Quinn glanced at Zohn, and they both left Chevalier’s office. Kyle moved up to sit down in the chair in front of the Elder’s desk.
“We’ll get her back,” Kyle said. “It’s not that easy to keep Emily confined.”
“When we do though,” Chevalier said, and looked up at Kyle, “There’ll be no way to keep her from disappearing.”
“If we banish him, maybe she’ll stay,” Kyle suggested. “Then there won’t be any more threats. The Encala and the Valle are helping us. She got what she wanted, peace between the factions.”
“I still think she’ll leave,” Chevalier said, and sunk his head into his hands.
Kyle stood up slowly and then left the room, shutting the door behind him.
***
Emily wandered the mansion with the four guards in tow. She was given free reign of the upper floors, and spent a good part of her day wandering aimlessly, looking for something to do. Exavior banned her from the kitchen when she burned herself pulling a baked potato out of the oven, and then forbid her from going into the prison again when she almost started a riot.
“Where is Exavior?” Emily asked, turning to the guards.
“He stepped out for a few hours,” the tallest guard said
“Can I use your phone, please?”
“Do we look stupid to you?” he asked, frowning.
“Please, one tiny phone call and I won’t even tell him.”
“No”
“I can turn you to ash,” she reminded him.
“Yes, you can, and then you would have to be punished,” he said, and grinned.
“I’ve been here for two months. I think that deserves a phone call,” Emily said.
“You’re not getting a phone, Toots,” he chuckled.
Emily turned away from them, “I just miss my kids.”
The guard reached out and pushed her. She stumbled forward and then kept walking. She was cold in just the short slip dress, but hated to head back to the bedroom already. She suddenly had an idea and walked quickly to the back of the mansion and stepped into the banquet hall.
“What are we doing in here?” one of the guards asked.
“Looking,” she said, and moved back to the far wall where there were thick gray curtains against the wall.
“Hey, what are you doing?” he asked when Emily scooted behind the curtain.
“I’m getting away from you,” Emily said sweetly, and heard the guards move behind the curtain to follow her. She wiped the thin trickle of blood from her nose and ducked out from under the curtains.
Emily rifled through the ash covered clothes until she found a cell phone. She glanced around the room and went back behind the curtain and dialed.
“What?” Chevalier growled.
“It’s me,” Emily whispered.
“Em, are you ok?”
“I won’t be once Exavior finds out I ashed his guards,” Emily whispered quietly. “I had to call you.”
“We’ll find you, please don’t antagonize him… has he hurt you?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “He made me marry him, too.”
“I know. He sent us a copy of the marriage certificate,” Chevalier told her. “Do you know where you are?”
“Just Alaska,” Emily whispered. “Oh my God, he’s home.”
She shut the phone quickly and dropped it behind the curtain, then ran out the back door of the banquet room and up the servant stairs to her room. She crawled onto the bed and laid across it, pretending to be asleep.
Emily jumped when she heard the bedroom door ripped from the hinges and thrown against the wall. Exavior grabbed her arm and pulled her violently to her feet.
“Where are your guards?” he yelled.
“How should I know?” she asked, stepping away from him and rubbing her arm.
He took an ominous step towards her, “Tell me.”
“I ashed them,” Emily told him. She tried to move away from him, but he hit her with the back of his hand and she flew up against the wall. The taste of blood filled her mouth as he grabbed her by the neck and pulled her out of the room and down the stairs, her feet kicking inches off of the floor.
Emily was only partially aware that she was in his interrogation room when he threw her down onto a hard wooden table and strapped her arms and legs to ropes from the head and foot of the table.
“Please,” Emily whispered. “Don’t.”
“You don’t give me much of a choice, do you?” Exavior asked, looking down at her angrily. He turned the crank slightly and listened to Emily scream.
Emily felt like her arms and legs were being torn from her body. The pain was excruciating and when he released the tension all she could muster was a slight moan.
“See what I told you?” Exavior said. “When will you stop being defiant?”
She screamed again when he turned the crank, tightening the ropes and painfully stretching the joints in her body.
“I’ve never had such an exquisite creature in my control before. It’s quite stimulating,” Exavior said, and ran his hand under her dress and gently caressed her breast as she groaned in pain.
“Ivan,” Exavior said, and pulled a chair up beside her. She stopped screaming. Her voice had given out and a thick sweat broke out across her forehead as her body shook with agony.
“Yes, Sir?” a guard said, coming into the room. He glanced briefly at Emily, and then back to the Chief Interrogator.
“It’s time again,” Exavior said, and extended his arm.
“Yes, Sir,” Ivan said, and sunk his teeth into Exavior’s wrist. The Chief Interrogator leaned back in the chair as his blood was drained from his body. As his body turned ghostly white, he began to breathe quickly and his feral eyes fell on Emily, restrained to the table and helpless.
Ivan stood back when he was done and Exavior lunged at Emily’s throat, sinking his teeth deep into her neck. After several minutes, the guard slammed into Exavior and pinned him against the wall as the Chief Interrogator fought to get to his prey.
Exavior finally got control and stood up straight, regaining his composure, “Thank you, Ivan, you may go.”
