“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 blond 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 blond 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 blond. 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.
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“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 Alex’s 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.”
Equites : Book 4 of the Heku Series Page 22