“Let the mortal out for the night did they?” he asked, sarcastically.
“They don’t ‘let’ me out,” she said. Her mind was telling her to ash them and run, but her stubborn streak won out.
“Planning on turning us to ash then?” he asked, and the guards all laughed.
Emily’s eyes scanned the guards. She didn’t recognize any of them and she wondered where the Cavalry was. The rifle was ripped out of her hands by a heku, who blurred to her and away, too fast for her to respond.
“Going to run back to the Elder and tell him we were picking on you?” he asked her, smiling.
“Wasn’t planning on it, just as I wasn’t planning on telling Kyle that you are all drinking,” she said, watching him.
His smug expression became more serious, “We aren’t drinking.”
Emily smirked, “Whatever, I may not have a heku’s sense of smell, but I sure as hell can smell that.”
His eyes narrowed, “Well now we have a problem, mortal. We can’t risk you running off and telling the Council.”
Emily felt his hands on her waist as he pulled her down off of the mare. She was glad there was a strong wind. She hoped they wouldn’t pick up her scent. He set her down a few feet from her horse and looked down at her.
“So what are we going to do with you now?” he asked, looking at the other guards.
“Now you’ve touched her too, you moron,” a voice said from the group of guards.
The heku laughed, “Oh that’s right, hands off the Elder’s property.”
Emily pushed him hard on the chest and he jerked his head back to her.
“You seem to be under the mistaken impression that I’m afraid of you,” she scowled at him, and put her hands on her hips.
He grinned, “You should be.”
She took a step toward him, “You’re also under the mistaken impression that I let Chevalier fight my battles for me.”
“Are you trying to pick a fight?” he asked her as another guard clapped him on the shoulder, laughing.
“Maybe”
“You are an exquisite creature,” he said, running his eyes down her body.
“Oh? I was under the impression you all liked boys.” she said, grinning.
His face fell for a split second and then he leaned his head back and laughed, “You are spirited, aren’t you?”
Emily turned and walked through the heku guards toward where they were partying earlier. They split, unsure if she was as happy to ash guards as the rumors told. The boisterous heku guard followed her. She went over to a log that had bottles of liquor sitting on top of it and bent down to the CD player sitting on the ground by it. She hit the play button, cringing at the rap music, and then grabbed two bottles of vodka. She turned and handed one to the heku behind her.
“Here’s to breaking all the rules,” she said, and brought the bottle to her lips and took a long drink. She lowered it and eyed the guard, who was watching her with a smirk.
He grinned and took a drink from his bottle.
“There, now we’d both be in trouble,” she said, and sat the vodka down.
The heku guards watched them both, curiously.
The guard she was talking to took another long drink, then looked at her, “Why wouldn’t you be allowed to drink? According to Frank, you can put them down.”
She smiled, “I’m pregnant.”
He laughed, “Damn, Child, you would be in more trouble with the Elder than we would.”
“Then lighten up, would you? I’m disappointed… mortals can put on a better party than this.”
He grinned and the heku broke apart. Emily laughed as she watched their idea of a party. There were bloody, violent fights, and someone turned up the music while others began to drink heavily.
“Come on, Tiny,” the heku said to her, and took her hand, spinning her out into an open area. He brought her against him and pressed a hand against her lower back. Emily was amazed at how well he danced as they moved gracefully with the music.
“Why is it you can dance?” she asked him.
“You have to do something when you’re alive for hundreds of years,” he said, and dipped her, looking into her eyes, and then stood her backup quickly. She saw his face change and she knew he had caught her scent.
“Hundreds? So you’re just a young pup.” She smiled, trying to distract him.
Emily’s body tensed as he shut his eyes and inhaled. His hands pulled her tighter against him. She watched his face as he opened his eyes and smiled.
“Young pup? Compared to you, I’m archaic,” he said, dancing again.
Emily jumped when she heard the crash of glass and the guard she was dancing with laughed.
“You always so jumpy?” he asked, and she caught sight of some of the guards smashing empty liquor bottles against a tree as he spun her again.
“I’m not jumpy,” she said to him.
“You’re not very smart either, you shouldn’t be out here,” he whispered into her ear.
“You’re seriously going to tell me what I should and shouldn’t be doing?” She frowned.
He laughed, “Not at all.”
“Cutting in,” she heard from behind her, and she was turned quickly into another guard’s arms.
As the night drew on, Emily started having fun. The guards loosened up around her and she was able to see them have fun and enjoy themselves. When she saw them, they were normally at full attention and watched her, loathingly. Now they were talking to her and she danced so much, her feet were hurting. The few times a real fight broke out, she would move to another part of the clearing.
Suddenly, someone cut the music and the silence was eerie.
Emily looked around and the guards were all staring off to the end of the clearing. The guard she’d been dancing with pushed her behind his back with one hand. Emily glanced at the remaining bottles of alcohol and ran to the log. She poured some into her hands and rubbed them on her jeans, then dumped the contents out and tucked the bottles under the log. A few of the heku standing by the log watched her, suspiciously.
Emily headed quickly for where all of the heku were staring. She could hear familiar yelling.
