Proditor : Book 5 of the Heku Series

by T. M. Nielsen

  “Take Emily to Powan. I want this entire palace searched,” Chevalier growled, and put his hand out. “Em, I need your phone.”

  In a blur, Emily found herself in the helicopter with bags sitting at her side. Mark, Zohn, and Kralen jumped in beside her and soon they were in the air.

  Emily watched out the window and frowned, “I thought Powan was west of here.”

  “It is,” Mark said. “We’re not going to Powan.”

  “But Chev said…”

  “I know, but I also realize he knew there was a possibility that that conversation was overheard, so we’re going to the Hall Coven in Virginia,” Mark explained.

  “Why Hall Coven?” Emily whispered after a few minutes of silence.

  “It’s my home coven,” Mark told her.

  By the time they reached Virginia, Emily was tired and her body was sore from all of the moving. She started coughing again, and her color began to fade as the helicopter landed in the middle of a small park.

  Mark was the first out of the helicopter, and he met up with the Coven Leader and quickly explained the situation. Emily looked out over the quaint coven. It was small, but homey, with a park in the center among the houses. She stood up slowly and fell back against the chair when her legs gave out, and she began to cough violently.

  “Let’s go,” Kralen said, and picked her up. Zohn grabbed her bags and they jumped out of the helicopter.

  “Welcome,” a cheery heku said, smiling at the Council City visitors.

  “She needs to lie down,” Kralen told him, and the Lord of Hall Coven looked at Emily, concerned.

  “Come this way,” he told them, and they all followed him to a large house that sat off in a small grove of trees.

  Emily leaned her head against Kralen’s shoulder. She was too tired to keep her eyes open any longer, and the gentle swaying of his walk was lulling her to sleep. She opened her eyes briefly when she felt the soft bed beneath her, and then shut them again as Kralen pulled off her shoes and covered her in a blanket. She could hear the heku talking softly in the hallway as she drifted off to sleep.

  “This is Lord Bradford,” Mark said to the others. “He’s offered you each a room in the main house, but I would prefer to stay with Emily, although I doubt Exavior is going to track us here.”

  Zohn nodded, “Thank you for taking us on short notice.”

  Lord Bradford smiled, “Anything for the Council. It’s an honor to provide for the Winchester.”

  ***

  “That’s six,” Silas said, handing Chevalier a tiny camera. “It was in the Council’s conference room.”

  “How the hell did he get these in here?” Chevalier growled.

  “Sam, would be my guess,” Quinn said. “It shows how weak this Council has become to allow this… the changes are good.”

  “Sir,” one of the Cavalry said, coming in. “I called Powan and the helicopter didn’t arrive.”

  Chevalier grinned, “Good.”

  “Where are they?” Quinn asked.

  “I don’t know, but that means neither does Exavior.”

  “Dad?” Allen asked, walking in.

  Chevalier turned to his son. Although only 11, he was almost as tall as some of the heku guards and was intellectually an adult.

  “I’ve been thinking about the cameras. They have to have some kind of connection to Exavior on the outside. My guess would be through the Internet,” Allen said. “One computer would have to be inside of the palace or at least close enough for a wireless connection. If we can find it, we can disable the cameras and maybe find where he is viewing them from.”

  Chevalier looked at his son, shocked, “If we find the computer, can you track him down?”

  “I think so,” Allen told him. “If we can get the remote computer’s IP address, we should be able to track it to a city and maybe even an address.”

  “Get with Silas, tell them what to look for,” Chevalier said, and watched his son move quickly from the room. He wasn’t as fast as the heku, but was much faster than any mortal.

  ***

  Emily sat up, coughing violently. She leaned back against the stack of pillows when the coughing stopped and looked over at Mark. He handed her a pill, and she took it with a cold glass of water.

  “Do you need anything?” Mark asked her.

  Emily shook her head and whispered, “How long are my joints going to hurt?”

  “It all depends. I’ve seen the weakness last a few months.”

  Emily frowned, “How do you know?”

  “The Crusades, mainly,” Mark said, and smiled slightly.

