just curious if I can get rid of these things or if they are full of heku stuff.”

“I see,” he said, and glanced at Mark briefly.

They drove in silence until Emily pulled up to a black wrought iron fence. Mark got out and slid it open so the Jeep could pull through, and then he blurred up to the front doors of the mansion. Emily got out of the Jeep and looked up at the dark windows and black face of the house.

“Maybe we should do this in the daylight,” she said, getting the chills from the massive structure.

Kralen grinned, “You’re afraid of the dark?”

“No! It’s just… creepy.”

Mark used the key and opened up the front doors, “No time like the present.”

Emily got back into the Jeep and dug through the glove box until she found a small flashlight. She got out and followed Silas into the house.

“So you inherited Exavior’s old houses?” Mark asked.

“Yes, along with cars and money,” Emily said, and used the flashlight to look around the foyer. She stopped at a large tapestry hung above the main entryway that bore the Valle Crest on ancient, thick gray wool, “Lift me up there.”

Silas looked up, “You’re taking that?”

“Yes,” she said, and reached up for it when Silas lifted her higher.

“Why?” Mark asked.

“I don’t know,” she said, and pulled the tapestry down, then rolled it up and put it by the front door.

“Let’s not split up,” Mark said. “Just in case.”

Kralen nodded and looked at the wall. He studied it for a second before pushing on a stone. The door slowly slid open.

“What have we here?” Kralen asked, and stepped inside.

“Wait,” Emily said, and followed after him, with Mark and Silas behind her.

“Three doors down here,” Kralen told the others, and opened the one on the right. He quickly shut the door, “Interrogation room.”

Emily nodded, not wanting to see into it, “The other one?”

Kralen opened the middle door and stepped inside, “Not sure exactly what this is.”

Mark and Silas moved past Emily and stepped inside. The room had six soft recliners, a table in the middle, and a TV built into the wall.

“It’s… kind of a… feeding room?” Silas asked curiously.

“I’m thinking so. Not sure why it’s by his interrogation room though,” Mark said.

Emily opened the last door while they went through the feeding room, and she stepped inside. Her flashlight began to flicker so she turned it off and hoped her eyes would adjust. She could still hear the heku next door as she put her hands out and felt to the wall. The walls were made of stone and she ran her hands along them until she felt a groove.

“I can’t see in here, what is this?” Emily called out.

Mark stopped at the doorway, “Come on out, Em.”

She turned toward his voice, and started moving slowly in his direction, “But what is it?”

Silas sighed, “Ceremonial room.”

Emily’s heart skipped a beat and even though she couldn’t see, she ran at them, knowing they were by the door.

“Calm down, it’s ok,” Mark said when she ran into him.

She turned and looked into the room, though it was still too dark to see.

“Let’s start checking out the first floor,” Silas whispered.

Kralen nodded and they all walked up the stairs, and then down the first hallway. The main floor consisted of offices, conference rooms, and an empty room that could hold a kitchen and dining room. The second floor was full of more offices, and a mini court room, along with dozens of staff quarters.

“Kind of boring, actually,” Emily said as they headed up to the third floor.

“What did you expect?” Silas asked.

She shrugged, “I don’t know… dead people, body parts.”

Mark chuckled and looked around the third-floor landing. The fireplaces were dead and dust protectors covered the couches and chairs. He opened the first door and stepped in, followed by the others.

“Ahh, his bedroom,” Kralen said, and walked in.

Emily shined the light around and walked over to look at some relics he had on a dresser. She turned when she heard a drawer open, “We can’t go through his things!”

Kralen looked at her, “Why not?”

“It’s… private, sort of.”

He grinned, “And?”

Emily just shook her head, “Ok, have fun.”

“Wow,” Silas gasped when he opened a large wardrobe.

Emily looked over and then walked closer, “Lotsa movies.”

Kralen glanced over and grinned, “Quite the little collection.”

“Nothing weird about having movies,” Emily said, and picked one up. She quickly put it back and turned around. “Erm…”

Kralen chuckled, “I should rephrase that… quite the little porn collection.”

Emily began to blush and walked back over to the relics.

“Foursomes with the Vampires,” Silas said, and held it up, grinning.

She took the case from him and flipped it over to read the back, “Ew.”

Mark sat down on the massive bed and started to go through some notebooks that were stashed under the bedside table.

Emily handed the movie back to Silas and walked into the walk-in closet, “Blacks and grays… go figure.”

Kralen whispered to Mark, and when the General looked over, he held up leather restraints, handcuffs, and a gag.

Mark told him to put them back before Emily saw, and Kralen shut the drawer quietly.

Emily came out a few seconds later in a huge black robe. The hem trailed behind her almost two feet and her hands were hidden beneath the long sleeves. She’d pulled the hood down over her face and made zombie noises as she walked out with her arms extended.

Silas looked over and laughed, “That’s a ceremonial robe, Em.”

“It’s hot in here,” she said, and pulled the hood back.

Mark shook his head and stood up, “That’s the black ceremonial robe,” he told her, and slipped it off over her head.

“Oh!” she gasped, and quickly got out from under it.

Mark tossed it onto the bed and grabbed the notebooks.

“What’s in those?”

“Diaries mainly, logs and journals. I want the Elders to go through them,” he explained, and started for the door.

“My house, I get to see them,” she said, and put her hand out.

Mark grinned, “You’re going to have to ash me to get these.”

“What? Why?”

“Because it’s Elder business and they outrank you.”

Emily faked being mad, and they all left the master bedroom. She opened the door off to the right and stepped in. It was much warmer, with soft, calm colors in beige and shades of maroon. She was using her flashlight to look on the dresser when Kralen picked up an embroidered pillow and showed it to Silas and Mark.

“Em?” Mark said.

Emily looked over, “Yeah?”

Kralen held up the pillow, ‘Emily’ was intricately embroidered across it.

“Oh, guess this is my room then,” she said, and went into the closet.

“You’re ok with that?” Mark asked.

She shrugged, and came back out with a sheer floor-length blue dress, “I guess… check out this insane dress.”

Silas shook his head and went back to one of the dressers.

Kralen opened up a wall cupboard in the bathroom and pulled out a little bottle, “What is this stuff?”

Emily went over and climbed up on the counter to see inside, “Let’s see…”

He opened up a box and showed Silas that it was full of syringes.

Emily grabbed some bottles and read, “Follicle stimulating hormone, HCG, and Clomid… damnit, Exavior. I wish I could kill you again.”

“What are they?” Mark asked, grabbing a bottle.

“Fertility drugs,” she said, and hopped down off the counter.

Kralen growled and slammed the cupboard shut, “Let’s get out of here.”

“I agree,” Silas said angrily.

“No, I’m not done,” Emily told them, and opened up a bottle of perfume from the counter. “This doesn’t smell.”

Kralen looked over just as she dumped some in her hand and rubbed it on her arm, “Wait!”

“What?” she asked, and her eyes grew wide when she saw them all crouch slightly. She took a step back when Mark looked over at her with predatory eyes, and a hiss escaped him. “Mark…”

Silas growled and jumped at her, but turned to ash at her feet. She wasn’t sure what was going on, but knew her guards had no control.

“Kralen… Mark… what’s going on?” she whispered, and then turned both to ash when they moved to attack. Once she caught her breath, she dropped the bottle and went out to find something to carry them home in. She found a glittery silver purse in the room made for her and put their ashes into it, then looked around for the books Mark had been carrying, but didn’t see them with the ash. She picked up their clothing and then looked around.

Emily turned her flashlight back on and even with the flicker, was able to see her way back to the front door. She threw the purse over her shoulder and grabbed the Valle’s crest from the floor before stepping out into the night air. She locked the doors and then started up the Jeep and headed back for Council City.

She parked in the garage, and then sat back in the Jeep, still wondering what caused her guards to attack. Finally deciding it was time to tell Chevalier, she grabbed the purse and went inside.

Emily frowned when the first floor stair guards turned to her and crouched, hissing also. She backed up and put her hands up, “Stay back, I’m warning you.”

She heard a hiss from behind her, and turned just as one of the cooks lunged at her, but fell to ash.

Emily wiped a trickle of blood from her nose, “Chev!”

The two stair guards also fell to ash when they advanced on her, and she turned and ran for the garage. She could hear the Council coming down the stairs, but wanted to get away. She was just crawling into her Aero when Jaron stepped in front of her car with his hands up.

“Wait, just a second, it’s ok,” Jaron told her. She watched him for a few seconds, and then decided he wasn’t going to attack. The Council appeared around the garage with Chevalier by Jaron.

“It’s ok, Em, just give us a few minutes,” he told her, and shut his eyes.

“What’s going on?” she screamed, starting to panic.

“This can’t be… it’s too strong,” Zohn said, and then looked at Emily. “Were you masking it?”

“Masking what?”

“That’s it,” Quinn said, and nodded. “You were masking it to keep it a secret.”

“Masking what!?” she screamed. Her hands were shaking on the steering wheel.

“I was with her on the island,” Chevalier said. “She couldn’t have masked it the entire time.”

“He’s right, one of us would have noticed,” Jaron told them.

“Tell me what’s going on or I swear I’ll ash all of you!” Emily yelled.

Chevalier turned back to her, “Are you pregnant?”

“No”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

“Yes she is,” Dustin said. “We can all smell it.”

“Shut up, Dustin!” Emily yelled. “I am not.”

“Everyone calm down,” Quinn said. “Where are your guards?”

“They attacked me,” she whispered and held up the purse.

“Em, I really think you are,” Chevalier said softly.

“I’m not pregnant for hell’s sake!”

“Just because you don’t want to be, doesn’t make it not true,” Quinn told her.

Emily growled and got out of the Aero. The heku all moved back against the walls, “Who here is acclimated?”

“I am,” Chevalier said.

She held out her wrist, “There… have a taste.”

“I can’t…”

“Do it!”

“No, it’s too hard to stop, if it’s as strong as the scent…”

She took a step towards him, her wrist still out, “I said do it.”

“It would tell us for certain,” Zohn said. “We can stop you if you can’t.”

Chevalier sighed and moved to her. He took her wrist and looked her in the eyes once before sinking his teeth into the soft flesh. He frowned slightly and let go, then took a step back.

“It’s… it’s normal.”

“I told you, I’m not pregnant.”

“But that scent,” he said, and took the purse when she handed it over.

She looked around at the others, “We were in Exavior’s house… he had a bedroom for me, and in the bathroom, I found a bottle of what I thought was perfume. When I smelled it though, it didn’t have a scent. I poured some onto my hands, and Kralen yelled for me to stop, then everyone just attacked.”

“He mimicked her scent then?” Zohn asked.

Chevalier nodded, “That’s my guess. The Valle have always used scents to relax and sooth, and we already know your pregnancy scent can be masked, why not reproduced?”

“So I just need a shower,” Emily said, and turned to the others.

“Jaron, go clear out the Cavalry. She’ll use that shower. We can’t have her in the palace,” Quinn ordered.

Jaron nodded and disappeared.

“When you’re done, make sure Jaron checks to see if it’s gone and then come talk to me,” Chevalier told her.

She nodded and waited for the garage to empty out before heading for the shower.

Emily felt strange showering in the dark, but no one had ever put lights in the Cavalry’s shower. Once she was sure she’d scrubbed off all of the scent, she wrapped in a scratchy towel and stepped out, realizing she didn’t have anything to wear. She glanced at her clothes and wondered how much of the scent was on them. Figuring they would probably be covered in it, she walked over to Jaron’s things and grabbed one of the guard shirts.

