“Open the cell door,” Chevalier whispered.
“Belay that,” Kyle said, holding his hand up to the guard. “You can’t let her out.”
“She’ll be more comfortable on the bed in restraints.”
“She can get out of those.”
“I can’t leave her here.”
“We have to, for now,” Kyle said. “Let Richard and I take Ephraim into the interrogation room. We’ll see if he can tell us how to reverse it.”
Chevalier nodded and ordered a food tray brought down. He watched Emily carefully, ready for her to attack again. She hunkered down in the corner, glaring at him.
“Dad?” Allen asked, sitting down on the floor beside him. “I brought her a sandwich. From what Silas said, I didn’t think she would eat anything else.”
“Ok,” he said, and pushed the tray through the cells.
“Do you remember?” Allen asked, watching Emily tear the sandwich apart, not eating any of it.
“No”
“You didn’t want to turn?”
“No, I didn’t.”
Allen frowned, “Does she know me?”
Chevalier sighed, “I don’t think so.”
“Turning her would calm her?”
“If she lived, yes.”
“Mom?” Allen called out, and Emily looked up at him. She lunged for him and almost got her hand around his throat before Chevalier pulled him out of the way.
***
“Do you want to be there when we seal him in?” Quinn asked softly as he watched Chevalier sit outside of Emily’s cell where he had been for the last eight days.
“Yes, I do… Kyle?” Chevalier said, standing slowly. Emily growled and watched him closely.
“Yes, Elder?” Kyle asked, looking at Emily with wide eyes. Over the last week, her features had changed. Her hair was knotted and tangled, and her face was sinister and hateful.
“Stay with her while we seal Exavior in,” Chevalier said, and glanced once at Emily before following Quinn.
“May I go?” Allen asked, walking down the stairs.
Chevalier nodded and led his son into the maximum-security prison where a new room was bricked in beside Adam, the heku Emily once encountered. Exavior was finally looking terrified as the others gathered around. He hung from electrified shackles and looked around nervously.
“Don’t do this… I don’t deserve this…” Exavior said, terrified.
“Exavior…” Zohn said, watching him. “It is the decision of the three Councils that you are to be confined here for eternity. Never to again walk with the mortals or the immortals, never to feed, and never to exist other than in the pain the electricity brings.”
“Don’t…” Exavior whispered. “Emily wouldn’t want this.”
“Do not talk about her!” Chevalier yelled. “What you did made it so we don’t know what she wants.”
“The… Ancients… they made me do it,” Exavior said frantically.
“Liar,” Allen said calmly. “If they have to turn my Mom, just because of your obsession, then I will find a way to kill you… slowly.”
Exavior’s eyes grew wide, “I wouldn’t hurt her.”
“Do it,” Chevalier said, and slammed a brick down onto the cement. “I want this wall 2 feet thick with Tungsten carbide bars.”
“Yes, Sir, that is how we made it, per your specifications,” a servant said, and began to brick Exavior into the cell.
Allen watched with the Elders and some of the Council as Exavior was forever entombed in the Council City prison. As they watched, he begged for his life and began to shake with fear.
“Where is Sotomar?” Chevalier asked.
“He went back to the Valle,” Quinn said. “William returned to his faction, also.”
Chevalier nodded and headed back to the prison. He heard an eerie cry and blurred to Emily’s cell.
“I just tried to feed her,” Kyle said, holding his bloody arm as it healed.
“What are you getting from Ephraim?”
“Nothing yet, I think his resolve is fading though… I gave Mark and Kralen a chance to have at him,” Kyle said.
“Emily, damnit,” Chevalier growled, and she looked up at him. “Pull out of this. You’re a Winchester. We can’t even control you, but this Ancient was able to do it… why?”
“We may have to turn her,” Kyle whispered. “Or let Sterling do what he was revived for and see if she survives.”
“That’s not what she wants.”
“I know, but she wouldn’t want to stay like this either.”
“She’s going to starve,” Chevalier sighed.
