“Tempting, Child, but let me take you to bed,” the Valle Elder said. He picked her up amid protests and she grabbed a hold of his arm as he carried her to bed.
***
The Equites arrived in the dark of night and took up position around the small compound. They guessed it could house no more than 200 heku, which was no match for the gathered forces. The four groups waited through the night, listening to everything that went on and keeping their senses out for any sign of the children.
The sound of a wolf howling broke the silence just after dawn. The fog rolled in earlier that morning and visibility dropped, which was better for the Equites forces. Moments after the piercing call of the wolf, the Equites descended into the small compound, easily scaling the 8-foot tall walls.
The first scream echoed through the canyon as Chevalier dropped down from the cement wall and turned toward the sounds of battle. Ferus after Ferus fell, and blood streamed down the cold rock walkways through the coven. There were no signs of any leaders or military, but the purple emblem was emblazoned across every surface.
Chevalier moved slowly behind his troops. He chose to use his senses and let those below him fight. They checked behind every door as they worked their way to the main building in the center. The four groups of Equites met up as they surrounded the building and all of them were aware of the smell of a Winchester.
Chevalier was the first to enter. He pushed open the double doors and came face-to-face with terrified Ferus guards. Their purple capes hung at their backs as they slowly stepped away from the enraged Elder. Equites forces flooded into the building from all directions, and the Elder had the first two guards dead before his group all made it inside.
“Sir!” Kyle yelled, and Chevalier appeared at his side. They walked down a stone staircase into a makeshift prison. There were only two cells, and Allen was in one. He looked up at them, his eyes furious. He was wearing the black pants, white shirt, and purple cape of the Ferus guard, and his hands were shackled to the wall.
Chevalier tore the door off the hinges and quickly released Allen from his bindings, “Where’s Alexis?”
“I don’t know, they separated us,” Allen said, tearing the cape from his neck. He pulled the rank insignia off of his collar and showed it to his Dad, “Commander.”
Chevalier shook his head and took the insignia, “Help us find Alex.”
The three blurred back up the stairs when General Skinner called for them. They appeared in a large bedroom decorated in pinks and maroons, Emily’s favorite colors. There was a large painting of her over the fireplace. In the painting, she was wearing a long billowy dress and her hair was done up in soft curls that framed a diamond encrusted tiara. The bed was surrounded by soft netting and the closet was full of dresses.
“This is supposed to be Mom’s coven, when she becomes Elder,” Allen explained. “Until then, I am supposed to run it.”
Chevalier and Allen walked down the hallway, opening doors until they found one that smelled strongly of the Winchester. The bedroom was warm and comfortable, decorated in all shades of purple. The bed was recently slept in, and the window was slightly ajar. Chevalier picked up the pillow and inhaled deeply.
“Not very recent, I’d say a day,” Chevalier said, and looked around. There was a magazine lying open on the desk and a half-done puzzle on the table beside it.
General Skinner came in, “Sir, one of the guards said they’ve taken the girl to Henderson, Nevada.”
“He just told you that?” Chevalier asked, turning to face the General.
Skinner grinned slightly, “It took a little convincing, not sure he’s the bravest heku I’ve ever met.”
“See if you can find someone else to confirm that,” Chevalier said, and turned back to the room.
“I fought to stay with her,” Allen said, looking at the floor.
Chevalier whispered for everyone to leave, and he put a hand on Allen’s shoulder, “You couldn’t fight them all.”
“You could have,” Allen said, looking up at his Dad. “I just couldn’t fight them off. I told Alexis not to turn them to ash. I’m not sure she could have gotten all of them.”
“That’s good, I hope she listens to you,” Chevalier said. “We’ll find her.”
“We were out in the stables. Alexis wanted to see if she’d left a book out there and then… we decided to go riding,” Allen said, and sighed. “I know we weren’t supposed to, but Mom is sick and the Cavalry was busy.”
“We’ll talk about that later, for now, let’s just find your sister.”
***
“Emily, I brought you some Sprite,” the Chief Interrogator said from outside the bathroom door.
“Go away,” Emily whispered, knowing he could still hear her.
“I’ve been asked to check on you,” he said, and tapped the door to break the lock. He opened the door slowly and saw her lying on the cold floor. Her eyes were shut and she had no color, “Are you ok?”
“I’ll give you $500,000 to kill me,” she said softly.
He grinned, “I don’t need $500 grand.”
Emily sighed, “Please go away.”
“Fine,” he said, and set the Sprite down on the floor next to her. He shut the door and returned to the council chambers.
“That explains where Bruce Isaac went,” Sotomar said, nodding his head. He turned when the Chief Interrogator came in, “How is she?”
“She’s breathing, though she doesn’t look well and she’s lying on the bathroom floor.”
Sotomar frowned, “Did you pick her up and put her in bed?”
“No, Sir, she told me to go away.”
Zohn grinned, “That’s normal, leave her there.”
Sotomar turned back to Zohn, “Does she get assaulted by mortals often?”
“Yes, quite often. As a Council, we suspect that mortals are attracted to the Winchester scent also, though they may not realize why… then when you have her looks, it isn’t safe for her.”
