Heku : Book 1 of the Heku Series

by T. M. Nielsen

  “Then leave.” The command was whispered, but the expectation to obey was strong. Kyle instantly disappeared from the room.

  Chevalier walked back to the bed just as Anna was replacing the cool cloth on Emily’s forehead. She pretended that she didn’t see what just transpired, and didn’t comment. She liked Kyle and what she had seen of him lately could be detrimental to him.

  Emily’s hand shot out and wrapped around the tubing coming from her arm. Chevalier was quick enough that she didn’t have time to remove her I.V. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it lightly, “No, Em, leave it alone.”

  He could be himself around Anna. Her life depended on her ability to keep what she saw to herself. Anna re-taped the I.V. down, not watching Chevalier.

  “Take it out, please,” Emily whispered, her eyes still shut.

  Chevalier bent down and brushed his lips softly against hers, then whispered into her ear, “Leave it, Love.”

  He heard Anna gasp slightly and he sat up. Emily’s eyes were open and she was looking at him.

  “Emily?” he whispered, touching her cheek lightly.

  Her eyes moved from him, over to Anna, and then returned, but she didn’t speak. She reached her hand up and pulled the oxygen off of her face. Chevalier grinned and returned it, “Leave that alone.”

  Chevalier and Anna watched as her eyes suddenly slid shut again.

  Emily slept most of the night, with interruptions from coughing fits. Only once did her breathing turn raspy for a while, but it was quiet again within a few hours. The light of dawn came through the cracks in the heavy curtains, and she opened her eyes again.

  “Chev?” Her voice was cracked and soft.

  He looked down at her and kissed her forehead softly, “Yes?”

  She tried to clear her throat, but ended up starting a coughing fit again. Chevalier pulled her gently into a sitting position to help it pass, and then laid her back down.

  “Shhh, don’t talk,” he encouraged her as Anna left to get a fresh cool rag.

  Emily’s pale complexion brought out the vibrancy in her green eyes, but her lips were dry and cracked.

  “You came back…” she said softly, watching his reaction.

  “Of course I did. I know what you’re thinking, and you’re wrong. We’ll discuss this later though.” He adjusted her pillows.

  Her eyes scanned the room, “Where is Kyle?”

  He pulled her up to sitting again as she began to cough uncontrollably. By the time it stopped, she was exhausted and fell back to sleep when he laid her down again.

  Chevalier watched her sleep. He gently ran his fingers across her collar bone. It protruded from her tight skin and he worried about how thin and pale she’d become. Her arms were finally cool, so he pulled the blanket up around her and waited.

  The next morning, he was finally alone with her. The cool rags were no longer necessary without the fever, so he told Anna to take the day off to go feed, she was looking haggard. Chevalier pulled the heavy curtains back and let the morning sun into the room. When he turned back to the bed, she was watching him.

  He smiled, “How are you feeling?”

  “Perfect,” she whispered, watching him closely.

  Chevalier sat down on the bed beside her and took her hand, but she pulled it away weakly.

  “You don’t have to do that,” she whispered, unable to draw up the strength for more.

  He took her hand again, and this time didn’t let her pull it away, “No one is forcing me.”

  She reached up with her other hand and pulled off the oxygen.

  Chevalier sighed and tried to put it back on, but her hand was in the way.

  “No,” she said softly.

  “Em, you need it, put it back on.” He tried again but she blocked him with her hand.

  She glared at him, “You put it on.”

  He gently moved her hand and put it back to her face, “I don’t need it, you do.”

  She coughed forcefully and then settled back down on the pillow, “You don’t have to stay here. I don’t need a pity friend.”

  Chevalier waited while his anger was under control, “No one’s making me and I don’t pity you.”

  “It’s ok, Chev, as soon as I’m better, I’ll leave.” She turned her face away from him and shut her eyes.

  He growled softly, “I don’t want you to leave…” He glanced around the room once then bent down and whispered into her ear, “I love you too much to for you to leave.”

