Proditor : Book 5 of the Heku Series

by T. M. Nielsen

  “Give me a taste, just one taste!”

  “Good idea,” Emily said, and went over to the sink. She took a paper towel, and dipped the corner of it in the blood on her wrist, and then tossed it to the prisoner. She watched, amused, as he touched the blood to his tongue and savored the small amount.

  “More!” he yelled.

  “I have all you would want… just tell me why you are here,” Emily said again, ignoring the way the prisoners were all screaming for her.

  “We are giving information to the Encala, for an attack,” the prisoner said, reaching a shaking hand out to her. “Now give me more.”

  “Not yet… we? Who else in this coven is Encala or Valle?” Emily took a pen and paper out of her purse.

  The prisoner inhaled again, his eyes rolling back in his head slightly, “One more taste.”

  Emily stood up and let one more drop of blood hit the floor, “I’m leaving unless you tell me.”

  “No! No, Child, let me feed,” he said to her.

  “Last chance and I’m walking,” Emily said, and looked toward the door.

  “Phil, Yon, and Wesley,” the prisoner told her, watching her neck. “They are Encala also. Jeremy and Korey are Valle.”

  “See, that was easy,” Emily said, and sat back down. “When’s the attack on Powan?”

  “Let me feed!” he screamed at her.

  “No screaming or I walk,” Emily said, and reopened the small cut on her wrist. “When I walk, the blood comes with me.”

  A low hiss escaped him, “Three weeks on Friday, both factions will come.”

  Emily stood up and headed for the door, pressing her shirt against her wrist.

  “No! You promised me!” the prisoner screamed at her. Emily opened the door and smiled at the heku waiting for her. They were frowning as they heard the commotion from the prison.

  “My God, Emily, what did you do to them?” Mark asked, shocked.

  “I’m not telling, or you’ll get mad,” Emily said, and handed the names over to the General. “They are attacking three weeks from Friday, both the Valle and the Encala.”

  General Skinner grinned, “How, Child, did you do this? We’ve inflicted pain, we’ve starved him, and we got nothing.”

  “Ok, I’ll tell,” Emily said, cringing. “You can’t get mad.”

  Kyle’s eyes narrowed, “What did your scheming little mind come up with now?”

  Emily sighed, “I cut my wrist…”

  “You what!?” Mark growled.

  “Stop it. I said no one can get mad at me,” Emily said sternly.

  “I let just a drop of blood hit the floor… then I let him taste just a little, on a tissue,” Emily said, and watched the General’s eyes grow wider. “I told him if he gave me the information, I’d let him feed.”

  “Did… did you?” Kyle asked, surprised.

  Emily frowned, “I’m not an idiot.”

  “That… that’s probably the most sadistic torture I’ve ever heard of,” Mark said, slightly impressed.

  Emily shrugged, “I figured he was hungry.”

  Kyle took Emily’s hand and flipped it over, exposing her wrist. The General gasped and turned away from her, his body tense. She heard him inhale and she braced for an attack, but he slowly relaxed, yet stayed facing away from her.

  “Least it’s not a deep cut,” Kyle said, and let go of her hand.

  “Are you ok, General?” Mark asked.

  General Skinner nodded, “I just… need… a moment.”

  Mark pulled Emily back behind him.

  The General finally turned, “Sorry.”

  Kyle chuckled, “Don’t be, we understand. We’re just used to it.”

  Emily sighed, “So can we keep my little interrogation technique to ourselves?”

  Mark grinned, “Not wanting the Elder to find out you cut yourself in a prison full of starving heku?”

  Emily nodded.

  The General laughed, “You gave me more information than anyone here was able to get. I’ll do anything you ask.”

  “Just keep it a secret is all,” Emily said, and watched as Kyle sighed and nodded.

  General Skinner glanced at the door behind her, “So how much blood is on the floor in there?”

  “Two drops, why?” Emily asked, looking at the door.

  Emily saw the General’s lips move, and Kyle chuckled.

  “What?” Emily asked.

