Valle : Book 2 of the Heku Series

by T. M. Nielsen

  “What’s wrong? Not hungry?” Chevalier asked.

  She shook her head.

  “Where is Kyle?” she asked, looking around the room. It was too large, she couldn’t see into the dark corners when the only light came from candles.

  “His room is across the hall from us. He’ll be close to you at all times,” Chevalier said, smiling.

  “Tell me he’s not a babysitter.”

  “He’s not a babysitter. He’s just going to help you. The palace is a lot bigger than the castle, and he can help show you around,” Chevalier said, but Emily could tell he was leaving something out.

  “And to make sure no one bites me,” she said blatantly.

  He growled, “They know better.”

  “Do I have free run of the palace?”

  He thought and nodded, “I can’t see why not.”

  “Anywhere?”

  “Anywhere”

  “Where is your office?”

  “On the third floor. Kyle can show you tomorrow.”

  “I don’t want to do this,” she mumbled to herself.

  “I know, Em,” he said, touching her arm. “Trust me… it’s going to be ok.”

  Emily rolled onto her side and curled up next to Allen, who was already asleep.

  Chevalier watched them sleep. He knew how hard this was on her and knew it was going to get harder. He wondered if he’d been rash to move a mortal into the city, a city that prided itself for millennia on being full heku. If they would get to know her, she would be ok. The other Elders already considered her more than a mortal, but the rest of the city didn’t know of her heritage, or her abilities.

  Chevalier’s mind was brought back when he saw Emily sit up in bed.

  “Em? What’s wrong?” he whispered into the darkness.

  She didn’t respond, but stood up slowly. Her eyes were unfocussed and empty. She began to walk toward the door.

  “Emily?” he asked, touching her arm. She didn’t deviate from her slow path.

  He followed her as she continued out the door and into the hallway. Kyle met them there and frowned slightly, then looked at Chevalier, who shrugged.

  “Em?” Kyle asked her, but she didn’t respond to him either.

  Emily walked slowly toward the stairs. Her body was relaxed, and her face was emotionless as she began to descend. Emily was almost at the bottom when Chevalier took her arm and she stopped walking.

  “Emily?” he asked again, but she didn’t respond. He gently lifted her up and carried her back to bed.

  Kyle opened the door for Chevalier and watched as he put Emily back into bed. Not once did she say anything or respond to anyone. He covered her up and then went out to meet Kyle.

  “What was that?” Kyle asked Chevalier.

  “Sleep walking? Don’t mortals do that?” Chevalier wondered.

  “Seems like I’ve heard that before.”

  “Yeah, well, not a good thing to do here. I don’t trust these heku as much as in my own coven, and I can’t have her running around. One strong whiff of her blood and she may get attacked,” he growled slightly.

  “I know, that’s what I’m here for though… don’t worry about it when she’s with me.”

  “You are going to be sworn in in about an hour, which will help,” Chevalier reminded him.

  “Yes, I’m ready,” Kyle said, and looked back at the bedroom door.

  “Do me a favor, see what you can find on mortal sleep walking when you get the chance. There’s a library here with computers, the Internet is bound to have something useful for once,” he said. Most heku didn’t much care for the Internet, with it’s over abundance of lies and places for odd mortal fixations.

  Kyle nodded, “I’ll do that now.”

  Chevalier watched as Kyle blurred down the stairs and then he returned to the bedroom. Emily and Allen were both deep asleep.

  A couple of hours later, Emily sat up in bed and began to walk toward the door. Chevalier stopped her before she left the room this time and sat her back in bed. Like before, she laid down and curled up without ever saying a word.

  Chevalier heard Kyle approaching and blurred out to meet him. Kyle was now wearing a dark green cape which he had thrown over one shoulder. A golden crest pin held the cloak together, the signature sign of the top commanding officers of the Equites.

  Chevaliers grinned, “Looks good, Captain.”

  Kyle smiled, “Seems odd, but you are right, this will help when it comes to Emily.”