  Her mouth fell open and she turned back to him, her eyes searching for signs of humor or sarcasm, but she found none.

  “Don’t look at me like that, you knew it all along.” His face was stern, but then he grinned.

  She turned away from him again as the tears welled up in her eyes. She shut them to hide the evidence, but soon fell asleep.

  A soft voice woke her up and she watched as Gordon delivered a shiny, silver tray to the bedside table. He smiled when he saw her look at him, bowed, and then disappeared. Chevalier pulled the dome off the top and sat it down, then turned to look at her.

  Chevalier smiled, “Dr. Edwards said you need to start eating again. I had Gordon bring some soup, I hope you like chicken noodle or is that too… prosaic?”

  Emily shook her head, “I’m not really hungry.”

  She sat up coughing.

  “Well, he also mentioned if you’ll eat, we can remove the I.V.” Chevalier grinned, playing off her weaknesses.

  She reached over and quickly yanked out the I.V, wincing at the sting. Chevalier hadn’t been watching her at the time, so he was a fraction of second too slow to stop it, “Damnit, Em, you’re a horrible patient.”

  She yanked off her nasal cannula to toss it onto the floor, but Chevalier caught it before it hit, “Nope, put that back on.”

  Emily slung her legs over the side of the bed and scooted to stand up, but his hands on her shoulders forced her back onto the bed.

  “Stop it, Chev.” She coughed and then tried again.

  “Will you please stay down?” His voice was a cross between amusement and frustration.

  “No, I’m well enough to leave now.” Her body betrayed her with a violent coughing fit.

  Chevalier wrapped his arms around her waist, frowning as he felt her ribs sticking out against her skin, “Lay down.”

  Emily didn’t lie down, but she did stay seated. When she’d tried to stand, she discovered that her legs weren’t strong enough to carry her yet.

  “Fine, we’ll sit,” Chevalier said, releasing his hold on her. He grabbed the bowl of soup and offered it to her.

  Emily stared at it.

  “Eat… for me,” he said.

  She sighed and took the bowl. The soup felt wonderful against her parched lips and throat and the warmth of it spread through her body. She hadn’t realized she was getting cold.

  Once she finished, she returned the bowl to the intricately decorated silver tray and turned to face Chevalier on the bed, sitting cross-legged.

  “So now…” he began, facing her in a similar fashion. “Let’s talk about you leaving, shall we?”

  Emily nodded.

  “Might I ask why?” he asked, looking closely at her. He noticed again how thin she’d become and how she was almost as pale as he was.

  She stared down at her hands, “I know what you must think about me now, it’s only fair to give you an easy out.” Coughing stopped her from saying more.

  Chevalier’s eyes narrowed, “So you know what I think about you, do you?”

  Emily nodded.

  “I’m guessing it’s along the lines of… hmmm… let’s use the immortal words of Keith ‘You’re just a little dirty slut aren’t you? Whoring around in the city?” He paused, “Is that close?”

  Emily winced and nodded, still staring at the pattern on the quilt.

  “Let me see if I can continue then… useless?” He watched her.

  Emily nodded.

  “Worthless?”

 
Another nod.

  “Insignificant and repulsive?”

  She didn’t react. She was concentrating on the flowered pattern of the quilt to keep from crying.

  “So does that mean that you count Keith and I in the same category?” he growled.

  The words shocked her and she looked up at him with wide eyes, “No.”

  He moved closer to her and touched her cheek lightly, “Then stop comparing us and stop letting his words cloud the way I feel about you, it’s insulting.”

  Her eyes met his and he saw the hesitation there, the brief glimpse that she for once doubted what her ex-husband said. Chevalier took the opportunity of weakness and concentrated on her eyes, willing her to submit to his trance. Her body relaxed and her breathing matched his own.

  “Emily… I love you, and you need to trust me. I love everything about you.” His words flowed toward her like music. She was unable to pull away from their mesmerizing qualities, “You are worth it.”

  Chevalier pulled back away from her, broke the gaze, and waited while his words sunk in. As the trance broke, she couldn’t remember what had transpired, but suddenly felt relaxed and comfortable.

