Valle : Book 2 of the Heku Series

by T. M. Nielsen

  “We will find her,” Chevalier said through clenched teeth.

  “You will let me know when you do though, right? I’d like to know she’s ok,” Ulrich said, and it looked like he was hiding a grin.

  “It’s only been two weeks. We will find her, and when we do, you will be next,” Chevalier said as he stood and left the room with Kyle and Storm following.

  ***

  Tim untied Emily’s hands and feet again, “That’s what? Six times so far they’ve done that?”

  Emily sat up and readjusted her clothes, “Yes.”

  “What do you figure, every other day?” he asked, watching her closely.

  She nodded and ran into the bathroom, locking the door behind her. She looked closely at her arm. It was swollen and bruised from all of the blood draws. Emily sat down on the cold tile and pulled her knees up to her body, wrapping her arms around them she rocked slowly.

  “Please, Chevalier, find me,” she said softly. She glanced at her ring and watched it as if it could somehow whisk her away to its maker.

  Several hundred miles away, Chevalier shivered. He heard Emily’s words echo in his head and he suddenly felt she was alone and afraid. He yelled more orders to his coven and concentrated on their training mission.

  Emily knew he was alive at least. She remembered that if one of them were to die, it would break the bond and she would be able to remove it. It was still securely fastened to her finger.

  “Emily? Are you ok, Hun?” Tim asked, worried.

  She didn’t answer, but simply rocked in her secure ball and cried.

  As she rocked, her mind replayed the bond in her mind, going over every intricate detail, which in turn led to how to break the bond, “Infidelity by one of the bonded, death or a betrayal.”

  Something suddenly jumped into her mind, how Paul said that Ulrich would try to break the bond between her and Chevalier. How Travis mentioned that the Valle had employed donors in their quest to find her. Her eyes were furious when she looked at the door and wondered if Tim was a helpless pawn in all of this, or if he was in on it.

  A plan formed in her mind for fishing out the truth from Tim. Her skin recoiled at the thought of him touching her, but she would be in full control at all times. It would never get to the point of breaking the bond she had with Chevalier. She only hoped the bond wouldn’t be fooled by desperate measures.

  Emily stepped out from the bathroom and went right into Tim’s arms. He wrapped them around her and kissed her head lightly, “Are you ok?”

  She nodded, “I’m ok, really. I’m just glad you’re here and that I’m not alone.”

  He smiled and winked at the camera above her head where she couldn’t see.

  “Are you missing your husband again?” Tim asked in a soft, caring voice.

  “I’m afraid he’s dead. I just feel that he is.” She played off of it, letting herself cry the tears she started in the bathroom.

  “I’m so sorry,” Tim said, and he tightened his arms around her.

  “I’m just going to go to bed now,” she said, taking a step toward the bedroom. “You can come lie down if you want. I know your back has to be hurting from sleeping on that old couch.”

  He smiled enthusiastically and crawled into the bed beside her.

  “No touching, just sleep,” she said to him, and yawned, then rolled onto her side away from him.

  She felt when he nodded.

  ***

  Chevalier was alarmed. He was suddenly overwhelmed with the feelings that a plan was set in motion. He looked over at Kyle, his eyes angry.

  “What’s wrong?” Kyle asked, and stopped to look at him.

  “She has a plan… she’s doing something,” Chevalier said, his eyes far away.

  Kyle hissed, “A plan? Like what?”

  “I can’t tell, but so far it’s working. It’s given her hope, but there’s some edge to it, like it could turn on her.” Chevalier finally glanced at Kyle.

  “Can’t you get through to her? Tell her to stop and wait for us?” Kyle asked.

  “It doesn’t work that way, I’ve already tried.”

  ***

  “Tim, I’m cold,” Emily said sleepily, and she felt him wrap an arm around her. She smiled into the dark blankets where no one could see her.

  She felt him lightly brush her hair back away from her face as she drifted off to sleep. Both awoke to the sound of the metal door opening. They rushed into the living room and were immediately faced with the seven heku.