  “Speaking of Em, she got up again.”

  Kyle frowned, “From what I could gather, mortals do walk in their sleep. It’s usually a sign of stress.”

  Chevalier nodded, “Ok, that makes sense then. She hates it here so far.”

  “Can you blame her?” Kyle asked. “She’s too observant and she’s got to be picking up the feeling that she’s an unwelcome outsider.”

  Chevalier growled, “That will change soon.”

  “I know that, and you know that, but for her, it’s not going to be soon enough.”

  “Just keep her safe until they get to know her.”

  Kyle nodded.

  “Oh and I’m having some work done on the room today, they tried to prepare for a mortal, but forgot some key points… see if you can keep her out of the bedroom for a few hours. It’s going to be full of working heku,” Chevalier told him.

  “Will do, I’ll show her around the palace,” Kyle said. “There’s one other thing that’s been bothering me about her sleep walking though.”

  “What’s that?”

  “According to the article I read, you should never speak to or wake up a sleep walker, it’ll scare them.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” Chevalier said.

  “No, that’s the thing… we both spoke to her, touched her on the arm, and you picked her up. None of that woke her up.”

  Chevalier frowned, “You’re right, that should have woken her.”

  “We’ll keep an eye on her when she sleeps.”

  Chevalier nodded, “For now, I need to get to the office. Keep an extra close eye on her today. She wants to explore the castle and I don’t trust a soul.”

  Kyle nodded and walked into the bedroom. He sat in a chair where he could watch Emily sleep. He knew the feelings he had for her would get him killed if the Elder found out, but when Chevalier asked him to take her away, his mind began to run through the possibility that he could be with her for the rest of her life. The idea was amazingly attractive to him, and when it didn’t happen, his mind still hoped that some day it might come true.

  Just after dawn, Emily began to stir and eventually sat up and stretched. She looked over at Kyle and pulled the covers over her. The nightgown she was wearing wasn’t the most modest one with its sheer pink chiffon.

  “Good morning,” Kyle said, smiling at her.

  She nodded and then pulled the covers over Allen, “Good morning. Where’s Chevalier?”

  “He’s down in his office, I can show you if you’d like. He said you wanted the grand tour.”

  “Ok, let me get dressed. I don’t suppose I can find a bathroom?” she asked, slipping the blanket off the bed to wrap around her before standing up.

  “Sorry, no, Chevalier’s having one put in today though while we’re out.”

  “They better hurry,” she grumbled.

  She disappeared into the massive closet. Allen woke while she was gone, so Kyle got him out of bed and held him. He looked afraid and confused by his surroundings. Emily appeared a short time later and went into the bathroom to get dressed.

  She stepped out and looked extremely unhappy, “I can’t find my suitcase, and all that’s in that closet are dresses.”

  Kyle smiled. He liked the way the peach, floor-length babydoll fit her, “I like it.”

  “Of course you do,” she said, taking Allen from her. “How about breakfast first?”

  He nodded, “I’ll have some trays brought up.”

  “No, let’s go to the kitchen
, I’ll make us something,” she said, remembering the extravagant dinner that was brought up the night before.

  Emily carried Allen and followed Kyle through the palace to the kitchen. It seemed like quite a distance from her room, and then it dawned on her that until her arrival, there probably wasn’t a need for a kitchen.

  “What’s with the cape?” she asked as she began making some pancakes. The kitchen was exceptionally well stocked.

  “I’ve been made a Captain of the Guard. This is just part of the uniform.” He watched her work quickly and played with Allen to keep him busy.

  “Nice,” she said, impressed.

  Emily turned quickly when a strange heku walked into the kitchen. Kyle stood up and took a step to place himself between them.

  The heku’s eyes grew wide when he saw the Captain, “So sorry, I was coming to make breakfast for the mortal.”

  “Her name is Emily, and this morning, she’s chosen to make her own,” Kyle said sternly.

