Kyle held up the papers, “I’ll take these to the lawyers, just in case anything’s fishy, and I’ll put that check into her account.”
Chevalier nodded and went to his office.
Emily sat in the Durango, covered in a blanket, and stared at the ceiling. She couldn’t believe that Keith had money. Most of their fights had been over money problems, and the entire time, he had the extra ranch and money to spare.
Her mind suddenly shifted back to the round room and Storm’s sudden appearance. Emily always suspected that Storm and Chevalier may have been an item at some point in their lives, but hadn’t seen any sign of it since she came around. Now with the round room, she wondered if the flame was rekindled.
“There are some things in the heku nature that you might not understand,” Emily whispered to herself.
Emily jumped when someone knocked on the Durango’s door.
“Sorry,” Quinn said, and slid into the driver’s door. “That little quote of yours is about to drive half of my Council insane.”
“So much for moving the Durango,” Emily said, and looked back out the window.
“Sorry, you’re just not that hard to find.”
“So Chevalier thought I’d talk to you, eh?” Emily asked, still looking out the window.
Quinn grinned, “Yes.”
“I won’t.”
“I figured as much.”
“Why is it bothering them so bad?”
“We’re misunderstood as a species, and you mean a lot to them. They don’t want you getting the wrong idea about something an enemy told you.”
“I’ve been thinking about that… maybe I should go talk to William.”
Quinn nodded, “From Thukil?”
“No, the Encala Elder… you all need last names.”
“Why would you want to talk to him?”
“To get an unbiased opinion on the matter, see if his story lines up with Exavior’s,” Emily explained.
“I can give you an unbiased opinion.”
Emily smiled, “Not if you’re doing it too.”
“Am I?”
“Yes,” Emily said, and pulled the blanket up higher.
Quinn raised an eyebrow, “I wasn’t aware I was doing it also.”
“You all do.”
“So William would be doing this as well? How is that unbiased?”
“Because I can see if what he says… matches what Exavior said.”
“I see,” Quinn said, and leaned back in the chair.
“Was there… something else?”
“I heard about what your ex-husband did.”
“Oh great, I love when news of my idiocy travels,” Emily sighed.
“I know what you’re thinking, and you aren’t gullible. You’re trusting, which is an endearing trait.”
“Damn, do you remember everything I said?”
Quinn laughed, “Yes, I do.”
Emily reached her hand out of the blanket, “Can I borrow your cell phone?”
“Where is yours?” he asked, and handed it over.
“I don’t need Chev finding out I’m calling the Encala Council,” she explained, and smiled slightly.
“I see,” Quinn said again. He glanced over at Emily and took the hint that it was time for him to leave. He smiled and then blurred from the area.
Emily jumped when Quinn’s phone rang, “Hello?”
“This is the Encala Council,” a gruff voice said.
Emily almost hung up, but took a deep breath, “Is William there?”
“Who is this?” another voice asked, and she could tell she was on speakerphone.
“It’s Emily.” She hated how she could hear whispers the second she gave her name.
“I’m here, Emily,” William said.
“Can you… talk… alone?”
“Go,” she heard William say, and then the static from the conference call ended when he picked up the phone. “Ok, I’m alone.”
“I’m sorry to bother you…”
“Never a bother, Child.”
“Can I talk to you without any of it getting back to the Equites… or even around your own faction?”
“Yes, I can guarantee that.”
“I need to talk to an unbiased heku,” Emily said, and she blushed, even though she was alone.
“Ok,” he sounded nervous.
“I saw something… here in the palace…” Emily looked around the trees quickly.
“You shouldn’t talk to me about the Equites palace,” William told her.
“It’s not that specific… anyway… it’s a round room, with runes…” she paused, hoping he would understand.
“There would be several.”
“Please… don’t make me say which one.”
William chuckled, “Yes, I know the room.”
“So, what’s it for?” Emily asked, irritated that he sounded amused.
“Well… was anyone in it when you saw in?”
“Yes”
“Then… that’s what it’s for.”
“Does…” Emily sighed, “Everyone… use it?”
“Are you trying to find out if Chevalier uses it?”
“Sort of,” she whispered.
“That’s hard for me to say. I’ve never joined… in… with the Equites,” William said, and chuckled.
“So you… use it?”
“Yes”
“Does anyone you know, not use it?”
“I only know a couple that don’t use it regularly.”
“Have you ever been married?” Emily asked softly.
“Well,” William said, and hesitated. “Yes.”
“Did you use it then?”
“No, I didn’t.”
Emily thought for a moment, “Why is there even a special room for that?”
William sighed, “It’s a controlled environment.”
“That’s what Exavior said.” Emily thought for a moment, “Are there always… you know… groups?”
“Mostly, thus the control is needed.”
“This is… beyond insane,” Emily said angrily.
“It’s simply part of our nature. If you are this concerned over it, I suggest you give the room a try.”
“What? No!” Emily said, surprised.
“Your decision,” William said.
“I’ve lived with heku for almost 11 years, and I’ve never seen or heard anything about it.”
“It’s not something we advertise.”
