“That’s it… get dressed,” Chevalier said, and slipped out of the bed and started getting dressed.
“Seriously… it’s bloody. One heku was in so much pain he almost attacked me,” Emily told him, frowning as she remembered the look on his face.
Chevalier turned and growled, “What?”
“He didn’t get to me, the guards stopped him.” She dressed quickly in the sports bra and cut-offs and started to tie her hair up.
“What good is teaching you self-defense if it only makes the attacker angrier?” Chevalier asked.
“He couldn’t even move for almost 4 minutes, by that time I could be in a car and gone… or called for help…”
“I want to see these techniques. They may be too dangerous,” he said, irritated.
“No then, I’m not showing you.”
Chevalier growled, “Yes you are. The Encala are too stupid to understand that the moves could be too dangerous to you.”
“They aren’t stupid… they helped me, and now when Exavior finds me, I can at least fight back,” Emily told him, and crossed her arms.
“You need to show me,” Chevalier said angrily. “I can’t have you fighting off heku if it’s only going to make them madder.”
“No,” Emily frowned. “I trust the Encala.”
“Mark…” Chevalier hissed, his hands balled into fists.
“Sir?” Mark asked, his eyes growing wide at the standoff.
“Bring Emily to the training room. She has some things to show us,” Chevalier ordered.
“No,” Emily said, and glared at him.
Mark appeared at her back, and as he brought his arms around her, she hit the crooks of his arms hard with her elbows. The motion dropped his arms slightly as she spun and brought her right palm hard up against his nose, shattering it and sending splinters into his brain. He dropped suddenly, unmoving onto the floor. Emily was out the door as fast as she could run as Chevalier watched with wide eyes, too stunned to move.
Emily passed Kyle as she took the stairs, two at a time.
“What’s up?” Kyle asked, calling after her. He shrugged and blurred into the bedroom and glanced down at Mark, “What happened?”
“Em… well… damn,” Chevalier said, looking down as Mark finally began to move.
“Em did that?” Kyle asked, surprised.
“Get her… tell her I’m not mad, I’m now impressed,” Chevalier said, still watching Mark.
Kyle blurred to Emily’s scent and found her out in the stables, slipping a bridle on her racing horse.
“He wants to see you,” Kyle said, stepping into the stall.
“I’m not in the mood to fight,” Emily told him angrily.
“Actually, he’s no longer mad… he’s impressed.”
Emily turned and looked at him, surprised, “He is?”
“I’m interested to see what you did to Mark… he’s still not recovered,” Kyle told her.
“If you’re lying to me…”
“I’m not, come on,” Kyle said, and put his hand out.
Emily sighed and took it, and Kyle led her back to the bedroom. Emily walked in just as Mark was slowly sitting up. Chevalier was watching Mark get up and turned toward Kyle and Emily when they walked in.
“I’m sorry,” Chevalier told her. “I just got mad because the Encala seem to have taken your protection too seriously, and that’s our job.”
Emily nodded and knelt down by Mark, “I’m sorry. Are you ok?”
“It’s not easy for us to see you befriend the other factions,” Kyle added. “Actually… it’s infuriating.”
“They were helping me though,” Emily told them as she helped Mark stand up. “They are as worried about Exavior as you are, so they went over ways he restrained me and taught me how to get out.”
Mark shook his head when he stood up, “Sonofabitch, that caught me off guard.”
“I’m curious what exactly you did,” Kyle said, admiring how much pain Emily put Mark in.
Emily nodded, “Restrain me from behind.”
Kyle frowned, “You going to floor me?”
“No, I won’t actually hit you. Mark just surprised me, and I didn’t think to go easy,” Emily explained.
“Damn, the Encala did a good job then, if you can do that on instinct,” Chevalier said, grinning slightly.
Kyle walked up and went to put his arms around Emily from behind. In one fluid movement, she knocked his arms down with her elbows, spun and brought her palm up against Kyle’s nose. He jerked back and took a step away from her.
“Nice,” Kyle said, grinning.