After rolling up the sleeves, she grabbed her clothes and a lighter she saw on Jaron’s desk, then walked out into the front lot and lit her clothes on fire. She could see shadows as the city heku came to see what was burning. Once her clothes were nothing but ash, she headed back to the palace.

She couldn’t find Jaron, but another member of the Cavalry was close, once he gave her the all-clear, she walked inside.

Derrick raised an eyebrow when she walked up to the council chambers, “Would you like a robe?”

“Oh, yes, please,” she said, and walked inside.

“You had someone check?” Zohn asked, a little nervous.

“Yes”

“I’m so sorry,” Mark said from off to her side.

She smiled at the newly revived guards, “It’s ok, no one’s fault.”

“Still…” Silas mumbled.

“Don’t worry about it.”

Kralen sighed and shrugged. Emily turned when Derrick handed her a robe and slipped it on.

“We’ve already told them they aren’t in trouble,” Chevalier told her.

“Mark’s in trouble,” she said.

“I am?” he asked, and frowned slightly.

“Yes, where are those books? You said I’d have to ash you to get them, but they weren’t on you.”

“Oh, those,” he said, grinning.

“You mean these?” Chevalier asked, and held up the notebooks.

“Yes, they’re mine,” she told him, and held out her hand.

“No, they are not,” Zohn said, grinning.

“What’s in them?”

“Elder stuff.”

“You mean something that might upset me?”

“Maybe”

She shrugged, “I’ll find out eventually.”

“Em, are you ok?” Chevalier asked, suddenly serious.

“Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Your guards filled us in on what was in Exavior’s house.”

“Why would some porn and fertility meds bother me? He’s dead.”

Quinn shrugged, “It just seems that a lot of the things in his house were geared toward your capture.”

“Oh, don’t think I didn’t know that… he’s dead though.”

Dustin shrugged, “Odd he had fertility drugs. Seems you don’t have a problem in that area.”

Emily glared at him, “Shows what you know, genius… fertility drugs have a nasty habit of producing multiples.”

“So like twins?” Quinn asked.

“No, more like 8 at a time,” she told him, and crossed her arms. “I suspect he was going for a lot of little Winchesters.”

Chevalier seemed surprised, “There are medications that can do that?”

“Sure, those he had would do it.”

“How is it you know this?” the Chief Interrogator asked curiously.

“None of your business. Now, are we done?”

“Not really. What are you going to do with those houses now that we know there are heku amenities in them that humans can’t know about?”

“Well,” Emily thought. “I guess I’ll give them away. Though I’m thinking about keeping the one we were just in, maybe paying the electric bill even.”

“Why would you keep that one?” Chevalier asked.

Emily shrugged, “I don’t know, just because.”

“You, of course, can keep them all if you want.”

“That I don’t want. I’ll just give them out to… I don’t know, members of the Cavalry maybe.”

Mark frowned, “Why?”

“I can think of part of that house the Cavalry would like,” Kralen chuckled.

Emily smiled slightly, “You can have it all.”

“Have what?” Zohn asked.

“Exavior’s extensive DVD porn collection,” she told him, and couldn’t help but blush.

“Like…” Kralen said, and pulled a DVD out of his cape, “Sex at First Bite.”

Emily gasped and then started to laugh, “You took a vampire porn movie?”

“Yes, I did,” he told her, and grinned.

Emily walked over and took it from him, “Fine… let’s go see.”

Chevalier gasped when she started for the door, “You’re going to watch that?”

She just grinned, bumped open the door with her butt, and then walked out of the council chambers.

“She wouldn’t!” Mark said, his eyes wide.

Kralen chuckled, “I bet she would.”

Emily walked up the stairs to the Captain’s quarters and put the DVD on Kralen’s bed, still grinning at the thought that the entire Council was under the impression she was going to watch it.

Derrick came into the council chambers a few minutes later and looked at everyone. No one was talking, but they all had shocked expressions on their faces, “Erm… Allen would like to address the Council.”

“Where is Emily?” Chevalier asked, grinning slightly.

“I don’t know, Elder. She went upstairs, and hasn’t been back down.”

“No guards I hope.”

Derrick frowned, “Um… no, no guards.”

Chevalier grinned, “Good.”

“We aren’t guarding her anymore?” Derrick asked.

“Oh, yes we are… just not this exact second.”

He nodded and then looked over at Zohn, “And Allen?”

“Let him in,” Zohn said, grinning.

Allen came in a few seconds later and stood before the Council, bowing slightly.

“Congratulations,” Quinn said, and smiled.

“Thank you.”

“What do you want from us today?” Dustin asked.

Allen took a deep breath, calming his anger toward Dustin and then looked at Zohn, “I want to be able to come to the palace to visit my Mom.”

“No,” Dustin said bluntly. “You are too much of a liability.”

“I didn’t hurt her half as badly as you did,” Allen growled.

Dustin stood up, “Do not talk to me like that!”

“And don’t yell at my son,” Chevalier growled. “Sit down.”

Dustin sighed and sat down quietly.

Quinn thought for a few moments, “Control though… we cannot have you and Emily fighting.”

“I understand that.”

“I’m ok with it,” Chevalier told them. “She misses him, but isn’t ready to go back to the island yet.”

“I say no. I don’t want to risk Emily’s life to allow Allen visitation,” Zohn said. “She’s too good at angering heku to let a young one near her.”

“Your call,” Kyle said, looking at Quinn.

“Probation,” Quinn suggested, looking at Allen. “Let’s see how things go while you are here… one more outburst, physically violent or not, and you will be permanently banned.”

Allen nodded, “Understood.”

They all looked at the doors when Emily and Miri came in. Emily looked over at the Council and blushed slightly.

“Good to see you again, Miri,” the Chief Interrogator said.

“Thank you, Sir.”

“We’re going back out to that house. Miri’s going to do me a favor,” Emily told them, and started for the door.

“Wait,” Zohn called out.

Emily turned around, “What?”

“Miri is not a trained guard.”

Emily grinned, “It’s ok. I’ll protect her.”

Miri grinned back at Allen and followed Emily out the doors. A few minutes later, they heard the Aero start up and peel out of the garage.

“What favor?” Kyle wondered to himself.

“There’s no telling,” Chevalier sighed, and then nodded to Allen. “We all agree, you are on probation.”

He nodded, “I fully understand. Though as soon as they get back, I’ll need to go to the island.”

“They thought you watched it?” Miri asked, shocked.

Emily laughed, “Yes, you shoulda seen the looks on their faces.”

The heku grinned, “It’s funny how you mess with the Council… they’re so… irreproachable.”

“To you maybe, but they aren’t my Council,” Emily said as she pulled the Aero through the black gates.

“Wow, this place is huge,” Miri said. She stepped out of the purple Aero and looked up at the mansion. Emily opened the trunk and took out a large sledge hammer.

“Yeah, I’ll feel better when we get lights though, it’s creepy,” Emily told her, and unlocked the doors. She and Miri both stepped inside.

“So what am I doing exactly?” Miri asked.

Emily handed her the sledge hammer, “I need you to destroy a ceremonial room.”

The heku gasped, “I can’t do that!”

“Why not? It’s my house and I don’t want it here.”

“It’s ceremonial… sacred, I can’t just destroy it.”

“Well I can’t do it. I can’t even breathe in there.”

Miri set the sledge hammer up against the wall, “I’m sorry, I cannot destroy it.”

Both Miri and Emily screamed when they felt a surge of electricity flow through them.

***

Emily started to wake up. She couldn’t remember where she was, but knew she was lying on the ground. She sat up slowly and looked around, but the room was too dark to see.

“Are you ok?” Miri whispered.

Emily nodded, “Where are we?”

“The Encala took us.”

She sighed, “Welcome to my life… was it William?”

“No, Ma’am, it was just a coven. I didn’t see any of the Encala Council.”

“Are you hurt?”

“I’ve healed,” Miri told her. “I’m restrained though.”

“Let me guess, pull on them and you get electrocuted.”

Miri laughed, “You have done this before.”

“Well,” Emily said, standing up and brushing off her clothes. “We’ll just have to see about this. William!”

Miri looked over at the door when she heard someone approach.

A strange heku opened the door and looked in, “Stop yelling.”

“I want to talk to William, immediately,” Emily told him.

“No,” he said, and shut the door.

“You know I can just turn you all to ash, right?”

The door opened again and Emily saw a familiar heku come in. She tried to place him, but couldn’t remember where she’d seen him before.

“I don’t suggest you turn anyone to ash,” he growled.

“Why shouldn’t I?”

“Your little friend there… she’s being kept alive by one heku with his finger on a button. You turn him to ash and she’ll burn,” he told her, and then backhanded Emily to the ground.

“Damnit, why do you idiots always have to hit me?” she asked, wiping blood from the corner of her mouth.

“Because you deserve it.”

“You can make your point without hitting me,” Emily told him, and stood up. “Besides, the Valle hit harder than you do.”

He moved to her again and when he swung, she used one of the tricks the Encala taught her and ducked under his arm and immediately kneed him in the groin. He stooped over and she slammed her palm into his nose. He fell back against the cement just as Emily was violently shoved against the cement wall by two more heku. They held her against the wall until he’d healed.

“You Bitch,” he growled, and appeared in front of her. She looked up just as he put his hand against her forehead and slammed her head back into the cement wall. She cried out and then slowly sunk down to the floor.

“Watch it, Winchester,” one of the heku said angrily. “Just remember, turn the wrong guy to ash and you’ll fry your little friend,” he said, grinning, and walked out.

“Are you ok?” Miri asked when the others left.

Emily nodded, “Why do they always have to do that… first they hit and then they attempt to crack my skull.”

Miri sighed, “We’ll get out. I can smell blood. Are you sure you’re ok?”

“Yes, headache now is all, which irritates me.”

“He seemed to know you.”

“Gah, I know him, too.”

“From where?” Miri asked.

“I’m not sure, I can’t remember,” Emily told her, and sat down.

“Well… you could just do it and then have the Chief Enforcer revive me,” Miri said.

“Unless they do something stupid and get to your ashes.”

“Oh, right.”

“Damn, I bet Chev’s pissed.”

“I would imagine he is, as is Allen.”

“So how do we get out of this?” Emily asked, and looked around the room. Her eyes finally adjusted and she could see a little. She felt blood run down the back of her neck and she sighed. “When’s the last time you fed?”

Miri smiled, “I’m ok, we fed last night.”

Emily leaned up against the cement walls and shut her eyes. Her head was pounding and her cheek throbbed. Miri fell quiet and watched Emily drift in and out of sleep through the night. She woke up later the next morning and looked around.

“How’s the head?” Miri asked.

“Pounding… I’m hungry, too.”

***

“I’ve been through the entire house again. There’s no sign of them and Miri’s scent isn’t anywhere but the front door,” Mark told the Elders as they looked around the first floor of Exavior’s old house. He was still carrying the sledge hammer he’d found by the front door.

Allen walked down the stairs, “Nothing.”

Chevalier went back out to the Aero and looked through it, “There’s nothing… no indication of where they went.”

“Still no answer on either cell phone,” Silas told him.

He turned and sat sideways in the driver’s seat with his feet on the dirt, “Ferus maybe, might have been staking out the house.”

