Proditor : Book 5 of the Heku Series

by T. M. Nielsen

  “You called for me?” Exavior asked, coming in to her room and sitting down on the bed beside her.

  “Please, let me go,” Emily asked him.

  Exavior smiled, “When you are well, my love. Then we’ll talk.”

  “Why am I here?”

  “For your protection. I care about you, and the Equites weren’t treating you right, or you wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”

  “I don’t feel good, Exavior. I just want to go home.”

  Exavior touched her cheek softly, “This is your home.”

  “I miss my kids.” Emily tried a new approach.

  “It’s ok, we’ll have more,” he said, and kissed her softly before standing up and leaving the room.

  Emily looked over at the guards in her room and laid back down on the bed. The medications were making her tired, and she’d spent most of the last few weeks asleep. She watched the snow falling outside the window and wondered if even the Valle knew where she was.

  Emily opened her eyes when a servant brought in some breakfast. She got up and looked at the fresh fruit and muffins, and then sat back down on the bed. She pulled a book out of the drawer and sat back to read.

  “Em?” Exavior said, walking in.

  Emily looked up at him.

  “Starving yourself won’t work. You can’t turn me to ash so you’re only hurting yourself,” he said.

  “What do you mean I can’t ash you?”

  “Sam… he heard what you and boyfriend did to protect him. While you were medicated, I did the same,” Exavior said, and grinned slightly.

  “You fed off of me?” Emily asked angrily, and felt her neck.

  “I did, but not to feed, to protect myself. When you realize how much you love me, you’ll no longer want to try to get away, and then I can stop. Until then, I have to protect myself,” Exavior said.

  “Go away,” Emily said, and went over to sit in the bay window to look out over the snowy landscape.

  “Love, please,” Exavior said, and touched her arm softly.

  Emily looked at him with tear filled eyes, “Let me go.”

  Exavior ran his lips softly along hers and smiled when she turned her head away from his, “Eat, you can’t get better without food.”

  “I’m not hungry,” she told him, watching the large snowflakes fall against the window.

  Exavior took her hand and hauled her to her feet, then pulled her over to the table and forced her to sit down, “Come on, eat.”

  Emily poked around at the cheese quiche, and thought about Chevalier trying to find her. She looked down at her hand when Exavior took it.

  “Food works better if you eat it,” he said, and smiled.

  “My head hurts. I don’t want to eat. I want Chev,” Emily said softly. She jumped when Exavior hit the table. It crashed into two pieces and the quiche splattered across the floor.

  He turned quickly and blurred from the room, slamming the door shut behind him. Emily moved to the bed and pulled her knees up against her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs. She laid her head on her knees as servants came and cleaned up the mess, replacing the table silently and then disappearing from the room.

  Emily looked up when another set of servants came into the room. They went into her closet and took her only pair of jeans and a t-shirt, and filled the wardrobe with dresses and gowns of all colors and shapes and soft, delicate scarves along with jewelry trees full of jewels. They didn’t even look at her as they left.

  ***

  The small boat pulled up alongside the yacht marked ‘Emily 2’. Chevalier deftly jumped onto the large yacht and looked around quickly. Kyle and Zohn went through the lower deck while Chevalier looked around the top.

  “She’s not here,” Kyle said.

  Zohn joined them, “Her scent is very weak. She’s not been here in a long time.”

  “Tie up the smaller boat. Let’s get this yacht back to the island and see if Sotomar can catch any sign of Exavior,” Chevalier said, and moved up to the bridge. As soon as the skiff was attached, he kicked the yacht into high gear and set off for Island Coven.

  Seven hours later, he pulled up to the pier and met Sotomar. The Valle Elder disappeared into the boat and checked every room, smelling everything he could find. He came out an hour later and joined Chevalier, Kyle, and Zohn.

  “He’s been on the boat,” Sotomar said. “Not recently though.”

