Ancients and Old Ones : Book 8 of the Heku Series

by T. M. Nielsen

  She relaxed slightly when she was off of the interstate again and on a smaller road. She recognized it and put her next plan into action, which was going to Clark Coven. She didn’t know Lord Clark well, and had only seen him while making a V.E.S. visit. She hoped that a smaller coven might not have heard as much about her as the larger ones.

  The looming house was dark when she pulled up and hid the motorcycle in the trees again. As she pushed the wrought iron gate open, a dark form appeared.

  “What do you want?” Lord Clark asked.

  Emily looked up at him, “I need help… I have…”

  “You aren’t welcome here.”

  “Please, listen to me. I have the…”

  “No! I won’t be brandished a traitor to listen to your lies.”

  When he slammed the door, she went back to the motorcycle.

  Now Emily wasn’t sure where to go. She had been sure if she could get to an Equites Coven, they would help her and all would go back to normal. After fueling up and ignoring the odd glances at the pregnant woman wearing a blood-stained t-shirt, she finally decided that her best bet would be with William.

  Just outside of the gates to the Encala’s main city. Emily again hid her motorcycle, but put the ashes into a leather satchel and then walked barefoot up the gravel road toward the gates.

  “Stop!” one of the guards yelled when they saw her. He blurred to her and looked down, “What do you want?”

  She looked up at him with her good eye and her voice cracked, “Please… I need to see William.”

  The guard crossed his arms, “Why should I bother Elder William for you?”

  Emily looked behind her at the long gravel road and then back at the Encala, “I don’t have anywhere else to go.”

  “Well you aren’t coming in here. We’ve heard that you turned traitor to the Equites.”

  “What did you find?” a familiar voice asked.

  Emily gasped when Lt. Andrew appeared and his eyes grew wide when he saw her, “Oh my God.”

  “I need to see William,” she said again, barely above a whisper.

  Lt. Andrew took a step back, “We’re not acclimated to you.”

  “I’ve masked it,” she whispered. A tear fell as she swallowed hard, “I need help.”

  She saw indecision creep across his face, “I’ll have to go ask.”

  Emily turned tear filled green eyes toward him, “I was afraid you were dead.”

  “Your Equites opted to banish me, not kill me.”

  She nodded and he disappeared. The Gate Guards watched as she shifted nervously and waited for Lt. Andrew to appear. A few minutes later, William appeared and pulled Emily into a tight embrace.

  “I’ve been worried about you,” he said as he set her down and looked her over. “Did the Valle do this to you?”

  She shook her head and then took his hand when he extended it.

  They walked toward the palace in silence for a bit before passing through the front Door Guards and into the council chambers of the Encala.

  “Let’s meet in the Elder’s conference room,” William said. He then led Emily out from the watchful eye of the Encala Council and into a more private room.

  A servant brought Emily a glass of ice water, which she drank in one long drink.

  William sat down and motioned to the two other heku in the room, “This is Elder Iuna and Elder Patrick.”

  She nodded to them and put the water down.

  “Who did this to you, Child?” Iuna asked.

  Emily shrugged and fought back the tears.

  “It’s ok,” William said, smiling. “We’re glad you came here. You can rest and we can talk later. There’s a mortal doctor in the city we can have come look at you.”

  She shook her head and watched them.

  Iuna looked at her, “We don’t understand what you want.”

  “They told us she’s non-verbal,” Patrick reminded them.

  “She spoke to Lt. Andrew though.”

  William’s eyes narrowed, “Did the Equites do this to you?”

  Emily frowned and then nodded slowly.

  “The Council or covens?”

  Again she nodded.

  “You can stay here as long as you’d like. They put out an APB on you country-wide, saying you’re an escaped mental patient,” William told her.

  She looked down at the leather satchel and then put it on the table.

  “We also were alerted that the Equites Council is blaming you for having to scatter the former Council,” William said, and took her hand. “Don’t let them blame you for that. It was their choice, and I’m sorry they did that to you.”

  “You can stay here though, and we’ll keep it from the Equites,” Patrick said. “We still aren’t strong enough to fight them.”

  Emily pushed the satchel closer to them.

  “Do you want us to go through this?” Iuna asked her.

  She looked at the satchel and then nodded.

  William took the leather bag and opened it, then gasped, “Oh my God, who is this?”

  “What?” Iuna asked, and then looked into the bag and his eyes grew wide.

  William pulled out a small bag and read it, “This is Damon.”

  “Samuel, Ingram, Selhman,” Iuna read from the bags.

  “Let’s see… there’s a David, Vaughn… is this the former Encala?”

  Emily shrugged and watched them go through the ashes.

  “Wow, Dustin is here, and the doppelganger we put in for their Records Keeper,” Patrick added.

  William looked up at Emily, “Why did you bring us these?”

  She sighed and whispered, “It’s the Council.”

  He frowned, “We were told the Council was scattered.”

  “I switched them.”

  Iuna gasped, “The entire former Council is here?”

  She nodded.

  William smiled slightly, “It’s against heku laws to bring them here.”

  “Please, revive them.”

