“Get it off,” she said, panicked.
“Don’t worry, Em. The few of us that have seen it won’t tell, and we know it’s not valid,” he said, trying to calm her down.
“Burn it off,” she said, sticking a poker into the fire.
Chevalier removed it, “I’m not going to burn it off of you.”
“I should have killed them slower.”
“We’ll get it off.”
Emily leaned back and looked into the fire.
“Do you want to talk about the bag?” Chevalier asked. He had wanted to ask her about it.
“It’s him,” she whispered, bringing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them.
“I thought so.” He watched her closely.
“All of him and parts of the Council,” she said, and turned her face toward Chevalier.
He nodded, “What do you want to do with it?”
“I don’t know,” she said, softly.
He smiled, “You made it so they can’t revive the Encala Council. All of the ashes need to be there to perform the ritual.”
She nodded, “I hoped so.”
“That’s never been done before. Thousands of years and no one has ever taken part of the remains of a heku as a… well… trophy,” he said, and chuckled.
“Never?”
“Never, it’s considered incredibly rude. Only the Chief Enforcer has the power to ash a heku, and once that is done, the punishment has been dealt. There is no reason for further retribution.”
“What if I don’t care that it was rude?” she asked.
He grinned, “Then keep your bag.”
Emily turned back to the fire.
“The Valle think you have given us your ability to ash,” he said, amused.
“Why?”
“Winchesters were heavily studied. Historically, they could only kill 10, maybe 15,” he said, watching her.
“I don’t know how many I killed,” she shrugged.
“Just over 1,800,” he said, and immediately wondered if he should have told her.
“1,800?”
He nodded.
“So this mere mortal couldn’t have done that… I must have bestowed my gifts on the Equites?”
“Exactly,” he said, smiling. “We didn’t feel like starting a mass panic, so we went along with it.”
“I won’t do it again,” she told him.
“I hope not. There for a while we weren’t sure you would survive.”
“I’m tougher than I look,” she said, smiling slightly.
“I’m aware of that.” He knelt by her chair and kissed her.
Chapter 11 - Deal
“I won!” Emily said, doing a small victory dance.
Kyle shook his head, “Had to do it, didn’t you?” he asked the fearful heku.
“I’m sorry, it was so fast,” he tried to explain.
Emily smiled and went to Frank, “You can pick two guards… we’ll go to dinner tonight.”
He grinned and nodded, “A deal’s a deal.”
Kyle was irritated that Frank seemed pleased at the outcome of the bet. He made sure to keep an extra close eye on the heku. He also wasn’t sure how the Elder was going to react to the prize in the bet. Chevalier was a lot better at hiding his jealousy lately, but this was pushing even his control.
“Put the horses up. I’ll meet you three at the Durango in an hour,” she said, and ran into the palace to get ready.
Emily took a hot shower, excited at the thought she was going to go out and have some fun. The palace was dull at times, and she missed going out on the town. She dressed casually in a blue halter top and jeans. She hoped the coiled snakes weren’t too outlandish for mortals, but it was getting too warm to wear long sleeves. She ran a brush through her hair and went to the bedroom to find her shoes.
“Going out?” Chevalier asked from the edge of the bed.
“Yes, I won a bet, so I get to go out to dinner,” she said, looking around.
“Oh?”
Emily was impressed, as he wasn’t yelling yet.
“It’s just dinner, a fun bet with Frank,” she said, slipping on her cowboy boots.
“What was the bet?”
Emily went to the bed and sat on Chevalier’s lap with her knees at his sides, so she could face him. She kissed him softly.
“Honestly, do you really want to know?” she asked.
“When you say it like that, I wonder if it’s best if I don’t know,” he said, wrapping his arms around her waist.
She smiled, “I thought so.”
Chevalier fell back against the bed, pulling her with him and looked up into her eyes. She leaned down and kissed his neck, lightly running her lips across his jaw and pressing them against his.
“Have fun,” he said, smiling up at her.
“We have time,” she said, kissing him again.
He pushed her gently away from him, “Go to dinner, Em.”
She rolled off of him and grabbed her purse.
Chevalier watched as she walked out of the bedroom. He laid back on the bed, seething. He growled, jealously, and slammed his fists against the bed. He debated trailing them secretly, and then was able to pull the jealousy back and he opted to take Allen to the game room instead.
Emily saw Frank and two other heku waiting by her Durango. She was pleased to see them in jeans and t-shirts. She crawled in and started up the car when everyone was ready.
“Where shall we go?” she asked, smiling.
Frank was grinning broadly from the seat by her, “As you are the only one eating, I say ladies choice.”
Emily turned to the two in the backseat, “Do you two talk?”
“Yes we do.”
“Yup, Ma’am.”
“What are your names?”
“I’m Silas, and this is Nelson.”
She nodded, “Nice to get a name finally. I don’t think Kyle likes us to get too close during training, so most of the time I don’t really know names.”
The three of them nodded in agreement.
“Do you dance?” she smiled.
