Alexis burst into tears and ran out of the prison.
“What?” he asked, and watched her go.
“I see she has the emotional control her mother does,” Vaughn said, and laughed.
“Shut up, Vaughn,” Emily hissed at him.
“Wimpy though, if she can’t ash a heku.”
“I sure as hell can, so shut up,” she said, and let Chevalier help her up.
Chevalier laughed as Vaughn fell back in a brief moment of pain and then Emily started out of the prison.
“Want me to talk to her?” Chevalier asked when they walked out into the palace.
“No, she and I need to go shopping is all… I hate makeovers,” Emily sighed, and looked back at her guards.
“Makeovers?”
“Yes, she’s getting old enough that she wants to dress up. Not sure where she got that from, but I’ll have to help her.”
“Just ask the tailor for what you want. No need to go shopping.”
Emily looked up at him, “More than shopping… makeovers.”
“You too?” he asked, grinning.
“Afraid so… no guards either.”
“Wait,” Silas interrupted. “I’m going.”
“No you’re not,” Emily said, and turned to him.
“Yeah, I am.”
Chevalier grinned and watched them.
Emily’s eyes narrowed, “You’re not going.”
“Yes, I am,” Silas said, and crossed his arms.
“What makes you think I’m going to give in and let you come?”
“You don’t have a choice. I’m not leaving you again. I thought I should have been there when you and Miri were taken… I tried to go when you and Kralen took off for the Valle… and I’m not giving in this time.”
“I can just ash you.”
“But you won’t.”
“Mom, he can go,” Alexis said, watching the stand off
“No,” Emily said, and grinned.
Silas shrugged, “I’m going.”
“Chev,” Emily said, still watching the guard.
“Oh no, I’m not getting in on this,” Chevalier said, and stepped back.
“Wimp”
“When do we leave?” Silas asked, taking a step towards her.
Mark appeared in the hallway, “What’s going on?”
“No,” Emily said, and stood her ground.
Mark looked over at Chevalier, confused at the amused expression on his face.
“We’re going shopping,” Silas told him, though his eyes never left Emily.
“You’re not going,” she said.
“Oh yeah, I am.”
“I’ll take Kralen.”
“I’m going.”
“No,” Emily said, and took Alexis’ hand. “We’re having a girl’s night out, no heku or men allowed.”
Mark grinned, “I think you’re lucky that only one heku is going.”
“No heku is going,” Emily told him, and limped for the garage, followed by Silas. “Go away.”
“No,” Silas said, and followed her out.
“Is he going to be ash soon?” Mark asked, looking over at Chevalier.
The Elder shrugged, “I don’t know.”
“We haven’t told her about Kralen,” Mark said when he heard the Jeep leave the garage.
“I don’t know how to tell her. He’s been imprisoned.”
“I heard.”
“For now, let’s see if we can keep it from her. Her feet are killing her and she still looks at us like she doesn’t entirely trust us,” Chevalier said. “The second she finds out, she’ll go after him.”
“Does she even know where his coven is?”
“No, I don’t think so actually.”
“Can she find out?”
“Not without asking Jerry.”
Mark sighed and looked over at the other guards, “Gabe… what’s your problem with Emily?”
Chevalier turned to look at the young blond guard.
“I don’t know, General,” Gabe said. “She just told me suddenly that she’s watching me.”
“You’re Alexis’ guard?” Chevalier asked.
“Yes, Elder.”
“Have you ever guarded Emily?”
“No, Sir. I’m not Cavalry.”
“Yes, I see that… so why is Emily watching you?”
“I don’t know, Sir,” he said nervously.
“Well now I’m watching you, too,” Mark said. “Go back to quarters until Alexis returns.”
“Yes, General,” he said, and blurred away.
“Wow, I think Silas went with them,” Mark chuckled.
“That’s odd,” Chevalier said, and then grinned. “Now I just hope he doesn’t come back as ash or in a tutu.”
“We’ll have the cameras ready.”
“I’ll talk to Emily when she gets back. It’s odd for her to say that to a guard,” Chevalier said, and headed up to his office.
***
Chevalier looked up from his desk when he heard the Jeep return to the garage. He headed down the stairs and heard soft gasps as he got to the main foyer.
Silas appeared first. He was wearing a black Armani suit and sported a short, spiky haircut and dark sunglasses. Mark came in just as Silas slung the jacket over his shoulder and walked up to the Elder.
“Thought the makeover was for the women,” Mark chuckled.
“Yeah… well… they let me go,” Silas said, grinning.
“Are they coming in?” Chevalier asked, looking over at the door.
Silas started to laugh, “Lexi is still trying to get Em out of the Jeep. She let Lexi dress her up.”
“That bad, eh?”
“Well… no, not at all.”
“Then why…” Chevalier started, but his eyes grew wide and his mouth dropped when Emily stepped in. She was obviously embarrassed by the tight fitting, low cut blue dress that hugged every curve in her body and showed a sleek line of cleavage. Her make-up was done heavier than normal and her hair was piled on top of her head in long ringlets.