  “How long will this last?” Emily whispered, motioning to her stomach. The bruise was still deep black and hurt to touch.

  Mark sighed, “I’ve never seen that before, so I don’t know.”

  “It hurt.”

  “Do you want to talk about it?”

  Emily shook her head.

  “I talked to the Elder today. He thinks we may be able to come back tomorrow,” Mark told her.

  Emily nodded, “Good.”

  He took her hand in his and looked into her eyes, “Emily… did… he…”

  “No,” Emily whispered.

  “What did you do all day there?”

  “Walked around mostly. I kept looking for a way out.”

  “Did he talk about turning you?” Mark asked.

  “No, never,” Emily whispered. “I honestly thought he would though.”

  Kralen knocked and then walked in with a hot pizza in his hand, “As requested.”

  Emily smiled and whispered, “Thanks, pizza sounds so good.”

  She immediately grabbed a piece and started to eat while Mark and Kralen cringed.

  “That smells awful,” Mark said.

  “I bet it tastes awful,” Kralen commented.

  “Eat a piece, I dare you,” Emily whispered, and took another bite.

  Mark chuckled, “No way.”

  “I pass too, sorry,” Kralen said, and sat down against the wall.

  Emily finished eating and then laid back in bed. She watched out the window until she fell asleep. Mark and Kralen watched her while she slept and spoke quietly about new ways to strengthen the guards in Council City.

  ***

  “The house is empty,” Silas said, irritated. “His scent is there, but fading.”

  Chevalier sighed, “At least we know his cameras are gone. Emily should be back in about two hours.”

  “Where did they go?” Quinn asked.

  “Hall Coven,” Chevalier said. “Lord Bradford was more than happy to let them stay. We should repay them.”

  Quinn nodded, “Agreed.”

  Chevalier sat down in his chair in the council chambers, “What would you think about calling Powan in to help guard the palace for a while?”

  “They are more disciplined than ours,” Quinn said, and sat down also. “I’ve been debating for a while using Powan as a training center for palace guards. We send them there for a few months and let General Skinner train them.”

  “That’s not a bad idea,” Dustin, the Chief Liaison Officer, told them, and sat down.

  “Why don’t you and Zohn go talk to General Skinner about it?” Chevalier asked.

  Dustin nodded, “We’ll head out as soon as Equites 2 arrives.”

  Kyle came in through the trial room door and the Elders looked up at him, “It’s done.”

  “Did you have to kill many innocents?” Quinn asked him.

  “No,” Kyle said, sitting down at his chair. “Once they found out I was only after the Lord of the Coven, they all stayed away from me. From what I saw, they wanted a new Lord anyway.”

  “We discovered that Exavior had the palace under surveillance. Twelve cameras all linked to a computer hidden in the kitchen,” Quinn explained.

  “Here in the palace? That’s… that’s… how?” Kyle asked angrily.

  “We suspect Sam,” Dustin said. “Allen found the computer, and we tracked the connection to
a home in the city. Exavior’s been there, but left before we arrived.”

  “Where’s Emily?”

  “Coming back from Hall Coven.”

  Kyle sighed, “How is she?”

  “When she left she had pneumonia and only lets certain heku with her,” Quinn said softly. “Silas, for instance… can’t get near her, neither could Sotomar.”

  “Is it just the black hair?” Kyle asked.

  Chevalier grinned, “I have black hair.”

  “Yes, but she knows you better than the others.”

  “I wonder if that’s it then, heku that resemble Exavior?” Chevalier asked, glancing at Kyle.

  “That’s just a guess though,” Kyle said.

  The Elders explained what they had in mind for guards and talked about options in case Emily decided to fulfill the ultimatum and disappear. A couple of hours later, they stood up when Equites 2 asked for permission to land.

  “Silas?” Chevalier called out.

  “Yes, Elder?” Silas said, appearing in the hallway when the Elders emerged from the council chambers.

  “I hate to do this, but I’m going to have to move you to front door guard,” Chevalier said.

  “I understand, Sir. I’ve seen the way she looks at me,” Silas said with an apologetic grin.