All three of the heku nodded again, and Emily pulled the Durango out of the garage. She turned up the Toby Keith CD and sat back to enjoy the ride. The heku visited about people she didn’t know, but then turned to their horses, in which she was much more interested. Not long after dark, they pulled up to a small bar that promised the best steak in town. Emily cut the engine, and they all looked to the doors as someone was pushed out. He landed against the cement, stood up, and walked away.
“Ready?” Emily asked, smiling.
She was glad to see the heku were anxious to be out of the palace, too. The bar was noisy and overcrowded, but the four found a table finally. The table was sticky and stained with bottle rings. Emily ordered a medium-well steak and fries, while the heku each ordered a shot of Jack Daniels and a beer. Emily grinned and ordered a shot for herself.
Emily frowned, “You drink?”
Frank laughed, “You mean more than blood?”
Emily nodded, it was hard to hear over the noise from the dance floor.
“We can,” said one of the other heku. “We just aren’t supposed to.”
The drinks were delivered first. Emily held her shot glass up, “Here’s to following orders.”
She grinned as the others toasted and they all downed their shots quickly.
“Another round,” Frank said to the waitress.
“I can’t drink much. I have to drive,” she said.
“I can drive us home,” Frank told her.
“Not if you’re drunk you don’t.”
“We don’t get drunk,” he said, laughing.
She frowned, “Then why drink?”
“The taste, it’s second only to blood,” Silas said.
“Then why is it banned?” Emily yelled over the music.
Silas looked at Nelson, “Well...”
“What?”
“Nothing to worry about, we’re fine,�
�� Nelson said, smiling, and he downed his second shot.
Emily nodded and downed her second shot, and then cut into the steak. They talked about nothing of importance while she ate. She quit counting the number of shots the guards did, but she stopped herself at three.
“Oh!” Emily said when the music changed. “I love this song!”
Emily scooted out of the booth and ran to the dance floor. She joined the line dance as it started, and laughed when she saw the three heku also join. She was surprised to see they knew the dance and were actually good at it. When the line dance ended, the band started a slow song.
“Shall we?” Frank asked, putting his hand out.
“Well, we’re breaking all of the rules anyway,” Emily said, and took his hand. He twirled her expertly around the dance floor, leading with a strong hand to the small of her back.
“You’re a good dancer, I’m impressed,” Emily said, laughing.
“You sound surprised,” Frank said, and grinned.
After the dance, they went back to the booth. Silas and Nelson were downing yet another shot. She slid into the booth and ordered a coke.
“Excuse me, Ma’am,” a local cowboy said. “Would you like to dance?”
“No thank you, I have a jealous husband,” she explained, and then smiled.
The cowboy looked at the three large men sitting beside her and nodded.
“Are you sure you’re not going to get sick or something?” Emily asked when the guards ordered another round of shots.
“We’re just getting started,” Silas said, grinning.
“Hey, pretty thing.” Another local came up. This one smelled like old alcohol and cheap cologne, “Ditch these losers and come dance with me.”
“No, thank you,” she said, smiling at him.
“I said come dance with me,” he took her hand, but she pulled it away from him.
“No,” she said, again.
“The Lady said no,” Silas said, glaring at the man. He finally stumbled off.
“You didn’t tell me, what affect does alcohol have? It has to be bad to have been banned,” she asked, sipping her coke.
“The Elders believe it tends to make us violent, but I disagree,” Nelson said.
Emily laughed, “Aren’t you violent anyway?”
“That we are!” The three toasted and drank another shot.
“I’ll be right back,” Emily said, and left for the ladies room.
On her way back to the booth, Emily was pushed back against the wall and felt hands at her waist. It was the cologne covered local, “I said, I want to dance.”
***
“… and the bear sat down with his friends,” Chevalier said, and turned the page of Allen’s book. “Good night friends, he said.”
Chevalier looked down at Allen, and he was fast asleep. He kissed him lightly on the forehead and walked out of his room and then heard Kyle call him into the hallway.
“Try to not be upset, ok?” Kyle asked, turning to him.
Chevalier sighed, “I hate when you start a conversation like that.”
Kyle smiled sympathetically, “The police department called.”
“And?” Chevalier asked, frowning.
“Bail has been set for Emily, Silas, Frank, and Nelson at $1,000 each,” Kyle winced.
“They are in jail?” Chevalier hissed.
“Apparently.”
“What for?”
“Bar fight,” Kyle said, and took a step back.
“Why did they call you?” Chevalier asked, and then frowned.
“Because they don’t want you to know, but I’m not that brave,” Kyle said, grinning slightly.
“Go get her Durango. I’ll go bail at least one of them out,” he scowled, and walked down the stairs slowly.
Chevalier drove to the police department and sat outside, calming himself. He took a deep breath and walked into the red brick building.
“May I help you?” a policeman at the front desk asked.
“I’m here to bail out my wife,” Chevalier said, pulling out his wallet.
“Name?”
“Emily Russo.”
“Here we go…” The officer read through the papers. “What about her three companions?”
