Equites

Book 4 of the Heku Series

Published by T.M. Nielsen at Smashwords

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http://www.hekuseries.com/

Copyright © 2010 by T.M. Nielsen

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Table of Contents

Chapter 1 - Attack

Chapter 2 – Recovery

Chapter 3 - Rescued

Chapter 4 - Horses

Chapter 5 – The Challenge

Chapter 6 – Day Off

Chapter 7 - Child

Chapter 8 – Bar-S Ranch

Chapter 9 – Winchester Heir

Chapter 10 - Paris

Chapter 11 - Ghosts

Chapter 12 - Forgive

Chapter 13 - Ranch

Chapter 14 - Bar

Chapter 15 - Switched

Chapter 16 - Compliance

Chapter 17 - Kyle

Chapter 18 - Scents

Chapter 19 – Alert Take 2

Chapter 20 - Book

Chapter 21 - Thukil

Chapter 22 - Charges

Chapter 23 - Apart

Chapter 24 - Alaska

Chapter 25 – New Elder

Chapter 26 - Kidnapping

Chapter 27 - Trio

Chapter 28 - Balance

Chapter 29 - Welcomed

Chapter 1 - Attack

Emily woke with a jump and heard an alarm sound from the city. She looked around the room, but she was alone. Sam came out of the nursery with Allen asleep in his arms.

“What’s going on?” she asked him.

“I don’t know,” Sam said, laying Allen down beside her. She cradled him in her arms and tried to clear the last of the sleep from her mind. Sam shut his eyes and listened closely.

“The Valle are attacking,” Sam said.

Emily frowned, “The Valle? Here in the city?”

Sam nodded, “Yes, the troops are at a standoff outside of the city, and their Council is meeting with ours right now.”

“I should go,” Emily said. She crawled out of bed and tried to find something to wear. It had been a few weeks since she could fasten her jeans, and she hated the clothes that made her look pregnant. Deciding she didn’t have a choice, she threw on a pair of pants and a black babydoll shirt.

Emily could hear the booming voices from outside of the council chambers. She turned on the fans that were installed to keep her scent from anyone down in the trial area, and then took a deep breath and stepped inside. She used the back door so her entrance was behind the Equites Council. As she appeared at Chevalier’s side, the entire room grew quiet and she put her hand on his shoulder.

“Is this a threat?” Sotomar asked.

Emily avoided looking at Exavior, but watched the enemy Elders closely. She could still hear the alarms in the distance.

“She is not here to threaten you. Though, I find it hard to believe that you are here peacefully with an entire army,” Maleth said angrily.

“What exactly are your demands?” Quinn asked them.

“We demand the return of the last remaining Encala council member, and the return of his mate,” Sotomar said, and glared at Emily.

Emily frowned.

“What concern is it of yours that we hold Vaughn?” Quinn questioned. Emily was surprised at the severity of his voice and how badly his tone scared her. Even the Valle Elder took a step back when Quinn spoke.

“We have formed an alliance with the Encala and are helping them rebuild, as such, we demand the return of what was taken,” Sotomar said to Maleth, now avoiding Quinn.

“We can peacefully discuss the return of Vaughn, but we don’t recognize the bonding enforced by an ancient,” Maleth said calmly.

“We don’t have to peacefully discuss anything! With the Encala and Valle forces joined, we outnumber you, and will get what we want one way or the other,” another of the Valle Elders yelled.

“Don’t talk about me like I’m not standing right here,” Emily said finally, and all eyes turned to her.

The Valle Elder took a step towards her, “Are you with child?”

Emily wasn’t sure what to say. She knew at this point she could pass as either pregnant, or having put on some weight.

She watched him for a moment before Chevalier finally answered, “She is.”

“Does the child belong to Vaughn?” the Elder asked her.

“No,” she snapped.

“Then she should be punished for infidelity, as Vaughn is her rightful mate,” he said.

“I dare you to try it,” she said, taking a step forward, but Chevalier’s arm blocked her from going further.

“Again, we do not abide by any ritual performed by an ancient,” Maleth said.

“Does she bare the mark of the Encala?” Sotomar asked, grinning.

“For now,” Maleth told him, avoiding looking at Exavior. It was obvious to the entire Council that he had not shared his knowledge or his time with Emily, “As soon as she has the baby, it will be removed.”

“You have heard our demands. If they are not met in full, then we attack at dawn,” Sotomar said, and the Valle Council swept out of the council chambers.

“You always pick the worst times to make an entrance,” Damon said to Emily.

“Kiss my ass,” she yelled.

“Stop it!” Maleth said. “This is not the time for you two to bicker.”

“Yes, Sir,” Damon said, and looked straight forward.

“We have three hours to make a plan,” Quinn said.

“I’ve summoned all covens within a three-hour travel time, but we will still be outnumbered,” Chevalier said.

“Not with me here. I can take out a few thousand,” Emily reminded them.

“We can’t risk it. The last time, we weren’t sure you would survive,” Maleth reminded her.

Emily frowned.

“What do we lose by giving them Vaughn?” Quinn asked.

“We lose the ability to shut him up when he calls Emily,” Chevalier said, irritated.

“Which causes pain, right?”

“Yes”

“Pain that I can handle, hand him over,” Emily said.

“Handing him over won’t work. They want you both,” Quinn said to her.

“Then hand us both over, I don’t care,” Emily said. “I can handle myself over there.”

“Stop,” Chevalier whispered to her.

“No, I’m not going to stand by while the Equites Army is obliterated all because of me,” she said, frustrated.

Quinn raised an eyebrow.

“We can’t risk losing you. As long as we have you here, we will always have the upper hand.” Maleth tried to make her understand.

“Not if you won’t let me do it,” she said, frowning.

“How many can you harm without injury to yourself?” Quinn asked.

“I don’t know,” she admitted.

“Ship her out. We’ll have her taken to a remote coven, maybe in Europe, until this is settled,” Maleth suggested.

“No! I won’t go,” Emily told him.

“You wouldn’t have a choice, Em,” Chevalier told her, and touched her hand.

“Let me stay and fight with you. Why have this ability if you won’t let me use it? At least let me take out their Council and a few hundred of their army,” she said desperately.

“It’s too risky,” Maleth said to her.

“Not if I’m careful. When I start to get dizzy, or a headache, I’ll stop, but by then we may have the advantage of numbers.”

“She has a point,” Damon said bluntly.

“Shut up, Damon,” Chevalier and Maleth said at once.

Emily crossed her arms, “I don’t need your permission.”

Quinn looked up at her, surprised, “You would attack without our consent?”

“Did I have permission to take out the Encala?” she asked.

“I see,” he said, and folded his hands on the desk in front of him.

“This is more serious than that. This is a full-scale war that’s been building for centuries,” Maleth told her. “Right now, we need to consider what happens if the city is wiped out, and if that happens, you can’t be here.”

“Why aren’t you listening to me? If you let me fight, the city won’t get wiped out.” She stomped her foot and they all looked at her, surprised.

“The faction army is trained for fighting. They are skilled and willing to die to defend the city. You are not a part of that,” Quinn told her.

“Are you saying I’m not a part of this faction?” Emily scowled at him.

“That’s not what I said, merely that you are not a part of this fight.”

“Name one other member of this faction that you would turn away if they wanted to fight.”

“Emily, no,” Chevalier said sternly.

Emily nodded, “Fine, but good luck shipping me out.”

“Em,” Chevalier said, and she stormed out of the council chambers.

“Let her fight. What the hell good is she if she can’t fight?” Damon asked angrily.

“Are you saying that we just keep her around to clean up our messes?” Chevalier hissed.

“No, I’m just saying… what good is having a weapon if we can’t use it?”

“What good is having a weapon if we destroy it?” Maleth interjected.

The sounds of helicopters above the palace sounded and shook the doors and windows.

“Samuel’s Coven has arrived,” Maleth said, sighing.

“Let’s take Vaughn to them and see if they will avoid a war with just him. If they insist on going to war over Emily, we won’t have a choice. A Winchester in the hands of the Valle or the Encala would be disastrous,” Maleth suggested.

“Kyle?” Chevalier whispered, and he blurred into the room.

“Yes?”

“Have one of your units escort Vaughn to the Valle Elders, then I want Mark and Frank to take Emily in the helicopter. We’ll send Allen with the Council,” Chevalier ordered.

“Separate Emily and Allen?” Kyle asked.

Chevalier shut his eyes and nodded, “Yes, we need to separate the Winchester bloodline. Allen may not have Emily’s powers, but he’s young. We won’t know for sure the affects the ancient blood has on him until he’s older.

“Yes, Sir. Where shall they take her?” Kyle asked.

Chevalier sighed, “This Council does not want to know.”

Kyle nodded, clearly upset, and blurred from the room.

“Now what?” Quinn asked.

“Now we wait,” Chevalier said, sitting back in his chair.

An hour passed with no word as the Council went over strategies and tactics for surviving this skirmish. Finally, Kyle came back into the room.

“They accepted Vaughn, but are still threatening to attack in two hours if we don’t hand Emily over to them,” Kyle reported.

“Tell them she is no longer here,” Quinn said.

“I would… but we can’t find her. I have three units searching for her. If I pull any more, it will leave our defenses short.”

“How can a mortal elude a natural predator?” Damon growled.

“You try to find her,” Kyle said. “We’ve had this problem before, and it’s not as easy as it sounds.”

“I will find her,” Damon said, and blurred from the room.

“We’ve had four more covens arrive, ready to fight. We’re still not even close to being even for protecting the city,” Kyle said angrily. “I suggest we evacuate the Council.”

Maleth nodded, “We will in two hours if there is no other solution.”

“And if we find Emily, otherwise I’m not leaving,” Chevalier said.

Quinn smiled, “Damon will find her.”

***

“I smell you, mortal. You can’t hide from and ‘old one’,” Damon said from inside the kitchen.

Emily stood up beside the oven she had been hiding behind, “You know I’m right.”

“It’s not my place to question what the Elders have ordered. Which means you’re to be put on a helicopter out,” he said, taking her arm.

“Let me fight, Damon.”

“I can’t, that would be against a direct order.”

“Listen to me. Everyone in this city is going to die unless you let me go. You know I can do it,” she said, pleading.

“I wish I could. I’d love to see you take on the Valle, but I have my orders,” Damon said.

“I won’t tell if you let me go. Just tell them you couldn’t find me.”

“Lie to the Council?”

“Yes”

“No,” Damon said, and began to drag her from the kitchen.

Emily reached out and grabbed something from the counter and touched it to Damon’s neck. He fell with a loud thud and she took off running. She ran out of the palace toward the stables. Damon caught up with her just outside the door, and took the cattle prod from her as he picked her up.

“Let me go, Damon,” she screamed, and kicked as he cradled her in his arms and held her tightly. He walked her into the council chambers and dropped her onto her butt on the floor.

“Damon!” Chevalier growled.

“She hit me with this!” he said, holding the cattle prod out to the Elders. Emily scrambled to her feet, grabbed it, and touched his arm just as he reached to grab it back from her. Damon again fell to the ground.

“Emily, stop,” Maleth said, frustrated.

Damon got to his feet, grabbed the cattle prod, and raised his hand to hit her.

“Damon!” Chevalier hissed. He lowered his hand slowly, but watched her angrily.

“Touch me with that again, and even an Elder won’t be able to stop me,” he told her, seething.

“You don’t scare me,” she growled at him.

“Want me to change that?” he glared.

“Stop it, now,” Quinn ordered, and both Emily and Damon looked up at him suddenly.

Damon took his seat back with the Council.

“I’m not going with Mark and Frank,” Emily said, crossing her arms.

“Yes, you are,” Chevalier told her.

Mark and Frank walked in behind her. She glanced at them and then back to the Council.

“Don’t make me ash them,” she glared. Emily turned and screamed when she felt a pinch in her arm. She barely had time to see Kyle standing behind her with a needle before the darkness overwhelmed her.

Kyle caught her as she fell, and then handed her to Mark. Mark nodded and left with Emily cradled gently in his arms, her body hanging limply. Frank blurred out with them, and the door shut behind them.

“One more hour to go. They still won’t agree to a cease-fire without Emily,” Kyle said, turning to them.

Damon was chuckling.

“Will that hurt the baby?” Maleth frowned.

Kyle shook his head, “No, I got it from the doctor.”

“Yeah but will that hurt you?” Chevalier sighed.

Kyle grinned slightly, “I’m thinking probably so.”

“That’s it then… a war in Council City,” Quinn said, his hands balling into fists.

“Over a mortal,” Damon scowled.

“You have to think of what would happen if they got their hands on Emily, Damon,” Maleth said. “It would put a deadly weapon in the hands of the enemy.”

Chevalier growled. He hated when they spoke about his wife like she was a pawn. He shut his eyes and sighed when the noise of the helicopter leaving sounded from overhead.

“We need to evacuate the Council,” Kyle said urgently.

“I don’t want to abandon the army when they need help,” Chevalier said.

Quinn nodded, “Neither do I. I say we stay.”

“Send Maleth away with the rest of the Council then. Quinn and I will stay and fight,” Chevalier told them.

“I don’t want to leave either,” Damon said, irritated.

“Fine then, you can stay. The rest of you need to go,” Chevalier told them.

Maleth stood, he had no choice but to leave. If the unspeakable happened, he would be all that was left of the Equites Elders, and the nine council members would serve to bring up the rest of the leadership. As the council members stood to leave, they looked at the council members that decided to stay, and bowed.

“Take care of Emily and Allen for me,” Chevalier said to Maleth, his eyes full of pain. “She won’t understand this.”

“I will,” Maleth said softly, and headed up to the last helicopter, followed by the nine council members and Sam, who was carrying Allen.

Damon turned to Quinn and Chevalier, “Let’s go kill us some Valle.”

Chevalier blurred out of the council chambers and felt the exhilaration of battle. He could feel the tension building as he neared the front lines. Now he was able to turn his emotions over to the primal instincts that were so carefully tucked away. He stopped, and then advanced slowly to the front line. A malicious shroud had fallen over his features, and his predatory eyes scanned the enemy faction.

Sotomar stepped forward, “Have you come to stop this?”

“We sent Emily away. She’s not here to give,” Quinn said with such command that some of the Valle stepped further back.

“Yes I know. Frank is one of ours,” Sotomar said, smiling.

Chevalier’s face fell. He sent Emily away with a Valle. Damon growled and blurred forward, knocking Sotomar flat onto his back. The Valle moved in and met the Equites forces, the battle had begun.

Chevalier saw Damon and Sotomar clawing at each other, and he turned to the side. There was an Encala to his left, poised over an injured Equites. He jumped at him and quickly ripped his head off, growling loudly as the blood from the Encala saturated his clothing. Dodging an errant sword strike, he lunged at a Valle guard and tore a limb off, the first thing he could grab.

A loud trumpet sounded from the distance and Chevalier stood, panting, as he watched the Encala and Valle Armies fall back. The wounded were left beside the feet of the Equites.

“Why are they leaving?” Damon asked.

“I don’t know,” Chevalier answered.

Quinn appeared by their side, “They called a retreat. Does that mean they have her?”

Chevalier looked around for any sign of Exavior.

“Do we follow them?” Damon asked.

“We don’t have the forces to defeat them,” Chevalier said, turning back to the other council members.

“Then we let them go,” Damon scowled.

“Keep the line strong until we can determine why they retreated,” Chevalier ordered, and headed back for the palace.

Chevalier, Damon, and Quinn all appeared in the control room at the same time.

“Base to Equites 2,” Chevalier called over the radio.

“Base to Equites 2,” he repeated.

He growled, “Base to Equites 1.”

“Equites 1 here.”

“Can you contact Equites 2?” Chevalier asked.

“Equites 1 to Equites 2,” the pilot asked.

“Equites 2, do you read me?”

“Base, no answer from Equites 2,” the pilot replied.

“Return to base, Equites 1,” Damon said when Chevalier didn’t answer.

“They have her,” Chevalier whispered, looking out over the palace roof.

***

Emily opened her eyes slowly, blinking a few times at the bright light shining in her eyes. She tried to move, but felt a crushing force on her chest, holding her down. She tried to remember where she was. She could smell the strong scent of fuel, but there was no noise.

As the fog over her mind began to clear, she could feel pain start in her leg and arm, her back was aching, and her head throbbed. She shivered in the cold as the wind bit at her, painfully. She remembered being in the council chambers, and the look of guilt on Kyle’s face after he gave her an injection.

The more clear things became, the more she began to panic. Her eyes adjusted to the blinding light, and she looked around at the twisted metal and shattered wood. There was a piece of metal holding her to the ground, and she saw that her left arm was covered in blood. She pushed against the metal on top of her with her right hand, but it only moved an inch or so.

Emily jerked her head up when she heard a radio, “Base to Equites 2, answer me, damnit.”

It was Chevalier’s voice.

“Hello?” Emily yelled as loudly as she could. The metal was lying against her chest, and she found it hard to take a deep enough breath to scream.

Emily reached to her right and pushed a broken seat out of her way. Just beyond it was a mass of flesh and blood. She could feel her clothing become wet as the snow under her melted, but the cold wind swept harshly over her.

“Anybody?” she yelled again.

“Equites 2, are you out there?” she heard Chevalier call out angrily.

“Mark?” she yelled, looking around as best she could. With piles of warped metal in her way, she wasn’t able to see much around her.

“Frank?” she called out, but there was no answer and the injured heku off to her right didn’t seem to be healing. She wondered if the damage was too great for him to repair.

***

“No word yet?” Damon asked from the tower.

“Nothing,” Chevalier said, holding the microphone in his hand.

“Maleth called a conference, let’s go,” Damon said, taking the microphone from Chevalier and hanging it up.

Chevalier nodded and followed Damon into the Council’s conference room. He sat down quietly while the others watched him.

“Quinn filled us in about Frank,” Maleth said.

Chevalier’s hands balled into fists.

“Mark was there though. He’s one of our elite,” Quinn said to Chevalier.

Damon growled when he heard the request for an audience made by the Valle, “What do they want?”

“Let’s go find out,” Maleth said, standing. The Council walked into the council chambers, and sat in their seats. As requested, Kyle was also in the council chambers, but down in the trial area.

Sotomar, Exavior, and four Valle guards entered.

“What now?” Quinn asked bluntly.

Exavior stepped forward, “We are still demanding the mortal be turned over to us.”

“Why did you retreat?” Chevalier asked him.

“There was some confusion as to the location of Emily. We fell back to ascertain where she currently is,” he told them.

“Why would we tell you where she is?” Maleth asked them, frowning.

“To avoid a war,” Sotomar said, stepping forward.

“You aren’t getting it are you?” Chevalier asked angrily. “I’ll say it slower. We... are... not... turning... Emily over to you. You can burn this city to the ground, and you aren’t going to have her.”

“That was my other concern. Once you are all dead, where to find the mortal.”

“Thought Frank was going to tell you,” Quinn said.

“Yes, well, we’ve currently lost contact with him, and we suspect your guard discovered his identity,” Sotomar said.

“We aren’t going to tell you her location. You might as well attack,” Quinn replied.

***

Emily wedged her right arm under the metal against her chest and pushed hard. It rocked slightly to the side. As it rocked back, she pushed again, and kept rocking it until she got enough momentum to push it over and off of her. She sat up quickly and screamed. The pain in her leg and back was intense, and every movement made her arm hurt and her head swim.

She calmed her breathing and looked around. Her right leg was pinned under part of the helicopter’s propeller, and she could see the red stain of the snow beneath it. She touched a sting on her forehead and looked at the blood on her fingers, then shivered as the cold wind lashed at her wet clothing.

“Help me,” she heard someone gurgle off to her side. She looked over and saw Frank. He was lying in a heap on the snow. His arms and legs were badly mangled, and his head was almost entirely separated from his body.

“Frank… can you heal?” she asked him.

“Help me,” he said again, his eyes looked at her pleading.

“Frank, listen to me. Can you heal?” she asked again sternly.

His eyes glazed over and he stopped talking. Emily sighed and watched the vapor from her breath dissipate into the frigid air.

She pulled at the jeans on her injured leg, and cried out when she felt the pain.

“Emily?” she heard from behind her. She tried to turn and look, but her back spasmed and she screamed in pain.

“Stay there, I’m almost to you.” This time she recognized Mark’s voice.

“Get Frank, he’s hurt,” she said, looking over at him.

“No, Frank is Valle,” Mark said, and she could hear the strain in his voice.

“Where’s the pilot?” she asked.

“Dead,” Mark told her, and Emily heard him groan in pain.

“How bad are you?” she asked, shivering.

“Pretty torn up,” he said, breathing hard. “We need to get you out of this cold, and then I can heal.”

“I’m trapped under the propeller,” she said, trying hard not to move her broken arm.

“I’ll get it. I’m almost there,” Mark said, gritting his teeth.

***

“Fall back to the palace,” Kyle yelled into the air as the sounds of battle continued all around him. The Equites were losing forces quickly, and he had no report on how the enemy army was doing.

Kyle ran with his troops as they fell back to protect the palace. Bloody, headless corpses were strewn around the streets of Council City, and the smell of death was strong. Three large helicopters landed on the palace lawn, and new Equites troops jumped out and immediately moved into battle formations.

Chevalier met with the arriving General and filled him in on what they knew. An ambush by the Equites Cavalry had evened the numbers, though the enemy was still stronger. The arrival of new troops put hope into the Equites, and they readied themselves for one last stand. If they could hold the palace, then the Equites would call it a victory.

Quinn limped up to Chevalier, “Battalion three is gone.”

Chevalier nodded, “So is battalion six.”

“Get the Cavalry back on their horses. We need them to run around to the back and flank them,” Damon said, stumbling up to the Elders as he gripped his bloody side.

Chevalier turned and crouched defensively when the enemy army appeared before them on the lawn of the palace.

“Last chance to turn over the Winchester,” Sotomar yelled, his gray robes were bloody and torn.

“Come get her,” Damon scowled.

As the Encala and Valle Army moved toward the palace, the new Equites that just arrived took the front, fresh and ready for battle. Chevalier pulled the sword from Damon’s hand, and advanced on Sotomar with hunger in his eyes.

“You’ll never get her,” Chevalier said as Sotomar watched him and crouched defensively.

“You can’t fight us off. We have too many,” Sotomar said, grinning as blood dripped from his chin.

Sotomar looked up as four more helicopters landed and green caped heku jumped out. Chevalier looked up, proudly. They had bought enough time for more reinforcements to arrive.

“You still thinking that?” Chevalier asked, grinning.

Sotomar lunged at Chevalier’s throat, but he was able to dodge him, jumping to the side. Chevalier brought his sword around and swiftly removed Sotomar’s right hand. The newly arrived heku troops descended in a wave down on the tired and haggard enemy troops. Sotomar jumped again, and managed to lock his teeth on Chevalier’s shoulder, tearing a chunk of flesh away, and spitting it on the ground. Chevalier growled angrily and swung his sword at Sotomar, who rolled away from it.

Chevalier felt an arm on his shoulder as he prepared to send the blade through Sotomar’s heart, “It’s over.”

He looked over and all he could see were waves of green capes. Chevalier looked down at Sotomar, and lowered his sword, “Do you surrender?”

Sotomar looked out over his troops. All were either badly injured, captured, or dead. He nodded and looked down at the ground.

***

Mark was finally able to crawl to Emily. She could see that his lower body was crushed, and one of his arms dangled loosely at his side.

“I’m going to try to move that propeller,” Mark said, scooting over to the twisted piece of metal. He pushed hard against the twisted metal. It flew off of her and smashed against the mountainside. Emily screamed as the movement shook her injured leg. She fell back against the snow and felt the grinding of the bones in her back.

“Lie still, I need to stop the bleeding,” Mark said, and she looked toward him as he slipped his belt off. He wrapped it around her leg and tightened it.

“There’s a small cave back here. Can you get into it by yourself?” he asked her, helplessly.

Emily nodded, and then cried out as she flipped onto her stomach. She laid her forehead down onto the snow and breathed hard, the pain in her body increasing. She gritted her teeth, and pulled herself forward with her good arm, pushing against the snow with her foot.

“Good girl, a little further,” she heard Mark saying from behind her.

“The radio,” she said between gasping breaths.

“The battery died,” he said softly. “Keep going.”

Emily nodded and dug her hand into the snow again. She could no longer feel her fingers, but was able to push off with her foot and inch forward toward the small recess in the rock wall. After an hour of painful scooting, she was in the recess, and the wind stopped howling around her. She laid against the rock floor and tried to catch her breath.

“Emily, I’ll be right back. I need to start a fire,” Mark said. She nodded and laid her head against a rock.

Emily drifted in and out of consciousness as the frigid day faded into a bitterly cold night. She opened her eyes when she saw light and felt the warmth from a fire. Mark was sitting up by some kindling and was fanning it lightly. Her eyes felt heavy, so she shut them and let the blackness take over.

“Emily?” She heard Mark’s voice, and finally her eyes open. He was sitting up straighter now, but his lower body still lay at odd angles. She frowned when she saw his bare arms and legs. He had taken his clothes off.

“What?” she finally managed to say.

“You need to put my clothes on. Yours are wet,” he said. “It’s going to hurt, but you can’t stay in wet clothes.”

Emily nodded. She felt his hands tear her shirt off of her, and then gently pull it around her broken arm. He slipped his shirt over her broken arm as carefully as he could, but she screamed with the movement. Once his shirt was over her injured arm, she pushed her other arm through it. He buttoned it up and let her rest for a moment.

“Ok, pants too,” he said, and tore her jeans off in the same manner. His pants were easier to slip on because of their size, and she felt a lot warmer. He wrapped a piece of wire around her to hold them in place.

Mark threw her clothes onto the fire, and it raged for a few minutes, sending warmth through her. She felt her eyes closing and let them.

Emily forced her eyes open when she heard the howl of wolves. She saw Mark sitting by her side, watching out into the night. Just as she drifted back off to sleep, she heard the sound of a wolf crying in pain.

“Emily?” she heard again, and just wanted to sleep longer. She was no longer in pain. The cold had numbed her injuries.

“Come on, Em, open your eyes,” she heard Mark say to her. She opened them slowly and looked over at him. He was wearing the pilot’s clothes now.

“Are you ok?” she asked, her voice cracking. She wasn’t sure, but his body seemed unnaturally distorted.

He smiled, “It’s ok. I didn’t heal correctly, too much damage.”

She nodded, “I’m so tired.”

“I need you to stay with me,” he said, and she willed her eyes to stay open.

“We have to get out of here. I can’t carry you. I’ve been thinking, and I think we can support each other and make it faster,” Mark said, frowning.

Emily nodded.

“I saw a town, probably about five miles away. If we can get you there, we can get you to a hospital,” he told her.

“You too,” she said. Emily was trying to focus her mind, but there was a dense fog around her thoughts.

Mark smiled, “If that’ll help, then… yes.”

Emily nodded and watched as Mark got awkwardly to his feet. He held a hand out to her, “Push off with your left leg, and pull with your right arm.”

Emily tried to do as she was told, but the pain was excruciating and she knew Mark had to pull her up to her feet. She leaned against him, wrapping her right arm around his back as the world moved under her feet. She waited and finally felt steady.

“Ok,” she groaned.

“We’ll take it slow,” Mark said. He was able to move himself forward, and Emily used him as a crutch to slowly inch her way toward the town.

By nightfall, they could see the glow from the town and Mark urged her forward. He kept her supported as she slowly moved toward the light.

“Emily a road!” he said when his feet touched blacktop.

She nodded, too exhausted, and in too much pain to answer.

“I’m going to lay you by the road. I’ll wait by you until a car comes, ok?” Mark asked her, not sure she understood.

Emily nodded.

“You fell while hiking. You were alone,” he said, and watched her.

Emily’s eyes were closed and she was swaying.

“Emily, I need you to stay with me for a little longer… you were hiking alone, and fell,” Mark said to her.

Emily finally nodded, and felt Mark slowly drop her to the road. Before long, she heard a car approaching, and felt Mark’s comforting presence disappear. The sound of a car’s breaks was the last thing she heard before darkness came.

***

“Sir!” Kyle yelled as he ran into the council chambers. “Emily’s in Calumet, Wisconsin. She’s being flown to St. Paul by air ambulance.”

“Fill me in on the way,” Chevalier said, running for the palace roof. He climbed into the helicopter, followed by Kyle and Quinn.

The pilot took off quickly, and Chevalier turned to Kyle.

“They said she was found on a road outside of Calumet, and that she’d been in a hiking accident.”

Chevalier frowned, “Hiking accident? Do we have any covens in northern Wisconsin?”

“No,” Kyle said. “She’s alone though, no one was with her.”

“How bad is she?” Chevalier asked.

“The nurse said she has nothing life threatening, but that she’s pretty badly banged up, broken leg, broken arm, and they weren’t sure what else. She’ll arrive in St. Paul in about an hour, so by the time we get there, we should have more news.”

“Equites 1 to base,” Chevalier called over the radio.

“Base here.”

“Find the closest coven to Calumet, Wisconsin. I want that area searched. Tell them to look for the helicopter and the others. If they find Frank alive, I want him,” Chevalier ordered.

“Base copied, out.”

The helicopter landed in a small airport outside of St. Paul, where a taxi met them and took them to the hospital. The three heku ran into the hospital, and Chevalier stopped at the information desk.

“My wife was just flown in, Emily Russo,” he said.

The elderly woman looked through the computer, and smiled at them, “Yes, she’s in the operating room.”

“For what?” Chevalier frowned.

“Let me get a doctor for you, Dear.” They watched as the arthritic fingers slowly dialed a number, and she smiled sweetly at them as it rang.

“Emily Russo’s family has arrived,” she said.

“Ok,” she said, and hung up.

“I’ll show you to a waiting room. The ER doctor would like to talk to you,” she said. She stood up slowly and grabbed a small cane. The heku patiently walked behind her as she hobbled, unhurriedly, down a long white hallway.

“In there, Dears,” she said, pointing to a small conference room.

The three heku stepped into the conference room, and two doctors inside stood and shook their hands.

“Have a seat,” the eldest doctor said.

“Are you all relatives?” he asked.

Chevalier nodded, “Yes, I’m her husband. This is her brother, and her Dad.”

“Very well, you may all stay then,” he said.

“How is she? We don’t know a lot,” Chevalier said.

“Let me just say right up front, that there are no life threatening injuries, and the baby is fine,” he explained, and the doctor by him nodded.

“Ok,” Chevalier said, watching them.

“There’s no way to do this nicely, so we’ll just list the injuries.” He frowned and looked at the other doctor.

Chevalier winced.

“She has a fracture to her left arm, both bones in her lower right leg are broken, and broke out of the skin, and she dislocated her left shoulder. That’s it for her extremities,” the elder doctor said.

The younger doctor sat his elbows on the table and looked at Chevalier, “Probably her most serious injury is to her back. She has a compression fracture to four of her vertebrae, along with six broken ribs. We did an MRI, and her spinal cord isn’t compromised in any way.”

Chevalier nodded, fighting to control his anger.

“She has a serious concussion that we’re watching closely. Other than that, she’s full of cuts and bruises and has frostbite on the fingers of her good hand. It looks like she may have pulled herself to the road,” the young doctor said.

“Can we see her?” Quinn asked when Chevalier didn’t speak.

“Not right now, she’s in surgery. They are trying to repair her arm and leg, and will also try to stabilize her back so more damage isn’t done. We had… some… concerns,” he said, glancing at the older doctor.

“Such as?” Kyle asked.

“It’s concerning us that she keeps saying she was in a hiking accident.”

“Yes, so?”

“Well, we found her a long way from any mountains, or even cliffs large enough to cause that kind of damage. Most women who are pregnant don’t try to hike at all, especially in dangerous areas. Then… her clothes,” he said, glancing at the older doctor.

“Not hiking clothing or something?” Kyle asked.

“Well… not her clothing,” he said, and shrugged.

“What do you mean?” Chevalier asked.

The doctor reached under the table and pulled out a stack of blood soaked clothing. Chevalier reached out and took the once white shirt. It was a men’s button-up shirt, with the green Equites crest on the pocket, standard guard issue. He then picked up the pants, and laid them back down, they were also standard guard issue.

He nodded, “These are mine.”

“We had to call in CSI for this one, but they discovered that the blood isn’t human,” the doctor said, smiling slightly.

Chevalier kept his face calm and nodded.

“Does she always wear clothing that doesn’t fit?” the elder doctor asked.

Chevalier frowned, “No, something must have happened to hers, and she changed into mine. They were in her backpack because I was supposed to meet her tomorrow.”

The doctor nodded and stood up, “We’ll let you know as soon as she’s out of surgery.”

Just as he left, Kyle’s phone rang, “Yes?”

“Where?” he asked, frowning.

“Go there tonight and bring him here before taking him back to Council City,” Kyle ordered, and then hung up.

“They found Mark. He’s pretty beat up and has healed incorrectly. He told them where to find the helicopter and the other bodies. They should be here in an hour, and then they’ll take Mark back to the city. He’ll have to be re-adjusted.” Kyle said.

“What happened?” Chevalier asked.

“They didn’t say. We’ll have to wait until Mark gets here,” Kyle said.

The heku waited in the hospital’s conference room for any news on Emily. They waited in silence, and it wasn’t until Kyle’s phone rang, almost two hours later, that anyone spoke.

“Yes?”

“Ok”

Kyle turned, “They got us a rental car. It’s out front and Mark is in the back.”

Chevalier nodded and walked out, followed by Quinn and Kyle. They went up to the Jeep Cherokee and opened the back door. Chevalier looked at Mark and then frowned at Kyle.

“Mark,” was all Kyle could say.

Mark was lying down in the back of the Jeep. His upper body looked fairly normal, but his lower body was contorted into unnatural angles.

“Are you ok?” Kyle asked finally.

“Never better,” he said, halfway grinning.

“What happened?” Chevalier asked.

“It was Frank. He tried to take over the controls from the pilot. He and I got into a fight, and Frank ended up slamming into the controls. The next thing I know, we were hurdling to the ground. The pilot was able to pull up at the last minute, but we hit the side of the mountain.” Mark grew silent and looked down at his hands.

“I thought she was dead,” he said softly, and Chevalier could tell he was mad at himself over her injuries.

“When I finally found her, she was pretty bad. She had broken bones, and her head was bleeding,” Mark said painfully. “I wasn’t healing right and I couldn’t lift her, but she finally managed to crawl into a recess of the mountain to get out of the cold wind. I started a fire and dried out my clothes, and then burned hers. They were soaked in blood and frozen stiff,” Mark told them, looking up at Chevalier nervously.

“We were able to limp to the road. That’s when the car found her,” Mark said, sighing.

Chevalier watched Mark with great admiration, “Thank you, I owe you a great debt.”

Mark shrugged, “It’s my job.”

“No it’s not, you went way beyond the call of duty,” Kyle said softly.

“How is she?” Mark asked.

“She’s in surgery, we don’t know yet.”

“The baby?” Mark asked finally.

“The baby’s ok.” Chevalier smiled, “Get back to Council City, and take Equites 1.”

The heku driving nodded, “I’ll have your car back in a few hours.”

Quinn decided to go with Mark, so Chevalier and Kyle went back into the hospital. The doctors were just walking into the conference room when they arrived.

“How is she?” Chevalier asked, sitting down.

“Everything went well. You can see her, but I want to warn you… she looks pretty bad,” he said, standing up.

Chevalier and Kyle followed the doctor into the ICU, and he opened the door and let them go in alone.

Both of the heku stood in the doorway and looked at her. Emily’s right leg was in a sling attached to the ceiling, and her left arm and shoulder were casted and propped up on a pillow. A light sheet covered the rest of her body, but her face was cut up. She had a black eye and ice packs on her head. She was hooked up to monitors that beeped on the wall, and four I.V. bags were strung above the bed and dripped fluid slowly into her arm.

Chevalier sat down in a chair by her side and gently touched her right hand. Her fingers were bandaged on both hands because of the frostbite. Kyle stood back by the door, afraid to even approach her.

A nurse walked in and smiled at Chevalier, and then looked through Emily’s chart.

“Is she sedated?” Chevalier asked.

“Not right now. She’s on pain medication though, and her concussion has kept her pretty much out of it since she woke up from surgery. When she wakes up, she keeps rambling on about something called a heku.” The nurse smiled at Emily and then left the room.

Chapter 2 - Recovery

Chevalier laid Emily down in their bed extremely slowly and gently. She winced when her back hit the mattress, but then relaxed as she settled down. He propped her leg up on a few pillows, and Kyle stuffed pillows under her arm.

“Do you need anything?” Chevalier asked, sitting on the chair by the bed.

“No, I’m good.” She smiled.

“Allen wants to see you,” Chevalier told her.

“That’s fine,” she said. Sam came in carrying Allen. He looked at Emily, and reached down from Sam’s arms and kissed her on the forehead.

“I love you, Mommy,” Allen said, looking at her curiously.

She smiled, “I love you too, Baby.”

“Does it hurt?”

“Sometimes.” She smiled slightly.

“Enough,” Chevalier said, and Sam took Allen out to the stables.

“How is Mark?” Emily asked. “You promised.”

“Ok, we’ll go get him,” Kyle said. They didn’t want Emily to worry about Mark, so they waited until he healed properly. The faction’s doctor had to re-break almost every bone in his lower body so it could reset properly.

Mark came in a few minutes later and smiled, “Heya, Killer.”

Emily looked over him carefully, “Are you ok?”

“Sure!” Mark said, spinning easily.

“Thank you,” she said softly.

He touched her hand, “Any time, Kiddo. Did you bring my clothes back?”

Emily smiled, “You sure you wanted them back? They were covered in Valle goo.”

Mark laughed and left the room.

“Has Exavior called?” she asked quietly.

“No, he hasn’t,” Chevalier said, trying to sound concerned. He still didn’t trust Exavior, and couldn’t forget that he was there when the Valle and Encala tried to destroy the Equites city.

Emily shut her eyes and winced.

“Do you hurt?” Kyle asked, grabbing the bag the doctor gave them.

“No,” she lied, but her face told them the truth.

“You can’t even fight this off, so don’t try,” Kyle said, filling a syringe.

Her eyes grew wide, “Please don’t, I’m ok.”

“Mmhmmm,” he said, putting the bottle back in the bag.

“Kyle… don’t!” she screamed as he injected the pain medicine. She frowned at him, and then felt herself relaxing as the medicine flowed throughout her body.

Chevalier chuckled, “I appreciate you doing that. She’d never forgive me.”

“No problem, I’m sure I’m already in trouble for the council chambers. How much worse can it get?” Kyle said.

“Back in five hours?” Chevalier asked. Kyle nodded, and then disappeared.

Chevalier watched as Emily slept and looked through the doctor’s instructions for her. He chuckled when they suggested she may have a long-term brain injury because of her incessant use of the word ‘hekoo’ while under medication. He wondered how the four weeks on bed rest were going to go. Her back was taped up, and she had to remain as stables as possible for the entire time. She had six weeks in an arm cast and eight weeks in a leg cast.

Chevalier shook his head. He wasn’t sure how to make her follow the doctor’s orders. He guessed there was no way, and finally decided to just do the best he could.

Emily was compliant through the first three weeks. Any time she tried to move, her back caused enough pain that she dutifully stayed in bed. Kyle kept up the injections for a few days, and then backed off to only once or twice a day for the next few weeks.

The part Emily fought the most, was being fed. With one arm in a cast and the other’s fingers wrapped up and too stiff to bend from the frostbite, Chevalier had to feed her, and she found that humiliating and degrading.

“What do you want for lunch today?” Chevalier asked her after the movie ended.

“A sandwich, that way I can feed myself,” she said, and flexed her fingers. They were getting less stiff every day.

He grinned, “Ok, though I don’t mind.”

“I bet you don’t,” she said, looking around the room.

“We even got a new chef. I’m sure he’s going to love sandwiches, very easy,” Chevalier said, knowing her order had already been heard.

“How many more days until I can try to stand up?” she asked, for the second time that day.

“It’s still six days away.” Chevalier grinned.

“It’s sooo boring,” she said, frustrated.

Chevalier turned around and took the tray from the heku, then set it on the table. He lifted the dome and handed Emily half of an egg salad sandwich. Emily ate slowly, her stiff fingers held tightly to the sandwich. She finished the half and ate the other half a little faster.

“Drink?” Chevalier asked.

Emily nodded.

Chevalier picked up the special cup they used for Emily. It had a lid and straw, so she could drink lying down.

Emily took a drink and then immediately spit red liquid all over the bed. Chevalier gasped and put the cup down quickly, and then grabbed a rag. Emily was gagging as blood dripped down her chin.

“Damon!” Chevalier yelled.

Damon blurred into the room and stifled a grin, “Problems?”

“The new chef gave her blood to drink,” Chevalier hissed, digging in a basket full of chocolates high on a shelf.

“And… you want some?” Damon asked, confused.

Chevalier growled at him, “Punish him. That is your job, is it not?”

Emily began stuffing chocolates into her mouth to get rid of the taste of blood.

Damon grinned when she looked at him, and then blurred from the room.

“I’m sorry, Em. I should have checked to see what he sent,” Chevalier said, stripping her covers off and throwing them in a corner. Servants appeared and threw a clean sheet and a blanket over her.

“That is so nasty,” she said, gagging a bit.

“It’s infuriating that he made such a stupid mistake,” Chevalier hissed.

“It was gross, but no harm done,” she said, eating another chocolate.

Damon appeared back in the room almost an hour later, and Emily glared at him.

“Cheer up, he’s been punished.” Damon was rocking back and forth on his feet, his hands clasped behind his back.

“What did you do?” Emily asked. The curiosity got to her.

“I made him eat what he’s making you for dinner,” Damon said, grinning.

“That should work.” Chevalier grimaced.

“What’s he making?” Emily asked skeptically.

“I don’t know what it is… red and stringy.” He shuddered. Damon looked around the room and continued to rock on his feet.

“Are you waiting for something?” Emily asked.

Damon looked at her, “Waiting, in case someone else tries to assault you.”

“Like you’d care,” she snapped at him.

“I would, most definitely,” Damon said, acting concerned. “I’d like to lessen the time we all have to carry you around the palace.”

“Get out,” Emily said, throwing a chocolate at him and missing.

“Nice shot.”

“Get out!” Emily screamed.

“Damon,” Chevalier sighed, and Damon blurred from the room.

“He’s infuriating!”

“Yes he is. Can I get you anything else?”

“Don’t suppose there are any popsicles in the place?” She asked.

“Popsicle?”

“Never mind,” she sighed.

***

“We all ready?” Chevalier asked.

Emily nodded, her eyes suddenly afraid.

The faction doctor was in the room with pain medicine ready. Kyle had his hands under Emily’s injured arm, and Chevalier was lifting under her good arm.

“Ok, all on three…” Chevalier said, and counted slowly to three.

At once, the doctor swung Emily’s legs over the side of the bed, while Kyle and Chevalier lifted and turned her body. She cried out slightly and then sat up on the edge of the bed, breathing heavily.

“Need to lie back down?” Chevalier asked.

Emily shook her head. She didn’t want to have to do that again.

After just a few moments, she raised her head and looked out over the room.

“How are you feeling?” the doctor said.

“Just dizzy, give me a sec,” she said, squeezing her eyes shut.

They all watched her, carefully.

“Ok,” she said, and then opened her eyes.

“So?” Chevalier asked. He and Kyle were both ready to catch her if she fell.

“I’m sitting.” She smiled.

“Do you want to stand up?” the doctor asked, and Emily nodded.

“Ok, up you go,” he said as Kyle and Chevalier lifted her up so she was standing on her one good foot.

Chevalier braced under her casted arm, and acted as a crutch as she maneuvered over to look out the window. Her eyes scanned everything from the clouds in the sky to the grass. She’d been staring at the ceiling for four long weeks.

“Did they give me crutches?” she asked, looking around.

“Just one, you can’t use a crutch under your left arm,” the doctor told her, and handed her the crutch. She slipped it under her arm, and Chevalier let go of her. She hobbled slowly across the room as Chevalier stayed close to her in case she fell.

“Oh freedom,” she said, grinning.

“Great, now she’ll be slipping guards and sneaking out in no time,” Damon said from the door.

Emily frowned, “Why are you in my room?”

“I need to talk to the Elder,” he said, watching her. “Getting fat lying around, aren’t you?”

Emily grabbed a vase and hurled it at his head. He ducked and it shattered against the wall behind him.

“Damon,” Chevalier said. “Meet me in my office in ten minutes.”

Damon nodded, bowed to Emily, and walked slowly down the hallway.

“Ugh!” Emily screamed.

Chevalier went down to his office and stepped in. Damon was already waiting for him.

“Why do you have to irritate her like that?” Chevalier asked, sitting behind his large desk.

“Because it’s so easy,” Damon said, grinning.

“So what did you need?”

Damon became serious, “The blood drink… I don’t think that was an accident.”

Chevalier frowned, “Explain.”

“Did you happen to taste it?”

“No”

“It wasn’t human blood, it was heku.”

Chevalier growled, “Whose?”

“I don’t know. I just got curious and tasted a drop. Did she swallow any?”

“I don’t think so,” Chevalier said angrily.

“I don’t know much about those runes, but if it’s Vaughn’s blood…” Chevalier’s growl cut him off.

“Find out.”

“Ok, might I suggest we send Elder Quinn to ask? He has quite a talent for getting information,” Damon smiled.

“Yes, go ask him please, and let me know.”

Damon nodded and walked out of Chevalier’s office. He grabbed a stack of file folders, and was about to go through them when he heard a council summons.

Chevalier was the first to make it to the council chambers, but the others soon followed. There was an empty chair in the Chief Interrogator’s seat. No one had been elected to fill that spot yet.

“I’ve summoned you all because a representative from the Valle has asked for an audience,” Maleth said.

“Great,” Damon hissed.

“Let them in,” Maleth said, and all eyes turned toward the door. Exavior entered, followed by four Valle Imperial Guards.

“What can we do for you today?” Quinn asked, his eyes narrowing.

“We have come to ask for the release of Sotomar,” Exavior said.

“No,” Chevalier said bluntly.

“We call for diplomatic immunity on his behalf.”

“No”

Exavior frowned, “You won’t even discuss conditions for his release?”

Quinn growled, “He led an attack on our city. Come to think of it, so did you.”

“An attack that was warranted,” Exavior said.

“Warranted? We returned the Encala’s Elder, against my better judgment, mind you,” Chevalier hissed.

“That is only half of what was taken from them,” Exavior reminded them. “So let’s discuss Sotomar.”

Chevalier raised his eyebrow, “He is a prisoner of war, and we aren’t letting him go.”

“That remains to be seen. I am also here to check on the welfare of the Winchester,” Exavior said, looking directly at Chevalier.

His eyes narrowed, “She’s not doing well, thanks to your infiltrator crashing her helicopter.”

Exavior looked visibly shaken, “What?”

“Surely you realized you haven’t heard from Frank lately?” Quinn said.

“We…” Exavior looked at one of the Valle with him. “We weren’t aware there was a problem.”

“How badly is the girl injured?” one of the Valle asked.

“She’s none of your concern,” Quinn answered.

“It is of our concern. The Winchester’s welfare is important to all factions,” Exavior said, irritated.

“If it was so important to you, then your faction wouldn’t have downed her helicopter,” Maleth snapped.

“I insist on seeing for myself that she is alive,” Exavior said bluntly.

Damon eyed Chevalier, who nodded.

“I will take you, but only you,” Damon said to Exavior.

The other Valle moved to stand around Exavior, and one of the guards spoke, “We do not trust you to take him alone.”

“It’s ok, let me go,” Exavior ordered them, and they fell back.

Damon hurdled the desk and landed in front of Exavior, “Follow me, then.”

Damon led Exavior to Emily’s room and stood outside of her door, “Wait here.”

Exavior nodded, and Damon disappeared into Emily’s room.

“What do you want?” she asked, looking up from the bed.

“You have company. I’m just making sure you were decent,” he said seriously.

Emily frowned, “Who?”

“Exavior, be careful what you say to him, ok? I’ll be in here just in case.” His seriousness made her nervous.

She nodded.

Damon walked over and opened the door. Exavior walked in and stood by the door, looking over Emily.

He frowned, “How are you?”

Emily glanced at Damon, and then back to Exavior, “Alive.”

Exavior glanced nervously at Damon, and walked over to the bed and knelt down, “I didn’t know.”

“You were too busy trying to kill off my faction,” she said, irritated.

“I had to.”

“Ok”

“Emily, I’ve been able to keep factioning out of our friendship,” he said softly.

Emily nodded.

“How are you?”

“I’m ok.” She glanced at Damon again, and then back to Exavior.

“Will you leave for a minute?” Exavior asked Damon.

“No,” he said, crossing his arms.

Exavior nodded and turned back to Emily, “Have they hurt you?”

Emily frowned, “No, this was all your people’s doing.”

“I’m not my faction.”

“You attacked us.”

“I wouldn’t have hurt you,” he promised her.

“From what I hear, you’re pretty adamant on taking me though.”

“That’s faction work,” he said. “I can separate it out from our friendship.”

“I don’t know if I can trust you,” Emily told him.

“If I wanted you, I would have taken you the first night when you were alone in my truck,” he reminded her.

“You would now though, right?” she asked, narrowing her eyes.

“I wouldn’t,” he said, and touched her arm softly.

“Back off,” Damon yelled as he grabbed Exavior’s collar and threw him across the room.

Exavior stood up angrily, “I didn’t hurt her.”

“Hands off,” Damon scowled at him.

“I’m done here,” Exavior said, turning for the door.

“Exavior?” Emily asked, and he turned around. “The Equites won’t hurt me.”

“Give them time. You have my number,” he said, and walked out.

Damon turned to Emily, “Are you ok?”

She nodded and he left the room, shutting the door behind him.

Damon followed Exavior back to the council chambers. The Valle returned to his faction members as Damon returned to his seat.

“I have confirmed that she is alive. Now back to Sotomar’s release,” Exavior said coldly.

“I think we are done here,” Quinn said.

“We will be back,” Exavior told him.

“Very well, we will be ready for it,” Maleth told them.

The Valle left the room and Chevalier turned to Damon, “So?”

“Not much to say. She was pretty cold to him, and he didn’t like that,” Damon told him.

“How do we get through to them that Emily’s not up for grabs?” Quinn asked, irritated.

“It may be permanent. Yet another reason for the factions to hate each other,” Maleth said.

The Council heard a scuffle from in front of their doors. They blurred to the hallway, and saw the four Valle guards being restrained by Equites troops.

“Where is Exavior?” Damon scowled.

“The Lady was in the fifth-floor foyer when he came out, he grabbed her and took off,” one of the Equites said, putting the Valle he was holding into a choke hold.

Chevalier was gone in a flash, followed by Damon. They appeared in their bedroom, but it was empty. Continuing up the stairs, they appeared on the roof and saw Exavior in front of Emily. Mark was crouched defensively between them. She was leaning against the wall of the roof in only a nightgown, and her crutch was lying at her feet.

Damon and Chevalier walked up to them.

“I told you, they haven’t hurt me,” Emily said, frustrated.

“I don’t buy this helicopter story, Em,” Exavior said.

Mark growled, “It’s not a story.”

“You’re pushing your diplomatic immunity,” Damon said, and Exavior spun to face them.

“I had no choice. I had to talk to her alone. She’s not going to admit in front of you if she’s being abused,” Exavior said angrily.

“The only one that’s hurt me today is you,” Emily said, her voice gave away the pain she was feeling.

Chevalier appeared at her side, “What’s wrong?”

“My back… he picked me up,” she whispered, and her breath caught.

Damon had Exavior on the ground in an instant, his hands wrapped around the Valle’s neck, “I warned you not to touch her.”

Exavior glared, “I didn’t mean to hurt her.” He looked over as Mark and Chevalier helped Emily toward the door. She was groaning. The movement sent her back into spasms.

“Emily,” Exavior said, but his voice was cut off by Damon’s hands.

“Stop,” she cried out, and fought to catch her breath through the pain. “I can’t do this.”

Kyle appeared behind her, and gave her an injection before she even saw him. Exavior watched, horrified, as he saw what he caused. Emily slowly relaxed into Chevalier’s arms. He handed her to Mark, who blurred her away. Kyle and Chevalier walked over to where Damon had Exavior pinned.

“Consider diplomatic immunity, broken,” Chevalier said. Kyle nodded and disappeared to have the Valle guards moved to the prison.

“I… I didn’t know,” Exavior said as he stood up.

“If she spends the next four weeks back in bed, I’ll come kill you myself,” Chevalier said as Damon pulled Exavior down into the palace.

Chevalier walked into Emily’s room, and tensed when he heard Mark growl. He spun quickly on the Elder and then stood up out of his crouch, “Sorry, Elder.”

Chevalier looked over at Emily. She was back in bed with her arm and leg propped up and was fast asleep.

“Stay with her, I’ll be back,” Chevalier said, and Mark nodded.

By the time Chevalier got to the prison, Quinn and Maleth had already arrived to watch the Valle’s Chief Interrogator put into a cell, far away from Sotomar.

Damon slammed the door and turned to the Elders.

“Notify the Valle that their group assaulted the Winchester, and is being held here until a decision is made on a punishment,” Maleth said to Damon.

Damon left just as Kyle walked around the corner, “I advise we reinforce the perimeter around the city. I wouldn’t put it past the Valle to try to break their council members out.”

Chevalier nodded, “Do it.”

“Let me talk to her,” Exavior said, from beside his bars.

Chevalier glared at him, “You’ve done enough.”

“She has to know that I didn’t mean to hurt her,” he said.

“That remains to be seen,” Chevalier said to him.

“I do believe I need to converse with the chef,” Quinn said, and a dark smile crossed his lips as he moved off to another part of the prison.

Chevalier returned to Emily’s room and excused Mark, though he heard Mark stand outside of her door. He pulled a chair up by her bed and watched her sleep. Chevalier was deep in thought about the Valle prisoners when her voice brought him back.

“Tell him to stop it,” Emily said, barely above a whisper.

Chevalier wasn’t sure she was awake, but when he looked over at her, she was watching him.

“Tell who to stop?” Chevalier asked her.

“Kyle”

“He’s trying to help,” he told her.

“I’m tired of being drugged against my will,” she said, and narrowed her eyes slightly.

“We had to get you back down the stairs. It was hurting you too much.”

She nodded, “I guess.”

“How bad is your back?” he asked her.

“It’s not hurting right now.”

“What did he say to you?” Chevalier asked.

“He wanted to know who broke my arm and leg,” she said, frowning.

“They don’t believe the helicopter crashed. They think it’s a fabricated story to cover your injuries,” Chevalier said with a slight grin.

“Yeah, I kinda got that.” Emily looked over when someone knocked on her door.

“Enter,” Chevalier barked.

Quinn walked in and smiled at Emily, “How are you, Dear?”

“Fine,” she said, and Chevalier chuckled. He knew Emily didn’t like the new Elder.

“Did you… last week… ingest any of the blood?” Quinn asked, concerned.

“No, I spit it out,” she said. “Nasty stuff.”

Quinn chuckled, “Very well, as long as you are sure.”

“Why?” she asked, and looked at Chevalier when Quinn didn’t answer.

Chevalier sighed, “It was heku blood. We aren’t sure why he slipped it to you though.”

“Well… we do now,” Quinn said.

“Tell me,” Emily demanded.

Chevalier nodded to Quinn, who continued, “The only thing keeping the runes on your leg from reaching full power… as in, the ability to call you to them, or the ability for them to fully control you, is to consummate the bonding, or exchange blood.”

Chevalier growled.

“So that was Vaughn’s?” she asked, wrinkling her nose.

“Yes,” Quinn said. “Has he… ever… you know… fed?”

“No!” Emily almost yelled.

“Good, good, then neither of the two parts have been added to the ritual,” Quinn said, smiling.

“They are trying to get the hard part done first, getting her to drink heku blood. After that, the other part is easy,” Chevalier said, looking at Emily.

She frowned, “I’m not that easy to feed off of.”

Chevalier chuckled, “Yes, I know.”

Quinn left, and Emily watched him go and then turned back to Chevalier.

“Do you need anything?” he asked.

“No,” she sounded irritated.

“Mark’s outside of your door if you do. I need to go finish some things,” he said, then kissed her softly and left.

Chevalier met with Quinn and Maleth in the ante-chamber off of the Council’s room. He sat down and joined in the conversation.

“He’s gruff, but can he get information?” Maleth was asking Quinn.

“I can train someone if we need to.”

“Who’s on the table?” Chevalier asked.

“We’re talking about Zohn,” Quinn answered.

“I don’t know him,” Chevalier frowned.

“I’ve only heard rumors that he does interrogations for his coven,” Quinn said.

“Why don’t we try him out? Bring him in and see what information he can get out of the Valle guards in the interrogation chamber?” Chevalier suggested.

Maleth smiled, “That’s a good idea, actually.”

“As long as he doesn’t question Sotomar or Exavior, that gets a little touchy when diplomatic relations are involved,” Quinn said.

“True,” Maleth said.

“It’s settled then, bring him in and see what information he can squeeze out of them,” Chevalier said.

“Now the hard part… what do we do with Exavior and Sotomar?” Quinn asked, sitting back in his chair.

Chevalier sighed.

“Sotomar is being held on what charges, exactly?” Maleth asked.

Quinn grabbed a file, “Unwarranted acts of war against Council City.”

“They will fight the ‘unwarranted’ part,” Maleth said.

“Yes, but that’s the charge.”

“Ok, and Exavior?” Maleth asked.

“That one’s tricky,” Quinn said. “There’s actually no law against assaulting a mortal, or a Winchester.”

Chevalier frowned, “What about a member of the Council?”

“There is a law against that, but as she’s the only mortal ever to be bonded with a council member, they may contest that the rule doesn’t apply,” Quinn explained.

“Get someone to dig through the books, there has to be something,” Chevalier said, irritated.

Quinn nodded, “Already on it. Unless we can come up with a charge, we’ll have to let him go.”

Chevalier nodded.

“On another note,” Maleth said. “The Cavalry has requested to be reinstated as Emily’s personal guard.”

“Nothing would please me more,” Chevalier said, with a slight grin. “However…”

“However… she doesn’t want a personal guard, and we promised not to assign them to her,” Maleth nodded.

“Reason with her, had Mark not been with her in the helicopter, she would have died,” Quinn said.

“Yeah... reason with her… that’s not as easy as it sounds,” Chevalier said.

“Will Mark try? Right now she sort of… owes him,” Maleth suggested.

Chevalier nodded, “I will ask.”

“Are you coming tonight, then?” Quinn asked, standing up.

“Damn, I forgot about that,” Chevalier said. “Did we promise the three of us would be there?”

“Yes, we did,” Maleth said, smiling. “It’ll be good for you! We’ll feed on the way back.”

Chevalier nodded, “Let me grab my robe. I’ll meet you at the helicopter.”

Chevalier nodded at Mark and whispered instructions to him. Mark agreed, and then Chevalier went into Emily’s room. She was sitting up on the side of her bed.

“I did it!” she said proudly.

Chevalier smiled, “Impressive.”

“What’s wrong?” she asked, watching him.

“Why do you assume something is wrong?”

“What bad news did you come to tell me?”

Chevalier sighed, “Ok, I forgot that I have an induction ceremony tonight in Illinois. They asked for the three Elders to come, and I already promised I’d be there.”

Emily laughed, “That’s not bad, go.”

“I hate to leave you,” he said, sitting by her on the bed.

“I’ll be ok, if I get bored I’ll go visit Exavior in the prison,” she said, and winked at him when he looked at her, shocked.

“You aren’t helping,” Chevalier chuckled.

“Just go,” she said.

***

The ceremony took longer than expected. Seven hours to swear in a new Coven Head was pushing it, and all three Elders were eager to return to Council City. With the city at imminent war, it made them all uncomfortable to be away for that long. Equites 1 hovered over the palace before gently setting down. The pilot cut the engines, and the Elders stepped out to a long line of guards.

“It just seems… that if we are asked to come to a new Coven Head’s coronation, they should drop the daily announcements and other random coven business, and bring it up at a later date,” Maleth said, irritated, as they stepped into the palace.

“Maybe we should specify that the next time we’re invited,” Quinn suggested, slipping off his green robe.

The Elders stopped and listened when they heard the shouting.

“Run Mark!” Emily screamed.

“I can’t, you attack him. I’m busy with this one,” Mark replied, frantically.

“Don’t attack me! I will always win,” Kyle said, and laughed menacingly.

“I’m hurt,” Emily yelled.

“Die, Emily!” Damon yelled, and then laughed.

Chevalier and the Elders blurred into Emily’s room, and then stopped suddenly. Kyle, Damon, and Marked turned around quickly and stood at attention. Emily peered at the Elders from a wheelchair by the TV.

“Welcome back,” Emily said, smiling.

Chevalier frowned, “What’s going on?”

“Erm… Vampire Attack IV,” Kyle said, stifling a grin.

Maleth frowned, “Excuse me?”

Chevalier laughed, “Did you buy her a game console?”

Mark nodded, “She was bored, Sir.”

“But… I heard Damon threaten Emily,” Maleth said, still confused.

Chevalier took Maleth to the TV, and showed him what was going on. The large LCD TV was displaying a dark, destroyed village. The stereotypical vampire was running around aimlessly, while four dead, bloody bodies lie in the streets. Above the heads of the deceased were the names: Emily, Kyle, Mark, and Damon.

“It’s a game,” Chevalier said, frowning. “A bad one at that.”

“It’s fun!” Emily laughed. “I think Damon cheated, though. He only attacked me when I had vampires all around.”

“That’s not cheating, that’s strategy.” Damon grinned.

“At least our team was winning,” Mark said.

“Was not.” Kyle laughed. “We had you both dead before the zombies even got out of the graveyard.”

“The zombies were pansies,” Emily said. “They ran from the vampires, at least the big ones… the little ones they could take out though.”

“This is just weird,” Quinn said, and left the room.

Emily squinted her face at him after he left, “No fun.”

“Hmm,” Chevalier said, walking around the wheelchair. “What did they have to do to get you into that?”

Emily smiled, “They bought me a game, of course.”

“It only seemed logical. Now she can easily maneuver around her room by herself,” Mark said, looking at it. The footrest on the right was lifted to accommodate the cast on her right leg, and a pillow was propped under her left arm, which was no longer in a cast.

“Where’s your cast, Em?” Chevalier sighed.

“It was bugging me,” she said, looking down at her arm, propped up on a soft pillow.

“Who took it off?”

“I’m not telling.”

Chevalier turned to Mark.

“It was off when we got back here with the Wii,” Mark said quickly.

“So we leave for the night, and you all decide to play games?” Chevalier asked.

“It was purely tactical,” Emily said. “Now if I’m ever attacked by vampires, I know to stay away from Damon and the zombies.”

“Hrm,” Damon said, laying down the remote controller.

Maleth lifted the controller and looked at it, then at the screen, where a small human avatar was being eaten by enraged, computer controlled vampires, “Interesting.”

“We… better get back to work,” Kyle said, nodding to Mark, and they both blurred out of the room.

Silas knocked on the door and came into the room carrying a pizza box, “Did someone order pizza?”

Emily smiled, “How’d you guess it was me? Allen, come eat!”

Allen ran out of the bedroom in his pajamas, and grabbed a slice from Silas before running back into his room with it. Silas laid the box down on the table and left the room. Emily picked up a piece, and took a bite of the pepperoni, olive, and pineapple pizza, and then looked up at Chevalier, Maleth, and Damon, who were watching her.

“Um... did you want some?” she asked, holding up a slice.

“No, I think we’re all good.” Chevalier smiled.

“Then why are you watching me?”

“To try to figure out how you can eat something so disgusting,” Damon said casually.

Emily frowned, “Pizza is not disgusting. Now that salty coagulated blood… that is nasty.”

“Says the mortal,” Damon said, raising an eyebrow.

“Leech”

“Child”

“Psychopath.” Emily threw a slice of pizza at him just as he started to turn away, and it smashed into the side of his face.

“Control your wife,” Damon said to Chevalier.

“Get bent,” Emily yelled at him.

Damon threw his hands up in the air, “What does that even mean!?”

“Out,” Chevalier said, pointing to the door. Maleth took Damon by the shoulder and ushered him out, then shut the door.

Emily pushed the control on her wheelchair and it slid silently over to the gaming console. She turned it off and then drove over to Chevalier.

“It’s actually kind of fun,” she said.

Chevalier chuckled and sat down on the bed, “Did Mark talk to you?”

Emily nodded, “Yes.”

“So… let’s start with the answer to his request.”

“I agreed to two, not four, and they have to stay outside of my room. They also have to leave me alone when I go riding,” she said. “Oh, and if I tell them to get lost, they have to.”

“Were those the only conditions?” he asked, chuckling.

“No, it can’t be Damon… ever.” Emily thought, “I think that was all.”

“But you honestly agreed to two?” Chevalier asked, just to clarify.

She sighed, “Yes, I did.”

“What did you ask in return… dare I ask?” he asked, watching her.

“Well the Wii was one of them, or, more like something to do. I get a palomino and a paint stallion when I am up and around. Kyle’s not allowed to give me any more uninvited shots, and I can talk to Exavior whenever I want,” she said, listing the bribe.

“That’s quite the list,” Chevalier said.

“Yes, well… it was quite the demand, too,” Emily told him.

“True, I don’t like a few of the listed items though.”

“Like what?”

“The shots… sometimes they are necessary, and you are just too stubborn to see that,” he said matter-of-factly.

Emily frowned, “That one stays.”

“What about Exavior? Why would you even want to see him?”

“He didn’t know my back was hurt, nor did he know that picking me up like that aggravated it,” she said.

“He still had no right to do what he did,” Chevalier said sternly.

“I agree.”

“Then why?” Chevalier was confused.

“Because… that’s why,” Emily said bluntly.

“That helps.”

“Live with it,” she said, frowning. She drove her wheelchair into the bathroom, and tried to slam the door, but it hit her back wheels.

“No fighting, ok? Let me bring it up to the Council and see what they say.”

“Why do they get a say in it?” she asked, backing out of the bathroom.

“Just the Exavior thing.”

“No Exavior… then no guard,” she said, and lowered the footrest on her wheelchair. Chevalier helped her to her feet and turned her around, sitting her in bed.

Emily laid back and relaxed on the bed, “Long day.”

“How’s your back?” he asked, folding her wheelchair out of the way.

“Sore, but not too bad,” she told him, and pulled the covers up.

Chevalier kissed her forehead and turned the lights off, then headed for the door. He still had a lot of work to do.

“Chev?” Emily asked softly.

“Yes?” he asked, turning around.

“Will you stay?”

Chevalier smiled and slipped off his shoes, then crawled onto the bed. He wrapped his arms around her and she laid her head against his shoulder.

“Don’t let go,” she whispered, and snuggled down into the bed.

“I won’t,” he promised and kissed her softly.

Emily slipped quickly off to sleep. Chevalier smiled as he shut his eyes and saw the swirl of emotions surround his thoughts. He hadn’t been able to feel her emotions since she’d removed the ring, and he forgot how much he missed it. The soft swirls were peaceful and flowing. He watched as the swirls slowly formed into images.

Chevalier shivered in the cold. The wind howled above him, and he felt the ice cold water drench the back of his clothing as the snow he laid on melted. There were piles of twisted metal and blood all around him. He couldn’t breathe well, there was something lying against his chest.

Chevalier put his hands under the metal on his chest and pushed it off, easily. He sat up and looked around. He was in a long dark corridor. He felt a cold hand against his leg, but the scream he heard wasn’t his own. He pulled his leg back, desperate for the skeletal hand to release him.

A skeleton slowly crawled toward him as it spoke, “I am Encala.”

Chevalier felt fear, a foreign emotion for him, yet it surrounded him in this place. Blood began to flow from the ceiling and soon the snow was dyed red.

Chevalier felt Emily’s hands tighten against his arm, and she cried out softly in her sleep. He opened his eyes and felt her body tense against his. He touched her cheek lightly.

“Shhhh,” he whispered into her ear, and she settled down.

Chevalier shut his eyes again and rested his cheek against the top of her head. He saw the dark corridors swirl back into flowing, soft emotions, and smiled. He opened his eyes just as Emily started to wake up. The emotions and random thoughts had stopped and began to fade.

Emily opened her eyes and smiled, “You stayed.”

“I told you I would,” Chevalier reminded her.

“Let’s just stay here all day,” she said, curling up against him.

Chevalier chuckled, “It’s trial day. I don’t think the Council would appreciate if I stayed in bed all day.”

“What? They can’t punish the innocent without you?” she mumbled.

“We don’t punish the innocent,” he said, amused.

“When’s the last time a trial found someone innocent?” she asked, sitting up slowly and wincing as her back complained.

“Just because we don’t arrest the innocent,” Chevalier said as he reached over and grabbed a bottle of ibuprofen. He held out two of them to her.

“Thanks” Emily said, and took them.

“I’ll be back tonight. We have a full list today,” Chevalier said, standing up.

Emily nodded, “No problem, Allen and I are going riding.”

Chevalier turned, “You sure you’re supposed to do that?”

“I don’t see why not.”

“Your back though,” he said, concerned.

“I’ll keep Patra at a walk, I promise,” she said, smiling. “Tell Damon I said he’s an idiot.”

Chevalier chuckled and left the room.

“Sam, get Patra and Damnit ready, please,” Emily called out. Sam came out of Allen’s room and smiled.

“He’s excited to go out,” Sam said, and left the room.

“Allen, get some breakfast,” Emily called out, and she stood up slowly and stretched.

“What’s for breakfast?” Allen asked, stepping out of his room. He was dressed in jeans, a western cut shirt, small black cowboy boots and a small black Stetson.

“Why… don’t you look handsome,” Emily said, sitting down in the wheelchair.

“Aww, Mom,” Allen sat at the table.

Chapter 3 - Rescued

Emily drove her wheelchair to the door when she heard a knock, and let in the servant. He set their breakfast on the table and was out of the room before she even turned around.

“Eew, eggs,” Allen complained.

“Eggs are good for you,” Emily told him, wheeling up to the table.

“Do we get to race today?”

“Not today, Hun. When my back is better, I’ll show you how fast Patra is,” she said, and grinned.

When they were done eating, Emily drove her wheelchair out into the foyer and then used her crutch to stand up. She looked down the long flight of stairs, five floors worth, and started down them slowly.

“Ma’am?” one of the guards said as they followed her.

“Yes?”

“May I… assist?” he asked nervously.

Emily thought about it, and then nodded, “Sure, then you two are off. I ride alone.”

The guard nodded and picked her up, carrying her swiftly down the stairs. He sat her down on the ground floor, and the two guards left for the barracks. Emily hobbled out toward the stables while Allen ran ahead, and was visiting with Sam when she got there. Sam bowed to Emily, and then left, going back into the palace.

“Ok, up you go,” Emily said to Allen. He hopped on a bale of hay and then slid onto Damnit’s saddle.

Emily walked up to Patra and looked up at the saddle, “Ok, so I didn’t think this through,” she said, smiling slightly at Allen.

Emily gasped when she felt strong hands on her waist lift her up into the saddle.

“Thanks,” she said, turning toward the strange heku.

He nodded and left nervously.

“Walk him,” Emily told Allen as she clicked her tongue and brought Patra into a smooth walk. It felt good to be out with the mare again. There was an exhilarating sense of freedom in being out on a horse. Emily and Allen made their way slowly through the streets of Council City and out onto the hills.

“Run Damnit to the trees and back,” Emily said, smiling.

Allen took off quickly, kicking Damnit into a fast gallop. Emily watched him proudly. At five, he was already handling a horse like a seasoned cowboy. Allen brought his horse to a stop about halfway back to Emily, and she kicked Patra into a walk to meet up with him. She wasn’t sure why he stopped.

As Emily approached Allen, she saw a group of people heading toward them.

“Are they heku?” Allen asked.

“I don’t know,” Emily said. “If I tell you to run, you kick that horse and get into the town, ok?”

“Ok,” he answered.

Emily sat tall on Patra as the twenty mortals walked up to her.

“Hiya, Ma’am,” the front one said to her.

“Hello,” she answered, politely. It was strange to see a large group of mortals so close to Council City.

“Just out for a ride?” he asked, smiling.

Emily nodded. She got an uncomfortable feeling as she watched the mortals. She jerked Patra hard when she saw one of the mortals take the reins on Damnit, and another on Patra.

“Get out of here, Allen!” she yelled, and then kicked the horse, but the mortal already had control of the stallion.

Emily was pulled off of Patra, and she screamed when her back spasmed.

She saw Allen in the arms of one of the mortal women. Suddenly, Emily was in the grips of a large mortal man. She struggled against his muscular arms, but couldn’t get free as she was led to a black van, parked alongside the road.

***

“Sir,” Mark said, stepping into the trial area. Quinn was about to chastise him for barging in on a trial, but his voice was urgent.

“What’s wrong, Mark?” Maleth asked.

“Patra and Damnit were just found wandering outside of the city. Emily’s guards said she and Allen are out riding,” Mark said quickly.

“Take some guards out and search the woods. They probably got off of them to do something, and the horses took off,” Chevalier said. He felt a knot in the pit of his stomach. Emily knew better than to leave her horse un-tethered, and he couldn’t imagine her walking a lot with her back hurting.

As soon as Mark left, Damon stood up, “So we are all in agreement that you are guilty of treason, by means of fraternizing with an Encala.”

The heku looked nervously up at the Council, “I told you, I didn’t know his faction.”

“It is your responsibility to know his faction.” Damon glared. “Five years for that.”

A guard came and removed the heku from the trial area.

“Shall we break?” Maleth suggested. He knew Chevalier was anxious to go out and look for Emily, himself.

“Yes, that sounds good,” Quinn agreed.

“Damon,” Chevalier said, and headed out of the council chambers, followed by the Chief Enforcer.

“You don’t think she wandered off, do you?” Damon asked. He was proficient at reading body language.

“Emily wouldn’t get off of Patra without tying her up,” Chevalier said as they blurred to the hills outside of town.

“When do we officially call this what it is then?” Damon asked, looking around at the guards searching the area.

“Thirty minutes, then we label it a kidnapping,” Chevalier sighed.

“Encala or Valle?”

“I guess… both,” he said.

Chevalier watched carefully as the guards came back with no sign of Emily. The thirty minutes passed too quickly, and Damon went back to the Council to alert them of her kidnapping.

Quinn frowned, “Send diplomats to both the Encala and the Valle, see if we can ascertain where she is.”

Damon nodded and left for the barracks.

Chevalier stayed out through the night, searching for clues to her whereabouts. He knew that Kyle had led a group of guards to the Encala Council, and one of the Generals had led his troops to the Valle Council to try to get information. They were due back in a few hours, and Chevalier waited impatiently for them. Just after the sun rose, he returned to the palace and stepped into the council chambers.

“Kyle is on his way in,” Quinn said. Chevalier took his seat and tapped his fingers on the desk. Kyle came in looking frustrated.

“What did you find?” Maleth asked.

“I met with Vaughn, and the four members of the Encala Council. They are either very good actors, or they have no idea where she is or that she was taken,” Kyle said.

“That leaves the Valle,” Quinn said.

“They were also going to send representatives to the Valle. They were pointing the finger at them and, of course, Vaughn was mad that the Valle had his…” Kyle looked at Chevalier, “Wife.”

Chevalier growled.

The Council heard Kyle being summoned by some of his guards, and they excused him.

“Do you think the Encala were faking?” Quinn asked.

“Kyle is a good judge of character and reactions. I’m going to believe him,” Chevalier said.

“Should we ready the troops for a Valle attack?” Maleth asked Damon.

“Let’s try it diplomatically first. If they do have her, we will try a stealth attack,” Damon said, deep in thought.

The Council looked at one another when Kyle asked them to come to the game room. As one, they left the chambers and appeared in the game room together.

“You have to see this,” Kyle said. The local news was paused on the large TV, and they all turned to it when Kyle un-paused it.

The mustached man on the news laughed and shuffled his papers, “In other news, the V.E.S. is claiming to have rescued a pregnant woman and her young son from the hands of local vampires. Leader Greg Hans said that his society is currently undoing the brainwashing done to them by their captors.”

The mustached anchorman laughed a bit and then returned to his paper, “Local Law Enforcement is trying to arrange a meeting with the woman, to try to ascertain from where exactly she was taken. They are afraid the V.E.S. kidnapped her from her home, and is trying to further their cult’s standing in the community. Currently, the V.E.S. has denied any Law Enforcement from entering their compound.”

Kyle turned the TV off when the news moved to weather. He looked at Chevalier, who was frowning.

“I didn’t know the V.E.S. was even in this area yet,” Quinn said.

Kyle nodded, “One of their main offices is in the city.”

“Call back the diplomats from the Valle, apparently, we have another problem,” Chevalier said, still watching the blank TV.

“It’s not going to be hard to get into the V.E.S. compound and get her back,” Damon said, smiling. “I could probably solo it.”

“We can’t barge in and wipe them out. Any sign of validity to their claim that vampires are real, and we could expose ourselves,” Maleth said sternly.

“I suggest that Kyle contact the police in the city that his wife and son are missing. See if he can officially be named Emily’s husband,” Quinn said.

“Why not Chevalier?” Damon asked.

“Kyle has already been marked as her husband by the police. We have to keep up those appearances,” Maleth explained.

“An abusive husband,” Damon reminded them.

Kyle frowned, “I hate that.”

“As soon as Kyle is recognized as her husband, he should get information on the location of the compound, and updates on anything they find about Emily,” Quinn said.

“I want guards watching the news. Any report on the V.E.S., and they are to notify me,” Chevalier said angrily.

“At least she’s not in Encala or Valle hands. The V.E.S. are pretty harmless as far as cults go,” Quinn said.

“True, we can handle mortals easier than the other factions,” Maleth smiled.

“If I know Emily, she’s ticked though, and I hope she doesn’t push them too hard,” Chevalier said, smiling slightly.

“I hate to say it, but we may have to leave this rescue up to mortal law enforcement,” Quinn said.

Maleth nodded, “Any action on our part and we risk exposure.”

***

“Keith, follow me,” the Lieutenant said, motioning Kyle back toward his office. Kyle followed him and sat down as he was handed a cup of coffee.

“You say she’s been missing since when?” the Lieutenant asked.

“Yesterday, she went horseback riding with my son. When she didn’t return, we started searching for her in the woods,” Kyle explained.

“You think she might be the woman the V.E.S. has?”

“I think so, she’s 5 months pregnant, and my son is 4 years old. It just sounded like it matched,” Kyle explained. “She’s also recovering from a hiking accident. Her back is still injured pretty badly, and she has a cast on her right leg.”

“Have you ever had a run in with the society?” the Lieutenant asked.

“No, I haven’t. I always thought the Vampire Extermination Society was a joke, actually,” Kyle said, shrugging.

“A cult… but no joke. We’ll see if we can verify that they have Emily and Allen, and we’ll get in touch with you,” the officer said, standing up. He shook Kyle’s hand and Kyle left the police department, headed back to the palace.

Kyle arrived at the palace just as the news was starting. The Elders were gathered in the game room to watch.

“Local V.E.S. leaders have agreed to a phone conversation with WJHJ News at Five to discuss the kidnapping charges filed against the group an hour ago. Law Enforcement officials have identified the woman as Emily Russo, and her 4-year-old son, Allen. Charges were filed by her husband, Keith, earlier today,” the female news anchor said.

“Mr. Hans, are you there?” she asked.

“Yes I am,” a gruff voice said as his words were typed across the bottom of the screen.

“What are your comments about the kidnap accusations filed against your organization?” she asked him.

“They are false accusations. We didn’t kidnap her and her son. We rescued them from the hands of the vampires,” Greg said proudly. “As soon as her brainwashing is reversed, we’ll let her and her son go.”

“Reports are that her husband has come forward and is demanding their immediate return. He denies being… well… a vampire,” she said to him.

“He’s a vampire all right, and the woman has been abused by them. She’s in a cast from them breaking her bones, her arm is injured, and she has scars on her wrists and neck from all of the feeding they do on her. Her back is so badly injured it causes her pain just to walk. She’ll be much better off in the mortal world,” Greg told her.

“Are the two being held against their will, or have they admitted that vampires held them?”

“Oh… she’s fighting back. They have her brainwashed well. The boy is too, but growing up with vampires around is all he’s known,” Greg explained.

“So you admit that the woman is trying to get away from you?” the anchorwoman began to sound mad.

“Yes, I’ll admit to that, but only because of the brainwashing,” Greg said, irritated, and hung up the phone.

“There you have it, a live report from the leader of the V.E.S. The woman’s husband, Keith, and this news station are cooperating fully with local Law Enforcement to ensure the safe return of Emily and her son. Back to you John, how are those Broncos doing?”

Kyle muted the TV.

“Are you getting anything from her?” Kyle asked Chevalier.

“Just extreme annoyance, actually. I’m pretty sure she’s ok, but whatever they are saying to her, or doing to her, is making her irritated,” Chevalier said with a smile.

“I can’t believe we have to leave this up to the mortals,” Damon said, frustrated.

“It’s a mortal affair, though. Not a single immortal seems to be involved,” Quinn reminded him.

Chevalier picked up his phone when it rang, “Yes?”

“Chev?” Emily asked.

“Emily, are you ok?” Chevalier questioned, quickly.

“I am calling to inform you, that I am no longer going to be a part of your world,” Emily said, her voice was monotone and extremely annoyed. “The V.E.S. will put an end to the vampire’s existence.”

Chevalier laughed, “Are you reading that?”

“Say it,” Chevalier heard a voice say from behind her.

“I do not love you,” she said, and Chevalier could almost hear her roll her eyes. “Your control over me has ended.”

“Ok, good to know,” Chevalier chuckled.

“How is she?” Kyle asked when Chevalier shut his cell phone.

“I wouldn’t want to be in the V.E.S. right now,” Chevalier said, laughing. “She called to tell us that the vampire’s existence is about to end. She doesn’t love me, and my control has ended.”

“Oh really?” Quinn asked, amused.

“Oh yeah, I wish you could have heard her voice. She is extremely annoyed,” Chevalier said, turning to Kyle. “Better call the police and update them on that phone call, we have to cooperate fully.”

Kyle nodded and pulled out his cell phone, then left the game room.

***

“Today marks the fourth day of the standoff between the V.E.S. cult and law enforcement over the kidnapping of Emily Russo and her 4-year-old son, Allen. Federal ATF agents are set to arrive later today, because of warnings that come from former V.E.S. members, who say that the cult has amassed a stockpile of weapons, and are set on ridding the world of vampires.”

“This is no longer amusing,” Chevalier growled.

“Is she ok?” Damon asked, muting the TV.

“Something’s changed. She not annoyed, now she’s afraid,” Chevalier said.

“Let me go and get them,” Damon said, frustrated.

***

Emily sat with Allen at a small table as one mortal man sat across from them, “Repeat again… vampires are real, and vampires are evil.”

Emily sighed, “Vampires are real, and vampires are evil.”

“Good girl, you are coming around slowly. Do you still love a vampire?” he asked, smiling sweetly.

“Yes,” she responded, irritated.

The man sighed, “They are incapable of love. How can we get that through to you?”

“Let us go, and we’ll find out for ourselves,” Emily suggested.

“It’s too dangerous for you. We are only holding you here for your protection,” he reminded her.

“Oh that’s right,” Emily said, rolling her eyes.

“Are you ready to tell me who the father of your baby is? And Allen’s father?”

“Nope,” she said bluntly.

“We just want to know if the vampires are capable of reproducing, or if they have found other means,” he said seriously.

Emily laughed, “Other means?”

“Yes, invitro, for example, or a donor. Are the vampires using you to repopulate their numbers?”

“That’s stupid,” she said, raising an eyebrow.

“Go back to your house. We want to talk to you later about how to kill a vampire,” the man said, frustrated.

“Joy,” Emily replied, and stood slowly. She cried out slightly when her back sent shooting pains down her legs. She and Allen walked across the compound to their small house, escorted by three men with guns.

Emily shut the door and locked it behind her. She turned to Allen, “You have the note?”

“Yes, Mommy,” he said, patting his back pocket.

“Do you know the plan?”

“Yes”

“Just remember, I don’t care who the Equites is, run to them, and stay with them, ok?” she asked, kissing his forehead.

“You come, too,” Allen pleaded.

“I can’t leave. This plan only works if I’m here to cause a diversion.” She smiled, reassuringly.

Allen nodded and climbed onto Emily’s lap. She held him closely, “It’ll be ok.”

“Why do they want to kill Daddy?” Allen asked her, tears forming in his eyes.

“They are just confused, they think Daddy is bad.”

“Can’t they meet him? He can tell them.”

“It doesn’t really work like that.”

“I don’t want to leave you here,” Allen said, looking up at her.

Emily smiled, “I need you to get that note to Daddy.”

Allen nodded.

Emily jumped slightly when there was a hard knock at the door.

“Go, now,” Emily whispered. She watched as Allen laid down on the bed and pretended to be asleep.

She opened the door and stepped out, “What?” she whispered.

“You’re to come with us,” one of them men said.

“Fine, but Allen’s asleep, he’s not feeling well,” she said. Emily shut the door, catching one last glimpse of Allen before latching it, and locking it behind her.

“Come on,” the man said, pointing a gun at her.

Emily followed the men to a conference room, moving slowly because of her back and casted leg. A long table filled with men wearing camouflage and carrying semi-automatic weapons was in the center. Emily was pushed toward the end chair and she sat down.

Soren, the second in command at the V.E.S. compound, stood to speak to her.

“Emily, this is the last time we’re going to do this nicely. Either you give us the information we want, or you’ll have to be punished,” he said to her.

Emily lowered her head and nodded.

“What is the easiest way to kill a vampire?” he asked her sternly.

Emily began to cry, her pregnancy hormones made it easy, “Stake.”

Soren smiled, “A stake through the heart?”

Emily nodded, tears spilling down her cheeks.

“What about Holy Water?”

“Only…” she looked up at them, and then back to her hands. “Only very cold.”

“That’s what we’re doing wrong then… thank you, Emily, you’re doing very well,” Soren said, and she could tell he was pleased.

Emily just sat perfectly still.

“What about Garlic?”

“Makes them sick if they eat it,” she had to fight a laugh, that one was true.

“Will it keep them away?” he asked, frowning.

Emily shook her head no.

“What about silver?” Soren asked, writing down everything she said.

Emily frowned. She hadn’t heard anything about vampires not liking silver. She finally nodded.

“What about silver? Does it burn them?”

She nodded.

“Can they be restrained with Silver?”

“Yes,” Emily replied. She had a brief glimpse of the pain Chevalier had gone through because of electricity.

“Anything else? Anything at all you can think of that can help us?” Soren asked, leaning closer to her.

“They will kill me if I tell you,” Emily whispered.

“We’ll protect you, I swear to it,” Soren told her.

“Alcohol,” she said finally.

“What about it?”

“It makes them weak,” she whispered.

“Did you know that?” Soren asked the man next to him angrily.

The other man shook his head.

“Are you sure?”

She nodded.

An alarm sounded in the distance.

“Get her back to her room,” Soren ordered, as he ran from the building.

“Allen!” Kyle said, holding his arms out. Allen ran into his arms and Kyle hugged him tightly.

“Follow me,” an ATF agent said to Kyle, and Kyle crawled into the back of a van, still holding Allen. They were taken to the police department where a doctor was waiting to check Allen over. After Allen was given a physical, he was medically cleared, and both Allen and Kyle were taken to a conference room.

Kyle sat down in a chair and put Allen on his lap while other ATF agents and local police gathered and sat down.

ATF Agent Williams smiled at Allen, “It’s good to see you, Boy. How did you get out?”

“Mommy created a detersion,” he said, leaning his head back on Kyle’s chest.

“A diversion?” Williams asked.

Allen nodded.

“Did you see any guns?”

Again, Allen nodded.

“A lot of them?”

“Yes, everyone has a gun,” Allen said.

“Were they…” Agent Williams glanced at Kyle briefly, “Nice to you and your Mommy?”

Allen shrugged, “Sort of, Mommy’s back hurts.”

“What do you mean, sort of?” he asked, concerned.

“They yell at Mommy a lot. She won’t help them.”

Agent Williams frowned, “Have they hit your Mommy?”

“No, but they say they will,” Allen told them.

Kyle pulled Allen closer to him, “Can I please just take him home now?”

Agent Williams nodded, “Yes, there’s not much more we can ask a 4-year-old.”

Kyle nodded, he knew that Allen was far advanced beyond his age, but just wanted to get him back to the palace. Within a few minutes, Kyle and Allen were headed back to the palace in Kyle’s Ferrari. He kicked it up to the top gear and topped out the speedometer, then called ahead to the palace to let them know he was coming.

Chevalier was waiting in the garage for them. Allen unbuckled his seat belt and ran to him. Chevalier scooped his son up into his arms and hugged him tightly.

“Mommy said she misses you,” Allen told him, wrapping his arms around Chevalier’s neck.

Chevalier smiled and hugged him tighter.

“She sent this,” Allen said, and dug into his back pocket. He handed Chevalier a note and they started into the palace.

Chevalier put Allen down and unfolded it, then read the note and frowned, “Damon, Kyle, meet me in my office.”

Kyle nodded and took Allen’s hand, leading him into the palace. Within a few minutes, Allen and the three heku were in Chevalier’s office. He held the note out for them to read.

C,

I am in the southeastern corner. Suspect G is V or E. Getting tense here.

E

“Does she mean that that leader, Greg, is a Valle or Encala?” Kyle asked, with wide eyes.

Chevalier nodded, “I think so. She couldn’t risk writing the names out.”

Damon growled, “Let me go get her.”

“Let me think, if Greg is a heku, that changes everything,” Chevalier said, frustrated.

“Allen, are they asking Mommy questions?” Kyle asked him.

Allen nodded.

“What kind of questions?”

“How to kill a heku,” he answered.

“Anything else?”

“Yes, the head man wants a map of the palace,” Allen said.

Damon frowned, “What did Mommy say to that?”

“She said we aren’t allowed out of our room,” Allen sighed. “Is she in trouble for lying?”

Chevalier smiled, “No, she’s not.”

“What else do they talk to Mommy about?” Damon asked him.

“About me and the baby. They want to know who my Daddy is,” Allen told them.

Chevalier frowned, “If he’s Valle or Encala, then he should already know that.”

“Maybe he’s testing her, to see if she’s lying,” Kyle suggested.

“He’d also know how to kill a heku without asking Emily,” Damon said.

“Appearances… he’s keeping up his mortal appearances. If he knows too much about the ‘vampires,’ then others might become suspicious,” Chevalier said.

“It’s no longer a mortal affair, let me go get her,” Damon said sternly.

“How do we explain that then? How do we tell police she got away?” Chevalier asked. “We can’t make this any harder on her than it already is.”

“I’ll go too,” Kyle said, thinking. “Damon and I won’t break her free, we’ll stay with her. We can get messages between her and the palace. We can make sure she has anything she needs.”

Chevalier nodded, “That’s not a bad idea. Give it a few days, see what happens.”

***

“Leave us,” Greg said to the others gathered around the V.E.S. table. Without question, the mortals all left the room, leaving Greg and Emily alone.

Greg moved over beside Emily and grabbed her wrist, “You aren’t fooling anyone.”

“I could say the same to you,” she said, glaring.

“Tell me the layout of that palace,” he hissed, and his eyes grew angry.

“You know, as well as I do, that I’m not going to tell you that,” Emily snapped.

Greg smiled, something he never did around the mortals, and he ran his tongue across his sharp canines. He pulled closer to her and inhaled deeply, then touched the tip of his nose to the vein in her neck, and Emily’s skin crawled.

“Tell me,” he whispered, and pressed his lips against her neck.

Emily felt a panic begin. She briefly thought about ashing him, but couldn’t figure out how to explain that to all of the men with guns.

Emily whispered, “No.”

Greg held tightly to her wrists and sunk his teeth into her neck. Emily gasped and fought to get away, but he was holding her too tightly. She felt the warmth and relaxation spread through her just before he pulled his head away from her.

Greg smiled and pressed his lips to hers briefly, “I’m going to look forward to having you around, my dear. I bet you are dying to turn me to ash, aren’t you? Guess that’d make getting out of here kind of hard.”

Emily slapped him as hard as she could.

“You’re feisty, I like that,” Greg said.

“The Equites won’t stand for this,” she told him, holding her neck with her hand.

“They will live, I’m sure. You though… this hunger strike isn’t going to work. I don’t really care if you die, though it would spoil my new dessert. I’m not like the others. I see no value in the Winchester line except for the exceptional taste,” he said, grinning as he rocked back in his chair.

“I can’t wait to see your head ripped off,” Emily said scathingly.

Greg laughed, “I’m sure you would like that. Go get some rest. I’ll want to feed later, so you should keep your strength up.”

Greg went to the door and opened it, “Take her back.”

Emily was forcibly pushed out of the conference room and taken back to her house. She quickly locked the door and looked around. The small cabin was cold and empty. She sat down on the bed and pulled the covers up, and then she let her mind wander to the warmth of the palace and the feel of Chevalier’s arms around her.

Greg visited Emily in the small house that night and once a night for the next three days. She felt herself becoming weaker, and she knew that soon she would either have to turn him to ash, or run the risk of dying. Rumors flooded the compound about the nightly visits, but none of them suspected the true reasons for their leader’s sudden infatuation with the rescued woman.

“V.E.S. sources are now saying that Emily and their leader, Greg, have become an item,” the anchorman said, amused. “These sources claim tension within the compound has lessened, while tensions with law enforcement have grown. Now that the young son is free, the ATF has another witness to the amount of fire arms located within the compound. Day nine of the standoff leaves us no closer to a rescue than we were when she was first taken. ATF Agents are claiming a glitch in policy has prevented them from contacting Emily directly, though sessions are being held to alleviate the problem.”

Chevalier hissed, “Kyle, Damon, go.”

Kyle and Damon both nodded and blurred from the room. They were on the compound within an hour, and watched from the southeast corner as mortals patrolled the streets and walls with guns. They waited silently until most of the compound had gone to sleep before approaching Emily’s house. Her scent was strong enough that it had been easy to locate her exact position.

They waited outside of Emily’s house as they got used to her scent. It was imperative that they kept control when they entered. Damon frowned when a lone figure approached the house and knocked. When no one answered, he pulled out a key and unlocked the door and disappeared inside.

Kyle looked at Damon, who gave him the command to wait.

Half an hour later, when the man left Emily’s house, Kyle knocked softly on her door. When no one answered, the heku moved around back and found a loose window. They climbed in the tiny house quietly. Emily was lying in the bed, and the heku could smell fresh blood. Kyle hissed and went to her while Damon waited in the corner, still acclimating to her scent.

“Emily?” he asked, touching her hair softly.

Emily turned toward him. Her pale expression and dull eyes surprised him, “Kyle?”

Kyle ran his eyes over her quickly, and hissed when he saw the fresh bite marks on her neck.

“It’s ok, we’re here,” he said, and touched her cheek lightly. Her skin was cold.

“Is he… feeding?” Damon scowled.

Kyle nodded, and pulled another blanket over her, “I’m going to talk to Chevalier, stay here.”

“If he comes back, I’ll kill him,” Damon said, his hands curling into claws.

Kyle nodded, “Ok.”

Chevalier looked up from Allen’s book when Kyle entered, “What’s wrong?”

Kyle’s features were dark and fierce. He was crouched slightly and his hands were balled into tight fists, “He’s feeding off of her.”

“What?” Chevalier growled, standing up. Sam came and took Allen into his room.

“She doesn’t look well. It’s been going on for a few days at least,” Kyle told him.

“Get her out. I don’t care what law enforcement says,” Chevalier hissed.

“When we get her out, I want to wait for him,” Kyle whispered maliciously.

Chevalier nodded, “Do it.”

Kyle disappeared from the room.

“Take her back to the palace, I’m waiting here for Greg,” Kyle said when he crawled in through the unlocked window.

Damon nodded and picked Emily up easily, wrapping her in blankets. She cried out softly as the movement made her back spasm.

“I’ve opened the gate out back. Once you’re gone, I’ll make it look secure again,” Kyle said. His posture and voice were menacing.

“I have her, let’s go,” Damon said. He felt Emily try to hold onto his neck, but her hands slipped off of him.

Damon slipped through the open fence, and immediately disappeared into the nearby trees. Kyle bent the wires of the fence and made them look untouched. He then went back into the house to wait.

Chevalier met Damon at the door and took Emily from him. He couldn’t see her because of the blankets, but could smell fresh blood. He blurred up to her room and laid her down, then ordered servants to stoke both of the fires.

Damon reappeared in Emily’s house and stood next to Kyle. They waited silently as the dawn broke.

Finally, there was a knock on the front door and a soft female voice spoke, “Here’s your breakfast, Dear. I’ll leave it out here for you.”

When the woman walked off, Damon opened the door and slipped the tray inside. He looked down at the congealed mass of oatmeal and wrinkled his nose. He picked up a small pill and held it up for Kyle to see, “B12.”

Kyle nodded.

Damon returned the tray to the doorstep and then stepped back to wait for Greg. No one else knocked or brought food the rest of the day. As night fell, the heku became anxious, and the anticipation of revenge grew.

The knock came late at night, and they both moved into the shadows of the house. They had propped pillows up on the bed so it looked like Emily was still there. They stood perfectly still as the key rattled in the door and the door opened.

“I’m back and very hungry tonight,” Greg said, laughing. He shut the door behind him and locked it, “You better start taking your B12, Child. I wouldn’t want to lose my favorite dessert.”

“I think you already did,” Kyle said, stepping out of the shadows. Greg looked at him and crouched. He turned when he heard a noise behind him and saw Damon blocking the door.

“You can’t kill me. It would raise suspicions.” Greg smiled.

“Oh, I’m not going to kill you,” Damon said, taking a step forward.

“I was thinking that we’d leave that up to her husband. He’s most anxious to meet you,” Kyle said with a chilling smile.

***

“Federal ATF Agents have released a statement that the V.E.S. leadership has waved a white flag. The surrender of the cult comes after reports that their leader, Greg, abandoned them and left the compound unnoticed late last night. No word yet on the kidnapped woman, Emily,” the anchorwoman said. “Law Enforcement has arrested all adults in the compound, while twenty three children have been taken by Protective Services. ATF has spent the day cataloging and removing a variable arsenal of firearms.”

Mark turned off the TV and turned to Quinn and Maleth, “Now what?”

“We need to put out a statement of our own that Emily has been returned,” Maleth said.

“Law Enforcement is going to want to talk to her though, she’s too weak for that,” Quinn said, frowning.

“Get our attorneys on the phone. Find out what course of action we have to keep Emily out of the interrogation room,” Maleth said to Mark. Mark nodded and blurred from the room.

“Shall we go see how she is today?” Quinn asked, standing up.

Maleth nodded, and seconds later, both appeared at her door. He knocked softly.

The doctor opened the door and motioned them both inside. The room was stiflingly hot and dark. Heavy curtains were pulled over the windows, and the lights were dimmed. Chevalier sat on the bed beside Emily and held her hand.

“How is she?” Quinn asked, looking down at her. The dark circles under her eyes were in sharp contrast to the paleness of her skin.

Chevalier shrugged and whispered, “Sleeping still.”

Quinn whispered to Chevalier, “We’re contacting our attorneys to see how we can release that Emily is back, without the ATF questioning her.”

Chevalier nodded.

“Is there anything we can do?” Maleth asked.

“Do you know yet if he is Valle or Encala?” Chevalier asked, his eyes narrowing.

“Not yet. Zohn will be here within the hour to interrogate him,” Quinn said.

“You trust him for that?” Chevalier questioned.

“I will be there, as well.”

Chevalier nodded and turned back to Emily.

“It’s so cold,” she said, still mostly asleep.

Chapter 4 - Horses

“Tell me again why I can’t go?” Chevalier asked as he watched Emily hook up the trailer.

“Because I want to do this alone,” Emily said, smiling at him. She was enjoying seeing Chevalier’s discomfort at watching her hook up the trailer. She knew he could do it twice as fast, but there were some things she enjoyed doing herself. She also knew that her limp caused by the cast was bothering him more than anything.

Chevalier sighed and looked around the lawn, “Take Kyle then.”

“No,” Emily said.

“Mark?”

Emily looked over at Chevalier, “Are we going to go through the entire guard list?”

“Maybe”

“Mark doesn’t want to drive for three hours each way, just to pick up some horses,” Emily said to him.

“Mark does too, he’s taken your safety personally,” Chevalier said, grinning.

“He’s done enough,” Emily told him, hooking up the wires for the turn signals and brake lights.

“Mark,” Chevalier said under his breath.

Mark appeared and leaned up against the horse trailer, “What’s up?

Emily glared at Chevalier, “Don’t do that.”

“What?” Chevalier asked innocently.

“I’m going out to buy some horses, Mark… alone,” she added, and struggled to haul a bale of hay into the trailer. Mark tried to help her, but she glared at him and he backed off.

“Em,” Chevalier sighed. “Your back.”

“It hurts, big deal,” she said, going into the stable.

“Mark,” Chevalier whispered again. Mark grinned and stepped into the horse trailer, ducking behind the pile of hay.

Emily came out of the stables carrying three bridles. She let Ford into the back of the trailer and went around to the Durango, “I think that’s it.”

“Last chance to take a handsomely dashing heku with you,” Chevalier said, smiling.

“I apparently am, and he should at least come ride up front. It’ll get cold back in the trailer,” Emily said, hoisting herself into the Durango.

Mark chuckled and blurred to the side of the Durango and stepped inside. As soon as the Durango was out of sight, Chevalier went back inside and met up with Kyle, and then they both headed down into the prison.

“Let me talk to her!” Exavior yelled at them.

“You know, we could start an Emily wing of the prison. Lock all of her suitors in there,” Kyle said jokingly.

“That’d save her from having to search for them when she visits,” Chevalier chuckled.

“Hello, Greg,” Kyle said, turning to the shackled heku in the cell.

Greg looked up at them wearily.

“We are here for some more fun. With Emily out of the building for seven hours or so, we have plenty of time,” Chevalier said, unlocking the door. Kyle turned the electrical current off to the shackles and unlocked them. He and Chevalier each took an arm and roughly dragged Greg to the interrogation chamber.

“We don’t spend nearly enough time in here anymore,” Kyle said, shutting the door behind them. He looked around the room, smiling.

The perfectly square room had dark rock walls and a plain dirt floor. Several tables stood toward the center, each with varying amounts of wires hooked up to it. One of the tables had ropes along the top and bottom, and could double as a rack torture if the need arose. An iron maiden stood up against one of the rock walls, and a guillotine sat across from it.

“I’m actually afraid if I come here too often, Emily will find it,” Chevalier said, forcing Greg onto the rack torture table.

“No!” Greg screamed.

“Maybe we need to reinforce the door somehow. Just in case she stumbles into it,” Kyle said, fixing Greg’s arms to the ropes as Chevalier tied his feet.

“I’ll tell you anything you want to know, I swear,” Greg pleaded.

“Good idea. I’m so afraid she’s going to stumble in here someday. I know for a fact she wouldn’t understand,” Chevalier said, leaning back against the wall.

“Please… don’t do this! I’ll cooperate,” Greg begged.

“We don’t need information from you. Zohn got us what we needed to know,” Kyle told him, and sat down comfortably on a chair.

“Then why are you doing this? Please stop,” he screamed.

“The problem is, Emily’s stubborn. If she sees the door, she’ll wonder what’s inside and then she’ll find a way in,” Chevalier tried to explain over the sounds of Greg’s screaming.

“If she finds it, just tell her it’s Damon’s playground.” Kyle grinned.

“What is my playground?” Damon asked, stepping into the room.

“This place. If Emily ever finds it, we’re going to say it’s yours,” Kyle told him.

Damon nodded, “Fine by me.”

“What’s up with you two anyway? Damn, it gets annoying,” Kyle asked Damon.

“Ask the spoiled mortal. She starts it.”

“Damon,” Chevalier growled.

“Sorry, I mean… ask Emily. She starts it,” Damon said, grinning. “What are you two up to? I thought we got the information we needed out of this brave heku… who, I might add, spilled it before any torture actually happened.”

“We’re here for fun.” Kyle smiled chillingly at Greg.

“He fed off of my wife, that’s reason enough,” Chevalier said, watching the panicked look on Greg’s face.

“The beauty is, we don’t have to worry about faction issues… he was an Equites before being banished a few hundred years ago. He’s free game,” Kyle told Damon.

“So what’s on the agenda? I’m assuming Emily is preoccupied,” Damon said.

“Gone for about seven hours. She and Mark went to get some horses up north,” Chevalier said.

“Why does that make me cringe?”

“Because you care as much about her as we do, you just won’t admit it,” Kyle said.

“You just keep thinking that,” Damon growled. “Maybe I’m nervous because any time she leaves the palace, she somehow manages to find trouble.”

“She’s with Mark, she’s ok,” Chevalier said, and looked down at Greg.

“Please, no,” Greg whispered.

“You’re an idiot,” Chevalier said. “What made you think you could kidnap my family, and feed off of my wife?”

“I didn’t know, ok? I didn’t know they were yours.”

“Sure you did,” Chevalier said, and turned the crank once, stretching Greg’s limbs painfully.

Greg’s piercing screams rang through the prison.

***

“Give me the map,” Mark said, amused.

“No, I know where we’re going.” Emily looked both ways, trying to decide which to turn.

“Sure you do, so do we go north or south?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Emily pulled out the map and turned it around several times before Mark took it from her.

“Turn left,” Mark told her, and handed her the map.

“I knew that,” she said, irritated, and turned left onto the county road.

“What are we getting again?”

“Three horses, a palomino and a paint stallion, and then an appaloosa mare.” She looked up at the clouds forming.

“Are you going to breed Patra?”

“Yes, this time not with Chevalier’s Arabian,” Emily said, pulling into a large horse ranch.

“That Arabian has personality.”

Emily stopped the Durango and slid out, “Stay here, let me go see if he’s here yet.”

Mark watched Emily carefully as she went up to the house and knocked on the door. An older man answered and shook her hand, then invited her inside. Mark turned his head slightly so he could better hear what was going on inside the house.

“I’m almost ready, you’re a little early,” the man said.

“That’s fine, I’ll go wait by the trailer,” Emily told him.

“No, no, it’s going to rain soon. Wait here and I’ll be right back. Help yourself to some coffee.”

Mark settled back in his seat to wait. He could hear the man shuffling around the house while Emily sat inside and tapped her fingers impatiently against the table.

A short time later, the man came out, followed by Emily. He looked at Mark sitting in the Durango, and tipped his cowboy hat toward him. Mark just nodded and watched them.

“Here’s the appaloosa mare. She’s two years old, but broken, and a very gentle horse,” the man said.

“Do you mind if I try her out?” Emily asked.

“Not at all, let me get a saddle.”

“It’s ok,” Emily said, and used a bale of hay to hoist herself onto the mare.

The man sat back and watched Emily maneuver around the front of the ranch, “You’re right. She’s a beautiful creature.”

“The other two are over here,” he said, taking her to another part of his large stable.

Mark met them inside and took the mare out to the trailer. Emily didn’t ride the other two. They were a lot taller, and even though she wouldn’t admit it, Mark knew her back was still bothering her and it was hard for her to get onto the taller horses.

Mark loaded the paint and palomino into the trailer and heard Emily gasp. He looked over quickly, and saw that her eyes were fixed on a black stallion out in the open corral, “He’s beautiful.”

“He’s a handful,” the man said, coming to stand beside Emily. “Mustang… we caught him down in Colorado last month. We haven’t been able to break him.”

Emily watched him rear back and buck when he saw the people watching him.

“How much?” she asked, her eyes glued on the mustang.

“Ma’am, I don’t know if I’d feel right selling that beast to you. He’s an ornery old fella, mean as they come,” he said, watching the stallion wearily.

“I can handle him,” Emily said.

Mark cringed. He could just hear the fight when Emily decided to try to break the mustang herself.

“I’ll tell you what. You promise to not get yourself killed breaking him, and I’ll give him to you. He’s useless. I can’t train him, and all he does is fight me,” the man said, glancing back at Mark.

Emily nodded, “I’ll take him.”

“Ok, but let your husband put him in the trailer,” the man said, and Mark stepped forward.

“No, I’ll get him,” Emily said. She crawled through the fence and into the corral.

“I wish you wouldn’t do that,” he said, watching her.

Mark sighed from behind the man, “No use trying to stop her.”

“Yeah well, she’s pregnant and that mustang is pure evil, not a good mix,” the man said nervously.

“Emily, let me get him, please,” Mark said, stepping into the corral. He passed Emily quickly as the old rancher watched. He would tell his friends later that the man with Emily moved faster than any man he’d ever seen.

Mark took the rope that was around the nervous horse’s neck and had to use a lot of strength to get him to move. The horse reared back, but Mark held him to the ground with the rope. He was only kicked a few times before he got the door on the trailer shut and locked.

“You ok there?” the rancher asked, worried.

“Yeah, glancing blows, he barely hit me,” Mark said, smiling as one of his ribs healed.

Emily paid the man and headed back to her Durango as the rain started to pour.

“Why don’t you come on in and eat first, it’s lunch time,” the man said. Emily glanced at Mark, and he nodded.

“Sure, I’ll come eat, but Mark’s not feeling well,” Emily said, and followed the old rancher inside.

Mark sat back and listened to their conversation. It was obvious that the elderly rancher was lonely, and currently running the ranch by himself. He also kept an eye on the rain. It was a torrential downpour by the time the mortals began to eat, and he was worried about the river a few miles back.

After almost an hour, Emily poked her head out of the house and motioned for Mark to come inside. He sighed, already knowing they were staying for the night.

“The bridge is impassable because of the rain,” Emily said when Mark came in. “Grant said we can stay here tonight, he has an extra room.”

“An… extra room?” Mark asked nervously.

“It’s ok, we’ll manage one night. The phones here are out though, and I’m not getting a cell signal, are you?” Emily asked.

Mark checked his cell phone and shook his head, “Nope, no signal.”

“I hope you don’t mind a full sized bed. It’s comfortable, but small,” he said, leading Mark and Emily into the back room.

“No that’ll be fine. I hope we aren’t putting you out,” Emily said, smiling at him.

“Not at all, it’ll be good to have company tonight,” Grant said. “I’ll let you kids get settled. Feel free to take a shower if you need it, and I’ll go start dinner.”

“Oh please, Grant, let me,” Emily said, and made her way to the kitchen. Once again, the everyday busy work kept her mind occupied and she thoroughly enjoyed it. Mark was forced to watch two hours of M*A*S*H reruns with Grant, but he didn’t complain. He sat by and let the old man visit.

Emily and Grant sat down to eat dinner while Mark thumbed through the three TV channels that were available, hoping for some news on the weather. After dinner, Grant broke out Monopoly, and Mark endured two games.

Emily grinned at Mark. She could tell he wasn’t enjoying the night, but there wasn’t much else to do.

***

“Since when?” Kyle asked Greg.

Greg was panting and his face showed the pain he was feeling, “Please, it’s been a while.”

“Hrm, interesting,” Chevalier said, raising his eyebrows.

“I won’t do it again, I swear,” Greg said, screaming in pain as Damon touched the button to the electrical circuit.

“That’s almost funny. Kidnapping Emily and Allen was an accident,” Kyle chuckled.

“Almost funny,” Chevalier said, watching Greg scream. “Not funny enough, though.”

“Speaking of Emily, isn’t she late?” Damon asked, and then took his finger off of the button.

Chevalier frowned, “Yes she is. Let’s finish up here and I’ll go call her.”

“Finish up? I was just getting started,” Kyle said, frowning at Greg.

“Please, please let me go,” Greg cried.

“She is with Mark,” Damon said, and watched Greg.

“True,” Chevalier said, grinning.

***

Emily rolled over and looked at Mark. He was standing by the window, looking out, “Are you going to stand there all night?”

Mark nodded, “Yes… unless you would like me to go back to the Durango.”

“No, but you’re making me nervous.”

“Oh?” Mark turned to her.

“Your nerves… Chevalier is not going to be mad about tonight. What were we supposed to do? Float the Durango and trailer across?” Emily asked him.

“I’m not nervous, just watching the rain,” Mark said, turning back to the window.

“Ok,” Emily sighed, and curled up on her side.

Mark listened to Emily’s breathing until it turned slow and rhythmic, and then he turned to watch her sleep. He thought watching her sleep was fascinating, something he hadn’t done for almost 1300 years. She was animated and full of emotion, when most were calm and still. It wasn’t long before Emily began moving in her sleep. It started with her hands clasping, and slowly moved up her body until she was frowning.

Emily’s breathing changed, it became rapid and strained. She was clutching the covers in tightly fisted hands.

“No, don’t go,” she whispered softly.

Mark wasn’t sure what to do. He didn’t want Grant to hear Emily cry out in her sleep. He watched her closely and knelt down beside the bed when she became more restless and her cries got louder. He touched her shoulder softly and she settled down a little.

Mark began to wonder what horrors Emily had been through since joining Chevalier in the world of the immortal. Her peaceful ranch life, upended, as she was thrown into an ancient war full of violence and deceit. It didn’t surprise him that she had nightmares often. Mark resigned himself, after watching Emily, that if he ever fell for a mortal, he wouldn’t involve her in his world. It wasn’t worth it.

Mark’s eyes fell to the bulge on Emily’s stomach and he realized how rarely it happened, a mortal and a heku. It was almost too much to even think about, the improbable odds of it happening. He made the choice before he turned immortal to give up any of the mortal emotions having to do with love and family. Now though, he looked at this mortal, one who loved a heku, fought for a heku, and carried the child of a heku, and suddenly, everything seemed possible again.

“Don’t… it hurts,” Emily said softly.

Mark sat on the floor beside the bed and took her hand. She laced her fingers through his in her sleep, and settled back down for the night as she pulled his hand close to her.

***

“She’s asleep,” Chevalier said after taking a moment to see if he could figure out where Emily was. He’d called her cell phone, but there was no answer. One of the servants found a storm warning in the area Emily was visiting.

“She’s with Mark. This just means we can keep going,” Kyle said, watching Greg cry tearlessly.

“He’s kind of pathetic,” Damon said, hooking a clamp on Greg’s left foot. “I saw this once during the Crusades. We’d just run into a group of Cathars who had a hold of one of the Knights, and they were doing this to some of the Crusaders. I always wanted to try it.”

Damon went over to a newly stoked fire, and pulled a hot poker out of it and looked at it as it glowed red, “They burned their feet… guess it’s pretty painful.”

“No, please,” Greg said, his voice hoarse from screaming.

Damon shrugged and touched the glowing poker to the bottom of Greg’s foot. Greg screamed an almost soundless scream, his voice had given out and his wails were nothing but whispers.

“That smells awful,” Kyle said, watching Damon.

“Yeah it does, maybe that wasn’t a good idea.” Damon returned the poker to the fire.

“Let’s call it. It’s almost morning and I’m hoping Emily will be home soon,” Chevalier said.

Damon nodded, “Ok, I’ll have a guard return him to his cell. I’m in the mood for some breakfast.”

“I’ll go with you,” Kyle said, grinning. “I haven’t had a night like that in a while, deserves some feeding time. Come with, Chevalier.”

Chevalier thought for a moment and then nodded, “Sure, let’s go.”

***

“Those were some good pancakes. My Beth used to make pancakes every Sunday morning,” Grant said, taking a few more pancakes from the stack.

“Thanks, they are always my favorite.” Emily smiled.

“You still feeling too sick to eat?” Grant asked Mark.

Mark nodded, “Yes, sick.”

Emily finished up breakfast and drove out with Grant to check the bridge. It was cleared of debris. Emily and Mark were on the road headed back to Council City within the hour.

“Can I ask you something, purely in confidence?” Mark asked.

“Sure, ask away,” Emily said, slipping her sunglasses out of the visor.

“Are you ok?” Mark asked, looking at her.

“I’m fine, why?”

“It’s just… you know. Nightmares, they seem pretty bad.”

Emily shrugged, “I guess I’m getting used to them.”

“Did you have them before you met Chevalier?” He knew this was crossing the line, and hoped Emily wouldn’t say anything to the Elder.

“No”

“I guess I just worry about how much you’ve been through lately. It seems you can’t spend a nice quiet day doing nothing.” Mark turned back to the fields by the Interstate.

“Yesterday was a nice quiet day. I know you were bored, but I enjoyed it,” Emily said, smiling.

“You’re probably the strongest mortal I’ve ever met,” Mark said, impressed.

Emily laughed, “Too bad no one else thinks so.”

“Oh, I beg to differ. Everyone knows it, and it scares them.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s your strength that gets you into trouble. If you weren’t strong, you wouldn’t take on the Encala alone, or survive being captured and tortured by the Valle.”

“I didn’t have a choice though.”

“Doesn’t matter. Any mortal I’ve met would have curled up into a ball and withered away,” Mark said, smiling.

“Not my style.”

“My point exactly.”

“While we’re talking in confidence…” Emily said, and glanced at Mark.

“Yes?”

“What’s so appealing about my blood?” Emily cringed. She wasn’t sure if she was allowed to ask.

Mark winced, “Well… it’s… at least it smells… really good.”

“Yes, but how?”

“Hrm… sweeter smelling, it makes us…” Mark thought for a moment. “It’s hard to talk about. When you think about a mortal as a friend, it’s hard to think of them as nourishment also.”

“Try,” Emily asked.

“Ok… so when you’re not pregnant, your scent is sweet and extremely enticing. When you simply walk by a heku, it makes our instincts to feed kick in. It burns our throats and makes our mouths water. The instincts of a heku are very strong. We’re made predators, and that’s always at the forefront of everything we do,” Mark explained.

“And when I am pregnant?”

“That intensifies by a hundred times,” Mark said, smiling slightly.

“So how do you control it?”

“It’s hard, but we have to try to remember who you are, that you aren’t an available option for feeding. Then once in a while… you catch us off guard, and we may have to stay away from you for a few minutes while we re-acclimate.”

“Hrm,” Emily said, thinking.

“Did I offend you?”

“No, not at all. I appreciate your honesty,” she said, and smiled at him.

“While we’re being honest… are you going to try to break that mustang?” Mark asked her.

“Of course, after the baby comes.”

“Chevalier’s not going to like that. You can see the look in that horse’s eyes, he’s insane.”

“He’s never been given a chance. He’ll be ok.”

“I’m not worried about the horse. I’m worried about you.”

Emily patted his leg, “I’ve been doing this since I was a little girl. I know what I’m doing.”

“But your back…”

“It’s still touchy, but it’ll quit hurting.”

“Hopefully. I just can’t imagine if he bucks you off,” Mark said, concerned.

“Oh, he’ll buck me off.” Emily laughed, “Then I’ll crawl back on.”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m afraid of,” Mark said. He watched as Emily pulled up in front of the palace’s stable.

It took Mark and Emily almost an hour to get the mustang into the open corral. By then, a lot of the Cavalry joined them to see what the fighting was about. While Mark and Emily worked to get a bridle on the wild stallion, the other members of the Cavalry took the three horses into stalls and made sure they were fed and watered, and then they came back out to watch.

Emily tried to calm the mustang with treats as Mark attempted to slip the bridle on him. After the third time Mark was sent flying with a kick from the malicious stallion, both of them took a break. Emily stood outside of the corral with her arms on the railing and her chin resting on her hands. The mustang was bucking and slinging his head, obviously unhappy with his situation.

“That’s the meanest horse I’ve ever seen,” Mark said, stretching as one of his ribs healed.

“He’ll calm down,” Emily assured him, watching the horse.

“You do realize he’s going to try to kill you.”

“Yes I do.” Emily smiled. The other members of the Cavalry looked nervously at Mark.

“Watch it, here comes the Elder,” one of the Cavalry said, and the rest of them turned and stood at attention.

Emily turned as Kyle, Damon, and Chevalier walked toward them. Without a word, Chevalier picked Emily up and kissed her. She felt a rush of wind and the bed at her back before she even realized they’d moved.

***

“Welcome back,” Chevalier said, and kissed Emily’s shoulder.

Emily looked at him and grinned, “I guess so. What did you do while I was gone?”

“Heku stuff,” he said as Emily looked into his eyes. She noticed they were spirited and invigorated.

Emily laughed, “You were doing something you don’t want me to know about.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Because you had way too much fun while I was gone, and it had to have been something you can only do when I’m not here, or you’d do it more often… I’ll figure it out,” Emily told him, and rolled out of bed.

“Hey, get back here,” Chevalier said, reaching for her.

“Believe it or not, when I was kidnapped from the corral, I was doing something,” Emily said, laughing as she quickly got dressed.

“Hmm, I hadn’t noticed.”

“Yes, I would imagine not.”

Emily headed back to the corral. She was getting extremely frustrated with the cast, even though she didn’t need the crutches anymore, the cast slowed her down enough it was irritating her. When she finally got within sight of the corral, she frowned. The pen was entirely surrounded by heku.

“What’s going on?” Emily asked Kyle, and squeezed her way in between him and the Cavalry member beside him.

“Mark and Damon are trying to bridle that mustang,” Kyle said, amused.

Emily was watching them and she felt the fury rising. Mark had a bridle, and Damon was trying to walk up to the stallion with his hands out. The mustang’s ears were back flat against his head, and his tail was swishing angrily.

“Damnit,” Emily scowled.

Emily slipped quickly through the fence and Ford followed after her. A murmur ran through the watching crowd as Emily appeared in the corral with the agitated mustang. They had seen it kick and step on the heku a lot in the last hour, and now the fragile Elder’s wife was with it.

“Damon, back up slowly,” Emily told him.

“You… get out of here,” Damon said, not even looking at her.

“Mark, get back,” she said, ignoring Damon. She saw Mark back up to the fence.

“Emily, maybe we should…” Mark started, but Emily cut him off.

“Damon, don’t be an idiot, back out of here, now,” Emily said, standing beside him. The horse was hunched back, ready to rear. Ford tucked his tail and ran for the fence, glancing at Emily nervously.

“Your dog is smarter than you are. Now get out before he kicks again,” Damon told her.

“He’s fighting because you’re a moron,” Emily said. She pushed Damon hard and he stumbled out of the way just as the mustang’s powerful hoof slammed into where his head had just been. Emily crouched low under his fighting hooves and rolled out from under him.

The mustang pulled back and watched, his ears pressed against his head. Emily took a treat and inched toward him, locking his gaze. His ears twitched forward as she approached.

“That’s right, listen to me,” Emily said soothingly.

“Emily…” Damon growled.

“Ford, get the heku,” Emily said, and grinned when she heard the Border collie’s low growl. She could almost see the low crouch of the dog, just as she’d taught him.

“What’s going on?” Emily heard Chevalier ask from behind her.

“Get your demon dog off of me before I snap his neck,” Damon growled.

Emily reached out her hand flat, with the treat perched on top. The mustang snorted and took the treat out of her hand. She reached out and gently rubbed the velvet on his nose.

“Emily inherited a mean mustang,” Kyle told Chevalier.

“Mean? That sonofabitch is more than mean,” Damon said, watching the dog. Ford’s hackles were still up as he growled at the heku.

Chevalier watched as Emily laid her forehead against the muzzle of the pure black stallion, “He doesn’t look very malicious, unlike the dog.”

Mark slowly hobbled over to the others, holding his side, “That mustang needs to be put down.”

“Is he really that bad?” Chevalier asked, eyeing Emily.

“Worse than bad, Elder,” Kyle told him.

Emily let go of the horse and backed away slowly to the fence. He again lowered his ears, and began to feverishly flick his tail back and forth. When her back hit the fence, she turned to Ford, “That’ll do boy.”

Ford stood up, tail wagging, and ran to Emily.

“Sic your dog on me again and I’ll kill him,” Damon said angrily.

Emily spun on him, glaring, “Touch my dog and I’ll let him eat your ashes.”

Kyle’s hand quickly sprang out and grabbed Damon as he started to step forward, “Calm down.”

“Me? She’s the one that taught her dog to attack heku,” Damon said, turning to the Captain.

“Emily, did you teach Ford to attack?” Chevalier asked, frowning.

“Yes, I did,” she said, patting the Border collie’s head. “If Damon would have done as I asked, I wouldn’t have had Ford attack.”

“I should’ve let that damned horse kill you,” Damon said, gritting his teeth.

“There is nothing wrong with that mustang.”

“Nothing wrong? You better open your eyes before he kills you,” Damon said, surprised. “That mustang is pure evil.”

“Says the vampire.”

“Spoiled brat.”

“Ford, get the heku,” Emily said, and smiled sweetly when her Border collie ran at Damon, then crouched low, growling.

“Emily…” Chevalier began, but stopped when he heard the loud angry whinny from the mustang.

Emily spun and saw a strange heku approach the mustang with a bridle. The mustang reared back and Emily broke into a run toward the feral horse. Just as the stallion kicked violently at the heku, knocking him into a bloody heap on the ground, Emily felt arms wrap around her waist and stop her forward movement.

“Let me go,” Emily said, kicking.

“No,” she heard Chevalier’s angry voice and stopped fighting. “Call Ford off of Damon.”

“That’ll do, Ford,” Emily said, and sighed. The dog ran over to her proudly.

“Damon, Mark, Emily… to the stables. The rest of you find something more productive to do,” Chevalier ordered.

The heku immediately blurred away and the stallion’s ears cocked forward. Chevalier followed Damon and Mark into the stables, while Emily slowly hobbled in, followed by Ford.

“What was that?” Chevalier asked, looking from Damon to Emily.

“He wouldn’t listen to me when I told him to back off of my mustang,” Emily said, putting her hands on her waist.

“Because I didn’t want her around that devil horse,” Damon said, glaring at Emily. “Then she had her damn dog attack me.”

Chevalier turned to Mark, “What are your impressions of the mustang?”

Mark looked at Emily apologetically, “Emily got him for free because the previous owner couldn’t break him. From what I’ve seen, he’s just plain nasty, and I’d wager… untrainable.”

“That’s not true!” Emily yelled at him.

“Mark, you can go,” Chevalier said, and he looked out at the mustang in the corral.

“No horse is untrainable,” Emily said when she started to feel she was going to lose this battle.

“I’m going to watch him closely,” Chevalier said. “If I think he’s dangerous, we’ll have to put him down.”

“Over my dead body,” Emily snapped.

“Is that an offer?” Damon said, infuriated.

“I swear, you two. I’m going to have to move you both to opposite ends of the continent if you don’t stop bickering,” Chevalier said, sighing.

“Just tell him to stay away from my horse,” Emily asked.

“You can have him, but I’m not cleaning up the blood when he kills you,” Damon told her.

“Fine, that’s settled. I’m going to watch the mustang…” Chevalier told them both.

“He’s mine,” Emily scowled.

“I’m going to watch the mustang,” Chevalier said again. “Damon will leave him alone, and Emily, just stay away from Damon.”

“My pleasure,” she said.

“Now… did you teach Ford to attack heku?” Chevalier asked.

“Ford… get the heku,” Emily said, grinning, and he turned on the two heku and growled, his teeth glaringly vicious.

Chevalier rubbed the bridge of his nose with his fingers, “Why would you do that?”

“I’m actually being nice… I could have said…” Emily turned to the Border collie, “Ford, get the Encala.”

Damon jerked away just as the sleek dog launched at his throat. Ford caught Damon’s arm and began to tear at it while he dangled above the ground.

“Emily!” Chevalier yelled, shocked.

“That’ll do, Ford,” Emily said, and patted the dog’s head when he came to her.

Damon crouched, his eyes were furious and his hands were curved into claws. Emily had seen that look before and took a step back from him.

Chevalier appeared in front of Emily, facing Damon, “Stop it.”

Damon took a deep breath and stood up straight.

“Damon, take the night off,” Chevalier ordered, and Damon blurred from the stables.

“One of these days, you’re going to push him too far,” Chevalier said, turning to Emily.

“If he would just stop being so irritating,” Emily said, defending herself.

“I suggest you two just avoid each other.”

“I will if he’ll stay away from my horses.”

“I’ll talk to him about it,” Chevalier said, and looked down at Ford. “Do you want to explain why you taught the dog his new tricks?”

Emily smirked, “Thought it could come in handy, and it did.”

“Does he know any other fun little things?” Chevalier asked sarcastically.

Emily nodded.

Chevalier sat down on a bale of hay, “Ok… let’s see it.”

Emily’s eyes narrowed, “What’s with the attitude?”

“No attitude, I just want to see.”

“You are acting weird. What did you do while I was gone?” She crossed her arms and watched him. Somehow, he seemed haughty and overconfident.

“I didn’t do anything you would be concerned about.”

“Ford, get my cattle prod,” Emily said, and Ford ran off.

Chevalier disappeared and reappeared with the prod in his hand, “Very funny.”

“I’m going to find out what you did while I was gone,” Emily said, and headed out of the stable.

Chevalier felt a pang of panic creep into him. He knew if Emily set her mind to it, that she’d find the interrogation chamber. He set out to talk to Kyle about locking the room down further.

“Hey, Damon!” Emily yelled when she saw him up ahead of her.

He turned and looked at her suspiciously, then waited for her to catch up.

“Sorry about the dog, ok?”

“Yeah, ok,” Damon replied, and then turned to walk away.

Emily walked with him, “So… how’s it going?”

He looked at her and narrowed his eyes, “Ok.”

“Have fun last night?”

“Yes”

“Were you with Chevalier?” she asked, struggling to keep up with him.

“Yes”

“What’d you do?”

Damon turned and looked at her, “Why do you care?”

“Because I want to know.”

Damon shook his head, “Interrogate someone else.”

Emily sighed and hobbled back into the palace.

The second she had the heku take off her cast, she regretted it. It was harder to walk without it. Her leg still ached and the muscles were weak. Emily dug around in the storage room where first aid supplies were kept and found the ace bandages. She wrapped one around her lower leg, and another around her ankle, and it helped some. She was now limited to just a painful limp.

“Hi, Kyle,” Emily said, walking up to him casually.

Kyle turned to her and frowned, “Where’s the cast, Em?”

“Gone. So… how’s it going?” she asked, leaning against the wall. She tried to make it look like she was just leaning casually, not that she was desperate to get pressure off of her injured leg.

“Cast…” he said.

“Got tired of it. Were you with Chev last night?” she asked him.

Kyle grinned, “Yes.”

“Doing what?”

“Heku stuff.”

“I want to know what, exactly,” Emily said.

“No, and drop it. Don’t let your scheming little mind turn this into a challenge,” Kyle said, amused.

“My scheming little mind?”

“Yes… you are going to turn this into a game… a challenge of sorts, until you suddenly find something you wish you wouldn’t have,” Kyle said, crossing his arms.

“For hell sake, just tell me.”

“Let me help you up to your room.” Kyle took her arm gently.

Emily ripped it out of his grip, “I don’t need your help.”

“So your leg doesn’t hurt at all?”

“No.” She glared at him. Now she was trapped. She knew if she took even a single step, he’d know. Her back was aching from the night in the hard bed and all of the driving. She knew she couldn’t hide that much longer either.

“Fine, then go by yourself,” Kyle said, watching her.

“I will when I feel like it.”

“That bad, huh?” he asked, leaning against the wall beside her.

“Go away.”

“Stop being stubborn and let me help you.”

“No”

She gritted her teeth and took a step away from the wall. The pain in her leg was much worse than before, and her back was seizing up. She held back the agony and walked slowly away from him. She knew he was watching, but she had to keep going. She was glad when Kyle stayed against the wall and didn’t follow her to the stairs.

Emily looked up the long flight of stairs and sighed. She put her good leg up a step and winced as her weight was on her injured leg and she pulled herself up. She tried another step, but her injured leg gave out and she cried out in pain and fell to her knees on the stairs. She hated the tears that were filling her eyes, and squeezed them, hoping to will away the pain.

“Are you ok?” Emily heard from behind her and she sighed, it was Damon.

“I’m fine,” she said, not looking toward him.

“It doesn’t look like you’re fine.”

“I am.”

“You are…” Damon said, lifting her gently, “The most stubborn being I’ve ever met, and that includes all species and races.”

“Put me down,” she demanded.

“I will in a second,” he told her, and blurred into her room. Damon sat her down softly on the bed, “See, that wasn’t that bad.”

“I didn’t need your help.”

“Oh, but you did.” Damon started going through a black bag high up on a shelf.

“What are you doing?” Emily asked, watching him carefully.

Damon put the bag back and turned with a syringe in his hand.

“No!” she screamed at him, and tried to crawl across the bed. She felt his hand against her good ankle.

“Chev! Kyle!” she screamed.

“Just hold still… damn,” Damon said, pulling the cap off of the medicine.

Emily brought the heel of her foot up hard against his jaw and heard it crack. Damon reeled back and cursed as he healed. When he turned back, Emily was limping toward the bathroom.

Damon was able to appear behind her instantly and give her the injection before she could turn.

“No!” she screamed, and turned angrily to him.

Emily swayed slightly and her eyes began to glaze over. She finally collapsed into Damon’s arms. He lifted her up and put her on the bed just as Kyle and Chevalier came into the room.

“Sorry about the jaw,” Chevalier said, taking the empty syringe from him.

“What’s up with her and needles?” Damon asked, flexing his jaw.

Kyle watched Emily sleep, “No one knows, thanks though. Conditions for her guards, I can’t give her any more pain meds. I don’t think she banked on us just finding someone else. She needed it though.”

“Yes, thank you. Now get the doctor, see if we need to re-cast it or what,” Chevalier said, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“I’ll put out an order about removing her cast… I don’t think she could get it off alone,” Damon sighed.

