Ferus : Book 6 of the Heku Series

by T. M. Nielsen

  “Sorry,” she said, and sat down just as a servant brought her a cup of hot chocolate.

  “Busy night?” Kyle asked.

  “Not bad… what were we talking about?”

  “You were trying to get us to stay on vacation,” Zohn reminded her.

  “Oh right… anyway, you should stay.”

  Kyle smiled, “We should leave in the morning. I have a few things I need to take care of here, first.”

  She nodded and stood up, “I’m heading off to bed then, stay out of trouble.”

  Zohn and Kyle watched her leave the dining room, and then they blurred to Kyle’s office and locked the door behind them.

  “Damnit,” Zohn growled. “Now we have to call the Council and tell them it’s not going to work.”

  Kyle nodded, “I had no idea what was going on here.”

  “She has no reason, whatsoever, to come back to the palace. Seems like the heku here love her, and she’s wanted and kept busy.”

  “Hell, I wouldn’t leave here either.”

  “No matter how many positives we bring up about coming to the palace, they can’t compare to her life here.”

  Kyle sighed, “After seeing tonight, I don’t even want to ask her to come back.”

  “I’m thinking… there has to be some way to get her back to the palace,” Zohn said.

  “I am concerned, however, about Nicholas.”

  Zohn nodded, “Agreed. The worst part about that entire episode, was that it sounded like it’s a regular thing.”

  “He can’t be all the way sane. She tucked him into bed.”

  “Course, I don’t really want to tell Chevalier that Emily has to go out in the middle of the night to get a naked heku away from her horses, and then takes him home, dresses him, and tucks him into bed.”

  Kyle grinned, “I don’t either.”

  “What do you suppose happened to him?”

  “I don’t even remember a Nicholas on the island,” Kyle said, and started thumbing through files in a cabinet. He stopped after a few minutes. “Nope, not a single Nicholas. That house used to belong to Debbie and Wynn, but last I heard, they moved over to Jacoba Coven to get away from the sand.”

  Zohn frowned, “I wonder where he came from.”

  Kyle called out for the servant that notified Emily about Nicholas. He stepped into Kyle’s office and looked nervously at the Elder.

  “Where did Nicholas come from?” Kyle asked him. “He’s not in my files, and I don’t remember inducting him into Island Coven.”

  The servant began to wring his hands, “Lady Emily asked that we not say, Sir.”

  Kyle raised an eyebrow, “I do believe I outrank her.”

  “I sure as hell know I do,” Zohn said. “Tell us.”

  The heku servant looked down at the ground, “Please don’t order me. We all promised her we wouldn’t tell.”

  Zohn sighed, “Too late, it’s an order.”

  Kyle growled, “Keeping secrets from myself or Chevalier is grounds for immediate expulsion from Island Coven, and you know it.”

  He nodded, “Nicholas… the Lady found him wandering the streets of Jonesport.”

  “He was wandering around in the middle of the day?”

  “No, Sir, it was at night.”

  “What was Emily doing out in Jonesport at night?”

  The servant shrugged, “We don’t ask, Sir.”

  Kyle frowned, “So she does it often?”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “Who was guarding her when she found Nicholas?” Zohn asked. “The guard may know more.”

  The servant sighed, “No one, Sir.”

  “There are just too many things wrong with this,” Kyle said.

  “Let’s keep with Nicholas for now. What’s wrong with him?” Zohn questioned.

  “I don’t know, Sir. He mainly stays to himself, except on the full moon.”

  “When he attempts to turn into a wolf?”

  “Yes, Elder.”

  “Silas, come here,” Kyle said angrily.

  “Yes, Chief Enforcer?” Silas asked, coming in.

  “What do you know about Nicholas?”

  Silas thought, “I don’t know a Nicholas.”

  “When you aren’t here, or are busy with Dain, who is watching Emily?”

  “The General assigned Van and Chris as her personal guards.”

  “Did you know she’s been wandering Jonesport alone at night?”

  Silas gasped, “She has?”

  “Fire Van and Chris.”

  “Right away.”

