Equites : Book 4 of the Heku Series

by T. M. Nielsen

  “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.