  “He’s never had a reason to be on the boat,” Chevalier growled. “He has her.”

  “I’ll try his phone again, he’s not been answering,” Sotomar said, and grabbed his phone.

  “Exavior!” Sotomar said, shocked. “Where are you?”

  The Equites watched, their anticipation growing.

  “We need you back at the Council immediately. There are some problems with the Equites,” Sotomar told him.

  “That’s an order. I want you with the Council within 24 hours, or you’ll be banished. This is important. We won’t take this from the Equites and we’ll need your services,” Sotomar said, growling slightly.

  He slammed the phone shut, “He’s agreed to come to the Council.”

  “We’ll come too,” Chevalier said.

  Sotomar nodded, “We’ll take my helicopter. He can’t know you are there.”

  Two hours later, the Equites were flying toward the Valle’s main city.

  ***

  “Where did he go?” Emily asked her door guard.

  “None of your business,” he said.

  “You could let me go,” Emily told him. “Chevalier would repay you. I’m sure you could stay on his island.”

  “Go sit back down. We’re not letting you go.”

  “I can ash you,” Emily told them angrily.

  “Good luck getting off this rock without help,” he said, and smiled at Emily.

  “A phone then? One phone call?”

  “Go back and sit down,” he said again sternly.

  Emily sat down in the bay window and looked out. She was several floors up from the ground, and all she could see was snow and snow covered trees.

  ***

  Exavior walked into the Valle’s council chambers and sat down in his chair with the entire Council watching him.

  “Thanks for joining us,” Sotomar said coolly.

  “Let’s get this over with. I’m busy at my coven,” Exavior told them.

  “Actually,” Sotomar said. “You are to be questioned.”

  Exavior looked at them, surprised, “Why me?”

  “Emily has gone missing, and we suspect you know where she is.”

  Exavior grinned, “She got away from the Equites again? I don’t know where she is, but I can assure you she’s looking for me.”

  “I was on the yacht she disappeared from, and I caught your scent,” Sotomar said.

  “You’re now working with the Equites? That’s a little odd, isn’t it?”

  “All three factions are currently working together to bring Emily back,” Elder Ryan said.

  “Still, to think that I would see the day when the Valle stooped to working with the Equites… it’s disgusting.”

  “Do you have her?” Sotomar asked.

  “Emily? No, I do not,” Exavior said.

  “You’re lying,” Zohn said from behind him.

  Exavior smiled, “A former Chief Interrogator to question me? How exciting.”

  “Where is she?” Zohn asked angrily.

  “I don’t have her. I would imagine she’s out looking for me.”

  “She isn’t out looking for you,” Chevalier said. “We know you have her. She’s very sick and needs medical attention.”

  “If I see her I’ll be sure to take her to a hospital,” Exavior said from his seat above them.

  Elder Ryan frowned, “Why then, do you smell like her?”

  Exavior raised his eyebrows, “I do?”

  “Yes, strongly.”

  “I have no idea why.”

  “Tell us where she is,” Chevalier growled, hi
s hands balled into tight fists.

  “I don’t know where she is,” Exavior said.

  “He’s lying,” Zohn hissed.

  “You’re slipping, too long as an Elder… I’m not lying.”

  “Why don’t we take him to the interrogation chamber and ask?” Zohn suggested.

  “That’s against Valle policy,” Sotomar said, and turned to Exavior. “I just caught what Ryan did. You smell a lot like a Winchester.”

  Exavior shrugged, “Coincidence… if I’m done here, I do need to get back.”

  “To what?” Chevalier hissed.

  “None of your business,” Exavior said, grinning. He stood up and disappeared from the council chambers.

  “You’re going to let him go?” Zohn asked.

  “What else can we do? If we keep him then it may put her in danger,” Sotomar said. “We have no idea if she’s alone while he’s gone. I suspect he has her in a remote location, a place that she can’t get out of alone.”

  Chevalier sighed, “Keep looking for other residences he owns.”

