Heku : Book 1 of the Heku Series

by T. M. Nielsen

  He reached out and took the cup away from her protesting fingers, “Food Emily, not coffee… food.”

  “Coffee first,” she said, reaching out for it.

  He moved it further from her, out of her reach, “I think you’ve had enough caffeine. Eat… please… for me.”

  Emily reached over and grabbed a piece of bacon and sat back against the headboard to eat.

  “I’m so sorry. I honestly had planned on being gone only a few days and then to hear that…” He paused to calm his voice, “That you were attacked in my absence.”

  She tensed, it was still fresh in her mind. She grabbed another piece of bacon, not wanting to talk about it.

  “I lied to you again, and I suppose saying I’m sorry isn’t good enough. I promised my coven would keep you safe in my absence.” His eyes dropped to the bed.

  She gently touched his cheek, “You can’t protect me from everything, Chev. Kyle was there with me, nothing happened.”

  He looked into her eyes, “That’s not how I heard it.”

  She reached back and touched the back of her head, “That? That’s nothing. Patra doesn’t take nicely to heku apparently, though she is getting used to Kyle.”

  “Patra is here?” he asked, shocked.

  Emily smiled brightly, her face suddenly lit up, “Yes, Kyle brought her here for me.”

  Chevalier nodded. He had to give Kyle credit, he was taking care of her as he had ordered, “Eat more.”

  She glanced over at the plate and then back to Chevalier, “Where did you go?”

  He sighed, she might as well know, “To court, with Ulrich.”

  She gasped, “Over me?!”

  Chevalier nodded, “It’s ok though, they have granted me more time with you.”

  Her eyes darted around the room, “But someday they may change their minds? Someday I may be forced to live with him?”

  He didn’t answer.

  “I won’t do it… no one can make me.” She set her jaw. He didn’t want her to be upset so he kept his thoughts to himself. He knew that if the time came, she wouldn’t have a choice.

  “Don’t worry about it now, Em. If the time ever comes… If the time ever comes, we’ll handle it then, ok?” He realized she was done eating and handed her coffee to her.

  She sipped it, letting it burn her tongue.

  “Ash anyone while I was away?” He grinned at her, trying to lighten the mood.

  Emily couldn’t help but laugh, “No.”

  “I had some clothes brought in to you. Get dressed, I have something I need to do and I want you to come.”

  She looked at him expectantly, “We’re leaving the island?”

  He grinned, “No, we aren’t even leaving the castle.”

  She sighed, slightly disappointed, and got up to get dressed. She noticed, irritated, that his bathroom had locking doors.

  She looked around the large bathroom. It was empty except for a vanity mirror, a large shower, and a pile of clothes folded neatly on the counter. To her horror, the walls were lined with mirrors. She slipped out of her nightgown and quickly into her clothes, her eyes fixed on the floor. She was glad they were jeans, she didn’t like all of the dresses that Margaret kept bringing her.

  As Emily turned to leave, she caught a glimpse of herself in one of the mirrors and sighed. She hadn’t noticed that her jeans had diamond cut-outs down the length of the legs from her hips to her ankles. While not a t-shirt, at least the pale blue shirt wasn’t revealing. She would have to throw the jeans away when she got a new pair. It took her only a few minutes to throw her hair into a French braid and head back out to Chevalier.

  He grinned at her and his eyes fell almost immediately to the small glimpse of her smooth white thighs and toned calves that her jeans provided. She blushed and laid her nightgown down on the foot of the bed. Emily glanced around the room and saw that her breakfast tray was gone, and the bed was made.

  “Are you ready to go?” Chevalier asked, laughing at her blush and taking her hand in his. He was pleased when she didn’t pull away from his touch.

  Emily nodded and let him lead her out of the room. Before she could see what was going on in her room, the door shut, as if by itself. She had the feeling they were hiding something.

  “Where is Kyle?” she asked as they descended the stairs.

  “He is back at his post.” Chevalier knew that Kyle would be doing his best to stay off of his radar.