“Have you tried to give her blood?” Kyle asked, cringing.
Chevalier looked at him, “Why would I?”
Kyle shrugged, “She won’t eat the food she normally likes.”
“It wouldn’t matter, even if she drinks it she can’t survive on it.”
“Can’t she?”
“Honestly, I don’t know.”
Kyle turned toward the door, “Glass of blood.”
“I’ll give it to her,” Zohn said, bringing the glass. “She can’t hate me any more than she already does.”
Zohn crouched down and slid the glass through the bars. Emily reached out for it, inching slowly as she moved along the floor, watching the heku as she went. Her hand grasped the glass and pulled it back into the corner. She dipped her fingers into the warm blood and ran her tongue along them, then gagged and threw the glass at the bars, shattering it and sending blood and shards of glass along the prison hallway.
“Answers that, was just an idea,” Kyle said, coming back into view of the cell. They were all able to duck away in time not to get hit.
Kralen and Silas appeared beside them.
“He’s unconscious and still hasn’t told us,” Silas said, looking at Emily sadly.
“She’s going to starve. She can’t keep this up,” Kyle said softly.
“Damnit!” Chevalier yelled. “Get the Council, let’s turn her.”
“Dad, no!” Allen screamed. “She doesn’t want that, give her more time.”
Silas took Allen’s arm when Chevalier headed up the stairs, calling for the turning ritual by the Council.
“Stop him,” Allen said to Kyle.
Kyle shook his head, “She can’t live like this.”
“She doesn’t want to turn,” Allen yelled angrily.
“Silas, Kralen… kill the Ancient,” Kyle said, and started up the stairs to slip on his blue robe. “Mark, bring her.”
Mark nodded and headed into Emily’s cell. He dodged several of her attacks and then finally got her restrained and pulled her up the stairs as she screamed.
Silas pushed Allen off to another guard, and told him to keep the child away from the ritual while Silas and Kralen headed in to finish off the Ancient.
The blue robbed figures stood solemnly around the round ritual room with the delicately carved ancient runes behind them on the wall. It was normally an occasion to celebrate. This time they were sad and downtrodden as Emily fought against the metal restrains on the floor. Chevalier took the part of the heku in black as Quinn performed the ceremony.
“Mortal, do you know where you are?” Quinn asked.
Emily’s back arched as she screamed furiously and pulled against the restraints. Blood began to pour from cuts on her wrists from the metal.
Quinn paused to compose himself. He’d never had to do the ritual without a consenting adult, “Do you know what is about to happen?”
He paused again as they watched her struggle to get free.
“Do you do so willingly and without coercion?”
“She does,” Chevalier whispered.
Quinn nodded, “Proceed.”
Chevalier dropped to the ground and held Emily as still as he could while the other twelve members of the Council knelt down beside her. What was normally an instinctual need to feed was now dreaded and felt unnatural and evil. The Council members hesitated before low
ering their teeth toward her flesh.
“Oh my God!” Emily screamed, and began to fight against the restraints.
“Stop!” Quinn yelled as he and Chevalier pushed back their hoods.
Emily’s eyes were wide and she watched the blue robed heku, terrified as she pulled harder against the restraints. A fresh stream of blood pooled around her wrists and ankles.
“Don’t do this! Don’t do this!” she screamed, over and over.
The Council members all lowered their hoods as Quinn started to unfasten the metal restraints. Emily was too afraid to help, and just fought against them, trying to get away from a ceremony she’d already been a part of, and one she was deathly afraid of.
Once Quinn unfastened the last restraint, Emily scrambled to the door and screamed as she pulled at it, unable to make the heavy door move.
“Em, calm down,” Chevalier said softly, and touched her arm. He immediately turned to ash, along with Quinn.
“Mark, help me!” Emily screamed, pounding on the stone door. Kyle moved to the back of the room where she couldn’t see him well, in case she turned the rest of the Council to ash. Within seconds, the other eleven members of the Equites Council, Kyle included, fell to ash as a small trickle of blood fell down her nose.