The guard bowed and left after another glance at Emily.
Exavior ran his hand from the puncture wounds in her neck, down her side and her hip. He slipped her feet out of the restraints and then her hands as he kissed her passionately and ran his tongue along her lips.
Emily’s body fell limp against the table. She couldn’t find the energy to move, and it felt as if her arms and legs were no longer under her control. Exavior picked her up gently, and kissed her again before carrying her up to the bedroom. He slipped her clothes off and crawled into bed beside her, pulling her naked body close to his.
***
“Elder?” Kyle asked, knocking on his door again.
Chevalier pulled himself up from the floor. The pain was just fading and his body stopped shaking from the agony.
“Enter,” he whispered, and braced himself against the desk.
“Elder, what happened?” Kyle asked, shutting the door quickly.
Chevalier sat down in his chair, “She was punished.”
“Damnit, how?” Kyle sat down in the chair, concerned.
“The rack, I suspect,” Chevalier said, quickly gaining his strength back.
Kyle put his head in his hands, “He’s going to kill her.”
“She called me,” Chevalier told him.
“She did? When?”
“Just before the pain. She said they are in Alaska and then she said he’s coming, and a few minutes later the pain started,” Chevalier said, sighing. “I asked if he’d hurt her and she said yes.”
Kyle growled, “How can we not find him?”
“I’m leaving the kids with Anna, and going to Quinn’s house in Alaska. That way when we find her, I’ll be closer.”
“I’ll go too,” Kyle said, standing up.
“Quinn will be here shortly. He’ll fly us up,” Chevalier said, and left to make
arrangements for the kids.
***
“Put this on,” Exavior said, and threw a bikini at Emily. “It’s been a week since you ashed my guards and it’s time you got over it.”
Emily threw the bikini onto the floor.
“Now,” Exavior growled, and handed it back to her. He stormed out of the room and slammed the door.
Emily got out of bed slowly, and stood, steadying herself on the bed. Since her time on the rack, her legs felt like jelly and her back ached constantly. She slowly undressed and slid on the bikini, then wrapped in a towel before stepping out into the hallway, using the wall for support.
“I forget how fragile mortals are,” Exavior said, and picked her up. The guards laughed and nodded in agreement as Exavior carried her down the stairs. He kicked open the door to the hot tub, and sat her down in it before stripping completely and sliding into the water beside her.
Emily moved away from him and he chuckled, “I won’t hurt you.”
“You already did,” she whispered, and leaned back against the jets.
“I apologize for that. I don’t handle disobedience well,” he said, and put his hand on her knee.
Emily pushed his hand off and moved further away from him.
Exavior grinned, “You can fight me all you want, but one of these days, you’ll realize you love me too.”
Emily gasped when he appeared on his knees in front of her and pressed his body to hers as he kissed her. She pushed against him, but he wrapped a hand around the back of her neck and held her close as his other hand rubbed against her back and untied the top of her bikini.
Exavior pulled away from her slightly and looked into her eyes, “Let me love you.”
“No,” Emily said, and put an arm across her exposed chest.
“Why won’t you make love to me? What are you afraid of?”
“I’m not afraid… I don’t love you.”
“How do you know when you won’t even try?” he asked, and ran his lips lightly along hers.
Emily turned her face, “No.”
“You’re testing even my control,” he whispered, and flicked her ear with his tongue.
“Stop,” she snapped, and put a hand against his bare chest.
Exavior pulled her arms to her sides and looked at her body under the water, “I need to talk to the tailor. We’re covering you up too much. We shouldn’t hide perfection underneath cloth.”
Emily pulled her hands away from him and covered her chest as she crawled out of the water.
“Don’t leave,” he said, and watched her grab the towel.
Emily turned to Exavior, “Let me go.”
He stood up and got out of the water, not bothering to cover himself, “No, you belong to me now.”
“Chevalier is looking for me,” she told him.
“Oh I have no doubt. I’m sure the Valle and Encala are looking for you also.”
“They’ll find me.”
“Yes, they will, but by then you will love me.”
“I’m not going to love you, Exavior, not after what I’ve seen and been through here,” she said, and opened the door to the hallway.
Exavior chuckled and got back into the water as she disappeared down the hallway.
***
“Chevalier, this is Reverend James Johnson. He married Exavior and Emily,” Quinn said, motioning to a terrified mortal in black robes.
Chevalier smiled at him, “Thank you for coming.”
“I can’t tell you what you want to know,” the Reverend said. “He is evil, and I have no doubt he would kill me if I were to tell.”
“We can protect you,” Chevalier told him. “The girl is my wife and I need to get her back before he hurts her.”
“She’s… she’s your wife?”
“Yes, Exavior’s marriage is a sham. He thinks he loves her, and will go to any length to get her to return that, even kill her,” Quinn told him.
“She said no,” the Reverend said, smiling slightly. “I’ve never had a bride say no to the vows… he said yes for her, and I had to keep going.”
“We know that and don’t blame you,” Quinn said. “Right now, all we want is to get her away from him.”
“I’m sorry, I can’t help you,” the Reverend said, and stood up.
“Please,” Chevalier said, and motioned to the door. “Our children need her.”