  “We will,” Ryan assured him.

  ***

  Emily rifled through the new closet-full of clothes, unhappy at what she found. The dresses were all extremely short babydoll and slip style dresses. They all had delicate embroidery or hand beaded decorations and were made of soft, flowing material and light colors. She sighed and went back to the bed. One of the guards brought her a stack of books, and she sat down to read.

  Emily looked up when the door opened.

  “I’m back, my love,” Exavior said, and motioned for the guards to leave before he shut the door behind him.

  “Oh, yay,” Emily said sarcastically.

  Exavior grinned, “I know you missed me.”

  “About as bad as a hangover.”

  “You’re moody, hmm. Have a bad time while I was away?”

  “What do you think? I’m so tired of this room I could scream. I want to go home.”

  “Tired of this room? I hadn’t thought of that. Fine, get dressed then. I’ll show you around my home,” Exavior said, and leaned against the wall.

  “Get dressed? Why don’t you try bringing me some clothes that cover me,” Emily said, glaring at him.

  “You will be covered. You need to show more skin and stop hiding your body beneath those ugly things you normally wear.”

  Emily turned back to her book.

  “That’s an order,” Exavior chuckled. “Get dressed.”

  Emily slammed her book down on the bed and glared at Exavior.

  He winced and then grinned, “Can’t turn me to ash, can you?”

  Emily got up, grabbed a random dress, and disappeared into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. She came out a few minutes later wearing a soft peach babydoll dress that she kept pulling down, but it didn’t seem to get any longer.

  “Beautiful,” Exavior said, smiling.

  “Don’t I get shoes?” Emily asked, crossing her arms.

  “No, you don’t like shoes.”

  Emily glared at him, “Let’s get on with it.”

  Exavior grinned at her attitude and took her hand. She followed him out of her room, ignoring the grins from the guards as she glared at them. They walked out into a huge room full of overstuffed chairs, a large TV, and several recliners. The room had seven doors along the back wall and two sets of stairs leading down to the floors below.

  “What are those doors?” Emily asked, looking at the heavy steel doors at the back of the room.

  “My room is in the middle, and the others are just extra bedrooms,” Exavior said, looking around the room.

  “Planning on filling them with a harem?” Emily asked, irritated.

  Exavior chuckled, “You’re cute when you try to be mad.”

  Emily’s eyes narrowed, “I don’t like you.”

  Exavior bent down and pressed his lips to hers. He held her close to him with a hand to her back and one wrapped behind her neck. She pushed against his shoulders, but couldn’t get him to let go. The more she fought, the harder he pressed his lips against hers. He forced her mouth open and his tongue began to explore hers.

  Finally, he pulled away from her and smiled, “You know I love you.”

  Emily kicked and her heel connected with his knee. A sickening grinding sound filled the room as he fell to the ground, clutching his knee. She quickly reached into his coat pocket and grabbed his cell phone, then ran down the stairs as his knee healed. She could hear him cursing as she dialed Chevalier.

  “What, Exavior?” Chevalier growled.

  “Help me,” Emily said, running through the house, taking random corners.

  “Where are you?” Chevalier asked frantically.

  Emily screamed when a guard caught her and shut the phone.

  ***

  Chevalier’s eyes darkened, “He has her.”

  “We knew that, now though, we have proof,” Quinn said, leaning forward in this chair.

  “Is she ok?” Kyle asked.

  “I don’t know… she just said ‘help me’ and then screamed before the phone disconnected.”

  “Damnit, I wonder what she had to do to get the phone.”

  “I don’t know,” Chevalier growled. “I also want to know why he smelled so much like her.”

  Kyle’s eyes grew wide and he glanced at Mark, “Her scent on him… or his blood?”

  Chevalier looked at him, “It was her blood scent.”

  Kyle looked down at his hands, “That means he’s immune to her.”

  “What? How?” Zohn asked.