  The rest of the walk was in silence. It seemed to Emily like they should have gotten to the ground floor already, and the narrow stone walkway seemed to be spiraling downward. She hadn’t seen windows for a while, and the way was no longer lit, so she couldn’t see anything. Chevalier was guiding her. Her eyes didn’t adjust, either, and she was getting frustrated, not liking being without one of her key senses. Finally, a light shone in a rectangle ahead, they were nearing a door.

  The door opened just as they got to it, and she saw that a brightly lit room was on the other side. The room was circular with a platform at one end. Four chairs were high on the platform behind large oak desks. The rest of the room was full of rows and rows of chairs facing the other four. Emily recognized this as a type of courtroom and she started to panic, holding tighter to Chevalier’s arm.

  There was only one other person in the room, the door guard who held an ominous looking sword in his hands. Emily found that odd, why a sword instead of a gun? Chevalier led them up to the platform and sat in one of the center chairs, motioning for her to sit at his left. As soon as she sat down, Storm appeared and sat in the chair on his right. Over the next few minutes, others piled into the room, taking the chairs on the lower level and all seemed to be watching her closely. She began to panic.

  Kyle walked in, looking nervous, and sat in the chair beside Emily. She was comforted to see him. “What is this?” she whispered to him.

  It didn’t escape Chevalier’s notice that she asked Kyle the question instead of him, and his insides tightened.

  Kyle knew his place and didn’t answer, staring straight ahead. Emily just sighed and returned her eyes to scan the room.

  When everyone was seated and quiet, Storm stood up.

  “Bring him in,” she demanded, and the guard by the door left quickly, returning within only a second, dragging the young heku into the room, the strange heku that had scared Patra and tried to attack her. Emily’s entire body tensed, she was ready to run from the room but when she started to stand, Chevalier’s hand shot out and touched her leg.

  “Don’t do this, please,” she whispered to Chevalier. He didn’t respond, he was watching the young heku with loathing. Her breathing picked up, she couldn’t imagine what was going to happen to him.

  “Please.” She tried again.

  Chevalier silenced her with an icy glare.

  Storm faced Ethan, who was sitting in an old chair on the bottom level, “Charges have been brought against you, charges of the gravest nature. Your age doesn’t protect you from disobeying the direct orders of the Chief Enforcer. Do you understand these charges?”

  “Yes,” Ethan said softly, and his eyes were directed at Emily. She could feel the rumble from beside her, both Chevalier and Kyle were growling.

  “How old are you, Ethan? For the record,” Storm asked, holding a clipboard.

  “213 years,” he said, licking his lips.

  “Mind yourself!” Storm barked at Ethan and he recoiled under her words, looking back at her. “Did you, or did you not, receive the direct order that the girl wasn’t to be harmed, that she belongs directly to the Chief Enforcer?”

  Emily frowned and grimaced at the word ‘belongs’.

  “Yessss,” he hissed again, his eyes falling on Emily. “But she is so sweet, so tender, I can’t resist her.” He leaned a little closer to the front of the room and inhaled.

  “No!” Emily screamed, just as Chevalier appeared at Ethan’s back. His hands wrapped tightly around the young heku’s head. Before Emily could shut her eyes, Ethan�
��s head was off and sent flying into the wall of the courtroom.

  Emily stood. All eyes were on Chevalier as he quickly dismembered Ethan. She was able to run from the room, unnoticed. She fought her way up the impossibly dark hallway, winding further and further up, feeling her way along the wall. There were no sounds behind her, yet she ran, tripping on loose stones and imperfections in the floor. As the hallway became lighter, she recognized her surroundings and ran out the back door in the kitchen, headed straight for the barn.

  Patra was waiting just inside, saddled and ready for her daily ride. Emily deftly hoisted herself up onto the mare and was in a full gallop before even clearing the barn doors. She headed the opposite way she normally did, going straight for the beach. Once the sound of the ocean was near and Patra’s hooves hit sand, she slowed the horse and held tightly to the saddle’s horn, trying to calm her breathing.