“Mark!” she screamed again, and pushed past him when he opened the door, shocked.
“Emily, wait,” he called after her, and then cringed when he saw the piles of ash, the entire Equites Council.
“Silas! Kralen!” Mark called, and ran after Emily. They met him in the hallway.
“What happened?” Kralen asked. “Is it over?”
“Did you kill the Ancient?” Mark asked, glancing again to the front doors.
“Yeah, a few minutes ago,” Silas said.
“It brought Emily back, right in the middle of the ceremony… she turned the entire Council to ash,” Mark said, and started out the door. “Call Sotomar, get a Chief Enforcer.”
Silas nodded and grabbed a cell phone while Kralen headed out with Mark to find Emily.
“Valle Council,” a gruff voice said.
“This is Silas, from the Equites… we’ve had a bit of an accident,” Silas said, grinning slightly.
“What’s the problem?” Sotomar asked.
“We decided to turn Emily…”
“I’m so sorry. We wondered how long before it had to be done,” Sotomar said.
“Yeah, well, we killed the Ancient in the middle of the ceremony… and Emily woke up.”
“She’s aware, that’s great!” Valle Elder Ryan said.
“Erm… yes, except they were in the middle of the ceremony.”
There was a long pause before Sotomar spoke, “What happened?”
“She… sort of… turned the entire Council to ash,” Silas said, wincing.
“That’s… that is a problem,” Sotomar said, sounding amused.
“Can you help? Please?” Silas asked. “Even if it’s just Kyle.”
“The Chief Enforcer is on his way,” Sotomar chuckled. “How is Emily?”
“I don’t really know, she ran off. She has an aversion to turning.”
“I’ve heard that,” Sotomar said, and it irritated Silas that he was finding this so amusing.
“I’m going to go help. She took off on horseback and hers is the fastest horse,” Silas said, shutting the phone. “Allen!”
Allen came running down the stairs, “Did you turn her?”
“She became aware during the ceremony and took off. Get on your horse, see if you can find her,” Silas said. “She may trust you more than us.”
Allen nodded, and within a few minutes, was on his horse, racing through the city.
Chapter 19 - Negotiations
“I’m not in the mood to play with you, Boy,” Kyle said angrily to a crouching heku. He was standing in a dark street corner, questioning a young heku about some recent bodies found in the area.
“I swear, I didn’t do it,” the heku said, terrified. Kyle’s eyes were furious as he crouched, ready to attack.
“You have no idea how badly I want to tear you apart,” Kyle growled. “I’m asking, one more time, who helped you?”
“I didn’t do it! No one helped, it wasn’t me,” the heku said, shaking as he looked up at the menacing form of the Equites’ Chief Enforcer.
Kyle stood up straight when he heard a motorcycle pass by the alley slowly. As soon as it was gone, he crouched again, “I need blood… you, Boy, are going to give it to me.”
The scared heku tried to bolt past Kyle, but found himself in the grips of the angry Enforcer as Kyle slowly and painfully tore the young heku apart for his crimes. Kyle grinned maliciously and looked down at the small corner of the alley, covered in blood and carnage. He stood up suddenly and looked behind him when the motorcycle returned and stopped behind him.
Sitting on top of a black Night Rod Special was a figure dressed in black leather, with a sleek black helmet, and knee-high leather high-heeled boots. Kyle took a step forward, afraid to hope that he’d found her after she took off three weeks before on horseback.
“Em?” he asked softly.
Emily pulled off the black helmet and her hair fell down against her back, “Don’t come any closer.”
“Please… listen to me…” Kyle said, watching her closely.
“I want to get my kids,” Emily told him. “So you’re going to help me do that.”
“I’ll help you. I swear, but you need to listen to me first,” Kyle said.
“Where’s your car?”
“I ran.”
