Ferus : Book 6 of the Heku Series

by T. M. Nielsen

  “Yes, Elder,” she said, and stepped inside. “Same routine?”

  “Yes,” he replied, and sat down on the chair. She got her nightgown out of the dresser and went in to shower. Several minutes later, she came back out and slipped into bed. The nightgown revealed how much weight she’d lost over the last 10 days without eating. Her lips were parched from being dehydrated and she had dark circles under her eyes from the lack of sleep.

  “Shut your eyes. You may get up at 7am,” he told her.

  Emily nodded and shut her eyes. Chevalier was relieved when, at 3am, she actually fell asleep. Her breathing became slow and rhythmic, and she moved out of the position on her back and curled up on her side. He watched her sleep and reveled in the emotions that were coming from her, emotions that disappeared when she believed herself to be heku. He was irritated when he was called away to an emergency meeting.

  Emily sighed and rolled over, stretching in bed. She saw it was already 8am, which meant she was late for Cavalry training. Unsure why she was so tired, she groggily got out of bed and grabbed a pancake from the table before getting dressed. She started for the door, but went back to the table and grabbed a couple more pancakes before heading out.

  The guards fell in behind her as she ran down the stairs. She finished her second pancake as she approached the stable, then stopped and frowned when she saw the new recruits with horses already, as they lined up in front of Mark.

  “Today we’re going to learn basic tackle techniques,” Mark told them.

  “Who the hell assigned those horses?” Emily asked, walking up to Mark.

  Mark’s eyes grew wide, and he turned to her, “You did.”

  “I did not! When was I supposed to do that, when it’s the first day today?”

  Silas grinned, “Emily?”

  She turned, “Yeah?”

  “Are you human or heku?”

  Emily frowned, “Have you gone mental?”

  “I think Chevalier was looking for you,” Mark chuckled.

  Emily frowned and walked backwards away from them, “You are all completely insane, and when I get back, I’m checking into those horses…”

  “You do that,” Kralen said, and laughed.

  Emily glared at him and almost ran into one of the door guards.

  “Sorry, Commander,” he said, and opened the door.

  “No problem… Private,” she replied, shaking her head. No one called her Commander unless they were asking her something official.

  “Commander, do you need to see the Council?” Derrick asked, bowing slightly.

  “I was told Chev was looking for me.”

  Derrick smiled, “Good to have you back.”

  “I wasn’t gone!” she yelled, and stepped into the trial area when Derrick opened the door.

  “Good morning, Commander, is there a problem?” Chevalier asked.

  Emily stopped and frowned.

  Chevalier looked at her and smiled, “Em?”

  “No… I’m freakin Dracula, have you all lost your minds? Is there some like… heku psychosis no one’s told me about?” she asked, irritated.

  “Sorry, Em, I can explain.”

  “Good, then while you’re at it, explain why Mark is training the new recruits without me.”

  “What did you do yesterday?” Zohn asked.

  Emily crossed her arms, “I cleaned the barracks.”

  “Yesterday?”

  “Yes”

  “And tried to dig up Leonid?”

  Emily’s eyes narrowed, “Maybe.”

  Zohn smiled, “Explains a lot.”

  Emily turned and headed for the door.

  “Wait, where are you going?” Chevalier asked.

  Emily glanced back at him, “Going to get something to eat, for some reason I’m starving.”

  “Come back please, just for a moment.”

  “No,” she said, and walked out the door.

  Chevalier grinned, “Never thought I’d be pleased to hear her tell me no.”

  “Great! We’re back on for a peace keeper at the meeting,” Zohn said, pleased.

  “Yes, well… she’s bound to be tired, which makes her really grouchy,” Kyle said, and then grinned. “Could be interesting.”

  “I better go explain what’s going on,” Chevalier said, and stood up. “The chef just handed her a glass of water for lunch.”

  Kyle chuckled and Chevalier blurred from the room.