  As Tim was held against the wall by two heku, Emily was hauled again into the bedroom. When she hit the bed, she doubled up and screamed.

  The five heku froze and looked at her as tears poured out of her eyes and she was groaning, clutching her stomach.

  “What is wrong, Child?” one of them asked nervously, and glanced up at the cameras.

  Emily groaned, but didn’t answer, her breathing turned into a pant.

  “Something’s wrong, get her to Turbac,” one of them yelled, and she was scooped up and whisked out of where she’d spent the last four weeks.

  She watched carefully as the hallways flew past her, remembering to groan occasionally and scream. It looked like she was under an encampment. The weather was cold, everything was iced over, and it was snowing. One of the heku threw a blanket over her as they ran through the icy streets and into a small office.

  “Turbac!” one of the heku yelled.

  An old heku came out of the adjacent room, his face a mixture of fear and worry, “What happened?”

  “She’s in pain, something’s wrong.”

  Emily managed to squirm to another view. She saw a table full of vials of colorful liquid and a drawer full of empty syringes.

  “Get her in here, lay her down,” the one they called Turbac ordered. He was a shorter heku with graying blue eyes and only a thin strip of hair left that ringed the back of his head.

  She was pleased to see they put her in what appeared to be an operating room. There was a small silver table full of scalpels and other odd looking devices.

  As she was set on the table, Turbac came to her quickly and began poking painfully at her stomach. She screamed when he touched her, but her eyes didn’t leave the table with the scalpel.

  “Turn her over, I need her on her back,” he ordered the two heku who had made it into the office.

  Before they understood what she was doing, she was standing beside the old man with a scalpel at her neck.

  The three heku froze.

  “I dare you, come closer to me. I’d rather die than let you have this baby,” Emily said as she cut her neck slightly.

  The three of them gasped and looked nervously at each other.

  “I bet your orders were to keep me alive, eh? How much trouble will you get into if I bleed out right here on the floor?” She watched them, her jaw set.

  “Child, let’s talk about this,” Turbac said.

  “Oh? You mean like how much we’ve talked since you kidnapped me from my home? Should we talk about how much trouble you’re going to be in when Chevalier gets here? Hmm?” She held the scalpel precariously over her carotid artery.

  Turbac winced as she pressed the blade into her skin, not yet cutting into it.

  “Please, Child, don’t do anything rash,” he begged.

  “Aww, does your life depend on it?” she asked with mocking concern.

  “We’re just following orders. You don’t want to harm yourself… let me have the scalpel.” He reached out for it, and she sliced ever so slightly into her neck.

  The two heku by the door gasped and stepped back.

  “Don’t!” Turbac screamed.

  “What exactly are your orders then? Tell me. Do you wait until I deliver and then kill me and take the baby?” She watched their eyes, and her insides turned when she saw their reaction.

  “Child…” Turbac said.

  “Oh that’s it then? You wait until I deliver and then kill the baby? What kind of sick orders are those?” He
r eyes flared, the green swimming angrily.

  “We wouldn’t do that,” Turbac tried to assure her, and his hand came out again for the scalpel.

  “Whose orders? Ulrich?” She noticed how they flinched at his name, and she knew she was right.

  “You don’t know who you are dealing with.” Turbac looked at the horrified heku by the door.

  “Oh I think I do. What you don’t know is that Chevalier won’t stop looking until he’s found me, if I’m still alive that is.” She felt herself stand taller as she spoke.

  “Put the scalpel down, we can discuss matters. Is it the exams you don’t like? The blood draws maybe? We can discuss keeping your baby alive after you deliver, too.” Turbac thought that would convince her, and he relaxed until she cut a hair deeper into her neck.

  “Stop!” he screamed.

  She glared at Turbac, “What do you need the blood for?”

  “Just for testing. We need to discover how strong the baby will be, that’s all.” He sounded pleading.

  ***

  Chevalier growled and Kyle’s eyes fell on him, “What’s happening?”