  The Elders and Kyle reached the fifth-floor foyer as Mark carried Emily into the room, held her while Kralen got her wheelchair out, and then sat her down in it gently. Mark grabbed a few pillows and propped her arms up on them as she winced and then did the same with her legs.

  “Thank you,” Chevalier said, walking into the room.

  Mark nodded and stood at his post by her door while Kralen waited outside in the hallway with another member of the Cavalry.

  Emily turned the electric wheelchair around to face them.

  “Allen came up with an idea to track down Exavior using the cameras and a computer we found,” Chevalier explained, sitting on the edge of the bed. “He was able to find an IP Address and we found where he’s been staying, but he wasn’t there.”

  Emily smiled slightly and spoke, her voice was just above a whisper, “So I’m in him somewhere.”

  Chevalier smiled, “Yes, he didn’t get that from me, bloody computers… I hate them.”

  “Where are the kids?” Emily whispered.

  “Anna has them. She came to take them while we searched for cameras.”

  Emily wheeled over and looked out the window, “I want to go out riding.”

  “Do you think you’re strong enough?” Chevalier asked.

  Emily shrugged. The hills outside of town were inviting and the day had turned out sunny.

  “I could tandem ride with her. We could take the entire Cavalry out,” Mark suggested from the door.

  Emily looked at Chevalier and nodded.

  “Very well, just be careful,” he said. He didn’t want Emily out of the palace, but knew she was going crazy sitting in bed all day.

  “Mount up,” Mark called out, and there was a rush of movement through the palace.

  Emily pulled on another sweater, wincing at the movement in her arms, and then turned to Mark when he came to pick her up.

  “It’s not very cold out there,” Kyle said, noticing the layers she was wearing.

  Emily shrugged and held onto Mark as he carried her out the door.

  “Is there a reason she has five shirts on?” Kyle asked, turning to Chevalier.

  “I suspect,” Chevalier said. “That she’s covering up.”

  “Oh, I bet you’re right,” Kyle said, and turned to Zohn. “Want me to go to Powan with you?”

  Zohn nodded, “Yes, let’s go.”

  Emily sat on top of the racing stallion and took the reins in her hands. Her arms were stiff and sore, and she wasn’t sure she would be able to handle him on her own. Mark deftly slipped behind her and took the reins. He checked to make sure the Cavalry was ready, and headed the stallion toward the city gates.

  Emily shut her eyes and felt the warm sun on her face. The cool air felt good to breathe, and it was relaxing to finally be outside. The slow rhythmic motion of the horse walking seemed natural and soothing. She glanced around her, and there were members of the Cavalry in every direction. She was surprised to see that seven of the Cavalry with her were from Thukil. Their green uniforms stood out against the stark white shirts of the Council City Cavalry.

  As they walked onto the hills to the west of town, four of the Cavalry members took off at a full gallop, racing for the trees. Emily smiled and watched them, wondering what Keith would say about vampires on his best racing horses.

  Mark looked down when he felt Emily tense between his arms. She was looking off to the side with wide eyes and she wrapped her arms around herself. Mark followed her gaze and saw Silas sitting a few yards away, watching the others. He whispered softly, and Silas nodded and backed his horse up out of her sight.

  Emily shut her eyes, trying to relax. She knew Silas was a friend, but the sight of him sent her into a panic and she couldn’t explain why. She opened her eyes slowly and watched the sleek movement of the horses as they ran across the field and she again started to relax. She felt some comfort from the warmth of Mark behind her, and she leaned her head back against his chest as she watched the Cavalry race.

  She sat up when over half of the mounted Cavalry suddenly kicked their horses into a gallop and headed north toward the tree line. She felt Mark tense behind her and looked over, but didn’t see anything.

  “What happened?” Emily whispered, watching the Cavalry disappear into the trees.

  “Someone called your name,” Mark whispered.

  Emily’s hand tightened on his arm, “Is it…”

  “Yes,” Mark hissed, and glanced to make sure he still had some of the Cavalry with him.

  “Go,” Emily whispered, terrified.

  “No, wait for them to return,” Mark growled. “If he shows himself… then I will deal with him.”

