Proditor : Book 5 of the Heku Series

by T. M. Nielsen

  Zohn sat back, frustrated.

  A short time later, Mark, Kralen, and Silas came back into the trial area. Emily was slung over Kralen’s shoulder. She was blindfolded and her hands were tied together with someone’s belt.

  “Put me down!” Emily said. She was laughing too hard to fight back.

  “We have the perpetrator,” Kralen said, and set her down gently.

  “I object!” Emily yelled toward the back of the trial area. Mark reached over and spun her to face the Council.

  “Very well,” Chevalier said. “What are the charges?”

  “I charge that being older than dirt takes away your ability to pull off a good prank,” Emily said, grinning.

  “You should have gagged her, too,” Zohn mumbled.

  “We have several charges, Sir,” Mark said. “Not the least of which is polluting the entire palace with the Valle scent.”

  “I’m innocent, they can’t prove it,” Emily said.

  “Prove what?” the Chief Investigator asked as the Council returned.

  “That she filled the palace with the Valle scent, sent half of the new guards on a snipe hunt, doctored the guard reports, tampered with the laundry, assaulted two members of the Cavalry, and put a dangerous animal into the Captain’s quarters,” Silas said to the Council.

  “All lies, I’m completely innocent,” Emily said, nodding.

  “Had a busy week, Em?” Quinn asked.

  “If I did all of those things, then yes, it would have been a busy week, but I’m innocent.”

  “We’ve also found something very interesting about her, something that she’s managed to keep away from us for 13 years,” Mark chuckled.

  Emily’s face fell, “You wouldn’t.”

  “Do you know that Emily has a fear, other than medicine?” Silas asked, grinning.

  “She does?” Chevalier asked him, surprised.

  “Don’t do it…” Emily told them and took a step back.

  Mark looked over at Silas, “How did we get inside?”

  “I don’t know,” Silas said, looking around, confused.

  “I smell a Valle though,” Kralen told them, and turned toward the door.

  “Emily…” Chevalier chuckled.

  “We better go check it out,” Mark growled, and the three ran out of the trial area.

  “Erm… I have an appointment I need to leave for,” Emily said, stepping out of the shadows. Chevalier appeared at her side and untied her hands and blindfold.

  “They’ll remember,” he said, laughing as he took his seat.

  “I’ll deal with them later,” Emily said with a grin, and ran off. Within a few minutes, the Council heard her Jeep leave the garage.

  Quinn sighed, “She’s taking that poor child to the orthodontist?”

  Chevalier nodded, “Yes, he’s having a procedure of some kind today.”

  “Can’t you stop her?” Zohn asked, feeling sorry for Allen.

  “I pick my battles carefully… so no.”

  Mark came in, laughing, “I know, I remember…”

  Quinn chuckled, “We figured.”

  “Permission to ambush… Sir,” Mark said, looking at Chevalier.

  Chevalier sighed, “Permission granted.”

  Mark nodded and blurred from the room.

  “Aren’t you worried?” Zohn asked.

  “Not at all… well… I’m worried about the guards,” Chevalier said, amused.

  The Council’s phone rang and Zohn hit the speakerphone, “Go ahead.”

  “It’s Kyle.”

  “Do you have a report?” Quinn asked.

  “Yes, and it’s worse than we thought. The entire coven is gone. No sign of them, but there is a V.E.S. group that claims to have captured them, and rumors in the area are that they are running experiments on them,” Kyle explained.

  “Experiments?” Quinn whispered.

  “That’s what the rumors are. So far I haven’t been able to get onto the compound, but there are heku inside, I can smell them.”

  “Head back. This needs to be addressed immediately,” Quinn said.

  “I’ll be back by morning.”

  The Council was deep in deliberations when they heard the Jeep return. They looked up as Allen walked in the back council doors.

  “How’d it go?” Chevalier asked.

  “Did you know what she had planned?” Allen asked.

  Chevalier sighed, “No, what did she do?”

  Allen smiled, exposing his new elongated canines, “Now I can feed easier.”

  Chevalier gasped, “Come here.”

