She smiled, “Oh, it took care of me.”
He reached down and kissed her softly before sitting beside her, “Yes, well, the poor heku at the door is still holding your pizza, and for some reason, seems to think I’m going to kill him.”
Emily frowned, “You’ve been really mean, haven’t you?”
“I don’t think so. Not any more than normal,” he told her, and then stood up. He went to the bed and pulled off a blanket to cover her with before slipping on some pants and going to the door to get the pizza.
The heku servant was shaking with fear and held the box out to his Elder, not meeting his eye. Chevalier glared at him and tore the box from his hands, hissing slightly when the heku blurred away. He was angry at how an Equites dared to cower.
Chevalier calmed quickly when he saw Emily leaned up on her elbow, watching the fire. He sat down and opened the pizza box, “Dinner is served.”
She looked over at the pizza, “I’m really not hungry.”
“Are we going to go through that all again?” he asked.
She reached over and grabbed a slice, then rolled onto her back and started to eat.
“We’re going to have some problems with Dain,” Chevalier said, and sat down beside her.
“Like what?” she asked, still eating.
“He… well… heard… things… and thought I was hurting you. Kyle actually has him restrained in the game room.”
Emily gasped, “He heard?”
Chevalier shrugged slightly, “Some.”
She sat up, “Oh my God, do the heku hear when… we…”
He grinned and then lied, “No, calm down and eat… He was trying to hear what was going on, that’s all.”
She watched him for a few seconds and then laid back down after grabbing another slice of pizza.
“I’m just saying that, for a while, I’m going to have to watch him. His instincts will be to keep heku away from you… all heku, but he’s going to have to learn that some are ok.”
“He’s a good kid,” she told him.
“I know it, and I’m pretty damned proud of how protective he’s been of you… however, he can’t pull that on me.”
“I’ll talk to him.”
“It won’t work. He’s a predator, we protect our own.”
She sighed, “I hate when you talk about him like he’s a wolf. He’s still a little boy.”
Chevalier pulled the blanket off of her and ran his hand along the bruises on her abdomen, “Was this all Dain?”
“No,” she whispered, and set down what was left of the pizza.
“What happened?”
“I had problems with a field hand.”
“Tell me.”
Emily looked over at him, “He kept asking me out and got madder when I kept refusing… so… he… decided to stop waiting, I guess.”
“Where is he?”
“I don’t really know. Tucker interrupted and hauled him away. I haven’t seen him since… but he liked to stomach punch, apparently,” she said, and cringed.
Chevalier fought for control, pulling from thousands of years to contain the anger that threatened to erupt. It was only a few seconds before he was able to speak calmly, “And your arm?”
“He broke my wrist when he grabbed me.”
“How much longer in a cast?”
“I can take it off at any time.”
Chevalier grinned, “Stop lying. You’re not the only one that can learn from an Interrogator.”
She sighed, “4 more weeks.”
He suddenly grew serious, “Were you pregnant?”
“No”
“Just late?”
“The stress caused all of that to stop.”
He frowned, “What?”
“Not permanently, though I wouldn’t have minded. Once I got the job on the ranch and settled down into a routine, things returned to normal.”
“And the pills?”
“They help when the pain starts.”
“So they’re pain pills.”
“No, it’s a PPI.”
“What’s that?”
She shrugged, “I don’t know, but it makes the pain go away.”
“Fine… then let’s talk about how much you weigh.”
She gasped and sat up, “Why?”
“You’re too thin.”
“I’m fine.”
“How much?”
“I’m not going to tell you how much I weigh.”
“I thought you were going to let me take care of you,” he reminded her.
“There’s no reason for you to know how much I weigh.”
“Yes there is. That way we know how far away from normal you are.”
She blushed and turned back to the fire, “Stop talking about my weight.”
He reached out and took her hand and then ran his thumb softly along the puncture wounds, “How often did you feed him?”
“Every Monday.”
“You fed him once a week?”
“Yes”
“Why?”
She shrugged, “I don’t know… I asked on Mondays if he was hungry, and he always said yes.”
Chevalier sighed, “Em… heku are always thirsty… always. We never turn down an offer to feed. It’s experience that teaches us that we don’t need to eat constantly.”
“Now you tell me,” she grumbled, and looked back over at the fire.
He smiled, “We’ll teach him together.”
“I don’t want guards.”
“I don’t really care.”
She looked at him with wide eyes, “What?”
“You heard what Frederick said. I’m not letting you off without guards… and I’m going to be handling the schedule myself.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning, no more city or palace guards, and there’s to be one ranking with you.”
Her eyes narrowed, “I’m already being confined?”
“Nope, you can go wherever you want. They’re just there for attacks.”
“So other than force feeding and guards, what else do I get to look forward to?”
“We’ll have to wait and see. Get dressed and let’s go talk to Dain,” he said, and helped her up. She disappeared into the bathroom with a simple, dark green dress and then came out and looked over at Chevalier.
“You better be nice to him.”
He smiled and looked down at how the dress showed off some of her curves, “I will be… first though, you weigh.”
“No!” she yelled, and took a step back.