“I’m guessing it’s her back too,” Kyle said, frowning.

“She tried to find out about last night from me,” Damon said, leaning back against the wall.

“Yeah, me too,” Kyle said.

“Damn, it’s going to be hard to stop her now,” Chevalier sighed. “There’s no way she would understand that room.”

“We reinforced the door this morning. Even if she finds it, there’s no way she’s going to get in,” Damon told them.

“It’s Emily. She’ll find a way,” Kyle said, shrugging.

“You give the mortal too much credit,” Damon told them, glancing at her. “She’s a weak female mortal. I don’t expect she’ll get in there.”

Chevalier grinned at Kyle, “Weak female mortal… let’s keep that comment to ourselves, shall we?”

Chapter 5 - The Challenge

“Emily, I’ve been so worried about you,” Exavior said, coming to the doors of his cell.

“I’ve been busy,” Emily told him, sitting down against the wall. Her leg was in a walking boot, less painful as not having a cast, yet not quite as slow as having one. It had taken a few days for her back to feel better though, and this was the first chance she had to get around.

“How are you?”

“I’m ok,” she said, watching as a heku down from them screamed about her scent and fought to get through the bars.

Exavior smiled, “That baby is growing.”

Emily nodded.

“Are they being nice to you?” he asked skeptically.

“Yes, they are.”

“The arm and leg?”

“Arm’s fine, my leg still has problems. It’s my back that’s not happy,” Emily said, and watched him wince. The last time she’d re-injured her back badly was his doing.

“Are you still saying it’s from a helicopter crash?” Exavior asked, watching her closely.

“It was a helicopter crash. One that killed Frank and the pilot,” Emily said sadly.

Emily’s scent in the prison now had all of the prisoners yelling and screaming in their cells. Their innate predatory nature had taken over.

“Quite the commotion you cause, don’t you?” Exavior asked, not amused.

Emily shrugged.

“You really shouldn’t come down here,” he told her.

“I’m looking for something.”

“What might that be?”

“I don’t know exactly. I was gone a few nights ago, and I’m trying to figure out what Chevalier, Kyle, and Damon were doing,” Emily explained.

“Maybe it’s best if you don’t know.”

“Do you know then?”

“Yes, I know exactly which night it was.”

“Then tell me, please,” Emily asked.

“I don’t feel it’s safe to tell you. There are some things in the heku nature that you might not understand,” he said, concerned.

Emily frowned, “Give me a shot, tell me.”

“No, I don’t feel like I should. In fact, you shouldn’t even be down here,” Exavior said, and returned to his bed.

“So that’s it? You’re kicking me out?” Emily stood up and adjusted her clothes.

“It’s not safe down here. Listen to them, you really need to go,” Exavior told her, and rolled over on his side away from her.

As Emily walked back up the stairs from the prison, she thought about what he said, how some things in the heku nature might be hard to understand. Her mind whirled and she didn’t even hear the two Cavalry guards fall in behind her when she left the prison.

Emily thought hard. She knew Chevalier, Kyle, and Damon wouldn’t talk. Now Exavior wasn’t going to tell her either, and she knew Mark wouldn’t talk, the time for secret conversations had passed. She didn’t trust Quinn, but maybe Maleth. She wondered if Maleth would tell her what Exavior meant by that. Without even thinking about it, Emily found herself standing outside of Maleth’s door. She knocked softly.

“Enter,” he yelled at the door. Emily didn’t like the tone of his voice, and wondered if she should just walk away. Taking a deep breath, she stepped into his office.

Maleth immediately smiled at her, “Hello, Emily.”

“Do you have a second?” she asked from the doorway.

“Yes, yes, come in,” Maleth said, shutting a large ledger.

“I’m sorry to bother you, but I wasn’t sure who else would help me,” Emily said, sitting down.

Maleth frowned, “What is troubling you, ch… Dear?”

“Something Exavior said to me,” she told him, suddenly wondering if she should even tell him.

“What exactly?”

“The night I spent away… Chevalier, Damon, and Kyle did something and I want to know what. I asked Exavior and he said ‘There are some things in the heku nature that you might not understand,’” Emily said, and watched him.

Maleth nodded, “He is correct.”

“That’s not really what I wanted. I want to know what they were doing, and what was so bad that I wouldn’t understand it.”

“It’s our nature to be predators. Sometimes predators have to let go and be themselves. I agree with Exavior, and would prefer that you not find out.”

“So you’re ashamed of them for it?”

“No, not at all. I just don’t think you would… understand.”

“How do you all know what I will and won’t understand? I’ve lived with heku for seven years, and I think I have a fairly good understanding,” she said, standing up.

“No, Dear, you do not. We hold quite a bit back around you.” Maleth sounded frustrated. He knew she was getting angry at his lack of response.

“Well… don’t do me any favors,” Emily said, and walked out of his office. The Cavalry again fell in behind her quietly.

“Hey, Tiny, I have the glue truck coming for that mustang,” Damon said jokingly from ahead of her.

Emily was toe-to-toe with him before he finished. She slapped him and he looked down at her, shocked. Her guards weren’t sure what to do. They were afraid she was about to be assaulted, yet she’d started it, and he was a member of the Council. They glanced at each other nervously.

“It was a joke,” Damon said, frowning.

Emily screamed at him, hitting his chest with her fist to accentuate each word, “Do... not… mess… with… me… today.”

Damon took her upper arms in his hands, “Calm down,” he said sternly.

She ripped her arms away from his hands and pushed him once more, hard across the chest. He staggered back a bit out of surprise and she stormed off.

“Get lost,” she said to the guards, and they stopped by Damon.

Damon raised an eyebrow, “Moody today, isn’t she?”

One of the guards nodded, “She’s had a rough morning.”

“What happened?”

“She’s trying to find out what you three did the night she was gone,” the guard explained. “She went to the Valle’s Chief Interrogator first, he wouldn’t tell her, and then wouldn’t talk to her because he said the prison wasn’t safe. So then she went to Elder Maleth.”

“She did not!” Damon said with wide eyes.

The guard nodded, “He wouldn’t tell her either, so she walked out of his office and then she ran into you.”

“Ok, I’ll talk to the Elder. He needs to know what extent she’s going to, to find out. Did she go near the door?”

“We weren’t allowed to go with her, but it didn’t sound like it.”

“New orders from me, if she goes near that door, stop her and let me know,” Damon whispered to the guards. They nodded and walked up the stairs to wait at Emily’s door.

It was an hour later before Chevalier made it up to their room. He had met with Kyle and Damon again, and they also brought Mark into the conversation. It seemed that their bid to keep Emily away from the Interrogation Room would be harder than expected.

When Chevalier stepped into the bedroom, it seemed uncomfortably hot and both fires were roaring. Emily was asleep on top of the covers wearing only a tank top and panties. His eyes fell onto the runes on her thigh. Everyone would feel better once they were removed. He watched her for a moment. He hadn’t noticed before how much the baby had grown, but it was obvious with her lying flat on her back. He worried about what Sam had told them, how most Winchesters didn’t survive childbirth because of large babies.

Chevalier laid down beside her on the bed and propped himself up on one elbow to watch her sleep. She seemed so peaceful when she slept, yet he knew her dreams held true terror and that when she woke up, she was going to be mad about the lack of information she obtained that day.

Emily finally woke up a few hours later. She reached down and pulled a blanket over her and then looked at Chevalier.

“Feel better?” he asked, smiling.

“Tell me,” she said softly.

Chevalier shook his head, “What can I do to get you to drop it?”

“Tell me.”

“You aren’t going to find out without being underhanded and scheming. I’d rather have you just let it go.”

“Exavior made it sound like you were eating small children, or biting the heads off pigeons, or something,” she said, and sat up against the headboard.

Chevalier couldn’t help but grin, “We haven’t done that in centuries.”

“If it’s not that bad, then tell me.”

“No, it’s heku stuff. Believe it or not, there are things that go on in this palace that don’t involve you,” he said, amused.

Emily frowned at him, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing bad. It’s just that some things don’t concern you.” Chevalier wasn’t sure that sounded right either. He didn’t like her reaction, the way her eyes narrowed as he spoke.

“Is that what you all think about me? I stick my nose in everything and think the entire universe revolves around me?”

“No, that’s not…”

“Maybe Damon’s just the only one to fess up to that, eh? The rest of you think about me like that, too? I’m just the spoiled mortal, right? I always get my way, and everyone’s too afraid of me to do anything about it.” Emily reached down and grabbed the hated pregnancy jeans, then stood up and slipped them on. She dug under the bed and grabbed her boot and slipped it on, then started fastening the ties with shaking hands.

“You twisted my words,” Chevalier said, watching her. “Where are you going?”

“I thought I’d go stick my nose in elsewhere… maybe there’s some good gossip down at the stables I haven’t been able to spread yet.” She stormed out of the room.

Chevalier heard her snap at the guards when they tried to follow her. They fell back into position at her door.

Emily was furious. She suspected for a while that the workers in the palace, whether guards or servants, were not only afraid of her, but saw her as the spoiled wife of the Elder. Chevalier’s words confirmed that and it infuriated her.

Emily’s personal rule was, if you are miserable, find someone more miserable than you to hang with. It wasn’t long before she crawled through the corral fence and looked at the antsy mustang. He was always calmer when no heku were around, so she thought today was the perfect day to try the bridle herself.

Emily grabbed the bridle that was still slung over the fence, and took one step toward the mustang, putting the bridle over her shoulder. He took a step back and lowered his ears, so she locked his eyes and waited for him to calm down.

“It’s ok,” she said to him softly, and then smiled when his ears moved forward to listen to her.

Emily took another step toward him. She could feel Ford walking slowly behind her, but didn’t see Kyle and Mark watching her from inside the stables. The mustang took another step away from her, but then held steady as she slowly inched toward him.

“You’re just an unhappy guy aren’t you?” she whispered, and extended her hands out to him. The mustang sniffed at her hands and eyed the bridle slung over her shoulder. He stamped his foot once and shied away from her.

Kyle and Mark saw him at the same time the mustang did, a strange heku was advancing on Emily. The mustang reared back suddenly and slammed his head against Emily on the way down, throwing her back into the fence. Mark caught up with the rogue heku and roughly pulled him indoors as Kyle lifted Emily over the fence, away from the angry horse.

“Are you ok?” he asked, looking her over.

“Who the hell was that?”

“Em, are you hurt?”

“Ugh, no,” she said, getting to her feet. She could feel her back starting to ache, though, “You don’t sneak up on a nervous horse, idiot.”

“Mark has him. We’ll find out who that was,” Kyle said angrily.

“Damn, it’s going to take longer to get him to trust me now,” Emily said, and tried to crawl through the fence, but Kyle took her arm.

“Let’s call it a day, ok?”

“You call it a day. I need that mustang to trust me, and I can’t do it with heku running around,” she said, pulling her arm out of his grasp.

Kyle nodded and let her go. He watched for a second and then turned around and headed in to see what Mark was finding out. As he entered the palace, he could hear Mark yelling at someone from the closest conference room. He noticed that Chevalier also caught part of the yelling and was heading for the room.

“Answer me. Do you honestly think I’m that stupid?” Mark yelled. The strange heku was cowered in the corner and glanced up nervously as Kyle and Chevalier stepped in.

“No... no I didn’t mean that,” the heku said, his eyes now fixed on Chevalier.

“What’s going on?” Chevalier asked Mark.

“Ed here thought it would be nice to go have a visit with Emily, by sneaking up on her while she was inching up on that mustang. Got her knocked into the fence, too,” Mark said, scowling at the heku.

Chevalier’s eyes narrowed, “You just wanted to go talk to her?”

Ed nodded feverishly, “Yes, I swear! I just wanted to talk.”

“Before I teach this heku a lesson, is she ok?” Chevalier asked, turning to Kyle.

“Her back’s hurting. I can tell by how she moves, but she isn’t admitting it. She’s out there trying to get close to the mustang again,” Kyle answered, watching Ed.

“Good, let’s go interrogate,” Chevalier said, grinning. He watched as Kyle and Mark each took an arm and hauled Ed toward the prison as he fought.

Armed with treats, Emily tried again to get close to the mustang. This time, Ford opted to stay outside of the fence and watch, tail wagging.

“I know, he’s just an idiot,” she whispered calmly to the stallion. He was watching her carefully, glancing at the treat in her hand often. Emily took another small step forward and held her hand just a little further out.

“Slow and steady,” she said, and watched his movements for any sign he was getting nervous again. His ears were forward and his tail had finally stopped swishing. She was still mad, the heku set her back almost an hour, but things were going smoothly again.

As Emily got close enough to feed the mustang, he took a treat from her hand and sniffed at her shirt, then picked at it with his teeth. She stepped forward again and he sized her up quickly with his eyes and took a timid step towards her. He sniffed at the bridle over her shoulder and then at her hair.

“You too?” she asked him, slowly and calmly. “I get sniffed more than anyone I’ve ever known.”

Emily smiled and rubbed the horse’s muzzle gently. He tried to knock her hand away with his nose once, but then allowed her to move even closer to him and pet his neck.

“See, easy.” She smiled, still watching his every movement.

She took the bridle slowly from her shoulder and held it in her hand. The mustang sniffed it for a while and bit at it, but didn’t shy away or rear back.

“You’re going to be a great horse,” she said, patting his neck softly. “Think I can train you to buck on command? I bet I can get Damon that way, that might be worth it.”

“I just wanted to pet you,” she said, running her fingers through the mane on the top of his head. Emily gently pulled his lips back and looked at his teeth. “Well you’re just a baby, aren’t you? I’m going to have to say you’re about 2 years old.”

Emily handed him another treat and laid her head against his muzzle.

“I won’t let them get rid of you, I promise,” she whispered. Emily turned suddenly when she saw the mustang’s tail whip around quickly. She saw Damon standing beside the fence.

“You’re braver than you look,” he said, grinning at her.

Emily put a reassuring hand on the mustang’s neck, “Doesn’t take bravery to be nice to an animal.”

Emily took a few steps away from the mustang and slid through the fence. She walked around it and past Damon, heading into the stable.

Damon followed her.

“Why are you here?” she asked, slipping the bridle onto a hook.

“Making sure that horse doesn’t kill you.”

“Like you care,” she said, shutting the lights off into the stable.

“You’re right, I don’t care… it was an order.”

“Thought I wasn’t going to have a babysitter anymore.”

“So did I,” Damon said, following her as she walked into the palace.

“Go away,” Emily said, and stepped into the foyer. “Part of the deal of agreeing to guards, was that you were never to be one of them.”

“Why?”

Emily frowned, “What are you up to?”

“What do you mean?” he asked, leaning against the staircase.

“You wouldn’t be trying to keep me out of the prison would you?”

“I don’t care if you go into the prison,”

“Because whatever you three were up to the other night, it was in the prison. I figure if Exavior knows what you were up to, he had to have seen something, so the prison is where I plan on finding it,” Emily said.

She saw the briefest flicker of shock cross his face before he laughed, “Spend your day in the prison if you want.”

“Oh I will, tomorrow maybe,” Emily said, and took a slow step up the stairs.

“Need help?”

Emily frowned, “No.”

Damon stood back and watched her.

“Seriously, you’re buggin’,” Emily said about halfway up the stairs.

She heard Damon chuckle.

“Where’s Chev?”

“In a meeting,”

“Great,” Emily said, and ignored Damon as she made her way up to her room.

Emily sat down in the wheelchair and started up the Wii. She suddenly had the urge to annihilate an entire village of vampires.

“Mommy!” Emily scooped Allen up in her arms when he got back from school.

“How was school?” she asked, kissing him.

“Good… oooh can I play?” Allen asked, grabbing remote controller.

“Sure, come kill vampires with Mommy.” Emily grinned and loaded up his avatar.

“Do you want that mustang in a stall?” Sam asked.

“Not yet, I don’t think he’s ready, just feed him out in the corral,” Emily said as she viciously cut the arm off of a vampire.

“Kill them!” Allen yelled, and laughed when a horde of vampires slaughtered him.

“Sorry, Hun, start back up,” Emily said as he died.

“What’s happening?” Chevalier asked from behind them.

“We’re killing vampires,” Allen said, grinning.

“I see,” Chevalier said, and sat down to slip off his shoes.

Emily wheeled over and handed Chevalier the remote, “Kill some, it feels good.”

He watched as she wheeled into the bathroom, “You feeling ok?”

“Yes,” she called out, and shut the door after her. Chevalier heard the water running in the bathtub.

He turned to the game and joined his son in playing the mostly insulting video game.

“Daddy?” Allen asked, looking over at him.

“Yes?”

“Are you a vampire?”

Chevalier grinned, “No, I’m not.”

“Dennis said vampires are bad.”

“There’s no such thing as a vampire.”

“Do you drink blood?”

Chevalier sighed. He and Emily hadn’t decided what to tell Allen, “Have you ever seen me?”

“Well… no.”

“Then… there you have it.”

“Is it bad to drink blood?” Allen asked, looking intently at his Dad.

“No, it’s not.”

When the game ended, Chevalier tucked Allen into bed and kissed his forehead.

“Do you promise me you aren’t a vampire?” Allen asked him.

“I promise, now go to sleep.”

Chevalier walked out of Allen’s room and opened the bathroom door slowly. Emily was asleep in the jetted tub. He leaned against the counter and watched her sleeping. He smiled when he noticed the top edge of her tummy sticking out of the water.

Chevalier knelt down beside the tub, “Em?”

She jerked awake, sloshing water over the side of the tub.

“Don’t do that!” Emily yelled at him.

Chevalier chuckled, “Sorry, I just had an image of you drowning in your sleep.”

“Have fun in the prison tonight?” Emily asked with a smirk.

“I wasn’t in the prison. I was in a meeting,” he said, watching her closely.

“No you weren’t, you have that look again.”

“What look?”

“That look… like you’ve done something exhilarating. Something that your mortal wife wouldn’t understand,” she said, and crawled out of the tub, wrapped in a towel, and then she bent down to put on the walking cast.

“It was a meeting.”

“It was in the prison, and I’m going to find out what it is down there,” she said, walking out of the bathroom.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Chevalier told her, walking out just as she pulled on a nightgown.

“Of course you don’t,” she said, and sat down to brush her hair in front of the fire.

“Just forget about that night, Em. It’s no big deal.”

“If it was no big deal, you’d tell me what it was you were doing.”

“Tonight, I was at a meeting, ask Maleth,” Chevalier told her.

“No, he can’t be trusted now either.”

“What’d he do?”

“He evaded my questions. Obviously in cahoots with the three of you.”

“Damnit,” Chevalier said, irritated. “Stay out of it.”

Emily stood up slowly and walked over to the bed. She slipped off her boot and then laid down, fighting a wince as her back screamed at the movement.

Chevalier sighed, “Did the horse hurt your back?”

“Good night, Chev,” she said, and shut her eyes.

“At least take some ibuprofen,” he told her, holding his hand out with some of pills.

Emily took them with some water and shut her eyes again.

Chevalier watched her for a few minutes and then turned out the lights and sat by the fire in a chair.

“Chev?” she whispered softly from the bed.

He walked over to her and knelt down, “I’m here.”

“I’m afraid.” Her voice was soft and timid.

“Of what?”

“Promise you won’t leave.”

Chevalier crawled into bed and wrapped his arms around her, “I promise.”

He almost immediately saw the swirls of grays fill his mind as she fell into a deep sleep.

Sam brought Allen out for school and Chevalier kissed his forehead and sent them out quietly. He wrapped his arms back around Emily and watched the swirls of emotion as they flowed around them. He opened his eyes just as she was about to wake up.

“Good morning,” Chevalier said, and kissed her on the forehead.

Emily yawned into her hand and nodded.

“You slept late. I need to get to the trials,” he said, climbing out of bed.

Emily nodded and curled up on her side.

“Want breakfast?” he asked as he headed out of the room. He turned back to her, but she was already asleep.

Emily woke up a few hours later and looked around the empty room. There was a steaming pot of coffee on the table. She went to the table and sipped the coffee as she formulated a plan in her mind. She knew whatever they were hiding was in the prison. She also knew that Chevalier would have taken precautions against her finding it.

Her first course of action was to go through every one of the prisoners, in case it was a prisoner they were hiding from her. Dressing quickly, she slid on the hated boot and pulled the straps tight and then tied her hair up into a pony.

“You can have the day off,” Emily told the members of the Cavalry assigned to her. She watched as they blurred out of sight, and then made her way down the stairs. She was allowed in the prison now, so she didn’t have to worry about the guards there causing any problems.

“Ma’am,” they both said, bowing to her when she walked in.

Emily started a systematic pattern through the prison cells, making sure to check each one. She studied each prisoner as they flew at her and landed hard against the bars. Some foamed at the mouth, while others just inhaled and touched the air with their tongues.

Exavior sighed, “What are you up to?”

“Just looking,” Emily said, walking past his cell to the one next to him.

“Good morning, Winchester,” Sotomar said, looking through the bars. He inhaled and smiled as she walked by.

Emily started to think she was not on the right track, as prisoner after prisoner turned out to be nothing they would hide from her. She stopped at Greg’s cell and looked in. He was curled up into a ball and shaking.

“Greg?” she asked toward him.

He looked up at her and ducked his head back into his hands.

“What happened to you?” she asked, frowning. The bold leader of the V.E.S. that she spent so much time with, now looked like a weak shell.

“T… t… tor… torture,” he stammered out, as his entire body shook.

“Who tortured you?” she asked softly.

“Emily, I need to talk to you,” Exavior shouted.

“Who, Greg?” Emily asked, ignoring Exavior.

“Thh… they did,” he said, looking around nervously.

Emily walked around to Exavior, “Is that it? They were hiding a torture?”

“He’s a raving lunatic. Don’t listen to him,” Exavior said, leaning against the bars.

Emily turned around and finished her search of the cells, “What’s through this door?”

One of the guards appeared, “That’s off limits.”

“What’s through there?” she asked again.

“More cells, the more dangerous criminals are kept back there,” he told her.

Emily tried the door, but it was too heavy for her to open, “Open it.”

“No, Ma’am. We were told to allow you to visit Exavior, and that’s it,” the guard said.

“We can do this easy or hard, your choice,” Emily said, putting her hands on her hips.

The guard glanced at the other guard by the door, who shrugged.

Emily tapped her foot as the guard sighed and opened the heavy door for her.

“Knock when you’re ready to leave,” he told her.

Emily stepped into the dimly lit corridor and had the sudden feeling of déjà vu. The corridor looked like the one from the mortal trap. Instead of bars, the walls were stone with small peep holes up higher than she could see. She jumped to try to look inside, but couldn’t. All she could hear was the buzzing of electricity and the groaning of pain.

Emily saw a box at the end of the hallway and pulled it up to one of the openings. She peeked inside and gasped. There was a large heku in the small 4x4ft cell. He was shackled and chained to the wall. The muscles on his neck stood out as he strained with the pain. He suddenly looked up and into her eyes.

“Who are you?” she whispered through the small opening.

He growled deeply and grinned at her, the look on his face sent chills up her spine. Emily froze in terror, her eyes locked on his. She couldn’t move away from the window, but began to shake with the terror. His eyes seemed to dig deep into her soul and it was cold and alone. The air around her turned frigid and she found it hard to breathe. His eyes were malicious and full of loathing for her.

Emily screamed when she felt the hands on her waist, pulling her away from the window. Warm arms wrap around her and she buried her face in his chest, still trembling with fear.

“Shhh, it’s ok,” Damon said softly, pressing a hand against her head.

She didn’t care that it was Damon. She was out of the grip of the heku in the cell.

“He… he…” she tried to explain, but couldn’t get the words to come out.

“I know, you’re ok now,” he said to her.

Her body was tense against his and she began to tremble.

“Let’s get out of here,” Damon suggested, and when she nodded, he picked her up as she shook and carried her back up the stairs.

Damon met Kyle and Chevalier in the hallway leading to the foyer.

“What happened?” Chevalier asked, taking Emily from Damon. He could feel her entire body shaking.

“She met Adam,” Damon said, watching her, concerned.

“She what!?” Chevalier roared.

“He… he…” she stammered, still unable to talk.

“I was told by the guards that she went into the maximum security cells,” Damon said. “She got a box to stand on and… well… she found Adam.”

Even with the bright daylight flooding into the palace, Emily felt cold and afraid. Normally in the grips of Chevalier’s strong arms, nothing frightened her, but the terrified moments she looked into Adam’s eyes still made her shiver, and the coldness from his gaze still surrounded her.

“So… cold…” Emily mumbled.

“It’s ok, as soon as you get warm you’ll feel better,” Chevalier told her, and headed upstairs.

Emily had a tight grip on Chevalier as he ran the bathwater.

“Come on, let’s get you in the water,” he said as he shut off the water. He had to pry Emily’s fingers off of his neck.

“No, don’t let go,” she said, tightening her grip.

“You won’t feel better until you warm up, trust me,” he said, and pulled her arms from around him. He felt her body shaking as he removed her clothes and sat her in the water. He turned the hot water on for a few more minutes to heat it up.

Slowly, Emily stopped shaking and began to feel the warmth from the water. She buried her face in her hands and broke down crying. Chevalier touched her hair softly.

“It’s ok, he can’t get out,” Chevalier said softly.

As the warmth permeated into her body, Emily began to feel better. The shaking stopped and the terror that gripped her began to fade.

“Who is he?” she asked finally, looking up at Chevalier.

Chevalier sighed, “His name is Adam. He’s one of the most dangerous heku I’ve ever seen.”

“Those cells past the door?”

“Maximum security. Did you notice the cells didn’t have a door?” he asked.

Emily nodded.

“That’s because there are no doors… those prisoners were sealed in there with no chance of ever getting out. The wall was built around them,” Chevalier tried to assure her.

Emily shut her eyes and let the warmth from the water wash away the image of Adam in her mind.

“What were you doing in there?” Chevalier asked softly.

“I wanted to see,” she whispered.

“I wish you could see that there are reasons we try to keep you out of places,” he said, reaching over to massage her shoulders.

“Why isn’t he dead?”

“He’s too dangerous to kill,” Chevalier sighed.

“I… I don’t understand,” Emily said, looking up at him.

“There was an ancient, he’s been gone for almost 1200 years. He used to be able to reassemble a heku that died. He could reattach a heku’s head and bring him back to life, even years later. The risk of those heku down in maximum security coming back to life is too great, so we keep them,” Chevalier explained. “He can’t get out.”

Emily nodded.

“What were you afraid of last night?” Chevalier asked.

“I don’t remember,” Emily said, watching the water.

“I’ll get you some lunch, ok? Come out when you are ready. I’ll be right outside the door,” he said, and left, shutting the door behind him.

Emily sat for a while and let the warm water do its work. Finally, she climbed out of the tub and dressed quickly. She found Chevalier sitting by the table with a silver tray on it. She sat down and pulled off the dome. She was hungry from missing breakfast, and dug into the spaghetti.

“I need to go back to the trials. Will you be ok alone?” Chevalier asked, and brushed the hair away from her shoulder.

“Can I go with you?” she asked, frowning.

“What if I send Mark up?”

“Do you really have to go?”

“I really need to, yes,” Chevalier said. “What about Damon? I can send him up. Today’s trials are Elder only.”

Emily shook her head, “I bet he thinks this is really funny.”

“No, I don’t think he does,” Chevalier told her.

“Send Mark,” she said, and set down the fork, no longer hungry.

Chevalier kissed her forehead and left just as Mark was arriving.

Mark was disappointed that Emily wasn’t in the mood for the game, but began to get worried when she lay in bed watching out the window for hours. He heard Chevalier coming up the stairs and met him out in the hallway.

“She hasn’t moved all afternoon. She’s just staying in bed, watching out the window,” Mark said, concerned.

Chevalier sighed, “She met Adam.”

Mark gasped, “How?”

“She got nosey down in the prison,” Chevalier said a bit coldly.

“Well at least that explains her mood. Damn, I hope she feels better,” Mark said, and left for the barracks.

***

“Doesn’t it seem like we’ve had a lot of trials lately?” Quinn asked as the Council settled in for another day.

“Seems like it,” Damon nodded.

“How is Emily?” Maleth asked when Chevalier sat down.

“Better, seems like every day Adam wears off a little more,” he explained. Emily spent the first two days in bed, but over the next week, started to come out more and more, though she avoided the prison now.

“I hate to say this, though I wish it hadn’t been Adam, maybe that’s what we needed to keep her away from the interrogation chamber,” Damon said.

Chevalier just nodded.

The Court Reporter shuffled some papers, “First up is Ed. He’s an Equites, 248 years old. He’s accused of intent to harm a member of the Council.”

Quinn raised an eyebrow, “Which member?”

“I didn’t! I swear, it was a misunderstanding,” Ed yelled, his terror filled eyes on Chevalier.

“He snuck up behind Emily while she was working with that demon horse. He scared the horse, who ended up throwing Emily into a fence. On interrogation, he admitted he was going to make her an offer,” Damon told him.

“I just… I just wanted out of that room. I didn’t do anything,” Ed pleaded.

“Offer?” Quinn asked, ignoring Ed.

“An offer to feed,” Damon said, and scowled at Ed.

“No, no that’s not what I wanted, I swear!”

“What then, did you want with her?” Quinn asked him.

“I wanted to talk to her, that’s all.”

“About?”

“Just visit, nothing more,” Ed said, still watching Chevalier.

“Hmm, interesting. Aren’t there outstanding orders about talking to the Elder’s wife?” Quinn asked Damon.

Damon nodded, “There are.”

“I say guilty then,” Quinn said bluntly.

Each of the council members voted guilty, and then Damon stood up, “Using you as an example, you are sentenced to 16 years in prison for disobeying a direct order and causing harm to a member of the Council.”

“No... please... no,” Ed said, and fell to his knees. Two guards came in and hauled him away.

“Next?” Maleth asked the Court Reporter.

“Next up is Lady Emily,” he said.

“Excuse me?” Chevalier said.

“She submitted the correct paperwork for a trial. She is on the docket.”

“This should be interesting,” Damon said, and turned to the door when Emily entered.

“Good morning, Emily,” Maleth said, smiling.

Emily smiled at the Council and limped over to the trial area.

“What exactly brings you here today?” Quinn asked with a smile.

“I’ve been doing some research on the heku laws, specifically as it applies to Equites prisoners,” she said, and blushed briefly as she felt the Council watching her. “I am here on behalf of Exavior… to ask for his release.”

“Can she do that?” asked Zohn. He had been appointed the Equites Chief Interrogator, and this was his first trial day.

Chevalier nodded, “Yes, I do believe she can.”

“On what grounds do you appeal for his release?” Quinn asked.

“On the grounds that I’m the one he was accused of assaulting, and I want him released,” Emily said nervously.

“Bring Exavior here,” Damon said under his breath.

Emily turned suddenly when she heard the door behind her open, and then looked back to the Council when Exavior stepped in with his hands restrained at his back. He moved forward and stood beside Emily.

“What am I accused of now?” Exavior asked.

“The Lady is here to try to get you released,” Quinn told him.

Exavior raised an eyebrow, “Oh, she is?”

“Was that at your request?” Damon asked angrily.

“No, it was not. I wasn’t aware she was even trying,” Exavior said, and looked at Emily. It was obvious to the Council that she was avoiding looking at him.

Emily rocked back and forth nervously on her feet, “Sooo… can we let him go?”

“On what grounds?” Damon asked, irritated.

Chevalier hissed softly. The sight of his pregnant mortal wife standing before the Council beside a large enemy heku made him furious.

“On the grounds that he didn’t mean to hurt me, and I think time served is enough,” Emily said.

“What about attacks on Council City?” Quinn asked.

“Oh… that… do you have any proof that he actually attacked?” Emily asked.

“I did attack,” Exavior told her.

“Shut up,” she snapped at him.

Quinn chuckled, “Seems that we can hold him indefinitely on grounds of the attack.”

“Fine then… how about you release him so I can stay out of the prison,” Emily said, and looked at the ground.

“Wait for our decision in the hallway,” Maleth said.

Two guards came in. One took Exavior’s shoulder and the other pulled Emily’s hands behind her back.

“Hey!” she yelled.

“Let her go,” Chevalier growled. The guard looked up at him and let go of Emily nervously. He moved to Exavior and helped the guard escort him into the hallway. Emily followed, not looking back at the Council.

“What are you doing?” Exavior asked her after the door shut.

“Hopefully, setting you free.”

“Do you just wander around all day trying to find trouble?”

Emily frowned, “No. I thought you’d want to be free.”

“I can take care of myself. There’s no reason you need to put yourself in jeopardy to set me free,” he said, irritated.

“How is this putting me in jeopardy?”

“You have no idea what you’re dealing with. I am just looking out for you,” he said, and Emily picked up a hint of patronization.

“Oh, another one of those heku traits that I haven’t seen in my 7 years with them?” she asked him angrily.

“You have only scratched the surface of what the heku is truly like. You are my main concern. I want to keep your view of our species as you see it now.”

“Yeah well, don’t do me any favors,” Emily snapped, and stormed off.

The guards pushed Exavior back into the council room a short time later.

“Where is Emily?” Quinn asked, confused.

“I do believe I’ve lost my representative for this appeal,” Exavior said, and shrugged.

Damon motioned one of the guards up onto the stand. Quinn and Damon listened in while he relayed, word-for-word, what happened in the hallway.

Damon turned to Exavior as his eyes narrowed, “What did you mean by scratching the surface of what the heku are truly like?”

Chevalier turned to Exavior as he spoke, “I know about your interrogation chamber. I also know she’s trying to find it. She sees this species as warm and kind. You know as well as I do that that’s a far cry from our true nature.”

“So, as you see it,” Quinn asked, “We are incapable of caring for her?”

“Exactly. If you cared for her at all, you would let her leave and start a life back with her own kind,” Exavior told them.

“Let her leave? She can leave whenever she wants,” Damon scowled.

“Can she?” Exavior asked.

“I will not sit here and defend my actions to a prisoner. Return him to lockup,” Chevalier growled.

Exavior nodded and went with the guards.

“Damnit,” Chevalier hissed.

“What?” Maleth asked, turning to him.

“Emily’s encounter with Adam scared her away from the prison. Now that Exavior brought it all up again, I can just see the challenge forming in her head again,” Chevalier said, frustrated.

“If we kill him, would she stop going down there?” Damon asked.

“No, if we kill him, she’ll take that personally and it would drive her harder.”

Damon growled and blurred from the room.

“Shall we continue?” Maleth asked, and turned to the Court Reporter.

Emily stood down in the prison looking at the empty wall. She tried to form a map in her mind of what would be behind it, but she wasn’t finding an answer. She’d been down into the prison a lot and never noticed this annex and its empty wall. She wondered who would build a hallway off of the main prison that went nowhere. She ran her hands along the cold stones.

“Having fun?” Damon asked, walking into the annex.

“What’s this place for? The hallway doesn’t go anywhere,” Emily asked, turning to him.

“It’s for future growth.”

Emily turned to him and leaned against the hidden doorway to the chamber, “You’re lying.”

Damon frowned, “What makes you think that? That’s quite an accusation.”

“It just so happens that I’ve been wandering this prison for almost an hour, yet the second I walk into this annex, you appear. Sounds to me like the guards yelled that the mortal was close to something she’s not supposed to be.”

“You’re flattering yourself. Maybe I was informed you were looking for trouble, and as my experience has taught me, you usually find it,” Damon grinned.

“If I’m not close to finding what I’m looking for, then you don’t need to watch me.”

“Someone has to, you’re a magnet for danger.”

Emily smiled sweetly, and then walked out of the annex and up the stairs to the foyer.

Damon blurred back to his seat.

“What was that?” Quinn asked, irritated.

“Our resident pain in the ass found her way to the door of the interrogation chamber,” he said, looking over at Chevalier.

“Did she know there was a door?” Chevalier felt his heart skip a beat.

“No, but she’s not stupid. She knows no one puts a hallway to nothing,” Damon said.

“Maybe you’d be better off just taking her in and showing her the room,” Maleth suggested.

Damon cringed.

“No, I don’t think she needs to see that right now. Exavior was partially right. She doesn’t know some of our more darker tendencies. It’d be nice if we could keep it that way. For now, I’ll just stay out of the chamber, Kyle and Damon should too,” Chevalier said.

“Hey, why am I getting punished?” Damon frowned.

“She’s going to watch you like a hawk. She knows you were there on the night in question.”

“Let’s just lock her in her room where she belongs then. That’s my room!” Damon said angrily.

“You’re not helping,” Maleth said to him.

“It’s also not helping if you appear down there every time she sets foot in the hallway. Just have them watch her,” Chevalier said. “You can keep going, but be careful that she’s not following you.”

Damon laughed, “She couldn’t follow me if she wanted too. I can smell her from a mile away.”

“Then it’s settled, just let her snoop. She can’t get the door open on her own,” Chevalier said, and turned back to the docket.

“Fine then, she’s down there again. We’ll just let her snoop,” Damon said, and watched as a guard brought in the next prisoner.

Emily made her way to the hallway again. Other than a stack of wooden crates in the corner, nothing else was in there. She felt along the wall on both sides, then stopped when the wall seemed a little warmer in one spot. She pushed against the wall, but it seemed solid.

“Hey, Ron,” Emily called out, and one of the door guards came to her.

“Yes, Ma’am?”

“Open this door for me,” she said, and pointed at the wall.

“No, Ma’am.”

Emily smiled, “Ok, thanks though. You can go back.”

Damon sighed, “I’m going to kill him myself.”

“Who are you going to kill now?” Quinn asked, amused.

“Ron, one of the door guards in the prison. He just fell for Emily’s trap. Now she knows there’s a door in that hallway,” Damon said, growling.

“Are you serious?” Chevalier asked angrily.

“Yup, when Emily asked him to open the door for her… pointing at the wall in the hallway, he said ‘no’… he didn’t say ‘What door?’ he said ‘no’,” Damon explained, shaking his head.

“She still can’t get in,” Chevalier said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“She’s not trying. She’s gone out to the stables,” Damon told them.

“Perfect, that’s how she thinks… she’ll take Patra out and think,” Chevalier growled.

“She can’t get in. We have to push hard against that door to even budge it,” Maleth said.

Emily kicked Patra into a gallop and ran through the streets of Council City. Right now, she just wanted to get out onto the hills. She hated how heku watched her from their houses when she passed. It was best to do it quickly, so she didn’t have time to get the creeps. Once out on the green hills, she looked over Council City, then headed into the woods and let Patra lead while she thought. Another plan was forming in her mind, and she started to get excited about ending this mystery.

***

“Shhh, it was a nightmare,” Chevalier said as he pulled Emily closer to him.

Emily buried her face in his chest, trying to wipe the images from her mind. Chevalier kissed the top of her head and smiled where she couldn’t see him. He found that nightmare somewhat funny, as it was too farfetched to ever actually happen. He knew that Adam didn’t have the same effect on heku that he did on mortals though, so he could see how it scared her.

“Do you have to work today?” she asked as she looked over at the clock.

“Yes, we have new covens applying. Tomorrow, though, I’m off.” He smiled, and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

“New covens? Someone just applies to be an Equites?” she asked, confused.

“No, someone who is already an Equites decides to move from their coven and start a new one.”

“Hrm, interesting.”

Chevalier grinned, “You going to give it a go?”

Emily smiled, “Maybe.”

Chevalier began to slide out of bed, but felt Emily’s arms tighten around him. He broke her grasp easily and stood up.

“I need a weight set,” she grumbled, and curled up with his pillow.

Chevalier chuckled, “It wouldn’t help.”

Emily faked mad until Chevalier left and then she scrambled out of bed. She threw some clothes on and dug through her dresser, pulling out the flashlight she kept in there. Grabbing a pancake, she left quickly for the prison.

“Good morning, Ma’am,” one of the guards said.

Emily smiled and headed down the hallway to Exavior’s cell. She passed him without a word, and doubled around the back way to the mysterious hallway. Slipping behind the wooden crates, she sat down and ate the pancake dry, waiting.

Hours passed, and Emily was finding it harder to keep herself entertained and she was getting anxious. She heard the changing of the guards and smiled. It’d been nearly four hours since she got there and she hadn’t heard her name mentioned in the briefing. She hoped they had forgotten she was down there.

Emily froze when she heard someone in the hallway. She peeked around the crate and saw Damon and two heku guards struggling to get a prisoner through the door. She hadn’t seen how they opened it, though, and cursed herself for missing that opportunity. She jumped when she heard screams coming from behind the wall a few minutes later.

Damon left the room a while later. He was covered in blood and mumbled, “Damn, this hallway even smells like her now.”

She waited for the others to come out. When they did, the two guards were dragging a lifeless prisoner from the room. They were talking in Latin, so Emily couldn’t understand what they were saying. She was focused on the slowly closing door as they rounded the corner into the prison cell section.

Emily sprung from the crates and disappeared into the dark room, then huddled down by the wall as the door closed with a loud thud.

She flipped on her flashlight, excited that she’d finally made it into the room. She had no proof that’s where the three heku spent their exhilarating night, but she had strong suspicions.

Standing up, she scanned the room with the flashlight. There weren’t any lights that she could find. She moved up to the tables in the center and ran her fingers along the ancient wood. One table had ropes at both ends, and she picked one up. There was something caught between the fibers, so she pulled it closer to the flashlight and dropped the rope suddenly when she realized it was skin.

Emily looked around the other tables and followed the wires connecting them to a smaller table off to the side, full of buttons. She pressed one of the buttons, and heard electricity flow through the wire and into the table.

She saw something in the corner and went toward it. It stood a lot taller than she was, kind of a metal coffin with an intricately carved sun at the head. She pulled open one of the doors and looked inside curiously. Nothing jumped out at her, so she opened the other set of doors. Large metal spikes stood out from the back and the doors and from the smell inside, someone, or many someones, had died in there. The spikes were covered in dried blood and Emily covered her nose against the smell.

“Methinks your Daddy’s been torturing someone,” Emily said, shaking her head as she talked to the baby.

“Ooooh, a guillotine,” Emily said, and went over to it. She pulled the lever and then jumped when a loud crash sounded as the blade swept past the seat to the floor. The floor beneath it was stained red. She tugged on the cord to raise the blade, but it was too heavy and she couldn’t lift it more than a few inches, even when she hung from the cord using all of her body weight.

“Hrm,” Emily sighed, and left the guillotine for a long wooden post across the floor that had two holes cut out of it.

She played with it for a second, and found that the top half lifted up from the corner. She slipped one wrist into the hole and shut the device, but the hole was too big and she was able to easily pull her hand out. She stood back and looked at it again, then realized it must be for feet.

Lastly, she went to the fireplace. It had a large metal pig dangling over where the flame would be. It was almost as long as she was tall, and stood almost 3 feet high. Emily knocked on it and heard that it was hollow. She pulled the top open and looked inside. Nothing was in there but black marks where the heat from the flame scorched the inside. She frowned and looked around inside of the pig, but there were no signs of any torture devices.

Emily shrugged and shut the top, then heard the ding as metal hit metal. She looked around to the side, and saw a set of padlocks that could be used to fasten the top.

“What the hell is that for?” she asked no one.

Emily sat down on one of the tables and stared at the metal pig. She shook her head and gave up trying to decide what it was. She scanned the room one last time, and headed for the door, then began to panic. She pushed as hard as she could against the door, but it didn’t move. She tried to knock, but knocking against solid rock didn’t make any noise.

“He’s going to kill me,” she said, and looked around the room.

Emily leaned against the wall and turned off the flashlight to conserve the battery. She debated how to get out of the newly found torture room. She was sure they would search for her eventually, but wondered if they would check this room. She figured that Damon would, he knew how close she had come to finding it.

She turned on the flashlight and went back over to the fireplace. She quickly found the gas valve and the matches and soon had a roaring fire, then turned off the flashlight and was able to see the entire room. Again she looked at the metal pig and wondered what it was for.

Emily scanned the room and saw something up higher that she’d missed before. It was shining in the firelight. She crawled up onto the guillotine’s seat and grabbed it from high on the wall. The end was a small decorated skull with a rope knotted a few inches below it. From the rope dangled more little ropes with knots tied at the ends.

She sat down on the guillotine and studied the device. She was sure it was a whip, but the knots on the end seemed like unnecessary additions. She set it down on the guillotine when something else caught her eye. She got closer and saw shackles hanging a few inches down from the ceiling. She couldn’t reach them, even jumping, so they had to be at least eight feet from the ground.

Emily looked around. The room was getting warmer finally, and she wasn’t as panicked about being trapped than she was before. She knew she could always yell for Chevalier. Their bonding made it so she could call for help, but she wasn’t sure she really wanted him to know where she was. She just hoped for some way to get out on her own.

As Emily sat on the table and thought about how to get out, her eyes kept drifting to the wooden post along the floor. She was sure those holes were meant for feet, they were too big for hands, though, if the person was large, it may work. Finding nothing else better to do, she sat down on the ground and slipped her feet into the bottom half of the hole, and then grabbed the top half to swing it down. She felt the poke of a splinter and accidentally dropped the top half. It slammed into the bottom half, and Emily heard the sound of a metal latch.

“Oh… tell me I didn’t just do that,” she growled.

Emily pulled against the top half of the post, but it wouldn’t move. She tried to pull her feet free, but the holes were tight around her ankles and she wasn’t able to slip her feet out.

She ran her fingers around the pole, frantically looking for some type of latch release, but she didn’t find anything. She lay back against the cold ground and looked around the room.

***

“Have we ever approved three new covens in one meeting?” Damon asked, stepping onto the bottom stair.

“Not as long as I can remember,” Chevalier said, looking around. “They were good candidates though, I was impressed. Well… except for the two we denied, what a nightmare.”

“I can’t believe the one leader started screaming about going to the Encala,” Damon chuckled.

“I say we should have killed them right there for treason.”

“They’re still in the city aren’t they?”

Chevalier stopped and a grin formed, “I bet they are.”

“There were five of them, should we get some help?”

Chevalier looked at him, “I’ll take three, and you can have the other two.”

“Not unless I get there first,” Damon said, and blurred away, followed by Chevalier.

Chevalier caught up to them first and was able to incapacitate the first one easily. He was reading and not paying attention to his surroundings, and his head hit the floor with a thud and rolled into the roaring fireplace. Chevalier turned around as Damon brought his teeth to the neck of the leader, a stout woman with a bad attitude. He tore the flesh from her neck and swiftly snapped her neck with a sickening, crunching sound. Her head came off easily and he tossed it into the fire.

Chevalier and Damon turned around to the three remaining coven members.

“Why are you doing this?” the tallest man asked nervously.

“To keep you from joining the Encala, of course,” Damon said, grinning.

“We wouldn’t have! She was… out of line speaking for the rest of us,” he said, panicked.

Chevalier took a step forward and leaned his elbow on the taller man’s shoulder. Chevalier was still a good six inches taller than him, “Damon?”

“Why… yes, Elder?”

“Do you believe him?” Chevalier asked, grinning at the man.

“Nope,” Damon said, just as Chevalier ripped the man’s head off and tossed it with the other two in the fire.

There were two coven members left, and they were cowering in the corner.

“Please, let us go,” the elder man begged.

“There’s two of them…” Damon said to Chevalier.

Chevalier grinned ominously, “One for each of us.”

“Where’s Emily though? She can’t see us go,” Damon said, and smiled reassuringly down at the two heku.

Chevalier shut his eyes for no more than a second and opened them, “No idea where she is, but wherever she is, she’s embarrassed.”

“Embarrassed? Damn, and I’m missing it,” Damon chuckled.

“Send guards down there to make sure she’s not around,” Chevalier said. He took the larger of the remaining coven member by the arm and began to drag him to the palace.

“We’re clear to go down, but Ron thinks we need to leave our toys in a cell and come in immediately,” Damon said, frowning.

“Why’s that?” Chevalier asked, towing the screaming heku. He started to listen for more information from the guards. He normally ignored what they said, as it didn’t pertain to him, but this piqued his interest.

“He won’t say, sounds nervous,” Damon said.

Chevalier and Damon pushed their heku into a cell and watched as Ron headed for the interrogation room.

“What’s going on?” Chevalier asked as Ron stammered and accidentally ran into a wall.

“It’s… it’s…” Ron said, and stopped. Chevalier stood to face him as Damon went on to the interrogation chamber.

“Speak now or I’ll throw you in there myself,” Chevalier said, annoyed that this guard was as nervous as he was.

“Umm… Elder?” Damon called from the doorway.

“What?” Chevalier scowled.

“You gotta see this,” Damon said, and Chevalier couldn’t help but notice he was laughing.

“What is up with…” Chevalier stopped suddenly at the door. He gasped when he saw Emily lying on the floor, her feet hooked into the stockade. She had one hand covering her eyes and he grew furious immediately.

“Em, are you ok?” he asked, and easily lifted the foot restraints.

She sat up and looked at the wooden post, “How did you do that? I’ve been trying to open those for hours.”

Chevalier growled, “Who put you in those?”

Emily glanced at Damon, then back to Chevalier, “Well… I… sort of did.”

Damon stepped out of the room quickly. He knew his laughing would make the Elder mad.

“You put yourself in the restraints?” he asked skeptically.

“Yeah… kind of,” she said, embarrassed. Chevalier looked around at the roaring fire, the dropped guillotine, and the cat-o-nine tails lying out of place.

Chevalier chuckled, “How’d you get in?”

“I waited until someone left and snuck in. Then… I didn’t think it out very well, so I couldn’t get out,” she said, and shrugged, watching closely to see if he was mad.

“You shoulda kept her in them,” Damon said, grinning from the doorway.

Emily was too embarrassed to even respond, she just blushed.

“Are you mad?” Emily asked. She couldn’t read him, but his eyes were confused and worried.

Chevalier grinned, “No, I’m not mad. I’m a little worried that you got yourself stuck though.”

Emily watched as Damon returned the whip to its spot and raised the blade on the guillotine.

“That was… pretty heavy,” she said, watching him.

“I’m assuming you didn’t lose any fingers,” Damon said, turning to her.

“I blame you for this,” she said to him.

“Me? How can this be my fault?” he asked, surprised.

“If you had shown me, when I asked, then I wouldn’t have had to sneak in.”

“Fine, but you can’t blame me for getting yourself stuck in the foot restraints.”

“How did you open those anyway?” Emily asked Chevalier.

He shook his head, “You can’t open them while you’re in them, that would defeat the purpose.”

Chevalier and Damon both watched her closely, not sure if she was going to start screaming about their room, or if the embarrassment hid her anger for now.

“What’s the pig?” she asked, nodding toward the fire.

Chevalier looked at Damon, who shrugged.

“Oh come on. I’m not naïve enough to think you all don’t torture prisoners when you interrogate them. Just tell me what the pig is for,” she said, rolling her eyes.

Chevalier felt some relief when he realized that she didn’t know they sometimes tortured prisoners for the fun of it. She seemed perfectly fine with torture to elicit a confession, and he left her thoughts to believe that.

“It’s… well,” Chevalier said nervously to Damon.

“Cooks the heku inside,” Damon said bluntly, and grinned when Emily winced.

“That’s awful,” she gasped.

“Yeah and the rest of this just tickles,” Damon said, and shook his head, grinning.

“Well, it wouldn’t hurt to be in those feet restraints,” Emily said, and he realized that she would actually know about that.

“It’s not the restraints, it’s what we’re holding them down to do,” Damon said, and shut his mouth quickly when Chevalier glared at him.

Emily looked down at the restraints, “Like what?”

“I’m not comfortable with this,” Chevalier said. He stood up and helped Emily to her feet.

“Fine, then you go, and I’ll talk to Damon,” she said.

“Nope, I’m done,” Damon said, with one look from Chevalier.

Chevalier turned around to hide his laughter. He had the image in his mind of Emily, embarrassed and stuck in the foot restraints. Damon turned also. He hadn’t fully stopped laughing from the first sight of her, and it was getting worse.

Emily hopped up on a table and sat, watching them, “I’m so glad you both find this funny.”

“It’s... just…” Chevalier said, and couldn’t finish the sentence.

“I wouldn’t sit there if I were you,” Quinn said, joining them in the room. He looked suspiciously from Chevalier to Damon.

Emily hopped down, “Why not?”

“It’s electrified. One push of a button and it would kill you,” he said bluntly.

Emily turned and looked at the table, wide eyed.

“What’s so funny?” Quinn asked.

Neither Chevalier nor Damon could answer.

“Fine… I snuck in here and couldn’t get out. Then I tried those foot things and got myself stuck in them,” Emily said casually.

Quinn chuckled, “They found you still in them?”

Emily nodded, embarrassed.

“Are you ok?” he asked her.

Emily nodded again.

“Are you upset about the room?”

“No, I can’t believe it was this huge secret. I know that some prisoners would need tortured to give up information,” she told him.

“I see,” Quinn said, and looked around the room. “How long were you in here?”

“What time is it?” she asked.

“7pm”

“So… well… eight hours,” Emily grimaced.

Quinn coughed, “Come, let’s get you something to eat.”

Emily nodded and followed him out. She heard laughing and whispers coming from Damon and Chevalier in the room.

“Don’t believe them, Emily! They don’t just torture for confessions… they torture for fun!” she heard someone yell from the prison.

Emily stopped and walked toward the voice. Damon and Chevalier appeared in the hallway, suddenly serious.

“Come, Emily,” Quinn said, and took her arm. She pulled away from him and went toward the screaming voice.

Emily came face-to-face with a heku she didn’t know. The moment he saw her, he inhaled and touched his tongue to his lips.

“What did you say?” Emily asked him.

“Torture… they do it for fun,” he said, grinning.

“Who does?”

“The Elder and his Council… more fun than interrogation, that I promise,” the heku prisoner said, and then eyed Quinn carefully.

“Exavior, is that true?” she asked into the air.

She got no answer, so she walked over to Exavior’s cell, followed by Quinn, Damon, and Chevalier.

“Did you hear me?” she asked him.

Exavior nodded, “Yes, I did.”

“So what’s the answer?”

“It’s not my place to answer,” he said, not moving from the bed.

“Tell me!” she yelled, and hit the bars.

Exavior didn’t respond.

“Do you?” Emily asked, turning to Chevalier.

“We use it for interrogating,” Chevalier said, watching her eyes.

“Do you?” she asked Damon.

“Tiny, I do whatever I want,” he said seriously.

“So you do… torture these prisoners for fun,” Emily glared at him.

“If I want to.”

“You disgust me.”

“You… will get over it.”

“Do you?” she turned to Quinn. He looked surprised that she brought him into this conversation.

“I…” Quinn sighed. “Yes.”

Emily eyed Chevalier suspiciously and walked up the stairs to the foyer.

Damon turned to the heku that told Emily about the fun torture.

“You get to see it firsthand,” Damon said, and drug him from the cell.

“This is not going to be good,” Chevalier said to Quinn.

“Just keep her believing you don’t do it, or we risk her running off again,” Quinn said.

“I hate to lie to her.”

“Just let the rest of us take the heat for it.”

Chevalier nodded and followed Emily up the stairs. He heard Emily yelling at someone as he opened the door.

“Do you?” she yelled.

“I… I don’t know how to answer that,” Kyle said, panicked.

“You don’t have to answer,” Chevalier said, coming up behind Emily.

“Do you?” she asked again.

“No,” he said, and winced when Chevalier sighed.

“Emily, are you going to ask everyone?” Chevalier asked.

“Yes, and don’t think I’m done with you two,” she said, and walked up the stairs.

“Get the word out. No one else is to answer that question,” Chevalier said, and followed her up. He could hear voices through the palace sending on his orders.

Chevalier followed Emily up the stairs and into the room. She was just sitting down with Allen at the table. Allen pushed food around his plate, and Emily talked about his day and sat curled up on the chair. Chevalier watched, sitting on the edge of the bed. After they ate, Emily and Allen curled up on the couch to watch TV together as Chevalier watched them.

“I want Daddy to,” Allen said when Emily started to put him to bed.

Emily nodded, and Chevalier picked Allen up and airplaned him into the room. She slipped into the bathroom and ran herself a hot tub. She was still cold from the prison and her back was aching from lying on the ground.

Emily crawled into the hot tub and turned on the jets, relaxing as they pounded against her back. She pressed the palms of her hands into her eyes, trying to stop her head from throbbing. Between the headache, the backache, and the near constant burning on her thigh, she was starting to get frustrated with everything around her. If the time in the interrogation room had done anything, it gave her enough time to consider what was going on in her life. The problem was, she hadn’t found a solution.

Emily stopped fighting it and began to cry softly. She laid her forehead against her knees and rubbed the runes on her thigh.

“Talk to me, please,” Chevalier said from the side of the tub. He’d been there long enough to know something was seriously wrong.

Emily shook her head, but didn’t look up from the water.

“We’re in this together, you don’t have to do it all alone,” he told her, touching her shoulder softly.

“You can’t help me,” she said finally.

“Tell me.” Chevalier was fighting the desire to grab her from the water and whisk her far away from everyone. It wasn’t often that he saw her looking as vulnerable as she did at that moment.

“I’m afraid,” she whispered.

“Of what? You said that the other night, and I really want to know.” He took her hand.

“Of everything, and I don’t like it. I’m not supposed to be afraid,” she said, turning her head so she could look at him.

He frowned, “Why are you not allowed to be afraid?”

“It’s a weakness.”

“It’s human,” he said softly.

“I can’t be human. I have to be stronger than that.”

“Who said?”

“Don’t you see that? I can’t survive in this world unless I’m stronger than a mere mortal.”

“You’ve never been a mere mortal, and you are strong, stronger than most of us even know,” he said, touching her cheek softly.

“No I’m not. My head hurts, my back hurts, and my thigh feels like it’s on fire. I’m surrounded by a species most mortals run from. I’m raising my son in an environment where prisoners are tortured for fun. Now I’m bringing a baby into a world that may only want to hurt it and take it away.”

“Em…”

“I’m afraid one of these days of being drained. I’m afraid of you leaving me and going into the ground. I’m afraid of dying when I have the baby, and of Adam, and the Valle, and the Encala. I’m afraid of someday becoming a prisoner, restrained and losing my freedom and my ability to think and say and act.”

“You should have told me before it got this bad,” Chevalier said when she finished.

“I can’t, I told you… I have to be strong.” She looked up at him with red, swollen eyes.

He smiled, “You are strong.”

“Not strong enough.”

“You have all of that going on in your mind and haven’t snapped. I think that’s about as strong as they come,” Chevalier told her.

“It’s not enough.”

“Let the doctor see you, Em, please.”

“No”

“Seeing a doctor isn’t showing a weakness. I’m worried about the headaches, and maybe he can fix the backache, too.”

“No”

Chevalier sighed, “Do me one favor then… eat.”

Emily nodded, “Ok.”

She crawled out of the tub and slipped on a long t-shirt before going out into the bedroom. Chevalier was just taking dinner from a servant, so she sat at the table. He pulled the dome off of the tray and Emily looked at all of the food, a steak, corn, potatoes, hot rolls, and a piece of pie. She sighed and grabbed the orange juice, sipping it as she watched the fire.

“Food,” Chevalier whispered into her ear, and kissed her neck softly. Emily shivered at his touch and grabbed the hot roll.

“So would it help if I told you that your fears aren’t going to happen? I won’t let them,” Chevalier said as he sat down beside her.

“Probably not,” Emily answered. “You’ve already held me prisoner in here once.”

“I’m sorry, that was a mistake, and I never should have done that.”

“You kept Allen from me,” she reminded him.

“It won’t happen again, I promise.”

Emily nodded and took another bite of the roll.

Chevalier grinned, “I still can’t believe you got yourself stuck in the foot stockade.”

Emily couldn’t help but smile, “I hadn’t done anything utterly idiotic in a while, and figured Damon needed more ammunition.”

“Oh, well, you did give him that.”

“Yeah I figured.”

“When did the runes start burning?” Chevalier asked seriously.

“A few months ago. It’s just getting worse,” Emily told him, and grabbed the pie and a fork.

“I wish you would’ve told me. I can ask the others about it.”

“There’s nothing you can do about it, why complain?”

“You complain because I’m your husband, and I want to know what’s bothering you,” Chevalier told her.

“Do you really have tomorrow off?” Emily asked.

“I’m yours all day,” Chevalier said, smiling.

“We can do whatever I want?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I’m at your beckon call.”

Emily crawled into his lap, facing him, “Can we start right now?”

Chevalier took her face in his hands and kissed her passionately.

Chapter 6 - Day Off

“This isn’t exactly what I had in mind,” Chevalier said, holding the reins to the painted stallion.

“This won’t take long,” Emily told him, laughing as she led Patra into the corral.

“Breeding horses isn’t my idea of a nice quiet day with you,” he chuckled.

“Don’t push it. If this doesn’t work, we get to try to artificially inseminate her,” Emily said, and grinned at him.

“Yeah, I’m not doing that.”

“You have a problem with breeding?”

“Just the horses,” Chevalier chuckled.

“Ok, let go on three and then clear the area,” Emily said. She counted slowly to three, and they both let go of the reins and ran to the fence, crawling through it quickly.

“So much for romance,” Chevalier said, watching the stallion chase the mare around.

“Maybe they don’t want to be watched… want to go riding?” Emily asked him.

“It’s your day,” he said, and she ran into the stables as he chased her, growling.

Chevalier cornered her and kissed her softly.

“Get a room,” Kyle chuckled from behind them.

Chevalier turned and glared at him, “Why are you here?”

“Cavalry… remember? We’re taking the entire group out today, so there’s about to be more of us,” Kyle said as he slipped a bridle on his stallion.

“That leaves us short a horse,” Emily said, frowning.

“I’m sure there’s enough room on my Arabian,” Chevalier said, taking a bridle into his stall.

“Yeah I guess, if we don’t use a saddle.” Emily sat down on a bale of hay and reached down to tuck her pant legs into her boots. She laid back on the hay and yelled, “Ugh!”

“What’s wrong?” Chevalier asked as he led the stallion out into the stable.

“I can’t reach my boots,” she said, frustrated.

Chevalier knelt on the hay and kissed her, taking her face in his hands. Emily wrapped her hands around to the back of his neck.

Mark cleared his throat from the door to the stables.

Chevalier looked up at him, “You’re all fired, go away.”

Mark grinned and went into the stall with his mare.

Chevalier helped Emily sit up and she went over to the Arabian, “I can’t believe I’m going to ride this monster.”

“He’s not a monster, he just has personality,” Chevalier said, and pulled the horse over to Emily.

Emily put her hands up on the Arabian’s back and tried to hoist herself up, “My God, I’m too fat to get on a horse.”

Kyle laughed from inside the stall.

Chevalier chuckled and lifted her up onto the stallion’s back and then jumped up behind her.

“Were you laughing at me?” Emily snapped, and started to dismount, but Chevalier held her on the horse.

“You can attack him later, let’s go,” Chevalier said, and kicked the Arabian into a canter. Emily took the reins and headed the stallion up to the woods outside of town. She leaned back against Chevalier’s chest and he wrapped his arms around her.

Once they made it outside of the city, Emily turned the stallion toward town. She loved to look over the beautiful city. Chevalier kissed her neck and moved slowly down her shoulder.

“Chev?” Emily asked.

“Mm?” He bit softly on the back of her neck.

“Someone’s coming,” she told him.

Chevalier looked up, and his keen eyes took in the visitors.

“Encala,” he hissed.

Emily kicked the stallion, but Chevalier pulled back on the reins, “They can outrun the horse, just wait here. Don’t ash them, no matter what.”

Chevalier slid off of the Arabian’s back, and walked forward a few steps, “Care to explain why you’re here?”

Emily counted twelve Encala. They stopped ahead of Chevalier and the one in the middle smiled.

“No harm intended. We came to seek an audience with the Winchester,” he said, and glanced briefly at Emily.

Emily watched them closely.

“If you have something to say, you can say it from there. Get any closer and I’ll have to intervene,” Chevalier warned, his hands curled into claws.

“We didn’t come to fight. We came as peaceful diplomats to check on her welfare,” the Encala said.

“She’s fine,” Chevalier hissed.

“Good, then she’ll be up for the trip,” he said, and the twelve Encala advanced on Chevalier.

Emily gasped and scrambled off of the horse. She felt two arms wrap around her and hold her as she fought to get to Chevalier. She couldn’t see him, he was surrounded by Encala, but they were falling around him.

“Kyle!” Emily screamed, but was cut off by a hand over her mouth.

Thinking fast, Emily bit the hand of the heku holding her, and kicked hard at his knee. She heard the loud crunch of his kneecap just as he let go of her and fell to the ground. She turned around and kicked the side of his head with her cowboy boot. She spun and saw the small depression in the side of his skull.

Emily jumped onto the back of one of the heku that was attacking Chevalier and wrenched his neck hard to the side. He fell under her, but another grabbed her and pulled her off of him. One had her upper body and one had her legs. She kicked and struggled, but couldn’t get to any of their weak points.

She heard Chevalier roar and the head of an Encala fell beside her on the grass. She felt a handhold a rag over her mouth and nose and then darkness took over.

Chevalier heard the sound of hoof beats as he ripped the arm off of an attacker and spun. He slammed the arm into the face of another that was behind him. The Cavalry arrived and they jumped from their horses and landed squarely on the back of the attacking Encala. Chevalier looked around quickly for Emily, but didn’t see her. Finally, he caught sight of two heku off in the distance and blurred toward them.

One of the Encala broke off from the other and spun on Chevalier, he crouched low and hissed. Chevalier slammed into him and knocked him to the ground. They began to wrestle and claw at each other, both trying to get a grip on the other.

As soon as Chevalier felt his hands fall onto the Encala’s solid head, he tore fiercely and ripped his head from his body. Covered in blood, Chevalier ran toward the other Encala, who disappeared into the trees with Emily cradled in his arms.

He appeared where the Encala disappeared, and sniffed the air. His senses were honed in on Emily and the trail was easy to follow. He heard the footsteps of several of the Cavalry behind him as he ran deeper into the forest. Ahead, he could see the Encala leaning over Emily, who was lying flat on the forest floor.

Chevalier and the three Cavalry members lunged at him simultaneously, and they fell several feet away, tearing at the limbs of the Encala. He screamed in agony as every part of his body was torn away from his torso, followed lastly by his head.

Chevalier stood up, out of breath, and looked at Emily. He walked forward slowly, followed by the Cavalry. He was confused and angry at what he saw. Emily had a needle in her arm, and her blood was draining into a bag. She was unconscious, but had blood running down the corners of her mouth.

He knelt down beside her and pulled the needle from her arm. He handed the bag of blood to a member of the Cavalry, who dumped it out onto the forest floor. Chevalier picked her up gently in his arms and carried her limp body back toward the others.

“Are any left alive?” Chevalier growled, and darkness fell over his features.

“Yes, three of them, they are restrained,” Mark said, catching up to the Elder.

Kyle ran forward when they got close, “Is she ok?”

“I don’t know yet,” Chevalier growled, his eyes fixed on the three Encala.

Chevalier handed Emily off to Kyle and walked forward.

Kyle looked down at her and frowned, “Did they force-feed her blood?”

Mark walked up to her and touched the blood with the tip of his finger, he tasted it and grimaced, “It’s heku blood.”

Chevalier stopped in front of the three restrained Encala, “Take them to the prison. I’ll take care of them myself… no one touches them.”

The Cavalry members nodded and began walking back towards the palace. Chevalier hopped up on his Arabian stallion and led him over to Kyle, then reached down and Kyle handed Emily up to him.

“We’ll get the horses and be right in,” Kyle said angrily.

Chevalier kicked the stallion into a gallop and headed back for the palace, with Emily cradled motionlessly in his arms. A guard came and took the Arabian as Chevalier slid off of him and carried Emily inside. Damon met them at the door.

“What happened?” Damon asked, his eyes wide.

“Encala attack,” Chevalier hissed. “Get the doctor.”

The faction doctor arrived just as Chevalier was laying Emily down on the bed. Damon was standing by the door watching.

“Chloroform,” he said. “I can smell it on her. That means she should be awake soon.”

The doctor got out a stethoscope and listened to Emily’s heart and lungs, then took her blood pressure. He moved it down to her belly and listened carefully to the baby and then pulled her shirt up a bit and pressed down around her entire abdomen.

The doctor then pulled out a Doppler and held it against Emily’s tummy. He quickly picked up the rapid heartbeat of the baby. He got a measuring tape and measured from her breastbone to her pubic bone and put it back in his bag just as Emily started to stir.

“Whose blood is this?” he asked, and wiped her mouth clean.

“It’s heku blood,” Chevalier said chillingly.

The doctor frowned, “Why would they force her to drink heku blood?”

Chevalier growled, his hands balled into fists.

“To strengthen the runes,” Damon said from the doorway.

“Chev!” Emily screamed, and sat up suddenly.

He sat down beside her and took her in his arms, “It’s ok, I’m here.”

“The Encala…” she whispered, and grabbed his shirt in her fists.

“They’re dead,” he said, and kissed her forehead.

“I can taste… something,” she said softly.

“Drink this,” he said, and handed her some chocolate milk that Damon had already requested for her.

Emily drank all of it quickly, and then leaned back against Chevalier. He touched her hair softly.

“I’m so sorry,” she said softly.

Chevalier frowned, “Why are you apologizing?”

“They were after me.”

“That’s still not your fault,” Chevalier told her, and looked up at the doctor.

“Everything with Emily and the baby looks good. I’m worried though, that’s a big baby,” the doctor said to both of them. “Your blood pressure’s high too. I’ll want to check that again tomorrow.”

“Are you hurt anywhere?” Chevalier whispered to Emily, and she shook her head.

Chevalier whispered under his breath, too low for Emily to hear, and watched as Damon nodded and blurred from the room. The doctor followed him and shut the door.

Emily looked down at the small puncture wound on the crook of her arm, “What did they do?”

“They were taking blood from you,” Chevalier told her.

“Why?”

“The runes, I suspect they were taking it back to Vaughn,” he said. “They gave you his blood, too.”

Emily frowned, “I drank Vaughn’s blood?”

“I think so. There’s really no way to be sure.”

“That’s disgusting,” she said, and looked up at Chevalier. “Are you ok?”

Chevalier smiled, “I’m fine.”

“There were so many of them.”

“I’m fine.”

“Why did you tell me not to ash them? There were only 12.”

“You don’t need that strain on your body right now. I knew I could handle them, of course, you had to go and call the Cavalry to take my glory.” Chevalier smiled and ran his lips softly against hers.

“This taste is awful,” Emily said, and wrinkled her nose.

“Even heku don’t like heku blood. What would you like?”

“Ice cream,” she said, and crawled onto his lap. “Does that mean my day is over?”

“Why would you say that?” Chevalier asked, wrapping his arms around her.

Emily shrugged and took the ice cream from the servant who brought it in. She took a bite and looked around the room.

“What do you want to do for the rest of the day? Sam is taking Allen to a movie after school,” Chevalier said, and shook his head when Emily offered him a bite of ice cream.

Emily put down the empty bowl and turned to Chevalier, “You’re covered in blood, go shower and I’ll think of something.”

Chevalier nodded, kissed her softly, and got up, disappearing into the bathroom. Emily scrambled off the bed as soon as she heard the water running and ran down the stairs.

When Chevalier came out, she was sitting on the couch waiting for him.

“Much better,” Emily said, and smiled.

“Miss me?” he asked, and sat down beside her.

“Always.” Emily turned away from him quickly when she felt the tickle of blood in her nose.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, touching her shoulder.

“Nothing, runny nose,” she said, and grabbed a tissue before walking into the bathroom and shutting the door. She sat down on the floor and shut her eyes against the new pounding in her head as she tried to stop the nosebleed.

Chevalier went to the bedroom door when he heard someone approach. Damon was just about to knock.

“What?” Chevalier asked.

“Am I supposed to revive them?” Damon asked.

“Revive who?”

“Those three Encala.”

“What happened to them?” Chevalier asked, confused.

Damon frowned, “Emily.”

Chevalier sighed, “Revive them. I’m not done with them.”

“Will do… I’ve never seen her do that before though,” Damon said, turning toward the stairs.

“Do what?”

“Hold them without killing them. I have to say it’s kind of impressive. I could smell their burning flesh for a few minutes before they actually turned to ash.”

“Just revive them,” Chevalier told him.

Damon nodded and headed down the stairs.

Chevalier stepped back inside and knocked on the bathroom door, “Em? Can I come in?”

When Emily didn’t respond, he stepped into the bathroom and saw her sitting on the floor with her hands pressed against her eyes. There were bloody tissues beside her on the floor.

Chevalier sat down beside her, “How bad is it?”

“Shhhh,” she whispered.

“Damon’s going to revive them. I haven’t had a chance to hear what they have to say,” Chevalier said softly. He reached up and turned the light off in the bathroom.

Emily looked up now that the light wasn’t hurting her eyes, “Can I watch?”

“Watch what?”

“You and them… in the interrogation room?”

“No, that’s… that’s out of the question,” he said, frowning.

“Why?”

“It’s hard to explain. The smell of blood and fear, the sounds of them screaming in pain… it triggers almost a primal urge to cause pain. You can’t be near when that’s happening, it’s too dangerous,” he said, and helped her up. “Let’s stay in this afternoon, put in a movie, ok?”

Emily nodded and let him lead her into the bedroom. He blurred to the windows and pulled the heavy drapes, drowning the room in darkness.

***

Emily rolled over in bed and realized she was alone. She sat up and looked around the dark room. She could hear voices outside in the hallway, so she stepped out to see who it was.

“Good morning,” Chevalier said, smiling when she came into the hallway.

Emily nodded and leaned back against him. Chevalier wrapped his arms around her.

“I think we’re all ready, unless Emily wants to use the room first,” Damon said with a mischievous grin.

Emily didn’t need to be told what he was talking about, “You offering to let me practice on you?”

“Like you could hurt me,” Damon laughed.

“Is that a challenge?”

“Hey,” Chevalier warned them both.

“What would you do? Sit on me?” Damon asked, smirking.

“Are you calling me fat?”

“If the tent fits…”

“Damon…” Chevalier growled.

Damon looked at Chevalier just as Emily drew back and punched him in the nose.

“Blood-sucking parasite!” Emily screamed at Damon, and stepped toward him.

Chevalier wrapped an arm under her arms and lifted her off the ground, “Both of you calm down. You two are worse than kids.”

“She… but she…” Damon hissed, but stopped when Chevalier glared at him. He turned on his heels and blurred down the stairs.

“Wimp!” Emily yelled after him.

“You better watch it. One of these days he’s going to lose his temper with you,” Chevalier said, carrying her into the room. He set her down inside and shut the door.

“Why is no one ever afraid I’ll lose my temper with him?” Emily asked, crossing her arms.

“Because you aren’t a naturally violent person, and he is,” Chevalier said, and took the dome off of a tray.

Emily put her hand on her stomach, “No food… ugh.”

“Are you feeling ok?” Chevalier asked as she laid down on the bed.

“No, my stomach has been upset since last night,” Emily said, and pulled the covers up. “Go to work, I’m just going to nap.”

Chevalier nodded and left for the council chambers, and she was able to quickly fall asleep.

***

Emily looked up at the ceiling and frowned. She sat up suddenly and started to panic. Nothing looked familiar, her clothes were different, and her hair was longer. She scrambled out of bed and backed up against the wall.

“Keith?” she yelled, hoping he would come explain what was happening. Emily caught sight of herself in the mirror and gasped when she saw her pregnant belly.

“Keith?” she screamed louder.

Mark opened Emily’s door to see if she needed something, and saw the look of horror on her face.

“What’s wrong?” Mark asked, stepping into the room.

“Who are you?” Emily whispered. She was too afraid of the strange man to speak louder.

“Emily, what’s wrong?” Mark asked, frowning.

“Don’t come near me,” she said louder, and then screamed. “Keith!”

Mark raised his hands, “I won’t, I promise.”

“You’re one of them aren’t you?” she asked, starting to get angry.

“One of who?” Mark asked.

“The vampires.”

Mark narrowed his eyes, “Do you know where you are?”

Emily glanced quickly around the room, looking for a weapon. She saw a familiar item, her bag, tucked by the dresser. She ran to it and opened it, then pulled out the 9mm and turned it on Mark.

“Where’s Keith?” Emily asked, pointing the gun directly at his heart.

“I don’t know,” Mark said, unsure what to say or do.

Emily pulled on a robe she saw hanging over a chair and tied it around her waist, “Get in the closet.”

Mark slowly moved to the closet and stepped inside. He saw fear in her eyes as she shut the door, and he heard it lock from the outside. As soon as Emily ran from the room, he opened the door and followed after her.

Emily hit the stairs running and descended, two at a time, unsure why her leg was hurting. She ignored the pain and kept going.

“Keith!?” she screamed.

“Emily?” Kyle asked, appearing before her on the stairs. He stopped and put his hands up when she leveled the 9mm at him, “Whoah, what’s up?”

“Stay away from me,” she said angrily.

Kyle looked up at Mark as he quickly filled him in, in a voice too silent for Emily to hear.

“Emily, listen to me,” Kyle said with his hands up. “I can explain, ok? We aren’t going to hurt you.”

“Sure you aren’t, just one little bite, eh? A little blood to quench the thirst?” she asked suspiciously.

“Just put the gun down before you hurt yourself,” Kyle said softly.

“I’m not the one that’s going to get hurt. You better stay back,” she warned.

Kyle took one step toward her, and the sound of a gunshot rang through the palace. The entire Council appeared on the landing below Emily. One of them moved quickly to Kyle, who was shot in the chest but quickly healing.

“Em?” Chevalier asked, frowning.

“Keith!?” Emily screamed, and pointed the gun at the Council.

Chevalier took a step back, his eyes wide. Mark’s lips moved quickly as he whispered what he’d seen.

“Put the gun down,” Damon said sternly.

Emily glared at him, “You would like that, wouldn’t you, vampire? You are not drinking from me.”

“Keith? Sam?” she yelled.

“Yes, Emily?” Sam asked, appearing beside her. He gasped and watched Emily hold the gun on the Equites Council.

“Where’s Keith?” she asked, not taking her eyes off of the Council.

Sam frowned and looked at Chevalier.

“Get back in that room,” Emily yelled at the Council. Chevalier nodded, and they all stepped back into the council chambers.

“Follow me,” Emily said to Sam, and ran down the stairs to the ground floor. She turned on one of the guards and held the gun up to him.

“Where’s the door out?” she asked him, glaring.

The guard frowned, confused, and pointed at the front doors.

“Is this Montana?” she asked the guard, and he shook his head.

“Sam, where is Keith?” she asked again when she stepped out into the daylight.

“He’s… I don’t know where he is,” Sam said.

Emily turned on him, “Are you with the vampires now?”

He shook his head, “No, I’m not.”

“You are acting weird… you are, aren’t you?” she accused.

One of the Cavalry members walked up and patted Sam on the back, “Emily, Sam, how’s it going?”

Emily stepped back from them and pointed her gun at Sam, “How could you, Sam? You were my Dad’s friend. How could you join the vampires?”

The Cavalry guard looked at her with wide eyes. Emily heard the whinny of a horse from behind her, and took a few steps back, the 9mm still directed at Sam and the guard. She couldn’t figure out how she’d gotten here. She just hoped Keith was back at the ranch and would protect her from them. The vampires had never gone so far as to kidnap her before. She knew how mad Keith would be when he found out. Her head was pounding, making it hard to think clearly.

Emily looked around and spoke to herself, “Car… I need a car.”

She spotted the stables and backed toward it, “One move, vampire, and I’ll shoot. You can just stay here, Sam, I… I can’t believe you joined them.”

The guard nodded and watched her closely.

Emily pressed her hand to the side of her head, and fought to clear her mind. The only thing she was sure of was that the vampires kidnapped her, and she had to get back to Montana, to the safety of the ranch and Keith. She tried to remember how long she’d been gone. Long enough to be very pregnant was all she knew.

When she was a safe distance from the vampires, she spun and ran for the stables. The guards watched as she ran past them in her nightgown and robe. Her bare feet made very little noise against the ground. Their orders were to stay away from her, so they moved into the shadows as she passed.

Emily stopped when she got into the stables and turned to make sure no one was following her. She looked around the stables and gasped when she saw Patra watching her from her stall.

Emily grabbed an unfamiliar bridle off of a hook and disappeared into Patra’s stall. She put the bridle on quickly, but couldn’t pull herself up onto the mare. Cursing under her breath, she led the mare into the stables and used a bale of hay to climb onto her back. When she turned the mare toward the exit of the stables, she saw the exit blocked by heku.

She raised her gun toward them, “I have enough ammunition to kill all of you, so back off.”

Chevalier put his hands up in front of him, “Emily, you need to listen to me.”

“Listen to a vampire?” she snapped. She didn’t notice how they winced at the name.

Kyle moved quickly off to the side and Emily spun toward him. She felt arms wrap around her from behind and pull her off of the mare, while another set quickly took the gun.

Emily screamed and fell to the ground as the arms around her turned to ash. The sudden impact made her head hurt worse, and knocked the wind out of her. She looked up as the vampires descended on her.

Chevalier knelt down beside Emily and put her face between his hands. He stared down into her eyes. He hated the way she looked at him with terror filled eyes, but they soon calmed as her breathing slowed to match his. He knew he shouldn’t have been able to control her. This only worked on Emily when she was sick or tired.

“Can you hear me?” he asked, his voice smooth and calm.

“Yes,” Emily whispered.

“Where are you?”

“I don’t know.”

“Where do you live?” he asked, not breaking her gaze.

“Cascade, Montana.”

“Where is Keith?”

“At the ranch,” she said softly.

“Who are the Equites?” Chevalier asked, concentrating on her eyes.

“I don’t know,” Emily said, and then blinked a few times. She screamed and fought against the vampires holding her.

“Do it,” Chevalier ordered as he re-caught one of her hands and pinned it to the ground. Damon quickly gave her an injection, and then grasped his chest when he felt the burn starting. He fell backwards just as the pain stopped. Emily stopped fighting and fell silent against the ground.

“What the hell was that?” Chevalier asked, letting go of Emily and looking around.

“She’s lost seven years of memory,” Sam said, looking down at her.

“Damon, get Mark revived. He’s the only one that was by her when it happened,” Chevalier said. He picked Emily up, not sure exactly what to do with her.

“She’ll turn us all to ash if we aren’t careful,” Quinn said, looking down at her.

“Move Allen into Kyle’s room, and we’ll have to restrain her to the bed. Sam is the only one she can’t ash, so he’s the only one to have any contact with her until I figure this out,” Chevalier told them.

Chevalier looked over as Mark stood up, still grimacing from the pain of being burned.

“What happened, Mark?” Chevalier asked.

“The first I knew something was wrong was when she started yelling for Keith. I went into her room… and she pulled a gun on me and ordered me into the closet. She even locked the door,” Mark explained.

“Quinn, please talk to Exavior. Mark, get some four-point restraints,” Chevalier said coldly, and headed up to Emily’s room.

Chevalier and Damon hooked the soft leather restraints to her wrists and ankles, and then stood back and watched her slow breathing as she slept.

“This was one of her fears,” Chevalier said as he sat down on the bed.

“Losing her memory?” Damon asked.

“No, being restrained,” Chevalier sighed.

“I don’t think we have a choice.”

“I know we don’t. I also know that no heku can be in here until she’s calmed down. Seven years ago, she had no control over the ability, didn’t even know she could do it,” Chevalier said. He remembered the long hours in Colorado it took to get her where she had some shred of control.

“What if she never remembers?” Damon asked, lowering his eyes.

“I don’t know.” Chevalier looked up when Sam entered.

“Allen’s moved over, but he’s pretty upset about being away from his Mom,” Sam said as he approached the bed.

“I’ll talk to him,” Chevalier said.

“If she orders me to let her go, I have to,” Sam reminded him.

“Damnit, I forgot about that,” Chevalier growled.

“Can’t we claim something… like insanity, to nullify that?” Damon asked the familiar.

“I don’t make the rules. I just follow what my master says,” Sam told him.

“Didn’t Emily tell you that you had to obey me?” Chevalier asked him.

“Yes, then she canceled it, and re-issued that order,” Sam said.

“Is there anything I can say to make my word stronger than hers?” Chevalier asked.

“No,” Sam said bluntly.

“What about Allen? Can you move to him as your master as long as Emily is incapacitated?” Damon asked.

Sam thought for a moment, “If I truly believe that Emily is not in her right mind, I would naturally fall to Allen.”

Chevalier growled, irritated, “Well do you?”

Sam nodded, “Yes, I do believe she’s no longer capable of handling the situation. Therefore, Allen would be my new master until that changes.”

“Fine, so I tell you not to let her go, and the only person that can tell you any different would be Allen?” Chevalier asked.

“Yes”

“Then that’s what I’m saying. Give her food, water, whatever she asks for, as long as you don’t undo the restraints,” Chevalier ordered.

Sam sighed, “I agree, though I don’t like it.”

“Doesn’t she have a way of slipping out of restraints?” Damon asked.

“No, these are the kind the Valle used. She couldn’t get out of those,” Chevalier said. He hated himself for putting her in them.

Damon left quietly and Sam sat down on a chair to wait. Chevalier stayed with Emily until she started to wake up, and then left hesitantly. He waited outside of her door, hoping her memory would come back.

“Sam?” she asked softly.

“I’m here.” Chevalier heard him sit on the edge of her bed.

“Let me out of these. Why am I in them?” she mumbled, the drugs were still affecting her.

“Do you know where you are?” Sam asked, and Chevalier cocked his head to the side to listen closer.

“Keith?” Emily screamed, and Chevalier could hear her straining against the binds.

Quinn appeared at Chevalier’s side, “Did Emily ingest more blood from the Encala yesterday, than she did from you when you bonded?”

“Probably, I only gave her a few drops in some wine,” Chevalier said.

“Exavior said that if she ingested more of Vaughn’s blood, it’s allowing them some control over her. They apparently used the control to make her forget the last seven years,” Quinn explained.

“So, what now? She needs to drink my blood to remember it again?” Chevalier asked angrily.

“I asked him and he didn’t know if that would work.”

“But he hasn’t had any of her blood, and I have.”

Quinn nodded, “That’s our only hope, that one connection. He has the runes though, and you don’t, that could very well put you on an even playing field.”

“Does he think the memories are gone?” Chevalier asked as he watched the door. Emily was screaming at Sam to let her go.

“He thinks they are just masked,” Quinn said hopefully.

Chevalier and Quinn turned to the door when they heard Emily scream out in pain. Chevalier stepped in cautiously, and watched her from the door. Emily was screaming and her back was arched. Sam stood helplessly to the side.

“Sam help me! It burns,” she groaned, and fought against the restraints.

Allen appeared in the doorway and screamed, “Sam! Leave her alone!”

Sam nodded, and walked out of the room as Chevalier growled.

“Allen, no! Tell him to come back,” Damon said, and ran out after Allen when he left.

Chevalier took his chances and knelt beside her bed, “What burns?”

“What are you doing to me?” Emily screamed, and then groaned as the burning intensified.

Chevalier pulled the sheet off of her thigh and looked at the fiery red skin around the runes, and how the skin was starting to blister. He knelt by her side and held her face between his hands. Again he was able to lock her gaze.

“Leave her alone,” he said, concentrating on her eyes.

Emily was relaxed beneath him. He held her gaze, even when Damon came into the room. He was listening, hoping to catch an emotion, or image of what was happening to her.

“Sleep,” he whispered after a few minutes, and she slowly closed her eyes.

Chevalier crouched down and pushed the sheet off of Emily’s thigh. It was still blistered and red, the runes barely visible beneath the burn. He began to gently rub her ankles. They were purple and welted from her struggle against the restraints.

“If she’s not afraid, she won’t attack,” Chevalier said to Damon.

“We lost Sam. Allen won’t tell him to come back because he thinks Sam was hurting her,” Damon explained.

“Great”

“How do we keep her from being afraid, when she’s tied up in a strange location?” Damon asked.

“We don’t, we untie her.”

“Then she’ll run.”

“Leave us,” Chevalier said, and heard Damon leave, shutting the door behind him.

“Em?” he said, softly touching her cheek.

“Keith?” she whispered.

Chevalier looked at her and sighed, “Forgive me, please.”

He pulled his shirt back away from his right wrist and bit himself until his own blood poured freely, then put a hand against her lower jaw and pulled her mouth open. He hesitated for a moment, and then moved his hand over her face, letting the blood pour into her mouth. When Emily started to fight, he held her chin tightly so she couldn’t move away from him. He watched as she began to wake fully. When she did, he pushed her lower jaw shut so she couldn’t spit it out.

Emily struggled to spit out the thick liquid, but couldn’t get her mouth open.

“Swallow it,” he said, looking into her eyes. She stopped struggling as he locked her gaze, and she finally swallowed the blood.

Chevalier fell back to the floor and leaned against the wall. Emily was awake now and pulling frantically against her restraints. He watched as his arm slowly healed, erasing the only trace left of what he had done.

“Keith… please,” she said softly, and settled down on the bed. “Help me.”

Emily sounded helpless and alone. Her heart-wrenching plea for help from her abusive ex-husband made Chevalier furious. He couldn’t move, though. He didn’t want to alert her to his presence. For now, he could watch her in secret. Chevalier heard a knock on her door and it opened slowly.

Silas came in, wearing jeans and a t-shirt. He glanced once at Chevalier, and Chevalier wondered what he was up to.

Emily looked at Silas with terrified eyes, “Get away from me!”

“Shhh,” Silas said, and shut the door behind him. “Are you a vampire?”

Chevalier started to say something, but stopped and watched.

“No,” Emily said angrily.

“Me either, let me get you out of those. I think we can get away from them,” Silas said, and moved to her side. He pulled and struggled with the restraints, Chevalier even heard him groan once from pulling so hard.

Chevalier nodded, the plan was brilliant, and he wondered who came up with it. It was similar to the Valle’s use of Tim, someone to gain her confidence, yet someone to watch over her.

“Damn, they are locked,” Silas said, and looked around the room.

“Try again, get me out of these,” Emily begged him.

Silas tried again, but pretended he couldn’t get them off of her, “Slip your hands out while I pull them, ready?”

“Ready,” Emily said.

Chevalier heard the two of them pulling and straining, finally, Emily sighed, “They’re too tight.”

“Someone’s coming,” Silas said, and slipped into her closet. Chevalier heard someone come in the room.

“Go away!” Emily screamed.

“It’s just some food,” a strange voice said.

The door to the room shut and Silas emerged from the closet and looked around, “What did they want?”

“They brought food,” Emily told him. “Idiot, how do they think I’m supposed to eat?”

Chevalier chuckled silently. They had forgotten that tiny part of their plan. He was impressed with Silas’ quick thinking.

“Maybe it’s just to torture you with. You have to be hungry, I know I am. I haven’t eaten in days,” Silas said.

“Yeah, I’m hungry too,” Emily said.

Silas went over and picked the dome off the tray, “This really looks good.”

“Don’t eat it!” Emily said.

“I don’t know, I’m really hungry,” Silas said, looking down at the food.

“What is it?” she asked, trying to see it.

“Grilled cheese,” he said, and picked it up and sniffed it. He turned back to Emily, “I’m really hungry.”

“Me too. Do you think it’s safe?” she asked.

Silas shrugged, “I’m not sure I care. They can either drain me or poison me.”

Chevalier gasped when he saw Silas take a bite from the sandwich. Silas grimaced and swallowed hard, hiding his face from Emily. He saw Silas gag a few times, and was sure at one point the grilled cheese was coming back up, but he managed to keep it down. Chevalier vowed he’d repay Silas for that bite.

“Is it good?” she asked.

“Very,” Silas said, and with his back to Emily, he pretended to eat and tossed the proof onto the floor behind the table.

Silas grabbed the other sandwich and turned to Emily, “Do you want one?”

Emily nodded, “Yes.”

Silas moved to her side and whispered, too low for her to hear, “Go.”

Chevalier blurred out of the room. He stopped in the hallway with Mark and Maleth, “That was brilliant.”

“Is she eating?” Mark asked.

Chevalier nodded and listened as Silas relayed that her headache was back, and she was getting sick to her stomach. Chevalier felt guilty, those were the same symptoms she’d had the night she was forced to drink Vaughn’s blood.

“Where’s Damon?” Chevalier asked.

“In the prison, last I saw,” Maleth said.

“I will be down there, too. I have some unfinished business,” Chevalier said, and blurred away.

***

By evening, Chevalier had been able to release a lot of his anger on a few of the prisoners, and headed back upstairs with Damon. They could hear Emily screaming from the foyer, still yelling for Keith.

Chevalier looked up the stairs and nodded when Damon excused himself for the council chambers. Chevalier headed up to their room. Silas was sitting outside of the door looking angrily at a servant.

“What happened?” Chevalier whispered.

“Imbecile here… came in and asked why I was in the closet,” Silas said, glaring at the servant.

“Damn,” Chevalier said, and looked at the door.

“All that work and it’s blown now,” Silas scowled.

“Deal with him,” Chevalier said, and stepped into the room.

Emily stopped screaming and looked over at him from the bed. Her terror turned to rage, which Chevalier recognized was even more dangerous of an emotion for her to have.

“I just want to talk to you, ok?” Chevalier asked from across the room.

“Do I have a choice?” Emily snapped.

“No, I guess you don’t,” Chevalier said, and smiled slightly.

“Where’s Keith?”

“He’s back in Montana.”

“How long have I been here?”

“Two days.”

“He’ll kill you,” she said, grinning coldly.

“I would imagine he will,” Chevalier said, watching her.

“Where’s the little boy?”

“He’s around, somewhere.”

“Is he your prisoner, too?” Emily asked, narrowing her eyes.

“No, he is my son,” Chevalier explained.

“Vampires have children?”

“I’m not a vampire.”

“Could’ve fooled me.”

“Do I look familiar to you?”

Emily looked at him for a few seconds, “No… let me go.”

“I can’t, not yet.”

“Why?”

“It’s hard to explain. You’re confused, and I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

“Why not? Don’t want to lose a good meal?” Emily asked, scowling.

“My son… did he look familiar?” Chevalier asked.

“Yes,” Emily said harshly.

“He did?” There was a glimmer of hope in Chevalier’s face.

“He looks like you.”

Chevalier nodded and left the room. He could hear her cry out for Keith again when the door shut. He sat down in a chair set out in the hallway.

“Are you mad at me?” Allen asked from the doorway of Kyle’s room.

Chevalier shook his head and patted his knee. Allen walked over and crawled into his lap.

“I’m not mad at all, not at you,” Chevalier said. “Why would you think that?”

Allen shrugged, “Just making sure.”

“Tell me what’s up.”

“Could I ever make you mad enough to lock me in prison?” Allen looked up at his Dad with serious eyes.

“No,” Chevalier said, suddenly frowning. “Why would you think that?”

Again, Allen shrugged.

Chevalier smiled, “You’re worried about your Mom?”

“Why is she tied up?”

“It’s hard to explain, but she won’t be for long, ok?”

“Ok, can you tuck me into bed?” Allen asked.

Chevalier nodded. He tucked Allen in and then returned to the hallway to wait out the night. Just after dawn, he heard Emily wake up.

“Chev!” Emily screamed from the room. “Kyle… help me!”

Chevalier ran into the room. She was pulling against the restraints enough her hands were turning purple. She turned to him, her eyes pleading.

“Let me go,” Emily said frantically. She had the sudden image of him saying no, and finding out she was to be a prisoner of the heku now. She would no longer be able to freely come and go, locked in a cell with the others.

“I got it,” Chevalier said, undoing her restraints.

“Who… who put me in these?” she asked as he untied her. She sat up and rubbed her wrists where purple bruises had formed. Emily was ready to run at the first sign that things changed for her in Council City.

“I did, Em,” Chevalier said, sitting down beside her. “Don’t you remember the last two days?”

“You put me in restraints?” she yelled.

“You forgot... everything. You were trying to run back to Keith,” Chevalier said, and took one of her feet to rub her ankle.

Emily thought back. Her mind raced from the Encala attack, to the dream she had about not knowing anyone, not remembering the heku, or her life since the ranch. She remembered shooting Kyle, and threatening the Council with a gun. The images of her dream intensified in her mind, and she realized it was all real.

She frowned and looked around the room, “I thought that was a dream.”

“I wish it had been,” he said softly.

“Mommy!” Allen yelled, and ran into her room and jumped on the bed. Emily winced when his foot brushed against her burned thigh.

Emily held him tightly, “How are you?”

“Do you remember me?” Allen asked, smiling.

Emily mussed his hair and hugged him tightly, “Of course.”

“Who are you betrothed to?” Allen asked, pulling back and looking at Emily.

“No one, I’m already married to your Daddy.”

“Then why do the voices tell you to come to them, because you are betrothed?”

“What voices?” Chevalier asked.

“Just voices, they stopped last night, though,” Allen said. “Can I play the Wii?”

Emily nodded and looked at Chevalier, “I didn’t hear voices.”

“He used to hear the Ancient when he spoke to you too, maybe it’s Vaughn calling you,” Chevalier said, his thoughts far away. “First they made you forget us, and then they call you to them, it all makes sense. The blood the Encala forced you to drink made his link with you stronger.”

“So why did it all stop?” Emily asked, frowning.

Chevalier sighed, “That… may best be kept a secret.”

“Why’s that?” Emily asked.

“Because I broke a promise again, one I’d like to keep to myself,” Chevalier said with a half-smile.

“You know, maybe I don’t want to know,” Emily said, and looked at her bruised wrists. “Did you have to tie me up?”

“I’m sorry, but you were waving the gun at everyone, and we were afraid you’d hurt yourself,” Chevalier said, smiling slightly.

“Will they ever leave me alone?” she asked him seriously.

“I honestly don’t know.”

Chapter 7 - Child

“I need to go talk to the Council, are you ok?” Chevalier asked, and kissed Emily softly.

She nodded, “I think I’ll take Allen down and make some lunch. He’s not eating well lately.”

“You sure you feel up to it?” he asked, helping her to her feet.

“No, my head is pounding, but I can’t sit in here forever. Come on Allen, let’s go to the kitchen,” Emily said, and held her hand out for him. He turned the TV off and took her hand. Chevalier walked them down to the fourth floor, and then they parted.

Emily excused the kitchen staff, and then looked around for the ingredients to make spaghetti. She set it out and turned to Allen.

“Did you see that your new Wii game came? One of the heku must have picked it up from the mail,” Emily said, and started to cut up some mushrooms.

“No, what game?” Allen asked.

“Ouch, crap,” Emily said, and held up a bloody finger. She put the knife down and looked around for a towel, then spun suddenly when she heard a hiss from behind her.

She looked past Allen for a servant, but her eyes fell back on her son. He was staring at her oddly. His teeth were exposed, and a soft hiss came from his mouth.

“Allen?” she asked, putting a towel over her bloody finger.

Allen crouched with his hands curled into claws. His eyes were focused on the drops of blood on the floor.

“Chev!” Emily yelled, just as Allen lunged at her, growling. She was able to hold him off, but was surprised at his strength. Allen fought against her and tried to get his mouth close to her still bleeding finger.

Kyle arrived first, having heard her call, and pulled Allen off of Emily. Allen hissed and pulled at Kyle’s hands, trying to get to his Mom. Kyle could smell fresh blood in the room.

“What’s going on here?” Chevalier asked, confused.

“He… he attacked me,” Emily said, watching Allen with wide eyes. The 4-year-old was hissing violently and fighting Kyle.

Chevalier looked at Allen with surprise, “He attacked you?”

Chevalier pulled Allen from Kyle’s grasp and held him closely.

“I cut my finger and heard a hiss. Then I turned around…” Emily said.

Sam ran into the room and pulled Allen from Chevalier, then pushed the boy behind him, “Stay away from him.”

“You knew?” Chevalier growled at Sam.

“Knew what?” Emily asked. She tried to get to Allen, but Kyle held her back.

“Just leave him alone, he’ll be fine,” Sam said frantically.

“You kept it from us?” Chevalier growled.

“What’s going on?” Emily asked, frustrated.

“Kyle, give him something to drink,” Chevalier said as he watched Sam carefully.

Emily turned as Kyle poured something into a tall glass and handed it to Allen. Allen shut his eyes and smelled the drink, then gripped the glass tighter, and drank it all quickly.

“More,” Allen hissed.

Kyle moved quickly and refilled Allen’s glass. Again, Allen smelled the drink and downed the contents.

A deep growl erupted from behind Sam, and Kyle again refilled the glass and handed it to Allen. He drank again, but not as deeply. Once half of the glass was gone, he froze and dropped it, shattering glass and blood across the floor.

Emily gasped and took a step back.

“How long has he preferred blood?” Chevalier asked Sam.

“You gave him blood?” Emily asked Kyle, and he nodded, also watching Allen.

“How long, Sam? Answer me,” Chevalier growled.

“Just about two years,” Sam said, holding Allen behind him.

“You kept that from us!” Chevalier yelled, taking a step toward the familiar.

“Stop, Sam, you promised not to tell,” Allen said fearfully from behind Sam.

“Allen, come here,” Chevalier said.

“No, I’ll take care of this,” Sam said.

“Kyle,” Chevalier said, and Kyle blurred to Sam, pinning him against the wall behind them.

Chevalier knelt in front of Allen, “Show me your teeth.”

Allen opened his mouth so Chevalier could look.

“He has a mortal’s mouth. He can’t bite deep enough to get blood,” Sam said, straining against Kyle.

“Can you move fast?” Chevalier asked him.

“Sort of,” Allen said, afraid.

“Can you control mortals?”

Allen nodded slowly.

“Anything else?” Chevalier asked.

“No,” Allen whispered.

“What… you told me he’s mortal,” Emily said, still in shock.

“The child of a heku and a human is always mortal,” Chevalier said. “I don’t understand this.”

“He tried to bite me,” Emily said, frowning.

“He’s a 4-year-old predator with the instincts of a natural killer, but the control of a child,” Kyle explained.

“Why did you keep this from us?” Chevalier asked Sam, and Kyle let him go so the familiar could face the Elder.

“I can handle it,” Sam said just as Chevalier backhanded him into the stone wall.

Emily backed up slowly and watched horrified from across the kitchen.

“I’m his father! I have the right to know,” Chevalier growled.

“He needs me, I can control him,” Sam said from the floor. “Today was my fault. I was late feeding him and when Emily cut her finger…”

“Obviously, you can’t control him,” Chevalier said angrily.

“Are you going to lock me up?” Allen asked softly.

Chevalier knelt beside him, “No, how would you get that idea?”

“Sam… he said if you found out, you would lock me up, and Mommy would leave,” Allen said.

“You said what?” Emily yelled at Sam.

“Allen, listen to me,” Sam said.

“Guards! Get him to prison,” Emily yelled. Chevalier was surprised when her orders were followed quickly, and without question.

Emily scooped Allen up in her arms and held him close as she left the kitchen and ran up the stairs, followed by Kyle and Chevalier. She turned with Allen in her arms and looked at Chevalier.

“Did you know?”

“No, I had no idea,” Chevalier said, looking concerned at his son.

“How can he be a heku? Never in the history of our species has there been a child,” Kyle said, still stunned at the revelation.

“I don’t know, it’s unheard of,” Chevalier said.

Emily glared and held Allen tighter when Quinn, Maleth, and Damon appeared in the doorway.

“Get away from my son,” she yelled at them.

“We couldn’t help but hear. We aren’t here to take him,” Maleth said, stepping toward them.

“A 4-year-old predator, now that sounds interesting,” Damon said, amused.

Emily glared at Damon and tightened her grip on Allen.

Quinn nodded, “I think I understand.”

Chevalier turned to the other Elder, “You made sense of this?”

“Yes, think about it. The original Winchester children were 50% heku and 50% human right?” Quinn said.

Chevalier nodded.

“Their children then, were 25% mortal because of their pure mortal fathers.”

“Ok,” Chevalier said, trying to see where this was going.

“It’s been said that Emily’s mother had almost no powers. She had to be around 1% heku by that point,” Quinn said, his mind was racing.

Chevalier nodded, “Yes, then Emily’s Dad was an ancient.”

“So that would mean Emily was… about 51% heku,” Quinn said, and started to pace.

“If that, yes.” Chevalier agreed.

“And that extra 1% made her more powerful than any other mortal.”

“Yes”

“So your children would be 75% heku and 25% mortal,” Quinn said, turning to him.

“So 50% and 50% and the child takes on the mortal traits… but my children would be only 1/4 mortal,” Chevalier said, and the thought hit him, Allen could be the first child heku.

“Maybe even less than 1/4. It seems improbable, because there has never, in the history of the heku, been a child born to it,” Quinn said, impressed.

“So that means this baby will be heku also?” Emily asked, frowning.

“Probably, though if it’s a female there may be more of the Winchester’s inherent traits,” Quinn said.

“The factions will fight to get him,” Damon said bluntly.

Chevalier nodded, “Yes they will. Which means the safest place for him is with Emily right now.”

“Not if he’s going to snack on her,” Damon chuckled.

“Shut up, Damon,” Chevalier growled.

“I mean no disrespect, but how much control does he have? So we leave him alone with his mortal mother?” Damon said softly.

“He’s been going to school. Sam must have figured out a way,” Chevalier said.

“I’ll go talk to him,” Kyle said, and blurred from the room.

“Mommy, can I get down?” Allen asked softly.

“No,” Emily whispered, glaring at Damon.

“Em, you have to put him down,” Chevalier told her, and touched her arm lightly.

Emily reluctantly set Allen down, and he turned and looked nervously at the others.

“Are you going to lock me up in prison?” Allen asked Damon.

Damon grinned, “Of course not, I’m proud of you!”

“A heku child, who would ever have imagined,” Maleth said, smiling.

“There has to be others… a child that’s turned,” Emily said, frowning.

“No, no child can survive the process,” Maleth explained.

Allen watched the others, embarrassed, and finally went into his room and started to color. The heku watched him for a bit, but Emily was scanning their faces.

“Get out,” Emily whispered, and the others in the room looked at her.

“Em…” Chevalier said softly.

“I said, get out.”

Chevalier called for Allen and took his hand. Everyone left Emily alone in her room. She looked around the empty room and sat against the wall with her face buried in her hands. She had never been alone in the palace, Alan was with her. That had meant she would never be alone, she would never be the only mortal in Council City.

Emily couldn’t help but cry as the thoughts of a heku child ran through her mind. She had a child that could kill her. She wondered if he would always be trying to drink from her. If she would end up afraid of her own son. How could she survive, the lone mortal in a world where mortals were nothing more than nourishment. She endured with the knowledge that she had her son, now that knowledge was violently ripped from her.

Emily had to get out. She felt the urge to run away, far away from Council City. She ran from the room, ignoring the heku calling to her from the hallway. She fled down the stairs and out into the stables, then threw a bridle on Damnit quickly and kicked him into a gallop before she’d even left the stables. She heard Kyle call her name as she passed the front doors, and headed into the city. Before long, she was out on the hills by herself.

“Just let her go,” Chevalier said as Kyle began to bridle his horse.

“She has really bad luck outside of the city,” Kyle whispered, turning to Chevalier.

“I know, but just leave her alone for now,” Chevalier said, watching as her silhouette appeared on the hills outside of the city.

“She should be proud. Finally did something useful for the heku,” Damon said as he stepped out into the stables.

Chevalier glared at him, and Kyle yelled “Shut up!”

“What? Honestly, how awesome is it that we can now make our own little heku army,” Damon chuckled.

Chevalier’s fist connected with his jaw, shattering it, before Damon could even react. The force of the punch threw him back into the stable’s walls.

Emily looked out over the city. From the hills, it looked peaceful and tranquil, but she was overtly aware of the violent, sadistic creatures that dwelled within its walls. No longer wanting to watch the city, Emily pulled Damnit around and headed toward the solidarity of the trees.

There was a light breeze blowing, and dark clouds were quickly rolling into the area. Emily pulled Damnit just inside the trees as it started to rain. She watched the green hills turn to mud as the thunder and lightning lit up the dark sky.

Emily turned to the trees. Never before had she felt so alone. The only family she had, other than the heku, was far away in New Mexico or already dead. She knew there were worse things than having Allen take on the heku traits of his father, but the thought of being the only mortal was suddenly overwhelming.

As much as she hated to cry, Emily leaned her head forward and let the tears go. She cried for the fears she had for her son, she cried for what might become of the baby, and she cried for the fears that had been building lately.

“No sign yet?” Kyle asked, walking up to Chevalier.

“No,” he answered, standing on the third-floor balcony and watching the hills where they last saw Emily.

“Tonight’s supposed to be the first snow.”

“I know.”

“How did you return her memory?” Kyle asked, after watching the hills silently for a few minutes.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

That answered Kyle’s question, and he decided to just drop the subject, “The doctor’s waiting for Em to get back. He’s worried about her blood pressure.”

Chevalier sighed, “Right now, we just need to leave her alone.”

Kyle turned to leave, and then stopped, “Maleth wants this kept on a need-to-know basis. He doesn’t even want the rest of the Council to know.”

Chevalier nodded, and Kyle went back down to the prison.

Emily sat perfectly still on top of the young paint and watched as the rain slowly turned to snow before her eyes. She could see the vapors from her breath, and that from the warm stallion, but she didn’t feel cold. She felt nothing.

She made up her mind just as the sun was setting behind the trees. There was now almost two inches of snow, and the large white flakes weren’t slowing down. Emily kicked Damnit into a slow walk and started back for the city.

With Damnit back in the stall, Emily grabbed a brush and decided to give him a good brushing. It helped the horse, and kept her hands busy so her mind was free to work on the finer points of her plan.

“What did you decide?” Chevalier asked from behind her.

“What do you mean?” Emily asked, setting down the brush and heading toward the food bins.

“You only disappear on horseback for hours if you are trying to make up your mind about something.” He followed her and opened the bin.

Emily hopped up on an empty bin and looked at Chevalier, “I’m going to buy a little ranch.”

Chevalier nodded, “Ok.”

“I need somewhere to go if I need some time away.” Emily watched him carefully.

“Are you moving, then?” Chevalier’s words were tense.

“No, I have enough left over from the Montana sale to buy a ranch, and hire a farmhand to watch the place for me,” Emily explained.

“I can get someone from here to work for free, and keep an eye on the place,” Chevalier offered, knowing she wouldn’t take the offer.

“You already know the answer to that. In fact, if I ever find out that you’ve gone snooping and try to find out where the place is, I’ll move there permanently,” Emily threatened.

Chevalier nodded.

“Tell your cronies too. That goes for any heku trying to find out where it is,” she said, sliding off of the barrel and grabbing the hose line.

“What about Allen?” Chevalier asked.

“What do you mean? Will I take him with me, or what do I feel about having a son that wants to feed off of me?” Emily asked as she started to fill all of the troughs with fresh water.

“Both, I guess.”

“I don’t know yet,” she said, and grabbed a rake, then started mucking out one of the empty stalls.

Chevalier gently took the rake and pulled her close to him. She buried her face in his chest, “It’s ok.”

“Why didn’t Sam tell us?” Emily said softly. Her voice held pain and betrayal, and Chevalier suddenly wanted to dismember the familiar.

He paused while he controlled his anger, “I don’t know, but it won’t happen again.”

“When I get the ranch, I’m moving Sam out there as overseer. I don’t want him around Allen,” Emily said, pulling away from Chevalier.

“You trust him?” Chevalier asked.

“No, that’s why I’ll have another farmhand. If I catch him near Allen again, I’ll kill him,” Emily said coldly.

Chevalier kissed her forehead, “You aren’t a killer. If the time comes, then let me do it.”

Emily suddenly leaned over and placed her hands on her knees. She dropped her head and breathed deeply.

“Em?” Chevalier said in a panic.

“Gimme a sec,” she said, groaning slightly.

“Doctor,” Chevalier whispered, and he blurred into the stables, just as Emily stood up and rubbed her belly.

“Go away, I’m not in labor,” Emily said, and walked past them.

Chevalier grabbed her arm, “Just let him look at you.”

“Let me make sure you aren’t in pre-term labor, please,” the doctor asked.

“Like anyone would know. I’m the only who knows how far along I am,” Emily said, smirking.

“Then a blood pressure, at least,” the doctor said, pulling out a cuff.

“I can already tell you… it’s high,” Emily told him.

“How can you tell though?”

“Because when it’s high I get headaches with little flashing lights,” Emily said calmly.

The doctor looked at her with wide eyes.

“I’m not in labor, anyway,” Emily said, and pulled her arm away from Chevalier, then headed into the palace.

“I’d bet my license she’s ready to go into labor, with the size of that baby. If she’s having those kinds of headaches, she should be on bed rest,” the doctor told Chevalier.

“When do we become concerned that the baby is too big?” Chevalier asked him.

“Honestly, I’m already concerned about that. It’s hard to tell with her because she’s naturally tiny, but to me, that baby looks huge. Keep in mind though, I was a general practitioner, not an obstetrician,” the doctor reminded him.

“Find one, call every coven in the Equites if you have to,” Chevalier ordered, and the doctor blurred away.

Chevalier met up with Emily in the bedroom.

“Why are you packing, Em?” he asked, frustrated.

“I told you, I’m buying a ranch. I’ve had my eye on one and I’m going to go look at it in the morning. I’ll only be gone a few days,” she said, and looked around for her 9mm.

“You seriously think that’s a good idea?” Chevalier growled.

“Where’s my gun?” Emily asked, and turned around to look at him.

“Why do you have to do this right now?” he asked her, starting to sound angry.

“Why not right now?”

“You look like you’re ready to explode. The doctor thinks you could go into labor at any time,” Chevalier said, trying to calm his voice.

“Kyle! Where’s my gun?” Emily yelled toward the door.

“Emily, stop!”

She turned to him, “I’m not in labor, Chev.”

“I don’t care. It’s just not the time to go out on your own.”

“Don’t start a fight with me,” Emily said, taking the gun from Kyle when he walked in the door.

Kyle backed out quickly when he heard them argue.

“I’m not starting a fight. I just want you to be rational for once, and stop being so damned stubborn headed,” Chevalier said, and pounded his fist on the table, breaking it in half.

“Is that what I’m being, irrational?” Emily asked, glaring.

“Yes, yes you are. You won’t tell anyone how far along you are, won’t let the doctors touch you. For all I know, you could be past due and you’re headed out alone to some unknown ranch by yourself,” Chevalier said tensely.

“I love your faith in me, Chev,” she said, and grabbed her bag. “I’m leaving tonight then. I’m not going to stand here and fight.”

“Emily, no” Chevalier said, taking her arm.

“Are you going to hold me here against my will?” she asked, her eyes narrowing.

Every fiber of his being was yelling to stop her, and keep her here in the safety of the palace with doctors closely watching her. Against his better judgment, he let her go, and watched her disappear through the garage doors.

“Where’s Em going?” Kyle asked, stepping up beside Chevalier.

“I don’t know,” the Elder said, and threw a chair through the wall beside him.

The doctor came up to them and glanced at the wall briefly, “The Kork Coven outside of Denver has an obstetrician. He’s flying in, and will be here first thing in the morning.”

“Get him a room. He’s staying in the palace,” Chevalier said angrily.

The doctor nodded, “Do you think we can talk her into a blood pressure check?”

“Nope, she just left,” Chevalier said, and blurred to his office.

“What? I’m not convinced she’s not starting labor!” the doctor said, shocked.

Kyle looked toward Chevalier’s office nervously.

Chapter 8 - Bar-S Ranch

Emily poured through books as the owner of the ranch watched her, “As I said, there are three bunkhouses that are scattered across the property.

Emily nodded, “I see that. Let’s hit the horses. I want to take a look.”

The Rancher frowned, “You sure you should be on a horse?”

Emily controlled the anger that the comment brought, “I’m fine, let’s go.”

The Rancher already had two thoroughbreds saddled and ready to go. Emily used a bale of hay to climb onto the mare, and she followed the rancher along the property line. There were fences along the entire perimeter and irrigation ditches already flowing across the farmland.

“So what brings you to Montana?” he asked, smiling at her.

“Just time for a change. I had a ranch up by Cascade once, and I think it’s time to start again,” she said, looking closely at the layout of the ranch.

“Just you and your husband, or do you have kids… well… other than the one on the way,” he asked.

“It’ll just be me,” she said bluntly, hoping he would drop it.

“This is a big piece of land for one person.”

“I have an overseer already, and I’ll hire some workers,” she told him. They were quiet the rest of the way back. When they arrived back at the barn, Emily slid off of the horse and turned to the Rancher.

“I’ll take it.”

The Rancher smiled, “Great! I finally get to retire.”

Emily smiled at him, “Get the papers drawn up, and I’ll come and sign them.”

He nodded, “I suspect you have a loan already?”

“No, actually… it will be a cash transaction,” Emily said, and ignored his shocked expression.

She slid into the seat of her Durango, just as another pain hit. She leaned against the steering wheel and breathed through it, then put it in gear and headed for her hotel. As she passed the tiny town hospital, she sighed and pulled into the Emergency Room.

“Good evening, can I help you?” the young nurse asked with a smile.

“Yes, I’d just like to make sure I’m not going into labor,” Emily said, blushing.

“Oh, right away. Follow me,” the nurse said, suddenly looking anxious.

Within a few minutes, Emily was in a backless gown and had large round monitors on her stomach. She watched the baby’s heartbeat while she waited for the doctor.

“Well hello,” the doctor said when he came in. “I’m Dr. Price, the on-call obstetrician… Emily, right?”

Emily nodded.

“How far along are you then?”

“I don’t really know,” she said, wincing at his expression.

Dr. Price smiled, “Let’s see if I can get a general idea then.”

Emily nodded and watched as he brought in a large machine. Dr. Price put gel onto the end of the ultrasound machine and suddenly, Emily was looking at her baby on the monitor.

“Baby looks good, good heart rate, good lung development. I’m guessing you’re almost 35 weeks… but, the baby’s pretty big,” Dr. Price said, watching the monitor closely.

“Yes, so was my last one,” Emily told him.

“I have to be honest, Emily. I’m tempted to induce you right now. Your blood pressure is dangerously high, and the baby is going to be too big for you,” Dr. Price said, looking at the monitor.

“I’m not from here. I’ll go back and talk to a doctor in my hometown,” Emily lied.

“I’m not really comfortable sending you out like this,” Dr. Price said to her. “Can we at least call your husband, have him come and get you?”

Emily shook her head, “He’s not in the country right now.”

Dr. Price sighed, “Let’s keep you and induce, it’s too risky. If your blood pressure gets any higher, you’re going to start having seizures, add the big baby, and I think it’s time.”

“So I’m not in labor at all, right?” Emily asked, sitting up.

“Not yet, those are called Braxton Hicks and will just get stronger. Course, once I admit you they won’t matter,” Dr. Price said, and left the room.

Emily quickly dressed and slipped out through the back kitchen door of the hospital. She pulled the Durango out into traffic just as Dr. Price ran from the ER door. She made it back to the hotel and was locked inside before she relaxed. She had left the ranch address as her home contact and her cell phone as the number at the hospital. She was sure she covered her tracks enough that no one else would know she’d gone.

Emily was lying on the bed when her cell phone rang. She picked it up without looking at the ID.

“Hello,” Emily said.

“This is Dr. Price,” the voice on the other end said.

Emily sat up quickly, “I can’t have this baby right now.”

“You don’t understand the health risks, please, come back and talk to me at least,” Dr. Price said. She could tell he was nervous about her.

“I’ll check with my hometown doctor. I’ll be home tomorrow.”

“Your mailing address is here,” Dr. Price said skeptically.

“I’m buying that place. Right now I live out of town.”

“Please come in, I’m very worried.”

“I’m ok. I’ll be home tomorrow, but thank you,” Emily said, and hung up.

She sighed when the phone immediately rang.

“I’m not coming back there,” she said, irritated.

“Why not?” Chevalier asked.

Emily took a deep breath, “Sorry, I thought you were someone else.”

There was a long pause, “What’s going on?”

“Nothing, I’ll be back there tomorrow,” Emily assured him.

“Who did you think was calling?” Chevalier asked.

“They want me to come sign papers on the ranch tonight, but I’m tired and told them I’d be back next week,” Emily said calmly.

“Oh, ok. So you are going to get it?”

“Yes, I really like it,” Emily told him.

There was more silence before Chevalier finally spoke, “Tomorrow, right?”

“Yes, tomorrow,” Emily said, and hung up the phone.

Emily reached over and turned off her cell phone, then flipped through the TV until she found a good movie on HBO. She settled back with some orange juice and watched the movie in peace and quiet.

Chevalier was waiting in the garage when Emily pulled the Durango into its spot. She hadn’t had time to clean it, so it looked awful compared to the shiny sports cars around it.

He opened her door before she even slipped her seat belt off and kissed her.

“Welcome back,” he said, smiling.

“Thanks,” she answered, and grabbed the paperwork for the ranch from the seat. She spent some of the night before marking out the address with a sharpie, in case he got nosey.

Chevalier took her bag in one hand, and her hand in his other, and they headed inside. He was pleasantly unquestioning about the new ranch.

Once back in the room, Emily laid down on the bed and grinned, “Always good to be home.”

“Yes it is. You have no idea how insanely nervous it makes me when you leave,” Chevalier said, and laid back beside her.

“How’d it go here?” she asked, looking over at him.

“Fine, nothing happened. I’ve spent the entire time with Allen. He’s going to need some help with this,” Chevalier said, and took Emily’s hand.

Emily nodded, “I figured.” She sat up when someone knocked on the door.

“Come in,” she said, and then frowned when a strange heku entered.

“Oh, Emily, this is Dr. Alona,” Chevalier said nervously.

Emily looked at him, her eyes narrowing, “Nice to meet you.”

Dr. Alona seemed friendly, but Emily hated how he kept looking at her like she might fall over at any moment.

“Friend of yours?” Emily asked Chevalier, but kept her eyes on Dr. Alona.

“Sort of a friend of the faction doctor,” Chevalier said, smiling.

“Mhmm,” she mumbled, not believing him.

“I told the faction doctor that I’d be happy to take a look at you while I’m visiting. I’m a certified obstetrician,” he said, smiling.

“How convenient,” Emily said, irritated.

“Why don’t you have a seat then,” Dr. Alona said, and pointed to the bed.

“No,” Emily told him bluntly.

“Hey, Breeder, are you being a pain in the ass again?” Damon asked from the door.

“No, I’m letting you keep that job,” Emily scowled at him. She was partially glad though, it’d taken the doctor’s attention away from her.

“Why don’t you sit down nicely, and let the doctor do his thing?” Damon asked with a smirk.

“Why don’t you drown?”

“I can swim,” he replied, grinning.

“Great, next time you go, let me toss you a toaster.”

“You couldn’t kill me if you tried.”

“Is that a challenge?” Emily snapped.

“Bring it, Child.”

“Don’t even tempt me.”

“Stop it!” Chevalier scowled. “Damn you two.”

Emily froze when she felt the tightening in her stomach. She knew the pain was coming, and ran for the bathroom, locking the door.

“Damnit,” Emily said as she bent over. The tightening continued until the pain started. She fought against making any noise, but a small groan escaped at the height of the pain.

“Emily, what’s wrong?” Dr. Alona said, knocking on the door.

“Stubbed my toe,” Emily said, panting.

When the pain in her abdomen stopped, she sunk down to the floor of the bathroom and pressed her palms into her eyes. Her headache started when Damon first spoke, and was growing worse. She saw the little flashes of lights in her vision and tried to calm herself down.

Emily felt her temper rising, despite her best efforts to calm down when she heard Dr. Alona talking to Chevalier about what she needed. She didn’t need anything, and was getting frustrated when no one believed her. She was fine as long as everyone just left her alone. Her headache worsened and she felt the familiar dizziness creeping up on her.

Emily knew that if she passed out, it would be too late for her to defend herself against the new doctor. She pulled herself up to the sink, and tried to splash some cool water on her forehead to see if she could stop the world from spinning.

“Don’t get that,” Emily called out into the room when she heard her phone ring.

It rang three more times, and then Emily heard Damon answer it.

“Damon here.” The flashes of light got brighter in her eyes.

“Doctor who?” The world leapt violently to the side and she felt herself hit the tiles.

“Oh really?” Darkness crept into her vision and soon took over.

***

Emily could hear the voices around her before she could open her eyes. She felt a pressure across her chest and something on her face making it so she couldn’t breathe. She pulled it off and tried to speak, but no sound came out.

“Leave that on,” she heard a strange voice say, and then she felt someone replace the mask.

Emily opened her eyes finally, and once they focused, she could tell she was in the back of an ambulance. She could feel the slight swaying, so she knew they were in motion. She saw the I.V. dripping from the ceiling into her arm, and the straps on the gurney that held her down.

“It’s ok, we’re on the way to the hospital,” the female paramedic said. “You had a little seizure.”

Emily groaned and reached toward her I.V. She felt firm fingers holding onto it tightly, so she pulled her mask off again instead. She couldn’t breathe with it.

“Emily, leave that on,” she heard Chevalier say sternly.

She was extremely tired. She just needed everyone to leave her alone so she could sleep. The paramedic was putting something on her stomach, and she pulled one of them off before she felt someone grasp her wrist.

Chevalier held both of her wrists, and felt her relax as she fell back to sleep.

“You weren’t kidding about the medical phobia,” the female paramedic said to Chevalier, with a smile.

“Nope, wish I was,” he said, watching Emily sleep. Even by just touching her wrists, he could see the swirls of her dream starting.

“Baby’s looking good, good strong heartbeat,” the paramedic said, and Chevalier looked up at the sound of the rapid thumping.

“When’s her due date?” the paramedic asked as she grabbed a clipboard.

Chevalier sighed, “She won’t go to a doctor, and won’t tell anyone.”

“Wow,” the paramedic said, and wrote something down. “Wait… says here you’re her brother?”

Chevalier nodded.

“So where’s the father of the baby?” the paramedic asked.

“He’s coming. He wanted to bring a car along,” Chevalier explained.

Chevalier felt the two bumps as the ambulance drove into the hospital’s emergency entrance. The back doors flew open, and the paramedic reached in and pulled the gurney out. They met several doctors and nurses directly inside the doors, and they whisked Emily away to a room, but kept Chevalier back for some questions.

Kyle ran in a few minutes later and stood beside Chevalier.

“Are you the husband then… let’s see… Keith?” the nurse asked.

“Yes,” Kyle lied. He was surprised how handy it was to have Keith’s ID from his wallet, and how nice it was that they looked somewhat alike.

“Just sign here, that’s a consent to treat and a consent to admit,” the nurse said, handing him a pen.

“So they are admitting her?” Chevalier asked.

The nurse nodded, “Yes, her blood pressure alone will keep her here until delivery.”

“She’s afraid of hospitals, I.V.’s, oxygen masks, the works. She’ll tear them off if you let her,” Kyle said to the nurse, and she smiled sweetly and nodded.

“He’s not exaggerating,” Chevalier said.

“It’s ok, we have it under control,” the nurse said.

A doctor came out to talk to them. He looked too young to be a doctor. Silver braces on his teeth made him seem even younger, and Chevalier took an instant dislike to him. The young doctor put his hand out for Kyle and they shook.

“Hi, I’m Dr. Chen. I’m a perinatologist. I’ve just looked your wife over, and I have some concerns,” he said, checking the chart.

“Concerns?” Kyle asked.

“Yes, first, her blood pressure is way too high, that’s what caused the seizure. Then the size of the baby is of concern when the mother is small boned, like your wife is,” he explained.

“Ok,” Kyle said, not sure what else he could say.

“We’re going to have to induce labor immediately. If she has another seizure, it could harm both her and baby,” he said.

Kyle nodded, “Do what you have to. Is that done with an I.V. by chance?”

“Yes, a medicine will be added to her I.V.”

“Yeah… she’s never, in her entire life, kept an I.V. in,” Kyle said bluntly.

“We’ll secure it as best as we can. Once she understands the risks to the baby, I’m sure she’ll be fine,” the young doctor said, smiling. “I’m missing the name of the doctor who delivered her previous baby though.”

“That was an emergency home birth, in the middle of a hurricane. We didn’t have a doctor,” Kyle explained.

“Oh wow, let me note that here.” Dr. Chen wrote something down.

“Can we see her?” Kyle asked.

“Not yet, the nurse gave her some medicine for anxiety,” Dr. Chen said.

“Anxiety medicine?” Chevalier asked.

“Yes, for Nosocomephobia… fear of hospitals. It’ll make things a lot easier if she’ll relax and stop fighting everything,” Dr. Chen explained.

“And she took it?” Kyle asked skeptically.

Dr. Chen nodded, “Sure, then she went into the bathroom. When she’s out, I’ll send a nurse to get you.”

“She’s Alone?” Chevalier asked.

“Yeah,” Dr. Chen said, frowning.

“That means her I.V.’s out,” Kyle said, sighing.

“Dr. Chen!” a young orderly said to him frantically. “I can’t find the patient in 3.”

“She’s in the bathroom,” Dr. Chen said, smiling at Kyle.

“That’s what we thought, but we can’t find her,” the orderly said again.

Chevalier glanced at Kyle, “See if you can find her.”

Kyle ran back to Chevalier a few minutes later, “She just left in a cab.”

Chevalier growled and headed back for the car with Kyle.

“Wait!” Dr. Chen called. “Are you going to bring her back?”

Chevalier ignored the young doctor, and sped away from the hospital, “If I get her back here, I’m bringing the restraints.”

Kyle thought for a moment and then spoke, “You know as well as I do that she’s not going to come back here willingly. You will do more harm than good if you start yelling.”

“Oh, I’m going to yell,” Chevalier said angrily.

“Why don’t you take the long way and calm down before you see her?” Kyle suggested.

“No chance,” Chevalier growled, and stepped on the gas to prove his point.

Chevalier left his car at the side doors of the palace and stormed inside. He grabbed the collar of the first guard he saw, “Where is she?”

“I… I… haven’t seen her,” the guard said nervously.

Chevalier threw him against the wall and blurred upstairs. When he saw her room was empty, he turned to the door, but was blocked by Kyle.

“Seriously, you’re going to hurt her if you don’t calm down,” Kyle said.

“Get out of my way,” Chevalier hissed.

Damon appeared behind Kyle, “Let Kyle and I find her first, Elder. Just wait here.”

“If you two don’t want to find your heads separated from your bodies, I suggest you let me by,” Chevalier growled.

“If you hurt her, she’ll take off again and you know it. You know how badly she pushes buttons, and I can promise you, right now, she’s going to send you over the edge of reason,” Damon said respectfully.

“I’m going to find her. You can come with if you want,” Chevalier said, and blurred out of the room. He stopped at the main foyer and shut his eyes, inhaling deeply.

“You can’t find her that way. The entire palace smells like she does,” Damon said, watching him.

“If the guards didn’t see her, maybe she went directly into the garage and took off?” Kyle asked.

Kyle matched Chevalier’s speed and stopped just behind him in the garage. He looked around and saw the Durango and the Humvee parked in their normal spots. His Ferrari was there also. He wasn’t sure she’d take anyone else’s car, not after being arrested for car theft once in her life.

“Stables?” Damon asked, and cursed when Chevalier disappeared. He was able to catch up with the Elder at the doorway.

Chevalier looked around carefully. His furious eyes took a fast inventory of the horses. All were accounted for in their stalls.

“Damn, where is she?” Chevalier growled.

“Maybe she didn’t even come back here, maybe she went somewhere else,” Damon suggested.

“Where though?” Kyle asked. “She doesn’t know anyone near enough to get to in a cab.”

The smallest sound sent all three heku into a spin to look behind them. Chevalier moved forward slowly, his hands still balled into tight, angry fists. They all looked up when their keen hearing picked up the sound of slow, rhythmic breathing.

Chevalier blurred up the ladder and froze, his eyes wide. Damon and Kyle stood beside him, ready to grab him if he sprung.

Emily was lying on the straw, deep asleep with a horse blanket thrown over her. She looked peaceful and frail. Chevalier’s hands softened and as he watched her, the anger flooded out of him. Kyle and Damon both noticed the change as the anger in their Elder dissipated. They quietly jumped down into the stables and went back into the palace.

Chevalier sat down beside her on the straw, and watched her sleep. He wasn’t used to looking at her and seeing the delicately fragile mortal that she was. Her vicious temper and strong mind kept those thoughts far away from views of her, but seeing her now, they came back to him. He watched as she slept through the night, afraid his touch might wake her. He couldn’t tell what her dreams were, but she didn’t move all night.

When Emily started to wake up, Chevalier reached over and brushed the hair back from her face. She opened her eyes and sat up suddenly, looking around. She remembered finally where she was, and then her eyes fell on Chevalier.

Emily studied his face for a moment, and then spoke, “Are you mad?”

“Not anymore,” he said truthfully.

“I need everyone to leave me alone,” she said, curling up against his side.

He wrapped an arm around her, “I know.”

“I’m not going to let them take the baby early,” she whispered.

Chevalier kissed her forehead, “The baby is developed enough that they aren’t worried about it. The doctors are more worried about you.”

“I’m ok, if everyone will just back off,” she told him.

“You had a seizure. They said it can kill you.”

“I got stressed out. Keep Damon away from me and I’ll be fine,” she said, and stood up slowly.

Chevalier stood up too, “Can’t we compromise somehow? I can’t lose you.”

“No compromises on this. I have the baby my way,” Emily said, and started down the ladder.

“What do you mean, your way?” Chevalier hopped down from the loft easily.

“I mean… alone,” she said, turning to him.

Chevalier frowned, “Alone? You almost died.”

“Almost. I’m not going to put heku at risk because I’m in pain,” Emily told him, and crossed her arms.