“Where is it? Where’s the alcohol,” she heard Kyle yell. She took a bottle of whiskey from a heku as she walked by, and then stepped out in front. Kyle was standing in front of four of the guard commanders, and they looked angrily at their guards.
“I have it, it’s mine,” she said.
Kyle turned to her with wide, furious eyes.
“What in God’s name are you doing here?” he scowled.
“I crashed their party,” she said, watching him.
“Get back to the palace,” he demanded.
Emily crossed her arms, “No, I brought a drink. I’m the only one drinking. I’m not going to let you punish them for my indulgences.”
“Emily, I’m not in the mood for your games. Either get back to the palace or I’ll have you dragged there,” he snapped.
“I’ll go back if you’ll let the guards finish their harmless little party. Nothing is going on here that’s breaking any rules,” she told him. The guards behind her were quiet and motionless as they watched her.
Kyle took a step towards her, “You’re telling me not one rule has been broken?”
“I am,” she stood her ground.
“No guards were drinking?”
“No”
“Not one of them touched you?”
“No,” she said again, glaring at him.
Chevalier blurred to Kyle’s side and Emily recoiled a bit at his anger.
“Snitch,” she growled at Kyle.
Emily stepped back by the crowd of guards.
“Come… here…” Chevalier hissed at her.
“No, whatever their punishment is, I have, too.”
“Don’t do this, go with them quietly. We can take it,” one of the guards whispered to her.
“You know I can smell you on them, Emily. If they’ve tou
ched you, I’ll know it,” Kyle snarled at her.
Emily spun on her heels and walked through the guards, running her hands along as many as she could before she felt hands on her waist lift her and carry her back toward the palace.
“Let me go,” she yelled at the strange guard commander carrying her.
As they passed Patra, Emily kicked hard at the Commander’s knee and he stumbled to the ground, dropping her. She ran and hoisted herself up onto Patra. The Commander healed and stood up just as she kicked the mare into a gallop through the trees. She saw him heading back to the clearing as she cleared the trees.
Emily pulled Patra out of the gallop and stopped her. She was back on the hills overlooking Council City. Her mind whirled. She was in over her head this time. Now all of the commanding officers and Chevalier were angry with her, and she wasn’t sure how badly the guards would be in trouble for drinking.
Emily kicked Patra into a gallop and headed for the stables. The smell of alcohol was making her stomach turn. She pulled the saddle off and grabbed a brush, anything to keep her from having to walk into the palace. She peered out of Patra’s stall when she heard voices pass by the stables. Kyle and his commanders came into view and she ducked back into the stall as their voices trailed off.
Emily crouched down in the corner behind Patra when she heard loud footsteps approaching. She saw his boots as he stopped on the other side of the mare.
“Want to explain that?” Chevalier asked her. She was surprised that his voice wasn’t angry, more irritated.
“No,” she said.
“Are you drunk?” he asked, kneeling to look under Patra.
“No,” she said, again.
He sighed and sat down on the straw, “We had a spy out there, and we know it all.”
She frowned, “You spied on your own guards?”
He nodded.
“That’s… that’s awful.”
“That’s necessary for just such occasions,” he said, and smiled slightly. “Course, the guards probably won’t hate you so badly now, sounds like you made quite the impression.”
“You aren’t mad?” she asked, looking over at him.
“Me? No… but I’ll deny that if you tell the guard commanders. They are pretty livid over this,” he told her. “Not the drinking even as much as the… dancing.”
Emily rolled her eyes, “I wasn’t forced.”
“No, we know that. Our informant made it clear that you were having fun.”
“So why aren’t you mad?” she asked, suspiciously.
“You needed some time away. I wish it hadn’t come so close to going badly though. They weren’t that happy when you first showed up.” He frowned slightly. This was hard for him, he was ready to kill every one of those guards and lock Emily up in her room. The thought of them dancing with her sent his jealous tendencies raging.
“I could have handled them.” She turned back to the wall.
“Yes I know. You’re just lucky your scent isn’t very strong outside,” he said, worried.
“And Kyle?” she asked, looking back at him.
“You should probably avoid him for a few days.”
Emily nodded, “The guards?”
“Their punishment will be handed down in the morning. The commanders are taking each on a one-on-one basis. Some weren’t drinking at all, and some didn’t touch you,” he explained.
“He can’t tell which ones I danced with,” Emily said, smugly.
“Heku have photographic memories, we know exactly who you danced with,” he chuckled.
“Well, beings how you aren’t mad, tell me how to help them then. It’s not fair.”
He smiled, “It’s too late. Kyle isn’t going to let them get away with so much disobedience.”
“It was my fault,” she scowled.
“Again, not the point. Each guard is meeting with Kyle and Damon in the morning”
“Why Damon?” Emily scowled.
“He’s the main enforcer. This type of punishment is severe,” Chevalier caught himself before he went any further.
“I hate this place,” she said, crossing her arms.
“I know.”
Other books in The Heku Series
Book 1 : Heku
Book 2 : Valle
Book 4 : Equites
Book 5 : Proditor
Book 6 : Ferus
Book 7 : Coming soon!
Encala Page 40