Emily was too mad to talk. She was sure Storm was in the palace for a reason, and it disgusted her. Her talk with William hadn’t entirely confirmed what Exavior said, but came close.
“Child… are you ok?” William asked, and his voice sounded truly concerned.
“I don’t know.”
“Do you have a pen and paper?”
Emily opened her glove box and grabbed some, “Yes.”
“Take down my number, and call me if you need anything. Anything at all,” William said, and gave her his cell phone number.
“Ok”
After hanging up, Emily got back into the Jeep and returned to the palace, where she was stopped by the main-floor guards.
“Lady Emily, the Elders are waiting for you in Quinn’s office,” Kralen said.
Emily blushed when he spoke to her, and then nodded, heading off for Quinn’s office. She knocked softly, and when the door opened, she frowned and turned around to run, but Kyle grabbed her arm gently.
“You’re not in trouble, come in,” Kyle said, amused.
Emily turned around and stepped into the office. Chevalier, Zohn, Quinn, Mark, Kyle, and Silas were all in there, watching her. She sat down on the only available seat.
“What?” she asked nervously.
“Did you speak to William?” Quinn asked.
“You told?” Emily asked him, starting to get angry.
Quinn nodded, “Yes, I felt it was important.”
“Actually, he called your phone and yes, I talked to him,” Emily sa
id, glaring at him. “I bet he can keep a secret.”
Chevalier had already warned the heku that she would try to pick a fight, and they were prepared to resist.
“I bet he can... but did he talk to you?” Quinn asked.
Emily glanced around at the heku uncomfortably, “Yes.”
“What did he say?”
“None of your business,” Emily said, frowning.
Zohn sighed, “Can you at least tell us if he confirmed what Exavior said?”
Emily shrugged, “For the most part.”
“But not entirely?”
“No, not entirely.”
“So he disproved it then,” Kyle said.
“No, he didn’t.”
“Em, we gathered to help you. We got the heku you trust the most, so we can get to the bottom of this,” Chevalier said.
“No, you gathered a bunch of heku to gang up on me, and I don’t appreciate it,” she said, irritated, and then stood up.
Kyle pushed her back into the chair, “Sit down, we’re not done.”
Emily’s eyes turned fierce, “Am I being detained here?”
“No, not detained, but we’re still talking,” Kyle said.
Emily grabbed Quinn’s phone from her pocket and started to dial. Mark took it from her and handed it back to Quinn.
“Hey,” she said angrily.
Quinn looked at the number, “What were you going to call the Encala Council for this time?”
“To tell them I’m being held against my will,” Emily said, and pulled her own cell phone out of her pocket, along with William’s number and started to dial. This time it was Silas who took her phone and the paper with William’s number.
“Now who are you calling?” Quinn asked.
“William”
“You have his direct line?”
“Maybe”
“I see,” Quinn said, sitting back in his chair.
“We’re not restraining you,” Chevalier said. “This is more like an… intervention.”
“I’m not going to tell you, and after 11 years, you should know that. So let me go,” Emily yelled.
“We just want to help.”
“Then leave me alone.”
Zohn sighed, “These heku don’t appreciate being accused of something that upsets you, yet they don’t even know what it is.”
“You too,” Emily said, watching him.
“Wait… when did I get in on this?” Zohn asked, surprised.
Emily crossed her arms, sat back in the chair, and waited.
“Can you at least give us a hint?” Chevalier asked.
Silence fell across the room as they watched her.
Emily didn’t speak. She could feel a strong headache coming on, and the tiny lights began to flash in front of her eyes.
She grinned slightly when she had an idea. She took a deep breath and shut her eyes. Never before had she tried to control the memories of an entire room of heku. She concentrated hard and felt the subtle tingle of control. She took them back a few hours and then opened her eyes.
“So… as far as nightly assignments go…” Chevalier looked over at Emily. “Em? How did you get in here?”
“Sorry, I thought you called for me. I’ll just go,” Emily said, and smiled before leaving, then quickly ran to her room. She wasn’t sure how long this one was going to last, and she wanted to be far away before they remembered.
“Come on Alex,” Emily said, and picked sleeping Alexis up as she called for Allen. She grabbed her purse and ran for the stairs, then remembered that Silas had her cell phone, but she knew Allen would still have his.
“Mom, where are you going?” Allen asked her, frowning.
“Hurry, let’s go,” she whispered, and handed Alexis over to him before running down the stairs.
“Where are we going?” he asked again as he slipped into the back of the Jeep. He started to buckle Alexis into her car seat.
“Just away for a bit, before your Dad realizes I altered his memory,” Emily said, and sped out of the garage.
“What happened?” Allen asked. He looked at his mom as she started to shake and break out in a sweat.
“They ganged up on me,” she said, and swerved slightly as she pulled onto the Interstate.
“Mom, let me drive,” Allen said, and crawled up front.
“You can’t drive. You’re only 8,” she reminded him.
“I don’t care, you’re sick. Let me drive,” he said, and she pulled over at the side of the road when she felt her blood pressure spike again.
Emily barely heard Allen call for an ambulance. She suddenly became aware that she was in the Emergency Room, and Dr. Hayden was with her.
