Ancients and Old Ones : Book 8 of the Heku Series

by T. M. Nielsen

  “He’ll remember,” Chevalier hissed, and then sat down.

  “Now… what were you doing?” Kyle asked, glaring at Emily.

  She sighed, “I had to go check something out.”

  “What?”

  She hesitated, and then opened the backpack and pulled out Exavior’s head, still encased in the green cape, “I had to make sure this was still there.”

  Zohn frowned, “I’m afraid to even ask what that is.”

  “It’s… well…” she said, and then decided to show them. She pushed her hand into the cape, got a handful of Exavior’s black hair, and lifted his head to face the Council.

  “What the hell are you doing with that?” Chevalier asked, too shocked to yell.

  “I just wanted to make sure Paian didn’t… you know… get to him.”

  “Had you asked, we would have told you that he was found in Australia, far from Exavior.”

  She nodded, and then shrugged, “I just wanted to be sure.”

  “Then you ran into Dion?”

  “And Gaspar.”

  Quinn frowned, “You encountered two Ancients?”

  “Yes, they were living in the cave.”

  The Council didn’t notice when Chevalier left his chair until he appeared in front of Emily with his hand wrapped around her head. He gently laid it to the side and studied her neck as he hissed softly.

  She sighed, “It’s not that bad.”

  “Which of them fed?”

  “Let’s see… you starve them for 2,000 years and I have this blood of mine…”

  “So both?” he asked, scowling down at her.

  She nodded, almost too afraid to speak, “I’m not hurt.”

  He reached down and grabbed both of her wrists, and studied the bruises forming.

  “Stop it,” Emily whispered, and pulled her hands away from him, “I’m not hurt.”

  Chevalier picked her up by her shoulders and stepped back, then dropped her into a soft recliner that was along the back wall of the trial area.

  “What the hell?” she gasped, and tried to stand up. In a whirl, she found her ankle shackled to the wall behind her and she watched in disbelief as Chevalier returned to his seat.

  “Bring in the next case,” he called out to Derrick.

  “Belay that,” Zohn said, and turned to Chevalier. “Are you even going to talk to her about the chair?”

  Chevalier looked over just as Emily reached down and tried to unfasten the fur-lined metal shackle around her ankle.

  Emily looked up, her eyes furious, “You cannot keep me locked in here.”

  “Yes, I can. You do nothing but get into trouble and now I can keep an eye on you personally.”

  “No!” she screamed, and then reached for her phone.

  “Derrick,” Chevalier whispered.

  Emily gasped when her phone disappeared from her hand and she looked up just as Derrick handed it to Zohn.

  “Let me go!”

  Quinn smiled at her, “This is how things need to be until we can trust you to not run off by yourself.”

  “You’ve always told me I’m not a prisoner here.”

  “You’re not a prisoner… but what you did was reckless and irresponsible. You could have gotten two members of the Cavalry killed, and you could have given the Ancients ammunition to stage a war,” Zohn said calmly.

  Derrick picked up Exavior’s head on his way out of the council chambers, and then shut the door after him.

  “I want that back!” she yelled at him.

  “Why, Em?” Kyle asked.

  “I want to ensure it can never be re-attached.”

  “We’ll make sure he remains safely away from his head,” the Chief Interrogator said, obviously having fun.

  The Chief of Defense smiled suddenly, “Oh good, Emily has returned.”

  “Em… stop it,” Chevalier said.

  She shrugged and sat back in the comfortable chair. She noticed a blanket sitting across the back and pulled it over her legs.

  Once the Chief of Defense had his memory back, Chevalier called for the last trial of the day.

  Derrick came in without looking at Emily, and forced a heku to his knees. The heku gasped and looked over at Emily, but she just crossed her arms and glared at him.

  “Davis, you are… Emily!” Zohn yelled when their heku turned to ash on the trial room floor.

  She didn’t respond, but kept staring at the pile.