“I suggest we call Powan in,” Dustin said, and looked up at the house. “After our experience with the other factions having Emily and wiping out covens, we need to take drastic measures.”

“Do it,” Chevalier said, and looked around the front lawn.

***

“Maybe the Elders will arrange a ransom for us,” Miri said toward nightfall on the eighth day.

Emily shrugged, “I’m not sure the Encala Elders know. I can’t imagine them letting this happen.”

“Why not? They’ve done it before.”

“They want me on their side. This would pretty much nullify that.”

“True”

“I have an idea though,” Emily said, and sat down close to Miri, lowering her voice to a whisper. “If we can combine movements, and I ash the second you break your restraints.”

Miri nodded, “Then hope that the circuit is broken when the button heku is turned to ash… a split second.”

“It’d have to be perfect, and when the door is open, or we’d just be stuck in here.”

“We can try. If I turn to ash, just revive me.”

“Course, I could just turn you to ash now and get it over with.”

Miri smiled slightly, “I’d rather try to avoid that if at all possible. Do you realize how badly that hurts?”

“No, actually, I don’t.”

“We haven’t seen anyone… since…”

“Since my last backhand? I know, with them not bringing in food, then there’s no other reason to come in here except to knock me around,” Emily said, and looked over at the door.

“It is quite irritating how they like to do that.”

She shrugged, “Same ol, same ol… do you want to try it?”

“I don’t know, Allen said you get kind of… forgetful… when you turn too many to ash.”

“How big do you suppose this coven is?”

“I didn’t get a good view. I had a blindfold on and all I remember is coming in an elevator.”

Emily gasped, “There’s an elevator?”

“Yes, why?”

“Damnit, I killed their mortal in the middle of the turning ceremony… years and years ago, before Alexis. I remember looking through the Ancient’s eyes and seeing an elevator,” she said, and put her head in her hands.

“That’s how you know him?”

“Yes, then he confronted me at an Encala ball… I lost most of my memory of that after a skull fracture, but parts have come back and now I remember him. He was so mad.”

“He’d have to be to starve you to death. That’s a long, painful death.”

“Gee, thanks.”

Miri grinned slightly, “Sorry.”

“It’s ok. Let’s just see if we can get out.”

Miri nodded, and Emily stood up and took a deep breath, “Hey, Little Brain! Why don’t you stop the circle jerk and come let us out. You hit like my 2-year-old and I’m tired of your games.”

The door flew open and Emily wasn’t even able to see the heku before he punched her, and she flew back against the wall.

“Shut up,” he growled as she got to her knees.

“Now!” Emily screamed, and leaned her head on the cement as blood began to trickle from her nose.

“Emily?” Miri said, still restrained to the wall.

“Give me… a second…” Emily groaned, and pressed shaky hands against the side of her head. She waited until her head quit spinning and looked up at Miri. “Are you ok?”

“Yes, I think they lied about the heku with the button.”

“Ok,” she whispered, and then slowly got to her feet. She used the wall to support her as she walked out into the hallway. It took almost an hour to find the electrical circuit to the restraints, and Miri appeared at her side moments after she turned it off.

Miri looked Emily over and shook her head, “Are you ok?”

“I’ll be ok,” Emily told her, and sat down on a chair in the guard room.

“I’ll be right back. I want to see if anyone’s left,” Miri told her, and blurred out of the room. She returned and knelt down by Emily, handing her a glass of water. “I found one alive. I think he just got here though.”

“Water! Thanks, where is he?” Emily asked, and took a long drink.

“He’s restrained in one of the cells.”

“Ok, let’s get out of here then,” she said, and slowly got to her feet.

“There’s one thing… I don’t see any outside doors or even windows, and the smell down here is different, like there’s no fresh air,” Miri explained.

Emily frowned, “Are we in a cave?”

“That or underground somewhere.”

Miri blurred away again and returned a short time later with ice wrapped in a towel. She gently put it against Emily’s black eye and swollen cheek.

“I’m so tired of being knocked around,” Emily told her, and took the ice.

“I would imagine.”

Emily got to her feet and began going room to room, checking every hallway and every door. The two finally came to an elevator and once inside, she sighed, “We need a code to go up.”

Miri looked over the panel, “We could wait in here until someone else comes back. Wait… I’ll be right back.”

Emily waited in the elevator for Miri to come back. When she did, Emily saw blood on her shirt and one sleeve was torn off.

“What happened?!”

Miri grinned, “I tried to get the code from the heku.”

“Did he give it to you?”

“No, I’d need more time I think. He’s pretty tight lipped. I found an interrogation chamber, though, that I wouldn’t mind having a go at.”

Emily’s eyes grew wide, “You would do that?”

“Sure, why not?”

She shrugged, “I don’t know… you’re just… sweet.”

“I’m still heku and prone to violence. I’d love nothing more than to get him in that chamber.”

“That could take days, let’s find a phone.”

They both left the elevator after Miri promised she could find her way back. After searching for two hours, they found a conference room with a phone. They both sat down and Emily dialed the Encala Council.

“Where have you been!?” Frederick yelled. “We’ve ordered you to report to the Council for four days with no answer.”

“I’ve ashed your entire coven. Now come get us the hell out of here!” Emily screamed back.

There was silence on the phone until William finally spoke, “Emily?”

“Yes, who else can ash your coven? Now tell me the damned code to the elevator so I can get out of here.”

“The entire coven is gone?”

“No, I just ashed the little ones,” she sighed, and rolled her eyes. Miri grinned and watched her. It was foreign to the heku to casually speak to the enemy.

“What did they do!?” Encala Elder Aaron asked.

“They kidnapped me and my daughter-in-law and put us in a cell… she was almost electrocuted and I’m being slowly starved to death as punishment… now tell me that code and I may let the Encala Council live!”

“We don’t know the code,” William told her. “That coven was supposed to be wiped out by our Chief Enforcer for heinous crimes, but we can’t get down the damned elevator.”

“Great,” Emily sighed and hung up. She turned the speakerphone back on and dialed.

“Equites Council, who the hell is this?” Kyle growled.

Emily smiled, “Be nice.”

“Emily!”

“Yes, Miri and I are stuck in an Encala Coven and can’t get out.”

“Ash them and get the hell out of there,” Kyle told her.

“Oh, good idea, Kyle. Miri and I didn’t think of that!”

“Sorry… we’ve just been looking for you.”

“Where’s Chev?”

“Out looking, the entire Council is out looking, I’m all that’s here.”

She sighed, “We’re in an underground Encala Coven. I’ve ashed all of them but one, and no one seems to know the code to the elevator for us to leave.”

“You left one?”

“Sort of, he came down after.”

“Get the code from him.”

“Freak, Kyle, how dumb do you think we are?” she yelled, and hung up the phone.

“He’s just trying to help,” Miri said.

“I know, but treating us like morons isn’t going to help.”

Emily thought for a moment and then dialed another number on the speakerphone.

“Emily! Kyle just told me,” Chevalier said.

“Damn, that was fast.”

“Are you ok?”

“We’re fine, just… well… stuck.”

“Quinn’s talking to the Encala Council. We’re heading to the coven now.”

“That Sonofabitch told me he didn’t know the elevator code!” Emily said angrily.

“He doesn’t, but we’ll be there for when we do find it,” Chevalier explained.

“Oh, ok, well… Miri wants to have a go in the interrogation chamber with a heku, and I’m going to see if I can find some food.”

Chevalier sighed, “How long has it been?”

“I don’t know how long I’ve been down here.”

“Go, call us when you get something to eat.”

“Ok,” Emily said, and hung up. She grinned and looked over at Miri.

“What?” Miri asked, unsure she really wanted to know.

“I have the sudden urge to be mean.”

“To who?”

“The Encala.”

“How?”

Emily thought for a moment and dialed again while Miri watched.

“Valle Council,” a strange voice said.

“Is Sotomar there?”

“Emily?” Sotomar asked, shocked.

“The Valle are the smartest of the factions, right?” Emily asked, grinning.

“Yes, why?”

“I was kidnapped by the Encala…”

“What!?” a member of their Council screamed.

“I ashed them… but… we’re under ground and no one knows the code to the elevator. Do you have a techy that can come look?”

Sotomar’s voice held some amusement, “Do the Equites know you called us for help?”

“No, I don’t need their permission.”

“We’ll get with them and send someone down. We’ll get that code,” Sotomar promised.

“Thanks,” Emily said, and hung up.

“I can’t believe you enlisted the Valle! The Elders are going to be mad,” Miri told her, frowning.

“No they won’t. They’ll know I’m just messing with the Encala.”

Miri stood up, “I really do want a go at that heku.”

“Can you find me down here if I go look for food?”

“Of course, your scent… well… it’s easy to track.”

“Right, go play with your heku,” Emily said, and watched as Miri blurred away, then began a systematic search of the coven, going through each room in search of food. Whenever she came to a pile of ash, she took a pinch and placed it into a plastic sack she found in one of the rooms.

Emily jumped when the eerie quiet of the underground coven was broken by Miri’s voice, “Find anything?”

“Don’t do that!” Emily yelled, and put her hand over her pounding heart.

Miri grinned, “Sorry.”

“Nothing,” she told the heku, and moved on to the next room.

“I have to tell you, I don’t smell any food around.”

“Great… how is your toy?”

“Dead, he doesn’t know the code, someone up above punched it in for him.”

Emily turned to her, “There’s a heku up there that knows the code?”

“Apparently”

“We should go tell Chev,” Emily said, and started down the hallway.

“The phone’s back this way,” Miri said, and moved to the side so Emily could pass. The heku showed her to the conference room and she dialed on speakerphone.

“How are you holding up?” Chevalier asked.

“We’re having a ball, you should join us.”

“We’re above you, trying to figure out the damned code. Did you call the Valle?” He sounded amused.

“Yes, I did.”

“The Encala are furious.”

“Good, then it worked… Miri was playing with our little heku toy down here and he said there’s someone up there that punched the code into the elevator for him.”

She could hear Chevalier whispering to someone else and then came back to the phone, “We’ll keep looking. The Encala want to know who the heku is with you.”

“Was… Miri had an… accident?” Emily asked, looking at her.

“No accident, I killed him during an interrogation,” Miri told her plainly.

Chevalier chuckled, “Nice.”

“His name was Charles,” Miri said.

“Ok, we’ll keep looking.”

“Have fun, we’re just going to party down here.”

“Find any food?”

“Not yet. I’m about to dig into the dead heku. Wonder if I can find a barbeque.”

“Em…” Chevalier said, laughing. “That’s disgusting, even for you.”

“Tell Sotomar I said ‘Hi’.”

“Will do,” he said, before hanging up.

Emily turned around and looked at Miri. She was still covered in blood, “I found a shower…”

“Good, me first!” Miri said, and stood up. Emily led her to the large bedroom with an attached bathroom and dug around in the closet while Miri showered.

“I’m putting clothes out here for you, I hope they fit,” Emily said, and hung a long-sleeved red dress shirt on the door and set a pair of black pants beside it.

“Thanks,” Miri called out.

Emily found another identical shirt, and laid it out so she could shower, then started looking through the room out of boredom. She tore open a manila envelope and pulled out a stack of papers, then looked through them, shocked to find an application to join the Valle along with a twelve page letter explaining why. It listed numerous incidents when the Encala enlisted Emily’s help and also the death of their mortal. The last few pages contained a rejection, signed by Sotomar, stating invalid reasoning to switch factions.

