Ferus : Book 6 of the Heku Series
Page 28
Zohn nodded, “That brave leader would be Abe.”
“After that threat, and after calling herself Emily Winchester, the coven finally lined up for us. She did a head count and found out that 27 more died, 31 if you count the 4 she’d turned to ash by that point. She was mad and asked that all 54 bodies be brought to the fountain…”
“So where is Abe then?” Kyle asked. “I’d like to revive him.”
“Well…” Silas said, and glanced at the fountain.
Chevalier gasped, “She didn’t!”
He nodded, “In front of all of them… just picked up a handful and tossed it into the fountain.”
“Does she know what that does to a heku?” Mark asked the Elder.
“No, she doesn’t. I don’t want to tell her, or she’ll feel bad for doing it to so many. If she knew it caused them an eternity of pain and hunger, I’m sure she’d hate herself for it.”
“Go on,” Zohn said to Mark.
“Oh, sorry, Elder. Once she ascertained that it was the coven, not the guards that caused the problem, she reinstated the entrance guards and told the towns people that she was going to treat them like little children and they were to go to bed without supper. She warned that if she saw one door crack, she would ash anyone inside. Not a soul stepped out after that.”
Silas grinned, “She had them scared to death.”
Mark cleared his throat and then continued, “Kralen and I interviewed a few trusted townsfolk and found the six leaders… there were eight, but obviously we couldn’t talk to the main leader. Emily brought them out here, stripped them for some reason, and then made them kneel out in the sun. While they were out here, for two entire days… they knelt in the blazing sun and recited Zohn Coven’s policy manual verbatim, over and over.”
“And at night?” Zohn asked.
“Same thing… they knelt and recited. It just wasn’t as bad as doing it during the day in the sun.”
Zohn nodded and turned to the guards, “Interview everyone, if they are suspected of being part of that mutiny, I want to talk to them.”
“Yes, Sir,” they said in unison, and broke into groups.
Zohn turned to Chevalier, “I owe her… 54 deaths was nothing compared to what 3 more days would have brought.”
Chevalier nodded.
“You also,” Zohn said to the members of Cavalry. “I owe you more than you could imagine.”
“It’s our duty, Sir,” Mark said, and bowed slightly.
“Did she fall asleep then?” Zohn turned to Chevalier.
“Yes, after eating… I borrowed a t-shirt for her to sleep in.”
“Why was she in my black shirt?”
Mark chuckled, “She got covered in blood when one of the townsfolk tried to grab her… the black shirt was what one of your guards brought her to wear.”
“I’m ok here, why don’t you go back,” Zohn suggested.
“Mark, take the Cavalry back… I’ll take Winchester 1 with Em when she wakes up,” Chevalier said to him.
Mark nodded and the Cavalry all headed to the helicopters.
Chevalier returned to Zohn’s room and watched Emily sleep for over 12 hours before she started to stir. She finally rolled over and looked at him and then sat up and looked around.
“Forgot where I was for a second,” she said, and crawled out of bed.
“There’s no food anywhere on the compound, but I have the pilot grabbing something for the trip back,” he said, and pulled her into an embrace.
“So we can go back now?”
“Sure, I just wanted you to get some sleep.”
Within the hour, they were flying over Alabama and headed north toward Council City. Emily fell asleep again after eating breakfast and didn’t wake up until the pilot announced their arrival.
Chapter 12 - Enemies
Chevalier looked up when there was a knock at his door, “Enter.”
Kyle came in and shut the door behind him, “Do you have a moment?”
“Sure, sit down.”
“Miri, Allen’s girlfriend, has asked to become a member of and move to Island Coven.”
Chevalier sighed, “How long were they together?”
“Six months… and he’s been on the island for a bit.”
“Emily would be livid.”
“Probably, he’s 15 though. In my day, you were married and running a farm.”
Chevalier chuckled, “Don’t even ask about 15 in my day… she sees him as a child.”