  Allen got down so Chevalier could see his teeth. Emily had veneers put on him that perfectly matched the heku’s canines.

  “I didn’t know they could do that,” Chevalier said.

  Allen stood back up, “She wouldn’t tell us, because she wasn’t sure the dentist would do it, and he wasn’t very happy about it either.”

  Quinn was shocked, “She… she fixed it so you can feed… I thought she hated the idea.”

  “She does, but she also knows I hate mortal food,” Allen said, pleased.

  “I can’t believe she did that,” Zohn said, shaking his head.

  “I think she wanted to come prove that she wasn’t being mean, but… about a mile back, she was dragged out of the car by Mark and Silas and I brought the Jeep in,” Allen said, shrugging.

  Chevalier laughed, “She had it coming. Why don’t you go get ready and we’ll take you out to celebrate.”

  “Really?” Allen asked, excited.

  Chevalier nodded, “Yes, go.”

  Allen blurred from the room.

  “I’d like to go,” Zohn said.

  “As would I,” Quinn told them and stood up. “Let’s plan on meeting as soon as Kyle returns. I’ll have the Encala and Valle join us, this concerns us all.”

  ***

  “This better be important,” Sotomar said angrily. “I wasn’t aware you invited the Encala.”

  “It is important, and we all need to be here,” Quinn said.

  William glared at them, “So get on with it.”

  “We’re just waiting for Emily, to keep the peace, if you will,” Zohn said.

  Emily came in a few minutes later and blushed brightly. The Council all had to turn away to hide their laughter. Written across her face was ‘Heku Rule!’ in an ink she couldn’t seem to wash off. She stepped up between Sotomar and William.

  “Stop laughing,” she said, trying not to grin. “It won’t wash off.”

  “Interesting,” Sotomar said, grinning.

  Emily glared at him, “It won’t come off.”

  “I would imagine it will eventually,” William chuckled.

  “Did you call me here to laugh at, or was there a reason?” Emily asked, crossing her arms.

  Once the Council was composed, they turned around and avoided looking at Emily for fear of losing control again.

  “There is a problem that concerns all factions and we’ve asked Emily here to just keep the peace during these talks,” Zohn said, standing up. “The V.E.S. has gone too far this time, and has captured an entire Equites coven.”

  “Why do we care?” William growled.

  Kyle leaned forward, “They are running experiments on them.”

  Emily gasped, “Mortals are?”

  “Yes, and I’m positive there will be more covens attacked. All three factions are in the area,” Kyle told them.

  “Then let’s go get them out,” Sotomar said, frowning. “If their experiments expose us, it will ruin everything we’ve striven to accomplish.”

  “It’s not that easy. They are using electricity lined gates, no guards, nothing that we can overpower or run past,” Kyle said.

  “Then call the police, let the mortals handle it,” Sotomar suggested.

  “If the police go in there and get any of the records, we can still be exposed. We don’t know what has been found out yet,” Quinn said.

  “I’ll go in first,” Emily said
, and everyone turned to her. “I can ash the heku and bring them out with all of the records.”

  “No, it’s too dangerous,” Chevalier said.

  “I’m the only one that can mesh with the V.E.S. without risking heku exposure. I’m also the only one that can ash the prisoners undetected and bring them out,” Emily said.

  “No,” Quinn said. “You can protect yourself against heku, but you have no defense against mortals.”

  “The Valle agree. We can’t risk the Winchester for the lives of this coven,” Sotomar said.

  “The Encala agree also,” William told them.

  “I’m the only one that can do it,” Emily said. “How many are in there?”

  “The coven housed 21 members,” Kyle said. “I don’t know how many are left alive.”

  “Then let me go now. Don’t risk their lives by hesitating.”

  “We can’t risk it, Em,” Chevalier told her.

  Emily walked up into the Council area and knelt down by Chevalier, “I can do this.”

  “I’m not saying you can’t, but it’s too risky.”

  “I’m the only one that can do this. It has to be a mortal that the V.E.S. can’t change the mind of. It has to be me.”

