“That’s the message?”
“Yes”
“Fine, then go,” he said, and waited until the Valle was gone before opening the envelope. He sat down by the fire where he could still see Emily sleeping, and began to read through it.
April 17
What a beautiful child. She’s only 3 years old and she’s small for her age, but Alec already told me about that. She has beautiful green eyes that I hope don’t change when we turn her. We have 5 days to do this. Ulrich was furious with the idea, and forbid me from doing it, so I’ve called in the Chief Enforcer to help. She’s small enough that two of us should be all that’s needed. We will prepare tonight, and tomorrow we’ll attempt to turn the first Winchester into a heku.
April 18
Didn’t go well, she was very upset by the ceremony. I’ll admit the room is cold and damp, but we ended up having to sedate her. The screaming was horrible, she’s a strong-willed child. She didn’t calm down even after we fed from her, which normally leaves mortals relaxed. During the ceremony, she fought against me and I left harsh bruises on her arm from holding her down. We knew it wasn’t working when she refused to feed from my wrist. We’ll try again in a few hours.
We still weren’t able to perform the ceremony. We tried again, but she fought so badly when we each bit her, that I think the Chief Enforcer ended up doing more damage than was needed. Once she was to the point of needing to feed from me, I felt a twinge of burn and had to stop the ceremony for her to calm down.
The third try today and it’s still not working. I’m not sure how to make the child relax enough to feed from my wrist. It’s hard to concentrate on the ancient magic when she’s screaming, terrified. It’s awful to see her beautiful green eyes turn red from crying, and her soft red hair matted with blood. We will sedate her through the night and see if it goes better tomorrow. We’ve had to give her four shots today and she’s also starting to fight over those.
April 19
Another shot was needed last night around 2am. She was screaming in her room, I think it started with a nightmare as her tiny body shook with fear. She was fine after the injection, not sure how many of those we can give. She’s a bit pale, so we slipped B12 into ice cream and she ate it.
Damn, we should be done, it shouldn’t take two days to turn a child, though I’ve never heard of it done so maybe that is normal. She simply refuses to feed from me, which I don’t understand. When we turn a mortal, they begin to crave the blood, yet she fights against it. We’ve completely restrained her with soft restraints because she fights us so hard it makes it hard to concentrate and we’re afraid she’ll hurt herself.
Second try today and we force fed her the blood. I’m not sure how much she ingested, though, because the runes didn’t glow as they should have. Could it be impossible to turn a Winchester, or is it just the stubbornness of this one child? We discussed this and we’re going to try something different after her lunch.
The child refused to eat, but we wanted to try once more today. She’s gotten to where she screams when she sees me. I do hope she gets over that as she’s been promised to me by Alec when she’s older. This last try for today failed also, and it’s getting discouraging. She has so many bites on her body they are starting to swell and turn red. I held her on my lap, that helped a little with the terrified screams, but she’s strong for a child and I bruised her arms more.
April 20
The runes didn’t glow again. I think she may not be getting enough of my blood to finish the ceremony, though we’re forcing as much as we can down her throat. She bit me today too, which was actually quite adorable. I wish she would stop fighting us so badly. She kicks and screams whenever she sees us, she knows what we’re about to do. She injured herself trying to get out of the heavy stone door, she got cuts on her wrist as she slammed them against the door, yelling for help. We have yet another idea and will try again when she calms down. We decided to not try again today.
April 21
Damn, this child needs to learn obedience. She screamed for Allen most of the ceremony, pleading for him to come, but he’s far away in Montana. Alec warned us she was a strong-willed child, but this is getting to be too much and I’m getting angry with her. She’s only 3 and should be taught to respect her Elders. As the first attempt didn’t work again today, we are going to try punishment to make her do as she’s told.
We had a hard time punishing the tiny girl, she didn’t fit in a lot of the devices, but we finally found one and she submitted and did as she was asked during the ritual today. That is, until I tried to send the stake through her heart, then she began to scream and fight again and the runes lost their glow before we could get her calmed again.
Two more tries and still no luck. This was our last shot, and if she were my child, I would severely beat her for her stubborn-headedness. She kicked and bit at us, making it hard to concentrate. We gave her two injections of the sedative and she still was able to keep us too distracted. I will teach her obedience when she is my wife. If Alec gets the child again, we may try when she’s older.
Chevalier glanced over at Emily, who was still deep asleep. He fought to control his temper. Not only was it forbidden to turn a child, but it was forbidden to force it onto anyone. The ceremony was extremely traumatic for the mortal, but as it was only done once, they soon forgot its violence. Exavior put Emily through it ten times in four days as a toddler. It explained a lot about why she was so afraid of the ritual, though he doubted that she even remembered the torturous four days.
Chevalier called for the other two Elders, and when they came in, he motioned them to sit in the chairs beside him. He handed them the ledger and waited for them to read it.
“My God, what were they thinking?” Quinn asked, shocked.
Zohn stared at the ledger, re-reading it over and over, “This is insane.”
“Does she remember?” Quinn asked.