“That’s it? You’re worried about us?” Chevalier sounded amused.

“You wouldn’t think it was that funny if I ashed the entire palace, would you?” she asked, frustrated.

“Kyle and I were with you for Allen. You didn’t ash us,” he reminded her.

“I can’t guarantee that again, and I won’t risk it,” Emily said, and started in for the palace. She needed a shower and new clothes.

Chevalier appeared in front of her and she almost ran into him. He put a hand under her chin and brought her face up towards him, “Please take it easy for now, until we decide what to do.”

Emily hated when he looked down at her like that. When they were standing that close, it made her feel like a child that was about to get chastised by her dad.

“Define… take it easy,” she said, and stepped back a bit so he wasn’t towering over her so badly.

“Stay in bed,” Chevalier answered bluntly.

“If I stay in bed, will you back off?” Emily asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

Chevalier sighed, “If that’s what it takes, then yes.”

“And Dr. Alona can go back to wherever it is he came from?”

“How about he stays in the palace, but we keep him away from you? If we have a question, it can be relayed,” Chevalier suggested.

Emily nodded, “Fine, I’ll give you that.”

She crawled into bed after a hot shower and noticed the TV had been moved closer to her. She also saw a tray on her bedside table, but didn’t see anyone around. She lifted the dome and grabbed the plate, suddenly very hungry. She put the plate on top of her stomach and dug into the pancakes.

Damon knocked and walked in just as Emily was finishing off the bacon.

“What do you want?” Emily asked, and put the plate back on the tray.

“Don’t get your panties in a wad, I offered to come,” Damon said, and sat down in the chair by the bed.

“Why’s that?” Emily asked suspiciously.

“The Valle and Encala have representatives in the palace, talking to the Council, and the Council thought it wasn’t a good idea that you were alone,” Damon said, and sniffed at the juice on her tray.

Emily grabbed the juice and moved it to her bedside table.

“Oh, and Chevalier thought it would be a good idea to send you?” she asked.

“He was a little busy at the moment, so Maleth sent me,” Damon said, smirking.

“I should go. They’ll be more civil if I’m in the room,” Emily said, and swung her legs over the side of the bed.

“No can do, Tiny. Orders were to keep you away from them. They’re pretty nasty today,” Damon told her.

“Was it that or was it more like… ‘Keep the mortal from passing out in front of guests,’?” Emily asked, grinning.

“Yeah, it may have gone something like that.” Damon laughed.

Emily groaned and bent over, grabbing her stomach. Damon jumped to his feet and looked at her nervously.

“Sit,” she moaned, and he sat back down, but watched her closely. She relaxed finally and looked over at him.

“Going to pop that kid out now or what?” Damon asked, his voice was still joking, but Emily could see the panic in his eyes.

“You know what I like about you, Damon?” Emily asked, and smiled.

“What’s that?”

“Nothing,” she said, and grabbed her book from the nightstand.

“Don’t you even wonder what the Valle and Encala are here for?” Damon asked after a few awkward minutes of silence.

“Is it about me?”

“Well, no.”

“Then no, I don’t,” she said, turning the page in her book.

“Want to play Vampire Attack IV?” he asked, looking over at the Wii.

“No,” she said, still reading.

“Hungry? I could get you something.”

“No”

Damon sat and watched her read, tapping his foot against the floor.

“Damon!” Emily yelled.

Damon looked up, “What?”

“Why are you here?”

“I told you why.”

“If it’s not about me, then why would Maleth send you up here to irritate me?”

“Is that what I’m doing?” Damon asked.

“Yes”

“Hmm,” he said, and sat back against the chair.

“Why don’t you sit outside the door?”

“I can’t irritate you from out there.”

Emily’s eyes rolled back and she collapsed on the bed. Damon stood up and shook her softly, “Emily?”

When she didn’t respond, he blurred from the room.

She sat up and grinned, “Amateur.”

Emily was sitting up cross-legged on the bed reading when Dr. Alona, Chevalier, Kyle, and Damon blurred into the room.

She looked up as they stopped by her bed, “Can I help you?”

“She… she…” Damon said, shocked.

“Got you,” Kyle said, laughing, and walked out of the room. Damon yelled in frustration and followed him out.

Dr. Alona looked at her carefully, and Emily sighed when she realized she was getting checked over.

“What?” she asked, looking up from her book.

“Just one blood pressure?” he asked, rocking nervously on his feet.

“Whatever,” Emily said, and stuck out her arm, still reading.

Dr. Alona moved quickly, afraid she would change her mind. He took the blood pressure and smiled, “Thank you.”

“Sure… go away,” she said, irritated.

“It’s still too high,” he said to her.

“I figured… go away.”

Dr. Alona left the room and Chevalier sat on the bed beside her, “You really scared Damon.”

“Yes, well he’s an idiot,” Emily said, and set the book on her lap.

“He was doing Maleth a favor,” Chevalier said, in a tone very close to patronizing.

“I want to go back to the island,” Emily told him.

Chevalier nodded, “Sure, after the baby…”

Emily cut him off, “Today.”

Chevalier frowned, “We can’t go today.”

“Why not? I don’t want to be here,” she said, watching him.

“The heku in this building have grown accustomed to your scent over time. It doesn’t affect them because the scent grew gradually. The servants at the castle aren’t used to you. It’d be too dangerous,” he explained.

“I’ll stay in the bedroom. They don’t have to come near me,” Emily said.

“There will be too much blood when you have the baby, they won’t be able to resist it,” Chevalier told her, and touched her cheek softly.

“I don’t want to have the baby here.”

“I’m hoping you’ll be at the hospital, far away from any heku.”

“I don’t want to have the baby at a hospital either.”

“Where exactly were you hoping to have it then?”

Emily shrugged, “I told you, alone somewhere.”

“It’s too dangerous. Your family has a history of dying during childbirth. I’d rather have you around,” Chevalier said softly.

Emily looked down at her hands, “I’m afraid of killing everyone in this building.”

“I don’t think that will happen. If you’ll feel better, we can send Damon away, just in case,” Chevalier said matter-of-factly.

“They already think I’m the spoiled Elder’s wife. See how badly they hate me after I’ve ashed the lot of them,” Emily said, fighting back more tears.

“They don’t hate you. If they did, they wouldn’t be in the palace,” Chevalier told her.

“They will if I ash them all.”

“That didn’t happen with Allen, so I’m sure it’ll be ok.”

“Why were the Valle and Encala here?” Emily asked after a brief silence.

“They want Exavior and Sotomar back,” Chevalier told her, and leaned back against the headboard on the bed.

“Did you let them go?”

“We were discussing it when we were rudely interrupted by a frantic Damon,” Chevalier chuckled.

“So you’re still supposed to be down there?”

Chevalier nodded.

“So go. I’m ok, I just want to read.”

Chevalier kissed her on the forehead and left quickly.

***

Emily sat up in bed and looked at the clock, it was 3am. She looked around the room and saw she was alone. The two fireplaces were roaring enough she could see all around the room. She stepped out of bed and pulled on a robe, then headed out into the hallway. She saw the guard chairs were also empty.

Yawning, Emily headed down toward the kitchen, still mostly asleep. The halls seemed extremely quiet, and if she didn’t know better, she would think she was alone in the palace. The kitchen was dark and quiet, so she turned on the light and started making herself a sandwich. She grabbed a bag of chips in one hand, and her sandwich in the other, and headed back up the stairs. When she got to the fourth floor, she heard loud shouting.

“The domination of the Equites is ending,” an angry voice yelled.

“No one said the Equites are trying to dominate anything,” Maleth said sternly.

“By laying claim to more than one Winchester, you are obviously trying to build an army that no other faction is capable of defeating,” another angry voice yelled.

“No one is saying we have more than one Winchester. You know as well as I do that her son, Allen, is mortal and has no abilities at all,” Maleth replied.

“She is with child, is she not?”

“Yes, she is,” Maleth said.

“Then if it is a female, will the infant be given to another faction?”

“No, she would not be,” Quinn said.

Emily sighed. She was tired of the factions fighting over her and her baby. She would rather die than go to the Valle or the Encala. The Equites seemed to spend a lot of their time trying to keep her safe and under their protection, and it was getting old. She was tired of hearing the Equites argue with the others about any claims to her. She did what she pleased, and that never included the Encala or the Valle. They acted like the Equites were holding her against her will.

Emily walked around to the hallway behind the council chambers and opened the door as she took a bite of her sandwich. The Council turned around, shocked to see her at this hour.

“Em? What’s wrong?” Chevalier whispered as he stood up and moved to her.

“Nothing,” she said, and handed him the bag of chips to open.

“Then what are you doing?” he asked, opening them and handing the bag back to her.

Emily peeked around him as the shouting started again. They didn’t know she was in the room because the fans were keeping her scent away from them.

“Just looking,” she said, and took another bite of her sandwich.

Chevalier shook his head and grinned, then returned to his seat. Emily listened for a bit while the enemy heku couldn’t see her.

“This discussion is tiring. We demand the factions become equal again, and the only way to do that, is to share the Winchester blood,” an angry voice said.

“Yes, this discussion is tiring, you’re not getting any of my children,” Chevalier said coldly. Emily was sure he was holding back his anger because she was in the room.

“That they are your children is irrelevant. All we care about is the mother.”

“Ha! Like you care at all about Emily,” Damon said angrily.

“And you claim to? That’s a joke. You’re using her to reproduce and to extend the Winchester line, don’t kid yourselves,” the strange heku said.

“She’s nothing more than a breeder, and you know it,” another voice yelled.

“Oh you’ve done it now,” Emily heard Damon say with amusement. She could feel her temper rising at the stranger’s comment.

“What do you…” the voice was cut off when Emily appeared with the Council.

“What did you call me?” Emily asked angrily.

A murmur ran through the twelve gathered enemy heku at the appearance of the Winchester.

“I apologize. That came out wrong,” the heku said to her.

“Nothing more than a breeder? What, like a purebred bitch? Oooh she’s in heat again, best get some more puppies,” Emily said, glaring at him.

“No, Child, we do not think of you like that,” he said quickly.

“Yeah right. Here’s the deal… now that I’m here, you’ll keep a civil tongue in your mouths, and address this Council with the respect they are due. You won’t talk about me like a piece of property, or a baby factory, either. Get out of hand and I’ll ash you, simple enough,” Emily said, and got some joy at the way they stepped back from her as she spoke.

Emily glanced quickly at Damon when he turned his chair, and she could tell he was laughing.

Emily sat down on Chevalier’s lap. Something she never did around others, but she was through caring at the moment. She leaned back against his chest and took another bite of her sandwich. She felt Chevalier chuckle, and he wrapped his arms around her.

“It’s… it’s hard to discuss this while she’s here,” one of the Valle said.

Emily ignored his comment and finished her sandwich.

“She stays,” Damon said. He was enjoying the discomfort of the enemy.

“It’s just that… she’s watching us,” he said to Maleth.

“Do go on,” Maleth said. “We have a busy night ahead of us.”

“We feel it only fair that each of the factions be given some of the blood from the Winchester,” the Valle said nervously.

“Come get it,” Emily said, and held her wrist out.

Chevalier grabbed her hand and put it into her lap, laughing “That’s not what they mean.”

“Oh… they want a baby,” Emily said, nodding.

“Yes, that’s what we want,” one of the Encala members said.

“Sure, why not,” Emily said, and dug for a chip.

“You… you agree?” the Valle asked.

“Sure… why not just pop out a kid every year, and then you can each have a few. Is it ok if the baby is Chevalier’s, or were you planning on doing that yourself?” Emily asked, eating another chip.

Emily felt Chevalier chuckle, and then his lips as he kissed the back of her head.

“We… we aren’t picky about the father,” the Valle said.

“Are you having fun?” Chevalier whispered softly into Emily’s ear.

Emily nodded.

“You would allow us to father our own Winchester?” the Encala asked.

“Of course… I’m already getting it on with the entire Equites Council, why not throw you in too,” Emily said, looking over at Damon. He was still facing away from the enemy.

The Valle and Encala looked at one another, and then turned around, whispering.

“Hey, Quinn,” Emily said to the Elder. “Tonight’s your night, Big Boy.”

Quinn looked at Chevalier with wide eyes.

Emily stood up, “I wonder if we have any strawberry ice cream.”

“Yes, I believe we do,” Chevalier said, chuckling.

“Hmm,” she sighed, and left the council chambers.

The Valle and Encala turned around and faced the Council, and then looked around, “Where did she go?”

“I think she heard some ice cream calling,” Chevalier said, raising an eyebrow.

“Will she be back?” one of the Encala asked.

Chevalier shrugged, “Honestly, I have no idea what she’ll do next.”

Damon finally composed himself and turned around, “These talks are getting us nowhere. We’ve offered to return Sotomar and Exavior back to you, but you aren’t getting any of Emily’s children.”

Emily walked back into the council chambers with a bowl of ice cream. They watched her closely as she sat back on Chevalier’s lap and leaned against him.

“Did I miss anything?” Emily asked.

“We… we have discussed it, and want to take you up on your offer,” the Valle leader said to Emily.

“Which offer? I forget,” Emily said, taking a bite of ice cream.

“To father our own Winchester,” he said softly.

Emily looked at Damon, “Did I offer that?”

Damon nodded with a grin.

“Dang, I shouldn’t talk when I’m hungry. Who wants a piece of me first?” Emily asked, looking out over the enemy factions.

One of the larger Encala stepped forward, “That’d be me.”

Emily stood up and handed her bowl of ice cream to Maleth. He took it and watched her carefully.

“You think you can handle me?” she asked, leaning forward slightly toward him with her hands on the desk.

“I do,” he said, and ran his eyes down what he could see of her.

Damon started to laugh again as the large heku fell into a pile of ash.

“Listen to me,” Emily said, her voice was soft, but angry. “Get this through your sick, twisted minds. I’m no one’s property, and I am not a baby factory. You ever try to lay a hand on one of my children, you’ll be ash before you can yell for help. I’ll die before I’ll see any of my blood in the hands of scum like you.”

The heku from all three factions looked at her, shocked. Her tiny form was fierce and commanding, and they hadn’t heard her speak with such conviction before. Emily turned and took her ice cream from Maleth, and then sat back down on Chevalier’s lap. His arms wrapped tightly around her.

“I think she’s spoken,” Damon said, standing up. “As she’s not Equites property, and has every right to speak for herself, I think the matter is solved.”

“It’s disgusting the way you let the mortal run things. She needs to learn that heku are superior to humans, and should be taught respect and obedience,” the Valle said angrily.

“She obeys, watch… Emily, ash him,” Damon said, and watched the Valle turn into a pile of ash at the feet of his faction members.

“Yes, Sir,” she said, and took another bite of ice cream. She could feel Chevalier chuckle again.

“Stop it!” one of the Valle said. “We came as a peaceful representation of our factions and are outraged at the violence we have encountered.”

Emily slowly put the bowl down on the table when she felt a pain start in her back and shoot toward the front. The familiar tightening started, and the panic begun. She waited until the pain fully stopped and she was sure her legs would be strong enough to hold her before moving.

“Done toying with them?” Chevalier asked when she stood up.

“Yes,” Emily whispered, and felt a hand on her arm.

“What’s wrong?” Chevalier asked her, his eyes watching her closely.

“Nothing, I’m just tired,” she said, and bent over when she was hit with another hard contraction. This one was much worse than the last, and it couldn’t have been more than three minutes.

“Emily?” Chevalier said, kneeling in front of her. “What’s wrong?”

Emily moaned as the contraction peaked. She felt a warm rush of water run down her legs as the pain began to back off.

“Get them out of here,” Chevalier whispered, and saw the confused look on the Council’s faces. He picked her up and blurred her up to the room.

Chevalier was just laying Emily down when Kyle, Mark, Damon, Quinn, and Maleth appeared.

Emily grabbed Chevalier’s shirt, “You have to get me out of here.”

“You’re not in danger. That’s why we’re here,” Damon said from the doorway.

“She’s not worried about herself. She’s afraid she’ll hurt us,” Chevalier explained.

Emily felt another contraction start, and she fell back on the bed and groaned. The heku watched her helplessly as the labor progressed.

“Get the doctors,” Chevalier said to Damon.

“Elder, they went to feed. The doctor at the hospital assured them the baby was a good month away,” Damon said, watching Emily with wide eyes.

“They both went?” Chevalier growled.

Maleth nodded.

“Get an ambulance,” Kyle said.

“No,” Emily said sternly.

“Em, we can’t do this. We don’t know what to do,” Chevalier said, brushing her hair away from her face.

“No hospitals,” Emily said again.

“Get Sam,” Chevalier said, and Kyle disappeared.

Emily screamed when the pain started again. She wasn’t getting time to rest between contractions, and they were getting harder, faster.

“Do something,” Damon said as he watched her.

“There’s nothing to do but wait,” Chevalier told him.

“How far apart are the contractions?” Sam asked, stepping past the heku at the door.

“A minute, maybe a little longer,” Chevalier said to him.

“You should have called me sooner,” Sam said angrily.

“It’s only been about 30 minutes,” Chevalier said, irritated at the familiar.

Emily fell back onto the bed, panting, “Not Sam, please. Not Sam.”

“He’s all we have, Em,” Chevalier said softly.

“No, I can’t trust him,” she said softly, and then shut her eyes, trying to rest some.

“He’d be lucky to get away with anything while I’m on watch.” Kyle scowled at the familiar.

Chevalier nodded, “He’s your responsibility.”

Kyle nodded and grinned evilly.

“Damon, Mark, you take the door… everyone else needs to leave,” Chevalier whispered, trying not to wake Emily.

Emily sat up suddenly, and her scream turned into a groan as she bore down.

“Sam,” Chevalier said quickly.

Sam turned around, “Already?

“What’s going on?” Damon asked.

“She’s pushing,” Kyle said. “To get this far last time took hours.”

“Don’t touch me,” Emily panted as she lay back on the bed.

“Yes, Emily,” Sam said, and pulled away from her. He looked nervously at Kyle when he felt the strong hand on his shoulder.

“Go back to jail, Sam,” Emily ordered. Her last word turned into a groan as she pushed.

Sam turned and walked toward the door.

“No, Em, bring him back… he’s the only one that knows how to do this,” Chevalier said nervously as he supported her shoulders.

Damon blocked Sam from leaving.

When Emily relaxed back on the bed, Chevalier touched her cheek softly, “Emily, we need Sam. Bring him back, please.”

“I don’t trust him,” she said, out of breath.

“I don’t either, Kyle is watching him,” Chevalier told her. “Please, Emily, we don’t know what to do.”

“Damn!” Chevalier heard, and looked up to see Dr. Alona come into the room. “How long has she been in labor?”

“Almost an hour,” Kyle said, relieved.

“Has her water broken?”

“Yes”

“Started pushing?”

“Yes”

“I don’t want him either,” Emily whispered, and began pushing again, groaning deeply.

“Get a cold rag,” Dr. Alona said, and pulled the sheets up from the foot of the bed.

Damon handed Dr. Alona the rag, and the doctor looked up at him strangely, “Not me… her.”

“Oh, right,” Damon said, and laid the rag across Emily’s forehead. The heat coming from her body was surprising to him.

“Clear out the palace, and if you are in this room, you are to have on a menthol mask,” Dr. Alona ordered. Chevalier was surprised at how quickly the doctor had taken over. He felt a mask pulled over his face, and suddenly, Emily’s enticing scent disappeared.

Hours passed while the doctor barked out orders and Emily pushed. Chevalier felt helpless as he watched Emily endure hour after hour of intense pain. Damon pulled the heavy curtains shut when dawn broke. The entire palace was quiet, as only the few of them in the bedroom remained. The city waited to hear word from the palace on the gender of the newest Winchester.

Kyle watched the doctor closely. He was looking worried and fatigued as time passed. He saw the excitement on the doctor’s face each time Emily pushed, and then the concern when the baby didn’t move fast enough.

Too low for Emily to hear, Dr. Alona told Chevalier that he needed to get an I.V. going. Chevalier glanced at Kyle and Kyle shrugged.

“She won’t leave it in,” Chevalier told him.

“She’s going to start losing a lot of blood. I have to be able to replenish that,” Dr. Alona explained.

“Em?” Chevalier said softly, and she opened her eyes slowly to look at him.

“We need to get an I.V. in,” Chevalier told her. He waited for her to fight back, and almost hated it more when she nodded and shut her eyes again.

Dr. Alona was able to insert the I.V. and get the fluid flowing before her next contraction hit. Kyle watched the I.V., concerned that she hadn’t pulled it out yet.

Chevalier growled when Dr. Alona pulled a scalpel from his bag and turned to Emily. Kyle’s hand shot out and grabbed the doctor’s wrist.

“Watch it,” Chevalier growled.

“Let me do my job,” Dr. Alona hissed, and pulled his hand away from Kyle. “Do you want this baby to kill her or not?”

“Fine,” Chevalier said warningly.

“She can’t keep this up. The baby is too big,” Dr. Alona said, and Emily screamed as the smell of blood assaulted the heku in the room through their masks.

“Come on, Child, push,” the doctor said as Emily leaned forward and groaned. Chevalier could tell her energy was gone, so he reached an arm around her shoulders to help.

“I need blankets and towels,” Dr. Alona said, and Kyle appeared beside him with an armful. The towels disappeared beneath the sheet, and then were dropped in a heap on the floor in a bloody mass.

Kyle picked the towels up carefully and tossed them into the fire.

Chevalier noticed the color draining from Emily. Her face and arms were deathly pale, “What’s going on?”

“She’s bleeding out,” the doctor said frantically.

Dr. Alona reached up and turned her I.V. up so it was flowing faster through her veins.

“Give me a push, Child, come on,” Dr. Alona said as another contraction started. Emily sat up weakly, and pushed, groaning with the strain.

“I see a head, Emily, keep going. You can do it,” Dr. Alona encouraged, and threw another set of towels to the floor.

Emily collapsed back onto the bed, her breathing shallow and strained. Dr. Alona grabbed something from his bag and worked hurriedly under the sheet. The sound of a baby crying filled the room and the heku all looked toward the doctor.

“It’s a girl,” Dr. Alona said, and handed the tiny, screaming baby over to Kyle. Kyle wrapped her gently in a blanket and took her over to Chevalier.

“I need B positive, now!” Dr. Alona yelled, and Chevalier turned to him. The faction doctor appeared with bags of blood and hooked one up to Emily’s I.V. As the flow of blood started through the tube, the doctor pressed the bag between his hands to up the flow.

Kyle disappeared into the nursery, and Damon and Mark stepped further into the room. They watched, wide eyed as the doctors fought to save Emily.

“Get that blood in faster,” Dr. Alona ordered.

Chevalier looked back at Emily and growled deeply. Her eyes were open and dull, and her hand relaxed in his grip.

“I have to get her on the floor,” the faction doctor yelled as he pulled Emily roughly to the floor. Emily’s lifeless body fell limply, and her blood soaked nightgown clung to her unmoving body.

Chevalier sat on the bed, too stunned to move as he watched the doctors at work. The faction doctor started pounding on Emily’s chest while Dr. Alona changed out the bag of blood and pressed it, sending a fast flow of blood into her.

A fourth and fifth bag of blood was poured into Emily as the doctor continued to do CPR. The look on the doctor’s face was frantic, and the sound of grinding bones filled the room.

“Don’t do this, Emily... stay with us,” the doctor begged as he pressed against her heart with his hands.

Dr. Alona stopped pressing on the bag, and looked at the doctor on the floor, “She’s gone.”

“No, she’s not gone,” the faction doctor said as he continued CPR.

Chevalier stood up in a crouch, his hands balled into fists as a growl erupted from him fiercely. Damon and Mark both met his crouch and watched the doctors. Chevalier ripped the mask from his face and began to hiss when Emily’s scent was missing from the room.

Maleth and Quinn appeared in the room, and looked down at Emily’s blood soaked body.

“She’s gone,” Dr. Alona said again, and touched the faction doctor on the shoulder.

“No!” he yelled, and pounded a fist directly over Emily’s heart. “Get more blood into her.”

“It’s too late,” Dr. Alona said.

“Do it!” Chevalier growled at him. Dr. Alona sighed and reluctantly hung up another bag of blood.

Quinn blurred to Chevalier and took his arm, “Elder.”

“Fix this,” he growled at the doctor.

“Chevalier, it’s too late,” Maleth said softly.

“Hush!” the faction doctor said, and the heku all fell silent. He leaned his ear against Emily’s chest and listened, “It started… her heart started. Get more blood!”

Dr. Alona began to press against the bag of blood and Emily took a slow breath. The faction doctor picked her up gently, and laid her on the bed. Chevalier watched her chest slowly rise and fall, willing it to keep going.

After the eighth bag of blood was empty, Dr. Alona put up a clear liquid and smiled reassuringly at Chevalier. Kyle stepped out with the baby, and Chevalier took her from him. He looked down into the tiny face, amazed that such a small creature could cause so many problems.

“Is… is it a girl?” Quinn asked.

Chevalier nodded, “It’s a girl.”

“Another Winchester,” Maleth said, smiling.

Chevalier touched her tiny hand and she gripped his finger.

“Let me see her,” Emily whispered, her arms were held out toward Chevalier.

Chevalier knelt by the bed and supported Emily’s arms as she held the baby and looked at her, smiling. A tear fell from her tired eyes as she looked at her daughter. Emily touched her soft black hair and ran her finger along the baby’s fat cheek.

Chevalier handed the baby back to Kyle, “Everyone out.”

Emily shut her eyes as the heku slowly filed out of the room.

“I don’t want to leave yet,” the faction doctor said, checking her I.V., and Chevalier nodded.

“She needs to sleep,” Chevalier said, watching her.

The doctor nodded and began to gather up the blood soaked towels and linens, and tossed them into the fire.

“Hold her for a moment,” the doctor whispered, and Chevalier picked her up gently, wincing as she moaned softly.

The doctor ripped the sheets off of the bed and burned them, then disappeared from the room with the blood soaked mattress from her bed. He returned a short time later with a clean one, then slipped clean sheets onto the bed and replaced the blankets.

The doctor looked at Emily for a moment, and then up to Chevalier, “Let’s change her.”

Chevalier nodded, and the doctor carefully ripped the nightgown off of her and threw it into the fire. He came back from her dresser with another and somehow managed to slip it on her without too much pain.

Chevalier laid her back on the clean bed and pulled up the covers. The doctor listened to her heart and lungs and took a blood pressure, then adjusted her I.V. and left.

He looked up when the door opened, and Allen stepped in reluctantly. Chevalier smiled and motioned him forward. Kyle brought the baby back out and handed her to the Elder.

“Is it another boy?” Allen asked, looking at the tiny baby.

“No, it’s a girl,” Chevalier told him.

“Ew, I wanted a brother.”

Chevalier laughed, “I know you did, but the entire species wanted a girl.”

Allen reached over and touched Emily’s face softly, “Mommy?”

“Shhh, don’t wake her,” Chevalier said.

“Is she ok?”

“I don’t know yet,” Chevalier said as he glanced at Emily’s pale, drawn face.

“What’s the baby’s name?”

Chevalier shrugged, “I don’t know that either.”

Chapter 9 - Winchester Heir

Chevalier came back up from the kitchen carrying a tray for Emily. He walked into her room and set it down, then watched as Emily nursed the baby. Again he was amazed at the strength and capabilities of the so-called, weaker species.

Emily was still pale and her lips were dry and cracked. She had the baby propped up on pillows since she still lacked the strength to hold the baby alone. Her ribs were tightly bound because the CPR had broken three of them at her sternum.

“I got you something to eat,” Chevalier said, and pulled the top off.

“I’m really not hungry,” she told him, and ran her fingers through the baby’s hair again.

“Damnit, Emily,” Chevalier said when he saw her I.V. hanging on the headboard. He turned away from her, because he couldn’t hold back the smile. Just last night he hated how she agreed to the I.V. and left it in, it was uncharacteristic of her.

“What is it?” Emily asked, eyeing the tray.

“Pancakes, doctor’s orders,” he said, and handed her the plate. She set it down on the pillow after she adjusted the baby to the other side to nurse.

Chevalier watched the baby nurse, her little hand wound around Emily’s hair. Emily started to eat with one hand as she held the baby in place with the other.

“Amazing isn’t it?” Chevalier asked, watching the nursing infant.

“What is?” Emily asked.

Chevalier smiled up at her, “How you can feed her.”

Emily took a drink of the orange juice and looked at Chevalier, “I’ve been thinking about a name.”

“Have you?”

“Haven’t you?”

Chevalier chuckled, “No I haven’t. I’ve left that for you.”

“Is she heku?” Emily asked, looking down at her.

“I don’t know, we may not know for a while.”

“Oh”

“Does it change her name if she is?”

Emily smiled slightly, “No.”

Chevalier didn’t like her color. She was still pale and her face was sunken with dark circles under her eyes. Even her lips were white and her vivid green eyes were dull.

“So what name do you like?” he asked, trying to take his mind off the sight of the doctors working frantically to save her.

“I think she looks like an Alexis,” Emily said.

“Alexis it is then.” Chevalier smiled.

“Is she safe around Allen?” Emily asked, her face suddenly serious.

Chevalier nodded, “Yes, he doesn’t quite have the full thirst of a heku. It’s muted some, so we can keep him satiated with one feeding a week.”

Emily frowned, “You make him sound like a starving bear.”

Chevalier laughed, “Sorry.”

“She’s going to be in danger her entire life, isn’t she?” Emily asked, taking Alexis’ tiny hand.

“Yes,” he said softly. “She’ll have more of a chance than you did, though. We’ll teach her from the start how to protect herself.”

She nodded.

Emily handed the baby over to Chevalier, “I’m so tired.”

Chevalier kissed her forehead, “Sleep all you want.”

Before leaving the room, Chevalier glanced back at her. Emily was already asleep, and he couldn’t help but be afraid to leave her. The sight of her lifeless, blood covered body on the floor kept creeping back into his memory. He shut her door softly and headed down to the council chambers.

Chevalier looked down at the infant asleep in his hand. She was so tiny, that her head and shoulders fit in the palm of his hand, and her body rested against his forearm with room to spare. She was fast asleep, and he hoped the noise of the council chambers wouldn’t wake her. The Council hadn’t seen her yet, and they were anxious to meet the new addition.

When Chevalier stepped into the room, the council members all turned to him. Maleth smiled and stood up to come to them. He looked, amazed, at the sleeping infant with her wild black hair and sweet angelic face.

Chevalier sat down in his chair and leaned the baby against his shoulder, holding her in place with one hand. He turned to the Council, “What’s on the agenda?”

“Are you ok for the docket today?” the Court Reporter asked.

Chevalier held up one hand, “Sure, I only need one.”

“You’re becoming a pro at that,” Maleth smiled.

“This’ll be the last, though. I don’t think she should have to do that again,” Chevalier said.

Damon nodded and whispered, “I didn’t think she was going to make it.”

Chevalier turned, “Let’s get on with it. The baby will be hungry soon.”

“Why, exactly, is she in blue?” Quinn asked, confused.

“We weren’t sure we wanted it known that there is a new Winchester in town,” Chevalier said with a slight grin.

“Oh, yes I guess that’s a good idea.”

“First up on the agenda is Hal. He is accused of attacking a mortal and feeding from him without consent,” the Court Reporter said.

A guard brought in a struggling heku with wild eyes and a nervous tick. He came in and looked with wide eyes at Chevalier. Never before had any heku heard of a baby in the courts.

“What is that?” Hal asked anxiously.

“Did you feed without consent?” Damon asked, diverting his attention away from the baby.

“No, no he said I could.”

“So the witnesses who heard him screaming for help were mistaken?” Damon asked, unimpressed.

“Witnesses?”

“Guilty,” Damon said, and the rest of the Council was unanimous. “Banish him for 200 years.”

The guilty heku was quickly hauled away by the guards.

The baby started to kick under Chevalier’s hand, and soon let out a piercing wail, her cries filling the chamber. He picked her up gently and looked into her face.

“You cannot be hungry, you just ate,” he said to her. Alexis’ bottom lip poked out and she screamed and kicked angrily.

“I see she got Emily’s temper,” Damon said, laughing.

“I’ll be back,” Chevalier told them, heading back up to the room.

***

“Thank you for coming, Dr. Alona,” Chevalier said, shaking his hand. It was a purely human gesture that the heku had picked up only within the last century.

Dr. Alona nodded, “I won’t be back. I can’t do that again.”

Chevalier nodded, “Your services will not be needed again.”

“Try, if you can, to keep her in bed for the next week. She has some color back, I know, but one week isn’t enough. She needs another,” Dr. Alona said as he stepped into the helicopter.

“We’ll try,” the faction doctor told him, and then watched as the helicopter whisked Dr. Alona away.

Chevalier went back to the bedroom and sighed at the door. A heku cleaning crew was stripping down the bed and quickly cleaning the room.

“Where did she go?” Chevalier asked one of them.

“She didn’t say,” the closest servant said as he changed the sheets on the bassinet.

“Mom went downstairs to get something to eat,” Allen said when he walked up behind Chevalier.

“Of course she did,” Chevalier said, frustrated. “Let’s go find her.”

Allen and Chevalier headed down the stairs. The word of the child heku spread quickly, no matter how hard the Council tried to keep it a secret. Allen went from the spoiled Elder’s son, to someone the heku revered and cherished. Emily worried that he was being treated more like a prince than a little boy, and she fought to keep him grounded. They pulled him out of school because his mind was advancing beyond his years, and it was getting too hard to hide from the mortals that taught him.

“Em?” Chevalier asked, walking into the kitchen.

“Back here,” she said. Chevalier followed her voice and found her at one of the stoves frying something. She had a sling across her chest and Alexis was nestled inside, giving Emily two free hands. The sling also allowed Emily to carry Alexis around without too much pain from her broken ribs.

Chevalier leaned against a stove and watched her, “Don’t suppose we can get you back in bed.”

Emily poured blood from a donor bag into a glass, and handed it over to Allen.

“I’m fine. I just wanted to make my own lunch,” she said, and flipped the grilled cheese over in the pan. In the bright kitchen light, Emily looked paler and weaker than she did in her darkened room. The black circles under her eyes were darker, and she looked tired and drawn.

Emily heard a low hiss from behind her, and she turned suddenly to see Allen and Chevalier crouched, facing each other in a stand-off. Allen narrowed his eyes and stood up slowly.

“Chev! Don’t do that,” Emily said, frowning. She poured another glass for Allen and handed it to him.

“Simple predatory response. His instincts won’t let him attack a larger predator,” Chevalier said, standing up calmly.

“I hate when you talk about him like he’s a wolf.” Emily turned back to her sandwich. She slipped it onto a plate and gave Allen another glass, moments before he hissed at her, which she was slowly getting used to.

Chevalier grinned and followed her into the dining room, “Let me take Alex.”

Emily nodded and let Chevalier slip the baby out of the warm sling. Alexis didn’t like it, and her bottom lip stuck out quickly. Chevalier expertly laid her against his shoulder and patted her back while he rocked slowly, and she soon calmed down. He watched Emily closely. She was running out of energy quickly, and he wanted to make sure she didn’t overdo it.

“Did you feed Damnit and clean out his stall?” Emily asked Allen when he joined them.

“Not yet,” Allen said, sitting down.

Emily frowned when she saw the blood on his shirt, “Allen, do you have to make such a mess when you drink?”

Allen shrugged.

“Go get a clean shirt on and then clean out that stall,” Emily said sternly.

Allen sighed and left the room.

Emily was already feeling tired. She hated not being able to do something as simple as making lunch without needing a nap afterwards, and she knew the heku in the palace were all afraid she was going to die at any moment because of it. She sat down the last half of her sandwich and stood up, wincing at the soreness in her muscles and the sharp pain in her chest from the broken ribs.

“Come on, time for a nap,” Chevalier said as he wrapped an arm around her to help support her as she walked.

Emily nodded, dreading the four flights of stairs. She also hated how the servants all looked at her. Though they knew she was mortal, it wasn’t until the bloody aftermath of the birth that they truly realized that she could die, and how fragile mortals really were. None of them wanted to be anywhere near the Elder when the time came.

By the time she got to the foyer, she felt exhausted and looked up the long flight of stairs. Chevalier chuckled and handed Alexis back to Emily, and then picked her up in a loving cradle and carried her up to her room. Just as he laid her down, she saw him cock his head to the side, characteristic of when he was being called to the council chambers.

“It’s ok, go. I’m just going to feed Alex, and then we’ll both take a nap,” Emily said, and pulled a pillow up for Alexis.

Chevalier nodded and kissed her softly, “I’ll be back.”

Emily was just finishing nursing Alexis when the door to her room burst open. Kyle, Mark, and Damon came in frantically.

“We have to get you out of here,” Kyle said, and disappeared into the nursery.

“What’s going on?” Emily asked in a panic.

Damon looked at her for a moment, and then picked her up with all of her blankets, while Mark took the baby and wrapped her up tightly. Kyle came out of the nursery with a bag, and they headed up to the roof.

“Kyle, what’s going on?” Emily asked again. She didn’t like the way Damon held her tightly.

Allen was already in the new Equites 2 when Damon jumped inside, still holding Emily. Once Mark and Kyle hopped in, Damon ordered the pilot to go as he buckled Emily into a seat.

“Tell me what’s going on,” Emily said angrily.

“It leaked out that Alex is a girl. The covens are mad,” Kyle told her.

“What? Equites covens are causing problems?” Emily asked, frowning.

Kyle nodded, “Yes, they’re trying to stage a mutiny of the Council.”

“No! Take me back,” Emily said, and unbuckled. Damon stopped her as she tried to crawl up to the pilot.

“No, our orders are to make sure you aren’t involved,” Damon told her.

“I can help though! I can ash them,” Emily said as she pulled Damon’s hand from her arm.

“You don’t have the strength yet,” Kyle said softly. “Sit down, we’re following orders from the entire Council.”

“I can help,” she said, pleading.

“No you can’t, not right now. I’m not doubting your abilities, but you have to admit you’re still pretty weak,” Kyle said, and Damon winced.

Emily glared at him and sat back as Damon re-buckled her in and she took the baby from Mark.

“Where are we going?” Emily asked angrily.

“We’re meeting a private jet in New York. That’s all I can say for now,” Damon said as he avoided her fierce glare.

Emily pulled the baby against her shoulder and watched outside as the terrain flew by. By the time they reached New York, she had a plan. If she could get away from the heku for just a few minutes, she could get a rental car and be back at the palace by morning.

“Em, let me have the baby,” Kyle said, holding his hands out.

Emily frowned, “Why?”

“Please” he said, and Emily unbuckled and handed Alexis over reluctantly. The second Kyle had the baby, Damon lunged for her. She dove away from him, but felt his hands on her waist.

“No!” she screamed at him, trying to kick him in the face.

Allen unbuckled and jumped on Damon’s back, “Let go of my Mom!”

Mark gently pulled Allen off of Damon.

Damon flipped Emily over and grabbed her face in his hands.

“Don’t do it!” she screamed at him as he tried to lock her gaze.

“Stop fighting,” Damon growled.

Emily’s knee connected with his groin, but it only made him madder. She struggled to pull out from under his grasp, every trick she knew, he deflected.

“Emily!” he roared, and the brief glance she gave him was all he needed. She felt herself being drawn into his eyes, and before long, her breathing slowed and she stopped fighting.

Kyle and Mark both turned their faces away from them, out of respect for Emily. Damon whispered softly to Emily as the helicopter descended into a small airport outside of New York City. He paused any time he felt Emily starting to pull away from him, and then began again when he was in control.

Emily shut her eyes just as Damon stood up, “I’ve never had that many problems with a gaze.”

“It’s Emily, you’re lucky she’s still too weak to resist it,” Kyle whispered.

“Keep your hands off of my Mom,” Allen said, glaring at Damon.

“I’m sorry, it had to be done,” Damon told the 4-year-old.

The helicopter landed and the pilot cut the engines as the jet pilot started up the airplane. Damon carried Emily into the private jet, and laid her down on a bed in the back. Allen was still scowling at him when he took his seat with the other heku. Kyle was rocking the baby, trying to keep her asleep.

The pilot took off once the flight checks were done, and soon, the only thing visible out of the jet’s windows was the ocean. Alexis started crying almost an hour into the seven-hour trip.

“You’re going to have to go wake her up,” Kyle told Damon.

“Can’t she wait to eat? It’s not going to be fun when Emily wakes up,” Damon said, frowning.

“Oh sure, I’ll just ask her to wait,” Kyle said sarcastically.

“Fine,” Damon said, and disappeared into the back of the plane.

Damon came back quietly, and sat down in the seat by the window, turning to look out. Emily came up and pulled the baby away from Kyle without saying a word, then went to the back of the plane. Allen growled at Damon and followed Emily.

“How far away from the airport is your villa?” Mark asked.

Damon turned to them, “Only about an hour. There will be a limo waiting for us at the airport.”

“Do we… need to… you know,” Mark said, and nodded toward where Emily was.

“I’m not doing that again. If she needs knocked out, one of you can take a turn,” Damon said, his mind far away.

“I doubt we can. That’s why Chevalier asked you to do it, an ‘old one’ would be required,” Kyle explained.

“I’m not doing it again.”

“She’ll forgive you,” Kyle said after a few minutes of silence.

“I’m surprised she didn’t turn me to ash,” Damon said.

“Don’t think I didn’t try,” Emily said, and sat across the aisle from them. Allen sat down beside her. She had a blanket thrown over her shoulder and was still glaring at Damon.

Kyle sighed, “Elder’s orders, Em. They knew you would try to run off between flights.”

Emily ignored him and peeked under the blanket to check on Alexis, then leaned her head back and shut her eyes. The travel wasn’t helping her soreness, or the fact she was always tired. Kyle noticed she lost some of the color in her cheeks, and he was worried about her. They didn’t have a doctor with them, and he knew Emily wasn’t feeling well.

Kyle got up to check in with the pilot and was met in the aisle by a crouched and growling Allen. Kyle met his crouch and narrowed his eyes at the boy. Mark and Damon watched them nervously.

“Sit down,” Kyle hissed.

“Stay away from my Mom,” Allen told him angrily.

“Sit down,” Kyle said again, and Allen slowly complied, though it was obvious he didn’t want to.

Kyle stood up and disappeared into the cockpit, and Allen turned to stare at Damon. Kyle returned a short time later, “We’re right on schedule, only five more hours left. Did we bring anything for Allen?”

Mark nodded, “There’s supposed to be some in the fridge.”

Kyle went back to the fridge and poured four glasses for Allen. He heard Allen come up behind him and hiss slightly, “Hold on, Kid.”

Allen lunged for the glasses and began to drink as soon as Kyle moved to the side. He sat back down, and watched Emily as she rocked the baby. Alexis’ eyes were open and she was sucking on her fingers. Kyle hadn’t realized before how much Alexis looked like the Elder, even her eyes were dark.

Emily felt her pockets and then looked over at the heku, “Where’s my phone?”

They glanced at each other and then Damon spoke, “I have it.”

Emily held out her hand.

“Sorry, Elder’s orders, no contact with the palace,” he explained.

“Give me my phone,” Emily said, gritting her teeth.

“No,” Damon said bluntly.

Emily stared at him, her eyes narrowing.

Damon gasped, “Are you trying to turn me to ash?”

“Damnit,” Emily said, and turned to the window.

Damon turned to Kyle, “She…”

Kyle nodded, “I saw.”

Emily leaned her chair back and soon both she and the baby were asleep. Allen came back from the kitchen and sat between her and the heku, and watched them carefully. He started sleeping less and less lately and was down to only about an hour a day.

When the plane landed on the small landing strip, Kyle stood up to wake Emily, but Allen took a snap at him. Kyle drew his arm back quickly, “Stop it.”

“Don’t touch her,” Allen said angrily.

Kyle grabbed Allen by the collar and slammed him against the wall of the plane, “Listen to me, Boy. You will respect the adults, or I’ll not hesitate to put you over my knee. Do you understand?”

Allen growled and Kyle slammed him against the wall again. Mark and Damon watched them with wide eyes.

“Do you understand? This is going to be a long stay in France if you’re in a cell,” Kyle growled.

Allen nodded unhappily.

Kyle dropped him and woke Emily up. She stood and felt Kyle’s arms on her when she almost fell. She was feeling dizzy and tired. All she wanted was to lie down. Kyle picked her up as she held the baby and carried her off of the plane. He worried more when she didn’t even complain. Once they were all in the limousine, the driver took off for the hour-long trip to the villa.

The driver pulled up to the security gates at the villa, and Damon stepped out to talk to the guards. Emily was slightly surprised that the guards were mortal. Damon stepped back inside, and the iron gates swung open. The villa was set back by itself and was among beautiful, thick trees and plants. It was starting to get dark as they pulled up to the front doors.

Kyle didn’t even let Emily try to walk. He picked her up and carried her inside, following Damon. He led them to a large bedroom, and Kyle laid her down on the bed. She rolled over and laid the baby down, then shut her eyes. The bed felt incredible after the long trip.

“I hate not knowing what’s happening,” Mark said when Kyle and Damon joined he and Allen in the large living room.

“I know, but they can’t risk tracing our phones,” Kyle told him, and sat down.

Mark nodded, “It’s just… if the current Council is banished, we’ll never know.”

Damon growled slightly.

“From the maps, we can pretty much stay here indefinitely. There aren’t any covens from any factions anywhere near here,” Kyle said.

“That’s why I picked it,” Damon told them.

“Do you know any doctors that might make a house call?” Kyle asked.

Damon frowned, “You think she’s sick?”

“I don’t like her color, and when she couldn’t ash you, not even a burn, it just got me worried,” Kyle explained.

Damon nodded, “I’ll ask the guards, they’ll know someone. There’s a donor list on the counter too, if anyone needs it.”

He disappeared outside and came back a few minutes later, “The doctor will be here in an hour. You know… she’s not going to see him.”

Kyle shrugged, “Maybe we’ll need to make her.”

“Stop taking advantage of her weakened state,” Mark hissed.

“If it’s for her own good…” Kyle said.

Mark nodded, “I know, it just seems wrong.”

“What if I won’t let you?” Allen asked, glaring at them.

“You’re four, and you’ll do as you’re told,” Damon said to him angrily.

Allen stood up as Kyle did, and they turned to face each other, “Back off, Allen.”

“You aren’t going to control my Mom,” Allen growled.

Kyle lunged at Allen and pinned him quickly to the floor, his hand around Allen’s throat, “Again, Allen, your life will be easier if you’ll learn who’s in charge.”

Allen’s green eyes narrowed and he stopped fighting Kyle. Kyle blurred into Emily’s room.

Damon glanced at Mark when the doorbell rang. Mark took Allen outside while Damon answered the door.

Damon conversed in French with the doctor, and showed him in to Emily’s room. Emily was lying peacefully on the bed as Kyle sat beside her.

“Laissez-nous, veuillez,” the doctor said, looking concerned at Emily.

“He wants us to step out,” Damon said, and held the door for Kyle. He shut it and waited in the hallway for the doctor.

Kyle paced impatiently, waiting for the doctor to emerge. After an hour, he finally stepped out and shut the door.

Damon talked to the doctor in French as Kyle watched. The doctor began to scream at Damon, pointing his finger, and gesturing wildly. Kyle stepped to Damon’s side and watched the doctor carefully.

Kyle gasped, surprised, as Damon crouched low and lunged at the doctor, sinking his teeth into the doctor’s neck. Kyle frowned as Damon drained the doctor, and dropped his lifeless body to the floor.

“Was that necessary?” Kyle growled.

Damon nodded, “He thought we drained her, and was going to tell the local V.E.S.”

“So you killed him?”

“The V.E.S. is a lot more passionate in Europe. I couldn’t convince him that we weren’t using Emily as an unwilling donor. If he told the V.E.S., there would be an inquiry, and we could be exposed,” Damon said, wiping the blood from his chin.

Kyle nodded, “Did he tell you what’s wrong first?”

“She’s not eating or drinking enough. It’s caused a dangerously low blood volume,” Damon explained. “He wants her admitted.”

“We can’t risk that right now,” Kyle said, mostly to himself.

“I guess we’re going to have to make sure she eats better and drinks more. That should be fun,” Damon said, glancing back at the door.

“Go to the grocery store,” Kyle said, thinking.

“I’ll just hire a chef and he can cook,” Damon said, picking up the phone. He spoke to someone for almost thirty minutes before hanging up.

“There, a chef. He’ll be here as soon as he’s done grocery shopping. I ordered a lot of red meat with organic fruits and vegetables. Now we just have to get her to eat,” Damon said, sitting at the counter.

“Let’s bury the doctor before anyone finds out,” Kyle said as he picked up the doctor’s feet and began to drag him toward the back door.

***

Emily sat outside on the terrace as she nursed the baby, read a book, and relaxed in the sun. The last few weeks in France had been rough. She wasn’t allowed to contact Chevalier, and no word came from Council City. The chef was able to take care of Emily’s needs, and she had gained a lot of strength back since their arrival. Kyle began to tutor Allen, and he was quickly picking up everything he was taught.

“Dinner’s ready, Em,” Damon said, setting a plate down on the table. He avoided looking at her while Alexis was nursing. She had stopped using a blanket to cover, because it made the baby hot.

“I should go on a hunger strike until you let me call Chevalier,” she said, eyeing the steak.

“Yes you should, but you won’t, so you might as well eat,” Damon said, handing her a fork.

“At least let me hear his voice, please,” Emily said, taking the fork and watching Damon as he looked out over the lawn with disinterest.

“We can’t risk it,” he said bluntly.

“It’s been four weeks. It could be over for all we know. They don’t know where we are. They can’t find us to tell us what’s going on,” Emily said, pleading.

“No, Emily, that’s that, ok? It’s not that we don’t care, but we can’t risk giving away our location,” Damon said, and stood up. He turned and walked away.

He was as worried about Council City as anyone. He was the only council member to escape, because he needed to be around if Emily decided to turn someone to ash, or of the Council needed revived when he returned. He felt like he abandoned his faction at their time of need, and the thought was eating away at him.

Once Emily went to bed for the night, Mark, Kyle, and Damon met out on the terrace.

“It shouldn’t be taking this long,” Kyle said, looking up into the night sky.

“If we call though, they can trace us back here,” Damon reminded him.

“Maybe one of us needs to go back to see what’s going on. We left in such a hurry, no plans were made about what to do after the revolt. If I go back, I can find out,” Mark suggested.

“Sure and then they capture you and end up torturing you until you give away our location?” Damon said, frustrated.

“I wouldn’t do that!” Mark yelled.

“Keep your voices down,” Kyle hissed at him.

“We can’t even risk a phone call. So Maleth tells us that all is well, to come back. How do we know that wasn’t coerced?” Damon asked.

“Going back and seeing for ourselves is the only option,” Mark said.

“There’s one other…” Kyle said, and he shut his eyes for a moment.

“He’d kill us,” Damon said softly.

Kyle nodded, “Yes, he would.”

“Want to fill me in?” Mark asked.

“If Emily’s strong enough to protect the three of us, we go back and find out for ourselves. If things have gone badly, Emily can give us enough time to get away,” Kyle said.

“But she has to be stronger. She’s not ready yet,” Damon told Mark.

“It could kill her though, to clear out enough of the attacking forces to let us get away again,” Kyle said, sighing.

“I still say send me back. They can kill me, I don’t care… I can find out if it’s safe to come back,” Mark told them.

“There has to be another way,” Damon said.

“I could go into Poland and call, see if I get any vibes,” Kyle said, shrugging.

“Let’s start there, at least see if we can even reach any of the Council,” Damon said.

“I’ll leave immediately,” Kyle said as he stood up.

“What do we tell Emily?” Mark asked them.

“Tell her the truth. At least she’ll know we’re trying to find out,” Kyle said, and quickly left.

Kyle caught the private jet and landed in Krakow just after dawn. He went to a pay phone in the small airport and called Chevalier’s cell phone.

“Yes?” he heard the Elder say gruffly.

“It’s me,” Kyle said wearily.

“Kyle! It’s about damn time you check in,” he yelled.

“We’re being cautious,” Kyle said.

“Where are you? I’ll come get you.”

“We aren’t ready to say where we are.”

Chevalier sighed, “It’s clear. The revolt ended two weeks ago and the Council is still in power. You can come back.”

“I’m sure you understand my hesitancy.”

“Yes, I guess I do,” Chevalier said.

“Let me talk to Quinn,” Kyle asked.

“Quinn here.”

“We aren’t coming back yet.”

“Why not? It’s clear here,” Quinn said, surprised.

“We can’t be sure of that, now can we?”

“No, you can’t.”

“Here’s the deal. Send Silas alone to the airport in Berlin on a flight that lands on Sunday. Tell him to wait out front until I come for him,” Kyle said.

“Consider it done,” Quinn said.

Kyle hung up without another word, and got back on the plane. He hoped the plan would work, and they could get a clear picture of what was going on back at Council City. The limousine pulled up at the villa just after dark.

Damon and Mark met Kyle outside, “What did you find out?”

“Both Chevalier and Quinn said all is fine. The revolt ended two weeks ago, and it’s safe to come back,” Kyle explained.

“Do you believe them?” Damon asked.

“I don’t know. I told them to send Silas to Berlin on Sunday. I’ll go pick him up, and we’ll see what we can get out of him,” Kyle said, and headed back inside.

Damon nodded, “Good idea. Now you can go face the wicked witch of the villa.”

Kyle frowned, “What happened?”

“Other than you left to talk to the Elders without her?” Mark asked.

Kyle looked at the door for a moment, and then stepped inside. He saw Allen glaring at him from the table as he walked past the kitchen. He peeked around the corner into the living room and felt his jaw dislocate as Emily punched him.

Kyle pushed his jaw back into place painfully, and turned to Emily. She was staring at him angrily.

“Calm down,” he said, and took a step back.

“You sonofabitch,” Emily said angrily. “How dare you go call him without me!”

“I had my reasons.”

Emily swung at him again, but he dodged and grabbed her from behind, pinning her hands to her side, “Stop it.”

“Give me a phone,” she yelled.

“No, now listen. Silas is coming. I’ll get him on Sunday, and we can get an update,” Kyle explained.

Emily brought her elbow back hard against Kyle’s stomach, and he winced, but didn’t let go, “Stop it. I mean it.”

“You called him without me,” she said softly.

“I’m sorry, I had to,” Kyle whispered.

Emily jerked forward and Kyle let go of her. She picked Alexis up off of the floor and went into the bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

“That went well,” Damon said, slapping Kyle on the back.

“Cheer up, we have donors coming tonight,” Mark told him, and walked into the living room.

Kyle nodded, “Sure, why not.”

“We’ll introduce Allen to the joy of warm, fresh blood,” Damon said, grinning.

“Fine, but we all go wrist only or Emily will toast us,” Kyle told them, and turned to the kitchen.

Allen looked up from a book, “Did you talk to Dad?”

“Yes, I did.”

“What did he say?”

“He said it’s safe to come back,” Kyle said, and kept going when Allen started to ask, “But… we can’t trust that yet. Silas is coming. We’ll get more information once we have him here.”

“You should’ve let Mom talk to him,” Allen said, frustrated.

“I couldn’t let her talk, ok?” Kyle said.

“Why?”

“If your Dad read her, where she is, it could ruin the safety of this villa. Right now we just want to keep you three safely out of harm of any of the factions,” Kyle said, and sat down by Allen.

His eyes narrowed, “She needs to talk to Dad.”

“I know, and we’ll let her as soon as we can. I promise.”

Allen nodded and went back to his book.

“Did Damon tell you that you get to feed from the tap tonight?” Kyle asked, mussing Allen’s hair.

“I do?” Allen replied skeptically.

Kyle nodded and grinned.

Allen smiled, “Does Mom know?”

“No, sometimes it’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission,” Kyle said, chuckling.

“Sam said I can’t bite deep enough.”

“I’ll open it up for you.”

Allen nodded, suddenly excited.

The doorbell rang and Allen looked at Kyle when he spoke, “Thirsty?”

Damon was letting the donors in as Kyle and Allen rounded the corner. The four women were looking around the large villa and talking animatedly in French. They wore very little, were made-up with thick make-up, and their hair was dyed and tied up into high buns.

“Are these hookers?” Kyle asked, shocked.

Damon nodded and took the blonde into the living room. Mark shrugged and took the hand of the brunette. Kyle motioned for the other two women to come into the kitchen when he saw Damon push the blonde onto the couch and dive right for her neck.

Kyle smiled at the closest woman and pulled a chair out for her. He brought her wrist to his mouth and shut his eyes as he savored her before biting into the throbbing vein. He could feel the watchful eyes of Allen as he fed. Once he felt satisfied, he withdrew his teeth and shut his eyes, calming the intrinsic beast that feeding forced forward.

“Your turn,” Kyle said, motioning for the fourth woman to sit. She sat down and frowned at her friend, but stuck her wrist out anyway.

“Savor her wrist… smell, let your senses go,” Kyle said, and brought her wrist up to Allen.

Allen looked at her hesitantly, and then smelled deeply at her wrist. He pulled his lips back to bite, but Kyle had her wrist in his teeth before Allen could bite down. A hiss escaped Allen, and Kyle held the bleeding hand out to him. Allen let his lips fall onto the strange woman’s wrist, and he grabbed her arm tightly with his two hands.

Emily sat up when she heard strange noises coming from the living room. She checked on Alexis and then pulled on a robe. She stepped out into the hallway and looked directly into the kitchen. She felt her temper rising as she ran into the kitchen to make sure she was seeing what she thought she was.

“What the hell is going on?” Emily hissed as she saw her son attached to the wrist of a prostitute.

Kyle turned around suddenly, and his chair crashed to the ground when he stood, “Em, it’s… it’s not what it looks like.”

Emily pulled Allen off of the woman, and when he growled at her, she gave him a look that made him cower into the corner.

“Get out,” she said through gritted teeth, and the two women ran from the house.

“Allen, go to your room,” Emily said, turning around. She saw him take off running for the safety of his bedroom.

Emily walked toward the living room, but Kyle stopped her with a hand to her shoulder. She spun toward him and the fury in her eyes made him take a step back. As she walked into the living room, she saw Damon on the couch, no longer just feeding from the blonde. Mark was sitting on a chair with the brunette on his lap facing him, his teeth sunk into her neck.

“Get out,” Emily hissed. The women jumped, startled, and scrambled to their feet. They saw the look in her eyes and ran for the door.

Mark stood up suddenly and looked apologetically at Emily, but Damon stayed on the couch.

“Damn, why did you tell them to leave?” Damon yelled.

“My 4-year-old son was just sucking on a prostitute, while a few feet away, two heku he looks up to were fucking the local hookers!” Emily yelled, and even Damon winced.

“I wasn’t exactly…” Mark started to say, but shut his mouth when Emily turned on him.

“It’s none of your concern what I do,” Damon said, standing up to face her.

“When my son is in the house, you keep your dick in your pants,” Emily yelled.

“You can’t tell me what to do,” Damon growled.

“How dare you expose my son to your disgusting perversions. And you!” Emily said, turning to Kyle. “You… I expected more out of than to let my son leech off of a tramp.”

“It wasn’t like that,” Kyle said, taking a step back.

“Was my son feeding off of that woman?”

“Well, yes… but”

“Is she, or is she not, a hooker?”

“She is but…”

“My case and point! By the time I’m done with you, you are going to be praying for one of Chevalier’s punishments!”

“Let’s just calm down and look at it rationally,” Kyle said, putting his hands up. He was surprised at the heku traits Emily sometimes displayed when she growled slightly.

“Am I seeing it irrationally? Is that what you’re implying?” Emily shouted, taking a step toward Kyle. “In the twisted world of the heku, I outrank each of you, and I’m pulling that rank right now. My orders are to be obeyed without question, and followed immediately. Is that understood?”

The three heku all nodded and said, “Yes.”

“There will be no more donors in this house. If you’re so thirsty you’re about to die, then you’ll have to use me,” she hissed.

“We can’t do that,” Kyle said, but froze when she looked at him.

“Did you just speak without being spoken to?” Emily asked, glaring.

Kyle glanced nervously at Damon, but all he could do was shrug.

“You don’t breathe, eat, sleep, or even move an inch without my permission,” she said scathingly.

“Does she really outrank you?” Mark asked Damon, too quietly for Emily to hear.

“I don’t know. Her husband does, but it’s never been said where she ranks,” Damon said, and looked wide eyed at Emily when he saw her watching him.

“No more whispering either. If you have something worth saying, then say it out loud,” Emily told them. “You three… pick a room, and stay there until I tell you to come out.”

She watched as the three heku scattered and disappeared through random doors.

Emily stormed off to her room and slammed the door, then winced when Alexis began to cry. She picked her up and rocked her slowly as her anger ebbed.

The next three days flew by for Emily, but for Allen and the heku, it was painfully slow. Every second of their day was filled doing mindless, menial tasks as Emily doled out punishment after punishment for their behavior, often reminding them how repulsive it was for them to do in the first place.

“Kyle! Take Alex. I need a shower,” Emily said, and handed the baby to him.

Kyle looked down at Alexis when Emily was gone, and whispered to her, “Your Mommy is trying to kill us.”

Alexis raised her head off of his chest and smiled at him. Kyle’s heart melted as she looked up at him with her dark eyes and wild black hair that stuck out in every direction. He soon found that when he talked to her, she would make soft noises and often smiled at him for no reason. Emily came out an hour later with clean clothes and smelling of floral soap.

She took Alexis from Kyle, and laid her on the floor on her tummy, “You can go back to what you were doing.”

Kyle nodded and walked slowly outside to finish painting the fence.

“Allen, let me see your algebra,” Emily called, and took the paper from him when he handed it over.

“Kyle, do something. She can’t treat us like this,” Damon said as he whitewashed the already white fence.

“What am I supposed to do? I know she outranks me, and I don’t feel like facing the Council when I get back,” Kyle whispered, glancing back at the house.

“I’m not so sure she outranks me though, and I’m tired of this. I’ve painted this fence twice today,” Damon scowled.

“Just do it. We screwed up, and I don’t care what she says, I’d rather face her punishment than the Elder’s,” Mark added.

“I have to go anyway. I need to go get Silas from Berlin,” Kyle said, setting down his paintbrush.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Emily snapped at him. He was amazed that she was still mad after three days.

“I need to go to Berlin and get Silas,” Kyle explained, and called for the limousine.

“Fine but take Mark, just in case,” Emily said, and went back to Allen’s math work.

“That leaves you alone with Damon,” Kyle reminded her.

“I can handle Damon, just go.”

Emily glanced at Alexis just as she rolled from her tummy to her back. She smiled up at Emily, and squealed loudly, proud of herself.

“Good job!” Emily said, and picked the baby up and kissed her fat cheek. She was happy Alexis was progressing, but it was bitter sweet. In the five and a half weeks since they left Council City, Chevalier had missed Alexis’ first smile, when she first held her own head up, and now, when she first rolled over.

Emily felt the tears coming at even the thought of Chevalier.

“Damon,” she whispered, and handed the baby off to Damon when he came in from the back lawn.

Emily turned and walked into the bedroom, shutting and locking the door behind her. She buried her face into the pillow and cried. Her heart ached for his touch and the sound of his voice. She knew Allen was missing him, too, and she couldn’t comfort him. He had the heku here to help him through what he was dealing with, but it wasn’t the same as learning from his Dad.

Mark came in from outside, “What’s up?”

Damon was bouncing Alexis expertly, and nodded toward the bedroom, “Emily’s crying again.”

Mark sighed, “Can’t we just let her call him for a few minutes?”

Damon shook his head, “We can’t risk it. You better go. Kyle’s waiting for you outside.”

Mark hesitated and then left and crawled into the limousine with Kyle.

“I hope they’re both alive when we get back,” Mark said as the limousine drove off.

“Yeah, me too,” Kyle said, outwardly nervous.

Chapter 10 - Paris

A noise in the living room woke Emily. She sat up and looked at the time, it was almost 5am. The noises were familiar, and she immediately felt the fury rising. Pulling on a robe, she stepped out into the hallway and followed the noises into the living room where she saw Damon, again on the couch with a prostitute.

“Damon!” she screamed.

“Just ignore her,” Damon said to the black haired woman, and began to kiss her again.

“Damon, I’m warning you,” Emily scowled, and quickly went to the kitchen, then came out carrying a large knife.

“Oh my God!” the woman screamed, and stood up quickly, pulling her skirt down.

“Get out,” Emily told her, and then watched as she ran out the front door.

Emily tossed the knife back into the kitchen, and turned to face Damon when he stood up.

“I said no prostitutes in this house as long as my son is around,” Emily said angrily.

“It’s my house, and I can do what I want,” Damon said, crossing his arms.

“Not as long as there’s a 4-year-old in it. You will watch yourself.”

“That’s the second time you’ve ruined my fun, and I won’t stand for it,” Damon growled.

“Fun? You call that fun? I just lost so much respect for the Council,” Emily yelled.

Damon was at her in an instant, and she didn’t have time to duck when he backhanded her and sent her to the floor, “You will not speak badly about the Council!”

Emily got quickly to her feet and looked at Damon as he doubled over screaming, his hands frantically clutching at his chest. The veins and muscles in his neck stood out as the pain increased, and he could feel himself slowly burning from the inside. The pain stopped suddenly and he stood up slowly, trying to catch his breath.

“Touch me again, and I’ll ash you so fast you won’t know what hit you,” Emily said, scowling at him.

“You can’t ash me, Sweetheart. I’m the only one that can revive your precious Elder if he’s incinerated when we get back,” Damon said, grinning. He realized that with the bruise forming on Emily’s cheek, he would have more to deal with when they got back than having to revive a few heku.

“Maybe if you decide to screw anything with a skirt, the Council won’t need you when we go back,” Emily growled, her hands balled into tight fists.

“They don’t care what I do in my personal life, they all do it too. So don’t get your pretty head worked up over me,” Damon said, amused. He stepped closer to Emily, and grinned when she took a step back and found only wall.

“I seriously doubt the Council would stoop to hiring prostitutes,” Emily said, glaring.

Damon grinned and pinned her to the wall with his body and kissed her before responding, “Not everyone can find a delicious little mortal to marry so we can fuck any time we want.”

Emily leaned her head back and smashed her forehead into his nose, a crunching sound echoed through the empty hallway. Damon yelled and took a step backwards, unable to see while his nose healed, “Damnit.”

“If you ever kiss me again, I’ll remove those lips,” she said, and took a step around him.

Emily felt hands on her shoulders and was soon falling forward as Damon pushed her to the ground. He flipped her over and pinned her to the floor with his hand around her neck.

“I won’t stand here and be threatened by a nothing mortal like you,” he said to her.

“Get your hands off of me,” Emily said scathingly. His hand tightened and suddenly, she couldn’t breathe.

“Until you learn a little respect, your life here in France just got a lot harder,” Damon said, and released his grip a bit to let her breathe.

Emily clawed at his hand, “I could never respect you, and if the Council doesn’t let you go for this, then I’ve lost all respect for them, too.”

Damon hissed and tightened his hand around her throat. He got a rush at the way she struggled to breathe beneath his fingers, and how her small body fought against him uselessly. Again, he relaxed his grip enough to let her breathe some.

“Respect, Emily… and obedience, it’ll make your life much easier. We could be here a while you know. No Elder to protect you, and I outrank Kyle and Mark,” Damon said, grinning.

“Is that obedience to you or your dick? Seems to me like it’s running your thoughts anyway,” Emily whispered angrily.

Damon couldn’t pull back the anger rising within him. He no longer saw her as anything more than noncompliant prey. With his hand around her neck, he picked her head up slightly and slammed it back onto the carpeted floor. Alexis began to cry from the bedroom, and he ignored her as he tightened his grip around Emily’s neck.

“I’d hate for Alexis to be without a mother… all because her mother was too stupid to shut up,” Damon hissed.

Emily pulled frantically at his fingers, unable to move them as she tried to breathe. Her lungs ached for air and the sound of the baby’s crying started to sound far away and muffled. She couldn’t focus enough to burn Damon. Her mind was filled with panic and the need to breathe.

Damon watched through predatory eyes as she fought to free herself from his strong grasp. Deciding to end it, he raised his fist above her head. One quick movement and he would crush her skull in an instant, stopping the insolence.

Emily felt air flow into her lungs as a flash above her eyes hit Damon from the side and knocked him into the dining room. She turned over onto her hands and knees and gasped for air. She could hear the scuffle from the dining room, and angry voices yelling at Damon. She looked up as Kyle and Damon’s fight moved into the living room, smashing walls and furniture as they blurred around each other.

Emily focused on Damon and the fight ended as he screamed and fell to the floor, writhing in agony. The smell of burning flesh filled the room, and she heard a panicked voice yell her name. She didn’t care who it was, she focused on Damon to control herself. She wanted a slow, torturous burn.

Mark took her face in his hands and forced her to look at him.

“Stop it,” he said sternly.

Mark took a moment to study her. She had a bruise on her cheek with a small cut that sent a drop of blood down her face, and her eye was black and quickly swelling shut. Fierce purple bruises stood out on her neck and jaw.

“Stop it,” Mark said again, and the screams from behind him stopped. He turned quickly, unsure if he would find a pile of ash, or Damon, released from his pain.

“You Bitch!” Damon yelled, and the weight of him slammed against her as she crashed into the coffee table, sending splinters of wood around the room.

She screamed as her soft mortal flesh was ripped apart by the shattered table. She could see Kyle and Silas restraining Damon as he struggled to get to her. The smell of her blood sent his violent personality past the edge of reason.

Emily narrowed her eyes at him, ignoring the pain in her back, and Damon again screamed as the burn smell returned. Mark was suddenly blocking her view, her face again in his hands.

“Let him go,” Mark said firmly.

Emily laid her head down on the floor and released Damon from the burning pain.

“That is enough!” Kyle yelled. Emily couldn’t see past Mark, so she wasn’t sure if he was mad at Damon or both of them.

Emily pushed Mark’s hands away, “Get your hands off of me.”

Mark moved away from Emily just in time for her to see Silas push Damon out the back door and slam the door behind him. She stayed where she was on the floor, and looked up at the ceiling as she tried to calm her temper and ascertain how badly she was hurt.

Kyle blurred from the room and returned with Alexis, still crying in his arms. She was furiously kicking and her tiny face was red with anger. Allen was standing behind Kyle’s legs, shaking with fear as tears streamed down his face.

Mark knelt down beside her again once he was able to control his thirst, the smell of her blood was enticing and hard to ignore. He put his hands on her shoulders, “Roll over, let me see your back.”

Emily pushed his hands again forcefully, “I said, don’t touch me.”

Allen’s entire posture changed when he caught her scent. His small body crouched low, and a hiss escaped his lips as he drew them back to expose his teeth. He lunged at Emily, but Mark was able to catch him and pull him out into the backyard.

Emily sat up slowly. She could feel the wetness on the back of her shirt from the blood as she used the couch to stand up. The world shifted beneath her feet, but she caught the wall to steady herself. Her head was pounding, and her throat burned as she walked up to Kyle and took the baby from him.

Kyle watched to make sure she made it into the bedroom, and then turned to the backyard when he heard the bedroom door lock. He blurred out to Damon and glared at him.

“What the hell was that? We leave you alone for 12 hours and you try to kill each other?” Kyle growled.

“That woman is impossible! What does he see in her?” Damon asked angrily.

“I would expect more out of a member of the Council,” Kyle said harshly. He knew he was overstepping, but didn’t care. The image of Damon poised to kill Emily was fresh in his mind.

“I won’t let her speak to me like that. She’s just a mortal,” Damon said, standing up as his anger began to turn into panic.

“She’s just a Winchester… just an Elder’s wife…” Kyle said, and watched Damon closely as Silas let go of him.

“I don’t have to take that from her. I’m an ‘old one’ and a member of the Council,” Damon said, glaring.

“Who threw the first punch?” Kyle asked.

Damon sighed, “I did… but she deserved it.”

“What started this thing anyway?” Mark asked, still holding onto Allen.

“Damnit, I thought she was asleep so… I had a friend over…” Damon said, and sighed. It all seemed like a stupid fight now that his head was clearing.

“I take it you didn’t find a nice remote bedroom,” Kyle said, irritated.

“No… she was asleep!” Damon said, trying to defend himself. “I don’t see any of you inside interrogating her, blaming her for trying to kill me.”

“Why should we? It’s easy to see that this all started because of a serious lack of judgment on your part,” Kyle hissed.

Damon stood up and crossed his arms, “I’m still a member of the Equites Council, and as such, I demand you show me the respect I deserve.”

Kyle sighed and walked back inside, followed by Silas, Mark, and Allen.

Kyle knocked on the bedroom door, “Em? Can I come in?”

When no one responded, Kyle tapped the door under the handle and broke the lock, then walked into the room and shut the door behind him. The smell of fresh blood hit him, and he winced slightly and waited until the desire to feed passed. The room was dark, but he saw Emily sitting on the bed nursing Alexis and looking at up at him.

Kyle sat down on the bed, avoiding looking at Emily. He looked around the room for a moment and then sighed, “How badly are you hurt?”

When Emily didn’t answer him, he risked a glance at her. She was still watching him through her one good eye.

“Fine, I’ll talk,” Kyle said, turning back to the wall. “Damon told me what happened, and while I admit it was stupid on his part, you have got to learn to control your temper. It’s bad enough to have Chevalier lose his temper with you, but Damon doesn’t have as much control as the Elder does.”

Kyle waited a few minutes before he spoke again, “When you’re ready to talk, we’ll be in the living room.”

Kyle glanced again at Emily, and then left the room when she didn’t respond.

“How bad is she?” Mark asked when Kyle sat down on the couch.

“I don’t know. She’s not talking,” Kyle said, and looked at Silas. “Fill Damon in on what you told us in the limo.”

“You saw the start of it, how the Coven Heads filled the council chamber, accusing the Council of keeping the child heku and the Winchester baby a secret from them,” Silas started. “After you left, things got heated and the Council was forcibly removed from their chairs and thrown into prison.”

“One at a time, they were taken up to the council chambers, where a make-shift council interrogated them for hours on end. They were demanding to know where Emily had gone, but, as you know, none of them knew. This went on for two weeks,” Silas said quietly.

“The Cavalry mounted when it was clear and staged outside of the city with a lot of the heku from town. Most were afraid to even leave their houses, but a few risked it and stood with us as we waited for a break to free the Council.”

“We were getting updates from a guard that was stationed down in the prison. He was able to send us small notes of what was going on, at great personal risk to himself. He let us know as soon as the Coven Heads killed the first member of the Council, Saul.”

“We arranged an attack. A time when the Cavalry would invade the palace simultaneous to the release of the entire Council by the guard. When the time came, we rallied with the remaining council members and stormed the council chambers. The Coven Leaders had started to fight among themselves and weren’t prepared for our attack.”

“The fight lasted only about an hour, that’s when we saw that Nelson had been killed. He was the only loss on our side from that fight. Four Coven Leaders died, but the rest were restrained by council members and the Cavalry. As soon as word got out that the true Council had regained control, those hiding in the city flooded into the palace to show their support.”

“A warning was sent out to every coven in the Equites that no further action would be tolerated. The Coven Leaders that spearheaded the mutiny were taken to the cells to be tried as soon as Damon returns. The Cavalry was put in charge of finding you, and we’ve spent the last three weeks searching for any sign of your whereabouts,” Silas said, and smiled slightly.

“We have pulled bank reports, phone records, and have every supporting coven out trying to catch any sign of Emily’s scent. We figured that was the one thing you would have a hard time masking. I have to give you all credit, until the phone call from Kyle, we were beginning to wonder if we would ever find you.”

“Now is the hard part, do we believe you?” Kyle asked, glancing from Mark to Damon.

Damon shrugged, “There’s no reason for him to lie here. He’s not under duress.”

“He could be though, told to bring us back or the Council will die. He would be obligated to do whatever he could to make sure and keep the Council safe,” Mark said.

“I believe him,” Damon said, nodding.

“There’s one thing I am to read to you. I kept it for when you were all together,” Silas said, and pulled a piece of paper from his back pocket.

Defenders,

“That’s what we’ve been calling you three…” Silas explained.

Defenders,

We know how hard it must be to not have any word of the happenings of the Council, unsure if it’s safe to return or not and unsure who to believe. This note is to do nothing more than to tell you that in no way will you be in danger from the Council if you chose not to return with Silas. We understand completely the burden we’ve placed on you by putting the sole Winchester heirs in your care, and cannot imagine the pressure you have gone through the last six weeks.

You may keep Silas with you if it will help, if not, please send him back with word on how you are all doing. As we understand your reluctance to return to Council City, we hope you can find a way to validate what he has told you and return posthaste.

If there is any way in which we can help with your decision, please let us know.

The Equites Elders

“That’s it,” Silas said, and handed the letter to Damon. “They just wanted you to know that they aren’t mad that you haven’t made your location known.”

“First of all, you can’t go back, Silas, not until we are ready. You know too much,” Damon said, and turned to Kyle and Mark. “What do we do now?”

“If I may speak openly for a moment…” Silas said, and looked at Damon.

“By all means,” Damon said.

“You can’t go back right now anyway. We call you the Defenders because you were appointed to defend and protect Emily… right now, it doesn’t look too good for you,” Silas said softly.

Kyle glanced at Damon, “He’s right, the Elders aren’t going to like the look of her.”

“It won’t matter what she looks like. The second Chevalier gets word of what happened, I’m dead anyway,” Damon said bluntly.

Mark nodded.

The heku all turned when Emily’s door opened. They watched as she walked into the kitchen and they could hear her preparing an ice pack. Kyle stood up to go to her, but Damon held out a hand and went instead.

Emily pressed the bag of ice against her swollen eye and turned to leave. She froze when she saw Damon standing at the entrance to the kitchen.

“Come back for round 2?” she asked icily.

“No, I came to make sure you’re ok,” Damon said.

“Yeah, sure.”

“I’m sorry, ok? I never should have let it get that out of hand, and I apologize,” Damon said truthfully. He felt guilty at the damage he had done to her, and wished he could somehow make it up to her.

“Sure you do,” Emily said, and pushed past him into the hallway.

“Will you let someone look at your back, please?” Damon asked. She had a new shirt on, but the blood was also soaking through it.

Emily turned to him, the ice bag still held over her eye, “Do I have a choice?”

Damon nodded, “Yes, you do.”

Emily answered him by returning to the bedroom and slamming the door shut. She tried to lock it, but found that the lock was broken.

Through the entire night, the heku discussed ways to safely find the condition of the palace and its true Council. Silas tried in vain to convince them that it was safe to return, and by dawn, nothing more had been decided.

Emily came out early in the morning and handed the baby to Kyle. She walked into the kitchen using the wall as support, and started making herself some breakfast. They heard the chef come in, but she immediately sent him away. The heku just sat in the living room and listened to her moving about in the kitchen.

Kyle joined her when she sat at the kitchen table and pushed the scrambled eggs around the plate, taking only a few bites.

“Are you ready to talk?” he asked, watching her.

“About what?”

“About what happened with you and Damon yesterday.”

“Nothing happened,” she said, and took a small bite.

“What are you playing at?”

Emily shrugged and winced, “Nothing happened, period.”

“Ok… so the smell of blood is just a mistake. Your eye isn’t really swollen shut, you don’t have a cut on your cheek, and the purple bruises on your neck are just a new fangled necklace?” he asked, frustrated.

“Nothing happened,” she said again, and got up to wash the plate.

Emily reached up and shut the curtains in the kitchen. The light was too bright and making her head hurt worse. She quickly washed the dishes, ignoring the way Kyle watched her, and then went back into the bedroom. She went to shut the door, but Kyle slipped in first.

“Where’s Alex?” Emily asked, sitting down on the bed.

“Mark has her.”

Emily laid back on the bed and threw a cold rag over her forehead, then curled up with the pillow. The muscles in her neck, back, and shoulders were hurting, and it was getting harder to hide the pain from anyone watching.

Kyle watched Emily sleep for a few hours and then quietly left the room. Just as he rounded the corner into the living room, he was grabbed from behind and restrained while someone else held a hand over his mouth. Kyle saw that Damon and Mark were also being restrained and were fighting angrily. The men holding them were in all black, with black masks covering their faces.

Silas was standing and watching, unrestrained, with Alexis in his arms.

“Stop fighting, it’s the Cavalry,” Silas whispered, as each of the heku took off their masks. The three Defenders stopped fighting as they recognized their captors. The Cavalry kept a restraining grip on each of the heku Defenders and watched out the door.

They heard a car drive up, and two people step out of it. Soon, Chevalier and Zohn stepped into the villa and the Defenders were released.

Kyle, Mark, and Damon gathered together, crouching defensively against their faction members as they blocked the hallway entrance.

“It’s over,” Chevalier said, looking around.

“How do we know that?” Damon hissed.

“You can be damned sure I wouldn’t have worked this hard to find you if it weren’t safe,” Chevalier said, and glanced at Zohn.

“He’s right, it’s over,” Zohn said softly. He watched the three with respect and gratitude.

“I owe you more than you could ever imagine,” Chevalier said, and headed for the hallway. Allen broke out from behind the three Defenders and jumped into Chevalier’s arms.

“Daddy!” he yelled. “You’re here!”

“I am, finally,” Chevalier said, and hugged his son tightly.

“Mommy’s sleeping,” Allen whispered.

Chevalier nodded, “Ok, let’s let her sleep.”

Chevalier put Allen down and took Alexis from Silas. She looked at him strangely, and then her tiny bottom lip began to quiver and she started to cry. He tried rocking her, but she only screamed louder. Damon sighed and took her from Chevalier. She immediately quieted down and slipped her fingers in her mouth.

“Sorry, Elder,” Damon said, and watched as Chevalier sat down on the couch. The rest of the heku also sat down, except Damon, who stood to rock the baby.

Allen sat on Chevalier’s lap and grinned, “Guess what I got to do?”

Kyle looked at him with wide eyes.

“What’s that?” Chevalier asked, only half interested. He was watching how Kyle, Mark, and Damon kept glancing at each other, and was trying to figure out what they were hiding from him.

“I got to feed directly from a woman,” Allen said excitedly.

Chevalier looked at him, surprised, “You did?”

“Well… we were feeding anyway and…” Kyle said, but stopped. He wasn’t sure how to explain that.

“Emily allowed that?” Chevalier asked, frowning.

“It’s sometimes better to ask forgiveness than permission,” Allen said, quoting Kyle perfectly.

Kyle buried his face in his hands while the rest of the heku laughed.

“I see, and did Mommy ever find out?” Chevalier asked, now grinning.

“Yup, she said they were hoopers,” Allen said, trying not to leave out any details.

“What’s a hooper?” Zohn asked him.

Allen shrugged, “I don’t know what a hooper is.”

Chevalier’s eyes grew wide and he looked at Mark, “Did you let my son feed from a hooker?”

Mark stopped laughing and glanced at Damon.

“It was no big deal. He only got her wrist,” Damon said quickly.

Chevalier rubbed his eyes, “Emily knows you let Allen feed from a hooker?”

Kyle grimaced, “Yeah… we’ve been getting punished for that for about a week.”

“She said if we all got too thirsty, we had to drink from her,” Allen said, and Kyle prayed silently to any god that would listen, that Allen would shut up.

Chevalier growled.

“No! We didn’t do it though! We wouldn’t have done that,” Mark said suddenly.

“Is that the secret then?” Chevalier asked them.

“What secret?” Mark asked.

“It’s obvious that you three are keeping something from me, and I’d like to know what it is,” Chevalier said. He glanced at Zohn and the Chief Interrogator nodded. He spotted the same thing almost immediately when they walked in.

“It’s kind of hard to explain,” Damon said. He knew the truth would come out soon enough.

“Try it,” Zohn said, his eyes narrowing in on Damon. The Council had learned quickly that Zohn already possessed an innate ability to tell if someone was lying to him. It came with the position of Interrogator, but normally took more time to acquire.

Damon glanced at Kyle, who then turned and looked at Mark as Silas stood silently in the corner.

“You better start talking,” Chevalier said angrily.

“Emily and I… well…” Damon said as his mind raced, looking for a way to soften the blow. “We had a... kind of… run in.”

“Define, run in,” Chevalier said, turning to face him.

“I tried to run away,” Emily said from the hallway entrance.

Chevalier stood and turned to her. It took him less than a second to take in the bruises and the smell of blood.

“My God, Emily.” He was at her in a blur and turned to Damon, “This better be damned good.”

Damon cringed and Mark took the baby from him.

“I can explain,” Damon said.

“Let me,” Emily told him. “I waited until Kyle and Mark were gone. I thought if I could make it to Paris, that I could get a flight back. Damon tried to stop me… and I kind of... burned him a bit.”

Chevalier was watching Damon, as Damon fought to keep his face neutral. The last thing Damon expected was to be saved by the one person he recently tried to kill.

“Go on,” Chevalier growled.

“He kept trying to stop me… I broke his nose… burned him a few times… and I ended up falling into a table to try to get away from him,” Emily explained as she leaned her throbbing head against Chevalier. She avoided looking at Zohn at all costs. He was studying her face and she felt uncomfortable.

“And the bruises on your neck?” he hissed, still watching Damon.

“I think my neck was the only part of my body not trying to hurt him, he held on. I don’t blame him. I should’ve stayed put, but it’d been so long since we’d heard anything,” Emily said, watching the ground.

“Zohn?” Chevalier asked.

“I’m not buying it,” he said to the Elder.

“Are you calling me a liar?” Emily asked, finally turning to him.

“Not intentionally. I just get the strong impression that you are trying to protect Damon,” Zohn said, raising an eyebrow.

“Why in the hell would I protect that... thing?” Emily asked, glaring at Damon.

“When I get back, I better get the truth,” Chevalier snapped at them, and led Emily into the bedroom.

He shut the door behind them, and Emily turned and pressed against him, burying her face in his chest. When he touched her soft skin, a flash appeared before his eyes. His eyes squinted slightly as he tried to focus on what he was seeing. He could hear Emily and Damon yelling, but couldn’t tell what was being said.

Emily pulled away from him and looked up into his eyes, “What?”

“It’s… it’s like I could see what you were thinking.”

Emily frowned, “How so?”

“I’m not sure, exactly. It was fuzzy and the voices were distorted, but you and Damon were yelling.”

She moved to him and leaned her forehead against his chest.

Chevalier wrapped his arms around her and pulled them away quickly when she gasped as he touched her back. He touched her hair softly and held her.

“They wouldn’t let me call you,” Emily said finally.

“I know, it would have been too risky,” he said, and led her to the bed.

Emily sat down and looked up at him. One of her eyes was still swollen shut. He sat behind her and pulled her shirt up in back. Emily heard him growl slightly and then dropped her shirt back down.

“Table?”

She nodded, “Table.”

“How bad is the headache?” Chevalier asked.

“How did you know?”

“It’s dark in here and you haven’t turned a light on.”

“Oh,” Emily said, and turned to face him. “It’s ok right now.”

Chevalier touched the purple bruises on her neck softly, “Did you pass out when you couldn’t breathe?”

“No,” Emily whispered. “I’m sure it looks worse than it was.”

“Tell me the truth,” Chevalier said as he put his hand under her chin and forced her to look up at him.

“Why are you assuming I’m lying?” she asked, frowning.

“If you wanted to leave, you would have. You can knock a heku unconscious without a second thought, and then you would have been able to stroll out of here,” Chevalier said.

“I’m standing by what I said,” Emily told him.

Chevalier nodded and led her back out into the living room. The Cavalry looked at her uncomfortably, with the dark bruises and cuts visible.

“Damon, find a doctor. I want Emily checked over before we leave,” Chevalier ordered.

“No,” she said, frowning.

“Do it,” Chevalier said.

“I’ll try… we… did that once… and…” Damon said, rubbing his hand across the back of his neck.

“We had to kill him,” Kyle said, sighing.

Chevalier’s eyes narrowed, “Why?”

“It was when we first got here. We were worried about Emily’s color and the lack of her ability to ash someone, so we called in a favor and got a doctor,” Damon explained. “He said she had a dangerously low blood volume, and accused us of feeding off of her to the point of almost killing her. He was a member of the V.E.S. and was going to report us.”

“Find another one then. I’m not putting her on an airplane until I know she’s ok,” Chevalier said, and then turned to Zohn. “So?”

“I still don’t believe a word of what she said,” Zohn said, and looked at Emily apologetically.

“What about what the heku are saying?” Chevalier asked.

“They won’t say anything about it,” Zohn said, and looked over at Damon as he called around to find a doctor.

Emily walked over and took Alexis from Silas, “This is insane. You have just been through a civil war, and now you’re trying to pick fights within the Council. Just drop it. You aren’t going to find anything incriminating.”

“I’m sure I can,” Zohn told her.

She looked at him, “I don’t like you.”

“I apologize for that.”

“Leave Damon alone.”

“For now, if you wish.”

They sat in awkward silence as the Defenders tried to hide what they had seen and done, and the rest tried to read the truth from them.

Emily spun toward the door when she heard a knock. Just as Damon went to answer it, she climbed over the back of a chair and ran for the back door. Kyle held his arm out and kept her inside.

“It’s just a doctor,” Kyle said, glancing at Chevalier to make sure what he was doing was ok.

“Just let him look, Em,” Chevalier said, amused.

Emily punched Kyle’s nose, and he let go of her and cursed as his nose healed. She made it to the glass door and opened it as Mark’s hands wrapped around her waist and he lifted her back inside.

Chevalier nodded to Mark and he carried her into the room with the doctor.

“How did you get her to see a doctor the first time?” Chevalier asked, chuckling.

Damon shook his head, “We… had to control her.”

“She was too tired to resist,” Kyle said, not sure if Chevalier would be mad or not.

Chevalier started to laugh, “You all deserve overtime pay for this, don’t you?”

They all turned when they heard a noise in the kitchen. Someone was singing in French and rustling the pots and pans. Chevalier walked around the corner and disappeared into the kitchen and the singing stopped.

“Avez-vou faim?” a strange voice said.

“Non, merci,” Chevalier said, and returned to the living room.

“Je devrais appeler la police!” the doctor yelled from Emily’s room as he stepped out, glaring at Mark.

“I got it,” Damon said, and took the doctor’s face in his hands. Within a second, he had full control and talked quickly to the doctor in French.

Damon turned after the doctor had been controlled for a while, and walked back into the room.

“Ayez un beau jour!” the doctor said happily, and waved to them as he left.

Chevalier turned to Mark, “So?”

“Simple enough, concussion, neck bruises and abrasions, cuts and bruises on her back, and he pulled out a few splinters and then the black eye,” Mark said as he avoided Zohn’s eyes.

“Must have been some fight,” Chevalier said to Damon.

Damon nodded.

“So where is she?” Chevalier asked, leaning back to look down the hallway.

“He knocked her out when she wouldn’t cooperate,” Mark said, and sat down on the couch.

“And why was he about to call the police?”

“Because he thought we beat her up,” Mark said with a nervous glance to Damon.

“Great. I vote we leave first thing in the morning,” Chevalier said.

Kyle looked at Damon and he nodded, “Ok.”

“Le dîner est prêt,” the chef called out to the living room.

“Laissez-le et allez,” Chevalier called back and turned to the heku. “Is she awake enough to eat?

Mark shrugged, “I didn’t try to wake her up.”

Chevalier thought for a moment, “Has she said anything about the runes bothering her?”

“Nothing at all,” Kyle said.

Chevalier went to the kitchen and fixed a plate, then took it into Emily’s room. When he stepped into the room, he heard the slow rhythmic breathing as she slept. He set the plate down, slipped off his shoes, and curled up next to her. An hour later, he heard the doorbell ring, but ignored it as she pulled closer to him and tucked her head close to his chest.

He heard the front door open and Damon spoke, “Est-ce que je peux vous aider?”

“You are American, no?” a man’s voice said.

“Yes, I am,” Damon said.

“We are missing a doctor. He came last week to this address and did not return,” the man said.

“Haven’t seen him,” Damon told him.

“If you see him, here is my card. He needs to contact the V.E.S. immediately.”

“Ok,” Damon said, now sounding irritated.

There was a silence, “Might we come in?”

“No”

“Why not? We just want to look for ourselves.” The man’s voice changed, it now had an air of alarm.

“Just the three of you?” Damon asked, and Chevalier sighed. He could already see what was in the works.

“Yes, no harm if we look,” the Frenchman said.

“Sure, come on in,” Damon told them.

There were a few minutes of idle chatter, nothing important, but Chevalier listened closely. From the sounds of it, the three V.E.S. were looking around the outer rooms while the eight heku watched them from the living room. All of them could hear the whispering of the V.E.S. as they suspected them as possible vampires. As the V.E.S. whispered among themselves, Damon translated for those that didn’t speak French. His whispers weren’t heard by the mortals.

“They suspect that only seven of us are vampires, because there’s a dinner made,” Damon whispered, too low for them to hear.

“Now they are wondering how long it will take to get enough reinforcements to kill off the seven of us.”

“They’ve decided it will only take thirty minutes. Get Chevalier,” Damon said, and there was a series of sounds from the living area as the heku readied to leave.

“Time to go, Em,” Chevalier said as he slipped on his shoes and picked her up, still wrapped in blankets. Mark appeared and grabbed the bags from the room, then blurred out.

Chevalier met one of the V.E.S. in the hallway. The Frenchman looked at Emily’s face and pulled out a wooden stake, “You cannot take the woman, the child, or the infant.”

Chevalier raised an eyebrow, “Yes, I can… Kyle.”

Kyle appeared and crouched low in front of the Elder, facing the member of the V.E.S. Before the Frenchman could respond, Kyle ripped the wooden stake from his hand and tossed it against the wall, impaling it halfway through the drywall.

“Obtenez le bebe!” one of the men yelled, and as they turned, they came face-to-face with Damon, who was holding Alexis in one hand and had the neck of their leader with the other.

“Go ahead and try to take this baby from me,” he challenged.

Chevalier passed them in the hallway and crawled into the limousine after Allen. He cradled Emily in his arms and watched as Damon threw the leader against the wall, knocking him out cold, and then blurred into the limousine. The last of the heku got into the car, and Damon ordered the chauffer to drive to the airport. Damon picked up his cell phone to make arrangements with the pilot.

“I’m glad the V.E.S. isn’t as strong in the U.S. as it is in Europe,” Mark said, watching as the terrain flew by.

“You do realize, the V.E.S. was started by one of the Winchester’s original sons?” Chevalier chuckled.

Mark grinned, “No, guess I didn’t.”

“There’s one… minor… change we should probably mention,” Zohn said, looking at Chevalier.

“Damn, I was going to tell her before we left,” Chevalier said, and looked down at Allen.

“What changes?” Kyle asked, frowning.

“Now that the entire faction knows about Emily, Allen, and Alexis, they have sort of turned into… well… almost a royalty,” Chevalier said, trying not to laugh.

“Like how?”

“Well… like… there are gifts sent to them and prayers said in their honor. I’m pretty sure they will be treated differently, and I’m just not sure how Emily is going to take it. She’s convinced the kids will grow up responsible and well-grounded,” Chevalier explained.

“Oh that’s going to be fun.” Kyle laughed.

“I don’t understand, how am I considered royalty?” Allen asked.

“You know you’re the first ever heku child right?” Chevalier asked.

“Yes”

“Well, that’s special, and the people all want to see you and watch you grow.”

“But I am only part heku. I don’t have all of the traits.”

“It doesn’t matter, you have enough,” Chevalier explained.

“And I have a sister that can kill me, how special is that?” Allen asked, looking at the baby in Mark’s arms.

“Let’s hope we don’t have to worry about that for a while,” Chevalier said, and he turned his head so Allen wouldn’t see him laugh.

“We thought she was hard to get along with before, let’s throw a tiara on her,” Damon said, chuckling.

As the heku transferred from the limousine to the jet, they kept a close eye out for any sign of the V.E.S. The plane was loaded and took off peacefully and soon, Emily was asleep in the back room with Alexis. Allen kicked back with a book while the heku displayed the patience that thousands of years granted them, and sat perfectly still and quiet during the long trip.

The plane landed in view of the Blackhawk helicopter known as Equites 1. Chevalier went into the back to wake Emily, but found her sitting on the bed nursing the baby. He sat down on the bed and watched.

“She’s grown so much,” Chevalier said, noticing the way her eyes turned to meet his when he spoke.

Emily nodded, “Yeah, she has.”

“She doesn’t like me much.”

“She doesn’t really know you.”

Chevalier nodded, “When you’re done, the helicopter is waiting.”

“I can go now,” Emily said, and tossed a light blanket over her shoulder. Chevalier lifted her into the tall helicopter and she buckled in, far away from Damon.

Chevalier watched out the window as the palace came into view. The pilot decided to land the Blackhawk on the front lawn. Chevalier looked over at Emily and she was watching out the window, frowning.

“Why aren’t we landing on the roof?” Emily asked Chevalier.

“He’s taking off again immediately. This will be faster,” he told her as the pilot cut the engines.

The large doors opened and the Cavalry jumped out easily, and looked across the gathered crowd. Kyle, Mark, and Damon followed them, and Damon helped Allen down. The crowd grew silent at the sight of the heku child, and they watched him in awe.

Chevalier hopped out of the helicopter and turned to help Emily. She was clinging tightly to Alexis and watching the crowd of people. She had always hated crowds, especially ones that were there to see her. She saw them all turn and look at her, and felt the urge to run. Turning around, Emily ducked under the helicopter to get away from them, but a strong hand wrapped around her waist.

“They won’t hurt you,” Chevalier told her.

“Give me your cape,” she whispered, still facing away from the crowd. Without asking why, he handed her his green cape, and she slipped it on and pulled the hood up to cover her face.

Tucking the baby under the edge of the cloak, Emily moved quickly past the gathered heku and into the palace, not once slowing or looking up.

As they headed up the stairs, Emily dropped the hood and looked over at Chevalier, “What was that all about?”

Chevalier sighed, “It’s all out, Allen and Alexis and their abilities. It’s pretty much made you… well… famous.”

Emily turned and glared at him, “Do what?”

“It’ll pass, I promise. It’s just that now, everyone fully understands why you are in the palace. You’re the only one in the history of our species that has reproduced an immortal. It’s fascinating to them, and they want to see you.”

“Perfect,” Emily said, irritated, and walked up the stairs.

***

The morning after arriving back in the palace, Alexis had Emily up early and she sat in bed and fed the baby while she looked through the newspaper. She was going to call the owner of the Montana ranch to see if it was still available, but if not, she planned on finding another. More now than ever, she felt the need for a secret place of her own. Somewhere she could go to get some shred of normalcy back in her life, and somewhere she could take the kids when it was time to get away.

Chevalier walked in as she was on the phone.

“Yes, I’m sorry about that,” she said, and smiled at him.

Emily gasped, “No, that’s awful.”

Suddenly her face lit up, “Yes! I can be there tomorrow night.”

Chevalier’s eyes narrowed.

“I’ll be ready to take the keys from you at the signing.”

Chevalier sighed and sat down on the bed.

“Yes, yes, Ok, I will see you tomorrow then.” Emily smiled and hung up the phone.

“Leaving?” Chevalier asked.

“The owner of the ranch passed away. He already had the papers filled out for me, so the son is throwing in the estate. He just wants to get rid of it.” She grinned and leaned over to kiss him.

“I guess I figured you would change your mind,” Chevalier told her.

Emily pulled the baby to her shoulder and patted her back softly, “Why would I change my mind?”

“It’s more dangerous now that the factions know about Allen and Alexis. They will want a…” he sighed, “Set of their own.”

Emily frowned, “Then it’s more important than ever that I have a place to go.”

“Will you reconsider one heku? He can help Sam with the ranch and keep an eye out,” Chevalier asked pleadingly. “I could even order him never to contact Council City. He could just be a free field hand.”

“No,” she said bluntly.

Emily handed the baby to Chevalier and started to pack a small bag. He looked at Alexis and she smiled up at him, and then grabbed the collar of his shirt, sticking it into her mouth.

“Are you leaving right now?” he asked her.

“Pretty soon. I’ll take Alexis and Sam, so I can leave Sam there. I’ll need to leave Allen,” she said sadly. “I don’t have any way to feed him.”

Chevalier nodded.

Emily looked over at him, “Can he survive off of the blood of an animal?”

“Yes, if you can get him to drink it. It’s pretty nasty,” Chevalier told her.

“Well what did you all drink while you waited for the mortals to evolve?” She’d wondered that often, but hadn’t bothered to ask.

Chevalier laughed, “They thought animals were good back then. It wasn’t until we tried the blood of a mortal, that we changed our ways.”

Chevalier turned away from her to hide the anger in his face as she checked the clip of her 9mm and put it into the bag. He hated the thought of her out in the world without protection, and the gun reminded him that only part of the danger could be stopped with it.

“Kyle then… you trust Kyle, take him,” Chevalier suggested.

Emily ignored him and grabbed her purse and the bag, “I’m not sure how long we’ll be gone this trip. I need to find a field hand or two and make sure everything’s ready to go before I leave.”

Emily turned toward the bed and jumped when Chevalier appeared suddenly right in front of her.

“Please, don’t do this,” he said, and gently touched her cheek.

Emily pulled him down to her and kissed him softly. After a few moments, she smiled and pulled away from him and took the baby. Emily laughed at Chevalier’s wet collar, and pulled close to him for a hug. She knew this was killing him, but it was something she had to do. She had enough confidence in her abilities to protect herself and Alexis from heku, and she trusted her aim and Sam’s protective nature to keep her safe from the mortals.

“Kyle?” Emily asked, and turned to him when he walked in. “Get Sam please.”

Kyle frowned and glanced at Chevalier. He hesitated and nodded, then watched as Kyle blurred away.

Emily walked into Allen’s room. He was sitting on the bed reading. She sat on the edge of the bed.

“I’m going to buy that ranch. I’ll be gone for a few days,” she told him and kissed his forehead.

“Can I go?” he asked.

Emily shook her head, “Not this time. I need to learn how to feed you first, ok?”

Allen nodded, “I guess.”

Emily hugged him tightly. She knew how badly he wanted to see the new ranch, and how he hated to be too far from her. His protective nature was coming out strongly, and he was most protective of Emily.

“You called for me?” Sam asked from the bedroom. His eyes narrowed when he saw her bruised neck and black eye.

Emily cringed at his voice. She didn’t trust him, or even like him, and wasn’t looking forward to the long trip with her familiar.

“We’re going away for a few days. I am buying a ranch, and you’ll stay there as overseer,” she said, and handed the baby’s bag to him.

Sam nodded, “As you wish.”

Chevalier kissed her though the open window of the Durango, and watched as she drove off. His heart was ready to explode as he saw her leave the protection of the palace with a familiar that neither of them trusted. He knew he could have her followed and she would never know it. He also knew that he could force her to come back, but he had broken enough promises to her and this one he intended to keep.

“Can’t you make her stay?” Allen asked from behind his Dad.

Chevalier nodded, “I can, but I won’t.”

“I don’t like it.”

“Neither do I, Son, neither do I.”

“You need to teach me how to feed. That way I can go with her,” Allen said.

Chevalier nodded, “Yes, let’s do that now.”

Emily drove through the day and stopped at a hotel for the night. Sam stayed in the car while Emily and Alexis got some rest. Early the next morning, she emerged, and they continued their drive to Montana. She pulled up to the ranch and looked around excitedly.

“It’s bigger than I thought it would be,” Sam said as he looked around.

“Yeah it is, and now we’re getting the livestock.” Emily turned off the engine and reached around to get Alexis.

“We’re going to need two field hands,” Sam said, stepping out of the Durango.

“Emily?” she heard from behind her and turned around. A young man was walking toward her with his hand outstretched. He glanced nervously at the bruises, and then turned back to the house.

“Yes.” Emily smiled, and shook his hand.

“They are inside, ready for the paperwork,” he told her, and looked over at Sam.

“That’s my overseer. Can he take a look around while we fill out forms?” Emily asked.

“Sure, it’s yours,” the man said, and they stepped inside.

Emily glanced around the ranch house between papers, and began to feel elated. She loved the quaint wooden fixtures and the warm feel of the downstairs. Alexis was playing on the floor in the living room, and she glanced over at her and smiled when Alexis grinned at her.

“I think that’s about it,” the man said after two hours of signing papers. “Do you have any questions?”

“I’m interested in some field hands. Any ideas where I can find some?” she asked, and took the keys from him.

“There’s an office in town that hires out help. I can have them send some over tomorrow for interviews if you would like.”

“That would be great, thank you,” Emily said. She saw the man look once more around the house as she stepped into the living room.

“It’ll be weird not seeing him here anymore,” he said sadly.

Emily nodded and gave him a quick hug, “Come back and see us.”

He smiled and walked out of the house quickly. Emily looked around at her new ranch house. She picked Alexis up off of the floor and went through the house again. It was going to take a lot of work. The closets were still full of clothing and there were boxes everywhere. She realized the old man had been packing to move when he died. Emily went to the front door when she heard a knock.

She opened the door, “Come on in, Sam.”

“Impressive ranch,” Sam said, walking inside. “I threw my stuff into one of the bunkhouses. It’s nearest to the barn.”

“If I get you a list, will you go into town and get some groceries?”

Sam nodded. Emily sat at the table and wrote out a quick list, then handed it to him with some money.

“I’ll be back,” Sam said, and drove off in an old Chevy pick-up they had just inherited with the house.

“What do you think?” Emily asked Alexis. The baby smiled and then stuck her fingers in her mouth.

After dinner, Sam headed out to the bunkhouse and Emily locked up the ranch house. She picked up Alexis, who was asleep in a swing, and took her up to the master bedroom. It was a warm night and Emily stripped the heavy blankets off of the bed, and crawled into the sheets. She listened to the sounds of the cattle and the quietness of the house, and smiled, soon falling asleep.

Emily’s phone rang while she was making pancakes the next morning. She quickly grabbed a cup of coffee and answered it.

“Hello?”

“Emily Russo, please,” a voice said on the other end of the phone. The woman sounded annoyed and tired.

“This is she.”

“This is Velma from the employment agency. I heard you are looking for a field hand.”

“Two actually, ones that can start immediately.”

“I have quite a few. When shall I send them over for interviews?”

“Can we start in an hour?” Emily asked, flipping the pancake.

“Yes, ask them for their applications and you may keep those,” Velma said. “Once you’ve hired one, tell them to contact us for their finalization.”

“Ok, thanks,” Emily said, and hung up the phone. She ate quickly and sat on the couch to feed Alexis.

She heard a knock on the door and saw the familiar standing at the window, “Come in, Sam.”

Sam walked in and glanced at her, then sat in a chair by the empty fireplace.

“I have field hands coming in twenty minutes, can you stay for those?” Emily asked as she lifted the baby up to her shoulder.

“Yes, I’d like to be here for those. I’ve already fed the cattle. We’re going to need a load of hay soon.”

Emily nodded, “Ok, I’ll ask around and see if I can find a good price.”

“We interviewing here or the kitchen?” Sam asked, looking around.

“Let’s do it in here, more casual than the kitchen. Plus, I haven’t done the dishes this morning,” Emily said, and shrugged.

There was a knock at the door, “Let the first one in.”

She grabbed a notebook and sat Alexis in the swing, then stood up and shook the hand of the first applicant. She was surprised at how much he looked like Keith, down to the puffed lower lip full of chew.

“Mornin’, Ma’am” he said, and handed her the application.

“Good morning. Please, call me Emily and this is Sam, he’s the overseer,” Emily said, and scanned his application.

“Why did you leave your last field hand job?” Emily asked, seeing that he’d been with the family for almost 8 years.

Emily was exhausted by noon. She interviewed eight men, all wanting the position. She had seen everything from the classic cowboy, to a young kid whose pants hung down past his butt, and his earlobes were stretched out with huge rings. So far she hadn’t been impressed with any of them, and she was getting tired of the way they looked at the bruises on her neck and cheek, yet no one had the nerve to ask anything about it.

“We don’t have another interview for an hour. Let’s do lunch,” Emily said, and picked up Alexis.

Alexis was enjoying herself in her swing as she watched the strange men come and go. Emily judged two of them solely on how they responded to the baby. One seemed extremely uncomfortable with the young, single mother of two, while the other winked at Emily and nodded with a big smile.

Emily was too tired to do more than make a sandwich, and she ate it quickly and then sat down in the recliner to feed Alexis. She shut her eyes for a moment, but the phone interrupted her short nap.

“Hello?”

“How are you?” Chevalier asked, sounding worried.

Emily smiled, “Just tired. We’ve been interviewing all morning.”

“So it’s yours? Everything is good?”

“Yes, and it’s perfect. I love the house.”

There was an awkward silence, “I’m glad to hear that. How much longer will you be?”

“I don’t really know. The house needs a lot of cleaning. As an estate sale, their clothes and everything are still here.”

“I wish I could help you.”

“I know you do. But we’ll be home soon, I promise.”

“You sound tired,” Chevalier noticed.

“I’m sure I’ll sound more tired tonight… oh, there’s the door, I have to go.”

“Ok, I love you,” Chevalier said softly.

Emily smiled. He was being a good sport about all of this, “I love you, too.”

She threw Alexis up against her shoulder and pulled her shirt down, then answered the door. A tall, handsome man stood at the door with his application. He had a black Stetson that was slightly crooked on his head, and his jeans were worn and faded.

“Come in, please,” Emily said, and motioned for the couch.

“Sam!” she yelled, and heard him coming in from the bunkhouse.

“Beautiful baby, Ma’am,” he said, and took off his hat when he sat down.

Emily sat down across from him and looked through his application, waiting for Sam. Sam came in and looked at the man, and his eyes narrowed. Emily glared at him. He’d been overly picky about the candidates so far.

“Let’s get on with this then…” Emily started, but Sam interrupted.

“I’m Sam, the overseer, and this is Teresa,” Sam said. Emily looked at him strangely, and then back to the applicant.

“Nice to meet you,” he said, and looked toward Sam and smiled. That’s when Emily saw the elongated canines and felt her body tense.

“Excuse us for one moment,” Emily said, smiling, and then turned to Sam. “Did you empty the ashes out of the bin?”

“No,” he answered, watching the applicant.

“Ok,” Emily said, looking at the application again. She was trying hard not to let her hands shake, “I see you have 12 years experience.”

“Yes, in Colorado.”

“Why did you leave?” Emily asked, laying the application down.

“It was just time to move on. I decided to head up here to see if I could find more work,” he explained.

Emily saw him to the door after the interview and shut it behind him. She leaned against the door and looked at Sam with fearful eyes.

“Does he know?”

“No, I don’t think he does. I’m guessing he’s a wanderer… an un-factioned heku that sticks mainly with mortals,” Sam said, watching out the window as the man drove away.

“Damn, I knew I should have brought Ford,” Emily said, and jumped when she heard a knock on the door.

She spun, too quickly, and opened the door. Two young, Native American men stood on the doorstep. They were tall and muscular with hair that fell well below their shoulders.

“We’re here for the job interview,” one of them said, smiling brightly.

“Please, come in,” she said, still nervous from the heku.

Emily shut the door behind them and followed the two into the living room. She felt tiny beside them. They were both almost as tall as Keith, and their faces were warm and caring.

“Sit, please,” she said, and sat down.

One of the brothers pulled a small trinket from his pocket and handed it to Alexis, who immediately giggled and swung it around.

Emily was still shaking from the heku encounter, so Sam took over, “I’m Sam, the overseer. This is the owner of the ranch, Emily.”

Emily finally got control of her voice, “Are you brothers?”

“Yes, I’m Todd and this is my twin brother, Peter,” the one closest to her said. Emily was fascinated by his dark eyes, they held wisdom beyond his young face, but the kindness was forefront.

Emily took their applications and looked through them, “No experience?”

“None work related. Our Dad owns a ranch and we’ve always worked for him,” Peter said.

Emily nodded, “Cows, Horses?”

“Yes, sometimes pigs and chickens, too,” Todd told her.

“I’m sorry, this is against the rules, but how old are you?” Emily asked curiously.

“We’ll be 32 this year,” he said, laughing.

“Oh, sorry, you look much younger,” Emily said, and blushed slightly, though she didn’t know why.

“We promise you we are hard workers and we work cheap,” Peter said. “We know the legends of the area, and are anxious to break out of the ranch work on the reservation.”

Emily nodded and smiled. She was ready to hire them on the spot. Sam was watching them wearily, though.

Emily decided to take charge, “How soon would you be able to start?”

Todd nodded to his pinto out front, “It has everything we own in it.”

Emily laughed, “Would you please go check out the ranch while I talk to Sam?”

The twins nodded and walked out of the house toward the barn. They were talking among themselves and laughing. Emily couldn’t hear what was said, but one of them ran with the other one in pursuit, and they disappeared into the barn.

“I like them,” Emily said.

“I don’t trust them,” Sam said skeptically.

“You haven’t liked any of them,” Emily reminded him.

“They will do,” Sam finally said.

“Good, because I’m tired of interviews. Call Velma back and tell her the position is filled,” Emily said. She took Alexis and went out to tell the twins.

They were ecstatic when Emily offered them the job, and as they ran to the car, they playfully fought about which bunkhouse they each got, “I’ll have Sam come show you around. Why don’t you come in for dinner around six o’clock.”

“Wohoo! Food!” Todd yelled, and ran into the first bunkhouse.

Emily shook her head, smiling, and went back inside. She started up the stove and put some potatoes in to bake. She watched as Sam and the twins set off across the pasture on horseback. They returned just before dark, and Emily was pulling the steaks from the oven when they came in for dinner.

“May I?” Todd asked, and motioned to Alexis. Todd’s face was broader than Peter’s, but Peter’s eyes were darker and set deeper. Although twins, there were subtle difference that made it easy for her to tell them apart.

“Sure,” Emily said, and watched as he picked Alexis up and bounced her until she laughed.

“Do you just have the baby?” Peter asked, sitting at the table.

Emily at first thought it a rude question, but remembered that they would be spending a lot of time together. It was only natural that they get acquainted.

“No, I have a son who is 5. He stays with his Dad a lot though,” Emily said as she moved the food to the table.

Sam came in last and sat down at the table.

Todd put Alexis down in the swing, and she watched them as they began to eat.

“Wow, this is great, Ma’am,” Peter said, taking a large bite of steak.

“Please, it’s Emily,” she told them. “I’m not that familiar with the area, which tribe are you from?”

“I’m Crow,” Todd explained. “He’s Dakota.”

Peter hit Todd in the arm and Todd yelled, and then laughed. Emily briefly wondered if the brothers ever fought, or if they were always this playful.

After dinner, Sam and the twins went back to their bunkhouses as Emily cleaned up. Once she was done, she pulled off her jeans and fell into bed wearing just a t-shirt. Alexis was already asleep in a small bassinet by the bed.

Emily woke up to the sound of footsteps above her. She glanced at the clock, it was just after 3am. Thinking she was hearing things, she laid her head back down, but heard it again. There were footsteps directly above her. She sat up and tiptoed into the hallway, shutting the door behind her, then turned on the lights in the hallway and went over to the attic entrance. She used the stick to pull down the panel and the ladder slid down easily.

Emily could hear movement from above her as she crawled up the ladder and looked into the crowded attic. The noises stopped as soon as she stuck her head up past the floor. She couldn’t see past any of the boxes though, and the attic was menacingly dark and stuffy.

She screamed when she heard a fierce voice, and then dropped down to the floor and ran into the bedroom. Grabbing Alexis, she ran out of the house with bare feet to Sam’s bunkhouse and knocked frantically. Sam answered at the same time as the twins came to their doors.

“There’s someone in the attic,” Emily said, and glanced back at the dark house.

Sam frowned, turned around, and grabbed his rifle, then went into the house. Emily waited out on the bunkhouse porch with the twins. They stayed with her as she rocked nervously. She hadn’t realized how cool the night was until Todd handed her a jacket. She slipped it on and wrapped it around her and the baby. The jacket came down to her knees and smelled like horses.

Sam finally came back out of the house, “I don’t see anything up there but junk.”

“I heard footsteps, and when I went up there, there was a voice,” she said, still shaking.

“What did it say?” Peter asked her.

“I don’t know. It was more like a growl than a voice, I guess,” she said. Emily sighed. She realized how insane she sounded, and was surprised that none of them called her on it.

“I looked all around and I didn’t see anything,” Sam said.

“I’m not hearing things, Sam, and I was awake,” Emily told him, holding the baby closer.

“It’s probably raccoons up in the attic. They hiss when they’re scared,” Todd said.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. I’m sorry to have woken you,” she said, and smiled slightly.

Once the twins went back to bed, Emily turned to Sam and whispered, “Could it be the heku?”

“I’m not finding anything, no scents, no footprints, nothing,” Sam said softly.

Emily nodded and reluctantly went back into the house. Sam followed her in, and both stopped at the doorway. The kitchen table had been moved across the floor, but the chairs were all where she left them. Every cupboard stood open, and the fridge door was ajar.

“That… that wasn’t like that when I came through,” Sam said, confused.

Emily swallowed hard and looked at him, “It’s the heku, isn’t it?”

Sam shook his head, “No, I don’t smell one around.”

“Come, please, stay in the room while I sleep?” Emily asked. She knew it sounded like the request of a small child, but she wasn’t comfortable sleeping alone.

Emily laid back down with Alexis, who was wide awake after being carried out into the cool night air. It was a few hours before the baby went to sleep and Emily soon followed, with Sam asleep on the bedroom floor.

She made extra strong coffee the next morning, and the twins came in and sat down, also looking tired. She poured them each a cup and started scrambling some eggs.

“What’s on the agenda for today?” Todd asked her, and then yawned.

“I say… do the least amount we can and get to bed early. I’m really sorry about last night, weird things kept happening,” Emily said, and set some eggs down for the twins.

“Like what?” Peter asked, starting to eat.

“The table was moved, cupboards open, that kind of thing,” Emily said, and sat down at the table. Coffee was all she was up for this morning.

“Maybe you have a ghost,” Todd said, and shrugged.

“Great,” Emily sighed. “I need to go into town to get a load of hay, any ideas?”

“Sure!” Todd said. “We can get some from ol’ Sham off of the reservation. He’ll give the best price.”

“Oh that would be great! Hopefully we can harvest soon and we’ll have a supply through the winter.” Emily poured everyone a second round of coffee.

“Are you staying long? Sam mentioned you’ll be gone a lot,” Peter asked.

“No, I’ll probably head out today if I can wake up.” Emily set her head in her hands and shut her eyes.

Todd nodded, “We pulling the trailer with that old truck?”

“No, take the Durango, it’ll be more comfortable.”

“Sweet!” Peter said, grinning.

Emily helped them hook up the trailer while Sam kept Alexis inside. She wanted to spend as little time as possible in the house. Once the twins were out of sight, she hesitated and then went back inside.

The twins returned several hours later with a large load of hay. They quickly stacked it in the barn, and then unhitched the trailer and came into the house. Emily was just setting out a simple lunch and sat down to eat.

“Oh great! Lunch.” Todd sat down and grabbed a grilled cheese.

“Sorry, it’s nothing special,” Emily told them. She was still too tired to do much else.

“We aren’t picky,” Peter assured her, taking a sandwich for himself.

Emily picked up Alexis when she started to cry and went into the living room to nurse her in private. She tossed a blanket over her shoulder and flipped through the three TV channels to watch the news.

“Ma’am?” Todd asked from the door.

“Emily, please,” she said, and motioned him inside. Emily grinned when he looked at everything in the room to avoid looking at her, even though the baby was covered.

“Peter and I… well we were wondering… if we can have some friends come over. It’s… sort of… tradition with our friends… to break in a new place to live,” he said nervously.

“Oh, a Crow ritual?”

“No, just something our friends started.”

“I see… what exactly is this going to entail?” Emily asked, now amused.

“A small bonfire… some dancing maybe.” Todd seemed nervous.

“Yeah, that’d be fine.”

“You’re free to join us, it might be fun,” Todd said, smiling.

“We’ll see.”

Just after Alexis fell asleep for her nap, Emily laid down on the bed to also take one. During the daylight hours, the odd noises from the attic seemed unimportant and dim. She fell asleep quickly and didn’t wake up until late in the afternoon when her phone rang.

“Hmm?” she said, still half asleep.

“Em?” Chevalier asked.

“Yeah, I’m here,” she said, and yawned.

Chevalier chuckled, “Were you asleep?”

“Yeah, rough night,” Emily said, and looked over to check on Alexis.

“Any idea when you’re coming home?”

“Heading back tomorrow. I may try to drive straight through.”

“Just promise you’ll pull over if you get tired.”

“I will, see you when I get back.”

Chevalier sighed and hung up. She wondered what was wrong. He seemed short-tempered, and like he was keeping something from her.

Emily dialed the local pizza place and ordered dinner. There was no time to make anything, and she didn’t feel like cooking anyway. She fed Alexis while waiting for the delivery, and ran downstairs when she heard a knock on the door. The twins followed the pizza into the house and sat at the table.

“I’m assuming you two can cook and won’t starve to death after I go?” Emily asked, taking a piece of pizza.

“Todd cooks, I just eat,” Peter said, grabbing a slice.

“Doesn’t Sam ever eat?” Todd asked.

Emily shrugged, “He’s the quiet type. I think he mostly eats alone in his bunkhouse.”

Emily started to get up when she heard a knock at the door, but Todd beat her to it and was followed into the kitchen by eight other Crow, all dressed in fringed leather tribal outfits. They also had their hair in tight braids and blue paint on their faces.

Emily smiled, “Time to start the party?”

“Hey, you’re right. She is cute,” one of the men said, and Peter hit him on the arm and glared at him.

Emily blushed and picked Alexis up.

“You’re joining us, right?” one of the Crow asked.

“That would all depend on what exactly you’re doing,” she said, and watched as Alexis shied away from one of the men and smiled.

“Dancing, drinking, that sort of thing,” Todd said, and Emily noticed he genuinely wanted her to come.

“Ok, ok, I’ll come out in a bit after the baby’s asleep,” Emily said, smiling.

Emily watched from her window as the bonfire grew and the alcohol was passed among them. She laughed as their dancing became more erratic and they started to trip over one another.

“Are you sure about this?” Sam asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Emily nodded and whispered, “Yeah, why not? Alex is asleep. Come get me if you need me.”

Sam nodded, and Emily slipped out of the house. She walked timidly toward the bonfire.

“She’s here!” Todd yelled, and grabbed her hands to swing her around. One of the Crow brought a drum, and that was the sole sound used for their dance around the fire. Emily laughed and watched them, unsure exactly what to do.

“You are the ultimate of pale faces,” Peter said, and looked at her.

Emily shrugged, “I’m an Irish girl.”

“Here…” Peter said, and grabbed a little cup sitting by the fire. He dipped a finger in it, and Emily winced as she felt him paint her face.

“That’s great!” Todd yelled when he saw Emily.

“Yeah, great,” she said, looking at them skeptically.

“Iáxuhke!” Todd yelled, and the others looked at Emily and then began to dance again.

Emily frowned, “What was that?”

“We gave you a Crow name.”

“How did you say that?”

“It’s ia-ch-oo-hk-ay,” he said slowly, but his words were still slurred. Emily wasn’t sure if she could even pronounce it with the guttural sound in the middle, something similar to the Germans in her Dad’s old movies.

“I’ll just take your word for it,” she said, and turned when she felt a hand on her shoulder. One of the men handed her a large clay cup.

“Drink some,” he told her, and she smelled the contents of the cup before handing it back.

“No seriously,” he said, and handed it back to her.

Emily took a hesitant sip, but the Crow pushed the cup so she ended up with a mouthful of the bitter-tasting liquid. She swallowed it with a grimace, and handed it back.

She watched the others dance, but soon found that the flames from the fire would move away and start to dance with them. She frowned as the Crow and the flames danced in unison around the bonfire, then she sunk slowly to the ground and looked up at the stars. They swirled above her head and spoke to her softly about the heku and her life with them.

The stars showed her life before the heku, and the constant stress over running a farm, working full-time, and trying to keep from making Keith mad. She saw visions of him as he cheated on her, and then accused her of doing the same. The beatings flashed before her eyes. How pitiful she’d been, how self-conscious, and submissive she once was.

A flash from the sky changed to the present, with Allen, and Alexis, and how she couldn’t imagine living without Chevalier. She watched as he walked through the palace alone, looking around him for anything out of the ordinary. Kyle stopped to talk to him for a bit, but soon left. Chevalier wandered slowly up to the bedroom and looked around at the empty room, the dark TV, and the perfectly made bed.

Emily was barely aware that she was being carried, but fell fast asleep as soon as she was laid in bed and covered with soft blankets.

Chapter 11 - Ghosts

Emily pulled the Durango into the palace garage and cut the engine. She kept her sunglasses on, even though it was night time. Her head was pounding since she’d woken up after the party, and though she scrubbed, she still had blue streaks painted across her face that she couldn’t seem to get off.

Chevalier appeared by the door and opened it, then pulled Emily into a tight hug. Her stomach lurched at the sudden movement, and she fought to keep from throwing up right in the garage.

“Mmmm, I missed you,” Chevalier said, kissing the top of her head.

“I missed you, too,” Emily finally managed to say. Chevalier pulled away from her and looked at her oddly.

“Have fun?”

Emily nodded, and watched as Chevalier opened the door and picked up the sleeping baby.

“What’s with the war paint?” he chuckled.

“It won’t come off,” she said, sighing.

“Did you join a Native American tribe while you were gone?” Chevalier took her hand and they started into the palace.

“To be honest, I don’t know exactly what I did last night.”

“Must have been fun.”

“No, I don’t think it was.” Emily tried to remember any part of the night, but couldn’t seem to recall anything.

“I see. Well you must be exhausted. Why don’t you go lay down.”

Emily nodded and followed him up to the room. The stairs seemed gruelingly longer than normal, and all she wanted to do was go to bed.

Once in the bedroom, Emily slid off her jeans and crawled into bed. Chevalier put Alexis down in the bassinet and sat on the edge of the bed.

“Ugh, my thigh is burning,” Emily said softly.

Chevalier frowned, “When did that start?”

“The night we got back from Paris.”

“Em?” he asked, touching her hair softly.

“Hmm?” Emily was too tired and too comfortable to answer.

“You smell like peyote,” Chevalier chuckled.

“I wondered what that drink was,” she mumbled.

He seemed highly amused, “I’m surprised you didn’t stay an extra day so you would feel better.”

“Not until we get rid of the ghost,” Emily said, mostly asleep.

“Ghost?”

“Yeah, the house is haunted.”

“There’s no such thing as ghosts,” Chevalier chuckled again.

“There’s no such thing as vampires either,” Emily said, and with a soft sigh, she slipped off to sleep.

Chevalier watched her sleep, often touching her hair, or her arm. It was good to have her back in the protection of the palace. While he understood her need to be alone, it put the entire palace on edge with worry about her safety. The worst part of her new ranch was the lack of information he had on it. He didn’t even know which state it was in. If anything happened to her, she would simply vanish. No one would ever know what happened.

Chevalier picked up Alexis when she started to wake up. She looked at him and frowned, then her bottom lip started to quiver, and he rushed her from the room before she could wake up her mother. Once out of the view of Emily, Alexis let go and filled the foyer with her angry cries. She kicked frantically and the tears began to flow.

“Need help?” Kyle asked as he walked out of his room.

Chevalier handed Alexis over to Kyle, and she almost immediately began to calm down. She watched Chevalier closely, and any time he got near her, she would start to cry.

“Perfect,” Chevalier said, frustrated.

“She’ll get to know you,” Kyle told him, rocking Alexis.

“Mom’s back?” Allen asked, running up the stairs.

“Yes but she’s sleeping,” Chevalier told him, and he leaned back against the wall to wait.

“Chev?” Emily called out from the bedroom.

Allen ran into the bedroom and was immediately pulled under the covers of the bed and tickled. Chevalier laughed and picked up Alexis, ignoring her new screams, and went into the bedroom. Kyle shut the door and headed down the stairs.

Emily peeked out from under the covers, “What’d you do to Alex?”

“She hates me, I told you,” Chevalier said, handing her over to Emily.

“She doesn’t hate you… damn I hope she’s hungry,” Emily sat up and pulled her shirt up to feed the baby. Allen emerged from under the covers and went to stand by Chevalier.

“So… haunted house, huh?” Chevalier asked with a grin.

“Yes, the ranch house is haunted. I need to figure out how to get rid of the ghost,” she said, her eyes narrowing as she watched him laugh.

“Seriously, there’s no such thing as ghosts. If there were, then I’m sure the heku would have encountered them at some point in our existence,” Chevalier told her.

“There are too, and one’s in the attic of the house,” Emily said. She was watching Chevalier as Alexis held tightly to one of Emily’s fingers in her little fist.

“I want to see a ghost!” Allen said excitedly.

“There are no ghosts,” Chevalier said again, and sat down on the edge of the bed. “You probably have a raccoon in the attic.”

“That’s what the twins said, but raccoons don’t move tables, or open all of the cupboards in the kitchen, nor do they talk,” Emily said, getting frustrated.

“Talking, huh? If I were you, I would send Sam up just to make sure it’s not a heku.”

“I did, and it’s not.”

“Maybe Sam’s losing his touch.”

“It’s not a heku.”

“Who’re the twins?” Chevalier asked.

“My field hands, Native American brothers,” Emily said, and she frowned as she tried to remember something about the bonfire.

“I see… what tribe?”

“I’m not falling for that,” Emily said, laughing. “I tell you the tribe… you track down what area they live in… and soon my new ranch is full of Equites guards.”

“Hmm,” Chevalier said, raising an eyebrow.

“Mom, Dad’s teaching me how to feed by myself,” Allen told her, excited.

Emily cringed a bit, “Great.”

“It’s so much better from a person than from the fridge.”

Chevalier couldn’t help but chuckle at the look on Emily’s face.

“How about you keep that stuff between you and your Dad, ok?”

Allen frowned, but nodded, “Ok.”

“Your breakfast is almost here. When you’re done, we can go do something together. Until then, I have a meeting,” Chevalier told her.

“Can I go?” Allen asked.

Chevalier nodded, “Sure.”

“He’s going to your meetings?” Emily asked, frowning.

“Why not? He thinks they are fun.”

Emily shrugged, “They can get violent though.”

“That’s when it gets fun!” Allen said, laughing.

Emily waited until Chevalier and Allen left before getting out of bed. She went into the bathroom and tried again to wash off the blue paint. It had faded a lot, but there was still a faint outline. As soon as she was sure the meeting started, Emily crawled into bed with Alexis again and grabbed her cell phone.

It rang once before Exavior answered frantically, “My God, Emily. I’ve been so worried about you.”

“I’m ok,” she said, and looked around, again making sure no one was listening. “I want the runes gone.”

“Yes, I would imagine you do.”

“Can you come?”

Exavior sighed, “No, I can’t come back there for a while. The Council doesn’t want to risk us being incarcerated.”

“Can I come to you then?” Emily asked.

“That would be the fastest way. I can’t have you coming to the Council though, that’s too risky,” Exavior said.

“Why too risky? They have to know I want these runes off.”

“Yes… but, it’s gotten out that your son is more heku than mortal, and we all know you have a daughter now.”

Emily winced, “Well that didn’t stay a secret for long.”

“Nothing ever does. We can arrange to meet at my coven,” Exavior said.

“Ok, I can manage that. I’ll need to bring the baby.”

“That’s too dangerous,” he said to her.

“I can’t leave her, she’s nursing.”

“Oh, that’s right. I forgot about that. Yes, you can bring her. First though, you need to get Equites Council permission.”

Emily winced, “Why?”

“You can’t come here without the Council’s approval. You could be arrested for treason,” he explained.

“I’m not bound by their rules. I can do what I want.”

“Still, you’ll be safer with the Council’s permission.”

“They’ll want me to bring guards, and Chevalier will insist on coming,” she explained.

“Guards are ok, but I can’t have an Equites Elder here in my coven.”

“What am I supposed to do if they say no?”

“They really can’t. You have to get those runes off.”

Emily nodded, “Ok, I’ll let you know what they say.”

“If they give you too many problems, call me,” Exavior said.

Emily hung up the phone and crawled out of bed to get dressed. If she was going to get these runes off quickly, she would have to get the worst part out of the way, asking the Council’s permission. Even the thought of asking their permission for something that didn’t concern them made her irritated.

Emily took the baby and headed down to the council chambers.

“Can I help you, Lady Emily?” the guard outside of the council chambers asked.

“I need to talk to them.”

“You can go around back if you’d like, the Elder’s at his chair.”

“I…” Emily sighed. “This is official.”

The guard frowned, “Very well, they are just discussing. I’ll go tell them you are here.”

Emily watched the guard go inside and could hear perfectly what was being said.

“Yes, Derrick?” Quinn asked.

“Lady Emily is seeking an audience,” the guard said.

“Tell her to come around back then.”

“She said it needs to be official.”

“Let her in,” Chevalier said, and Emily cringed. She wished she could do this without Chevalier or Damon in the room.

“You can go in,” Derrick said, and opened the door for her.

Emily stepped in, clutching the baby tightly, and walked up to the place where those on trial stood. She could feel the heat rising to her face as they looked at her. She was glad the bruises on her face were gone, and that those on her neck had faded to a light yellow.

“Something you needed, Em?” Chevalier asked nervously.

Emily nodded.

“Tell us, Child,” Zohn said, and Emily glared at him. Damon turned to the Chief Interrogator and said something, and then Zohn turned back to Emily.

“I need permission… well… not permission, as much as, I’m informing you… that’s not right either. Ok… so…” Emily frowned.

“Just tell us,” Quinn said.