  Chevalier hissed, “She’s losing. She’s backed into a corner now, and she’s starting to panic.”

  Kyle turned to the first team and ordered them to begin their preparations.

  ***

  Emily felt the weight of the wall behind her as it caved in, knocking her to the ground as strong arms wrapped around her. She screamed when Turbac took the scalpel from her and brushed the ruble off of himself.

  “Return her,” he said sternly, and Emily was whisked back down the long tunnel to the rooms where she was being held.

  Tim stood when the door opened, and Emily was thrown into the room. He grabbed her just before she hit the floor.

  “Are you ok?” he asked, watching as the heku slammed the door and locked it.

  She sat up and glared at the door, “Yes, I’m ok.”

  “Where did you go? I thought you were hurt,” he said, looking at the cuts on her neck. “What did they do to you?”

  “I did that… got some answers too,” she said proudly.

  “About what?” he asked, and pressed a tissue to the drops of blood on her neck.

  “About our captures, about whose idea all of this is.” She watched him.

  “Please tell me. I have a right to know!” He was now watching her eyes.

  “It’s a baron of some sort, named Korin. You didn’t tell me you worked for the Government, why didn’t you tell me that? That would have helped!” She glared at him.

  She was inwardly pleased when he fell for it, “I didn’t know it mattered.”

  “Everything matters, now we know it’s a government operation.” She watched him as he nodded.

  “Yeah, I think I can see that now,” he said, and her eyes narrowed.

  Suddenly, she was in his arms as they wrapped tightly around her waist, “I was so afraid they would take you away and I wouldn’t see you again.”

  Grimacing inside, Emily reached up and kissed Tim lightly on the lips and tried not to react when he responded forcefully, returning her kiss as his arms moved up to hold her head tightly.

  She let him lead her into the bedroom and as he turned and laid her on the bed, her body froze and then she sat up and looked at the cameras.

  Tim sat up, frustrated, “What’s wrong?”

  “The cameras, they are always watching,” she said, and she slipped out of bed and went back into the other room. Before Tim emerged, she grabbed her book and was reading again, pleased with her progress.

  ***

  Chevalier sighed, “Whatever she’s doing worked, and she’s positive again. I don’t like this. I can hear voices, but can’t make out what they are saying. All I’m getting are bursts of emotions.”

  Kyle smiled, “It’s something at least.”

  Chevalier nodded and turned back to his squadron.

  ***

  When the heavy door opened two days later, Emily was ready for them. She braced herself against the back wall and waited, a gleam in her eye. Tim was, as usual, restrained first and then the five came for her.

  She smiled as they approached, “Ready to tangle?”

  The five heku glanced at each other, not entirely sure what to think. The tallest one stepped forward, “Let’s do this easy, Child. No more jokes like last time.”

  “Oh… didn’t like my joke?” she asked, grinning.

  She had thought this through in her mind over and over, and when it was about to happen, time slowed down. Emily ducked under the first arm that came to grab her and she turned a somersault, coming up behind them. She jumped onto the back of one of the surprised heku, and twisted his head violently to the side, dropping him to his knees.

  As the first fell, she landed deftly on her feet and ducked down, bringing one foot out to catch the closest heku in the kneecap. She heard a sickening grinding as his kneecap was pushed out of place, and he screamed.

  Their formation was thrown off. The next heku grabbed her from behind, trapping her waist with one hand, and her upper chest with the other. Emily drew her head forward and let it thrust back into his nose. He screamed and let her go.

  She spun on the other two and dropped into a crouch she’d seen the heku do often. She hissed at them, her hands balled into fists. The two remaining heku were unsure and glanced around the room nervously.

  Emily was tackled from behind by the heku who had managed to return his head to the correct position. She felt her body slam into the floor and it knocked the wind out of her. Before she could regain control, she was dragged to the bed and tied up again.

  She screamed angrily.

  “For that, Child, you must be punished,” the tallest heku said to her.