“That fucking hurt,” Mark hissed.
“Mark!” Chevalier snapped.
Mark jerked and looked at Emily, “Sorry.”
“What else did they show you?” Kyle asked, still impressed.
“Stuff like that,” Emily said, still not sure she wanted to show them.
“Do we get to see it?” Mark asked. “Not that I’m offering.”
“I’d rather not,” Emily said. “I’m still sore from football and self-defense. I’ll already be too sore to even walk tomorrow.”
“That, and she may need to use them against us,” Chevalier said, grinning. “Don’t think I haven’t figured this out.”
“Most of them… I’d ash you first,” Emily told him. “You’d never grab me in those ways.”
Chevalier’s eyes narrowed, “Like what?”
“Like pulling me by my hair.”
“Who the hell did that?” Mark yelled furiously.
“Exavior,” Emily said softly.
“I just want to get my hands on him for a few hours…” Mark hissed.
“Don’t we all, but I think we’d have to fight the Elder for torture rights,” Kyle chuckled.
Chevalier grinned maliciously, “Oh, he’s mine.”
“Will you all stop it?” Emily asked, frowning. “The thought of any of you going one-on-one with him makes my skin crawl.”
“Tell me what the ancient’s room was for a few years ago, and we’ll drop it,” Chevalier said, grinning.
Emily rolled her eyes, “You’re still harping on that?”
“We all really do want to know,” Kyle said, grinning slightly.
“I’m going to be in a nightgown in 3 minutes, stay if you want,” Emily said, and walked into the bathroom. She heard Chevalier usher Kyle and Mark out of the room.
“Em, getting called to a meeting,” Chevalier said as she came out into the room.
“Have fun, I’m going to bed.”
“I’ll get you up before the helicopter needs to leave for Michaels Coven,” he told her, and kissed her lightly before leaving.
***
Emily crawled into the helicopter early the next morning, and briefly wondered who she’d have to pay to get a uniform like the rest of the Cavalry. She checked again to make sure her .45 was on her hip and then buckled into the seat with the rest of the Cavalry.
Equites 2 took off and headed south toward the troubled Michaels Coven.
“Here’s what we know,” Mark said to them all. “General Bowman and the entire guard staff overthrew Lord Taylor and imprisoned him. Lord Taylor is one of the current Council’s largest supporters, but the 397 other members of his coven feel the Council needs replaced and have applied to join the Valle.”
“General Bowman has, several times, refused to talk to the Council for peaceful negotiations. That’s why we’re going in. We fully expect to immediately be attacked upon arrival, and will drop down from above the ground so they can’t swarm the helicopter.”
“Ummm…” Emily said, holding her hand up.
Mark grinned, “Got you covered. Emily’s here for after the initial assault and if things get out of hand. Our orders are clear, once Emily’s safely on the ground and the initial fight has stopped, we leave it all up to her. We’ll be there to make sure they don’t attack her, but the rehabilitation falls solely on her shoulders.”
“I can’t ash
them, who’ll revive?” Emily asked.
“Kyle is arriving tomorrow… first we’re going to give them the impression that if they misbehave, they may permanently be banished,” Mark explained. “I’ll warn you all, Emily has some… illogical and highly dangerous methods. Let her do what she wants to do with no growls or hisses from us… that’s a direct order from the Elders.”
“For hell’s sake, Mark. I know I offered to feed anyone who could get their teeth in me, but get over it,” Emily sighed.
“You did what!?” Kralen growled.
“Don’t judge…” Emily said, glaring at him.
“As I said, leave her alone unless she gets attacked,” Mark said. “Polin, you’re going to drop down last with Emily. Be gentle, that’s a long fall for a mortal.”
“Yes, Sir,” said one of the newer members of the Cavalry.
“Em… if we’re in custody or losing when you arrive, ash them all and we’ll work on it from there,” Mark told them.
Emily nodded, “Easy enough.”