“I’m going to see Exavior to get the runes removed, and he won’t do it unless I tell you,” Emily said finally. She tried to avoid looking at Chevalier, but could imagine how mad he was, as the rest of the Council were also getting angry.

“I see,” Quinn said.

“So… erm… I’ll be off, now that you know,” Emily said, and turned around.

“We aren’t done, Ch… erm... Dear,” Zohn told her, and Emily turned around slowly.

“Excuse me?” she asked.

“It takes full agreement by the Council for a member of the Equites to visit an opposing faction’s coven,” Zohn explained.

“I’m not heku. I thought I was free to do what I want,” Emily said.

“If Exavior is requesting this be official, then rules must be followed,” Quinn said.

“There’s no way she’s going…” Damon said, and Emily stopped him with a glare.

“I concur. We cannot let the Winchester go to the coven of a Valle. That’s handing her right over to them,” Maleth said.

“Stop calling me that! I’m not ‘The Winchester,’ and I don’t need your permission to go. If Exavior hadn’t insisted I tell you, I would already be gone,” Emily yelled.

“It’s too dangerous. Once they find out about Allen and Alexis, there will be no stopping them,” Maleth said.

“They already know.”

“How do you know that?” Maleth asked.

“Exavior told me.”

“That settles it then,” Quinn said. “We can’t risk it. You are forbidden to go.”

Emily’s eyes narrowed and Chevalier interrupted, “Forbid her, and she’ll be gone by noon.”

“Where is his coven?” Chevalier asked her.

“He didn’t say.”

“I suggest we allow this. Emily can wipe out the coven if she’s in trouble, we all know that. I’ll go and take some guards,” Chevalier said.

“Exavior said you can’t go,” Emily said, wincing at the look on his face. “He said guards are fine, but no Elders.”

“I’ll talk to him. You can’t go without me.”

“Here’s what’s going to happen,” Emily said angrily. “I’m leaving in the morning with Alexis and the guards of my choice. If you say no, then I leave without the guards.”

“You cannot take the infant,” Quinn said sternly.

“Oh no? You going to feed her?”

Quinn, Maleth, and Chevalier turned their chairs and began to talk, too quickly and too softly for Emily to hear. She watched them closely.

When they turned around, Emily watched Quinn and Maleth. She was still avoiding Chevalier’s eyes.

“As we don’t seem to have a choice, we ask only that you agree to take Damon with you,” Maleth said, nodding at Damon.

“No”

“No?” he asked, frowning.

“No, I’m not taking Damon.”

“Can you give us a reason why?”

“No”

“You aren’t helping us, Dear,” Quinn said.

“I’ll take Mark, Kyle, and Silas.”

“That’s not enough to protect you,” Maleth told her.

“I can protect myself. The guards are there to appease you,” Emily told him.

Emily risked a glance at Chevalier when Maleth looked at him. She was surprised when he nodded once, his eyes fixed on hers.

“Then it’s settled. I’ll leave in the morning,” Emily said as she turned and walked out of the council chambers. She stood outside of the door and leaned against the wall, eyes shut. She couldn’t believe it went that smoothly, now she just had to face Chevalier tonight, alone.

“Allen?” Emily called, and he came down the stairs, still holding his book. She worried lately about how much reading he was doing. He didn’t run, and play, and climb trees like other boys his age. She knew his intellect was advanced, but she still felt he needed air and exercise.

“Yeah?” Allen asked as he approached her.

“Want to take the horses out?”

“Not really.”

“Let me rephrase that… put the book down, we’re going out,” Emily said, and watched as he rolled his eyes and headed down the stairs.

“It’s too bright out there,” Allen complained.

“That’s why God invented sunglasses.”

Emily grinned as Allen resigned himself to a day out, and reluctantly headed out to the stables. She slipped on her riding gloves and grabbed a bridle, Alexis was tucked safely away in a sling across her Mom’s chest. Allen went over to Damnit’s stall and slipped a bridle on him.

“You’re not taking Patra?” Allen asked when Emily went up to the new painted stallion.

“Can’t, she’s pregnant.”

“You can’t ride her because she’s pregnant?” Allen asked, leading Damnit out into the stables.

Emily sighed, “You should know that already. What are you studying all day anyway?”

“Just stuff,” Allen said, hoisting himself up onto Damnit. She was shocked by his agility.

Emily jumped up on the peaceful paint and kicked him out into the sun. She saw Allen put on some sunglasses and follow her. She could tell by the look on his face that he didn’t want to be out.

She grinned, “Race ya.”

Emily kicked the stallion and he jumped into a fast gallop, and she could hear Allen behind her. As they passed Cavalry guards on the streets of Council City, they immediately joined in and soon, almost fifteen horses raced through the city.

She stopped the stallion once she was on top of the hills and turned around as the others arrived. Allen was frustrated that he came in dead last, but again, Emily thought it would be good for him.

“So are we racing or are we running?” Silas asked.

“Racing of course! Why do you always think I’m in trouble?” Emily asked, laughing. It was hard to be mad at them on such a beautiful day.

“Hold Alex for me,” she said, and handed the baby over to Silas. Alexis immediately began to pull at his nose and laugh.

Emily slipped off her over shirt. The camisole was lighter and let the sun shine on her shoulders and arms. She noticed the rest of the riders were wearing jackets and sunglasses to keep them out of the sun. Once she’d tied her hair up into a high pony, she took Alexis back.

Emily watched as the Cavalry and Allen took turns racing to the tree line and back. As the afternoon drew on, the races got faster and more daring. Emily wanted to join in, but Alexis was already taking a nap in the sling and she didn’t want to wake her.

As Silas and Allen headed back toward them at a dead run, Damnit stumbled, throwing Allen over his head as the horse fell to the ground. Emily raced toward them and jumped off just as they reached him. Allen was lying unconscious on the ground, and a slow stream of blood oozed out of the side of his head where he hit a rock.

“Allen?” she asked, bracing his head between her hands.

Allen opened his eyes slowly, blinked a few times, and then smiled, “I’m ok.”

“You’re not ok,” Emily said in a panic. She turned his head to look at the cut, but all she found was dried blood. She pulled his hair back, searching his scalp, but there wasn’t even a bruise where the cut had been.

“He’s heku alright,” Silas said proudly.

Allen got to his feet and brushed off his pants. There was still dried blood in his hair, but nothing else was wrong with him.

“Damnit!” he yelled, and ran over to the horse.

Emily stood up and turned toward the stallion. She handed Alexis off to Silas and knelt down at Damnit’s side. With a sinking heart, she stared at the bone sticking out of the horse’s leg.

“Do you want me to call a vet?” one of the Cavalry asked.

Emily shook her head, “Go get my gun.”

“Mom, no!” Allen yelled, and ran to Damnit’s head.

“Do it,” Emily said sternly, and one of the members of the Cavalry blurred away.

“You aren’t going to shoot him!” Allen yelled angrily.

“I have to,” she whispered, as a tear streamed down her cheek.

The heku returned with her gun and handed it to her. She checked to make sure the gun was loaded, and pointed it at the horse’s head, then shut her eyes as they filled with tears.

“Don’t shoot him!” Allen screamed at her angrily.

She felt a hand on hers, “Let me do it,” Silas said softly.

Emily shook her head, “Everyone, leave.”

“No! I won’t let you kill him,” Allen yelled, and crouched low, his hands balling into fists. Silas was on him instantly, restraining him as he tried to jump at Emily.

Silas ordered the Cavalry to head back to the stables with the extra horses, and he blurred back to the palace, still restraining Allen with one hand and carrying Alexis in the other. He was almost to the front steps when a gunshot echoed through the small valley.

When Silas entered the palace, Damon and Chevalier were talking about something on the stairs. They turned and walked to Silas.

“I hate her!” Allen screamed to Chevalier. “I hope you drain her.”

“Allen!” Chevalier shouted angrily. “We don’t talk like that.”

“I’ll kill her if you don’t!” he yelled, fighting against Silas.

Silas handed Alexis over to Damon and held the 5-year-old with two strong hands.

“Who are you yelling about?” Chevalier asked, surprised at the fierce anger in his son.

“Mom… I hate her,” Allen said, glaring at his Dad.

Chevalier growled and violently pulled Allen from Silas’ grip. He threw the boy against the wall and pinned him by the shoulders, “If I ever hear you threaten your Mother again, you’ll have to deal with me.”

Allen hissed and glared at his Dad.

“What happened?” Chevalier asked, pulling Allen from the wall so they could face Silas.

“We were racing up on the hills and Damnit fell and broke his leg,” Silas explained. He could still see the pain in Emily’s eyes as she asked for her gun, tears trailing down her face.

“She killed him!” Allen growled. “I hate her.”

Damon watched in shock and gently bounced Alexis. He’d never known the boy to have so much intense rage, let alone directed at Emily. Kyle walked up and watched with wide eyes.

“Stop it, Allen,” Chevalier said, tightening his grip on the 5-year-old’s shoulder.

“Let me go! I’ll take care of her myself,” Allen said. Chevalier slung him by his arm over to Kyle, who grabbed onto his shoulders. Before Allen could react, Chevalier backhanded him to the floor. The 5-year-old stood up slowly, already healed.

“I warned you,” Chevalier growled.

“Upstairs,” Kyle said to Allen, and took him roughly by the arm and headed up the long staircase.

“Where is she?” Chevalier asked Silas.

“Up on the west side by the tree line,” Silas answered.

“Can you keep Alexis?” Chevalier asked Damon, and he nodded.

Chevalier blurred from the building and stopped just as he hit the green hills to the west of the city. It didn’t take him long to see the lifeless body of the painted stallion lying on red stained grass. He walked up slowly, and as he got closer, he could see Emily knelt beside the stallion. Her head was hung low, and her hands rested on the grass, a gun at her side.

Chevalier knelt down beside her and touched her hand softly. She looked up at him with red eyes.

“I had to,” Emily said softly, looking back at the horse.

“I know,” Chevalier whispered.

Chevalier stood up and held his hand out to help Emily to her feet, “Come on, I’ll have him taken care of.”

She nodded and stood up, grabbing her rifle, “How is Allen?”

“He’s pretty mad, but he’ll be ok,” Chevalier said, and reached around to pick her up.

“Can we just walk?” Emily asked, and he stood up and took her hand.

They started their slow journey back into the city, hand in hand. Most of the way was in silence. Emily was still deep in thought about the loss of the horse, and Chevalier was considering how to reign in the temper of a 5-year-old. He hated to admit it, but the young boy could easily kill his mother if no one stronger was around to defend her.

“I need you to promise me something,” Chevalier said, breaking the silence.

“What’s that?” Emily asked.

“If something happens at Exavior’s coven, I want you to get away. If you have to ash them all, then do it. If you have to leave the guards, do it. We can get them back later.”

Emily nodded, “I’m not really worried about that.”

“I know you aren’t, and that scares me.”

Damon met them at the doors to the palace and handed off Alexis, who was reaching out for her Mom. Emily took the baby, ignoring Damon, and went up the stairs.

“I’ll be right there,” Chevalier called to her, and then turned to Damon.

“Quite the terror you produced there,” Damon said.

“His temper is getting worse.”

Damon nodded, “Yes, it is.”

“If he doesn’t learn some control, he’s going to end up killing Emily,” Chevalier admitted, and sighed.

“We’ll figure it out. It’s just all new ground, so it will take longer.”

“Why has Emily stopped calling you names?” Chevalier asked, turning a questioning eye to Damon.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“It is… she called you names, hateful names, but in the next breath, she would defend you. You were the same way… a love and hate relationship.”

“I’m not sure I’d go that far.”

“But now, back from Paris, she won’t even look at you.”

Damon shrugged, “I have no idea what her problem is with me.”

Chevalier watched him closely. He knew Damon was lying, but it was against policy for a member of the Council to be questioned, and none of the other heku in Paris saw what went on with Damon and Emily.

***

Emily had the Durango packed and ready to go by 6am. She buckled Alexis into the backseat and watched as Kyle, Mark, and Silas climbed into the car. She turned to Chevalier and smiled slightly.

Chevalier pulled her into a hug, “Remember your promise.”

She nodded and buried her face in his chest.

“Don’t let it get too far. Leave at any sign of danger.”

Again, she just nodded.

“I love you,” he said, and when Emily looked up at him, he kissed her softly.

“I love you, too. We’ll be back soon,” Emily said, and crawled into the Durango.

Chevalier watched as they drove away. When Emily pulled out of the garage, she was on the phone.

“Exavior, we’re on the way,” Emily said softly. She wasn’t sure why, but suddenly she felt afraid.

“Just three guards,” she said, and Kyle frowned at the others. He didn’t like how Exavior was questioning who was with her.

“Wow, ok, we’ll be there by tonight I think.”

Emily hung up the phone and turned east on the Interstate.

“Where are we going?” Silas asked.

“Rhode Island”

As they drove further east, the silence grew into tension. Emily was feeling nervous and afraid of what was going to happen, and the heku picked up on her emotions and it was making them nervous. They stopped only when Alexis was hungry, and passed into Rhode Island just as night fell.

Emily pulled in to the designated gas station and opened her phone.

“We’re here,” she told Exavior.

“It’s a dark blue Durango.”

“Sure, why not,” Emily said, and hung up the phone.

“He’s sending a van to take us the rest of the way. He doesn’t want us to know where his coven is,” Emily told them.

Kyle nodded, “Understandable.”

Within five minutes, a white van pulled up beside the Durango. Emily looked at the heku inside and opened the door. Suddenly, the Durango was surrounded by Valle and they flung open the doors. Emily heard a scuffle as a blindfold was placed over her eyes and her hands were secured behind her back.

“Hey!” she yelled as she heard Alexis scream. It was the scream the baby reserved for when she was being held by a stranger.

“Let me go,” Kyle growled, and Emily cringed when she heard a large snapping sound.

Emily was lifted into the van and pushed to sit on the floor. An arm brush against hers, someone else was restrained by her. She felt the sway as the van began to move.

“This wasn’t part of the deal. Where’s Exavior?” Emily asked angrily.

“This is just a precaution,” a strange voice said.

“Let me have the baby. She’s afraid.”

“She’ll live,” a gruff voice said.

“Get Exavior on the phone, now,” Emily said angrily.

“Sir, she wants the baby,” he said into the phone.

“Yes, Sir, I do hear the baby crying.”

“Sorry, Sir… right away.” Emily heard the click of the phone and someone let her hands go.

“You can hold the baby, but you have to keep your blindfold on,” he said.

“Why does she have to be blindfolded when we don’t?” Silas asked, irritated.

“We aren’t stupid. She has to see someone to turn them to ash. We aren’t going to take that risk.”

The van silenced when they handed Alexis to Emily. Emily held her tightly and rocked her from the van floor.

No one spoke for several minutes. The Equites watched Emily rock the baby as her hands shook. They wanted her to be able to see, but it was advantageous for the Valle to think she couldn’t use her abilities while her eyes were covered.

Alexis started to act up again, and Emily couldn’t get her calmed down.

“I can’t see to feed her,” Emily said, frustrated.

“We aren’t uncovering your eyes, so figure it out,” the gruff heku said.

“Fine, then turn around.”

“Why should we?”

“Do you know how she feeds the baby, genius?” Mark asked him.

“No, how should I know?”

Emily heard whispers and a blush shot into her cheeks. She could only imagine what he was saying.

“Seriously?” said a strange voice.

“So turn around,” Kyle said sternly.

“Ok, Em, go ahead. We’re making sure they are turned around,” Silas told her.

Emily nodded and adjusted her shirt, with as little skin showing as possible, so the baby could eat. She sat in silence as the grunts and groans of the nursing baby filled the van. Emily hadn’t noticed before how noisily Alexis ate, and she wished the baby would finish quickly.

Just as Emily pulled down her shirt, the van came to a stop and the back doors opened. Emily held the baby tightly against her shoulder.

“York!” Exavior yelled. “How dare you cover her eyes. She wasn’t to be touched.”

“Sir, she could turn us to ash.”

“Right now I should let her,” Exavior said, and the blind was pulled off of her eyes.

“Let them go, too,” Emily said, pointing at her guards.

“Sorry, that is necessary,” Exavior told her, and he extended a hand to help Emily out of the van.

“Move your hand. I don’t need your help,” she snapped at him.

Emily stepped out of the van after Kyle and Silas, with Mark bringing up the rear.

“Let me show you to your room. We’ll start in the morning,” Exavior said, smiling.

Emily glared at him and took Kyle’s arm. His hands were still restrained behind his back with a material that Emily hadn’t seen before. He smiled reassuringly at her, and they all walked into the large mansion.

“Wait! They come with me,” Emily said as six Valle guards took the Equites the other way.

“They’ll be fine, I promise,” Exavior said, and motioned for Emily to go up the stairs.

“Go, Em, it’s ok,” Kyle said, and turned to walk away with the Valle.

“I don’t like this,” she hissed at Exavior, and walked past him.

“It’s all necessary. They won’t be hurt,” Exavior promised.

Exavior stopped at the third floor and opened up a door, “You’ll be staying in here tonight. I took the liberty of having dinner brought up. You’re going to need your strength, so please eat and then try to get some sleep.”

“Yeah, right,” Emily said, rolling her eyes.

“I’ll need your cell phone, too,” he said, and held out his hand.

“Why?”

“Just a precaution. We’re taking a risk having you here,” Exavior explained.

Emily handed her phone over and walked into the room, holding Alexis tightly. She jumped slightly as the door shut and locked behind her.

She looked around the cold room. It wasn’t large, but had enough room for a bed and a table. The fireplace was empty and a draft came through it from the outside, sending shivers through her. She laid Alexis down on a soft rug and looked at the food on the table. She was hungry, but could imagine Chevalier yelling at her for eating it. It would be too easy to poison.

Emily opted not to eat and picked up the baby, then looked out the window. All she could see in the dark night were trees. She sighed and went back to the bed. She crawled in, fully dressed, and curled up next to Alexis for what she would imagine would be a long night.

Emily didn’t sleep at all, and when she heard a knock on the door slightly after dawn, she was still tired and irritated that her guards weren’t with her.

“Come,” she snapped

Exavior came in with a tray of pancakes and sausage, “I hope you’re hungry.”

He eyed the untouched dinner and then turned to Emily. She was huddled under the blankets, trying to keep herself and the baby warm.

Exavior sighed, “Are you cold, Dear?”

“I’m fine,” she lied.

Exavior sat down on the bed, “I wanted to go over this with you, to explain why we have to do some of the things we do.”

Emily nodded and stayed deep under the covers.

“We have to keep your guards in the prison. We can’t risk them messing things up. If any part of this is interrupted, there’s a risk the runes will become permanent.”

“Why would they mess it up?”

“Because it’s painful. I can’t have them running in if you scream,” Exavior said. “The first part is breaking the bond with the maker, an Encala, if I remember correctly.”

Emily nodded, “Yes.”

“The second part is where the actual mark is removed. That’s the painful part.”

“Ok”

“The third is kind of a sealant, to make sure it all took.” Exavior smiled at her.

“Alexis is still nursing,” she said, touching the soft black hair of the sleeping baby.

“I understand that. You will have the ability to feed her between the different parts.”

Emily nodded, “So let’s do it.”

“As soon as you eat, we can’t have you weak from hunger,” he said, and held out a plate.

Emily set the plate on the pillow and ate quickly, staying under the covers. When she was done, Exavior led her into a large round room with a dirt floor and runes on the walls and ceiling. Emily felt like she’d seen the room before in a far away dream, and started to panic. There was a bassinet against one of the walls.

“That’s for the baby to stay in,” Exavior explained, and Emily laid her down and covered her with the blankets.

“I’ll leave you for a moment, please put on the gray robe,” he said, and pointed to a set of robes hanging from the wall.

As soon as he was gone, Emily stripped off her t-shirt and jeans and pulled on the soft gray robe. She felt uncomfortable in them, the gray a symbol of the Valle. She turned and watched as thirteen heku in long blue robes came into the round room.

“No,” she said when she recognized the robes, and finally remembered the round, runed room.

“Emily, it’s not what you think,” Exavior said. “All ceremonies are done this way, not just the one you have seen.”

Emily nodded. She didn’t remember telling him she’d seen the turning ceremony before, but she must have at some point.

“The first part is simple. You just lie down in the center, and let us do what we have to. You won’t feel a thing,” Exavior explained.

One of the heku threw a pillow down on the floor and Emily sat down hesitantly, and then laid back as another heku threw a warm down blanket over her. The heku began to sway slightly and started a soft, rhythmic chant. Emily wasn’t sure how long it went on, because the monotonous tone, coupled with the lack of sleep the night before, put her to sleep almost immediately.

“Emily?” she heard Exavior whisper.

Emily opened her eyes and looked around the room. The twelve other Valle were standing perfectly still along the walls.

She sat up quickly, “I’m sorry. I fell asleep.”

“It’s ok, how does it feel?” he asked.

Emily smiled, “It’s not burning.”

“Good, that means the bond to its maker is broken… now we just have to remove the runes. Are you ready for that?” Exavior asked, his voice was tense and Emily could tell he didn’t want to do this second part.

“Just give me twenty minutes alone, ok?”

Exavior nodded, and the blue robed heku all left the room.

“The first part worked,” Exavior said, stepping down into the prison. He faced the three cells holding the Equites.

“How many parts are there to this?” Kyle asked skeptically.

“Two, we first remove the bond… that was finished. Now we just have to take the runes off,” Exavior explained.

“Then you will let us see her?” Mark growled.

“No, actually, that’s not really part of the plan,” he said, and stepped aside. The Valle’s Chief Enforcer was just walking into the room. The Equites already knew him, and crouched defensively.

“You promised Emily that we have diplomatic immunity! The Equites won’t stand for this,” Silas hissed.

“Yes, well, when you attacked our guards, we had no choice but to take action,” Exavior said, and turned to the Chief Enforcer.

“She trusted you,” Kyle said to Exavior.

“One of her many faults,” Exavior told him, and disappeared up the stairs.

Emily looked up when she heard a knock, and laid the baby back in the bassinet, “Come in.”

The thirteen heku entered. She hated how she couldn’t see their eyes from under the robes. They took their spots along the outer rim and Emily laid back down on the makeshift bed.

“We’ll do this quickly,” Exavior said softly.

Emily nodded.

Mark growled when he heard the screams. He fought to free himself from the bars, but they wouldn’t bend. Kyle was already ash in his cell, and the Chief Enforcer was resting to do the rest of them.

Silas looked up toward the stairs as Emily’s screams grew worse. Anger flooded through him and he lunged, shoving his shoulder against the door of the cell, trying to break free. He looked over, wide eyed as Mark was turned to ash by the Valle’s Chief Enforcer.

“It’s over,” Exavior said, touching Emily’s sweat covered arm softly.

She fought to catch her breath after the intense pain of the ceremony, during which it felt like her leg was forcibly removed from her body by fire.

“Take your time, we will wait,” Exavior said, and the heku filed out of the room.

Emily groaned and turned over onto her hands and knees. She used the wall to stand up and walked on weak legs over to the baby. She sunk down against the wall to nurse Alexis, feeling weak and tired from the hour of pain, and she just wanted to sleep.

Emily heard them all come back in while the baby was eating, but she didn’t care. She had her eyes shut and was leaning against the round wall.

“Hey!” Emily screamed when Alexis was taken from her. She pulled the robe down to cover herself and stood up as the baby was placed in the bassinet.

“It’s ok, Emily. Let’s finish and then you can have her again,” Exavior said. Emily looked over at him and frowned, he’d changed into a black robe.

Emily saw the blue robed heku line the walls and she felt the panic begin when they started to hum slightly, it was all too familiar.

“What are you doing, Exavior?” Emily asked, and stood up. Exavior grabbed her arms and held her in the center of the room.

One of the blue robed figures moved slightly toward her and spoke, “Mortal, do you know where you are?”

“Don’t do this,” Emily screamed, and fought to get away from Exavior.

“Do you know what is about to happen?” he asked her, ignoring her response to the first question.

“Let go of me, or so help me, I’ll ash your entire coven,” she hissed.

“Do you do so willingly and without coercion?”

“No I do not,” she growled. Emily noticed how tired she felt, weak and tired, which meant she may not be able to ash enough of the heku to get out of there alive.

“Proceed,” he said, and stepped back along the wall.

Exavior pushed Emily to her knees, and she heard hisses as the twelve heku along the walls began to walk toward her. He pushed her further until she was lying down on the cold floor, and she felt the pain as thirteen heku sunk their teeth into the soft flesh around her body.

She screamed and the fear flooded into her, sending adrenaline through her. She sat up suddenly as all thirteen heku in the room began to fall to the floor in agonizing pain. She saw the bites on her body begin to bleed and as she stood up, the robe fell to cover the wounds. She concentrated on those around her and released them as they fell unconscious. She didn’t have the strength to ash the entire coven, so she needed to get away before they regained consciousness.

Emily grabbed the baby and ran from the room. Her bare feet padded silently along the tile floors. She stopped at the first Valle guard she saw, and he looked at her, surprised.

“Where’s the prison?” she asked quickly.

He watched her and glared, “None of your business.”

Emily gave him a brief shot of burning pain and he fell to his knees, pointing down the hallway.

She ran in the direction he pointed, and repeated the process with each guard she encountered. She knew she was leaving a trail of angry heku behind her. When she ran into the prison, the first cells she came to contained only clothing, including the dark green capes of the Equites. The cells were standing open and a very angry heku watched her.

“You don’t belong down here,” he said to her. Emily saw the tiny dagger in his hand. It looked exactly like the one Chevalier carried when she first met him.

Emily looked at him angrily. He didn’t deserve a brief pain, so she immediately turned him to ash and then began to rifle through his clothing. She found a pocket full of leather bags on the inside of his cape, and she took them and dumped out the ash they contained onto the floor. Carefully, and meticulously, Emily scooped up the ash from the three cells, and tied them shut, and then shoved them deep into the pocket of the gray robe. She looked around and saw the tiny dagger beside the gray cloak. She picked it up quickly, and also stowed it in the pocket.

Holding Alexis tightly, Emily made her way back up to the foyer. She knew it was now or never. She was either going to find the strength to ash the coven or they would eventually win and she would be an immortal within the hour.

Exavior and the other blue robed heku met her at the door.

“You can’t get away. You’re too weak,” Exavior said, grinning.

“I can’t?” she asked, taking a step closer. She felt the anger in her growing.

“No, you’re too weak, so you might as well make this easy,” one of the blue robed figures said.

“Don’t… underestimate… me,” Emily hissed, and held Alexis tighter.

“Oh we don’t, I assure you. We had to remove the runes before we could turn you. The nice side effect of that is a weakened state by the mortal,” Exavior told her.

“You know what your first mistake was?” Emily asked, and noticed how they glanced at one another nervously.

“What was that, Child?” Exavior asked, amused.

“Assuming I’m weak,” she said, and the entire group turned to ash before her eyes. She felt the trickle of blood begin to flow down her lip as she ran out into the night. The white van was still parked out front, and she climbed into the driver’s seat, laying the baby down on the passenger side floor.

She turned on the van and spun out down the small dirt road, watching closely to see if she was being followed. When she hit the blacktop, she stopped and looked around at the signs. It looked to her like the closest town was called Woonsocket, so she pulled onto the pavement and headed toward it.

Emily glanced quickly at a sign that pointed the way to Augusta, Maine, and she stepped on the gas. Her adrenaline pushed her past the pain from the bites and the tiredness from the rune removal. She knew if she could make it to Jonesport, she could take the ferry to the island and get help. She was too afraid to stop and use a phone, too afraid the Valle would catch up with her.

The gas tank on the small van was full, but dropped dangerously fast as Emily sped toward the small Maine town. Just under seven hours after leaving the Valle coven, she pulled up to the docks and slowly inched the van onto the ferry. The engine died immediately after the back wheels hit the ferry’s wooden surface. She sat her head down on the steering wheel as the Captain shrugged and pulled the ferry out onto the open ocean.

Emily reached over and picked up Alexis. She’d been asleep the entire trip, lulled by the rocking of the van and the soft noises from the road. She was able to feed the baby as she watched the land fall away to water behind her. The baby fell asleep while nursing and Emily laid her against her shoulder and leaned her head back against the chair.

Emily heard the tug boats beside the ferry as they approached the island. She stepped out of the van and stood toward the front of the ferry as the pier approached.

“You can’t get off the ferry,” one of the guards said, his dog growling viciously at Emily.

“What? Why not?” she asked, almost too afraid to think of where she could go now that the van was dead.

“First off, you’re Valle. Second, you’re a mortal, so turn right around and go back where you came from,” he said rudely.

“I am not a Valle!” Emily said weakly, and fought back the tears of rage. She couldn’t have come this far only to be turned away from Chevalier’s own coven.

“Sure looks like one to me,” he said, and Emily looked down at the gray robe. She hadn’t noticed before, but intricately embroidered V’s covered the gray surface.

“Please, call Storm… or even Chevalier,” she begged.

“I’m not bugging them for a mortal,” he said, and laughed.

“Lady Emily?” a voice sounded from the pier.

Emily looked up and saw Gordon walking toward her, while the guards watched her with wide eyes.

“Please, Gordon, help me,” she said, and the tears began to flow.

“How dare you turn away the Elder’s wife!” Gordon yelled as he jumped down onto the ferry with Emily.

“I… I… didn’t know,” the guard said, terrified.

Emily allowed Gordon to pick her up after she got the baby, and the last thing she heard as he blurred into the town was Storm yelling at the pier guards.

***

Equites 2 landed on top of the island’s castle and Chevalier jumped out, followed by Damon. Storm ran up to meet them.

“When did she get here?” Chevalier asked.

“About six hours ago. She’s been asleep since. The baby is down with Margaret,” Storm told him.

Chevalier headed inside.

“There’s one thing, Sir,” Storm said, walking behind him.

He turned to face her, “What?”

“When she showed up she was in a gray Valle robe… and…” She hesitated.

“What, Storm?” Chevalier asked, irritated.

“She has thirteen bite marks on her,” Storm said, and took a step back when a shadow crossed the Elder’s face.

“What?” he hissed.

“We haven’t been able to ask anything. She’s been asleep since Gordon got here with her,” Storm said. “They didn’t finish, though, I can tell you that.”

Chevalier growled and blurred down into Emily’s room. He saw the gray robes thrown over a chair by the bed, and the sight of them infuriated him further. He watched Emily sleep for a few minutes, she was still and unmoving, then slowly slipped the covers off of her, and counted the bites for himself. There were thirteen distinct bite marks.

He looked closely at her thigh. There was no longer any sign of the runes, only smooth white skin was left. He watched her sleep, and even gave permission for Margaret to feed Alexis with a bottle when she got hungry. He wasn’t sure what Emily had been through, but if she was still sleeping, then he knew she needed it.

Just after dawn, Emily began to jerk in her sleep and Chevalier touched her arm lightly. She jumped away from him and screamed, pushing at his hand.

“Shhh, Em, it’s me,” Chevalier said, grabbing her wrists.

Emily looked at him with wide eyes, and then fell forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. He pulled her onto his lap and held her tightly, kissing the top of her head.

“I’m so sorry,” Emily said as her tears wet his shirt.

“Don’t be sorry. It’s not your fault,” Chevalier told her, and heard a knock on the door.

“Come,” he said sternly.

Damon came in carrying the baby, “Sorry to interrupt. I heard Emily is awake, and we can’t get Alexis to drink from a bottle.”

Emily held her hands out for the baby and gave her a tight hug.

“The Valle is requesting an audience with the entire Equites Council,” Damon told Chevalier.

Chevalier nodded, “First though… tell us what happened.”

Emily started at the beginning, from when they were forced out of the Durango. She told them every small detail of what happened, but stopped when she mentioned that Exavior had changed into a black robe.

Damon turned away, his anger was too intense and he tried to hide his fury.

“I can’t believe they were going to do it,” Chevalier hissed.

“How did you get away?” Damon asked.

Emily gasped and jumped out of bed, picking up the robe. She dug through the pockets and held out the three leather bags, “Please, bring them back.”

Damon turned around with wide eyes, “You have them?”

Emily nodded, “Yes, I took them out of their cells.”

Damon pulled out his tiny dagger and looked up when Emily started to dig through the gray robe again.

“I have this, too,” she said, and turned around to show them the Valle’s dagger.

Chevalier stood up and took a step back, gasping. Damon moved quickly away from her and put his back against the wall.

“It’s… the Chief Enforcer’s dagger,” Emily explained.

“We know what it is,” Damon whispered.

“Take it, I don’t want it,” she said, and held it out for Chevalier.

“We can’t touch that,” Chevalier explained, watching the dagger closely.

Emily looked down at the seemingly harmless dagger, “I don’t want it.”

“No wonder they need to meet with us,” Damon said. “They can’t revive their ash.”

“If you don’t want it, then give it back to them. I don’t really know why I took it,” Emily said, and slipped the dagger back into the gray robe.

“Are you ok to travel?” Chevalier asked Emily.

Emily nodded.

“Get the robe and keep the dagger away from any heku you see. Let’s get back to the palace,” Chevalier said, and Damon handed the baby to Chevalier and left quickly for the helicopter.

Emily slipped out of the nightgown and into a light summer dress. She had left them all behind when she left for the palace the first time. She crawled into the helicopter with the gray robe tucked into a bag over her shoulder, and buckled herself in, followed by Chevalier. She watched the castle fade away as the helicopter returned them to the palace.

“Are you mad I took the knife?” Emily asked Chevalier.

He smiled, “No, not mad, just another surprise.”

“Why do they want to turn me into a heku?”

Chevalier sighed and glanced at Damon, “It’s always been speculated that if a Winchester heir was turned into an immortal, that they would be even more powerful.”

Emily frowned, “I don’t want to be an immortal.”

“I know. That’s why the Equites have never offered. We won’t do it against your will. Not to mention the affect you have on the ceremony, it would probably kill you.”

“Why aren’t the others with us?”

“They are resting. It takes a lot out of them to be punished by an Enforcer and then revived,” Damon told her.

“Will they be ok?”

“Yes, they will.”

“Are they mad at me?” Emily asked, looking down at Alexis.

“No, why would they be?” Damon asked.

Emily shrugged, “I took them there.”

“They knew what they were getting in to. I can tell you, that they aren’t very happy that you went and got them from the prison,” Chevalier said, chuckling.

“Why?” Emily asked, frowning.

“It was a personal risk to get them.”

“I couldn’t just leave them there,” she said, and looked back out the window.

“No one’s mad at you, I promise.”

Emily nodded and touched one of the bites on her arm, “These hurt.”

“Yes, I would imagine they do. When we do the ceremony, we aren’t gentle with the bites because as soon as they turn immortal, they go away anyway,” Chevalier explained.

When they landed on the roof of the palace, Chevalier and Damon jumped down, but hesitated to help Emily because she held the gray robe. Emily smiled slightly, and managed to get out of the helicopter on her own. Chevalier carried the baby inside and handed her to one of the guards.

“They are waiting for us in the council chamber,” Chevalier said, and headed down the stairs.

Emily started to follow them to the back entrance, but Chevalier stopped her, “Sorry, you need to go through the front.”

Emily frowned and walked to the front doors. The guard smiled at her and asked her to wait.

The Council turned to look at Chevalier and Damon when they walked into the council chambers. They sat down and Maleth turned to Chevalier.

“Well, what happened that’s caused the entire Valle Council to demand an immediate audience with us?” Maleth asked.

“Let’s start with the fact that they tried to turn Emily,” Chevalier said, and watched while the noise in the council chambers grew louder as the members talked to one another angrily.

“Are you sure?” Quinn asked.

“She was in a gray robe and has exactly thirteen bite marks on her,” Damon said.

Maleth shut his eyes to control his temper, and then opened them, “Did they ask her if that’s what she wanted?”

“Yes,” Chevalier answered. “They followed correct dialogue. However, they ignored her when she said no.”

“I hope she ashed all of them,” Zohn said.

“That she did,” Chevalier said.

“Then she went into the prison and brought back the ashes of the three Equites guards,” Damon said.

Maleth looked at him, surprised, “She brought them back?”

“Yes… them plus… something,” Damon said, and glanced at Chevalier.

“Yes… well… it’s the plus that is probably what’s bringing the Valle here,” Chevalier said.

“Well, what is it?” Quinn asked.

“Bring in Emily,” Chevalier said, and watched as she walked in timidly. He could tell she thought she was in trouble still.

“Come closer, Dear,” Quinn said to her, and she moved into the light.

“Show them,” Chevalier said, and smiled at her.

Emily dug into the pocket of the robe and produced the small silver dagger. The Council burst into gasps and two of them jumped from their chairs and took a step back.

“I… I took this off of him after I ashed him,” she whispered, but the Council could hear her clearly.

“Again… amazed by the mortal,” Maleth said, cringing slightly as he avoided looking at the dagger.

“I don’t want it though, you take it,” she said, and took a step forward. Three more of the council members stumbled over their chairs to get away from her.

“Dear, if we touch that dagger we will turn to ash for eternity, left in infinite pain, never to be revived,” Maleth said, his voice tense.

“That’s why this is such an unusual case… no one has ever taken the dagger from a Chief Enforcer,” Chevalier explained.

“Oh… well, leave it to me,” Emily sighed, and looked at the tiny dagger.

“The Valle are here, Dear. Please move toward the wall,” Quinn asked.

“Why can’t I go up there?” Emily said, shocked.

“We… we can’t be near it,” Zohn said.

Emily nodded and stepped back into the shadows.

The Valle Council walked in angrily, “This is an outrage!”

“Calm down, we are still trying to sort through things,” Quinn said to Sotomar, the Valle Elder.

“Never before… in the history of the heku, has such a thing been done,” Sotomar said, stepping forward.

Chevalier hid a grin, “That’s because we all know better.”

“So you send your mortal to do it?” Sotomar said accusingly.

“They didn’t send me,” Emily said from behind them, and they all turned to look at her and took a step back.

“Is this a threat?” another Valle council member asked.

“They tried to turn me into an immortal… against my will. You’re lucky I didn’t just toss the dagger out of the helicopter somewhere over New York,” Emily said, and smiled slightly when the Valle all gasped angrily.

“She… she should be punished for this!” Sotomar yelled.

“Oh? Try it Gramps,” Emily yelled, taking a step forward.

“Everyone calm down!” Zohn yelled.

Sotomar pointed at Emily, “She turned our Chief Enforcer into ash.”

“He turned my three friends into ash,” Emily said in her defense.

“Then she stole the dagger.”

“They tried to steal my mortality,” Emily countered.

“There is no question that we would prefer that the Valle dagger be returned to its faction… but it is not mine to give,” Quinn said.

“You want it back?” Emily asked Sotomar.

He turned to her angrily, “Yes.”

“Say please.” Emily watched Sotomar, but heard Chevalier chuckle.

“Please,” Sotomar said through gritted teeth.

Emily grabbed the blade and threw it so it stuck in the ground at Sotomar’s feet. He gasped and gently picked it up, flicking dirt off of it.

“Now return our Chief Enforcer to us,” Sotomar said, cradling the dagger gently in his hands.

Emily cleared her throat.

“Please,” Sotomar growled.

Damon looked to the Elders, and Maleth motioned Emily up to them. She walked up the stairs and knelt behind the three Elders.

“Emily,” Maleth said, and turned quickly to glance at the Valle. “Did you, in any way, mess with the ashes of their Chief Enforcer?”

Emily shook her head, “No, I just took his little knife.”

“Dagger,” Quinn said with a grin.

Emily stood up when the Elders turned around, and Maleth nodded at Damon, “You may proceed.”

Sotomar held out a small leather bag, and Emily watched as Damon revived the opposing Chief Enforcer.

The Chief Enforcer for the Valle stood up and stretched painfully, and then his furious eyes fell on Emily.

“You Bitch, how dare you…” His words were cut off when he returned to the ground as a pile of ash.

“Emily!” Quinn said, startled.

“Sorry,” Emily said, obviously anything but sorry. “My mistake.”

Damon shook his head and revived the Valle again. This time, it took a lot longer and he screamed as his body reformed.

Sotomar stopped him when he started to yell at Emily again. The Chief Enforcer’s dagger was handed back to him, and he slipped it into his pocket.

“Now we request the ashes of Exavior. He tried to turn a mortal against her will, and that breaks one of the highest rules of our kind,” Maleth said angrily.

“You have no proof of that,” Sotomar said.

“Do you want to count the bites, or would you rather have your precious runes scribbled onto this floor by a mortal?” Emily asked, and couldn’t help but notice that even the Equites cringed at the thought of a mortal knowing their most sacred of rituals.

“I don’t think that will be necessary,” Sotomar said, and glanced at one of the Valle guards. He produced a small bag and handed it to Damon, who tucked it away in his pocket.

“Will there be anything else?” Quinn asked the Valle.

“We just want to be assured that the mortal will be punished for her disturbing behavior,” Sotomar replied.

“Oh, she will be,” Chevalier said, amused.

Emily’s eyes narrowed.

“Very well,” Sotomar said, and led the rest of the Valle out of the room.

“Punished?” Emily asked, turning to Chevalier with her arms crossed.

“Yes, a harsh punishment to teach you about stealing things from other factions,” Chevalier said seriously.

“I punish back,” Emily said, unsure exactly what was going on.

“Oh I was hoping so,” Chevalier said, and whisked her up to the bedroom.

Chapter 12 - Forgive

“Mortal, do you know where you are?” Maleth asked Emily. The blue robe obscured his face, but she recognized his voice.

“No, please,” Emily begged. She was knelt down on the cold, dirt floor of the ceremonial room wearing a green scratchy robe.

“Do you know what is about to happen?” he asked her. His voice was cold and ominous.

“Don’t do this, please, Chev.” She looked up at the figure robed in black. He looked down at her and his eyes glowed red.

“Do you do so willingly and without coercion?”

“Stop this! I said no,” Emily said frantically.

“Proceed,” Maleth said icily, and stepped back against the wall.

Emily tried to run, but Quinn caught her foot and pushed her to the ground. She felt the burning sting as thirteen heku pierced her skin with their sharp fangs.

“Em… wake up,” Chevalier said softly, and touched her arm.

Emily sat bolt upright in bed and looked around, out of breath. Once she realized she was in the safety of her room, she buried her face in her hands, trying to wipe the images from her mind. Chevalier’s strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her onto his lap. He held her tightly to his chest.

“Damn,” Emily said, and leaned her head against his shoulder.

“You’d think after a year those would stop,” Chevalier whispered, and kissed her forehead.

“Yeah, you’d think so.”

“Why don’t you go back to sleep for a while? You got in pretty late from the ranch.”

“No, I’ll just go out for a run, clear my head,” Emily said, and crawled off of his lap to sit down at the table. A servant had set out some hot coffee and French toast for her.

Chevalier walked over and sat with her at the table, “I talked to Allen a bit. He mentioned you were up a lot because of the ghost.”

“Yeah,” Emily said, and grabbed some sausage.

“I wish you would let one of the heku check it out. There’s no such thing as ghosts, and I’d like to find out what the noises are.”

“Everyone’s checked it out. The twins even slept up there for a few nights, but it didn’t happen while they were there,” Emily explained.

“No heku has checked it out though,” he reminded her.

Emily smiled, “It’s just a ghost.”

“Em…”

“Stop, it’s not going to help by telling me for the hundredth time that there are no ghosts. That ranch house is haunted, period.” Emily poured another cup of coffee, and ignored the way Chevalier smirked.

“Ok, well, Allen said there’s an odd smell when the noises start,” Chevalier said.

“Allen is a 6-year-old with an imagination and keen senses.”

Chevalier sighed and then smiled, “You may want to tell your… twins… that telling stories of the Navajo’s skinwalker won’t scare a boy that lives with vampires.”

Emily rolled her eyes, “Yeah, I’ll get right on that.”

She finished breakfast and disappeared into the bathroom. She came out a short time later in the tell-tale sports bra and cut-offs with an iPod in her hand, “Don’t forget, Alexis needs her vitamins with breakfast. She should be up soon.”

“I’ll remember,” Chevalier said, grinning.

“And Allen is grounded. I want all of the non-Cavalry stalls mucked out,” she said, and tied her hair up in a high pony.

“I can get someone to do that…” Chevalier said, but Emily cut him off.

“No, Allen can do it. That boy is spoiled and has his nose stuck in a book all the time. He needs to get out and get some fresh air,” Emily said. She blew Chevalier a kiss, and then ran out of the room.

Chevalier went into the nursery when he heard Alexis start talking to her mobile. She stood up and reached for him, and when he picked her up, she laid her head against his shoulder. He smiled, never in the thousands of years of his existence had he ever imagined being a father, nor had he ever imagined how much he would enjoy it. He kissed the top of the baby’s head and walked her down to the dining room for breakfast.

Emily turned up the music on her iPod and clipped it to the strap on her arm. She stretched briefly and took off running toward the city. There was something stimulating about running. It let her mind clear and she could focus on more important things. She felt like it was alone time, even though she saw curtains move as the heku from the city watched her pass.

Today she thought over the mustang. He’d been running wild in the corral for over a year. Things had gotten busy, and he was put on the back burner. He allowed a bridle and saddle, but no one had tried to break him in yet, but that was her goal for the week. Allen refused to ride since Damnit’s death, and Emily planned on giving the mustang to him once he was gentle enough.

She cried out when an arm wrapped around her and a hand was placed over her mouth. She was dragged into a dark alleyway, kicking and biting.

“Stop it. Damn,” Damon said, and let her go.

“What the hell, Damon?” Emily asked, scowling at him. She pulled the earphones out and slung them across her neck.

“Sorry, I needed to talk to you in private.”

“No,” Emily said, and headed back for the street, but Damon took her arm and pulled her back.

“Yes, it’s been long enough.”

“For what?” Emily asked, crossing her arms.

“For you to forgive me. You know the Elders watch us together, and they are still suspicious about why you won’t even look at me anymore.”

“They’ll get over it.”

“I’m sorry. I’ve said it a thousand times, but I’ll say it again. I didn’t mean what I said to you in Paris, and I’m sorry I hurt you,” Damon said, his eyes pleading.

“Apology accepted,” Emily said, and again tried to run to the street but was held back.

“What now?”

“That’s not good enough,” Damon said.

“What do you want me to do?” Emily asked.

“Forgive me.”

“I just said I did.”

“I know you said so, but I don’t believe you,” Damon told her.

“What do you want to do? Kiss and make up? I don’t like you,” Emily said.

“I just… I wanted you to know that I don’t think you are spoiled, I don’t think that all you are to the Elder is a piece of ass…”

“Nice, Damon,” Emily cringed.

“I wanted you to know that I realize how important you are to this faction. You’ve turned the entire heku world on end, and that’s just what everyone needed,” he told her, watching for a reaction.

“Good to know,” Emily said, irritated.

“What can I do to make it up to you?”

“You know what I think?”

“No, what’s that?” Damon said hesitantly.

“I think you’re under the spotlight by the Council, and you are looking for an easy out. I don’t like you, not sure I ever will, but I’m not going to tell them what you said or did that day,” Emily promised.

“I wish you would tell them, stop the suspicious glares, and the way they watch me when you’re around.”

“So you tell them.”

Damon nodded, “Maybe I will.”

“Damnit, Damon, don’t,” Emily sighed.

“Why not? You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Yeah… well… maybe I don’t want the Council to know what everyone in the faction thinks about me, ok?”

“No one thinks about you like that.”

“Right,” Emily said sarcastically.

“I’m serious, the heku respect you a lot.”

“No they don’t… they are afraid of me, there’s a difference.”

Damon sighed, “There’s more to it than being afraid of you.”

“Oh, that’s right… they also couldn’t understand why the Council allowed a mortal in the palace. Then it dawned on them, what started out as an easy lay, turned into a breeder with the ability to make trophy children,” Emily told him, and he was shocked to see from her face that she was serious.

“You can’t honestly think that.”

“Oh? Can’t I?”

“I wish, just for a moment, that you could see what the Equites truly think of you,” Damon said to her.

“You know what? I have already seen it, and I don’t care to see it again.”

Damon shook his head and watched as Emily took off running down the street as she put on her headphones. She turned back and headed for the palace. After talking to Damon, she felt self-conscious about the glances out of the house windows, and she just wanted to get back to the privacy of her room in the palace.

After seeing the entrance to the palace filled with heku planning for the coronation and reception that night, Emily opted to go in the back door, and took the servant stairs up the back of the palace to the foyer. She glanced quickly down the stairs. The ground floor was full of heku hauling things into the grand ballroom. She shook her head and went into her room. When she saw no one there, she took a shower and changed into jeans and a t-shirt for the day.

Emily stepped out of the room as she pulled on her riding gloves and looked up when she saw someone.

“Oh good, you’re back,” Chevalier said. He was still holding Alexis, and she had pieces of egg in her black ringlets.

“I’m going to work on that mustang,” Emily said.

“Have you reconsidered about tonight?” he asked as Alexis played with the Equites insignia on his cape.

“No, I’m not going,” she told him again.

“Then come down and meet some of the Coven Leaders. They are anxious to meet you,” Chevalier held his hand out for her.

“I’d rather not. If you need me, I’ll be out in the corral,” she said, and headed back down by the servant’s stairs.

Chevalier took Alexis into the bedroom and quickly changed her out of her nightclothes. He swung by Allen’s room and took both of them downstairs to meet the coven dignitaries. They all wanted to meet Emily, too, but she had been elusive to non-palace heku since her trip to Paris, and no one quite knew why.

Emily watched the mustang for a bit. He’d been in the bridle and saddle for two days straight, and as she slipped through the wooden fence, he watched her carefully.

“I wish you’d let me do that,” Mark said, leaning against the fencepost.

“What fun is that? Besides, I thought you liked to watch me fall on my ass,” Emily said, holding a treat out for the mustang.

“Yeah, that is amusing,” Mark laughed.

Emily was glad that the mustang was now used to the heku. It made her life easier because she never seemed to make it out to the corral alone. She wasn’t sure if they were hoping to catch her when she got bucked off, or if they hoped to catch sight of her falling. Ford sat beside them, watching with interest.

Emily saw Mark cringe when she put her foot in the saddle and swiftly pulled herself up onto the mustang. Before she’d set her other foot in the stirrups, he began to buck wildly and she held tightly to the saddle horn. It was only a few seconds before Emily lost her handhold and flew off of the horse. She landed hard against the ground and rolled under the fence, out of the way of the angry horse’s hooves.

Emily lay on the ground looking up at the blue sky. She saw Mark’s face appear above her and she felt Ford’s warm, sticky tongue run up her face.

“That was your back, not your ass,” Mark said, and grinned, then put a hand out to help her up. “Ever think that he could be a lost cause?”

“I like lost causes, haven’t you noticed?” Emily said, and crawled back through the fence. She was able to walk back up to the mustang and she rubbed his neck for a bit. Just before trying again, Emily heard laughter from the fence and looked over as Silas joined Mark.

Taking a deep breath, she put her foot in the stirrup again, and hoisted herself up onto his back. She froze when the horse didn’t move, and she was afraid to even breathe. The mustang let out a loud whine and began to kick and twist. Emily’s death grip on the horn was stronger, and she held on until he began to slowly calm down. She patted his neck softly when he finally stopped bucking.

Emily pressed her feet slowly into his side and suddenly flew out of the saddle and landed hard up against the fence. She looked over and the mustang was staring at her from across the corral.

“See… that was your ass,” Mark said from behind her, laughing.

“Do you just bleed easy or do all mortals do that?” Silas asked, amused.

Emily took a large piece of horse droppings in her gloved hand and turned, keeping it away from the heku. She threw her arm back and then sent it flying toward Mark and Silas. Because of her bad aim, they both accidentally ducked right into it, and it splattered across their green cloaks.

Emily grabbed another hand full and scrambled through the fence, taking off running for the palace doors. She heard the heku as they blurred past her just before she rounded the corner for the doors, and they stopped and turned to face her.

Emily stopped and watched them. She held her hand up, ready to throw. Ford was weaving in and out between them.

“Traitor,” she said to the Border collie.

“That… was disgusting,” Mark said, grinning evilly.

“That… was deserved,” she replied, smiling.

“What are we going to do about it?” Mark asked.

“I’m thinking…” Silas answered, grinning. He took a step toward her.

“I’m warning you, get back,” Emily said.

“Water?” Mark asked.

“Water,” Silas said, nodding.

“No!” Emily screamed, and let her hand fly, pelting them with the horse droppings. She turned to run, but didn’t make it even a step before her feet left the ground as she was thrown over Mark’s shoulder. Ford began to jump and nip at her feet.

The heku laughed as they headed for the small stream on the other side of the palace lawn, but froze suddenly as they rounded the corner by the doors. Mark gently put Emily down on the grass, and she spun quickly to see what had stopped them. As she turned, she took in the sight of over thirty heku staring at them, and she stepped quickly behind Mark.

Emily cringed when she heard Chevalier laugh, “Might as well come out, Em, they’ve seen you.”

Emily emerged from behind Mark, overly aware that she was covered in dirt, and had blood dripping down her right shoulder from one of her falls.

“Ah, so this is the elusive Emily,” one of the Coven Leaders said, smiling.

Emily nodded and pulled closer to Mark.

“I take it the breaking-in didn’t go well?” Chevalier asked, amused.

Emily shrugged.

“Why don’t you two go get changed, you smell awful,” the Elder told Silas and Mark. They nodded and laughed as they blurred away, leaving Emily standing out by herself. She blushed as she felt all of them watching her.

“Are you bleeding, Child?” one of the Coven Heads asked her, concerned.

She nodded and cleared her throat, “If you… will… please excuse me.”

He nodded, and Emily turned and ran to the service entrance at the side of the palace by the stables. She didn’t stop until she was safely in her room with the door locked. She stripped off her gloves and shirt, and turned to look at her shoulder in the mirror. It wasn’t cut badly, and only had a small amount of dried blood that had trickled out.

She turned when she heard a knock at the door.

“Yes?”

“It’s me,” Chevalier said, his voice still amused.

Emily walked over to the door and unlocked it, stepping back out of the way so no one in the hallway would see her.

Chevalier shut the door and turned to her, “That was… well… interesting.”

Emily sighed, “Sorry.”

He laughed, “Don’t be sorry. It’s not often coven dignitaries get to see the palace guards covered in horse feces or the fabled Winchester looking so guilty.”

“Why are they even here? Last year they tried to kill you all,” Emily said, slipping on a clean shirt.

“Not these ones. These are the covens that stood behind us.”

“Ahh”

“So now that you’ve met them, there’s no reason you can’t go to the coronation.”

“Where’s Alex?”

“Damon has her. He’s introducing her around, and she’s having a ball. She… isn’t shy,” Chevalier said, and sat on the edge of the bed.

“I’m not shy,” Emily said, and sat by the empty fireplace.

“No, just elusive.”

“I don’t want to go.”

Chevalier nodded, “I know, and I won’t ask you again. I would like for Allen and Alex to go though, it’s important for us to be open with them.”

Emily nodded, “That’s fine. By the way, don’t get mad at Mark and Silas for being… stinky.”

Chevalier laughed again, “I won’t. It was obvious what happened.”

Emily sat down with a book to eat dinner alone in her room. The coronation was under way, and she could hear the sounds of hundreds of the elite Equites gathered below her in the grand room. She glanced again to make sure her door was locked, and then started to eat. It had been a while since she’d eaten dinner alone, but preferred it over three hundred heku watching her every move.

Emily sighed and looked around after dinner. She was tired of reading, and nothing was on TV. She decided to take a bath and then go to bed early. She wanted to have another go at the mustang in the morning, and it would help her sore muscles relax. She sat in the tub for almost an hour as she read more of her book. Once she was entirely pruned, she got out and threw on one of the pink satin nightgowns, and then climbed into bed. She rolled over and looked at the ceiling, not quite ready for sleep.

Emily sat up suddenly when she noticed the entire palace was quiet. She frowned, wondering what would cause that many heku to fall completely silence. She knew that by now, they would be in the reception hall.

Unlocking the door, Emily peered out into the hallway and listened. She heard mad voices coming from the reception hall, and she stepped out to the floor’s foyer to listen better.

Emily’s heart missed a beat when a mad voice yelled, “Where is she?”

“We’ll kill one of the Council very ten minutes until the Winchester is brought to us,” another voice said.

Emily cringed and ran down the stairs, her bare feet padded softly on the tile. Having explored the palace numerous times before, she knew a back way that would take her behind the curtained stage of the reception hall. She stepped silently onto the stage and peeked through a tiny opening in the curtain.

Emily watched carefully, taking in what was going on in the reception hall. The council members were being restrained at the far end of the room, though she couldn’t see Chevalier or Damon. The guests were all sitting along the walls while angry heku in gray cloaks watched over them. She felt her anger rising when she saw a Valle holding Alexis, while another restrained Allen as he struggled to get away.

Emily didn’t care how mad her actions would make Chevalier, she had to do something. They were holding her children. Stepping through the curtain onto the stage, Emily balled her hands into fists and yelled toward the Valle that was speaking.

“Looking for me?”

The Valle turned toward her and hissed, his teeth showing menacingly, “Get her.”

“I don’t suggest that,” Emily said, narrowing her eyes at the few heku who headed toward her. They stopped and turned to look at their Commanding Officer.

“She can’t kill us all, now get her,” he ordered.

“Last warning,” Emily said, and they stopped again nervously.

“Shhh, it’s us,” Emily heard Mark say from behind her. She felt two heku move to her sides, but didn’t take her eyes off of the Commander.

The Valle laughed, “Two guards, you think that will help you? Get them all, now.”

Without taking her eyes from the Commander, the four heku that were headed for her fell to ash on the floor.

“You’ll pay for that,” he hissed at her. “I suggest you don’t do that again, or you’ll be punished for each of them.”

“Who’ll do the punishing? You?” Emily asked, and narrowed her eyes as he dropped to his knees, screaming in agony. The Valle around him stepped nervously away from him and looked up at Emily.

Emily released him and he stood up furiously, “You need to learn obedience!”

“Where’s Chevalier?”

“Oh, your precious Elder… I do believe he was the first to turn to ash. He didn’t like us playing with the wee ones,” he said, and smiled at the heku holding their children.

“I don’t see Damon,” Silas whispered.

Emily scanned the gathered heku and finally found the Valle’s Chief Enforcer, “I suggest you bring him back.”

“Who’s going to make me?” he asked haughtily.

“I will, and the next time I take your little knife, you’ll never see it again,” Emily told him, ignoring the gasps from Valle and Equites heku.

“If you touch the dagger again, I’ll drain you before you have time to so much as yell,” he hissed at her.

“Where’s Damon?”

“Yes, where is he?” the Valle asked Quinn.

Quinn shrugged and watched Emily. He no longer fought against the heku restraining him, there were too many.

“Seems he decided not to join this little party. I do hope he’s not dead,” the Chief Enforcer said, laughing.

Quinn and Maleth both turned around suddenly when they felt the restraining hands release. They glanced at the ground and then to Emily.

“Stop it! You have no idea who you’re messing with,” the Valle said angrily when he saw the ash at the feet of the Equites Elders.

Emily felt a hand press against her lower back, supporting her. She wiped away the trickle of blood running down her lips and ignored the way her head began to pound.

“Emily, Stop,” she heard Damon whisper from behind her. “We can get them another way.”

“I know exactly who I’m messing with. I’m messing with a coward, one who desires something he’ll never get. A coward who attacks without provocation and one who doesn’t have the balls to come after a mortal woman by himself,” Emily said, clenching her jaw.

The Valle’s growl echoed through the silent reception hall, “How dare you speak to me like that.”

A brief scream stopped as suddenly as it had started and the rest of the Council found themselves no longer restrained.

“Sixty-five down,” Emily said to him.

“Emily, that’s enough,” Damon said, worried. “Let us take it from here.”

“I swear to you, you will pay for that,” he snapped at her.

“Will I pay for…” ten more Valle heku fell, “Those?”

“Yes, you will,” he growled.

“Maleth, take the baby,” she said, watching the Commander.

“Don’t give her up,” the Valle officer yelled. He watched in horror as the heku holding Alexis turned to ash just as Maleth reached out to take the baby. He caught her quickly and held her tightly to him, returning to where the Council stood.

“Seventy-six,” Emily whispered.

“We still outnumber you… and you, my Dear, are slowing down,” the Valle officer said, smiling.

“I don’t have to ash you all... just you…” Emily said, pointing at the Chief Enforcer, “And you…” She then pointed at the Commanding Officer.

“Rules of war etiquette, Child. The Commanding Officer and the Chief Enforcer aren’t to be harmed,” he said, still smiling.

“Those are the rules?” Emily asked Quinn.

Quinn nodded nervously.

“We mortals have a better rule… All’s fair in love and war,” Emily said as the Chief Enforcer for the Valle turned to ash.

“Such atrocities… we should have expected no more from a weak mortal. I’m amazed how you swear your allegiance to, and are willing to die for a faction that uses you like a purebred bitch.” The Commander smiled when he saw that he’d struck a nerve.

“Why are you here tonight?” she asked him, her eyes were glued to his.

“To bring you back to the Valle.”

“So you can turn me?”

“Perhaps. We have the infant now. You are no longer necessary as a mortal,” he said, and looked at Alexis.

Emily let her temper flare and over a hundred of the Valle fell to ash, their empty clothes scattered across the floor. She fell back a step, but a supporting hand held her up.

“What good would turning me be?” Emily asked, ignoring the fierce look in his eyes.

“Has no one told you?” he asked, grinning.

Another hundred of the Valle turned to ash before him. Now that the Equites outnumbered the Valle, the remaining Valle were restrained. The Commander, however, was still locked in conversation with Emily.

“Tell me.”

“Emily, come on,” Mark said, and he tried to pull her back away from the curtains, but she stood firm.

“Rumors… all speculation about what it would mean to have a heku Winchester,” he said, watching her loathingly. “Some say she would be the most powerful heku ever, with the ability to not only destroy but to revive at will. Some speculate that those who turn her would be granted her abilities. Others… believe it would end the bloodline.”

Emily frowned. She hadn’t heard most of this.

“Give the Equites time. Now that they have their child heku, and an infant Winchester heir, next they will find out which, if any of those are true,” the Commander said.

Hundreds of screams rose from the Valle as they burned slowly from the inside. The smell of burning flesh filled the air before they fell as ash against the floor.

“You’re growing tired. You can’t keep this up,” he said to her.

“I am so tired of the Valle and the Encala. Why don’t you just leave me alone?” she screamed. She felt not only the supporting hand on her back, but strong hands on her shoulders.

“We will never stop until we get what we want.”

“You’d rather every one of your faction turned to ash before you’ll grant me the peace that I deserve?”

He nodded.

“Fine… then so be it,” Emily said, and she lowered her head slightly as the hundreds of remaining Valle began to scream and clutch at their chests. The stench of burning flesh was sickening as a smoke filled the air. Emily concentrated harder. Her head was pounding, and she could feel blood trickle from her ears as she let her hatred for them flow until they fell to ash as a wave swept through the now silent hall.

“You watch, one day, you will pay for this,” the Valle Commander said, his voice was tense and fearful. He was the last Valle standing in a room full of Equites.

Emily sunk to her knees, still watching him. She tried to turn him to ash, but couldn’t muster up the fear or anger anymore. She squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her palms against her eyes, trying to stop the pain. She felt strong hands lay her against the wooden stage.

“Don’t touch me,” she hissed, not caring who it was.

Emily managed to pull herself to her feet, using the wall as support. She heard loud noises behind her, the murmur of the Equites, and the screaming of the lone Valle as he was taken into custody by the elite guards. Her mind swam. The things around her looked familiar, but far away, as if they didn’t belong.

“Em,” she heard Chevalier say from behind her, but she jerked away from him when he touched her.

Emily saw a heku holding the baby and she stumbled over to them.

“Don’t touch her,” Emily said, and took Alexis from Quinn. He looked at Chevalier, but Chevalier’s attention was on Emily.

“Come on,” she said to Allen, and he followed her, too afraid to do anything else.

Emily finally made it to the garage, very much aware of the hundreds of heku gathered in the hallway to watch her. Their eyes were filled with concern and confusion, yet still amazed at what they had witnessed. They could smell fresh blood coming toward them, and most turned away or stepped outside to get away from it. Those who watched her saw the whites of her eyes turning blood-red.

“Where are you going?” Chevalier asked as Emily climbed into the Durango and sat the baby in the passenger seat. She reached out to start the car, but the keys were gone.

“Montana,” she whispered, and then looked around the floor for the keys, confused.

Taking Alexis, Emily stepped out of the Durango and almost fell as she moved into Quinn’s Zonda C12 F. Allen crawled into the passenger seat and held Alexis when she handed the baby to him. Again she couldn’t find the keys.

“Emily, no car in here has keys,” Chevalier said as he saw the last of the heku guards moving away from the garage with the keys in their hands.

“I’ll walk,” she whispered, her words slurred. She got out of the Zonda and slowly stumbled toward the doors, leaving Allen and Alexis in the passenger seat of Quinn’s car.

“You can’t walk to Montana,” Chevalier said, and took her arm to steady her. He then glanced at the others, “She gets confused if she ashes too many.”

Emily fell to her knees, grabbing the side of her head. It was pounding too loudly to hear anything, and her vision was like looking through a long tunnel. Voices were distorted and sounded more like angry growls.

Chevalier picked her up, ignoring the way her weak hands pushed against him.

“Let me go,” she whispered.

“Ok,” he said, and then carried her inside. The heku split to form a path between them, and lowered their eyes as a symbol of respect.

“I said don’t touch me,” she mumbled, her words almost unintelligible.

“Ok,” he told her again, and started up the stairs.

“Montana”

“I know, you’re walking to Montana,” Chevalier said, and then kissed the top of her head.

The faction doctor met them in their room. He already had an I.V. set up, “Same as last time?”

“I don’t know. She didn’t kill as many as last time,” Chevalier said as he laid her down on the bed.

The doctor took out a stethoscope and began to check her over as she pushed at his hands. He sighed when he looked in her ears and saw the fresh blood pooled in them.

“So?” Chevalier asked impatiently.

“Let’s let her rest on her own and see if she can pull out of it. The confusion and slurred speech make me nervous. I’d like to see her blood pressure go up, and some clear thought process,” the doctor said as he easily removed her hands as they gripped his wrist.

Chevalier met her gaze after she tried to slap him. He cradled her face lovingly in his hands and told her to sleep.

He kissed her hand and laid it by her side and then pulled the covers up. Allen ran in and pushed his Dad angrily. He turned around and looked at his son, shocked.

“What did you do to her?” Allen asked, growling.

“We’re just helping her sleep,” Chevalier said softly, and glanced at Emily.

“She wanted to go to the ranch. You promised you wouldn’t stop her,” Allen said, with rage and emotion beyond his years.

“This was different, she’s sick.”

“She’s not sick! What did you do?” Allen hissed.

Chevalier picked up Alexis and nodded at Kyle, who took Allen away as he kicked and screamed.

“Elder?” Damon said from the doorway.

Chevalier turned to him.

“The Valle Elders are requesting an audience within the next six hours,” Damon told him. “They want to… apologize for the behavior of this coven.”

Chevalier looked at him, irritated, “Apologize?”

“Yes, a formal apology for the unsanctioned actions of the Valle.”

“I don’t want to see them.”

“They insist that you and Emily are present,” Damon said, and glanced quickly at Emily.

Chevalier growled, “Fine, I’ll be there. Tell them Emily is too mad to talk to them right now.”

Damon nodded and left the room.

Chevalier looked at the doctor, who was deep in thought.

“Is there a problem?” he asked.

The doctor shook his head, “I was just wondering if she would agree to an EEG or MRI of her brain before, during, and after she’s turned a heku to ash.”

“I can tell you right now she would never go for that,” Chevalier said as he sat on the bed and took her hand.

“It could tell us a lot. Maybe even teach us how to stop the aftermath.”

“I’m sure it would.”

“With the bloody nose and ears, I’m afraid that one of these times, she’s going to have a stroke,” he told the Elder.

Chevalier nodded, “The problem is getting her to stop doing it.”

“She saved us tonight,” he said softly.

Chevalier sighed, “I look forward to hearing what happened. I saw one of them take Alexis, and the next thing I knew, Damon was reviving me.”

“It was…” the doctor looked at him warily, “Magnificent. We hear about her abilities, but to see them… how she can talk to one heku, and turn hundreds of others into ash simultaneously is amazing.”

“We have it on security camera,” Maleth said from the door.

“We do?” Chevalier asked, surprised.

Maleth nodded, “Yes, I’m having the tape pulled now. I want to watch again. I couldn’t see a lot of what was happening.”

“If I might be so bold as to talk about her while she’s not able to respond…” Quinn said from behind Maleth. “I believe had she not been there tonight, the Council would have been wiped out.”

“How did that many Valle get in without a single warning?” Chevalier asked, frowning as his mind wrapped around the possibilities of what might have happened.

“It’s also too much of a coincidence that they chose to attack when most of the city’s defense is away fighting at the Powan skirmish,” Quinn added.

“We aren’t sure, but I can promise you, we’ll find out and it won’t happen again,” Zohn said as he walked into the room with the rest of the Council.

“Mama mama mama,” Alexis said, extending her hands out for Emily.

“Shhh, she’s sleeping,” Chevalier said, and kissed her on the forehead.

Alexis frowned and then pressed a finger to her lips, “Sssss.”

Chevalier nodded and she smiled at him, exposing her only teeth, the four front ones. He pulled her into a hug and felt her small hand pat his shoulder. No one noticed that Ford was pacing in front of the bed until Alexis reached out for him.

Chevalier set her down and she walked slowly to the Border collie, and held onto him with a handful of hair. She smiled at the dog, her dimples and a head full of black ringlets gave her the ability to melt even the heku’s volatile hearts.

“Call me when she wakes up,” the doctor said, checking her pulse.

Chevalier nodded and watched as the doctor left.

“We’re ready,” Damon said from the door, and the Council all filed past him. Alexis stumbled over to him and held her hands up. Damon picked her up and kissed her fat cheek, a gesture normally uncharacteristic for the heku, but they found that the beautiful child had broken all of what they believed of themselves.

Chevalier and Damon were the last to sit in the Council chairs, and Alexis was on Damon’s lap, playing with a pen from the table.

The Council watched as the security tape replayed, starting from when the Valle first flooded into the reception hall. They watched, entranced, as Emily appeared on the stage to the left side of the screen. The chamber was perfectly quiet except for the recorded voices of the Valle commander and Emily as they spoke. Chevalier frowned when he saw the look on Emily’s face when the Valle commander commented on how the Equites treated her like a ‘purebred bitch’. The replay ended just as Emily fell back behind the curtain.

“What’s the total?” Damon asked, still watching the blank screen.

“She wasn’t able to completely ash the Commander, so 529,” Zohn told them.

“Is she ok?” Maleth asked Chevalier.

He shrugged, “She’s killed more, but she still got confused afterwards and has a severe headache. Now we just wait to see how she is when she wakes up.”

Maleth nodded, “We owe her a great debt.”

“We just have to make it so she doesn’t have to do it again. The toll on her body is too great,” Quinn said as he pictured the confused look on her face when she couldn’t get out of the garage.

The Council all turned toward the doors when they were told that members of the Valle Council had arrived.

“Send them in,” Quinn said sternly.

Four members of the Valle Council, including Elder Jeaniel, came in with no guards, a common symbol for peace.

They bowed before the Equites Council, another sign that they were trying to make amends.

“Why have you asked us here?” Maleth asked them coldly.

“Where is the Lady? We asked that she be present to hear this,” Jeaniel asked.

“She is quite upset by the happenings tonight, and has retired early,” Quinn told them.

Jeaniel smiled and nodded, “We have come here to apologize for the misguided attempt by one of our covens to contact Lady Emily.”

“Contact?” Chevalier asked. “You mean kidnap.”

The Valle Elder cringed, “Perhaps, we have not yet spoken to their leader.”

“I find it hard to believe that this wasn’t sanctioned,” Damon said skeptically.

“It was in no way sanctioned by the Valle Council!” Jeaniel calmed herself, “Again, we are here merely to apologize for the behavior of that coven.”

“Very well,” Maleth said.

“Now, may we have our Chief Enforcer?” Jeaniel asked hesitantly.

“That all depends. It seems to us that your Enforcer has defied the Council,” Chevalier said angrily.

“Yes he has, and he will be dealt with.”

“Then you may have the dagger, but we will keep the ashes,” Damon told them.

“Did… did the Lady take the dagger?”

“No, she did not,” Damon said, grinning. He still thought it was funny that such an ancient rule was broken by the naivety of a mortal.

“Very well, we will take it and replace him as a show of goodwill,” the Valle Elder said.

The Valle council members nodded and left, meeting their guards in the hallway, they headed out to their waiting helicopter.

“I don’t know about you, but I could use some time alone with the Commanding Officer,” Chevalier said, standing up.

“I think I’d like to get my hands on the former Chief Enforcer,” Damon said, and hurdled the desk, landing softly on the trial room floor.

Chevalier and Damon headed down to the prison to try out a new addition to their Interrogation chamber.

***

Emily opened her eyes slowly and watched the ceiling as her eyes adjusted. She felt a fog over her mind from the long sleep, but it was slowly clearing.

“Good morning,” Chevalier said, smiling.

“What happened?” she asked quietly. Her head hurt badly and talking made it worse.

“First, how is your head?”

“Is it smashed in?” Emily whispered, and covered her eyes with her arm.

“Feels like it, huh?” he answered, slightly amused.

“There were Valle.”

“Yes”

“They had Allen and Alex.”

“Yes, but we have them now, they never left the palace.”

“I was pretty mad,” Emily said, and she fought to remember what happened.

“I would imagine you were.”

“Are you mad?”

Chevalier smiled and touched her cheek softly, “No, I’m not mad.”

“Did I get them all?” she asked, looking up at him.

“You left one, but he’s been dealt with.”

“Damn, my head hurts,” Emily said, sitting up slowly. The doctor handed her two pills and some orange juice, and she took them without even asking what they were.

As Emily’s eyes adjusted, she frowned and looked around the bedroom at the flowers, balloons, teddy bears, and gift baskets that lined one entire wall, “What’s that?”

“You have some supporters,” Chevalier told her, and looked at the gifts again.

“Supporters?” Emily asked, and then laid back down.

“The coven dignitaries that would have died had it not been for you.”

“Don’t exaggerate.”

“I’m not, sadly.”

“I’m pretty hungry,” Emily said, and looked over at the doctor.

“Yes, please eat.” He smiled.

Emily sat up when the tray was delivered and grabbed the cheeseburger first thing and started to eat. She looked up self-consciously when she noticed the two heku were watching her.

“Can I help you with something? Why are you watching me eat?”

“Sorry, we’re overdoing it again aren’t we?” Chevalier asked, and then stood up to talk to the doctor at the door.

Chapter 13 - Ranch

Emily woke up from a nap and looked round the room. After three weeks, the gifts had stopped pouring in and she finally had her bedroom back. The fire was roaring in the fireplace, and a silver tray sat on the table next to a pot of hot coffee. She glanced at the clock, it was already 9am.

Sighing, Emily crawled out of bed and threw on some clothes. She grabbed a mug of coffee and sipped it as she walked out of the room.

“Hello,” a strange heku said to her.

Emily turned to him and frowned, “Who are you?”

“I’m your guard today,” he said, sounding annoyed.

“Where’s the Cavalry?”

“I’m not sure that’s any of your concern.”

“Go away.”

“No, Ma’am. I was told to stay with you.”

Emily opened her phone quickly when it rang, but continued to stare at the unhappy guard.

“Yes?”

Emily’s eyes narrowed, “When?”

“Encala?” she growled.

“Damnit!” Emily slammed her phone shut and ran down the stairs, taking two at a time. The guard followed behind her, rolling his eyes.

“Em, what’s up?” Kyle asked as she ran past him and skidded to a halt.

“Get him away from me.” She pointed to the guard.

When Kyle nodded, Emily took off again, shoeless, toward the garage.

“Where are you going?” Kyle called after her, but she disappeared around the corner.

The guard rocked on his heels and watched the Captain as they waited to see if she would return. Before long, they heard the Durango peel out of the garage and speed off.

Kyle turned to him, “What did you do?”

“What makes you think I did something?”

“Just a hunch.”

“Well I didn’t do anything. She’s just a drama queen,” the guard said, rolling his eyes again.

Kyle frowned, “Drama queen?”

“Yeah, yelled something into her phone about the Encala then cursed and took off,” the guard shrugged.

Kyle gasped, “What?”

The guard shook his head, “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure it’s just too quiet round here, and she’s looking to get everyone riled up.”

Kyle slapped him upside the head and grabbed his shoulder, pushing him toward the council chambers. When he shoved the guard into the trial area, the Council looked up.

“Problem, Kyle?” Quinn asked.

“Yeah, Genius here was Emily’s guard today.” Kyle pushed him forward so he was directly in front of Chevalier.

“Yes, and?”

“Why don’t you tell them why you called her a drama queen,” Kyle urged.

Chevalier sighed, “What now?”

“Hey,” the guard said. “I’m ok taking my turn with the mortal, but I’m not going to coddle her and freak out just because she yells into the phone and takes off running.”

Kyle growled, “Keep going, Dipshit.”

“Is this really important? We were sort of busy,” Chevalier sighed.

“Ok, so her phone rings and she starts yelling about the Encala, and then takes off running. It’s not my job to stop her, so I followed, but she…”

“What?” Chevalier yelled, standing up.

“I’m sure it’s nothing,” the guard said casually.

“Kyle…” Quinn said, gritting his teeth.

“She was already gone in the Durango before he told me why she took off,” Kyle said, slapping the guard again.

Chevalier had his phone out, “Damnit, it’s busy.”

Quinn stood up quickly, “Kyle, get your Ferrari and head east, I’ll head west, Chevalier, head south.”

The three heku took off as Maleth looked at the guard and motioned him forward with the bend of a finger. The guard walked up to the Elder pompously, and crossed his arms, smiling, “Yes, Elder?”

“Who assigned you as Emily’s guard?” the Elder asked.

“Captain Linch, Sir.”

Maleth thought for a moment, “Why haven’t I heard of him?”

“He’s new, just moved in from one of the English covens,” Zohn told him.

“Fire him… and you,” Maleth said, turning back to the guard, “Will report to the kitchen.”

“The kitchen, Elder?” he asked, confused.

“Yes, the kitchen, talk to Ron about your position on the servant staff here at the palace.”

The guard puffed out his chest, “I’m a guard.”

“No, you were a guard… now you are a servant,” Maleth said, and stood up. “Zohn, let’s go talk to Allen for a moment.”

Zohn nodded and followed the Elder to the make-shift classroom where Allen was being tutored. His 6-year-old body didn’t match his mind, which had advanced well past elementary school and into the world of astrophysics and multivariable calculus.

Allen looked up when the Elder and Chief Interrogator walked into his classroom.

“Can I help you?” the tutor asked.

“Yes, we need Allen for a moment,” Maleth told him.

“Alone,” Zohn added.

The tutor huffed and then walked out of the classroom.

Allen looked up from his studies, “Yes, Elder?”

“Allen, this is very important,” Maleth said, taking a seat by the boy.

“Ok”

“Where is your mother’s ranch?”

Allen sighed, “I’m not going to tell you that.”

“We need to know. She’s taken off after a phone call about the Encala, and I’m afraid there may be some problems,” Maleth explained.

Allen looked at them calmly, “It’s not my place. If she ran off without protection, then I can only assume that she can handle it herself.”

“Please, Allen, tell us so we can make sure she’s ok,” Zohn said.

Allen shook his head, “I’ll not betray my mother’s trust by giving away her secret.”

Maleth sighed and nodded, “Very well. Can you at least call the ranch and see if everything is ok?”

“Yes, that I can do,” Allen said, and pulled out his cell phone.

Maleth and Zohn watched him as he waited and then hung up the phone.

“There’s no answer.”

Maleth tried to smile reassuringly, “I’m sure everything’s fine.”

***

Emily drove through the night at speeds over 100 mph. The Durango’s engine whined when she went faster, so she had to settle for that dauntingly slow speed. Her mind whirled at what she would find when she got to there. No one was answering at the ranch, and Sam’s phone was suddenly out of the area. She called it over and over as she drove toward Montana.

Emily pulled onto the small dirt road just after sunrise, and her heart sunk as she saw the plume of smoke rising from the direction of the ranch. She stopped the Durango beside one of the many fire trucks, and ran toward the barn where the firemen were focusing. She saw the barn burning out of control and her heart sank. There were 15 horses in there.

Emily didn’t hesitate, she ran toward the barn, ignoring how the heat from the fire burned her face. Strong arms pulled her back as she fought to get to the horses.

“Let me go!” she screamed, pulling against the arms.

“Emily, it’s too late,” she heard Peter say.

“No, let me go.” She pried his hands loose and lunged for the fiery barn.

Todd stepped in front of her and wrapped his arms around her, carrying her away from the fire, “Em, it’s too late.”

Emily buried her face into his chest. The thought of those fifteen horses made it hard to breathe. They were her responsibility, and they had been killed while she was away. She fell to her knees as the firemen stood back and watched the out-of-control fire turn the beautiful barn into a heap of smoldering ash.

“They’ve been here for almost 12 hours. They couldn’t save the horses,” Todd told her.

Emily glanced behind her and saw the house was already gone. All that was left was part of the structure and the tall stone fireplace. She turned back to the barn and watched with tear filled eyes as the firemen packed up their gear.

Peter and Todd knelt on each side of her and watched with her as the thick smoke began to thin out when the flames burned out into glowing embers.

Long after the fire trucks left, Emily and the twins knelt before the barn. The brothers weren’t sure what to do. She wasn’t moving, and didn’t respond when they spoke to her. One of them called a chief elder to ask advice, and he was on the way to the ranch, but they worried that the rain would soon turn to snow.

“What happened?” Emily whispered, watching the rain as it turned the ash into mud.

Todd shook his head, “Arson, there were… maybe fifty of them, and they had torches. They were catching things on fire and screaming for you.”

A tear streamed down Emily’s face.

“Do you believe in vampires?” she asked softly.

Todd frowned at Peter, who shrugged.

“No, we don’t. The vampire stories came from Europe. No Native American tribe believes in them,” Peter explained.

“Where is Sam?”

“He’s… well,” Peter said, looking around. “I’m not sure exactly.”

Todd turned when Emily’s cell phone rang from inside the Durango. He looked at her and then glanced at his brother. When she made no move to answer it, Todd went to the truck and opened the cell phone.

“Emily’s phone,” he said.

“Who is this?” the gruff voice asked.

“Todd, I’m one of Emily’s field hands… or, at least, I was.”

“Where is Emily?”

Todd sighed, “She’s not talking right now.”

Todd hung up the phone after talking for a few minutes, and went back to Emily and Peter, who were still kneeling on the ground. He looked up at the rain as it began to thicken into snow.

“Who was it?” Peter asked.

“Emily’s accountant. He needed to verify her address for some mail,” Todd said. He turned around when he heard a car approaching, “Here’s Kirk.”

An old blue Pontiac pulled up and Kirk stepped out. Emily didn’t look over at him when he stepped up to the twins. The man was one of the eldest Crows in the tribe. His long gray hair was pulled into two braids that hung down to his waist, and he had a bone and bead breastplate hanging against this chest. His wrinkled face was warm and caring, and he had a soft understanding in his eyes when he scanned the destruction.

“She won’t move,” Todd said softly.

Kirk nodded and knelt down in front of her, “Emily?”

Emily’s weary eyes looked into his.

He took her hands in his and studied her face as she turned her eyes back to the barn. The cattle had moved off to the other end of the pasture to get away from the fire. They were skittish and nervous as they pushed against the back fence.

“Get the cattle settled,” Kirk said. Todd and Peter nodded and took off toward the fearful cows.

“The horses,” Emily whispered.

“There’s nothing you could have done. Do you know who did this?” he asked her softly.

Emily nodded.

“The Sheriff will want to know, but for now, you need to get in out of the snow.” He stood up and tried to pull her to her feet, but she stayed on her knees.

“I’ll get them,” she whispered, watching where the barn was.

“Let the police deal with it,” he said, and helped her to her feet. She staggered forward toward the barn and he walked with her.

Emily stepped past a few pieces of scorched wood and pushed ash aside, revealing the bones underneath. She buried her face in her hands as her heart ached at the loss. Todd and Peter returned, and they were able to get Emily into the old Pontiac. Soon, they were at Kirk’s house on the reservation.

Emily sat on the couch and watched the fire. Her knees were pulled up to her chest and she had a heavy blanket across her shoulders.

“I’m going to go back to the bunkhouse. I hate to leave the place unattended,” Peter said, and pulled on a heavy coat before heading into the snow.

As Peter pulled into the somber ranch, he saw men walking around and a black suburban was parked in front of the burned out house. He grabbed a rifle from the backseat, and stepped out as they turned to him.

“Who are you?” he asked, leveling the rifle at one of the men.

Chevalier turned to Peter, “I’m Emily’s husband.”

“I don’t know if I believe you. You look a lot like the blokes that burned this place down,” Peter said, looking as the other men gathered.

Chevalier sighed, “Where’s Emily?”

“She’s back at the reservation.”

“And Sam?”

“We haven’t seen him,” Peter told them.

“Please, bring Emily back here,” Chevalier asked.

Peter nodded and picked up his cell phone. He turned his back and whispered the conversation, though all of the heku could hear them perfectly.

“There are men here. One says he’s Em’s husband,” Peter whispered.

“I thought he was overseas, or dead, or something,” Todd said.

“Can you bring her here? If this isn’t her husband, we’ll just have to deal.”

“Yeah, ok, if I can get her to move.”

Peter turned back to them, “She’s coming, but if you are lying to me, I’m not going to be happy.”

Chevalier nodded and turned back to the remains of the ranch, “What happened?”

Peter rubbed the back of his neck, “We just heard a loud noise, and when we came out, there were people everywhere with torches. They were burning anything they could see and yelling for Emily.”

“The Encala,” Chevalier said, mostly to himself.

“Yeah, that’s what Sam called them,” Peter told him, and watched the men until he heard a car coming.

When the car stopped, Emily got out and wandered toward the barn in a daze. Chevalier moved to her side and said something to her that the twins couldn’t hear. She turned and buried her face in his chest as he wrapped his arms around her.

Kyle walked up to the twins and pulled them aside, “Emily’s done here. We’d like to offer you the property and the livestock that’s left. The insurance money should cover a new house and barn.”

Peter’s eyes grew wide, “Are you sure? This is one of the largest ranches in these parts.”

Kyle nodded, “Yes, we’re sure.”

Todd was looking around, “It’s ours?”

“We’ll have our lawyers draw up the papers and send them over,” Kyle told them, and then turned back to Emily and Chevalier.

“She keeps saying she’ll get them,” Todd said. “We told her to let the police handle it, but she keeps saying it.”

Kyle nodded, “We’ll handle it.”

Chevalier was leading Emily back to the suburban as all but two of the heku got inside. The other two got into the Durango and sped off into the night. Kyle nodded to the twins and crawled into the driver’s seat. He took off slowly, watching as the headlights lit up the remains of the barn. Once they hit blacktop, it was only a few minutes to where Equites 1 was waiting for them.

Emily didn’t talk. She sat and looked out the window as the helicopter rose over the Crow reservation and headed back to the palace. She watched as the pilot circled, and then softly landed on the palace roof.

“No,” Emily whispered when Chevalier tried to pick her up.

Emily walked into the palace in a daze, and kept going past the fifth floor bedrooms. Chevalier followed her quietly as she went out into the stables and pressed her forehead into Patra’s soft muzzle.

She slipped a bridle on the mare and slid easily onto her bare back. She ignored Chevalier, and kicked her into a gallop, heading out of the city as he watched.

Chevalier turned and went back inside, deciding to let her have some time alone. He was anxious to talk to the Council about the attack and Sam’s disappearance. He took his seat at the Council and the others turned to him.

“Do you have anything to report?” Maleth asked him.

“The Encala burned Emily’s ranch to the ground, the house, the barn, and the livestock inside,” Chevalier said. His mind was far away on the hillside as he felt the sorrow and anguish flood from Emily.

Maleth sighed, “How is she?”

“She’s going to go after them,” Chevalier said, and turned when Kyle entered.

“The twins told me that she kept saying she would get them,” Kyle told the Council.

Damon looked over at the Elder, “They can’t leave her alone can they? Seems just when she takes care of the Valle, the Encala do something stupid.”

Chevalier nodded.

“Where is she?” Zohn asked.

“She took Patra out.”

“Alone?”

“Yes, she needs to be alone. What have we decided on the position of Court Reporter?” Chevalier asked, trying to turn the attention away from Emily, and onto the open council position.

“So far, we only have one strong candidate, he’s young though, only 808 years old,” Quinn told him.

Chevalier frowned, “Why would we consider one so young?”

“That’s my one concern too,” Maleth added.

“You can’t go in there,” Derrick said from the hallway as the door opened.

Emily stepped in. Her shoulders were low and her eyes were red and full of pain. Chevalier wanted to go to her, but he had a hard time reading what she wanted, and didn’t want to overstep.

“They won,” Emily said, looking up from the trial area.

“What was that, Dear?” Maleth asked.

“The Encala and the Valle… they won.”

The Council looked at one another nervously.

Chevalier frowned slightly, “How did they win, Em?”

“I’m not going to fight back any more. It’s been going back and forth for eight years, and I’m stopping it. They won, I quit.”

“Em…” Chevalier started.

“No, I’m not going to retaliate. I agree to personal guards. I agree to not leave the palace alone. I agree to abide by the Council’s decision on my safety, and I agree that they won, and I’m done playing,” Emily finished, and turned for the door.

“Em,” Chevalier said again, and she turned.

“We’ll get them back,” Damon promised her.

“That’ll egg them on. They’ll come back, and each time it’ll get worse. How long before all three factions kill one another off simultaneously? What do they take next? My kids?” Emily’s voice was desperate and pleading.

“We won’t let that happen,” Maleth said.

Emily shook her head, “No one lets it happen. No one let the Valle take me from the pier, no one let the Encala’s ancient try to control me, no one let the Valle into the reception… enough already. Maybe I refuse to do it anymore.”

“What is it you want us to do, exactly?” Quinn asked.

“Call the Valle and the Encala and yell Uncle,” Emily said, and walked out the door.

As the door shut behind her, Quinn turned to Chevalier, “Why would we yell Uncle?”

“I’m not exactly sure,” Chevalier said, raising an eyebrow.

Kyle stepped out of the shadows. They’d forgotten he was even in the room, “It means to wave the white flag.”

“Surrender?” Damon growled.

“No, more like calling a truce,” Kyle corrected.

“We obviously aren’t going to do that, but for now, do as she said and reassign her guards while she lets us,” Quinn ordered. Kyle nodded, and then left the room.

“Back to the Court Reporter,” Maleth said, and turned back to the book.

Chevalier watched as the rest of the Council debated. He was more worried about the emotions coming from Emily. He had never felt her so downtrodden and defeated.

After the second week of Emily wandering around the palace silently, Chevalier suddenly had an idea, something that might help her get some frustrations out.

As soon as his meeting was over, Chevalier asked Kyle and Damon to meet him in the guard training room beside the barracks, and to make sure no others were there. They nodded and blurred from the room as he headed upstairs.

Emily was curled up with Alexis in front of the fire. The baby was holding her teddy bear while Emily watched the flames.

Chevalier stepped in and shut the door, “Em?”

“Yes?” she said softly, still watching the fire.

“Silas is going to take Alexis for a bit, you need to get ready.”

“For what?” Emily was running her fingers through Alexis’ black curls.

“Jogging… come on,” he said, and put his hand out to help her up.

Emily didn’t fight him, but grabbed her sports bra and cut-off shorts, and disappeared into the bathroom. Silas came and took Alexis down to the game room.

When Emily came out, Chevalier took her hand and they walked out of the palace. She didn’t ask where they were going, but just took his lead. They stepped into the guard training room and Emily looked around. The room had padded floors and mirrors lined walls. There were punching bags and stuffed dummies in every corner.

Emily held Chevalier’s hand as they walked up to Damon and Kyle. Mark poked his head in and Kyle motioned him over.

“So… what’s up?” Damon asked, confused.

“Self-defense,” Chevalier said, and smiled at Kyle.

“Nice,” Kyle said, excited.

Emily sighed, “I don’t need self-defense anymore.”

“Yes, you do. This’ll be fun, you get to beat up Damon,” Chevalier reminded her. He smiled when he saw a small twinkle in her eye.

“Ha! She couldn’t beat me up if she tried,” Damon grumbled.

“Just keep in mind, you’re supposed to be mortal,” Kyle said, still grinning.

“I want to stay for this, that ok, Elder?” Mark asked.

Chevalier nodded, “How we did this before was to put Emily and her attacker in common positions, and then we’d analyze and find a way out of it.”

Damon grinned.

Emily shrugged, “Ok.”

“So where do you want to start?” Damon asked.

Chevalier turned to Emily, “Em, do you want to start with Jeff?”

Emily looked at Chevalier, “Do what?”

“Jeff’s attack, we can show you how to get out of it.”

“It’s… no.”

“Yes,” Chevalier said, and nodded to Damon.

Emily sighed, “Fine, but it’s the exact same position that Kyle used on the island, might as well do both mortal and immortal.”

Kyle cringed, “I... damnit.”

“Then… let’s go,” Chevalier said, and watched Emily lay down on the padded mat.

When she saw Damon kneel beside her, Emily sat up, “Can’t Mark do this?”

“Oh lay down, Sweets,” Damon said, and pushed her down onto the mat.

Emily looked to the side, embarrassed, and crossed her wrists above her head. Damon took the hint and grabbed her wrists in one hand, unsure what to do with the other. His body was at weird angles to the side of hers.

“Oh for hell’s sake, Damon…” Chevalier growled. “You know what he was trying to do, and we all know that’s not how your body would be.”

Damon dropped his head, sighed, and then moved his body onto Emily’s. He carefully wedged his knees between hers and put his free hand on her shoulder.

Emily found it hard to breathe, even though Damon was holding most of his own weight. She squeezed her eyes shut as she fought to keep from screaming and clawing her way out from under him.

“Emily, breathe,” Kyle said as he bent down to examine the pressure points exposed by Damon.

Emily took a breath and opened her eyes, still looking off to the side. She hated how his body pressed against hers, how she could smell him, and feel the heat from him. She felt the panic rising and suddenly needed to get out from under him.

Damon frowned. He wasn’t sure if she was testing a way to get out, or if she was seriously fighting to get free.

Chevalier knelt down and touched her face, “Em, calm down. It’s ok.”

Emily looked over at him, panicked. She studied his face, and as he smiled at her, she felt herself calming down and nodded.

“Ok, options,” Chevalier asked, looking at Emily’s legs to see what she could reach with them.

“A head butt?” Mark asked, bending down.

“His head is too high,” Emily said. Looking straight up, she came to face Damon’s neck.

“Bite him,” Kyle said, narrowing his eyes.

Emily looked at him strangely, “Do what?”

“Yeah, can you bite his neck?”

“I tried to bite Jeff, but he said he would bite me back,” Emily told them.

“Not if you do it right,” Kyle chuckled.

Emily looked up at Damon’s neck and saw the large vein pulsing, “I can’t.”

“You can’t reach it?” Chevalier asked her.

“No… no I... I can’t bite.”

Mark reached under and pointed to Damon’s carotid artery, “You want to break through that… off to either side and it’s not going to work.”

Damon frowned, “Can we not and say she did?”

“Scared?” Emily asked, suddenly grinning.

Damon looked down at her, “Of you? No.”

Kyle started to say something, and when Damon looked up at him, Emily sunk her short mortal teeth deep into his neck and tore open the throbbing artery. Damon yelled and jumped off of her, grasping his neck as blood poured out of it.

Emily rolled onto her hands and knees and was spitting blood onto the floor, gagging slightly.

“Guess that answers that,” Chevalier chuckled, and called for some orange juice. It took a few extra minutes to get it out to the training room, but he bent down and handed it to Emily. She grasped it tightly and drank it all in one drink.

“Damnit, that really hurt,” Damon growled.

“But would it make you let her go if you really didn’t want to?” Kyle asked.

“Hell yeah! I wouldn’t hold on after that.”

“Then that one’s done,” Kyle chuckled as he watched Emily gag.

“That was nasty,” Emily said, and stood up.

“We didn’t get the shoulder hold done,” Kyle reminded Chevalier.

“Oh, that’s right.” Chevalier watched Emily cringe.

“Mark’s turn,” Damon said, and took a step back.

“Up she goes, Damon.” Chevalier grinned.

Emily groaned when Damon threw her easily over his shoulder. He kept a close eye on the Elder, avoiding looking at Emily even the least little bit.

“What we tried earlier was to have Emily throw herself backwards, hooking her arm round his head on the way down. That fell flat when Travis lost his balance and fell onto her,” Kyle said, and winced when he saw Emily frown at Travis’ name.

“Can you throw yourself off to the side?” Mark asked.

Emily tried to roll to the side, but Damon’s hands held her tightly.

“You’re a mortal, Damon, remember that,” Kyle said.

Damon shrugged, “How in the hell am I supposed to know how to be as weak as a mortal?”

“Does the Equites uniform include underwear?” Emily asked.

“Um… what?” Mark asked, frowning.

Emily tried to look up, but the position prevented her from seeing anyone’s face, “You heard me. Do you wear underwear, or are you all commando?”

Chevalier chuckled, “Why exactly do you want to know?”

“Because I have the sudden urge to do this,” Emily said, and slipped her hands down past the waistband of Damon’s pants and grabbed a hold of his underwear, pulling as hard as she could.

Damon dropped Emily to the mat and readjusted his underwear, “What the fuck was that?”

“Damon!” Chevalier growled.

“Well… hell,” he hissed.

“That was a wedgie,” Emily said, and stood up, laughing.

Damon moved to her and pointed a finger in her face, “Do not do that again.”

“Or what?” Emily narrowed her eyes.

“Or I’ll treat you like the child you are… and put you over my knee.”

Emily put her hands on Damon’s shoulders and pushed him back as hard as she could, “You aren’t man enough.”

Damon balled his hands into fists and crouched slightly, “Don’t even tempt me.”

Kyle and Mark headed toward them, but Chevalier put his hands out to stop them. His plan was now fully in motion.

Emily glared at him, “Don’t crouch at me! I’m not afraid of you.”

Damon blurred behind her and wrapped his arms round her waist, lifting her off of the ground, “A spanking, that’s exactly what you need.”

Kyle gasped just as Emily brought her head forward and then slammed it back into Damon’s nose, shattering it. He dropped her and growled as he re-set it.

“Bitch!” Damon bellowed, and took a step towards her.

“Leech,” she yelled, and lowered her shoulder, ramming Damon in the stomach as both of them fell back onto the mat, Emily on top of Damon.

In one fast movement, Damon rolled, trapped Emily underneath him, and scowled down at her with her hands pinned above her head, “You are treading on thin ice, Baby.”

“Kiss my what?” Emily glared up at him.

“Erm, Sir?” Mark asked, fidgeting nervously.

“Leave them,” Chevalier whispered.

“Oh you’d like that wouldn’t you, Sweetheart?” Damon hissed, and then groaned when Emily’s knee connected with his groin and he rolled off of her.

Emily got slowly to her feet, grasping her side, “Keep your foul hands off of me.”

Kyle started toward her when she grimaced and leaned against the mirrored wall, but Chevalier held him back, “Not yet.”

Damon stood up and turned to face her, “Now you’ve overstepped.”

“You’re grouchy today. Been a while since you got laid, Damon? Maybe the hookers here won’t even touch you anymore,” Emily said, glaring at him.

Chevalier, Kyle, and Mark all gasped at her.

Damon’s hands slowly curled into claws, “Oh don’t worry your pretty little head about that. I may not have a sweet piece of ass in the palace, but I still get what I want.”

This time it was Mark and Kyle who had to hold the Elder back. Mark whispered something quickly.

“Your hand doesn’t count as getting what you want,” Emily glared.

Damon blurred to Emily and slammed her against the mirrored wall. The spider web patterned crack spread out from behind her. She drew back and punched him in the neck, collapsing his windpipe. He gasped for breath and took a step away from her, and she flexed her hand, wincing.

“Hurt your little hand?” Damon asked, mocking concern as soon as he could breathe again.

Emily narrowed her eyes, “Better me than you. I’d hate for you to get lonely.”

“At least it was your hand, that won’t mess up a good lay.”

“What would you know about good sex?”

“Now!” Kyle yelled, fighting to keep Chevalier out of the fight.

Damon had Emily on the ground instantly, his hand around her neck and his body pressed against hers, holding her down.

“You better watch what you say to me,” Damon growled, and closed his hand slowly around her neck.

Emily grabbed his head quickly and turned it hard to the side. The sound of cracking bones filled the small training room, but his grip didn’t lessen and she could feel her airway slowly closing off.

The door to the training room flew open as Quinn and Zohn blurred into the room. Quinn pulled Damon off of Emily, and wrapped a restraining arm around his shoulders, while Zohn pulled Emily to her feet and gently restrained her.

With Zohn’s soft restraint, Emily was able to easily jerk away from him and slammed her fist into Damon’s nose before he could grab her again.

“What is going on here?” Maleth asked from the doorway.

“Self-defense gone bad,” Mark explained.

“Everyone… just calm down, now!” Quinn hissed at them.

The two heku slowly regained their composure and stood up, now unrestrained. Zohn held tighter to Emily as she kept fighting to get away from him. He was able to dodge when she tried to smash his nose with the back of her head, and she was now trying to bite his restraining arm.

“Never… refer to my wife as a piece of ass, or so help me, I’ll tear you apart,” Chevalier said, glaring at Damon.

Maleth turned to Damon, “You didn’t!”

Damon sighed, “I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

“Come on, Killer,” Chevalier said, and took Emily from Zohn.

“I’m not done with you,” Emily yelled at Damon, as Chevalier pulled her out the door.

“Oh don’t look at me like that. She had it coming,” Damon growled at the rest of the heku in the room, and then stormed out.

Quinn turned to Kyle, “Care to explain?”

“I’m not even sure what happened. We were going over some self-defense with Emily, and all of a sudden they just… well…” Kyle glanced at Mark, “Attacked.”

“Damon attacked Emily during a training session?” Maleth asked with wide eyes.

Kyle grinned, “Actually, Emily started it.”

Quinn shook his head and sighed.

Maleth frowned, “Why did you let it get that far?”

“Chevalier held us back. I think he was trying to let Em get out some… aggression,” Mark said, and had to hide a grin.

“Clean this up,” Quinn growled, and the council members left the training room.

As soon as the door closed, both Mark and Kyle started laughing.

“That was awesome,” Mark said after he caught his breath.

Kyle grinned, “Not often we get to see that.”

Chapter 14 - Bar

“Good morning,” Chevalier said, kissing Emily’s shoulder lightly.

Emily just sighed and pulled closer to him.

Chevalier chuckled, “Interesting dream, why are you always trying to save the heku?”

“I’m not, otherwise I wouldn’t have tried to assault one yesterday.” Emily looked up into his eyes.

Chevalier laughed, “True.”

“How mad is Quinn?”

“I’m not sure it was mad, as much as surprised. It’s sometimes shocking how well you hold up against someone three times your size, with twenty times your strength.”

Emily propped herself up on her elbow, facing him, “Don’t get mad at what Damon said to me. I started it.”

“That was uncalled for.” Chevalier was suddenly serious.

“Nevertheless, I started it.”

He sighed, “Ok, but if I hear it again…”

“If he says it again. I’ll take care of it.”

Chevalier chuckled and kissed her forehead.

“What are your plans for the day?” Chevalier asked her.

“I’m going to drag Allen out of the palace, kicking and screaming, and do something outside.”

“It’s snowing.”

Emily looked over at the curtained window, “How do you know?”

“I can smell it. It’s snowing pretty hard.”

“Then I have no idea what I’m going to do.”

“I’ll be in meetings most of the morning.” He brushed his lips softly against hers, “Try to stay out of trouble.”

Emily frowned, “Take the day off.”

“I can’t, we have to try to figure out where Sam is.”

She ran her nails lightly down his chest, “I can make you stay.”

Chevalier grinned and took her hands in his and kissed them lightly, “Yes, you could.”

He crawled out of bed and slipped on some clothes.

“How about I just lie here naked all day and give you something to think about during the meeting?” Emily asked, rolling onto her back so she could watch him.

Chevalier ran his eyes down the length of the bed, admiring the way the light sheet clung to the curves of her body, “That’s not fair.”

“I never said I would play fair.”

Chevalier growled, “Damn, I have to go.” He looked once more at her and blurred from the room.

Emily sat up and looked around the bedroom. Both fires were roaring, and there was a tray of food for her on the table. She knew that Allen would already be in lessons, and Silas had come to take Alexis down for breakfast earlier.

She sighed and slid out of bed, disappearing into the large closet. She came out and looked into the mirror and grinned. The dark blue, floor-length baby-doll dress had a long flowing hem and layers of soft material. She saw it in her closet a long time ago, but hadn’t really seen a need to wear it until today. She threw her hair into a loose French braid and grabbed a piece of bacon before leaving the room.

“Mornin’, Em,” Mark said, looking at her, surprised. He wasn’t sure he’d ever seen her in a dress before except for formal occasions.

“Ma’am,” an unfamiliar guard said to her.

“Morning”

She walked past them and lifted the hem on her dress slightly as she padded barefoot, down the stairs to the fourth floor. She could hear the heavy boots from the guards behind her as she opened the back door to the council chambers and stepped inside.

The Council all turned to look at her when she walked in, and she felt a blush rising, wondering if her plan wasn’t the best idea. Damon was the first to turn away from her, but the shocked looks on the faces of the Council made her blush grow stronger.

“Hello, Emily.” Maleth smiled, and couldn’t help noticing how the dress fit her and turned away suddenly.

Chevalier eyed her, “What are you up to?”

The rest of the council members turned around when Chevalier glared at them.

“I just have a message for you,” Emily said, and walked up the stairs to Chevalier’s chair. She hiked her dress up to her knees and straddled him, sitting on his lap to face him.

Chevalier’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Emily glanced once at the council members, who were again watching them, and then bent over to whisper in Chevalier’s ear, “I’m not wearing anything under this dress.”

Chevalier chuckled as Emily crawled off his lap and disappeared out the back door. He turned his chair toward the rest of the council members, and they turned away suddenly, pretending they hadn’t heard what she just whispered.

Emily met up with Silas as they were coming back up the stairs. Silas was assigned as Alexis’ personal bodyguard and loved the assignment.

Emily kissed Alexis and brushed her hair back away from her face, “Anyone up for some games?”

The guards nodded, and Alexis held her hands out for her Mother. Emily took her and called for Allen.

“Yes, Mother?” he asked, coming to her side. Allen couldn’t blur like the heku, but he was much faster than a mortal.

“I’m calling it a game day,” Emily told him, and then sighed when he grimaced.

“I was in the middle of World Studies,” Allen told her.

“You’d honestly rather study than spend a day with us?”

Emily didn’t notice when Mark hit Allen in the back of the head quickly.

Allen shrugged, “Game day it is, let’s go.”

Emily smiled and they all headed to the game room.

“Don’t leave!” Emily said sternly when the three heku playing pool started to put their things away.

They glanced at Mark, and he nodded for them to stay, so they resumed their game.

Emily sat Alexis down and started going through the available games. The game room was now fitted with all of the major game consoles and almost any game available. She picked out a sports game and forced a remote into Allen’s hand.

Emily turned and looked around the room as the others played games. One thing that had always bothered her about this room, was the mirror on the wall behind the poker table. It was always hanging crooked and she decided it was about time to fix it. She heard the click the second she straightened the mirror, and felt a rush of wind as the wall spun quickly.

She lost her balance and fell onto a cold, dusty floor. She turned just in time to see the wall finish its rotation.

Getting to her feet, Emily brushed the dust from her dress and looked around the room. There were windows high up on the wall, and the small amount of light that shone through them was enough that she could see everything.

“It’s a bar…” Emily whispered, and turned to study the room. One wall had a bar, and stools lined the outside of it. The rest of the large room was full of octagon shaped tables with chairs around each of them. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust.

“Heku and their damned secret rooms,” Emily grumbled, and walked behind the bar. She coughed when her long dress stirred up dust from the floor.

Emily pulled a bottle off the shelf and blew the dust from the label. It was an ancient bottle of Canadian whiskey that was almost completely full. She set it down and ran her hands along the rows of shot glasses that hung from a rack above the bottles of alcohol.

“Hey Mark?” Emily called toward the spinning door.

When no one answered, she went over and felt along the crack, trying to figure out how to turn the wall again.

“Damnit, this one’s not my fault,” Emily growled, and knocked at the wall.

“Your turn, Em,” Mark said, and turned to hand her the remote. He looked around the room and frowned.

“When did Emily leave?” Mark asked one of the guards playing games by the door.

“Didn’t see her leave,” he said, and went back to the video poker game.

Silas checked behind the poker table and shrugged at Mark, “I have no idea.”

“She slipped us!” Mark growled angrily.

Silas disappeared out into the hallway and came back in, “Her scent is stronger in here.”

“Emily?” Mark called to the room.

“Yup, she slipped us,” Silas sighed.

“Damnit, I don’t want to go tell them,” Mark said nervously.

“Tell who, what?” Chevalier asked, stepping into the game room with Kyle.

Silas sighed and looked at Mark.

“She slipped us,” Mark said, cringing.

Kyle shook his head, “That doesn’t make sense.”

Chevalier agreed, “No it doesn’t. She only slips out when we’re tightening the hold.”

“Ma go?” Alexis asked, shrugging.

The heku all turned suddenly when a soft swishing noise sounded. They watched with wide eyes as the back wall spun quickly. Chevalier caught Emily just before she hit the floor, and by the time he looked up, the wall had returned to the clean mirror behind the poker table.

“Wow, come look,” Emily said, and took Chevalier’s hand. She pulled him over to the mirror and adjusted it. He grabbed her waist and stepped out as the revolving door passed the room behind the game room.

Emily walked over and picked up a dusty bottle of bourbon while Chevalier looked around.

“Hrm, interesting,” Chevalier said, raising his eyebrows. He heard Kyle and Mark come through the spinning wall and walked over to Emily as she read through the bottles.

“How do you find these places?” Kyle asked, looking around the room.

“Just lucky I guess. I thought you all weren’t supposed to drink,” Emily said, and turned around with a half-empty bottle of Jack Daniels.

“Those are fairly new rules, only in the last hundred years or so.” Chevalier picked up a bottle and threw it to Kyle.

Kyle looked at the label and gasped, “1787 Chateau Lafitte… damn, it’s not even opened.”

Chevalier and Kyle turned around when they heard the sound of glasses. Emily was wiping out some shot glasses and setting them out on the bar.

“We can’t drink this,” Kyle reminded her.

“Why not?” She turned and started going through the bottles, wiping off the labels.

“Elder’s orders, remember?”

“There’s an Elder right here, and I’m sure he can make an exception.”

Chevalier chuckled, “No, he can’t.”

“There’s a reason these marks are on the walls,” Kyle said. Emily looked over as he pointed to holes and scratches on the wall.

“So what if things get a little violent, maybe that’s why it’s hidden. Heku can come here and get a drink, if they decide to fight… then it’s contained,” Emily suggested. “I could clean this place up…”

Chevalier cut her off, “We aren’t going to have an open bar in the palace.”

“Come on, it would be fun,” Emily told him, and hopped up onto the bar to watch the others.

“You are looking for trouble,” Chevalier said, and pulled her off of the bar. “Everyone out.”

They all stepped into the game room and then watched the wall finish its rotation.

Emily turned to Chevalier, “Just bring it up to the Council. Maybe we can sponsor a party or two and then…”

Emily’s words were cut off by Chevalier’s lips as he wrapped his arms around her and blurred up to the bedroom.

***

“That wasn’t nice,” Chevalier chuckled. He pulled the hair off of her neck and ran his lips along the warm artery.

Emily shivered, “What wasn’t nice?”

“I couldn’t even concentrate during the meeting.”

Emily laughed, “Oh yeah, that. That was payback.”

“For what?”

“For setting Damon and I up for a fight.”

Chevalier grinned, “Fine, then we’re even.”

Emily nodded, “Even… Hey!”

Emily grabbed onto Chevalier’s arm when he started out of bed. He turned around and kissed her again and then stood up.

“Get up and get dressed,” Chevalier said, and started getting dressed.

“Why? It’s late already.”

“We are going out to dinner.”

Emily’s eyes grew wide, “Seriously?”

“If you get dressed, otherwise they may not let us in.” Chevalier chuckled and tossed the blue slip dress to her.

Emily looked at it, “Fancy, eh?”

Chevalier leaned against the wall and nodded, “Of course, we can’t go on a date to the local Barn ‘n Burger.”

Emily climbed out of bed and pulled on the slip dress and then went to run a brush through her hair.

“Missing something?” Chevalier laughed and ran his hands from her thighs to her waist.

“Complaining?”

He kissed her neck softly, “Nope.”

“Saves on unwanted lines,” Emily said, and smiled.

Chevalier pulled a necklace from his pants pocket and slipped it around Emily’s neck. He fastened it for her while she ran her fingers long the inlaid diamonds and sapphires.

“That’s beautiful,” she said, turning toward him.

Chevalier pulled her close to him and kissed her as he wrapped his arms round her. He finally pulled away and looked into her eyes, “Maybe we should stay in.”

“Oh no, we’re going out,” Emily said, and slipped on the dark blue stilettos.

“Ok, if you say so.” He handed her a fur stole.

“What is this?” she asked, running her fingers through the soft fur.

“It’s fake is what it is, ready to go?”

Emily nodded and headed for the door as Chevalier put on a dinner jacket. Mark and Kyle met them outside of her door, also dressed for dinner.

Emily turned to Chevalier, “Seriously?”

“Don’t worry, they have their own reservations.” Chevalier put his hand on the small of her back and led her down the stairs.

“How’d you get her to wear mink?” Kyle whispered.

Chevalier silenced him with a glare.

Chevalier opened the door to the McLaren and helped her inside and then turned to talk to Mark and Kyle for a few seconds before crawling into the driver’s seat. He pulled the car out into traffic and was followed closely by Kyle’s red Ferrari Enzo.

“Do they realize how very much like a gay couple they look?” Emily asked with a smirk.

“What do you mean?” Chevalier asked.

“Two guys, nice clothes, nice car, dinner reservations.”

Chevalier started to laugh, “Please, don’t tell them that.”

“I won’t, but if they get hit on, I’m not joining into the fight.” Emily grinned and checked behind her for the Enzo.

“No fights tonight, we all swore on it. Besides, I don’t think anyone will be getting hit on by dim-witted cowboys at this restaurant.”

Emily watched as they pulled up to a restaurant that looked like a quaint French chateau. A valet opened her door and helped her out of the car. Chevalier met her with his arm out, and she smiled and took it as Kyle and Mark stepped out of the Ferrari.

She watched as Chevalier conversed with the maître d’ in French, and sat them at a quiet table by the fire. She couldn’t help but notice that Mark and Kyle sat near them.

Emily leaned toward Chevalier, “How exactly are they going to pull off the no-eating thing?”

Chevalier grinned, “Trust us. What would you like?”

Emily glanced at the menu, “You pick something. I can’t read this.”

The waiter came up to Chevalier and they spoke for a while. He returned a few minutes later with a bottle of red wine. Emily watched carefully as he poured a small amount into Chevalier’s glass. He smelled and then tasted the wine and nodded at the waiter, who then poured both Chevalier and Emily glass.

Emily took a sip and then watched, surprised, as Chevalier did the same, “You aren’t breaking the rules are you?”

“Not at all, I’m an Elder. I can do what I want.”

“So… what is it you are up to?” Emily asked suspiciously.

Chevalier took a sip of wine, “What do you mean?”

“We’ve known each other for almost 9 years, and we’ve never been on a date.”

“I apologize for that.”

“So spill it.”

“I don’t have to have an ulterior motive to take my wife out to dinner.”

“Mhmmm.” Emily took a sip of wine and slipped off one shoe, then ran her foot along Chevalier’s inner thigh.

Chevalier coughed some and set his wine down onto the table, “You, my Dear, have the entire palace fooled.”

“How so?” Emily asked, raising her eyebrows.

“They once accused me of seducing a child.”

“Oh, but you did.” Emily laughed and watched as the waiter brought them out their food. It looked to her more like a work of art than something to eat, and the proportion sizes were at odd contrast to the overly large plates.

Emily took a bite of the meat and watched as Chevalier expertly pushed his food round on his plate while he watched her.

“No, I didn’t seduce you,” Chevalier whispered.

“Yes you did. I had no plans on ever sleeping with you. I was going to go back to the ranch after Colorado, remember?” Emily reminded him.

“I’ll deny it if anyone asks… but I admit, I did, and I planned on it from almost the first time I saw you.”

Emily gasped, “You came into my bathroom on a booty call?”

“No, I came into your room because of your scent… it wasn’t until I saw you in the bathtub that I decided on a… what was it? Booty call,” he told her.

“I was going to shoot you.” Emily grinned and took another sip of wine. She watched the waiter come and refill her glass.

“I’m well aware of that,” Chevalier chuckled.

As Emily finished her dinner, she felt the wine kicking in and excused herself to the ladies room, grinning at Mark and Kyle as she walked by them. They had to look at Chevalier to see if they should follow her, but he obviously told them not to because she was alone when she arrived at the bathroom.

When Emily came back out, she sat down as the waiter brought out a crème Brule and a blowtorch. She heard Chevalier growl slightly and looked up as the waiter glanced away from her nervously, and then walked away quickly.

As the waiter left, Chevalier grinned, “You are no longer allowed out of the palace.”

Emily laughed, “Why’s that?”

“I can’t keep men from looking at you.”

Emily blushed and took a bite of the dessert, “All I can say is, good luck keeping me in.”

“Is that a challenge?” Chevalier chuckled.

“I’m not dumb enough to challenge an Elder.”

Chevalier stood up and helped Emily to her feet. Once he wrapped the stole round her, they headed out the door. Emily looked back, but didn’t see Mark and Kyle.

“We lost our guards,” she whispered.

Chevalier glanced back, “They’ll catch up.”

Emily watched a valet pull up in the McLaren and another brought the Ferrari. She turned just as Kyle disappeared into the car as he tried to hide the crimson red stain on his shirt. Mark had his coat pulled tightly around him and smiled reassuringly to Emily before getting into the car.

Chevalier opened the car door for Emily, but she went over to the Ferrari and leaned through the window.

“Human or heku?” she asked them, smiling.

“Heku,” Kyle sighed.

Emily nodded and whispered, “Take the long way home, and I promise not to slip my guards for a week.”

“Why would we… erm… ok,” Kyle said, and winked at her.

Emily slid into the McLaren and buckled herself in as Chevalier shut her door and got into the driver’s side. He pulled into traffic and headed back to the palace.

“Where the hell is he going?” Chevalier growled when the Ferrari sped around them and took off on a side road.

“They’re doing me a favor,” Emily said.

“What might that be?” Chevalier was starting to sound irritated.

Emily shrugged, “You wrecked the Bugatti because it was never properly christened. Before anything happens to this car, we better christen it.”

Chevalier frowned, “Christen it?”

Emily reached over and ran her nails lightly up his inner thigh. He swerved slightly and then grinned, “Oh, christen it.”

Chevalier pulled over into an abandoned lot and turned off the headlights. Emily hiked up her skirt and swung around to straddle Chevalier, facing him. He gently took her face in his hands and kissed her passionately.

Chapter 15 - Switched

Emily stormed out of her bedroom. She didn’t care that she was in her nightgown or that Allen was left alone to tend to his one-year-old sister. The guards immediately fell in behind her, and she spun to them and glared.

“What’s wrong?” Mark asked, taking a step back.

Emily’s bare feet barely made a sound as she turned on the fourth floor and went to the trial door of the council chambers.

“You can’t go in there right now,” Derrick said, standing in front of the door. “There’s a prisoner in there.”

Emily gritted her teeth, “Move.”

Derrick looked nervously at Mark and then stepped aside. Emily flung open the door and walked in angrily.

“Emily, we’re busy,” Quinn said to her, but immediately fell quiet when he saw the look on her face.

The prisoner hissed at her and crouched slowly.

She turned and glared at him, and as he turned to ash, she growled, “Hiss at that.”

“Emily!” Chevalier said, surprised.

“Damnit, we were in the middle of a trial,” Damon scowled.

“Who did it?” Emily asked angrily.

“What did someone do to you now?” Damon asked, rolling his eyes.

Emily narrowed her eyes at him and gave him a brief burn. He screamed for only a few seconds before hurdling the desk and lunging for her. Quinn jumped the desk and caught Damon before he could get to her.

“Everyone calm down!” Maleth roared.

“Do not use your abilities on me,” Damon hissed at her.

“Did you do it?” She glared at him.

“I don’t know what your psycho wife is accusing me of, but I didn’t do anything,” Damon said as he took his chair.

Emily walked up to the Council and slammed a small purple box on the table, “It’s sugar.”

Chevalier opened the box and frowned, “I’m not following.”

“Sugar pills!” Emily yelled.

“Why are you taking sugar pills?” Maleth frowned.

Emily screamed furiously, “Those are supposed to be birth control pills! How long have I been taking sugar pills?”

Chevalier’s eyes grew wide, “Are you sure?”

“Taste one,” she shouted, and scanned the Council with angry eyes.

“Calm down, please, Emily. Some of us have no idea what the problem is,” Maleth said calmly.

“These pills,” Emily said, picking up the purple box, “Keep me from getting pregnant, and I found out this morning that they have been replaced with sugar pills.”

“Are you with child?” Zohn asked, concerned.

Emily moved to Zohn and glared up at him, “You damn well better hope not or you’ll find yourself two Winchester’s short.”

“I’m sure no one on the Council would…” Zohn said, but was cut off by Emily.

“No one breathes in this city without council approval, so you can’t tell me that you didn’t know about this.” Emily had quit yelling, but her eyes were still furious.

“Emily, I swear, we didn’t know,” Maleth said softly.

She turned and stormed out of the council chambers.

Chevalier sighed, “This is not good.”

“Eeeeh, she’ll get over it,” Damon said, and turned back to the papers in front of him.

“It’s an assault, in a way, is it not?” Zohn said, frowning.

Chevalier opened the little purple box again and looked through it, “I’m not exactly sure how these things work, but there are only four pills left, 24 of them are gone. So if they were sugar pills from the start, then she’s missed almost an entire month of these.”

Quinn cleared his throat, “I say we not panic until we find out if this little scheme worked or not. As the Council didn’t agree to this, then we’ll let the Chief Investigator loose and see if he can find out who did it. In the meantime, let’s contact the Encala and see if they have Sam.”

“And… there she goes,” Damon said when he heard the Durango pull out of the garage.

“Damn,” Chevalier growled.

“She’ll come back, isn’t running kind of her thing?” Damon said calmly.

“Yes, it is. I’m sure she just needs some time to think,” Chevalier agreed. “Who are we sending to the Encala?’

“Tell me again why we’re fighting to get Sam back? Emily doesn’t even seem to care that he’s gone,” Zohn asked, and turned toward the Council.

“He knows too much about this palace and the Winchester family.” Quinn reminded him.

“That’s right, well, I’ll go then, with four of the Cavalry,” Zohn said.

“We’ll need you here,” Maleth said. “I know the sugar pills don’t sound to us like that big of a deal, but if Emily leaves, it’ll matter a lot.”

“Stop catering to her. So she gets knocked up again, that’s just a risk you take when you…” Damon started, but Chevalier’s glare shut him up.

“We aren’t catering to her,” Maleth frowned.

“Yes you are! You always do. What would we have done if a heku barged in here and killed our prisoner, mid-trial, and then yelled at us, even accused us of something?” Damon asked, and turned to the Elders.

“Fine,” Maleth said, irritated. “I’ll give you that, but do we have a choice? She has a nasty habit of running off, proven today. One of these times, she won’t come back, and we’ll find ourselves the victim of her abilities at the hands of another faction.”

“Just once, stop catering to her moods… eventually, like any spoiled child, she’ll realize it’s not working and she’ll stop throwing fits,” Damon suggested.

“She’s not a spoiled child,” Chevalier growled.

“No, she’s a spoiled weapon. How’s that?”

Chevalier just glared at him.

Damon ignored Chevalier and continued, “Never, in the history of our species, have we let a mortal run around a palace freely, barking orders, throwing fits, and basically getting anything they want.”

“What exactly do you suggest we do?” Quinn asked.

“Tell her she can either be a part of this faction, which includes following the rules, or she can leave.”

Quinn gasped, “So basically give her an ultimatum and have her join the Valle?”

“I don’t like where this is going,” Chevalier said angrily.

“Don’t misunderstand me. I see the value of having her around, and I fully admit that she’s saved our asses a few times, but damn, stop playing the pissed off mortal game. It’s time she grows up,” Damon said.

“So, what now?” Maleth asked him. “We let the sugar pills slide? If she’s pregnant, then we let her leave?”

“No,” Damon corrected. “We let the sugar pills slide, but we can’t let her leave. It’s pretty much a given that we have to keep her here. For right now, we let her drive around until she calms down, and when she comes back, we tell her there won’t be an investigation and it’s her responsibility to take care of her own damned pills.”

Quinn sighed, “We do coddle her, that I admit, and I do see how that could be a problem.”

Chevalier growled.

“All I’m suggesting is that we hold her to the same rules as every heku in the Equites, and that we stop giving in to her temper tantrums and unreasonable demands,” Damon said.

“She’s not a heku,” Zohn reminded him.

“I know, but she’s also not in charge.”

Zohn nodded, “So who is going to enforce these rules?”

“I’m not going to be a part of this,” Chevalier said, and walked out of the Council room.

“Good, he has a conflict of interest. Now we can be more open and come up with a solution to the problem,” Damon said.

“I’m not sure I like this either,” Maleth said, frustrated.

“I, personally, do not want to enforce these rules. She’s temperamental and moody, and doesn’t seem to care about turning someone to ash,” Zohn said, nodding toward their former prisoner.

Damon nodded, “I’ll do it. I’m not afraid of her.”

“If she turns you to ash, who is going to revive you?” Quinn asked him.

“She won’t. I’ll re-train her guards and take her personally under my wing,” Damon smiled.

“I don’t like this,” Maleth said again.

“Just imagine a palace with no one having to tiptoe around the mortal, no one being turned to ash, no one taking off, and no fears that our weapon will turn over to an opposing faction. Life will be peaceful again,” Damon smiled.

“Still, it’s Emily… she has saved us and she’s shown more devotion to this faction than most of our elite guards. She’s lightened the place up and given us all a better outlook on mortals. I honestly wonder why she even stays here, what she gets out of it as we all seem to take but never give,” Maleth said. “I, for one, don’t want to even think about the palace without her.”

“She stays here,” Damon said, “Because we cater to her, we offer her protection, but ask nothing in return. We feed her, house her, watch her kids, and all she has to do is sit around and make demands.”

“I don’t know,” Maleth said, watching his hands.

“If we don’t get a handle on her temper, there’s no reason why the covens won’t replace us. The second one of us shows a weakness, we should be replaced, but as far as that one little mortal is concerned, we all show a weakness. If you don’t want in on this, then I suggest you step out because when she gets back,” Damon said, smiling, “She’s mine.”

Maleth nodded, stood up, and quietly left the room.

“Maybe it’s time to replace the two Elders,” Zohn suggested.

“No,” Quinn said. “We still have to consider the ramifications of Emily going to another faction, and after how she reacted to Leonid’s retirement, we can’t replace them.”

“Once I train her, it’ll all be easier,” Damon said, and smiled reassuringly.

***

“Are you kidding me?” Emily asked, frustrated.

“No, I’m not. Now turn your little car around, and get off this island,” the pier guard said as his dog growled angrily at Emily.

“I’m not in the mood to train a new guard, either let me by or call Storm to the pier.”

“No”

“No? Didn’t you all learn last year when I came here and was turned away? I’m the Elder’s wife for hell’s sake,” Emily scowled.

“Sure you are, now go away,” the guard said smugly.

Emily grabbed her cell phone and dialed, glaring at the guard.

“Chev?” she asked, and the guard stiffened some.

“The pier guards won’t let me onto the island,” Emily told him.

Almost immediately, the guard’s phone rang and he answered it nervously. Emily watched as he cringed and nodded a few times. She glanced over and noticed a yacht sitting along the pier. She knew Chevalier promised her a new boat, but she didn’t know he’d gotten one already. After the guard hung up, he moved aside and waved Emily through. She pulled the Durango off of the pier and sped toward the castle.

Emily pulled up in front of the castle and the guards nervously opened her door, glancing at each other. She got Alexis out of the car seat and went into the castle, then smiled and looked around the foyer.

“Lady Emily?” Anna asked, shocked.

Emily went up and hugged her, “It’s so good to be back!”

Anna smiled, “Good to have you home, Child. Did the Elder come with you?”

“No, actually, he didn’t. Is that yacht by the pier Chevalier’s?”

Anna nodded, “Yes it is. Come, let’s get you settled.”

“Actually,” Emily said. “Can you take Alexis for lunch? I have something I want to do.”

Anna smiled, “Sure, Child.”

Emily immediately headed down to the prison. One guard started to yell, but the other hit him, “Good afternoon, Lady Emily.”

“Hello,” she said, and headed down to the familiar cell.

“David?” she asked. She wasn’t sure it was still him. The heku was sitting, cross-legged and faced away from her.

He turned suddenly, “My God, Emily?”

She smiled, “Been a while.”

David moved to the cell, “I’ve been so worried about you, you look great! Will you be staying here?”

Emily shrugged, “I actually have a question… do you know how to drive a yacht?”

David frowned, “Yes, why?”

“I need lessons, can you teach me?”

“Yes I suppose I could, but…”

“Good,” Emily turned around. “Sean?”

The guard came toward her, “Yes, Ma’am?”

“Let David out. I’m taking him on an errand for a few hours.”

Sean frowned, “I’m not allowed, Ma’am.”

Emily sighed, “You know you’re going to do it, so save yourself the pain and just let him out now. If he tries to take off or bite me, then I’ll return his ashes.”

“Damnit,” the guard scowled, and opened David’s cell.

David followed Emily nervously as they walked up into the foyer. He crawled into her Durango and they set off for the pier.

“I guess I don’t have to tell you that you shouldn’t be doing this,” David said, breathing the fresh air deeply.

“No, you don’t.” Emily stopped the Durango and they both got out. One of the pier guards crouched when he saw the prisoner loose.

“He’s with me,” Emily said, and headed to the yacht. David helped her onto the boat and she looked around at the new yacht. It was bigger than the last, but the colors were all roughly the same. She immediately headed up to the bridge and sat on the chair.

“Ok, so… yachts,” David started, and began teaching her how to navigate.

***

“At least you know where she is this time,” Maleth said as he watched Chevalier look out over the ocean.

“No I don’t. She left two weeks ago on the yacht and I haven’t been able to get a hold of her,” Chevalier said. He’d been watching the ocean for her return for a few days.

“I just meant that you know she’s out on the yacht. We should have the GPS tracking from the phone company back soon, and then we’ll know exactly where she is. I’m surprised she could even sail one, to be honest.”

“She didn’t know how. She took a friend of hers from the prison and he taught her.”

“A prisoner?” Maleth gasped.

Chevalier nodded.

“Maybe they are right. Maybe she’s become a liability. Everyone’s so afraid of her, they don’t ever tell her no,” Maleth said softly.

Chevalier sighed, “I know.”

“I’m afraid you and I may be on the chopping block too. I’m sure you are aware of that.”

“Yes I am, very much aware that Emily may cause us to appear weak.”

“If we’re replaced…” Maleth cringed.

“We won’t be. I’ll let the Council see what they can do.” Chevalier turned to Maleth, “If she finds out that you and I could be replaced because of her, things will change.”

“I just wish it didn’t have to change. She adds life to the palace.”

Chevalier just nodded and looked out over the ocean again.

***

Damon deftly jumped onto the yacht from the small boat and looked around. The yacht seemed quiet as he headed down the stairs to the living area. He saw Alexis asleep in a playpen, and he headed up the other stairs, surprised Emily hadn’t come to track down the footsteps.

The bright sun blinded him at first but when he slipped on his sunglasses, he saw Emily lying out on a chaise, topless. Damon quickly looked away and then turned back to her and grinned. He knew she was attractive, but hadn’t seen her quite like that before. He suddenly realized why the Elder was so jealous.

As Damon pulled her earphones out, she jerked suddenly and fell off of the chaise. Emily scrambled to her feet, covering herself with a towel.

“Damnit, Damon, why are you here?” she growled.

“I came as a representative of the Council,” Damon said, grinning as he moved back into the living area and out of the sun.

Emily pulled on a robe and followed him down, “I’m not coming back yet. I’m enjoying the peace and quiet.”

“Sit, please,” he said, pointing to a chair.

Emily sighed and sat down, then looked up at him, “I’m not really in the mood to get yelled at.”

“I’m not here to yell, but I need you to pay attention and listen,” Damon said, leaning against the counter.

“Ok,” Emily said skeptically.

“The Council has decided to replace Maleth and Chevalier.”

Emily gasped and sat up straighter, “What? No! Please…”

Damon stopped her, “Calm down, we’ve decided to hold off on the decision until we see if you are going to comply.”

Emily felt her heart pounding in her chest. She couldn’t imagine being alive and knowing that Chevalier and Maleth were below the ground, suffering endlessly.

