Valle : Book 2 of the Heku Series

by T. M. Nielsen

  ***

  Emily was finally able to pull herself out of the fog. She wasn’t sure why she felt so dizzy and disoriented. As she repositioned in bed, she felt even more confused. The bed was hard and the covers were stiff and scratchy.

  “Chev?” she whispered into the dark, her words were slurred.

  He didn’t answer, and the room seemed quieter than she remembered. Finally, she opened her eyes and then sat bolt upright, looking around the small room.

  “Chev? Kyle?” she called out louder, starting to panic.

  Emily jumped out of bed, but when her feet hit the floor, it moved out from under her and she fell to the floor, the world spinning. She finally managed to get to her knees and pulled herself to standing using the bed as support. A desk lamp was the only light in the room, but she was able to make out the dark blues and grays of the room’s decoration. There weren’t any windows, and she felt trapped.

  Stumbling, Emily made it to the door and swung it open to another unfamiliar room. The room was dark and she felt along the wall until she found a light switch. She looked around, confused, as she tried to figure out where she was.

  This room was larger than the other. There was a TV and couch on one end, and a small kitchen on the other. There were no windows here either, and the same blue and gray décor was also throughout this room. She saw a metal door on the far end by the TV, and she steadied herself as she went to it. When she couldn’t open it, she began to pound on the door.

  After several minutes, she stopped when no one answered and turned back to the room. The TV was turned off and there was no sound in the room, the silence was eerie. She walked past the couch and ran her hand along a tall bookshelf full of books, then looked around for some hint of familiarity.

  Emily’s eye caught sight of something strange in the far corner, something that was moving. She got closer and looked up at it, it was a camera, and it was facing her. She moved to the side and it moved with her.

  Emily had an idea on how to get some attention. She picked up one of the kitchen chairs and swung it at the camera, knocking it loose and leaving only exposed wires in its place. She went into the bathroom and looked around, but didn’t see a camera. Hesitating, she walked back into the cave-liked bedroom and saw a camera face her. She used the chair again to knock it off the wall.

  “Emily?” someone called from the larger room.

  Emily emerged from the bedroom, still carrying the chair, figuring it would work rather well for self-defense. She stopped when she saw three heku at the large metal door. They were all wearing hospital masks. She wrinkled her nose when she got closer because they smelled like strong menthol.

  “Who are you?” she asked, still holding the chair.

  “We’re here to protect you, Child,” the one in front said.

  “Then let me go.”

  “No, you will be staying with us for a while. We are going to replace the cameras, and there will be a punishment if you destroy them again,” he said calmly.

  Emily frowned, “Excuse me?”

  “A punishment, you will follow our rules or face the consequences.”

  “Are you Equites?”

  The three looked at one another nervously, “Leave the cameras alone. This is your only warning.”

  Emily threw the chair she was holding at the head of the front heku, but he blocked it easily.

  “Last warning, Emily,” he said, and then walked out, locking the heavy metal door behind him.

  Emily was starting to understand. She wasn’t sure when, but the Valle must have gotten her. She sat on the couch and curled up into a ball. Her mind was still foggy about when she was taken. She couldn’t remember if there had been a wide-scale attack and if Chevalier was alive. She buried her head in her arms and felt a tug on her arm, then looked over and saw the remains of a small puncture wound, one a needle leaves.

  She wasn’t sure of the time. There were no clocks in the rooms, but a short time after the three left her room, five more of them came back. Two grabbed her and pinned her to the wall, while the three others replaced the cameras. The two held her arms and kept away from her legs, she couldn’t get a decent shot off. As soon as the cameras were replaced, the five left quietly, never saying a word to her.

  When they left, she grabbed another chair and smashed the two cameras again. Her eyes flared when the metal doors opened, and she held the chair in front of her, ready for a fight. Three heku entered the room again, wearing hospital masks and smelling of menthol.

  “We warned you, Child,” the first on said calmly.

  Emily readied the chair in front of her, “Come and get me then.”

  They descended on her and she managed to break the shorter one’s jawbone with the chair before they restrained her. They forced her onto the bed and pulled leather straps up, then restrained her to the bed. The soft padded leather straps around her wrists and ankles trapped her in an uncomfortable X position.

  Emily screamed out in fury as they left the small bedroom and she heard the heavy door lock.

  She pulled and tugged at the restraints, but couldn’t slip her hands or feet out of them. Her back began to ache miserably as she rested to catch her breath before starting again to find a way out of this. Hours passed before she finally gave up, and her exhausted body succumbed to sleep.

  Emily jerked awake as soft, warm hands began working at the restraint on her wrist. She looked up and saw an unfamiliar man, a mortal. She frowned and fought against the restraints.

  “Wait, let me get you out,” he said, working on straps.

  “Don’t touch me!” she yelled at him.

  “You want to stay there?” he asked, looking over at her. She ignored him as he went back to getting her out of them.

  Within a few minutes, she was free of the bed and stood up quickly to face the man.

  “Who are you?” she asked, watching him carefully.

  “My name is Tim. Do you know how we got here?” he asked, and looked around the room.

  She frowned at him, “You don’t know?”