She put it on the bed and began to go through the dressers and wardrobes again, even checking under the bed.

“Much better,” Miri said, coming out of the bathroom. The red shirt and pants fit her almost perfectly, though she had to cinch the waist up with a belt. “I hate Encala red.”

“It’s ok, it’s just us,” Emily told her, and then went in to take a shower. The shirt came to her knees, and she had to roll the sleeves up numerous times to even get to her hands.

When she came out, Miri was going through a box of papers. “What did you find?”

“Personnel reports, just entertaining to read,” Miri said, and pulled out another file.

Emily sat down beside her and grabbed a file, “I found a letter from this coven to the Valle, asking for a faction change.”

“No way!” Miri gasped.

“Yup, but Sotomar said no.” Emily grinned, and showed Miri a file, “This heku had sex with an Equites.”

“Who?” Miri asked, and looked closely. “I know her!”

“You do?”

“Yeah, she’s in Council City.”

“Hrm, let’s put that in my pile to show Chev,” Emily told her, and tossed the file onto the bed.

“It’s almost midnight. Do you want to sleep in here?”

Emily looked at the large bed, “I am kinda tired.”

Miri stood up and started for the door, “I’m going to keep snooping, get some sleep.”

She nodded and laid down on the massive bed, afraid she wouldn’t be able to sleep. With the dark, cool underground building, and the hard cement of the last week, she was soon asleep.

“Lady Emily?” Miri said softly, and touched her arm.

Emily looked at her and sat up in bed, “What’s wrong?”

“I found some food, sort of.”

“Sort of?”

“Well, they have a bar, so there are olives and onions, things used in drinks.”

“That’ll do!” Emily said, and got out of bed. She followed Miri along the dark passages and into a large bar, then began to dig behind the bar and pulled out several jars.

“I figure you can’t survive on that, but it has to help the hunger,” Miri told her, and sat down at the bar.

“Oh my God these are awful,” Emily said as she ate a handful of olives. “They’re soaked in alcohol though.”

“Yes I saw that, so are the onions and cherries.”

“Find anything else?”

“Not really. I talked to Allen for a few hours, but that’s all I’ve done.”

Emily sat down at the bar beside Miri and dug into the cocktail onions.

“Those smell nasty,” Miri told her, wrinkling her nose.

“They taste nasty too,” Emily said, and ate another one.

“Allen said that the entire topside is surrounded by heku from all three factions.”

“We’re famous!” she said, and grinned.

“You’re famous. They keep talking about rescuing you and not mentioning me, it’s making Allen mad.”

“Sorry”

“Not your fault, he’s just touchy.”

“Well…”

Miri jumped from the stool and turned to the door, “Someone’s down here.”

Emily stood up quickly and whispered, “Can you tell who?”

“No, I don’t know the scent.”

“It’d have to be the Equites, right?”

“Unless there’s a second way down that we don’t know about.”

“Damnit, that’s true,” Emily whispered. “Can you tell where they are?”

“They’re heading this way, quickly.”

“How many?”

“Six,” Miri said before crouching defensively. Her arms arched out from her sides and her hands balled into fists.

“I’ll ash them,” Emily said, and turned to face the door. She took a deep breath and waited beside Miri.

The two women looked angry when they came face-to-face with six strange heku. Their clothing had no indication of faction.

“We’re here to help,” one of them said, and stepped forward some, putting his hands up.

“Stay back or I’ll ash you,” Emily growled. “Who are you?”

“Equites, we came down the elevator when the Valle got the code.”

“I don’t believe you. Where are your green capes?”

“We are from Powan. Capes can get in the way of our illusion.”

Emily’s eyes narrowed, “I don’t believe you… Miri?”

“I don’t recognize the scent, but I don’t know anyone from Powan,” she said, eyeing them suspiciously.

“Prove it,” Emily told him, and then took a step back when he suddenly became a wolf. A few seconds later, he returned to his heku form and smiled.

“That work?”

“I still don’t trust you, walk ahead of us,” Emily told him. She and Miri walked behind the six heku as they lead them back to the elevator, after stopping off to grab a box of things Emily wanted Chevalier to see.

The six stepped into the elevator and turned to let Emily and Miri in.

“I’m not getting in there so you can eat me,” Emily told them.

The heku they’d been talking to started to laugh, “Untrusting a bit aren’t you? Fine… the code is 4-2-2-4-1.”

She nodded and then shrugged at Miri when the elevator closed, they were once again alone.

Chevalier moved closer to the elevator when it signaled the car was coming up. All heku in the area turned to watch and were surprised when only the Powan’s stepped out.

“Where are they?” Chevalier asked, frowning.

The Powan Lieutenant smiled, “She said she wasn’t going to get into the elevator with us so we could eat her.”

He grinned slightly, “Oh.”

“I gave them the code, they should be up soon.”

“How is she?”

He sighed, “Her face is pretty bruised and she smells like alcohol.”

“Damnit,” Chevalier growled.

When the elevator opened next, Miri and Emily stepped out and Miri handed the box of files over to Dustin before running into Allen’s arms. Emily quickly found herself in a tight embrace and buried her face into Chevalier’s chest as his arms wrapped around her.

“Welcome back,” he whispered, and kissed the top of her head.

Emily finally pulled away from him and spotted William a few feet away. She walked over to him and pushed him hard against the shoulders, though he didn’t move.

“Why do you have to hit me!?” she screamed, and pushed him again. “Why? Huh? I don’t care if you fucking kidnap me but stop hitting me!”

“I…” he started, but his eyes grew wide when she pushed him again.

“No more, do you hear me! No more!” She accentuated each word with another shove as she screamed at him.

“Calm dow…” Frederick started, but she turned to him angrily. The Valle stood back, enjoying her anger at the Encala, and the Equites watched carefully, ready to intervene at any time.

“Shut up while I’m talking!” she screamed, and slammed her hands into his shoulders. “Why the hell do they hit me? I’m so tired of being hit!”

“We didn’t…”

“Em…” Chevalier said from behind her. They Equites were fine with her hitting William, but Frederick’s temper was explosive.

“Answer me!” she yelled, and pushed him again. “Why do you always hit me? Is it fun? Do you like to hear the bones crack? What’s up with that shit?”

“I don’t…”

“I’m tired of concussions and broken bones,” she screamed, and pushed him again. “I’m about ready to go coven to coven and get rid of the Encala!”

Frederick’s eyes blazed and everyone noticed he was losing control. William quickly put a hand on his shoulder as Chevalier wrapped an arm around Emily’s waist and picked her up.

“Calm down, Em, he didn’t do it,” Chevalier said, still somewhat amused.

“Get control,” William growled at Frederick.

Emily glared at Frederick and fought to get out of Chevalier’s grasp, “Answer me, pencil dick. Why do you have to hit me?”

Frederick pulled away from William, but found himself face-to-face with four of the Powans. Chevalier put a hand over Emily’s mouth and turned around, grinning.

“Em… that’s enough,” he said, trying to hide the laughter.

She stopped fighting when she saw that Quinn was holding a pizza box. Chevalier finally put her down and she went to him and grabbed a slice, immediately eating.

Chevalier looked over at the Encala and they were all trying to calm Frederick down.

The Encala’s Chief Enforcer went over and waited for the elevator, “I’ll go revive them and bring them before the Council.”

Emily turned and finished a bite before holding up the plastic sack, “You can’t revive any of them without this.”

The Chief Enforcer looked over at her, “You have them in there?”

“Just pieces of them,” she said, and lowered the bag. The entire area suddenly grew quiet as they watched her.

“May I have them?”

“No, you may not,” Emily told him, and she felt the Equites surround her. She looked over when the Valle moved closer.

“Return our coven, now,” Frederick growled at her.

“Or what?”

“Or I’ll take them back.”

“Everyone calm down,” William shouted.

“Em… what are you going to do with them?” Zohn asked her.

“I haven’t decided. Maybe show them a new home in the lake.”

Frederick growled deeply, “Give them back!”

“Why do you even want them? They’d petitioned to join the Valle.”

“How do you know that?” William asked, shocked.

“I found the rejection letter.”

“They did?” William asked Sotomar.

“Yes, they did.”

“Even more reason to try them before the Council,” Frederick said, his malicious eyes focused on Emily.

“No,” she told him. “I don’t want them revived.”

“Give them back!”

“No!” she screamed, and started for him, but Chevalier picked her up again.

“I’m not going to let you go fight him,” he said, the amusement no longer in his voice.

“I’m tired of this!” she screamed. “When I dump these ashes it will prove to every heku that I’m no longer an easy target. I’m not a political weapon, I’m not here to use as ransom, and I’m not going to be their punching bag!”

“You cannot dump them,” William said softly.

“Wanna watch me?” she asked, and started to untie the bag.

“Em, stop,” Quinn said, and turned to her.

Dustin reached out and took the bag from her before she even saw him coming.

“Give that back!”

“This is not yours. It belongs to the Encala,” he told her, and headed for William.

“Then apparently so do you.”

Dustin spun and started for her with a growl.

Zohn moved to him quickly and put a hand on his shoulder to stop him, “No.”

Chevalier blurred her to Winchester 1 and stepped in, followed by Mark, Kyle, and Quinn. He didn’t let her go until they were in the air.

“That’s my bag,” she said angrily.

“I don’t agree with how Dustin did it, but they really do belong to the Encala,” Chevalier told her.

Emily took another piece of pizza, “Where’s Miri?”

“Allen drove over. He’s going right back to the island.”

“I want that bag.”

“We can’t do that,” Quinn told her.

Kyle went to the small freezer and pulled out a few cubes of ice. He wrapped them in a towel and handed them to Emily, “Any injuries other than the obvious.”

She put the ice against her swollen eye and shrugged, “Sonofabitch slammed my head into the wall.”

“That must be where the blood scent is coming from,” Mark said, and started to look through her hair. “There it is, pretty good cut.”

Emily batted his hand away, “Leave me alone.”

Mark grinned and sat back on the soft couch.

“Do we get to know what’s in the box?” Quinn asked, looking over at the box that Dustin had put into the helicopter.

Emily shrugged, “I got it for Chev, but I guess you all can see.”

“Oh, well thank you,” Quinn chuckled.

Emily took another piece of pizza and sat by the box. She picked up one file, “This is just the application for that coven to move to the Valle, along with Sotomar’s rejection letter.”

Zohn took it and looked it over, “We should probably hand that back to the Encala.”

“Sure,” Emily said, and pulled out a file. “This guy here got caught having an affair with an Equites… Beth. Miri said she lives in Council City.”

Quinn frowned and took the file, “We didn’t know about that.”

“Mark…” Zohn started.

“As soon as we get back, Sir,” Mark answered, already knowing what was coming.

“This guy here,” Emily said, and took a quick bite. “He pretended to be William and tried to start a war with a Valle coven.”

“Let me see that one,” Chevalier said, and she handed it over.

“This guy was killed for trying to warn me about this last kidnapping. He apparently tried to call, but had an old number.”

“I want to see that,” Kyle said, and reached out for it. Emily handed it over and then turned to the fridge and grabbed some orange juice.

“What’s the sledgehammer for in Exavior’s old house?” Mark asked.

“I tried to get Miri to destroy the ceremonial room,” she explained, and then looked around when the heku all gasped and looked at her with wide eyes.

“You did?” Chevalier asked, surprised.

“Yes, but she wouldn’t do it.”

“I would hope not,” Quinn said.

“So how do you propose I get rid of them all?”