“Breathe,” Damon said. He was pleased at her reaction and knew this would be an easy task.

Emily took a deep breath and looked up at him with tear filled eyes, “Please, don’t.”

“They are a liability because of you.”

“Me?” she whispered.

“Yes, you. Your temper and disobedience shows a weakness in them. The Council can’t have weak members, I’m sure you know that,” Damon hadn’t expected the tears, and was ashamed at how they made his heart ache.

Emily nodded and looked at Damon.

“So I agreed to take responsibility for you, and to see if we can find a solution. One that gives the Council some control over you, and one that restores the faith we have in the two Elders.”

Again she just nodded.

“Any resistance will be seen as proof that you can’t change, and that the only way to restore the power of the Council is to remove the weak members.” Damon didn’t like the horrified look in her eyes. He fully expected to feel nothing when he told her, and hated himself for feeling pity. He studied her for a moment while he regained his initial control.

Emily looked up at him, a little calmer.

“Good, then from now on, I’m your… mentor, shall we call it, and I will demand full compliance,” Damon said.

Emily nodded. She wasn’t able to speak.

“To prove to me that you are going to do as I ask without a fight…”

“What?” Emily whispered.

Damon blurred to her and began to feed from her neck. He felt her body relax beneath him and once he was sure she wasn’t going to turn him to ash, he shut his eyes and tasted the exquisite flavor of her blood. The scent was nothing compared to the taste and it took great control to stop before he drank too much.

Damon kissed her softly and then stood up, “Good girl.”

Emily buried her face in her hands and cried as Damon went up to the bridge and she felt the yacht moving. No one had dared feed off of her since the Valle tried to turn her. She wondered if this was going to be her new life, a life as Damon’s live-in donor.

Emily dressed quickly and pulled the 9mm from her bag. She studied it as she turned it over in her hand. The weight of it was comforting, and she briefly wondered if her death would save both Chevalier from centuries of pain, and her from the humiliation of being at Damon’s beckon call.

Alexis waking broke Emily’s suicidal thoughts and she tucked the gun back in the bag. She pulled the baby out of the playpen and held her tightly, unsure of the kind of future the two of them now had.

Emily and Alexis stayed below as Damon took the yacht back to the island. She felt the anchor drop and Damon appeared below deck.

“Come on,” he said, and disappeared up the stairs.

Emily glanced at herself in the mirror. The red puncture marks on her neck stood out as a badge of her humiliation and embarrassment. She stepped out onto the deck, still holding Alexis, and Damon lifted them down onto the pier.

Chevalier met them and wrapped his arms around them, kissing Emily’s head. Emily felt confused and emotionally drained. She no longer felt the comfort from his arms, and felt like she was now on display for all of the heku gathered, which included almost all of the Equites Council.

Chevalier growled when he saw her neck and turned angrily to Damon, “You fed?”

“Damon!” Maleth yelled.

“Only to show compliance, and she didn’t fight me,” Damon said proudly.

Emily lowered her eyes to avoid seeing all of the heku glance at her neck. She adjusted her hair to hide it.

“That wasn’t part of the agreement,” Chevalier hissed.

“Please, don’t,” Emily whispered.

Damon grinned, “Shall we get back to Council City?”

Emily let Chevalier take Alexis, and then he took her hand and walked to the waiting helicopter. She wasn’t sure who lifted her into the Blackhawk, but took a seat and buckled herself in, still watching the floor. She couldn’t bear to see Damon and wasn’t sure if she could handle the fury in Chevalier’s eyes either.

Chapter 16 - Compliance

Emily felt numb as she stood before the Equites Council. They looked down at her, pleased that she was showing obedience to them, even after only three weeks. Damon had full control of her, and he proved it often. Maleth and Chevalier held their tongues to save their lives, and watched as he paraded her around the palace like a prized trophy.

“Enough time has passed. We want to know if you are with child,” Zohn asked her, and his commanding voice almost sent Chevalier into a rage.

“No,” Emily whispered, eyes on the ground.

“The Council feels it is time for another baby,” Damon said.

Emily could hear Chevalier growl, but she kept her eyes on the floor. She wouldn’t do anything to risk him being banished, and he promised her three weeks ago, when this started, that he wouldn’t interfere.

Maleth shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

“That is all, you may go,” Damon said, and Emily left the chambers quickly.

Mark and Silas fell in behind her when she left the council chambers. They scowled at the way she walked, her shoulders were down and her eyes were always on the floor. They had their orders for punishment if she stepped out of line, but she hadn’t done anything, good or bad, since she got back from the island.

Emily led the guards out into the stables, the one location where she could feel somewhat like herself. They followed her silently. Their orders were strict, they were to follow her, and watch her, but they weren’t to interact. They were told that they were no longer her friend, and were to act like she was only a charge.

Emily gasped when she saw the locks on the doors to the stalls. She picked the lock up off of Patra’s stall and felt the tears come to her eyes. Mark hissed from behind her, but she ignored him. She didn’t even want to risk getting him into trouble. Patra reached over the stall door and picked gently at Emily’s hair.

Emily ignored how unlady like it was in a dress, and crawled under the stall door, flattening herself so she could easily slide underneath. Damon had ordered her a new wardrobe that was, as he called it, more befitting an Elder’s wife, and it all consisted of pastel dresses. He had beauticians come in every morning to do her hair and make-up, again convinced that an Elder’s wife should always be made up.

Both Silas and Mark turned away from her and faced the stables doors, to give her more privacy.

“Emily, someone’s coming,” Mark whispered, and she quickly slid out of the stall. Emily was just brushing the straw off of her dress when Damon walked in.

“Why are you dirty?” he asked as if she were a child.

“I slipped,” she whispered, and straightened her dress.

“As you see, I’ve locked the stalls. If you want to ride, you’ll need my permission,” Damon told her.

Emily nodded.

Mark had to turn his eyes away from the Chief Enforcer. He had a hard time containing his hatred for how he was treating Emily.

“Go back inside and get Alexis from her nanny, take her down to lunch,” Damon said, and walked out of the stables.

Emily silently complied and walked back into the palace. She held Alexis tightly as she took her down to the dining room. Alexis held desperately to her Mom, afraid someone would take her away again. Chevalier and Emily had never left their children with a Nanny before, but Damon insisted that that’s how to make a child strong, to take them away from those that nurture and spoil them.

Emily sat down and held Alexis on her lap as their lunch was brought out. Alexis began to eat immediately, but Emily just watched her, not hungry. She knew she had lost a lot of weight recently, but she never felt hungry. Her guards hadn’t told Damon that she wasn’t eating. They understood it was the one way she felt in control of herself, and they weren’t going to take that from her. Damon hadn’t noticed her weight loss, and was pleased at how she was complying with his every whim.

Alexis screamed when her Nanny pulled her from Emily’s arms. Emily felt numb as Alexis was blurred from the room. Her hands shook as she stepped out into the foyer and headed up the stairs. Her guards said nothing as she went to the roof, somewhere she recently spent a lot of time. She stood up on the wall of the roof and looked down over the grounds. Her guards mistakenly thought she liked the view, they didn’t realize that it was up there that she contemplated the consequences of jumping.

“Emily?” Damon said from behind her.

“Yes?” she whispered, longing to throw herself off of the tall wall.

“Go, take a nap,” he demanded.

Emily turned around and jumped down from the wall, and headed into the palace without once looking up at Damon. She shut the door to her room. Damon had the inside locks removed, only the locks on the outside of the door remained.

Emily saw that she was alone in the room and sat down on the bed. She didn’t feel like napping, but Damon would get suspicious if he didn’t hear her on the bed.

She turned when she heard the door open, and her eyes fell to the floor when Zohn entered. As Chief Interrogator, he was able to easily detect lying, and had only spoken to Emily when she was suspected of misbehaving or breaking a direct order from the Council.

Zohn pulled a chair up to the bed and sat down, “How are you?”

“Fine,” she lied, and watched her hands.

“Please, look up at me,” he said kindly.

Emily looked up at the heku, expressionless.

Zohn frowned. He suspected that Damon may have overstepped as Emily’s keeper, and was here to find out for himself if someone needed to intervene. It struck a nerve in most of the Council when Damon demanded that she have a baby. It seemed to them as if that were a personal choice, and didn’t think the option should be taken away from her.

“How are you?” he asked again, watching her eyes.

“Fine,” she said, and he easily saw the lie.

“Try again, how are you?”

“What do you want me to say?” Emily whispered, and looked back at her hands.

“The truth,” Zohn said softly.

“I’m fine,” she said again.

Zohn sighed, “Do you want another baby?”

Emily nodded.

“To hell you do. Stop lying to me,” he said calmly.

“I’m sorry,” she said properly, no longer able to pull anger from inside.

Along with knowing when he was being lied to, Zohn was also exceptionally aware of his surroundings and had a photographic memory of anywhere he’d been. It hadn’t escaped his notice that the handle of Emily’s 9mm was no longer sticking out of the bag where she kept it.

“Look up at me and tell me if you are considering suicide,” Zohn said softly.

Emily hesitated and then looked up at him, “No.”

“Damnit, get mad, ash me if you want… show something,” Zohn growled.

Emily’s eyes fell back to the floor.

Zohn nodded and left angrily. The passion and fire the Council loved in Emily was gone. She no longer seemed to care about anything, including herself or the heku that she so loved. He decided to pull together the others in the Council that thought as he did, and come up with a solution. He couldn’t risk bringing in Maleth or Chevalier, they were already on the verge of being banished.

Once he was gone, Emily laid down on the bed to start her forced nap. Once she woke up, she returned to her place on the roof and looked out over the grounds. The corral was empty and she felt a small spark of fury before bottling it up and falling numb again. The horses weren’t properly being cared for, and she briefly debated shooting them all to put them out of their misery. Better dead than neglected.

Emily picture herself falling, over and over, how when she hit the ground below, she wouldn’t feel a thing, not a snap of her neck or the break of a single bone, it would all happen too fast. She occupied her time trying to decide if it would even matter if she were no longer around. She was no longer allowed to even be a mother to her children, and Chevalier seemed far away and untouchable.

“I don’t think you should be up here. I’m banning you from the roof,” Damon said from behind her. She briefly considered jumping, right in front of him, but turned and hopped off of the wall.

Emily walked back to her room for the night and saw Chevalier was there when she stepped inside. She moved to him quickly and crawled into his lap, laying her head against his shoulder. She couldn’t talk to him, afraid Damon would listen to anything they said.

Chevalier wasn’t as worried about being heard. He kissed her forehead lightly and then whispered into her ear, “They can’t force us to have a baby.”

Emily nodded and shut her eyes, listening to the slow rhythm of his heart.

“I’ve been thinking, I have another house, one only Kyle knows about… we could go there, together,” he whispered.

Emily shook her head, “No, if they found us you would be banished.”

“I don’t really care. You can’t stay like this, you’re barely even alive,” he hissed.

“I’m ok, I can handle it,” she whispered, and looked over at the fire.

“Give the word, one word, and we can be out of here in a few minutes, you and me with the kids… alone,” he promised, and kissed her lightly.

Emily nodded.

Chevalier looked toward the door and whispered softer into her ear, “I know you aren’t eating, please, for me… eat something.”

Emily didn’t answer, but just watched the flames dance in the fireplace.

***

Emily woke up suddenly when her stomach tightened. She ran to the bathroom just in time, slamming the door behind her. It’d been four weeks since Damon ordered that she try to have a baby, and nothing in the palace had changed. She had odd conversations with some of the council members, where they demanded she tell them things about her health and well-being, but she always stuck with the plan to tell only what Damon wanted to hear.

Emily was just leaning back against the wall when she heard a knock on the door, “Em?”

She didn’t respond. She didn’t want Chevalier in the bathroom, but knew that Damon would be mad if she told him that.

Chevalier stepped in and frowned, “Are you ok?”

Emily nodded, afraid that if she spoke, she would throw up again.

Chevalier sat down beside her and whispered, “The flu?”

Emily nodded again.

Chevalier halfway grinned, “Damon’s going to think you’re pregnant.”

Emily leaned over and laid her head in his lap. He brushed her hair away from her forehead and felt the back of her neck. Her head was pounding and she felt aches throughout entire body.

“You have a fever. I should call the doctor,” Chevalier said, frowning.

“Don’t,” Emily whispered. “Please.”

Chevalier nodded, “Ok, I won’t.”

Once Emily fell asleep, Chevalier carried her into the bedroom. He glared when he saw Damon standing in the room.

“This is my bedroom, and as Elder, you will ask to come in here,” he growled.

“Sorry, Elder, I didn’t know you were in here,” Damon said, eyeing Emily. “Has it happened then?”

“Has what happened?” Chevalier asked, knowing full well what Damon thought.

“Is she pregnant?” Damon asked excitedly.

Chevalier grinned. He knew there was no way that she was, but he wanted nothing more than to make Damon look like an idiot, “Probably.”

“That’s great! See, it’s not hard to get obedience from her,” Damon said. He slapped Chevalier on the shoulder and then went to tell the Council.

Zohn and Maleth cringed when Damon announced that Emily was pregnant. He had a huge grin on his face, but the council members were uneasy. Chevalier took his seat and no one congratulated him or even looked him directly in the eye. He left word with Kyle, in secret, about Emily’s flu, and Kyle was currently helping take care of her in his absence.

“I say we tell the Valle and Encala immediately. It may help keep peace with the factions if we don’t keep the baby from them,” Damon said.

Quinn frowned, “I disagree.”

Maleth nodded, “As do I.”

“Why exactly would we tell them?” Chevalier asked.

“Control! To let them know that we completely control the Winchester now,” Damon grinned. “Once they realize she has no desire to act alone, they will understand our hold on her, and will know that their quest to gain power over her is futile.”

“You mean to speed them up in kidnapping her, torturing her, letting ancients control her, all of those fun things they do when she’s pregnant,” Quinn said bluntly. Chevalier glanced at him quickly, and wondered if the Council was finally starting to sway away from Damon.

“They need to see that this Council is now in control again, that we aren’t being ruled by a mortal. We can show them that by the forced pregnancy,” Damon said.

“Damn, you make it sound like we…” Zohn stopped, he couldn’t even say it.

Chevalier sat back easily in his chair, relaxed and enjoying what he was seeing.

“You may have control over Emily, but we still control the Equites and as such, the Elders have final say in who is notified of the baby,” Quinn growled, angry at how Damon was acting.

“Of course, Sir,” Damon said, somewhat calmer.

“Tell them,” Chevalier said, looking at Quinn.

Quinn frowned, “Seriously?”

“Yeah, why not?”

Maleth saw a glint of life in Chevalier, something that he’d not seen since this all started, “I agree, tell them personally, Damon.”

Quinn shrugged, “Whatever, 2 to 1 says do it.”

Damon grinned.

“Go call them now, we’ll wait,” Chevalier said, and Damon blurred from the chambers.

“She’s not pregnant, is she?” Zohn asked, grinning.

Chevalier shook his head, “She has the flu.”

Quinn chuckled.

***

Emily was feeling better by the next morning, but she opted to act sick so she could stay in bed all day, something that Damon had expressly forbid, unless she was feeling ill. She held onto Alexis as long as she could before the Nanny took her, and now she was left alone to think.

Emily kept perfectly still when she heard the door to the bedroom open, then sighed when she heard the voice.

“Damon needs you in the council chambers, sick or not,” the guard said. Emily didn’t know him, and he was gruff and angry.

She slowly crawled out of bed, still achy from the flu, and dressed quickly in the closet. The guard took her arm roughly and led her down to the council chambers. He pushed her into the room and shut the door behind her. She walked forward, rubbing her arm where he had grabbed her.

“Ah, there you are, Emily,” Damon said with a grin. “Next time I’ll expect a faster response.”

Quinn glared at him and whispered something that Emily couldn’t hear.

Damon nodded and turned back to her, “This fellow by you needs to be turned to ash, please do so.”

Emily turned to the heku who was cowering down on the floor beside her. She didn’t care anymore what she did. The drive to protect the heku was gone. The drive to keep Chevalier alive was all that she cared about. Emily narrowed her eyes at him.

“Do it!” Damon growled.

Emily stared at the heku, but she started to panic when he didn’t turn to ash, didn’t even scream in pain.

“I said do it!” Damon yelled.

“Damon…” Quinn said, irritated.

Damon jumped the desk and took Emily’s arm roughly, “Do it now.”

“I’m trying,” she whispered.

“Do not defy me,” Damon roared, and tightened his grip on her arm.

Emily looked back at the frightened heku and her heart went out to him. The fear and anger that she pulled from to turn someone to ash was gone. All she could feel now was envy that his life was about to end, and her torment would continue.

Damon stormed out of the room, pulling Emily along behind him.

Chevalier stood angrily, “That’s it… you can banish me if you want, but I’m not going to watch this for another second.”

“I concur,” Maleth said, standing.

Quinn stood, “You can’t banish us all, and I suggest we deal with Damon.”

Zohn had been Damon’s biggest supporter, and the Elders turned to him. They noticed the rest of the Council sitting quietly in their seats. No one made to defy the Elders.

“I suggest we do it carefully. If he gets word of our plans, he could seriously injure the girl,” Zohn said. The Elders returned to their seats when they heard Damon approach.

“For now, do as he asks, let the Elders handle this,” Quinn said sternly.

Damon walked in the room and violently tore the head off of the small heku. He growled and sat at his seat, “We have to do something about that.”

Zohn glanced nervously at the Elders, “About what?”

“The defiance by Emily. She has to learn complete obedience,” Damon scowled.

“She’s been sick, Damon, maybe she’s too weak,” Zohn suggested.

“Lies, don’t fall for her lies,” Damon said. He began to look through the roster as the Council tried to decide on a replacement for a recently banished General.

The Council all looked up when they heard a knock on the door.

“Enter,” Maleth said.

Emily’s guard came in, looking terrified, “I can’t find her.”

Chevalier stifled a grin.

“Can’t find who?” Damon asked, his eyes narrowing.

“Emily, I can’t find her,” the guard said, shaking.

“How stupid do you have to be to let a mortal girl get away from you? Find her,” Damon growled.

The guard ran from the room and the Council heard him call for all available guards to search the palace.

“Where is she, Elder?” Damon asked, trying to sound respectful.

“How am I supposed to know? You have her so afraid she won’t even talk to me anymore,” Chevalier said matter-of-factly.

“The punishment for this will be severe,” Damon roared, and disappeared from the room.

“If you’re not an Elder, get out,” Maleth said, and turned to watch the rest of the Council file out. “Zohn, stay.”

Zohn nodded and sat in the chair by the Elders.

“We have to deal with this before he finds her,” Quinn said hurriedly.

“We better hurry then. He has the entire guard staff looking,” Zohn told them.

“Emily can hide well. We have time to do this right,” Chevalier told them.

“The only way to do it is to replace him immediately. If we kill him before anyone’s been chosen, that leaves us without the ability to revive. Though, it seems like Emily may not be able to even ash at the moment,” Maleth said.

“Or she was faking not being able to,” Zohn said.

“No, she wouldn’t risk it,” Chevalier said. “I’ve seen that look before. She was trying to turn him to ash, and when she couldn’t, she started to panic. She’s hiding out of fear for her life right now.”

“I’m sorry,” Zohn said to Chevalier. “I shouldn’t have backed him on this. I was mad at the interruption in our trial, and what he said sounded true. Now I see that he is wrong.”

“I’m not the one that needs the apology,” Chevalier whispered.

Zohn nodded, “Fine then, I suggest Kyle.”

“If we do that we lose a good Captain,” Quinn said.

“So we replace him with Mark,” Zohn said. “I’ve been… thinking… about this for a while now and that’s what I’ve come up with.”

“That leaves a trusted guard as the Captain,” Chevalier said, nodding.

The Council fell quiet as they heard a call for more guards.

“Is she ok?” Maleth asked Chevalier.

Chevalier nodded, “She’s afraid, which is more emotion than I’ve felt from her for weeks.”

“It’s like he killed that lovely spirit of hers,” Maleth said softly.

“Kyle?” Quinn whispered, and he appeared in the council chambers.

Chevalier stood up, “We want help searching the… stables for Emily.”

Kyle frowned and nodded, “Yes, Elder.”

The three Elders, Kyle, and Zohn hid in shadows and then blurred out to the stables. When he left, Kyle had a grin on his face and blood in his eyes.

The Elders returned to the council chambers with Zohn to wait. The Council slowly reconvened to continue the trials for the day. Several hours later, Damon blurred into the room and sat down in his chair, obviously mad.

“You still don’t know where she is?” he asked Chevalier.

Chevalier frowned, “You’re questioning an Elder?”

Damon scowled and silently turned back to the prisoner on trial.

Damon froze when he heard a voice call that Emily was in the loft of the stables. A maliciously dark shadow fell across his face and he blurred from the room. The Council paused only for a moment, before returning to their prisoner.

Once the prisoner was taken back to the cells, the entire room fell silent. The Elders and Zohn listened intently as the fight in the barn ensued. The council members all watched them, knowing something was happening, but it wasn’t their place to ask. One lone person left the stables, breathing hard and panting from exertion. When the Council doors opened, everyone turned to see who had won.

“It is done,” Kyle said, stepping in and showing them the bloody dagger. His clothes were torn and covered in blood, but he was grinning and he had a small leather pouch in his hand.

Chevalier nodded, “Call off the search for Emily. The more people that look for her, the harder she will be to find.”

Kyle nodded and took his place with the Council, whispering his orders, which were promptly obeyed.

“Now to find her,” Quinn said.

“You can find her, can’t you, Elder?” Zohn asked. “Rumors are that your bond with her allow you to read her.”

Chevalier sighed, “I can pick up emotions. Something she’s been without for weeks. I don’t even get the fear from her now. It’s almost as if she’s disappeared.”

Kyle frowned, “Do you think Damon found her?”

“No, he was too angry,” Zohn said.

Quinn turned to Chevalier, “If we give her time, she will come out, right? When she gets hungry enough maybe?”

Chevalier shook his head, “She hasn’t eaten in weeks, it’s the one shred of control she had over herself. She’s been wasting away eating only enough to keep herself alive.”

“Damn,” Maleth said angrily.

“Mark said she’s spent a lot of time on the roof lately,” Kyle suggested.

“Yes, contemplating jumping off,” Zohn whispered. He continued when the others looked at him, “I spoke to her a couple of weeks ago. I asked if she was considering suicide and she said no… but I could see it in her eyes… and every day her gun had been moved. I think she held it, daily, as well as stood on that roof, trying to decide if she should do it.”

“How do we prevent this in the future?” Maleth asked, clearly upset by what Zohn told them.

“Make her a member of the Council, an official member,” Zohn suggested and shrugged.

Quinn nodded, “That’s not a bad idea.”

“I told you, I’ve been thinking this over for weeks,” Zohn said. “If she’s a member of the Council, then she has the right to do what it is that so irritated Damon. Including, dislike me.”

Chevalier started to argue, but then quieted down. He was right, Emily never had liked him.

“In what capacity will she be on the Council? I’m not sure she’s going to want to come sit in here all day. The child is hyper, you have to admit that, and sitting at a desk all day is not in her nature,” Maleth said.

“We could just modify the laws… so instead of a bonded spouse being an honorary part of the Council, they become a full member directly under their spouse,” Quinn said. “So in her case, she would be the equivalent of the rest of the Council, the level directly under Chevalier.”

“That’s assuming we find her,” Kyle said, looking at the door.

Maleth smiled, “We will find her. Now that no one is looking for her, she may start to feel more comfortable about coming out.”

Kyle shook his head, “Not with Damon around. I have no doubt that her stubborn streak will kick in, and she would wither and die before facing him.”

Chevalier frowned slightly, “I’m getting… feelings and emotions from, her but they are all blurred. It’s similar to when she’s asleep, but I can’t quite put my finger on the differences.”

“At least she’s feeling again,” Maleth smiled.

“Which seems odd. What would make her emotions start to come out now?” Kyle asked.

“Maybe she has finally decided… as she’s not on the roof, I suggest we see if her gun is missing,” Zohn suggested, and blurred from the room. He returned a few seconds later looking pale and fearful, “It’s gone.”

“Damnit,” Chevalier yelled, and hit the table.

“I can’t imagine she would kill herself and leave Allen and Alexis without a mother,” Kyle said, frowning.

“Damon took the children from her though,” Quinn whispered. “He felt that a Nanny was needed to raise them, and Emily only got to hug them each morning for a few moments before they were taken away.”

Chevalier growled, “Why did I not know that?”

“I think Damon kept it from you, and Emily wasn’t in the position to complain,” Quinn told him.

“Bring Alexis to me,” Chevalier hissed, and within a minute, the Nanny came in carrying the red-eyed Alexis. She wore scratchy gray coveralls that had worn a rash on her arms and legs. He quickly stripped her down to her diaper and she settled down some.

Chevalier held tightly to her, “What did you do to her?”

The Nanny looked at the Council, “She cries every day, all day, for her Mother. Damon said it would make her strong. He will want those clothes put back on her also, those were assigned to her by him.”

“Your services are no longer needed,” Maleth scowled at him, and the heku blurred quickly from the room.

A single gunshot rang out through the palace. The council members all appeared in the foyer and looked around anxiously. Chevalier looked up the stairs, trying to figure out where she was. No one else in the palace would have a gun. He held Alexis tightly and she had a strong grip on his shirt.

“Did she… just…” Zohn asked, his voice trembled.

“No,” Chevalier said. “It may have been a warning, but she’s still alive.”

“Well she’s obviously not asleep,” Maleth said, looking around.

“Which still makes me wonder about her garbled emotions. They aren’t flowing like in a dream, more sporadic and chaotic,” Chevalier frowned.

Kyle grinned, “You mean… like she’s drinking?”

Chevalier turned to him and they both blurred to the game room, followed by the Council. The room was dark and empty, and Chevalier paused at the mirror, “She could ash us.”

“She’s not in here though,” Zohn said, looking around.

“There’s a hidden bar behind this wall. She found it by accident a while back,” Chevalier said, looking at the mirror. “If she’s found something to drink, it’s in there.”

“Emily?” Maleth yelled toward the wall.

“If I remember correctly, she couldn’t hear through the wall, so I’ll wait out here in case she does ash you,” Kyle said, and took Alexis from the Elder. He watched as the wall spun quickly and returned to its place without the Council.

The first thing the Council saw was a dress hanging from the mirror behind the bar, with a bullet hole through it.

“Em?” Chevalier called, and looked around the room.

“Shhhhh, he’ll hear you,” Emily whispered from behind the bar. Her words were slurred and hard to understand.

“Emily, Damon’s gone,” Maleth called out toward the bar.

“Amos, did you hear that?” she whispered. “Damn, I’m out of Jack, time for the vodka.”

An empty liquor bottle flew out from behind the bar and smashed on the floor before the Council.

The Council all peered over the bar and as soon as they saw her, all but Chevalier blurred back to the doorway. Emily was lying on the floor behind the bar with her feet crossed against the top of the bar railing. She was wearing only a bra and panties and had the 9mm perched in one hand and a bottle of vodka in the other.

Chevalier watched her, “Who is Amos?”

Emily grew silent and stared up at him, then whispered, “Amos, do you think Chev saw us?”

“Yes, I see you,” Chevalier said, looking down at her.

Emily leaned her head up and took another drink, spilling most of it down into her hair.

Chevalier ducked just as another shot rang out through the palace. One of the tiny windows high on the wall shattered. He carefully peeked back over the bar and saw Emily staring oddly at the gun. Before she could react, he grabbed the 9mm out of her hand and tossed it back to Zohn.

“Heeey,” Emily said, frowning and looking around the floor. “Where’d Amos go? I’m almost drunk enough to use him.”

“Use him for what?” Chevalier asked, watching down at her unsteady hands.

“I was married to this guy named Keith… a long time ago,” Emily tried to explain to Chevalier, though her slurred words were making her hard to understand.

“I think I remember that.”

“If I knew he was mad, I’d drink first, because it never hurt as bad that way,” Emily said, and took another drink from the vodka bottle.

“Let’s go, Em,” Chevalier said, and rounded the bar. He stopped when he saw she had the cattle prod.

“Did you take Amos?” She frowned at him.

“Yes, I did.”

“Give him back… now.”

Chevalier unbuttoned his shirt and tossed it to Emily, “Get dressed.”

“No!” Emily yelled, and the council members saw her bra fly over the bar. “Damon said only dresses are baf…bei…bafen… erm... supposed to be worn by the wife of an Elder. Wait till he gets a load of this outfit.”

“I’m not sure what you have on can be considered an outfit, put on the shirt,” Chevalier said, laughing.

“You’re right,” she whispered. “He already kisses me… this wouldn’t help with that at all. Hold James.”

Chevalier reached out and took the cattle prod she offered, and then tossed it back to Maleth. After the fourth try, she was able get her arms through the arms on his shirt, although it was on backwards.

Emily grabbed the vodka and took another drink, “Ok, I’m ready for Amos.”

“He kissed you, Em?” Chevalier asked, his voice soft.

Even drunk, the thought brought tears to her eyes and she nodded, “Can we get a shower curtain?”

“Yes,” Chevalier whispered.

“I’m glad you aren’t here. He said if I showed you these, he would banish you,” Emily said. She pulled the shirt up and lifted her right leg, exposing multiple puncture wounds on her inner thigh.

Chevalier turned around, his eyes furious. Maleth stepped up to the bar and knelt down beside Emily. He pulled the shirt down to cover the punctures.

“Please, let’s go,” Maleth said, and tried to pick her up, but she pushed his hands away.

“No, where’s Amos?” she asked Maleth.

“Zohn has the gun,” Maleth explained.

“Nooo, not Zohn, he hates me.”

“I don’t think he does,” Maleth said.

“Then tell him to give me the gun. I’ve almost had enough to drink now,” Emily said, and drank more of the vodka.

“I think the Council would prefer if you not kill yourself,” Maleth told her, trying to lock her eyes.

Emily turned her head quickly to the side, “Don’t do that.”

“I’m sorry, I won’t do it again,” Maleth said, and stood up when Chevalier knelt down again.

“Please,” Emily begged, her eyes pleading. “Give me the gun.”

“No”

Emily covered her face with her hands and started to cry, “I can’t live like this. He watches me, he listens to me… and my baby… I need my baby.”

“Damon’s gone. Kyle has Alexis out in the game room,” Chevalier told her.

“Damn, I wish I could believe you and if I see you later I’ll ask you if you were lying to me when you said that… or if you were even here when you said that for me to believe,” Emily sighed, and took another drink.

Chevalier gave her a half-smile, “I have no idea what you just said.”

“Shhh, I slipped the guards. He’s going to kill me.”

“Damon’s gone, Em. No one’s going to kill you.”

“I can’t do it anymore,” Emily told him. She was serious, but her words were slurred worse.

“I know.”

“So hand me the gun,” Emily whispered, then her eyes slowly began to shut and her hand slipped off of the bottle of vodka.

Chevalier picked her up and carried her into the game room.

“Wow, that took a while,” Kyle said. “What happened to Em?”

“She finally passed out,” Maleth said.

“After she sobers up, I want to revive Damon and put him through a proper trial,” Chevalier growled.

Kyle nodded, “Just let me know.”

Chevalier took Emily up and laid her down on the bed while Silas and Kyle spoiled Alexis with ice cream and games. They tried to get Allen out of class, but he refused to leave his Technical Writing class.

Chevalier pulled off the shirt Emily put on backwards and then climbed into bed, wrapping his arms around her.

Chapter 17 - Kyle

Emily ran frantically toward the trees. She covered her bare chest with her arm and glanced back quickly, Damon was catching up. She pushed harder. If she could get to the trees, someone would be there to help her.

“You’re mine to control, no one will help you,” Damon said, laughing behind her.

Emily saw someone ahead of her. She ran for him and saw that it was Zohn, standing in front of a large hole in the ground.

“Please, help me,” Emily begged Zohn as she ran up to him.

“I can’t. I’m too busy banishing the Elders to the ground,” Zohn said, and poured ashes into the hole.

Emily gasped and started for the trees again. She was freezing out in the cold, but there was warmth in the trees, safety and warmth if she could just make it there.

“Emily,” Chevalier’s voice echoed from the trees.

Emily kept running, but the trees moved further away. She fought through the blizzard as it burned her eyes and made her head ache. She felt Damon’s hand grasp her shoulder.

“Em, it’s me,” Chevalier said softly as she pushed against his hands, screaming.

Emily sat up and looked around the room. Her head hurt and the entire room was spinning. She grabbed her head and groaned.

Chevalier took a cup of coffee from the table and held it out to her, “Try this.”

She nodded and sipped at the coffee, ignoring the way her stomach turned. As soon as she realized she was topless, she pulled the sheets up around her and looked around the room nervously.

“Damon’s gone,” Chevalier said, and kissed her shoulder softly.

Emily turned to him and frowned, “He’s gone?”

“Kyle’s going to be the new Chief Enforcer. He turned Damon to ash.”

“He’s gone?”

“Yes”

“It’s over?”

Chevalier nodded and handed Emily some aspirin. She took them with the coffee and ran her eyes once more around the room.

“When you feel up to it, the Council wants to talk to you,” Chevalier told her.

Emily froze, “Why?”

“It’s ok.” His hands massaged her neck, “They want to know what Damon did while we weren’t watching.”

“If he’s gone, why does it matter?” She pulled the covers up higher and gripped them tightly.

“I want to bring him back and put him on trial.”

“Don’t, please.” Emily turned toward him and her eyes were panicked.

“He needs to be punished for the things he did that were uncalled for,” Chevalier said, and pulled the sheet away from the puncture wounds on her thigh.

She quickly covered them back up, “Just leave him gone.”

“Let me try him for what he did, Em,” Chevalier asked. “Please.”

Emily nodded finally, “Ok.”

“Now are you really saying Ok, or are you just being obedient?”

Emily kissed him softly, “Ok.”

“Eat breakfast, please, and then come down.” Chevalier slid out of bed as she went into the closet. When she came out, he was gone and she had on a nightgown. She ran into the nursery and pulled Alexis out of bed, holding her tightly. She carried the baby out and sat her down so they could eat pancakes together.

Emily smiled at Alexis, “Want to show Damon that we can dress like we want to?”

Alexis smiled and nodded.

***

“Sir, Lady Emily is on the way down,” Silas said as he put Alexis on the floor. She ran to Chevalier and he grinned at her pink, frilly, ruffled dress. Her hair was pulled into two ponytails that fell into ringlets on her neck.

“Come on, Lexi, let’s go,” Silas said, and held his hand out. She hugged Chevalier and kissed his cheek, then ran to Silas.

“Kyle,” Quinn said when the door shut behind the toddler.

Kyle nodded and walked down into the trial area. He dumped the ashes out and let a drop of his blood fall onto it. He stood back and watched the ash slowly turn into Damon as he screamed in pain.

“How dare you,” Damon said, glaring at Kyle.

“I’d suggest you behave during this trial,” Kyle told him, and then took his place on the stand.

“I am on trial? For what?” Damon hissed.

“Crimes against a member of the Council,” Quinn said. “Specifically, heinous crimes against Emily.”

“Ha! I perfected her. I turned her into an obedient woman who now looks and acts like the wife of an Elder,” Damon growled.

Damon turned as the door to the trial area opened, and the council members all stared with open mouths and wide eyes as Emily entered. She wore a dangerously short black leather tube top and leather micro skirt with thigh-high leather stilettos. Her hair was pulled up into a spiky ponytail and she had a delicate gold chain around her tiny waist. Their eyes took in the dark purple bruises in the shape of a hand on her arm where Damon had dragged her out of the room.

“What? You said the wife of an Elder should always wear a dress.” Emily walked past him and smirked at Chevalier as he watched her, shocked. The rest of the Council stifled grins and turned back to Damon.

“You should thank me for getting rid of that… that attitude!” Damon glared at her as she sat down on Chevalier’s lap.

“I… erm… will write the… charges… as we find them,” the Record Keeper said, trying to ignore the way Emily’s body looked in the black leather.

Kyle chuckled and glanced quickly at Emily before turning to Damon.

“What are the charges we know about?” Quinn asked.

“Feeding without consent,” Chevalier said.

He shook his head and laughed when Emily propped her right stiletto’d foot on the table in front of him and exposed her soft, white inner thigh with its clearly visible puncture wounds. The members of the Council gasped as they saw proof of his feedings.

“That was for control, to prove her obedience, nothing more,” Damon said in his defense.

“Still feeding without consent,” Kyle said angrily.

Emily whispered something into Chevalier’s ear.

Chevalier frowned, “What do you mean voyeurism?”

Emily blushed and whispered more into his ear.

“You watched her shower?” Quinn growled. Emily blushed deeper when she realized the Council could hear what she whispered into Chevalier’s ear.

Emily covered her face with her hands, but Chevalier pulled them down gently, “You have no reason to be embarrassed.”

“I had reasons for that too! I had reasons for everything,” Damon said, scowling at Emily.

“Oh, this should be good,” Zohn said.

“Control, if she no longer felt she had even a shred of privacy… then she would constantly behave. It’s all psychological.” Damon grinned.

“Can you explain why you felt the need to kiss her?” Maleth asked, ignoring his defense about the spying.

“Again, proving her obedience,” Damon said.

“Are there other charges?” Quinn asked.

“Child abuse and neglect,” Emily said softly.

“That baby is weak. She needs to be toughened up and learn the hard facts of life,” Damon said, scowling. “I did her a favor.”

Emily pushed off to stand up, but Chevalier held her back, “Calm down, Killer.”

Maleth sighed, “I suppose there’s no reason to deny that we are also filing charges against you for abuse of a council member.”

“What abuse?” Damon asked.

“By the look of Emily’s arm, I think that would be obvious.”

“That? She’s not a member of the Council. She’s just a mortal who…” Damon thought.

“Is kept in the palace so the Elder has a fuck any time he wants?” Emily asked, and ignored the gasps from the Council. “Isn’t that what you told me in Paris?”

Damon glared at her, “Well it’s true. No one else has ever brought a mortal into the palace. Why else if not for an easy lay?”

Emily took Chevalier’s hands and wrapped them around her waist when he began to tense and growl.

“Well… this just gets better and better,” Zohn said, irritated.

“I think that’s more than enough charges to decide on a punishment,” Maleth said, his eye were furious.

“If anyone finds Damon not-guilty on any charges… speak now,” Quinn said.

Damon turned a pleading eye to Zohn, but found him sitting silently and watching him.

“You can’t do this! Am I the only one that sees her for what she is? A spoiled brat, the sex kitten for an Elder, and for that she’s granted complete immunity from all rules?” Damon yelled.

“Am I your sex kitten?” Emily asked Chevalier.

“Most definitely,” Chevalier chuckled.

Damon scowled at her.

“I am still owed a debt of gratitude for the sugar pills and the order for a baby. I’ve given you the chance for more Winchester children.” Damon grinned when Emily glared at him.

“You… you did that without council approval?” Maleth asked, frowning.

“Yes and now she’s pregnant, and you can have what she has denied you, more Winchesters.” Damon was smiling.

“I’m not pregnant, you moron, I had the flu,” Emily told him.

Damon looked at her furiously.

“If no one finds any reason to hold the punishment, then we will discuss and return to you with our answer soon,” Maleth said to Damon and he was hauled away to the prison cells.

“I have something I need to do, and punishment’s not really my thing,” Emily said. She stood up and walked down the stairs and out through the trial room doors. She felt all eyes on her and wanted nothing more than to change. She already made her point to Damon.

Chevalier cleared his throat when he saw the entire Council watching Emily leave. They all looked at him apologetically.

Kyle took a moment to compose himself, and then spoke, “Banishment is the usual punishment for a former member of the Council.”

“Yes, but I get him first… in the interrogation room,” Chevalier said ominously.

Maleth nodded, “That sounds fair to me.”

“Let’s give the Elder a week to do with Damon as he wishes, and then Kyle will banish him to the ground for six hundred years,” Quinn suggested.

Kyle nodded.

“Set up the coronation for tomorrow night, let’s make it official as soon as possible,” Maleth said.

Chevalier left to go check on Emily, and was followed by Kyle.

Quinn smiled when the Elder and Kyle left, “That was interesting.”

“Damn,” Zohn said, and laughed.

“Makes me want to go find a mortal.” Maleth grinned.

“You do realize, that the Valle and Encala still think Emily is pregnant,” Quinn said, more seriously.

Zohn looked over at the Elders, “I forgot about that.”

“Let them believe it. It doesn’t really matter,” Maleth said, and adjourned the Council for the day.

“Have you seen that outfit before, Sir?” Kyle asked, grinning.

Chevalier laughed, “No I have not, though I hope to see it again.”

“The look on Damon’s face was priceless.”

“Yes it was, wait until the look on his face when I get him alone.”

“After the coronation… why don’t I take Em to the island for a few days? That way you don’t have to worry about hurrying,” Kyle suggested.

“That… is perfect, thank you,” Chevalier said, and looked around the empty bedroom. The leather outfit was lying on the couch and he ran his fingers over it.

“Oh, excuse me, Sir,” one of the Cavalry said. “I just wanted to see if the Lady found the sledgehammer she asked for.”

Chevalier raised an eyebrow, “Why did she need a sledgehammer?”

The guard shrugged, “Sorry, I don’t know. Mark took her down to the stables though.”

The guard blurred to the stables, followed by Kyle and Chevalier. They stopped just outside the door by Mark.

“What’s she doing?” Chevalier asked.

“She won’t let me help… it’s making me nervous,” Mark said. Ford was running around the yard eagerly. He had been chained up inside the stables for weeks and had a lot of energy to burn.

The heku watched as Emily hit the locks on the horse’s stalls with the sledgehammer. She’d already worked up a good sweat and so far managed to knock almost a quarter of the locks off. Emily would take aim, scream, and slam the sledgehammer into the lock, repeating until it fell off.

On the last stall of the row, Emily leaned back against the stall, trying to catch her breath. She grinned when Chevalier, Mark, and Kyle walked past her and easily broke the locks with their hands. She got a rope and led each horse out into the corral to get some fresh air and exercise.

“Damnit, Damon,” Emily growled, and started dumping out the water in all of the stalls. She pulled the hose out and put fresh water in for each of the horses as the heku poured them all fresh food.

Emily grabbed a pitchfork and started to muck out Patra’s stall. She was completely covered in sweat and her clothes were dirty and caked with straw and horse manure.

“Are you going to muck all of them?” Chevalier asked from behind her.

Emily didn’t even look up, “Nothing’s been done and this place is disgusting.”

“Fine, then I’ll help,” he said, and headed into the storage room.

“No, I got it. It feels good to do something,” Emily said, piling new, clean straw into Patra’s stall.

Chevalier nodded and then leaned back and watched her. He had her dinner delivered out to the stables, “Come eat.”

Emily washed her hands in the hose and grabbed a sandwich, sitting down on a bale of hay to eat.

“Kyle and Mark’s coronation is tomorrow, after that, Kyle was wondering if he could take you to the island for some R&R,” Chevalier told her.

Emily nodded, “Sure, it’d be nice to get away. Can’t you go?”

“No, I have some things I need to do here.”

“Ugh, another coronation.”

“I figured you can wear your new leather dress, if that’s what you want to call it,” Chevalier chuckled.

“Oh that’d go over well. I think I’ll stick with a formal.”

Emily got back up and started to clean out the other stall. By midnight, she was moving slowly and her arms were tired and sore. Chevalier returned the horses to their stalls, except for the one she was working on currently. She threw clean straw into it and leaned back.

“I think that’s enough for the day,” Chevalier said, and took the pitchfork from her after he put the horse away.

Emily took Chevalier’s hand and he led her into the palace and up the stairs. She moved slowly from the work in the stables, so he slowed to match her pace.

Emily kissed Alexis good night and went into the bathroom. She froze when she saw the shower, with its clear glass doors. It was suddenly hard to breathe, and the bathroom seemed large and open.

“He’s not here,” Chevalier said, kissing the back of her head.

“I know but...”

“Will it help if I join you?” Chevalier grinned and pulled her shirt off over her head, tossing it into the corner.

“Maybe…” Emily said, and unbuttoned his shirt.

***

“Get away from them!” Emily screamed at the Encala. They were approaching her slowly, their red capes blowing in the wind.

“You can’t kill us all,” Vaughn said, smiling.

Emily turned and looked behind her. Thousands of Equites were gathered behind her and cowered away from the approaching army.

“I can try,” Emily said to him angrily.

“You’re just a mortal. One gun can’t kill us all,” Vaughn laughed.

Emily looked at her hand, and all she had was a single bullet in a small revolver. She glanced again at the terrified Equites behind her, and then turned back to Vaughn.

“I’m warning you. I don’t have to kill all of the Encala… just you,” Emily said, and leveled the gun at Vaughn.

“You can’t kill me with a gun. I thought you were smarter than that,” Vaughn said.

“She’s not smart at all,” Keith said from beside Vaughn.

As the Encala jumped at Emily, she jerked awake and sat up, out of breath.

“Em, why are you always trying to protect us?” Chevalier chuckled.

She looked around the room as her heart slowed back down. When she saw that everything was as it should be, she curled up next to Chevalier.

“I don’t know,” she whispered, and yawned into her hand.

Chevalier grinned and shut his eye as he picked up the swirls from Emily’s sleeping mind. He woke just before dawn and dressed quickly, heading down to check on the coronation preparations.

Emily woke up suddenly when he felt she was alone and looked around the room. She put on a nightgown and poured herself some coffee from the steaming pot on the table. Alexis ran out a few minutes later and crawled into Emily’s lap. She dug into the strawberry crepes as Emily ran her finger through the baby’s hair and watched the fire.

“Daddy?” Alexis asked, and Emily saw she was covered in sticky strawberry juice.

“After a bath,” she said, and went into the bathroom to run a bath for the toddler. Emily had her cleaned up quickly and threw another ruffled dress on her.

Emily pulled on clean jeans and a t-shirt, and walked Alexis out the door. Silas picked Alexis up and followed Emily and her two guards down to the council chambers. She peeked in, but the room was empty.

“Coronation room?” Silas suggested.

Emily walked in and saw hundreds of heku cleaning and putting up Equites banners and green embellishments. The three Elders were in their chairs discussing something. Alexis and Silas headed for the Elders while Emily watched the heku above her. He was perched precariously on the edge of a ladder that was leaned against the wall almost thirty feet from the floor.

Emily and her guards ducked when he dropped a hammer and it landed beside them. She stood up and grabbed the hammer, and then headed up the ladder. The heku looked nervously toward the Elder as she approached him.

“Thank you, Ma’am,” he said, and took the hammer when she handed it over.

“Let me hold it for you, it’ll go faster,” Emily suggested, and leaned away from the ladder to hold the banner to the wall while the heku hammered it in place.

“Seriously, Lady Emily, must you do that?” her guard asked nervously.

Chevalier picked Alexis up and threw her into the air before hugging her, “Good morning, Princess.”

Silas fell in behind the Elder and watched his little charge.

“Where’s your Mom?” Chevalier asked, looking over the great hall.

“Es Mommy,” Alexis said, pointing up high.

“We’ll wait for her.” Chevalier grinned, and kissed her on the forehead.

“Actually, is that Emily up there?” Quinn asked, pointing to a small figure up on a ladder.

Chevalier sighed, “Why is she up there?”

Silas shrugged, “I have no idea, Sir. When we left, she was on the ground.”

“Looks like she’s helping,” Maleth chuckled.

“I’m just… not going to look. If she falls… call an ambulance,” Chevalier said, and turned back to Alexis.

A few minutes later, Maleth looked over to the other end of the coronation room and grinned, “She’s down, you can look.”

Chevalier watched as Emily made her way to him. He couldn’t help but smile at the terrified look on her guard’s faces. Alexis put her hands up for Silas, and he picked her up just as Emily arrived at them.

“It’s looking good,” she said, looking around.

Chevalier smiled reassuringly at her guards, “Please stay off of the ladders, mortal blood would stain the green carpets.”

“Ha-ha,” Emily said, and sat down on Chevalier’s lap.

“Mommy, tookies!” Alexis yelled.

“Oh that’s right, we’re going to make cookies,” Emily said, and stood up.

“Aww man, that stuff smells so bad,” Silas joked.

“Stop complaining, you can always stay here.” Emily started up the aisle followed by her two guards and Silas carrying Alexis.

“How is she?” Maleth asked when she was far enough away she wouldn’t hear.

“She’s ok, had a small incident in the bathroom, but I’m having curtains installed in the shower so no one can see in.”

“Disgusting is what that is,” Quinn glared.

“I can see it,” Maleth said, and then spoke quickly when Chevalier glared at him. “What I mean is, he obviously had feelings for her, and when we gave him power, he abused it to get closer to her.”

“Really makes you wonder what all happened in Paris the night she and Damon got into a fight,” Quinn said.

Chevalier nodded and then frowned when he saw Alexis running down the aisle toward them, alone.

A loud crash came from the foyer and the Elders blurred through the Great Hall. Chevalier grabbed Alexis as he passed her. They stopped when they reached the foyer and Chevalier growled.

Emily’s two guards, Silas, and the two door guards were standing in a line facing a group of seven Encala, and all of them were crouched low. Just as the Elders started for the face-off, Emily jumped in front of the guards with her arms out and the Encala turned to ash in front of the shattered front doors.

“Damnit, Em,” Chevalier said, and ran to her as she wiped the blood from her nose.

“What?” she asked, turning around.

“Child, we don’t give you bodyguards so you can protect them,” Maleth sighed.

“We outnumbered them!” the door guard said angrily.

Emily sat down on the stairs and held her nose to stop the bleeding. She opted to not react to the headache. She could take some ibuprofen later when no one was watching.

“Did they say why they were here?” Quinn asked, looking at the door.

“They started to, but the second they saw the Lady, they fell into attack. We had them, Sir, I swear,” Emily’s guard growled.

“I’m sorry, ok?” Emily said, and leaned her head back.

“Are you ok?” Chevalier asked. His voice started to sound angry.

“I’m fine,” Emily said, and stood up to pick up Alexis. The second her hands left her nose, it started to bleed again. She headed up the stairs with the baby in one arm, and held her nose with her free hand.

“Why do we even guard her?” one of the newer guards asked angrily.

“Because one of these days… she’s going stop trying to protect the heku and let us protect her,” Chevalier hissed.

“It’s humiliating… to be protected by a mortal,” her guard hissed, and headed up after her.

Silas sighed and ran up after them.

“Damn, how do I get her to stop trying to protect us?” Chevalier asked Maleth and Quinn.

“Maybe we never will. The guard has a point though, why exactly are they there?” Quinn asked.

“Just… keep them with her,” Chevalier growled, and walked up the stairs.

“She’s napping,” Silas said as he headed back down with Alexis. “Lexi and I are going for ice cream, it seems.”

“How’s she napping? She just barely got up?”

“I don’t know, maybe she’s hiding the headache she obviously has.”

“Of course.” Chevalier blurred up the stairs and into the bedroom.

Emily was taking some ibuprofen as he watched her. She turned suddenly when he shut the door and swallowed the pills dry.

“Don’t be mad, ok? I didn’t think,” Emily said softly.

“I just wish you would let the guards do their jobs. They live for the fight, and you took it. By now, the Encala would still be dead, but you wouldn’t be suffering and the guards would have a natural predatory high,” he said, sitting down on the bed.

“I just need a nap,” Emily whispered, and laid down on the bed.

Chevalier watched as she fell asleep and then went back down to the Great Hall when she was in a deep peaceful sleep. He sat down on the chair with the other Elders and watched the finishing of the decorations. He kept quiet while Maleth and Quinn visited.

***

Emily came down just before the coronation started and took her place beside Chevalier’s chair. He could tell she didn’t feel well, and the dark blue slip dress accentuated her pale complexion and the weight loss from the past few weeks. She stood silently beside him and watched as the heku gathered. He noticed she wasn’t commenting about the looks she was getting, and he looked up at her several times to make sure she wasn’t about to pass out.

Emily took Chevalier’s hand after the coronation, when it was time to greet Kyle and Mark, but still didn’t speak. Her hand felt cold to him, and after Emily shook Kyle and Mark’s hands, she disappeared out of the room through the back door. Chevalier remained cordial and joined the rest of the heku in the Great Hall for the reception.

Chevalier frowned when he saw Emily’s bodyguards visiting with some of the coven dignitaries, but didn’t see Emily.

“Mark?” he called out.

“Yes, Elder,” Mark asked.

“Who is guarding Emily tonight?”

“Ted and Jack,” Mark said, and then spotted them. “At least, they should be.”

“Your first official duty,” Chevalier said, and watched Mark approach the two guards.

Chevalier watched as Mark became irate and yelled at the two guards. He heard Mark tell them to report to his office in the morning, and he blurred from the room.

Chevalier turned when one of the coven dignitaries asked him about relations with a new coven that formed close to his. He stopped listening to the dignitary when he heard Mark yell for Kyle, and he saw Kyle blur out of the room.

“Seems both of our honorees have disappeared,” Quinn said after Kyle had left.

“Yes, seems so, and it’s making me nervous,” Chevalier told him.

Maleth walked up, “Where are Kyle and Mark?”

“I’ll go find them,” Chevalier said, and left the room through the back door. He listened carefully and heard angry voices from the stables.

Chevalier walked up as Mark and Kyle seemed to be interrogating someone on the straw in the corner of the stable, “What’s going on?”

Kyle turned to the Elder, “Seems like the Encala are pretty interested in talking to Emily today.”

Chevalier looked down at the three Encala, “About what?”

“That’s what we’re trying to find out,” Mark said, and kicked one of the Encala, who started to whine.

“Where’s Em?” Chevalier asked, looking around.

“Strange thing is… she was cleaning out a stall when I got here, and these three brave souls were hiding in the corner watching her. When I called them out, she ran off,” Mark said, and shrugged.

“So her personal guards, who skipped out on her, let the Encala get to her?” Chevalier asked, suddenly very curious.

Mark nodded, “I can’t wait to deal with them. I called for Kyle in case Emily decided to come back and turn them to ash.”

Three members of the Cavalry arrived from the city and took the Encala into the palace prison.

“You two go back to the reception, it is for you after all,” Chevalier told them, and they both ran off to the reception area. Once they were gone, he shut the open stall and then blurred up to their room. He could hear the jetted tub running and grinned when he found the door was locked. A brief tap under the lock snapped it, and he walked inside.

Emily jerked and looked over at him, “Don’t do that!”

“Sorry, Em. Are you ok?” he asked, sitting on the edge of the tub.

“Yes, if people would quit watching me in secret,” she said, and leaned back in the tub, re-covering her eyes with a washcloth. “I let Mark take them, happy now?”

Chevalier was glad she covered her eyes, because her comment made him grin, “Yes, very.”

Emily grumbled under her breath.

“Would you rather stay here instead of going back to the island?” Chevalier asked.

Emily shook her head, “No, I want to get away, and I want to get Allen away from his schoolbooks.”

“He’s enjoying studying.”

“He’s a little boy who needs exercise and sunlight.”

“Maybe not, I mean… he may not need sunlight.”

Emily pulled off the washcloth and glared at him.

Chevalier chuckled, “Ok, I’m going… I’ll come get you for the helicopter later.”

Emily stayed in bed as long as she could, and then got up and started to pack. When she heard the helicopter start up, she picked Alexis up out of bed and carried her, still asleep, up the stairs while one of her guards brought the bags.

Emily handed Alexis up to Kyle, who was already in the helicopter, and then she looked around.

“Where’s Allen?” she asked Chevalier.

Chevalier shrugged, “He said he doesn’t want to go.”

Emily’s eyes turned furious and she went back inside. She came out a short time later dragging Allen by his ear. Chevalier ran to them and took Allen from Emily’s grasp.

“I’m not going,” Allen fumed.

“Oh yes you are,” Emily told him, and pointed to the helicopter. “Get in or I’ll carry you.”

“You can’t make me,” Allen said. He crouched low and glared at her.

Emily’s eyes grew wide and she took a step back.

“Get in the helicopter,” Chevalier said, picking Allen up and throwing him inside. He then turned to Kyle, “You have my permission to put him over your knee.”

Kyle nodded and glared at Allen. Allen saw the anger in his eyes and buckled into the seat.

Chevalier wrapped his arms around Emily, “He’ll come around.”

“Yeah, if he doesn’t kill me first.” Emily laid her head against Chevalier’s chest.

“I’ll meet you at the island in a week, ok?” Chevalier kissed the top of her head.

Emily nodded and crawled into the helicopter, followed by four of the top members of the Cavalry, including Mark. She buckled in and then leaned her head back to sleep on the way.

***

“Em?” Kyle said softly, and touched her shoulder.

Emily jerked awake and almost fell out of bed trying to get away from the heku sitting on the edge of her bed.

“Just me,” Kyle said, smiling.

She nodded and pulled the covers up.

“Who was attacking the Elder and I this time?” Kyle chuckled.

Emily frowned, “It’s not funny.”

“I know. It’s just surprising that after all of this time, you’re still trying to save us in your dreams.”

Emily laid back down and rolled onto her side.

“Did you know it’s almost 1pm?” Kyle asked.

Emily sat up and looked at the clock, “Damn. Whose idea was it to travel in the middle of the night?”

Kyle chuckled, “There’s coffee coming. Anna has Alexis down getting some lunch.”

Emily nodded and stared at Kyle.

“Oh, right, I’m gone.” He blurred from the room.

Emily stretched and laid back down, not wanting to get up. The helicopter hadn’t landed on the island until almost 5am, and then she’d had to fight to get Allen off of it before it returned to Council City.

Emily grumbled when someone knocked on her door, then sat up and pulled the covers up, “Come in.”

Gordon walked in with a large smile and a pot of hot coffee, “Good to have you back, Lady Emily.”

Emily smiled. She still felt that those around the palace considered it a demotion to help her with anything. It was nice to feel wanted again, “Thanks, always good to be back.”

Gordon set the coffee down on the bedside table and then left the room. Emily had a few cups of coffee to wake up, and then slipped into her bikini. She’d been wanting to swim for a while. She threw a towel over her shoulder and grabbed a clean diaper, and she was tying her hair up into a ponytail when she walked out of the bedroom.

The two members of the Cavalry smiled at her, and then quickly looked away. Emily headed down to the dining room and kissed Alexis on the head.

“Sim?” Alexis asked her with a grin.

“Yup, let’s go.” Emily picked her up and stripped her clothes off, handing them to Anna to get washed. They walked to the pool and the guards opened the door for her, “Send Allen down, please.”

The guards nodded and stood outside of the door so she could swim in peace. Almost twenty minutes later, she looked up from the water as Kyle pulled Allen into the room. They were obviously fighting.

“I don’t care what you say. I don’t have to do what she says,” Allen said, crossing his arms.

“Yes, you do. Now get in.” Kyle glared at him.

“Why should I have to listen to a weak-minded mortal? It’s not my fault Dad married down.”

Emily gasped when Kyle backhanded Allen to the floor, “Unless you want a rough seven days here, I suggest you drop the attitude.”

Allen stood up, glaring at Kyle, and stepped into the pool. Kyle moved over to a lounge chair and sat down, his eyes glued to the 6-year-old. Allen stood in the corner of the pool with his arms crossed.

Emily sat Alexis up on the cement and she ran to Kyle, who wrapped her in a warm towel. Emily moved over to Allen.

“Is it seriously that bad to come spend time with your family?” Emily asked him.

Allen sighed, “Yes, it’s humiliating to be thrown into mundane mortal tasks.”

“So swimming is a mundane mortal task?”

“Yes”

Emily sighed, “You have some mortal blood in that body, and it’s not good for you to sit with your nose in a book all day.”

“Don’t insult me,” Allen glared at her.

Emily slapped him and he lunged at her, but was suddenly dragged out of the water by his arm. Kyle pulled him off to the side, “You are part mortal, like it or not, and you will obey your mother and show her the respect she’s due.”

Allen just glared at him.

“The next time you attack her, or even so much as crouch, I’ll throw you in a prison cell for the rest of the day. Is that understood?” Kyle was furious.

Allen nodded.

Emily crawled out of the pool and wrapped in a plush towel. She sat down on a lounge chair to throw a diaper on Alexis while Allen and Kyle had a stand-off in the corner. She passed them as she and the baby headed out into the castle. Anna met them at the door and took Alexis, so Emily could get some alone time.

Emily headed up the stairs to her room and sat on the bed to think. She hadn’t realized how anti-mortal Allen was, even though he was 25% mortal himself. She also hadn’t realized how much animosity he felt toward her, and the thought scared her. She felt a twinge of fear of her young son. She couldn’t turn him to ash if he attacked her, he was just a boy, but she knew that he could kill her if he wanted.

Emily heard a knock on the door and threw on some jeans and a t-shirt before seeing who it was.

“Can I come in?” Kyle asked.

Emily nodded and sat down on a chair by the fireplace.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Kyle asked, sitting in the chair beside hers.

“Talk about what? How my own son hates me, or how he considers me a lower life-form? How about we talk about how my son can and wants to kill me?” Emily asked, watching the flames dance.

“I’ll never claim to fully understand him. No one can because he’s the first of his kind,” Kyle explained. “All I can explain is some things I see in him, things that I see in every new heku.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean like constant studying. Every new heku delves into books, studying everything they can get their hands on. For the first time in their lives, they remember everything, and so the world opens up to them in a way not previously possible.”

“He’s a little boy. He needs exercise and interaction with people,” Emily said.

“He may not though. He doesn’t require the food of a mortal or the sleep of a mortal, maybe he doesn’t need what other mortal boys his age need,” Kyle said, also watching the fire.

“How do we know that though? How do we find out how much of him is heku and how much is mortal? There has to be some mortal in there, right?”

Kyle thought for a moment, “Not necessarily, when a child is 50% mortal and 50% heku, he is completely mortal… with no sign of a heku at all. It’s therefore not unreasonable to think that with his body being mostly heku, that the mortal traits are gone.”

Emily turned her face away from Kyle so he wouldn’t see the tears building, “You’re telling me my son is gone then.”

“No, and I’m not saying what he does is right. I just wanted to see if I could help you understand the parts that I do understand.”

“My son can kill me and wants to,” Emily said softly.

“Today… wait a day and he’ll attack anyone who comes near you. He’s confused right now. His mind is that of a predator, but there’s a conscience there, he loves you and it gets confusing. Does he listen to his heart or his instincts?” Kyle said, touching her hand. She turned her hand over and laced her fingers with his.

“What am I supposed to do? Let my 6-year-old run free? Turn off the mothering and let him be raised by the heku who, apparently, understand him more than I do?” Emily asked him.

“Just give him time to figure out who he is.”

“And hope he doesn’t kill me in the process?”

“You may have to ash him to teach him who’s boss, even just a controlled burn. If he sees you as powerful, he’ll back down. Predators won’t take on prey that’s meaner than they are.” Kyle cringed after he said it.

“Nice,” Emily sighed and got up, disappearing into the bathroom. She came a while later.

“Going somewhere?” Kyle asked when she grabbed her purse.

“Yes, I’m going to the mainland to go shopping.”

“Oh good, have fun,” Kyle said, smiling.

Emily sighed, “Alone.”

Kyle’s smile faded, “Em…”

“I don’t need to hear it. I’m going alone.” Emily sat down to slip on some shoes.

“You know as well as I do, that we can’t let you go alone.”

“And you know as well as I do, that if I want to go alone then I will.” Emily stood up and put her hands on her hips, “So you can either let me go peacefully, or I’ll do it anyway.”

“Damnit, Em,” Kyle scowled.

“I hate when you say that… is that part of the required Equites training? How to yell at me?”

“Mark just got the job of trying to keep you safe, and you’re going to test him by running off alone to go shopping?” Kyle asked, standing up and starting for the door.

“Fine! But just Mark. I’m not taking my entourage.” Emily scowled and headed for the pier. Mark caught up with her while she waited on the ferry, and she was glad to see he’d changed out of the cape and into jeans and a polo.

***

Once Alexis was down for the night, Emily sat down on the bed to think. She suddenly had an idea. Grabbing a flashlight and a lot of extra batteries, she left the castle out the back door, followed by two of the Cavalry guards. She hopped on the ATV in the empty barn, and checked to make sure the guards were with her as she got to the tree line.

“What are we doing?” one of them asked.

“I’m looking for something,” Emily said, and flipped on the flashlight. She found what she was looking for after almost an hour.

The two heku guards looked down at the cement slab.

“I need that opened,” Emily told them. They hesitated and then easily lifted it from the ground. Emily crawled down into the crypt, followed by the guards.

“Why do I get the feeling that you aren’t supposed to be down here?” one of them asked, looking at the scattered bones.

“I’m not… come on,” Emily said, heading further back into the corridor.

They went room to room as Emily shone her flashlight on the walls and ceiling. This time she ignored the bones and various objects and focused on the walls, looking for something written or drawn.

Emily stopped when the walls of the crypt were stained red and bones were scattered across the surface of the hallway.

“Damn, wonder what happened here,” the tallest guard said.

Emily sighed, “Chevalier got mad.”

He raised an eyebrow, looking around, impressed, and then followed Emily deeper into the tombs.

Any door that Emily couldn’t open, the guards got for her. She searched late into the night until she found something that could help her. Behind one of the large, heavy doors was an office. Papers and books were laid out on the top of a crypt along with ancient parchment with dark writing in a language Emily didn’t recognize.

Emily changed the batteries in the flashlight and set it down, then she began pouring through books. If they were in English, she scanned for signs of what she was looking for, and if they weren’t in English, she set them aside.

“I’d like to yell and throw a fit… but at least you brought your guards this time,” Kyle said from the doorway to the room. Mark was standing behind him and looked irate.

“Shhh,” Emily whispered, still reading through a book.

“What are you looking for?” Kyle asked, picking up a book written in Danish and thumbing through it.

Emily sighed, “I couldn’t ash Larsen or this Ancient.”

“Right,” Kyle said.

“They told me they protected themselves against my abilities.”

Kyle nodded, “And you want to know how.”

“It has to be in here,” Emily told him, and threw her book on the floor. She reached over and grabbed another.

Kyle dismissed the rest of the guards and began to help her look through the books.

After a few hours, Emily turned off the flashlight. She was running out of batteries and sat back against the wall.

“Can I ask you a personal question?” she asked Kyle.

Kyle set down the book, “Sure.”

“Are you an ‘old one’?”

“No”

“How old are you?”

Kyle shrugged, and then realized she couldn’t see him, “I don’t know… don’t really remember.”

“Do you remember who made you?”

“Yes”

“Did Chevalier make you?”

“No”

Emily thought for a moment, “Did you get to make the choice?”

“Yes, I did.”

“What did you do before becoming heku?”

“I was a rancher.” Kyle sounded amused.

“Were you married?”

Kyle tensed. He hadn’t ever been asked that, and had repressed those memories far back into his mind.

“I’m sorry, that’s none of my business,” Emily said softly.

“No, it’s ok. I just hadn’t thought about any of that in a while. Yes, I was married.”

“Did she know you turned?”

Kyle sighed, “No, she died before I chose to join the heku.”

“I’m sorry.” Emily’s voice was soft and warm.

“Back when I was a rancher, there were just so many diseases and even a common ailment could kill you.”

Emily nodded, “Have you ever dated a heku?”

Kyle chuckled, “No, we don’t date.”

“What do you mean? I see heku together all the time.”

“Together, yes,” Kyle explained. “We don’t date, though. Did you date Chevalier?”

Emily frowned, “No, guess I didn’t. So don’t evade the question.”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Ever considered a mortal?” Emily asked. She knew this was pushing it.

Kyle chuckled, “Yes.”

“Willing to give a mortal a try?”

“Are you trying to set me up?” His heart skipped a beat as he wondered briefly if she meant herself.

“Maybe”

“No, I won’t date a mortal,” he said, lying.

“Why not?”

Kyle sighed, “I don’t want to watch someone I love die again. I don’t want to have to live without the person I love.”

Emily thought for a moment, “Does Chevalier wish I would turn?”

Kyle’s mouth fell open at this question. He paused and composed himself, “He’s never said.”

“Do you wish I would?” Emily thought that seemed like an innocent enough question.

“I… think we should get back to the books,” Kyle said. He enjoyed having the opportunity to watch and study her when she couldn’t see him, but he wasn’t going to go through these questions with her.

Emily nodded and turned on the flashlight. She picked up another book and looked through it.

“Hrm, what’s ‘dulcris cruor’?” Emily asked.

Kyle took the book from her and looked at it, “You are.”

Emily took the book back from him, “This is it then.”

“I’m not sure we should tell anyone about this,” Kyle said after a few minutes.

“Why not?”

“Think about if you are attacked, the only way you have to fight it off is to ash, what if that’s taken away,” Kyle said.

Emily nodded, “I realize that. I had to deal with it with Larsen.”

“I just don’t know if it’s a good idea to take that defense away from you,” Kyle told her.

“What’s bloodletting?” She ignored his comment.

“Give me that,” Kyle said, and took the book. He read for a moment, “So the heku is completely drained of blood, and then feeds off of the ‘dulcris cruor’.”

“Sounds easy enough.”

“No, it’s not. Once the heku is drained of blood, their survival instincts will kick in and they won’t want to stop feeding.”

“So let’s try it,” Emily said.

Kyle smiled, “Not a chance.”

“You’re afraid it won’t work and I’ll ash you?”

“No, I’m afraid of draining you,” Kyle said calmly.

“Oh, well, there has to be a way around that.”

“It’s not worth the risk. The protection only lasts for about a week,” Kyle said, shutting the book.

Emily picked it up, “I’m at least going to show Chev.”

Kyle took the book from her, “I don’t think it should leave this crypt, and I don’t think you should tell anyone what it said.”

“What if Alexis learns to ash? She could wipe out the entire city.”

“Stop trying to protect us! If someone does something that scares her, then they deserve to be burned.” Kyle took the book and started tearing it into pieces.

“Let’s try it,” Emily said again.

“No, end of discussion,” Kyle said, dropping pieces of the book onto the floor.

Emily’s flashlight slowly died, “Dang.”

“I can get us out,” Kyle said, watching her again.

Emily rubbed her arms, it was starting to get cold.

“My turn?” Kyle asked.

“Ask away.”

“Why do you stay with the heku? It’s obviously not for protection,” Kyle asked her, and studied her face.

“Would you believe love?” Emily smiled.

“Take Chevalier out of the picture, then you would leave?”

“Hmm, no, I guess not.”

“Then why? I mean, look at all that has happened to you in the last eight or nine years. Why do you stay?”

Emily pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arm around them, “It’s the first place I’ve ever known where I feel like I am wanted… pathetic huh?”

“Not at all.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m pretty sure if I lost the ability to ash or reproduce, I’d be dropped out on my ass,” Emily laughed.

“Oh I bet not. We’ve all become quite attached.”

“Which brings me back to why in the hell you all don’t kick me out on my ass? Take Chevalier out of the picture,” Emily said, and laid her head on her knees, her face toward him.

“Oh we’ve thought about it… but we’re afraid you’d wipe out Council City,” Kyle chuckled.

Emily threw her flashlight at him. She couldn’t see because of the dark, but he caught it and set it down beside him.

“If Chevalier was banished, for any reason, would you stay?”

“I’ve thought about that before,” Emily said seriously. “I decided I would go to the Valle and offer to stay with them if they would un-banish him.”

Kyle gasped. He’d never heard of anything like that before, “I would keep that little bit of information to yourself.”

Emily nodded, “I will, but we’re being honest here, right?”

“Right, next question. Did you love Keith?” Kyle watched her expression closely and noticed her arms tightened around her knees.

Emily sighed, “I thought I did, but now, that I look back… no, I didn’t. You must have thought I was quite the idiot when you first met me. Here I come in the car with your Chief Enforcer. I have a bruise around my neck, and the within an hour I had the crap beat out of me.”

“Quite the contrary. I was fascinated by you from the moment you stepped out of that car. It took a lot of control on my part not to kill him the first time he hit you.”

“Why didn’t you?” Emily asked.

“It was obvious to me that the Chief Enforcer was interested in you, and I wasn’t going to break his orders,” Kyle sighed. He’d often regretted that decision.

“Oh”

“Are we free to ask anything?”

“Sure”

“Did you ever consider me instead of Chevalier?”

Emily nodded.

“When?”

“When we spent so much time together, after I thought Chevalier left, there at the first.”

Kyle just watched her.

“You were so different from Keith and Chevalier. Don’t tell him I said this… but, at that time, I saw a lot of similarities between the two of them. When you brought Patra to me, it showed me you cared. Then all of that time together, you never tried to fight with me, or hit me, or bite me.” Emily’s eyes were far away.

“They are a lot alike.” Kyle knew how mad the Elder would be to hear him say that.

“I know. Odd how I attract that kind isn’t it? One might think I liked bruises.” Emily frowned and then smiled, “I do see the differences though. Keith hit me for fun, Chevalier just has a temper… and it’s a lot better now.”

“I’m waiting for the day when he oversteps and you disappear. If anyone on this planet could disappear forever, it’d be you,” Kyle said.

Emily nodded, “I almost did in Colorado. If I hadn’t ended up pregnant… I would have been gone.”

“That’s what scares me. If you hadn’t been pregnant, I don’t think you would have still been at my house.”

“Probably not.”

“Let’s make a pact. If you ever leave, you have to promise you’ll tell me where you are, and I’ll swear to not tell a soul,” Kyle said seriously.

“I can’t promise that,” Emily said softly.

“Just keep it in mind.”

“I will.”

“We should go in. You’re cold.” Emily heard Kyle stand up.

“I don’t want to. We never get to talk, and down here we know no one can hear us.”

Kyle sat down beside her and she leaned against his arm.

“I want to try it, Kyle, and I want it to be you,” Emily said, looking up, though she couldn’t see him.

“I’m not going to risk draining you.”

“So we’ll have Mark there.”

“Still too dangerous.” Even the thought of feeding from her made his mouth water. She was so close to him that her scent was strong and enticing.

“Do the heku in Council City think I’m only kept in the palace for sex?” Emily asked, laying her head back on his shoulder.

“Of course not!”

“Damon said it, and often, and I think I believe him.”

“Damon was an idiot,” Kyle reminded her.

Emily laughed, “Yes I know, but he has a point. Why do they keep me?”

“I thought we covered this.”

“I’m a moody pain in the ass with violent tendencies and the desire to run at any confrontation. I get attacked, kidnapped, tortured, I hate having guards…”

Kyle stopped her with a kiss. He wrapped his hand around the back of her neck. For one brief moment, Emily leaned into him and touched his face lightly. Suddenly, she stiffened and pulled away from him.

“You are a moody pain in the ass,” Kyle said, amused.

“I’m sorry,” Emily whispered.

“Don’t be… I’m not. No one thinks you’re in the palace just as a sex object for the Elder. I swear,” Kyle said, and took her hand, kissing it softly.

“Now that things have turned awkward, shall we go?” Emily asked, laughing slightly.

“I guess we should. I’m sure everyone’s wondering where we went,” Kyle said. He stood up and helped Emily to her feet.

“I bet they don’t even know we’re gone,” Emily said, and took a timid step forward into the dark.

“Oh I bet they do. It’s already 9am.”

Emily gasped, “Dang.”

Kyle picked her up and held her closely to him. Emily wrapped her arms around him as he blurred out of the crypt. Kyle replaced the cement slab and they walked back to the castle slowly.

“If Mark says he’ll help, can we?” Emily asked when they neared the castle.

“No,” Kyle said, laughing. “Drop it, ok?”

“You do realize, I’ve set my mind to giving it a go. If it’s not you, then I’ll find someone else.” Emily grinned. She knew that would get him.

“I could tell the Elder. One order from him and no one’d do it.”

“Not in this faction.”

Kyle turned to her, shocked, “You wouldn’t.”

Emily raised her eyebrows, “I wouldn’t?”

“I was about to come check on you,” Mark said from the door. He looked at them and then narrowed his eyes, “What’s up?”

“I want to try an experiment, and I can either try it with you and Kyle, or I can go to the Valle.” Emily grinned, watching Kyle.

“No, Em,” Kyle said sternly.

“What experiment?” Mark asked.

“Let’s just say I have the urge to drain Kyle,” Emily said, and walked past Mark into the castle.

Mark looked at Kyle, “Do I want to know?”

“No, you don’t. Damn we’re going to end up doing this,” Kyle mumbled, and walked into the castle.

Chapter 18 - Scents

“Why am I here? It’s making me nervous,” Mark said as he looked around the bathroom.

Emily smiled, “For future reference, this is all my idea, and I threatened you both into this.”

“Don’t do this, Em, please?” Kyle asked.

“Here’s what we do… first we drain all the blood out of Kyle,” Emily said.

“No, we don’t! Not with you around,” Mark said, shocked.

“Then, when he’s drained, he feeds off of me.”

Mark growled.

“Then it’s your job to stop him before I die.” Emily smiled.

“No, I won’t be a part of this,” Mark said sternly.

“See, Em. He agrees, this is not a good idea,” Kyle said, standing by Mark.

Emily shrugged, “Fine, but I bet the Valle will help me.”

Both Kyle and Mark growled.

“Calm down. I’ll take the blame… I want to know if this works,” Emily said, squaring off with the two heku.

“There’s no good that can come of this,” Mark said.

Kyle nodded, “I agree.”

“So the question is, how do we drain Kyle? Won’t you die?” Emily asked.

“We’re not draining Kyle. It’s out of the question,” Mark said.

“No, I won’t die,” Kyle scowled.

“You’re agreeing to this?” Mark asked him, shocked.

Kyle sighed, “What are we going to do? Let her go try this with the Valle.”

“Damnit, this is crazy… and I want no part of it.” Mark headed for the door, but Emily laid a soft hand on his harm.

“Please, you’re the only one I trust to stop him before I get hurt.” Emily’s tone was soft and timid, and Kyle cringed at how manipulative she could be.

“Damnit,” Mark said again and turned around. “Lay down, Kyle.”

Kyle sighed and laid in the bathtub with his wrist out.

“Great! Wrist only on me Kyle. I can’t hide the neck wounds from Chev.” She saw Kyle turn away from her, and knew he was mad about this.

Mark knelt down, “You do realize how against policy this is for me to drain a member of the Council.”

“My fault, remember,” Emily reminded him.

“He’s going to kill me,” Mark said, moments before sinking his teeth into Kyle’s wrist. Instead of drinking, Emily noticed he was just letting the blood drain out and kept the holes open with his teeth.

“Gah, this feels weird,” Kyle said.

“You sure this won’t kill you?” Emily cringed.

“No, but it’s damn well going to make me thirsty.”

“Good, that’s where I come in,” Emily said, smiling.

Emily sat down by Kyle and watched as the blood poured out of him and went down the drain. She saw his breathing slow, and he shut his eyes and concentrated as the color drained out of him. When the blood stopped draining, Mark moved away quickly and Kyle’s eyes flew open. He inhaled deeply and turned to face Emily.

“Wrist, Kyle,” Emily said, and stuck her wrist out for him.

Kyle lunged at her and pinned her to the floor. His teeth punctured the skin on her neck before she could resist. Emily shut her eyes and felt her body relax. She no longer had the desire to fight him about the bite location.

“Enough, Kyle,” Mark said after a few minutes, and then pulled at the Chief Enforcer.

Kyle growled and continued to drink.

Mark moved back a few steps and lunged at Kyle, knocking him off of Emily. She looked up just as they crouched to face each other, both ready to attack.

“Get back, Emily,” Mark ordered, and she saw Kyle’s feral eyes fall to her.

Emily stepped back against the wall, her body tense. She smiled when she saw Kyle frown and shut his eyes, standing up straight. Mark stood also, but kept himself between the two of them.

“Holy shit,” Kyle hissed.

Mark smiled, “That good, eh?”

“Hey, eeew,” Emily said, watching them closely.

Kyle stood up, “I’m ok.”

“Do we try it?” Emily asked.

“Oh, so I get to know why we did this?” Mark asked her.

“It’s supposed to make me immune to Emily’s ashing,” Kyle said, and smiled slightly.

“Ok, ready?” Emily looked at Kyle and he cringed.

Kyle opened his eyes and looked at her, “Did you try?”

Emily nodded, “Yes, nothing? Not even a burn?”

Kyle shook his head, “Nothing.”

“You two, I swear… you didn’t think this through did you?” Mark asked them, frustrated.

“Yes I did,” Emily answered.

“So you knew that Kyle now has your scent?”

Emily cringed, “He does?”

“Damn,” Kyle said. “How strong is it?”

“The same as it is with Emily. I could bite you myself,” Mark said, and smiled evilly at Kyle.

“I’ll… I’ll go to the mainland and feed, a lot.”

“You better. If the Elder gets a whiff of you, the three of us will be banished for sure,” Mark said, and left the room angrily.

Emily smiled at Kyle, “It worked.”

Kyle moved to her and pressed his lips against hers passionately. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him.

Emily turned her head away from him, “Don’t.”

He kissed her neck softly and then let her go. He spun quickly with wide eyes when he heard movement behind him. Mark was at the door and had seen it all. He was glaring angrily at Kyle.

Kyle blurred past him and disappeared out the door.

Emily sighed and leaned back against the wall.

Marked moved to her quickly, “Are you ok?”

Emily nodded.

“Please, forgive Kyle. I’m not sure his instincts were as under control as he hoped,” Mark explained. He put a scarf around Emily’s neck and followed her back out to the foyer.

“Oh good, there you are, Lady Emily,” Storm said, walking up with her clipboard. “Elder Chevalier called and he’ll be arriving tonight.”

Emily nodded and glanced nervously at Mark. Storm left, frowning, and returned to her office.

“Tonight? He wasn’t supposed to be here until Sunday,” Emily told him.

“He’s going to notice, if not the puncture wounds, then at least Kyle’s scent,” Mark whispered.

“What do we do?” Emily asked him, starting to panic.

“Tell him the truth.”

Emily frowned, “You’re not a lot of help.”

Mark followed her up to her room where he was joined by another of the Cavalry. They waited outside as she disappeared into the bedroom to think.

Emily pulled off the scarf and looked into the mirror. The puncture wounds were deep and red, obviously new. She threw the scarf back on and sat on the edge of the bed. Before long, she laid back and shut her eyes. She always felt tired after being fed off of.

Emily woke up suddenly when she felt the pressure on her chest. She opened her eyes as a strange heku was lowering his teeth to her neck.

“Mark!” she screamed, and pushed against him. The room became a blur as Mark and the other guard came into the room and tackled the heku off of her. She ran into the bathroom and crouched in the shower as she heard the sounds of a heku being torn apart, and then the blood-curdling scream before his head was torn off.

Emily tensed when she heard a knock on the door, and felt her heart skip a beat.

“Em, it’s us,” Mark said, and he tapped the lock and came into the bathroom. He scanned the room quickly and saw her huddled in the shower.

Mark opened the shower and pulled Emily into a protective hug, “He’s gone.”

Emily nodded and buried her face into his chest. The other guard gasped and then growled when he saw the wounds on Emily’s neck. Marked looked down and saw what had upset the other guard. He fought a grin, and then made his face angry.

Mark pulled Emily away from him and looked into her eyes, “Did he hurt you when he fed?”

Emily started to tell him that the heku hadn’t, when she saw the look in his eyes, she shook her head.

Mark walked Emily into the bedroom. The carnage had already been cleaned, “Get her something to eat. Tell Gordon what happened, he’ll know what to do.”

The guard nodded and blurred from the room.

Mark watched him leave and then turned to Emily, “This covers part of it.”

Emily nodded, “We just have to get the scent off of Kyle.”

Mark smiled when he saw Emily tremble, and he pulled her into another hug, “It’s ok. We’ve checked the room and no one else is here.”

The other guard returned with a steak and potato dinner, and there were two B12 pills on the plate with a glass of orange juice.

“Where’s Alex?” Emily asked, taking the B12.

“Anna has her down in the TV room. They’re having a Wiggles marathon,” the guard said. “Silas is there, too. She’s safe.”

“It’s humiliating to have a mother that can so easily be fed off of,” Allen said from the doorway.

Mark crouched and growled at him, “You will not speak to your mother that way.”

“Why not? She just lets any heku attack her. I can’t believe Dad married her,” Allen scowled at her.

“Excuse me?” Emily stood up and put her hands on her hips.

Allen sighed, his young body contrasted the tone of his voice, “It’s pathetic. I find it hard to believe that Dad couldn’t find a strong woman, a heku, who wouldn’t allow herself to be terrorized.”

Emily moved to Allen and slapped him. It was hard to think of him as just a 6-year-old when he acted and spoke much older than that.

Allen grabbed Emily and pushed her hard against the stone wall. His strength was incredible and she slumped to the ground as her legs gave away beneath her. She saw Mark throw Allen out of the room and disappear after him, while the other heku guard knelt down beside her.

“Are you ok?” he asked her softly.

Emily didn’t answer. She just watched out the door as she heard a loud crash. The Cavalry guard put his arm under hers and lifted her gently to her feet and then helped her over to the bed.

“May I?” the guard asked, motioning to her back.

Emily nodded. She felt numb. Allen had never attacked her before. She felt her shirt gently lifted up in back and a hiss from the guard. He dropped her shirt and blurred out of the room.

She looked around the room and things seemed surreal. How had her precious son turned into a heku to be feared? A son that loathed her and her mortality?

Anna came into the room with Alexis. She smiled caringly at Emily and handed the toddler to her Mom. Emily curled up with Alexis on the couch and watched TV while she struggled to forget the fear she felt of her own son.

Emily heard the helicopter landing just as she put Alexis down for the night. The toddler was deep asleep and didn’t wake up to the noise.

She sat down on the bed to wait for Chevalier, unsure if Mark would tell him what happened, or if they would leave that for Emily. She got her answer when she heard a knock on the door a few minutes later.

“Come in,” Emily said softly.

Chevalier ran in and pulled her into a hug. She gasped when his hands pressed against her back. His body tensed and he stepped back, running his eyes over her. She saw Mark and Silas behind him in the doorway. His eye grew furious when she saw her neck.

“Who did it?” he growled.

Emily shook her head, “I don’t know who it was.”

Chevalier turned to Mark when he spoke, “It was a heku from town. He managed to crawl onto the balcony.”

“Where is he?” the Elder hissed.

“He’s dead,” Silas said.

“There’s more,” Mark said, and sighed. “Allen attacked Emily this afternoon.”

Emily looked at the floor when she heard the low growl from Chevalier, “Define… attack.”

Emily sat on the chair and watched the fire as Mark recounted what happened, not leaving out a single minute detail. She cringed when she heard Chevalier storm out of the room.

He appeared before the cell and glared in at Allen.

“Dad?” he asked, standing up. “They locked me up.”

Chevalier nodded, “Yes, and I’m leaving you in there.”

“What? You can’t leave me here… or did she tell you to?” Allen glared.

Chevalier swung open the door and slammed Allen against the wall, “You injured your mother.”

“She deserved it. She needs to stop being the weak mortal,” Allen mumbled.

Chevalier pulled him away from the wall and slammed him back again, “I don’t care how old you are. You won’t talk about your mother like that.”

“How could you marry her? How does a member of the Council marry a weak woman like her?” he asked scathingly.

Chevalier threw him against the bars, “You are 25% mortal, don’t forget that. I love your mother and I won’t stand for anyone hurting her, son or not. You better learn to respect her, or you’re going to have a long stay in prison.”

Allen glared at his Dad as he walked out and slammed the cell door. He ordered the guards to keep him in the cell until further notice, and then disappeared up the stairs. Emily was still sitting in bed watching the floor when Chevalier came into the room.

Chevalier sat down by her, “Are you ok?”

Emily nodded.

“He’ll learn.”

Again, she just nodded.

Chevalier lifted the shirt off of her back and sighed when he saw the dark bruises forming from the rocks on the wall. He dropped her shirt and kissed the back of her head lightly.

“I’m afraid of my own son,” Emily whispered.

“He has to be taught that he can’t mess with you, Em. You need to give him a taste of what you can do.” He took her hand and laced his fingers in hers.

Emily shook her head, “I can’t cause my son pain.”

“He’s a heku, one that doesn’t like mortals. If you’re going to protect yourself and Alexis, then you’re going to have to take a stand,” Chevalier said softly.

“Where’s Kyle?” Emily asked. She thought he had a close relationship with Allen and she hoped he could talk to him.

“We sent Kyle on a mission. He’ll be gone for about a week.”

Emily stood up and slipped her jeans off and then crawled into bed. Chevalier joined her and wrapped his arm around her after turning out the light.

It was hours before he saw the swirls of emotion starting and they were slower and softer than usual. They formed slowly into a dream.

“Sir, there’s one more item on the agenda for the day,” Derrick said, stepping into the council chamber.

Chevalier looked around. Quinn and Maleth were in the Elder spots, but the rest of the Council had changed. Strange heku sat in their seats.

“Very well, bring them in,” Maleth said.

Chevalier watched as two young men entered. One was tall and muscular, while the other was much shorter, more a boy than a man. Both had black hair and hauntingly familiar eyes.

“Who are you?” Quinn asked them.

The eldest stepped forward, “Allen and Dain Flynn”

A murmur ran through the Council and Chevalier got to his feet. Even in the dream he could feel his heart pounding.

“You’re Emily’s sons?” Maleth asked, surprised.

Allen nodded, “Yes.”

Both boys avoided looking at their father and he sat down, not sure what to say to them.

“We’re… surprised to see you,” Quinn said, smiling.

“We’re not here on a social visit,” Allen said. “We came to seek help.”

“Is something wrong with your mother?” Maleth frowned.

“Our mother has been dead for three years,” Allen said. “We… thought you knew.”

Chevalier felt like a burning stake had been driven through his heart. He hadn’t heard from any of them in almost fifteen years, when they left the Equites for good.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Quinn said, his eye sad.

One of the Council spoke, “What is the problem then?”

Dain looked up at his brother nervously.

“It’s our sister,” Allen said. “Mom was the only one that could control her and now… now she’s horribly out of control. She’s so bad that the Encala sent their Chief Enforcer to deal with her.”

Chevalier frowned, “What has Alexis done?”

“What hasn’t she done? She feeds without permission, something Mom always put a stop to. She thinks nothing about killing, human or heku, and follows no one’s rules anymore, not mortal or immortal,” Allen explained.

“Are my brothers bitching about me again?” Alexis asked from the doorway.

Alexis came in the door and the Council had to study her. She looked exactly like Emily, except for the black hair and dark eyes. She was also taller than her Mom and had short spiked hair. Her leather pants and black leather halter top were tight and fit the curves of her body, making the council members uncomfortable.

“Were they telling the truth, Alexis?” Quinn asked.

Faster than even the heku could see, she appeared behind the Council, “They like to exaggerate.”

She ran her tongue up the face of the Chief Interrogator and suddenly appeared by her brothers again, grinning.

“Do you feed without consent?” Maleth asked, startled by her behavior.

“I do, and I like it,” Alexis said, smiling.

“We’re afraid that the Encala’s Chief Enforcer won’t be the last the factions send to destroy her if she can’t be controlled,” Allen said, watching his sister with disgust.

“Ha! That wimp, I took care of him.” Alexis laughed.

“What did you do to him, Child?” the Equites Chief Enforcer asked.

Alexis appeared at his side and whispered into his ear, “First I seduced him… and then I turned him to ash.”

They heard Alexis laugh as she blurred around the room, making herself almost invisible even to the keen eyes of the Council. She stopped behind Allen and watched the looks on the faces of the Equites Council.

“I see you have inherited both your mother’s abilities and those of your father,” Maleth said.

“Oh yes, and those of my grandfather… I wish I could have met that Ancient. So much he could have taught me,” Alexis sighed. “Of course, I’m more powerful than Mom was… I can ash as much as I want, and I don’t get headaches or bloody noses. My ashing is also permanent, no reviving if I’ve turned you to ash.”

The Council looked at one another nervously.

“So you honor your mother by destroying everything she believed in?” Chevalier asked angrily.

Alexis glared at him, “Don’t ever talk about my mother! She spent the last of her fragile life trying to forget you.”

“We knew Emily well, Alexis. She was caring and compassionate. She used her abilities only when absolutely necessary, and believed in following the rules of our kind,” Quinn explained.

“Which is why I had to kill her,” Alexis said, upset. “The attacks were wearing on her. She fought them off, even protecting my idiot brothers who could defend themselves but chose to try to fight with words first. It was my duty to bring her peace.”

“You did what?” Chevalier growled. He yelled, and clutched his chest when the burn started.

Chevalier jerked and stood up quickly. Emily gasped and stumbled out of bed, trying to clear her head.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, looking around the room.

“It’s ok… I’m sorry, lay down,” he said, and sat down, patting the bed.

Emily sat down and yawned, still looking around the bedroom.

“That was an… interesting dream,” Chevalier whispered as he tucked her back into bed.

“I don’t remember it,” Emily said, and curled up next to him.

He kissed her forehead, “Good.”

“What?” she asked, looking up at him with tired eyes.

“Good night.” He grinned and laid back on the bed.

Chevalier kept his eyes open and watched her sleep. He didn’t want to see into her dreams any more that night. He’d had enough of her vision of the future. He spent the time trying to decide what to do with Allen. He understood why Emily hesitated to use her abilities on him, but as a child predator, he had to be taught who was in charge. For the safety of Emily and Alexis, Allen had to be taught his place.

Chevalier was brought out of his trance when Emily started to wake. He ordered breakfast silently and got up to get Alexis when he heard her talking. He brought Alexis in and laid her in bed between them. Emily smiled and wrapped her arms around the toddler.

“Good morning.” Chevalier smiled and kissed Emily softly.

Emily pulled Alexis under the covers, “We decided to stay in bed all day.”

“Yeah” Alexis said, grinning.

“Lazy kids,” Chevalier chuckled.

Emily hit him upside the head with a pillow.

“Call me a kid again and I’ll start calling you Grandpa,” Emily said, and kissed Alexis on the top of the head.

“Yeah,” Alexis said again.

“Do you always agree with Mommy?” Chevalier asked the toddler.

“Yeah.” Alexis giggled.

“Do you want to go back to the palace today?”

Alexis shook her head ‘no’ and then said “Yeah.”

Emily propped up on her elbow, “You’re going back today?”

“I was hoping to. Did you want to stay here longer?” Chevalier asked.

“Is that ok?”

Chevalier nodded, “You can stay here as long as you like.”

“Are you taking Allen with you?”

“I really think I should.”

Emily nodded and let Alexis go when she saw her breakfast arrive.

“Take Mark and Silas too, they should be with the Cavalry. I’m ok here,” Emily said, and sat up, stretching her sore back.

“I can’t leave you here without guards, and the Cavalry are the only ones I trust,” he told her.

“You trust your guards here. They are just afraid of me,” Emily said, and looked back at him.

Chevalier chuckled, “That too. You’re right though, Mark should get back. I’ll send a replacement.”

Emily shrugged and crawled out of bed, then grabbed a glass of orange juice and sat by Alexis.

Chevalier kissed the top of Emily’s head, “I’ll send Kyle back here too, ok?”

Emily nodded, “Yeah, sure.”

Chapter 19 - Alert Take 2

Emily sat up in bed and looked toward the window when she heard the alarm sound. Soon, her room was full of both Cavalry guards and guards from the castle.

“Come on, down to the cave room,” Kyle said, pulling the covers off of Emily and Alexis.

Emily handed Alexis up to Silas, “Keep her safe.”

Silas nodded and ran the toddler down to the cave room.

Emily grabbed some clothes and disappeared into the bathroom.

“Come on! We have to get you down there,” Kyle said frantically.

Emily came out and was tying up her hair, “Nope, not hiding.”

The guards from the castle looked at her, surprised, and the Cavalry guards all looked to Kyle.

“Oh no, you’re not going to fight,” Kyle said, taking her arm.

“Yes I am. $10 says they are here after me.” Emily put on her shoes and headed for the door.

Kyle grabbed her wrist, “I’ll have you restrained.”

“I’ll ash you first, I’m fighting… period,” Emily said, glaring at him.

Kyle grinned, “You can’t ash me.”

They all turned when they heard the front doors to the castle crash in, and the sounds of fighting from down below them. Emily ran to the secret doors, so the heku all headed down toward the sounds of battle. She shut the secret door and ran for the stairs.

Emily took the stairs down two at a time, looking for some of the attackers. She saw three Valle on the second floor and walked up to them, “Good day for an attack, eh?”

They turned quickly and their eyes grew wide when they saw her. One of them grabbed her while another tied something around her eyes.

“Damn, we could get promoted for getting her,” one of them said.

“Not what we came for, but pretty damn valuable,” another said, excited.

“Stay calm, Sweetheart, taking you to the General,” she heard someone say to her.

Emily nodded. She thought that was perfect. They were going to take her to whomever was leading this attack. She was thrown over the shoulder of a large heku and felt the wind fly past her as she was blurred out of the castle. Just as the sounds of the ocean grew closer, she was set down and her mouth was uncovered.

“Damnit, Vick, you shouldn’t carry her like that! It can hurt the baby,” a gruff voice growled.

“Sorry, Sir… I didn’t realize that.” His voice sounded tense and panicked.

Emily sighed, irritated.

“Oh, he’ll be pleased we found her though,” a voice said.

“So glad to oblige,” Emily said, grinning.

“Did he hurt you, Child?”

“Nope.” Emily was trying to hide the excitement from her voice.

She swayed slightly when the ground moved out from under her as she felt the familiar rocking of a boat. The engines started up and the sounds of the waves breaking on the beach began to fade.

“Good, good. I’m very pleased,” someone said from behind Emily. His voice was soft, yet confident, and it sent a shiver up her spine.

“You might as well take the blindfold off,” Emily said calmly.

“And allow you to turn us to ash? I think not.”

Emily chuckled, “Like a blindfold’s ever kept me from it.”

The boat suddenly grew silent and Emily just stood quietly, waiting for the heku to say something. She could hear whispers, but wasn’t able to tell what they were saying.

“All the same, we leave the blindfold on,” she heard from a different voice beside her.

Emily shrugged, “Have it your way.”

“Have a seat, Child,” she heard, and someone took her arm and led her to a soft chair. As she sat down, she felt a handcuff tighten onto each wrist and discovered she’d been restrained to the chair.

“Are you comfortable?” someone asked her.

“Handcuffs aren’t really my thing, but sure,” she said, smiling.

“Do you require sustenance?”

“You mean am I hungry? No, I’m fine.”

“Good, we weren’t planning on having a mortal on board, not sure what we could scrounge up.”

There were whispers again, and the one Emily thought might be the leader finally spoke, “How far along are you?”

“You need to stop listening to Damon,” Emily told him.

“Why is that? Though, it’s hard to listen to him when he’s been banished.”

“Who are you?” Emily asked him.

“You don’t know me. I’m Chris, the Valle’s Chief Interrogator.”

“So you replaced Exavior?”

“Yes,” Chris said, and Emily heard him move a chair up to her.

“Well, Chief Interrogator… I’m not pregnant.”

“Until you cooperate, you can stay down in the hold,” he said, and the room grew quiet.

Emily sighed and tried to slip out of the restraints. She couldn’t ash the boat if she wasn’t able to get loose. Without being able to see, they felt like regular handcuffs, but they were tight enough she couldn’t even begin to slip her hand out.

Emily sat back and waited for someone to come down again. It seemed like hours passed before she heard someone sit in the chair in front of her.

“Are you ready to talk?” Chris asked.

“I am. I have a question first though.”

“What might that be?”

“Aren’t Chief Interrogators supposed to be able to detect when someone’s lying to them, or is it just Zohn that can do that?”

“We all can, it comes with experience.”

“Ahh, I see, and you’re new, so I guess you are just learning, maybe not very good at it yet,” Emily told him. She heard a hiss and the chair slammed back against a wall.

“How far along are you?” Chris asked angrily.

“I’m not pregnant. You should be able to smell that,” Emily said again, accentuating each word.

“You will tell me,” Chris yelled, and stormed out of the room.

Emily shrugged and then listened carefully when the engines to the boat turned off. She couldn’t hear the lapping of waves, and wondered if they were anchored out in the ocean.

“Hey geniuses… why don’t you walk your little selves into a grocery store and buy a pregnancy test? I pee on it, and you’ll see that you were all lied to,” Emily called out.

“You’d like that wouldn’t you? Have us pull in to shore so your little Equites could come and rescue you?” Chris said from behind her.

“Yes because I have contact with them as we speak, and my implanted GPS system has given them our exact location.” Emily was going to say more, but stopped when Chris slapped her.

Chris hissed, “Respect, Child.”

“You hit like my grandmother.”

When Chris’s fist connected with her face, it threw the chair back and she landed hard against the floor.

“Respect,” he said again. Chris righted her chair and then left, slamming the door behind him.

Emily sighed, “Ok, so that one hurt,” she said to no one, and flexed her jaw.

“Are you ready to talk?” Chris asked when he came back.

“Yes,” Emily nodded.

“How far along are you?”

“Three months,” Emily said softly. She knew how to play this game.

“See, how hard was that?”

Emily jumped when she felt an ice pack pressed against the side of her face, “I don’t need that, thanks.”

“Very well,” Chris said, and she heard him sit down in the chair. “Is the Elder the father?”

“No,” Emily said. She figured why bother telling the truth at all now.

“Your essence ring is still on, do not lie to me.” He was getting angry.

“It wasn’t infidelity. It was Chevalier’s idea to let Damon have a go.”

“Damon is the father?” Chris asked.

“Yes”

“Interesting,” Chris said, obviously thinking it through.

“He wasn’t interesting at all, he had a little dick,” Emily said, and grinned some.

“Do you always speak what’s on your mind?”

“Yes, pretty much.”

“Do you find that often gets you into trouble?”

“Yes”

Chris sighed, “Slow learner then aren’t you?”

“Me? Haven’t the Valle learned anything from trying to take me in the past?”

“Such as?”

“Such as… it never works, and when I retaliate, heku tend to turn to ash,” she explained.

“Yes, we are aware of that and have taken precautions.”

“Your little handcuffs are hurting me,” Emily said truthfully.

“I bet they are, but we can’t risk taking them off.”

“Loosen them at least before I lose a hand.”

Chris chuckled, “No… however, I will move you to the bed for the night.”

Emily tensed. The last time she’d been restrained to a bed by the Valle, the pain had been excruciating. She felt her hands come loose from the chair, and Chris helped her to her feet and led her to a bed. She laid down and her hands were both fastened above her to the headboard. She relaxed some when she realized the position wouldn’t cause the muscle spasms.

“Good night, Child,” Chris said, and Emily was alone again.

She slipped in and out of sleep all night. She wasn’t tortured by muscle pain, but staying flat on her back all night wasn’t very comfortable. What Emily assumed was the next morning, she heard the door open.

“We have more questions for you,” Chris said, and released the handcuffs from the bed. He moved Emily back into the chair and refastened them.

“Can I have one hand?” she asked him, and after he laughed, he let her right hand go.

Emily smiled slightly.

“Do you know where the political prisoners are kept?” Chris asked.

“No, I know where the regular prison is,” she said.

Chris sighed, “Don’t lie to me, Child. I want to know where Selhman and Ingram are.”

“How am I supposed to know that?”

“We know all about you. You spend a lot of time down in the prisons, and we need to know where they are.”

“Yeah… well… I don’t stop and ask everyone’s name.”

“Where are they?” Chris yelled, slamming his fists onto Emily’s chair.

“I don’t know!” Emily yelled back.

She heard Chris sit back down and when he spoke, his voice was calm, “I find it hard to believe that you, of all people, don’t know where these prisoners are.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“You’re nosey. You go where you don’t belong, you ask what you shouldn’t, and you know more than any mortal should,” Chris told her.

Emily frowned, “Nice.”

“Tell me what I want to know and we’ll let you free.”

“You would not… I may not be 9,000 years old, but I wasn’t born yesterday.” Emily could feel her temper rising, something she reveled in. She would need that anger to retaliate.

“I’m sure the Equites would gladly trade two small prisoners for the Winchester, especially the pregnant Winchester,” Chris said, and he sounded pleased with himself.

Emily felt the familiar pull as she was able to draw from the emotions and ready herself for the attack, “I don’t need to see.”

“What do you mean?” Chris asked, and she heard him stand up quickly.

“You made the same mistake the Encala did… assuming I have to be able to see to attack.” Emily grinned.

She heard a frantic commotion moments before letting go and sending out waves of anger. The boat fell silent and Emily slipped off her blindfold. She shielded her eyes against the bright light until they adjusted, and then looked around.

The boat was about as big as the one Chevalier had. Emily was in a red stateroom that was lavishly decorated with vases and delicate statues. One handcuff dangled from her right wrist, and she was able to kick at the arm of the chair to free the other hand. Moving quickly up the stairs, she looked out over the ocean. There was no land in sight. The deck was covered in ash, and she wiped a trickle of blood from her nose.

Emily moved swiftly through the boat to make sure no heku was left alive, and ended her search on the bridge. Brushing the ashes from the Captain’s chair to the floor, she sat down and looked at the controls. They were the same as the ones David taught her to use, but she had no idea which way to go to get back to the island.

She heard quiet voices over the radio, so she reached over and turned it up.

“Council City is clear, heading back to base,” she heard a man say.

“Copy that, Island Coven is clear, team ten heading back to base,” a woman said a few seconds later.

There was static and a soft voice said, “Base, Team 4 leaving Thukil.”

Emily frowned. She wasn’t sure if the Valle had wiped out the city and the island, or if they were just clearing their forces.

“Navis did you copy? All heading back to base,” a female said.

There was a long pause.

“Navis do you read?” she asked again.

“Team ten to Navis,” a man said.

Emily picked up the microphone, “Is Navis the boat?”

There was silence for a few moments.

“Who is speaking?” the woman asked.

“Angela, I’m out with Chris, but he’s busy with the Winchester,” Emily said, and grinned.

“Yes, Angela, the boat is Navis. Tell Chris to return to base with her,” the woman said, irritated.

“Roger that,” Emily said, and started flipping through the channels on the radio until she heard idle chatter.

“No, the damn fish were not biting up there,” she heard a man say, irritated.

“Yes they were. You’re just not using the right bait,” someone answered him.

“Sorry to interrupt, but I could use some help,” Emily said into the microphone.

“Well hello, Ma’am, how can we help?” another stranger said.

“If I give you my coordinates, can you tell me which direction to head to get back to northern Maine?” She knew that sounded childish and uncertain, but that’s all she could think of.

“We can try, what’s your location, Darlin?”

“Please don’t think I’m stupid, but I don’t really know how to read this… I’ll give you the numbers.”

“Ok, are you out here alone, Ma’am? You sound like you’re in trouble,” one of them asked.

“I’ll be ok if I can just get back to Jonesport, Maine. So… 42 degrees, 58’35 point 39 north and 67 degrees, 29’31 point 84 west.”

“If you head northwest, you should come close.”

Emily nodded and started up the engines.

“I’m only about an hour from you, Ma’am. Why don’t I come help?” he asked.

“No, no, I can find my way, thank you,” Emily said, and turned the radio back to the Valle channel.

Emily tapped the compass. She knew it always pointed north, or was supposed to, but she’d always been irritated how it fluctuated though, and if you tapped it, it could point the complete opposite direction. Emily searched around and found a clock, it was 11am.

Pointing the boat away from the sun, Emily kicked up the engines and headed off toward the northwest. While the boat slowly made its way back to Maine, Emily found a broom and started sweeping ashes into the Atlantic Ocean. She guessed everyone would be upset about that, but she didn’t care.

Once the ashes were swept into the water, she started nosing around. The boat was mostly empty. There were no personal belongings, or any sign that anyone was staying there. She did find one door marked ‘office,’ but it was locked. It took a lot of kicking and then one strategically placed hit with a hammer before the door opened.

Emily sat down at the desk and started looking through papers. Not much of it made sense. Most were papers about disciplinary action against members of the Valle or crew rosters. She flipped open a large book and thumbed through the pages. It was an atlas with little names handwritten on some of the pages. She paused on the map of Rhode Island when she saw the name “Exavior” written in long-hand above one of the cities.

“Hrm… idiots,” Emily said, and shut the book. The other book on the desk looked like a journal, but when she opened it, it was more like a chronological outline of the Winchester family. Emily turned to the back of the book where she saw herself listed with Allen, Alexis, and then Baby3. She laughed when she saw that Chevalier was listed as the father of the first two, and Damon of the unnamed baby.

Emily started searching the office for anything else of importance, but all she could find was an empty briefcase. She put the map book and the Winchester book into the brief case, along with all of the papers from the desk, then she shut it and took it with her up onto the deck.

Emily ran for the bridge when she heard the radio.

“Navis, why are you not returning to base?” the woman asked again, aggravated.

Emily picked up the microphone, “What makes you think I’m not heading to base?”

“We show you heading west of the staging area. Head back to base this instant. The Elders want to talk to the Winchester immediately,” the woman demanded.

Emily cringed. She hadn’t considered they had GPS on the boat. She scanned the area for any boats and sighed.

“Fine, I was going to leave this as a little surprise… but… this is actually Emily. I ashed your entire crew,” she said, and heard only silence for a few minutes. “Hello?”

“This is no time for jokes, Angela,” an angry man said.

“If I see one boat approach me, they’ll be ash before you can read the name of this boat. Is that understood?” she asked sternly.

The channel fell silent and Emily kicked the boat up faster. She ignored the whine in the engines. She was in a race for Maine, and had to get to the island before the Valle caught up with her.

Emily turned the radio over to scan and sat back to watch. From the Captain’s chair, she had a 360 degree view of the ocean. She searched for binoculars but didn’t find any. She supposed with the eyes of a heku, they wouldn’t need them.

Hours passed as Emily watched the compass and the location of the sun, and tried to keep a heading going directly northwest. Just before dark, she saw land approaching and turned the boat north, hoping to run into something familiar. She’d been on the ferry enough at Jonesport, that she hoped she could find the town from the water, but she knew it would be hard in the dark.

Emily stopped the engines and slipped on the large coat that was on the back of the Captain’s chair when it got cold. She also put on the Captain’s hat and tucked her hair up into it.

She sat back and watched waves pass as she waited for the sun to rise so she could see better. Just as the sun was coming up, she saw a helicopter off in the distance, heading away from the land.

Emily grabbed for the microphone when she heard Kyle’s voice, “Equites 1, you are clear for the north lawn.”

“Kyle?” she asked into the microphone.

“Copy, Island,” someone responded.

“Kyle?” Emily asked again, and then listened.

“Equites 1, can you hear me?” she asked when no one answered.

“Equites 2 from Island,” Emily heard Kyle say.

“Equites 2 here.”

“ETA?”

“Thirty minutes, Island.”

“Copy, you’re clear for the roof,” Kyle said.

“Kyle!” Emily screamed into the microphone.

“Thukil 1 arriving at Island in ten minutes,” she heard a voice say.

“Copy, clear for East lawn,” Kyle said.

Emily looked up as she saw another large helicopter fly overhead. She turned the boat to follow it, and pushed it into full speed.

“Island, you have a boat approaching,” she heard a man say, and felt relieved.

“I.D., Thukil?” Kyle asked.

“Colors suggest Valle, though I see no one on board,” the pilot said.

“Equites 1 and Equites 2, join Thukil. Powan, are you near us?” Kyle asked.

“Powan is fifteen minutes south, heading to Thukil,” a strange voice said.

Emily tried again, “Kyle?”

When no one answered, Emily threw the microphone, frustrated, then saw two helicopters approaching.

“See it, definitely Valle.”

“Emily 2, can you engage?” Kyle asked.

“Emily 2 is off, will intercept in fifteen minutes,” she heard Mark say.

“Full force, no telling how many are on that boat,” Kyle said.

“Copy that, Island,” Mark replied.

“Equites 1 to Island.”

“Island here,” Kyle said.

“Second boat approaching fast, another Valle. This one has heku on board,” the pilot said.

Emily stood up on the bridge and looked around her. She couldn’t see anything but the helicopter overhead.

“Island, Valle boat 2 is going to reach the first before Emily 2 arrives.”

“Powan with 2nd Valle boat,” she heard a strange man say.

Emily headed out onto the deck. The wind from the one helicopter was strong, and she had to fight to keep from falling over. She turned to the radio when she heard a voice.

“Thukil to Island,” she heard a deep voice say.

“Go Thukil,” Kyle spoke fast.

“One Valle on deck. Do we take him out?”

“Affirmative, if you can knock him into the water, take the shot,” Kyle said.

Emily dove for the bridge and shut the door behind her. She grabbed the microphone and again tried to contact them.

“Kyle!” she screamed.

“Valle went back inside, Island.”

Emily looked out of the windows and could see a boat approaching from the horizon. Above it were two large black helicopters.

“Valle 2 is ignoring us and heading straight for Valle 1. Guessing they will intercept in 3 minutes.”

“Island copy, Emily 2, ETA?” Kyle asked.

“Emily 2 approximately 5 minutes away from Valle 1,” Mark said.

Emily pulled off the Captain’s coat and hat and again ran out on deck. She could barely hear the radio and the briefcase in her hand seemed heavier as she fought against the wind from the helicopter.

“Woman on deck of Valle 1!” she heard the pilot yell.

“Equites 1 breaking off to Valle 1.”

“Is she alone?” Kyle asked.

Emily fought to get back into the bridge. The powerful helicopter’s wind was too strong for her to handle, and she was afraid of being blown overboard.

“Not seeing anyone else. She just went back inside.”

“Valle 2 on intercept. They wouldn’t ram their own boat would they?” one of the pilots yelled.

“It’s not slowing!”

Emily looked out the window and the boat was closing in on her fast. She tried to turn the engines back on, but they sputtered and wouldn’t turn over. She saw the boat barreling up on her as hectic voices sounded over the radio.

“It’s going to ram!”

“Emily 2, get there now,” Kyle yelled, his voice frantic.

“Emily 2, ETA 2 minutes.”

“She’s out on deck again,” Emily heard the pilot say as she stepped onto the front deck. The pilot pulled the helicopter back to lessen the wind on her. She glanced once more to the boat as it headed for her, and then ran toward the back of the boat, still gripping the suitcase. She could hear the crash as boat hit boat just as she dove off of the back deck and into the cold water.

The air was sucked out of her as she submerged into the freezing water. She began to swim frantically away from the burning rubble of the two boats, determined to hold onto the briefcase that was slowing her down. She wasn’t sure what was happening when she saw three large splashes ahead of her.

Three heku appeared in the water ahead of her, “Stay back or I’ll ash you!”

Emily saw their mouths move, but with the sound from the helicopter, she couldn’t make out what he was saying.

“Get back!” she yelled again, but then she saw the closest one had on a green cape.

“Emily? We’re Equites,” one of them yelled when he got to her.

“Stay back anyway. I don’t know you,” she yelled at him. He smiled and then began to tread water beside her.

The second heku got to them and treaded water as the third arrived, “Behind you!”

Emily turned just as four heku came from the wreckage, and the three Equites swam for them. They fought in the water and Emily couldn’t tell what was going on through the splashes and screams. Slowly, the water around them turned red and the three Equites slowly swam back to her.

Emily turned to the side when a large boat approached. It slowed beside them, and before Emily knew what was happening, she was being pulled up onto the boat by Mark. Someone wrapped a blanket around her and Mark carried her down into the bedroom and sat her on the couch.

“Are you ok?” Mark asked. Emily could hear the engines roar as the boat began to move.

“Alexis?” Emily asked him.

“Alexis is fine,” Mark said, smiling.

Emily nodded and began to shake slightly.

Mark slipped his shirt off, “Go put that on.”

Emily took the shirt and stumbled into the bathroom. It took a while to get her wet clothes off, but when she was dry and slipped on Mark’s dry shirt, she immediately felt better. She picked the briefcase up and went back into the bedroom where Mark was waiting.

“Come, I made you some coffee,” Mark said, holding out a steaming cup.

Emily took it and tucked the briefcase between her knees so she could wrap her cold hands around the hot cup. She sipped the coffee slowly and wiggled her toes as soon as she could feel them. The carpet felt warm against her bare feet.

“Tell me again, are you ok?” Mark asked her.

Emily smiled, “Perfect, thanks.”

“They didn’t do anything to you?” Mark asked skeptically.

“How many did Council City lose?” Emily asked him.

“You first, answer my question.”

“No, answer mine.”

“Ok, not many. We suspect that the attack was to keep the city occupied while the two largest Equites covens were attacked.”

“How many?” she asked again.

“Four”

Emily leaned over. She felt like she was going to get sick. She rested her head against her knees.

“How many on the island?” she whispered.

“Are you ok?” Mark asked, laying a hand on her back.

“How many?”

“Forty three,” Mark sighed.

“And from the other coven?”

“Emily, this wasn’t your fault.”

“Tell me,” she said softly.

“The other coven lost eighty six.”

Emily wrapped her arms around herself.

“I know what you’re thinking… and this wasn’t about you. This kind of thing happened long before the Winchesters came around. The Equites have some very valuable political prisoners that the Valle want released,” Mark explained.

“But that many dead,” she said, her voice was starting to crack.

Mark rubbed her back softly, “Are you sure you’re ok?”

Emily nodded.

“The Elder and Kyle want to talk to you. They can’t figure out how the Valle got you when the Equites held them off.”

Emily sighed and turned her face back toward her knees.

“That’s a good size bruise you have on your cheek,” Mark said, still not believing that she wasn’t hurt.

“I’ve had worse.”

“Are you still going to tell me that they didn’t hurt you?”

Emily grinned slightly, “Just the bruise. Remind me never to tell a heku that they hit like my grandma.”

Mark got up and put some ice in a bag and handed it to Emily. She pressed it against the bruise on her cheek.

“We should be at the island in a few minutes,” Mark told her.

Emily cringed, “Maybe I’m better off with the Valle.”

Mark frowned, “Why’s that?”

“Because Chev and Kyle are going to be mad after they talk to me.”

Mark chuckled, “However mad they are, can’t be worse than being with the Valle.”

“Why all of the helicopters? The Island has been attacked before and no one came to help,” Emily asked, still sipping the hot coffee.

“They are bringing support to the island. The injured from all three locations have been flown in. The island is very secure and is a good place for those that are injured to gather in safety,” Mark explained.

Emily frowned, “I don’t understand. Heku heal so fast, why bother?”

“Heku have a way of injuring a heku in a way that’s not so easy to heal.”

“How?”

“Bites… broken bones we heal from quickly, bites, not so much. Then there are those that healed incorrectly, like I did after the helicopter wreck.”

Emily nodded, “I remember now. I’d forgotten when Kyle was bitten, he took a few days to recover.”

Emily tensed when three strange heku entered, but when she saw their soaked clothing, she realized they were the ones that jumped from the helicopter to her in the water.

Emily ran up and hugged the closest one, “Thank you.”

The strange Equites looked at Mark with wide eyes and Mark just chuckled. Emily hugged and thanked each of them and then asked them to sit down.

Mark started to take off the handcuffs she still had dangling from each wrist, but stood up instead when the engines died down.

“We’re here, come on,” Mark said, and helped her to her feet. He debated taking the briefcase for her, but she had such a tight grip on it that he was sure she wouldn’t let him have it.

Emily stepped out on deck and faced hundreds of Equites, all looking at her anxiously. She felt exposed in just the guard’s shirt with the handcuffs, and turned suddenly and ran right into Mark. He caught her just as she began to fall backwards.

Chevalier was on the deck before Mark had Emily standing again, and she was in his arms. He hugged her tightly and she wrapped her arms around him.

“I’m ok, Chev, really,” she said. Emily looked up as Kyle also appeared on the deck.

She tried to pull away, but Chevalier’s strong arms held her.

“Seriously, I’m ok,” she said, laughing slightly.

Chevalier took a step back away from her and quickly ran his eyes down her, “How badly are you hurt?”

“I’m not,” she said, smiling at Kyle.

“Just one bruise?” he asked, touching her cheek softly.

Emily nodded, “Just the bruise, I swear.”

Chevalier reached down and pulled the handcuffs off of her wrists and then dropped them onto the deck, “Let’s get inside.”

“No,” Emily said, peeking around him to the crowd.

Chevalier laughed, “Come on, Killer… no time to be shy.”

Emily sighed and took Chevalier’s hand as he helped her off of the boat while she grumbled about the nickname.

Chevalier picked Emily up on the pier and blurred toward the castle.

“Stop!” Emily yelled when they got to the south lawn. The lawn was full of injured heku, laying in various stages of mutilation. Most of them were groaning in pain, and some weren’t moving at all.

Chevalier stopped, “What’s wrong?”

Emily wiggled out of his arms and walked toward the injured.

“Come on in, Em,” Chevalier said softly, and put a hand on her shoulder.

Emily moved forward, out from under his hand, and knelt by a heku who was in a lot of pain. He looked up at her with terror in his eyes. His body was covered in vicious looking bites that were swollen and smelled like decay, and he was breathing rapidly. She touched his face softly and smiled.

“Will you be ok?” she asked him, her voice calm and caring.

He nodded and watched her face.

“Can I get you anything?”

He smiled slightly, “No, Ma’am.”

She smiled when she saw his breathing slow and his body relaxed some.

“There are over 500 injured heku on this lawn, is she going to visit all of them?” Kyle asked.

Chevalier sighed, “I bet she does. Damn, was hoping she would go inside.”

Emily took the heku’s hand and turned toward Kyle and Chevalier, “Why are they alone? No one’s out here helping them.”

Kyle looked at Chevalier and shrugged, “They don’t need help healing.”

“Nothing can be done to help them, they’ll heal by themselves… why don’t you come into the castle,” Chevalier said.

Emily frowned, “That’s awful.”

She turned back to the heku and touched his arm softly, “If you need me, I’ll be around.”

He nodded and watched her stand up. Emily walked over to one of the unmoving heku and knelt down. She glanced quickly over his body and then back to his face.

“Are you ok?” she asked, and touched his cheek lightly.

Emily frowned. She could barely hear his breathing and he didn’t respond to her. She leaned over and laid her ear against his chest. His heart was beating too slowly.

“Lady Emily?” someone said from behind her. She turned and looked at him, “He’s gone already… he won’t make it.”

“Is he in pain?” she asked him.

“Yes, but it’ll be over soon.”

Emily turned and whispered, “I’m so sorry.” She let go of his hand as he turned to ash.

Emily leaned over with her hands on her knees and her head bowed. She couldn’t fight the tears. She looked up when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

“That’s enough, come in,” Chevalier said softly.

Emily shook her head and moved to the heku she had been talking to. She took his hand in hers, “Are you ok?”

He nodded, “Just healing slower than usual is all.”

“Ok, call if you need me,” Emily told him, and stood up.

Emily moved to the next moaning heku as she heard Chevalier tell everyone to leave her alone before heading back inside. She knelt down and touched his face softly.

“Can I help?” she asked him.

He looked up at her with panicked eyes and groaned. His body was shaking with the pain. Emily looked him over and other than some blood on his torn shirt, she didn’t see any injuries. She reached over and unbuttoned his shirt and laid it open. The center of his chest had been ripped open. The skin and flesh were torn around a fist sized hole.

“I don’t understand,” Emily said, looking down at him. “Will you heal?”

He shook his head frantically.

“They took his heart,” Mark said from behind her.

“Can he heal from that?”

“No, that’s why they did it. It’s a slow, painful death.”

Emily took the injured heku’s hand and put her other hand on the side of his face, so he was looking at her, “Do you want me to turn you to ash?”

The heku nodded and whispered, “Yes.”

Emily kissed his forehead softly and then stood up after his body had been turned to ash, no longer in pain.

“Why don’t you come inside? Chevalier wants to leave for the palace,” Mark told her.

“No, tell him to go. I’m staying here,” Emily said, and looked around at the carnage caused by the Valle.

“They will either heal or die, nothing can change that,” Mark said.

Emily frowned at him, “They shouldn’t have to be alone.”

Mark sighed, “Ok, I’ll tell him you’re not going.”

Emily heard him walk off as she knelt down at another injured heku. She went to as many as she could. Some healed while she held their hand, while others died in her arms. Several times her guards would come out and ask her to come into the castle, but she always refused. Just before dusk, the helicopter took off for the palace.

Emily stood up from an injured heku and saw a heku that looked strange. The rest were covered in blood and bites, but this one was withered and gray. She walked over slowly toward him.

“Don’t go there, Lady Emily,” one of the heku said to her.

“What’s wrong with him?” she asked.

The heku looked toward the one at the end, “He’s a rescued prisoner. He’s been starved for almost 150 years.”

Emily frowned “So he just needs to eat?”

“Yes, he’s been trying to get to you since he caught your scent. He’s too weak to move much though, but if I were you, I’d stay away.”

“Who is bringing him something to drink?”

“No one yet, I’m sure eventually they will get him a donor.”

“Hmmm.” Emily watched him for a moment.

“Don’t do it. He won’t be able to stop,” the heku was now starting to panic.

“I can stop him, he’s weak.” Emily took a step towards the starved heku.

The heku she was talking to reached out and took her ankle, “Please, don’t.”

“Lady Emily,” another heku said from beside her. “Don’t do it, it’s too dangerous.”

“Is he in pain?” Emily asked, her eyes still on the starving heku.

“No, he’s not himself either. He’s completely feral right now. Let the heku get him a donor,” a third heku said to her.

Emily looked over at the third heku and walked over to him. She knelt down and looked at the bites across his body, “Are you ok?”

He nodded, “Yes, Ma’am.”

“Why haven’t they gotten him a donor?”

“They will. He’s not going to die, and they are busy.”

Emily stood up and walked toward the starving heku. She rolled the long sleeves of Mark’s shirt up past her elbow. The starved heku looked up at her, his eyes focused on her neck as he hissed. She ignored the whispers that suddenly filled the night air.

He tried to lunge at her as she got closer, but he couldn’t get the strength to move off of the ground. Emily knelt down beside him and he turned toward her wrist as she extended it out to him.

“Hey!” Emily screamed as someone picked her up from the ground. The starving heku growled and grabbed out for her.

“That’s not going to happen,” Kyle said as he threw her over his shoulder.

“Put me down!” Emily yelled at him.

“It’s best this way, Lady Emily,” a strange heku said to her.

Emily bit Kyle’s back when he started for the castle, and he winced, “Stop it.”

Kyle blurred into the castle and set Emily down in Chevalier’s office.

Emily hit him on the chest repeatedly, “Do not pick me up like that!”

Kyle grabbed her wrists, “Stop it.”

She growled and headed for the door, “I was busy.”

Mark appeared between her and the door, “We can’t let you feed the wounded, Em.”

Emily glared at him, “It’s my blood, and I can do what I want with it.”

“No, and that’s final,” Kyle said sternly.

Emily turned to face him. He was sitting calmly on the edge of Chevalier’s desk, “You have no right to tell me what to do.”

“I do, while Chevalier is away, I’m Commanding Officer of this island.”

“No one is my Commanding Officer, not even Chev,” she yelled, and then turned to Mark. “Move.”

Mark crossed his arms and didn’t move from in front of the door.

Emily drew back and tried to punch him, but he caught her wrist, “No.”

He twisted her around quickly, and grabbed her other wrist and turned her away from him, crossing her arms in front of her while he held her wrists at her sides.

“Watch your knees and her head butts,” Kyle told Mark.

Mark nodded, “Already am.”

Emily screamed in frustration.

Kyle answered his phone when it rang, “Kyle here.”

“Yeah we got her first,” he said, smiling at Emily and ignoring the way she glared at him.

“You could say that.”

“Mark is.” Kyle nodded slightly.

“Let me go!” Emily yelled, so whoever was on the phone would hear.

Kyle looked up at Emily, “Quinn said, no.”

“Fuck Quinn, let me go!”

Kyle chuckled, “Yeah, that’s what she said.”

Emily dropped slightly and spun under Mark’s arm. The second she came to face him, she brought her knee up and kneed him in the groin. He groaned and bent slightly, but didn’t let go.

“Damn.” Kyle winced, “Mark, are you ok?”

Mark nodded and groaned slightly.

Kyle sighed, “Ok, but I’m blaming you.”

Kyle hung up the phone and looked at Mark, “He said do it.”

“Do what?” Emily yelled, and then screamed when Mark picked her up again and threw her over his shoulder.

“Damnit, put me down!” she said as he headed down to the prison. “You can’t put me in jail!”

Kyle nodded, “Yes we can.”

The guards in the prison looked at her nervously as the Chief Enforcer opened a cell and Mark dropped her inside. He blurred out and Kyle locked the door just as she hit the bars and threw her arm out, grabbing Mark’s collar.

“Emily?” David called to her. “I love you, please, listen to me.”

Kyle disappeared as Mark pulled her fingers off of his shirt. David’s words were cut off suddenly after a large crash and then Kyle came back to Emily’s cell.

Mark turned to the guards, “Do not let her out. Don’t let her threaten you either… if she ashes you, you’ll be compensated… if you let her out… you’ll be punished.”

They nodded at him and glanced at Emily nervously.

“I’m leaving before she turns me to ash,” Mark said with a grin, and walked up the stairs.

“Don’t think going upstairs would stop me!” Emily yelled after him.

Kyle came back to Emily’s cell.

“Don’t leave me here, please… the Valle put me in a cell,” Emily said, her eyes suddenly terrified.

“Nice try,” Kyle chuckled.

Emily glared and screamed at him, “Let me out!”

“No”

“Does Chevalier know about this?”

“Quinn will tell him as soon as he gets in,” Kyle said.

Emily just glared at him.

Kyle grinned, “I know that look, and you still can’t ash me. Next time you decide to make someone immune, maybe you’ll think twice.”

Emily watched as he walked up the stairs, and she sat down on the bed angrily. She felt the cold seeping into her body. The thin guard’s shirt wasn’t enough to shield her against the cold, damp prison. The bed had no blankets or pillows. It was for a heku, and there was no need for those comforts. She looked around, but it was too dark to see. Normally when she came into the prison, the lights were turned on so she could see, but when Kyle left, the prison fell to darkness.

Soon after Kyle left, the voices started. Soft hissing voices from all around her that grew louder as time passed. Voices that begged for a taste of her blood, whispers of how her blood called to them, voices that taunted her and promised riches for a simple taste.

Emily curled up on her side. Pulling her knees up to her chest, she pressed her palms into her ears to stop the sounds, the voices that surrounded her. She fought the urge to ash all of them. The stronger the voices, the more she wanted to stop them from whispering and hissing.

“Please… please stop,” she whispered, pressing her hands harder against her ears.

“Leave her alone, I love her!” David shouted. Emily heard his voice above the whispers.

Emily’s body shook, not only was she cold in the dark prison, but her body was flooded with anger and fear. She was left alone in a prison full of heku that wanted to drink from her, heku that had killed, heku that were here for unspeakable crimes.

“Don’t ash them… don’t ash them…” Emily said rhythmically. She concentrated, fighting the desire to stop them all.

The whispers grew louder. Even the hissing and the bloodthirsty sighs seemed to grow louder as the night drew on. Emily’s hands pressed even harder against her ears as she tried to block them out, tried to stop the voices. Her body shivered and she pulled into a tighter ball to keep warm and to stop the feeling that eyes were on her.

Emily cried out when she heard a loud crash, and buried her face in the bed when the bright lights were turned on.

She screamed when she felt hands on her, but they pulled her into a familiar cradle.

“Shhh, I have you,” Chevalier whispered, and she wrapped her cold arms around his neck as he blurred up the stairs to the bedroom.

Chevalier laid her down and covered her up with the down blankets. She saw the fire roaring and looked up at Chevalier, then saw the fury in his face. Emily watched him carefully to make sure he wasn’t mad at her, but he just paced, his fists clenching and unclenching.

“Chev?” she whispered.

“I didn’t know you were there,” he growled.

“I know.”

Chevalier’s voice was angry, “How dare they put you in a cell.”

“Please, send them all away… everyone from Council City, send them back,” she asked him softly.

Chevalier nodded, “If that’s what you want.”

“It is.”

Chevalier blurred from the room. Emily crawled out of bed, pulled off the dirty guard’s shirt, and stepped into the hot shower. She let the shower wipe away the whispers and the feeling of being watched.

Emily stepped out of the shower, wrapped a towel around her, and then went out into the bedroom. She gasped and turned around when she saw the heku in her room.

“Wait, Em,” Kyle said softly.

Emily held the towel tighter in her hand and turned around, “What?”

“They are leaving as soon as the helicopter gets here,” Chevalier told her.

“We wanted to talk to you first, to apologize,” Kyle said.

Mark sighed, “It all got out of hand, and we’re sorry and wish you would reconsider sending us away. Maybe even come back with us.”

Emily shook her head, “I’ll be back in a few weeks to get my things, but then I’m staying here.”

“You belong at the palace,” Kyle told her.

“No, I don’t belong anywhere… but I’m going to stay here.”

Chevalier frowned, “You never told me that.”

“Where do you think I belong? I thought I belonged in your world, but the Encala and Valle are always trying to get me and the Equites are always trying to control me. So I try to get back into my world, and my life is burned in the middle of the night. I try to live in the palace, and I end up with Damon as a controller, which Zohn and Quinn must have enjoyed,” Emily said.

“They didn’t…” Chevalier started.

“So I come here, where they actually seemed glad to have me. I feel comfortable here until Quinn has me incarcerated. So you see, I don’t belong anywhere, but the lesser of two evils is here at the castle.”

“I wish you would have told me you felt like this,” Chevalier said, watching her with concern.

“How am I supposed to feel? I don’t belong anywhere. There’s nowhere on this planet where I can go and truly be at home. The factions have made any chance at a human life impossible, but I don’t fit in the immortal world either.”

“Emily, you belong with us… we all care about you,” Mark said, frowning.