“When did she start dating Keith?”
“She was 17, met him at 14, and it took 3 years for Keith to talk Allen into letting them date.”
“So tell Allen he has to wait 2 more years,” Kyle suggested.
“Tell Miri she may move to Island Coven, probationary for the first 75 years…”
“75?”
“Yes, I’m adding 25 years to the normal. I’ll talk to Allen and the house staff. She’s never to be in the castle for any reason, and he’s not to be in her house… put her in Nicholas’ old house for now.”
Kyle nodded, “And Em?”
“I’ll have to think on that one. Luckily, she’s not been back to the island since the V.E.S. raid, so we have some time. I haven’t even told her about the awakening.”
“It’ll be interesting. He retired after the Winchester killings and at the height of trying to find a descendant.”
“That’s why he retired. He spent his last 100 years trying to get his hands on a Winchester, and came up with nothing but a distance male cousin. Don’t think I’ve not been thinking about that.”
“Well, Em can hold her own,” Kyle said, starting to get irritated at the thought of an awakening that might bring Emily danger.
“I’m busy here. Why don’t you go tell her,” Chevalier said, and grinned.
Kyle chuckled, “No way, I can’t be turned to ash. Who’d revive me?”
Kyle stood up and opened the door when someone knocked frantically.
“Sir, there’s a problem by the stables,” a servant said, and glanced at Chevalier nervously.
“What kind of problem?” Kyle asked, crossing his arms.
“I don’t really know… something about a horse being shot.”
Kyle sighed, “Laythan…”
Chevalier and Kyle both blurred out to the stables and joined the six members of the Cavalry gathered around a dead horse. Emily was on her knees and was resting her head against the body, obviously crying. She had bleeding scrapes along the back of her arms and blood seeping through to the back of her shirt. There was a single arrow sticking out of the horse’s chest.
Chevalier started forward, but Mark stopped him and he looked down, wide eyed at the full-sized Malamute. The dog had grown into a 150lb hulking mass. His hackles were up, and he was low to the ground and growling at any heku that stepped near her.
“We can’t get near her,” Mark whispered. “There are 21 members of the Cavalry out after Laythan. He was on top of the out-building and aiming at Emily, but Skye’s horse got in the way.”
Chevalier nodded and watched Silas come up with a lasso. He swiftly slid it onto the Malamute’s head and with considerable strength, was able to pull the dog away from his master as the angry canine snarled and pulled against the heku.
Kralen blurred to Silas when he heard the angry growls and guttural roar of a fighting dog.
Chevalier knelt down beside Emily and touched her shoulder, “Em…”
She looked up at him and he felt the fury rising at the pained look in her tear-filled green eyes. Without a word, she stood up and disappeared into the stables. The heku listened for the sound of a stall door opening, but didn’t hear it. She came back out a few minutes later. Her eyes were fixed on the trees, and she carried a double-barrel 12 gauge shotgun in her hand.
“Oooh no you don’t,” Chevalier said, and blocked her way. “First off… he’s out there trying to kill you, you can’t go into the trees. Second off… the shotgun won’t do anything.”
“Let the Cavalry handle it.”
“I have… and now it’s my turn… Mark!” Emily yelled when Mark blurred to her and took her shotgun.
“He’ll kill you,” Mark told her, and tossed the gun to a member of the Cavalry who took it back into the stables.
Emily tried to rush around Chevalier, but he caught her arm easily and Jaron took her other. She froze in place and stared into the trees.
“Em, we can’t let you go in there,” Chevalier said softly. They watched her and wondered at how still she stood and the concentration building in her face.
“Wait!” Mark yelled. “I have Cavalry in there!”
“Em, stop it,” Chevalier said, and shook her arm slightly to break her concentration.
“You have 30 seconds to get them out of there,” she whispered, still staring at the trees.