  “No, I’m not going to let you save the heku again,” he whispered.

  “It’s not a matter of saving the heku anymore, it’s a matter of saving my family,” Emily told him, and touched his hand. “Let me go.”

  “I don’t…”

  Emily smiled, “I can do this.”

  Chevalier sighed and looked down the row of council members, one at a time they nodded.

  Emily stood up and walked back down, “I already have a plan on how to get in. After that, I’ll wing it.”

  “How are you so sure they will take you?” Zohn asked.

  “Bites… lots of bites…” Emily said, smiling.

  Chevalier frowned, “I already don’t like this.”

  “It can’t be worse than when dumb nuts had me bitten thirteen times,” Emily reminded him.

  “What? When?” William yelled.

  Emily glanced at him before continuing, “So I show up at the V.E.S.’s doorstep covered in bites, pale, sick, weak… they’ll take me in and I’ll owe them my life.”

  “Pale? As in… almost drained?” Kyle asked, growling. “That’s not safe.”

  “It’s a sure way in,” Emily said, shrugging. “I need to get in fast and I need to gain their confidence before they kill one of the heku.”

  “We will have no way to contact you once you get inside,” Quinn said, frowning.

  “Chevalier will know if I need help, or if something happens to me.”

  “By then it could be too late,” Chevalier said.

  “So it’s agreed, I’m going?” Emily asked.

  “I don’t like it, but I also don’t see another option,” Sotomar said. “We agree.”

  “As Equites, we agree,” Quinn whispered, glancing nervously at Chevalier.

  “Fine,” William hissed, “But if there needs to be a rescue effort to get to Emily, the Encala want in.”

  “As do the Valle,” Sotomar said.

  “Great, then I leave as soon as someone decides to have me for dinner.” Emily smiled, and the enemy heku each took a step away from her.

  She rolled her eyes, “Oh come on, you have all been dying to taste for hundreds of years.”

  Chevalier stood up, “No, I will do it.”

  Emily nodded, “Mark?”

  Mark appeared suddenly beside her, “Yes?”

  Emily sighed, “Hit me.”

  “What?” Mark asked, glancing nervously at Chevalier.

  “Hit me. I need a good bruise too,” she said, and shut her eyes. She opened one eye and then the other, “Mark?”

  “I… I can’t… hit you,” Mark said.

  “Do it,” Chevalier growled. “I just can’t watch.”

  Mark watched as Chevalier left the room.

  “Why me?” Mark asked, unsure.

  “Because I trust you.”

  “But…”

  “Just don’t break anything, come on, hit me,” Emily said.

  Mark frowned at the Council and then sent Emily flying into William’s arms with a hit to her cheek. He pulled her away from the enemy and sat her down on the floor.

  “Are you ok?” Mark asked frantically.

  Emily nodded, “That really hurt.”

  “I’m so sorry.”

  Emily smiled, “Will it bruise?”

  Mark nodded and helped her to her feet.

  Emily lifted her shirt up on the side, “I need one of those rib bruising ones, too.”

  “No,” Mark said sternly. “I’m not hitting you again.”

  Kyle hurdled the desk, “Come here, Em.”

  Emily walked over and lifted her left arm and braced for it. The impact knocked the wind out of her and she fell to the ground, gasping for air.

  “Holy shit,” Emily wheezed as Kyle helped her to her feet.

  “You ok?” he asked, checking to make sure he didn’t break a rib.

  Emily nodded, “Now a few bruises and we’re good to go.”

  Kyle sighed and nodded, “Here goes.”

  Emily held out her arms, and Kyle wrapped his hands around each of her wrists and twisted his hands, leaving round bruises on her wrists. He finished with a grab to her upper arm, which left a perfect hand bruise.

  “Now, just the bites and we’re good,” Emily said, looking at the bruises.

  “Bites?” Mark asked, frowning.

  “We’ll tell you,” Kyle said, and ushered him out. Emily, Quinn, and Zohn followed them up to her room where Chevalier was waiting.

  He hissed slightly when he saw her and forced his temper under control, “I don’t like this.”