  “I thought she would have told you,” Kyle said, looking up at Chevalier. “She knows how to make a heku immune… somehow, he must have found out.”

  “How did she find that out herself?” Chevalier asked.

  “She went back into the crypt. She found books and ledgers kept by the Ancient, and in them, she found how he and Larsen were immune to her abilities,” Kyle explained.

  “And you know this because…”

  Kyle’s shoulders fell, “Because I let her try it on me. She said she was going to tell you. I had no idea that you didn’t know.”

  Chevalier’s hands balled into fists, “Why would being immune make him smell like her?”

  Kyle sighed, “It involves draining the heku and then feeding from her.”

  “What?” Chevalier roared.

  “She said if we didn’t help her, she would go to the Valle… and we knew they would do it,” Kyle said.

  “You let Emily drain you and then you fed off of her?” Quinn yelled. “You could have killed her.”

  “I stopped it,” Mark whispered.

  “You were in on it, too?” Chevalier growled.

  Mark nodded, “Kyle is right. She said if we wouldn’t help her try it, that she would go to the Valle.”

  Chevalier was angry enough his hands shook, “I will deal with you two later… how does Exavior know how to do it?”

  “I would imagine Sam followed us into the crypt,” Kyle said. “Or heard us talking about it maybe.”

  “That explains why she hasn’t turned the entire place to ash, no use if Exavior survives,” Quinn said.

  ***

  “That was unacceptable,” Exavior said angrily. The guard that caught Emily had her hands restrained behind her back as she stood before the Chief Interrogator.

  “I don’t really care. Let me go,” Emily scowled.

  “No… and now I’m going to show you what happens in my home when someone defies me,” Exavior said, turning and walking down the hallway. The guard pushed her forward to follow him and hissed slightly behind her.

  They walked through a few hidden passageways and emerged into a room Emily immediately recognized as an interrogation room. She fought to get away from the guard, but he managed to shackle her to the wall across from a large fireplace. The shackles were made for a heku, and were far enough off the ground that Emily’s feet didn’t reach. She kicked at the guard, but he chuckled and left
the room.

  Another guard came in a few minutes later dragging a gray, withered heku who was slumped over and his skin was dry and cracked. Exavior leaned against the wall silently as the guard strapped the heku into a chair similar to the one Mark kept Emily from sitting in at the castle.

  Exavior moved to Emily and took her face roughly in his hand, “Watch and learn. Your life will be much easier if you learn to obey me.”

  He kissed her softly and withdrew a small dagger from his pocket. Emily tried to get free as he cut her wrist slightly. A trail of blood dripped slowly down her arm.

  Exavior turned and grinned at the starving heku as a guttural scream escaped his lips and he fought against the restraints to get to Emily.

  “Do you know what he did to deserve this punishment?” Exavior asked. “He forgot to inform me that a donor arrived. He waited an entire 2 minutes to tell me… my rules are clear… and he disobeyed me.”

  Emily watched the heku, her breathing rapid. If he were to get free, he would drain her quickly. She knew the scent of her blood was hard even for well-fed heku to resist, and this one was starving and insane with hunger.

  “You… now you have some lee way. I love you and don’t want to punish you,” Exavior said, and smiled at her warmly. “I still can’t have you fighting me, understand?”

  Emily nodded, still watching the heku. Her arms were numb from hanging from the shackles, and she no longer kicked to get free. She watched in horror as Exavior tortured the heku for the next four hours. She shut her eyes and listened to the anguish from the heku and the exhilaration as Exavior proved to her that he was to be obeyed.

  Tears were streaming down her face when the guard came and pulled the heku’s lifeless body from the interrogation room. Exavior gently released Emily’s shackles and set her down on the floor. He took her hand and walked her back up into the house as she wrapped her free arm around her body. She was shivering from the cold room and from the horror she’d seen.

  They walked into her room and Exavior rubbed her arms, “You’re freezing.”