He frowned slightly, it wasn’t natural for her to speak of such things, “We have our ways.”
“Not going to tell me, are you?” She grabbed another fry.
Kyle smiled, “No, I am not.”
Her mood became more serious, “Did anyone come looking for Keith?” She took another bite of the steaming hot hamburger.
“Yes.” He grimaced when he remembered what Keith had done to her, and his hands balled into fists.
“Who?”
“Cassi,” he said, and watched for a reaction. When she frowned, he felt bad for telling her.
Emily looked over toward the curtained window and then back to Kyle, “What time is it?”
He smiled, “8:40 pm”
“How do you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Tell the time without a clock.” She was curious as she’d seen no clocks or watches in the entire building.
Kyle cocked his head to the side curiously, “I just… know the time.”
Emily raised her eyebrows, “How?”
Kyle smiled, “It’s a natural ability. If you would like, I can get a clock in here for you.”
Her mouth was full of fries so she just nodded vehemently.
She pulled her knees up into the chair and wrapped her arms around them, watching the fire.
“I should be going now,” Kyle said, and stood up.
“No!” The sound in her voice made him jump.
“Is there a problem? Something I should know about? Is someone bothering you?” Kyle surveyed the room again. It hadn’t dawned on him that with her human senses, he would be well aware of an intruder before she would.
Emily stood up, “No, please, don’t leave me alone.”
Kyle frowned, “It’s not proper for me to stay.”
“You mean… Chev would be mad if you stayed all night?” She guessed.
He didn’t answer.
“Please, Kyle, I can’t be alone.” Her eyes were pleading.
He sighed and looked toward the door, “I can ask Anna to stay in here.”
“I don’t want Anna, I want you… I don’t know her, and I don’t like how she calls me Child.” Emily set her jaw and her eyes narrowed.
Kyle laughed softly, “Alright, I will stay.”
She grinned, “If Chev gives you a hard time, tell him to come talk to me.”
Emily yawned despite herself and headed for the large bed. She noticed how Kyle had returned to his seat by the fire. She guessed that in bed, she wouldn’t even be able to see him. Standing behind the bed’s curtain, she slipped off her jeans and crawled into bed in her t-shirt and pulled the cool sheets up around her.
“Good night, Kyle,” she called out, and all she heard in return was a soft laugh.
***
The dream was different this time. She was still running, but it was along the beach. She could hear footsteps behind her, coming closer. They were running. The voices echoed off the rocks around her, calling out to her in patronizing tones. It was Keith, he was coming for her, his cold, dead hands just inches from her neck.
“No!” she screamed, hoping someone, anyone could hear.
“What are you screaming for, Slut? You owe me… you owe me my life and I’m going to take it out of you.” Keith was slurring his words like he’d been drinking.
She pushed herself harder to try to get ahead of him.
“You wait till he fucks you, Em. You wait until he sees what a slut you are, the dirty whoring slut.” His hand touched her hair briefly, “I kept you around because I felt sorry for you, you know that? No one will want you, Emily, no one!”
His hands touched her arm…
“No!” Emily screamed, clawing at the cold hands on her arm.
“Emily,” Kyle said softly. “It’s ok.”
Her eyes adjusted to the dark quickly and she saw Kyle’s face. He was afraid and touching her arm softly. It was Kyle that had touched her, not Keith.
Kyle sat on the edge of the bed and gasped when she fell into him, pressing her face against his chest to block out the images of Keith in the dream.
He hesitated and then wrapped his arms around her lightly, “It was just a dream. Keith isn’t back.”
“How did you…”
“You were talking in your sleep. I apologize for listening, but it’s hard to block it out when you are screaming.” He sounded truly sorry and she’d heard that before, it must be true.
She grabbed onto his shirt, her hands shaking, “Are you positive? What if he’s a heku now? He’ll come back and kill me.”
“He’s not one of us, that I can promise you.” Kyle fought back the grin.
