Proditor : Book 5 of the Heku Series

by T. M. Nielsen

  “My God, Em. What did you get?” he asked, and walked around the expensive car.

  “Just a little car, like it?”

  “It’s… purple… who would buy this car in purple?” he asked, laughing.

  “I would,” Emily answered, and spun out. The tires caught and she took off to the palace. She pulled into the garage and parked next to the empty spot by her Jeep. It had previously been for her Durango when it was fixed, but she finally resigned herself to the fact that she wasn’t going to get it back.

  Emily popped the door open and waited for the others to arrive. Not even five minutes later, the three red Reventons pulled into their spots and the three heku slowly walked over to her car.

  “Having fun?” Mark asked, running his hand along the car.

  “Maybe,” Emily replied, unsure of their moods.

  “Bought you a little car?” Chevalier asked, walking around the Ultimate Aero.

  “It’s a very little car, look at the front… I can’t even clear a cow pile with this thing.”

  Kyle slid into the passenger seat and Emily started to laugh. His head was smashed against the roof, putting his neck at an odd angle and his knees were up against the dash.

  “Couldn’t get the custom height, eh?” he asked, and got back out.

  “Why should I? I fit fine.”

  “Purple though? It’s… weird,” Mark said, popping the hood to look at the engine.

  “It’s mine,” Emily said, smiling. “From what I can tell, it’s faster than yours.”

  “Yes, it is,” Mark chuckled.

  “Come on, Speedy,” Chevalier said. “We have a meeting.”

  “We?” Emily asked, getting out.

  “Yes, we.”

  Emily sighed, “William said you sounded mad. How mad are you?”

  “Pretty mad,” Chevalier said angrily. “That’s why we’re meeting with Zohn, he had no right.”

  “You’re not mad at me?”

  “Why? What did you do?”

  Emily shrugged, “Nothing I guess.”

  “Em? Can… we…” Kyle started, and Emily tossed him the keys. Before she and Chevalier got to the door, Kyle and Mark tore out of the garage in the purple Aero.

  Emily held tightly to Chevalier’s arm as they walked up to Zohn’s office. Before Chevalier could knock, Emily stepped ahead of him and kissed him, wrapping her arms around him. He kissed her back and then chuckled.

  “You’re stalling,” Chevalier said, and knocked on the door, his face suddenly turning serious.

  “Enter,” Zohn growled.

  Emily took Chevalier’s arm again and they walked into Zohn’s office. He was watching them furiously as Quinn stood by his side. It was obvious that Quinn had been trying to calm Zohn down.

  “Sit,” Zohn hissed.

  Emily sat down and Chevalier stood behind her with his hands on her shoulders.

  “Enjoy your time with the Encala?” Zohn asked angrily.

  “Yes, actually, I did.”

  “They bought you a car?”

  “Yes”

  Chevalier grinned, “A purple SSC Ultimate Aero.”

  Quinn raised his eyebrows, “Nice.”

  “What did you have to do to get it?” Zohn asked.

  Emily looked at him, shocked, “What do you mean?”

  “I mean… was the car payment for something?”

  “Yes,” Emily said, watching him. “I had to blow the entire Council... but at least I got my car.”

  Chevalier’s hands tightened on her shoulders.

  “Did you give them any palace secrets?” Zohn asked, ignoring her previous comment.

  “No”

  “Then what?”

  “What makes you think I had to do something to get the car?” Emily decided to try the trick the Encala’s Chief Interrogator taught her. She set her face like he told her, and watched Zohn closely, making sure not to avert her eyes from his.

  “It just seems that they were repaying you for something.”

  “Go ahead, ask…”

  “No, we don’t interrogate members of the Council,” Chevalier growled.

  “Go ahead… ask,” she said again.

  “What did you do while you were there?” Zohn asked, moving to the front of his desk.

  “Watched movies and read a lot. I didn’t leave my room the entire time,” Emily said, lying and testing her new trick.

  Zohn’s eyes narrowed, “Sounds boring… anything else?”

  “No,” Emily said, keeping her face and eyes under full control.

