Ferus : Book 6 of the Heku Series

by T. M. Nielsen

  “What precautions?” Mark growled.

  “None of your concern… you may go. We have trials to attend to,” Aaron said, and watched as the Equites were escorted out by the guards.

  “We can’t keep her blood drained for the rest of her life,” William said. “We need to come up with another safety measure or we could kill her.”

  “I don’t know. I kind of like this way,” Frederick chuckled.

  “Don’t push it. The rest of the feeding will be done by the Elders only, to ensure it’s not overdone,” Reese said, and grinned when Frederick’s face grew serious.

  The first week passed, and Emily stayed in her room, away from the heku. She refused to eat and wouldn’t talk to any of the Encala.

  She looked over at the door when someone knocked. Lieutenant Andrew came in and smiled, “Do you have a moment?”

  He waited for a few seconds before coming in and sitting in a chair by her bed, “We were thinking about getting a football game going, would you like to join us?”

  Emily didn’t respond. She just watched him.

  Lt. Andrew sighed, “What about bowling? We can go set up the lanes.”

  She looked back at her book and turned the page, ignoring the Lieutenant.

  “Ok, if you change your mind…” Lt. Andrew said, and left the room quickly.

  Only a few minutes later, Elder Aaron came in with a tray of food. He set it down on her table and then sat on the edge of the bed, “How can we get you to eat?”

  Emily didn’t look up from her book.

  Aaron sighed, “You know why I’m here…”

  Emily threw the book down and scrambled out of bed. Before she even stood up, Aaron was standing in front of her.

  “Don’t fight it. It’ll be easier if you just let it happen.”

  She stood and spun, sending her elbow into his stomach. He bent slightly and growled, “Stop it.”

  Aaron took her shoulders and turned her around to face him. He dodged when she tried to slam her palm up into his nose, and threw her down on the bed, “I said, stop it.”

  Emily’s heel connected with his jaw, but failed to break it, and he quickly pinned her to the bed, restraining her extremities. She tried to head butt him, but his teeth were at her neck before she could connect and she relaxed beneath him.

  Aaron finished and leaned his head on the bed, still pinning her down, “Damn.”

  Emily couldn’t fight. She couldn’t even keep her eyes open and fell asleep almost immediately. Aaron finally found the willpower to stand up, and smoothed his shirt down. He watched her for a few minutes, ordered the fire stoked, and then left her room.

  “It’s done,” he said, sitting down in his chair with the Council.

  “Are you ok?” Frederick asked. Aaron was visibly upset.

  “I don’t like this, at all. Plus… it’s hard to stop. I’m not sure we should do that alone.”

  “I don’t like it either, but I don’t see an option,” William said.

  Frederick grinned, “It wouldn’t be hard to drain her at all. It’s quite appetizing.”

  William glared at him, and the Chief Enforcer looked down at the trial documents.

  “She tried to fight me,” Aaron said, looking over at the other two Elders.

  “I would imagine she did,” Reese sighed.

  “You have to stop thinking of that mortal as a friend,” the Chief of Defense suggested. “She’s not… she’s an enemy weapon and needs controlled.”

  “She was our guest once. We all got to know her, and it’s hard to just write her off as a weapon,” William told them.

  “Still, that’s what she is,” Frederick reminded him.

  “Do we still have that Equites we got from the Ferus? A member of their Cavalry that they assumed died?” Aaron asked.

  “Yes,” William told him, and turned to the Elder. “Why?”

  “Send him back as a show of good faith.”

  William nodded, “It won’t replace Emily, but it might help relations.”

  Reece shrugged, “I don’t care. He didn’t do anything to deserve prison… send him back.”

  “Feed him first, it’s been a few years since he fed,” William told one of the guards, “Then let him go.”

  The guard nodded and disappeared from the room.

  The door guard stepped in, “Elders, the doctor is here with a report.”

  “Let him in,” William said, and the Council turned to him.