  She glanced over at the tray and picked up a piece of a quartered sandwich. A blush rose to her cheeks as she realized Chevalier was watching her with a smile.

  “Come in, Anna,” he called, though she’d heard no knock.

  Anna hurried in and sat a glass of orange juice down on the table, then suddenly disappeared again.

  Emily frowned toward the door.

  “You don’t like Anna, do you?” he guessed.

  “She treats me like a 2-year-old,” she said, and then continued to eat.

  “Dear, to her you are very young.”

  “It doesn’t matter, I’m still an adult.”

  “That’s fine, I’ll replace her for you.”

  “Let Kyle do it.” Emily didn’t notice the way Chevalier’s body tensed. She reached for the ice cold orange juice.

  “Kyle?” he asked, calming his voice.

  “Yes, he doesn’t treat me like a toddler, and we have a lot in common.” Chevalier was glad her attention was elsewhere as he fought to regain control of his anger.

  “Kyle isn’t right for the job.”

  Finally, she looked over at him, “Yes he is… he’s my friend.”

  Chevalier grinned as she used the term friend, “I still don’t like it, you need a woman around.”

  “I do not!” She looked at him with an icy glare, “You act like I miss my Mommy! You’re about as bad as she is. Kyle does what you told me Anna should, he shows me around, helps me find things, and keeps me safe.”

  “Still…” Her coughing cut him off and he continued once she’d calmed down, “Still, Kyle has things to do elsewhere.”

  “Fine, I don’t need anyone then. Let Anna go, but don’t replace her.” She looked at him, proud she’d solved the problem.

  “I can’t leave you alone, Em.” He wasn’t getting through to her.

  “That’s odd, you already did,” she said, and then saw him wince. She decided to try to reason with him “Listen, Chev, Kyle is a good friend, I’m comfortable around him, and I don’t have to pretend. He knows how to lighten up around me. Everyone here is so wound up tight because they are afraid of you. It gets a little nerve wracking. You know he can protect me, he already has.”

  He knew he couldn’t fight her, “Ok, if that’s what you really want.”

  “It is.” She coughed hard and then turned back to him.

  “But… he stays out in the ante-chamber while you sleep.”

  “I don’t like to be alone at night.” She lowered her eyes again, a little embarrassed.

  Chevalier moved closer and kissed her forehead, “Who says you will be alone?”

  He laughed when the blush returned to her cheeks.

  He grinned, “Enough already, finish eating and lay down.”

  With not quite half of the food gone, she laid back onto the bed and cuddled down. Sitting up for so long had really made her tired and it was only a few minutes before she fell asleep.

  The dream jerked her awake and she looked around the dark room, suddenly feeling cold and alone.

  “Chev?” she called into the darkness, but it was Kyle’s voice that responded.

  “He stepped out, Em, are you ok?” He stayed a few feet back from her bed.

  “I’m ok, just a nightmare.” She patted edge of the bed beside her.

  Kyle didn’t move at all toward her. He used to sit beside her while she slept, but she understood how Chevalier had probably put an immediate stop to that.

  Kyle smiled at her, “You got me demoted.”

  She gasped, “I did? How?”

  “From the head of my own guard unit… to babysitter.” His voice was light and amused.

  “Ugh, babysitter…” She lay back on the bed and rolled away from him. He chuckled and returned to the chair by the fire.

  Chapter 10 - Beginning

  The feel of hands grabbing her out of bed forced a short scream, but a hand quickly covered her mouth.

  “Quiet, Em.” It was Kyle and he was already running with her in his arms, down an unlit stairway.

  The frantic way he moved scared her. She thought back briefly to the past two weeks she’d spent mostly in bed and couldn’t wrap her mind around what the problem was. Her coughing had stopped a few days ago and she’d even managed to go out onto the balcony for a while the previous evening.

  In the darkness, there were hurried voices and she realized they weren’t alone.