“There is an official way that takes months of preparation, full Council approval, and at least 20 heku.”

Emily rolled her eyes, “Or a big sledge hammer.”

“That’s never been done, it could be dangerous,” Kyle told her.

“I think I can use a sledge hammer without injuring myself.”

“That’d be new,” he said, and grinned.

Emily glared at him, “I’ll manage.”

“Enough files,” Chevalier said, and sat back. “What happened?”

“Nothing really. It was kind of boring.”

“How’d they get you?”

“They tasered us at the house.”

“Then what?”

“Then I woke up in a cell on the floor, Miri was restrained against the wall.”

“Did they say why?”

“No, but I know… I killed their mortal.”

Chevalier sighed, “The Ancient?”

“Yes”

“Nice, that wasn’t your fault.”

“I know that, but apparently they don’t believe it.”

“Will this mean you’ll be leaving us?” Quinn asked.

Emily frowned slightly, “Why?”

“It just seems after being kidnapped, you often leave for a while.”

She shrugged, “I’m getting used to it.”

Chevalier growled slightly and Emily smiled at him.

“Again, guards…” Zohn said, irritated.

“I know! I know, you don’t have to tell me.”

“Next time you want to attack an Encala, why don’t you not choose Frederick,” Kyle said, and smiled slightly.

“They’re lucky I didn’t ash all of them.”

“But not for the kidnapping…” Quinn said.

“No… I’m tired of getting knocked around.”

“I see.”

“Now my head hurts, my cheek hurts, I can’t see out of my left eye, it’s all annoying as hell… kidnapping I can handle, but it pisses me off to get hit.”

“Landing in 2 minutes, Elders,” the pilot called back.

Emily stood up and stretched, then looked out the window.

“Em?” Chevalier said.

Emily turned around and he had his cape held out to her. She looked down, slipped it on, and then wrapped it tightly around herself.

They all got out, Emily last, and headed inside. She looked over and saw Silas and Kralen watching her angrily.

She narrowed her eyes and walked over to them, “Don’t give me that! I didn’t slip my guards. I told the Council where I was going and with whom.”

“You should have taken us,” Kralen snapped at her.

“Yeah well I didn’t… and I don’t need your shit for it.”

Without a word, Silas blurred away from her and she turned back to Kralen.

“Give him time, he’s really mad this time,” Kralen told her.

“I didn’t slip my guards!”

“Not taking guards is as bad as slipping them,” he said, and lifted her chin to look up at him. He studied her face and then sighed, “Had quite the little beating didn’t you? Where’s the smell of blood coming from?”

Emily pushed his hand away, “I’m fine.”

She turned and walked into the palace.

Chapter 25 - Defense

Emily felt around in bed for Chevalier, and when she didn’t find him, stretched and sat up. She could hear the wind howling through the eaves and got up to look out the window. The blizzard was bad enough she couldn’t even see the barn. In the two months since her capture by the Encala, it’d snowed almost every day and on those days when it didn’t snow, the temperature dropped below zero. She was ready for some sun, but even the island was in the middle of a cold spell.

She heard a knock on the door and didn’t even turn, “Come in.”

“M’Lady, just breakfast,” a soft voice said.

“Thank you,” she told him, and shut the drapes. By the time she turned around, he was gone and the door was already shut.

She sat down by the fire and took a cup of coffee, “Who’re my guards?”

Kralen poked his head in, “Did you need us?”

“Yes, come sit,” she said, and pushed a chair away from the table with her foot.

Kralen came in, followed by three members of the Cavalry. He sat down, but the other three positioned themselves around her room.

“What’s up?” he asked, not sure he should be in her room while she was still in her nightgown.

“Where’s Chev?”

“He, Kyle, and Quinn left on a mission. Didn’t he tell you?”

“Damn, yes he did,” she sighed and took another sip. “Did they take Dustin?”

“No, he’s here,” Kralen said, fighting back the urge to growl. The Cavalry was still mad over what he did to Emily and how he tried to disband them.

“It’s going to be hard to stay out of his way with this weather.”

“It’s not letting up either.”

“We could take the horses out for some training in the snow.”

“Except there are only 8 of us left. The others went with the Elder.”

Emily reached over and grabbed a muffin and ate it while she watched the fire. After a few minutes, she looked over at Kralen, “We could go 4-wheeling.”

“In this? The Elder would kill us,” Kralen told her.

“I’m so bored!”

“I have a penis,” Dain said from behind her. She looked over at him, and he crawled into her arms.

“Yes, you do… might wanna stop announcing that though,” she told him.

Dain frowned, “But I do.”

“We’re all aware of that, Baby.”

“Where’s yours?” he asked, watching her.

Emily coughed when she choked on her muffin and sat him down as the heku guards laughed, “On that note, I’m going to take a shower. Will you watch him?”

Kralen grinned, “Yes.”

She turned to look at him, “Don’t teach him anything.”

“I won’t.”

Emily walked into the bathroom and shut the door just as Dain spoke again.

“Do you have a penis?” he asked, looking at Kralen.

“Well… yes.”

“Kralen!” Emily yelled. “Stop it!”

“What?” he asked through the door.

“Find something else to talk about,” she said, just as the water started.

Kralen put the toddler down and watched as he proceeded to strip and then crawled up onto the large bed and began to play with a toy truck.

“Should we dress him?” one of the guards asked.

“Won’t matter, he’ll just take them off.”

“Ok, Sir.”

The room fell quiet until Emily came back out. She was wearing her black sports bra and cut-off sweat pants that were rolled down low on her hips.

“Alex!” she called out.

Alexis came in a few minutes later, reading a book, “I got him…”

Emily smiled and started out the door, followed by the four guards. When she opened the front door, the hard sleet blew into the palace and she shut the door quickly.

“I told you it was snowing,” Kralen said.

“I know that, but I just need to make it to the out-building. I’ll just run,” she said, and then braced herself and opened the door again. She ran for the outbuilding, ignoring how the hard sleet felt like tiny needles against her skin. She shook the snow off of her and out of her hair inside and then headed for the equipment room.

“We’ll wait out here,” Kralen told her, and two guards moved off to the side door of the room while Kralen and another stood by the front.

Emily turned on her iPod and then set the treadmill for a steady pace. She debated turning on the TV, but decided to just listen to music and watch the heku in the training room. She didn’t know him, but he looked deeply engrossed in some type of rhythmic dance that she’d seen before on martial arts movies.

She began to watch him more closely as he practiced kicking, hitting, and blocking. There were several dummies placed around the room and he’d smoothly managed to damage all of them. She stopped the treadmill and watched him closer.

“Kralen?”

Kralen stepped in, “Yeah?”

“Who is that?” she asked, motioning to the heku in the training room.

Kralen looked over, “That’s Wen. He’s one of the new guards that came in from China.”

“Does he speak English?”

“Yes, but he’s quiet, keeps to himself. We’ve heard he’s pretty mean and was sent over specifically to toughen up the guards under him.”

“What’s his rank?”

“Lieutenant”

Emily leaned forward on the treadmill and watched him. His sleek movements and effortless fighting style was intriguing and relaxing to watch.

“You said he’s quiet?” she asked, not turning away from Wen.

“Yes, I don’t personally like him. He is gruff and doesn’t take any crap though, so I guess that’s good for the city guards.”

“What is he doing?”

“He’s really heavy into mixed martial arts. Not sure why when heku fighting involves biting and scratching… pretty much tearing each other apart. His moves wouldn’t do him a lot of good other than to block incoming attacks, seems useless,” Kralen told her, and leaned up against the wall.

“He’s huge.”

Kralen grinned, “Yeah, he’s a big ol’ boy… not interested in the Cavalry at all. The Council made him an offer, but he decided to stick with the city.”

“Why?” she asked, looking over at the Captain.

Kralen shrugged, “Not sure really.”

“How tall is he?”

“Seven seven, somewhere about there.”

Emily stepped down off the treadmill and Kralen followed her out of the room. He put a hand on her arm when she went to enter the training room.

“He doesn’t like to be disturbed,” Kralen told her.

Emily looked at the door and then back to Kralen, “I’m a member of the Council, he’ll survive.”

Kralen shook his head and stood outside of the door, listening in case Wen got angry.

Emily stepped in, and the massive heku turned toward her. His eyes were enraged. He was panting and his enormous arms were tense at his side.

“What?” he growled.

She froze. His voice was deep and furious and he looked at her like he could rip her head off without a second thought.

“Can I talk to you? Just for a second?” she asked.

“You’re a member of the Council. You can do what you want,” he said. His English was very good, but shrouded by a heavy accent.

Emily could instantly see why Kralen didn’t like this heku, he wasn’t only gruff, he was rude and abrasive.

She cleared her throat, “I keep getting beaten up.”

His eyes narrowed, “Ok.”

She sighed, “Can you help me with that?”

“Getting beaten up?”

“More like avoiding it.”

His eyes narrowed, “Why?”

“Why am I asking you, why should you do it, or why do I get beaten up?”

He smiled slightly and shook his head, “Why do you keep getting beaten up?”

Emily saw a small spark of compassion and caring in him in that one moment, that disappeared when she spoke, “Seems to be the favorite past-time of the Encala and the Ferus… somewhat the Valle, but not as bad as the others.”

“You could kill me right now without even a warning, couldn’t you?”

“Yes”

“Do you mind pain?”

“No, or hard work.”

“Why would I help you? Unless you are giving me a direct order.”

“I’m not going to order you to… but think about it, not often do you get to abuse the Elder’s wife.”

“I can’t teach you. I can’t even touch you.”

“I can fix that.”

He looked over her, “Your guards won’t like it.”

“They’ll live.”

“Neither will your husband.”

“He’ll understand. So will you help me?”

He grinned an evil, malicious grin, “Will you cry?”

Emily set her jaw, “No.”

“Come here,” he said, and got into a fighting stance.

She suddenly felt fearful, but bottled it up and stepped toward him.

“Let me see what you can do.”

She nodded and slipped her right foot back and hung her arms loosely at her side, “Bring it.”

“Come on, hit me.”

Emily lunged at him but found herself instantly pinned against the floor by his strong hands, one around her neck, the other on her stomach. The room filled with guards and Wen was thrown back against the wall and restrained.

“Stop it!” Emily screamed, and the guards looked at her. “Get out this instant.”

“But…” Kralen started.

“No, get out.”

Kralen nodded to the others and they left, obviously unsure if they should.

“Sorry about that,” Emily said.

“Why do you need me, when you have guards?”

“They aren’t always around.”

“Why not?”

“Listen… I don’t need another guard… I need someone to help me avoid getting backhanded by a heku, and someone who won’t be afraid to hurt me or to knock me on my ass to show me how to defend myself… can you do that or not?”

He nodded, “I can… but first you have to get Elder approval. I could be banished for what I just did.”

Emily nodded, “I’ll get it… can you meet me here tomorrow at 1pm?”

“Yes,” he said, and walked past her and out the door.

“Are you ok?” Kralen asked her, stepping into the training room.

“I’m fine,” she said, and grinned. “This is going to be great!”

“You’re asking for trouble, more than you even understand.”

“I can handle a lot… I need this.”

Kralen nodded, “If you think so… let’s go talk to the Council.”

They fought the storm and finally got back into the warm palace. Derrick immediately let Emily into the council chambers.

“Good morning,” Zohn said, looking up and smiling when she came in.

“Good morning.”

“You need to talk to us?”