  Emily frowned. It seemed rude of Kyle, so she stepped around him and held her hand out for the heku. He looked terrified as he took her hand, unsure what to do with it. Emily laughed and repositioned his hand for a hand-shake.

  “It’s nice to meet you…” She paused for a name.

  He didn’t respond. He was watching the ominous eyes of the Captain of the Guard.

  “Your name?” Kyle ordered.

  “Atkinson, Sir,” he said before pulling his hand away from Emily and leaving quickly.

  She turned and frowned at Kyle, “What was that all about?”

  “Em, you’re going to have to get used to the heku in this palace being afraid of you. If they upset you or do something wrong, they have to face the wrath of the Elders,” he explained, turning back to Allen.

  “Great,” she grumbled and went back to making breakfast. When she finished, she set a plate of pancakes in front of Allen and sat down with hers. She ate quickly, still hungry from the night before.

  “Anything in particular you want to see today?” Kyle asked, watching them eat.

  “I don’t need a babysitter, Kyle. I can explore the palace on my own,” she said, eating.

  “Well not today. I don’t want to have to find you when you get lost.”

  “Who says I’ll get lost?”

  Kyle grinned, “I do.”

  “Fine, first I want to see Chevalier,” she said, and picked up her plate. She started the water in the sink to clean the dishes.

  “Emily, we have servants for that,” he told her, laughing.

  “Daddy,” Allen said, pointing out the door.

  Kyle picked Allen up and took Emily’s arm, “Leave it,” he said to her.

  She sighed and turned away, then followed him out the door. She had to admit to herself that there was no way she’d be able to find her way in this palace. It looked larger than her entire ranch and possibly the neighboring ones, too. They walked through endless corridors past innumerable doors and entryways. She saw no one, which made the stark interior seem all the more uncomfortable.

  Finally, they came to a large mahogany door and Kyle knocked. He opened the door for her and stepped back. Emily walked into the office and her eyes took in the large surroundings. Chevalier’s office was more like a library with full bookshelves lining the walls. He sat behind a large mahogany desk filled with more books and stacks of papers. He got up and moved to her.

  “Good morning,” he said, pulling her close to him in an embrace.

  She wrapped her arms around him and leaned her head against his chest, “They hate me here.”

  Chevalier looked at Kyle, who explained, “She wanted to make her own breakfast.”

  Chevalier laughed, “They don’t hate you.”

  “Oh yeah? Let’s see… they are terrified of doing something wrong around me because then they would have to face you… and then you put the Captain of the Guard with me and that makes it all worse.”

  Kyle grinned, “It’s not that.”

  “Kyle’s right, they will get used to you,” Chevalier said.

  “Then let me go around by myself… I’m sure Allen would love to spend some time in his new room with Kyle,” she said, crossing her arms.

  “Not now, ok? Maybe later, when you know the palace better and when the heku here know you better,” he suggested.

  Her eyes narrowed.

  “No, promise me… I know that look. Neither Kyle nor myself doubt for an instant that you can get away from us, so I’m asking you to promise me you’ll stay with him,” Chevalier said, taking her hand.

  “Fine,” she said, but he knew she was mad about it.

  He kissed her lightly and then sat behind the desk, “Go look around. I’ll come find you when I’m done here.”

  She sighed and headed out the door with Kyle in tow, and Allen in his arms.

  “Where would you like to go?” Kyle asked.

  Emily didn’t answer. She was still mad about being guarded and just started walking, taking turns at random and opening doors along the way. She found nothing interesting. Most of the rooms were guest or servant quarters. The library was impressive, but there were heku in there reading, they looked up and panicked when they saw her, so she stepped back out.

  She turned one corner, not paying attention, and ran right into a large heku guard. She slammed against him and fell backwards to the floor. He turned, irritated, and then gasped when he saw who it was. Before she could react, he reached down and picked her up, standing her on her feet.

  “I’m so sorry,” she said, brushing her skirt down.

  Kyle stepped between them and glared at the guard, “Never touch her,” he hissed.