  “First though,” Kyle said. “Let’s go talk to Nicholas.”

  Zohn nodded and blurred to Nicholas’ home with Kyle and Silas.

  Kyle knocked on the door, and when there was no answer, Silas looked into the window.

  “He’s in bed with his eyes closed,” Silas whispered, frowning.

  Zohn opened the door and walked in, followed by Kyle and Silas. Nicholas didn’t move, but stayed in bed with his eyes closed.

  “We know you aren’t sleeping,” Kyle said. “So I order you to sit up and talk to us.”

  “Shhh, I am sleeping,” Nicholas whispered, not opening his eyes.

  Kyle glanced at Silas, who walked up and pulled the covers off of him and then pulled Nicholas up to sitting by his neck.

  Nicholas looked up with wide eyes at the others.

  “How long have you been living on the island?” Kyle asked him sternly.

  “Six months,” Nicholas told him. “Lady Emily said I can stay until I’m able to join Powan Coven.”

  “Where were you before Emily found you in Jonesport?”

  “I lived as a wolf.”

  Kyle looked over at Zohn, and the Elder shrugged.

  “When were you turned?” Kyle asked.

  “Into a wolf?”

  “No, into a heku.”

  “After I became a wolf.”

  “Which was how long ago?” Kyle was starting to get irritated.

  “I became a wolf again 4 hours ago.”

  Silas growled and hit Nicholas upside the head, “Pay attention and answer his question…”

  “Give me a date. When were you turned into a heku?” Kyle asked.

  “February 31st, Sir.”

  Kyle rubbed the bridge of his nose, “There is no February 31st.”

  “There is in wolf time.”

  Zohn shook his head, “The problem is, he’s not lying.”

  The door flew open and the heku all spun as Emily stormed in, still wearing a nightgown and robe, “Leave him alone.”

  “Em, we aren’t hurting him,” Kyle told her.

  Emily sat down on the bed beside Nicholas, and he leaned his head against her shoulder, “You scared him.”

  Silas growled and roughly pulled Nicholas away from her.

  Emily took Nicholas’ hand and glared at Silas, “Leave him alone.”

  Zohn sighed, “Everyone calm down. Emily, do you know what’s wrong with him?”

  “They woke me up,” Nicholas told her.

  “I know. Go back to bed, we’ll leave you alone,” Emily said, and stood up. She tucked him back into bed and then turned to the others, “Let’s discuss this in private.”

  “Why are you tucking him into bed?” Silas asked, confused.

  “Out,” Emily growled, and opened the door.

  The four kept quiet as they walked back to the castle and into the conference room. The heku were aware that Emily was livid, and she knew they were going to fight her over Nicholas, one reason she tried to keep him a secret.

  Once they were all seated, Emily finally spoke, “Leave Nicholas alone.”

  “No, he’s not completely sane. He’s dangerous,” Kyle said, irritated.

  “No he’s not… he’s completely harmless.”

  “Does he even know he’s heku?” Zohn asked.

  “No, he doesn’t.”

  “What possessed you to bring him here?” Kyle asked, standing up.

  “C
alm down,” Zohn ordered, and Kyle sat back down. “I want to resolve this before it gets back to Chevalier.”

  “I couldn’t leave him… the store was calling the police because he was naked and howling in their parking lot. I brought him here to keep him from falling into the hands of the cops,” Emily explained.

  “At which point you should have thrown him into prison and had myself or Chevalier come take care of him,” Kyle told her.

  “Take care of him? You mean kill him?”

  “If he can’t be rehabilitated, then yes.”

  “No, I’m not going to let you kill him.”

  Zohn held his hand up, “What exactly were you going to do with him?”

  “He’s taken care of. I see no reason why he can’t keep doing what he’s doing and stay here on the island.”

  “It’s not your coven to decide who joins it,” Kyle growled.

  “I didn’t say it was… and if it’s a problem, then maybe I’ll start my own coven and Nicholas can join me.”

  “That’s absurd.”

  “No it’s not. He’s harmless.”

  “So harmless you decided to not tell the Elder or I about him? Does Storm even know?”