“Interesting, I think your theory may be correct, though, there’s no real way to find out.”
“You should go out with her some time, into a mortal store… you would be amazed at how many mortal men will go out of their way to get near her. I can’t see that being just the looks.”
Sotomar grinned slightly, “Has to be part of it.”
“Well, yes,” Zohn said. “Especially in some of the outfits I’ve seen her in.”
The Elders looked over from their chairs in the small conference room when the door opened. Emily backed in and shut the door softly and then put her ear to it.
“Lost, Dear?” Sotomar asked.
Emily sighed and looked back at the Elders, “Hi… no mask?”
“I have acclimated. Have a seat, we can order you some lunch.”
Emily touched her stomach and sat down, “No, no food.”
“How long does the illness last?” Sotomar asked, unsure if that was rude.
“About a month… have you heard from Chev?”
Zohn shook his head, “Nothing yet.”
There was a knock on the door and Sotomar smiled, “Crackers and Sprite.”
Emily nodded and turned to take them, but her eyes grew wide when she saw the heku. He didn’t have a mask on and was crouched. She backed toward the wall when he hissed, and Sotomar was on him in an instant. They blurred out into the hallway and Zohn shut the door.
Zohn grinned slightly, and when there was another knock, he opened the door and turned with a glass of cold Sprite and a plate full of crackers.
Emily took a cracker and glanced back at the door, “I guess Sotomar is yelling at him.”
Zohn raised his eyebrows, “No, he is dead. I’m sure the Elder will return after he speaks to whoever was over that heku.”
“He died?”
“Yes, that was a blatant disregard of a direct order.”
Emily took a small bite and pulled her knees up, “You wish I would obey heku laws, don’t you?”
&nb
sp; “Yes, I do,” Zohn said, not holding anything back.
“What would you do if I didn’t follow them when I was supposed to?”
“You want to talk punishments?”
“No, I want to know if you would just kill me, like you would a disobedient heku.”
Zohn smiled, “Believe it or not, I don’t kill everyone who disobeys an order.”
“So let me have it, what would be my punishment?”
“Who is punishing you?” Sotomar asked, returning to the conference room.
“Apparently I am,” Zohn told him. “She wants to know what I would do if she were bound by heku laws and broke a direct order.”
“Interesting… let’s hear it then.”
“That poses a problem though. What I would do to a heku would kill a mortal.”
“So have at it, don’t hold back… I am told to guard a door, and I leave, mid-shift… let me have it.”
Zohn glanced at Sotomar briefly before speaking, “Well, for a heku that would be easy…”
“You’re hesitating, just answer.”
“Is Chevalier around?”
“There is no Chevalier, or Kyle, or Quinn, or Mark…”
Zohn grinned slightly, “I think that would call for a lashing.”
Sotomar raised an eyebrow, “At the very least.”
“Fine Sotomar, what’s my punishment were I a Valle?” Emily asked, and finished the cracker.
“I would agree with the lashing, but then you would be left there for a few days.”
“Days?”
Sotomar nodded, “Yes.”
“Hmm, I see,” Emily said, and picked up the cold glass of Sprite. “You all did give me a lashing already… and left me.”
Sotomar cringed, “Things were different.”
“Now I’m curious,” Emily said, and hit the speaker on the phone in front of her. She thought for a moment and then dialed.
“Who are we calling?” Zohn asked, ready to turn the phone off.
“Encala Council,” a gruff voice said.
“Is William there?”
“I am… who is this?” William asked.
“It’s Emily.”
“Ahh, Emily, I see you are with the Valle.”
“Yeah and I have a question for you.”
“Ok,” William said. “Why is this making me nervous?”
“Oh, it should,” Sotomar chuckled.
“Hush Soto… ok so…”
“Soto?” Zohn asked.
“Will you two be quiet?” Emily paused when she heard laughter over the phone, “William… who is the meanest on your Council?”
“Frederick,” Zohn and Sotomar said together.
“I concur,” William said, still sounding unsure.
“Is Frederick there?” Emily asked.
“I am,” a strange voice said.
“Who are you?”
“I’m the Chief Enforcer.”
“May I ask you a question?”
“You may.”
“Hypothetical question… I’m a member of the Encala guard staff…”
“When?” he asked.
Emily frowned, “I don’t know… now I guess.”
“Ok, do go on.”
“I’m held by the same laws as every other member of your guard staff... but I’m mortal. I’m given a direct order by Aaron to…”
“Why me?” Aaron asked.
“I’m given a direct order by Aaron to guard a door… halfway through my shift, I skip out and take off,” Emily said, ignoring Aaron’s complaint. “What’s my punishment?”
“Chevalier would never allow…”
“There is no Chevalier. I’m an Encala, never even met any of the Equites.”
“Are you married to an Encala Elder?”
“No… I’m free game… what’s my punishment?”
“What’s behind the door?”
Emily shrugged, “Umm… A book with a list of every Equites coven in America.”
“Death then.”
Emily gasped, “You’d kill me for that?”
“Yes, I would.”
Sotomar chuckled.
“What if nothing was behind the door, but I was still told to guard it?”