“Get on,” Emily said, and pulled her hair up as she slipped on her helmet. Kyle hesitated, wondering if she’d let him drive, and then decided to do whatever she wanted and climbed on the back.
“Ready,” he said, and cringed slightly when she peeled out and took off down the dark street.
“How did you find me?” Kyle yelled.
“Accident, just happened to see you in the alley,” Emily told him.
“Why are you out in the middle of the night?”
“Just out for a ride.”
“It’s 3:30am.”
“I’m aware of that,” Emily said, and merged onto the Interstate.
“Emily!” Kyle yelled when she burned the gate guards to get through into Council City without stopping. She didn’t respond as she headed toward the palace dangerously fast. She pulled up in front of the palace’s front doors, and the guards ran out to meet them as she stopped the engine and swung her leg over to sit sideways in the seat.
“Bring’em out,” Emily said, pulling off her helmet.
Kyle stepped off the Harley Davidson and blurred inside. The guards watched her, afraid that if she got away they might be punished.
“Back up,” Emily said when they slowly moved towards her. They both froze and returned to the door, not willing to get turned to ash.
Allen was the first out of the palace, and he ran and hugged Emily, pulling her off the motorcycle. She hugged him tightly before he set her down on the ground.
“Get Alexis and bring the Jeep around,” Emily told him. Allen nodded and disappeared inside, so she swung her leg over the motorcycle and started to pull her hair up so she could slip on the helmet.
She went to grab her helmet from behind her, but her hand touched another and she looked up. Chevalier was beside her and picked up her helmet, tucking it under his arm, “Leaving?”
Emily glared at him, “Step away from me.”
Chevalier nodded and stepped back by the other Elders, Mark and Silas had also joined them. She sat back and watched for the Jeep.
“Em, we weren’t trying to trick you into turning,” Chevalier said from by the palace doors.
“Sure as hell looked that way,” Emily said, still angry.
“If you will come and talk to us, we can explain.”
“Come back in there? I don’t think so. I’m just here to get the kids.”
“I know you don’t want to turn. I’v
e never even tried… there was a valid reason.”
“I bet.”
“You know I want nothing more than for you to disappear, but listen to him. We had a reason,” Zohn told her
“This isn’t just about the ritual,” Emily reminded them. “I told you I was leaving anyway.”
“I thought we were in negotiations,” Chevalier said.
“We were until you tried to turn me. That pretty much ended those negotiations.”
“Do you remember the battle? Against Exavior and his forces?” Quinn asked quickly.
“No, I don’t,” Emily said, still irritated.
“That’s because you were under an Ancient’s control. The only way we knew to break you out of it, was to turn you,” Quinn explained.
“How handy,” Emily said, and tapped her gloved fingers on the bike’s handles.
“Mom?” Allen said, coming out of the palace.
“I told you to get the Jeep.”
“We decided to stay here.”
Emily’s eyes narrowed, “You decided?”
“Yes”
“Now may not be the time,” Chevalier told his son.
“We think it’s about time you stay with Dad, where you belong, and stop running off,” Allen said, crossing his arms. “You know you’d be miserable away from heku, yet you threaten to do it to get your way and it’s getting old.”
“Allen!” Kyle hissed.
Emily glared at him, “You’re 11.”
“Yet more mature than you are,” Allen said smugly.
Emily swung her leg over the Harley, “You’re 11, and have no idea what you’re talking about… you might be under some misguided impression that I’m afraid of you…”
“No, you’re not afraid of me,” Allen said. “You’re afraid of nothing, but being alone.”
Silas hauled Allen inside when Emily advanced on him, but she followed them in and Silas turned around with Allen behind him.
“I won’t let you talk to me like that,” Emily yelled. “You’re my son and I expect a certain level of respect.”
“I have complete respect for you,” Allen told her. “However, I feel it’s best for you if you stay here.”
“We all do,” Chevalier said from behind her.
Emily turned to him, “You tried to turn me, that makes you no better than Exavior.”
Proditor : Book 5 of the Heku Series Page 59