“Emily? Can you hear me?” he asked softly.
Emily nodded and pulled her oxygen mask off.
“Keep it on,” he said, and slid the mask back over her face. “You passed out. Your blood pressure got too high, and your son called an ambulance.”
Emily nodded.
“You’ll need to stay here for a bit, until we get it under control.”
Again, she just nodded. Her head was pounding and she could still see little swirls of lights.
Dr. Hayden sat down and took her hand, “What happened?”
“I… had a fight,” she said, and looked away from him.
“With your husband?”
Emily nodded, unable to talk.
“He’s here. Do you want me to keep him away?”
“He’s here?” Emily asked, looking around the room.
“Your husband, brother, and dad are here,” Dr. Hayden told her.
Emily frowned, “I don’t have a brother and my Dad is dead.”
Dr. Hayden smiled, “Ok, I’ll tell them they can’t see you right now.”
Emily nodded and slipped back off to sleep.
Dr. Hayden walked out into the waiting room.
“Can we see her?” Chevalier asked. He was holding Alexis, who was nervously looking around.
“Not right now. She’s not ready to see anyone and she’s confused, so it’s best if we just let her sleep,” Dr. Hayden said.
Allen frowned, “Confused?”
“Yes, she says she doesn’t have a brother and that her father is dead. It’ll all come back to her when she’s fully awake,” Dr. Hayden explained.
Allen looked at Chevalier nervously.
“So what happened, exactly? Allen just said she was driving and started to swerve, so he called an ambulance,” Chevalier asked.
Dr. Hayden sighed, “Her blood pressure spiked, it’s been high for a few weeks, but this morning it wasn’t this bad.”
“You saw her this morning?”
Dr. Hayden nodded, “Yes, she’s been coming to me regularly.”
Chevalier just nodded and sat back in his chair.
“We’ll watch her for a few days, and send her home… course… she mentioned you and she had been fighting,” Dr. Hayden said, looking at Kyle.
Kyle nodded, “Sort of.”
“We can’t have any of that. She needs to stay in a calm environment, or we could lose her. The miscarriage was a nasty one and she’s still recovering because she left the hospital too early for us to stabilize her.”
“We can do that,” Kyle assured him.
“When can we see her?” Quinn asked.
“Let’s try again in the morning, when she’s had a chance to sleep for the night.”
“She... has a fear of hospitals… needles, oxygen, everything,” Chevalier told him.
Dr. Hayden smiled, “Yes I know, drawing blood this morning was interesting, but I got it. We’ll keep an eye on her.”
The heku watched as the doctor walked out and left them alone in the waiting room.
“Did you know she’s been seeing a doctor?” Kyle asked.
Chevalier shook his head, “No, I didn’t.”
Allen sighed, “She didn’t want you to know.”
“Why?” Chevalier asked him, wondering how his 8-year-old son knew.<
br />
“Because the doctor put her on bed rest after the miscarriage. She’s supposed to be taking vitamins, and she’s not, she’s supposed to be eating more, and she’s not,” Allen said. “It’s easier for her to control what she does and doesn’t do, if you don’t know what the doctor said.”
“Damnit, Em,” Chevalier said. “If she’s not going to listen to a doctor, why go?”
Allen shrugged, “I better not say anymore. I probably shouldn’t have even brought it up.”
“How is it you know all of this?”
Allen shrugged again and looked at the floor.
“Tell me,” Chevalier growled.
Kyle put a hand on Allen’s shoulder. Allen glanced at him, and then back to his Dad, “I read her diary.”
Chevalier raised his eyebrows, “Your Mom has a diary?”
Allen nodded.
“How far back does it go?”
“She started it the day she left for two months,” Allen said. He knew he couldn’t fight the heku. They were stronger than he was.
“Keep talking, Boy, your Dad asked you why Emily is seeing a doctor,” Kyle said, tightening his grip.
Quinn frowned, “Does this not seem a tad intrusive? Her diary would be private.”
“If it helps me figure out what’s going on, then I don’t really care… spill it, Allen,” Chevalier said.
Allen’s shoulders dropped, “She was afraid she was going to die while she was away. She liked the doctor enough that she kept going to him when she got back.”
“Wait… she was this close to us for two months?” Kyle asked, shocked.
Allen nodded, “Yes.”
“Why did she think she was going to die?” Chevalier asked.
“I guess she was in a lot of pain for a while. She was up at night in agony, and she was alone. The doctor not only helped her through the pain, but also listened to her,” Allen explained.
“Where’s this diary?”
Allen shook his head, “I’m not telling you.”
“Allen,” Chevalier hissed.
“No, this has gone on far enough,” Quinn said. “That diary is private, and you shouldn’t turn Allen against his Mom.”
Chevalier sighed, “I guess you’re right.”
Allen sat down against the wall and glared at Chevalier.
“Kyle… go find it,” Chevalier said, and Kyle blurred away before Quinn could say anything.
“I’ll tell her,” Allen scowled.
Chevalier appeared at Allen and pushed him against the wall, “You better watch yourself.”
Proditor : Book 5 of the Heku Series Page 13