  “Please, we need to try him,” Quinn said, and then nodded at Kyle. Kyle shook his head and revived the heku, who was immediately pushed back to his knees.

  As soon as Kyle sat down, the heku again turned to ash.

  “Maybe this wasn’t a good idea,” the Coven Liaison Officer whispered.

  “It is a good idea,” Chevalier told him.

  “Emily, please…” Zohn said to her softly. “We’ll talk about your confinement later, with just the Elders, if you’ll let us handle this.”

  She simply shrugged, and when Kyle revived the prisoner, he stayed nearby in case he needed to revive him again.

  Zohn smiled slightly, “Davis, you are hereby charged with petit treason for the attempted murder of your Coven Lord. How do you plead?”

  The heku smiled, “I’ve already been turned to ash by a member of the Council… twice, in fact. I declare you are now treading on double jeopardy.”

  Emily smiled when the Council looked at her.

  Zohn chuckled and looked back at the prisoner, “I’m glad you watch mortal TV, but here in this court, there’s no such thing as double jeopardy.”

  The heku glared at him, “Then I plead not-guilty.”

  “But you attempted to remove his head… with a chain saw,” Chevalier said.

  “He probably deserved it,” Emily said smugly.

  The Chief of Staff ignored Emily’s comment and continued, “We the Council find you guilty on all charges. The Elders will decide on a punishment.”

  “Death,” Chevalier said.

  “600 years banished,” Zohn countered, and then turned to Quinn. “Your call.”

  The heku smiled at them, “I’ve already been turned to ash by a member of the Council… twice, in fact. I declare you are now treading on double jeopardy.”

  Chevalier sighed and looked over at Emily, “Having fun?”

  She glared at him, but didn’t answer.

  Quinn studied the prisoner, and then shrugged, “I think death is appropriate for trying to kill a Coven Lord.”

  “See,” Chevalier said, and smiled at Zohn.

  Zohn shook his head, “Fine… record his fate as death.”

  The Records Keeper began writing while the heku stood up and blurred for the door. He flung it open and came face-to-face with Derrick. Emily hadn’t seen this part of the court experience and was shocked at how angry Derrick looked as he crouched and then lunged at the heku that was trying to run.

  Derrick growled low as he ripped the head off of the heku and let the body fall to the floor of the trial area. After carelessly tossing the head by the body, Derrick stood up straight, straightened his shirt, and then returned to his post at the door.

  “Derrick!” Emily yelled, and leaned forward in her chair.

  The Door Guard stepped back in, “Yes?”

  “You… you’re so sweet.”

  He grinned, “Around you, yes, I am.”

  “I didn’t know you had that in you.”

  He bowed slightly and then stepped back to his position at the door.

  “Derrick is very good at his job,” Zohn said as he stood up and slipped off his heavy green robe.

  “Why didn’t Kyle kill him?”

  “He ran… so we leave those for Derrick,” Kyle explained.

  “Or were you just afraid he’d hurt you?”

  Kyle started to get angry, but was quickly ushered out of the room by Quinn.

  Zohn and Chevalier walked over to the overstuffed recliner and looked down at Emily.

  “Are you ready to talk?
” Zohn asked.

  Emily crossed her arms, “Let me go.”

  “Will you remain civil?”

  A slow smile crossed her face, “I’m surprised at the Council, actually.”

  “How so?”

  “You let Derrick take the kill… which tells me everyone on the Council is a wimp and Derrick has to cover for you and kill your prisoners.”

  Chevalier smiled, “Not going to work.”

  “What?” she asked, looking up at him innocently.

  “We’re not going to let you pick a fight,” he said, and unfastened the chain around her ankle.

  Emily stood up and started for the door, but Derrick stepped in and blocked it.

  She looked up at him, “Aren’t you tired of the Council pretending to be strong, when in fact it’s you that makes them appear so?”

  He smiled, “Go talk to the Elders.”

  Emily turned, “Fine, I’ll talk to you… but only if Derrick comes.”

  “Why?” Zohn asked, frowning.