Emily nodded and lay back on the bed, pulling the covers tight around her. Kyle stood up to return to his chair, “Wait, Kyle, sit with me.”
The look on Chevalier’s face as he demanded they stay away from her flashed into his mind. Chevalier also told them to give her whatever she wanted. He saw both sides and decided he would rather face Emily’s wrath, than the Chief Enforcer. He looked down to tell her no and noticed her pleading eyes, and how her whole body shook with fear.
He lowered his shoulders and sat down on the edge of the bed, as far from her as he could get. It wasn’t long before she was asleep again.
Chapter 8 - Choices
“It does give me a right! She is my blood, my family.” Ulrich slammed his fist down on the granite table.
“That gives you the right to nothing! She’s an adult woman, who chose to stay with me.” Chevalier’s eyes blazed with fury.
“I have the inherent right to protect my offspring. Does the Council deny that right?” He looked up at the Elders.
“We do not deny that you have some rights, as far as family is concerned, but our decision has not yet been made. Now I suggest you both sit down and keep your tempers under control. To think this is all over a mortal!” The only female Elder, Selest, looked down at them from the platform. She glanced to the two men on her left, and they nodded, astonished that two heku were fighting over a mortal.
“I will ask this one more time… Lord Ulrich, what do you benefit from having Emily Russo live with your coven?” The smaller of the male Elders asked.
“I benefit by having complete protection of one of my offspring,” he stated plainly.
“Do you, therefore, deny that Emily Russo is a direct descendant of the Winchester family and thereby capable of powers beyond both mortal and heku?”
Ulrich glanced quickly at Chevalier and glared, “I do deny that. She has shown no powers beyond any mortal. The abilities mentioned died out a long time ago.”
“Are those your findings also, Chief Enforcer?” Selest asked, and looked down at him.
“It’s inconclusive at this time, which is why I want to keep her in my care, where she can live safely and I can learn whatever talents she may have.” Chevalier avoided looking at Ulrich, afraid their secret may be given away with a glance.
“She is my granddaughter! If she has any abilities, it should be I that find them. I can teach her how to control them, I can teach her how to use them,” Ulrich was pleading. He knew that as an enemy, the Elders would not see his view.
“She doesn’t want to live with you.” Chevalier raised his voice and the Elders motioned for both of them to sit again.
“I won’t tell you again, both of you will stay calm in this courtroom!” Elder Leonid said, and both complied immediately.
The entire room was suddenly quiet. No sound at all could be heard as the Elders debated silently. After almost an hour, Elder Selest stood up.
“It is our decision to allow Chevalier to continue to monitor the situation and report back to this Council, and we, in turn, will keep Lord Ulrich informed.” She sat down when she was finished talking.
Chevalier sighed and turned to Ulrich, his eyes burning with fury. Without addressing them further, Chevalier quickly left the courtroom, anxious to avoid a confrontation.
***
The fer
ry couldn’t move fast enough for Chevalier. He worried about how long the court session had lasted. He told her he would be gone only a few days, but he had been gone for a week. He knew he could trust his coven, but lingering doubts about a select family of newborns made him nervous and anxious to get home. He also felt incomplete without her. He could picture her eyes, the vivid green that flared when she was mad. He missed the blush in her cheeks and the way she felt in his arms. He tapped his dashboard lightly with his fingers, any sign of patience had worn off.
Storm sat quietly beside him, unsure how to handle his sudden impatience. As soon as they arrived at the pier, she stepped out of the car and went to talk to the guards. Chevalier put his car into gear and sped through the city toward the castle. It was late, he knew she would be asleep, but he just wanted to see her.
As he stepped out of the car, he noticed the guards shift nervously. He frowned slightly and studied their faces, they were like stone statues. He narrowed his eyes and walked into the castle. The air inside seemed tense at his arrival. Things were too quiet. Not one servant was in sight, there was no hint of whispers, even the sound of everyday cleaning was absent.