  “Calm down, let me explain,” Chevalier said when he entered the kitchen. Emily was throwing around some pans while she fixed her own food and the chef was standing in the corner, confused.

  “Explain what? Why everyone’s calling me Commander, or why others are looking at me like I’m a leper?”

  Chevalier took Emily’s hand and led her into the dining room, “Cheeseburger and fries,” he said to the chef.

  Emily sat down, “What’s going on? I’m starting to panic.”

  Chevalier started to explain everything that happened over the last 11 days, and continued even after she got her lunch and started to eat.

  “He better hope I never get near him,” Emily said angrily, before taking another bite.

  “Me too. Quinn and Zohn agreed to let him be, but I may have to veto that.”

  Emily ate for a few minutes in silence before looking up at Chevalier, “What’s the name of his coven?”

  Chevalier grinned, “Sorry, Em, we need you here, not running off to ash Camber.”

  She shrugged, “Fine… but I need to go check on some things with the Cavalry first.”

  “The meeting isn’t until 4. You have plenty of time for the Cavalry and a nap,” he told her, and refilled her glass of juice.

  “I am tired,” she said, and pushed away her half-full plate.

  “Go talk to the Cavalry and then I’ll tuck you in.”

  She nodded, “I’m serious though, if I see him…”

  “Understood,” he told her, and kissed the top of her head before leaving. Within a few minutes, she was back out with the Cavalry.

  “Line up,” Mark yelled when she approached.

  “Sorry about yelling,” Emily said, and then watched the recruits line up.

  “It’s ok… you picked out their horses but nothing else. After that, you just stood back and watched,” Mark explained.

  “I see…” Emily said, deep in thought. She walked up and started adjusting the stirrups on several of the saddles without saying a word. The guards glanced nervously at Mark when she touched them, but he stood and watched her.

  She stopped at the last guard and looked closely at his legs, “How tall are you?”

  “Seven six, Commander.”

  “Slip your foot out of the stirrups and let your legs hang.”

  He did as he was told and Emily frowned, “You are going to need a longer fender… Mark… we’ll need to special order him some. We need another 6 inches.”

  “We’ll get it ordered,” Mark said, and wrote it down in a ledger.

  “I want to see you each, one at a time, ride to the north lawn and back… go out at a gallop and return at a walk,” she said, and moved back some.

  The third heku looked uncoordinated and gangly on top of the sleek stallion. Emily frowned slightly when he walked the horse back.

  “Damn, another one,” Mark sighed.

  “Get off,” Emily said, and the guard did as he was told. She slipped the saddle off and put it on the fence before hoisting herself onto the stallion, bareback. “Ok, up you go.”

  The new recruit looked at Mark, who nodded, and he hesitated before quickly jumping up behind her, making sure there was 6 inches between them.

  Emily sighed and lowered her head, “Come on, Big Boy, move your ass up here.”

  The guard moved an inch forward.

  She looked over at Mark, frustrated.

  Mark whispered something to the guard, and he nodded and moved up against her. She took his hands and slid them around her so he could hold the reins, then put
her hands on his forearms and kicked the horse slightly.

  “We’ll be right back,” she said, and kicked the horse into a gallop.

  By the time they cleared the city gates, the heku was starting to get the feel of the horse and moving in rhythm was becoming more comfortable.

  “Let’s run him,” Emily said, and kicked his stallion into a gallop. She grinned when she felt the heku almost fall off, but he soon settled in and became more comfortable with riding. “There, feel it?”

  Emily turned when the guard didn’t answer, and his arms tightened around her. She followed his gaze and saw two black Ferrari’s parked alongside the road. The heku slipped off the horse just as Emily saw three men approaching. They were still too far away to see who they were, but she could guess they were either the three Valle Elders or the three Encala Elders, as they were all coming in for a meeting.

  “Stay back,” the heku guard said, crouching slightly.

  “We’re not here to cause trouble,” William said, and bowed slightly to Emily.

  Emily stayed on the stallion and watched them, “Then why did you get out of your cars and come up here?”