“No you don’t. I’m the pain in the ass mortal that gets in the way and throws temper tantrums to get her way. You’re so afraid of me, you can’t even say no. You must be terrified to even have me around,” Emily said.

Kyle sighed, “We’re not too afraid of you to say no.”

“Oh really? For heaven’s sake, Kyle, you let me drain all of your blood as an experiment.”

“Not out of fear though,” Kyle said, cringing at the look on Chevalier’s face.

“Nowhere… I belong nowhere,” Emily said, mad at the way tears were forming in her eyes.

“You belong with me,” Chevalier told her, and wrapped his arms around her. He glanced up briefly, and Kyle and Mark left the room, shutting the door behind them, “You should have told me.”

“Please, let me stay here,” Emily asked, looking up at him with red, tear filled eyes. “I don’t have anywhere else to go.”

Chevalier kissed her softly, “You can stay here as long as you like.”

Emily nodded, “Thank you.”

“I have to go back now, though. I need to talk to the Council.”

“Oh wait, I have something.” Emily looked around for the briefcase she brought from the boat. When she didn’t find it, she slipped on a robe and looked again.

“What are you looking for?”

“The briefcase. I brought it from the Valle boat.”

“Kyle, Mark?” Chevalier called. Emily cringed when they came back in the room, “Where is the briefcase Emily had on the boat?”

“It’s in here,” Mark said, and opened up her wardrobe.

Emily pulled the briefcase out and opened it on the bed, “Oh good, things are still dry.”

“What exactly did you find?” Chevalier asked, looking into the brief case.

“An atlas with the location of the Valle covens,” Emily said, and then thumbed through it. She looked up when no one spoke and then frowned. The three heku were all watching her, wide eyed, with their mouths open, “What’d I do wrong now?”

“My God, Emily, are you joking?” Kyle asked, barely in a whisper.

“Damn, was I not supposed to take it?” Emily frowned.

Chevalier reached out, “Let me see.”

Emily handed the book over and started to look through the Winchester book.

“This… this is it,” Chevalier said, his eyes quickly scanning each page.

“It can’t be. We’ve been trying to get this book for three hundred years,” Mark said, and peeked over Chevalier’s shoulder.

“Where did you get this?” Kyle whispered.

“I stole it off of the Valle’s boat.” Emily was watching them, unsure of what to make of their reaction.

Chevalier shook his head, “They wouldn’t have put a prisoner on a boat with this book.”

“They didn’t come to the castle to kidnap me,” Emily said, and winced when they all looked up.

“Then how did they capture you?” Mark asked.

Emily sighed, “I kind of… went to them…”

“Wait… you what?” Kyle asked, confused.

“I went to them and let them capture me. I wanted to get to the person leading the attack and ash them. Which I did,” Emily explained.

Chevalier kept looking through the book, “Do any Valle know you have this?”

“No, I swept their ashes all overboard before I went snooping,” Emily said.

Mark grinned, “We’ve sent thousands of Equites out with the sole purpose of bringing us this book.”

Kyle started to laugh, “Leave it to Em.”

“Damn, Kyle, you need to spend less time with Emily, you’re starting to smell like her.” Chevalier handed Emily back the book, “It’s yours.”

Emily looked at it and held it back out to him, “I don’t want it.”

“It has to be presented to the Council in a ceremony,” Kyle explained, taking a few steps away from the Elder.

“No, it doesn’t. I’m presenting it to an Elder right now,” she said, and kept the book out toward Chevalier.

“He’s right. It has to be presented officially to the Council. Until then it’s soul bound to you, your sole property. The only way it can be taken from you is if you die,” Chevalier explained. “That’s why it’s even better that the Valle don’t know you have it.”

Emily growled, “Heku and their damned ceremonies. Just take it, I don’t want it!”

“We can’t take it from you,” Mark said.

“I just handed it to Chev and he looked at it… why can’t you just keep it?” She was getting frustrated. Being a part of another ceremony wasn’t what she had in mind.

“That was purely to ascertain its validity,” Kyle explained. “Now it must be handed over to the Council officially.”

“No,” Emily said, and put the book back in the briefcase. “No more ceremonies. You all have a ceremony for everything, and it’s annoying.”

“What? You have to,” Mark said, shocked.

“No, I don’t have to do anything.” Emily went back into the bathroom and got dressed. She tied her hair up in a high pony and came out to slip on some shoes.

“Where are you going?” Mark asked.

“Back out to help the wounded,” Emily said, and headed for the door.

Chevalier took her arm, “Wait… we are serious. If you keep that book, someone will find out and the Valle will kill you for it.”

“The Valle? Try to kill me? What’s new about that?” Emily frowned.

Chevalier grinned, “Why are you so afraid of ceremonies?”

“Why are you so dead set on putting me in them?”

“It’s a fast one… all you do is walk down and hand the book to one of us,” Chevalier said, amused.

“Read my lips…” Emily’s words were cut off by Chevalier’s lips.

Chevalier pulled back and looked into her eyes, “It has to be done.”

Emily frowned, “How’s about I strip, paint Equites across my ass with green food coloring, and hand you the damn book? Is that ceremony enough for you?”

Chevalier chuckled, “That’s a start. I’ll arrange the ceremony and come back to get you.”

“No,” Emily said, frustrated.

“I’ll be back in a few days.” Chevalier left with Kyle and Mark.

“No!” Emily yelled after them.

“Margaret will make you a dress,” he called down the stairs before disappearing onto the roof.

“No!” Emily yelled again. She heard the helicopter take off and slammed the briefcase closed. After checking that Alexis was asleep, she headed out to help the wounded heku on the lawn.

Chapter 20 - Book

“Are you certain?” Quinn asked, stunned.

“Yes, it’s the book,” Chevalier said.

“Our highly trained heku have failed to get what that child obtained by accident?” Maleth asked, laughing slightly.

“She’s not very happy about the ceremony to turn it over to us,” Kyle said.

Quinn frowned, “She wishes to keep it for herself?”

Kyle shook his head, “No, she doesn’t like ceremonies and rituals.”

“Or Council City for that matter. It’s going to be tough to even get her back here for a ceremony,” Chevalier said.

Zohn looked at him, “She doesn’t like the city?”

“She’s caught between worlds. Too mortal for our world, but not mortal enough for the human world. I think this thing with Damon put her over the edge, and she’s not feeling like she belongs in Council City anymore,” Chevalier explained.

“She’s… not coming back?” Maleth asked, suddenly panicked.

“I think I can get her back for the ceremony, but I don’t think I can get her to stay. She feels better on the island, and if that’s where she wants to stay, then I’ll let her.”

Maleth nodded, “The child has been thrown into an ancient war, older than even her own species. I can only imagine what that must feel like.”

“Trapped probably. Now that she’s in it, there’s no way out,” Zohn said sadly.

“She asked me once, about becoming heku,” Kyle said, unsure if he should have divulged this great secret.

“She did?” Chevalier asked, frowning.

“More asking if you wanted her to turn.”

“What did you say?”

“I told her you hadn’t brought it up,” Kyle said.

“She’s too young to even discuss it,” Chevalier said, frowning, his mind suddenly far away.

Maleth nodded, “When the time comes, we’ll all approach her about it.”

“No, it will be me,” Chevalier said.

“Get her to the palace with the book. We’ll see if we can get her to stay,” Quinn said.

Kyle sighed, “No offense intended, Elder, but you’re on the top of her list of heku not to like.”

“Oh?” Quinn asked, surprised.

“You did suggest we put her in a cell until Chevalier arrived,” Kyle said.

Chevalier nodded, “You were also one of Damon’s supporters.”

“And you replaced Leonid,” Maleth said.

“How exactly is that my fault?” Quinn asked.

“She’s mortal… she liked Leonid and took his rest as a death. She felt we replaced Leonid too quickly with you, and has always held that against you,” Maleth explained.

“I see,” Quinn said, frowning.

“Zohn’s next on her list,” Kyle said.

“What? Why me?” Zohn asked, not entirely shocked.

Chevalier chuckled, “There are many things, Zohn, none of which are your fault… of course… none of which are hers either. More a conflict of personality.”

“An emotional creature, that one,” Zohn said, frustrated.

Kyle laughed, “That she is.”

“So it’s agreed. She brings the book and we’ll go from there,” Quinn said.

“I will try to bring her, yes,” Chevalier said.

“What do we do if she says no?” the Record Keeper asked.

“I will try, that’s all I can do. I won’t force her to come.”

***

“No,” Emily said, staring from Margaret to Chevalier.

“I behaved, Child, I promise,” Margaret said, smiling sweetly.

“I don’t care if it’s jeans and a t-shirt. I’m not doing another ceremony,” Emily said sternly.

“It’s important to me,” Chevalier told her, sitting beside her on the bed.

“Damnit,” Emily yelled, stood up, grabbed the dress from Margaret, and went into the bathroom.

“That was mean,” Margaret said, grinning at Chevalier.

Chevalier chuckled, “She needs to do it. Please tell me you did behave, if that dress is revealing, I’ll never get her to go.”

“Yes, I behaved. She’ll be completely covered.”

“Hmm, I almost like this,” Emily said, and Chevalier smiled, finally something went her way.

“Almost?” Margaret asked, frowning.

“It’s a little… fitted.”

“That’s the style, Child,” Margaret said, laughing, and walked out.

Emily finally emerged in a floor-length, green satin Asian style dress with a high collar and short sleeves. The brooch at her neck was an emerald and diamond Equites symbol. The dress was fitted perfectly and hugged every curve in her body. There was a split on one side of the dress up to her thigh so she could walk.

Chevalier raised his eyebrows, “Nice.”

Emily nodded and looked down, “As far as I can tell, I’m not showing anything but my leg.”

“Let’s go then.” Chevalier took her hand and handed her the briefcase.

Emily sighed and took the briefcase, “You owe me for this.”

“I know,” he chuckled.

Anna brought Alexis in and handed her to Chevalier along with a bag, “Hurry back, Child.”

Emily nodded and headed for the helicopter to Council City.

When they landed on the roof of the palace, Emily cringed. She swore she wouldn’t come back there, yet a week later she found herself once again in Council City.

A guard helped Emily down from the helicopter, and Chevalier ran off to take his spot as Emily got Alexis out.

The toddler grinned broadly when she saw Silas appear on the roof. She held her hands out for him and Emily handed her over.

“It’s good to have you back,” Silas said, smiling at Emily.

“I’m not staying. I just need to hand over this damned book,” she said, and followed the guards into the palace.

Emily felt more like an outsider than ever as she made her way down the palace stairs to the great hall. She felt the eyes of the heku on her, and she felt as though they were all judging her and waiting for her to panic and ash all of them. She was well aware of what Damon told her about their thoughts, and as she thought about it, it made it hard to breathe.

When they rounded the corner to the entrance, Emily froze. Standing before the door were all thirteen of the Cavalry, Mark at the head.

“I don’t need guards,” she said sternly.

“We’re not here to guard you. We’re here to guard the book,” Mark said to her, officially.

“Great, then you take it,” Emily said, and removed the book from the briefcase.

Mark stifled a grin, “We can’t, you have to take it to Quinn.”

“No, I’ll give it to Chevalier.”

“Orders say Quinn,” Mark said.

Emily frowned and walked through the doors when they opened, and then turned suddenly to Mark.

“If all I have to do is hand this stupid book to the Elders, why are so many here?”

Mark grinned, “Everyone wants to see the book.”

She started down the long aisle, her eyes fixed on the three Elders, who sat with serious expressions in the three center chairs.

“Not everyone can find a delicious little mortal to marry so we can fuck any time we want,” Damon’s words echoed through her head.

The thought made it harder to breathe, and she could feel herself starting to hyperventilate as her heart began pound in her chest. Chevalier watched her, concerned.

“Sweet piece of ass in the palace,” Damon’s voice sent new swells of panic through her and she stopped moving. She looked to the side of her at the heku gathered.

“Emily?” Mark asked from behind her.

“We are going to replace Chevalier… They are a liability because of you.”

Emily turned around and looked past the Cavalry to the doors. She was trapped. There were heku to the sides of her, Cavalry in back of her, and the Council in front of her. Her hands began to shake as she looked quickly for a way out.

“Lady Emily, are you alright?” a member of the Cavalry asked her.

“To prove to me that you are going to do as I ask without a fight…”

Damon’s words seemed to come from all around her. She wondered briefly if everyone in the room could hear them. She took one step forward, and then stopped again, gripping the briefcase tightly.

Maleth stood up and reached a hand out to her, “Come here, Child.”

“The Council feels it is time for another baby.”

The control Damon demanded in the name of the Council, and the way they watched it happen, all flooded back to her. Emily pulled her skirt up a few inches and ran through the Cavalry toward the door.

Mark caught up with her and put a hand on her shoulder, “Emily?”

“No, Damon, I won’t do it,” she yelled, and pulled away from him. A murmur ran through the crowd.

Chevalier appeared at her side and took her hand, “Look at me, Em.”

She looked up at him hesitantly.

“Breathe”

Emily took a short, shallow breath.

“I’ll walk with you,” he said, and stepped down the aisle.

Emily’s eyes fixed on Quinn and Zohn, who was sitting next to him. They shifted uncomfortably in their seats at her confused gaze. To them it looked like she was walking to her death at their hands.

Maleth and Quinn stood when Emily and Chevalier got closer.

“Lady Emily, do you possess the book of the Valle Covens?” Quinn asked. His voice was loud and demanding.

Emily nodded and looked up at Quinn, terrified.

Quinn glanced at Chevalier and he nodded.

Quinn’s voice boomed, “Do you, Lady Emily, wish to transfer the rights of this book to the Equites Council?”

Emily put the book out for Quinn quickly.

Quinn looked at Chevalier.

“Em, say yes,” Chevalier whispered.

Emily nodded.

Quinn reached out and took the book from her. Before he could complete the dialogue, Emily was once again running back up the aisle. She looked forward, ignoring how the heku watched her curiously as she ran out into the foyer. When she got to the stairs, she took them up, two at a time, all the way to the roof.

Once she climbed up onto the wall of the roof, she could finally breathe. She looked down over Council City as she had dozens of times while under Damon’s control.

Once silence fell over the great hall, Quinn spoke again, “It is… with great honor that we accept this book. For over three hundred years, heku from all around the Equites family have tried to take it from the Valle, and we are pleased that it has now been done.”

The Equites broke into applause.

Quinn silenced them, “As the finder of the book has… well… left… then we will have to cut this ceremony short?”

Quinn glanced at Maleth and he shrugged, and then nodded.

“Very well then, as we can’t continue, you may go,” Quinn said, and the Council watched as the heku all moved out of the great hall.

Chevalier sighed, “I better head back to the island.”

“No, please,” Quinn said. “I think Zohn and I need to talk to her.”

“After the Damon comment… I’m not sure if she’s ready to talk to you,” Maleth said. The comment by Emily had proven to the Council how badly Emily was afraid of the palace.

“Still, I want to just talk to her, and I think Zohn should be with me,” Quinn said again.

Chevalier nodded, “You can try.”

Quinn and Zohn walked up to the roof. They had heard her move to the spot from which Damon once banned her. Zohn knew that she had contemplated suicide from that same spot during Damon’s control over her.

They made it to the roof and backed the guards into the hallway. As the two heku approached her, they both wondered if she might jump. She was leaning dangerously over the side of the palace, looking straight down toward the ground.

Quinn cleared his throat.

Emily spun and her eyes grew wide. She clung to the turret wall and watched the heku approach.

“We came to see if you are alright,” Zohn said.

“I’m fine,” Emily told him.

“It’s come to our attention that we may not be your favorite heku in the palace,” Quinn said, and Zohn cringed at the bluntness.

“I’ve not made that a secret.”

“True,” Quinn said, raising an eyebrow. “Might we ask why?”

Emily shook her head.

Zohn smiled, “Then can we ask how to remedy that?”

Emily shook her head again.

“You’re not helping us at all, Dear,” Zohn said.

Emily glared at Quinn, “You put me in prison.”

Quinn sighed, “Yes I did. I thought it would keep you safe until Chevalier arrived.”

“It was cold.”

“I am sorry.”

“Everyone was whispering about me and hissing at me.”

“Again, I am sorry.”

“It was too dark, they turned the lights off,” Emily said scathingly.

“A lapse in judgment, and I am sorry.”

“I hate you,” she whispered and tried to blink away the tears.

“I am aware of that… I am also aware that you didn’t like me before that.”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Why is that?”

“You questioned me in Paris like a suspect, and accused me of lying,” Emily said to Zohn.

“You were though,” Zohn said, and then Quinn elbowed him. “I mean… I just knew you were hiding something.”

“What did your instincts tell you?” she asked, suddenly wanting to know.

Zohn studied her for a moment, “I felt that Damon may have lost his temper with you.”

“Hmm, I told Chris you were smarter than he was,” Emily said, and shrugged.

“Did you, now?” Zohn smiled.

“Leonid was my friend,” Emily said to Quinn.

Quinn nodded, “Yes, I know that you were quite upset at his retirement.”

“Retirement? They buried him alive.”

“At his request.”

“So? Who does that? Who buries someone alive when they ask?”

“We do,” Zohn said, confused.

Emily turned around and looked over the city so the heku wouldn’t see the tears.

“The Council is worried about you, and truly wish you would return to the palace,” Quinn said after a few minutes of silence.

“The Council is worried my abilities will go elsewhere. They aren’t worried about me.”

“I beg to differ.”

“I’m a weapon in their hands, a liability in others. That’s all they care about,” Emily said, and sat down on the edge of the roof, dangling her feet over the grass, 9 stories below.

“There’s more to it than that,” Quinn said.

“Oh, sorry, I forgot about the baby maker part.”

Quinn cringed.

“The palace isn’t the same without you… it’s… boring,” Zohn said honestly.

“I bet, and I also bet the guards love that,” Emily told him.

“We want you to come back and live in the palace,” Quinn said.

Emily turned toward them, “Do I have a choice?”

Quinn nodded, “You do.”

“Then I want to go back to the island,” Emily whispered.

“As you wish,” Quinn said, and then he and Zohn headed back down to the reception.

With some difficulty, Emily crawled into the silent helicopter and curled up on the seat. She listened to the music and voices from the palace for a while before deciding she would go check on Patra, after she heard an odd whinny come up from the stables. Her foal was due soon, and she’d been worried about her alone in Council City, but she was too far along to move to the island. She’d only had a foal 18 months ago, but one of the Cavalry let her out into the corral when she was in heat. Now her third foal was due.

Emily hesitated outside of the bedroom and then stepped inside. She slipped off the dress and put on the more comfortable jeans and t-shirt. She tied her hair up and then snuck down the back servant’s entrance. The cool grass felt good on her bare feet and she walked quickly to the stables.

Emily heard Patra’s whine a short distance from the stables, and she broke into a run. As she rounded the corner into the stable, she flipped on the lights and opened Patra’s stall. The mare was standing up, panting. Emily rubbed the mare’s belly.

“I’m here girl, it’s ok.”

Emily moved down to the mare’s hind end to see if she could see any sign of the foal. It was then that Patra laid down, and a gush of bloody liquid flooded over Emily.

“Ugh, seriously, Patra?” Emily growled, and went back to the mare’s belly. “That was disgusting.”

Emily looked up when she heard a noise and saw six members of the Cavalry watching her.

“Shirt please,” she asked, and held her hand out. When a white guard issued shirt was handed to her, she faced the back wall, slipped off her wet and bloody t-shirt, and then buttoned up the guard shirt, rolling the sleeves up to her elbows.

“May we stay? Please?” one of the members of the Cavalry asked.

“Yes,” she replied, and moved back down to Patra’s hind end when she began to push. “Come on girl, push.”

The mare rested for a moment and began to push again with a loud bellow.

“I see feet, come on girl,” Emily said, watching closely.

“No, no, no, no,” Emily groaned, and leaned down on the straw to get a better look.

“What’s wrong?” one of the Cavalry asked.

“Breech,” Emily said, and took a deep breath. She grabbed onto the hind feet of the colt and as soon as Patra pushed, she began to pull.

“Can I do that?” one of them asked.

“No,” Emily said, straining. “You might pull the legs off.”

“Oh, true,” he said, disappointed.

Emily rested when the mare did, and then pulled as soon as she pushed. The Cavalry watched her nervously. She was straining and pulling hard enough that she was sweating and her arms shook with the strain.

“Come on, damnit,” she groaned, and pulled on the hind legs of the foal.

Once the colt’s hocks emerged, Emily got to her hands and knees to catch her breath. The new shirt was soaked with sweat and drops fell from her forehead.

“Ok, girl,” Emily panted. “Hard part coming.”

“That wasn’t the hard part?” one of the guards asked nervously.

Emily shook her head, “Nope, the foal’s breech. The hips are going to be the hard part.”

When Patra pushed again, Emily grabbed the back legs of the colt again and pulled gently but firmly. Emily groaned and used her entire body weight to pull.

“What’s going…” the faction doctor asked, but was quickly shushed by the watching Cavalry. He joined the rest of them in the stables, watching Emily pull on the legs of the foal.

Emily fell back on the straw when Patra relaxed. She fought to catch her breath and rubbed her sore arms. She wiped the sweat off of her forehead with the arm of her shirt and then leaned back up with a groan when the mare started to push again.

Again Emily began to pull, leaning back with all of her strength. She slipped back and slammed into the stall wall when the colt’s hips broke free, and the colt slid out quickly. She ignored the frantic questions from the doctor and crawled up to the foal.

“It’s a colt!” she said, and watched Patra clean off the foal after a short rest.

Emily sat down on the straw and sat her tired arms on her knees. She looked up as the faction doctor came over to her.

“Are you ok?” he asked.

Emily nodded, “Yes, why?”

“You fell against the wall pretty hard,” he said, and touched the back of her head.

Emily jerked away, “I’m not hurt. Stay back away from the colt.”

The doctor nodded and moved back by the Cavalry.

Emily’s hands were still shaking from all of the pulling and she was covered in blood. She smiled and watched the colt fight to get to his feet. The Cavalry watched the foal, amazed at the new life they just witnessed.

“Now what?” a member of the Cavalry asked.

Emily sighed, “Now we wait to make sure he stands up and nurses.”

“He’s beautiful, Lady Emily,” he said, and then smiled at her.

Emily smiled, “Yes, he is.”

“What seems to be the problem?” Quinn asked, joining the crowd in the stables. He peeked over the heads of the Cavalry and saw the colt struggling to get to his feet. He cringed when he saw Emily, but she was smiling, so he decided not to say anything about the sweat or the blood.

Quinn whispered briefly, and was soon joined by Zohn, Kyle, Maleth, and Chevalier. Chevalier grinned and stepped through the Cavalry to sit by Emily on the hay.

Emily smiled at him, “It’s a colt.”

Emily got quickly to her feet when Patra stood up and the umbilical cord broke. She checked quickly for bleeding, but then sat back on the straw when everything seemed normal.

“Hmm,” Chevalier said, frowning at Emily.

“What?”

“When I left you, you were in a gorgeous green number… now you’re in a guard’s shirt that’s about 8 times too big for you, and you’re covered in blood, straw, and goo,” he chuckled.

“Teach you to leave me alone.” She laughed, and turned back to the colt.

Within a few minutes, the colt managed to get unsteadily to his feet and began to nurse.

“That was much faster,” Chevalier said. He remembered the length of time it took Patra’s first foal to nurse.

Emily laid down on the straw and yawned into her hand. The Cavalry slowly began to return to their quarters, followed by the rest of the heku. Kyle stayed behind and watched the colt and mare together.

Chevalier chuckled and picked up Emily’s wet and bloody t-shirt, “You really should stop stripping in front of the guards.”

Emily kicked at him playfully, “She slimed me.”

Allen appeared by Kyle and looked into the stall, unimpressed, “I see she finally popped it out.”

Emily looked up at him. She was hopeful he would take the colt as his own, “Yes, a pretty colt.”

Allen shrugged, “Yeah I guess. Kyle, you promised me a copy of War and Peace.”

Kyle nodded, “Yeah sure, let’s go get it.”

Kyle shrugged at Emily and walked off, following Allen.

“It’s almost 3am, why don’t we just stay here for the night. By the time you got back to the island, it’d be time to get up,” Chevalier said.

Emily sighed, though she desperately wanted to get back to the island, if they stayed at the palace, she could check on Patra and the colt first thing in the morning.

“Yeah, ok.”

Chevalier jumped up to his feet and put his hand out for Emily. She took it and let him pull her to her feet. She was exhausted. She ignored the gasps and stares she got when she walked into the palace covered in horse blood and straw. As soon as they got into the bedroom, she stripped and slowly crawled into the hot shower.

“You asleep in there?” Chevalier asked during the long shower.

“Shhhh, don’t wake me,” she said, and turned off the water. Chevalier wrapped a towel around her when she stepped out and kissed her softly.

Emily pulled on an oversized t-shirt and crawled into bed, almost immediately falling to sleep. Chevalier smiled and pulled the heavy curtains in the room, so the morning sun wouldn’t shine in. He slipped off his clothes and slid into bed beside her, then wrapped his arms around her and watched the dreams that had already started.

Chevalier relaxed as her dreams floated past his mind, swirls of horses and images of the ranch in Montana. The dream was about the dogs, horses, and cattle she cared so much about. Her emotions were soft and light. They were the emotions he felt from her when she was out riding.

Just before Emily woke up, he ordered some breakfast and went in to get Alexis from her room. When he came out, Emily was pulling on jeans and a t-shirt quickly.

“Eat some breakfast first,” Chevalier suggested.

“I’ll grab something when I get back. I want to check on the colt, and then get back to the island,” Emily said, and ran out of the room.

Chevalier sighed and sat down with Alexis so she could eat.

“I thought maybe Mommy would want to stay after Patra delivered,” Chevalier said to Alexis.

Alexis shook her head, “No, no.”

“You too, eh? Do you want to stay?”

“Si go,” she said, taking a bite of scrambled eggs.

“No, Baby, Silas can’t go.”

“Si go.” She frowned.

“We’ll come back and check on Silas, ok?” he smiled softly at her.

“I thought they were leaving last night,” Allen said, stepping into the room.

“Your Mom wanted to check on the colt first. Watch the attitude, I’d much rather have them here,” Chevalier said angrily.

“Yeah, whatever.” Allen shrugged and left for his classes.

Emily let Patra and the colt out into the corral and then she stood against the fence and watched. The colt was bucking and kicking around while Patra grazed calmly on the grass.

Emily turned and looked into the stables when she heard the meow of a cat. She frowned and walked into the stables, checking behind her to make sure she was alone.

“Sam?” she whispered.

“Come up here,” Sam whispered from the loft.

Emily crawled up into the loft, again checking to make sure she was alone. She stood a ways from the familiar and eyed him suspiciously.

“Where have you been?” Emily asked.

“I’ve been with the Encala,” Sam said. “They want to talk to you.”

“About what?”

“They have an offer that I really think you should take.”

“I can’t trust that!” Emily frowned.

“I’m not lying to you. They are just outside of the city waiting for you,” Sam told her.

Emily sighed, “So what? I got out there and get kidnapped… again.”

“No,” Sam said. “There are only 3 of them, enough you can handle if they decide to do something stupid, but I assure you, their intentions are genuine.”

“I suppose Vaughn is one of them?”

Sam nodded, “Yes, but he has relinquished any claim he had on you.”

“He never had a claim on me,” Emily hissed.

“Emily?” Silas called from the stables.

Emily’s eyes grew wide, “I’m cleaning up here, Silas. What do you need?”

“Can we let some other horses out into the corral with the new horse?” he called up to the loft.

“Yes, they’ll be fine,” Emily said, and watched Sam hide under the straw in his cat form. “Leave me one though. I’m going out for a bit.”

“Ok, can I go with you?”

Emily cringed, “No, I need to think.”

She could hear Silas grumble as he started to walk horses out to the corral. Emily crawled back down and dug in the storage room until she found a large leather satchel. She grabbed the Smith & Wesson .357 that she kept loaded in the shed, and slipped it into the back of her jeans. Emily then returned to the loft and put Sam inside of the bag along with his clothes.

“What’s that smell?” Silas asked, wrinkling his nose.

“Not a clue,” Emily said, and led Kyle’s mare out into the stable. She slipped a bridle on the horse and jumped onto it bareback.

“Are you sure I can’t go? I haven’t ridden in a while other than patrols,” Silas asked. He was looking at her suspiciously and sniffed at the air again.

“No really, I just need to think for a while. I’m ok.” Emily smiled and then kicked the mare into a canter. As soon as she cleared the city gates, she laid the bag on the ground and Sam crawled out, and returned to his human form and got dressed.

“Where to?” Emily asked, looking around the area.

“South to the trees. They are in there a bit,” Sam said, and started to walk toward the trees.

“I swear, if you’re lying to me…” Emily threatened.

Sam smiled, “I’m not. You may like this offer.”

Emily took the mare to the trees and slid off of her, and then tied her to a tree.

She pulled the .357 out of her jeans and followed Sam into the dense forest. She kept a close eye out around her. Up ahead, she saw a large blanket laid out on the forest floor and three men sat on it. They all wore red capes and the center heku was Vaughn.

Emily stopped as soon as she saw them, and held the gun tightly in her hand.

“Please, come and sit with us,” the man on the left said to her, and smiled.

“I’m fine here… why did you come?” Emily asked skeptically.

“We are the Elders for the Encala, and we have come with a peace offering, of sorts.” He smiled again at her.

“We are alone,” the Elder on the right told her. “Please have a seat. If we misbehave, you may turn us to ash.”

Emily inched closer and sat on the edge of the blanket. Her hand rested in her lap with the gun gripped tightly, “What kind of offer?”

“You know Vaughn already. I am William and this is Koly.”

Emily nodded, “Ok.”

“You are unhappy here, are you not?” Koly asked her.

Emily thought for a moment, “I guess it’s no secret that you are correct.”

“You are restricted here, watched, guarded… maybe even controlled?”

Emily nodded.

“You have a free spirit, one that must be unrestrained and left to soar. That is the opinion of the Encala Council,” William told her.

“Ok,” Emily said, watching them closely. She felt comforted by the weight of the gun in her hand, even though it would only slow them down.

“We want to offer you that freedom.”

“In exchange for what?” Emily asked, narrowing her eyes.

“Peace,” Koly said, smiling.

“How exactly do you figure on getting that?”

“Our idea,” Vaughn said, “Is to give you your own coven, anywhere you want. You would be the sole leader of the coven… meaning you would set the rules, and punish those who didn’t follow. You would be your own master, and the heku in the coven would follow your every word.”

“I don’t know how to lead a coven,” Emily reminded them.

William smiled, “Oh but you do. With your own coven, you would never be told what to do. You would have complete autonomy in how you ran things.”

Silas walked up to where Kyle, Zohn, and Chevalier were talking. They turned to him when he arrived, “Yeah, she was in the stables, but she’s gone out for a ride.”

“That’s good, that means she’s thinking about something,” Chevalier said, nodding.

“Damn though, I can’t get that cat smell out of my nose. I hate those things. Why would we have a cat in the barn?” Silas asked.

Kyle and Chevalier looked at each other quickly.

“Damnit,” Chevalier growled, and blurred out of the palace and into the stables, followed by the others. He stopped in the stables and inhaled, smelling around the stable, “It’s him. How long ago did she leave?”

“Thirty minutes ago, maybe a little longer,” Silas said, frowning. “What’s the panic?”

“Sam in familiar form is a cat,” Kyle told him. “I can smell him in here.”

“So she left with Sam?” Silas growled.

“Her scent is stronger out here, won’t be hard to follow,” Zohn said, and blurred into the city.

“How did you get the Valle to agree not to attack this coven of mine?” Emily asked them.

Vaughn smiled, “They agree that it would be best for the Equites to lose the hold they have on you. It would humble them some. Both the Valle and the Encala factions believe that peace will come when you are out of Equites control.”

“The Valle?” Emily frowned. “They tried to kill me last week… again.”

“That was to protect themselves. They weren’t after you. They were destroying the boat,” William explained.

“Yeah, with me on it.”

“They are sorry, I assure you.”

Emily looked down at the gun, giving herself time to think. Their offer had some appeal. Her own coven would mean freedom to do what she wanted. She wasn’t sure she wanted to be in control of that many heku though. However, if she had complete power over them, it would give her the ability to do whatever she wanted. She thought of raising Alexis in a place where no one tried to kill her or kidnap her, where no one would give her guards, or watch her every move.

“Think about it, Emily,” Sam said. “I really think this is a good offer. I hate how the Equites treat you like a piece of property.”

“Complete freedom,” Emily whispered, still thinking. Images ran through her mind of how her coven would act, how they would respect her, and do as she asked. Then the image of her ranch flew into her mind, the sounds of the fire raging, the images of the dead horses.

“Child?” Koly asked when a tear slipped down her cheek.

“You burned my ranch and killed fifteen of my horses… that was my life,” Emily said, getting angry.

“That was not sanctioned by the Elders. That was a coven attack. I know you wouldn’t know this, but your ranch was within two miles of a large Encala coven, and they were nervous having you that close,” William explained.

“Those horses had to have suffered.” Emily glared at them.

“The coven is no longer there. They have been punished severely for that attack,” Koly said, and Emily saw true sadness in his eyes.

“I’ll need to think about your offer. I don’t want to make a rash decision,” Emily said to them.

“What offer might that be?” Kyle asked from behind her.

Emily sighed and didn’t even turn around. The Encala Elders stood up and crouched slightly.

“Go away, Kyle. This is a private meeting,” Emily said, and patted the blanket for the Encala to sit down.

“A private meeting with the three Encala Elders? This should be interesting,” Zohn said.

Emily finally turned to see who all was behind her, and then turned back to the Encala, “Sorry for the interruption.”

Sam was still crouched slightly. He placed himself between Emily and the Equites. The Encala slowly sat down, but kept their eyes on the Equites.

“I am assuming this is a limited time offer,” Emily said to them.

Vaughn nodded, “Yes, we’ll need a decision within the month.”

Emily nodded, “Ok, I’ll let you know. Give me a phone number, and I will call you when I decide.”

Koly handed a card over to Emily, and she heard Chevalier growl when the Encala got near her. Koly sat back down by the other Encala Elders and Emily looked at the card.

The Encala stood up and looked down at Emily, “We look forward to hearing from you.”

Emily nodded, and watched as they blurred away. She turned to Sam, “Stand down.”

Sam nodded and stood out of his crouch.

“What was that all about?” Zohn asked her.

“None of your business,” she said, and stood up from the blanket.

“It is the Council’s business. Your little meeting could be construed as treason,” Zohn said calmly.

Emily glared at him as Chevalier spoke, “No it’s not. She’s not held to the heku laws, and you know it.”

“The Council will want to interrogate Sam though,” Kyle said.

Emily gasped, “Not in that room!”

Kyle shook his head, “No, just in the council chambers is all.”

Emily nodded, “Sam, go back with them, answer them truthfully, but not a word about this offer.”

Sam sighed, “Yes, Ma’am.”

“You too, the Council will want to talk to you,” Zohn said.

Chevalier glared at him, “I said, no.”

“I’m going riding. I need to think,” Emily said, and walked past the Equites.

Mark headed after her, but Chevalier stopped him, “Whatever offer they gave her, if we follow her or she feels threatened, she’ll run into it.”

Mark sighed, “I guess you’re right.”

Emily mounted the horse and kicked her into a gallop toward the hills. Zohn, Kyle, Mark, and Chevalier escorted Sam to the palace and called an emergency meeting of the Council. When they arrived, the Council was already in their chairs and looked at Sam, shocked. The three took their places, while Mark stood at Sam’s side, holding his shoulder.

“Interesting, you have returned,” Quinn said, raising an eyebrow.

“I have,” Sam said.

“Where have you been?”

“I have been with the Encala.”

Quinn glanced at Chevalier, “I see, and have you given them information about the Equites, like the palace layout, or coven locations?”

“No, I have not,” Sam said.

“What exactly have you talked about for this long?”

“Emily”

Maleth gasped, “You have been talking to the Encala about Emily? What about exactly?”

Sam looked at the Elder, “Her likes and dislikes. Things I’ve seen here that she doesn’t agree with. Things that I’ve seen that would make her happy.”

Chevalier frowned, “So you gave them the ammunition to make her an offer to come to their side?”

Sam stood quietly.

“She banned him from talking about the offer,” Zohn told the rest of the Council.

“Offer?” Maleth asked Zohn.

“Yes, Emily was in a meeting out in the forest with the Encala Elders. Now she’s off riding so she can consider it,” Zohn explained.

Maleth looked at Chevalier, concerned, “She is actually considering it?”

Chevalier nodded, “I believe so.”

“We should bring her back here immediately,” Quinn said, frowning.

“No, we shouldn’t. If we interrupt the process in any way, she’ll run to them. I can assure you of that. Emily is lost and desperately wants a place to call home,” Chevalier said, and looked down at his hands.

“She’s not homeless. She has the palace,” Quinn said.

Kyle spoke softly, “She doesn’t feel that she belongs anywhere. If the Encala offered her a place where she can fit in, it’s a better offer than we have given her.”

“It concerns me that she met with the Encala Elders without our approval,” the Chief Investigator said. Chevalier frowned. He was one of the silent council members that Emily felt hated her because of his lack of communication.

“Emily has never needed our approval to go between factions. She is free to do what she wants,” Maleth said. “If we limit that freedom in any way, we might as well throw her to the wolves.”

Chevalier nodded, “I agree.”

The Council all looked up when the trial doors swung open violently. Emily stepped in and her face was furious. She stormed over to Sam and before Mark could react, she balled her hand into a fist and punched Sam in the nose. He fell to his knees and yelled as blood poured out of his nose.

“How dare you talk to the Encala about me,” Emily said, cradling her hand.

Mark glanced at the Council, and then took a step back when they whispered to him.

“I… it was in your best interest,” Sam said, and stood up, still clutching his nose.

“Am I or am I not your master?” Emily asked him, seething.

“You are.”

“And as such, do I not deserve even a smidgen of privacy?”

“You do.”

“Yet you felt free to go and tell the Encala about my feelings, my wants, and desires… things I’ve told you in confidence?” Emily took a step towards him.

“I thought they could help you. They offered you your dreams,” Sam said, his eyes starting to swell shut.

Emily pulled the pistol out of the back of her jeans with her left hand and leveled it at Sam.

“Emily,” Chevalier said softly from the council stand.

Sam dropped to his knees, “Please, forgive me.”

“I’m done with you,” Emily said, and pulled back the hammer.

Sam cringed, but opened his eyes when Mark spoke, “Let me do it, you aren’t a killer.”

Emily nodded and handed the gun to Mark. He glanced at the Council and then leveled it at Sam, shooting him directly between the eyes. The gunshot rang through the palace, and suddenly, the trial area was full of frantic guards. Mark whispered and they all looked at him and then returned to their posts.

“Emily?” Maleth said softly.

She turned around and he frowned at her swollen hand, “Does that mean you aren’t taking the Encala up on their offer?”

Emily frowned, “Why would I do that?”

Quinn shrugged, “You went to think…”

“Yeah, about whether to get rid of Sam or not. Damn, you all seriously doubt my loyalty to the Equites don’t you?” Emily asked, irritated.

She turned and took the gun from Mark, and then grumbled as she left the chambers, “I need to learn to how punch with breaking my own damned hand.”

Mark couldn’t help but grin when the door shut, and he turned back to the Council.

“I guess we’re done interrogating him,” Zohn said, irritated, as he looked at Sam’s body.

Mark looked up and stepped out of the trial area, shutting the door behind him.

“We shouldn’t be surprised. She’s always been very loyal to this faction,” Maleth said.

“True,” Quinn replied, deep in thought.

“He needed to go. Emily hasn’t trusted him since he kept Allen’s secret from us,” Chevalier said, and then he looked up when Mark came returned.

“Lord and Lady Thukil would like a moment,” Mark told them.

Quinn nodded, “That’s fine, show them in.”

A short, squat heku walked in, dressed in elaborately decorated velvet green clothing that was puffed around the legs and thighs. Beside him walked an older stout woman in a velvet green dress that always reminded the Equites Council of the southern belles before the civil war. The two of them were always smiling and warm. They had the second largest coven in the Equites, just a few hundred heku short of Chevalier’s island.

“Good to see you again.” Quinn smiled at them.

“Always good to come to Council City,” Lord Thukil said.

Maleth smiled, “What can we do for you?”

“Well,” Lord Thukil said, rubbing the back of his neck. “We’ve come to talk to Lady Emily, actually. We wanted to offer her our coven for a week, to see if she would mind coming for a visit.”

Chevalier chuckled, “That’s different.”

Lord Thukil’s belly shook when he laughed, “Yes, yes it is a bit unorthodox. You see… our elite guards, our Cavalry, were on the front lines of the battle with the Valle. A lot of them were hurt and were shipped to Island Coven to recover.”

Chevalier nodded and turned to the Council, “Emily wouldn’t leave the injured alone. She spent hours out there holding their hands and helping as she could.”

Maleth frowned, “There’s no way to help a heku recover.”

“She highly impressed our most choice guards,” Lord Thukil explained. “They said they’ve never before seen such compassion from human or heku. They said that every time she touched them, they felt a little more comforted and that it helped in the healing process… helped the pain lessen, if you will.”

“We had reports though that she killed some of them,” Zohn said, still irritated at the thought.

“Yes, we heard that also… but do you know she asked them first? If they were in pain and weren’t able to heal, she gave them the option of helping them out of their pain,” Lord Thukil said. “It’s almost embarrassing. We leave our injured alone to heal, that’s just our way. That child broke tradition and somehow managed to work her way into the hearts of some of our most aggressive guards.”

Kyle laughed, “She does have a way of doing that.”

“Our guards have asked if she can visit. They want to show their appreciation,” Lady Thukil said, her voice was high pitched and rather squeaky.

Chevalier grinned slightly, “I’ve actually been afraid of her going to Thukil Coven.”

Lord Thukil’s smile faltered and he frowned, “Why is that?”

“She may never leave,” Chevalier chuckled.

Lord Thukil grinned, “I’m sure we could accommodate her.”

“I see no problem with Lady Emily going to Thukil Coven for a week,” Quinn said, and glanced at the Council. “Anyone opposed?”

None of the Council opposed the idea.

“Emily would need to bring Alexis,” Chevalier told them. “She doesn’t like to be away from the baby.”

Lady Thukil squealed, “Oh! That would be wonderful!”

“Mark, please ask Emily to come,” Chevalier said.

Mark nodded and blurred from the room as two heku came in and hauled Sam’s body away. He came back in and shut the door.

Chapter 21 - Thukil

“It’s going to be a bit, while she… gets… bandaged up,” Mark said, and grinned slightly.

Lady Thukil gasped, “Is she injured?”

“She… umm…” Mark looked up at Chevalier. “She injured her hand.”

Chevalier added, “Again.”

Emily came in a short time later with her hand in a black brace. She blushed when everyone looked at her, and then walked up to the Council, skirting around the Thukils.

“What’d I do now?” Emily asked, and glanced back when the Thukils laughed.

“Emily, this is Lord and Lady Thukil. They have the other coven that was attacked by the Valle,” Chevalier explained.

Emily smiled and turned to them, “I owe three of your heku some thanks. They jumped into the water with me, and then killed the Valle just after I threatened to ash them.”

Lord Thukil laughed heartily, “They neglected to mention the threat.”

Emily blushed again, “Well, thank them for me, please.”

“We were hoping you could thank them yourself,” Lord Thukil said with a smile.

Emily watched him curiously, “Are they here?”

“The Lady and I are actually here to ask if you would come to our coven for a week… call it a vacation.”

Emily smiled, “Really?”

Lady Thukil nodded, “Yes, the guards are very anxious to see you again. A lot of them, you nursed on the grass of Island Coven.”

“Thukil Coven,” Chevalier explained, “Is an... agricultural coven.”

Emily’s face lit up, “There’s an agricultural coven?”

Lord Thukil nodded, “Yes, one of the few.”

“And I can come?”

Lord Thukil chuckled, “Yes, Child.”

“Now?”

“Yes, you can come now.”

“Alexis?”

“Bring the baby,” Lady Thukil said, smiling.

“I’d need Silas,” Emily said, and turned to the Council.

“You may take any of our Cavalry with you,” Maleth told her.

She jumped, excited, and ran for the door “Let me go pack!”

Chevalier couldn’t help but grin. He hadn’t seen her this excited in a while.

“Just a word of warning, though,” Quinn said. “Emily’s abilities interfere with the creation process.”

“Interesting,” Lord Thukil said. “We have none planned, so that won’t be a problem.”

“I think this may be an opportunity for us to do some ourselves,” Zohn said, pulling out a stack of papers to go through.

Within the hour, Emily, Alexis, and Silas were on a helicopter heading for a coven in northern Texas. After two fuel stops, they arrived just as it started to get dark, so Emily wasn’t able to get a good look at what the Thukils called, “the Ranch”.

Emily looked out of the helicopter doors as she held the sleeping baby in her arms. She smiled when a path was made from the helicopter into a mansion by mounted guards with vibrant green shirts and green capes.

“Emily, meet our Cavalry… we had the first in the faction,” Lord Thukil said.

Emily saw a guard appear beside her and put an arm out to help her out of the helicopter. She jumped down onto the grass and inhaled deeply. The Ranch smelled like her home in Montana, and she smiled and followed the guard past the Cavalry and into the mansion.

She looked up when she got inside. The mansion was homey and warm. There were no hidden servants. They all came out to greet her when she walked in. Emily handed Alexis over to Silas, so she could shake their hands.

“We were going to wait until morning for this, but the Captain of the Cavalry is most anxious to see you,” Lord Thukil said.

“For what?” Emily asked, shaking the hand of another servant as they bowed to her and welcomed her to the Ranch.

“Come, Child, we will show you,” Lord Thukil said, and motioned her toward a door.

Emily followed his lead and gasped when he opened the door to a large banquet hall. There were hundreds of heku guards gathered, and they all turned toward her. Her heart skipped a beat and she had the urge to run, but caught the eyes of some of the guards and felt herself relaxing. Their eyes were kind and inviting. She didn’t see any of them look at her with hatred.

“You ok, Em?” Silas asked from behind her.

She nodded and then walked toward the large heku at the end of the room. He had his hand out to her and was smiling softly. He was close to seven feet tall with broad shoulders and muscles that threatened to break out of his uniform. As she got closer, she saw that he had shoulder length brown hair and soft blue eyes.

“My Dear, Lady Emily, thank you for coming,” he said to her when she approached.

Emily stood back from him and smiled, “Thank you for inviting me.”

“I’m Darren, Captain of the Thukil Cavalry,” he said, and took her hand. “It is my pleasure to have you in our home.”

Emily blushed and glanced back at Alexis. She was still asleep in Silas’s arms.

“You may wonder why we’re all gathered here.”

Emily nodded, “Yes, sort of.”

Darren smiled, “We are here to induct you into the Thukil Cavalry.”

Emily glanced at Silas, and then back to Darren, “Really? An actual member?”

Darren nodded, “Yes, never before has anyone… human or heku, shown such kindness to this guard staff, and we would be honored if you would join our ranks.”

Emily smiled, “I would love that.”

Darren stepped forward and pinned a platinum hoof on Emily’s shirt, the center was an emerald ‘T’.

“Thank you,” Emily said, and pulled the pin up to look at it.

“No… thank you. We have taken the liberty of talking to your tailor, and there’s an official uniform in your room. Please feel free to wear it while you are here. You are inducted at the rank of Commander,” Darren explained.

Emily nodded, still in shock at being a member of the guard staff.

“Please meet, Commander Emily,” Darren said to the gathered heku, and the entire hall erupted in claps and cheers. Emily turned to look at them and felt the blush return to her face.

“Come, Child, there is some dinner waiting for you. You must be hungry,” Darren said, putting a hand on her back gently. Emily walked up the aisle with him and felt like a child next to his hulking size.

“I’m going to take Alexis to bed,” Silas said, and when Emily nodded, he followed one of the servants up the main staircase.

Darren led her into a large hall. She was relieved to see there were only about thirty of the guards in this room. Emily smiled when she recognized some of them from the Island’s lawn. One of them ran up to her and pulled her into a hug. Her feet dangled off of the floor and she wrapped her arms around him.

“Thank you… so many times, thank you,” he said, and set her back down.

“It’s so good to see you again.” Emily smiled. A servant came by with a tray of tiny finger sandwiches and Emily grabbed one, suddenly hungry. Another came by with glasses of champagne and Emily noticed there were five or six of them wandering around with various foods, even though she was the only mortal in the room.

“Lady Emily?” she heard, and turned toward three towering heku. She wondered briefly if this entire coven was made of massive heku.

“You may not recognize us…” one of them said, but Emily ran into his arms.

“Thank you for coming into the water with me,” she whispered, and then turned to the next and also hugged him.

“You do recognize us.” He smiled.

“Of course! It’s not often I threaten to ash someone who turns around and saves me two seconds later.”

They all laughed and more guards joined them.

Emily hugged the last one, “I can’t thank you enough.”

“It was our pleasure,” he said, grinning. “It’s not often we get to stage a water rescue.”

“Yeah, I bet not,” she said.

“I see you are injured though, are you ok?” he asked, glancing briefly at her braced hand.

“Oh that? No, the hand wasn’t during that… I’m just accident prone.”

“Good to know, we’ll pad your room.” Darren laughed from behind her.

“Actually I punched someone and broke my hand.” She blushed.

Darren chuckled, “First course of action… we teach our new Commander how to hit.”

One of the guards nodded, “Good call.”

Emily was surprised when she saw a lot of the heku guards with a glass of champagne in their hand. The bottles seemed to be flowing, and Emily sipped on hers and watched the guards interact with one another. Late into the night she danced, and drank, and ate. It seemed everyone wanted to talk to her, and by 3am, she was dead on her feet.

“I think I’ll turn in,” she said, swaying slightly. She had lost count of how many glasses of champagne she drank, but it was more than usual, and she was feeling tipsy.

“Hannah, come!” Darren called out, and a young blonde heku came up to Emily.

“Come, I’ll show you to your room,” Hannah said.

Emily nodded and followed her out of the large room. Hannah led her through the halls until the heku opened a door and stepped aside.

“Thank you,” Emily said, and walked into the room.

Hannah turned on the lights, “I will be outside of your door if you need anything.”

Emily nodded and shut the door. The room was fairly large, with a soft feather bed in the center and a fire in the fireplace. Emily’s bags sat on a desk off to the side of the bed. She saw three doors in the room. The first went to a bathroom, the second to a closet with only one garment bag hanging, and the other looked directly into where Alexis was sleeping. Silas watched her sleep and rocked in the chair. He smiled at Emily when she peeked in.

Emily pulled her nightgown out of the bag and was soon asleep under the fluffy down comforter.

She woke up and almost laughed when she heard a rooster crowing. She inhaled and savored the smells she associated with home, the fresh cut hay, the freshly cut logs by the fire, even the cow pasture.

Emily sat up and looked around the room. The fire was still going and it was warm and cozy. She crawled out of bed and walked into the room with Alexis. Alexis was sitting on the floor playing with a wooden horse on wheels.

“Mommy!” she yelled, and jumped into Emily’s arms

Emily kissed her cheek, “You’re up early.”

Silas nodded, “Roosters.”

“I love it!” Emily grinned and kissed Alexis again, “Can you believe I’m a member of their Cavalry?”

Silas grinned, “Quite an honor, their Cavalry is legendary.”

“Guess I better see how bad the uniform is. I hope all they got from my tailors was the size.” Emily laughed and headed into her room. She pulled the garment bag down from the closet and zipped it open. She was happy to see that for the most part, the uniform was the same, with a few feminine touches that she was positive were suggested by Margaret.

Emily stripped and slipped on the jeans first, regular blue jeans, but there were heart cut-outs down both of her legs and they fit low on her hips, but were comfortable. The shirt was Equites green and was embroidered with an intricate golden pattern. It had a collared neck with a diamond cut out on her chest and a small emerald dangled from the top of the diamond shape. The sleeves were long, but there was a small gather at the top that added a slight pouf. The one part of the shirt that worried her was the length. It didn’t reach all the way to the waist of her jeans, so there would always be a band of skin showing and the shirt was fitted and hugged every curve.

Emily looked into the bag and pulled out a pair of new black cowboy boots. She slipped them on and then looked at the cape. She had seen this exact cape on every guard she’d ever come across in the Equites faction. She slung it around her neck and fastened it with the Equites crest. Last, she pulled the Cavalry Commander pin from her t-shirt and hooked it to her left collar.

Emily turned and looked into the mirror, and she couldn’t help but laugh. They had turned her into a miniature feminine guard.

Emily stepped into Alexis’ room, and Silas stood up, his mouth wide, “Wow.”

Emily blushed, “What do you think?”

“I like it… very… let’s just leave it at I like it,” Silas chuckled. “Except…”

“What?” Emily looked down at herself.

Silas walked over and flipped the left side of her cape over her shoulder, and straightened her commander’s pin, “There, perfect.”

“I’m going to have to guess that the regular guards don’t have these?” she asked, and pointed to the hearts that were cut out down the sides of her jeans.

Silas laughed, “I’m thinking not.”

“You’ll be ok here?” Emily asked, and started for her room.

“Yes, we’re good,” Silas said, and sat down on the floor by Alexis.

Emily quickly pulled her hair back into a French braid and grabbed the green cowboy hat and leather riding gloves that were on the desk. She stepped out into the hallway and Hannah greeted her.

“Good morning, Commander,” Hannah said with a bow.

Emily laughed, “Not sure I’ll get used to that.”

Hannah grinned and started down the stairs, “Better get used to it. In this coven, that’s what you are.”

Emily followed her as Hannah took her to a small dining room. There was a pot of coffee and a pile of biscuits with steaming sawmill gravy, “Can I get anything else for you?”

“No, thank you,” Emily said, and sat down to eat.

“The Cavalry is already convened. The Captain said he will meet you out in the stables when you are done.”

“Ok, thanks,” Emily said, and poured herself some coffee.

Hannah bowed and left. Emily looked around and couldn’t help but smile. She already loved this coven with its rustic look and pleasant attitudes. She thought back to the hundreds of heku and not one angry or loathsome expression, they all seemed genuinely glad to have her there. She also couldn’t wait until Chevalier saw her in a guard’s uniform as an actual Commander, either.

After she ate, she walked out of the front doors and immediately saw the stables. She’d never seen such a large stable and guessed it had room for close to two hundred horses. Darren was waiting out in front of them and grinned when he saw her.

“Good morning,” he said, and put his hand out for her.

“Good morning to you, too.” She smiled and took his hand. He led her inside the colossal stables and Emily looked around, shocked. Everything was pristinely clean. All of the saddles and bridles were set out in matching pairs, and there was a conveyor that brought fresh food to the horses throughout the day.

“We need to get you a horse. You have your pick,” Darren said, and grabbed a bridle off of the wall.

Emily walked through the stables and looked into all of the stalls. She couldn’t imagine a wider variety of horses. A gray thoroughbred stallion caught her eye, and when she walked up to him, he lowered his head to her immediately. She took his head in her hands and laid her forehead against his velvety muzzle.

“Oh, you’ve met Thunder,” Darren said, and leaned against the stable wall.

“He’s gorgeous.”

“He’s yours then.”

Emily smiled and reached out for the bridle.

Darren hesitated, “Do you know how to put that on?”

“I’m sure I can figure it out.”

Darren watched as she quickly bridled the horse and led him out into the corridor.

“Oh dang, I forgot,” he said, and blurred way. He returned less than a minute later and handed Emily a belt, holster, and an FNP-45.

“I get a gun?” Emily asked, slipping the holster onto the belt and then fastening it around her hips.

“We thought it might help if you had a weapon.” He smiled and handed her a lasso as soon as she holstered the gun, “This is a lasso, just for show mainly. It’s part of the uniform.”

Emily nodded and watched as Darren went to get her a saddle. She grinned and slipped onto the thoroughbred bareback, and walked the stallion behind the Captain.

Darren turned, his eyes wide, and then laughed, “Well aren’t you full of surprises.”

“I’ve been around a horse or two in my day,” she told him, and clicked her tongue to follow the Captain out into the training grounds.

“Cavalry!” he shouted, and seventy five mounted guards came toward them and then lined their horses up in rows.

“Meet your new Commander,” Darren said, and turned to her.

Emily blushed and nodded at them, “Hello.”

“They were just doing a training course, you may watch if you’d like,” Darren said.

“Ok, sounds like fun.” Emily followed the Cavalry as they returned to a large field.

One member brought his horse to a gate, and when the whistle sounded, he kicked his horse into a gallop. Emily watched intently as he wove his mare through eight barrels, jumped over two fences, lassoed a loose horse, and then dove off of the mare and tackled a running heku. He blurred over and caught his horse and then returned to the starting gate.

Emily clapped with the rest of them when he rode up, “That was great!”

The heku tipped the brim of his hat, “Thank you, Ma’am.”

Each of the Cavalry had to qualify on this course, so Emily watched each of them maneuver the course and then come back for their score. It took over 90 points to qualify, and no one had yet to drop below 98. They were almost done just before lunch and the guards had grown rowdy. They were now cheering loudly, and hitting one another on the back.

Emily saw one of the Cavalry’s horses take off when the heku jumped. It bucked once and ran across the pasture. She kicked her stallion hard and he jerked into a fast gallop. She leaned forward and took the lasso in her hand as her hat flew off behind her. She tested the strength of her hand and then began to twirl the lasso above her head as she neared the spooked horse.

The Cavalry all watched her, stunned at the smooth elegance she exhibited on the horse. They were motionless as they watched her race toward the rogue horse and expertly throw the lasso over its head. She then wrapped the rope around her good arm and slowly stopped her horse. The scared horse slowed with her and then walked back to her.

Emily patted the horses head and then kicked her stallion into a canter, blushing when she saw the entire Cavalry was watching her with amazed expressions.

“Been around a few horses, eh?” Darren asked when she rode up.

“Yes, a few,” Emily said, and smiled.

Darren was shaking his head, “Anything else we should know?”

Emily thought, “I play a mean game of football.”

Darren laughed and rode off toward the stables. Emily grinned and followed him.

The Cavalry were all off of their horses and sitting around on the ground, relaxing in the shade. She put her horse in the corral with the others, and took a small bag from one of the servants. She sat down on the straw and pulled a sandwich out and started to eat.

“So how’d you learn to do that?” one of the guards asked, sitting beside her.

“I was raised on a ranch up in Montana, rodeod a bit, and then I trained the Council City Cavalry how to handle a horse,” she said, and leaned back against a bale of hay. It was nice to be able to visit casually with him, without Kyle watching to make sure no one touched her.

“Nice,” he said, and smiled at Darren when he walked up and sat down by them.

“That’s where the confusion came in. We thought you just sort of helped with the Cavalry. I guess I didn’t realize you trained them,” Darren said.

“Only the horse stuff, the rest I left up to their Captain.”

“So you ride, rope, nurse, punch, and play football… is that about it?” another guard asked. They were starting to migrate toward where she sat.

“I get in a lot of trouble, does that count?” she asked, finishing her sandwich.

“Doing what?” one of them asked. “I can’t imagine the wife of an Elder getting in trouble for anything.”

“Oh you’d be surprised what I get myself into trouble for.”

“Is it true then? What they say about your heritage?” one of the guards asked, but he quieted down immediately when Darren glared at him.

“That’s rude,” Darren growled.

“No, it’s ok. Yes, I’m a Winchester,” she said.

“Can you… you know…” he asked, and got another glare from the Captain.

“Ash a heku? Yes.”

“You dim-wit, we already told you she could,” one of the guards said. Emily recognized him as one of the injured from the Island.

“Yeah… well… maybe we didn’t believe you,” he hissed back.

“Can you show us?” another guard asked, and Emily almost choked on her coke.

“No!” she said, wide eyed.

“You offering, idiot?” Darren asked, and smacked the heku upside the head.

“Rumor has it you off’d over 1800 Encala at once,” a heku in the back said.

“Damnit, you are all being rude,” Darren growled.

“No, really, it’s ok.” Emily smiled and patted the Captain’s hand, “Yes, I did, though not at once, it took me a few minutes.”

Everyone fell silent, and when Emily looked up, they were glancing nervously at each other.

She grinned, “I have control, it’s ok.”

“I want to see it,” someone from the back said.

Emily chuckled, “Is that an offer?”

“Do it!” another yelled.

Emily laughed and took another drink. She watched the playful banter of the guards and with the sounds and smells of the ranch, she felt a sense of belonging. None of them seemed afraid of her or embarrassed that she was made a member of their elite guard.

“So what’s up for this afternoon?” Emily asked.

Darren shrugged, “Boring patrols through the city. I’ve set you up with a team you’ll lead.”

“Erm… lead?” she asked nervously.

Darren laughed, “It’s ok, all you do is patrol through the city and look for anything out of the ordinary.”

“You mean like a mortal with a gun?”

Darren started to laugh again, “Yeah, like that.”

“Hey, why don’t we get a gun?” one of the guards asked.

“Because you’d shoot yourself with it,” Darren said, and stood up. “Mount up, playtime is over.”

After patrolling the city with her team for a few hours, Emily followed them back to the stables. Silas was waiting in front of them with Alexis.

“Hiya, Baby,” Emily said, smiling.

“Hi to you, too,” Silas replied, and laughed.

“Gah, not you,” Emily chuckled, and took Alexis when Silas handed her up. Emily kissed her on the cheek.

“Would you two like to go on a tour?” Darren asked, riding up beside Emily. He smiled at Alexis. It wasn’t often he saw a baby at the Ranch, “Oh, sorry, you three.”

“Think you can get on a horse, Silas?” Emily asked, smiling.

“I think I probably could.”

“Pick a horse, bridles are on the wall by the saddles,” Darren said.

Silas nodded and grabbed a bridle, disappearing into the stables. He came out after a few minutes, bareback on an appaloosa.

Darren glanced at them both, “Hrm. Do you all in Council City have problems with saddles?”

“Well, you know, saddles are for those who can’t hold on with their thighs,” Emily said, and kicked her horse into a canter.

Darren glanced at Silas with his eyebrows raised.

“That’s Em,” Silas said, and kicked his horse to catch up to her.

When Darren caught up to them, Silas and Emily were laughing about something and Alexis was pointing over at a cow.

“We have over eight thousand head of cattle here, and out west are all of our dry farms,” Darren said, pointing out the agriculture sites as they rode by.

“Why do it? I mean… I know why Em runs a ranch, but why would heku? You don’t need the food, obviously, money’s never been a problem,” Silas asked.

“It gives us a sense of responsibility, a sense of purpose,” Darren explained.

“It’s touching, how you all care so much about something other than just heku,” Emily said, her mind far away.

Emily rode beside Silas and Darren as they talked about the Ranch, its protection, and its guard strategy. They noticed quickly that she wasn’t paying attention and got deeper into protocols and regulations of the Cavalries.

When they had the horses put away for the night, Darren and Silas visited with each other while Emily and Alexis had dinner. Alexis was yawning by dessert, so Emily laid her down after a quick story.

She walked out to where Darren and Silas were visiting, “I’m going to go out for a run as soon as I change.”

“Wear that, if you can,” Darren said, looking at her uniform. “It’ll let the coven know you belong here.”

Emily nodded and glanced down, “Ok, I’ll slip on my shoes though.”

“Commander?” he asked.

“Yes?”

“Are you… you know… going out, now?”

Emily frowned, “I need to go for a run.”

“It’s ok, I’ll go with her,” Silas said.

“No you won’t. I need to be alone, and you need to watch Alex.” She turned and ran out of the mansion as soon as she’d put on better running shoes.

“She has no sense of danger,” Silas told Darren.

“I’m sure she’ll be ok, but what mortal goes running through a heku city in the dark?” Darren asked, frowning.

“Welcome to the world of Emily,” Silas said with a sigh, and then headed back up to Alexis’s room.

As Emily ran, her head swam with the possibilities of an agricultural coven. When the Encala offered her any coven of her choice, she hadn’t known such a thing existed. She wondered if it would be possible for her to make an agricultural coven work and thrive. If she had her own coven, and could do anything she wanted with it, there would be no reason not to have livestock and farms. No reason why her heku couldn’t learn the ranching trade and eventually might even learn to like it.

Her mind began to fill with things the Encala had done to her, the runes on her thigh that marked her as a slave and drove her to Exavior’s coven. The feel of Vaughn’s hands on her as he savored her before the ceremony. Her father, the Ancient, killed her mother and her brother. He killed her baby, and would have killed her, too. She could feel the necklace pounding against her chest as she ran, the necklace that contained the ashes of the Ancient and his Encala Council.

Emily stopped when her mind was clear again and her thoughts turned entirely back to the Equites. She caught her breath and looked around. While her mind was preoccupied, she had run out of Thukil Coven and into the woods surrounding it. She looked around at the dark trees and sighed.

“Damn, where am I?” she asked no one.

She turned off her iPod and looked around the trees, then heard a noise, soft whispers, and she walked quietly toward it. The wind was blowing through the trees, and she felt somewhat comforted that she was downwind of whomever it was making the noise. She moved tree to tree when she saw shadows in the streams of moonlight through the branches. She peeked out from behind a large tree, and her eyes grew wide.

Heku were gathered, hundreds of them, and they were standing around a clearing. In the dark, Emily wasn’t able to tell the color of their capes, but she was pretty sure they weren’t Equites.

“All of you quiet down!” she heard someone yell. The voice was familiar, but she wasn’t able to place it.

Her breathing seemed noisy in the quiet night as the heku moved to form straight rows in the dark clearing. Watching their backs, she was able to see the E on their capes. They were the Encala, and Emily suddenly recognized the voice, it was Encala Elder Koly.

“The Valle attacks weakened them, and they won’t be expecting an attack this soon. It’s rumored that Selhman and Ingram are either here or in Council City. Now that Island Coven has the Winchester, we will attack just the two, each in turn, not separating our forces. Prepare your teams. We leave in two hours,” Vaughn said.

Emily felt the anger beginning, the familiar call to destroy those that threatened her and the ones she loved. This group was going to attack her new friends. The heku bent solely on raising cattle and taking care of them. The Cavalry that had taken her in and made her one of their own was now in danger, and they didn’t know.

Emily sighed, knowing the fight this was going to cause her later. Chevalier was always telling her to stop protecting the heku, and this was a prime example of what she wasn’t supposed to do.

She walked around the clearing until she was directly behind the three Elders, then stepped out, feeling the anger growing.

“You offered me peace,” Emily said, and the Elders spun, their eyes wide.

A murmur ran through the army as an Equites Commander stepped into the clearing, unafraid.

“You’re… you’re here,” Vaughn said.

“You’re messing with my friends… again,” Emily said, glaring at him.

A panic swept through the army and the Elders looked at each other nervously.

***

“She’s been gone a long time,” Silas said to Darren.

“How long is she usually gone when she runs?”

“An hour, maybe 90 minutes.”

“Let's you and I get on the horses and see if we can track her,” Darren suggested, and Silas looked over at Alexis.

“I can’t leave her alone.”

“I’ll send Hannah in to watch her.”

Silas nodded and ran out to the stables. In a few minutes, he had a bridle on one of the horses and had caught Emily’s scent. Darren rode out behind him, also catching the scent.

“Sir, what’s up?” one of the patrolling Cavalry asked when they passed.

Darren sighed, “Emily went out for a run three hours ago. She didn’t come back.”

The three Cavalry guards glanced at each other, and the front one spoke, “We’ll gather the forces. There’s a lot of forest out there.”

Darren nodded and soon he and Silas were surrounded by the entire Cavalry. They turned their horses and followed Emily’s scent. Almost a mile into the forest, Silas jumped off of his horse and ran to Emily as she stumbled through the trees. The smell of blood was strong.

“Em?” Silas asked as he approached her.

Emily turned on him and glared, putting her hand out, “I won’t let you get them.”

Silas froze. His eyes fixed on the trail of blood from her ears and nose, and the scarlet color of her eyes.

“What’s wrong with her?” Darren asked, concerned.

“Emily, listen to me, it’s Silas,” he said, putting his hand out to her.

“Get back! I’ll ash you if you attack Thukil Coven,” she scowled.

“Damnit,” Silas whispered. “When Emily ashes too many… hundreds… she gets confused and bleeds from her nose and ears… like she is now. I’d wager that somewhere in these woods, are hundreds of piles of ashes.”

Darren frowned and called out to the Cavalry, “Find them.”

“Look at me… who did you find out here?” Silas asked her. “I need you to concentrate, think hard.”

“I need to get to Thukil,” she mumbled, and stumbled off away from them.

Darren whispered into the wind for Thukil to notify Council City of the attack and Emily’s condition, and then walked off after Silas and Emily.

Darren caught up with Silas easily, “Council City is sending backup, a doctor and the Elder are with them. They are coming in by jet and should arrive in the next two hours. Elder Chevalier warned us to keep our distance while Emily is confused.”

Silas nodded, “We’ll just stay with her. If we get too close, she could turn us to ash in her confusion.”

“Captain!” A member of the Cavalry rode up quickly, “A clearing about a quarter of a mile from here, it’s full of ashes and the clothing from an Encala Army.”

Darren hissed, “How many?”

“Just over seven hundred,” the guard said, swallowing hard.

Silas looked at Emily as she staggered around the woods.

“Gather the ashes, all that you can, and the clothing. Return it all to the Ranch,” Darren ordered. “Tell the Lord and Lady… that Emily has saved us from an attack.”

The guard nodded and rode off toward the city.

Silas sat down to wait for Chevalier when Emily hunkered down by a tree with her knees at her chest and her arms wrapped around them. She pulled her cape around her and disappeared under it.

“How long does this take?” Darren whispered, and sat down by Silas.

“I’m not sure. Chevalier usually takes her away,” Silas said, and watched Emily in her protective ball.

“Why did she put herself through this? If she had warned us, we could have protected ourselves.”

“That’s just Emily… out to save every heku.”

“You know, we hear that, but I guess it didn’t really sink in how much this one mortal cares about our species,” Darren said softly, and looked at Emily with respect.

Silas and Darren waited in silence and watched over Emily as she sat perfectly still inside of her cape. They turned when they heard someone approach, and both stood when the Elder appeared with Kyle, Zohn, and the faction doctor.

“Where is she?” Chevalier asked.

Silas pointed to the cape, “She’s crouched down under there.”

“How many?” the doctor asked, frowning.

“The final tally came in at 721 Encala, including their three Elders,” Darren told him.

Chevalier frowned, “They sent all three Elders to an attack?”

Darren shrugged, “I’m thinking they thought it was a sure thing. 721 outnumber us after we lost some in the Valle attack.”

Chevalier sighed, “Where does she think she is?”

“She’s trying to get to Thukil to warn them,” Silas said.

“Kyle, maybe you better wait in Thukil Coven, just in case,” Chevalier said with a half-grin. Kyle nodded and blurred away.

Chevalier walked forward slowly, being as silent as he could. Zohn and the doctor walked behind him.

When the three were within a few feet of Emily, she sprang to her feet and pulled the .45 out of the holster, then leveled it at them as her guard’s cape floated behind her with the breeze.

“Em,” Chevalier said, holding his hands up. He quickly took in the guard uniform and scanned her, but found no obvious injuries.

“Do not come closer,” she growled.

Chevalier took a step back, “Sorry, we won’t come closer.”

Emily frowned and cocked her head to the side slightly, “Chev?”

“Yes, it’s me.”

Emily didn’t lower the .45, “I can’t think.”

“I know. Put the gun down and we can go back to Alexis,” Chevalier said softly.

“I have to warn Thukil,” she said, unsure.

“There’s nothing to warn them about, you ashed all of them.”

“We need to tell the Cavalry.”

Chevalier nodded and glanced at the rank pin on her collar, “You’re the Commander, and you need to go tell them.”

Emily nodded, “I am.”

Darren stepped forward, “Come on, let’s tell them together.”

Emily walked to Darren and kept the gun at Chevalier, “Ok, let’s go.”

Darren glanced at Chevalier and then placed his hand on Emily’s back and led her toward the Ranch.

“I’m… pretty sure that’s not a regulation guard uniform,” Zohn said, amused.

“Lock her eyes and put her to sleep,” the doctor told Darren in a whisper, too low for Emily to hear.

“Commander?” Darren asked, and when she glanced at him, he immediately locked her eyes with his.

Emily stumbled and dropped the .45 to the forest floor. Darren reached down and picked her up in a cradle and then blurred toward the mansion with the others close behind. He laid her down on the bed gently, and stood back while the doctor stepped forward and began to check Emily over as she slept.

“I need to give a report to the Lord and Lady,” Darren whispered, and bowed before leaving.

Kyle chuckled, “They made her a Commander?”

“Seems so,” Zohn said, watching the doctor.

“Hey, Elder,” Kyle said from the window.

Chevalier walked over and glanced out Emily’s window. Seventy five mounted guards waited outside on the grass below her window.

“Same as last time, bloody nose, blood pooled in her ears, extremely low blood pressure. I’d wager she has a headache. Let her sleep it off and when she wakes up, we see how she is,” the doctor said. “I wish there was something I could do, but without tests, I have no way to know.”

“Leave us,” Chevalier said, and pulled the curtains over the window. When everyone was out of the room, Chevalier started to gently remove the uniform and slipped her into a nightgown so she would be more comfortable.

He took a warm rag and cleaned the blood from her face and neck and then covered her with the soft blankets. He dimmed the lights and stepped out into the hallway, shutting her door softly.

“How is she?” Darren asked. He was surrounded by several of the top commanders in the Cavalry.

“We won’t know until she wakes up,” Chevalier told him, and went down to meet with the Lord and Lady Thukil.

Chevalier walked in as Lord Thukil was talking with Zohn and Kyle.

Lord Thukil stood up and looked at Chevalier, “How is she?”

“Have we revived the Elders?” Chevalier asked, ignoring the Lord of the coven.

“We were waiting for you,” Kyle said, taking a seat in the small trial room.

Chevalier sat down beside him and Zohn, “Proceed.”

Lord Thukil called for the Captain of the Cavalry and then sat down. Darren took his place at the table when he arrived.

Kyle stood, and with a drop of blood, revived the first set of ashes.

Vaughn screamed as he re-formed and then stood up, still bent slightly from the burning pain, “That Bitch!”

“I suggest you hold your tongue,” Kyle growled at him, and Vaughn looked up, realizing he was no longer in the clearing.

“What is this?” Vaughn hissed.

“A war tribunal, I do believe. You were leading an attack on Thukil Coven,” Chevalier explained.

“I was not! We were conducting a training exercise when we were attacked by the Equites’ puppet,” Vaughn said, smiling.

Chevalier looked at Zohn.

“He’s lying,” Zohn said coldly.

“Banish him,” Chevalier said.

Kyle was at Vaughn’s back in an instant, and with one drop of blood, he fell into a pile of ash.

“We have enough information to take the other two Elders back to the Council. Can you banish the rest of them? Give them each 1,000 years,” Chevalier said to Lord Thukil.

Lord Thukil nodded, “We will do that immediately.”

“We will stay until Emily feels better, if that is ok.”

“Yes, yes, stay as long as the Child needs, we owe her everything,” Lord Thukil said, his voice full of respect.

Chevalier blurred up to Emily’s room and stepped quietly inside. He crawled into bed beside her and wrapped his arms around her while she slept. The gray swirls of emotions that surround her when she slept didn’t form into dreams, but continued to swirl in erratic patterns as the dawn came and brought the sounds from the animals.

The doctor came in and checked her over, whispering softly to Chevalier before leaving.

“Tell him to leave me alone,” Emily whispered softly.

Chevalier grinned, “If you can tell me where you are, I’ll agree to that.”

“Ahh, my head,” she said, and rolled over, curling up next to him.

Chevalier kissed her forehead, “You aren’t helping convince me to keep the doctor away.”

Emily sighed, “I couldn’t let them attack the Ranch.”

“Your body can’t take this. One of these times, you may not wake up.”

“Council City is next, they want those prisoners.”

Chevalier nodded, “We know, and we’re prepared.”

Emily grinned, “Good, because I don’t want to stay at the palace to protect all your butts.”

“I’d give anything if you’d just stick to protecting yourself,” Chevalier said, and couldn’t help but laugh some.

“Do you think they have any ibuprofen?” Emily asked, and then looked up when the doctor walked in. “If you come at me with a needle I’ll ash you.”

The doctor froze at the door, “It’s… just... a pill.”

“Ibuprofen?”

“No, something a little stronger,” the doctor said.

“Please, just take it,” Chevalier asked, stifling a grin.

Emily sighed, “Whatever.”

The doctor handed her the pills and some orange juice and then left after she took them.

Emily sat up and pushed her palms into her eyes.

Chevalier rubbed her shoulders, “Why don’t you lie down until you feel better.”

“I’m hungry,” she whispered, and stood up, swaying slightly. Chevalier appeared at her side and steadied her.

“Let me have something brought up,” he suggested.

“No, I’m ok.” She smiled, and walked more steadily to the desk with her suitcase and she pulled on a robe.

“Are you sure you want to go out there?”

“Why?” Emily asked, turning toward him as she tied the robe.

“You were loved before… now you’ve saved them.”

“Great, if they kneel, I’m running,” Emily said, and opened the door.

Chevalier chuckled, “I’m sure it won’t come to that.”

Emily slowly made her way to the dining room she’d been to earlier. Her head was pounding, and as soon as she ate, she fully planned on going back to sleep.

“Child!” she heard from behind her, and turned. Lord Thukil was there along with Darren and the rest of the Commanders of the Thukil guard.

“Yes?” she asked, uneasy at how they looked at her.

Lord Thukil dropped to one knee and lowered his head, “We owe you everything.”

The rest of the heku in the mansion all dropped to one knee and lowered their heads with respect.

Emily’s eyes grew wide and she turned to run, but Chevalier held her with one arm, “I warned you.”

Emily turned around to face the Thukils, “Please, don’t do that, stand up.”

“Tell us what we can do to honor you, to repay you for the sacrifice,” Lord Thukil said.

“You can start by not doing that, standup, please. I don’t deserve that,” Emily said, and felt Chevalier chuckle.

“You just made it worse,” he whispered into her ear.

“Don’t deserve it? You are too humble. We are forever in your debt,” Lord Thukil said, and stayed bowed before her.

“Chev, make them stop,” Emily begged.

Chevalier laughed and turned her around, leading her into the dining room.

“Mommy!” Alexis yelled, and ran to her. Emily picked her up and kissed her.

“Good morning… or afternoon, I guess,” Silas said.

“They’re bowing,” she told Silas, and sighed.

Silas laughed, “I don’t doubt that.”

Emily sat down and poured herself some coffee. One of the servants brought in a plate of sausage and fried potatoes, and bowed all the way out of the door.

“I’m a Commander, can’t I stop that?” Emily asked, and then started to eat.

“They want to give you a medal,” Silas said, grinning. He tried to stop when Chevalier glared at him, but had to turn away instead.

“I’m ready to go back to the island,” Emily said to Chevalier.

He nodded, “I know. We need to go to the palace first, and then we can go.”

“Let’s go, after breakfast.”

“Em, they want to give you a medal. It’s important to them,” Chevalier explained.

“Now I’m going to be sick,” Emily told him, and set down the fork. “Actually, I do feel kind of funny.”

“Funny?” Silas asked.

Emily giggled slightly, something she rarely did, and picked up the fork again slowly.

“Em? Are you feeling ok?” Chevalier asked.

She leaned back in her chair and relaxed.

“Doctor?” Chevalier called, grinning.

The doctor walked in and frowned at Emily as she giggled at the ceiling, “Hrm, maybe I gave her too much.”

“So this is your doing?” Chevalier asked, taking Emily’s hand.

“Yes, it’s the medication. Ma’am, how is your headache?” the doctor asked her.

“You had a headache?” she asked the doctor, frowning.

“Ok, I won’t give her that again,” the doctor said to Chevalier.

Chevalier nodded and picked Emily up.

Emily kissed him lightly, “Let’s have another baby.”

“We are not discussing this right now,” he chuckled, and carried her up to bed.

“I’m a Commander, now I outrank you,” Emily said when he laid her down on the bed and slipped her robe off.

“Whatever you say,” Chevalier told her as he pulled the covers up.

Emily almost immediately fell asleep, and once Chevalier was sure she wasn’t going to wake up, he left the room quietly to make arrangements to try the Encala Elders in front of the Council.

***

Emily sighed and rolled over in bed as the haze over her mind slowly cleared. She sat up and grabbed her head as the world began to spin. She felt someone sit on the bed beside her.

“Here, see if coffee helps,” Chevalier said, and handed her a steaming cup.

“I don’t feel so good,” she said, and sipped the coffee.

Chevalier smiled, “The doctor overdid the medication. You’ve been asleep for almost 24 hours.”

“Are we going back today?” Emily asked, and took another sip.

“Yes, after they give you a medal.”

Emily cringed, “Seriously?”

“Yes, it would mean a lot to them.”

Emily nodded, “Ok, then to the island?”

“We need to try the Encala Elders first, and we’ll need you to testify,” Chevalier explained.

Emily stood up slowly and grabbed her jeans out of the suitcase.

“Em?” Chevalier said, grinning.

Emily turned around “What now?”

“You’re receiving a medal as a Commander of this army.”

“Did you see that uniform?” Emily sighed.

Chevalier’s grin widened, “Yes, I did.”

“Why did they modify it? I don’t see the heku with heart cut-outs or skin showing,” Emily said, grabbing the uniform and disappearing into the bathroom.

Emily emerged brushing her hair, and Chevalier let his eyes follow down her body, appreciating the way the fitted uniform clung to her curves and accentuated her features.

“We should have made you a member of our Cavalry. I hadn’t thought of that,” Chevalier said.

“I think one Commander title is enough,” Emily said, and glanced in the mirror.

Emily fastened the cape, tossed the left side over her shoulder, and then turned around, “Let’s get this over with so we can go.”

Chevalier blurred to Emily and lifted her up so he could kiss her. She took his face in her hands and pressed her lips firmly against his.

After setting her back on her feet, he grabbed her .45 out of the dresser and handed it to her.

“Damn, forgot my gun,” Emily said, and holstered it. She followed Chevalier down to the banquet hallway and stopped at the doors.

“Go in,” Chevalier told her.

Emily sighed, “You go for me.”

“Come on, Killer,” Chevalier said, amused, and opened the door.

The room broke out in applause and Emily felt her stomach turn. Chevalier’s hand on her back was all that kept her from running as he gently pushed her down the aisle toward Lord and Lady Thukil.

As Emily approached them, the Lord stood up and quieted down the heku.

“It is with our greatest admiration that we bestow the Medal of Honor upon Commander Emily for her heroic act in protecting this coven from over 700 Encala warriors. She fought alone and with great bravery, and will forever be held in the highest regards by all of Thukil Coven,” Lord Thukil said.

Emily smiled politely, but her insides were turning and the desire to run was growing stronger.

Lord Thukil stepped forward and pinned a diamond and ruby ‘T’ to her collar below the Commander ranking. The decorated ‘T’ was surrounded by platinum fern leaves and had a tiny dangling Equites crest underneath it.

“Thank you,” Emily said, and winced when Lord Thukil again fell to one knee and bowed. She heard the rustling behind her and knew that all of the heku had done the same.

She reached out and hit Chevalier lightly on the arm when she heard him chuckle. She was relieved when Lord Thukil stood up again.

“Please, come visit us again soon,” Lord Thukil said. He smiled and took her hand and kissed it softly.

“I will… thank you,” Emily said, and took Chevalier’s hand. He led her out of the banquet hall and up to the Thukil’s helicopter where Kyle, Zohn, the doctor, Silas, and Alexis were waiting. She hopped in, still blushing, and buckled herself in. Three of the Thukil Cavalry Lieutenants joined them to help her in the trial.

“Nice, I don’t even have a medal of honor.” Kyle grinned.

The helicopter ride was short. It was only a few miles to the waiting jet, and soon they were at 32,000 feet and heading for Council City. Emily unbuckled her seat belt and crawled onto Chevalier’s lap. She was still feeling groggy and needed to feel his arms around her. He kissed the top of her head and leaned his cheek against her as she slept.

“Ever held a Commander before?” Kyle chuckled.

“No, I think this is a first,” Chevalier said, laughing.

Zohn watched her, “It’s hard to believe that someone who desires to be held, has the ability to massively slaughter our species.”

“I’ve always found it hard to believe how that temper can come from such a tiny package,” Kyle added.

Chevalier winced, “Don’t let her hear you call her tiny.”

Kyle grinned, “Oh come on, Elder. You have to admit when she stands by some of the heku, she looks like a child.”

“Nope, I won’t admit to that,” Chevalier said, grinning.

“It’s hard to think of her as a child when she wears… well… we all saw that leather getup,” Zohn said. When Chevalier growled, he added, “All I’m saying, is she’s a bit curvy to be thought of as a child, and if the Elder did, surely they wouldn’t be bonded.”

“Change the subject,” Chevalier said, irritated.

The Thukil Cavalry members that were on the plane shifted nervously in their chairs. The conversation wasn’t one they wanted to be present for.

Kyle grinned, “Calm down Elder. We won’t touch her, but we’re still men and it’s our nature to notice things.”

“It’s a compliment to you that we notice some of her feminine features,” Zohn said matter-of-factly. “She looks delicate and fragile, in harsh contrast to the heku women, so we can’t help but see it.”

“Enough,” Chevalier hissed.

Kyle and Zohn glanced at each other and then the both turned to look out the window.

Chevalier was suddenly aware of the strip of skin showing above the belt on her pants and pulled her cape to cover her better. He also hadn’t noticed before how the diamond cut-out on her shirt showed the slightest hint of cleavage, so he pulled her a little closer to him.

Emily groaned slightly in her sleep and her hand grasped Chevalier’s shirt. Zohn and Kyle turned to look at her, concerned.

“Nightmare,” Chevalier said to them.

“Can you see those?” Zohn asked.

Chevalier nodded, “Yes, they appear like a movie to me. I have to be touching her though, if I’m not, all I get are the emotions from it.”

“Is it about the Encala attack?” Kyle asked.

“No, it’s about… well…” Chevalier hesitated.

Emily sat up suddenly and yelled, “No, Damon!”

Chevalier pulled her back to his chest, and she laid her head against his shoulder and her eyes slowly shut again.

“Still having nightmares about him?” Zohn asked, frowning.

“Once it’s in her dreams, it stays. She still has nightmares about her ex-husband,” Chevalier said, brushing the hair away from her face.

The jet landed, and they all piled into the Blackhawk helicopter for the ride to Council City. Emily watched out the window as the city she had grown to hate came into view. The pilot circled twice and then landed softly on the roof. When he cut the engines, the palace doors opened and members of the Equites Cavalry opened the helicopter door and stood at attention.

“The Council is ready for you, Sir,” Mark said as Chevalier stepped out. Chevalier nodded and blurred away to the council chambers with Kyle and Zohn.

Mark looked up to help Emily out and froze, surprised. He couldn’t help but run his eyes down her and the modified guard uniform. He reached up and grabbed her around the waist and helped her down.

“Commander?” Mark chuckled.

Emily nodded and turned to make sure the Thukil guards were taken care of.

“The… erm… Council was told a Commander and three Lieutenants would be testifying, but I don’t think they knew that you were the Commander,” Mark said, grinning.

“Perfect,” Emily sighed. She wasn’t looking forward to the amused looks from the Council.

“They are waiting for you,” Mark said, and headed for the door. Emily followed him and felt the Thukil Cavalry close behind her. She had the sudden feeling she was now doubly guarded by no one’s order.

Emily tuned the guards out as they began to compare training and tactics, something that didn’t interest her. She had just stepped down onto the fifth floor when she was hit hard from the side. Her feet left the ground as she flew across the foyer and slammed into a door. The doorknob smashed painfully into her ribs and she fell to the floor.

As Emily leaned back against the door to wait out the pain, she heard the growls and sounds of tearing flesh as guards, both Equites and Thukil, violently dismembered her attackers. As the blur of fighting cleared, she saw the bodies of four dead heku, all wearing the symbol of the Equites guard. Members of both Cavalries stood up from crouches, their eyes fierce and furious as they looked around the foyer for any more attackers. They were covered in blood, more evident on the white shirts of the Equites than on the dark green of the Thukil Cavalry.

“What the hell was that?” Emily groaned.

“Attacked by Equites Palace Guards?” one of the Thukil Cavalry growled at Mark.

Mark just glared at him and knelt down beside Emily. She was clutching her side with her good hand, “Let me see.”

Emily raised the side of her shirt slightly, and Mark hissed at the dark bruise that was already forming and the small amount of blood seeping from around it.

“We should get the doctor,” Mark said. He stood up and helped Emily to her feet.

“No, no doctors. I’m ok.” Emily smiled and started down the stairs again, still grasping her side.

Derrick eyed the guards suspiciously and his eyes narrowed, “Were you attacked?”

“Yes, let’s get this over with so I can get to the island,” Emily said, irritated, and straightened up with her hands at her sides. She decided it would be better to put up with the pain, than be seen crouched over.

“Sir, the... ermm… Commander and the Lieutenants from Thukil are ready,” Derrick said to the Council. He eyed the two Encala Elders cautiously as they stood in front of the Council.

“Very well, bring them in,” Maleth said. He noticed Kyle grin at Zohn, but ignored them.

Derrick nodded and opened the door. Emily was the first to enter, followed by the Thukil Lieutenants. The council members all began to chat quickly when they realized that Emily was the Thukil Commander. Emily walked up and stood beside the Encala Elders. Chevalier was pleased when the Thukil guards stood in a formation between her and the enemy Elders.

Maleth smiled, “Lady Emily, congratulations on your… promotion, shall we call it?”

“Thank you.” She smiled at him.

Chevalier sighed and motioned for Emily to come up to him, “Commander… a moment, please.”

Emily walked up the stairs and over to the Elders. They turned their chairs to face her. They all noticed that the strip of skin visible on her side was slowly turning purple.

“Yes?” Emily asked, and knelt down to talk to them.

“Emily, you were away from me for 5 minutes… why do I smell blood?” Chevalier asked, frowning.

Emily grinned slightly, “You would be amazed how fast a heku can attack.”

Chevalier pulled her shirt up slightly and growled at the black bruise forming on her ribs. Emily laid her shirt back down, embarrassed.

“Who?” Chevalier hissed.

Emily shrugged, “I don’t know. They were torn to pieces before I could figure that out.”

“They?” Quinn asked.

Emily sighed, “Yes, four of them.”

“We’ll handle that later, please return to your place,” Maleth said. Emily nodded and stood up, wincing slightly. She walked back down and stood by the Thukil guards again.

“Commander, we were told you were the only witness to the impending attack,” Quinn said to her. Chevalier had to fight from grinning. Emily was over 18 inches shorter than the heku around her, and Kyle’s comment about her looking like a child flooded back to him.

Emily stepped forward, “Yes, I was.”

“What exactly did you see?”

“I was out in the woods… lost…” Emily ignored the way Chevalier sighed, “I heard voices, and when I got closer, I saw hundreds of Encala lined up. William, Koly, and Vaughn were giving them orders.”

“Please, tell us what was said, verbatim,” Quinn requested.

Emily looked at Chevalier with wide eyes. He smiled and turned to the Elders for a moment before turning back to the trial area.

“I apologize, please tell us what was said,” Quinn said, and smiled at her. He noticed how she tensed when he spoke to her, and it concerned him that she still viewed him as a threat.

“They were saying that because I was on the Island, they were going to attack Thukil first, and then move on to Council City. Valle’s Ingram and what’s his nuts were supposed…” Emily stopped when Maleth held up his hand.

“What’s his nuts?” Maleth asked, confused.

Kyle had to turn his chair around, so the Encala didn’t see him laughing.

Koly turned and glared at her, “His name is Selhman.”

Emily was still watching Maleth, “Ingram and Selhman, were supposed to be in either Council City or Thukil, so they were just going to stick with those two cities.”

“She’s lying!” William scowled. “We were running a training exercise, nothing more.”

“I am not lying.” Emily turned and glared at him.

“Emily!” Chevalier said sternly, when he saw her begin to concentrate on William.

William looked at her with wide eyes when she sighed and turned back to the Council.

“Zohn… impressions?” Quinn asked.

“The Encala is lying. I believe the Commander,” Zohn said, using her official title for the trial.

“We demand that you release the Valle prisoners immediately,” Koly said angrily.

Quinn ignored the Encala, “Lieutenants, what is your part of this?”

One of the Thukil Lieutenants stepped forward, “After we found the Commander in the woods, we set out in a search pattern. The three of us found a clearing in the trees with piles of ashes and scattered clothing from an Encala Army.”

“Was a count made?” Maleth asked.

“Yes, Sir, there were 718 individual piles of ash, all lined up in formation, and three more off from the others. They turned out to be the Elders,” he said.

“Have any of the Encala’s Army been revived?” Maleth asked.

The Lieutenant grinned, “No, Sir, they have all been banished per the Elder’s orders.”

“Very well, so we have the Commander’s word against those of the Encala Elders,” Quinn said.

Emily’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“She’s not a Commander! She’s just a mortal,” Koly said angrily.

“She is my Commander,” one of the Thukils said, glaring at him.

“Mine too,” the other two said together.

“As far as this court is concerned, she is a Commander with the Thukil Cavalry and will be addressed and respected as such,” Maleth said to the Encala.

“She is nothing but a girl. A power hungry child that should be punished for her crimes against the heku. If she ever falls into the Encala hands again, she will be, and it will be a pleasure to teach her submission and respect,” Koly growled.

The three Lieutenants crouched slightly toward him and ducked away just as Emily put a .45 into each of the Encala, clean shots to the head.

“Damn that felt good,” Emily said, grinning.

“Commander, please stop shooting the defendants,” Quinn chuckled.

The Lieutenants laughed and stood back up, watching the Elders heal and enjoying the pain the bullets caused.

Emily holstered her gun, “Sorry, won’t happen again.”

“Guards, take them to cells,” Quinn said, and as soon as the Encala could stand, they were escorted out of the trial area.

“Mark,” Chevalier said, and the Captain came into the trial area.

“Yes, Elder?” Mark asked, stepping up by Emily. His shirt was still covered in blood.

“Now… what happened to Emily in the 5 minutes that I was away from her?” Chevalier frowned.

“The entire fifth-floor guard staff attacked her,” Mark said, obviously angry still.

Maleth hissed, “The entire fifth-floor guard staff?”

“Yes, Sir,” Mark told him.

“She would be safer in Thukil,” one of the Lieutenants said.

“I’ll be safer when I get back to the island,” Emily told him. “So let’s end this and I’ll be on my way.”

Quinn nodded, “Very well, leave us while we decide on the Encala.”

Chevalier watched as Emily, the Thukil, and Mark left the trial area, “Damnit, there goes that idea.”

“Why did they have to do this now? I was sure we could get her to stay,” Maleth sighed.

“We’ll just have to let her go back to the island and try later,” Zohn said.

Kyle nodded, “I can stay with her there. Maybe I can talk her into it.”

“Yes, do that, we’ll see after things calm down,” Chevalier said.

“Impressive that she’s now a medaled Commander,” Quinn said, smiling.

Kyle chuckled, “We should have done that. I didn’t even think about it.”

“Let’s do it now and change the guard’s uniforms,” Zohn laughed.

Chevalier glared at him, “Enough with how she’s dressed.”

“I take it no one’s opposed to finding the Encala guilty of attacks on Thukil?” Quinn asked, quickly changing the subject.

“Now we need a punishment. We can only keep one of them though,” Zohn said.

Chevalier shrugged, “Keep Koly for 150 years and let William go with a warning.”

“It’s too bad we can’t kill all of them for being dumb enough to attack with all three Elders present,” Kyle said.

“Derrick, bring them all back,” Maleth said. The Council watched as Emily and the Thukil came in, again the Cavalry stood so they surrounded her. The Encala were brought in next and stood before the Council.

“We as the Equites Council find you both guilty of attacks on the Equites’ Thukil Coven,” Quinn said, standing. “As per wartime etiquette, we are releasing William as the sole Encala Elder, and sentencing Koly to 150 years for his crimes.”

“That’s preposterous! You can’t take a mortal’s word over ours,” Koly screamed. “It’s disgraceful how the Equites have fallen as strongest of the factions.”

“Fallen?” Chevalier asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes fallen! You have stooped to listening to mortals and…” Koly’s eyes widened and he gasped and clutched at his chest, falling to his knees.

The Thukil guards glanced nervously at each other as a burning smell filled the room. Emily was looking directly at the Council.

“Stop her!” William yelled, watching the suffering Elder.

Koly screamed and writhed on the floor in agony.

“Just don’t kill him, Commander,” Zohn said, not actually wanting her to stop.

William growled, “I said stop her!”

Koly fell silent as he went unconscious. The burning smell started to dissipate, and Emily smiled at the Thukils.

“We won’t stand for this,” William hissed.

“So much control, it’s impressive,” Quinn said to Emily.

“I demand you do something,” William roared.

Maleth looked at him calmly, “Do something about what?”

“You cannot allow her to torture a heku.”

Emily smiled, “That wasn’t torture. I’ve learned how to burn individual body parts.”

William’s face fell and his eyes grew wide, “You wouldn’t.”

“Thukil, you are free to go,” Maleth said quickly, before Emily took the challenge.

The Lieutenants left with Emily, and were laughing among themselves.

“You just let her walk out of here?” William asked, irritated.

Maleth looked at him curiously, “Would you rather her show us her new found talent?”

“Do you know if she can really do that?” Kyle asked Chevalier.

“Not a clue,” he said, chuckling.

Zohn laughed, “She was lying.”

“You may go,” Quinn said to William, and he stormed out of the room.

Guards came and carried Koly down to the prison as the Council began to leave the room.

“I’ll be ready to go to the island in 5 minutes,” Kyle said, heading into his room.

“Give us an hour,” Chevalier chuckled, and disappeared into the bedroom. He shut the door behind him and watched Emily for a few moments as she packed. He scanned the room quickly to make sure they were alone.

“I really like that uniform on you.” Chevalier grinned and appeared behind her.

Emily laughed, “Don’t get too used to it.”

“I figured,” he said, and unfastened her cape, then threw it onto a chair.

Emily turned around and smiled, “I’m a Commander, so you can’t just do with me as you will.”

Chevalier began to unbutton her shirt, “I still outrank you.”

***

Emily rested her head against Chevalier’s neck as she laid on top of him. He trailed his fingers lightly over her back.

“You could stay, you know,” Chevalier reminded her.

“No, I need to go back to the island.”

“We could make you a member of the Cavalry here.”

“I’m already a Commander, that’s enough.”

Chevalier kissed the top of her head, “I really wish you would stay. Is there anything I can say to convince you?”

“I hate this place, Chev,” Emily said, not looking at him. “It was proven today that some still hate me, too. I also can’t live with Zohn and Quinn, they drive me nuts.”

Chevalier sighed, “Zohn and Quinn are good heku, give them a chance.”

“Let me just see how things go on the island.”

“I’m afraid to even let you try. Things were always calmer there, and you seem to like it so much better.”

Emily smiled, “I do.”

“What about Allen? I’m worried about how he’ll react when you leave him again,” Chevalier said softly.

Emily looked up at him, “It kills me to leave him, you know that. He wants nothing to do with me though.”

“You need to trust me. He just thinks you’re weak, and in a predatory environment it’s natural for him to want to get rid of the weak link. You need to show him you aren’t.”

“I can’t ash my son.”

“Don’t ash him, just give him a little pain.”

“Chev! He’s only 6.”

“His body is 6, but his mind is fully adult,” Chevalier reminded her.

Emily sighed and rolled off of Chevalier. She wrapped the sheet around her and went into the bathroom.

Chevalier dressed quickly and called to Emily before leaving, “I’ll go get Allen, let him say good-bye.”

Emily dressed back in her jeans and t-shirt and folded her guard uniform up to put it in the suitcase. Silas brought Alexis in to her, and she took the baby in her arms and kissed her softly.

“You ready to go?” Emily asked, and sat her down on the bed.

“Si go,” Alexis said, pouting.

“Silas needs to stay here for now.”

Silas smiled slightly, “I can come visit, right?”

Emily nodded and smiled, “Any time.”

“Dad said I had to come say good-bye,” Allen said from the doorway, irritated.

Emily crossed her arms, “You know… I’m half tempted to make you go with us.”

“Like you could make me do anything,” Allen laughed.

Emily glanced at Chevalier, who stood behind Allen and he nodded.

“I’m your mother. I can make you do whatever I want. Drop the attitude with me,” Emily said angrily.

“I wish you weren’t.”

“You will show me some respect.” Emily’s body tensed. She hated the thought of what she was about to do.

Allen crouched, an evil grin on his face, “I don’t respect mortals.”

Emily shut her eyes and a tear fell as Allen dropped to his knees, screaming. The pain was only a few seconds, but Emily wanted to run to him and comfort him.

Allen got to his feet slowly and glared at her, “Don’t do that again.”

“If you’ll drop the attitude, I won’t have to,” Emily told him.

Allen crouched slightly, and a small scream escaped as he turned to ash.

“Emily!” Chevalier gasped, and looked down at his son.

Silas frowned, “That was harsh.”

Emily took a step back and spun suddenly toward Alexis, who was crying on the bed. She ran to the baby and knelt down by her, “No, no, Baby, we don’t do that.”

Chevalier looked over at them with wide eyes, “That wasn’t you?”

Emily shook her head and picked Alexis up, “He scared her.”

“Did you know she could do that?” Silas asked her.

“No,” Emily said, and held her tighter. “We have to go.”

Chevalier was in shock as Emily ran from the room with Alexis. When Kyle revived the 6-year-old, the sound of the helicopter taking off filled the upper halls of the palace.

“I thought I was supposed to go with them,” Kyle said, looking up.

“Take the other helicopter. She just wanted to get Alex out of here,” Chevalier said, and put a hand on his son’s shoulder.

“What happened?” Allen asked, his body shaking.

Chevalier glanced at Silas briefly, and then back to his son, “Your mother finally decided to show you who’s in charge.”

Allen frowned, “Mom did that?”

“Yes, she should have a long time ago,” Chevalier said. “She wouldn’t do it because she loves you, but you gave her no choice. Your life will be much easier if you show your Mom and Sister some respect.”

“Great!” Allen said, and stormed out of the room.

“Should we be sending the Chief Enforcer to the home with a temperamental toddler?” Silas asked.

Kyle laughed, “I should be ok if I don’t scare her.”

“Buy her something special tomorrow, chicks love that,” Silas grinned.

“Tomorrow?” Kyle asked.

Silas shook his head, “Tomorrow… she turns two.”

“Damn,” Chevalier hissed. “I always forget about birthdays.”

Kyle shrugged, “I don’t see what’s so special about them.”

“Yes, well… they aren’t special if you’ve had over 1500 of them… but on your second, and you have only limited amounts…” Silas said.

“Let’s go shopping, Kyle. We’ll both go over tomorrow,” Chevalier said, and headed out of the room.

“Great… shopping…” Kyle scowled and walked out after him.

“Elder!” one of the guards ran up just as Chevalier was getting into his car.

“What now?” Chevalier growled.

“There’s a problem at the farmhouse,” the guard said. The farmhouse held the official address for the entire city and was often used as a façade when mortals needed one of them.

Chevalier sighed and blurred to the farmhouse with Kyle behind him.

“Oh, here’s he is now,” the guard said to someone on the front porch. The guard was wearing jeans and a t-shirt to blend with the farmhouse cover.

Chevalier stepped onto the porch and frowned at the six police officers, “What’s the problem?”

“We’re looking for Emily Russo. This was the last address she used,” the leading officer said.

“She’s not here right now. What’s the problem?”

“How long have you known Ms. Russo?” an officer asked, grabbing a pen and paper.

“I’ve known her for 10 years.”

“So you would have known her husband, Keith?”

Chevalier nodded, “Yes.”

“Were you aware that he was killed and buried on the ranch Ms. Russo owned?” The Officer looked up at Chevalier suspiciously.

“No, I wasn’t aware he was dead,” Chevalier said.

The Officer handed him a card, “We have a warrant to bring Emily in for questioning. Have her call us when she gets in.”

Chevalier nodded and walked back into the farmhouse. He turned and glared at Kyle, “They found him.”

“I swear, I buried him out in the middle of the field… over six feet down,” Kyle said, shocked.

“Let’s go talk to the lawyer,” Chevalier said, and he and Kyle went into the city.

Chapter 22 - Charges

“I can’t believe you remembered her birthday,” Emily said as Chevalier carried Alexis up to bed. She had fallen asleep while playing with a large wooden horse Jess and Alec sent her.

“Well, I admit, I had some help.” Chevalier grinned.

Emily smiled, “I’m sure it meant a lot that you were here.”

Chevalier kissed Alexis’ fat cheek softly and laid her down on the bed. Emily kissed her forehead and covered her up.

Chevalier took Emily’s hand and led her out into the hallway, “Come to my office.”

Emily sighed, “What’d I do now?”

“You haven’t done anything. We just need to talk to you,” he said, and they walked down the stairs.

“Then why do I feel like I’m going to the principal’s office?”

Chevalier grinned, “Because you have a guilty conscience.”

“I do not!” Emily said, and hit him on the arm.

Chevalier opened his office door and went to his desk. Emily sat in a chair and glanced at Mark and Kyle, who were also in the room.

“Seriously, my dog ate my homework,” Emily said pleadingly.

Chevalier grinned slightly, “I wish it were that complicated.”

“Ok then, spill it. What’d I do now?”

“The police came to Council City looking for you,” Chevalier sighed.

Emily frowned, “For what?”

“They found Keith’s body, and they want to talk to you.”

Emily gasped, “What? How?”

“They were laying a foundation for a new home and found his remains,” Chevalier said, wincing at the panicked look on her face. “The lawyers have spoken to the police, and you are officially a person of interest.”

“They think I killed him?” Emily whispered.

Kyle nodded, “Yes, right now though, the police don’t know where you are, so if you stay on the island you should be ok.”

Emily rubbed her temples. She suddenly had a headache, “Even after death he’s screwing with me.”

“It’s hit the news and now everyone knows that you’re wanted in connection with his death. The Equites know I did it, but so far, luckily, they don’t know why,” Chevalier said.

Emily nodded, “I need to turn myself in then.”

“What? Why?” Mark asked, shocked.

“To keep them away from Council City.”

“Stop trying to protect us!” Chevalier growled.

“I can get off on a murder charge. I didn’t do it, and you have the best lawyers around. If I turn myself in, then I won’t look as guilty as if I sit out here and hide. How long before they get a search warrant for Council City? You want feds running all over the palace?” Emily asked.

“You know, I could take the fall,” Kyle said, deep in thought. “I was there as a field hand and I’ve been using his I.D. all over Maine.”

Emily frowned, “Then what? Let you sit in jail and rot?”

“Well,” Kyle thought. “I can always get out.”

“The V.E.S. is going to spot you from a mile away. A few blood tests and their points will be proven. I’m not going to expose the heku, and the only way I can prevent that, is if I turn myself in,” Emily told them. Her mind was already set.

“No, we’ll find another way,” Chevalier said.

Emily grinned and shrugged.

Chevalier’s face fell, “No, damnit, Em, stop it.”

“What?”

“You’ve made up your mind, and I’m going to fight it. I won’t let you sit in jail for months while the mortal justice system decides what to do,” he growled.

“I’ll go turn myself in. If they put me in jail, then you’ll post bail and I’ll be back by tomorrow,” Emily said.

“There’s more to it than that,” Kyle told her.

“What more can there be?”

“They know the remains are over 2 years old, though they can’t figure out how much older. You were seen with me, impersonating Keith, as recently as 2 years ago,” Kyle said.

“So we’re… what? Conspirators?”

“Yes. I mean think about it. You disappear for 2 months, and the entire state of Montana looks for you. You get back and Keith disappears, then you sell the ranch and the mysterious field-hand disappears with you. Ten years later, someone digs him up. That doesn’t look really good for us,” Kyle explained.

“You can’t go to jail, not on something this big. This isn’t car theft or domestic violence… this is big, and if you were sentenced to death, it could expose the entire species,” Emily said, trying to make them understand why it was best if she turned herself over to the police.

“You can’t go to jail either,” Chevalier told her.

“Why not? I didn’t kill him, and I doubt they can prove that I did.”

“There’s no doubt you would get off. I mean… the…” Chevalier sighed and glanced at Kyle. “The cause of death alone is something you could never have done.”

Emily frowned, “What did you do to him?”

Kyle grinned slightly, “He was pretty mad, Em.”

Chevalier’s eyes turned furious, “When Kyle called me back, I thought I would have to deal with him hitting you. When I walked in and he…”

“Chev!” Emily yelled, and looked at Mark.

“I lost my temper,” Chevalier said, his voice tense and ominous.

“So you, what? Drained him?” Emily asked. “Wait… no… there were loud crashes.”

Kyle nodded, “Keith was kind of… well… thrown around a bit.”

“Oh come on! If I’m going to jail for killing Keith, at least tell me what they found when they dug him up,” Emily frowned.

“Fine,” Chevalier said. “They found a lot of shattered bones. No major bone in his body wasn’t broken.”

“You’re right then, I couldn’t have done that,” Emily said. “We can use that as a defense.”

“No, we’re not, you aren’t going on trial,” Chevalier said sternly.

Emily stood up and leaned over Chevalier’s desk, “I’m not going to let Keith expose the heku.”

“And I’m not going to let you go to jail for something I did,” Chevalier said angrily.

“Em, sit down… Elder, calm down,” Kyle said to them sternly.

Emily sat back down hesitantly, and Chevalier leaned back in his chair behind the desk.

“We have no other option than for me to turn myself in,” Emily said. “I can’t hide for the rest of my life.”

“Let the lawyers do their thing. Let us work with law enforcement to try to place the blame on Kyle,” Chevalier said.

“No, damnit, Kyle can’t go to jail without exposing the heku.”

“He’s not going to jail, that’s the beauty of this plan,” Chevalier explained. “They can’t catch him. He won’t even have to hide.”

“Mark, Kyle, get out,” Emily said, and glared at Chevalier.

“No can do. Your temper is up, and the Elder’s got his fighting eyes. We can’t leave you two alone right now,” Kyle said.

“I’m turning myself in, period,” Emily said, and stood up to walk out of his office, but her way was blocked by Mark.

“Sit,” Mark said to her.

“Or what? You going to throw me in prison again? I can save you the time and have that done myself,” Emily yelled. “I’m not going to sit here and be ganged up on.”

“We’re not ganging up on you,” Kyle said softly.

“Bullshit! The three of you have already made up your minds about my life, and I’m not going to take it.”

Kyle started to get angry, “Sit… down…”

“No.” Emily turned and glared at him.

“Stop being obstinate and sit down!” Kyle yelled.

“Ok, now it’s your turn to calm down,” Mark said to Kyle.

Emily pushed against Mark, “Let me out. I’m going to bed.”

Mark glanced at Chevalier and moved out of her way. She slammed open the door and ran up the stairs.

“Wow, she does have a way of pushing buttons, doesn’t she?” Mark asked, surprised.

“She’s going to turn herself in,” Kyle said, and turned to Chevalier.

“I know,” he growled.

“Why did I think she would let us handle this?” Kyle asked, mainly himself.

“I didn’t realize she was going to turn this into another attempt to save the heku,” Chevalier said, irritated.

“Let’s stick with the plan and see if we can get her back to Council City,” Mark said. “Once there, maybe the lawyers can talk some sense into her.”

Chevalier agreed and dismissed Kyle and Mark. They both bowed and left him alone in his office. The argument brought the images of Keith and Emily back into his mind. He was flooded with the memories of Keith’s final act, and it still enraged him. With the emotions flooding from Emily, he was sure that she was also remembering those last moments.

Just after dawn, Chevalier heard Emily up and around in her room. He guessed that she and Alexis would be having breakfast soon, and then he would talk to her about returning to Council City for a few days.

Chevalier sighed and left his office. He had his temper firmly under control and he suspected he would need it there. He knocked softly on the door and entered when Emily called to him. Alexis was at the table eating pancakes while Emily sat with a cup of coffee. He hated when she got upset and didn’t eat, but he knew it wasn’t a fight he wanted to get into today.

“Before you turn yourself in, will you come to Council City and talk to the lawyers? Please?” he asked, sitting down at the table beside Alexis.

“Yeah, sure,” she said, and took another sip of coffee. Her response surprised Chevalier. He was sure there would be a fight over this.

“I’m sorry about last night. I honestly wasn’t trying to gang up on you,” Chevalier said. “I just wanted them to try to help me convince you.”

Emily shrugged and set the coffee cup down, “I’ll be ready to go in an hour.”

Chevalier nodded and left the room. She obviously wasn’t in the mood to talk, and he didn’t want to do anything that might jeopardize her decision to come back to the palace.

“Shall we go talk to her?” Kyle asked from the second-floor landing.

“No, I already did. She’s coming.”

“That’s a good start,” Kyle said, smiling.

Chevalier went back down to his office to be alone while Emily got ready to go. He tried to decide how best to keep her from turning herself over to the police, without making her feel restrained or guarded in any way. He considered moving her and some of his staff to his house in the mountains of Colorado. That home was too far from a city where police might be looking for her, and she wasn’t able to get out of the mansion alone.

He left his office and headed up to the roof when he heard the engines of the helicopter. Kyle, Mark, and Emily were already waiting for him in the Blackhawk, and Alexis was sitting on Mark’s lap, playing with the Equites symbol on his cape.

“I called the lawyers. They will be waiting for us at their office when we get in,” Kyle told him.

Chevalier nodded.

“They want to meet with us again first, before bringing Emily in.”

“Why?” Emily asked, yelling to be heard above the noise of the helicopter.

“We’re still working out alibis. You don’t need to be there for that,” Kyle explained.

Emily sat back and watched the terrain fly by. She knew in her heart that within 24 hours, she would be in prison for killing her abusive ex-husband. She hoped the damage done to his body could exclude her as a suspect. It took immense strength to do that to him, strength she didn’t even remotely possess.

Emily sighed as she again looked down on Council City. No matter how hard she tried, she didn’t seem to be able to fully leave. She jumped out of the helicopter when the engines were cut and ignored the guards that gathered. Taking Alexis, she went inside and headed down for the Durango.

“Wait, Em,” Chevalier called. “You can’t take the Durango, they’ll be watching for it. Take the Humvee and I’ll drive the McLaren.”

Emily nodded, “Sure.”

“Come in about an hour, ok?” He kissed her forehead softly.

“Sure,” she said again, and turned around, deciding to head out to the stables. She saw the McLaren pull out of the garage as she watched the colt playing in the corral.

Kyle and Chevalier talked about their options on the way to the lawyers in the city. A mile outside of the lawyer’s office, Chevalier saw four patrol cars surround him and turn on their lights.

“What’s this?” Kyle asked, worried.

“I don’t know, guess we’ll find out.”

Chevalier rolled his window down, “Yes?”

“Step out of the car,” the officer said, and then looked over at Kyle. “You, too.”

Both of the heku got out of the car and were immediately pushed against the side of it. They allowed it to happen so as not to draw unneeded attention.

“What’s the problem?” Chevalier asked as Kyle was handcuffed.

“You have the right to remain silent,” the Officer told Kyle. “Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law…”

Kyle smiled slightly at Chevalier.

“Well, do you?” the officer asked when he finished.

“Oh, yes I do,” Kyle said, amused.

“Keep him until we get the girl,” the lead officer said

Chevalier frowned, “What girl?”

“We know she’s here. We got a good tip that Emily Russo was flown in today and will be driving past here in a black Humvee within the hour.” He grinned.

Chevalier glanced at Kyle, and he shrugged. He watched as Kyle was put into the back of a patrol car and whisked away to the city.

Chevalier growled when he heard over the police radio that Emily was in custody and was en route to the police station.

“Ok, you can go,” the officer said to him with a grin, and headed for the patrol car. Chevalier glared at him, fighting the desire to rip his head from his body and stop that smirk.

Chevalier got back into his car and sped toward the lawyer’s office.

***

Emily looked around the small room. She was sitting at a table with her hands cuffed behind her. There were two other chairs in the room and mirrors lining the walls. She looked at the door when two detectives entered.

“Good afternoon, Ms. Russo,” one of them said, and sat down.

Emily nodded at him.

“I’m Detective Kirk, and this is Detective Billings.” He sat down in the seat beside her.

“We’d like to ask you a few questions, and have a warrant that gives us approval to do so.”

“You don’t need a warrant to get information from me,” Emily said softly.

“Good.” Detective Kirk smiled, “Is there anything we can get you?”

“No, thank you.”

“Let’s start then. How long did you live at the ranch in Cascade, Montana?”

“I was there from birth. I sold the ranch about 10 years ago.”

“Why did you sell it?”

“My Dad died, and when Keith left, I couldn’t take care of it by myself, even with Kyle and Sam helping,” Emily said.

“Who is Sam?”

“He was the ranch’s overseer.”

“Do you know where he is now?” the detective asked.

“No, I don’t.”

“Ok, when’s the last time you saw Keith?”

“Just before I left for Colorado, a few days after my dad died.”

“I’m going to come right out and ask this. I hate to bring up any unnecessary feelings, but we need to know… your hospital records show quite the injury list, and more than one doctor suggested domestic assault. Was Keith abusive?” Detective Billings asked.

Emily’s body tensed. It wasn’t something she liked to admit to, let alone talk about to strangers.

The Detective picked up the change in her posture and smiled softly, “We already know. We just need you to confirm it. It could really help your case.”

Emily nodded slightly.

“How did you break your hand?”

“I fell off of a horse.”

“That seems to be a common excuse for you,” Detective Billings said.

“I break horses. It can get dangerous,” Emily explained.

“And the bruise on your side?”

“Horse,” Emily said again.

“Ok, that’s all we needed with that. We have the medical records for the rest.”

Detective Kirk opened a notebook, “You said you had been in Colorado, who were you there with?”

“Chevalier,” Emily told them.

“What’s his last name?”

Emily grinned slightly, “I don’t know.”

“What were you doing for two months while the entire state of Montana looked for you?”

“It was… personal,” Emily said.

“Was Kyle with you?”

“No, I hadn’t met Kyle yet. He was hired to help with the ranch while I was gone.”

“Who hired him?”

“Sam, I guess, I wasn’t there… could have been Keith.”

Detective Kirk took a moment to write, “Ok then. When you got back to Montana, did you see Keith?”

“No, he was already gone.”

“And Kyle was there?”

“Yes”

“Then what did you do?”

“I talked to Sam, and we decided to sell the ranch. So I left with Chevalier while Kyle and Sam stayed to handle the arrangements.”

“So your relationship with Chevalier was romantic?”

Emily frowned at the personal question, “Not at that time, that was later.”

“Did you kill your husband before you ran off with Chevalier?” Detective Kirk decided to ask outright.

Emily shook her head, “No.”

“Do you know who did?”

“No, I thought he ran off with his girlfriend,” Emily said.

“Girlfriend?”

Emily nodded, “Yes, he was sleeping with my father’s nurse.”

“You were ok with that?” Detective Kirk asked.

Emily sighed, “Things were different back then. I was afraid of Keith.”

“Do you know anyone who would have liked to cause harm to Keith?”

Emily suddenly had a thought, “When… when we would fight, I would go to Sam for help. He was my father’s friend, and when my Dad had his stroke, Sam took care of me. He didn’t like Keith, and threatened to hurt him sometimes.”

“But you’ve not seen Sam lately?”

“No”

“Can you explain then, if you haven’t seen Keith in 10 years, how he was arrested for domestic violence a few years ago, and then checked you into a hospital two years ago?” the Detective asked.

They all looked over at the door when someone walked in. A tall, elderly man entered. He wore an expensive suit and had a briefcase. He sat down beside Emily.

“I’m Ms. Russo’s counsel, and I’m putting a stop to this questioning until I’ve had a chance to read what was said up until now,” he said.

“Sure, Kent,” Detective Kirk said.

“We’re going to hold her though. We have enough probable cause for that,” Detective Billings told him.

Kent nodded, “Fine but let’s get bail set. She has a small child that still depends on her.”

“Unless we start getting answers, the Judge isn’t going to want to set a bail.”

“We’ll see about that,” Kent said.

Two officers came and escorted Emily out to the jail. They took the handcuffs off of her and she went over and laid down on the hard bed. She thought hard on how to explain the incidents when Kyle had impersonated Keith over the last few years.

“Come on, Russo, your lawyers want to talk to you,” a warden said. Emily walked over and slipped her hands through an opening in the bars, so the warden could put handcuffs back on her. She followed the warden to a small room and sat down inside to wait. She pushed the sleeves of the orange jumpsuit up higher, it was way too big on her and they kept slipping down.

Soon, the lawyer came in and sat down, “Emily, I’m Kent Pentos. I’m the attorney for your husband.”

Emily nodded, “Ok.”

“This room is private, so we can speak freely. We’ll just get it out in the open that I know what your husband is, and I know about Council City.”

Emily felt relieved. It would be easier to talk to him.

“Mr. Jones is in custody also…” Kent looked through some piles of papers.

“Mr. Jones?” Emily asked, confused.

“Kyle”

“Damn.” Emily didn’t know that Kyle had also been arrested.

“Here’s the deal. Kyle was arrested a few years ago for domestic assault and was posing as Keith. We have pictures to prove that it was Kyle, and that doesn’t look very good for you. They have the body pinned down to a date of death between 3 and 12 years ago. They also have the cause of death listed as blunt-force trauma to the entire body.”

Emily cringed and nodded.

“From what I’ve seen from the prosecutor’s files, they are going to try to prove that you and Kyle killed Keith because of a love-triangle type arrangement. Obviously, they will pin the actual death on Kyle because of the extent of damage to the body, but they will try to label you as a conspirator.” Kent was still looking through photographs and papers.

“Kyle didn’t do it,” Emily whispered, looking at her hands.

“I know who did it,” Kent said. “Now, you mentioned something we may be able to use. This… Sam… if we can get the suspicion turned to him, we may be able to set both you and Kyle free.”

“How do we do that then?”

“The first thing we do is clear up the air about you and Kyle. You need to come out as a couple,” Kent said.

Emily frowned, “Why?”

“Any jury is going to be convinced that you two are together. If we fight that, they could immediately deem anything you say as false. If we play into the relationship, then you aren’t hiding anything from them.”

“I… don’t…” Emily started, but Kent touched her hand.

“Chevalier knows, and he agrees with it. You just need to play up to it. Can you do that?”

Emily nodded.

“So now that we’re no longer hiding that you and Kyle are together, we just need to push the suspicion onto Sam.” Kent sighed and looked up at Emily, “They are going to seek the death penalty for this.”

Emily gasped, “They are?”

Kent nodded, “It won’t be for you as just a conspirator, but they’ll try to hit Kyle with it, just for the amount of damage done to the body. We obviously can’t let Kyle be executed, for numerous reasons.”

“So let me take the fall. Don’t risk exposing them over this,” Emily said.

“You can be executed, so we’re not going to do that. If Kyle gets put on death row, we’ll deal with that then,” Kent said.

“Will I be going back to Montana then?”

“Not right now. We’re fighting the extradition and trying to get the venue moved here,” Kent told her.

“What am I supposed to say about when Kyle checked me into the hospital as Keith?” That’s the one question Emily was most afraid of.

“According to medical records, both incidents you were unconscious, so we’re going to say you didn’t know. Kyle has already confessed to identity theft and said you didn’t know.”

Emily whispered, “He’s just digging his hole deeper and deeper.”

Kent smiled, “His species can take the heat, you, my dear, need to stay out of the fire.”

“Where is Chevalier in all of this?”

“Because of his rank, we’re trying to keep him as far out of this as possible. We’re putting him more in a father roll for you.”

“Father?” Emily frowned.

Kent smiled slightly, “You could easily pass as his daughter, and that will keep him out of the spotlight. Your trip to Colorado for 2 months was how he protected you from Keith’s abuse.”

There was a knock on the door, “5 minutes,” someone yelled.

Kent whispered softly, “Everything they throw at you, just plead not guilty, and let me do the rest.”

Emily nodded and she was suddenly struck with fear. The warden came in and fastened cuffs to her ankles and then put a chain connecting her handcuffs and ankle cuffs. Emily walked as best as she could and followed them into a courtroom that was packed with news reporters and photographers. She saw Chevalier in the crowd, and he smiled at her briefly. She also saw Maleth and Zohn beside him, and several members of the Cavalry all dressed in civilian clothing.

Emily walked over and stood beside Kyle, who was in a matching orange jumpsuit and was also cuffed. Emily was in a daze. She found it hard to concentrate as the Judge came in and was seated. The Judge spoke quickly, and Emily found it hard to concentrate.

Emily felt Kent pull her arm and she stood up.

“Emily Russo, you are being charged with the following crimes. Please give your plea after each one is listed,” the Judge said, and thumbed through some papers. “First is a charge of Second-Degree Murder in the death of Keith Russo.”

“Not guilty,” Emily said, and glanced at Kent. He nodded at her.

“You are also being charged with conspiracy to commit murder with Kyle Jones in the death of Keith Russo.”

“Not guilty,” she said again, and felt Kyle nudge her gently.

“Charges of failure to report a death in the case of Keith Russo.”

“Not guilty.” Emily wondered how long this would go on, how many charges she would get hit with. She thought briefly how much joy this would have brought Keith.

“Charges of unlawfully disposing of a body,” the Judge continued coldly.

Emily frowned. She suddenly found it hard to breathe, “Not guilty.”

“Charges of desecration of a corpse.”

“Not guilty.” Her words came out barely above a whisper.

“Em, it’s ok… calm down,” Kyle whispered to her. She looked down at him nervously and he smiled.

“Very well,” the Judge said, and looked at Kent. “Bail is set at $1.5 million.”

Emily cringed.

“You may sit down, Ms. Russo.” When the Judge said it, Emily swore to herself that she would change her last name as soon as she could.

Emily watched as Kyle was sworn in. She was frustrated at how calm he was.

“Kyle Jones, you are being charged with the following crimes. Please give your plea after each one is listed,” the Judge said. “First is a charge of First Degree Murder in the death of Keith Russo.”

“Not guilty,” Kyle said calmly.

“Charges of failure to report a death in the case of Keith Russo.”

“Not guilty,” Kyle said again, and smiled reassuringly at Emily.

“Charges of unlawfully disposing of a body.”

“Not guilty.”

The Judge adjusted her glasses, “Charges of desecration of a corpse?”

“Not guilty.”

“Charges of identity theft in the case of Keith Russo.”

“Guilty,” Kyle said. Emily gasped and looked up at him. She didn’t like that he had to take all of the heat for this.

“In lieu of the heinousness of this crime, I’m holding you without bail,” the Judge said.

“I object,” Kent said, standing up.

“No bail… we’ll see you two at the trial,” the Judge said, and everyone stood up when she left.

Emily turned to Kyle, “I don’t understand.”

“Means I’m not coming back until after the trial,” Kyle said, amused.

Emily gasped, “You have to stay here?”

Kyle nodded and put his hands on her face and kissed her softly, and then whispered to her, “Keep up appearances, it’s important.”

Emily nodded and left with the female warden. She was in her cell for only a few hours before Chevalier posted her bail, and she was given her clothes so she could leave.

“I don’t like leaving him there,” Emily said as she crawled into the Humvee with Chevalier.

“We don’t have a choice, he’s ok. Looked to me like he was having fun,” Chevalier said, and smiled at Emily.

“Aren’t you mad that he kissed me?”

“No, it wasn’t very convincing though. He better start acting in love or he’ll blow it,” Chevalier told her, and pulled out into traffic.

Emily frowned and rubbed her wrists, “I hate this.”

“It’ll be over soon. We just need to give the lawyers time to pin this on Sam.”

“Damn I wish he was alive. I’d order him to confess,” Emily said.

Chevalier chuckled.

Emily turned to him, “How much has gotten out about Keith and I?”

“Right now, not much,” Chevalier said, and turned onto the road for Council City. “It’s going to come out about the abuse though, that’s part of your defense.”

Emily turned her head when she felt her eyes filling up, “All of the abuse?”

“No, I specified only the physical and mental abuse was to be mentioned,” Chevalier said, and took her hand.

“Can’t you bring Sam back, and then I won’t have to go to trial and no one will know?”

“Sorry, Em, he’s dead.”

Chevalier pulled up at the farmhouse outside of the city, “Now the bad news. I was out-voted, and the Council feels you should stay here.”

Emily looked at the abandoned farmhouse and sighed, “Nice.”

“It’s just temporary. Alexis will be with you, too. We’ve stocked it with everything you’ll need, and there will be guards hidden around the premises and in the tunnels,” Chevalier explained, and turned the car off.

“They’re saying you’re my father figure,” Emily said, glaring at the house.

Chevalier chuckled, “I know.”

“Why can’t I just go back to the island?”

“You aren’t allowed to leave the state, and this farmhouse is your address. I’ll have the Durango brought to you, but I’d prefer if you just stay here.”

Emily stepped out of the Humvee and walked slowly toward the house. She turned and looked at Chevalier before walking in and shutting the door.

“Mommy!” Alexis yelled, and ran up to her. Emily picked her up and hugged her tightly.

She watched as Silas left the farmhouse and got into the Humvee with Chevalier and drove off. She turned around when she heard a noise and smiled slightly when she saw the Border collie walk into the room with a ball in his mouth.

Days slowly turned into weeks as Emily and Alexis lived in the farmhouse alone. The only people Emily had seen were the steady stream of reporters taking pictures of the house. Food was delivered at night, and everyone from Council City stayed away, protecting their cover.

Emily sat up at night and watched out the window toward the dark woods where the city was hidden. She waited for someone to come and tell her what was going on. Even her lawyer ignored her calls, and she didn’t know if a trial date had been set. Emily felt abandoned and alone, and it started to take a toll. Soon, she was no longer hungry, and the long nights were sleepless.

Emily and Alexis spent their days watching the news. Updated information on the pending case against her and Kyle was no longer headline, and the reporters had moved on to more recent matters. The two in the farmhouse played games to help pass the time, and started to teach Ford new tricks to keep him busy.

Emily jumped when the phone rang. She ran and answered it, “Hello?”

“It’s Kent.”

“It’s about time,” Emily scowled.

“I’m sorry, there’s been a lot going on with the case and I couldn’t risk a wiretap.”

“What’s been going on?”

“Keith’s girlfriend came forward.”

Emily cringed, “What’s she saying?”

“I don’t know how, or why, but she’s suddenly saying that Keith was deathly afraid of Sam, and that Sam threatened him several times after the abuse,” Kent said.

Emily wondered which of the heku had gotten to her and told her what to say.

“So, what now?” Emily asked him.

“Now we wait. She’s the first witness to come forward that can clear Kyle. She passed the polygraph, but is going back under questioning tomorrow,” Kent explained. “We need you to visit Kyle.”

“In the jail? Can I do that?” she asked.

“Yes, and we need to keep up the appearance, you’ll need to go and visit him today.”

“Ok, let me get Alexis ready,” Emily said.

“The city is sending over someone to watch her, they won’t let her into the jail.”

Emily hung up the phone and changed quickly, then threw her hair into a braid. By the time she heard a knock on the door, her temper had flared at how long she’d gone without a word from Council City.

Emily opened the door and Silas smiled, “I’m here from the agency.”

Emily let him in and shut the door, “Do you see Chevalier often?”

“Yeah, every day,” Silas said, and picked up Alexis when she ran to him.

“Good,” Emily said, and slapped Silas hard across the face. “Give him that from me.”

Silas watched her, shocked, as she got into the Durango and left.

“Ouch,” Alexis said, and smiled at Silas.

“Yeah, ouch… how’s about I not pass that on to the Elder though, ok?” He smiled at the toddler and she nodded.

Emily drove straight to the prison and filled out the paperwork to get through security. She had to leave her purse and keys behind and was led into a small private room with a table and two metal chairs that were bolted to the floor. She watched as Kyle came in, still wearing the orange jumpsuit and both his wrists and ankles were cuffed.

As soon as the door shut, she wrapped her arms around him tightly. She felt him kiss the top of her head.

“I’m glad you came,” Kyle said, and sat down when she let him go.

Emily nodded, “How are you?”

Kyle frowned as he looked over her, “Are you sick?”

“No,” Emily said, and then asked again. “How are you?”

“I’m fine… did you stop eating again?”

Emily shrugged, “Do you need anything?”

“You aren’t sleeping either are you?” Kyle asked, frustrated.

Emily stood up and glanced at the mirror, and then sat on Kyle’s lap. She straddled his legs and faced him, then laid her head against his neck.

“I haven’t seen anyone in two months,” Emily whispered, and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“What do you mean?” Kyle whispered, watching the mirror.

“No one… no one from Council City. It’s just Alex and I in that damned farmhouse.”

“Did they say why?” His voice was sounding angry.

“No,” Emily whispered. “No one’s said anything. I don’t know when the trial is. I don’t know what’s going on. They told me to stay in the house, and there’s food delivered, but I haven’t seen anyone.”

“Chevalier… surely.”

“Not even him,” Emily said, and felt the tears coming.

“Why the hell would they do that?” Kyle asked furiously.

Emily sat up and looked at his face. He was pale and his eyes were sunken and dim, “You’re hungry.”

Kyle smiled slightly, “It’s manageable.”

Emily glanced again at the window and pulled her hair out of the braid.

“What are you doing?” Kyle asked curiously.

“Feeding you,” Emily said, and covered her neck with her hair.

“I can’t do that.”