  “He’s just ordering his coven to stay out of the prison until you’re gone,” Kyle said.

  “Oh,” Emily said, and blushed.

  “Let’s go,” Mark suggested, and took Emily’s arm as he headed for the helicopter.

  “We’ll send reinforcements, just in case they decide to continue their attack,” Kyle told the General as he got into Equites 2. The helicopter was soon on its way back to Council City.

  Chapter 5 - New Mexico

  Quinn and Chevalier were waiting for Equites 2 when it landed. They stopped the stream of guards that normally met up with the arriving helicopter, and opened the door when the rotor stopped.

  “We’ve already been filled in by the General,” Chevalier told them as he helped Emily out of the helicopter. She glanced at him to make sure he didn’t know about the blood, and relaxed when he smiled at her.

  “I told him we’d send backup, in case they decide to try to carry out the attack,” Kyle said, and they all started inside.

  Emily was ignoring their talk of tactics when her phone rang, “Hello?”

  She froze, and the heku turned toward her when she whispered, “When?”

  Tears started to fill her eyes, “I’ll be there tonight.”

  The rest of the heku left when Chevalier walked over and put a hand on her shoulder. Emily hung up the phone and turned toward him slowly. His arms wrapped around her as she cried.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked softly.

  She finally calmed down enough to speak, “Aunt Jess died. She got thrown from a horse and… she died.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Chevalier said, and led her to the bedroom.

  “I… I told Alec I’d be there tonight,” Emily told him, and sat down at her laptop to make plane reservations.

  “Take Equites 2. It’ll be more comfortable and you can leave immediately,” he told her.

  Emily nodded, still in shock, and packed a quick bag.

  Chevalier watched her for a few minutes, “If you can wait an hour, I will go with you.”

  “No, I need to go alone. That way I can stay and help Alec if he needs me,” Emily explained, and slung the bag over her shoulder. She said a long good-bye to Alex and Allen, and then left on Equites 2, headed for Albuquerque.

  ***

  The pilot shut down the engines and watched the truck approach, “Here’s your ride.”

  “Ok, thank you,” she said, and got out of the helicopter. She sighed when Exavior stepped out of the truck.

  The heku pilot appeared at her side, crouched slightly.

  “Just giving her a ride, nothing else,” Exavior said, and watched the pilot closely.

  “I can’t leave you with him,” the pilot said to Emily.

  “It’s ok, he’s harmless,” Emily said, and smiled reassuringly at the pilot.

  “I wouldn’t call myself… harmless,” Exavior said, offended.

  Emily glared at him, “You’re not helping,” she said, and turned back to the pilot. “Seriously, head back, I’m ok.”

  “No, Ma’am,” the pilot said. “I can’t leave you here alone with the Chief Interrogator.”

  “I order you to return… can I do that?”

  The pilot growled, and got back into the helicopter, obviously angry. He was just taking off as Emily crawled into Exavior’s truck.

  “Nice… now you can order Equites around,” Exavior said, amused.

  “So what personality are you going to have today?” Emily asked him as he crawled into the driver’s seat.

  “Do what?”

  “You know… are y
ou going to be the dashingly suave type, the hopelessly in love sap, or the bar fighting brute? I never know which to expect,” Emily explained.

  “I didn’t realize you had me pegged.”

  “Normally, it depends on the company you are around. If history serves… today you are the smooth talking friend.”

  He nodded, “Exactly.”

  “How is he?” Emily asked, suddenly serious.

  Exavior sighed, “Not good. She was out alone riding and fell. He didn’t find her until the next morning, and he’s blaming himself.”

  They drove the rest of the way in silence while Emily faced the window as tears streamed down her face. She jumped out of the truck and hugged Alec.

  “Thanks for coming, Emi,” Alec said, hugging her tightly.

  Emily pulled away from him, “Is there anything I can do?”

  Alec shook his head, and they all walked back inside. Emily couldn’t help but notice the dirty kitchen, and immediately went to work. She knew Jess would be embarrassed if people saw it. Exavior sat down to watch her as Alec went to lie down.