Chevalier let go of her arm and stood in front of her, “No…”
Jaron was ready, and when Emily spun suddenly and tried to slam her palm into his nose, he easily caught her wrist, turned her, and soon had her restrained with her arms crossed over her chest and her hands pinned at her sides.
“Stop,” Chevalier said sternly, and used his hand to bring her face up toward his.
“He killed a horse,” Emily yelled.
“He tried to kill you.”
“He killed a horse…”
Chevalier sighed, “I know you value those horses more than yourself, but the rest of us prefer if you’d stay alive.”
Silas and Kralen both came up, and Silas had blood on his shirt.
Emily looked over at Silas and glared, “What did you do to my dog?”
“What did I do!?” he asked, aggravated. “That damned dog tried to tear my throat out! This blood is mine.”
“Let go of me!”
Jaron glanced at Chevalier and when he nodded, let her go.
Emily turned and screamed at Jaron and then stormed off to the palace after whistling for the dogs. The others turned toward the trees when the Cavalry headed out of them.
“Well?” Mark asked one of the Commanders.
“Nothing, we tracked him to the river and then lost him.”
“Get that horse taken care of,” Chevalier said, and started for the palace. “I still have to tell Em about the awakening.”
“How many Cavalry did you want at the reception?” Mark asked, following him in.
“Oh, well… I guess as many as you can find clothing for. Last I heard, the tailors were pretty busy trying to get ready.”
Mark chuckled, “You’re going to get Emily to the reception?”
“I’m going to try.”
“You better hurry. The Thukils are arriving in an hour.”
“I know,” Chevalier said, and stopped at Emily’s office door. He knocked a few times, “Em?”
“I’m busy,” she said, irritated.
Chevalier grinned, “Em… I need to talk to you about something that’s going on tonight.”
“Are you retiring?”
He frowned slightly, “No.”
“Then I don’t care.”
“It’s important, and the Council has to be there.”
“No”
“A former Elder is coming out of retirement.”
Chevalier stepped back when he heard Emily’s chair and then her door open, “What?”
“Come into the bedroom,” he said, and they walked up to their room. Emily looked down the stairs and saw that heku were beginning to haul boxes into the reception hall.
Chevalier shut the door behind them, and Emily sat on the edge of the bed, “I’m not in the mood for a reception.”
“Ok…” Chevalier said, and pulled a chair up to face her. He sat down and explained, “When a former member of the Council comes out of retirement, there are a lot of things that have to be done. For instance, he’s never seen a phone… or a car… computers… that type of thing.”
“Ok”
“So we start off with an induction back into the Equites. The Council, in robes, lines up and welcomes them back.”
“Fine, I can do that.”
“Then… the reception is done in period clothing to help usher them into the new world, as a means of respect for when they retired.”
Emily frowned, “It’s a costume party?”
“Sort of… then after the reception, he’ll be assigned a mentor to help him understand the new world he’s waking into.”
“So… you’re waking up a heku that’s been dead for 500 years and bringing him back into the Equites followed by a dance?” she asked, sounding confused.
“He only retired for 200 years.”
“So he’s starving and you’re going to lead him into the grand room to face the Council… he’ll eat me.”
Chevalier chuckled, “He’ll be fed first.”
“But you told Larsen he was no longer an Equites.”
“Larsen was banished… Camber retired with honors.”
“Camber?”
“Yes, he retired in 1810.”
“This doesn’t really sound like my thing…”
“I know, but it’s important for me if you’re there.”
Emily looked into his eyes and saw he was being serious, “He’s going to try to eat me.”
“You’ll be with the Council, and we’ve elected to have some of the Cavalry on the stage with us.”
Emily sighed, “It’s important to you?”
Chevalier smiled, “Very… Camber was my Elder for over 1200 years.”
“Ok, I’ll do it… I don’t have any clothes from 1800 though.”
“I’ve already had them made.”
“Of course you have… 1800… so he knows about the Winchesters.”
“Yes, in fact… he retired because of the Winchesters.”