  He shook his head, “I’m not sure. I was just heading in to work when some guys grabbed me and pulled me into a van.”

  “Uh hu,” she said, not buying his story.

  “Let’s get out of here,” Tim said, heading into the front room. He tried the handle of the heavy door and then pounded, “Let us out!”

  No one came, so Emily just watched him. The cameras were now on Tim instead of her, and he turned to look at them.

  “First off… we get rid of those,” he said, looking around for something to use.

  “That’s what landed me in straps. I broke their cameras one too many times,” she said, staying away from him. She still didn’t trust him, “I’m Emily, by the way.”

  Tim just nodded at her and started hunting around the room.

  “What are you looking for?” she asked.

  “Anything to use as a weapon. There has to be a way out of here.”

  Emily sat down on the couch and watched as he went through every drawer and every cupboard, even thumbing through books looking for something he could use. She eventually turned on the TV and groaned when the shows weren’t in English.

  “Is that Finnish?” Tim asked, looking at the TV.

  Emily shrugged. She grabbed a book and began to read, still watching Tim pace out of the corner of her eye.

  “You have to know something,” he said, turning on her.

  “Yeah, well I don’t,” she told him, irritated.

  “Are you from Atlanta?”

  “No”

  “Do you know anyone from Atlanta?”

  “No”

  “How long have you been here?” he asked, sitting beside her on the couch.

  “I don’t see any clocks around here, do you?” she snapped. “I’m guessing a day or two.”

  An awkward silence fell over them as Emily read and Tim watched muted TV. They glanced at each other every so often. It was obvious that neither tru
sted the other. When it seemed like a lot of time had passed, Emily stood up and went to the bedroom, followed by Tim.

  Emily figured Tim was a few years older than she was. He was almost as tall as Keith, but wasn’t as muscular. He had a nice tan that contrasted with his blond hair, pretty blue eyes, and an attractive smile.

  “Oh no ya don’t, bed’s mine,” she said, lying down.

  “How do you figure?” Tim asked. “There’s room for both of us.”

  “In your dreams,” she said, pulling the covers over her.

  “Fine,” Tim said, and went to make his bed on the couch.

  Emily woke up to the smell of pancakes, and she wandered out into the larger room.

  “Breakfast is ready,” Tim said, smiling.

  Emily narrowed her eyes at him. She didn’t trust him and wouldn’t put it past him to poison her food, but she was starting to feel sick and she didn’t see any crackers lying around.

  “Here, sit,” Tim told her, putting a plate of pancakes down on the small table.

  “Thanks,” she said, and then hesitated before sitting down.

  “To make up for last night. I was just edgy, and I apologize.” He sat down with a plate for himself.

  They ate in silence, and the hot food helped Emily’s stomach settle down.

  “Thank you, that was good,” Emily said as she stood up and began washing the dishes.

  “Don’t do those, I have it,” he said, standing up.

  “I’ll wash,” she said, and tossed him a towel. “You dry.”

  “Sounds good, and then let’s see how we can get out of here.” He glanced toward the door again.

  “Not sure we can. Do you have any idea what kind of environment you are in?” she asked, picking up a dish and washing it.

  “What do you mean?”

  “We aren’t being held in some government controlled camp or by some strange lunatic. This is all carefully orchestrated and maliciously carried out,” she said softly.

  “You know more than I do… fill me in,” Tim said, watching her, the clean yet wet dishes piling up in the sink.

  “I don’t trust you enough to tell you, and until I figure out how you work into the scheme of things, I’m going to keep it that way.” She finished and went to sit down with her book.

  “How is that fair? How is it you know more about this than I do?” He sat down beside her.

  “Because I’m smarter than you are,” she said, still looking at her book.

  His eyes narrowed, “Tell me one thing… why us?”

  Emily sighed and looked up at him, “I don’t know why you… and the why me part is none of your business.”

  While she pretended to read her book, Emily’s mind struggled to remember when she was taken. Something terrible happened, she could feel it in the pit of her stomach, but she couldn’t remember what. She turned away from Tim when tears came into her eyes. She couldn’t remember if something happened to Chevalier or even to Kyle. What if no one was looking for her? What if this was her new life, tucked away and tormented by these heku?

  Emily felt her stomach turn, so she casually walked into the bathroom, shut and locked the door, and then collapsed onto the floor. She didn’t know how long she had been going between the toilet and the cool floor, but apparently it was long enough for Tim to become suspicious.

  “Are you ok in there?” he asked, knocking on the door.

  “Yes,” she managed to say weakly.

  “Ok,” he responded, but he didn’t sound convinced.

  Once she felt her stomach settled enough, she walked directly to the bedroom and laid down on the bed.

  There were bodies lined up along the pier. Everywhere she looked she saw faces she knew, watching from unseeing eyes. There was blood dripping off the wooden planks, turning the water scarlet red. She searched through the bodies trying to find him. She was being watched, she could tell. When she turned around, there were more bodies piled up. Someone was killing everyone she knew.

  “Emily, Emily, wake up.” Tim shook her gently.