“Sort of… do you know Wen?”

“Yes”

“He’s going to teach me some self-defense, but won’t until I get your approval.”

Zohn’s eyes narrowed, “We can have the Cavalry train you.”

“I want Wen.”

“He comes very highly recommended because of his cruelty and callousness. I’m not sure I feel comfortable if you are with him.”

“Zohn, please, I need this.”

“He said no,” Dustin told her, and leaned back in his chair.

“No, I didn’t deny the request. I just need to think on this,” Zohn told him, and then turned back to Emily. “I guess if your guards…”

“No guards, just me and Wen.”

He sighed, “That’s too dangerous.”

“He won’t do it unless ordered anyway, he doesn’t like… well… anyone, especially mortals,” Dustin added.

“He already said yes,” Emily told him, and then turned back to Zohn. “Please, I’m tired of being knocked around. He can help me.”

“For now, I will say yes… however, I will be watching and can revoke that permission if I see it getting out of hand,” Zohn explained.

“Thank you!” Emily said, and turned for the door.

***

Emily walked into the training room and saw Wen was already there. He turned and looked at her and the fury in his eyes made her stop at the door and wonder if this was a good idea.

“Come,” he growled, and she took a breath and stepped forward.

She stood before him and looked up into his rough, dark face.

“I’m not going to hold back just because you’re mortal.”

“I don’t want you to.”

“You are going to get hurt.”

“I can handle it,” she told him.

He sighed, “The last bruise you had… what was it from?”

“A backhand.”

“From a heku?”

“Yes”

“Did you see him coming?”

She looked down at the ground, “No, I knew it was coming… but I didn’t see when he actually came in.”

“How did you know it was coming?”

“I provoked him.”

Wen grinned, “You are trouble, aren’t you?”

“I had to provoke him to get the door open.”

Emily gasped when Wen disappeared, and she spun and saw him behind her.

“Did you see me move?”

“No”

“I can’t teach you to defend yourself if you can’t see the attacker.”

“Sometimes I do though.”

She ducked when he instantly appeared in front of her with the back of his hand against her face, “Too slow.”

Her eyes narrowed, “Show me how to defend myself and I’ll worry about seeing the attack coming.”

Wen took a step back and looked her over, “You have to learn to work with what you have. From what I can see, you’re weak, slow, short, and frail… not a lot of power to work with.”

“I’m not weak or frail.”

He grinned, “Prove it.”

“Bring it,” she growled, and crouched slightly. He blurred to her back, and as he began to wrap his arms around to restrain her, she slammed her elbows into the crook of his arm, spun, and when she brought her palm up to smash his nose, he quickly grabbed her wrist and twisted. Before she could react, he had her pinned, face down on the mat with her wrist at her back.

“Damnit!” she yelled and stood up.

“Too slow,” he told her.

“I’ve broken a fair share of noses with that.”

“Just because they probably weren’t ready for a fight… if someone’s attacking you, they will be waiting for it.”

“So fix it… what do I do?”

“You never let them get close enough to hit you.”

“How?”

“Turn them to ash, easy.”

“That’s not always an option.”

“Kick me.”

Emily frowned, “Kick you?”

Wen nodded, “Yes, kick me.”

“Where?”

“You won’t hit me, so kick anywhere.”

Emily chose his knee, and tried to kick him as fast as she could, but he easily sidestepped, “See, too slow… must be aggravating to be that weak.”

Her eyes narrowed and she flew at him. Every punch and every kick he easily dodged, and the more he evaded, the more furious she became. After a few minutes, Wen pinned her up against a wall with her arm trapped behind her back. She was panting and covered in sweat.

He held her with her chest pressed against the soft matt on the wall and whispered into her ear, “I can’t help you. You’re too feeble.”

Emily quickly tried to slam her head back into his nose, but he easily avoided it and flung her around, pinning her onto the floor with his hand around her neck.

He looked down at her, “You can’t fight a heku…”

She screamed at him and tried to hit him, but he grinned.

“Your best bet, Princess, is to stay with your guards,” Wen said, and stood up. Emily quickly got to her feet and glared at him.

“You just decided to get me in here and call me names?”

“Pretty much,” he said, and leaned against the wall, grinning.

“I’m not weak.”

“Yes, you are, even by mortal standards, and don’t let anyone try to tell you differently.”

“You don’t know me…”

“Oh, we all know you. The entire faction watches as you keep the palace walking on eggshells around your temper and your moods. You constantly throw yourself into danger, putting the Cavalry into danger to either protect you or try to get you back.”

She froze, his words were brutal.

“Yes, you do have the ability to turn a heku to ash, that can come in handy, but I also know how many times you’ve turned the Council to ash, or the Cavalry, even your poor husband… yet they all tolerate you and your outbursts, your stupidity, your selfishness, all because you would be too dangerous in the hands of others.”

Emily gasped. She couldn’t believe this heku was talking to her like this.

Wen shrugged, “I’m sure there are parts of you I don’t know about, like how you have them all wrapped around your little finger, but trust me, Princess, someday they will stop rescuing you.”

“I’ve heard enough,” Kralen said, coming in through the front door. “You are way out of line.”

Wen stood at attention, “Sorry, Captain. I thought she might finally want the truth.”

“None of that was the truth and I should take you to the Council for what you said!”

“No, let’s go,” Emily whispered, and walked out of the room.

Kralen glared at Wen, “Go to your quarters until I tell you to come out.”

“Yes, Captain,” Wen said, and blurred from the room.

Kralen quickly caught up with Emily and the three other guards as she quietly went into the palace and headed up the stairs. At her bedroom door, Kralen put his hand on her arm.

“He wasn’t telling the truth.”

“Actually, he was,” she said, and shut the door behind her.

Kralen sighed and turned to the others, “I’m tempted to return him to China.”

“There was no reason for that,” one of the other guards said, irritated.

Kralen instinctively turned toward the stairs when the Council called for Emily. He knocked lightly and came in when she called out.

“The Council needs you immediately,” he told her.

Emily nodded and stood up from the couch, still carrying Dain. He grinned at Kralen when they passed, and the guards fell in behind her as she headed for the council chambers. She could hear the angry voices that quieted immediately when she opened the door and stepped in. She saw Sotomar, and he was angry and glaring at Zohn. Four Imperial Guards stood with him. She walked around him and sat in Chevalier’s chair.

“What’s up?” she asked, adjusting Dain on her lap.

“We need a peace keeper,” Zohn told her, though his eyes never left Sotomar.

Emily nodded and turned back to Sotomar.

“Do you have a penis?” Dain asked him.

Sotomar’s eyes grew wide and Emily covered Dain’s mouth with her hand, “Sorry… so what’s going on?”

“This is no concern of yours and I feel like you being here will only endanger your life,” Sotomar growled, his eyes never leaving Zohn’s.

“How so?”

“You’d be stupid to attack,” Zohn said, ignoring Emily’s question. “You know you’re not nearly as strong as we are.”

“It doesn’t matter. We’re attacking in 2 hours.”

Emily’s eyes narrowed, “Attacking who?”

Zohn looked over at her, “Council City.”

“Why?”

Sotomar hissed, “Thukil Coven bought property to extend their land, but it’s too close to one of our large covens and this Council won’t intervene.”

“Why should they? Seems to me that Thukil can buy whatever land they want.”

“Not when it comes near us!” Sotomar yelled.

“If I ash him, will they still attack?” Emily asked, turning to Zohn.

“Yes, they will.”

“In 2 hours,” Sotomar said, and then he turned and left, followed by the Imperial Guards.

“We’re safe right, not outnumbered?” Emily asked.

Dustin looked concerned, “No, we aren’t even a full Council and there’s no Cavalry left except the 8 that stayed to watch you. Two Elders and our Chief Enforcer, Interrogator, Investigator, Reporter and Records Keeper are gone… there are over 4,000 Valle out there.”

Emily glanced down at the six remaining members of the Council, “What are we going to do?”

“There’s no we, you are leaving,” Zohn told her.

“Why?”

“You know why… we can’t have you here if this goes bad. We’ve called in Powan, Samuel, Carlsons, and Scotts Covens, but that’s not enough… Thukil is on the way, but will be about 2 hours late.”

“Then don’t send me away, damnit! Don’t do this again, let me help.”

“We can’t and you know it,” Dustin told her.

Emily turned to Zohn, “Let me even up the numbers, at least take out Sotomar and their Generals or something. I can’t sit around while you all fight again, I need this…”

“No,” Zohn told her and took her hand. “We can’t let you fight this, this is going to be nasty.”

“Then let me call in William. He can get the Encala here in two hours.”

“We can’t bring in the Encala, that would automatically align us.”

“I need to be useful,” she whispered, and looked down at her hands. “Wen was right, everything he said was right, and I need this. Let me help.”

“He was not right!” Kralen growled.

“Zohn, let me help, please don’t send me away.”

“Sir,” Derrick said, stepping in. “We need to get the Council out of here, the Valle are moving into position.”

Zohn nodded, “Everyone out.”

The Council stood up and looked over at Emily, “Don’t do this.”

“I’m staying,” Zohn told them. “There are still two Elders safe.”

“I want to stay, to fight with Powan,” Dustin told them.

“Zohn…”

Zohn looked over at Kralen, “The Cavalry…” he sighed. “The Cavalry will protect the palace. If we can’t stop them, then it will be the Cavalry’s responsibility to stop them from seizing the palace.”

“Yes, Elder,” Kralen said, and grinned.

“Zohn…” Emily said, looking at him.

Zohn looked over at Dustin and then nodded, “You too, Emily, keep them out of the palace.”

Emily gasped, surprised, “Thank you.”

“Council out, take Alexis and Dain with you… Dustin… let’s go to the front lines.”

Emily ran out of the room and helped Dain and Alexis quickly pack essentials and then she watched as they left with the Council in Equites 2.

“Get in uniform and meet us on the third-floor balcony,” Kralen told her, visibly angry that she wasn’t leaving.

“Kralen,” she whispered, and touched his arm. “It’s ok. I can stop them from taking the palace.”

“You are letting what Wen said drive you to danger.”

“No, I’m not, he was right. All I do is get into trouble and fight the Council… it’s time I did something useful.”

“It’s too dangerous. There are only 8 of the Cavalry here in the palace with you. If the Valle storm it, we can’t protect you.”

“Then let me protect you, for once.”

He grinned slightly, “That’s not how things work.”

“Why do you keep coming after me?”

“We’re your guards…”

“No… tell me why you, not the Cavalry, why do you come after me? Why would you die to protect me?” she asked him, honestly curious.

Kralen smiled, “Because…”

“Because it’s an order,” Emily guessed.

“No, because I care about you… you’re like the Cavalry’s little sister.”

“A pain-in-the-ass sister.”

“No, a sister that we treasure and value,” one of the other guards said.

Emily nodded slightly and disappeared into her bedroom before the guards could see tears. She still needed to deal with the facts Wen told her, but she realized right now she needed to focus. She quickly threw on her uniform and was slipping her .45 into the holster when she walked out. They all headed for the balcony as she tied her hair up.

They walked out onto the balcony and looked out over the city. From there, they could see the standoff.

Emily shrugged, “Everything Wen said was right though.”

“Wen is an idiot, nothing he said was correct,” one of the other guards told her.

Kralen turned to her, “What’s it going to take to get you into the bar?”

“Hide?”

“Yes… hide.”

“No, I’m going to help.”