“Yeah, I guess them too.” Chevalier decided he could punish them much worse than a night in jail could.
“That’ll be four thousand dollars bail,” the officer said, and took Chevalier’s credit card.
“Bar fight was it?” Chevalier asked.
“Yes, Sir,” the officer confirmed.
“Then why was Emily arrested?” he questioned further.
“The little gal? She was right in the middle of it,” the officer said, handing Chevalier a bag. “Here are their things.”
Chevalier followed him back into the holding cells. The officer left as Chevalier looked into the cell. Emily was in a cell alone, and the three heku were in one together.
“This is becoming too common, Emily,” Chevalier said, looking at her.
She stood up, not quite sure what to say.
“Should we just start reserving a cell for you?”
“Where’s Kyle?” she asked, sitting on the hard bed.
“Whose blood is on your shirt?” he asked.
Emily shrugged, “I don’t know. It’s not mine though… I called for Kyle.”
“He’s getting your Durango from the bar. A fight, seriously?” Chevalier asked into the cell with the guards.
They were standing at attention and Silas finally spoke, “Sorry, Sir. It was… unavoidable.”
“We’ll see about that… come on, let’s get out of here,” Chevalier said. He growled when he smelled alcohol on all four of them.
“In the front,” Chevalier hissed, when Emily tried to crawl into the backseat with the guards. She swallowed hard and moved to the front seat.
Chevalier put the Humvee into drive and drove out toward the palace.
It was quiet for a few, tense moments.
“There better be a good explanation,” Chevalier said.
“There is, Sir,” Frank said. “We were just having some fun and…”
“Drinking,” he snapped.
Frank sighed, “Yes, drinking. This mortal came and wanted to dance with Emily, and she said no, but he grabbed her hand.”
Chevalier’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. Emily sat, quiet and still, and watched out the window.
“She pulled it back and the guy left, we thought it was over,” Frank continued. “Then when she was coming back from the ladies room, he pinned her against the wall. We had to do something about that.”
“How did you end up in jail then?” he asked, glancing at her.
She sighed, “It was five on three, and it didn’t seem fair so… well...”
“So she jumped on the back of the guy hitting me from behind,” Silas said, trying not to grin.
“Emily…” Chevalier growled.
“How fair is that? Five on three, and that guy was just hitting Silas while he was fighting with another guy,” Emily said, frowning.
“Five on three is not a fair fight, you are right,” Chevalier said. “Three heku guards should be able to take out close to thirty mortals at once.”
“We didn’t know she joined in, honest, until the bouncer pulled her off of the guy’s back,” Nelson said.
“Well I saw the bouncer touch Emily and then…” Frank sighed, “I had to take care of him, too.”
“I see,” Chevalier said.
“How mad are you?” Emily asked him.
“Are you injured?” he asked her, still watching the road.
“No”
“Not at all?”
“No,” she said, watching him.
“I’m pretty mad,” he said, turning into the city’s gates. He was waved in by the front guards.
He pulled over at the guard’s barracks, “Report to Kyle first thing in the morning.”
The three nodded and stepped out.
“How drunk are you?” Chevalier asked, pulling back onto the road.
“I’m not drunk,” she answered, irritated.
“I smell alcohol,” he said.
“I didn’t say I didn’t drink… but I’m not drunk,” she said, watching out the window, “And I don’t appreciate the feeling that I’m about to get grounded or sent to the principal’s office.”
“How much did the guards drink?” He ignored her comment.
“I’m not their mother, I don’t know,” she said. She knew he’d be mad if he knew how much those three had put down.
“How much did you drink?” he asked, pulling into the garage.
“I don’t know, Daddy,” she scowled at him. She looked over and saw her Durango parked in its spot.
She pulled the keys from her purse and walked toward the Durango. Chevalier appeared between her and the door before she could get the key ready.
“Where are you going?” he asked, sternly.
“I’m going to get the other three, and we’re staying in a hotel tonight,” she said, trying to push him out of the way. She growled in frustration when he didn’t budge.
“No”
“No?”
“That’s right… No.” He crossed his arms.
“You can’t tell me no. I’m not one of your stooges.”
“I can tell you ‘no’ because you’ve been drinking, and I don’t want you driving,” he said, pulling the keys out of her hand.
“Do you want a fight? Is that it? We haven’t fought in a while, so you’re picking one now?” she asked, moving toe-to-toe with him.
“You two just calm down,” Kyle said, walking up to them.
Emily spun and slapped him before he could react, “I told you not to tell him.”
“Yeah and I’m more afraid of him than I am of you,” Kyle said, shrugging. “How drunk are you?”
“None… of… your… business,” she said, pushing him with each word.
“You should ask how drunk your guards are,” Chevalier said, stepping toward them.
“My… my guards… they were drinking?” Kyle asked, shocked.
Chevalier nodded, “Yes, and when they picked a fight, Emily joined in because it was five on three… and that wasn’t fair.”
“They didn’t pick the fight! Those mortals did,” Emily corrected, furiously.
“I told them to report to you in the morning,” Chevalier told him.
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