  The doctor stepped up and was visibly upset, “You can’t keep this up. She’s hit stage 4 of hypovolemia.”

  “Meaning what?” William asked.

  “That means she’s damn closed to dying from blood loss. Her heart is racing, she has a weak pulse, her breathing is too fast, she’s in and out of consciousness, and she’s cold and pale.”

  “Can you help her?”

  “Yes, with an I.V. I can replace some of the fluid in her body.”

  “We can’t have her strong enough to turn the palace to ash though.”

  “It’ll be a while before she recovers.”

  “Do what you can to make her more comfortable.”

  The doctor nodded and walked out.

  Aaron sighed, “I didn’t realize I’d taken her down that low.”

  “It’s not your fault. It’s hard to tell when she was just fed from a few days before,” Reese said.

  “Give the doctor time to see if he can bring her around,” William suggested, frowning. “We really need to come up with a better idea.”

  “Maybe we should ask her how to make us immune. She may take it over the continual feedings,” the Chief Liaison Officer said.

  “Exavior only made himself immune, not his entire house… makes me think we couldn’t protect us all with it.”

  “But if one Elder were immune, then it would do no good to turn the entire city to ash.”

  “True, I guess we could ask her.”

  ***

  Derrick walked into the council chambers, “Torrance has returned.”

  Quinn frowned, “He has?”

  “Yes, Sir. He showed up a few minutes ago.”

  “Let him in,” Zohn said, and they watched for the missing Cavalry member.

  A heku entered. He was wearing a dirty and torn Cavalry uniform, but looked to be in good health. He stepped before the Council.

  “Are you ok?” Chevalier asked.

  “Yes, Sir. The Encala fed me before letting me go,” he explained.

  “You’ve been with the Encala this entire time?”

  “No, I started off in the Ferus jail, but the Encala took me and put me into their prison.”

  Zohn sighed, “Were you ever tortured or interrogated?”

  “No, Sir. I wasn’t fed, but was never tortured.”

  “Did they say why they let you go?” Quinn asked.

  “No, Sir.”

  “Did you see Emily?”

  “No, Sir… is she with the Encala?”

  “Yes, she is.”

  “I didn’t catch her scent in the palace.”

  Quinn turned to Chevalier, “Maybe they’ve moved her out of the palace.”

  “Maybe,” he said, and watched the member of the Cavalry.

  “Give Mark a full report. It’s good to have you back,” Zohn said, and smiled. They watched the heku leave.

  “Check with some of our spies. See if we can find where they’ve taken Emily,” Quinn said to Derrick. He nodded and left the council chambers.

  ***

  “Emily?” William said, sitting down on her bed.

  She looked over at him and he was shocked by the lack of color in her face, and the dullness of her eyes.

  “Please,” she whispered. “Don’t use my neck.”

  William looked down at the blanket, “I’m sorry.”

  “Just not my neck,” she said, and handed over her wrist.

  The Encala Elder sighed, “If there was any other way.”

  “Drain me, please,” she whispered, and l
ooked into his eyes.

  He reached over and touched her cheek softly, “I don’t want to kill you.”

  “I can’t live like this.” Her voice was soft and desperate, “How long have I been here?”

  “It’ll be five weeks tomorrow.”

  “If you care about me at all, end it.”

  William picked up her hand and hesitated before sinking his teeth into the soft flesh of her wrist. As her body relaxed, a tear fell down her cheek. When he was finished, he pulled a blanket up over her and kissed her hand before leaving.

  Aaron met William out in the hallway, “How is she?”

  “Not good. She wants us to kill her.”

  “I wonder about trying her without the draining part… see if she’ll just behave.”

  “Can we risk that? If she gets the strength to ash the palace, it would be too late.”

  Aaron nodded, “That’s true.”

  “I don’t like this either,” William said. “We’re slowly killing her.”

  Frederick came up to them, grinning, “Enjoy your lunch?”

  “No, as a matter of fact I didn’t,” William told him.