Chevalier surveyed the entryway and saw nothing amiss, saw no sign that anything was wrong. He quickly ascended the stairs and stepped into Emily’s ante-chamber. Anna was in the corner standing perfectly still, not even meeting his eyes.
“Anna?” he questioned.
“Yes, Sir?” Anna replied, and he wondered at the tone of her voice.
He studied her every movement, the muscles in her neck were tense and strained, “How is she?” He didn’t know why, but he felt almost afraid of her answer.
“Fine, Sir.”
His brow furrowed, “That’s it? Fine?”
Anna nodded.
The scent caught Chevalier’s attention, the scent from her bedroom was wrong. His eyes raged, “Who is in there with her?”
Anna froze.
He stormed into the room, one of the doors splintering as it hit the stone walls. His eyes focused in on the bed. He could see Emily under the covers, but his attention was on the lone figure sitting at the foot of her bed, looking at him as he entered the room. The form stood up quickly and stepped back toward the wall.
“Sir,” Kyle whispered. Chevalier was inches from him in less than a second, staring down at him.
His voice was low and tense, “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Sir, it’s not what you…” Kyle’s voice was cut off by Chevalier’s hand wrapped tightly around his neck.
Kyle flew through the air, landing with a violent crash against the stone wall. The impact cracked the rough stones and sent shatters of broken rock and sand against the floor. Kyle flipped onto his feet and faced Chevalier, keeping his face calm and non-aggressive, “Please, Sir, it’s not what you think.”
Chevalier turned to the bed to face Emily. The thunderous crash should have woken her, but she didn’t move, didn’t stir. Her smell was off, the sweet aroma was masked somewhat by a harsh chemical. He turned back to Kyle, who was still at the wall, his hands palms out toward Chevalier.
“Sir, let me explain, please.” Kyle was standing tall, his shoulders squared and ready for attack, though his posture wasn’t crouched as if to defend.
Chevalier instantly materialized several feet in front of him, “Start talking… and it better be good.” His eyes narrowed and his hands balled into tight fists.
Kyle whispered instinctively, “She hasn’t slept since you left, Sir. There was an attack the first day and she was having nightmares…” He paused as the furious look in Chevalier’s eyes grew more intense.
“Attack?” he hissed.
“Yes, Sir, the first day we were out riding and a young one was hiding in the trees.”
Chevalier grabbed a nearby chair and threw it through the plated window to the balcony, ripping the large curtains down with the force, “Who?”
Kyle winced slightly, “It was Ethan, Sir. She fell when the horse bucked, but we handled it. Ethan is waiting for you, and Anna was able to stop the bleeding.” He stopped talking when Chevalier inhaled sharply.
He took a step toward Kyle, “Continue.”
“That night she started having nightmares, screaming through the night. She begged me to stay, Sir, I promise you, she begged me.” Kyle waited for the fury, but Chevalier wasn’t moving, yet his body was shaking with rage.
Kyle continued, “Last evening, I finally talked her into taking a sleeping pill. She had dark circles under her eyes and she’d quit eating. Henry studied up and found that it was the lack of sleep. It took hours to convince her to take it, but she finally did. Nothing else happened, Sir, I swear to you.”
Chevalier’s eyes narrowed again, “You couldn’t sit in a chair? How dare you sit on her bed.”
“That was her too, Sir. The first night I was on the chair when the nightmare began. She said she felt safer, the closer I was… I would never have done anything, I swear my allegiance to you.” Kyle lowered his eyes, showing submission.
“Get out.” Chevalier’s whisper was riddled with power and Kyle bowed once and ran out of the room as a blur.
Once the room was empty except for he and Emily, he went to her and sat gently on the side of the bed, touching her cheek softly. He didn’t like the way she smelled and was uncomfortable with how still she slept. Chevalier inhaled her scent deeply, his mind searching for anything wrong. He caught the hint of dried blood but the sharp stab of medicine covered the sweet smell.
“I’ll be back,” he whispered, bending down to press his lips gently against her forehead.