  “When is Pat coming in?” Emily asked, starting on the dishes.

  “He should be here in the morning,” Exavior told her.

  Emily turned to Exavior and tossed him a rag, “Make yourself useful.”

  He grinned and started to wipe down the table, “You do realize that as a member of the Council, I don’t have to… clean.”

  “I thought we were factionless here,” Emily reminded him, and started to load the dishwasher.

  “True enough,” he chuckled.

  They cleaned in silence until they were finished, and then Emily took the rag from Exavior and went back over what he’d already done.

  “I just did that,” he said, frowning.

  “Been a while since you cleaned?”

  “It’s not that bad.”

  “Ok.” Emily tossed the rag into the sink and grabbed a broom.

  “Do you ever just… sit?”

  “Not when there’s work to do, no,” Emily said, and motioned for him to lift his feet.

  “What happened to your wrist?”

  Emily sighed “Damn heku, don’t miss a thing do you?”

  “No, so?”

  “It’s just a little cut, no stitches required.” Emily turned to look at him, and he was laughing.

  “We need to give the Equites a raise, just for having you around.”

  Emily frowned, “What do you mean by that?”

  “You’re just high maintenance.”

  “I am not,” Emily said, and hit his feet off of the table.

  “Let’s go out for a ride, for old time’s sake.”

  Emily looked out at the bright sunny day, and nodded, “Sure, let me just leave Alec a note.”

  Before long, they were out on the horses and heading for the far end of the property.

  “Can I ask you something?” Emily asked, looking over at Exavior.

  “Anything”

  “Thing is… you can’t laugh, and you have to tell me the truth.”

  “As long as it’s not confidential Valle stuff, I think that’s doable,” Exavior said, and stopped his mare.

  Emily turned to face him, “I saw something… at the palace.”

  Exavior grinned, “You’re blushing.”

  “You know what? Never mind,” Emily said, and kicked her mare into a slow walk.

  “Oh come on. I won’t tell a soul. Who else can you ask?” He matched her speed.

  “There’s a room I saw… accidentally. Another round room with runes on the wall... but not the room like you tried to turn me in,” Emily said, and couldn’t help but notice the way he winced slightly.

  “Ok, what about it?”

  “Do you know what room I mean?”

  Exavior smiled, “There are several possibilities.”

  “There were… people in it?” Emily asked him, blushing deeper.

  Exavior became serious, “What exactly did you see?”

  “Never mind,” Emily said, and looked away from him.

  “No, tell me.”

  “No, just never mind, ok?”

  “Was it Chevalier?” Exavior’s voice was tense.

  “No!” Emily yelled, and then whispered. “He wouldn’t do that.”

  “Do what? I don’t know which room you saw,” Exavior said, frustrated.

  Emily sighed, “There was a… erm… foursome.”

  “You found a round, runed room where heku go to have sex?” Exavior was now amused.

  Emily nodded slightly.

  “Do you remember when I told you that there are some things in a heku’s nature that you aren’t aware of?”

  “Yes, I remember that.”

  “That’s one of them and… don’t kid yourself… Chevalier goes in there.”

  Emily frowned at him, “He does not.”

  “Yes he does. We all do.”

  Emily stopped her mare, “You go in one?”

  Exavior nodded, “Every one of us does.”

  Emily clicked her tongue and started the mare walking again, “Why though? Why would he?”

  “It’s part of our nature,” he explained, catching up with her.

  “Kyle?”

  “Yes, boyfriend, too.”

  “Stop calling him my boyfriend.”

  “I will when he stops acting like it.”

  “So you, too?” Emily looked at him.

  “Yes,” he said, and grinned. “You offering?”

  “You’re disgusting,” Emily told him, and kicked her mare into a gallop, heading back for the ranch.

  Exavior slid off of his mare once he got to the stables, “It’s no more disgusting than drinking blood.”

  “I think it is,” Emily said, sliding off the saddle.