  The Chief Enforcer shrugged and walked into Emily’s room. He was assigned to control her long enough to make her eat, though the day of a feeding, and several days after, all he could manage was for her to drink some. The doctor mixed up a high calorie drink for those days.

  Aaron and William walked up and met Reese in the Elder’s conference room. The two of them sat down.

  “The Equites’ Powan Coven wiped out our Scotch Coven last night. They killed all 251 and burned the main house,” Reese said.

  “What caused that?” William asked, frowning.

  “From what I gather, the Lord of Scotch Coven sent a message to the Lord of Powan. He bragged that with our possession of their Winchester, Powan would soon be obliterated.”

  “Why would he do that?”

  “I don’t know, but I don’t feel a retaliation is necessary… sounds to me like he asked for it,” Reese said, and looked over some papers.

  “Have we heard back from the Valle?” Aaron asked them.

  Chapter 4 - Compassion

  “Please, not my neck,” Emily begged again. She couldn’t focus and wasn’t sure where she was. All she knew was that her neck needed protected, and she was desperate to convince him of that.

  Aaron nodded, “I know, Child.”

  She couldn’t find the strength to speak more. Her eyes were heavy and her hands and feet were so cold she could no longer feel them. She gasped slightly when she felt the Elder’s teeth against her neck, and the relaxing sensation no longer brought relief from the panic. He finished, and then kissed her cold forehead lightly.

  “Sorry, Dear, it’s hard to resist your neck,” he whispered, and brushed the hair off of her shoulder.

  “I said, no, Exavior,” she whispered, and her hand fell limply across her chest.

  Aaron watched her sleep for a bit, and then held her hand while the sun set and darkness fell over the Encala palace.

  Long after dark, Emily felt strong arms pick her up out of bed. She wasn’t sure why she felt so cold, but the warm blankets were left behind. She tried to open her eyes when she felt the cold breeze fly past her as she was blurred away from the palace. It seemed like hours passed before she felt the cold ground beneath her. Her nightgown became wet with mud, and the prick of branches dug into her skin. She shivered as a light rain began to fall and quickly soaked through her clothing.

  “You’re just a moron,” the guard said, starting his nightly patrols with his partner.

  “No I’m not, it’s just been too long since you were human,” the other guard said, laughing.

  “You’re older than I am, and sorely mistaken.”

  “Gah, no I’m not. I distinctly remember it… is that a body?” he asked, and stopped. His green cape was heavy with the rain as he stooped down to look at the still form lying silently on the forest ground ahead of them.

  “It is a body…” the other guard said, and took a step closer. “Is it dead?”

  “Doesn’t smell like anything, death or not… saw that once when I found a fully drained mortal body,” he said, and touched Emily’s arm lightly.

  “It’s a mortal, a girl… she’s not dead though, not yet.”

  The guards both stood up and looked down at her.

  “What do we do with her?” the tallest guard asked.

  The other shrugged, “I don’t know. Leave her here? She’s not really any of our concern.”

  The taller guard smacked the other one upside the head, “We can’t leave her here.”

  “Well we can’t take her into the compound. Lord Dexter wouldn’t like a mortal in there.”

  “He is weird about that… no other coven has to feed outside of their own city.”

  “So we leave her?”

  “I say we take her back. She’s obviously injured or… almost dead,” he said, and touched her arm with his boot.

  “Maybe we should ask Kralen. He’s back from Council City for a while. I bet as one of their guards, he’s seen everything.”

  “Not gonna bug him with a dead mortal.”

  “She’s not dead.”

  “Well she will be in a few minutes. Take a whiff, no blood smell at all.”

  The taller guard thought for a moment, still watching her, “She’s just a kid.”

  “Kid or not, she’s a mortal,” the shorter one said. “I vote we just leave her.”

  “I wonder if someone from our coven drained her accidentally, and left her here for dead.”

  “I doubt it. No one’s dumb enough to do that.”

  “I’d drop her here before I’d turn myself in for it.”

  The shorter guard knelt down, “Are you alive?”