  “How did you get the bruise on your neck?”

  “None of your business. Like the bruises on my wrists, or the hand bruise on my arm… not even the bruise on my back is any of your concern.”

  Zohn went back to his seat and sat down, unsure exactly where to go from here.

  “Done?” Emily asked.

  “Yes,” Zohn told her, irritated.

  Emily smiled, “I’m free to go then?”

  “No,” Chevalier said. “Now I want to know what right you had to pull Emily out of bed at 3am and tell her to leave immediately for a mission we hadn’t decided yet whether to send her on?”

  Zohn growled, “I was left in charge of this faction in your absence, and I felt new developments in the Michaels Coven dictated immediate action.”

  “Nothing was so immediate that you had the right to demand that my wife go on a mission that she felt uncomfortable going on, and without the say of the other two Elders,” Chevalier said angrily.

  “I did too have that right, and she needs to learn how to respect authority and do as she’s told.”

  Emily decided not to get involved. Chevalier was fighting for her side, and Zohn was losing.

  “Do as she was told?” Quinn asked. “Since when do we make her obey heku laws?”

  “We should! She lives in the palace, trains the Cavalry, she’s a member of our guard staff by title, and yet she gets away with anything she wants,” Zohn snapped.

  Emily couldn’t take it anymore, “Whatever you say, Damon.”

  Zohn pounded his fists onto his desk, “You had no right to use your mind wipe on me and then flee.”

  “I did too! I’m not going to go babysit another coven, I refuse, and you were too stubborn headed to listen,” Emily yelled. She tried to stand, but Chevalier held her down with strong hands on her shoulders.

  “What if it had been an emergency? What if it would have caused the Coven Lord his life had you not intervened that very night?” Zohn asked.

  “Then you have the entire Council City Cavalry at your disposal. Guards that are trained to handle those situations, and are willing to go at the drop of a hat,” Emily reminded him.

  “We just feel that you went behind our backs,” Quinn said calmly. “We left you here, knowing that you would handle the situation if Exavior came back, and yet you undermined a decision we made and tried to send her out on a mission.”

  “One we discussed sending her on,” Zohn said.

  “You know full well that the second you told Emily that she had no choice in the matter, that you had a fight on your hands,” Chevalier growled. “Why did you antagonize her?”

  “I didn’t. I was merely giving an order and I think we need an additional order that she’s banned from wiping the memory of an Elder,” Zohn said to the others.

  Emily grinned, “Try it.”

  “I’m not afraid of you,” Zohn told her. “I’m not under your spell and I will be respected or you can leave.”

  Emily stood up, “Fine, the Encala will take me in.”

  “Sit down, Em,” Chevalier said softly. “He can’t kick you out.”

  Zohn stood up and moved to her as Quinn took his arm, “Damon was right… he went about it the wrong way, but he was correct. You need some discipline and you need to learn some control.”

  “Are you going to show me?” Emily asked, grinning suddenly.

  Chevalier glanced at Quinn, not sure what she was
going to do.

  “I may… someone not under your spell needs to,” Zohn told her.

  “What if I won’t listen? Going to kick me out? Going to send me to my room without lunch?” Emily asked, folding her arms.

  Zohn’s eyes narrowed, “Maybe… if you are asking if I would treat you like a child then, yes, I would.”

  “You’re not man enough to do that,” Emily said, and Chevalier put a hand on her arm, nervous as to what she was up to.

  “You have no idea what I’m capable of,” Zohn told her.

  “I don’t want this to turn into Emily vs. Zohn,” Quinn said. “This part is an Elder matter, and I think we should let Emily go.”

  “Good idea,” Chevalier said, glaring at Zohn.

  Emily smiled, “If that’s what you two want, then I’ll be in my room.”

  Zohn glared as she walked out of his office. Mark and Kyle met her on the stairs.

  “That car is awesome,” Kyle said, grinning. “Pegged her at 272 mph.”

  “If it weren’t purple… I might steal it,” Mark chuckled.

  “You’re just jealous because my car stands out in the garage,” Emily told them and grinned. She headed up the stairs followed by the two of them.