  “Try it out, you may like it… if you don’t want to tell hubby, you could always join me.”

  Emily frowned and heaved the saddle onto the rack, “Don’t hold your breath.”

  “So who did you see?”

  “Why the ceremonial room? You all and your runes are about to drive me insane,” Emily said as she started to brush down the mare.

  “It’s a controlled environment.”

  “That’s it?”

  Exavior laughed, “What else would it be?”

  “Other than disgusting?” Emily wrinkled her nose and then jumped slightly when her phone rang. “Hello.”

  She grinned, “Yes, he’s here.”

  “No, I didn’t know he was going to pick me up.” Emily rolled her eyes.

  “First we cleaned the kitchen and then… yes, he cleaned… not very well, but he tried.”

  “I will, ok… bye… bye Chev,” Emily said, and shut the phone.

  “Are you in trouble with the Equites Police?” Exavior asked, amused.

  Emily ignored his comment and went into the house to start dinner. She found the ingredients for fried chicken, and started to cook just as Alec woke up from his nap.

  “Not sure what I’d do without you two,” Alec said, sitting at the table. “Exavior made the funeral arrangements, and you’re cleaning and making dinner.”

  “I also wanted to wait for Emily… before asking…” Exavior said, and Emily noted the serious tone in his voice. “What happens now, Alec?”

  Alec shrugged and fought back the tears.

  “What do you mean?” Emily asked, and sat down.

  “Can you run the ranch by yourself? Can you cook and clean?” Exavior asked.

  Emily glared at him, “Do we have to do this now?”

  “No, it’s ok, Emi. I can run the ranch by myself, and I can cook some, and clean some. I’ll be ok,” Alec said. “Pat will be back next month, they’re moving into the guest house. That was planned before…”

  “My offer still stands,” Exavior said.

  “What offer?” Emily asked.

  Alec sighed, “I know, but I’m not sure.”

  “What offer?” she asked again.

  “It’s
something you wouldn’t understand,” Alec told her.

  “Oh, I think she understands more than she lets on,” Exavior told him.

  Emily’s eyes narrowed and she spoke through gritted teeth, “What offer?”

  “I’ve offered to turn him.”

  “What? Alec… No!” Emily yelled.

  “You don’t know how tempting it is, Emi. Now with Jess gone, nothing’s really holding me back,” Alec explained.

  “No, I won’t let you.”

  “I haven’t decided yet, either way.”

  “How could you offer this to my uncle?” Emily yelled, and turned back to Exavior.

  “He’s a friend, a good friend, and he would be good for... you know.”

  “Alec, did he tell you that it would make us enemies?” Emily asked him, and Exavior hissed slightly.

  “What do you mean enemies?” Alec asked.

  Emily turned to Exavior, “What have you even told him?”

  “How do you know about him?” Alec asked her.

  “Calm down,” Exavior said. “I told him only what he needed to know and Alec, she’s pretty intertwined with my world, and actually knows more than you do.”

  “Why enemies though?” Alec asked.

  “Exavior and I are supposed to be enemies,” Emily told him.

  “That’s enough, Emily,” Exavior said sternly.

  Emily’s eyes narrowed, “You offered to turn him, but didn’t tell him the whole story?”

  “No, it’s tradition. He’ll learn the rest when he’s decided.”

  “That’s backwards! How can he make an informed decision if he isn’t told everything?” Emily asked, irritated.

  “It’s done this way for a reason,” Exavior said.

  “Listen to me, Alec, I won’t do it either. Exavior tried once, and I won’t do it. I know everything… and I won’t do it,” Emily said to him.

  “Not what I heard. If your spinal tap comes back positive, I heard you will be turning,” Exavior said, grinning.

  Emily glared at him, “How the hell do you know about that?”

  Alec cleared his throat, “Stop fighting, please. We’re here for Jess, and I haven’t decided yet. Either way, and I will let you know.”

  “Make him tell you everything first,” Emily said, still glaring at Exavior. She got up when the timer went off, and turned the chicken.