He appeared out in the ante-chamber. The doors hung limply from their hinges. Anna stiffened in the corner.
He gritted his teeth, “Dried blood?”
Anna nodded, “Yes, Sir, she hit her head when the horse bucked her off. I stitched her wound, it is healing.”
“Nightmares?” His body was tense.
“Yes, Chief Enforcer, every night, she screams.” Anna’s eyes were fearful.
“What does she scream?” He watched her face for any indication that she was lying to him.
She cleared her throat, feeling his intense gaze on her, “It varies, Sir, some nights she screams about someone named Keith. Mostly… it’s for you.” She dropped her eyes.
Chevalier sighed and his voice softened, “What has she been doing during my absence?”
Anna relaxed slightly, “She won’t let me shadow her, Sir. I tried, I really have… but she orders me to stay behind.”
He laughed slightly. He had no doubts that Emily had done just that, “But you still know…”
Anna nodded, “Yes, Sir.”
“What then?”
“She mostly spends her day out on her horse, Sir. She rides along the trees and down to the beach.”
“You let her out alone in the city?” He winced.
“No, Sir!” Anna stressed. “We wouldn’t do that, not after the first attack.”
“Then who was with her?”
Anna braced for his fury, “Kyle, Sir.”
He took a step toward her, “Kyle and who else? Or was Kyle with her every day?”
Anna simply nodded, her voice catching in her throat, “It was her request, Sir,” she whispered.
“Oh?”
“Sir.” She decided to take the punishment and tell him everything, “The nightmares, they kept her up, she finally refused to sleep and a few days ago, she stopped even eating. Any noise and she jumps. She turns pale if she catches sight of anyone other than Kyle and I. Emily said that Kyle kept the fear away. She trusted him to keep her safe while you were away and we decided, together, to honor those wishes.”
Anna was able to relax when Chevalier stood up out of the angry crouch, “Fix this room,” he said, and in the blink of an eye he was leaving the room with Emily cradled in his arms.
***
“Good morning,” Chevalier whispered as Emily began to stir. He’d been watchi
ng her sleep for the past 14 hours, wondering how much sleeping medication the immortals had given her.
Her eyes flashed open and she curled up against his chest, “You’re back!”
Chevalier held her tightly and then put his fingers under her chin, bringing her face up toward his, “How are you?”
He had the chance to study her face. She still had dark circles under her eyes, the pallor making them darker. Her eyes were sunken and tired.
“I’m fine.” She smiled up at him.
“Gordon is bringing you some breakfast, Dear.”
“Just coffee please. I’m not hungry.”
“Never the less, you will eat.” He tried to sound commanding but had a hard time being stern as those flowing green eyes peered up at him.
Emily lay back on the bed and stretched a bit. This bed was harder than the one she was used to and her back was aching. She looked around and frowned, “Where am I?”
“I moved you to my room. I’m having some work done on yours.” He decided to keep his violent tendencies to himself.
She yawned into her hand and returned to studying his room. This gave him the chance to study her further. He was a little shocked to see the delicate fabric and low cut of the soft pink flowing nightgown that revealed a hint of her soft breasts. He would have to thank Margaret for that later. He gently ran his finger along the low neckline and cursed when he heard Gordon coming with her breakfast.
“Come in,” he said, irritated.
Gordon entered with a large silver tray and the smell of bacon and eggs filled the room. He placed it on the bedside table and lifted the cover, smiling, “Finally, the chance to make something other than coffee.” His grin fell when he saw Chevalier’s expression and he hurried out of the room with a bow.
Emily sat up and turned to the tray to make up a cup of coffee. Chevalier noticed, appraisingly, the low cut the back of her nightgown. It perfectly showed the smooth skin on her back, her pale complexion, and the perfect curve of her fragile spine. He gently ran his fingers up her spine and grinned as she shivered. She turned back to the bed and sat up, the steaming cup of coffee cradled in her hands.
Heku : Book 1 of the Heku Series Page 13