  “No, she doesn’t.”

  “This is out of line!” Kyle yelled, standing up.

  Emily stood up to face him, “It is not out of line. You and Chev have been gone from here for years, abandoned it… I’m doing the best I can and there’s no reason Nicholas can’t stay here.”

  “He’s dangerous.”

  “No he’s not!”

  “Haven’t you learned yet? All of the heku that’ve turned on you, and you are still naive enough to think he’s harmless?”

  “He is harmless! He’s confused about what’s going on, but he’s not hurting anyone.”

  “Yeah, neither was Exavior,” Kyle yelled.

  Emily reached over and slapped him, “How dare you…”

  Silas grabbed Emily, while Zohn restrained Kyle as they started for each other.

  “Calm down!” Zohn ordered.

  “If you can’t even protect yourself, how do you expect to help this island?” Kyle hissed.

  “Apparently, the only one I need to protect this island from is you!” Emily yelled, and pulled against Silas’ hands.

  “This is not your coven.”

  “It’s not yours either…”

  “You have no authority to let that heku live here.”

  “You have no authority to choose who I take care of.”

  “Stop it!” Zohn yelled. “Kyle, meet me in the helicopter.”

  Kyle growled and then stormed off.

  “You need to calm down,” Zohn said to Emily.

  “Leave…” she said, and glared at him.

  “Silas, let’s go,” Zohn said calmly.

  Silas let go of Emily, and she turned and disappeared up the stairs.

  Zohn sighed, “Get him into the helicopter. I want to take off in 10 minutes.”

  Silas nodded and blurred away.

  The helicopter ride back to Council City was silent. Neither Silas nor Zohn had ever seen Emily and Kyle fight before, and they knew that by taking Nicholas from the island, Emily would be furious.

  The Council was already convened when they arrived. Silas took Nicholas down into a holding cell, while Kyle and Zohn joined the others for an update.

  “Welcome back,” Chevalier said. “Did you make any progress?”

  Kyle didn’t answer. He was obviously angry, and the Council addressed Zohn so as to avoid Kyle’s well known temper.

  “None at all,” Zohn said. “We had no idea the life Emily leads in Island Coven.”

  “What do you mean?” Quinn asked.

  “I mean… they love her. One heku made her cookies, one gave her a rose… the guard staff runs rosters by her. She has friends, family, a job… on Island Coven, she’s needed and wanted more than we could ever imagine.”

  Chevalier sighed, “I guess I didn’t realize the extent.”

  “She has no reason to come back here, where the guards talk about her, and the city fears her,” Zohn explained.

  Chevalier glanced at Kyle, “So what happened?”

  Kyle looked straight forward, not speaking.

  “There’s… one… tiny… problem,” Zohn said. “That ended up in a bit of a fight between Kyle and Emily.”

  Chevalier raised an eyebrow, “You fought with her?”

  Kyle nodded, still looking forward.

  “What happened, exactly?” Quinn asked.

  “Silas, bring in Nicholas.”

  Silas came in with Nicholas, who looked around the council chambers fearfully.

  “This… is Nicholas,” Zohn said. “Apparently a new member of Island Coven.”

  Chevalier frowned, “I wasn’t notified of any new residents.”

  “This one is, unique,” Zohn explained.

  While the Council watched, Nicholas began undressing as Silas moved away from him.

  “Why are you undressing?” Chevalier asked, confused.

  “I’m going to turn into a wolf,” Nicholas explained.

  “A wolf?” Dustin asked, not sure if he heard correctly.

  “Nicholas, are you a heku?” Zohn asked him.

  “No, I’m a wolf.”

  “Emily found Nicholas in Jonesport. He was naked and howling, and was about to be turned over to police, so she moved him to the island… about 6 months ago.”

  “She did?” Chevalier asked, shocked.

  “Every full moon…” Zohn hesitated and glanced at Kyle, “Every full moon, he strips and goes out by the castle’s barn and howls.”

  “Every full moon?” Dustin asked, somewhat irritated.