  “Where’d the bruises come from?” Mark asked, frowning suddenly.

  Emily turned with a grin, “I had so much fun.”

  “You had fun and got bruises?” Kyle asked, raising his eyebrow.

  “Seriously, look at me wrong and I bruise,” Emily said, sitting on the edge of her bed. “I’m so sore though.”

  “What did you do?”

  “Well, got the new car, we played football every day, I had several self-defense classes, and then I had a way fun private one-on-one with their Chief Interrogator,” Emily said, laughing when she remembered how she got past Zohn’s radar.

  Kyle frowned, “You were alone with their Chief Interrogator?”

  Emily nodded, “Yes.”

  “Did he interrogate you?” Mark asked seriously.

  Emily rolled her eyes, “Little credit, guys.”

  “We just worry about you. You’re too trusting, and those Chief Interrogators have a way of getting information without you even knowing it,” Mark explained.

  “I didn’t give him any deep dark secrets, but Zohn’s felt the effects of my visit and doesn’t even know it,” Emily said, grinning. She slipped off her sweater and turtle neck, leaving just the t-shirt beneath it.

  “Damn, you’re covered in bruises,” Kyle said, matching the hand bruise on her upper arm to his hand.

  “Did they restrain you?” Mark growled, taking her bruised wrists.

  “Stop it!” Emily frowned and pulled her arms away from the heku. “They didn’t hurt me.”

  Kyle lifted up the back of her shirt and hissed at the bruise and abrasions, “What the hell…”

  “Stop it!” Emily yelled again, and pulled her shirt out of his hands. “What’s with the inspection?”

  “How did it happen?” Kyle growled. Emily turned to look at him, and the rage in his eyes made her stand up and take a step back.

  “Calm down,” Emily said, moving away from him. “They didn’t hurt me. I just bruise easily.”

  “How?” Kyle yelled, and the tone in his voice made Emily jump.

  “Mark…” Emily whispered. She looked at him when he didn’t respond and he was crouched slightly, glaring at her.

  “Tell me… now,” Kyle growled.

  “I told you, self-defense and football.”

  “If I find out that the Encala hurt you,” Kyle hissed.

  “Get out,” Emily said, pointing to the door. “Both of you get out, now.”

  Emily watched as they both left her room angrily, and Mark slammed the door. She sat down and took a deep breath. Once she was sure they were gone, she slipped off her t-shirt and looked at her back in the mirror. She thought the bruise obviously resembled the football she landed on and could even see the pattern of the laces in the bruise. She stripped the rest of the way and stepped into a hot shower.

  Emily jumped when she felt hands wrap around her, and she grinned when she felt soft lips on her shoulders. She spun in his hands and pressed her body against his, kissing him passionately as she moved her hand to the back of his neck.

  ***

  Emily leaned over and put her head on Chevalier’s chest as he trailed his fingers lightly up her back.

  “I was supposed to come take a look at some bruises,” Chevalier chuckled, and kissed the top of her head.

  “Well, you were just being thorough,” Emily said, grinning slightly.

  “I’m curious about something though.”

  Emily looked up at him, “What?”

  “You told Zohn you read and sat in your room. Why do you have a football shaped bruise on your back and… honestly… you would have gone stir crazy sitting in their palace for four days.”

  Emily grinned, “I played football every day. We did self-defense training for two days. I bought the car, we bowled, and I had some alone time with their Interrogator.”

  Chevalier frowned, and his hand stopped moving, “You were alone with their Chief Interrogator?”

  “Yes,” Emily told him. “How do you think I was able to lie to Zohn?”

  Chevalier chuckled, “Their Chief Interrogator taught you how to lie?”

  “Yes, and apparently it worked.”

  “You learned more self-defense?”

  “Yes”

  “I’m actually really glad that you enjoyed yourself,” Chevalier said, and ran his fingers up her back.

  “I did, it was relaxing, and I didn’t have to worry about facing Zohn’s rage,” Emily told him, and started to kiss his chest lightly.

  “If Zohn finds out that a Chief Interrogator taught you how to lie to him, he may actually go off the deep end.”