“Yes you can. It’s my blood, and I’m not going to let you starve in here,” she whispered.

“I can’t though,” Kyle whispered, but Emily felt his nose run up the length of her neck.

“Better do it fast. I don’t know how long they’ll let us... erm… kiss.” Emily leaned her head against his neck and felt her body relax as he began to feed. He wondered about the underlying flavor mixed with her sweet taste, but figured she must have taken a medication.

“Thank you,” he whispered when he’d finished, and brought her face to his and kissed her softly. Emily wrapped her arms around him and felt his lips press harder against hers. She ran her fingers through his hair and rested her hand against the back of his neck.

“Ok, Lovebirds, that’s enough,” a warden said from behind them.

Emily pulled away from Kyle and stood up. She adjusted her hair to cover her neck again, and smiled softly at Kyle before leaving.

On the drive home, Emily stopped at a clothing store and bought a simple turtle neck. She slipped it on in a gas station bathroom and then stopped to grab a pizza on the way back to the farmhouse.

Emily opened the door and dropped the pizza on the table. Silas watched her from across the kitchen, afraid that he might get hit again if he got too close to her.

“Are you feeling ok?” he asked. She seemed paler than when she’d left, and the dark circles under her eyes had deepened.

“Like you care, go away,” Emily said, and sat Alexis in the booster seat to eat.

Silas stood against the counter and watched her. He was supposed to report back to the Council on how she was doing, and he wanted to make sure and catch everything.

“Do I need to ash you or are you going to leave?” Emily asked, and sat down with a cup of coffee.

“When’s the last time you ate?” Silas asked. He gasped when he felt a sharp flash of burning in his chest. Emily hadn’t even moved from the table, but was watching him with angry eyes.

“Ok, ok, I’m going,” Silas told her, and blurred from the house before she could burn him again.

A few minutes later, Silas appeared at the door to the council chambers. He was quickly ushered in by Derrick, and he stood before the Council, ignoring the empty seat where Kyle should have been.

Chevalier smiled, “How is she?”

Silas cringed, “Well… not doing so hot I think. She wouldn’t talk to me though and... well… burned me a bit when I didn’t leave at first.”

Chevalier’s face fell, “What’s wrong?”

“First she slapped me, before going to the prison, and then told me to pass that along to you,” Silas told Chevalier. “By my guess, she’s not sleeping well, or even at all, and she seems thinner, pale, and drawn.”

“Damnit, I was afraid she’d stop eating,” Chevalier growled.

“Lexi looks good. She’s actually having fun, I think,” Silas said, and smiled slightly.

Derrick appeared beside Silas, “The lawyer sent a message to us, from Kyle.”

“Ok,” Quinn said. “Read it.”

Derrick looked at the Council nervously and cleared his throat, “Council, it was not part of the deal that you would abandon Emily while I sit in jail and rot. I demand to know why she’s been cut off from the Council and the city. Kyle.”

“Silas,” Maleth said. “Go talk to Kyle. Explain that we haven’t abandoned Emily and explain why we must keep our contact with her to a minimum right now.”

“I’ll go talk to Emily. She deserves some sort of explanation,” Chevalier said, and stood up.

“We can’t risk you being seen with her, I’ll go,” Zohn said.

Maleth sighed, “She doesn’t like you.”

Zohn grinned, “She can’t lie to me either. I’ll go and check on her well-being.”

Chevalier nodded, and Zohn blurred from the room. He stood in the dark bedroom and watched Emily toss and turn in her sleep. She mumbled, but the words were incoherent. His keen eyes picked up that she had lost weight, and her pale skin showed the recent bite mark vividly.

“No!” Emily screamed, and sat up in bed, then looked around the dark room, breathing rapidly. She slipped out of bed and pulled on a robe, and then sat in the bay window in the bedroom that overlooked the trees behind the house.

Emily screamed, and stood up when she heard Zohn clear his throat. She spun and turned to face him as he stepped out of the shadows.

“It’s just me,” Zohn said, watching her.

Emily frowned and put her hand on her chest, “What the hell are you doing here?”

“I came to check on you.”

“I’m alive, now go away.”

Zohn took a step toward her, “When’s the last time you ate?”

“None of your damn business,” she scowled at him.

“I’m only here to help.”

“You can help, by telling the Council to go jump off a cliff.”

Zohn chuckled, “I’ll make a note of that.”

“Good, now leave.”

“Who bit you?”

“A heku,” Emily said, and crossed her arms.

Zohn grinned, “That part is obvious, which one?”

“A tall one.”

“Does that mean you don’t know?”

“No, that means I’m not going to tell you,” Emily yelled, and then gasped when Zohn appeared in front of her and grasped her face between his hands. She looked up at him angrily, and then her body began to relax.

Zohn concentrated on her eyes and felt her body fall into his control.

“You need to eat,” he said softly to her, his voice almost a whisper.

“No,” she whispered back.

Zohn frowned slightly. He’d never been told no when controlling a mortal. He knew Emily was hard to control though, and realized that the lack of sleep and food was the only reason he was able to gain any control at all.

“You need to eat,” he said again rhythmically.

Emily didn’t move or answer.

“Emily,” he said softer. “Who fed from you?”

Emily blinked and then frowned. Zohn started to pull away from her just as she slapped him. He covered his cheek with his hand and stepped back.

“Get out,” she said, angrier.

“Not until I find out what I came for,” Zohn said, and leaned against the bedroom wall.

“Why exactly are you here?” She sat cross-legged on the bed.

“To check on your well-being, but I find another problem with the bite on your neck.”

“My well-being?” Emily asked, and chuckled. “Like the Council gives a rat’s ass. Let’s see… I was dropped here by my husband and then abandoned by him and the entire city. I’ve had no contact with anyone, no word on what’s going on with the trial. Alex and I sit here alone, day after day, and wonder what in the hell we did to get discarded by the heku.”

“We didn’t abandon you.”

“Go away!” Emily yelled. “The only person on this planet who seems to care, is locked up in a cold prison for something that he didn’t do. I have half a mind to go turn in Chevalier and let him deal with it instead of Kyle.”

“Let’s not do anything rash,” Zohn said.

“So go back and tell the Council that the next heku that walks through that door better be Kyle, or I’ll ash them before they can even scream.” She glared at him, “That goes for Chevalier also.”

“He’s worried about you.”

“Bullshit!”

Zohn raised his hands, “Just listen. This has to be done for a reason. You aren’t abandoned, we see everything you do, and you’re well protected.”

“Oh that’s even better! Now I’m abandoned and on display, just great.”

Zohn sighed, “It’s not…”

“Ford, get the heku,” Emily said, and walked into the bathroom, slamming the door.

Zohn looked down at the fiercely growling Border collie. He was crouched low and his hackles were raised. Zohn sighed, and blurred from the house, appearing in the council chambers a few minutes later.

“So what’s your impression?” Maleth asked Zohn as he sat in his chair.

“First off, she’s highly irrational and emotional,” Zohn said.

Quinn chuckled, “So nothing’s changed?”

“She’s slowly starving herself, and from what I saw, she’s not sleeping well. She’s also been fed off of recently,” Zohn told them.

Chevalier growled, “Who?”

“She won’t say. I even had control of her for a few minutes, but she broke it.”

“You could control her?” Maleth asked, shocked.

“Briefly, yes,” Zohn said. “She sent a warning that the next heku to walk through her door better be Kyle, any other, and she would turn us to ash… she made sure and mention that that included the Elder also.”

Chevalier sighed, “We have that house surrounded. Find out from the guards who has been in there.”

Zohn nodded, “Already asked, and Silas has been the only one in the house.”

“It may have happened while she was out. Maybe she stopped on the way to the prison and was attacked,” Quinn said.

“Kent assures us that we’re only days away from Kyle and Emily both being released as suspects. If she can just wait two more days, everything may get back to normal,” Maleth said, frustrated.

“This has gone on long enough. I agreed with the Council not to contact her, but I am going to talk to her now,” Chevalier said, and blurred from the room.

“Em?” Chevalier said from behind her. Emily jumped and splashed dishwater all over the counter.

“Damnit, don’t sneak up on me,” she said, and turned around as she dried her hands on a towel.

“I’m sorry I haven’t been here to talk to you. The lawyers wanted me to stay as far away as possible to keep from messing up the trial,” Chevalier said.

“So you couldn’t even sneak in here? Send a note maybe?”

“I didn’t want to risk it. This trial is too important, and I don’t want you to end up in jail.”

“So why are you here now?” Emily snapped.

“I needed to talk to you.”

“Yeah, well I needed you too and guess what? You weren’t here.”

Emily turned around when the phone rang and answered it, “Hello?”

Chevalier waited while she listened to whoever was on the phone.

“I’ll be right there,” Emily said, and hung up.

“What’s up?” Chevalier asked.

Emily ignored him and went into the bedroom to get dressed. She came out a short time later in a black business dress suit, and she sat down to slip on some shoes, “Can you be bothered to watch Alex, or should I find a baby-sitter?”

“Em, don’t be like that,” he said, frustrated.

“I’ll be back,” Emily said, and kissed Alexis on the cheek.

She drove quickly to the courtroom. Kent said there was an update in the case, and she needed to be there. She was met outside by droves of reporters, so she lowered her head and ran inside without saying a word.

“Come in,” Kent said, and took her arm. He led her into the packed courtroom, and she stood by Kyle, who was in a suit and tie, no longer restrained.

The Judge came in and sat down, then looked at Kyle and Emily, “In light of recent DNA evidence found on the body of Keith Russo, you are both being released as suspects for the murder case. Mr. Jones, you were found guilty of Identity Theft and will be released on time served. You may go.”

Emily gasped and turned to Kyle, jumping into his arms. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead, “Let’s go home.”

Emily nodded, “I have the Durango outside.”

They walked out to the Durango as Kyle blocked reporters from getting close to Emily. She crawled into the driver’s seat and took off when Kyle was seated, then headed for Council City.

“Are you ok?” Kyle asked after a few minutes.

Emily smiled, “I’m fine, why?”

“He loves you.”

“He has a funny way of showing it.”

Emily pulled up to the front doors of the palace and turned off the engine.

“Not putting it in the garage?” Kyle asked, frowning.

“I’m not staying that long. I just need to get Alexis, and I’m leaving,” she said, and opened the door.

“Shall we pull it in for you, Lady Emily?” a guard asked.

“No, leave it please,” Emily said, and went inside.

Kyle followed her, “Where will you go?”

Emily turned and faced him. Her eyes were filled with tears, “It’ll be easier if you don’t know.”

Kyle took her hand, “Please, tell me.”

Emily kissed him lightly, ignoring the gasps and hisses from the guards and servants, “I can’t.”

She pulled away from Kyle and walked into the Council room as Derrick called after her.

“Emily?” Quinn asked, looking up from some papers.

The prisoner on trial watched her carefully, not sure what was going on.

“Emily, can we help you? We’re in the middle of a trial,” Zohn asked.

Emily ignored them and walked up to Chevalier and took Alexis. He smiled at Alexis and then looked at Emily, “Let’s talk, meet me upstairs in an hour, ok?”

She didn’t say anything, but walked down toward the trial room door.

“She’s leaving,” Kyle said, and stepped in front of the door.

“Leaving? Where?” Maleth asked, looking up.

“Please move, Kyle,” Emily asked, stepping up to the door.

“Don’t go like this,” Kyle begged.

“When will you be back?” Quinn asked.

“Kyle, I’m begging you to just let me go,” she said softly. She looked into his eyes pleadingly.

“Please don’t go, not now,” he said, watching her.

“Look at me, Kyle. I’m not mad. I’m not leaving in anger. It’s just time to go away for a while,” Emily said, and touched his cheek softly.

“Emily, I just spent 2 months in jail for you… I’m asking you nicely to stay, for me,” Kyle said. He knew it was hitting low, but he was desperate for her to stay.

Emily sighed and thought before speaking, “Ok, but only 2 months. I’ll give you back what the jail took.”

Kyle smiled, “That’s all I can ask for, thank you.”

“I hate this place,” Emily said to Chevalier.

“I know,” he answered softly.

“You two,” Emily said, looking at Quinn and Zohn. “Stay away from me.”

Emily headed for the trial doors.

“Eat too, will you?” Kyle asked.

“Don’t push it,” Emily said, and left the room. Kyle went and took his chair to finish out the current trial.

Chapter 23 - Apart

“I have to, I’m sorry,” Chevalier said from the chair.

“Why can’t Zohn go?” Emily asked, confused.

“When it’s a high ranking Coven Leader, it falls to the Elders.”

“So send Quinn.”

Chevalier smiled, “I’ll be back in a week. Kyle’s here, he’ll watch the Council around you.”

Emily sighed, “Great, 4 weeks to go.”

Chevalier nodded, “I know, I’m counting.”

Chevalier studied her as she looked into the empty fireplace. She was still losing weight, and the bones in her wrist and neck stood out against her pale skin. The puncture wounds she wouldn’t explain were gone, but the dark circles under her eyes were deeper.

“Em, you would tell me if you were sick, right?” Chevalier asked.

“I’m not sick.”

“But if you were, would you tell me?”

Emily shrugged, “Probably”

“It’d make me feel better if the doctor came to look at you before I leave.”

“No”

“When’s the last time you ate?”

“I had coffee for lunch,” Emily said.

“I mean food.”

“I’m just not hungry.”

“Which is why I want the doctor to come up. It’s not healthy.”

“There’s nothing wrong with me,” Emily said. Chevalier looked at her again, and she looked fragile enough to break if a small breeze came up.

“If you aren’t feeling better when I get back, I’ll have him come up,” Chevalier told her.

“Quinn is still planning something against me,” Emily said, and turned her head to Chevalier.

Chevalier sighed, “I really don’t think he is.”

“I saw him, Chev. He was talking to someone in the shadows about me.”

“I asked him about that. He wasn’t even in the palace during that time,” Chevalier said.

“Sure, believe him.” Emily turned back to the fireplace.

Chevalier kissed her softly and frowned at how hot and dry her skin felt, “I’ll be back in a week. Please, tell Kyle if you start to feel sick.”

Emily nodded and went back to staring at the darkened stones in the fireplace.

Chevalier stepped out of her room where Kyle was waiting, “Did she agree to see the doctor?”

“No, but I’m sure she’s lost even more weight, her skin is hot too. She has to be sick,” Chevalier said, glancing back at the door. “She still thinks Quinn is after her.”

“I’ll watch her, if she gets any worse then I’ll control her and she’ll see the doctor,” Kyle sighed.

Chevalier grimaced, “Not unless it’s an emergency though. I hate to take her free will away.”

“I won’t, I promise,” Kyle said, and watched as the Elder walked down the stairs.

Kyle went into the bedroom and sat down by Emily, “Want to go riding?”

“No,” Emily said, watching the empty fireplace.

“You’re making us all nervous, you know that?”

“How’s that?”

“You just sit in here all day. You don’t sleep, you don’t eat, you don’t want to do anything you used to do,” Kyle said bluntly.

“I’m just tired is all.”

“What can I get you for dinner?”

“Coffee”

“I mean food,” Kyle said, frowning.

“I don’t feel like eating.”

“Fine then, a nice calming tea at least, no more caffeine. It’s no wonder you aren’t sleeping.”

Emily shrugged, “Sure.”

Kyle poured her a cup of tea from the pot a servant brought up. She stirred in a tiny bit of sugar and sipped it slowly.

“Can I ask you a question?” Emily asked.

Kyle smiled, “Sure, ask away.”

“Why are heku so big? I mean… I don’t think I’ve seen a short heku, other than maybe Lord Thukil.”

Kyle laughed, “Em, you’ve been with us for 10 years and you don’t know?”

“I guess I never thought to ask.”

“It’s part of the process. Once the mortal become immortal, they tend to grow taller and more muscular. It happens all within a few hours,” Kyle explained.

Emily frowned, “You’re joking.”

“Nope”

“So what happened to Lord Thukil?” She hoped she wasn’t being too nosey.

“There are rare occasions where no growth occurs, no one really knows why.”

“Hmm,” Emily said, and sipped more tea.

“Anything else?” Kyle asked. She seemed like she was hesitating.

“Yeah I guess. Why is there like… 100 times more men heku than women?”

“Some of that is the militaristic lifestyle, it appeals more to men generally. Then there’s the growing process for them too, and it turns a lot of women off of the idea,” Kyle explained, and watched Emily closely.

Emily frowned, “The women grow too?”

“Not as much, but yes, and most women don’t want to have that happen.”

“Why did the Council choose you for Chief Enforcer?” Emily asked.

Kyle frowned, “What do you mean?”

“Chevalier and Damon, and even Vaughn, they were hot tempered, mean, and tough as nails. I assume all Chief Enforcers are,” Emily explained.

Kyle gave her a half-grin, “I’m not sure I like what you’re implying.”

“You’re even tempered and sweet. It just seems to me like the opposite of what a Chief Enforcer would be.”

“So you don’t think I can be good at my job?”

“I didn’t say that,” Emily told him.

Kyle laughed, “But you thought it. Believe it or not, I have a bit of a temper.”

“You do not.”

“Yes, I do, but I have very good control over it. Besides, I killed Damon easy enough.”

Emily smiled, “I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“So my turn,” Kyle said, and turned to face her.

“Ok”

“Where are you running off to in 4 weeks?”

Emily chuckled, “Like I can tell you that.”

“You can. As Chief Enforcer, no matter how wimpy, I can’t be questioned,” Kyle said, grinning.

“I didn’t call you wimpy.”

“So where are you going?”

Emily just stared into the fireplace.

“In general… you don’t even have to tell me a state,” Kyle said, watching her. He was uncomfortable with the way she held perfectly still and watched the dead fireplace. Emily was hyper and high-strung, and it was extremely uncharacteristic behavior for her to sit for long periods of time.

“Exavior bought me a place,” Emily said finally.

Kyle raised his eyebrow, “He did?”

Emily nodded, “He said that Chevalier was going to cross the line someday, and that I would need a safe place to go.”

“You do realize the entire Valle faction could know where that place is,” Kyle said.

Emily smiled slightly. Exavior had never actually given her a place, but she knew of one of his houses out in the middle of Louisiana that she planned on taking over now that he wouldn’t be using it. If the heku looked closely at their Valle Coven book, they would find one page missing.

“Do you still love Chevalier?” Kyle asked suddenly, afraid if he waited any longer he would lose the nerve.

Emily sighed, “I wish I knew.”

“He still loves you.”

“I know.”

“So do I,” he whispered.

“I know that, too.”

“The offer still stands, you know,” Kyle said, wondering if she remembered when he once offered to take her away.

Emily nodded, “I won’t do it though.”

“Why not? It was a good offer.”

“Because, for my short life, you would be happy. Then, when I die, you would be alone and factionless. You belong here in the palace, you even out the Council.”

“Even it out?”

“Yes, you are the steady rod in an electric environment.”

Kyle leaned his head back and laughed, “You think way too highly of my control.”

Emily finished her tea and leaned her head back, “I’m so tired.”

“Come on, I’ll carry you to bed,” Kyle said, grinning. He was shocked when she didn’t argue, so he lifted her up carefully, reveling at the feel of her head pressed against his neck. As he laid her down, he caught an odd scent and frowned.

Kyle picked up her wrist and ran his nose along the soft flesh.

“Are you smelling me again or are you about to bite?” Emily asked.

“Smelling you again, there’s an odd scent.”

“Stop smelling me, it’s creepy,” Emily said, and rolled onto her side.

Kyle grinned, “But I like to.”

“Creepy,” she whispered.

Kyle watched until she was asleep and then turned off the lights and stepped out of the room, shutting the door quietly. He slipped into his room and quickly fell into a meditative trance.

“Kyle… Kyle wake up,” Emily said frantically.

Kyle looked at her and frowned, “What’s wrong?”

Emily was looking at the door, “Hurry, come here.”

Kyle jumped up when Emily took off running out of his room in a nightgown, “Em, at least get dressed.”

Emily took the stairs two at a time down to the game room and then disappeared inside. Kyle followed her and she shut the door behind him. He flipped on the lights, but she immediately turned them off and took his hand. She led him to the mirror and with a small turn, they were both thrown into the old bar.

“What’s this all about?” Kyle asked, uneasy at how fearful she looked.

“Damon’s alive,” Emily said, panting.

Kyle relaxed some, “No he’s not. I personally banished him.”

“He’s alive, and last night he was talking to Quinn about me.”

“Emily, I banished him, he’s not alive,” Kyle said, touching her arm. He slipped off his cape and wrapped it around her shoulders.

“You have to believe me. I got up last night to get something to drink, and saw Quinn in the hallway, talking into the shadows. I watched and saw Damon step out. They are going to build a house, here in Council City, and I’ll be locked inside, forever,” Emily explained.

“Neither Chevalier nor I would let that happen. Quinn’s not after you, and Damon’s not alive.”

Emily frowned at him, “You don’t believe me?”

“It’s impossible,” Kyle said. “Now, you can’t go around accusing an Elder of something like that.”

“I’m not accusing, it’s true,” Emily said, and angrily returned to the game room, followed shortly by Kyle.

“Come on, talk to me,” Kyle said, and followed her out of the room.

Emily threw the cape back at him and headed up the stairs.

“Good morning,” Quinn said, smiling from the fifth-floor landing.

Emily gasped and looked up at him as her eyes narrowed, “I know your little secret, and it’s not going to happen.”

Quinn frowned, “Excuse me?”

“Don’t think for one second I wouldn’t ash you,” Emily said, and ran past him into the room.

Kyle sighed, “Elder…”

“What was that? I don’t have to stand for threats,” Quinn said angrily.

“Come to your office please. She can’t see us talking,” Kyle whispered, and walked down to the Elder’s office. Once inside, Quinn sat at his desk.

“Emily said she woke up last night and saw you talking to Damon,” Kyle explained.

Quinn frowned, “Clearly a dream.”

“Yes well, she said you two are building a house here in Council City and plan on locking her up inside.”

“She’s confused, lack of food maybe,” Quinn suggested.

“I don’t know, maybe. She’s getting thinner by the day, and I don’t like it.”

“I saw that. She’s looking emaciated.”

“There’s an odd scent, too. I can’t place it, but it’s somewhat familiar,” Kyle said, thinking.

“Is she pregnant?” Quinn asked.

“No, it’s not an enticing scent.”

“I take it she wouldn’t let me see.”

Kyle shook his head, “Not a chance, not if you’re in a conspiracy with Damon.”

Quinn growled.

“I mean in her eyes, I know you’re not,” Kyle said quickly.

“She’s never made it a secret how much she hates Council City, and how much she dislikes myself and Zohn. Maybe her mind is finding justification for that and it’s coming out in her dreams,” Quinn suggested.

“Maybe, I’ll keep watching though. Tonight, I want to watch her door and see if she even leaves the room.”

Quinn nodded, “Let us know.”

Emily and Kyle talked most of the day and into the night. He was amazed how many questions she had about his species, even though she’d been living with them for so long. When she got tired, she crawled into bed and Kyle laid beside her on top of the covers.

“If I see Damon tonight, I’m going to turn him to ash,” Emily said, watching Kyle.

Kyle nodded, “If you see him, then you should.”

“You still don’t believe me, do you?”

“I’m not taking sides right now,” Kyle said.

Emily grinned, “Very diplomatic of you.”

“If I get you some soup, will you please eat some, just for me?” Kyle asked her.

Emily shrugged, “I’m not hungry. How about some tea?”

“What can I bribe you with to get you to eat something?”

“Nothing,” Emily told him.

“I can stop the coffee and tea.”

Emily frowned, “Don’t, please.”

“Tell you what, eat something tonight, and I won’t stop the coffee, ok?” Kyle knew it was being mean, but she was wasting away in front of him.

“Eat what?” Emily asked skeptically.

“A sandwich, something simple.”

“Then you promise not to stop the coffee?”

Kyle smiled, “I promise.”

“I could threaten to tell the Council you fed off of me in jail if you stop my coffee.” Emily grinned slightly.

Kyle laughed, “They’d be as mad at you as they would be at me.”

Within just a few minutes, Kyle went to the door to get her sandwich. She figured he’d been planning on this and that it was already made when he requested it. He came over and set it down on the bedside table.

Emily picked it up and looked inside, and she smiled slightly and took a bite. The food tasted awful and she had to fight to keep from gagging as she chewed it. She swallowed it dryly and set it down.

“One bite doesn’t count,” Kyle said. He jumped up when Emily dove out of bed and ran for the bathroom.

She came back out a few minutes later, “Keep the coffee, that’s not worth it.”

Kyle sighed, “Could you be pregnant?”

“No,” Emily said, and pulled the covers up. “You should be able to smell that.”

Kyle pulled her wrist up to his nose again and caught the foreign scent.

“Em, I need a favor,” Kyle said.

“What?”

“Just say yes first.”

“No, what do you want?” Emily asked him.

“I want Quinn to come have a smell of your wrist.” He sighed at the look on her face.

“If he comes near me, he’ll regret it.”

“He’s older than I am, he may know this scent,” Kyle explained.

“No”

“What about the doctor then? He may know what it is.”

“No. Good night,” Emily said, and rolled away from him.

Kyle nodded and turned out the lights, and then stepped outside of her room. He waited for her to appear all night, but she seemed to have slept through. He took the pot of coffee from the servant after Silas took Alexis and he went into her room.

Emily was curled up in the corner of her room, crying.

“What’s wrong?” Kyle asked, kneeling down by her.

“It’s growing. It happened again last night, but they have Zohn and the doctor now, too. Damon has them all convinced I’m going to join the Valle, and they are going to stop me,” Emily said, and watched the door fearfully.

“Em, I was outside of your door all night, and you didn’t leave,” Kyle said.

“I did too! I saw them in the hallway. I have to get out of here before they finalize that house,” Emily said, and glanced up at him.

Kyle frowned and turned a light on, “Look at me.”

“No,” Emily said, shutting her eyes.

“I’m not going to try to control you, now come on.”

“You promise?”

Kyle sighed, “I swear, now let me see.”

Emily looked up at him and the green from her eyes was almost gone. Her pupils were dilated enough the color had all but disappeared.

“That’s it, you need to see the doctor,” he said.

“No!” Emily yelled, and grabbed a hold of his collar. “He’s in on it.”

“No one’s in on anything, you didn’t leave your room last night,” he said.

Emily stood up and dressed quickly. Kyle turned around suddenly when she didn’t even go into the bathroom to dress. She slipped on her jeans and a t-shirt, and they hung off of her.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

“I have to get out of here before they finish that house,” Emily said, and grabbed her purse and then ran out of the room.

Kyle ran after her and almost ran into her in the hallway when she stopped.

“You…” Emily said, glaring at Zohn and Quinn. They had been in the middle of a conversation when she came out of her room.

“Good morning,” Zohn said, frowning at the look in her eyes.

“Emily, no!” Kyle yelled when he saw the look on her face. He glanced quickly at Quinn and Zohn and sighed.

“See, they won’t turn to ash. They know,” Emily said to them, seething.

“She… she just tried to turn us to ash?” Zohn asked, shocked.

Kyle whispered quickly to Zohn and Quinn. They listened intently, and Mark arrived for his part.

Mark dove at Kyle and pinned him against the wall as he pretended to fight back. Zohn grabbed Emily from behind, and Quinn grabbed her wrist. She fought against them and Zohn was surprised at how weak she had become.

Emily screamed when Quinn smelled her wrist and then looked into her eyes briefly. He frowned and headed down the stairs as soon as Zohn let go of Emily. Mark released Kyle and Kyle followed Emily into her room.

“See!” Emily screamed at him.

“I know! It’s outrageous, and I’m going to get answers. Stay in here,” Kyle said, and disappeared from her room. Within a few seconds, he had blurred into Quinn’s office where the Elder was waiting with Zohn.

“So?” Kyle asked, sitting down.

“I can’t place it, but it is something I’ve smelled before,” Quinn said.

“I caught a brief glimpse of it. I don’t think I have smelled it before,” Zohn said. “However, it’s definitely there.”

“Zohn and the doctor are in on the plan to kidnap her now,” Kyle told them.

“Did you watch her door?”

“I did, and she didn’t leave all night. I didn’t even hear her get out of bed, but she swears she caught you three talking to Damon,” Kyle said.

“Where is she now?” Zohn asked.

“Probably up in her room drinking coffee. She drinks it constantly now. I had the kitchen switch her to decaffeinated just so she could sleep.”

“We need the doctor to smell her,” Quinn said.

“Yeah we do, but he’s in on the conspiracy. She’s not going to go for that, and if we attack her again, she could run,” Kyle said.

“There are a few illnesses that are easy to detect on a mortal. Cancer, for instance, has a peculiar scent. This is not something from an illness, I’d wager. So it has to be something she’s ingesting or breathing,” Zohn said.

“All she ingests is coffee though,” Kyle said, and then frowned and looked at Quinn.

“Let’s get a sample of her coffee then,” Quinn said.

Kyle called for Mark to blur Emily’s coffee out of her room, and within a few minutes, there was a knock at the door.

“Enter,” Quinn said.

Mark came in with the coffee pot, “She’s not going to be happy about this. She lives on this stuff.”

Kyle opened the pot and smelled deeply, “Damnit.”

He handed it to Quinn, “It’s the coffee.”

Mark frowned, “What is?”

“Have you been able to catch Emily’s scent lately?” Kyle asked.

“No, she won’t get near anyone,” Mark said, and took the pot from Quinn.

“Whatever that scent is, she’s ingesting it with the coffee,” Quinn said.

“Belladonna,” Mark said, and smelled the pot again.

“What?” Kyle asked.

“It’s belladonna,” Mark said, and put the pot on the desk. “I’d bet on it.”

“She’s being poisoned? Right here under our noses?” Zohn asked angrily.

Quinn called for the doctor and smelled the pot again, “He’s right, now I recognize it.”

“Enter,” Quinn said when the doctor knocked.

Kyle handed the doctor the coffee, “Get a whiff of that.”

The doctor smelled it and frowned, “Why would you give her belladonna?”

“When’s the last time you saw Emily?” Kyle asked.

“It’s been months. She doesn’t like me much.” The doctor smiled slightly.

“Go, right now, blur into a corner and get a good look at her,” Kyle said.

The doctor nodded and blurred away. The others waited for him to return, and when he did, they understood the horrified look on his face.

“Has she been ill? There are other medicines besides belladonna,” the doctor said, shaking.

“She hasn’t been ill. We suspect she’s being poisoned,” Kyle said, sighing.

“She’s going to need a hospital. Her pupils are dilated, and her pulse is weak,” he said to them.

“We can’t take her to a hospital. They are going to start asking questions that we can’t answer,” Zohn said. “Can you treat her here?”

“I could if she were cooperative,” the doctor said. “I am not exaggerating when I say that that child is on her deathbed.”

“It’s a hallucinogen right?” Quinn asked.

“Yes”

“So that would cause her to have hallucinations about a conspiracy in the palace?”

“Not really, the hallucinations aren’t that specific.”

“Then what caused the conspiracy theory? She swears she saw me, Zohn, you, and Damon talking in the hallway last night,” Quinn told the doctor.

“Suggestion I would imagine, a heku planted it?”

“Emily can’t be controlled though, she’s always been very resistant,” Kyle said.

“Unless she’s weak,” Zohn said angrily.

Kyle looked around, “Who here knows how to make coffee?”

“I do, what was your plan?” Mark asked.

“We need eyes in the kitchen and the bedroom. We need to know who is putting belladonna in the coffee without letting them know, and without letting Emily drink any more. So bring any coffee here and exchange it. Then we watch tonight and see if we can catch someone controlling her,” Kyle said.

“I’ll take the kitchen,” Quinn said.

“I’ll stay in Emily’s room,” Kyle said.

“I guess I get to make coffee.” Mark grinned.

“I’ll get what I need for her recovery. It’s not going to be easy. I need to know how long she’s been taking it, we may have to detox her,” the doctor said.

***

Kyle talked to Emily again through the evening and as soon as she fell asleep, he slipped into the darkness of the wardrobe with a clear sight of the bed. He sat motionless for hours and watched her sleep. His body tensed when he heard a noise in her room, coming from the window. A figure appeared beside her bed.

“Emily,” he called to her, and her eyes opened slowly. Within seconds, the heku had Emily caught under his control.

“Kyle is with them, Emily… Kyle is helping Damon, too. The house is almost built, you need to run, get away from Council City. Kyle is no longer your friend. He’s in the hallway…” the words of the heku were cut off by Kyle’s hands around his throat.

They fought briefly while Emily fell back to sleep, and suddenly, the heku fell into a pile of ash and Kyle fell to his knees. As soon as he was able to muster enough strength, he scooped the ashes into a leather bag and sat on the bed by Emily.

“Em,” he whispered, and when she looked up at him, he easily caught her eyes and gained control.

“Damon’s dead, there is no house. Quinn, Zohn, and the doctor are your friends, they wouldn’t hurt you.” He continued for almost an hour, hoping to erase whatever brainwashing already happened to her. When she became exhausted from the control, he left her room and went down to Quinn’s office.

Kyle knocked and entered when he was called. A terrified heku sat in a chair with Mark watching over him.

“I got him,” Kyle said, holding up the bag.

“I caught this one putting belladonna in a pot of coffee,” Quinn said.

“I only did it that once, I swear,” the heku said hurriedly.

“He’s lying,” Zohn said calmly.

“No, I’m not! It was just this once,” he said again.

Zohn stood up, “I think he and I have a date.”

The others watched as Zohn hauled the heku away, heading for the interrogation chamber.

“Ok, let’s see what this one has to say,” Quinn said.

Kyle poured the ashes onto the floor and revived him. He screamed in pain as his body reformed. Once he became aware, he looked, wide eyed, at the members of the Council.

“Hey, Genius, have a seat,” Mark said, and pushed him onto the chair.

“I don’t know you,” Kyle said, looking at his face. “We know what you’ve been doing, so now we need an explanation.”

“I just did it this one night, I swear,” he said, gripping the chair.

Kyle sighed, “Not what your coffee making friend said.”

“He lied! He doesn’t know anything.”

“He seemed to know a lot. Funny how the interrogation chamber can bring about someone’s memories.”

“It... it wasn’t my idea, ok?” the heku said. “I had to do what I was told.”

“Told by whom?” Quinn asked.

“If I tell you he’ll kill me.”

“If you don’t tell us, we’ll kill you slower,” Kyle said, and tore his hand from his body.

He began to scream, “Stop stop! I’ll tell you… it was Elder Sotomar.”

“Why are the Valle trying to scare Emily?” Mark asked him.

“To… to get her out of the palace.”

“You’re a brave one aren’t you?” Mark asked, laughing. “Why do they need her out of the palace so badly?”

“They want to rescue the prisoners… that’s all I know, I swear.” His eyes were pleading.

“How long has Emily been given belladonna?”

“Five months,” he said, eyeing them.

Kyle frowned, “She was on the island for part of that time.”

“I know… we were there, too. We knew she’d be back here, and they wanted her to leave and not come back. Leave the palace unprotected,” he said nervously.

“And if she died in the process?” the doctor asked, irritated.

“If she died we were to come back, we’d be heroes,” the heku said proudly.

“When is Chevalier coming back?” the doctor asked.

“He still has about 5 days,” Kyle told him.

“Ok, five months…” the doctor said, his voice full of rage.

“Come on friend… let me show you something,” Mark said, and took the heku from the office.

“What now?” Kyle asked the doctor.

“First we have to try to get nutrition into her and detox her. Her body has become addicted to the belladonna, that’s why she drinks so much of it. The problem is, she’s so weak a detox could kill her.”

“What are our other options? Keep her on belladonna until she gets stronger?” Quinn asked.

“We can’t risk that,” the doctor said, frowning.

“Then what? We just detox and hope she makes it? I don’t like that,” Kyle growled.

“We don’t have an option. We are going to have to restrain her though. I need her to keep the I.V. in, and she’s going to fight us during the detox,” the doctor said.

“I suggest we leave Kyle out of it,” Quinn said.

“What? Why?” Kyle hissed.

“You’re the only one she trusts. Let’s not break that in case we need to use it.”

“If I’m the only one she trusts, then I should be in there with her.”

“I agree with the Elder,” the doctor said. “Let those of us in there that she already doesn’t care for.”

“I want to…” Kyle started, but Quinn interrupted.

“You will stay outside. That is final.”

“Yes, Sir,” Kyle said, and walked out of the office, slamming the door behind him.

“Are you all ready?” Quinn asked the doctor.

“Yes, let’s start. Zohn can join us when he’s done. First we just need to get her in restraints, that’ll be the easy part.”

Quinn grinned slightly, “So you say.”

Emily sat up in bed when she heard the door open. She caught sight of Quinn and the doctor and ran for the window. Quinn grabbed her from behind and she screamed at him, kicking and biting. As he moved her toward the bed, she threw her head forward and slammed it back into his nose, shattering it. He yelled, and dropped her to the floor, so she scrambled to her feet and ran for the door.

“Going somewhere?” Zohn asked, stepping in and shutting the door.

Emily ran at Zohn and rammed into him with her shoulder. His arms wrapped around her waist as he fell back against the wall. He picked her up, avoiding her head butt, and threw her down onto the bed, then used his body to hold her down while he fastened the restraints.

“Let me go! Chev won’t stand for this,” Emily yelled, trying to pull her hands free.

“Are you ok, Elder?” Zohn asked.

Quinn nodded and stood by the bed, “Yes.”

“Please, don’t listen to Damon,” Emily begged.

“Dear, Damon’s dead,” Quinn said, and glanced at the doctor.

Emily’s eyes grew wide when the doctor brought out the supplies for an I.V., “Kyle!”

“Hold her arm,” the doctor told Zohn. He nodded and grabbed a hold of her wrist and shoulder, so she couldn’t move.

“Kyle! Help me,” Emily screamed. “Mark!”

Zohn looked nervously at Emily when she relaxed and stared at him, “We sure she can’t turn us to ash?”

Quinn nodded, “Pretty sure that’s what she’s trying to do right now.”

Emily yelled in frustration and struggled against Zohn, “Let me go!”

The faction doctor taped down the I.V. and strung up a bag of white liquid that began to pour into Emily’s vein.

“What is that?” Zohn asked.

“TPN; calories, nutrients, that sort of thing,” the doctor said, and stepped back. “Now we wait.”

“Get rest, Child.” Quinn told her.

“Go to hell.” She scowled at him and pulled at the restraints.

“Did you get any information out of the chef?” Quinn asked, turning to Zohn.

“Yeah, a little pain and he sang. Orders came down from Sotomar. They started adding belladonna about 5 months ago and have slowly increased it. It wasn’t until 2 weeks ago that they started adding in the nighttime stories,” Zohn explained.

Quinn smiled, “Interesting, is he alive?”

Zohn nodded, “He doesn’t want to be, but he is. I’ve left him for Chevalier.”

“I know what you’re planning, and you can’t get away with it.” Emily glared at them.

Quinn glanced at her and then back to Zohn, “It’s going to be hard to keep her at the palace. She keeps getting attacked.”

“Don’t talk about me like I’m not here!” Emily yelled. “Let me go, now!”

Zohn nodded, “I know, I figure we’ll get through this and deal with her leaving later.”

“Oh, I’m leaving alright,” Emily screamed.

The doctor took Emily’s face and forced her to look at him. He was able to quickly put her to sleep. The three heku visited through the day and into the night as she slept. Any time she woke up, one of them would put her back to sleep. Kyle and Mark sat outside of her door silently, each wanting to go inside to see how it was going. Silas and Alexis were in Kyle’s room as the baby slept.

“Please, I need some coffee,” Emily said softly, no longer pulling at the restraints.

“No, Child. Your coffee has been doctored with a drug. We have to get you off of it,” the doctor explained.

“No it hasn’t, just give me some, please. I have a headache.”

The doctor felt her forehead, “She has a fever, the detox is starting.”

“Don’t touch me,” Emily hissed.

The doctor motioned Zohn and Quinn over to the corner of the room, “This is going to get rough. I’m afraid we may have a problem with Kyle and Mark when the pain starts.”

“If we have to, we’ll send them away,” Quinn told him.

“Shit!” Zohn yelled, and ran for the bed.

Zohn jumped for Emily’s arm just as Quinn turned around. The doctor went to the I.V. and shut it down before it dripped all over the floor. Zohn managed to get the restraints back on Emily’s free arm and then held her down while the I.V. was replaced.

“I hate you,” Emily said, seething.

“I know,” Zohn told her, and stood up. He was overtly aware that she was trying to turn him to ash.

The hours passed slowly as Emily’s pain increased and her fever raged. Her screams filled the palace, pleas for help that made everyone uncomfortable, afraid of what would happen when Chevalier returned. She started having small seizures as the belladonna spiked and then began to dissipate from her system.

“Quinn?” Emily asked weakly.

“Yes, Child?” he asked, and sat on the edge of her bed.

“Leonid wouldn’t do this to me,” she told him.

“Yes, he would have.”

Emily shook her head, “No, he didn’t hate me like you do.”

“I don’t hate you. Your life would be easier if you would see that.”

“You agreed with Damon.”

“Yes, at first I did, but that soon changed.”

“I’m just a Winchester to you, nothing more,” she said, starting to get angry.

Quinn simply smiled at her and stood up. He walked over and looked out the window as night fell on the second day.

Emily’s back arched as she writhed in pain. Her screams were now whispers as she’d lost her voice earlier in the night. Her entire body shook as the belladonna slowly left her system.

Zohn stood up quickly from his chair and frowned, “What’s going on?”

Quinn turned and looked at Emily, “What do you mean?”

The doctor glanced up at Zohn, “Are you ok?”

“You can’t do that,” Zohn said, and started to undo the straps on Emily’s feet.

“Zohn, no!” Quinn yelled, and grabbed his hand. “Don’t let her go.”

“I won’t stand for this! Why are you doing this to her?” Zohn was angry.

Quinn frowned, “You don’t know why we’re here?”

“No… and I’m sure Chevalier won’t be happy either, let her go,” Zohn growled.

“The belladonna, we have to get it out of her system,” the doctor said, watching Zohn curiously.

“Who’s been giving her belladonna?” Zohn asked, turning angrily to the doctor.

“Mark,” Quinn said, watching Zohn.

“Yes, Elder?” Mark asked, avoiding looking at Emily.

“Get Zohn out of here and bring a guard in here to help us,” Quinn said.

Mark took Zohn’s arm.

“You’re letting them do this to her? It’s despicable what you’re doing, and I won’t be a part of it,” Zohn said, and walked out with Mark.

Several seconds later, Mark came back in, “I’ll help.”

Quinn nodded, “How is Zohn?”

“He has no idea what’s going on,” Mark said, frowning.

“Mark! Help me, please,” Emily begged. “You’re my friend. You can’t let them do this.”

Mark sighed and sat down on the bed. He put a cool rag on her forehead, “It’s for the best, trust me.”

“It hurts,” Emily whispered.

Mark nodded and rubbed her wrist where it was red from her pulling against the restraints.

As night came on the third day, Emily fell to the bed, her body was exhausted from fighting. She had some color back in her face, and her pulse was stronger. Mark stood up from the side of her bed when Zohn entered.

“I… I remember now, I’m sorry,” Zohn said, and shut the door.

“What happened?” Quinn asked him.

“I don’t know, all of a sudden I forgot why we were here. A few minutes ago it all came back.”

“Odd,” Quinn said, and turned back to the window.

“What do we do when she gets enough strength back to ash us?” Mark asked.

“I guess we hope by then she’s calmed down,” the doctor told him, shrugging.

“Stop!” Emily screamed, her back arched and her eyes had rolled back in her head.

Mark sat down on the bed and touched her arm, “It’s ok, we’re here to help you.”

Emily relaxed on the bed and glared at him.

Mark grinned, “Can’t ash yet, can you?”

She screamed at him furiously.

“What in the hell are you doing?” Quinn yelled, and blurred to Emily. He began to unfasten the strap on her wrist.

“Stop, Elder!” Mark said, and put his hand out to hold Emily’s loose wrist.

“Get him out of here,” the doctor yelled, and helped restrain her again as Zohn pulled Quinn out of the room.

Zohn came back in as Mark was putting the cool rag back on Emily’s forehead. She seemed to be asleep again.

“He can’t remember,” Zohn told them and shut the door. “He’s ordered us all out of here.”

“That means we have to leave,” Mark said, and glanced at the doctor.

“No, Maleth overrode the order. As long as it’s a tie-vote, we stay,” Zohn explained. “If he does what I did, he’ll remember in a few hours.”

“I just hope it’s a talent she can remember when she’s well,” Mark said, watching her sleep.

“What do you mean?” Zohn asked.

“Her father, the Ancient, could remove memories. I suspect she’s inherited some of that.”

Zohn nodded, “That would explain it. I personally hope she doesn’t acquire that ability.”

Mark grinned, “She makes you nervous.”

“Doesn’t she you?”

“No,” Mark said calmly.

“She could destroy everyone in the palace in a wink if she felt like it,” Zohn reminded him.

“Yes, she could. Yet, she never has.”

“It’s like giving a three-year-old a gun.”

Mark laughed, “Except she has control and loves the heku.”

“For now.”

“You’re just nervous because she distrusts you.”

“Distrust? Despise more like, unwarranted I assure you.” Zohn seemed a little insulted.

Mark grinned, “Unwarranted? You interrogated her in Paris.”

“That is my job.”

“I’m just saying she has her reasons.”

Zohn turned to Mark, “You are too wrapped around her little finger to see how dangerous she can be.”

“Oh, I assure you, that’s never left my mind. I’ve seen her ash a heku without even pausing to think. I do admit to being wrapped around her finger though. She can be quite charming when she wants to be.”

“A wolf in sheep’s clothing,” Zohn said, and looked back down at her.

“If you gave her half a chance, you would be too. She’s fascinating and intriguing.”

“I doubt that, she’s more of a ward. Something we are required to keep happy so we keep our lives.”

Mark nodded, “Then you see, she is right about you.”

“Mark?” Emily whispered.

He looked down at her.

“Please, I need something to drink.”

Mark glanced at the doctor, and he ordered some orange juice.

“We’re getting you something, can you eat?” Mark asked.

Emily shook her head.

Mark released the restraints on her arms and held both of her wrists. She sat up as the doctor held the cup for her and let her drink. When she was done, she leaned against Mark.

“Please don’t put those back on. I won’t take out the I.V., I promise,” she begged.

“I’ll leave you out for a few minutes. If you fight me, you’ll have to go back,” he told her, shocked at how she nuzzled her head against his chest.

Mark felt her body relax and her breathing slow as she fell asleep. The doctor took the opportunity to give her a quick checkup and then Mark returned her to the restraints.

“I’m sorry,” Quinn said, coming in and shutting the door.

Zohn whispered, “We’re thinking Emily has inherited some things from the Ancient.”

Quinn nodded, “That’s what Kyle and I were just discussing.”

The heku jumped when Emily suddenly screamed. Her back arched and she pulled against the restraints, trying to free herself.

“Em, calm down before you hurt yourself,” Mark said to her softly.

“Don’t do this, it hurts!” Emily screamed.

Her bedroom door shattered with a violent crash, and a fight erupted in the hallway. Zohn and Quinn blurred out while Mark stayed with Emily on her bed. He watched as the fight ensued and then gasped when Chevalier appeared in the doorway.

“What the hell are you doing!?” Chevalier asked, walking into the room and glaring at Mark.

“Help me!” Emily screamed.

Mark stood up as the Elder crouched, his hands balled into fists. He could see Zohn and Quinn in the hallway, slowly getting to their feet.

“Listen to me, Elder. Before you let her go, just hear me out,” Mark said, crouching slightly. Zohn and Quinn appeared at his side and crouched, blocking Chevalier from Emily.

“You have 5 seconds,” Chevalier said, taking a menacing step towards them.

As quickly as he could, Mark explained about the belladonna and the nightly mind controls. He was telling Chevalier about Emily’s treatment when she screamed and began to seize. Kyle limped into the room just as her body relaxed and she fell asleep.

Chevalier glanced at Kyle, “How long was she poisoned?”

“Five months,” Kyle said, and leaned against the wall. His leg was still healing from the fight he had with Chevalier.

“She was on the island for part of that.”

“They followed her.”

“Two months in the farmhouse?”

Kyle nodded, “It was five months’ worth. I started to smell it a few weeks ago, and then it got stronger over the last week. They were upping the dose slowly over time and then added the nightly conspiracy stories.”

“Where are they?” Chevalier asked furiously.

“In the prison,” Quinn said. “There’s more.”

“What?” Chevalier growled.

“We… keep losing our memory. We regain it after a few hours, but both Zohn and I have lost it once,” Quinn said.

“Why do I care?” he hissed.

“We think Emily has some of her father’s abilities, probably dormant until this incident.”

Chevalier stood up slowly and frowned, “His ability to wipe the mind?”

Quinn nodded, “That’s the only explanation.”

Chevalier sat on the edge of the bed, “How much longer will this go on?”

The doctor shrugged, “A couple more days I guess.”

“Let me go, please, Chev,” Emily asked, and looked up at him.

Chevalier nodded and untied one of her ankles.

“Chevalier, no,” Quinn said sternly.

“I’ll hold her,” he said, and unfastened the rest of the restraints. He pulled her onto his lap and held her wrists.

“Take me away from here,” Emily whispered, and laid her head on his shoulder.

“When you feel better I will, I promise,” Chevalier said.

“Damon’s alive.”

Chevalier nodded.

“Quinn and Zohn are going to lock me up in a house.”

“I won’t let them, Em,” he promised.

“It hurts.”

Chevalier nodded and kissed her forehead, “Everyone out.”

“We can’t leave you alone,” Quinn said.

“Fine, then Kyle can stay. I need his help anyway,” Chevalier said sternly.

As soon as the heku left the room, Kyle walked over to the bed.

“I need you to erase what they did to her mind,” Chevalier said, looking up at Kyle. “I’ll hold her. It’ll be easier if she’s relaxed.”

Kyle nodded, “I tried once, all I seemed to erase was what had just been told to her.”

“Try again.”

Kyle sat on the bed beside Emily and called her name softly. She looked up at him and almost immediately fell under his control. His soft rhythmic voice sounded through the room like a cadence as he slowly erased what had been planted by the heku. He continued for three hours as she was transfixed on his eyes, unable to move or look away.

“Sleep now,” Kyle said finally, and she shut her eyes and fell into a deep sleep in Chevalier’s arms.

“Thank you,”

“I hope it worked.”

Kyle reached out and gently touched the blisters on her ankles from the restraints. He touched the back of his hand to her foot and got up to get a blanket.

Chevalier looked down at her emaciated form, “The worst part… is that I watched this happen and didn’t know.”

“None of us knew,” Kyle said as he sat back down. “We all knew she was getting thinner, but she doesn’t eat when she’s stressed, I thought it was the trial.”

“They were poisoning her as we watched, and even in my own coven.” His words were seething.

Kyle nodded, “I sent word for Gordon, to find out more.”

“No wonder she hates it here. She gets attacked more in this palace than anywhere else. Surrounded by heku under my control, and we keep getting tricked.”

“I’m hoping things will be better when she feels well. Maybe when she can see clearly again, she’ll realize this is where she belongs,” Kyle said softly.

Emily slept through the night in Chevalier’s arms. The doctor came in occasionally to adjust her I.V. or replace the bag, but otherwise no one bothered them. Kyle sat silently by the fire, giving them as much privacy as he could but still making sure Chevalier didn’t let her go.

“Let me go,” Emily yelled suddenly, and began to pull at Chevalier’s hands.

“No,” he said, and trapped her legs under his.

Emily tried to bite him, and Kyle appeared and held her feet so the Elder could reposition away from her mouth.

“I hate you,” Emily glared at Kyle.

“I know,” he said softly.

“Chev, you can’t do this, let me go,” she screamed.

“I can’t let you go.”

“If you love me, you’ll let me go!”

Chevalier shook his head, “I do, but no.”

“You’ve never loved me… you knew from the second you kidnapped me to Colorado that all you wanted was my abilities and to pop out some new faction members,” Emily growled.

“Em…” Chevalier sighed.

“No, I’m not going to be used anymore. You’re no better than Keith, using me as a punching bag. As soon as I get free... and I will get free… I’m so gone,” Emily said, and struggled to get free.

“I don’t think you believe that.”

“You have no idea what I believe. You abandon me and Alex for two months, and then for another week. You let people do whatever they want to me. If you cared one bit about me, you wouldn’t keep letting things happen to me.” Emily tried to bite his hand, but he pulled back away from her a bit, still holding her wrists.

“Chevalier, maybe you better step out,” Quinn said from the door.

“Yeah, go run off,” Emily hissed.

“I’m not leaving,” Chevalier growled.

“Encala, that’s what you all remind me of,” Emily yelled, and fell silent after Kyle locked her eyes for a moment.

“Thanks,” Chevalier said, and laid Emily down on the bed.

“She doesn’t believe any of that. We can’t listen to what she’s saying,” the doctor said, adjusting the flow of her I.V.

“I don’t understand why I didn’t know she was in trouble,” Chevalier said, sitting in a chair by the bed.

“None of us did,” Kyle said.

“No, I mean emotions, feelings. I should have known she was tied up to a bed, don’t you think?”

“You got nothing?”

“I still don’t.”

“Probably because the emotions and feelings she’s having aren’t her own, the drug has taken over,” the doctor said. “I see improvements though, it won’t be long.”

“I want to know how we’re going to protect her in the future. She’s right, she keeps getting attacked right under our care,” Chevalier said, looking at Quinn.

“I don’t know yet. We’ll come up with something.”

Chevalier leaned back and watched Emily sleep. He touched her foot softly. Contact with her while she slept usually provided glimpses, even full images of her dreams, but he got nothing from her. Mark was holding her I.V., so Chevalier was able to sit back and relax and watch her sleep.

“Chev?” Emily whispered.

“I’m here, Em,” he said, sitting on the bed.

“Make everyone leave,” she whispered. Her voice was hoarse from the screaming.

“Go,” he said, and wrapped his hand around her arm where her I.V. was so Mark could leave. The rest of the heku all stepped out.

“Did you need something?” he asked, touching her face lightly.

“No,” she said, and pulled the covers up.

“Then why did we ask them to leave?”

“They were staring.”

“Yes, they were.”

Emily’s body began to shake, and she pulled herself into a ball.

“Em?” Chevalier whispered.

“It hurts,” she said, her voice tense and strained.

Chevalier laid by her side and held her as her body trembled. She fell silent after a few hours and slept. The doctor came in and changed out her I.V., then left quietly. He wanted to listen to her heart, but Chevalier refused to let anyone touch her.

Just as the sun began to shine through the cracks in the curtains, Emily began to wake up. She reached out and tried to pull the I.V. tubing, but Chevalier took her hand.

“Take it out,” she whispered.

“No,” Chevalier whispered, and kissed her hand.

“I’m thirsty.” Emily sat up slowly and looked around the empty room.

Chevalier called for some orange juice, still holding tightly to her arm. Emily didn’t even see the servant drop it off. It looked to her like it just appeared in his hand. He gave it to her and she drank it quickly.

“More?” he asked, setting the glass down on the table.

“No,” Emily said, and looked up at the I.V. “What is that?”

“Nutrition”

Emily laid back down and rolled onto her side to look at Chevalier, “Where did you go?”

“I needed to take care of a coven in Iowa.”

“Did you kill all of them?” She studied his face.

Chevalier nodded, “Yes.”

“When can I go back to the island?”

“What if I told you that I need you here for a while?” Chevalier asked.

Emily frowned, “Do you or do you just not want me to go?”

“I need you here.”

“I’m confused about… some things.”

“What things? Maybe I can help.”

“Is Damon dead?” she asked softly.

“Yes”

“Are Quinn and Zohn building a house for me in the city?”

“No”

“I saw them though.” Emily frowned, vividly remembering the images, “Now, I’m not so sure.”

“It was all a trick. That’s why you were slipped belladonna, to weaken you so they could control your mind and feed stories to you.”

“Who?”

“We think it was the Valle,” Chevalier said.

“They aren’t going to leave me alone, are they?”

Chevalier shook his head, “Probably not.”

“I could go coven to coven and wipe them out completely,” Emily said, still whispering.

“Yes, you could, but I’d rather you not.”

Emily gasped and her eyes grew wide as she looked over Chevalier’s shoulder. He turned and saw a strange heku standing in the room with a tray. He stood suddenly, still managing to hold onto Emily’s arm.

“Who said you could come in here?” Chevalier growled.

“I have food for the Lady,” he said, bowing.

“That doesn’t answer my question. Who said you could come in here?”

“The Chief Enforcer did,” the heku said, looking nervously at Emily.

“Kyle?” Chevalier asked. It was a few minutes before Kyle walked in through the shattered door.

“Yes, Elder?” Kyle asked, and then glanced at the heku. “Who the hell are you?”

“He said you told him he could come in here uninvited,” Chevalier said, his hand tightening on Emily’s arm.

“Chev, that hurts,” Emily whispered, still watching the heku with the tray.

Kyle raised an eyebrow, “I did, eh?”

“Bring that tray to me,” Chevalier said, and the heku slowly approached him with the tray.

Kyle stepped closer to them, standing behind the heku.

“Lift the lid,” Chevalier said, and watched the heku pull the lid off of a pile of steaming pancakes, drenched in butter and syrup. “Kyle?”

Kyle bent down and smelled the pancakes and then stood up quickly, “Belladonna.”

The heku dropped the tray and tried to run, but Kyle had him in a choke hold.

“Don’t kill me! I had to do it,” the heku yelled, and put his hands up pleadingly.

“Who told you to do it?” Kyle asked, tightening his grip.

“I don’t know! He threatened to kill me if I didn’t bring this to the Lady.”

“Who did?”

“Just a heku, I don’t know him, please don’t hurt me.”

“Take him to Zohn,” Chevalier growled.

Kyle nodded and pulled the heku roughly from the room.

Mark and Quinn blurred into the room, “We heard.”

“Just walked right in here,” Chevalier hissed.

Emily was watching a heku clean the floor, “Damn, those smelled really good.”

Chevalier turned to her, “You would eat pancakes?”

Emily nodded, and tried to pull his hand off of her arm, “You’re holding too tightly.”

“I’m not letting go,” he said, and turned to Mark.

“One stack of pancakes coming up. I’ll make them myself,” Mark said, and disappeared.

“I say we re-staff the entire palace,” Quinn said, sitting down in a chair by the bed. “We let everyone go, absolutely everyone, and rehire from trusted sources.”

“We may have to if no one can be trusted. This had to take a lot of time to orchestrate,” Chevalier said, and then turned to Emily. “Stop it.”

Emily stopped pulling at his hand and looked up at the I.V.

“We can set a time limit, had to have lived in Council City for at least… say… fifty years,” Quinn suggested.

“Can we find enough help though?” Chevalier asked.

“No, probably not.”

“Can we just let anyone go from the palace that has worked here for less than fifty years?”

Quinn nodded, “Yes, that’d leave us less to bring in.”

Quinn blurred around the bed and caught Emily’s other hand as she tried to get to the I.V. bag.

“Em, leave it in.” Chevalier frowned.

Emily stared at Quinn’s hand on hers. She couldn’t look away. It was hard to breathe with him this close, and her heart threatened to pound out of her chest. He frowned and let go of her arm, and then moved the I.V. bag higher.

“I’m sorry,” Quinn said, and stepped further away from her.

Emily leaned her head against Chevalier’s chest while they waited silently for Mark. He came in finally, covered in flour with syrup on his shirt.

“Did the kitchen attack you?” Chevalier chuckled.

“Ha-ha, it’s not as easy as it looks,” Mark said, and set the pancakes down on the table.

“I changed my mind,” Emily told them, looking at the pancakes.

Mark glanced at them, “They aren’t that bad.”

“Take out my I.V. and I’ll eat,” Emily said. The smell of the pancakes made her stomach growl.

Chevalier grinned, “No, eat first and then we’ll take it out.”

“I don’t trust you,” she told them.

“Yeah, well I don’t trust you,” Chevalier said, amused.

“Let me go.”

“No, now calm down.”

Emily looked at the plate of pancakes, and how the syrup dripped from the side, and the butter melted slowly on top. She turned and glared at Chevalier.

He cringed and then smiled, “Stop trying to ash me and go eat.”

“Let… me… go,” Emily said through gritted teeth.

Chevalier glanced at Quinn and Mark when they were called to the conference room. They called for the doctor to take Chevalier’s place, and he placed his hand over Emily’s I.V. so Chevalier could leave and the rest left for the meeting.

“Were you going to eat?” the doctor asked, looking at the pancakes.

“No, I feel dizzy,” Emily said, and collapsed back onto the bed.

“Emily?” the doctor asked, and pulled her eyelids up to see her eyes. When he moved away from her, he saw her hand holding the I.V. and he gasped.

“Here, this is yours,” Emily said, and handed it to him.

“You… you… oh my God,” the doctor said.

“I forgot to grab…” Mark froze and looked at the I.V. in the doctor’s hand, “Well that didn’t take long.”

“She tricked me!” the doctor said, still shocked.

Mark laughed and grabbed a notebook and then blurred down to the council chambers. He walked in, still chuckling, “She got the I.V. out.”

“Already? I was sure it would take her at least 10 minutes,” Chevalier said, shaking his head.

“We called this meeting to go over the palace staffing,” Kyle said sternly. Chevalier knew he was taking this attack personally.

“We’ve gone through staffing, and if we get rid of anyone who’s been in Council City for less than 50 years, we will need to find 12 in laundry, two cooks, sixteen housekeepers, and almost twenty guards,” Quinn said.

“Damn, we really have that many new ones?” Zohn asked.

“Yes, hard to believe, but we do,” Quinn said.

“I’m mostly worried about the guards,” Chevalier said. “They are our first defense, yet she’s been attacked by them.”

“Even without Emily in the picture, we still can’t have disobedient guards on staff. We discussed briefly, with Mark, appointing the Cavalry to the palace. They are the elite… but we decided it is their place to keep the city safe,” Quinn explained.

“So what did you come up with?” Chevalier asked.

“I suggested we stick with the 50-year rule, but then I think we need to set up a… what shall we call it… trap?” Quinn asked Kyle.

“Sort of. What we want to do is hold a kind of interview with the guards and give them some alone time with Emily, completely controlled of course,” Kyle said, and glanced at Chevalier before continuing. “We can weed out the mortal haters that way.”

Chevalier sighed, “That could turn bad, quickly.”

“We’d be very close, I swear, and watching every move. My days in prison gave me the idea. Every time someone visited, we were watched from one-way mirrors,” Kyle said, grinning slightly.

“And the rest of the staff?” Zohn asked.

“We think if the guards are doing their job, the others won’t matter as much. As long as we have veteran city dwellers and… now… a butler for Emily, the same person delivering her meals after checking them, without her knowing of course,” Kyle said.

Chevalier nodded.

“What do we do about the Valle?” Zohn asked the Council.

“Right now, nothing. We still have to handle Ingram and Selhman,” Quinn said. “Once they are taken care of, the Valle may back off.”

The Council turned around when the back door opened.

“Em? What’s wrong?” Chevalier asked when Emily entered. She eyed the Council suspiciously and walked to Chevalier, still weak and unsteady on her legs. She sat down on his lap and glanced again at the Council.

Emily put her hand up and whispered into Chevalier’s ear, “I’m hearing things in the room.”

Chevalier sighed, “Like what?”

Emily shushed him and whispered, “I was in the shower and I heard mad voices and a loud crash.”

“Where did the doctor go?”

Emily shrugged, “He wasn’t there when I got out.”

“So you’re alone up there?”

Emily nodded.

“The doctor wouldn’t just leave her alone,” Zohn said.

Emily turned and glared at him.

“Doctor?” Quinn called out.

“We’ll find him. I’m sure he was coming right back,” Chevalier said. Emily leaned against his chest.

“Kyle, Mark, find him,” Quinn said when the doctor didn’t come. Kyle hurdled the desk and they left in a blur.

“What did the mad voices say?” Zohn asked Emily, ignoring how she looked at him.

“It wasn’t in English,” she said to Chevalier. He had to fight to keep from grinning. He held her while they waited for the doctor.

Emily looked up when an alarm sounded. The council members blurred from the room, except for the Elders.

“What’s that?” Emily asked.

“Palace has gone into lockdown,” Maleth said, sighing.

“What? Why?” Emily asked.

“We will know soon enough. When everyone’s in general quarters, we will be notified,” Quinn told her.

“So you just sit here?”

“That is our job as Elders, to wait for information so we can make a decision,” Maleth said, smiling at Emily reassuringly.

Emily crawled out of Chevalier’s lap and sat on the chair of a council member she didn’t even know. She drew her knees up and wrapped her arms around them and waited while the Elders sat silently. She started to get irritated at how patiently they sat, not moving, not making a sound. She was dying to know what was going on.

After what seemed like an eternity to Emily, Kyle and Zohn came back into the room.

“The doctor is dead,” Zohn said coldly.

Kyle glared at him and then to the Elders, “We found him on the back stairway.”

“Is he really dead?” Emily asked, panicked.

“You’re the last one that saw him, what was he doing?” Zohn asked her.

Emily frowned, “Am I getting interrogated?”

“Just answer the question,” Zohn said, his voice quiet, yet menacing.

Emily gasped and looked at Kyle.

“Zohn!” Kyle snapped.

“He’s sorry, Dear,” Maleth said turning to Emily. “We’d just like to try to figure this out. You said you were in the shower when you heard voices and a crash?”

Emily nodded, still staring at Zohn.

“You said they were speaking in another language?”

Emily nodded again, “Something novus… guber something.”

“What was happening before your shower?” Maleth asked softly.

“We were arguing.”

“You and the doctor?”

“Yes”

“About what?”

Emily finally turned to Maleth, “He was mad that I got my I.V. out, and that I could only eat a few bites.”

“Did he leave the room?”

“No, he said he would have, but he was afraid to leave me alone.”

“Ok”

“So I told him I didn’t need him and went in to take a shower.”

“Suggest we evacuate the Elders,” Kyle said.

Zohn nodded, “Agreed.”

“It’ll be easier for the Council to come to a conclusion about this, and what happened to Emily, if we don’t have to worry about the safety of the Elders,” Kyle said.

Maleth nodded, “He is right.”

“We leave in 20 minutes,” Quinn said.

The Elders stood up and turned to Emily.

“What?” she asked.

“That means you, too,” Chevalier chuckled.

“No, I’m not leaving. If there’s an attack, I can protect the palace,” Emily said.

“No, you can’t, you haven’t been able to ash,” Chevalier reminded her.

Emily turned to Zohn and looked at him as he took a nervous step back.

“Stop, Em, you’re coming.” Chevalier laughed and took her arm. “Let’s go.”

“I don’t want to leave,” Emily said as he led her out of the room.

Emily’s protests didn’t help, and she didn’t have the strength to fight back, so she packed hesitantly and then followed Chevalier, Allen, and Alexis out to the helicopters. Kyle lifted her into Equites 1, and they were soon flying out over the palace with Quinn as the pilot. The city looked dead. Nothing was moving, and the houses and stores were all shut up tightly.

Chapter 24 - Alaska

Emily slept most of the way. She woke up only the few times they had to stop for fuel. Soon, she saw the dark colors of the mountains turn to white as far as she could see in any direction. Chevalier handed her a warm parka, and she slipped it on while he wrapped Alexis up in a down blanket. Quinn set the helicopter down on top of a large mansion out in the rough wintery tundra.

“Where is this?” Emily asked when Maleth helped her out of the helicopter.

“It’s Quinn’s house,” he said, and walked over to open the door.

“Isn’t he coming in?” Quinn hadn’t moved from the pilot’s seat.

“He’s going to get supplies. Come in before you freeze to death,” Chevalier said, and walked inside with Alexis. Allen watched the helicopter take off and then went inside.

Emily walked in and blew warm air into her hands. Even inside the house she could see her breath. Maleth went over to a fireplace and started a fire easily. She sat down on the floor with Alexis and tried to get warm. The mansion was cold and sparsely decorated.

“How long do we stay here?” she asked.

“Just until the Council calls and says it’s safe for our return,” Maleth explained, and sat down on a beautiful overstuffed white couch.

The whole mansion seemed to shake when the helicopter landed on the roof several hours later. When the engines died, the house grew eerily quiet. Maleth and Chevalier went up the stairs to help with the supplies as Allen read on the couch, and Emily and Alexis stayed warm by the fire.

“Come, I’ll show you to your room,” Quinn said to Emily. She stood up and took Alexis’ hand, and followed Quinn to a stark white bedroom. The bed looked comfortable, but the decorations all looked untouchable and highly breakable.

Several times, Alexis headed to a large vase and Emily had to lead her away. The fire in the room was roaring, and it was warm enough they could finally take off their coats. Emily thought for a moment, and then took out her cell phone and dialed.

“Em? What’s wrong?” Kyle asked frantically.

“Find anything yet?” she asked.

Kyle laughed, “Do the Elders know you called?”

“No, I don’t need their permission to call you.” She sounded irritated.

“Yes you do. You’re gone for your protection, and I can’t know where you are.”

“I can’t tell you. I have no idea where I am.”

Emily could tell that Kyle was amused, “No, we haven’t found any leads, but we will.”

“Emily! Who are you talking to?” Quinn yelled from behind her.

Emily shut the phone quickly.

“Who was it?” Quinn asked angrily.

“I just called Kyle,” Emily said, and stood up when Quinn took the phone from her. “Give it back.”

“No, you apparently have no idea the regulations in place for our safety, so until you decide to learn them and comply, I keep it,” Quinn said, and stormed out of the room.

Emily slammed the door behind him.

“Phone?” Alexis asked.

“Mean ol’ Quinn took it,” Emily said, and sat down by Alexis on the floor.

Emily heard the helicopter and ran out into the living room. The only one she saw was Allen.

“Where’d they go?” she asked him.

Allen looked up from his book, “They went to feed.”

“All of them?”

“Yeah, they’ll bring me back some.”

Emily yelled, frustrated, and started going through everything to find a phone.

“Are you looking for something?” Allen asked, watching her.

“Yes, I want a phone.”

“They took their phones. Dad said you’d try to find them.”

Emily went into the kitchen and made Alexis a sandwich. Alexis climbed into a chair and ate while Emily watched her.

“Are you going to eat?” Allen asked from the doorway.

Emily frowned, “I’m the Mom here.”

Allen shrugged, “Dad asked me to tell him if you eat.”

“Yeah, well, you aren’t my warden, so go back to your book.”

Allen sighed, “I’m sorry, ok. I only asked because Dad told me to.”

Emily nodded, “I know, I’m sorry too.”

Allen sat down at the table, “Are you feeling better?”

“Yeah”

“I was worried about you,” Allen said, and looked down at the table uncomfortably.

Emily smiled, “Thanks.”

“I found some games… do you want to play?”

Emily felt her heart leap. Allen hadn’t shown any interest in her in almost two years. She nodded and Allen ran off to get a game.

He came back just as Emily was getting Alexis a glass of milk, “Want some?”

“Milk, Mom? No,” he said, and set out the scrabble game and a dictionary.

“So… you used to like food,” Emily said, and sat down.

“Yeah well, I guess I can eat it if I have to… but I prefer… you know,” Allen said. It was obvious talking to her about drinking blood was awkward.

“You go first.” Emily smiled and they started a game of scrabble. They played for hours before the rattling of the windows signaled the helicopter was back.

“Permutation isn’t a word.” Emily laughed and grabbed the dictionary.

“It is too, it means a rearrangement of the elements of an ordered list,” Allen said, and wrote down his score.

“How do you know that? I’m 100 years older than you are and I didn’t know that,” Emily said, and put the dictionary down.

“Not quite 100, Dear,” Chevalier said, and kissed her on the head.

“I think he’s cheating,” Emily joked.

“I don’t cheat,” Allen said in a way too old for his age.

“Allen,” Chevalier said, and motioned him into the kitchen.

“Call anyone?” Maleth asked, smiling as he walked past her.

“As a matter of fact, I did. Bet you didn’t know I kept an extra cell phone for emergencies. By the way, Sotomar wants to come for dinner,” Emily said, putting away the scrabble game.

“Very funny,” Quinn said smugly, and disappeared up the stairs.

“It’s ok. I told them it was my fault. I forgot to tell you about the no phone call rule,” Chevalier said, amused.

“He didn’t have to rip it out of my hands,” Emily said, and turned to Chevalier.

“Allen said you didn’t eat,” Chevalier said.

“Stop putting my son in charge of me. It’s not fair to him,” she said.

“So you didn’t eat to prove a point?”

“No, I didn’t eat because I’m not hungry.”

“Em…”

“Stop it, ok?” Emily said, and then stood up and walked out.

“Yeah, stop.” Alexis grinned and walked off after Emily.

“Hey, Alex,” Chevalier called after her. She came back in and smiled up at him, “Tell Mommy to eat.”

Alexis nodded and ran off, “Mommy, eat!”

“Chev!” Emily screamed, and slammed the bedroom door. She became furious when she could hear him laugh.

Emily dressed Alexis in her pajamas and then stripped down to just a t-shirt and climbed into bed. She watched out the window as it began to snow and eventually fell off to sleep.

“Moooomy?” Alexis said, and poked Emily on the cheek.

Emily opened her eyes and stretched. The clock said 9am, but the house was quiet. Alexis ran out of the room in her pajamas and Emily followed after throwing on a robe.

She poured a bowl of cereal for Alexis and then went out to look for the others.

“Chev?” she called.

“Stop yelling, I’m right here,” Chevalier said, and walked down the stairs.

“Are you ok?” she asked. His color looked off and he was scowling.

“None of your damn business,” he said, and knocked against her as he passed, sending her into the wall.

Emily rubbed her elbow and walked after him, “What’s your problem?”

“You are... damn mortals won’t stop talking,” he yelled, and sat down with a book.

Emily glared at him and went back into the kitchen. She started up a pot of coffee and sat down by Alexis.

“What is that horrible smell?” Maleth asked, and walked into the kitchen. “Do you have to make the entire house smell?”

Emily frowned, “It’s just coffee.”

“Yeah, well, do us all a favor and dump it out,” Maleth growled. He grabbed the pot and slammed it into the sink, shattering glass around the kitchen, and then smashed the coffee maker. He walked out angrily.

Emily picked Alexis up and walked out into the living room, away from the shards of glass. She took her up into their bedroom and shut the door. Alexis started playing with a doll on the floor while Emily looked out the window at the snow.

“Can you not be quieter?” she heard Chevalier yell from outside of the door.

Emily looked at the door, unsure if he was even talking to her.

Chevalier flung open the bedroom door, “Did you hear me? Be quiet.”

Emily could feel her temper rising, “We are trying to be quiet.”

“Well, try harder,” he said, and slammed the door.

Emily picked Alexis up again and opened the door. She listened for a moment and heard Quinn and Chevalier arguing in the living room on the 1st floor.

“I don’t care whose house this is, the chair doesn’t belong by the window,” Chevalier growled.

“That’s what you know! Stop moving my furniture,” Quinn yelled.

Emily took Alexis and ran down the stairs, behind the fighting Elders, and headed down the back stairs. She was looking for a place far away from the moody heku. She emerged in the cold basement. The floors and walls were all cement and the corridor had doors along it. She opened what doors she could, but most of the rooms were empty. One was larger and had cells along the wall with pristinely clean bars.

At the end of the corridor, Emily found a room with a couch and carpeted floors. She sat Alexis down and started up the fire, then watched Alexis play while listening carefully for the sound of approaching footsteps.

“Mommy?” Alexis asked, breaking Emily out of her listening trance.

“Yes, Baby?”

“I’m hungry,” she said, and began to fake feed her dolls.

Emily sighed, “Ok, you stay here. Don’t move. I’ll bring you something.”

Alexis nodded and went back to her toys.

Emily stood up and opened the door. When she didn’t hear anyone, she walked as quickly as she could up the stairs. The house seemed eerily quiet. No one was in the living room, so she ran into the kitchen and pulled out the ingredients for a grilled cheese sandwich. She shivered in the cold, and noticed that she could see her breath again, even with all of the fireplaces in the mansion being lit.

Emily put the sandwich on a plate with some chips and stepped back out into the living room. She felt a cold draft coming from down the hallway, so she set the plate down and followed it. The doorway out into the snowy yard was open. She sighed and went to shut it.

“Chev?” she gasped, when she saw four bodies lying face down in the snow covered yard.

Emily slipped on some boots that were by the door and walked out toward them. She first knelt down by Allen and turned him over, “Allen?”

His eyes were open, but fixed, and his breathing was shallow. He had dried blood around his mouth, and the snow underneath him was stained red. Emily picked him up and carried him inside. She laid him down on the couch and threw a blanket over him.

Running as fast as she could, she grabbed Alexis from the basement and took her up by the living room fire.

“Allen, sick?” she asked, looking at her brother.

“Listen to me Alex, stay here,” Emily said sternly.

Emily went back out into the snow and tried to turn Chevalier over, but he was too heavy, “Chev, come on, wake up.”

She tried each of the other Elders, but couldn’t turn them over, and the crimson color was seeping out from underneath them. She was able to see that each of them was breathing, barely, and they were ice cold.

Emily ran back inside and into the garage. She looked around for anything that could help her. There was a newer Chevrolet pickup in the garage with a winch on the front. She looked around the garage for a rope. Hanging high on a shelf she found one, and was able to reach it after climbing up onto the counter. She tied the rope to the winch and stretched it the short distance through the house out to the Elders.

“Please don’t tear off their legs,” Emily said as she tied the rope around Chevalier’s ankles. She braced herself and managed to turn him onto his side. His eyes were dull and fixed, like Allen’s.

“Heal if this hurts you,” Emily said frantically, and ran back into the garage. She started up the winch and ran back into the house. Chevalier’s body was just being pulled into the house and she tried to help protect his head as the winch hauled him toward the garage. She pulled the rope off of him when his body made it into the hallway by the living room.

Emily repeated it with each of the Elders and then shut the door and turned off the winch. She grabbed blankets and covered each of them, then sat down, out of breath, and went through Quinn’s pockets until she found her cell phone.

“I thought I told you it isn’t safe to call.” Kyle laughed.

“Kyle, something’s wrong.”

“What’s going on?” Kyle asked. The tone in her voice was frightened.

“I don’t know. I found Allen and the Elders outside in the snow. They won’t talk, and there’s blood all around them,” Emily said, looking at the dead expression on their faces.

Emily heard Kyle talk to Zohn, and he then came back to the phone, “When did they feed last?”

“Last night,” Emily said, still out of breath from hauling them inside.

“Were they moody?”

“Yes… what’s wrong with them?” she asked. “They look dead.”

“Where are you? Zohn and I are coming,” Kyle said. His voice was commanding and fierce.

“I don’t know, I told you that. In one of Quinn’s houses is all I know.”

Kyle again talked to Zohn and their frantic speaking made her more afraid.

“Kyle, what’s wrong with them?”

“Emily I need you to listen carefully to me, ok, calm down and listen to everything I say.”

“Ok,” Emily said, trying to calm herself.

“They are very sick, and will die if we can’t get them the help they need.”

Emily couldn’t breathe, how could heku be sick enough to die? They were immortal, “What?”

“I’ll explain later, first thing you need to do is get them inside. Is there any way you can do that?” Kyle asked.

“I did, I had to use the winch,” she said softly.

“Good, that’s really good, Em. Now you need to keep them cold. If they get too warm… it’s not good,” he said.

“Then I should have left them outside!” Emily yelled.

“No, outside can get too cold. You need to just keep them covered with ice. Do you think you can get to a store?”

“No, I can’t… Quinn had to take the helicopter to get food. I have snow, lots and lots of snow, though. Do I just dump it on them?” she asked.

“Yes, that should work. Check them often and make sure they don’t get too hot.”

Emily reached down and felt Allen’s forehead, “Oh my God, Allen’s warm.”

“Put him in the tub, now, and get snow on him.”

Emily hung up and picked Allen up. She pulled his shirt off and laid him down in the bathtub. She ran back out into the garage and grabbed a bucket and then opened the garage door. She started shoveling buckets full of snow into the bathtub until he was covered and only his face visible. She felt his forehead and he was cold again.

Emily ran out and started piling buckets of snow onto the Elders, starting with Chevalier. Once she had three high piles of snow in the hallway, she called Kyle again with frozen fingers.

“Em, did you do it?” he asked.

“Yy yyes,” she said, shivering from the cold.

“You need to keep snow on them, they can’t get warm, ok?”

“Ok”

“Zohn is pulling up records, to see if he can find where you are. How many gas stops did you make on the way?”

“Five,” Emily said. “Kyle, they look dead.”

“Just keep them cold for now, ok?”

“Can’t you track my cell phone?” Emily asked.

“We tried that already. I think Chevalier had that turned off after Damon.”

Emily’s voice cracked as she fought the tears, “How are they sick? Heku don’t get sick.”

“Sometimes we do, just not very often. It comes from a sick donor. I’m guessing Quinn had an old list,” Kyle said.

“Is… is it often… you know, fatal?”

“Just do what we ask and they’ll be ok,” Kyle said.

“I’m not kidding, they look dead. Their eyes are glassed over. There’s blood everywhere,” she said.

“I know, I’ve seen it,” Kyle sighed.

“Hurry”

“We are trying to get there to help you. Zohn’s working to find out where you are. Can you look around? Break into Quinn’s office if you have to. Try to get us an address or even a State,” Kyle said.

“Ok,” Emily whispered, and shut the phone.

Emily poured more snow on top of all of them and then searched through the house for Quinn’s office. She went through all of the drawers in the house and couldn’t find even a phone book. She dug through the snow to Quinn’s pockets and went through them all until she found a set of keys.

She went back through the house and used the keys to unlock any of the locked doors. She set her cell phone to alert her every hour, and when it went off, she would go pour snow onto the heku. Nothing seemed to change. Their eyes were still pointed, unseeing, toward the ceiling. She jumped when her phone range.

“Hello?”

“Finding anything?” Kyle asked.

“No, I’ve found a bunch of prison cells, Quinn’s gross little torture room, and about six thousand empty bedrooms,” she sighed.

“Keep looking, Quinn has this house hidden well. We’ve found six houses he owns, but none of them would be in snow right now.”

“I’ll keep looking,” Emily said.

“I know you’re tired, I can hear it in your voice. Take a break, sit down for a bit,” Kyle said.

“Maleth broke my coffee maker,” Emily said, and looked at the glass in the kitchen.

“Don’t forget to take care of yourself. It won’t do them any good if you kill yourself,” Kyle said.

Emily nodded, knowing he couldn’t see it, but she was afraid her voice would give away the fact that she felt helpless and afraid.

“We’re looking, Em,” Kyle said, and hung up.

Emily went into the kitchen and made Alexis another sandwich. She needed something fast, and it was almost time for new snow.

“Mom, it’s told,” Alexis said, shivering. Emily put another set of clothes on her. She couldn’t risk the house getting any warmer. The snow was already melting too fast.

Emily eyed the coffee can and sighed. She grabbed a spoon and quickly choked down a few spoonfuls of coffee grounds. She washed them down with some orange juice and cringed at the bitter taste in her mouth. Her alarm went off and she went outside with the bucket for new snow.

When she was done, she hauled a mattress from the closest bedroom into the living room, and then tucked Alexis in under four heavy blankets. She read a book quickly and then sat down for a few minutes to watch the toddler sleep.

Emily could feel her heart race. She had been eating spoonfuls of coffee to keep awake, and it was doing its job, but making her jittery and anxious.

Emily worked throughout the night. When she wasn’t searching Quinn’s house for an address, she was pouring snow onto the sick heku. Just after dawn, her phone rang, and she answered it before it could wake Alexis up.

“Kyle?”

“It’s Zohn, Emily. How is it going?”

“Nothing’s changed,” Emily said, wishing he would put Kyle on. “I think… I think they are dead.”

“They aren’t dead, not if they are cold still.”

“They are,” she said.

“Then they are ok. I know they look bad, but the cold is all they need right now,” Zohn told her.

“How long does this last?”

“It all depends on how much they drank, could be a couple of days,” Zohn sighed.

“I’m still going through Quinn’s house. I can’t find his office, but I’ve only gone through about half of the house. This is going to make him mad,” Emily explained.

“He’s not going to be mad, I promise.”

“Ok,” Emily said, suddenly more worried. “I have to go, my alarm is going off.”

Emily shut her phone and grabbed the bucket, then went out and started pouring more snow over the heku. Each time she added snow to Allen, she was able to drain the tub and let out all of the water. The three heku in the hallway though, were leaking water all over the house and down into the basement, but she wasn’t sure what to do about it.

“Mommy?” Alexis asked from the makeshift bed on the floor.

“I’m coming, Alex,” Emily yelled from outside. She dumped the last of the snow over Quinn and went inside.

“Befast, Mommy,” Alexis said, and Emily picked her up. “Ew, told.”

“Sorry, Baby,” Emily said, setting her down. “I know my hands are cold. Let’s go get breakfast.”

Alexis followed Emily into the kitchen and sat at the table.

She opened the fridge and pulled out the eggs, cheese, and milk. She had been feeding Alexis cold cereal and sandwiches for two days, and she wanted a hot meal for once. Alexis scarfed down the scrambled eggs, and then went out into the living room to play. Emily ate a few bites of coffee grounds and then took a few bites of eggs to take the taste away.

“Want to come help me snoop?” Emily asked, and Alexis nodded and followed her down a long hallway. Emily used Quinn’s keys to open up another door and found a room full of file cabinets. She opened the first one and found an alphabetical listing of what seemed to be heku. She looked behind the files in each drawer and then sat down to rest when she was done.

Something caught her eye, and she went over and pulled a map out from under an old radio. Emily smiled and picked up the phone.

“Em?” Kyle asked.

“I found a map of Alaska,” she said.

“Damn, that’s a big state.”

“I know, but I bet I’m in Alaska. It’s cold here, and it’s been snowing nonstop.”

“Ok, we’ll see what we can find, are they still cold?”

“Yes”

Kyle sighed, “And are you taking care of yourself?”

Emily hesitated, “Yes.”

“Why don’t I believe you?”

“My alarm’s going off. Time to go get some snow,” Emily said, and shut the phone. Alexis followed her back out to the living room and crawled into bed with her dolls as Emily slipped on the large snow boots and went back outside.

By nightfall, Emily was finding it harder and harder to get warm. When she went outside for snow, the fierce wind bit at her painfully as she brought bucket after bucket full of snow into the house. She’d stopped searching the house and collapsed in front of the fire between the loads of snow that were taking her longer each time.

After hours of moving snow, she propped her hands up close to the fire and watched the flames as Alexis slept. Emily’s phone alarm woke her up and she got to her feet slowly. She opted to take a few more bites of coffee grounds before heading back out. Even though she wore one of Quinn’s warm coats, the cold night air seemed to slip through it and lash painfully at her skin.

She topped off the snow around Allen and then headed back through the garage where she could get to new snow. After dumping a bucket of new snow on Chevalier, she gasped and looked at Quinn when she saw his eyes move.

“Quinn?” she whispered. He blinked once and looked at her, his body still unmoving.

Emily quickly grabbed her phone and dialed. She had to dial four times before her cold fingers hit the right buttons.

“How is it going?” Kyle asked when he answered the phone.

“Quinn’s eyes moved,” Emily said hurriedly. She was watching Quinn and he was staring at the ceiling, but there was movement in his eyes and he blinked.

“That’s great! Now we change course, you need to get him warm,” Kyle said.

“Are you kidding me?”

Kyle chuckled slightly, “No, he has to get warm.”

“Freak, do you know how much these guys weigh?”

“Do what you can, but get him warm,” Kyle said again, and started to update Zohn.

Emily shut the phone, cutting him off, and went back to Quinn. She knelt down beside him and started to brush the snow off of him and onto the others, “I don’t suppose you can just walk into the living room?”

Quinn’s eyes turned to look at her. Emily sighed and ran down the hallway. She had seen a pair of shears in one of the drawers in the interrogation room. She plugged her nose when she went in, and grabbed the shears quickly, shutting the door as she left, then ran back to the hallway by the garage and started cutting the wet clothes off of the Elder.

Emily sighed and grabbed Quinn’s wrists. She pulled, using all of her body weight, and was able to move him an inch at a time toward the fire in the living room. She had to make two snow runs to cover the other three before she got Quinn by the fire. She stoked it and put blankets on him as he watched her, quiet and unmoving.

Emily ran another bucket of snow into the bathroom and saw Allen’s eyes move toward her. She smiled and picked him up out of the snow filled bathtub. She laid him down on the kitchen table and cut his wet clothes off and then moved him to the couch. She began pulling blankets off of the guest beds in the mansion and layered five of them on top of him.

She checked the clock and then went into the bathroom and turned the water on hot and let it run for a few minutes, “Damnit, no hot water.”

Emily dug around in the kitchen until she found an old pot. She filled it with cold water and set it by the fire to warm up. After putting more snow on Chevalier and Maleth, she went back to the pot by the fire and dipped a washcloth into it. She went to Allen first and started to gently wash the blood off of his face.

When she was done, she moved over to Quinn after rinsing out the warm rag, and cleaned the blood from his face and neck. She pulled the blanket down to wipe the blood off of his chest and frowned, he had scars from deep gashes down the left side of his chest. She touched them softly with her fingers and then covered him back up.

Emily moved back up by his head and touched Quinn’s face softly, “Can you talk?”

His eyes watched as a tear fell down her cheek.

“Please, Quinn, if you can talk, I need to know where we are. I need help,” she begged, but he just stared at her.

Emily leaned back against the wall, “I went through your house, actually, I still need to go through more. I just need an address, even a city. Kyle and Zohn are trying to find us so they can come help.”

“Are you going to be mad at me for going through your house?” Emily asked him, and then looked toward the fire.

“I never did get to thank you, for helping me when I came off of belladonna. I know you probably didn’t have a choice, but you could have just tossed me out on my ass.” Emily glanced at him and then back to the fire, “Leonid was my friend, and I’m sorry I have been mean to you about taking his place. They just replaced him so fast, and no one even mourned him, you know?”

Emily looked over at him, “Do you understand me?”

The phone alarm went off, and Emily pulled on the coat and boots and headed back out into the snowy night. The warmth from the living room was making the snow melt faster on Chevalier and Maleth in the hallway, and it was taking twice as long to replenish it.

Emily slid down the wall by Quinn to catch her breath, “If you have the sudden urge to stand up, I could use some help.”

Emily’s phone rang and she answered it, still out of breath, “Hi, Kyle.”

“How are they?”

“Chevalier and Maleth are still on ice. Quinn and Allen are out here by the fire.”

“You sound exhausted.”

Emily rolled her eyes, “Yeah… well.”

“We still can’t find you. We have covens out looking for your scent, but the state is huge,” Kyle said.

“It’s creepy how Quinn watches me, will he remember this?”

“I don’t think he will.”

Emily grinned, “Ok.”

“We’ve given the Equites covens a keyword. If you see a heku, ask for it and if it’s wrong… ash them, ok?”

Emily smiled slightly, “Ok, what is it then?”

“Didactic is the code word.”

“Couldn’t use like… red or sleep?”

Kyle chuckled, “It’s didactic. If you don’t hear it, then ash them.”

“Sure, if I can. I have to go get snow,” Emily said, and shut the phone.

Emily looked at Quinn, “He’s mother henning, and driving me crazy.”

Emily reached over and felt Quinn’s forehead, it was nice and warm. She checked his feet also but they were ice cold, “Crap, you should have told me your feet were cold.”

Emily checked on Allen, and his entire body was warm. She headed out to get buckets of snow while Alexis sat by Quinn and played with her dolls. Emily dumped six buckets of snow on each of the Elders in the hallway, and then stood outside to watch the sun come up.

“If this weren’t a nightmare, it might actually be pretty here,” she said to herself, watching as the vapors from her breath dissipated into the cold air.

Emily looked over to where she had been digging in the snow and noticed a large boulder. She stared at it for a while and then had an idea. With a lot of effort, she was able to pry it off of the frozen ground and took it in and set it in the fire. She then went into the kitchen and made a grilled cheese for Alexis, and ate more coffee grounds to help keep her awake. She went back into the living room and handed Alexis her sandwich.

Emily disappeared back into the kitchen and dug around, looking for some hot pads. She sighed when she didn’t find any, and went out in search of a towel. She finally came back with a towel and an expensive down pillow.

“Who doesn’t have hot pads? You can’t get mad at me for this,” she said to Quinn when she cut the end off of the pillow. Using the towel to protect her hands, she picked up the hot rock from the fire and shoved it into the pillow, and then set it up against Quinn’s feet and pulled another blanket over him.

She sat down against the wall again and looked around the room. Emily took Quinn’s hand and laced her fingers in his, “I wish you would wake up.”

“I’m afraid he’s going to die,” Emily said, and glanced over at the hallway, her voice cracked slightly. “I mean, why aren’t the other two looking around yet?”

She sighed softly and put her other hand on the one laced with Quinn’s fingers, “You must think Chevalier is crazy to be with me. I’m nothing but trouble. I get kidnapped, tortured, poisoned, and sniffed more than anyone I’ve ever met. You know how irritating it is to get sniffed all the time? It’s annoying, but you all seem to do it constantly. It’s weird to walk through a hallway and get sniffed.”

“You know who never sniffed me?” she asked him, his eyes still watching her. “Exavior. Odd huh? He tried to turn me into a heku, but never sniffed me. At least not that I remember. That’s another thing… why do these heku keep making friends with me, and then turn on me at the last minute? Can’t I trust any of you?”

“I know. You don’t have to answer. It’s because I’m gullible. That’s another reason why Chevalier should dump me on the side of the road. He keeps telling me how mean heku are, but I don’t see you all that way, and it keeps getting me into trouble. Then there’s Kyle, he never turned on me… well… once, but that was the Ancient. He’s been my friend from the start and hasn’t ever attacked me. He did feed once, but that was my idea, ok, so… twice.”

Emily brushed a strand of hair away from Quinn’s eye, “I’ve been thinking about another baby. What do you think? Wonder if Chev’d go for that, he’s a tad overprotective. I’m too afraid to ask so I guess no baby, oh well. I’ll be too old soon enough to even try.”

Emily grabbed her phone and turned off the alarm, “I’ll be back, don’t run off.”

She got up and pulled on the huge parka and boots and headed back out into the snow. Emily went from sitting by Quinn, to piling more snow on Chevalier and Maleth throughout the day. She fed Alexis and played games with her as she could, but the other tasks kept her busy. A blizzard started late in the evening and it made getting snow harder. The wind was strong enough that she had a hard time standing up outside.

Emily put the last bucket of snow on Maleth and then slipped off her boots. She walked past them in the hallway, and then turned quickly when she saw movement. Chevalier was watching her.

She smiled and knelt by him, “Welcome back… can you talk?”

His eyes looked into hers, but he didn’t move, “Ok… here we go.”

Emily went back into the living room and grabbed the shears. She used the bucket to take the snow off of Chevalier and poured it onto Maleth. Once he was uncovered, she cut off his wet clothes and took his wrists. Again she used her body weight to pull him, inch by inch, toward the living room. He was heavier than Quinn, and taller, so he was harder to move. His eyes watched her the entire time.

Three hours later, Emily was able to edge him into the living room so he was lying beside Quinn. She went into the guestrooms and brought back a bunch of blankets, then piled them on Chevalier and stoked the fire again. Her arms ached from the pulling and shook uncontrollably.

Emily sat back against the wall to catch her breath. When her alarm went off again, she went outside and got more snow for Maleth. She returned to the living room when she was done and got a warm rag to clean Chevalier off with. She gently wiped the blood from his face and neck and kissed his forehead softly.

She went back outside and found another boulder and set it in the fire, then returned with another pillow, cut the end off, and looked at Quinn, “That’s number two, you can bill me.”

Emily got the rock out of the fire and slipped it into the pillow and then put it up against Chevalier’s feet. She returned to his side and curled up next to him, laying her head against his chest, “I’m scared, Chev, why can’t you talk? I really need you.”

Emily started to drift off. It had been days since she’d slept, and curled up against Chevalier and the warm rock, she was finally starting to get warm. She jerked awake when her phone rang.

“Dominos”

“What?” Kyle asked, confused.

“Never mind.”

“We’re in Juneau, Zohn and I. As soon as we find out where you are we’ll at least be closer.”

“Still no idea?” Emily asked. How hard could it be to find a house?

“None, how are things?”

“Chevalier’s eyes are opened, but Maleth is still covered in snow though.”

“Oh good, just keep doing what you’re doing,” Kyle said reassuringly.

“Yeah, no problem.”

“How are you holding up?”

“Me? Peachy.” She started to get irritated.

“We’ll find you, just hang in there.”

Emily sighed and hung up the phone.

She touched Chevalier’s cheek lightly, “Kyle is driving me batty.”

Emily turned off her phone alarm and sighed, “Time to go outside.”

She went out into the blizzard and covered Maleth with snow, then checked his eyes closely, but there was no movement yet. When she was done, she went into the kitchen and ate a few more spoonfuls of coffee and then made Alexis some soup.

“Alex, come eat,” Emily called out to the living room as she set the bowl on the table.

“Alex?” Emily asked when she didn’t hear a response. She peeked out and started to laugh.

Alexis was sitting on Chevalier’s chest and was kissing all over his face as she said, “Daddy,” between each kiss.

“Come on, Nut,” Emily said, and picked Alexis up off of Chevalier. She took her into the kitchen and sat while she ate.

“Emily.” The hoarse whisper came from the living room. Emily jumped out of her chair and ran into the next room and knelt by Quinn.

“Are you awake?” she asked him, not sure she had actually heard his voice.

Quinn nodded and whispered, “The others?”

“Allen and Chevalier are out here. Maleth still hasn’t moved his eyes,” she said. “Quinn, where are we? I need to tell Kyle.”

“We’re,” he said, and was suddenly wracked with a cough. He settled down after a few minutes, “We’re sixteen miles east of Barrow, Alaska.”

Emily kissed his cheek, “Thank you.”

She dialed the phone quickly, “Kyle?”

“It’s Zohn.”

“Quinn’s awake. He said we’re sixteen miles east of Barrow.”

“Hang tight, we’re on the way,” Zohn said, and disconnected.

Quinn tried to sit up, but Emily pushed him back down. He was still too weak to even resist her, “Stay down.”

Quinn looked over at the fire and back to Emily, “How long?”

“Almost six days,” Emily said, and took his hand. “Are you ok?”

Quinn smiled slightly, “Just really thirsty.”

Emily nodded and held her wrist to his mouth, “There, have at it.”

He shook his head and turned his face away, “No.”

“Just do it.”

“No,” he said again, but she saw the strained look on his face.

Emily went into the kitchen and returned with a knife. Quinn was watching her carefully.

“What are you doing?” he managed to say in a whisper.

“Force feeding you,” Emily said, and smiled.

Quinn’s eyes grew wide, “Don’t…”

It was too late, Emily had cut her wrist slightly and blood trickled out of the wound. She saw his eyes shut and he opened his mouth slightly as he inhaled. Emily pushed her wrist to him and he grabbed it weakly and began to feed. When she thought he’d had enough, she pulled her wrist away from his grasp. He was weak enough it was easy for her to do.

He shut his eyes and relaxed. Emily went back into the kitchen and tore a towel into strips, and then wrapped one around her wrist to stop the bleeding. Alexis had finished eating, so she took her out to the living room and tucked her into bed. She curled up beside the toddler until she was asleep and then Emily stood up and silenced her alarm just as it went off.

The light was starting to come up on the sixth day as she hauled buckets of snow into the house and dumped them on top of Maleth. She knelt down by him and watched his eyes, but there was still no movement.

Emily went back into the living room and stoked the fire. She was running out of wood and coal, and she knew she only had enough for another 24 hours. She sat back and watched the others as they lie motionless. Quinn seemed to be in some kind of trance, almost asleep, but deeper. Her eyes grew heavy and she shut them as she started to feel the warmth from the fire.

The phone alarm scared Emily, and she jumped up and turned it off quickly.

“Emily?” Quinn asked, and his voice was a little stronger.

She crawled over to him and looked into his eyes, “I’m right here.”

“Who is dead?” he asked, his eyes pained.

Emily shook her head, “No one is.”

“I smell death.”

“Nothing’s changed, now go back to sleep. I need to get more snow on Maleth.”

She felt Quinn’s hand on her arm, “He’s gone.”

“No, he’s not,” Emily told him, and pulled on the parka and boots. She felt Quinn’s eyes on her as she walked out the door and into the frigid wind. Six buckets of snow later, Emily came back into the living room and sat down by the fire to thaw her frozen hands.

“Em?” she heard Chevalier whisper, and her heart jumped in her chest. She turned around quickly and he was looking at her.

She glanced at Quinn and he was watching Chevalier also, “Chev?”

He nodded slightly and shut his eyes.

Emily crawled to him and took his hand, “Are you awake?”

“Yes.” His voice was soft and weak.

She kissed his hand, “You scared me.”

Chevalier tried to sit up, but she held him down, “No, stay down.”

Emily grabbed the knife from beside the fireplace.

“Emily, don’t,” Quinn said as she cut her wrist slightly. She held it to Chevalier’s mouth, and he grabbed her arm and began to feed.

“You aren’t strong enough yet to feed us,” Quinn said, concerned.

“I’m fine,” she said, and pulled away from Chevalier when he had enough. She grabbed another strip of the towel and wrapped it around her wrist.

“Don’t do that,” Chevalier said, and watched Emily.

Emily grinned slightly, “I’d like to see you stop me.”

“Where’s Allen?” Chevalier asked, panicked.

“He’s on the couch,” Emily said, and saw Chevalier frown. He looked around the room.

“It’s Maleth then?” he asked her.

“What’s Maleth?”

Chevalier glanced at Quinn and he nodded.

“He’s not dead,” Emily yelled angrily, and got up to put more snow on Maleth.

The wind died down, and as she shoveled the second batch of snow into the bucket, she heard the sound of an approaching helicopter. She watched as it circled them twice and then landed beside the other one on the roof. She finished filling the bucket and went inside to put it on Maleth. When she was done, she heard voices from the living room and she went back to get a third bucket.

Emily felt a hand on her arm and Kyle spoke, “We don’t need more snow.”

Emily pulled away from him, “He’s not dead.”

Kyle took the bucket from her and began filling it, but she tore it away from him, “I don’t need your help.”

She finished filling the bucket and went inside to the hallway and dumped it over Maleth. Kyle watched as she filled and dumped three more buckets, and then shut the door and slipped off the large boots. She pulled off Quinn’s parka, hung it on a hook, and went back into the living room.

Zohn was sitting by Quinn on the floor and they were talking quietly. Chevalier was watching her as she slipped the rock out from beside Quinn’s feet and put it back in the fire. Kyle walked over and sat by Allen and pulled Alexis up onto his lap.

Emily looked up from the fire when she heard Allen’s voice. She crawled over and kissed his forehead softly, “How are you feeling?”

“Ok,” he whispered.

Emily got up and poured him a glass of milk, and then held him up so he could drink. He grimaced at the taste, but drank it anyway. She looked over just as Zohn disappeared into the hallway and she laid Allen back onto the couch.

“What’s with the towels?” Kyle asked, motioning to her wrists.

“I cut myself, accidentally,” she said, and sat down against the wall.

“She fed us,” Quinn told him, and ignored Emily’s glare.

“You fed from her?” Kyle asked, frowning.

“She cut herself…” Quinn started, but Kyle nodded, understanding.

“When’s the last time you slept?” Kyle asked, looking at the dark circles under her eyes.

“I sleep on and off during the night,” she said, and glanced toward the hallway again.

“Don’t let her tell you that. She’s been talking to me straight for three days,” Quinn whispered.

“Hey! I thought you weren’t supposed to remember that.”

Quinn shrugged, “Well I do.”

Emily blushed and glared at Kyle, “Nice.”

“What? I didn’t think they were conscious,” Kyle said, and grinned slightly.

Emily heard movement in the hallway and went quickly toward the noise. Her eyes turned furious when she saw Zohn clearing the snow off of Maleth. She pushed him and stood between them, “Don’t touch him.”

“He’s gone,” Zohn said, drying his hands on his pants.

Emily turned quickly and started scooping the snow back onto the Elder, “Kyle said if we keep him cold, he’ll be ok.”

Zohn touched her arm, “It’s too late.”

“It’s not too late,” Emily said, slipping on the boots. “He’s been cold the entire time.”

Zohn watched as Emily went out into the snow with the bucket.

He walked back into the living room as Kyle talked to Quinn, “I haven’t seen her sleep more than 5 or 10 minutes.”

Kyle nodded and looked at Alexis, “Did Mommy eat?”

“She ate toffee,” Alexis said, and started to brush her doll’s hair.

“Just drank coffee, eh?” Kyle sighed.

“No, ate toffee,” Alexis corrected, and smiled at him.

Emily came in after finishing with the snow and sat down by the fire to warm up. She remembered the rock when she saw it, and pulled it out of the fire with the towel and shoved it back into the pillow by Quinn’s feet.

“I’m warm enough,” he said softly.

Emily nodded and pulled a few of his blankets off and went into the kitchen. She made some bacon and cheese eggs for Alexis again, and took out the plate. Alexis sat down on the bed and started to eat.

She went back into the kitchen and dug the coffee out from the cupboard. Emily went to take a bite, but Kyle grabbed her hand and took the spoon.

“We’re here now. You need to get some food and go to sleep,” Kyle told her, and took the tub of coffee.

“I’m not tired though,” Emily said, and started to make a sandwich.

“Of course not, how much coffee have you eaten?”

“I don’t know.”

Kyle looked around at the glass shattered across the kitchen and then watched as Emily finished making a sandwich and went out into the living room to eat. She sat down by the fire and ate quickly, checking her phone to see how long until the alarm went off.

Emily turned when Quinn sat up, and she moved to him quickly and pushed him back down. She put her finger to his face and yelled, “Stay down.”

Quinn looked at Zohn briefly and then pulled the covers back up, “I don’t seem to have any clothes on.”

Zohn and Kyle looked at Emily.

“Oh… don’t judge me! They were wet,” Emily said, and sat back down by the fire to finish her lunch.

“Thank you,” Quinn said, and Emily looked over at him. His eyes were sincere and warm.

Emily nodded, “Your welcome.”

“You didn’t have to do any of this, and I remember it all. You haven’t slept, haven’t eaten, and not an hour has gone by when you haven’t trudged out into the snow to cover one of us,” Quinn said. As the others watched Emily, she shifted uncomfortably, “You didn’t have to show the kind of care you did, and I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to repay you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Emily said, and smiled. “Consider it payback for taking care of me.”

Emily turned off her phone when the alarm rang, and grabbed the parka, heading off into the garage.

“We can’t let her keep covering him with snow,” Zohn said when she’d gone.

“She’s been eating straight coffee grounds, but I’ve taken it away,” Kyle said. “When the caffeine wears off, it’s going to drop her like a rock. Let her go until then, and we’ll take care of Maleth.”

The rest of them nodded and waited for her to come back.

“I’m not dressed,” Allen said, pulling the covers up.

Chevalier chuckled, “I don’t think any of us are.”

“As soon as she falls asleep, I’ll get you all something to wear,” Zohn said, grinning. “Until then, I’d suggest you lie still or face the wrath of Emily.”

Emily came in from pouring snow onto Maleth and sat down by the fire, warming her hands.

“I’m not mad at you, by the way,” Quinn said, and continued when Emily looked up. “I know you went through the house, and cut up pillows, and I know why… I’m not mad.”

Emily blushed again, “You weren’t supposed to remember those conversations.”

“It’s strange, I remember all of it. I remember you pouring snow on us, and talking to us. I remember the feel of the rope against my ankles, and how you pulled me into the living room. Damn, that took forever, and I wanted to talk, but I couldn’t move,” Quinn said, thinking back.

“Yes… well… you might consider going on a diet,” Emily said jokingly, and sat against the wall by the fire.

Quinn grinned.

“I remember it all too. It’s almost like a dream, but I do remember it all,” Chevalier said.

Quinn chuckled, “I vividly remember her begging something not to tear our legs off.”

Emily’s blush deepened, “I had to use a winch to get you all inside.”

Quinn’s face fell, “You took such good care of us.”

Emily turned toward the fire and watched the flames. She felt her eyelids getting heavier as the flames danced. Slowly, she began to relax. She couldn’t fight the heaviness in her body and her eyes fell shut.

She jerked when her phone alarm went off and wondered why Kyle cursed. Emily pulled on the parka and boots, and went outside with the bucket.

“Damned phone,” Kyle hissed.

“Yeah, damned phone,” Alexis said, and frowned.

“Nice, Kyle,” Chevalier chuckled.

“Sorry.” Kyle laughed and sat back to wait for Emily to return.

Emily came back in a while later, her hair caked with snow. She bent over and shook her hair out and then sat down by the fire with her feet toward the heat. Finally, she leaned against a chair and lost the fight to stay awake.

The heku watched her sleep for a few minutes before Kyle risked picking her up after he took the phone out of her pocket. She mumbled something to him and he froze, but then went into the bedroom when she’d settled back down. He came out a short time later and shut her door silently.

The Elders were getting dressed in the bathroom when Kyle came back out. Zohn was sitting on the couch, talking to Allen. Kyle disappeared into the hallway to take care of the Elder’s body.

Quinn came out first and sat down on the couch. Zohn glanced at him and he grinned, “Still kind of tired.”

Chevalier came out and was instantly face-to-face with Alexis. She looked up at him and pointed angrily, “No, no, down.”

Chevalier grinned, “I’m not taking orders from you.”

Alexis stomped her foot and put her hands on her waist, “Down, Daddy.”

He smiled at her and stepped around her to sit down on a chair by the fire, “Damn, I hate being this weak.”

Zohn stood up and headed for the hallway, “I’ll go help with Elder Maleth.”

“She’s not going to take that well,” Chevalier said to Quinn.

Quinn nodded, “No, she’s not. She worked so hard to keep us alive and I can see how she’s going to blame herself. She did nothing wrong.”

Chevalier sighed, “I’ve seen this once before. The illness wiped out an entire family, 5 total, and not one survived. They had six heku taking care of them, yet no one made it.”

“This is the third time I’ve seen it, and only once did I see anyone survive it,” Quinn said. “Kyle and Zohn did a lot to help us, but I’m still amazed at what Emily went through to do it. I don’t recall her complaining once.”

Chevalier thought for a moment, “Maybe we need to re-think the Elder evacuation plan. It’s not safe for us all to go to the same place.”

“I was thinking that also,” Quinn said, and glanced down as Alexis started to play with her doll.

“I don’t know how to lessen this,” Chevalier said, mostly to himself.

Kyle and Zohn both came in and sat by the Elders.

“He’s in the cargo hold of the helicopter,” Kyle said. “That way we can bury him by the palace.”

“There’s a lot of damage to the floor in the hallway, and the ceiling underneath. The melted snow flooded that part of the house,” Zohn told Quinn.

Quinn smiled, “It’s ok, it was worth it.”

“You two don’t have to worry about Emily being mad at you. I lied to her, and she’ll blame me,” Kyle said, smiling slightly.

“You lied to her?” Chevalier frowned.

“I couldn’t tell her that 99% of the time the illness is fatal. I told her everyone was going to be ok.”

Chevalier sighed, “She’s not going to see that one loss is amazing for this. It should have been all four of us.”

“I wish I’d told her the lie. She already dislikes me,” Zohn said, watching the fire.

“Did you find who was killing in the palace?” Quinn asked after a long silence.

“Oh, yes we did,” Kyle said. “We were able to flush out six Valle that were working in the palace. One of them has been with us for twenty two years even.”

“They were killing anyone who got in their way to get Emily out of the palace, so they could rescue the prisoners,” Zohn explained. “I think we have them all now. The leader gave us a list as soon as he saw the rack.”

Kyle grinned, “They were pretty brave.”

“I suggest we go with the plan of getting rid of anyone who hasn’t been in the palace for fifty years and replacing them,” Zohn said.

“Quinn and I need to find a new Elder, too,” Chevalier said.

Quinn nodded, “I suggest we wait a week or so, and hold an official mourning for Maleth.”

Chevalier looked at him, confused, “You do?”

“Why would we do that?” Zohn asked.

Quinn chuckled, “Something Emily said to me while it wasn’t supposed to be remembered.”

“I wish I could hear everything she said,” Chevalier told him.

“She’s an interesting creature, completely selfless and insecure,” Quinn said, thinking back on what she told him.

“Insecure?” Kyle asked.

“Which reminds me, we need to find out who smells her as she walks down the hallway in the palace. Apparently, it’s often enough she said it’s annoying.”

Kyle frowned, “I didn’t know that was happening.”

“None of us did,” Quinn said. “I think she didn’t want us to know.”

“What other little tidbits of information did she tell you?” Chevalier asked curiously.

Quinn smiled, “The rest, I do believe, I’ll keep to myself.”

Chevalier and Quinn spoke among themselves for the rest of the day about the new Elder while Kyle and Zohn kept themselves busy by cleaning up the flood in the basement. Allen hadn’t recovered as much as the others, and stayed in bed, reading. Alexis busied herself with her dolls and stuck close to the warmth of the fire.

By nightfall, snow started to fall again and Kyle and Zohn had replenished the wood and coal supply. Chevalier made a quick dinner for Alexis, though she barely ate it and said it didn’t taste like what Emily made. She finally fell asleep in Chevalier’s arms as he rested by the fire. The wind began to blow harder as the night drew on and was soon whistling through the eaves in the attic. The heku had all gathered in the living room again and sat silently, each in their own thoughts.

Kyle and Zohn both stood up when they heard Emily running down the stairs, cursing under her breath. She passed them in the living room and stopped in the empty hallway.

“Em,” Kyle said softly from behind her.

She spun, livid, “Where is he?”

“He’s gone,” Kyle told her, and tried to touch her arm, but she backed away.

“Where is his body?” she asked, glaring at him.

“I put him in the helicopter, so we can bury him in Council City,” Zohn said, appearing behind Kyle.

Emily pushed past them, and ran through the living room. The heku heard bare footsteps as she ran up the stairs. Kyle gasped when he heard the roof door open, and blurred up to the helicopter. The wind was blowing snow across the roof and he could barely see Emily when she reached the helicopter. She pulled on the latch to open the cargo hold, but couldn’t get it open.

“Emily, you are going to freeze out here,” Kyle said, taking her arm.

“No! You can’t leave him out here! When he wakes up he’ll freeze,” she said, and pulled harder on the latch.

Kyle forced her inside and shut the door against the cold and pulled her against his chest, wrapping his arms around her, “You did an incredible job taking care of them, but Maleth didn’t make it.”

Emily hit him on the chest and backed away from him, “He’s not dead. You told me if I kept them cold, they would all be ok. He’s stayed cold.”

Kyle sighed, “I lied”

Emily glared at him, “What?”

“I lied, ok? This illness usually kills everyone, but I didn’t want you to have to deal with that alone. I had no idea that you would somehow manage to pull three of them through it, and I just hoped that we could get here before they died,” Kyle said softly. “We’re all very proud of you and, quite frankly, astonished at how this turned out.”

“Get him out of the helicopter,” Emily said, gritting her teeth.

“No,” Zohn said as he appeared between her and the door. “He’s gone.”

Emily’s body tensed and she looked from Kyle to Zohn, “One of you did this, didn’t you? You want to be Elder.”

Kyle frowned, “Emily… that’s not true.”

“We wouldn’t do that,” Zohn said, sounding partially insulted.

“He’s not dead,” Emily whispered, and sunk down against the wall.

Kyle nodded to Zohn, and he blurred down the stairs as Kyle sat down beside her, “You did everything you could, but he didn’t make it.”

“Heku don’t die of illnesses,” Emily said to him, her eyes red and full of tears.

“Not often, no… but once in a while we get this illness from a donor,” he said. “Or, as in this case, from a family of donors.”

Emily leaned her head against Kyle’s chest and started to cry, “I tried, I mean… I put snow on him when I did the others. Maybe he needed more and I let him…”

“Stop, Em. You did a wonderful job. There’s nothing you could have done differently,” Kyle said, and touched her hair softly. “We’re all shocked that you were able to save three of them, it’s unheard of.”

“Oh my God,” Emily yelled, and stood up, then ran down the hallway to the stairs. “What if they still die?”

“Wait, Em!” Kyle said, and followed her down into the living room.

“Em?” Chevalier asked when she ran into the room. She pushed up the footstool on his chair and threw blankets on him, “What’s going on?”

Emily ignored him and went to where Quinn was sitting. She pushed a footstool up to him and propped his legs up, and then covered him in blankets. She dug both of the rocks out of the pillows and put them into the fireplace, and then disappeared and came back with clean washcloths, which she dipped in the steaming water on the fire. She put one against Chevalier’s forehead, and one across Quinn’s, ignoring anything anyone said to her.

Emily disappeared into the guestroom hallway.

“What’s all this?” Chevalier asked.

Kyle sighed, “She thinks you all might still die.”

“Well, tell her we’re fine,” Quinn said, and pulled the hot rag off of his forehead.

“I tried!” Kyle said. “She won’t listen though… here she comes.”

Kyle watched as Quinn put the rag back on his head. Emily came into the room with eight pillows stacked and dropped them onto the floor. She put one under Chevalier’s feet and one under each of his arms and then fluffed one and put it behind his head.

“Em, we’re not going to die, we’re getting better,” Chevalier said, but was shushed.

Emily did the same to Quinn and he was soon propped up on pillows. She took the rocks out of the fire and before long, they had yet another pillow by their feet, one that was hot and making it sweltering under the layers of blankets.

Quinn sighed and sat up, “You need to li…”

He stopped talking when Emily got in his face, “Sit down and shut up.”

Zohn turned to face the wall to hide his grin and saw Kyle smiling beside him. The Elders both sat back in their chairs and watched Emily work to stoke the fire. Allen stayed quiet under his covers, afraid he might get yelled at if he moved.

Emily disappeared into the kitchen after the room became stiflingly hot.

“She’s going to kill us with heat,” Quinn said, fanning the blankets.

“Sad thing is, she would probably win in a fight right now. I need to get my strength back… this is pathetic,” Chevalier whispered, and then deftly kicked the hot rock out from under the covers.

Emily came back out and handed a grilled cheese sandwich to Alexis. She sat down with a bowl of soup by Allen and propped him up on some pillows.

Allen looked pleadingly at his Dad, and then to the others, but they all gave him a sympathetic smile as Emily spooned hot soup down him.

Emily frowned when she saw Allen gag a bit, “Are you going to throw up? Is your stomach upset?”

Allen looked at Chevalier, and then to Emily and nodded, “That soup, it’s awful.”

Emily tasted it and then sighed, “It’s fine.”

“Sorry, Mom,” Allen said, and watched when Emily disappeared into the kitchen.

She emerged a few minutes later with a strip of towel and a knife. She sat down by Allen and he watched her with wide eyes as she picked off the towel around her already wounded wrist.

“Give it back!” Emily scowled when Zohn blurred the knife out of her hand.

“No… a heku can’t resist you when we’re ill, so stop cutting yourself,” Kyle told her.

“He’s hungry,” Emily said, and put her hand out for the knife.

“No,” Chevalier said, and sat up. “We aren’t dying, not anymore at least.”

“How do you know? How do I know you aren’t about to keel over?” Emily asked him angrily.

“We just know,” Chevalier said, and nodded for Kyle to take the knife back to the kitchen.

Zohn sighed, “We need to get back to Council City, are you all ready to fly?”

“We can take the jet back, it’s faster. We’ll send someone after the other helicopter,” Kyle told them, and started up the stairs.

“They can’t travel, they’re sick,” Emily said sternly.

“We aren’t sick anymore, just weak, it’ll be ok,” Chevalier said, and stood up. The cooler air felt good after the heat from the blankets.

Zohn started to put out the fire and Allen stood up and wrapped himself in a blanket. Quinn took Alexis’ hand and headed up the stairs to the helicopter, followed by Zohn and Allen. Emily watched them all and stood silently in the living room, unable to accept that this was over and that Maleth was dead.

“Come on, let’s go,” Chevalier said, and held his hand out for Emily.

“I’m not going,” she whispered, and took a step away from him.

Chevalier stepped to her and took her hand, “We have to go. The Council is waiting for our return.”

“To hell with the Council! If you are so dead set on leaving, then by all means… but I’m not going,” Emily said, and sat down by the now dead fire.

“Sitting here, freezing to death by yourself isn’t going to bring him back.”

Emily turned her head away from him as the tears started to pour. She was tired, and angry, and felt like she killed Maleth. Her mind ran over everything that happened, and she searched for something that had gone wrong.

“I can’t pick you up right now, Em. You’re going to have to walk,” Chevalier said, and headed up the stairs.

Emily stayed in the chair and shut her eyes as the tears came faster. She felt someone kneel down beside her and looked over at Zohn.

Several minutes later, Zohn came out of the house with Emily cradled in his arms. He easily jumped into the helicopter and handed her to Kyle.

“Do I want to know?” Chevalier asked.

“Probably not,” Zohn said, and crawled into the pilot seat as the door shut.

Kyle spent the entire trip to the airport on the phone with the Council, and watched Emily uncomfortably. She wasn’t moving and was sleeping peacefully in his arms, something uncommon for her. When they reached the airport, the jet was just starting to warm up and the Equites pilot came to help them.

Chevalier was glad that Emily was still asleep when they transferred Maleth’s body into the jet. He picked Alexis up while Kyle carried Emily, still asleep. Quinn was the last to leave and followed Allen into the jet. The door shut behind them and soon, they were flying over Canada toward Council City.

When the helicopter landed on the palace roof, the door opened and the Cavalry came out, led by Mark. Chevalier noticed the guards had black arm bands and he glanced approvingly to Kyle. Zohn picked up Emily on his way out of the helicopter and shrugged when Chevalier glanced at him.

“She must have been tired. I just told her to sleep, that’s all,” Zohn said when Mark looked at Emily, worried.

The shades were all drawn in the palace and everyone had on a black arm band. The Equites banner was lowered and there was an abnormal silence among the guards and servants.

Zohn laid Emily down in bed and then bowed as he left, shutting the door behind him. Silas came and took Alexis and Chevalier laid down beside Emily and wrapped his arms around her. Her dreams were hectic and sporadic and lacked the softly flowing emotions that they normally did. He shut his eyes and rested as she slept.

Chapter 25 - New Elder

“Yes, we have chosen,” Quinn said to the Council. They had been through three weeks of mourning as a faction, and it was now time to announce the new Elder. Maleth was buried in a richly adorned tomb by the resting place of Leonid, and Emily visited them several times a day.

“We’ll get ready for the coronation,” Zohn said.

“Not you though, you and Kyle are to be medaled,” Chevalier reminded him.

Kyle cringed, “Really, that’s not necessary.”

“You saved the life of the Elders,” the Court Reporter said with admiration.

“No, we didn’t. Emily did that. We just lied and gave orders,” Zohn said. He wasn’t comfortable getting medaled for this.

“All the same, you are,” Quinn said, and his tone let them know the subject was closed.

“And the Lady?” the Court Reporter said.

Chevalier sighed, “She wouldn’t take a medal if we offered it. She’s still blaming herself for the loss of Maleth.”

“Will she be in attendance?” the Chief Investigator asked.

Chevalier shrugged, “I don’t know.”

Never before had any of the Council worried about Emily, but her feat of saving 3 out of 4 with the illness was now well known and respected throughout all three factions. Rumors started that Emily had a healing ability, but was quickly stopped by the Council. They didn’t need more reasons for her to be wanted by the Encala or Valle.

“Let’s end today then, and tomorrow we’ll not meet so we can prepare,” Quinn said.

Chevalier nodded, “Agreed.”

Most of the Council left the chambers immediately, leaving Quinn, Chevalier, Zohn, and Kyle behind.

“Is she out there again?” Chevalier asked.

Kyle nodded, “Yes.”

“I could go and talk to her,” Quinn said. He’d become a lot closer to Emily since their return from Alaska, and seemed to have a deeper understanding of how she thought.

Chevalier nodded, “Ok, you try.”

Quinn smiled and blurred from the room.

“Hmm,” Zohn sighed.

“What?” Kyle asked him.

“Do I have to almost die to get on Emily’s good side?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Chevalier chuckled, “Never hurts apparently.”

Quinn appeared out in the cemetery and dismissed Emily’s guards before walking over and sitting down beside her.

“Hi,” Emily said, and looked at him. She had been rearranging the flowers she put on the two Elder’s graves.

“Fancy meeting you here… again,” Quinn said.

“Did you choose a new Elder?”

Quinn nodded, “Yes, the coronation is tomorrow.”

Emily picked up a flower and turned it over, laying it back down exactly where it had been.

Quinn touched her hand lightly, “What are you looking for out here?”

Emily shrugged, “Forgiveness.”

“There’s nothing to forgive, you should be praised, not punished.”

Emily turned her face when a tear fell down her cheek, “That’s easy for you to say, you lived.”

“I can assure you, Maleth wouldn’t punish you for his death,” Quinn told her, and wiped the tear from her cheek.

“I’ll be in in a second,” Emily said, and watched as Quinn nodded and left. She turned back to the tomb and rearranged the flowers again. For the hundredth time, she ran through her trip to Alaska in her mind and tried to find something that would explain why Maleth didn’t survive when the others had.

Emily finally stood up and walked back toward the palace. Her guards had returned when Quinn left, and they fell in behind her. She caught sight of Patra out in the corral and decided against going into the palace.

She grabbed a bridle and went out to Patra.

“Wait, we’ll get our horses,” one of her guards said.

“No, go back inside. I am going out alone,” she said, and slipped the bridle on the mare.

“I don’t know, Lady Emily.”

Emily jumped up onto Patra bareback, and smiled, “Go, I’ll take the heat if anyone gets mad.”

The guard nodded and Emily ran Patra through the city and up onto the hills to the west. She didn’t look at the city for long, then turned and headed back toward the trees. She was able to let go and run Patra at a full gallop. She pulled her hair out of a ponytail and let the wind blow it behind her as she ran. The sun was beating down on her face, and it felt good to feel the freedom being on horseback brought.

Emily headed deeper into the trees, letting Patra lead the way for a while. The deeper she got into the trees, the more secluded it felt and the more she felt at ease. Maleth’s death suddenly seemed less traumatic, and the stress from the last few months began to melt away. Her mind was far away when hands grabbed her off of the horse.

Emily screamed and then hit Chevalier on the chest, “That was stupid! I could have ashed you.”

Chevalier chuckled, “You aren’t that trigger happy.”

Emily went over and tied Patra to a tree by Chevalier’s ornery stallion. When she turned around, Chevalier was only inches from her and picked her up, kissing her softly.

“You haven’t gone riding in a long time,” Emily said as Chevalier ran his lips lightly along her neck.

“Mmhmmm,” he said, and bit softly at her neck.

Emily shivered and grinned, “I take it you are feeling better?”

Chevalier nodded and dropped to his knees, and then laid Emily down on the mossy ground.

***

Chevalier and Emily walked hand in hand out of the trees, leading their horses behind them.

“Are you going to the coronation tomorrow night?” Chevalier asked.

“I haven’t decided,” she said, and glanced back at the horses.

“Everyone’s been asking about you.”

“Who is the new Elder?” Emily asked.

“Does it matter, you won’t like him,” Chevalier chuckled.

Emily frowned at him, “That’s not fair.”

Chevalier smiled softly, “I was joking.”

“So who is it?”

“It’s James.”

Emily looked at Chevalier, “Who is James?”

Chevalier laughed, “Blond heku, sits to the right of Zohn.”

“I figured you’d give it to Zohn,” Emily said.

“We thought about it, but James will be a better fit.”

Emily sighed, “I don’t like him.”

“I figured.”

“He always looks at me like I’m in the way.”

“No he doesn’t. You’re just paranoid about what the Council thinks of you.”

“He was one of Damon’s followers,” Emily reminded him.

Chevalier nodded, amused. Emily divided the Council into Damon followers, and non-Damon followers. He wondered how long she would make that distinction.

“I have all day tomorrow off, what would you like to do?” he asked as they put the horses into their stalls.

“All day?”

“Well, until I have to get ready for the coronation.”

Emily filled Patra’s trough with fresh water and then shut the door to her stall, “So we can stay in if I want?”

“If that’s what you want, yes.”

“Maybe… start off with a hot bubble bath,” Emily said, and pulled Chevalier against her and into the corner.

“Sure,” Chevalier said, and kissed her softly.

“Then maybe...” Chevalier cut off her words with his lips and his hand wrapped around the back of her neck.

Mark cleared his throat behind them.

Chevalier started to turn around, but Emily pulled him back towards her and pressed her lips against his.

“Don’t mind me,” Mark chuckled. “It’s shift change though, so there are about to be five more of us in here.”

“That’d put a whole new meaning to the term mounted Cavalry.” Emily laughed.

Chevalier shook his head, “Come on inside, your dinner’s almost ready anyway.”

Mark grinned and got onto his horse.

***

Emily woke up the next morning and sat up in bed, looking around. The room was empty and a note by her bed said that they had let her sleep late, and that Alexis was already out with Silas.

She yawned, stretched, and then called out for breakfast. Within a few minutes, Mark came in with the tray.

“Good morning,” he said, and set the tray down on the table.

Emily nodded, “All sniffed I take it.”

Mark chuckled, “Yes, all sniffed. It’s poison free.”

Emily sat down at the table and looked up when Mark left for the door.

“Mark?”

“Yes?” he asked, and turned around.

“Will you stay?”

He frowned slightly and then nodded and smiled. Mark sat down at the table across from her.

Emily took a bite of the scrambled eggs and looked up at Mark, “What’s your last name?”

A shocked expression crossed Mark’s face, “Excuse me?”

“You know… Chev is Chev, Kyle is Kyle… why don’t any of you have last names?” Emily asked, and took another bite.

“That’s part of our mortal selves we leave behind,” he explained.

“What if there’s another Mark in the faction.”

“There are many.”

“So what was yours?”

Mark thought for a moment, “I don’t really remember.”

“Don’t remember or just don’t want to tell me?” Emily took another bite of eggs and then leaned back with a cup of coffee.

“I honestly don’t remember. I haven’t thought about that in a long time. The perfect memory starts after turning, things before that time fade.”

Emily watched him for a moment, “Where’s Chev?”

“There’s a problem with the coronation. He and Quinn have been in meetings all morning.”

Emily sighed, “Great, so much for our day alone.”

“He’s sorry. He mentioned it several times. Oh, there’s a letter here for you. The guard at the farmhouse signed for it,” Mark said, and pulled a letter out of his back pocket.

Emily sat back with her coffee and opened it. Mark watched her carefully as she looked at the paper and fell into a deep thought.

“Well I’m going to go out for a bit,” Emily said, and went into the bathroom to get dressed.

When Emily came back out, Mark was in civilian clothing and waiting for her.

“Oh no, I’m going alone,” Emily said, and grabbed her purse.

“I don’t mind going,” Mark said, shifting uncomfortably.

“Seriously, Mark, I need time by myself and you have a party to attend,” Emily said, and walked out of the room. She heard the guards behind her until she crawled into the Durango. She smiled at them as she pulled out of the garage and headed to the nearby city.

After calling information, she pulled into the City office building and went inside. She made it through security easily and then waited in line at the desk.

“Next,” an elderly man said, looking at her sternly.

“My husband died, and I want to change my last name,” Emily said, and handed over the death certificate she had just received in the mail. “Can I change the surname of my children also?”

Without a word, the man handed her several forms and yelled for the next person in line. Emily spent the next hour filling out paperwork and double-checking everything to make sure it was all in order before going to the next window.

Four hours later, she was no longer Emily Russo, and she felt like a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. She slipped into the Durango and sat back, reveling in it. Something across the street caught her eye and she grinned, and then drove to the small building across from the city offices. She parked out front and went inside.

Emily inhaled the soft, warm scent of apple pie and walked up to the woman at the desk. She was very pretty and smiled when she saw Emily.

“May we help you?” she asked.

“Your sign says you take walk-ins?” Emily looked around the room. The inviting peach décor was subtle and comfortable with the soft plush couches and rocking recliners.

“Oh yes, what can we get for you?”

“I’ll take it all.” Emily smiled. This was something she had always wanted to do.

“Right away, please come back here with me,” the woman said, and led Emily into a room with dim lights and soft music. “Here’s a robe, slip into it and I’ll wait for you.”

Emily nodded and stepped into a dressing room. She stripped and pulled on the soft pink robe. When she stepped out, the woman had acquired a small tray.

“Have a seat while I get your technician,” she said, and sat out frozen grapes and a warm tea for Emily. Emily watched her leave and then grinned and leaned back in the chair. She thought about how this was so perfect, no heku, no kids, and no guards. There was just her, and she was about to get pampered.

“I’m ready for you,” another woman said when she came into the room. Emily followed her back for a manicure and pedicure.

***

“He at least could have told us he was considering it,” Chevalier growled.

“I agree, maybe this is a ruse, but if he doesn’t go into retirement soon, we may have to banish him for insubordination,” Quinn said, obviously irritated.

“Then this decision is made… again,” Chevalier said, and stood up.

“I’m sorry about your day off. Tell Emily it’s my fault,” Quinn said, standing.

Chevalier grinned, “Not a chance. She’s just barely getting over her dislike for you. It’s easier for us all if we keep it that way.”

The Elders walked out of the Council’s conference room and stopped when they saw Emily’s guards shifting nervously, Mark included.

“What’d she do now?” Quinn asked, amused.

“She got a registered letter in the mail, and then she read it and took off,” Mark said.

Chevalier sighed, “Was she mad?”