Chevalier shook his head, “I don’t think so.”
“It’s no wonder she is dead set on not being turned,” he said, and watched her sleep.
Zohn glanced at Emily and then back to the fire, “Could this be why the ritual can’t be performed around her? I mean… some psychological trauma that pits her against it?”
Chevalier shrugged, “There’s no telling what all that torment did.”
“Are you going to tell her?” Quinn asked.
“I haven’t decided. I may ask Sotomar, he’s also an ‘old one’ and may have heard of something similar.”
“Ten times,” Quinn said, watching the fire.
“Will you try to undo the damage? She’s not aging, so she could be with heku for a long time and it’s not good if she’s afraid of one of our rituals,” Zohn said.
“I honestly don’t…”
“Chev?” Emily asked softly from the bed. Zohn and Quinn blurred from the room, and Chevalier moved to the edge of the bed and sat down.
“I’m here, Em.”
“Where am I?”
“You’re back in the palace.”
Emily sighed, “Why?”
“You got sick in the hotel, so Kyle brought you back here.”
“No guards?”
Chevalier shook his head and brushed the hair off of her face, “No, no guards.”
“I wanted to go to the island.”
“I know, but I would prefer you stay here with me and by your doctor.”
Emily nodded and took his hand, “You’re looking at me strangely.”
He smiled, “Am I?”
“Did I do something wrong?”
“No”
She pulled the covers tight around her, “Why am I not dressed?”
Chevalier grinned, “Kyle pulled you out of the tub, unconscious.”
Emily gasped, “He saw me naked?”
“Yes, and he saved you from drowning.”
“Oh my God! He seriously saw me naked?” Her eyes were wide.
“He saved you from drowning,” Chevalier told
her, frowning. “I don’t care if he saw you naked in the meantime.”
“I do!” Emily yelled, and got up. She swayed slightly and wrapped the sheet around her, disappearing into the bathroom. She came out a few minutes later in a long nightgown and called for some breakfast.
“How’s the headache?”
“If I tell you, are you going to call the doctor?”
Chevalier chuckled, “I just did.”
Emily glared at him, “No headache.”
“Yes you do, now don’t make me call Kyle in here to make sure you behave.”
“What?” Emily yelled. “You wouldn’t.”
“Oh, I would… Enter,” Chevalier said.
“You called for me?” the doctor asked, coming into the warm room followed by a servant with a stack of pancakes.
“I have a headache,” Emily said, obviously not happy about him being there.
“How bad?” the doctor asked, and watched her carefully while she poured the syrup on the pancakes.
“Not bad, grouchy insists you be here,” she said, and took a small bite.
Chevalier grinned, “I’m not grouchy, you are.”
She glared at him and took another bite.
“Well,” the doctor said uncomfortably. “I’ll leave you some pain medications to take with your Zofran.”
“Ok,” she said, still eating. She looked up when he didn’t leave, so he quickly handed Chevalier the pills and blurred from the room.
“You really should be nicer to him. He just wants you out of pain.”
Emily took another bite and then turned to Chevalier, “What happens to you if you take them?”
“Nothing”
“You sure?”
“Yes”
“Nothing at all?”
“Nothing,” he said, amused.
Emily got up from the table and walked to him, holding her hand out for the pills.
“You’re not going to eat more?” he asked, handing them over.
“I’m not feeling sick, so I’m not going to push the issue and I just want to take a nap,” she explained, and took the pills with some orange juice.
“Fair enough. I will be in the council chambers all day, shall I send Silas up?”
“Why? So I can cheat on you and prove their suspicions?”
Chevalier sighed, “Em, they don’t think that… just the one of them and he’s gone.”
“They all do. Damon was right before when he said that everyone believes I shouldn’t be in the palace.”
“That’s not fair to put all heku into that category. They know why you’re here.”
“Go to your meeting,” she said, and laid down, pulling the covers up over her shoulders.
Chevalier was glad she was looking away. He couldn’t help but smile at how grouchy she was. He kissed her head lightly and then blurred into the council chambers and sat down between Zohn and Quinn.
“What’s going on?” he asked, looking at the four Valle in the trial area.
“There’s a coup d’état in the Valle,” Quinn explained.
Chevalier frowned, “Did they succeed?”
“Yes, Sir,” the Valle said. “The four of us are from a group of the palace guards that were able to escape. We came to you for help in returning our Council.”
“Tell us exactly what’s going on,” Zohn asked, leaning forward in his chair.
“It started with the turning of a mortal in the Welch Coven, in northern Pennsylvania…”
“Wait, the one where the mortal died?” Quinn asked.
“Yes, that one. The coven knew that the Winchester had been close and insisted that the Valle Council seek her out to punish her for the loss,” he explained. “The Elders refused to punish the Winchester so…”
“Please, her name is Emily, not the Winchester,” Chevalier said, trying to alleviate one of her pet peeves.