  Iuna looked over at William, “We can’t. It’s against ancient customs to revive a banished member of the Council.”

  “It’s never been done,” Patrick said.

  A tear escaped her swollen eye, “I’m afraid, William.”

  He sighed and put the ashes down, “I know. I realize how scary this all is, but this is how heku Councils work. If the covens feel a new Council is needed, it’s their job to replace them.”

  “Please, help me.”

  William rubbed the bridge of his nose, “It’s breaking too many laws.”

  When she spoke, her voice showed her desperation, “I can go to the Valle.”

  Emily stood up and began returning the bags of ash to the satchel.

  “How far along are you, Em?” William asked, taking her hand to stop her from re-packing.

  She shrugged, “Help me, I beg you.”

  He studied her hand and frowned, “My God, what did they do to you?”

  Emily pulled her battered hand out of his and put the ashes back in the satchel. She sat suddenly when she started to feel dizzy.

  William blurred to her side and knelt down, “Tell me what’s wrong.”

  She looked at him and the pain in her eyes made his heart pound, “I haven’t felt well since the rack.”

  “The Council interrogated you?”

  Emily nodded and stood up again with the satchel, “I need to go.”

  William stood up and glanced down at the back of her legs, “What did they do there?”

  “Before night falls,” she whispered, and started for the door.

  “Let us discuss this,” William said. “Go to your room and get some rest, I’ll ask the Council and we’ll decide.”

  “The Valle won’t help you and more than likely, will hold you prisoner,” Iuna said.

  She stopped at the door and thought before turning and nodding, “Ok.”

  “Let me take them,” Iuna said softly.

  Emily pulled the bag further from him
.

  “We won’t do anything bad with them,” William promised. “I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you.”

  The bag slowly slipped to the floor, “I’m so tired.”

  William reached down and tenderly picked her up. She started to protest, but then leaned her head on his shoulder. It felt good to feel safe again and she was exhausted from the last three months. He walked up the stairs slowly and laid her down on the bed the Encala kept for her.

  Before the Elder left, a servant brought in a bowl full of muffins and fruit, and a pitcher of ice water.

  “You have food?” Emily asked, looking at the table.

  William smiled, “We always keep fresh food, in case you come to visit.

  He watched her for a moment before shutting the door and going down to the council chambers.

  He sat down just as Iuna was explaining, “So we told her we’d talk about it.”

  “Are you certain she is telling the truth?” the Chief Enforcer asked.

  “No one has ever dug up members of a banished Council,” the Records Keeper said.

  William smiled, “This is Emily. She doesn’t know heku traditions and just follows her heart.”

  “So re-banish them here,” the Court Reporter suggested. “When their 600 years is over, they will be under our custody.”

  “I promised her we wouldn’t hurt them,” William told him.

  “They all but obliterated our faction.”

  “I know, but Emily has always been a friend to the Encala.”

  “Except when she had Frederick hostage.”

  William shrugged, “That entire situation got out of control. I do believe she’s been punished enough for that mistake.”

  “You can’t seriously be thinking about bringing them back!” the Chief of Staff gasped.

  “They would owe us.”

  “They would be outcasts. You know as well as I do that once a banished is revived, they are factionless.”

  “That’s not up to us,” William said. “If we revive them, they would simply be unfactioned.”

  “We can’t do this,” Iuna said. “I know that Emily is your friend, but this breaks too many laws.”

  “Does it?” William asked. “Is it in the law books that a mortal can’t come to an opposing Council and ask for revival?”

  The Records Keeper shook his head, “No, I’m imagining no one ever thought we’d need that rule.”

  “The Equites have made it very well known that nothing we do would ever align us again,” Patrick said.

  “It’s no secret that the Equites Council is considering finishing what Chevalier started and wiping us out,” William said. “If we can reinstate the former Council, that may not happen.”

  “So we tell the Winchester that the revival didn’t work, and then we offer to let her stay here. She can wipe out any army they produce,” the Chief of Defense suggested.

  “It’s too risky,” William said. He looked down at the bags of ash, “We don’t even know who is who.”

  “My vote is no,” Iuna said. “I don’t want to bring back the very Council that wiped us out not 7 years ago.”

  “I say we do it. They can’t help but owe us after this,” William said. “Plus, not only would it infuriate the Valle, it would bring Emily back in as an ally.”

  Patrick was deep in thought.

  “It’s your call then Elder,” the Chief of Staff said to him.

  Patrick nodded, “I know… I’m trying to decide.”

  “This is absurd! We cannot bring back a banished Council,” the Records Keeper said. “It’s never been done for a reason.”

  William sighed, “That child was ripped from her ranch because of heku attacks. She found comfort and protection on Island Coven with Chevalier. Once comfortable, she was torn from her home again and thrown into a palace full of heku that disliked her.”

  “This isn’t our fault,” Iuna said.

  “She aligned the factions for the first time ever, and protected this very faction on numerous occasions.”

  “She also wiped out this city once.”

  “Now she’s pregnant, scared, abused, and God only knows what she’s been through over the last three months. She risked her own life to bring back the heku she cares about.”