“If you laugh… so help me I’ll ash this entire city,” she hissed when she walked up. It was obvious her feet still hurt. Alexis was grinning broadly and had on a similar dress to Emily’s, but one that wasn’t low cut or quite as tight fitting. She’d cut her long black hair into a short A-line and had light make-up.
“You look good, Em,” Chevalier said, and smiled.
Her eyes narrowed, “Don’t say it…”
“What?”
“Just… don’t,” she said, and pulled the dress up to walk up the stairs.
“That was fun,” Alexis said, still smiling. She looked around the foyer, “Where are my guards?”
“Hm,” Mark sighed and looked around, “They’re coming.”
“Wish Em did that. Found her guards when they were missing,” Silas said, and called for Emily’s guards too.
“Silas… uniform,” Mark reminded him.
“Oh! Right,” he said, and then grinned before blurring away.
Chapter 6 - Missing
Emily stepped out of her room in jeans and a t-shirt, ready to go down and re-shoe some of the horses. She looked at her guards and sighed, “Who are you?”
“City guards, Ma’am,” the tallest said, and then smiled. “We’re trying to get on with the Cavalry.”
“I see… and where’s the Cavalry?”
“In the training room.”
“Kralen too?” she asked. Emily was told that Kralen was on vacation for the first month after her time in the forest, and for the month after that, she was told he was on assignment. She was starting to get the feeling that she was being lied to.
“No, Ma’am.”
“Where is he then?”
“On a mission.”
Emily thought for a moment and then headed down the stairs, followed by the four over-anxious city guards.
“Where are you going?” one of them asked her.
She turned around, “None of your business, get lost.”
“We can’t, Ma’am. If we want on with the Cavalry, we have to prove you can’t ditch us.”
Her eyes narrowed, “Who said?”
Zohn appeared beside them, “Is there a problem?”
“Yes,” Emily said, and turned to him. “Genius here thinks he’s going to be on the Cavalry.”
The Elder looked over at the city guards, “Oh?”
“Yes, Sir, if we can successfully guard her, we have a shot.”
Zohn cringed inwardly. That information was supposed to be kept from Emily. He looked over at her just as she crossed her arms and glared at the guards.
“Whose bright idea was that?” she asked the highest ranking. His insignia was for one of the city Lieutenants.
The guard shrugged, “Not sure.”
“You think I can’t get away from you?”
“No!” Zohn said quickly. “He doesn’t think that.”
“Yes I do. How can a human get away from a heku?”
Zohn sighed, “You four, get in the council chambers, now.”
The four guards blurred away and Emily turned to Zohn, “Is that why I’ve had so many strange guards lately?”
“No, I think he’s delusional.”
“No guards today. I’m tired of being followed around by overanxious, annoying, nosey guards, who watch me like I’m seconds from getting kidnapped.”
Zohn nodded, “Very well.”
She turned to look at him, “You are agreeing to back off my guards?”
“Will you stay on the palace grounds?”
“Yes”
“Then, yes, I am.”
“Fine then, I’ll be in my office,” she told him, and started up the stairs.
“Also, remember, the new permanent Staff Supervisor starts today.”
She sighed, “Oh right, guess I’ll be in my personal office today then.”
Zohn watched her walk up the stairs and then returned to his seat. Chevalier was talking quietly to Quinn when he sat down.
“That didn’t sound good,” Kyle said to the Elder.
“It wasn’t,” Zohn told him, and then looked over at the guards. “Want to explain why you are that stupid?”
The Lieutenant frowned, “Sir?”
Chevalier and Quinn looked over at the four city guards.
“Were you or were you not told to keep from Lady Emily, the fact that new Cavalry recruits have a minimum requirement for hours guarding her?” Zohn asked.
Chevalier sighed, “Tell me they didn’t let her know.”
“Oh, they did.”
“Well,” the Lieutenant said. “We just…”
“No, we just, nothing,” Zohn growled. “You then made a statement about how there’s no way that Emily could elude you.”
Quinn grinned slightly, “That wasn’t very bright.”
Chevalier sighed, “What were your orders with regards to challenging Emily to get away from you?”
The City Commander spoke, “We were told not to mention anything in regards to her not being able to escape with us watching her.”
“She can’t though. It’s ridiculous to think she could ditch a heku,” the Lieutenant told the Council.
Kyle started to laugh, “Have we found her yet?”
Zohn rubbed the back of his neck, “No, I was there when it happened. I’ve agreed to no guards today if she’ll stay on the palace grounds… I’m hoping that will appease her enough to stay put.”
“You four, back to your General, you’re off the Cavalry list,” Chevalier said, and watched them bow and leave the council chambers.
“I’m glad I went out. I heard her ask them about Kralen and thought I better intervene,” Zohn said.
“Jerry, has she asked you anything about him?” Chevalier asked, looking over at the Records Keeper.
“No, Elder, she has not.”
“She won’t talk to him,” Kyle told the Elders. “He was a Damon supporter.”
“What?” the Records Keeper gasped. “That was… I don’t think that should be held over my head…”
“It is,” Chevalier told him, and smiled slightly. “Sorry, but that’s how she distinguishes this Council.”