  “Why does he hate me so badly?”

  “He’s not used to being told no, nor is he used to someone running from him or defying him.”

  “Must be a Chief Interrogator thing, I think Exavior said about the same thing.”

  “Hmm,” Chevalier sighed.

  “What?” Emily looked up at him.

  “You haven’t talked about him since… well… it’s just surprising to hear you even say his name.”

  “I’m more prepared, I think,” Emily said softly. “I still wish he would just disappear.”

  “Has he called?”

  “Just once, to let me know he was aware I was with the Encala.”

  “Do you realize you’re the first being in the history of this species to ever freely interact with all three factions?” Chevalier chuckled.

  “No one before?”

  “Never”

  “Hmm, seems odd.”

  “Do I get to see what you learned?” Chevalier asked, pulling the hair away from her face.

  “My new self-defense?”

  “Yes”

  Emily shrugged, “It seemed rather painful for the poor heku I had to practice on.”

  “I’m sure we can find someone willing.”

  “Zohn?” Emily asked, grinning.

  “If I were you, I would stay clear of Zohn for a while.”

  “Deal… if he leaves me alone, then I won’t bug him,” Emily said, and leaned her head back on his chest.

  “Come in,” Chevalier called out.

  “Chev!” Emily yelled, and pulled the covers over her head. Chevalier chuckled when she reached over and pulled the covers up to his neck.

  Quinn came in, un-phased by their position, and sat in a chair by the bed, “They’ve agreed.”

  Chevalier pulled the covers back to his waist and put a hand under his head, “Good, we’ll see what else I can manage and then call that a done deal.”

  “Oh my God, Quinn, get out of here,” Emily said from under the covers.

  Quinn raised his eyebrows, amused, “I’ll be done in a moment. They won’t agree to any talks or negotiations.”

  “D
amn, why not?” Chevalier said, irritated.

  “Get out!” Emily yelled again.

  Quinn chuckled, “Dear, it doesn’t bother me.”

  “It does me,” she said timidly.

  “They said because their minds are made up. Nothing we can say will prevent them from leaving the Equites,” Quinn told him.

  “Ouch! Damnit, Em, stop biting me,” Chevalier said, wincing slightly.

  “Make him leave,” Emily whispered.

  “Still, they have to know we’re going to fight back… truce talks would be a lot less bloody,” Chevalier said, sighing.

  “We know that… I honestly think they believe we can’t re-take the coven.”

  “I’ll go ash the entire lot of them if you’ll just get out,” Emily said, irritated.

  Quinn grinned, “Really?”

  “Yes… go!”

  “If I knew that’s all it would take…” Quinn said, and left the room.

  Emily peeked out from under the blankets, “My God, Chev. How could you let him in here?”

  Chevalier shrugged, “I wasn’t aware we were hiding it from anyone.”

  “Still, damn, now they know what we were doing,” Emily said, and streaked into the bathroom.

  Chevalier laughed, “I’m pretty sure they already knew.”

  “How?” Emily called out.

  “I came to look at your bruises two hours ago,” Chevalier reminded her, amused.

  Emily came out wrapped in her bathrobe, her face deeply flushed.

  “We’re married, I’m pretty sure they know… besides… you called yourself a sex kitten in front of all three factions,” Chevalier said, laughing.

  Emily knelt down on the bed, “Did I just agree to do what I told Zohn I wouldn’t?”

  “Yes, you did,” Chevalier said, and pulled her down to him so he could kiss her.

  Emily sat back up, “When do I have to leave?”

  “In the morning is fine.”

  “Zohn’ll be happy for once.”

  Chevalier chuckled, “No he won’t… you told him no... but told Quinn yes.”

  “Damn, can’t win, can I?” Emily asked, frowning.

  “Let’s get it over with…”

  “What?”

  “What I came up after… start with your neck bruise.”

  “I can sum all of them up, except my back one… restraint escape techniques.”

  Chevalier grinned, “I gotta see this.”

  “It’s worse than what you all taught me, bloodier, more painful,” Emily said, frowning.