  “We saw you up here and thought we’d come say hello.”

  “New boyfriend?” Encala Elder Aaron asked.

  “No, he’s a new member of the Cavalry,” Emily explained. “We’re training. Why don’t you all go back to your cars and head into the city?”

  “That took way too long,” William said when the rest of the Cavalry blurred onto the hills around them. “We had ample opportunity to abduct you if we wanted.”

  Mark growled.

  “You’re not helping,” Emily told him.

  William’s eyes narrowed, “You don’t look well.”

  “Why thank you,” she sighed.

  “I just mean you are pale and thin. Is there a problem?”

  “She’s of no concern of yours. Get back in your cars… the Elders are waiting for you,” Mark told them angrily.

  “Not until we come to an understanding about her safety,” Aaron snapped. “It took her guards way too long to get here.”

  Aaron dropped to his knees and screamed as he clutched at his chest. The heku guard that Emily was working with glanced at her with wide eyes.

  “Emily…” Mark growled, and Aaron slumped over, panting to catch his breath.

  “I don’t need the Cavalry to keep me safe,” Emily reminded them, and Aaron finally got to his feet unsteadily.

  “Do not do that again!” Aaron growled.

  “What’s going on here?” Sotomar asked as the Valle Elders appeared on the mountainside.

  “Well hell,” Emily yelled. “Would you all go to the palace where you’re supposed to be?”

  Exavior looked over at Aaron, “Why did you burn him?”

  “None of your damn business.”

  “That’s it… we are not authorized to talk to the enemy Elders… Equites, all head back, and I suggest you six do the same,” Mark said. Silas slipped onto the horse behind Emily and kicked him before she could say more. Soon, they were in a gallop heading back to the city. One of the servants took their horse when they got off, and they headed into the palace.

  “The Council has been waiting for you,” Derrick said as he opened the door.

  Emily and Silas entered, and it was obvious that she was livid.

  “What’s wrong?” Chevalier asked.

  Emily walked up without saying a word and sat in the chair beside Chevalier.

  “The Encala and Valle Elders saw Emily riding and decided to pay her a visit,” Silas explained. “The Cavalry was summoned by the guard with her, and there was a bit of a standoff… they are now coming in here though.”

  Derrick came into the trial area, “They are here.”

  Quinn looked over at Emily, “This could get heated.”

  She nodded and turned to the door.

  The three Encala Elders came in first, followed by the three Valle Elders. Emily turned around and took a glass of orange juice from a servant when he called for her, and then faced the enemy Elders again.

  “Let’s begin then…” Zohn started, but Exavior held a hand up.

  “First… the six of us are not happy with how Emily looks, and we demand an explanation.”

  “Kiss my what?” Emily yelled.

  “He’s not meaning to be rude,” Sotomar told her. “You are thin and pale with dark circles under your eyes, it’s disconcerting.”

  “She has been ill,” Zohn told them.

  “Are you better?” Exavior asked her.

  “Like you care… get on with this. I don’t want to sit here all day and babysit,” she said, and sat back with her orange juice, propping her feet up on the desk.

  Zohn stood up, “Agreed, let’s get this over with.”

  “First, we agreed Elders only, with the exception of Emily,” Encala Elder Reese reminded them.

  “Very well, we’ll move to the conference room,” Chevalier said, and stood up. He put out a hand to help Emily up, and she headed into the conference room with him.

  “Why are you limping?” Valle Elder Ryan asked her.

  “Because I’m accident prone,” she told him, and sat down at the head of the long table. The Elders came in and sat also.

  “A limp and an illness…” Exavior said, irritated. “Can the Equites not properly care for you?”

  Emily glared at him, “Watch it.”

  “Let’s start with information… how many Valle covens have been attacked?” Quinn asked, quickly changing the subject.

  “Over the last 3 weeks, seven of the smaller covens,” Exavior told them. “Four of those were completely wiped out, 17 heku killed.”

  “And the Encala?”