“After all this time?”
“Yes, if she does come to you for information on Kralen, it’ll be as a last resort,” Kyle said.
“How do I remedy that?” the Records Keeper asked.
“You can’t. If she’s going to warm up to you, it’ll just happen on its own.”
“Or never,” Dustin added.
Kyle shrugged, “Or never.”
“Derrick, send Mark in please,” Zohn said, grinning.
“What?” the Records Keeper asked, looking at the grinning Elder.
“It’s just so nice to not be on her list anymore.”
“And you got off of it how?”
“Not sure exactly. I guess I appealed to her nature to seek out alliances with those that can relate to things she finds she needs help with.”
“Such as?”
“Such as assisting with a personal violation,” Quinn told him.
“So if I help her the next time she’s attacked, she will then take me off of what the Elder calls her ‘list’?” the Records Keeper asked.
“Maybe, no guarantees… ahh, Mark,” Zohn said, and looked up when the General came in.
“Yes, Elder?”
“The four city guards that were watching Emily, told her about the required guard hours to get on the Cavalry.”
Mark sighed, “Damnit, that was working well too.”
“I’ve given her permission to go without guards today, if she’ll stay on the palace grounds.”
“That’s good for today... but now how do we narrow down the huge list of Cavalry applicants?”
“We’ll go back to interviews,” Kyle said. “You and I both, and maybe even Emily.”
“Fine, but that other way worked better. We got a feel of how they dealt with her and how she got along with them.”
“Why do we do that, anyway?” Dustin asked. “The Cavalry is many things, the least of which is her personal guard.”
“The least of which?” Mark asked, irritated.
“Yes, I feel that protecting the palace is more important, and don’t see why we choose them based solely on their reactions to her.”
Chevalier smirked and started going through the guard roster.
“Anyone can be trained to guard the palace,” Quinn told him. “Emily, however, takes special considerations.”
“Catering to her whims again.”
“Yes, we do. Would you rather her run off to the Valle and have them systematically wipe us out?”
“No, and I don’t believe that would happen. If we stop catering to her, she would stay with the Elder, that, she’s proven.”
“Every spouse, at least in the 1900 years I’ve been on the Council, has been guarded and given extra protection,” the Chief of Defense told them. “One of the easiest ways to get to a member of this Council is through a spouse.”
“I didn’t know that,” Kyle said, surprised.
“That’s how Elder Maleth’s wife died. The Valle tried to get to him through her.”
Chevalier tensed, “Enough.”
“Yes, Elder,” the Chief of Defense said, turning back to Mark. “We have one more unit in Powan as we speak. Next time we need to send over a batch for the Cavalry, we’ll arrange something.”
Mark nodded, “Yes, Sir. And what about Emily today?”
“She’s in her office,” Zohn said. “Doing… whatever it is she does in there. Leave her be as long as she stays near the palace.”
“Yes, Elder,” he said, and left for the Cavalry training.
***
Emily sat alone in her office, looking at the computer screen with recent V.E.S. activity. She’d noticed a rather quick decline in their numbers, and most of the Internet communications between V.E.S. strongholds was about how to recruit new members and shock at how quickly members were return
ing to their lives outside of the society.
As much as she tried to focus, her mind kept going back to Kralen’s disappearance. Everyone assured her he was fine, either on his vacation, or away on a mission. No one seemed comfortable talking about it around her, and she noticed nervous glances whenever she brought it up.
Emily thought for a moment and then called Allen.
“Hi, Mom,” he said, sounding glad to hear from her.
“How’s it going?”
“Good, Miri and I are just working on the house.”
“Not staying in the castle?”
“Naw, that’s Dad’s house. We got one in the city.”
“I see… I have a question though,” Emily said, and hesitated.
She could tell Allen was grinning, “What now?”
“Have you heard where Kralen is?”
“Well, no, haven’t heard anything. Is he missing?”
“Yes, and they just keep telling me he’s either on vacation or on a mission.”
“You don’t believe them?”
“No, I don’t.”
Allen thought for a moment, “My guess is that he’s on a big mission. Maybe undercover or infiltrating another faction. That can take hundreds of years to accomplish.”
“What!?”
“It’s not easy for another faction to think a heku jumped ship and joined them because of fights with the Equites. If Kralen’s on a mission to be trusted by the Valle or the Encala, then it will take centuries.”
“How can I find out?” she asked, suddenly feeling sick to her stomach.
“Not sure on that one. No one that knows will tell you, it could break his cover.”
Emily sighed, “I’m worried about him.”
“You’d be better off letting him do whatever it is he left to do,” Allen told her.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“Please, Mom, don’t go after him. If you break his cover, he could be killed.”
“I won’t, talk to you later,” she said, and hung the phone up. She got up and headed for the stairs when she heard Alexis out of her classroom.
“Wait,” Emily said, and went down the stairs. “What’s up?”
Alexis looked up and smiled, “Hi, Mom. We’re going out to your leech pond to get a water sample.”
“Ew, why?”
“I need a fresh slide of protozoa.”
Eternity of Vengeance : Book 7 of the Heku Series Page 16