“Well,” the Chief Enforcer said. “For that minor infraction, I would dislocate your shoulders.”
“Erm… Freddy?”
“It’s Frederick,” he said, amused.
“Yeah… remind me never to join the Encala’s guard staff.”
“That or do as you’re told.”
Emily glared at Zohn and Sotomar when they laughed.
“Child, why are you with the Valle, and why are you talking punishments?” William asked.
Emily sighed, “I’m being held against my will, while Chevalier leads a group of heku to get my children back from Exavior’s pseudo-faction.”
“Good thing that’s not classified,” Zohn said, irritated.
“Against your will?” Elder Aaron asked.
“Yes, I’d much rather be out fighting with them. They have my kids.”
“I thought you were with child.”
“Yeah? So?”
“So it seems it was in their best interest to confine you to quarters so as not to escape and join the battle uninvited,” Encala Elder Reese said.
“You’re all alike aren’t you?”
“Yes, we are,” Zohn said, smiling.
“Why don’t the Encala come rescue me from my forced confinement then?”
“Emily…” Sotomar said, but William cut him off.
“And give you the opportunity to leave while we fought? No.”
“Doesn’t matter, I’ll get away from these two factions, a third won’t help,” Emily told them, grabbing another cracker.
“Do you require assistance?” William asked.
“No, I can get out alone.”
“I was asking Zohn and Sotomar.”
“No, we’re fine, as of yet she hasn’t made it out of the palace,” Sotomar said.
Emily dropped the cracker and ran out of the room suddenly.
***
“Equites 1 to Thukil,” the pilot called over the radio.
“Thukil here.”
“There’s a landing area just north of the cinder block plant.”
“Roger that, I see it.”
The four helicopters landed, and the desert fell silent as the black clad heku jumped out of the helicopters and lined up according to groups. Chevalier, Kyle, Thukil Captain Darren, and Powan’s General Skinner met in front of them.
“Want us to head out again and survey?” Skinner asked.
“Yes, report back as soon as you can. I’d like to attack before dark,” Chevalier told him, and then watched as the wolf pack disappeared into the Mojave Desert.
Allen walked up beside his Dad, “I want to go in.”
Kyle glanced at him and back to Chevalier.
“Don’t tell your Mom,” Chevalier said after a few moments, and then turned back toward where Powan disappeared.
“How did you get Mom to stay away?”
Chevalier grinned slightly, “Zohn has her at the Valle Palace.”
“Do you fully trust them?”
“No, that’s why Zohn is there.”
“How long can the alliance last?” Allen asked, following his Dad’s gaze.
“I don’t know, there’s never been one before.”
Allen turned to Chevalier, “Can it last?”
“I’m afraid not.”
“Does Mom know?”
“No, I think she thinks this is permanent. Course, when it was made, she thought she was going to die of old age eventually.”
Allen frowned slightly, “Does that mean I won’t age either?”
Chevalier shrugged, “We aren’t sure.”
“Is it true that you seduced Mom to get her to join your coven?”
“What? Who told you that?” Chevalier asked angrily.
“Brock said it. He’s the Chief Interrogato
r for the Ferus.”
“Well it’s not true… plus, your mother never joined Island Coven.”
“There’s no Ferus either, so no Chief Interrogator,” Kyle said, taking over when he saw Chevalier getting angry.
“They said you killed her abusive ex-husband, whisked her away to Wyoming, and seduced her until she fell in love with you, and then you took her to Maine.”
“Shut up, Allen,” Kyle said, and took his arm, leading him away. He saw Chevalier getting angrier and felt it best if Allen left the questions for another time.
“Is it true then?” Allen asked Kyle when they stopped on the other side of the helicopter.
“No, it’s not true,” Kyle said. “It was complicated and trust me, wasn’t love at first sight… plus, no one seduced anyone and they went to Colorado.”
“Mom’s just so much younger than Dad, even if you take his age at turning… seems to me that he might have taken advantage of her youth,” Allen said matter-of-factly.
“Stop talking about your parents like that,” Kyle told him. “It’s not right.”
“Well, it would explain a lot about their current relationship.”
“Drop it. It’s a sensitive subject with both of them.”
“Fine,” Allen said. “Though I doubt Dad is sensitive about it, at his age, he knew very well what he was doing.”
“Shut up,” Kyle said, and hauled him back over to Chevalier.
“It’s too late to attack now. We’ll need to wait until morning.”
***
“Don’t touch me,” Emily said. She was still on the cold tile floor, lying beside the toilet with her eyes closed.
“The Elders are just worried, Child,” the Valle doctor said. “They want me to take a look at you.”
“You’ve seen me, now go away.”
“You’ve been here for 4 days and have had nothing but a single cracker to eat. That’s not healthy, and there may be something wrong.”
Emily sat up slowly and glared at him, “There is something wrong. I got knocked up by someone who’s not even my species. Now go away and stop calling me child.”
“If you would just move to the bed and let me look at you,” he said, and ran his arm under her knees to pick her up.
“Don’t make me call the Encala to come and get me,” Emily growled, and moved out of his arms. She laid back on the tile when she felt the world start to spin.
Proditor : Book 5 of the Heku Series Page 70