  She slid off the horse and nuzzled her face into the horse’s warm neck, and then broke down into heart-wrenching sobs. The sight of Ethan’s head slamming into the stone walls was horrifying. She’d seen Chevalier mad, but never that enraged. She kept reminding herself that it was her fault, because of her, this creature had died. Emily slunk down onto the sand at the foot of her horse. She could hear the ocean clearly, but couldn’t see it because of the tall cement wall. She shut her eyes and focused on the rhythmic pounding of the waves against the rocks, the monotonous sound cleared her mind of the headless heku.

  Patra nibbled at Emily’s hair and brought her out of the trance. She stood up and noticed it was starting to get dark. The cold wind blowing off the ocean sent a chill down through her. She ran her fingers through the mare’s mane, her mind wondering where to go and what to do. This world of Chevalier’s seemed more dangerous now. She didn’t feel safe in it, and didn’t feel like she even remotely belonged. The sound of footsteps approaching made her body stiffen and her breath caught.

  She peered around Patra’s neck and saw a tall man approaching, his dark face was hidden in the dying light. The mare whinnied loudly and stomped her foot at him as he got closer. Emily stood, frozen to the horse’s side, unable to move. She could feel Patra’s muscles tighten, she was about to run. Emily grabbed the bridle to steady the horse as the sound of the approaching steps stopped. There was no sound but the waves against the beach.

  Emily stood motionless against the horse for a few minutes, not sure if the stranger had gone or was standing just on the other side of Patra. Her heart beat violently in her chest as he spoke, his voice soft.

  “Emily?” he asked her.

  She didn’t move, didn’t breathe.

  “I won’t hurt you, Child,” he reassured her. “I came to show you the way back.”

  She swallowed hard, her mouth dry with fear, “I know the way… back.”

  Emily screamed briefly as something sounded from the saddle behind her and she ducked down away from it.

  “Calm, Child, it’s just a coat.” The stranger’s voice was further away now.

  Emily managed to turn slightly and see the coat lying over the saddle. She peered around Patra and saw the stranger standing 20 feet away, watching her. Her skin broke out into goose bumps as the wind picked up. She looked up and saw dark clouds covering the rising moon.

  “You must be cold,” the stranger said from where he stood, not moving closer.

  “I’m fine,” she managed to say finally, and slipped back around behind the mare. “You take the coat if you are cold.”

  The soft laughter filled the wind, and she fought against feeling comforted by its warmth and sincerity.

  “If you won’t wear the coat, at least go back to the castle, they are very worried about you.”

  Emily leaned her head against Patra, unsure what to do.

  Finally, the heku spoke again, “Do you wish me to leave?”

  She nodded, knowing that he couldn’t see her, but she wasn’t able to speak.

  “Very well,” he said sadly, then suddenly he was gone.

  The darkness was full now, any light from the moon was blocked by the black clouds. Emily sat down again on the sand and wrapped her arms around her knees for warmth. The coat sat invitingly above her on the saddle and her mind began to wander.

  How many people would die because she was there? How many would be in danger because of her raw emotions and the ability to disintegrate a heku at will? How could she survive in a world where beings were torn apart for breaking the order of one man? It all seemed fierce and primal, the laws and regulations she was accustomed to seemed irrelevant here. From what she had seen, the heku followed Chevalier. No one doubted his methods or his orders and no one disobeyed, completely out of fear.

  Her mind wandered to Ulrich, the unseen heku that watched over her. Was his coven similar? Did he have this much control over his people? Could he harm her as she felt Chevalier was capable of doing? Did he have the temper and the ability to rip another person’s head from their body? She winced as the image again came into her mind.

  Her mind returned to the beach as it began to rain. The cold drops almost immediately soaked her hair and clothing. Emily clutched her knees tighter to her and watched as the vapors from her breath became visible in the frigid air. She began to shiver uncontrollably, but still refused to put on the coat, it seemed like a symbol of restraint, a symbol that she’d given up and agreed to embrace this sadistic lifestyle.