“If I give the evacuate order, whomever is standing closest to Emily needs to get her away. Head directly northwest and you’ll run into the Nodell Coven about 97 miles away.”
Emily started to panic the closer they got to Michaels Coven. It was situated in the Nevada desert and was in harsh contrast to the woodsy terrain around Council City. She felt the heat beating off the sand as they got closer and the sun rose higher into the sky.
“Five minutes, all ready?” Mark asked.
Emily checked for her gun again.
“Why do you carry a gun? I mean… what good is it going to do you?” a member of the Cavalry asked her.
Emily smiled, “Two things… First, it can give me a few seconds head start… and Second… the V.E.S. are mortals.”
“And third… she gets stress relief by shooting heku,” Mark added, laughing.
The Cavalry member chuckled and slipped off his seat belt. Polin came and sat beside Emily while the rest got ready.
“Just hang onto my back, ok?” Polin told her.
“Sure, no problem,” Emily said, and felt her stomach drop. The thought of jumping out of a helicopter before it landed made her start to feel sick.
“Go!” Mark yelled. Emily looked out the window as the Council City Cavalry jumped from the helicopter to the waiting army almost 20 feet below. She saw the immediate fight begin and tried to see if she could catch who was winning. The green capes of the Cavalry seemed gravely outnumbered by the number of heku on the ground.
“Let’s go,” Polin said when the rest landed. Emily froze and looked at him with wide eyes. He grinned and pulled her onto his back and then jumped before she had time to scream. He landed softly on the grass below, and she immediately let go and turned to the fight.
“What the hell is this?” Emily screamed, and as the heku turned toward her, they stopped fighting and backed off from the Cavalry. The Cavalry immediately fell back to stand behind her.
“You brought the Winchester?” General Bowman growled, stepping forward.
“Yes they did, you have a problem with that?” Emily asked. She tried to keep her voice tough when her insides were twisted and nervous.
“Just odd they’d bring a little girl to do a man’s job,” Bowman said, grinning.
“No, what’s odd is that these fine heku would follow a dick brain like you,” Emily said, crossing her arms.
Bowman’s eyes narrowed, “So that’s how the Council’s going to fix this? Turn us all to ash.”
“Nope,” Emily said, and then pointed at him. “Just you.”
Mark glanced around. The entire clearing had grown perfectly silent as Emily took charge. They watched her, unsure if the rumors about her abilities were true.
“The Council asked for peaceful negotiations, and because you’re an idiot, I have to come here and clean up the mess… Are we going to do it nicely or are you going to make me mad?” Emily asked.
General Bowman chuckled, “I know what the rumors are, Sweet Tits, but I think it’s a load of bullshit to scare the covens into compliance.”
Emily grinned, “You don’t think I can turn you to ash?”
“No, I don’t,” Bowman said, and took a step towards her. “Our Council is so weak that I can see through their ruse… course, now that you’re here, I see why the Elder keeps you around.”
“Mark?” Emily asked, still watching Bowman.
“Yes, Commander?”
“Can I ash… just him?” Emily asked.
“Yes you can,” Mark said, grinning.
“Bring it on, Sweetheart,” Bowman said. The Michaels Coven army stepped back and gasped as their General fell to his knees, screaming in pain. Even outside, the smell of burning flesh filled the area as he writhed on the ground in agony.
“Anyone else want to call me names?” Emily asked, holding the General in pain. When no one answered, she turned the General to ash before their eyes, and then put her hands on her hips, “This is what I want… and I want it right now… line up in perfect rows of 20… now!”
The army scrambled to comply, all avoiding the small pile of ash on the ground in front of Emily. When they were all in neat rows before her, she reached down and grabbed a handful of the General’s ashes. She turned around and tossed them high in the air and let the wind scatter them.
Mark cringed as the horrified army looked at Emily. He put his hand out when some of the Cavalry went to tell her that wasn’t proper behavior.
“That’s how I handle disobedience…” Emily said, glaring at them and brushing the ashes from her hand. “Kralen?”
“Yes, Commander?” he said, moving up to her side.