  “We don’t know yet, just get her down there,” a female voice said, inhumanly fast.

  “Which direction?” Kyle hissed at the other woman.

  “East, they have to come through the city to get here,” she answered.

  Emily was too frightened to speak, too afraid to ask the questions that were on her mind. Her eyes furiously tried to adjust to the darkness, but failed.

  The descent ended and they were all running through what felt like a damp tunnel. She realized that at the speed the heku ran, they had to be hundreds of feet below the ground now and the panic swelled further.

  Kyle finally put her down and gently led her to a chair, where she sat and curled up, wrapping her arms tightly around her legs. Someone put a blanket over her shoulders and she shivered at how cold it was.

  “Do we dare?” a strange man said.

  “We should be ok down here,” the woman replied.

  “No,” Kyle hissed, and nothing else was said about it.

  “What’s going on?” Emily finally managed to ask, and she could feel eyes on her, though she was unable to see anything in the blackness.

  She felt someone sit beside her and take her hand, it was Kyle, “Don’t worry, Emily, ok? Things are under control.”

  “Then tell me! I’m already worrying.”

  He sighed, “The Island is under attack.”

  “What? By whom?” she gasped.

  “Other…” he paused, “Heku.”

  “Another coven is attacking?”

  “Not exactly.”

  “Is it Ulrich?” Her mind was trying to wrap around it.

  “No”

  Emily just shook her head, “Then who is it? Who would want to attack?”

  “Our world is as riddled with wars and hatred as yours. Chevalier has made a lot of enemies in his years and grudges aren’t forgotten easily. We are ok, though, this coven is ready to fight.” She could feel him sit up taller.

  Emily stood up, “Then I should fight with them.”

  Kyle’s smile seeped into his voice, “They fight with teeth, Em. You can’t fight against that as a mortal.”

  “I can too! I’m stronger than you think.” She tried to find her way to the door in the dark, but all she could feel were the wet, cold stone walls.

  Cool hands took her arm and led her back to the chair, “Nevertheless, we have orders to stay down here with you.”

 
; “Oh great, just what I bet you all wanted to do while your city is under attack, protect the human,” she yelled at them, and was infuriated when the three heku with her chuckled.

  “Please, Kyle, I can help, you have to trust me.” She noticed things had gotten quiet as Kyle placed his hand over her mouth.

  Emily heard whispers in the darkness, too low to make out, but the tension was intense. A light blazed suddenly and, in an instant, she was able to take in the full picture. They were sitting in a cave with a bed and chairs set up in the corner. A stone door led out to a rock hallway that disappeared in the darkness.

  The three heku were crouched low, defensively, and watched the door as they stood between her and whatever was coming. Within a few moments, she heard the fast footfalls of a group of people coming down the stairs. She hoped they were from this coven, but the stance of the other three cast doubts.

  Five heku emerged and immediately met the crouch. They were all men, dressed in red, and were unlike the heku she knew. One had deep scars across his face and his body was full of skeleton tattoos. The others were snarling with their teeth exposed menacingly. Four of the five enemy heku had matching red tattoos on their faces. Emily sat, frozen in place, as the three heku took a step backwards toward her, their hands curved into claws.

  The tallest of the heku hissed toward her, “She comes with us, alive.”

  The fight began in a blur and Emily couldn’t tell who was who in the mass of movement. There were snarls and curses and the violent sounds of tearing and breaking. The bed splintered as someone was thrown into it, but was immediately snatched away by unseen hands. She recoiled when the head of one of the enemy heku was thrown against the wall behind her, and missed her by only a few inches.

  She could feel it, she could feel the anger swelling up inside of her and she fought to control it. There were now seven heku in this room and she wanted three of them alive, she didn’t have that much control. The growls and howls of pain continued as the female member of the coven fell unconscious to the ground. Emily’s eyes watched her with horror when she didn’t move. The blurs didn’t slow down. She couldn’t tell who was winning or who was losing, and she felt as if she were losing control. Something deep within her was fighting to get out, fighting to surface.