  “Because I said so.”

  Chevalier chuckled, “Derrick… come with us.”

  “Yes, Elder,” he said, and then followed them all out the back door and into the Elder’s conference room where Quinn was waiting.

  They all sat down as Chevalier explained to Quinn why Derrick was with them.

  “Start talking,” Emily said, and leaned back in the chair. “I want to know what right you have to restrain me to a chair.”

  “Why did you go after Exavior’s head?” he asked.

  “I told you. I wanted to make sure that Paian hadn’t reattached his head.”

  “So your only concern was that Exavior would revive and come after you?”

  She hesitated and then nodded, “Yes.”

  “Don’t lie, Emily,” Zohn said.

  “Stop interrogating me then!”

  “We just want to know your reasoning.”

  She sighed, “According to what I read… Paian liked to revive heku that could benefit the Valle.”

  “Yes,” Chevalier said. “That’s true.”

  “Exavior would fit that profile.”

  “Then let me guess… to protect the Equites from Exavior’s wrath, you decided to confront him if he was revived,” Quinn said.

  Emily lightly tapped her fingers on the table.

  “So that’s true,” Chevalier sighed.

  Zohn nodded, “Yes.”

  “So ultimately, you were trying to protect us.”

  She didn’t answer, but picked at her nails as the room fell silent.

  “Em?” Chevalier asked. When she looked up at him she saw the concern, “We are just concerned that you went after Exavior alone.”

  “I can take him.”

  “We know that… but it’s not your job to protect the heku.”

  She shrugged, “Derrick can’t do it all by himself.”

  Derrick grinned and sat back when Chevalier chuckled, “Stop trying to pick a fight with us.”

  “This conversation is getting old,” Emily told them. “I’m apparently not going to stop protecting you so get used to it.”

  “I refuse to leave it at that.”

  “As do we,” Zohn said. “What you did was more dangerous that you can imagine… proven by your encounter with two Ancients.”

  “I took them out.”

  “After 9 days though… and after how many feedings?”

  “I take it by the chair, that you plan on locking me up in the council chambers every day?” Emily asked, glaring at them.

  “Yes… if even the Cavalry can’t keep you from running off, then we have no other choice,” Chevalier told her. “You’re too important for us to let you go off on dangerous missions alone.”

  “Then you’re condemning me to be a prisoner of the Equites?”

  “No…”

  “Yes, you are. I won’t sit there all day and be bored while you watch me… it’s humiliating.”

  “Until you realize how important your safety is, we don’t have a choice,” Zohn explained.

  “If Mark, Kralen, and Silas are available… we will let you go and they can stay with you,” Chevalier said.

  “I won’t stand for this.”

  “It’s just until we find an alternate method to keep you safe.”

  “How is what I did so dangerous? I brought back 2 Ancients and the other… thing… I went in for!”

  “After you turned the Ancients to ash… how long did you sleep?” Quinn asked.

  She shrugged, “I don’t know.”

  “Elliott said you slept for 112 hours.”

  “He’s an idiot.”

  “Had you been found during that time… it could have exposed the heku,” Zohn said.

  Emily frowned, “But…”

  “Heku aside… let’s say the last Ancient had found you, or unfactioned.”

  “I just wanted to make sure he was still there,” she whispered, and ran her fingers along the wood grain on the table.

  “The bad outcomes outweigh the good ones,” Zohn said. “It’s honestly frightening to think what would have happened if the Valle got you. When they had you before you were used to massively wipe out our covens.”

  “I didn’t think about that.”

  “That’s why we want to keep you safe,” Chevalier said, and took her hand tenderly. “We understand you’re fueled by passion and it will take us to keep you safe.”

  “I’m not fueled by passion,” she mumbled, but blushed deeply.

  He smiled, “It’s one of the reasons I love you.”

  She sighed, “I’m sorry, ok? I didn’t think what that would do. I honestly thought we’d find the cave completely obstructed.”

  “When you didn’t, you should have called us.”