“Why?” Emily asked, confused.
“He lived in Europe during the Winchester’s rein, and then made it his life work to find the descendants… he was determined to… well… own a Winchester for the Equites. When he didn’t get one, he retired.”
“Oh my God, and you want me to meet him??”
Chevalier took her hand, “It’ll be ok.”
She stood up and headed into the bathroom, “If I show up at the reception and I’m the only one in a hoop skirt, I’ll ash the entire faction.”
He grinned, “You won’t be, I promise.”
She shut the bathroom door and went in for a shower. Chevalier grinned and headed down to let the others know she was going to attend.
***
Emily entered through the back entrance. She had the hot green robe on with the hood down. The rest of the Council was already standing in line and the great hall was almost full to capacity. She heard the irritating murmur begin when she appeared on stage.
“Em, put your hood on,” Kyle said. She heard his voice but wasn’t sure which one was him.
“Oh right… I’m sure the hood will help hide the fact that I’m not heku,” she said, and pulled up her hood. “Like the height won’t give it away.”
Chevalier chuckled, “Just keep it up.”
“Can you make these any hotter? I’m naked under here and still cooking.”
“What?” Dustin asked, shocked.
“I’m kidding…” she said, grinning. “Where do I stand?”
“Beside Chevalier,” she heard Zohn say.
Emily scanned the tall figures in green robes and sighed, “If I’ve ever slept with you, raise your hand.”
Chevalier chuckled and put his hand out, “Over here…”
Emily took his hand and stood beside him. Six members of the Cavalry moved to stand behind the row of heku, and she heard the fans kick on, ones that were installed when she was pregnant to keep her scent from the audience. She looked out over the crowd and the faces all turned, staring at her. She caught sight of Lord and Lady Thukil and
broke out of the line, then jumped off the stage and ran toward them, throwing her arms around Lady Thukil.
“I’m so glad to see you!” Emily said, and then hugged Lord Thukil.
Dustin cleared his throat, “We aren’t to leave the platform.”
“Shut up, Dustin,” Quinn said, irritated.
“Good to see you too, Dear,” Lord Thukil said, and then whispered. “I don’t think it’s customary for you to leave the others though.”
“They’ll live, how have you been?” she asked, ignoring the eyes on her.
“Good, and you?” Lady Thukil asked, smiling widely.
“Child, they’re waiting to start,” Lord Thukil said nervously.
Emily finally turned and went back up the stairs and stood by Chevalier. The robe was swelteringly hot and with the lights on the Council, she thought she might faint.
The doors at the end of the great hall opened and everyone turned to look. The former Elder stepped in wearing a blue robe. Emily tried to see what he looked like, but wasn’t able to from this distance.
Quinn stepped forward, and his voice boomed through the great hall. Emily sighed when he spoke in Latin, and resigned herself to another ceremony she wouldn’t be able to understand. After a few minutes, Quinn stepped back with the others and Camber began to walk toward them.
Emily could tell he was tall, even for a heku, and his muscles were bulging from under the robe. He had massive broad shoulders, long brown hair that was tied back into a single low ponytail, and a brown goatee. He looked angry at something, and his mere presence made the audience stir uneasily.
When he got to the stairs for the stage, he stopped, and Chevalier began to speak. Emily shifted uncomfortably as Cambers eyes fell to her and he frowned slightly. Chevalier stopped speaking and Zohn began, again in Latin, yet the former Elder’s eyes never left Emily. She felt herself starting to panic. She knew he couldn’t see her face, but his eyes bore into her and his angry expression deepened. Before Zohn stopped talking, she slowly moved so she was halfway behind Chevalier.
“Salvē, Camber,” Quinn said, and the audience began to clap.
Camber finally turned to look at Quinn, “Thank you. It is good to be back.”
Emily watched as the audience began to quickly file out, while the Council stood still, with Camber before them. He again turned his eyes to Emily, and she moved another inch behind Chevalier.