  “She can’t answer you, idiot,” the tall guard said. “Ok… I’ll stay here. Go ask Kralen what the big wigs in the city do with a dead mortal.”

  “You don’t think this is the Elder’s missing wife, do you?”

  “Damn I hope not. She’s been wiping covens out all over the continent.”

  “What’s his wife look like?”

  “How am I supposed to know? Again… Kralen would know. He’s one of her guards.”

  “Fine… stay here. I’ll go get him,” the shorter guard said, and blurred back towards the coven. The taller guard stood impatiently and watched over the still form on the ground as she slowly began to sink into the deepening mud.

  The shorter guard, drenched from the rain, knocked on the door to the main house. The Captain of the Guard answered, “What do you want, Nate?”

  “I’d like a moment with Kralen, please,” the shorter guard said.

  “You aren’t coming in here dripping wet. What do you want with Kralen anyway? He’s here on a vacation and is relaxing right now.”

  “I just… I just wanted to talk to him for a moment, about the missing Elder’s wife.”

  The Captain of the Guard grinned, “Why do you care? Gonna go look for her?”

  “Maybe, I just want to know what she looks like is all.”

  “She’s tiny and has long red hair, enough said,” the Captain told him. “Now leave Kralen alone.”

  “Yes, Sir,” Nate said, and headed back into the rain. By the time he reached the taller guard, the rain was starting to turn to snow.

  “Where’s Kralen?” the taller guard asked.

  “They won’t let me see him. The Captain said the Elder’s wife is tiny and has long, red hair,” Nate said, looking down at her.

  “Is her hair red?”

  “Looks wet to me, I don’t know,” Nate said, irritated. “It’s… mud colored.”

  “Well, we need to decide, or she’ll freeze to death if she’s not already dead.”

  Nate sighed, “Ok… here’s what I think. I say we take her down and put her in a cell. It’s warmer, and she won’t get up and run around. We’ll decide what to do with her without running the risk of her d
ying of exposure.”

  “Sure, you get her. I’ll watch for city guards.”

  “No way! You pick her up.”

  “What are you two girls doing standing out here in the snow?” a gruff voice said from behind them. They both stood up suddenly and saluted.

  “Sir,” Nate said. “We were trying to decide what to do with it.”

  “It?” the Commander asked, and walked around to see behind them. He gasped and knelt down, “Damnit, she’s alive.”

  “Yeah, barely. We aren’t sure what to do with her,” Nate explained.

  The Commander picked her up, “Where’d she come from? I smell an Encala.”

  Nate inhaled, “Oh, didn’t notice that.”

  “An Encala feeding gone bad I’d guess. Trying to pawn it off on the Equites,” the Commander growled. “Let’s get her inside and see if we can take her home.”

  The three heku went back into the coven’s compound, and the Commander headed into the main house with her. It was the only place he could think of that might have a bed or couch to lay her on.

  “What’s going on?” the Captain of the Guard asked when the Commander walked in, dripping water and mud all over the floor.

  “Nate and Elbin found this mortal outside on their patrols. Smells like an Encala to me, and almost dead,” the Commander said. “Figured if we could warm her up and find out where she lives, we could just take her home.”

  The Captain looked over her, “Idiots almost drained her. Put her on the couch. Let’s see if we can get her eyes open long enough to control her and get her out of here.”

  “Yes, Sir,” the Commander said, and laid her down. He touched her arm, “Hey… lady?”

  The Captain watched nervously, “Try again.”

  “Hey!” the Commander said louder.

  Emily struggled toward the voice. She finally managed to open her eyes slightly. The Commander locked her easily, and when her breathing slowed to match his, he spoke, “Where do you live?” he asked calmly.

  “Palace,” she answered, her words were soft and slurred.

  The Commander frowned, “You live in a palace?”

  “Yes,” she said, almost dreamily.

  “What city?”

  “Council City,” she whispered, and fell asleep when the Commander broke the gaze and looked up at the Captain of the Guard.