  “I don’t want to be locked up in the council chambers all day.”

  “For now, we need you there,” Zohn said. “We thought by putting a higher ranking member of the Cavalry in charge that you wouldn’t get away…”

  “He’s not very experienced,” she said softly, and then gave them a crooked smile.

  “The Council will watch you for now.”

  “I’ll behave… I’ll put myself on house arrest.”

  “No, you will need to be with the Council.”

  “I apologized, now don’t keep punishing me.”

  “It’s not a punishment,” Chevalier said. “It’s a safety measure until we can get a grip on your adventures.”

  Her eyes narrowed, “I won’t do it.”

  “Which is why we put in the shackle,” Derrick said, and then smiled broadly when she glared at him.

  “You can’t keep me chained up!”

  “Yes we can, Em. We have to keep you safe until we can find how to watch you better,” Chevalier explained.

  “Try it, vamp boy,” she said, and stood up angrily.

  “Sit down, please.”

  “No, I’m not putting up with this!” Emily spun and left the room quickly. She yelled at Mark and Silas when they fell in behind her, but they followed her anyway and then stopped her before she got into her Jeep.

  “They want you to stay here,” Mark told her.

  Emily tried to step around him, “I don’t live here.”

  “Em…”

  Chevalier came into the garage and took Emily’s arm, “Please, for now, just stay with me.”

  “I don’t live here! I refuse to live here.”

  “For tonight, stay with me… We’ll talk about it in the morning.”

  Emily jerked her arm away from him and angrily started up the stairs with the Cavalry following. Once inside the bedroom, she slammed the door shut.

  ***

  Mark was furiously searching the bedroom, trying to figure out how Emily got away from him.

  Silas came out of the bathroom and began looking under the bed.

  “She’s always gotten out of here,” Chevalier said as he moved aside a dresser to look behind it. “I don’t blame you.”

  Mark
growled in response and stormed into the bathroom.

  Silas smiled slightly, “She usually can’t ditch us.”

  “I know.”

  Kyle walked into the room and watched them searching, “No surprise, she won’t come back.”

  “I’ll go get her later,” Chevalier told him. “See if you can calm Mark down.”

  Kyle nodded and went into the bathroom just as Mark tossed the towel warmer across the room. It shattered up against the far wall when Mark began feeling along the wall behind it.

  “It’s not your fault,” Kyle said as he sat down on the toilet. He knew it was best to stay out of Mark’s way.

  “It’s my responsibility to watch her and to make sure she didn’t leave the palace!” Mark roared.

  “Just… wait…” Kyle said, and then faced forward on the toilet and studied the wall directly in front of him.

  Mark walked over, “What?”

  Kyle stood up, “Sit down and look at that wall.”

  Mark did as he was told, and then growled and moved forward. He wedged his fingers in between a few loose bricks and the wall opened to the passageway of a long-forgotten dumb waiter.

  “Elder!” Kyle said, smiling.

  Chevalier came in and his eyes grew wide, “What is that?”

  Mark raised the dumb waiter and looked at his Elder, “I bet she can fit in there.”

  “How did we not see that?” Chevalier asked, dumbfounded.

  Kyle chuckled, “You have to sit on the toilet to see the door. How often do we do that?”

  “This entire time, she’s been taking the dumb waiter down!” Mark growled.

  Chevalier winced when Mark tore the chain off of the small box that carried supplies down the stairs, and then heard it smash against the ground, 5 floors below.

  Mark stood up, still livid, “I can’t wait to tell her it’s gone.”

  “Why don’t we not?” Kyle asked, smiling.

  A smile crossed Mark’s face, “That’s good…”

  “We let her think she can get away… then when she tries, she’ll find it bricked over.”

  Chevalier called for servants to brick over the dumb waiter’s door, and make it look exactly like the rest of the wall.

  ***

  Emily drove past the heku at the gate to her mansion and parked in front. Megara was fast asleep in her car seat, so she picked her up gently and went inside to tuck her into bed.