  Patra’s skin twitched. She was visibly irritated about being out in the cold rain, but Emily still didn’t move, didn’t know where to go. The waves grew fierce and were now slapping hard against the cement wall. She imagined that the beach on the other side had disappeared with the tide. Emily could feel the cold drops sliding down her face and back, her body shaking more violently than before.

  The crashing of the waves masked the approaching footsteps and she didn’t realize that she wasn’t alone until they were standing in front of her. She tried to look up at them, but she was too tired, her teeth chattered and her body shook with cold.

  Chevalier crouched down, his hands slowly reaching for her, palms out, “Emily, you need to get inside.” His voice was soft and concerned, but her mind raced back to the courtroom.

  “N.. N… No,” was all she could manage. She felt the coat being slipped over her back and she wiggled it off.

  “You are going to freeze to death out here.” This time it was Kyle’s voice from behind her, and she realized that he must have been the one that draped the coat over her shoulders. She heard the sound of someone settling into Patra’s saddle.

  “Kyle is going to take Patra back to the barn. It’s too cold out here for her,” Chevalier told her as she felt the comforting presence of the mare leave.

  Chevalier sat down facing her, “I don’t want to force you, Em, but I will if you don’t get up soon.”

  “You killed him,” she whispered.

  He sighed, “Yes.”

  “It’s not right to just kill someone,” she said through chattering teeth.

  “Emily, it’s important when dealing with a thousand natural predators that everyone obeys the rules. I set the rules… and if they aren’t obeyed, then I deal with it.” He watched her eyes, his voice soft and smooth.

  She began to shiver harder, “H h h how l long bef fore you k k kill m m me?”

  Chevalier frowned, “I’m not going to kill you. Remember, you aren’t one of my charges.”

  “S s so, h h how w w will you d d deal with m m me if I b break a r rule?” Her lips were turning a vibrant blue.

  “You don’t have rules, Emily. You aren’t in my coven, you are too important for me to punish you for breaking a rule. I am Chief Enforcer of the faction. I am not your Chief Enforcer.” He stood up and touched her arm, “Get up.”

  “O o o or wh wh what?” She glared up at him.

  “Or I’ll pick you up.” He was getting frustrated with her.

  She’d never known this kind of cold, the cold that seeped deep into her inner core. Her skin was n
o longer cold, it was numb, which wasn’t all together unpleasant. She was finding it hard to concentrate now and her hands and feet ached painfully. She buried her head, putting her forehead against her knees that were still tightly wrapped by her arms, though she couldn’t feel them any longer.

  “Emily?” he asked softly, bending down closer to her.

  She shivered violently but didn’t answer.

  With one swift movement, Chevalier picked her up and grimaced at the icy cold of her body. She continued to shiver but didn’t protest as he carried her back to the warmth of the castle.

  He headed into her room. The repairs were made and Anna had a hot bath waiting. He set her down gently on the tile, but she couldn’t feel her feet and she sank down onto the floor. She set to work unbuttoning her shirt but her fingers were stiff and frozen. Chevalier sighed and reached down, pulling her shirt over her head.

  “N n n no,” she began to protest.

  “Hush up, no more protests. This time I’m not kidding,” he warned.

  Emily’s clothes were wet and clung tightly to her frozen body. Chevalier gave up and simply ripped them off of her. He growled slightly as he picked up her naked body, it was colder than it should be and he was worried that she might get sick. He set her down slowly into the warm jetted tub, ignoring how wet his shirt got, then he stood back and motioned for Anna to leave.

  Emily’s violent shiver became worse, and she couldn’t manage to say the words to make him leave. The chattering sound of her teeth filled the bathroom, but she couldn’t seem to stop that either. The warm jets sent painful stabs through her body as the blood returned to her limbs. She couldn’t help but moan slightly as the stabbing tingles crept up her arms and legs.

  Once the shivering stopped and she’d sunk down into the warmth, Chevalier moved to sit by the side of the tub. He was too angry to appreciate her body beneath the water, too angry to notice she didn’t complain that he was there.

  “Was that entirely necessary?” he asked, more demanding than caring.

  She answered softly, “I have nowhere to go.”

  He frowned, “Why do you need to go anywhere?”