  The guard took a step away from them and saluted his Captain, “It was my mistake, Sir. I will report immediately for punishment.”

  “Wait!” Emily said as he turned to walk away and he froze and looked back at her.

  “That was my fault,” she said, and his eyes opened wide.

  Kyle hissed at him and he turned and walked away quickly.

  Emily spun on him, “He’s not going to be punished for that!?”

  “He knew better than to pick you up,” Kyle said angrily as he watched the guard disappear around a corner.

  Kyle turned to walk down the hallway and missed when she broke into a run after the guard, disappearing around the corner. He took off after her and stopped just as Emily put a hand on the guard’s arm. The guard looked massive beside her, over a foot and a half taller than her and his muscular build made him look like he could crush her.

  “Please,” she said, and when he turned, his terrified eyes fell on Kyle.

  The guard froze. He didn’t know what to do. The Elders issued strict orders that Emily wasn’t to be touched, but she was touching him this time.

  “That was my fault, not yours… you were only being polite helping me up and I appreciate it,” she said to him, and he looked down at her.

  “Return to your post,” Kyle said angrily, and the guard pulled away from Emily and disappeared.

  She turned and glared at him, “What was that?”

  “You can’t interfere with how we run things around here,” Kyle said, glaring at her.

  “Then don’t punish them for something I’ve done to myself,” she said, squaring off against him.

  “He knew not to touch you, those were strict orders.”

  “He touched me because I’m a klutz and he was being polite.”

  “Doesn’t matter. He knew better than to touch you and he’s not off the hook. I’ll report him when we’re done.”

  Emily just growled, spun on her heels, and walked down the hallway. Kyle glared at the eyes in the shadows that had just watched what happened. He saw them slink back to their jobs.

  The rest of the tour was done in silence, broken only when Allen would ask Kyle a question. He answered pleasantly, but kept an extra close eye on Emily.

  “Take me back,” she said finally. The palace was boring. She didn’t find any sor
t of entertainment, just offices and guest quarters, and she was tired of being watched from the shadows.

  Kyle turned and headed back to her room, he figured the heku had enough time to finish the renovations Chevalier ordered.

  She stepped into the room and smiled, the room was now well lit with lamps and there were soft chairs and cushions in one corner surrounding a large TV. She peeked into the bathroom and saw a toilet and jetted tub along with mirrors and sinks set into a beautiful granite counter.

  “Better?” Kyle asked.

  Emily nodded, “Will you watch Allen? I need a shower.”

  “Sure,” Kyle said, and sat down on the cushions next to the TV after handing Allen the remote.

  Emily walked into the bathroom and quickly stripped, then stepped into the steamy shower. The hot water felt incredible, and she laid her head back and let it stream down her body.

  Kyle watched silently, leaning against a wall by the bathroom so he could see through the cracked door. The glass shower door was slightly tinted, but showed Emily’s silhouette. He let his eyes run over her toned thighs to the curve of her breasts and her tiny waist. When she turned off the water, he blurred back to Allen.

  Moments later, she came out towel drying her hair and she was back in the peach dress, “Find anything good to watch?”

  “Not yet, I think he just likes to switch through the channels,” Kyle said, smiling up at her.

  She grabbed a brush and brushed through her hair then quickly put it in a French braid. She picked Allen up when he yawned, “He needs a nap.”

  Kyle nodded.

  “I need to do one more thing in the bathroom, would you rock him to sleep and put him down for me?” she asked, heading into the bathroom.

  Kyle picked Allen up, tossed him into the air, and then took him into the nursery as the toddler giggled.

  Emily, bare footed to help hide her movements, was out the door the second Kyle disappeared into the nursery. She looked behind her as she quickly ran down the stairs, holding her dress up so she didn’t trip. Once her feet hit the polished marble on the ground floor, she took a random corner, running as fast as she could. She ran for a while, rounding corners and taking no time at all to decide which path to take when the corridor split. When she thought she was well away from Kyle, she leaned against a wall to catch her breath.