  Emily gasped and sat up quickly, her body shaking

  “You were having a nightmare,” he said, still sitting by her on the bed. He reached out and put an arm around her, testing to see if she would fight back.

  When she didn’t, he pulled her into a tight hug, “It’s ok, it’s over,” he whispered, rocking her slowly.

  Emily wanted to let go, but she needed the warmth. The arms that wrapped around her were strange and unfamiliar, but they held some comfort and she buried her head into his shoulder and cried.

  Chapter 3 - Decisions

  “This is taking too long! I demand a resolution immediately. It’s been 7 days,” Chevalier scowled at the Elders, both Equites and Valle, that were seated before him.

  “We’re doing what we can. It’s a fine line between getting Emily back and preventing a full-scale war,” Selest said to him.

  “I don’t care if it causes World War III, as long as we get her back where she belongs.” He turned his attention to the Valle Elders.

  The Valle Elders glanced at each other and spoke, too softly for Chevalier to hear.

  “What are you doing about this? They attacked and murdered my guards unprovoked and then kidnapped my wife!” Chevalier growled.

  “Your wife?” Selest asked.

  “Yes mine.” He turned his angry eyes to her.

  “I thought she was bonded to Kyle.”

  “You thought what I told you… carte blanche remember? She is my wife, and she’s carrying my child.” His voice dropped a bit.

  The Equites Elders turned and put their heads together, talking quickly among themselves.

  Leonid was the first to turn around, “What other lies have you told us, Chevalier?”

  “I told you what I needed to, to get my job done. My orders were to observe Emily Russo and to discover if she held any extra powers,” he reminded them.

  “And?”

  “And I won’t discuss it in mixed company.” He glared at the Valle Elders.

  “We will be back then,” the oldest Valle Elder said with a huff, and the three of them walked out of the room.

  Selest turned back to Chevalier and Kyle, “What have you found?”

  Kyle cleared his throat.

  Chevalier glanced at him quickly and then spoke, “She has the powers we were looking for, but they are controlled. She uses them when she’s being attacked and no other time.”

  “She has full control?” Leonid wanted to verify he heard correctly.

  “Yes,” Chevalier said, watching them.

  “So you are telling me that the Valle are now in possession of an active member of the Winchester family?” Selest was beginning to get angry.

  Chevalier glared at her, “Yes.”

  “You are positive that the girl is with child?” she asked.

  “Yes”

  “And you are the father?”

  Chevalier growled, “Yes.”

  The Elders looked horrified as the implications were starting to dawn on them.

  “Very well,” Maleth said, standing up. “We will get her back at all costs.”

  Chevalier grinned maliciously, and walked out, followed closely by Kyle.

  ***

  Tim and Emily both turned to the heavy metal door when it swung open. Seven heku walked in and stood by the door.

  “What do you want?” Tim asked, standing up.

  “Your cooperation,” the tallest said as two grabbed Tim and pinned him against the wall.

  Emily stood up and backed away as the other five moved toward her, “Calm, Child, we won’t hurt you.”

  She kicked one hard in the knee, dropping him to the floor before the other four grabbed her and drug her into the bedroom. She fought as they restrained her in the uncomfortable X position.

  “This would be easier if you wouldn’t fight us,” the tall one said calmly.

  Emily spit in his face and struggled as one of the heku rolled her shirt
up and tucked it into the band of her bra. He then pulled her pants down low on her abdomen, exposing most of her torso.

  “Stop it!” she screamed at them.

  The shortest of the heku took out a measuring tape and carefully measured from her breastbone down to her pubic bone and wrote it into a notebook. Another of them painfully shoved a needle into her arm and drew a vial of blood.

  Emily screamed in pain and outrage, her back arched as she struggled to get loose.

  “Calm down. You don’t want to hurt yourself,” the taller one told her, and then he held his hand over her lower abdomen and smiled.

  The five left the room, leaving Emily in the X position and she heard a struggle from Tim moments before the heavy door shut. He came into the room and gasped at what they had done to her, then immediately began to untie her wrists.

  “What did they do?” he asked angrily.

  “Some sort of demented physical,” she said as she sat up and readjusted her clothing. She looked at the crook of her arm and saw that the large needle left a stream of blood dripping down her arm. Tim handed her a rag and she covered it.

  “They took blood?” he asked.

  “Yes”

  “Why would they do that?” His face was full of questions.

  ***

  “I don’t know what makes you think I have her,” Ulrich said calmly from across the table.

  “I’m not an idiot. A week after we found out she is pregnant, she disappears? I want her returned to me immediately,” Chevalier yelled, and pounded his fist on the table.

  “It’s an unfortunate coincidence… but I did warn you about not falling in love with her.” Ulrich was getting mad also.

  “This has nothing to do with my feelings toward Emily. It has to do with your misguided interpretation of protecting your family.”

  “Maybe she is dead,” Ulrich said coldly.

  Chevalier hissed as Kyle sprang to his feet.

  “She is not! Now return her immediately, or we will end this ourselves,” Kyle hissed.

  “Meddling with the affairs of the Winchester family leads only to heartache. You should resign yourself now to the fact you will never see her again. It will make your life easier,” Ulrich said, sitting back in his chair.