The Reverend turned toward the door, and his eyes fell on the two beautiful children, “These are hers?”
“Yes, and they need their mother.”
***
“Good morning, my love,” Exavior said, and kissed her softly.
Emily pulled away from him and sat on the edge of the bed.
“Come back and let me hold you,” he said, and pulled her naked body against his. He’d banned her from wearing anything to bed since the hot tub, and replaced all of her dresses with sheer and lace ones that allowed him to see her body any time he wanted.
Emily felt his bare chest at her back and watched out the window. New snow was falling, and the morning was dark and gray.
“Did you sleep well?” he asked, and began to kiss the back of her neck.
Emily didn’t answer. She hadn’t spoken to him since they were in the hot tub. In the four weeks since that time, she’d kept to her room, too humiliated to be seen in the partially transparent clothing Exavior had forced on her. Once a week, Ivan came and he and Exavior made the Chief Interrogator immune to Emily’s ability.
“You have to talk to me eventually,” Exavior said, and ran his fingers down the curve of her waist.
Emily got up from the bed and took the sheets with her, covering herself as she disappeared into the bathroom. She came out a few minutes later in a sheer black slip dress with her arm covering her chest.
“I didn’t give you those so you can hide yourself,” Exavior said, now sitting on the edge of the bed, fully dressed.
Emily walked over and sat in the bay window, pulling a blanket over herself.
Exavior growled and pulled her out of the window by her arm, and then gently pushed her against a wall. He smiled as he looked down at her body and the subtle hints of her curves he could see through the dress.
“You know… time’s up,” Exavior told her. “Tonight I’m not taking no for an answer. You’re my wife, and I’m going to treat you as such.”
Emily gasped, “No.”
“Yes, no more rejection from you,” Exavior said, and kissed her roughly. He pulled away and ran his eyes down her body again, “It’s been too long, and tonight, it’s time.”
“Then you are no different than Jeff,” Emily said, and fell to the floor when he backhanded her.
“I’m nothing like that lowlife.”
“You’re exactly like him,” Emily said from the floor. She wiped the blood from her lip with the back of her hand, “And you’re right… tonight is the night.”
“It is?” Exavior said, surprised.
“Yes, the night I get out of here,” she said, and wiped the trickle of blood from her nose.
Exavior growled and appeared out in the hallway. The mansion was perfectly silent, and piles of ash lay across the floor. He swept into the bedroom and pulled Emily to her feet by her hair. He slapped her again, and then dragged her out of the room by her neck.
“You’ll pay for that,” he hissed, and threw her into the interrogation room. She landed hard against the wooden table and turned to him just as he backhanded her again. She felt the crunch when her cheekbone shattered as he hit her.
“When I lived in Rome we called this the equuleus,” Exavior said as he forced her back into the rack. “The French call it Bac de Torture, that’s one of my favorites. Course, Streckbank from the Germans was nice, it means ‘stretching frame’.”
Emily screamed when he turned the crank and stretched her, pulling at all of her joints.
“Now… how to revive my staff,” Exavior said, sitting down on a chair beside her as her pain continued.
; “I see that something also needs to happen between us for this to continue. How exactly am I going to prove to you that I am better for you than that Equites?” Exavior asked, looking around at the various torture devices at his disposal.
He touched her leg softly, and looked up at her, “This is going to set us back though. It’ll be another week before you’re able to get around, maybe longer. I have something else in mind, too.”
After an hour of intense pain for Emily, and idle chit-chat for Exavior, he released her and slid a spiked punishment collar on her. He fastened it with a lock and sat her up. She groaned as the metal spikes dug painfully into her neck, and her body ached from the rack.
Exavior hung her from the high shackles again and tightened the chains so her feet were far away from the floor. He stood back and admired her body through the thin fabric as she hung from the shackles. Emily looked up at him and kicked toward him, but he easily stepped aside. With one swift movement, he again sunk his hand into her stomach and sent a stab into her lungs.
“Stop kicking at me. This is for your own good.”
Emily groaned as he twisted his hand and increased the pain.
“I’m going to try something new. I just thought of this one,” he said, and disappeared. He appeared a short time later with five heku dressed in rags and in various stages of starvation. He slipped metal collars onto them and chained them to the wall as they fought to get at the mortal. The smell of her blood was driving them insane.
“Good, just as I’d hoped,” Exavior said, and took the small knife from his pocket. He cut Emily’s wrists slightly, and the blood dripped down her arm. The ravaged heku growled and hissed, and fought to get to her. Their clawed hands came within inches of reaching her.
Emily screamed and tried to kick away from the heku prisoners.
Exavior looked up after only six hours, and frowned, “I’ll be right back.”
Emily’s screams faded as her voice went hoarse, and she watched, terrified, as the heku tried to get to her, pulling angrily against the chains.
The Thukil and Council City Cavalry walked into the quiet mansion and looked around the main entryway as wolves flooded in from the cold outdoors. Mark motioned for teams to break off and search the entire building. He saw the elaborately decorated ‘V’ banner, and knew he had found the home of Exavior.
Proditor : Book 5 of the Heku Series Page 39