“No, not at all, but she wouldn’t let us go.”

“Guess you get the afternoon off. I know you will all party tonight after the coronation, might as well get a head start,” Chevalier said, and patted Mark on the shoulder.

Mark relaxed and grinned, “Don’t have to tell us twice.”

The Elders laughed as the guards blurred away.

***

Emily walked on her heels to the next room, trying not to smudge her recently painted toenails.

“Your facial will be in here,” the woman said, and Emily sat down in a soft recliner to wait.

“Ahh, my dear, are you ready?” Emily nodded, and the woman leaned the chair back and put a warm towel over Emily’s face.

“I’m Selma, by the way,” she said, and started mixing some oils in a small dish.

“Nice to meet you,” Emily said, relaxed.

“Your accent, it’s not from around here.”

“I grew up in Montana,” Emily explained. She found it refreshing to have small talk with someone not trying to kill or kidnap her.

“Oh Montana! What a pretty place,” she said, and pulled the towel off. She began rubbing fruit and lavender scented oil gently into Emily’s face and then massaged her temples. Emily felt herself relaxing further and was almost asleep when the woman spoke again.

“Ok, Dear, time for your massage,” Selma said, and helped Emily to her feet. She took her into a small, dark room that had a waterfall flowing down the wall and scented candles on high shelves.

“Pull off your robe and get under the sheet, face down. I will send in Charles.” Selma bowed slightly and walked off.

Emily laughed, it seemed an odd gesture to bow, but she slipped off the plush pink robe and crawled under the sheet, placing her face in the hole on the head rest.

Emily started to sleep slightly as she waited for her masseuse. When he came in, he said nothing, but pulled the sheet down off of her back and began working the knots in her neck with warm, scented oil.

“That’s a unique smell, what is it?” Emily asked.

Charles laughed softly, “It’s a blend I make, to help you relax.”

“Mmm, it’s working.” Emily could feel her neck and back calming as he gently massaged the knots. The scent was soothing and she felt herself relaxing more.

Charles moved onto her arms and massaged down to her fingers, “That’s a lovely ring.”

“Thanks,” Emily said, her words slightly slurred. She felt a slight tug on the ring.

Charles covered Emily’s back and uncovered her legs. She wasn’t sure why, but she began to feel uncomfortable as he massaged the sweet smelling oil into her thighs.

“Why so tense all of a sudden?” Charles asked her.

Emily shrugged. She still felt relaxed and sluggish from the massage and all of the scents. She felt like hours had passed, even though she had only signed up for an hour-long massage. The room was quiet as Charles worked on her feet and the scents were growing stronger.

“Turn over, Dear,” Charles said to her.

She held the sheet while she rolled over and he immediately put a warm rag over her eyes. She heard him sit in a chair by her head and began to massage her scalp, face, and neck. He slowly moved down to massage the oil into her shoulders and upper chest, and Emily felt something brush her lips. It happened so fast she began to think she’d imagined it.

All at once, she felt lips press against hers as hands slid lower down her chest and lightly brushed her breast. She pushed the face away from her and sat up, clutching the sheet close to her. She pulled the washcloth off of her eyes and stared at the masseuse while her eyes adjusted to the dark.

Emily’s eyes narrowed, “Sotomar?”

Sotomar smiled, “You remember me.”

“Oh, my God!” she screamed, and stood up. “What the hell?”

“Don’t panic, I’m a trained masseuse,” he said, and raised an eyebrow.

Emily put on the robe, keeping a close eye on Sotomar, and cinched it closed with the belt, “What the hell do you want?”

“Only to help you relax. You are quite tense. Seems the Equites aren’t doing enough to keep you comfortable.”

Emily glared at him, “Why can’t you just leave me alone? I haven’t attacked anyone in a long time. I’m tired of it.”

“This isn’t an attack, the Valle own this little place. I was called when you came in the door. It’s nothing more than a business,” he said, clearly amused.

Emily glanced at the massage oil and picked it up when she saw its crimson color, “Is this blood?”

“Some of it, it’s a special blend of oils like ochun and elegua.” He took the bottle from her, “It’s mine though, you’d need to make your own.”

“You! You rubbed blood into my back? That’s so… nasty!” Emily said, and tried to open the door, but it was locked. She turned around angrily, “Open it.”

“It’s customary to lock the door during a massage,” Sotomar said, watching her.

Emily glared at Sotomar and watched him fall to his knees, clutching his chest and the familiar smell of burning filled the room. She frowned when he didn’t turn to ash, and tried again. His screams filled the room, but he never fell.

“Can’t do it can you?” Sotomar asked, his voice strained as he stood up.

Emily began to panic, “What did you do?”

“Just a precaution, sadly temporary though,” he said, and smiled. “Now come, finish your massage.”

“Let me out of here,” she glared.

“Answer me a question first.”

“What?” Emily asked, crossing her arms.

“When are you planning on producing another child?” Sotomar asked, and sat down. The burn was lingering in his chest.

“What kind of question is that?”

“A valid one.”

“One that’s none of your damn business, now let me out,” she said again.

“As a show of good faith, I will,” Sotomar said, and unlocked the door.

Emily grabbed her purse and ran out of the building, still in the robe, and got into the Durango. She pulled quickly into traffic to head back to Council City.

Emily glanced into her rear-view mirror and saw three identical red Lamborghini Reventon’s right behind her. They spanned the three lanes of the Interstate and were quickly closing the distance. She pegged the Durango at 100 mph and kept a close eye on the approaching car, then grabbed for her cell phone, but it wasn’t in her purse anymore. She turned off onto the small road that went to Council City.

“Damnit,” Emily yelled when one of the Reventon’s quickly passed her on the median. She was now surrounded by the red cars. They were approaching the woods that eventually led to the west side of the palace, when the car in front of her began to slow, just as the sun set and it started to get dark.

“Let’s see you off-road those babies,” Emily said, and popped the Durango into 4-wheel drive on the fly, and then turned a hard right. She watched the Reventon’s screech to a halt as she mowed down a barbed wire fence and sped across a rocky field.

She didn’t slow, even when the terrain became dangerously rocky and the Durango began to make horrible clunking noises. The engine died at the tree line, and smoke began to pour from under the hood.

Emily glanced quickly behind her and stepped out of the Durango. She slipped on a pair of cowboy boots that she kept in the back of the car and grabbed a Smith & Wesson .357 from the glove box. Looking behind her again, she ran into the woods, cursing the bulky robe.

She didn’t stop or slow down as she ran through the trees. She no longer knew which direction she was going, and her senses were aware of every noise around her. She knew she gained a head start by taking the Durango off-road, but she also knew that the Valle would be blurring behind her, edging closer quickly.

Emily realized she was running in a blind panic and stopped to lean against a tree to try and get her bearings. She couldn’t see the sky through the dense trees, but there was just enough light she could see the ground. She found a patch of moss beside one of the trees and ran left, heading west toward the palace.

“Emmmily,” she heard someone yell from behind her. She didn’t turn around, but kept running toward what she hoped would be the safety of Council City.

Emily knew she was slowing down. She couldn’t see as well anymore, and she had been running for too long. She couldn’t keep up the pace. She hoped that the guards were partying in the woods again, like they had for Quinn’s coronation. If she could reach them, she knew she would be safe.

Emily suddenly saw a light ahead and realized it was a campfire. Soon, she could hear music playing. As she got closer, the music grew louder and she heard the smashing of glass against a tree. She pushed harder and ran into the clearing. The music suddenly stopped, and the partying guards looked at her, confused.

Mark came up from behind some of the others, “Emily?”

“Mark...” Emily panted. “Valle.”

She felt a rush as the guards blurred to her.

“Where?” Mark asked, looking into the woods.

“Emmmmmily,” someone yelled again from the dark woods.

Emily had barely even blinked when the clearing emptied out, and she heard the sounds of movement behind her. She turned and ran toward where the guards had gone. It wasn’t far before she heard the sounds of fighting. She drew her pistol and ran forward, unsure how many Valle were after her.

The trees suddenly filled with fighting heku. Emily couldn’t tell in the dark which were Equites and which were Valle. Blood and body parts were flying, and the woods were filled with growls and hisses.

Emily saw Silas and ran toward him. He had three Valle attacking him, and she stood off to his side and concentrated. One of the Valle fell to the ground, screaming, but didn’t turn all the way into ash. He stood up slowly and his eyes fixed on her.

Emily took a step back and raised her gun toward him.

“Go ahead, Sweetheart, shoot me,” he said, stepping toward her.

Emily pulled the trigger, but the heku turned into a blur and the gun was ripped from her hand. The Valle smashed the butt of the gun against the side of her face, and she fell back against the mossy ground as blood poured from her cheek. She saw him disappear as someone slammed into him, then she slowly got to her feet and steadied herself against a tree as her head cleared.

A strong arm wrapped around her waist and lifted her from the ground as a hand pressed against her mouth.

“Shhhh, Child, don’t make this painful,” a heku whispered into her ear. “Come with me, and the Valle will leave some of your guards alive.”

Emily bit his hand and her mouth filled with blood as he screamed, but quickly began to heal. She head butted him hard and heard his nose shatter as she finally pulled loose from his grasp. He looked up at her with infuriated eyes and appeared just inches from her. She turned just as he punched and hit her lower ribs. She felt the painful stab as her ribs broke and she fell to her knees, gasping for breath.

“You bitch, that hurt,” he growled, and then disappeared when one of the Equites blurred into him and pushed him into a tree. The thick tree cracked and then fell with the force of the hit, and Emily got to her feet, holding onto her side.

The woods quickly grew silent as the fighting stopped. Emily looked around, but couldn’t see what was going on. She turned away from where the fighting had been, and started to run, unsure if the Equites or the Valle had won. She wasn’t able to move as fast as she would have liked, her ribs were stabbing painfully into her side with each breath.

“Em, stop!” Mark yelled from behind her, and she turned slowly. She saw the familiar Equites guards step closer to her. They were covered in blood, their clothes were torn, and some were supported by others as they fought against wounds that healed too slowly.

“Meet in the clearing,” Mark said, and picked Emily up. She groaned as the movement sent painful stabs through her chest. He blurred her back into the clearing by the fire and laid her gently on the ground.

Emily looked up and saw the Equites guards all emerge into the clearing. Those that were injured were laid down beside her. She jumped when she heard a loud shout.

“That was awesome!” one of the guards shouted, and she saw the euphoric expression on his face. Others joined in, cheering, and the clearing filled with the excited talks of battle.

Mark knelt down beside Emily and looked down at the bloody robe, “Where are you clothes?”

Emily sighed, “It’s a long story.”

Mark grimaced and wrinkled his nose, “You smell like the Valle.”

“Like what?” she asked, not sure she heard right.

“Very strongly like the Valle, ugh,” Mark said, and turned her head toward the fire so he could see the gash on the side of her face.

“I’m sorry I broke up your party,” Emily said as he studied the cut on her face.

Mark laughed, “That’s the most fun we’ve had at a coronation party.”

Emily looked at him, “Fun?”

One of the guards ran over, “Great move, Lady Emily! You should bring Valle to all of our parties.”

Emily just shook her head.

Mark sighed, “Course, someone’s got to go tell the Elder.”

Emily grinned, “Can’t I just go to a hotel for a week?”

He picked her up as gently as he could, and then chuckled, “I’m not going to be the one to tell him where your clothes are, or why you smell like the Valle.”

“If you all would stop sniffing me, you wouldn’t notice,” Emily said, and leaned her head against his shoulder.

“Are cowboy boots and a robe this year’s new mortal fashion?” Mark asked, and then blurred her back to the palace.

“I’m thinking not.”

“Where did you come from anyway?”

“I have no idea. I was getting chased by the Valle in sports cars, so I took the Durango off-road and it died by the trees.”

“You know what?” Mark said. “I’m thinking I don’t want to know.”

Mark stepped into the palace and started up the stairs when he heard someone behind him. He turned just as the entire Council stepped out of the reception hall in a crouch and looked up at Mark. He was covered in blood and his clothes were torn. Chevalier appeared at his side and growled when he saw Emily.

“This should be good,” Kyle said, and then he frowned when he saw Emily’s blood covered robe and the gash on her cheek.

“We smelled Valle,” Zohn said, looking around.

“Erm... that’s Emily,” Mark told him, and then winced.

Zohn leaned forward a bit and smelled her, “Ew, that is Emily.”

“Stop sniffing me!” Emily yelled, and pushed him away.

“Let’s talk in the bedroom,” Chevalier suggested, and they all blurred into the room. Mark laid Emily down carefully on the bed, but she groaned slightly when the stabbing pain hit.

Chevalier rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, “Who wants to start?”

Emily and Mark both looked at each other.

“He does,” Emily said.

“She does,” Mark said at the same time.

Emily sat up and grimaced as she grabbed her side. She stood slowly and walked toward the bathroom.

“Do you need something to drink?” Kyle asked, amused when he noticed the blood around her mouth and chin.

Emily nodded, “Yes, I have heku blood taste in my mouth.”

Kyle chuckled, and it irritated her, but when she tried to walk faster, her painful ribs made it hard to breathe and she winced when she slipped off the cowboy boots.

“Em?” Chevalier asked from her side.

“What’s up with the rib punches? Is that a required technique for heku finishing school?” Emily hissed, and shut the bathroom door on him.

Chevalier sighed and turned to Mark, “Start talking.”

Mark nodded, “We were partying in the woods, when Emily came running into the clearing from the east. She said something about the Valle, and then we heard someone call her name from the trees. We fought them and I realized too late that Emily had followed us, and was in the middle of the fight.”

“Damn,” Kyle said, frowning.

“The Valle then?” Quinn asked.

“We killed them. There were only about twenty following her.”

“Why does she smell like Valle, and where are her clothes?” Zohn asked, irritated.

Mark shrugged, “That, I don’t know.”

The heku turned when they heard the shower turn on and then continued.

“Did we lose anyone?” Quinn asked.

Mark shook his head, “No, just a few injuries, but they are at the clearing now, healing.”

“Did you save us one for interrogation?” Zohn asked him.

Mark grinned slightly, “No, it all happened too fast.”

“Very well, you can go back,” Quinn told him, and Mark smiled and blurred from the room.

“You honestly can’t leave her alone for a minute, can you?” Zohn asked, and turned to Chevalier.

Kyle went to the door and got the tray from the servant and took it to the table. He lifted the dome and carefully smelled for poisons, and then put the dome back on to keep it warm.

Zohn grimaced, “That smell is so strong.”

Kyle walked over and picked up Emily’s boots and smelled them. He wrinkled his nose, opened the window, and tossed them out, “That should help.”

“This story should be interesting,” Quinn said, and sat down on a chair to wait for Emily. The shower had just turned off and they could hear her getting dressed.

Emily came out a short time later, brushing her wet hair. She’d changed into jogging pants and a halter top. She looked at the eager faces of the heku and frowned, “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“I’m not sure that’s an option,” Zohn said bluntly.

Chevalier glared at him as Emily sat down slowly, “I don’t think I asked you.”

“Why don’t we start with the obvious… injuries,” Quinn said, trying to calm everyone down.

“Nothing serious,” Emily told him, and took a large drink from the orange juice.

“We don’t have a doctor anymore. We need to ascertain if you need to go to the hospital.”

“I don’t,” Emily said, and picked up the cheeseburger. She looked over at the watching heku and set it down, “Fine… the cut on my face doesn’t need stitches, and I’m pretty sure some ribs are broken, but I know how to deal with those.”

“Why…” Chevalier said, frustrated. “Why did you jump into the fight?”

“The Valle were following me… I had to help.”

“Why not just ash them then?” Kyle asked.

Emily looked down at the table, “That’s… sort of… broken right now.”

“Broken?” Quinn asked, concerned.

“What do you mean broken?” Chevalier asked.

“Broken… as in… right now it just causes burning pain but no ash.” Emily took a bite of the cheeseburger and ignored the eyes watching her.

“When did this happen?”

“I’m not sure. I didn’t even know until I tried to ash Sotomar and…” Emily stopped suddenly, and lowered her head to the table.

“Sotomar?” Chevalier hissed.

Emily nodded, her head still against the table.

“So… Sotomar was in the woods, too?”

Emily shook her head and whispered, “No.”

“So when, exactly, did you try to ash Sotomar?” Chevalier asked, irritated that he had to keep questioning her.

Emily looked up at the heku, “I don’t want to talk about it.”

Chevalier turned to Kyle, “You may go.”

Kyle hesitated, and then left the room, shutting the door behind him.

“Ok, now it’s just us,” Chevalier said.

Emily frowned at Zohn, “Yeah, I’m way more willing to divulge what’s going on to Zohn than Kyle.”

“This is a matter that requires all of the Elders to deal with,” Quinn said.

“Since when is Zohn an Elder?” Emily asked, irritated.

“Since tonight, actually. You would have known had you been in attendance,” Zohn said smugly.

“What? Why not James?”

“That didn’t work out,” Quinn said.

“Yeah well, I’m not talking,” Emily said, and grabbed a French fry.

“Are you afraid I will detect if you are lying?” Zohn asked her.

Emily glared at him, “Are you insinuating that I’m going to be lying?”

“No, it just seems strange that you once again found yourself in the company of the Valle Elder, yet won’t divulge the happenings at this meeting,” Zohn said, and stopped talking quickly when both Quinn and Chevalier glared at him.

Emily threw a French fry at him, “I don’t like you.”

“I am well aware of that,” Zohn told her.

“Just reminding you, in case you forgot.”

Emily reached for her glass, but gasped and then grabbed it with her other hand.

“Damnit, Em, why are you always hurt?” Chevalier asked, kneeling down beside her. He lifted the side of her shirt and growled at the dark bruise forming along her rib cage. Emily batted his hand away and pulled her shirt down.

“I’m not always hurt.”

“Pretty damned close.”

Emily frowned at him, “If I’m so much of a bother. I can always go away.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“It’s what you said though,” Emily said, and stood up, ignoring the pain in her side.

“Ok, calm down,” Quinn said, and took Emily’s arm. He led her to the bed and helped her sit down, “Let’s start simple, you tell us what you want to, and the rest we’ll deal with, ok?”

Emily nodded, “Ok.”

Chevalier was amazed at how easily Quinn could calm her, and he wondered, not for the first time, what exactly Emily had told Quinn while he was supposedly unconscious and unaware.

“Where are your clothes?” Quinn asked, pulling a chair up by the bed.

Emily crossed her legs and grasped her side before answering, “At the masseuse.”

“You went for a massage then?”

“Yes”

“The robe is theirs?”

Emily nodded, watching Quinn and ignoring the way Zohn kept looking at her like he was watching for signs of lying. Chevalier stood off to the side and let Quinn get out of her what he could.

“So you went into town for a massage and then…”

“No, I went into town to get my name changed, then I saw the billboard for a day spa,” Emily corrected.

“You changed your name?” Quinn asked, surprised.

“Yes”

“To what, exactly?”

“I got the death certificate for Keith today, and used it to get my last name changed.”

Quinn smiled, “Ok, last name change only then.”

“Erm... yes,” Emily said, confused. “I’m now officially a Winchester.”

“Not a Flynn?”

“No, I decided if everyone was going to call me the Winchester, that I might as well be. The same is for Allen and Alex too, they are now Winchesters.”

“How exactly did you leave your clothes at the masseuse?” Zohn asked, and stepped back when Emily glared at him.

“After I decided to bang the entire Valle faction, I was having so much fun I forgot to get dressed,” she yelled at him.

Chevalier glared at Zohn and he stepped back.

Quinn turned to Emily and smiled softly, “What happened at the spa then?”

Emily looked at Chevalier and sighed, “I got a manicure, pedicure, and a facial… and was supposed to get a massage for an hour.”

“Ok”

“Then I left in a hurry and didn’t have time to change,” Emily said, cutting out parts she didn’t want anyone to know.

Quinn nodded, “What happened after you left?”

“What? We don’t know what happened there,” Zohn growled.

“One more outburst and I’ll have to ask you to leave,” Quinn said, and Zohn sat down angrily. “What happened after you left?”

“I headed back here, but I was getting followed by three red sports cars. They boxed me in on the road, and started to slow down, so I put the Durango into 4x4 and took off cross-country.”

Quinn smiled, “That was very smart. You always impress me with how you handle things.”

Emily smiled, “Thanks.”

“Go on, so you are off-roading the Durango?”

“Yes, but I took the bumps too fast. I was afraid they were running behind me, and the Durango died right by the trees.” Emily looked up at Chevalier and then back to Quinn, “So I put on my boots, got my gun, and ran into the trees toward Council City.”

“That explains the cowboy boots and robe,” Quinn grinned.

“I heard someone calling from behind me, and I ran into the guards partying. They took off and started fighting the Valle.”

“Right, and you joined in?”

“Yes”

“Because you are unable to turn a heku to ash at the moment?”

“Right, well I saw three heku on Silas, so I burned one of them and he came after me. He hit me with my gun.” Emily blushed and touched her cheek, “Someone else grabbed me from behind and I bit him and broke his nose, so he hit me and broke my ribs. Then one of the Equites tackled him, and suddenly, it was over.”

Quinn nodded, “Good, that explains a lot. Why do you smell like a Valle?”

“I didn’t know Valle smelled.”

“Each faction has their own type of scent, though I’ve never smelled it as strongly as when you came into the palace, I will admit.”

“We thought we were under attack by hundreds, it was that strong,” Chevalier said, and sat down by Emily on the bed.

“She knows why,” Zohn said, and shrugged at Emily.

She glared at him, “Go away.”

“May I?” Quinn asked, and held his hand out. Emily put her hand in his and he flipped her hand over and smelled the soft side of her wrist, “It’s not your blood, that’s not changed.”

Zohn disappeared into the bathroom and came out holding the pink robe at arm’s length. He tossed it into the fire, “Some of the smell is that thing.”

“Go away!” Emily yelled again.

“Em? We’re going to have to face the Valle about this attack, and it would help a lot if we knew the entire story,” Chevalier said, and took her hand.

Emily groaned as she stood up, the rib pain was getting worse. She walked toward the door.

“Where are you going?” Chevalier asked.

“To talk to Kyle,” she said, and opened the door. Emily saw Kyle standing in the foyer, so she walked out, took his hand, and led him into his room and shut the door.

“Damn, she’s aggravating,” Zohn said angrily.

“You don’t help. You know she doesn’t like you. Why can’t you just stand back?” Quinn said.

“Now that I’m an Elder, she sort of has to put up with me.”

“Yes, but antagonizing her isn’t going to help,” Chevalier growled at him.

“Sure, blame me. Why don’t you try to figure out why she’s over there telling Kyle what she should be telling us?” Zohn hissed.

“I’m just glad she’s telling someone,” Chevalier admitted. “He’ll tell us.”

Quinn nodded when Zohn looked at him.

“Fine,” Zohn said, and sat down.

An hour later, Kyle came into the bedroom, furious. He sat down by the fireplace, “It took a long time to convince her not to go destroy the Valle covens one at a time. She’s certain she could have them wiped out within a year.”

Chevalier nodded, “Yes, she’s mentioned that to me before. So tell us what we want to know, please.”

“The Valle own the spa she went to, more of Emily’s bad luck I guess. Apparently, Sotomar was called in when she showed up, and acted as her masseuse.”

Chevalier’s hands tightened into fists.

“It wasn’t until some… shall we call it… inappropriate touching, that Emily saw it was him. By then, she’d been having a massage for almost ninety minutes.”

“Inappropriate touching?” Chevalier growled.

“That’s when she found out she couldn’t turn him to ash and the door was locked so she couldn’t get out. She also… saw his massage oil…” Kyle sighed. “It was a mixture of blood and herbs.”

“What?” Chevalier yelled, and stood up, smashing the chair into the wall.

“He didn’t attack. The only thing he did was ask when she was planning on having another baby, and then he let her out of the room,” Kyle said, his rage had softened when he was able to tell the others what had happened. “That’s where the smell came from. They’ve enhanced their faction’s scent with herbs and then… pretty much… rubbed it all over her.”

“They would have known we would detect that,” Quinn frowned.

“Not necessarily, I think the red cars were sent to stop her from reaching us. They didn’t count on Emily putting it into 4-wheel drive and leaving them behind on the black-top,” Kyle said, grinning slightly.

“If they wanted her, then why did Sotomar not do it?” Quinn asked.

“He mentioned that her abilities were only temporarily muted. He may have been afraid if she got madder, they would return.”

“That makes sense. They relaxed her with herbs so she couldn’t use her abilities… so this was another attempt to kidnap her?”

Kyle shrugged, “I don’t know, maybe. She said her room smells like Equites, so she is going to sleep in mine tonight.”

Chevalier grinned slightly.

“Don’t bring up the massage though, ok? That’s the worst part of all of this, the fact he had his hands all over her and rubbed blood into her skin,” Kyle told them.

“That’s it?” Zohn asked. “She was so worked up because Sotomar copped a feel and rubbed blood on her?”

Kyle glared at him, “With all due respect, Elder, that is more than enough to cause Emily some embarrassment.”

“I thought she was tougher than that,” Zohn said.

“Not when it comes to personal violations, that’s her Achilles heel,” Quinn explained.

Chevalier looked at Quinn, shocked. He hadn’t realized anyone else knew about her insecurities and again wished he knew what Emily told him in Alaska.

“Why don’t you all go back to the reception? I’ll stay with Em,” Kyle said.

Quinn and Zohn nodded and walked out.

“I don’t know how long I can keep her from going coven to coven on a killing spree,” Chevalier said when the others had left.

Kyle nodded, “I know, they aren’t really giving her much of a reason not to. At least, for now, the Encala have backed off.

“It would serve them right, but she can’t kill them all. There has to be over nine hundred Valle covens in the United States alone.”

“Chev?” Emily asked from the doorway.

Chevalier and Kyle turned to look at her.

“Am I interrupting?” she asked them.

“No, Em, come in,” Chevalier told her.

Emily walked in and sat down on Chevalier’s lap, “What were you talking about?”

“You,” Kyle told her.

“Nothing more interesting to talk about than me?” she asked. Chevalier chuckled and wrapped his arms around her.

“Don’t you know? You’re the talk of the town,” Chevalier said, and kissed the top of her head.

“Which part? Getting groped by a Valle Elder? Crashing the guard party with Valle? Maybe the fact that I change my last name or finally got a death certificate for my illustrious ex-husband?” Emily asked.

Kyle laughed, “You do give us quite the choices.”

Emily sat up and looked at Chevalier, “Zohn? Seriously?”

Chevalier nodded.

“Is he just kidding me?” Emily asked Kyle.

“Nope,” Kyle told her.

“Why did it change from James? When I wanted you to turn down the post as Elder, you said you weren’t allowed or some nonsense,” Emily asked.

“He’s going into retirement,” Chevalier explained.

“Why not Kyle then? Why did it have to be Zohn?”

Kyle coughed and then laughed.

“What?”

“You’re the only one I know that would dare question the decision of an Elder,” Kyle said.

“Hmm,” Emily sighed, and leaned back against Chevalier, grasping her ribs to support them. “Can you both take tomorrow off?”

“No, we have a full day tomorrow,” Chevalier told her, and kissed her head. The second his lips touched her, another blurry image filled his mind. He listened carefully, but could only hear soft, distant voices. The images were too distorted to make out, but he saw something move and could make out Emily’s angry tone.

“Elder?” Kyle asked, seeing the faraway look in Chevalier’s eyes.

Chevalier shook his head slightly and looked over, “Sorry, what was that?”

“What just happened?”

“It’s only happened a few times before… but it’s almost like I’m on the verge of seeing what Em is thinking, but I can’t clear it up.”

Emily frowned, “Well don’t… it’s private.

“What would cause that?” Kyle asked.

The memory of Chevalier forcing Emily to drink his blood flooded his mind before he shrugged, “No idea.”

“Gah,” Emily said, and sat up, scratching her shoulders. “It’s itchy.”

Chevalier leaned her forward and ran his hand softly across her neck and shoulders, “Rash.”

Emily grimaced and stood up, “Ok, go back to your party.”

“We aren’t going to leave you,” Kyle told her.

“Just go. I’m going to go find some tape and some baking soda, and then I’m going to take a bath and go to bed,” Emily said, and headed out the door.

Chevalier shrugged at Kyle and then they both headed downstairs to the reception.

Chapter 26 - Kidnapping

The Council all gathered early the next morning to start the day’s trials. They had a full day ahead of them, and none of them were looking forward to it. Zohn was sitting in Maleth’s seat, and the Chief Interrogator’s chair sat empty.

“How is Emily this morning?” Quinn asked, thumbing through the docket for the day.

“Sore, but not too bad I would imagine. She left early this morning and refused her guards,” Chevalier said, and turned toward Quinn.

“So are we going to go save her now or wait until we’ve gone through a few cases?” Zohn asked.

“Zohn… please,” Quinn said after Chevalier glared at him.

“Derrick, get this started,” Kyle called out, trying to keep the Elders from turning on each other.

Derrick came in, obviously bored, “Today’s first case is a housing dispute.”

“Seriously?” Quinn asked, and rolled his eyes.

“Great, my first day as an Elder and we get housing issues,” Zohn sighed.

“Bring them in,” Chevalier said. “Let’s get this over with.”

“I said you could have it over my dead body,” the woman screamed.

The man came in and looked desperately at the Council, “She didn’t, and she said I could have it.”

Derrick grinned and shut the doors behind him.

“It’s all yours, Zohn,” Quinn said, and leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling.

Chevalier grabbed a staffing roster and started looking through it.

Zohn settled four domestic disputes and three feeding disputes before noon. Derrick stepped in again and Zohn looked at him and sighed, “What now?”

“There’s… a… small…” Derrick looked behind him nervously and then back to the Elders. “Sorry, a large… terrifying, kidnapping issue.”

Quinn finally looked down from the ceiling, “Do what?”

“Someone got kidnapped?” Zohn asked.

“It’s pretty much in progress,” Derrick said, and gave a crooked grin.

Chevalier looked from Quinn to Zohn, and then to Derrick, “Who exactly is getting kidnapped?”

Derrick jerked back away from something and then stepped away from the door. Mark appeared with his hands handcuffed behind his back and walked into the council chambers.

“I tried to stop…” Mark was cut off with a smack to the back of his head.

A tiny figure stepped out from behind him. She was in all black with a black ski mask pulled down over her face, and a cattle prod in her hand.

Emily forced Mark to his knees and walked around him toward the Council, the cattle prod pointed toward them.

“What’s going on?” Chevalier asked her.

“Ssssh,” she said, and put her finger to the lips of the ski mask.

“We’re very busy and don’t have time for your games,” Zohn said, and watched Emily walk up behind the Council. She didn’t say a word, but stepped behind Kyle and pulled him up to standing.

“Am I getting kidnapped?” Kyle asked her, as she pulled his hands behind his back and handcuffed them.

“Don’t waste your breath, she won’t talk,” Mark said, watching them.

Emily pushed Kyle ahead of her and stopped at Chevalier. She pointed the cattle prod at him and motioned for him to stand. He grinned and stood up. She pulled his hands behind his back and handcuffed them.

“This is stupid, nothing but child’s play,” Zohn said, and stood up to turn toward Emily.

Emily touched the cattle prod to his arm, and he fell suddenly to the floor.

Quinn turned away, hiding a grin, and Emily pushed Kyle and Chevalier forward. They went with her, not sure what she was trying to do. Mark stood up as they passed and she pushed him towards the rest.

Zohn was scowling as she led them out of the council chambers and shut the door.

“What was that?” the Chief Investigator asked Quinn.

“I do believe, they are taking the day off,” he said, and laughed.

“This is absurd! This isn’t some game she can come and disrupt,” Zohn said angrily.

“Get over it, Zohn, we’re free for the day,” Quinn said, and left.

Emily pushed the three heku out past the door guards, threatening them with the cattle prod when they asked any questions. They did what she asked, and she walked them out to the stables, where four horses were waiting, saddled and ready.

Emily pulled off the black ski mask, laughing, “Now you have the day off.”

The heku broke the handcuffs off and walked over to their horses.

“Unorthodox, but ok,” Mark said, and mounted.

Chevalier saw Emily struggle to get on Patra and lifted her up. She gripped her side and settled into the saddle.

“Zohn’s pissed,” Kyle said, and mounted his horse.

“He’ll live,” Chevalier said. “It was so boring in there today!”

“Do try to keep up,” Emily said, and kicked Patra into a gallop through the city.

She heard the hoof beats from behind her, but kept her lead as they ran through the streets of Council City. Cavalry waved as they passed and watched them fly out of the city. Emily led the way and was soon out to the east on the hills and heading for the trees. She didn’t slow down but disappeared into the dense trees, weaving Patra in and out of the woods.

The three heku fought to keep up with her and tried to keep from knocking themselves out on low tree branches. Still at a gallop, Emily emerged from the trees and ran Patra across the rocky slope down toward the small stream. The others followed her as quickly as their horses would go, and enjoyed the feeling of ditching work.

Emily lowered her head, still clutching her painful side, and pulled Patra into a jump over the water. The mare landed smoothly and she crossed the field toward the broken fence. The others followed suit and jumped the stream, finally catching up to Emily when she stopped Patra alongside two black Suburbans and the three red sports cars that were abandoned on the road.

Kyle slid off of his mare and ran his hand along one of the cars, “Do you know what these are? Lamborghini Reventons. Only 20 of these are out there.”

Mark followed him and peered inside, “They have 640 horsepower v12 engines that can go from 0 to 60 in 3.3 seconds and can get up to 211 miles per hour.”

“Some reason why we’re here?” Chevalier asked, admiring the three cars.

He looked back at Emily and she was holding three keys in her hand. Kyle and Mark turned to her also, and their jaws dropped.

“What? Where did you get these?” Chevalier asked suspiciously.

“They belong to the Valle,” Emily explained. “This is what they were chasing me in. Now the owners are dead.”

Mark grinned, “Where’d you get the keys?”

“I went through the Valle goo this morning and found them.” Emily dangled the keys again.

“Can we have these?” Kyle asked the Elder.

Chevalier shrugged, “The owners are dead?”

Mark nodded, “If they are owned by the Valle chasing Emily, then yes, they are dead.”

“Do we still have a document forger?” Kyle asked, opening the door on one of the cars and looking inside.

“Yes, we do.” Chevalier grinned and slid off of his stallion. He reached up and took the keys from Emily’s hand and tossed a key to each of them.

Emily laughed at the look on their faces, they seemed like little boys looking at the holy grail of cars. She watched as they each found the car that went with their key and adjusted the seats to fit them comfortably.

Chevalier was the first to peel out and take off at a dangerous speed down the narrow winding road. Kyle soon followed, and then Mark after grinning broadly at Emily.

Emily gathered the reins and headed back through the trees, leading the three extra horses behind her. It was easier to keep the right course during the day, and there was enough damage done to the trees and brush from the twenty Valle running after her that she had a trail to follow. She steered clear of the carnage that still cluttered part of the forest floor. She had already spent a considerable part of the morning going through bloody clothing looking for the keys.

When Emily cleared the trees, she saw three heku blurring towards her and she stopped and waited for them.

Chevalier, Mark, and Kyle stopped at her and they were still laughing about something.

“I figured you’d all drive to Denver and back before I’d see you again,” Emily said, and handed them the reins.

“Those are some amazing cars,” Mark said, beaming.

“Did you see the look on Zohn’s face? That’s his dream car,” Kyle laughed.

Emily cringed, one more thing he would hate her for.

“So now that we’ve been kidnapped for the day, what do you say we go have a look at the Durango?” Chevalier asked, and mounted his pesky Arabian.

Mark and Kyle both slid onto their horses easily, and Emily nodded, “Sure, but it’s not going to be pretty.”

They headed back into the woods, slower this time.

“Zohn said that Quinn canceled the rest of today for the entire Council,” Kyle told Chevalier.

“I figured, I’ve never seen such a boring lineup. When did we become the civil police?” Chevalier sighed.

“Why don’t you let the Cavalry handle those issues, leave the important things for the Council? That would give the Council more time off, and they could focus on the big things and not the little city stuff,” Emily said. She turned around when the other three stopped, “What?”

Chevalier looked at Mark, “Could your Cavalry do that?”

Mark nodded, “Yes, I know about the house dispute between Gerty and Sid. Stuff like that would be easy to handle on the spot.”

Kyle shrugged, “It’s a good idea, but tradition would need to be changed.”

Chevalier clicked his tongue, and the Arabian headed off again, “I’m going to bring it up.”

“It would be so nice to give you all a day off once in a while,” Emily said. She headed around the bloody gore again, but the other three stopped at the edge of the massacre and looked over it.

“Impressive,” Chevalier said, and smiled.

“It was quite fun,” Mark said. “They’ve asked me if Emily can bring Valle to each of our parties.”

“Oh ha-ha,” Emily said, and headed around the bodies.

“I wish I would have been there. It would have been way more interesting than the reception,” Kyle said, and followed her.

“I haven’t had a good fight in a while, I wish I could have been there too,” Chevalier said, and shrugged when Emily turned around. “When do we get to christen the new car?”

“Chev!” Emily yelled, and looked at him with wide eyes.

“Christen a car?” Kyle asked.

Emily shook her head and turned to face forward again.

She came out of the trees a few yards south of the Durango and stopped Patra when she got to it. Emily tied Patra up to the Durango’s trailer hitch and opened the door. She turned the key, and it didn’t even try to turn over.

Chevalier popped the hood while Kyle climbed underneath it.

“Damn, what did you do to this?” Kyle asked, and there was a loud grinding sound from under the front end.

Mark walked up with a twisted piece of metal, “Here’s the muffler. It was about a hundred yards back.”

Chevalier sighed and shut the hood, “Honey, I think it’s gone.”

Emily frowned, “Can’t we tow it in to get fixed?”

“Not with this kind of damage, the entire underside is torn up,” Kyle said, and brushed himself off when he stood up. “There’s a bent controller arm and subframe, the suspension is blown out, you lost a tire a few yards back and the rims are damaged. The shocks and motor mounts are trashed and there’s a crack in the engine block.”

“Oh, is that all?” Emily asked, and leaned her head against the steering wheel.

“Why don’t you take one of the Reventons?” Mark asked.

Emily sighed and ran her hand along the dash board, “Those aren’t cars… this… is a car.”

She ignored the shocked look on their faces and pulled the keys out of the ignition.

“We’ll get you anything you want, but this Durango, is gone,” Chevalier said, and touched her arm softly.

Emily sighed, “She saved me when I needed her to.”

Kyle hit Mark when he started to laugh.

“Come on, Em. Let’s go find you a new car,” Chevalier said, and handed Patra’s bridle to her.

Emily nodded, “Yeah, I guess. Though the Valle are going to pay for this.”

Chevalier lifted Emily up onto the horse, “So they can beat you up, and attack the guards, but if they hurt your car… you are going to get revenge?”

Emily sighed, “I liked that car.”

Chevalier chuckled, “Let’s go car shopping.”

“I get to drive!” Kyle yelled, and jumped onto his horse.

“I’d love to, but I have training tonight,” Mark said, and mounted his horse. “Besides, I doubt you’ll get three of you into the Lamborghini, let alone the four of us.”

Chevalier handed the bridle to the Arabian up to Mark and then slid onto Patra behind Emily. He nibbled on her neck and shoulders most of the way back to the palace as Emily gently ran her fingernails along his forearms, which were wrapped around her. Mark and Kyle stayed back respectfully and talked about their new cars.

Once at the palace, Mark headed for the barracks while Kyle, Emily, and Chevalier put the horses away and talked about what type of vehicle to get her. Kyle got into the driver’s seat of his Lamborghini and Chevalier slid into the passenger’s seat.

Emily looked in the car and frowned, “There’s no backseat?”

Chevalier pulled her onto his lap, “No, most $1.6 million cars don’t have a backseat.”

He shut the door, and Kyle spun the tires as he sped out of the garage with the heku guards watching enviously.

Kyle suggested a dealer of rare imports, and when they pulled in, the salesmen swarmed around the rare car.

“We should have brought the Humvee,” Emily said, and crawled out of the car.

“Hello, Ma’am,” one of the salesmen said, and came to shake her hand. He looked up with wide eyes when the two tall men stepped out of the car. He glanced at the cut and black bruise on Emily’s cheek and swallowed dryly before speaking, “What can we show you today?”

“Trucks,” Emily said, and the salesman glanced at Chevalier and Kyle quickly before smiling at Emily.

“Sure thing, trucks… I have just what you need,” he said, and touched the small of Emily’s back to lead her to the truck.

Kyle grabbed Chevalier when he clenched his fist, as the mortal touched Emily.

The salesman walked up to a truck that stood taller than any Emily had ever seen. It was hulking and looked more like a tank than a truck.

“What is that?” Emily asked, walking around the truck.

“It’s the Dartz Monaco Red Diamond Edition. Best truck out there. It has bullet and grenade proof windows, bulletproof tires, Tungsten Exhaust, and white gold gauges with diamonds and rubies,” he said, running his hand along the shiny red paint.

“Erm… what’s the engine?” Emily asked as she climbed up to look into the back end.

“Check out the white gold diamond and ruby encrusted grill, side and dashboard. It also has a mobile phone with alert button and… quite unique… whale penis leather interior.” The salesman smiled.

Emily dropped down and looked at him, “It has what kind of interior?”

“Come feel the leather, the whale penis leather is the softest in the world,” he said, and opened the door for her.

Emily cringed as Kyle and Chevalier laughed beside the large truck.

“No, thanks,” she said, and walked over to the heku.

“Come on, it’s amazingly soft,” the man said, and ran his hand along the seat.

“Ermmm… no thanks… I wouldn’t… want to… cheat on my husband… can we go?” Emily asked, and headed back for the car.

The salesman quickly ran to Emily and grabbed her arm, “Just come take a look.”

Chevalier put his hand on the salesman’s shoulder, “Get your hand off or you’ll lose it.”

Kyle hurried Emily and Chevalier back into the car and sped off.

“Nice car dealership, Kyle,” Emily said, and shook her head.

Chevalier sat quietly as he calmed his temper.

“Jeep!” Emily yelled, and pointed to a dealership.

Kyle pulled in and they stepped out again amidst the gathering of salesmen. The first one to shake Emily’s hand and talk to her stayed, smiling, but the others grumbled and walked off.

“Do you have a 2-door Rubicon?” Emily asked.

“Sure do, Ma’am. Come this way,” he said, and started to walk down aisles of Wranglers.

Chevalier stepped up behind her and put his hand on her back while Kyle followed along behind them. The salesman stopped in front of four Jeep Rubicons, and Emily pulled away from Chevalier and ran her hand along the dark green Jeep.

“It’s a nice, solid vehicle for off-roading. It has rock rails and off road bumpers. This green one here has the hard top. The top and the doors are all removable. They all have the anti-lock brakes and, of course, 4-wheel drive,” the salesman said.

Emily nodded and slipped inside of it.

“It’s pretty safe too. This one has all speed traction control, roll mitigation, tire pressure monitor, and hill assistance,” the salesman said to Chevalier and Kyle.

Kyle whispered, “I liked the idea of grenade proof windows.”

Chevalier chuckled.

“I don’t know, I can’t pull a trailer with it,” Emily said, but she obviously liked it.

Chevalier shrugged, “Then we’ll get you a truck, too.”

“Can it be jacked up? I want a higher clearance and bigger tires.”

“Yes, Ma’am, and this one would be perfect for you, it has adjustable seats and side steps,” the salesman said, and smiled.

Emily frowned, “What?”

“Nothing,” Chevalier said, and turned to the salesman. “We’ll take it.”

“Great, let’s go get the paperwork finished. Do you have a loan yet?” he asked, and walked towards the sales office.

“It’ll be cash,” Chevalier told him, and went back to the Jeep to get Emily out of it, amused.

Chevalier whispered, and Kyle turned and tossed the Elder his keys, “Oh, Kyle?”

Kyle and the salesman turned, “If they can throw in next year’s model of the Dodge Ram, we’ll pay extra for not having to make an extra stop.”

The salesman’s eyes lit up, “We can do that!”

Kyle nodded, “Sure can. I’ll call for someone to come and get it when I’m done with the paperwork.”

“Get the 3500!” Emily yelled as she sat down in the Lamborghini.

Chapter 27 - Trio

“Mark, have you seen Chev?” Emily asked as she pulled on her leather gloves.

“No, he and Kyle set out this morning to do something and haven’t been back,” Mark told her. “Are you going out 4x4 again?”

Emily nodded, “Yeah, I’ll be back in a bit.”

Mark nodded and backed his guards off. It was now commonplace for Emily to take her Jeep out alone and the privacy had been approved by the Council. Mark suspected it was for the safety of the guards. Without the quick reflexes of a heku at the wheel, anything off-road seemed dangerous.

Emily headed down the stairs and stopped to give Alexis a kiss. She picked her up off the floor and kissed her twice, “Did you have a good 3rd birthday?”

Alexis nodded, “Yes, tan I have take?”

Emily nodded and turned to Silas, “One tiny piece, and then toss the rest of it. It’s going to go bad soon.”

Silas nodded and handed a Barbie doll back to Alexis.

“Emily?” she heard Quinn call from the council chambers. Emily changed course and headed into the trial area.

“Yeah?” she asked, pulling on a leather jacket.

“Are you going out after Kyle and Chevalier?” he asked.

“No, I was going out in the Jeep. Do you want me to go out after them?”

“If you see them, just send them in. We have an important case we need them here for.”

Emily nodded, “Sure thing.”

“Or were you planning on kidnapping them again?” Zohn asked, scowling.

“Damn, Zohn, get over it. That was almost 7 months ago, and I haven’t kidnapped anyone since.” She glared at him and then left.

Emily went to the garage and climbed into the Rubicon. She waved to Mark as she pulled out onto the road. She had just gone off of the main road through a rocky field when she saw someone in her rear-view mirror. She screamed and hit the brakes.

“Don’t do anything rash… listen to me, and your Elder won’t get hurt,” the heku said, smiling.

Emily turned around and looked at the heku in her backseat, “Who are you?”

“Doesn’t matter. We have Chevalier and Kyle. If you come with us, we won’t hurt them,” he said, and looked toward the road. There was a black van sitting beside the field with the doors open and the windows darkened.

“How do I know you really have them?” Emily asked skeptically.

The heku smiled, “I told them you would need proof.”

He handed her an Equites faction medal of honor, the one that Kyle had received during Zohn’s coronation as an Elder.

“So we can’t really prove we have the Elder, but now you know we have your Chief Enforcer,” the heku said, and smiled.

Emily sighed, “So I take it I’m about to get kidnapped… again.”

The heku nodded.

“Peachy,” Emily said, and dropped her riding gloves into the passenger seat and got out. “Let’s go.”

He ran up behind her and pulled her hands behind her back, handcuffing them quickly.

“Is that really necessary? I’m going with you aren’t I?” she asked, pulling against the cuffs.

“It is necessary,” the heku said, and led her to the van.

“Hey! Now you know better than that,” Emily said when someone put a blindfold on her.

“That’s not for your abilities, Child,” another heku said.

“What faction is this?” Emily asked, and then groaned when a gag was placed over her mouth.

She sat in the back of the van for a few hours and listened to the heku talk about a basketball game. After transferring to a helicopter, she started to drift off and didn’t wake up until the helicopter landed. She was shoved into another van for a few more hours.

Emily was dragged from the van, and a heku grabbed each of her elbows and led her down a long corridor. She heard the sounds of electricity from all around her as she walked. The heku stopped her and she heard a door open just as she was forcibly pushed inside. She felt hands catch her before she hit the ground and a door slammed behind her.

“Damnit, Em,” Chevalier growled.

“I told you she’d come,” Kyle said as he untied her.

“Yeah, well, for some reason I thought she might use common sense and stay put.”

“Sooo, what’s up?” Emily asked when Kyle untied her gag. She began to massage her wrists where the cuffs were.

“Just couldn’t let us deal with this on our own could you? Had to come save the heku again.” Chevalier was obviously irritated.

Emily looked around the small room. There were no windows, and the one door was electrified. There were no beds or chairs, just a hard cement floor and shackles that hung from high on the wall.

She grinned, “Fancy meeting you all here.”

“This isn’t funny! Why the hell didn’t you ash them and get away?” Chevalier hissed.

She laughed, “You know me better than that… besides… it’s about time I’m kidnapped with friends.”

“Seriously, you should have just let us handle this. Why do you always have to come save the heku? We’re supposed to protect you.” Kyle frowned angrily.

“I came because I’m more able to destroy the lot of them, and there’s no reason why you two need to be tortured, or whatever they were doing, just to get me,” she said, and sat down on the hard floor. “They could have thrown a chair in here though.”

“You make it so easy for them, it’s irritating,” Chevalier said, and turned away from her.

“Cheer up or I’ll ask for my own room,” Emily said, irritated. “We’re more likely to get out of this with the 3 of us.”

“Ask for your own room?” Kyle yelled. “This isn’t the Hilton.”

Emily’s eyes narrowed and she went up to knock on the door, but Kyle held her back, “Don’t touch it, it’s electrified.”

“Hey! I need to talk to someone!” Emily yelled at the door.

“Just sit down and be quite,” Chevalier growled.

Emily turned to him and glared, “What?”

“Em, sit,” Kyle said, and pointed to a corner.

“Oh, I see, this is how it’s going to be? Fine!” Emily said, and sat down facing the corner.

The sounds of electricity stopped and when the door opened, a strange heku came into the small, cement cell.

“You called?” he asked Emily, and frowned when he saw her facing the corner.

“You’ll have to ask my wardens if I’m allowed to talk,” Emily said, still facing the corner.

“Ask… who?” the heku asked her, confused.

“Just go,” Kyle said to him, and he shrugged and left. The sound of electricity returned.

Emily stared at the blank stone wall and rubbed her arms. She was starting to get cold, and the light halter top wasn’t enough to keep her warm. She heard no noise or even movement from behind her, but had the feeling that Kyle and Chevalier were whispering to each other.

The electricity was shut off to the door again and four heku entered. One stood by Kyle, and one by Chevalier, while the other two picked Emily up off of the floor and led her out of the room, one on each arm. She didn’t fight them, but followed silently, still fuming at what happened in the cell.

Emily was led through a door and she recognized the familiar setup as the council chambers. She looked up and saw Sotomar among twelve other heku.

Emily sighed, “Nice.”

“Welcome, Lady Emily,” Sotomar said, and stood up. “You are on trial by the Valle Council for the wanton killing of twenty of our members 7 months ago.”

Emily raised her eyebrows, “I am?”

“Yes, how do you plead?”

“Erm… not guilty,” she said, and rocked slightly on her heels.

“Not guilty? They were following you when they were killed, and you do have a history of turning the masses into ash,” Sotomar said.

“Yes, but if you remember correctly, you had pretty much nullified that ability, so I just ran from them and they ran into some of the Equites guards,” Emily explained. “So nope, didn’t kill a soul.”

“The Council finds you guilty and you are sentenced to fifty years in our prison,” he said, and sat down.

“Oh great, well, that sounds like fun,” Emily said, frowning.

One of the heku threw her a gray hooded robe, “Put that on.”

“No thanks, I’m fine,” she said, and tossed it back.

“That was an order,” Sotomar growled.

“Fine,” she said, and slipped on the robe. The robe was several sizes too big. The sleeves hung almost a foot longer than her arms and the hem gathered on the ground beneath her.

“Remove your clothing underneath,” Sotomar said.

Emily slipped her arms inside and undressed discreetly, then tossed her jeans and shirt to a heku beside her, “There.”

“Return to your cell,” Sotomar said, and the two heku took her arms and led her back down the hallway.

They stopped in front of the cell and turned off the electricity to the door before pushing her inside. She ignored Kyle and Chevalier and returned to her corner to sit down.

“Nice to know you’ll be here for the next fifty years, Sweetheart,” the Valle said, and laughed as he shut the door.

There was a sudden scream from the hallway.

“There, give me 50 more for that!” Emily yelled to the door.

“Are you ok?” Kyle asked her.

She didn’t respond, but pulled her arms into the robe and leaned against the cement wall.

“Emily, are you ok?” Chevalier asked her, his voice finally calm.

The cell fell quiet and Emily slowly drifted off to a restless sleep, shifting often as her arms and legs fell asleep.

Emily slowly slid down to the cement floor while she slept, but sat up and looked at the door when the flow of electricity was cut off. Kyle and Chevalier stood slowly while Emily stayed on the floor, too sore from the cement floor to stand.

Sotomar stepped in angrily, “You have earned yourself another 10 years for the little stunt you pulled yesterday.”

The two guards by Sotomar both fell to ash, “10 more for those, too?”

“Emily, stop it,” Chevalier whispered.

“This is not a game. You would be wise to listen to your mate,” Sotomar said as two more guards came up behind him. They pushed in a dirty silver tray and shut the door quickly.

“Please, stop antagonizing them. We don’t need any more trouble,” Chevalier told her.

Kyle picked up the tray and smelled it before handing it to Emily, “It’s good to eat.”

Emily took the tray and threw it against the door. When the metal tray hit the electrical current, it exploded in a bright flash and the electrical current to the door stopped. The sound was followed by several dozen footsteps from the hallway. The door flew open and four heku each grabbed Chevalier and Kyle and moved them out of the room while two grabbed Emily and pulled her out. They were escorted down the hall by dozens of angry Valle.

They were thrown into an identical cell, and the door was locked and electrified behind them. Emily sat down in the same corner she had been in, while Kyle and Chevalier looked at her.

Chevalier sighed and knelt down by her, “I’m sorry I yelled at you. I really hoped they wouldn’t get you this time.”

Kyle sat down in the corner across from them.

Emily shrugged, “I didn’t need that shit from either of you, and I’m still not happy about being treated like an imbecile.”

“We didn’t mean it like that. We just hoped that you would send in the Equites Army or something, and wouldn’t try to come yourself.”

“Sit down and be quiet?”

“I’m sorry, ok, I... am… sorry.”

Emily glared at Kyle and Chevalier glanced at him.

Kyle smiled, “I’m sorry, too.”

“Are you hurt?” Chevalier asked, and sat down by her.

“No”

“Still mad though?”

“Yes”

“For now, stop ashing, ok? Let’s wait and see what the Equites come up with for our release,” Chevalier asked.

Emily grinned slightly, “I got 50 years for killing those Valle that the guards killed, and more for the 4 or 5 I’ve ashed since last night.”

“For now, stop, please,” he asked calmly.

Emily nodded.

“How did they get you?” Kyle asked.

“One was hiding in the back of the Jeep,” she said, and looked around the cell again.

“Damn, they seem to get into the palace easy,” Kyle growled.

“There’s one… small… well… minor… problem,” Emily said, and looked down at the floor.

Chevalier rolled his eyes, “What now?”

“Never mind then, be that way,” Emily said, and turned away from him.

“I’m sorry, ok. I just can’t imagine what could be more of a problem that the three of us in here,” Chevalier said.

Emily frowned, “I can think of a lot worse things.”

“Just tell us,” Kyle said, irritated.

Emily brought her knees up to her chest and slipped her arms into the body of the robe and wrapped them around her legs. She leaned against the cold cement wall and shut her eyes.

Chevalier moved over by Kyle and Emily could hear the faintest sound as they whispered.

Chevalier and Kyle stood up when the sound of electricity stopped and a key rattled in the door. They both crouched and moved between the door and Emily when Exavior entered.

“What do you want?” Chevalier hissed.

Exavior smiled, “You know what I came for.”

“Leave her alone,” Kyle growled, and his hands curled into claws.

“Emily?” Exavior called to her, and she slowly opened her eyes.

Emily stood up and frowned, “Exavior?”

“Come, Child,” he said, and put a hand out for her.

“Take me instead,” Chevalier growled, and batted Exavior’s arm away.

“Oh, you’re not nearly as attractive as she is, and I desire company for a few minutes,” Exavior said, and guards piled into the room and pinned the Equites against the wall.

“Let them go.” Emily glared at Exavior.

“They will be when you come with me,” Exavior said, and Emily glanced at Chevalier and then took Exavior’s hand. They walked out of the room and Emily looked behind her as they walked down the hallway, and saw the Valle guards move out of the room and re-electrified the door.

“What’s going on?” Emily asked him.

“I had a talk with Elder Sotomar about your living conditions, and I feel they are unacceptable. I’m taking you now to sit somewhere comfortably and get something to eat,” he said, and smiled at her.

“You tried to turn me,” Emily said angrily, and let go of his hand.

“I still feel that is what is needed in your case, but I have decided not to push the issue.”

“Why don’t you just let us go?”

“I can’t do that.”

“How did you even get out? Last I heard you were in Kyle’s ash collection.”

Exavior laughed slightly, “I was released last year by the Equites Council in return for one of the political prisoners we held. Did they not tell you?”

“No, they didn’t,” she said, irritated.

“Part of the agreement was that I would not contact you, but when you are here, that is null and void.”

“Great”

“I wish you would trust me again. I’m not going to turn you against your will.”

“You have a funny way of showing that.”

Exavior smiled, “I’ll show you that we can be friends again. I miss that friendship.”

Emily shrugged and followed Exavior into a bedroom. Her eyes grew wide and she turned to run, but slammed into one of the heku guards.

Exavior laughed, “Don’t panic, it’s not what it looks like.”

Emily turned slowly and looked at Exavior, “Then what is it?”

“Your room, Dear, nothing more.”

“Mine?”

“Yes, you don’t have to stay in that cement cell. You can stay here where you will be comfortable.”

“Chevalier and Kyle?” Emily asked, looking around the room.

“They are heku. They will be as comfortable there as they would be here,” Exavior said, and pulled a dome off of a tray of hot pancakes.

“I want to stay with them.”

“Pancakes, your favorite,” Exavior told her, and poured steaming syrup over them.

“No, take me back.”

Exavior sat down, “You have got to be hungry. Now sit and eat, and then I promise that you can go back.”

Emily hesitated, and then sat down, watching Exavior closely.

“Good, now eat. I know your history of starving yourself, but I don’t wish for that to happen here, in my care.”

“Your care?”

“Yes, I have taken your care upon myself.”

Emily took a small bite of pancake, “If you let me go, I can take care of myself.”

“I know you can, but here I get to do those honors.”

“Honors? I fully plan on making your life a living hell,” Emily told him, and took another bite.

Exavior leaned his head back and laughed, “I would expect no different.”

“Why are they doing this? They know I can ash the entire Valle palace,” Emily asked, and started to eat again.

“Don’t think that hasn’t crossed our minds. However, you won’t do it unless you can save the two heku also. As long as we have them where you can’t let them free, we are safe.”

“Not necessarily. I could ash the Valle palace and call in the Equites. They can get to Chev and Kyle,” Emily said, and sat back in the chair.

“Maybe”

Emily’s eyes narrowed at him, “Why can’t you all just leave me alone?”

“We want you to join us, simple enough. The Encala wish the same, and if you were ours, the Equites would do this also.”

“So it’s faction crap… who has the weapon? Like a demented game of keep-away.”

Exavior nodded, “Precisely.”

“I would expect more than playground games from a species older than dirt.”

“One might expect more, yes.”

“Ok, I ate, now take me back,” Emily said, and stood up.

“Is there anything I can get you?”

“No”

Exavior stood and nodded, “Very well, as promised, I will return you.”

Emily followed him back to the cells and stepped inside once the current was turned off and the door was opened.

Exavior followed her in, “She turned down a warm stateroom for this, just so you know.”

“Exavior, get lost,” Emily said when Chevalier looked at her, irritated.

Exavior laughed and shut the door.

“Are you ok?” Chevalier asked her.

“Yes, he forced me to eat is all,” Emily said, and sat down on the cold cement.

“Was he telling the truth about the stateroom?”

“Yes”

“Then call him back and take it,” Chevalier said.

“No.” Emily frowned, “I’m not going to sit in luxury while you two are in this cell.”

“Just do it, stop arguing and for once… just do it,” Kyle yelled.

“Don’t yell at me!” Emily screamed back. “I’m not going to lap it up while you two are in prison.”

“We can take the cold cement, you, however, need something softer,” Kyle said.

“Why didn’t you tell me you let Exavior go?”

“It was none of your concern.”

“Oh? You don’t think freeing the heku who tried to turn me is any of my business?” Emily glared at him.

“No, I don’t. It is none of your concern what we as a Council decide to do.”

“Calm down you two, this isn’t helping,” Chevalier said calmly.

“You could have told me, Chev.”

“I agree with Kyle. It was a political move, and I didn’t want you seeking Exavior out.”

“You’re a hypocrite,” Emily growled at him.

Chevalier frowned, “How so?”

“You’re so hell bent on keeping me from trying to protect the heku, yet all you ever do is keep things away from me for some misguided attempt at protection,” Emily yelled at both of them.

The door opened again and a Valle guard stepped in, “The Council wants to see you again.”

Emily nodded and left with him, still scowling at the Equites. She followed the guard to the trial door of the Valle Council Room and stepped inside. She immediately saw Zohn and four members of the Equites guard staff looking at her.

Thinking quickly, Emily ran to Zohn and wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered as softly as she could, “Smell my neck.”

Zohn wrapped his arms around her and she felt his nose against her neck.

“Do it again, try harder,” Emily whispered again.

“Enough hugs, we have business,” Sotomar fumed.

Zohn inhaled again, and Emily felt his body tense. She pulled away from him and turned to Sotomar.

“What now?”

“The Equites have come to check on your welfare,” Sotomar said.

“Well, we’re fine,” Emily told Zohn.

Zohn had a feral look in his eyes which passed quickly, and he turned to the Valle Council.

“I see she is well, but part of this was to also set the terms for her release,” Zohn told them.

“There will be no terms. She is a war criminal that has been tried and found guilty of the murder of 20 Valle. She was sentenced to 50 years with us, and has since added an additional 20 years for turning guards to ash,” Sotomar said, amused.

Zohn turned toward her, “Would you stop, please? Let us handle this. You don’t need more years than you already have.”

Emily shrugged, “More years won’t matter. I’d never make it 70 more years anyway… so what’s another 200?”

Zohn sighed, “Just stop and leave this to us.”

“Sure,” Emily said, and saw the understanding glance from him.

“Good, so we’ll have no more revivals during your stay?” Sotomar asked.

“Sure,” Emily said again. “Unless I get a chance to ash the entire palace and city, then there may be some revivals required.”

“Emily!” Zohn yelled.

“You won’t get the chance, Child, not if you want to save your mate and the Equites Chief Enforcer also,” Sotomar told her with a smile.

“Just… let us do this,” Zohn said to her again.

Emily nodded.

“She may be returned,” one of the Valle Elders said, and Emily was grabbed roughly on the arm by two heku.

“Stop it,” Zohn growled. “There’s no reason to injure her.”

“I’m perfectly capable of walking on my own. I can’t kill you with my hands, so I won’t even try to fight back manually,” Emily told them.

Sotomar nodded at the guard, and he let go of Emily’s arm and walked out of the trial area behind her.

Emily was taken back to the cell with Chevalier and Kyle, and the doors were shut.

“What did they want now?” Chevalier asked.

“Zohn is here. He was checking on our welfare.”

“See, they will get us out soon.” He smiled.

“I doubt it,” Emily mumbled, and leaned against the wall, facing away from the others. She pulled her arms into the thick robe and curled up against the wall so she could nap. She was already feeling tired, and her outlook on the weeks to come had grown dim.

Kyle sat next to Chevalier and whispered so Emily couldn’t hear, “She needs to take the stateroom.”

“Yeah, she does, but I don’t see how we can get her to,” Chevalier said, and glanced at Emily.

“She’s just going to get sorer and sorer the more she sits and sleeps on this cement.”

“You know… maybe we should let this go. If she gets too sore to handle, she’ll take the stateroom if we haven’t harped on it.”

Kyle grinned, “You’re right.”

“Now, how to get out of here.”

“You don’t think the Equites can get us out?” Kyle asked.

Chevalier glanced toward the door, and then back to Kyle, “I think they can get you and me out, but the Valle aren’t going to give Emily up now that they have her. Look how many times they’ve asked for her and we said no.”

“Yes, well… she wanted to be with us. She’s going to retaliate and cause problems here.”

“True, but I’m not sure there’s anything she could do to get released,” Chevalier said.

“So we just sit back and see then? I hate doing that.”

“Join the club.”

Emily sat up quickly when the door opened as Chevalier and Kyle stood defensively. A heku pushed in a plate and shut the door quickly.

Emily grinned slightly, “No more metal trays I see.”

Kyle grabbed the tray and smelled it, “Smells fine.”

“I’m not hungry though,” Emily said, and set the plate of spaghetti down on the floor.

“It’ll be easier when we get out if you aren’t starving,” Kyle told her.

“I know, and I’m not starving myself on purpose. I’m just not hungry,” she told them, and leaned back against the wall. She slept on and off over the next few hours while Kyle and Chevalier discussed ways to get out.

Emily gave up on sleeping and looked over at Chevalier, “Where’s Kyle?”

Chevalier shrugged, “I’m not sure exactly. They took him about an hour ago.”

“I’m kind of glad. I need to talk to you,” Emily said softly.

“Ok, what about?”

“I wasn’t sure, so I didn’t say anything, but Zohn kind of confirmed it.”

Chevalier frowned, “Zohn confirmed what?”

Emily rubbed the bridge of her nose. She was starting to get a headache, “Don’t be mad.”

“I will try,” he said skeptically.

“I mean, I could have read Zohn’s body language wrong.”

“Em, just tell me.”

Emily glanced at the door, “I think I hurt my back.”

Chevalier looked at her, confused, “How exactly is that something Zohn would confirm?”

Emily crawled over to Chevalier and climbed onto his lap. He wrapped his arms around her and whispered, “I don’t understand.”

She leaned her head against his shoulder, “Go ahead, take a whiff.”

Chevalier sighed and ran his nose along her neck and gasped. He rested his forehead against her shoulder, “Damnit.”

“I have impeccable timing,” Emily said softly.

Chevalier nodded, “Yes, you do.”

“Was Zohn right? Is my back hurt? I mean… I could just be late.”

“No, he’s right. I’m glad he at least knows, this changes everything. I thought you had medicine for your… back.”

Emily looked up at him and glared, “I do, but it only helps 97% of the time.”

Chevalier pulled her head back to his shoulder, “I didn’t mean it that way.”

“How strong is it?” she whispered.

“Not too bad yet, you have to be right against your neck to notice, but it won’t be long.”

Emily wrapped her arms around herself, “I’m sorry.”

Chevalier kissed her forehead, “It’s not your fault, just bad timing is all.”

“I was going to tell you as soon as I knew, course, I halfway expected you to know first.”

“How long before you get... the flu?” Chevalier glanced at the door.

Emily sighed, “Should be any day now.”

Emily turned and looked at the door when Kyle was pushed into the cell. He rolled his eyes when the door shut.

“So?” Chevalier asked him.

“He wanted me to tell them the top three covens in Equites with locations, troop counts, and defensive capabilities,” Kyle said, and sat down.

Chevalier chuckled, “Ok.”

“So when I refused, they said I would pay and then brought me back here.” Kyle shrugged.

Chevalier looked from Emily to Kyle, “Kyle, Emily hurt her back.”

“This damned cement floor,” Kyle said.

“Em, go show him your bad back,” Chevalier said.

Kyle looked suspiciously at Emily when she crawled out of Chevalier’s lap and sat on his, straddling his legs and facing him. She glanced at Chevalier and then leaned her head against Kyle, who tensed nervously and looked at Chevalier.

“Smell my neck,” Emily whispered.

Kyle, his eyes locked on Chevalier, inhaled slight, “Ok.”

Emily sighed, “Put your damn nosed against my neck.”

Chevalier nodded and Kyle did as he was told. He pulled back with wide eyes, and looked at Emily.

“Bad back,” she said to him.

Kyle nodded, and Emily returned to Chevalier’s lap. It was a lot more comfortable than the ground.

“Did you… know your back was hurt?”

“Not for sure. I was waiting until I knew before I complained,” Emily said, and leaned back against Chevalier’s chest.

“Zohn knows,” Chevalier said.

Kyle nodded, “Had you planned on hurting your back?”

Emily frowned, “No.”

“Well, the Equites Council won’t want her to stay here with a bad back, so they are bound to step into action quickly.”

“We have two days, three at most,” Chevalier said, mostly to himself. He was staring at the cement wall, trying to think of a way out of this.

“I could wait until the door is opened and then… erm… take care of them all,” Emily suggested, but felt Chevalier tense.

“No, we’ll think of another way,” Chevalier whispered.

“Well we have two days to think of something, and then it’ll get much harder,” Kyle said.

Emily leaned her head back against Chevalier’s neck and shut her eyes. His arms wrapped around her and she slowly slid off to sleep.

“At least she sleeps better on your lap than on the floor,” Kyle whispered.

Chevalier nodded, “If we weren’t in a Valle prison, I would be ecstatic.”

Kyle chuckled, “Congratulations again. I thought she was done.”

“Not sure this one was planned.”

“If the faction doesn’t come in two days, are you going to let her do it?”

“I haven’t decided. We need to before they find out though.”

Kyle sighed, “She was smart to let Zohn know.”

“I’m worried about Exavior, if he tries to…” Chevalier took a deep breath to calm his anger. “If he tries to kiss her, he’ll know.”

“Has he kissed her?” Kyle frowned.

Chevalier shrugged, “I don’t know. You’re the only other heku I know that she’s kissed.”

Kyle shifted uncomfortably and looked at the door.

“This is bad to say,” Chevalier said, and grinned slightly. “I’d like to see her ash the entire palace. I have yet to see her do that.”

“I saw her at the one reception, it’s pretty amazing.”

“The doctor though, he was worried that one of these times she might have a stroke.”

Kyle nodded, “I don’t doubt it. I wonder if Alexis will be as strong as Emily.”

“She has a reoccurring dream.” Chevalier glanced to make sure she was still asleep, “Where Allen, Alexis, and another child, sometimes it’s male and sometimes female, they come to the Council, but they are all grown up. Allen is seeking the Equites help to control Alexis. In the dream, Emily is always dead, sometimes Alexis has killed her, sometimes it’s a disease, or car wreck. Anyway, in these dreams, Alexis is always completely out of control and powerful. She has Emily’s abilities, heku traits, and the Ancient’s strengths.”

“Wow, that would be great to see though,” Kyle said.

“Yes, well, except she feeds and kills anyone she wants. Pretty much breaks all heku rules, but no one can stop her. She can ash any heku who crosses her, but she’s gone rogue.” Chevalier smiled slightly, “It’s an interesting dream.”

Kyle nodded, “I bet.”

“Do you remember what you promised me the night I left to banish Selest?”

“Yes.” Kyle remembered it vividly, and often thought of taking Emily off to the island and living there together.

“I wondered if you would consider that now that you are Chief Enforcer, if anything ever happened to me.”

“I’m sure I would still take her away. You hold the mortal haters at bay, and she wouldn’t be safe any longer,” Kyle said.

Chevalier nodded, “Thank you.”

“What about you? What are you going to do when she dies?”

“I used to think I would retire for a thousand years, but with Allen and Alexis, it’s all changed. I would need to stay here for them.”

Emily jerked in her sleep and sat up suddenly, looking around.

“It’s ok, bad dream,” Chevalier said, and kissed the top of her head.

“Couldn’t have been a bad dream,” Emily whispered, and leaned back against his chest again. “I’m still here.”

Everyone glanced up when the door opened. Exavior stepped in and a sudden jealousy flashed across his eyes, “Come, Emily.”

Emily held onto Chevalier’s arms, “Why?”

“Because I told you to,” Exavior said, and held his hand out for her.

Emily turned and kissed Chevalier, placing her hands on the sides of his face. His arms wrapped tighter around her.

Exavior grabbed Emily’s arm and tore her away from Chevalier. Chevalier jumped to his feet and lunged at Exavior, but he dodged and shut the door quickly.

Chevalier growled and sat down, his body still tense and ready to attack, “He’s going to hurt her.”

“I don’t think he will,” Kyle said. “Did you see the look on his face? He loves her. He was just jealous, but at least that means he probably won’t hurt her.”

Chevalier glared at the door, “If he does…”

“He won’t, trust me. He’s just mad because Emily saw the jealous look on his face and decided to show him who she belongs to,” Kyle said, smirking.

Chevalier relaxed some and chuckled, “I wouldn’t want to be in his shoes if he tries anything with her.”

“You’re hurting me,” Emily said to Exavior as he hauled her down the hallway toward the stateroom.

“Just come with me,” he growled.

“I’ll walk with you. Let go, you’re hurting my arm,” Emily said, and looked up when someone walked in front of them.

“Let her go,” Sotomar said. “There’s no reason to hurt her.”

Exavior obeyed his Elder and let Emily’s arm go. She rubbed where the hand-shaped bruise was forming. Sotomar smiled at Emily as they walked past, and Exavior opened the door to the stateroom and shut the door when they were inside.

Emily turned to look at him, “More food?”

“No, I’m offering you a shower,” he said, and pointed to the bathroom door.

“A private one?”

“Of course.”

Emily glanced at the bathroom door. She remembered the look on Exavior’s face when he’d seen her in Chevalier’s arms, and decided the shower wasn’t a good idea, “No thanks.”

“Don’t be difficult, just go shower,” Exavior said, and sat down.

“No”

“Fine, be dirty if you want.”

“Please, let me go,” Emily asked him, and sat down across from him. “If you care about me at all, you’ll let me go.”

“I can’t, I won’t break the Council’s decision.”

“What exactly do you want? Just tell me. You didn’t take on my care just for your health,” Emily asked, watching him carefully.

“Maybe I just want to be around you.”

“Something you could have done without kidnapping me.”

“I didn’t kidnap you, that was a Council decision. I just took it upon myself to make sure you were taken care of.”

“I find it hard to believe that I was kidnapped for killing 20 Valle that obviously, I didn’t,” Emily said, glancing at the window.

Emily gasped when Exavior fell to his knees in front of her and took her hands, “Please, let me care for you. Let me treat you like you should be. I know you miss your Equites, but they haven’t come close to treating you like you should be. Just let me have this.”

Emily pulled her hands out of his, “You have no idea how well the Equites treat me, and what they’ve put up with from me.”

“I love you. I’ve loved you since I saw you walk down the aisle in New Mexico,” he said, and took her hand again to kiss it softly.

“Exavior, I’m sorry… but I don’t love you,” Emily said. She was so shocked, she didn’t realize how quickly she had said that.

“You will,” Exavior told her angrily, and left the bedroom. She heard the door lock from the outside.

Emily got up and walked around the bedroom. There wasn’t a fireplace, but it was warm and cozy. The bed was soft, but she refused to lie down. She looked out the window, studying the side of the building. She couldn’t see any way to get out of the bedroom through there. She was six floors up and there were no hand-holds or pipes to crawl down.

She went through the closets and drawers, but all she found were frilly dresses and high heeled shoes. She pulled them all out of the closet and tossed them out the window, watching as they floated to the grass below. She saw an overhang above the front doors of the palace and tossed all of the shoes onto it.

***

Chevalier and Kyle looked up when Exavior walked in, obviously angry, “She’s not coming back. Emily has decided to stay in the stateroom.”

Exavior slammed the door and walked out.

Kyle grinned, “And so it begins.”

“I wonder what he did to make her mad,” Chevalier said, and shrugged.

The door opened again and six heku came in, “You two, come.”

Kyle and Chevalier stood up, and each was guarded by three Valle as they walked down the corridor. The guards backed off when the Equites walked into the trial area. Zohn turned to them and nodded as they stepped up to stand by the other Equites.

“Where is Emily? We asked for all three of them,” Zohn asked angrily.

“Well you get two, Emily is busy,” Sotomar said. “So tell us why we are here.”

“We’ve decided to give in and exchange Ingram and Selhman for the three Equites that you have,” Zohn told them.

“We accept,” Sotomar said.

“Good, bring Emily here and we will arrange the exchange.”

“Oh, Emily isn’t an Equites, but we will exchange your Elder and Chief Enforcer for Ingram and Selhman.”

“Emily is too an Equites,” Chevalier growled. “Just ask her.”

“Mortals can’t claim a faction.”

“She’s more than a mortal, and you know it.”

“Yes, we agree she has special abilities, but is still a mortal, therefore, not factionable,” Sotomar said, and glanced to the Valle Elders.

“We aren’t leaving here without Emily,” Kyle said, and Chevalier’s eyes narrowed at the Valle Elders.

Sotomar chuckled, “If you ask her, she no longer wishes to be with you.”

Chevalier nodded, “Fine, but I want to hear it from her.”

“She doesn’t want to see you,” Exavior said, stepping into the council chambers and taking his seat with the Valle Council.

“Then no deal. Unless we hear it directly from her that she doesn’t want to return,” Zohn said.

“Take them,” Sotomar said. Chevalier and Kyle were forcibly dragged from the room.

***

Emily turned when the door opened. Exavior looked around the room and shut the door, “Do you feel better now?”

“Maybe,” Emily said, looking at the destroyed room.

Exavior tossed a dress to her, “Put that on.”

“No thanks, I’m good,” she said, and started to toss the pink dress out the window. Exavior blurred to the window and caught it.

“That wasn’t a suggestion, put it on,” he said, and shoved it back into her hands.

Emily glared at him and walked into the bathroom, locking the door behind her. She changed quickly, aware that he could break the lock easily. She held up the dress and sighed. It was a low cut, floor-length, pink a-line with thin spaghetti straps and diamonds embroidered into the fitted body. She cringed as she walked past the mirror and then emerged into the bedroom.

“Beautiful,” Exavior said, and walked around her, smiling.

“Not really my style,” she told him, and glared at him.

“Sit, someone’s coming to do your hair,” Exavior said, and pulled up a chair.

“Why are you doing this?”

“You will see,” he said, and took her hand, kissing it softly.

“Good, I hope my hair matches the bruise you put on my arm,” Emily said, and sat down.

She sat impatiently while a heku worked frantically on her hair. When she was finished, she got approval from Exavior and left the room, locking the door after her.

“Go and look,” Exavior said, and offered her his hand. She stood up without help and glanced in the mirror, her eyes growing wide.

“What the hell?” she asked. Her hair had been twisted onto the top of her head and was used to secure a diamond tiara.

“Now, this… is how a Winchester should be dressed,” Exavior smiled.

Emily tried to take off the delicate diamond crown, but her hair held it tightly in place.

“Come, we’re attending a ball,” he said, and held his hand out. “I would suggest you behave tonight too, or we may have to punish your cell mates.”

Emily frowned and took his hand. He led them down several corridors and staircases, and then through a set of double doors into a large banquet hall filled with heku. They all turned to look at her and she felt her skin crawl. She was very much mindful that everyone looking at her was a Valle. She flexed her hands as they began to tingle. She was suddenly aware that wherever Chevalier was, they were using electricity on him.

Sotomar came up to them and kissed her hand as Exavior smiled, “You look lovely, Dear. So glad you decided to join us.”

Emily smiled politely and kept repeating to herself that she was protecting Chevalier and Kyle. She politely nodded to each of the dignitaries that Exavior led her to, and stood silently as they commented about her beauty, or mentioned how helpful it would be to have her abilities in their faction.

“Emily, I’m Elder Ryan, so good to finally meet you,” a heku said, and kissed her hand.

Emily nodded and smiled, afraid her voice might give her irritation away.

The banquet hall fell quiet when the building began to shake. The sound of landing helicopters filled the palace and Emily couldn’t help but smile. She felt the tension building within the banquet hall as Valle guards streamed into it and Exavior pulled Emily into the protective circle with the Council. She crossed her arms, excited to see who was causing so much tension in the Valle ranks.

Emily felt her heart leap when she saw the green uniforms of the Thukil Cavalry. They were followed by a massive Council City Army. Darren spotted her almost immediately, and he grinned and headed the Thukil Cavalry towards her. Exavior let go of Emily and began to fight one of the Equites guards. Emily stepped back away from the fighting and ran out into the hallway. The corridor was deserted. All available hands were fighting in the banquet hall.

Emily pulled up the long hem of her dress and started to search frantically for the prison. She remembered landmarks from inside the palace and tried to follow them from memory. When she found her stateroom, she knew she was on the right track.

She opened a door and came face-to-face with the long corridor full of cells. She began to search for electrical controls. Emily found the control room and started flipping all of the switches. The menacing sound of pulsing electricity faded, and she looked around for the control keys. She was able to reach them after climbing on a chair and then she quickly ran back to the corridor.

Emily opened each door. If they were Equites, she told them of the fight in the banquet hall, if they were Encala, she told them they had 5 minutes to get out of the Valle city. Emily turned around when she’d opened the last cell and glanced down, all of the doors were opened, but she hadn’t found Chevalier or Kyle.

One of the Encala turned around on his way out of the corridor, “What’s wrong? Get out of here.”

“I can’t, I don’t see the ones I came with,” she said, and looked at him frantically.

The Encala turned around toward the exit, and then ran back to her, “There may be more cells down here, come.”

Emily followed him through an adjacent corridor and they emerged in another row of cells. The Encala quickly shut off the electricity and Emily used the keys to go through each cell.

“You’re Emily, aren’t you?” the Encala asked, and she felt a panic rising.

She nodded at him.

“Ok, go check for them,” he said, and she repeated what she had done with the previous hallway. The Encala took off quickly while the Equites headed deeper into the palace.

“Nothing, still,” Emily said to the Encala.

He sighed, “Come on, let’s keep looking.”

Emily nervously headed down a dark stairway, following what she realized was an enemy, but she was desperate to find Kyle and Chevalier. The Encala opened a door and crouched, hissing angrily.

She ran up behind him and saw four Valle guards crouched to attack him. They fell to ash instantly, and the Encala stood up and looked at her, shocked. She pushed past him and started to turn off the electrical current. It wasn’t until she got into the corridor that she saw there were no cells here, just heku shackled to the walls in various stages of starvation.

“Emily, no,” the Encala said when she moved to one of them. “He’s starving. He won’t be able to resist your scent.”

Emily frowned and looked at the one she was about to release. His eyes were fixed on the throbbing vein in her neck, “I can’t leave them.”

“Go get the ones that aren’t this bad off. I’ll move these ones,” he told her.

Emily nodded and ran down further. She touched the face of a heku and he looked up at her, shocked.

“Encala or Equites?” she asked softly.

“Encala,” he said, and she could tell he thought she would leave him there. She reached up and unlatched his shackles.

“Get out of here, do you hear me? Run,” she said, and he blurred out of the corridor.

Emily moved up to the next one, and then the next one, releasing each and giving orders to either run or join in the fight. She released the last heku and turned to the Encala that was helping her. He had already let go the last of the first batch.

“Still not finding them?” he asked her, frustrated.

Emily shook her head, “No.”

“I smell…” She saw him cock his head slightly to the side and inhaled, “There’s more down here.”

Emily frowned and frantically looked around.

The Encala suddenly took off, and Emily ran after him. She almost ran into him in the dark corridor, but light appeared when he opened the door. Emily walked in and gasped. The room was full of electrified heku, horribly in pain, and she was sure some of them were dead.

The Encala quickly turned off the electricity and Emily ran to Chevalier. He was lying still on the dirt floor, “Chev?”

He opened his eyes slowly and looked at her.

Emily turned to the side. She took Kyle’s hand and touched his face, “Kyle?”

She turned to the Encala, “He’s not moving.”

Chevalier frowned when a well-known Encala murderer knelt down beside Emily and looked Kyle over, “He’s alive. You get the other one, I’ll get him.”

“Did you let the rest of them go?” she asked, looking around.

“If they are alive, yes, I let them go,” he said, and picked Kyle up in a fireman’s hold.

Emily nodded and tried to get Chevalier to his feet, but he was too weak and groaned with the pain.

“Chev, can you stand up? We have to get out of here,” she said, and Chevalier used the wall to stand, but his legs buckled and he fell back to the ground.

The Encala laid Kyle’s limp body back on the ground. He looked at Emily, “How strong are you?”

“Tell me what to do,” Emily said, and glanced at Chevalier.

The Encala nodded and pulled Chevalier to his feet, “Ok, bend slightly. I’m going to lay him across your back. Keep moving. If you stop, it’ll be hard for you to get going again.”

Emily nodded and bent slightly. Chevalier tried to talk, tried to tell her not to trust the Encala, but he wasn’t able to say anything. The Encala leaned Chevalier against her back, wincing at how small she looked trying to carry the hulking heku.

“Can you do this?” he asked.

“If you can help me up the stairs, yes,” Emily said, and grabbed his arms that were draped over her shoulders. She groaned and stepped one foot forward, slowly moving toward the door as Chevalier’s feet drug behind her.

When she got to the stairs, the Encala took Chevalier and ran him upstairs as Emily followed. Once they were on the ground floor, he turned to her.

“I have to warn you, the Equites aren’t going to like seeing you with me,” he said, and picked Chevalier up to lean against Emily again.

“Why is that? I couldn’t do this without you,” she asked as Chevalier’s weight was again put on her back. She grabbed his arms and began to inch forward.

“They just won’t, if they attack, let me be, ok?” the Encala said, and picked Kyle up fireman style.

“No,” Emily managed to whisper.

“Yes, the worst they can do is put me in their jail, but if I can, I’ll run,” he said, and walked slowly beside Emily. “You’re tough for a mortal, do you know that?”

Emily just smiled slightly and groaned with each step.

“Why… are they… unconscious?” Emily managed to pant.

“It’s a torturer’s trick. Electricity and a few special herbs, and it can incapacitate a heku indefinitely,” he said, keeping pace with her.

“How… long?” Emily groaned louder as her legs began to shake.

“Could be days,” the Encala said, and froze. “Watch it.”

Emily looked up and saw Mark and Silas staring at them, both of them were glaring at the Encala.

“Mark, help,” Emily whispered, and Zohn appeared at his side. Mark ran to her and picked Chevalier up. She fell to her knees, her legs unable to bear any more weight.

“No, Zohn!” Emily yelled when Kyle was ripped from the Encala’s shoulders and he stood crouched, facing Zohn. “He helped me, let him go.”

The Encala grinned slightly, “She doesn’t listen does she?”

“Never,” Zohn said, and suddenly the Encala was pinned to the floor by Equites.

“Stop!” Emily yelled, and tried to get to her feet, but she still couldn’t stand up. Her legs felt like jelly.

Silas picked Emily up and before she could complain, he blurred her to the Blackhawk helicopter and she was lifted inside by Mark.

“Are you hurt?” he asked, looking her over.

“No, Mark, listen to me,” she said quickly. “The Encala I was with, let him go.”

“We can’t let him go. He’s wanted by the Equites, too,” Mark explained.

“He helped me, without him, I wouldn’t have found them,” she told him.

“Sorry, Em, he has to be seen by the Council.” Mark ignored the way she glared at him and readied the wounded for travel.

When the Thukil guards brought the Encala out the doors, they pushed him roughly into another helicopter. Emily jumped down from the helicopter she was in, and ran to the other one.

“Get me up!” she yelled, and Zohn pulled her up by her arms.

“Go!” Zohn yelled, and the pilot nodded as the helicopter lifted from the ground.

Emily looked over and saw Thukil guards holding the Encala down.

“Be nice to him,” she said.

“Yes, Commander,” they said, and loosened their grip on him a little. The Encala looked at them, surprised they not only called her Commander, but followed her orders.

“Are you ok?” the Encala asked her.

“You have no right to talk to her,” Zohn yelled.

“I’m fine, thank you,” Emily said, ignoring Zohn.

The Encala laughed, “I can’t believe you carried him. Looked like he would squish you.”

Emily smiled, “I’m tougher than I look.”

Zohn was infuriated and the Thukil guards were uncomfortable with how she talked so freely with a convicted murderer, wanted in all three factions.

“You’re going to hurt tomorrow though,” he told her.

“I’m sure I will. How can I repay you?” she asked.

“Emily!” Zohn yelled, and pulled her away from the Encala by her arm.

Emily cried out as he grabbed exactly where Exavior had, “Stop, that hurts.”

The Encala growled, “Nice, and I’m the one that’s wanted.”

“Do not talk to him,” Zohn growled at her.

“You’re not my Elder and I can do what I want.” Emily glared at him.

“Feisty little thing,” the Encala laughed, but was silenced by the looks from the Thukil guards.

“You’re pushing the boundaries of being a traitor,” Zohn yelled.

“You’re pushing the boundaries of being an asshole,” Emily yelled back.

“Sit,” Zohn growled, and took his seat up with the pilot.

Emily rolled her eyes and smiled at the Encala, “I’ll handle this.”

“You really should just drop it. I’m fine,” he said, and the Thukil guards nodded in agreement.

“What do the factions want you for?” Emily asked.

The Encala shrugged, “Murder.”

“Heku or human?”

“Both”

“Why?” she asked.

“What do you mean?”

“You must have a reason, right?”

The Encala smiled slightly, “They got in my way.”

“So even the Encala would stick you in prison?”

“Yes”

“Where can you go that you’d be safe?”

“Banishment,” he said, and shrugged.

“Is that what you want though?”

“Yes, it is.”

Emily frowned, “If you’re sure, I can try to get that.”

“I’ve been in and out of faction prisons for over six hundred years. I’m ready to be done with it,” he said.

“Have you tried going straight?” Emily asked. “Maybe they’d let you go.”

“Nope, can’t be done.”

“I’ll ask them to banish you then.”

The Encala nodded, “Thank you.”

“Why did you help me? If you’re so mean and dangerous, why help the lost mortal?”

The Encala smiled, “I have a lot of respect for you.”

“Why’s that?”

“You’re the only one I know that’s killed more than I have.”

Emily frowned, “I kill defensively.”

“It’s still an impressive number,” he said, and turned to look out the window.

Darren moved over to sit by her and took her arm in his hands, “Is this bruise the only injury?”

Emily nodded, “Yeah, not too bad. That and the humiliation of being dressed up like a Barbie doll.”

Darren grinned, “Ever feel like a trophy that’s passed between factions?”

“You have no idea.”

The helicopters landed in Council City. The one carrying the disabled members of the Council landed on the roof, while the others landed along the lawn. Darren helped Emily out of the helicopter, and she followed the Thukil guards while they escorted the Encala down to the prison.

“Do you need anything?” Emily asked when he was locked in a cell.

“No, I’m fine,” he said, and sat down on the bed.

“If you need anything, ask specifically for me,” she said, and headed up the stairs with the Thukil guards.

“Where’s Chev?” Emily asked one of the guards on the first floor.

“The Elder and the Chief Enforcer have been taken to the Elder’s room,” he said officially.

Emily ran up the stairs and into the bedroom. She frowned when she saw Chevalier lying motionless on the bed and Kyle on the floor beside him, the rest of the room was empty. She went into Kyle’s room and stole a blanket and pillow off of the bed, then returned and knelt down beside him. She put his head on the pillow and covered him with the blanket.

“Mark?” she called out, and sat on the bed to wait for him.

“Yes?” Mark asked, stepping into the room.

“Is someone going to help them?” she asked, irritated.

“No, they are doing ok on their own,” Mark said, and glanced at the injured heku.

“I’m slowly finding the heku species, as a whole, to be just as fragile as mortals,” Emily told him.

Mark grinned, “We’re not.”

“Keep thinking that, but I’m right,” Emily said, and disappeared into the bathroom for a shower. She came out feeling a lot better without the dress and crown. She tossed the tiara on top of the dresser and sat down by Chevalier, taking his hand.

“Don’t be mad at me,” Emily said, and kissed him softly.

Chevalier’s eyes opened slowly and he whispered, “Why?”

“Just don’t,” she said, and stood up to pack. He’d fallen back into a trance, so she was able to pack and head out of the room.

“Going somewhere?” Mark asked when he saw Emily with a suitcase and Alexis following behind her.

“Yes, I’m leaving.”

“Shall I go?”

“No, heading out alone. Is the Council in session?”

“Yes,” Mark said, frowning.

Emily nodded and headed down the stairs followed by Alexis, who clutched her doll tightly. She stopped and dropped her suitcase, and then took Alexis’ hand and walked into the council chambers.

“Good to have you home, Emily.” Quinn smiled and looked up at her.

“I am leaving for a while, but first I wanted to plead the case for the Encala that helped me with Chevalier and Kyle,” Emily said.

Zohn turned and spoke to Quinn quickly.

“What exactly are you pleading for?” Quinn asked.

“His banishment.”

Quinn looked at her, surprised, “Odd that you want him banished after he helped you.”

“Nonetheless, that is my request.”

“We will take it into consideration,” Quinn said.

“Keep in mind… if I come back to the palace, I do consider him a friend and will visit him often,” Emily said, and watched the Council.

“If you return?” Quinn asked, suddenly serious.

“Yes, if.”

“Where are you going?”

“Somewhere where it’s just Alex and I.”

“Does Chevalier know?” Zohn asked.

“No, it’ll be easier if I go now.”

“But the baby…” Zohn said, and the Council turned to her.

“We will manage. Tell… tell Chevalier I love him,” Emily said, and turned before the tear fell from her eye.

Quinn blurred to her side, “Please, stay.”

Emily shook her head, “No, no more kidnappings, no more tortures and deceit. I’m done with it, and I won’t put Alexis through that either.”

Quinn stepped back and let her go, watching her with sorrow in his eyes.

Emily pushed her suitcase into the back of the Jeep and locked Alexis into the car seat. She sighed and looked around the garage, her eyes falling on the three red Lamborghini’s. She slid into the driver’s seat of the Jeep and was soon pulling out of Council City.

Chapter 28 - Balance

Derrick sighed and walked into the Equites council chambers.

“Yes, Derrick?” Quinn asked.

“We received a letter, from Lady Emily,” he said, and glanced at Chevalier.

Chevalier straightened in his chair, surprised. He hadn’t heard from her since she left a month before, “Read it.”

Elders,

I come to you with a challenge. While this may seem like a game, it’s to get your attention and ultimately bring balance to the factions.

***

The Court Guard for the Valle stood before them, cleared his throat, and continued to read.

At the moment, I am protected by no faction, in fact, all three factions will get this exact same letter. Your challenge is to find me.

***

The Encala guard glanced nervously at his Elders and then continued.

Why do this? Because I’m going to call a meeting soon and to prove my point, you have to be very much aware that, at will, I can disappear where no faction can find me.

You have one month,

Emily Winchester

***

Chevalier narrowed his eyes, “What the hell is she up to?”

“There’s no use looking for her, we already know that,” Kyle said sadly.

“We have to. She’s out there, and we know the Valle and Encala will look,” Zohn growled.

“You must know something, Kyle?” Chevalier asked him.

“She told me once that Exavior bought her a place, so my concern is that he will tell the Valle where she is,” Kyle said, and frowned. “If that’s where she went.”

Chevalier shook his head, “No, she wouldn’t go there. My guess is we will never know where she is, but will get called to this meeting in a month. I just worry about her health.”

“Why would she pick now? Why would she wait until now to do this?” Quinn asked, concerned.

“Find her,” voices from the nine Elders echoed through the three council chambers, located far apart across the United States.

***

Kyle unfolded the letter and read it to the Council.

Dear Elders,

It’s been a month. As you see, I can disappear from even your keen senses, keep that in mind. I want to meet with you, and only you. No guards, no council members, just the three Elders and all three must be in attendance. I will be waiting for you in two days at the Denver Hilton’s Conference room. Just ask for the Winchester conference. Be there promptly at 11am, no sooner and no later.

Emily

Chevalier sighed, “How can we not find her?”

“We had everyone looking. We had factions running into factions trying to find her and not a sign,” Mark told them from the trial floor.

“She’s pregnant for God’s sake. We can smell her from miles away. How do we miss one small mortal?” Zohn growled.

Quinn stood up, “Very well, we’ll leave for Denver first thing in the morning.”

“We’re going?” Zohn asked, shocked.

Chevalier growled at him.

“Fine,” Zohn hissed, and walked out of the room.

***

“Of course the three of us are going,” Sotomar told the Council. “Do we have a choice? I’m betting the other two factions have their own meeting times too. We can’t be the one that misses out on whatever it is she has to say.”

Elder Ryan sighed, “How did she elude us? We’re far superior to her species.”

“Yes, we are, but we’ve been unable to even faintly catch her scent,” Exavior said. “I want to go with you tomorrow.”

“She specifically says Elders only. I don’t want to risk scaring her off,” Sotomar said.

***

Elder William sighed, “I hate that she is dictating meetings and challenges. However, I don’t see how we can miss this meeting.”

Another of the Encala Elders turned to him, “We could make a point that we aren’t taking orders from a mortal, and not attend.”

“We have to go! What if we miss something that the other factions will know,” William said. “We leave first thing in the morning.”

***

Emily waited in the conference room for the three sets of Elders. Alexis was playing on the floor with her dolls, and Emily was pacing nervously.

The Valle were the first to arrive and Emily turned to them when they walked in, “Welcome.”

Sotomar’s eyes fell on her, and he glared, “We’re here, what now?”

“Have a seat where I have designated,” Emily said, and pointed to a large round table. There were name placards in front of each chair. She planned on mixing up the Elders so not one faction sat by their own. She stayed far away from the table for now and stood downwind from the vents.

“What is this?” William yelled when he saw the Valle Elders.

“Calm down and sit where I’ve specified, or you can go,” Emily said sternly.

William’s eyes narrowed at her, “Are you ill?”

“Sit,” Emily said again. She backed into a shadow slightly. She knew she couldn’t hide from the heku that she’d been sick.

The Equites came in last, and Emily smiled slightly. This was the meeting she was dreading. Chevalier’s eyes fell to her immediately, but she motioned him to stop. He frowned at how pale she was and at the dark circles under her eyes.

“Daddy!” Alexis yelled, and ran into his arms. He picked her up and kissed her, and then set her down to join the other Equites Elders.

“Have a seat, Elders,” Emily said, and motioned for the round table.

Zohn looked angrily at Quinn, but he stepped over and sat down where his name placard was.

“Thank you all for coming,” Emily said.

They all nodded and looked uncertainly at each other.

“Fine,” Emily said, and took her seat at the table between William and Sotomar. “I’m going to make this meeting short and simple. Did any of you look for me?”

“Yes, we did,” Quinn said first.

Sotomar and William both nodded and answered, “Yes.”

“For this meeting to continue you all must be aware that I can disappear. Taking myself, and any of my offspring, and thereby destroying the Winchester family line,” Emily said, and ignored the nervous glances.

“Why are we here?” Zohn asked.

“I’m here to bring balance to the factions and, at least as far as I’m concerned, peace.”

“There’s never been peace among the factions,” Chevalier said.

“Then there’s time for a change. There’s an ultimatum at stake, so unless my Anakin impression doesn’t work, we should be able to solve this within the next hour.”

“Anakin?” an Encala Elder asked.

“Yeah, bring balance to the force?” Emily waited. “Never mind…”

“What do you mean balance?” Sotomar asked.

“Exactly what it says, as we all know, right now the Equites are standing stronger than the others.”

“Because you keep wiping out our numbers!” William yelled.

Emily stood up and leaned over the table angrily, “You will refrain from raising your voice, or you can go.”

William sat back in his chair.

“The way I see it is, I’ve caused an unbalance in the factions. Not only do the Equites have the fabled Winchester, but also because your attacks on me have caused me to lessen your numbers, while the Equites stay strong,” Emily said.

“Again, balance?” Sotomar said.

“Here’s the ultimatum then, and we will discuss it civilly or I’ll ash all nine of you and the factions can start over,” Emily said, and smiled slightly at the panicked looks. “That was a joke, but keep it in mind.”

“I won’t be threatened,” William said angrily.

“Let’s see what she has to say,” Quinn said as he calmly sat with his hands crossed on the table.

“I ask for peace between the factions, as far as I am concerned. That means no more kidnapping, spying, torturing, killing, following, dressing me up like a doll, deceit… nothing. In return, I promise to let the Valle and Encala rebuild, and I will refrain from mass slayings,” Emily said.

“And if we refuse?” Sotomar said.

“Easy… then I disappear with Alex and no heku will ever see a Winchester again,” Emily said bluntly.

Chevalier growled, “You can’t just leave.”

“I can, and I will. I’m not going to let Alexis live like I do. I never know from day-to-day who is going to try to kidnap me, or who is going to kidnap someone I love to get to me,” Emily said softly.

“But you will stay with the Equites?” William asked.

“Yes, I have chosen to stay with Chevalier… I’m not forced, and the Equites offer me nothing. However, with that being said, if I disappear, it will be from them also.”

“Let me get this straight. We just hand you over to the Equites. We don’t try to bargain for you, or take you, and all we get in return is the ability to rebuild our numbers?” Sotomar asked, irritated.

“That’s part of the plan… I refuse to act as a weapon for the Equites. If you attack the Equites over political prisoners, and you leave me and my children out of it… then I won’t help. If you involve myself or my children, then I will ash all of you and poof.”

Quinn glanced at Chevalier.

Sotomar grinned, “Did you see that? If you no longer protect the Equites, then they will kick you out of their city.”

“That’s not true,” Chevalier growled.

“If that happens, then I will simply buy a home and expect the same peace and security that I would have with the Equites. All I want is to be left alone. I want to raise my family and die of old age knowing that I’ve left my children in a better place than when I was their age,” Emily explained.

“What of rogue attacks? Four of the heku you turned to ash were of the Valle, but the attacks weren’t sanctioned by us,” one of the Valle Elders said.

Emily nodded, “I figure some may slip by. If I get attacked by a single heku, then I can protect myself or my children. If it becomes too common, then you will be warned to control your faction or I’m gone.”

“I don’t like the ultimatum,” Sotomar scowled. “It seems to me that the Equites gain by this and the Valle are left in the dark. All we have is a promise that you won’t mass murder us in our sleep.”

“Isn’t that enough? You know… I have, several times, considered going Valle coven to Valle coven and wiping you out one at a time. With this ultimatum, I agree not to do that.”

“The Equites are being too quiet,” William said, glancing at Zohn. “That is because they have too much to gain from this.”

“I see as though we are gaining nothing,” Quinn said. “Right now we have the protection of the Winchester power on our side, as evidenced by our growing numbers. If this plan is set in motion, we lose that.”

“I won’t live like this anymore. I won’t live under constant attack and fear for my children. It’s no secret that Allen is the first heku child, and it’s no secret that Alexis has the abilities of the Winchester,” Emily said, and smiled when Alexis looked up at her. “I won’t have my children living like I have, they deserve better. I would prefer death over that.”

Chevalier frowned, “Is that how you plan on disappearing? You’re going to kill yourself and the children?”

“Of course not!” Emily said, obviously insulted. “I have the uncanny ability to disappear, and I have no doubts that I can do it indefinitely.”

“Your plan is flawed,” Sotomar said, looking at Chevalier. “You are insinuating that if I were to attack Chevalier, you wouldn’t defend him.”

“I don’t need her protection,” Chevalier said angrily.

“I have faith that Chevalier can defend himself, and in the incident where he was captured recently, it was because of me. In which case, the immunity of your faction is null and void, and you should then watch out for me,” Emily said, and smiled slightly. “After I’m done wiping out the Council in your faction, then I will simply… disappear.”

“What if you break this yourself? What if you do defend Chevalier in a battle, or wipe out half of the Encala on a rampage… what then?” Sotomar asked her.

“Then again, this agreement is null and void.”

“This is preposterous!” the youngest Encala Elder yelled. “She can’t dictate to us an ultimatum. We are more superior than her, and I won’t sit here and take orders from the Equites’ mortal.”

“Sit down, Aaron,” William said to him, and he sat down and glared at Emily.

“Your factions are nothing more than a gang affiliation. What do you war over? It’s not over land… it’s not over money… why then are you always fighting? Can’t you be at peace for… just... fifty years? How hard can that be? No more sneak attacks, no more undercover work. Just leave one another the hell alone,” Emily said, frustrated.

“It goes deeper than money or land,” Chevalier told her.

“Then what is it? Sotomar, why in the world do you hate William?” Emily asked him.

“Because he’s an Encala,” Sotomar told her.

“That’s a name… no reason to fight over a name. Tell me why you hate him?”

“The Valle have always hated the Encala and the Equites,” he said.

Emily nodded, “So no reason.”

“That is reason enough,” Zohn said.

“You have to understand, Em. We are a highly unstable species, and when you pit predator against predator, they will fight for no other reason than to fight,” Chevalier explained. “The night you ran from the Valle, and the Equites guards attacked them and killed all twenty. Do you remember what the guards said?”

Emily nodded, “Yes, they asked if I could bring the Valle to all of their parties.”

Sotomar growled.

“That’s our species. We like to fight,” Chevalier said, and sat back.

“So is there no hope? Is this ultimatum going to end here?” Emily asked them.

The Elders glanced at each other around the large round table.

“No,” Sotomar said. “I’m not willing to have you disappear. It’s too dangerous for us to have you out on your own.”

“I don’t care if she disappears,” William said. “The Encala gain nothing with this.”

“The Encala gain peace to re-grow. You were hurt the worst by the Winchester abilities. You had not one single council member left when she was done,” Sotomar said.

“That’s because she took parts of them!” William said angrily.

“Calm… down…” Emily said to him through gritted teeth.

“If she disappears because you’re an idiot, the Valle will personally wipe the Encala off the face of this Earth,” Sotomar said.

Emily sighed, “You have the ultimatum, leave me and my children the hell alone, or I’m gone. It’s simple really.”

“So what if the Equites tick you off and you run? How is that kind of control over you fair to us?” William asked.

“Chevalier?” Emily asked, and looked at him.

He glanced over at her, “Yes?”

“You and I... have we ever gotten into a fight?” she asked.

Chevalier grinned slightly, “A few.”

“Would you say they were little bickering fights, or knock-down, drag out, bloodthirsty fights?”

Chevalier sighed, “They were pretty bad.”

“At any time after one of those fights, did I take out my anger on any other faction?” Emily asked him.

Chevalier shook his head, “No… I’m pretty sure you took it out only on the Equites.”

“Well I won’t change that now. If the Equites and I have a falling out, it won’t be factored into this agreement,” Emily said to Sotomar.

“What if we feel your life is at risk with the Equites? Maybe we come to find out they are keeping you against your will,” Sotomar said. “Who is to decide to act?”

“Doesn’t matter, the second I’m mistreated by the Equites, I’ll wipe them out,” Emily said, and saw Zohn frown. “I’ll leave you alone now to discuss. I will be back in one hour, and I will need a decision. There are two options… you take my peace agreement, or I disappear today.”

Emily stood up and took Alexis’ hand and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

Sotomar sighed, “Do we have a choice? Really? We can’t let the Winchester line die out. They are too powerful, and we have so much more to find out about them.”

“Yes we have a choice,” William said. “We can show her who is the stronger species and just take her now and lock her up.”

Quinn grinned, “Good luck with that.”

“No! We have no choice. If we want to be able to keep tabs on the Winchester line, then we have no option but to agree with this,” another Valle Elder said.

“It’s only a matter of time before the Equites kick her out anyway,” Sotomar said.

“Says who?” Chevalier asked. “What makes you think we keep her around just for her abilities?”

“Why else do it? She’s a mortal and can hold no value… of course… she does produce valuable children, so I see another reason,” Sotomar said.

Chevalier rolled his eyes.

“Emily has many traits and qualities that the heku lack and we’ve found ourselves, as an entire faction, becoming quite drawn to her and I, myself, do not want to see her go,” Quinn said.

“So you are telling me if tomorrow she loses all of the inherent abilities and can no longer produce children, that you would keep her in the palace?” William asked.

“Yes, we would… and to be honest, I think Emily is a pain in the ass that could use a really good punishment, but yes, we would keep her,” Zohn said, and glanced at Chevalier.

Sotomar threw his hands up, “Why?”

“It’s nothing you would understand. You would need to first care about Emily, and then get her to care about you. It would change your world,” Quinn said, and grinned.

“I say we kill Emily and keep the children,” one of the Encala said.

Chevalier stood up, his hands balled into fists.

“He didn’t mean that,” William said, and glared at the other Encala Elder. “Please, sit, he’s just mad.”

Chevalier glared at him and sat down.

“When did our species become so infatuated with this mortal?” Sotomar said, partly to himself. “I have a high-ranking member of my council that thinks he’s in love with her, and often leaves for weeks at a time to try to find her, himself.”

“If you would stop kidnapping and torturing the child, then you would know,” Quinn said. “It doesn’t take long for the heku to become infatuated with her. Yes, part of it is her scent, that can’t be denied, but the other part is just Emily, her personality, her temper…”

“Her looks?” William asked, and grinned slightly.

Chevalier glared at him.

“So we are agreeing to her terms?” Sotomar asked, and looked around the table.

“As Equites, we agree,” Quinn said. The Equites decided before they arrived that if the other Elders were present, Quinn would speak for the entire faction because of Chevalier’s involvement with Emily, and Zohn’s dislike of her.

“Yes, fine,” William said. “The Encala agree unless we can, somehow, agree to share the children?”

Chevalier shook his head, “No.”

“Fine, then, yes, the Encala agree.”

The hour was almost up, and the Elders decided to wait quietly for Emily so as not to bring up any hostile issues that could scare her away. She came back exactly on the hour, and Alexis ran off to color while Emily came to the table.

She sat down between William and Sotomar again, “Have you made a decision?”

“Yes,” Sotomar said.

“Let me have it… Valle?”

“Yes, we agree,” Sotomar told her.

“Equites?” Emily asked, and looked at Quinn.

“Yes, we agree.”

“Encala, then?”

William nodded, “Yes, we agree also.”

Emily smiled, “Good, then it’s settled, and the agreement is in place. I will even grant you a grace period of one month to alert your faction, and get things settled. During this first month, I will ash anyone I see that may be after me. So mark your calendars, one month from today, and the agreement is in effect.”

The Elders all nodded.

The Equites Elders waited while the Valle and Encala left the building. When they were gone, they turned back to Emily.

Emily smiled slightly, “So, how’s it going?”

“Do you have any idea how worried we’ve been?” Quinn asked, frowning.

“Yes, I think I do.”

“This is… quite some stunt you pulled,” Zohn told her.

Emily nodded and looked nervously at Chevalier.

Quinn stood and took Alexis’ arm, “Come, let’s find some ice cream… Zohn?”

“I don’t want to go get ice cream,” he said, irritated. Quinn grabbed his arm and pulled him from the room.

“Two months, Em?” Chevalier asked, his voice hurt.

Emily nodded, “I’m sorry, I had to.”

“Not a single word even?” She noted an angry tone growing in his voice.

“Please, don’t be mad. I had to force a change.”

“Without a single word?”

Emily looked down at her hands, “I’m sorry. But you left me alone for two months too, during the trial. Consider us even.”

Chevalier stood up angrily, “Are you running off again or are you coming to Council City?”

Emily looked into his eyes, “Am I welcome back in Council City?”

“Of course you are. Though, I am guessing I still don’t get a choice in the matter,” he said, and walked out, slamming the door behind him.

Emily leaned her head on the table and started to cry. Her worst fears were coming true. She hoped Chevalier would see why she had done this, but she was afraid he would be furious and it would cause a rift between them. She wanted nothing more than to feel his arms around her. It had been a long and lonely two months.

Emily looked up suddenly when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

Quinn sat down beside her, “He’ll get over it. He’s had a very rough two months.”

“Well join the club. I had to do this,” Emily said, almost pleading.

“I know, and he will too. I wish you could see how hard he tried to find you, and how every phone call you could see it flash in his eyes that he thought it might be you.”

Emily nodded, “I don’t know where to go.”

“Come back to Council City.”

“He doesn’t want me there.”

“Yes, he does. I’m certain he will see that what you have done will benefit all of the factions.”

“Maybe I should just stay away for a while, let him calm down.”

“I’m not putting up with his grumpy self if you decide not to come back,” Zohn said, and leaned against a wall beside them.

“Zohn, he doesn’t want me back. That was obvious,” Emily told him, and he avoided looking at her tear filled eyes.

“Yes, he does,” Zohn said, and glanced quickly toward the door.

Emily looked toward the door, but it was still shut.

“Em…” Quinn said, frowning. “Your scent… it’s not right.”

“I lost the baby,” she said, watching her hands.

“Fly back with us. You’ll see things are different tomorrow,” Quinn said, changing the subject. This was something he thought she should be telling Chevalier.

“I have the Jeep here,” Emily said. “Take Alexis back. She’s missed her Dad. I’ll be there in a couple of days.”

“I could bring the Jeep,” Zohn offered.

“No, really, he doesn’t want me there,” Emily said, and pulled her suitcase from behind a curtain.

“Let me get that…” Quinn said, but Emily shook her head and hauled it outside. Quinn and Zohn followed her out and glanced at Chevalier as he watched from the other side of the room.

“She’s going to drive back, go with her,” Quinn whispered to Chevalier.

“No, let her drive alone,” he whispered, and picked Alexis up off of the floor.

Zohn walked over to Chevalier as Quinn and Emily stepped out into the hotel’s parking garage.

“You’re being stupid,” Zohn said calmly.

Chevalier frowned, “Excuse me?”

“She did the right thing. No one’s ever come so close to a peace agreement between the factions. You can’t stay mad at her.”

“Watch me,” Chevalier growled.

“I have, and it’s pathetic how miserable you’ve been over a mortal. Now you’re going to let her drive for two days by herself,” Zohn said, and looked over at the door.

“Let’s go,” Chevalier said, and headed for the rental car that would take them back to the helicopter.

Quinn joined them after a few minutes, “You’re an idiot.”

Chevalier threw his hands up, “What is up with you two?”

“You’re an idiot,” Quinn said again, and pulled the car out into traffic.

“It’s none of your business… either of you,” Chevalier hissed, and looked out the window.

“Where’d Mommy go?” Alexis asked, and looked behind them.

“She’s coming in the Jeep,” Quinn said, and smiled.

“Mommy tries,” Alexis said, faking a sad face.

“Your Mommy tries what?” Quinn asked.

Zohn sighed, “For heaven sakes. She said her Mommy cries.”

They drove for a few minutes in silence.

“You have two days to calm down or you risk losing her forever,” Quinn said.

“If that’s what she wants, then so be it. I don’t have a say in it,” Chevalier said angrily.

“Two days,” Quinn said again, and turned into the small airport where Equites 1 was waiting for them.

Chevalier grabbed Alexis from the car and carried her to the helicopter. She had a tight grip on his neck as he buckled in and waited for Quinn to get the checks over so they could take off.

“Fine, let’s say you don’t take her back, then what?” Zohn asked.

Chevalier frowned, “I didn’t say I wouldn’t take her back.”

“You’re sure acting like it. She’s out there driving right now, trying to decide if she’s even welcome back in the city,” Zohn said, and crawled up front with Quinn just before the helicopter took off.

Alexis tightened her grip on Chevalier and yelled into his ear, “Is Mommy toming?”

“Yes,” he said, and wiped a black ringlet off of her face.

“Is Allen at home?” Alexis asked.

“Yes”

“Is he miss me?”

“Of course.” Chevalier smiled.

Quinn landed the helicopter on the roof of the palace just after dark. A stream of guards came out of the doors and made a path to the helicopter from the door. Quinn powered down the Blackhawk and stepped out.

Alexis was asleep in Chevalier’s arms as he carried her into the palace.

“So, where is she?” Kyle asked, and touched Alexis’ hand softly.

“Who knows, probably out doing whatever it is she wants to do,” Chevalier said, and handed Alexis over to Silas.

“Let’s go, the Council wants an update,” Zohn said from behind them.

The rest of the Council was eagerly waiting for them in the council chambers. The Elders sat down, followed by Kyle, who was still trying to get someone to tell him where Emily was.

“So, tell us,” Kyle said anxiously.

Zohn grinned, “It was quite interesting. It was the Elders from all three factions, together, at one table.”

The new Chief Interrogator frowned, “That seems dangerous.”

“Not when your host can turn you to ash if you get out of hand.” Quinn laughed, “She actually got everyone to agree to a type of cease fire.”

“Cease fire?” Kyle asked.

“Yes, the three of us had to agree to leave her alone, or she threatened to disappear. The whole month we searched for her was to prove that she could disappear forever,” Quinn explained.

“Like we ever had any doubt of that. Did she really get the Valle and Encala to agree to leave her alone?”

“Yes, believe it or not. They decided that her terms would be met.”

“What terms?” Kyle asked skeptically.

Quinn chuckled, “She stays with us, but agreed never to help us in battle.”

“Damnit, we’ve been trying to get her to do that for ten years,” Kyle said, and shook his head.

“They agreed to stop trying to kidnap her, and she agreed to leave them be and let them rebuild. If anyone breaks the agreement, she takes Alexis and disappears… forever.” Quinn frowned slightly.

“What? We can’t let her disappear if the Valle or Encala do something stupid,” the Chief Interrogator said.

“You don’t know Emily yet. If she decides to disappear, then there’s nothing we can do,” Kyle told him.

“She is coming back here now. If she stays, remains to be seen,” Quinn said, and glanced at Chevalier. He hadn’t said a word, but was glaring at the far wall.

“What do you mean… if she stays?” Kyle asked.

“I mean, she and the Elder had a falling out and neither of them are happy at the moment.” Quinn sat back in his chair and quit talking when Chevalier glared at him.

“Permission to go accompany her?” Kyle said, and stood up.

“How do you plan on doing that?” Zohn asked.

“Mark and I can head out in his car. We’ll catch up, and he can come back here while Emily and I bring in the Jeep,” Kyle explained.

“Fine by me,” Zohn said.

“Me too, Chevalier?” Quinn turned to him.

“I don’t care,” Chevalier said, and sighed.

“Just one word of caution. Emily gave the factions a month from today to get their acts in order. So for now, she’s still fair game,” Quinn said, and laughed as Kyle nodded, hurdled the desk, and ran out of the room.

Zohn frowned at Chevalier, “Don’t care?”

“That’s right. I don’t care,” he said, and got up and walked out of the council chambers. Chevalier headed down to the barracks. The bedroom, the palace, and the stables reminded him too much of her. He was relieved to know she was ok, but he felt so much anger at how she left for two months without even a note.

When he got to the barracks, he turned into the training hall and was able to take some aggression out on the punching bag and the target dummy.

Chapter 29 - Welcomed

Emily was glad she had the chance to drive back to Council City alone. She needed time to think about Chevalier’s reaction to her and what she’d done. She was deep in thought when the red Lamborghini pulled up alongside her Jeep.

Emily jumped when she heard a honk and looked over at the smiling faces of Mark and Kyle. She pulled over into the median and ran into Kyle’s arms.

“I missed you,” she said.

“Never do that again,” Kyle said, lifting her up briefly.

“I had to,” Emily told him, and looked for understanding in his eyes.

“I know, and he’ll be ok,” Kyle said, and touched her cheek softly.

“Ready!” Mark yelled, and ran to Emily, picking her up in a hug.

“Ugh, too tight,” Emily groaned, and wrapped her arms around him. “I missed you two so much.”

“Then don’t go running off again,” Mark said, and sat her down.

“I’ll try, it wasn’t like I just ran off for fun.”

“Yeah, but that little harebrained scheme was dangerous,” Mark told her, concerned.

“Well, it worked. Now if I can just get Chevalier to forgive me,” Emily said, and dropped her eyes to the road.

Kyle frowned, “Wait… your scent…”

Emily sighed and walked back toward the Jeep.

“I have to get back,” Mark said, and got into his car. He peeled out and soon disappeared into the horizon.

“Shall we go?” Emily asked.

Kyle took the keys from her, “I’m driving, you drive like a grandma.”

“I do not!” Emily yelled, and hit him playfully. “You just drive like a maniac and if you total my Jeep, I’m going to be mad.”

They both climbed into the Jeep for the long drive to Council City. They sat silently for a while before Kyle finally spoke.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“About what? What I’ve been doing for 2 months, or how much Chev hates me?”

“He doesn’t hate you. He’s just mad. You had us all really worried,” Kyle told her.

“I know… but I had to,” Emily said, and sighed. “I guess if he leaves me, I’ll just go buy a house and move out.”

“Trust me, he’s not going to leave you.”

“He is mad, Kyle, like… really mad.”

“Yes he is, but he’s been mad before,” Kyle said, and glanced at her. “How are you feeling anyway?”

“Tired”

“I don’t suppose you’ll tell me where you’ve been or what you’ve been doing?”

“Not where I’ve been, no… as for what I’ve been doing… well… other than spending a month in the bathroom and a day in the hospital, I’ve just been reading and doing a lot of thinking.”

“Hospital?”

“I lost it.”

“Em, I’m so sorry.”

Emily fought back the tears and grabbed a book from her bag, “I’ve been looking through this Winchester book.”

Kyle glanced at the book, “The one you got from the Valle boat?”

“Yeah, I kept thinking there had to be more descendants of Ulrich and Elizabeth than just me, but that’s a pretty straight family tree,” Emily said, and tossed the book into the backseat.

“If there were any other line, one of the heku would have found it by now.”

“Yeah, but I had to look.” Emily leaned over and laid her head against Kyle’s leg. He brushed the hair away from her shoulder.

Emily sat up when she felt the car leave the Interstate, “Where are we going?”

“We’re getting a hotel for the night. You’re exhausted,” Kyle explained, and pulled up at a Sheridan.

Emily just nodded and stepped out of the car. She followed Kyle into the hotel while the valet parked the Jeep. Kyle paid for the penthouse, and they headed up to it in the elevator. They stepped out into the large suite and Kyle tipped the man who brought her bags up.

Emily sat down on the couch and pulled a blanket over her legs.

“Hungry?” Kyle asked, and handed her the menu.

Emily took the menu and looked through it, “Just some soup.”

Kyle frowned, “Are you sure you’re ok?”

“I’m fine, just soup though,” she said, and started to surf through the channels on the TV while Kyle ordered room service.

He finished ordering and stepped into the bedroom, shutting the door behind him. He pulled out his phone and dialed Quinn.

“Quinn here.”

“It’s Kyle.”

“Oh good, how is the trip?”

“It’s ok. She’s tired though, so we’re going to stay a night in a hotel,” Kyle told him.

“I forget about that,” Quinn laughed.

“I also wanted to give him some time. She’s convinced he’s going to leave her.”

“He doesn’t know what he’s doing. Maybe an extra night away is good. He’s been in the guard’s training room for hours,” Quinn explained.

“I think she may be sick,” Kyle whispered, and glanced toward the door. “She’s also lost the baby.”

“I know. I felt that it is best if she takes that up with Chevalier, it’s not my place.”

“He didn’t notice her scent?”

Quinn sighed, “He didn’t get close enough to.”

“Call if we need to drag this out. I can always drive slower.”

“Just get her back here. We’ll all be more comfortable.”

Kyle grinned, “We’ll be back tomorrow then.”

Kyle hung up the phone right as someone knocked on the door. He went and got Emily’s soup, and handed it to her.

“Thanks,” she said, and started to eat.

Kyle sat down beside her, “What were you going to do if the factions didn’t accept your peace agreement?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Emily said, and sipped slowly at the soup.

“What can I do to convince you to take me with you if you decide to disappear?” Kyle asked, and watched her.

“Then it wouldn’t be disappearing, would it?”

“We could disappear together.”

“I don’t need a protector,” Emily told him, and set the bowl down when she was finished.

“I wasn’t going to come as a protector,” he said, and set his hand on her leg.

“I know.”

Kyle picked her hand up and kissed it softly.

“I’ll behave as long as you are with Chevalier, but the second he backs off, you’re mine.” Kyle grinned.

“We’d be better for each other,” Emily said, and leaned against him, putting her head on his shoulder.

“How so?”

“Two bad tempers are a bad match. You’re calm, and you make me calm.”

Kyle laughed, “You really have me all wrong. Do you know that? I have one hell of a temper.”

“Not one I’ve seen in ten years,” Emily said, and settled on a TV show about the history of vampires.

Kyle flipped off the TV and picked Emily up, setting her in his lap. She turned and faced him, her legs along his.

“I’m afraid to even show you my temper. Once I lose control, it’s all over,” he said, and pushed the hair away from her neck.

“You must have a lot of control then, to hide it for 10 years.”

“I do, in more ways than one,” he said, and pulled her toward him, kissing her passionately.

Emily wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled her body close against his. She felt his hands slide underneath the back of her shirt, and she pulled away from him.

“I can’t,” she said softly, and then stood up.

“I’m sorry, Em, come back… I’ll behave,” he said, and also stood up.

“I’m just going to go to bed, I’m tired,” she told him, and shut the bedroom door behind her. She took a quick shower and then crawled into bed, then watched out the window for a few minutes before drifting off to sleep.

“Emily?” Kyle called through the fog. “I can’t find you.”

“Get to Chevalier,” Emily screamed, and ran toward his voice. Her bare feet touching the cobblestones made her cold, and she shivered as she fought to find Chevalier in the fog.

“Chevalier’s dead. I need to find you,” Kyle yelled, his voice suddenly far away.

“No he’s not! Find him, please,” Emily yelled, and a baby appeared in her arms. The baby had long fangs and looked up at her, hissing. She froze and put the baby on the brown cobblestone road. He stood up and instantly grew into a tall, muscular heku.

“Time to feed,” he said, and headed towards her.

Emily screamed and ran toward the sound of Kyle’s voice, “Help me!”

“Em? It’s ok, I’m here,” Kyle said, and touched her arm.

Emily shut her eyes, trying to block out the images from her dream. She glanced at the clock and saw it was only 2am.

“Lay back. I’ll stay with you until you get to sleep,” Kyle said, and patted the bed.

Emily laid back on the bed and pulled the covers up, “No, stay with me tonight? I don’t want to be alone.”

Kyle nodded and laid against her, pulling her close to him and wrapping his arms around her.

Emily was soon asleep and felt Kyle’s comforting arms tighten around her whenever her dreams started to turn bad.

She slowly opened her eyes and looked up into Kyle’s. He was lying close to her and smiled when he saw she was awake.

“Good morning,” he said, and climbed out of bed.

Emily nodded and sat up.

“Pancakes?” Kyle asked.

Emily frowned, “Just coffee.”

Kyle sighed, “Are you on another hunger strike?”

“No, I’m just not hungry. I need coffee to wake up, and then we can go,” she said, and disappeared into the bathroom with some clean clothes.

Emily came back out in jeans and a sweater, and repacked her suitcase.

“Are you cold? It’s hot in here,” Kyle said, and felt her forehead.

“I’m freezing,” she said, and went to the door when someone knocked. “Kyle!”

Kyle grinned when the busboy brought in two large trays. He tipped the waiter and then locked the door when he left.

Emily pulled the domes off of the trays and looked down at pancakes, fresh fruit, crepes, muffins and biscuits, “Were you hungry?”

Kyle laughed, “No, it’s just in case you get hungry.”

Emily poured herself a cup of coffee and held the mug in her hands to warm them. She watched as Kyle built a tower out of fruit during the awkward silence.

“Ready to go?” Kyle asked when Emily finished her coffee.

“Sure, let’s go.” She stood up and found herself instantly in Kyle’s arms. He held her up and kissed her lightly.

“Last one, I promise.” He smiled and put her down.

“Kyle…” Emily started, but Kyle held up his hand.

“Don’t say it, I already know. Let’s get going,” he said, and grabbed her bag before holding the door open for her.

Emily took the keys from the valet and got into the driver’s seat. Kyle climbed into the passenger’s seat, grinning.

“What?” Emily asked him as she started the Jeep.

“Just wondering if you planned on getting to the city before dusk,” he asked.

“I don’t drive slow!” Emily said, and pulled out into traffic. They were soon on the Interstate.

“What are your plans when we get back? I mean, with the Elder,” Kyle asked her.

Emily shrugged, “I don’t have a plan. Do you have a suggestion?”

“Nope, was hoping you did.”

“I guess I just see how he acts. If he’s still avoiding me, then I’ll re-think my stay.”

“After this short of time?”

“It’ll be obvious if it’s over. I will be able to tell,” Emily said, and turned on the heater.

“You need to give him more time.”

“Why? I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“What would you do if he left you for two months and didn’t even call you?” Kyle asked.

“He already did that,” she reminded him.

“You knew where he was though. He didn’t disappear.”

“Doesn’t matter, for 2 months I didn’t hear a thing from him,” Emily said. “Besides, if he had poofed, I’d be mad, but not for this long.”

“Oh yes you would!”

Emily frowned, “I would not.”

Kyle just grinned and looked out the window.

“You’re confusing, do you know that?” Emily asked him.

“How’s that?”

“If I told you right now that I was ready to go into hiding, and you could go… would you?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Yet you still try to get Chevalier and I back together.”

Kyle nodded, “You two are good together.”

“It’s just confusing… do you know I almost cheated on Keith once?”

Kyle looked at her, shocked, “You did?”

“Yeah, with this guy from work. He was so sweet and so nice to me, and then I would go home and face Keith. Never happened though, but we had a date to meet at a hotel one night.”

“Why didn’t you go?”

“I backed out. Then Keith found out and put me in the hospital,” Emily said, and glanced at Kyle. “The guy from work told me the same thing when he came to see me… he said he was backing off because Keith and I were good together.”

“You and Keith were never good together,” Kyle told her.

“That’s not the point, it’s the words. He was afraid of Keith and backed off because of that… he just used the other as an excuse.”

“Probably,” Kyle said, and turned the heater down.

Emily grinned and turned it back up.

“How many heku have you kissed?” Kyle asked, and smiled when Emily’s eyes grew wide.

“What? Why?”

“Just curious.”

“That’s an odd question.”

“So?” Kyle chuckled.

Emily thought, “Seventy.”

Kyle’s eyes grew wide and then he laughed, “Seriously, tell me.”

“Does forced count?” she asked.

Kyle’s eyes narrowed, “Who?”

“That wasn’t the question.”

“No,” Kyle said, no longer laughing.

“Three,” Emily said, and smiled.

“Now tell me who.”

“Nope… your turn. How many mortals have you kissed since turning?”

Kyle grinned slightly, “Erm… lots.”

“Lots? How many are lots?” Emily looked at him with wide eyes.

“It’s kind of hard to count.”

“Hookers?”

“Ok, game over,” Kyle said, and grabbed for the Winchester book.

Emily grabbed the book from him, “Hookers?”

“Damnit, why ask me that?”

“You started with the personal questions, so fess up.”

Kyle sighed, “Some, yes.”

Emily started to laugh.

“What’s so funny?”

“Has Chevalier been with hookers?”

“I’m not going there.”

“So Damon was right about one thing.”

“Why were you talking to Damon about hookers?”

Emily laughed, “I caught him with one, remember?”

“Oh, that’s right. The infamous fight.”

Emily turned off of the Interstate onto the private road that led to Council City. She gripped the steering wheel tightly, her knuckles turning white.

“Relax, ok?” Kyle said softly, and touched her hand.

“He’s going to leave me.”

“No, he’s not. He’s too in love to leave you.”

“Damon said he’s only in it for the sex,” Emily said, and looked up at the palace before pulling into the garage.

“When did you start listening to Damon?”

Emily turned the Jeep off and leaned her head against the steering wheel, “I can’t breathe.”

“Calm down,” Kyle said, and patted her back.

She looked up at the doors and felt her heart ache when he wasn’t waiting for her. Kyle opened her door and held his hand out to help her out.

Emily took his hand and slowly walked toward the palace.

“So… how many?” Kyle asked, trying to get her mind off of Chevalier.

“How many what?”

“How many heku have forced you to kiss them?”

“Since what time period?” She stopped and looked at him.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, starting when I was a teenager, a lot of the attackers kissed me before leaving,” Emily said, and looked nervously at the door.

Kyle growled slightly, “Just since you’ve known Chevalier.”

“Nine, some more than once,” she said, and took another step toward the door.

“Who?” Kyle asked angrily.

“Does it really matter?” Emily asked him, and her body froze when the door opened. It closed again without anyone walking through.

“I’m just curious, any non-Equites?”

Emily nodded, and stepped into the palace hallway. She looked to both ways, but didn’t see anyone.

“Exavior?”

“Drop it, ok, Kyle?” Emily said, and smiled at him. “You seriously don’t want to know.”

“I do though,” Kyle said as they headed up the stairs.

“I’m not going to tell you.”

“Just one…” Kyle stopped when Chevalier appeared on the stairs ahead of them. “I’m… going… to…”

Emily cringed when Kyle disappeared from her side, and she looked up at Chevalier.

“I see you made it safely,” he said, seemingly unconcerned.

Emily nodded, unsure where to go or what to say.

Chevalier walked down and picked up the bags Kyle left on the stairs. He started up to the bedroom with them, and Emily followed him silently. Once inside, she shut the door behind her and looked around the cold room.

Chevalier put the bags down and turned, frowning, “Wait…”

Emily sighed and looked down at the wood pattern on the floor.

“What happened?” His voice changed, it was suddenly soft and concerned.

Emily turned away from him. She hated the tears that were forming in her eyes, “I lost the baby.”

“When?” he whispered, and she could tell he was right behind her.

“Two days ago.”

She felt his hand on her shoulder and found it hard to breathe, “Are you ok?”

Emily nodded, her breath catching, “Just tired.”

“Maybe…” He was afraid to talk, afraid to scare her away, but he didn’t like her color or the dark circles under her eyes. “Maybe you need to see a doctor.”

“I did,” Emily whispered. “I was in the hospital, but… I had to leave early for the meeting.”

Chevalier sat down and pulled her onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her. Emily leaned her head against his neck and started to cry softly.

“It’s ok,” he whispered, and kissed her forehead.

“Chev, do you love me?” Emily whispered.

Chevalier frowned, “Of course I do. I will forever.”

Other books in The Heku Series

Book 1 : Heku

Book 2 : Valle

Book 3 : Encala

Book 5 : Proditor

Book 6 : Ferus

Book 7 : Eternity of Vengeance