  Once they were done measuring her and drawing her blood, they left. This time, Tim didn’t come to untie her, and she laid in the painfully awkward position for hours. Her back was sent into spasms and she cried out in pain. Her wrists and ankles were swollen and bruised from the restraints. Hours later, she couldn’t scream any more as her voice gave out and her mouth ran dry.

  ***

  Chevalier dropped to his knees, alone in his quarters. The pain was excruciating, and he had to fight the urge to scream. The pain suddenly stopped and as he stood up, he realized that it was from Emily.

  “We’re coming, Em, hold on,” he said to the dark room.

  ***

  The pain became worse, and all Emily could think of was how to get release from the intense spasms that shot through her body. She squeezed her eyes shut as she concentrated to try to make her muscles relax. She had broken out in a sweat, and the pain made her entire body shake.

  A long sigh escaped her parched lips when someone released her binds. She wasn’t sure who it was, they didn’t speak. The muscles in her body were so tightly knotted, that all she could do was roll onto her side to relieve some of the pressure. She drifted into unconsciousness, the darkness was soothing and welcomed.

  “Emily?” Tim touched her hair lightly. “Emily, are you ok?”

  She was barely able to open her eyes at the sound of his voice. She whispered something he couldn’t hear, and then fell back asleep. She was aware he covered her with a blanket, moments before submitting again to the darkness.

  “You need to drink something,” Tim said the next day. He put his arm under her shoulders and lifted her up. She felt the cold water touch her lips and drank deeply.

  “Emily,” Tim said, and kissed her lightly. “You can’t do that again, do you promise? Don’t fight them, please.”

  Emily nodded, “How long did I sleep?”

  “I think it’s been about two days. You really had me worried,” he said, touching her cheek softly.

  She sat up in the bed and winced at her sore muscles. Standing slowly, she noticed the camera in the room wasn’t lit up, “You broke it?”

  “I did… and I guess they decided it wasn’t worth fixing,” Tim said proudly.

&n
bsp; This time, Emily truly smiled.

  “I’m going to get a bite to eat, are you hungry?” she asked, heading into the kitchen. She walked slowly, every muscle in her body screamed at her movement as she disappeared into the bathroom to get changed before heading into the kitchen.

  “Sure,” Tim said, following her into the kitchen.

  She grabbed some fresh potatoes out of the fridge and began to slice them, talking easily with Tim. Her plan was in motion and was moving quickly. The only thing she hadn’t accounted for was her prolonged punishment in restraints. She hoped this plan didn’t lead to even longer time in them.

  When she was done cooking, she sat out the fried potatoes and sausage and sat down with Tim to eat. The smell was nauseating to her, so she pushed the food around nonchalantly on the plate and visited. Emily took a deep breath, praying that Chevalier hadn’t been lying to her about her impact on men.

  “It’s so hot in here today,” she said, and pulled off her over shirt. She planned ahead and was now wearing a sheer camisole that clung nicely to her body and exposed some of her abdomen, still toned and muscular.

  Tim grinned, “Yes, it is.”

  His eyes ran down her body and her insides jumped.

  She smiled at him and blinked her green eyes, accentuating the long lashes that framed them.

  Tim moved to her quickly and embraced her, kissing her forcefully. She hated the way his face stubble pricked at her skin and how his forcefulness made her mouth ache. He held her too tightly and cut off circulation to parts of her arm, but she slowly pressed her body into his and kissed him back. Her ring seemed to weight a thousand pounds as she secretly felt to make sure it was still firmly attached.

  Tim picked her up, cradling her in his arms, and their lips never parted. He slowly lowered her to the bed and knelt above her.

  Emily broke the kiss and smiled up at him, “I have an idea.”

  Tim was undressing, “Yeah?”

  “Something fun… how open are you to new adventures?” She was now kneeling on the bed.

  “Oh, very open,” Tim said, too anxiously. He knelt beside her in the bed, now naked.

  “Let me tie you up. We can put those restraints to some good use,” she said, and before he could answer, her lips were slowly moving along the contours of his chest. He shuddered as he laid back on the bed.