Kralen nodded and looked at the standoff, “I figured.”

“Lock down the palace,” one of the members of the Cavalry said, and Emily heard the heavy iron bars slamming into place and the metal window covers sliding down to cover the glass.

“Calm down,” Kralen told her.

Emily hadn’t realized she was shaking. She was shocked to feel the fear building. They’d never let her into a heku battle, and she started to become afraid. Everyone on the balcony fell quiet when the Valle advanced on the Equites. City and Palace guards mixed with heku from the city and began a fight that instantly filled the streets with blood. Screams and guttural growling echoed up to the palace, and Emily’s heart skipped a beat.

“Kralen…”

“What?” he whispered.

“I can take them from here.”

“Just wait, we do what we’re told and hold the palace.”

“But I can stop this, right now before more die.”

He looked over at her, “Right now, this exact instant, you’re Cavalry… you’re not a council member, or even the Elder’s wife… you’re a guard and we follow instructions.”

She nodded. She knew he was right.

“Brooks Coven is here,” one of the guards said, and they all looked over as a large transport helicopter landed and green clad guards blurred through the city toward the fighting.

“Does Chev know?” Emily asked, watching the vicious battle.

“No, we haven’t had contact with any of those that are out on a mission,” Kralen told her.

For hours they watched. The Equites were holding off the hordes of Valle as they fought to get into the city to take the palace. Emily couldn’t tell from this distance who was winning, and she couldn’t tell the faction of the bodies piling up in the streets. The Cavalry waited patiently, but Emily was nervous and pacing across the balcony.

“Captain,” one of the guards hissed.

Kralen and Emily both followed his gaze out to the hills west of the city. A black mass of advancing heku could be seen slowly heading toward the city.

“Enemy or Ally?” Emily whispered.

“Encala,” Kralen hissed.

“Oh my God,” Emily gasped. “How many?”

“Close to a thousand,” Kralen said. He turned toward the battle and Emily could see his mouth moving quickly, but heard nothing. Finally, he turned, “Mount up. We’re going to head them off.”

Before Emily could react, Kralen had her in his arms and jumped the third-floor balcony railing and landed softly on the grass below. He put her down and she ran toward the stables as the heku blurred. By the time she got there, her horse was saddled and ready for her. She mounted quickly and turned to Kralen.

“We’re going out through the cemetery to avoid the main fight, let’s go,” he ordered, and then kicked his mare into a gallop.

Emily was able to keep up while on horseback and finally pulled ahead, her racing horse hitting maximum speed. She could see the dark figures ahead of them, but with the setting sun, she couldn’t make out anything more than a black mass. The Cavalry formed a line and saw the Encala stop. One heku walked toward them.

“It’s Frederick,” Kralen whispered.

Emily watched as the Encala Elder came forward and stopped in front of Kralen.

“You’ve stooped to helping the Valle?” Kralen growled.

Frederick grinned, “When it serves our purpose, yes.”

“I suggest you turn around and return to your city. We aren’t going to let you join this fight.”

“Who’s going to stop us?”

“I am,” Emily said from down at the end of the Cavalry line.

Frederick gasped and took a step back. He’d been too focused on Kralen and hadn’t noticed Emily, “Wh… you’re here?”

“What, are you afraid to fight a girl?” Emily asked, glaring at him.

“We were told you would be taken away,” Frederick said, taking another few steps back.

“Your informant was wrong, and I’m not going to let you into that fight.”

“There are a thousand of us… you’d risk harming yourself if you turn that many to ash.”

“I’d do it and you know it. I’m an Equites, and I’d die to protect them.”

Frederick grinned broadly and turned to Kralen, “You’re going to let the girl fight your battles?”

“No, we’re going to let her help us,” Kralen told him.

Emily grinned and watched them.

Frederick glanced nervously at her and back to Kralen, “It’s disgusting, letting a mortal fight.”

“I’d much rather fight beside her than the Valle.”

“What?” Frederick growled when Emily laughed.

“Oh, nothing,” she told him.

“I’m not afraid of you! Traditional heku law says you can’t touch me.”

She rolled her eyes, “Like I can’t touch your Generals?”

“Yes,” he said, pleased.

“Oops then.”

Frederick’s eyes grew wide and he turned back to his troops, and then back to the Cavalry, his eyes red with fury, “How dare you!”

Emily took a tissue and wiped the small trickle of blood from her nose, “When’s the last time you saw me adhere to heku codes?”

“Enough, Em,” Kralen said, fighting back a laugh.

“Sorry, Captain,” she said, and watched Kralen.

Frederick growled and blurred back to his troops.

“That was great,” one of the Cavalry said, laughing.

“I wondered how long it’d be before he noticed his Generals dropping one at a time behind him,” another chuckled.

“So now what?” Emily asked. “They’re just standing there.”

“Our orders were to hold the line and keep them from joining,” Kralen explained. “So for now, we wait.”

“I could just ash Frederick and send them into a panic.”

Kralen smiled, “As much as I’d like to see that… we wait.”

Emily nodded. She decided to follow orders. Hours passed as the horses nibbled at what was showing of the yellow grass above the snow. The heat from her horse kept her warm and Emily waited, trying to be as patient as the Cavalry, but her mind kept wandering, picturing different scenarios in her head, from the obliteration of the palace, to her ashing the entire Encala force.

“Damnit,” Kralen hissed, the first noise any had made in almost six hours.

“What?” Emily asked.

“It’s not going well. Thukil arrived along with four other covens, but the Valle are still holding strong.”

Emily turned toward the city, “I can even up those numbers.”

“We can’t, we have to stay here.”

“I can maybe do it from here.”

“Won’t you get the Equites too?”

She sighed, “Yes.”

“Then no.”

“I can go back, just for a few minutes, and even up the numbers.”

Kralen thought for a moment, “Let’s just see. If you leave here, there’s a chance the Encala will join in. We can’t stop this many.”

“Oh,” Emily said, and turned back to the Encala.

Two hours later, she could tell the mood of the Cavalry changed. They were now fidgety, and whispering among themselves.

“Tell me,” Emily whispered, and looked over at them.

“They broke through the front line and are in the city, heading for the palace,” Kralen told her, obviously upset.

“Let me go, please.”

“If the Encala join them, it will end for sure. We can’t have you leave this line.”

Kralen looked over, wide eyed when Emily spoke again.

“Let me talk to William,” she said into the phone.

“Emily! We can’t call an Enemy Council,” Kralen whispered, still shocked.

“What the hell are you doing!?” Emily yelled.

“Emily? Where are you?” William asked, loud enough the entire Cavalry could hear.

“I’m sitting out here freezing my ass off to keep your army from getting to my city.”

“You’re in Council City?”

“Yes”

“We were told you’d left.”

“I don’t give a rat’s ass what you were told. I want to know what gives you the right to attack my family.”

“This has nothing to do with you,” William told her.

“Yes it does. I’m an Equites and you’re attacking my home… What keeps me from ashing Freddy and the rest of your officers?”

There was a slight pause, “Tradition.”

“Screw tradition,” Emily said, and glared across the field.

Kralen sighed when four of the Encala Captains fell to ash, “Em…”

“Stop it!” William growled. “You have no idea what you’re dealing with.”

“I do too! I’m dealing with a piece of shit heku and trust me… I will personally get you back for this,” she said, and shut her phone.

Emily couldn’t see it, but the Cavalry could, across the dark field they saw Frederick shut his phone and look over at them furiously.

“Swedesford Coven just arrived,” Kralen said, loud enough that Emily could hear. “They’ve pushed the Valle back out of the city.”

“What are they doing?” Emily asked when the Encala army moved forward slightly.

“They’re getting ready to attack us,” Kralen said, and she saw the eight members of the Cavalry tense. “The Valle are falling back, which leaves the Encala to get to the palace. We’re all that’s in their way.”

“Well that’s stupid,” Emily said. “I can ash all of them.”

“They know we’ll tell you not to.”

“You’d rather die and have the palace taken, than for me to handle it and then sleep for a while?” Emily asked frowning.

“No, I’d rather die than to have you die,” he said, and looked over at her. She saw the worry in his face and looked over at the Encala, “We thought we’d lost you the last time. I won’t do it again.”

Emily gasped when the Encala moved forward, close enough she could see them clearly in the dawning light.

“Get ready,” Kralen said angrily. “They’re going to get past us, there’s no doubt about that, but take out what you can, lessen the numbers.”

“Kralen…” Emily whispered.

“Do what you can without ashing them, Em… shoot them if you have to, to buy us some time.”

She nodded and pulled the .45 from her hip.

“Here they come,” Kralen whispered, his voice turned evil and malicious.

Emily found it hard to breathe and could feel her hands shaking as the angry Encala army began to slowly come toward them. She was shocked when they stopped and turned suddenly to look behind them. In the low light, she was able to make out men on horses, a lot of them. They came from the trees behind the Encala and split to ride around them as they headed for the Equites.

Not sure what else to do, Emily raised her .45 and carefully aimed at the one in front.

“Em, no,” Kralen said, and reached out to push her gun down.

“Why no…” she started, and then froze. As the horses came into view, she saw the front heku was Chevalier, and soon was able to see Quinn, Kyle, and Mark behind him. The rest of the Cavalry rode up to their line and fell in behind them.

“What the hell is this?” Chevalier growled.

Emily shut her eyes and took a deep breath, finally feeling like the battle might be in their favor.

“Valle attack in the city,” Kralen explained quickly. “We saw the Encala coming in from the side and came to hold them off.”

Quinn and Chevalier turned and faced their horses toward the Encala. Everything on the hill grew quiet, and Emily figured they were also getting a full report from in the city. She watched when Chevalier rode forward as Frederick did the same. They met in the middle, and she could hear angry yelling, but couldn’t make out what was said.

“Why is she here?” Kyle yelled at Kralen.

“Elders order,” Kralen told him, and Kyle turned to her.

“He said I could stay with the Cavalry and fight.”

Kyle shook his head and turned back to Quinn. She saw their lips moving quickly and her eyes narrowed. Before she could defend herself, Chevalier turned and kicked his horse into a gallop back toward them.

“They’re coming,” Quinn whispered angrily.

Emily looked over at the Encala and as soon as Frederick returned to his army, they again began to advance on the Cavalry.

Chevalier stopped by Quinn, “If the Encala can’t get to the front lines, the Valle are going to lose this… they’re coming.”

Quinn nodded.

When they got close enough, a single gunshot rang out through the trees as Emily pegged Frederick right between the eyes. He fell backwards and the Encala began to run. The sudden crash when the Encala hit the Equites line echoed through the valley, followed by angry growls and the sound of tearing flesh and screams.

Emily checked to make sure the Equites were busy before she rode up to Frederick. He looked up at her angrily before falling to ash. She slipped off of her horse and quickly scooped the ashes into her pocket. As soon as she got back onto her stallion, she came face-to-face with an Encala.

“Seems orders are to bring you back alive, Sweetheart,” he said, grinning.

“Good luck with that,” she told him, and shot him between the eyes. A blur came from the side and his body disappeared from before her.

She turned and saw three heku attacking Chevalier. Taking aim, she took one out with a clean shot to the head, and then she turned and did the same to heku around Silas. After shooting a heku off of Mark, Emily was hit full-force from the side and slammed into the ground. She was pinned face down on the snow and felt her gun ripped from her hand.

“You’re being a pain, shooting us,” a heku said from above her. His body crushed hers as he whispered into her ear.