“You’re too thin and we need to keep an eye on it.”
“Don’t touch me,” she hissed, and stopped when her back hit the wall.
Chevalier blurred into the bathroom. It was fast enough she didn’t see him leave and it appeared to her as if the scales suddenly popped into his hand.
“I’m not standing on that thing,” she yelled.
Chevalier stepped on it and looked down at the numbers.
“Fine, you weigh yourself all you want.”
“I couldn’t care less how much I weigh,” he said, and walked towards her.
Her eyes grew wide, “Don’t touch me!”
He picked her up and slung her over his shoulder, “Stop fighting.”
“Stop it!” she screamed, and hit his back.
She struggled to get off of him when he stepped back up on the scales.
“Chevalier, I’ll ash you!” she yelled.
“No you won’t,” he told her and let her down. “Em, you’re down 15 pounds.”
She glared at him, “I hate you.”
“No you don’t. Now let’s go see Dain.”
Chevalier tried to take her hand, but she tore it out of his and stormed out of the room when he chuckled. She ignored Kralen and the three other guards when they fell in behind her as she ran down the stairs to the game room.
“Let him go!” she screamed, and pushed Kyle away from the massive 7-year-old.
“Did he hurt you?” Dain gro
wled, and turned on his Dad. His hands were balled into tight fists and it was obvious he was ready to attack.
“Watch it, Boy,” Chevalier hissed, and crouched slightly.
Dain crouched to match his Dad, “When she screams at you to leave her alone, you do just that, or you’ll have to face me.”
“You are no longer her protector, and the faster you learn that, the easier your stay here will be,” Chevalier hissed.
“Stop it!” Emily yelled, and got between them with her back to Dain and her hands out to Chevalier. “He’s just a little boy.”
“Em, let the Elder handle this,” Kyle said, and pulled her gently by her arm.
“Don’t touch her!” Dain yelled, and blurred into Kyle. They immediately began fighting and Kralen quickly grabbed Emily out of the way.
“Don’t hurt him!” she screamed, and pulled at Kralen’s hand.
The fight lasted only a few seconds before Kyle pinned Dain to the floor with a hand around his neck, “Never attack me, Boy.”
Kyle stood and pulled Dain up, restraining him, facing his Dad.
“Let’s just get this out in the open,” Chevalier told him, his hands clamped into tight fists. “I’m first and foremost your Mom’s protector, you, Son, are just… a Boy.”
Dain hissed at him.
“Stop!” Chevalier yelled, and Dain’s eyes widened. “You never stand between me and your Mom. You never get in the way of any of the Council, or the Cavalry as far as she is concerned. Do you understand?”
“Chevalier…” Emily whispered, and took a step forward.
Dain glared at Chevalier and nodded slightly.
“I have a new personal mission, and that’s to take care of your Mom like she’s never let me before… if you interfere, I’ll have you locked up,” Chevalier told him.
“No!” Emily yelled.
“I understand,” Dain said, scowling at his Dad. “But you listen to me… if you ever hurt her, I’ll tear that ugly head from your body before you know what’s happening.”
“Dain!” Emily gasped. She hadn’t heard him threaten anyone before.
Chevalier grinned, “That’s my boy.”
She frowned, “Let him go.”
Kyle let Dain go and she ran to him and wrapped her arms around him.
“I’m ok, Mom,” Dain told her, still watching his Dad.
Emily turned suddenly and tried to slap Chevalier, but he caught her hand, “If you hit me, you’ll hurt yourself.”
Dain stood up straight and pulled down his shirt, “Why were you screaming? What did he do?”
Chevalier started to argue, but Emily spoke, “He weighed me.”
“You screamed because he weighed you?”
Emily glared at him, “Yes.”
Dain frowned, “That’s it?”
“Yes”
“Did it hurt?”
“Well… no.”
Chevalier chuckled and Kyle grinned before leaving the room.
“He’s probably just concerned because you are too thin,” Dain told her.
“Shut up, Dain,” she growled, and walked out of the game room. Kralen and the guards again fell in behind her and she went down the stairs to see the stables. She stopped at the front doors when one of the door guards looked at her with wide eyes.
“Lady Emily!” he gasped.
“What?”
“Surprised to see you back.”
Kralen grinned, “Your return was kept quiet until we knew if you were staying.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t even know if I’m staying,” Emily told him, and walked toward the stables.
“One thing, Em,” Kralen said as they neared the stable door.
She turned towards him, “What?”
“We… meaning the Cavalry… spent the last year looking for you.”
“Ok”
“Just saying…”
Emily frowned slightly and walked into the stables. She looked around with wide eyes at the unkempt stalls, the burnt out lights, and dust covered surfaces. She noticed that the horses all had fresh food and water, but it smelled like the straw hadn’t been cleaned out in a while.
“Who’re you?” a mean looking heku said from the back of the stables. He glared at her and walked forward.
“Watch it,” Kralen growled at him, and the heku froze.
“Sorry, Sir,” he said, and looked at Emily. “I’m in charge of these stables, and you aren’t authorized to be in them.”
She nodded slightly and whispered, “Ok, I’m… sorry to intrude.”