Emily pointed at one of the Michaels Captains, “Take him and bring me Lord Taylor.”
“Right way,” Kralen said, and he blurred away with the Captain.
Emily watched the motionless troops while she waited for Lord Taylor to arrive. She kept an eye out for any talking or any movement at all, and they seemed to know it.
“Back row, third from the left,” Silas said, and grinned when the heku looked at him.
Emily turned him immediately to ash and the Michaels heku stiffened more and their eyes grew.
“Silas?” Emily asked.
“Yes, Commander,” he answered, still laughing from how fast she’d turned the one heku to ash.
“Explain to me… if I ash all of these guys at once… you need… what? Thirteen heku to start cranking out a new coven?” Emily asked, proud of the way the Michaels army shifted nervously.
“Yes, Elder approval and 13 would do it,” Silas explained, amused.
“How fast?” Emily asked, and turned to him, actually curious this time.
“To replace all 300 of them? I’d say… 5 months, give or take.”
“Hmm, ok,” Emily said, and turned back to the army.
Everyone turned when Kralen came back supporting Lord Taylor, who was weak and limping beside him. The heku from Michaels blurred back into his spot in the front row before Emily.
Emily frowned and went over to Lord Taylor, “Are you ok?”
Lord Taylor nodded, still unable to even stand by himself.
“What did they do to you?” Emily whispered and touched his face softly.
Lord Taylor opened his mouth to talk, but nothing came out. Kralen was now fully supporting him as his legs had given out. Emily reached out to the rags he wore and pulled them up on his side slightly, revealing numerous bite marks that were festered and swollen. She pulled the long sleeves up on his arms and saw the same bite marks there.
“Take him back to the house to rest,” Emily said softly.
“Yes, Ma’am,” Kralen said, and lifted Lord Taylor before blurring away.
Emily was now furious. She turned toward the army, “Who did that?”
When no one answered, the entire army began to scream and clutch at their chests for almost a minute before Emily released them and they slowly returned to their perfectly straight ro
ws.
“Who bit Lord Taylor?” Emily asked again, her voice now angry.
Emily watched at the nervous way they shifted and how their eyes darted uneasily to the heku in front of them.
“Tell me!” Emily yelled.
After a few seconds, the entire army again fell, writhing in pain as the burning intensified in their chests. Emily felt a strong hand against her back as she swayed slightly, but held them in the grips of agony while she thought of how to handle the situation. Just as her headache started, she released them and waited while they got to their feet. Mark’s supporting hand stayed on her back.
“Last chance… tell me…” Emily whispered, knowing that they could all still hear her.
“It was the ranking officers,” a timid voice said from toward the back.
“Get him,” Emily said, and two members of the Cavalry ran to him and brought him forward, forcing him to kneel before her. “Who was it?”
“The ranking officers, Ma’am,” he said, and looked down at the ground.
Emily looked up, “Which ones are ranking officers?”
“The first row,” Silas explained. “Normal formation puts them up front.”
“All 20 of you?” she asked, and one heku on the end shook his head vehemently. Emily rolled her eyes, “If you’re not a ranking officer… go start a new row in back.”
Nine of the heku quickly scrambled to the back of the rows and formed a new one, leaving eleven angry looking heku at the front of the ranks.
Emily walked up to the heku with the most stripes on his collar and stopped in front of him, “How high up are you?”
“General,” he said, snarling.
“You think the current Council is weak?” she asked him.
“Yes”
“Because they keep me around?”
“Partially”
“Then why else?”
“They have formed an alliance of sorts with the enemy,” he said snarling.
“I see… yet you allowed yourself to be beat up by a girl, interesting,” Emily said, and walked back to the Cavalry.
“How many prison cells are there?” Emily asked.
“Fifteen,” the heku on his knees told her.
“Put them in prison. I want to get these guys here under control first,” Emily said, and stood her ground while the Cavalry escorted the ranking officers into the prison.
Proditor : Book 5 of the Heku Series Page 48