  “So… as is tradition, it seems, Emily goes out and walks him to his house, gets him dressed, and then… well… tucks him into bed for the night.”

  Chevalier frowned, “Wait… what?”

  “They woke me up. Emily’ll be mad,” Nicholas told the Council.

  Kyle finally spoke, his voice angry, “Every full moon, Emily goes out in the middle of the night and gets Nicholas away from her horses… she takes him to his house, hands him clothes, and then tucks him into bed.”

  “That just brings up more questions,” Chevalier said, and glanced at Nicholas.

  “I’m going to Powan Coven to live,” Nicholas told him.

  “I think not,” Dustin said angrily.

  “Oh, Damn,” Zohn said when they heard Emily’s helicopter land on the roof.

  “Did you not tell her you were bringing him?” Chevalier asked, cringing.

  “No, we didn’t,” Zohn explained. “She thinks he’s harmless.”

  “He has no right being a member of Island Coven,” Kyle growled. “He should be locked away.”

  The Council heard Emily running down the stairs, and watched as she slammed open the door to the council chambers and walk in.

  “There’s Emily,” Nicholas said, smiling.

  Emily glared at the Council, “How dare you take him.”

  “Em… we’re just… talking to him,” Quinn said.

  “Here, Nicholas, get dressed,” Emily said, and handed his clothes over to him. Nicholas nodded and slipped his clothes back on. When he was dressed, Emily took his hand and started out of the council chambers.

  “Wait,” Zohn said. “We can’t let you take him.”

  Emily spun and looked at them, “You most certainly can. I am taking him back.”

  Nicholas leaned way over and put his head on her shoulder, “They woke me up.”

  “I know,” she said, and patted his head.

  “We… we didn’t wake him up! He’s a heku,” Kyle growled.

  “We’re just concerned about your well-being,” Quinn explained. “When a heku isn’t in his right mind, his instincts can take over and they become very dangerous.”

  “He’s harmless,” Emily said, and slapped his hand when he started to undress again.

  “How long has he bee
n on the island?” Chevalier asked, still confused.

  “6 months,” Emily told him.

  “Storm was ok with that?”

  “Storm doesn’t know.”

  “You are not authorized to bring new heku onto the island,” Kyle growled.

  “Bite me,” Emily yelled, and glared at him.

  Kyle stood up, “When will you get it through your thick skull that that is not your island?”

  Silas grabbed Emily when she headed up to the Council stand. Kyle sat back down and watched her.

  “You be nice,” Nicholas said to Kyle.

  “Em, you know there’s a process to be accepted into Island Coven,” Chevalier said calmly. “What made you think you could just bring him in without following proper procedure?”

  “I knew you wouldn’t let him in, so I bypassed procedure, found an empty house, and moved him in,” she said, and Silas finally let her go.

  “I wouldn’t have let him in because he’s dangerous.”

  “No he’s not!”

  “You said the same thing about David… and then Exavior,” Kyle yelled.

  Kyle gasped and fell back into his chair. The burning pain hit him for only a brief moment. Dustin and Quinn jumped at him at the same time as he headed over the desk toward Emily.

  “Mark!” Chevalier yelled, and landed on the trial room floor beside Kyle, who was fighting to get to her.

  “Yes, Eld…” Mark froze, and then grabbed Emily when he saw how mad Kyle was, and pulled her out of the council chambers. He looked up when Nicholas followed them out.

  “You let her go,” Nicholas said, frowning.

  Kralen appeared and restrained Nicholas.

  “Let him go!” Emily screamed, and fought against Mark’s hands.

  “Calm down!” Mark yelled when Emily tried to head butt him.

  “Kralen, get your hands off of him,” she growled.

  “No, take him into the prison for now, until we figure out what’s going on,” Mark ordered.

  “Then you better put me in prison too, or I’ll ash this entire palace,” Emily said angrily.

  Mark nodded, “Fine… both of you go then.”

  Once Emily and Nicholas were in a cell in the prison, Mark and Kralen blurred back up to the council chambers and stepped inside. Kyle was back in his chair, but his features were dark and menacing. The Elders were talking among themselves.