  “Please… go,” she whispered, quieter.

  “Kralen,” Mark called. “Take her, I want in there.”

  Emily felt strong arms on her waist as the heku lifted her over to his horse.

  “Take her back to the palace with the rest of the Cavalry,” Mark said, and kicked hard. His stallion jumped and immediately tore across the field toward the trees.

  Kralen clicked his tongue and ran his mare back towards the city, surrounded by six members of the Cavalry. He called for the Elder as he approached the palace and Chevalier and Quinn were waiting when they arrived.

  “He called her from the trees,” Kralen said, helping Emily slide down to the ground. “Mark and the rest of the Cavalry went after him.”

  “Take her in,” Chevalier said angrily. “I’m going.”

  Quinn watched as Chevalier blurred toward the city gates.

  “Your dinner is ready,” Quinn said, taking Emily’s arm to steady her. Kralen slid off his horse along with the other six members of the Cavalry. Two of them took the horses, while the rest escorted the Elder and Emily into the palace. She was moving slowly, but it felt good to walk, so she opted to take Quinn’s arm for support instead of being carried.

  Emily sat down at the table beside Allen and smiled at him, proud that he’d tracked Exavior down using an IP address and technology. Anna brought in Alexis, who hugged Emily, and then sat down to eat.

  Chevalier and the rest of the Cavalry came in just as they were finishing eating.

  “Couldn’t find him,” Chevalier growled. “He’s a coward and won’t face me.”

  Emily sighed when her phone rang and answered it with the heku all watching. She didn’t speak, but put it to her ear.

  “Meus decorus uxor,” Exavior whispered. “Adeo mihi.”

  Emily frowned.

  “Come to me, my beautiful wife,” Exavior chuckled.

  “No,” Emily whispered.

  “I have a new torture room all ready for Chevalier… if you don’t come to me, he will,” Exavior told
her, amused.

  Emily froze, and Chevalier tore the phone from her hand.

  “I’m willing, come get me,” Chevalier hissed, but Exavior hung up.

  Emily couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. The image of Chevalier in the clutches of Exavior terrified her and her dreams began to run through her head.

  Chevalier knelt down beside her and took her hand, “No, Em, no. He can’t hurt me.”

  Emily nodded and whispered, “He can.”

  “Listen to me. He’s a coward. He’s just trying to scare you into going to him,” Chevalier said softly. “Promise me you’ll stay here… promise me.”

  Emily nodded and sat back in her chair.

  “Damnit, Em…” Chevalier growled.

  She looked at him and frowned.

  “I know that look… he can hurt you a hell of a lot worse than he can hurt me… and I want him to get me,” Chevalier explained.

  Emily whispered, “I can ash him now.”

  Chevalier grinned menacingly, “I don’t want you to. I want him.”

  Chapter 16 - Ultimatum

  “First rule, no one touches the Elder’s wife,” Mark said, walking in front of the ten new Cavalry recruits. “If you want to be banished, that’s the first way. Never stand behind your horse. If your horse acts up… let Emily take care of it. If your horse is fighting, don’t let Emily take reins.”

  Emily rolled her eyes.

  Mark grinned slightly, “She has a nasty habit of taking kicks for a heku. She is a Commander in this Cavalry and will be treated as such.”

  Emily blushed slightly. She was made a Commander a few weeks before, and tried to talk the tailor into behaving, but her uniform was exactly the same as the Thukil uniform except with a white shirt and diamond cutouts on the jeans instead of hearts. In the four weeks since she’d last heard from Exavior, she was almost fully healed and insisted the new training start today.

  “Once you are assigned a horse, it becomes your soul responsibility,” Mark said. “Any questions?”

  The heku all shook their heads. Emily was pleased to see that they all looked excited to be in the Cavalry, and were anxious to get started. These ten recruits were the first to come to the palace from Powan. Everyone was hopeful for the change in procedure. She slipped off of her stallion and grabbed a bridle before taking the first new recruit in to find him a horse. She had assigned Keith’s racing horses to the top officers in the original Cavalry, except for his fastest, which she kept for herself.