“Sorry, Sir. He refused to punish Emily. Elder Sotomar said it was an accident that she was traveling through the area, and the Council refused to punish her for the loss. A few hours later, thousands of heku stormed the palace and threw the Elders into jail, killing Elder Vizia and Chief Interrogator Buach in the process.”
“Damn,” Zohn growled. “The rest are still in prison?”
“Yes, and the new Council plans to begin banishing them for being weak.”
“Weak because they refused to punish Emily?”
“That, and because they have formed an alliance with the Encala and the Equites. A lot of covens feel that is showing great vulnerability and that a new Council is needed.”
“How many of the supporters are left from the Valle Palace?” Quinn asked.
“The four of us, and about twelve others. They are all gathered outside of your city, waiting for our return so we can go talk to the Encala.”
“Derrick,” Quinn called out.
“Yes, Sir,” the door guard said, stepping in.
“Show these four and the 12 Valle with them to the farmhouse. See that they are taken care of,” Quinn said. “We will talk to the Encala and see what we can do about returning the Council to its position.”
“Yes, Sir,” Derrick said, motioning for the Valle to follow him. The four followed the guard out the door, and it shut behind them.
“I was waiting for this,” Zohn said. “The factions have never been aligned. It was bound to cause some tension and the easiest way to call foul is to blame weakness.”
“If we can’t restore the former council, we will return to being at war with the Valle,” Quinn said, turning to Chevalier.
“I’ll go talk to the Encala and take Kyle with me,” Chevalier said. “We need to join forces and see if we can figure out how to do it without endangering the alliance.”
“Do you think it’s wise for both of you to leave Emily?” Zohn asked, frowning. Kyle glanced at him, shocked that he cared about it.
Chevalier grinned, “Emily would rather ash Kyle right now than see him. It’ll be safer if he’s with me.”
“What? Why?” Kyle asked, shocked.
“You saw her naked,” he chuckled.
“She was drowning!”
“I know that… she knows that... but… just come with me,” Chevalier said, and stood.
“What are we supposed to do with her?” Zohn asked.
“Stay out of her way, keep the guards away from her, and when she wakes up, tell her we’ll be back tomorrow,” he said, and walked out, followed by Kyle.
Chapter 24 - Coup
“What brings the Equites to the Council today?” William asked, smiling slightly.
“The Valle Council has been overthrown by several of their covens,” Chevalier explained. “They came to the Equites seeking help in reinstating the Council, and were on their way here when we thought it best if we came instead.”
“Why a coup?” Elder Aaron asked.
“Emily was on her way…”
“This has to do with Emily?”
Chevalier sighed, “Yes.”
“Go on then,” William said.
“She was on her way from Council City to the island when she stopped for the night, apparently, too close to a Valle coven that was trying to turn a mortal.”
“And he died?”
“Yes, the coven demanded that Emily be punished, but the Council refused, said it was an accident. They’ve been overthrown, their Chief Interrogator and Elder Vizia were killed, and the rest are imprisoned, awaiting banishment.”
“While it’s disturbing,” William said. “I don’t see as though we as Encala need to get involved.”
“We’re afraid if the current Council remains, they will not abide by the alliance and will again be at war with both of our factions… and, of course… they will first come after Emily to punish her for the death,” Kyle explained. “We don’t want to get involved either, but we also don’t want to risk a war with the Valle.”
“We’ll need to discuss it as a Council, to see if it involves us enough to intervene with the Equ
ites,” William said. “We understand that protecting Emily is essential, but starting a war with the Valle may not be in the Encala’s best interest.”
Chevalier nodded, “All we can ask is that you consider it. Please let the Equites Council know your decision.”
William nodded and Chevalier and Kyle left, headed back for the McLaren that was parked outside of the city. The ride to Council City was quiet, each contemplating both sides of the coup. One side would bring the Valle back as Equites enemies, and one that could reinstate the trusted Council, yet endanger the relations between covens.
When they pulled into the garage, things in the city seemed quiet and it was just after midnight. They called for the Council and found them already meeting in the council chambers. Chevalier and Kyle joined them and sat down as the others waited.
“Have they called?” Chevalier asked.
“Yes, William called a few hours ago… the Encala have decided to take a wait and see approach,” Zohn explained.
“I figured they would,” Chevalier said. “They sounded unsure about helping the Valle regain their council.”
“As are we,” Zohn said.
“As much as I hate to admit it, I think I agree,” Chevalier said. “Yes the alliance is nice, and things are peaceful, but this could backfire. The way I see it, we need to prepare to defend ourselves against attacks from the new Valle.”
“Then we need to be prepared to answer to the former Council if they are ever reinstated and wonder why we didn’t help,” Quinn said. “That could be a problem.”
“I fear that Emily will try to free them,” the Chief Interrogator said. “Once she gets word this was caused by her, she will go to them.”
Kyle nodded, “Yes, she will. We may need to make it a priority to keep it from her.”
“That means keeping her away from Damon,” Chevalier said. “I’m sure he knows by now, and would love nothing more than to send her into that rat’s nest.”
Proditor : Book 5 of the Heku Series Page 75