  “You won’t be able to do it alone,” Kyle said. “One bite, yes, but over and over could be too much.”

  Chevalier nodded, “I was just thinking that.”

  “Fine, then Chev gets the neck, Kyle on one wrist, and Quinn on the other, then Mark and Zohn can each take a spot,” Emily said.

  “Silas, Kralen,” Zohn called out, and the two Cavalry members appeared. “We’ll need them.”

  Emily nodded and sat on the chair, “I need to be pale though, don’t stop too fast.”

  Silas and Kralen looked at Zohn, terrified. He quickly filled them in, and they took up positions around the chair Emily was in, both looking at each other nervously.

  “Ok, I’m as ready as I’m going to be,” Emily said, and didn’t have time to blink before she felt five sets of teeth pressed against her soft skin. She felt the relaxation that feeding brought and didn’t realize how long it had been until she heard Silas.

  “Enough,” Silas growled.

  Emily tried to pull her arms away from Quinn and Zohn, but couldn’t move them. She heard growls and hisses as the heku were pushed off of her violently and thrown across the room, crashing into the stone walls.

  Emily managed to get to her feet and stumble into the bathroom. She was deathly pale, and the red punctures stood out on her skin. Her lips were white and cracked, just like she wanted. She came back out as Mark and Silas struggled to get Quinn and Zohn out the door. Chevalier and Kyle were already calm and waiting.

  “Now I just need dropped off,” Emily said, and tore one sleeve off of her shirt.

  “I’ll do it, I know a good spot,” Kyle said.

  Emily handed her phone to Chevalier, and he pulled her into a tight embrace, “You can change your mind.”

  Emily pressed her face against his chest and then looked up at him, “But I won’t.”

  “If it gets too bad, get out, we’ll find another way.”

  “I will,” Emily reached up and kissed him.

  Kyle took her arm and helped her down the stairs while the other heku stood with Chevalier and watched her go. Quinn returned and looked down the stairs.

  “I’m sorry.” Quinn frowned. “It was harder to stop than I i
magined.”

  Mark grinned, “We know.”

  “I still don’t like this,” Chevalier said.

  “I know,” Zohn said, joining the others. “There’s no doubt she’ll get in, not the way she looks right now.”

  “I’m not worried about her getting in. It’s getting out that I don’t know about.”

  “She’s smart, she’ll find a way.”

  Chapter 10 - Mission

  Emily looked down the dirt road and smiled at Kyle, “It’ll be ok.”

  “I just wish you weren’t going alone,” Kyle told her.

  “I have to. This could take a while to get them to trust me, and I can only do that alone,” Emily said, and got out of the Ferrari.

  “If you get any way to contact us, to let us know…”

  Emily smiled reassuringly, “Go, I’m going to head in.”

  Kyle nodded, turned the car around, and sped away.

  Emily looked up the dark road, grabbed her aching side, and started up it. She knew it was from the blood loss, but she was cold and tired and was ready to get inside so she could sleep. It was getting harder to keep her eyes open, and she could feel the swelling in her cheek growing as it began to creep into her left eye.

  It wasn’t long before Emily saw light from a window of a huge compound. There were cement walls and armed guards at the front gate. She stumbled closer, and when she heard one of them yell, she fell to her knees on the gravel road.

  Emily felt strong arms pick her up, and she let her body fall limp in his arms.

  “Look at her neck. They done fed off her,” the man said.

  “Get her in to Larry,” another voice said.

  Emily felt movement when the man carried her into the compound as soon as someone turned off the electrified iron gates. The smells changed, and then Emily felt the warmth from a fire as she was laid down on a couch. She groaned slightly and then settled down as warm blankets were put over her. She knew she should stay awake, to listen to everything, but the warmth was making it impossible to fight the sleep, and she drifted off.

  Emily woke slightly when she felt rough hands pick her hands up and flip them over.

  “Each wrist, and her neck, and upper arms, did you see these scars? She’s been fed off of a lot,” a man said, and slid her hands under the blanket. “She’s so pale. I’m surprised they didn’t kill her.”