  “We can’t do this,” Iuna said.

  “If we keep her here she’ll be in hiding for the rest of her life. If we let her go back to the Equites, they will continue to abuse her.”

  “William…”

  Patrick squeezed his eyes shut, “Do it.”

  “No! We can’t do this!” Iuna screamed.

  “The Elders have voted,” the Records Keeper said. “I will log what happens, this has never been documented because it’s never been done.”

  “We should go to the ceremonial room,” Patrick said. “It may help in whatever we find.”

  William nodded, “Let her sleep. This may not work.”

  The Chief Enforcer stood up, “Let’s bring in the Palace Guards. They aren’t going to be happy when they are revived and will first attempt to fight us.”

  The entire Encala Council was dressed in blue robes except for the Chief Enforcer, who wore black. Palace Guards lined the outside walls of the ceremonial room.

  “We will do one at a time. When each is calmed, we’ll do another,” William said.

  The Chief Enforcer nodded and poured out the bag marked ‘Damon’.

  “What do we do if that is really Damon?” Iuna asked.

  William shrugged, “Then re-banish him.”

  The Chief Enforcer nodded. He pulled the dagger from his pocket, checked to make sure all were ready, and then let one drop of his blood fall to it. The screaming started immediately and as Quinn formed, he took a defensive posture and scowled at the Encala.

  “Listen to us,” William said. “We didn’t do this to you.”

  Quinn hissed and scanned those gathered.

  “Think back,” Iuna said. “You were overpowered by Equites and banished for 600 years.”

  Quinn tensed and then stood up, “It’s been 600 years?”

  “No, it’s been 3 months,” William explained.

  He frowned, “I don’t understand.”

  “Emily brought you to us, at great risk to herself.”

  “Emily did?”

  “Yes”

  “Where is she?”

  Iuna smiled, “She’s resting in her room.”

  “And the others?”

  The Chief Enforcer held up the satchel, “I’m not certain, but I think we have the entire former Council.”

  “We will explain when we’re done,” the Chief Interrogator said as he handed Quinn a robe. He slipped it on and then turned just as the Equites Court Reporter was revived and ready to fight.

  Kyle was the last of the Equites that was revived. He immediately flew at Iuna and was pinned to the floor by Chevalier and Zohn.

  “Calm down,” Zohn said to him.

  He snarled and fought to get away from him.

  “They didn’t do it,” Chevalier told him, straining to hold Kyle down.

  It took a few minutes for Kyle to finally start to calm down, but he was still glaring when Chevalier helped him to his feet and handed him a robe.

  “This will be easier in the conference room,” William said, and led the way out of the ceremonial room. The 13 revived Equites watched around them carefully, still not sure what was going on.

  They all sat down and it was obvious that the Equites were confused and leery of their revival.

  “So start from the beginning,” Zohn said. “Farlane Coven attacked… with…”

  “It was Wells and White River Covens,” Quinn said, nodding.

  “Yes, well, you were all replaced and banished for 600 years,” William explained.

  “But it’s not been 600 years?” Kyle asked.

  “No”

  “Where’s Emily?” Chevalier asked him.

  “We’ll get to her,” Iuna said. “Equites began to r
evolt against the new Council, which, of course… is normal when an entire Council is replaced.”

  “Who were residually banished then?” Zohn asked.

  “General Skinner was the first. Thukil decided to back the new Council, so they were safe for a while. The Lords from Harris, Fischer, and Ozark Covens were banished within the first week and replaced with members of Farlane Coven.”

  Quinn nodded, “Thukil would have shown support, they had Emily.”

  “Had being the main word there,” Patrick told them.

  “So where is she?” Chevalier asked again.

  “I’m getting there,” William said. “Lots of new laws began to come down from the Council, one of which was that your children were to be immediately killed. However, the Council couldn’t find them, or Emily for that matter.”

  “The Equites began to get furious when more and more rules and strict regulations came from the new Council,” Iuna explained. “Then… Emily showed up.”

  “Damnit,” Kyle hissed.

  “The first we even knew the Equites Council had her was when word came down that because she attempted to steal your ashes, the Council was forced to scatter them because of her.”

  “Wait… scatter us?” the Equites Chief of Staff said, shocked.

  “Yes, you’ll have to ask her… but from what she said, Emily had switched you so the new Council no longer worried about her taking you,” William said. He smiled softly, “She broke all heku traditions and brought you here to us.”

  “Why did you revive us?” Chevalier asked.

  “Several reasons. First, because she’s my friend and she asked us to.”

  “And?”

  “Fine,” Patrick sighed. “The new Council has decided to finish what you started and wipe out the Encala completely.”

  Chevalier nodded, “Where is she?”

  “You have to understand that she came to us like she is,” William told him. “We haven’t hurt her.”

  “What do you mean like she is?” Kyle asked.

  Quinn sighed, “I can only imagine what she went through to get us out of Council City.”

  William looked at Iuna and he nodded, so he turned to Patrick, who stood up, “We’ll take you to her. We slipped some sleeping pills into her drink to help her sleep. We should be able to talk in the room, the doctor is in there now.”