She felt his weight disappear as Kralen hit him and threw him onto the snow beside her. They began to blur into a fight, and she stood up quickly and ran to her horse, then pulled a rifle from the saddle bag and turned to shoot a heku that was clinging to Quinn’s back. Her next shot missed, and she grabbed the barrel and slammed the gun into the neck of a heku on Chevalier.

Emily was grabbed from behind, her arms pinned at her sides, and she screamed as she felt herself being blurred into the trees. The strong arms held her tightly and squeezed painfully.

“Screw it,” she gasped, and the heku turned to ash at her feet. She turned and ran back for the fighting. The trees grew quiet, and she pushed to run faster, not sure what she was going to find. When she cleared the trees, she stopped and looked at the Cavalry standing among the bodies of the Encala. They were standing around the remaining live Encala, their uniforms torn and covered in blood. Emily walked forward slowly and stood beside Chevalier.

The only Encala officer looked up at her angrily.

“Are you ok?” Mark asked from beside her.

“I’m fine,” she said, breathing heavily.

“The Valle retreated,” Kralen told her.

Emily nodded and then looked at the Cavalry, “Where’s Jaron?”

“Em…” Mark sighed.

She turned and looked over the scattered pieces of heku and saw his body lying off to the side with four more of the Cavalry. Emily slowly walked toward them. The world slowed down and she couldn’t hear anything but the pounding of her heart.

Emily knelt down by his body and took his hand, “Jaron?”

As she looked into his unseeing eyes, the screams started behind her. The remaining Encala fell backwards, thrashing in pain against the snow and screaming in agony. She shut her eyes, and a tear fell as she put her hand on Jaron’s chest and lowered her head.

Emily felt Chevalier’s hand against her back as he knelt beside her and whispered, “Em… let them go.”

She released the Encala from the burning and leaned forward. She kissed Jaron’s forehead softly and then let Chevalier help her to stand up.

“Zohn said it’s over. The Valle are gone,” Kralen said, coming up to them.

Emily wrapped her arms around herself and looked down at the dead Cavalry. As the others spoke about getting the Encala back into the city, she felt her anger growing. Turning quickly, she mounted and kicked her stallion into a gallop. As she flew past the Encala, they turned to ash.

Chevalier looked down at the ash and then up to Emily as she disappeared over the hill toward the city, “Damnit.”

“Gather them up,” Kyle said. “I’ll revive them in the prison.”

The Cavalry began to do as ordered and Kyle walked up to Chevalier with Quinn, “Where’s she going?”

“I’m not sure,” Chevalier said.

Zohn called out that Emily was riding through the city, turning any Valle she rode by to ash.

“Let’s go,” Chevalier ordered, and the entire Cavalry rode back into the city. The destruction was immense. Bodies lay along the walkways and some of the houses closest to the gates were on fire. Equites worked feverishly to put out the fires as others gathered the dead and moved them to the palace lawn.

As they neared the stables, they saw Emily’s stallion tied to the hitching post. The Cavalry took the horses from the Council, and put them away so they could head inside to the council chambers. Chevalier and Quinn sat down beside Zohn, who was watching as Kyle revived some of the higher ranking Valle and Encala. When he was done, he returned to his seat.

“What brought this on?” Chevalier asked them angrily.

“The lack of your Council to take action against Thukil!” the Valle Captain yelled.

“What did Thukil do?” Quinn asked Zohn.

“They made a land purchase that is attached to their coven, yet near a Valle stronghold.”

“I see,” Quinn sighed, and sat back.

“That gave you the right to attack us?” Chevalier asked.

“Yes!” the Captain yelled.

“Who led this?”

“Elder Sotomar led it honorably.”

“So how did the Encala get involved?” Kyle asked, confused.

The Encala Captain grinned, “It’s time to eradicate the Equites. We’ve joined to accomplish that.”

“Who led the Encala Forces?” Zohn asked.

“Frederick, Sir,” Kralen told him.

“So let me get this straight,” Kyle said. “The Valle attacked the gates, while off to the west the Encala decided to come in unnoticed and flank us.”

“Yes, and it almost worked had it not been for that Bitch and her Cavalry,” the Encala Captain yelled.

Chevalier turned to Zohn, “How did Emily get involved?”

“She made a valid argument for her case,” Zohn explained. “She was to stay in the palace with the 8 members of the Cavalry, and defend it if the Valle got through our front lines. They are the ones that saw the Encala coming and I diverted them there.”

“Where is Emily?”

Kralen stepped forward, “In her office, Sir.”

“Derrick, bring her here,” Quinn called out.

“These are the highest ranking then?” Chevalier asked.

Zohn nodded, “Yes, the highest ranking that are left.”

“So Sotomar…”

“Fled with the Valle.”

“And Frederick?”

Zohn frowned slightly, “I’m not sure exactly. None of the Encala fled. Was he killed?”

Kralen shook his head, “No, Elder.”

“Did you see him run?”

“No”

Emily came in through the back door of the council chambers and sat down in the empty chair next to Chevalier. It was obvious she had been crying and she glared down at the Valle and Encala officers. They all fell back and began to scream as the familiar burning smell filled the chambers.

“Em, that’s not why we brought you here,” Chevalier told her.

She kept an eye on the enemy as they writhed in pain.

Chevalier put a hand on her arm, “That’s enough.”

She sighed and looked at him as she released the officers from pain. They stayed on their hands and knees, gasping in breath as the pain slowly subsided. The Council watched her. She was concentrating and the look on her face was familiar to them. She was turning someone to ash, yet the heku in the trial area were no longer in pain. A small trickle of blood began to form under her nose but she watched the prisoners, unmoving.

“Em… what’re you doing?” Chevalier asked softly.

A slow hiss escaped her lips as she exhaled and concentrated on the enemy heku.

“Em,” he said again, and touched her arm.

Kyle cocked his head slightly to the side and then rushed to her and moved her face toward him, “Emily, stop it.”

She blinked a few times and then frowned, “What?”

“Stop”

She sighed, “Fine.”

Kyle moved back to his chair and sat down. He turned to face the Elders, “She just ashed the entire prison.”

“We’ll deal with that later,” Zohn said, and turned to the enemies. “What to do with you.”

“Put them in prison for now,” Chevalier ordered, and guards appeared to haul them away.

The Records Keeper came in and sat down, “I have the numbers.”

“Go,” Zohn said.

He thumbed through papers, “First, attack numbers, there were 4,011 Valle against 3,323 Equites, including all help that came in through the entire fight, then 999 Encala.”

“Deaths then?”

“Well… do we count those turned to ash?” he asked.

Zohn glanced at Emily and then back to him, “Do those separately.”

“So 398 Valle are dead, 26 Encala and 128 Equites.”

Zohn sighed, “Damnit… ash then?”

“One Encala was turned to ash out in the trees, 5 at the sight of the Encala battle, 8 officers before the fight started, and then 124 injured Valle in the city are now ash.”

“Any sign of Frederick yet?”

“No, Elder.”

Zohn nodded, “He probably ran off after the Valle, and no one saw him.”

Emily shifted slightly in her chair.

“Banish those turned to ash, give them 200 years,” Quinn said, and then turned on the speakerphone when it rang. “Yes?”

“Return our Elder!” William growled.

Zohn frowned, “We don’t have Frederick.”

“Yes you do and we demand you return him immediately!”

“Hey, William,” Emily whispered, but knew he could hear her. The other end of the phone fell quiet, “You’ll burn for this.”

“Emily…” he started to say, but Quinn turned off the phone.

“Emily, you can’t seek revenge for the lost Equites,” Zohn told her softly.

She got up and stumbled out of the council chambers. She was feeling dizzy, and her headache was coming on from the ashing. The Council let her go, and four members of the Cavalry fell in behind her as she made her way up to the bedroom.

“Mark, send out the Cavalry, go through each body and see if you can locate Frederick,” Chevalier said.

“Yes, Elder,” Mark replied, and then left the council chambers.

Zohn shut his eyes for a moment and then opened them, “She’s going after them, isn’t she?”

Chevalier nodded, “Yes, I think so.”

“Kralen mentioned they were surprised to see her on the front lines. They were told she was shipped out,” Quinn said, deep in thought.

“They assumed wrongly that we sent her away, so she wouldn’t get involved… they were very wrong and now we have to try to keep Emily from killing herself to avenge our dead,” Zohn said.

“I’ll talk to her, but it won’t do any good if her mind is made up,” Chevalier said. “I wish you would have sent her away.”

“It wasn’t that easy,” Zohn explained. “Not after what Wen told her.”

Chevalier frowned, “When has Wen talked to Emily?”

“Kralen?” Zohn called out. A few minutes later the Captain appeared.

“Yes, Elder?”

“Relay, word-for-word, what Wen said to Lady Emily, starting with the first meeting,” Zohn said.

Kralen nodded and told Chevalier everything, from the moment Emily called him into the room with the treadmill until they left the training room for the last time.

“I want him in my office after this meeting,” Chevalier growled.

Kralen faced him, “He’s one of our dead, Sir.”

“Good, he overstepped.”

“So you see, it was hard after that to tell her to leave,” Zohn explained. “We tried, but she was set on staying.”

“Banish the ash, I’ll go talk to Emily,” Chevalier said, and blurred from the room. The guards told him Emily was already asleep, so he walked in quietly and shut the door behind him. A new snowstorm was raging outside, but her room was hot and both fires were roaring. She was asleep on top of the covers in only a t-shirt, and didn’t stir when he lay down beside her and wrapped his arms around her. Her dream immediately filled his head, so he shut his eyes and watched.

Other books in The Heku Series

Book 1 : Heku

Book 2 : Valle

Book 3 : Encala

Book 4 : Equites

Book 5 : Proditor

Book 7 : Eternity of Vengeance

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 - Starting Over

Chapter 2 - Obedience

Chapter 3 - W eakened

Chapter 4 - Compassion

Chapter 5 - Custody Dispute

Chapter 6 - Too Young

Chapter 7 - In Sickness

Chapter 8 - V.E.S .

Chapter 9 - Dain

Chapter 10 - Misconduct

Chapter 11 - Growing Up

Chapter 12 - Enemies

Chapter 13 - Laythan

Chapter 14 - Maid

Chapter 15 - Heku

Chapter 16 - Georgia

Chapter 17 - Guards

Chapter 18 - Yisolatara

Chapter 19 - Revenge

Chapter 20 - Behaving

Chapter 21 - Employment

Chapter 22 - Supervisor

Chapter 23 - Palau

Chapter 24 - Retribution

Chapter 25 - Defense

Book 1 : Heku

Chapter 1 - Starting Over

Chapter 2 - Obedience

Chapter 3 - Weakened

Chapter 4 - Compassion

Chapter 5 - Custody Dispute

Chapter 6 - Too Young

Chapter 7 - In Sickness

Chapter 8 - V.E.S.

Chapter 9 - Dain

Chapter 10 - Misconduct

Chapte r 11 - Growing Up

Chapter 12 - Enemies

Chapter 13 - Laythan

Chapter 14 - Maid

Chapter 15 - Heku

Chapter 16 - Georgia

Chapter 17 - Guards

Chapter 18 - Yisolatara

Chapter 19 - Revenge

Chapter 20 - Behaving

Chapter 21 - Employment

Chapter 23 - Palau

Chapter 24 - Retribution

Chapter 25 - Defense

Chapter 8 - V.E.S