  “Again, over the last 3 weeks when this all started, nine of our covens have been attacked. We’ve lost 23 heku,” William said.

  Quinn checked a paper in front of him, “We’ve had 8 attacks and 19 dead.”

  “Who?” Emily asked, surprised she hadn’t heard any of this.

  “The Ferus,” Exavior told her.

  “Still liking the idea of your own faction, Moron?”

  Exavior stood up, and the Equites and Encala Elders did the same.

  “Sit down,” Sotomar growled at him as Exavior glared at Emily. He finally sat back down, followed by the others.

  “Em… let us do this, please,” Chevalier whispered, and she nodded.

  “We know they are launching attacks out of Texas, but as of yet we haven’t been able to get an exact location,” Zohn explained.

  “From what we can tell,” William added. “They don’t have many scattered covens like we do. They have two or three very large ones, each one well over 2,000 heku, but we foresee that changing to fit the norm.”

  “Who is leading them?” Sotomar asked.

  “We don’t really know, though Vaughn is still considered a leader,” Quinn told them.

  “Is he still imprisoned?”

  “Yes”

  “And Emily?”

  “They want her banished as a former Elder,” Zohn explained.

  Emily frowned but stayed silent.

  “They’ve petitioned the Encala four times to be elected as a fourth faction,” William said.

  “Us also,” Sotomar said, and nodded.

  Chevalier sighed, “When will they get it that we aren’t going to approve a fourth?”

  “When you find them, just let me go in and take them out,” Emily suggested.

  “No!” all nine Elders said in unison. She raised her eyebrows and sat back.

  “Yes,” Chevalier said out of the blue. A servant came in and handed Dain over to Emily, bowed, and then left quickly.

  Dain immediately leaned his head against her shoulder with his nose resting against her neck while she cuddled him.

  “That child is full heku!” Aaron gasped.

  Emily’s arms tightened around him.

  “We’re not here to talk about my son…” Chevalier hissed. �
��Now get on with the Ferus. We can’t have them around any longer… even if it means collaborating on a mass extermination.”

  “We as Encala feel that the Valle should handle it, it’s their mess,” Encala Elder Aaron said.

  “It isn’t just our mess,” Sotomar growled.

  “It is so. Exavior started it, and we don’t feel like we should have to clean it up.”

  “There are as many Encala in that faction as there are Valle!”

  Aaron stood up, “I doubt that… Exavior had more Valle supporters, and we didn’t have a lot of banished revived either.”

  “Sit down!” Emily hissed, and Aaron glanced at her before returning to his chair.

  “As long as they attack all three factions, then it’s the responsibility of all three factions to help,” Quinn told them calmly.

  As the arguments drew on, Emily felt her eyes getting heavier. Dain was comfortably resting against her chest and she soon drifted off. The heku lowered their voices when they noticed she’d fallen asleep. It was two hours before they came to their first agreement.

  “900 are not enough,” Exavior snapped at William. “If each compound holds 2,000 or more heku, then we’ll need twice that to ensure our safety.”

  William grinned, “I’m sorry if each Valle warrior can only kill half of an enemy, but the Encala could wipe out the 2,000 with only 800.”

  Exavior hissed.

  “No biting,” Dain said, and pointed at Exavior.

  Exavior frowned slightly and then turned back to William, “I’m not saying it takes 2 Valle to kill a single Ferus…”

  “That’s what you said.”

  “Stop it,” Chevalier growled. “Bickering is getting us nowhere.”

  “You have the largest coven in Texas. Send them out to find one of the strongholds,” Sotomar suggested.

  “They are already out looking… Do you know how big Texas is?”

  “Well tell them to look harder… Send out the wolves if you have to.”

  “What exactly are you doing to find them?” Quinn asked.

  “We’re doing plenty,” Sotomar said, irritated.

  “Still your fault. I hate having to waste Encala time to clear up the Valle’s mistakes,” Aaron growled.

  “Vaughn is still in the middle of this…and he is yours,” Exavior told them.