He huffed and she turned around and left quickly. After the guards left the stables, she jumped slightly when the door was slammed shut.
Emily heard soft whispers from behind her, and knew that Kralen was telling someone about the short incident in the stables. She looked over when she heard the familiar engine and saw Mark arriving with her old Chevy pickup, towing the purple Aero.
He stopped in front of the palace and got out and walked over, “That pickup needs some serious work.”
“It’s fine, thank you,” she said, and walked over to unhook the Aero.
“Let me get that,” one of the Cavalry said, and quickly ducked under to start removing the tow line.
“He did what?” Mark growled. Emily turned around and saw he and Kralen off to the side, whispering.
She ignored them and crawled into the pickup to pull it into the garage, then parked next to a new black McLaren and looked around the garage. Chevalier’s Humvee was newer and she assumed it was his new McLaren, too. Her Ram 3500 and Rubicon were missing, and their parking spaces were empty. One of the Cavalry pulled the Aero into the garage and parked beside her truck.
“Em… about your Jeep…” Mark started, but she cut him off.
“It’s ok,” she said, and then walked back into the palace.
“No, it’s not like…”
“Mark, I really, just… don’t want to know.”
He sighed, “The stables then, we were all…”
“Kralen explained it,” she told him, and started up the stairs. Dain met her on the third floor and looked suspiciously at the guards behind her.
“Are you ok, Mom?” he asked, and snarled slightly at Mark
Mark started for him, but Emily took Dain’s hand and led him up the stairs, “Come on. Let’s get ready for bed.”
The General fell quiet, and decided to just talk to the Elder later. Emily started into Chevalier’s room, but saw Kyle’s door was open. She peeked inside and then walked in when she saw it had been abandoned. A bare bed was set off to the side and the dressers were all gone.
“He moved over with the rest of the Council,” Kralen explained. “This room was meant for Elder Guards, but isn’t really used anymore.”
Emily nodded at him and checked in the bathroom, where it was dark and dusty, “Dain?”
“Yeah, Mom?” he asked, stepping into the dark bathroom.
“Get my bags. I’ll stay in here.”
He nodded and blurred out of the room.
“Em, why are you staying in here? It hasn’t been cleaned,” Mark asked.
“It has a bed and a functional bathroom.”
“So does the Elder’s room.”
She turned to look at Mark, “Am I not allowed to stay here? I can go find another room.”
“Sure you can. Let me get a cleaning crew really quick though.”
“No, it’s fine.”
“It’s dusty and full of cobwebs.”
“It’s fine, no use putting anyone out,” she told him, and took her bag from Dain.
“I’ll start a fire,” Dain said, and began to work at the long-dead fireplace.
Emily turned on the lights, but most were burned out. Only one small bulb put out light and she used it to dig through her bag, while the guards took up a post outside of the door and shut it behind her.
Once Dain had a fire going, it was easier to see and the room started to warm up, “Want me to get you some dinner?”
>
“No, Baby, I’m fine. I’m just going to go to bed.”
Emily dressed quickly in the dark bathroom. None of the lights were working, but she still figured it was better than one of the servant’s quarters with no bathroom. Dain was waiting for her on the bed with the Border collie. She smiled and sat down, looked one more time around the room, and then laid down.
“I’ll go find you some blankets,” Dain said, and stood up.
“No, don’t, I’m ok.”
“It’s freezing in here.”
“The fire will warm it up. I don’t want to bother anyone.”
“I’ve heard them talking, Mom. The servants are happy you’re back and will do anything for you.” Dain studied her face, “Are you hurting?”
“Some, it’ll go away.”
He reached down and pulled her pills from the bag, “Take one.”
“No, really, I’m ok,” she told him, and shut her eyes. Dain leaned back on the headboard and watched the fire while Emily and the Border collie fell asleep.
***
Chevalier looked over at Emily’s guards. They were still standing in front of the empty bedroom, “Is she in there?”
“Yes, Elder,” Kralen said.
He sighed, “Why?”
“I don’t know, Sir. She just said it was better than one of the servant quarters because Kyle had a bathroom installed.”
“It’s dirty though, and dark.”
“She wouldn’t let me have it cleaned.”
“Damnit, Em,” Chevalier sighed. “I should take her another blanket I guess.”
“She doesn’t even have one. She wouldn’t allow Dain to go find one.”
“Because…”
“Because she didn’t want to bother anyone,” Kralen explained.
Mark appeared beside them, “Did you tell him about the stables?”
“What’s up with the stables?” Chevalier asked.
“Mortimer was pretty harsh with her,” Kralen said. “I also had no idea how bad they’d gotten. He’s not been mucking the stalls out, he’s not maintaining the building, there are cobwebs, dust, and burnt out light bulbs.”
“Fire him,” Chevalier said, and opened the door to where Emily was sleeping. The guards blurred inside when they heard a hiss, and found Dain crouched, facing the Elder.
“Don’t do this,” Mark whispered.
“She’s sleeping,” Dain hissed softly.
Eternity of Vengeance : Book 7 of the Heku Series Page 31