Proditor : Book 5 of the Heku Series

by T. M. Nielsen

  Three hours later, the helicopter circled the Valle city and then landed on the palace roof. Before the pilot cut the engines, the Valle Council, Valle Imperial Guards, Chevalier, Kyle, and Mark appeared from the door and headed for the helicopter. The General opened the doors and jumped out, and then turned and offered his hand to Emily. She took his hand, and he helped her out of the helicopter.

  Emily turned and ran into Chevalier’s arms. He held her tightly as he thanked Lord Darby and the General.

  “Come inside where it’s warm, we have you some food,” Sotomar said, motioning inside.

  Emily turned toward the door and took Chevalier’s arm, and they walked into the palace and down the stairs to a conference room. Sotomar moved aside and let Chevalier and Emily in before shutting the door softly, leaving them alone.

  Chevalier sat down and pulled Emily toward him. He wrapped his arms around her and she buried her face in his neck as the tears started. After a few minutes, he moved away from her and looked her over.

  “Where’s the blood coming from?” he asked, brushing her hair away from her face.

  “Head and back I guess,” she said, and glanced around the room. “Is he here?”

  Chevalier smiled, “Kyle, bring the baby.”

  Emily turned when Kyle came in, but she was focused on the baby. She stopped and looked at him. His black hair was wild and sticking out all over his head. His eyes were shiny and black, and his sweet face looked like Allen when he was a baby. Her heart skipped a beat when he looked over at her while he sucked on his fingers.

  “Do you want to hold him?” Kyle asked.

  She didn’t answer. She wasn’t sure what she would do if he started to cry when she held him. Kyle came forward slowly, and she put her arms out and took the baby, quickly pulling him against her chest and resting her cheek against his head. When he didn’t cry, she brought him up to her face and kissed his soft cheeks as tears began to flow. Kyle bowed slightly and left the room, shutting the door softly behind him.

  Emily held him against her shoulder and turned toward Chevalier, “He’s not crying.”

  Chevalier smiled, “That’s new… he’s actually quite fussy.”

  “Have you taken him to a Pediatrician?”

  “No,” he said, smiling slightly. “Em, he’s full heku and we can’t risk a doctor noticing.”

  She frowned and rocked him slowly, “Then he drinks…”

  Chevalier nodded, “Yes, in a bottle.”

  Emily kissed him softly on the top of the head, “Does he sleep?”

  “Not much. He mostly just cries… actually… I’ve had to call in Anna to help, and the palace is a bit on edge from the constant screaming,” he said, shrugging.

  Emily frowned, “He doesn’t seem to be fussy.”

  “Trust me, he’s a screamer and only shuts up to eat.”

  “Be nice,” Emily said, holding the baby tighter.

  “Do you want to know his name?”

  Emily smiled slightly, “You named him?”

  “Yes, I did,” Chevalier said proudly.

  “Ok… I’m afraid, but give it to me.”

  Chevalier frowned, “Don’t trust me?”

  “Just tell me.”

  “No, we just call him Screech.”

  Emily frowned, “That’s awful.”

  “Just wait.”

  “What’s his name?”

  “Dain”

  “Where did you get that?”

  “From your dreams,” he said, and smiled. “You use Dain and Megera as the future children in your dreams.”

  Emily smiled, “Not too bad, I guess.”

  He raised an eyebrow, “Not too bad?”

  “You could have done worse.”

  Chevalier turned serious, “Were they nice to you?”

  “Yes, very”

  “Did they hurt you in any way?”

  “No”

  “The punishment and humiliation they spoke of then…”

  Emily shrugged, “I don’t know. I suspect they were waiting for Vaughn.”

  They both turned when someone knocked on the door.

  “Enter,” Chevalier said.

  Kyle peeked in, “Is he alive?”

  “Yes, Em has him.”

  “Did she kill him?”

  “Does he really cry that much?” Emily asked, rocking still.

  “You have no idea,” Kyle said, and shut the door.

  Emily turned back to Chevalier, “I want to go home.”

  “Ok, let’s go,” he said, and opened the door.

  “You Equites exaggerate. He hasn’t cried at all since just after you arrived,” Sotomar said, shaking his head.

  “We were not. That child is a screamer,” Mark said, and headed up to Equites 1.

  Emily handed the baby off to Chevalier and turned toward Lord Darby and the General, “Thank you, if I can every repay you, please let me know.”

  Lord Darby smiled, “Our pleasure, Child.”

  Emily moved quickly toward the General and hugged him, “Thank you.”

  The General glanced at Chevalier and then hugged her and smiled, “Your welcome, Child. We haven’t had that good of a fight in a while. It was fun.”

  Emily smiled and went back to take the crying baby from Chevalier. The baby stopped screaming instantly, and she headed up to the helicopter with him. Four hours later they arrived back in Council City.

  “The Council would like to speak to you,” Silas said, helping Emily off of the helicopter.

  She nodded and held the baby against her shoulder as she followed them down. Kyle and Chevalier went around to the back while Mark, Silas, and Emily waited at the trial room door until Derrick opened it.

  Emily walked in and stepped up before the Council.

  Quinn smiled, “It’s good to have you back, Dear.”

  “Thank you,” she said, scanning the Council.

  Zohn frowned, “What did you do to the baby?”

  “I didn’t do anything to him.”

  “Then why isn’t he screaming?” Dustin asked.

  Emily glanced down at him, “I don’t know.”

  “Well, isn’t that a pleasant surprise,” the Chief of Defense said, smiling.

  “Did you bring me here to find out if I injured the baby?” Emily asked, starting to get irritated at how the heku were treating the baby.

  “No, we need to know all you can remember about the Ferus,” Zohn told her.

  Emily sighed, “Can I please sleep first. I’m tired, my head hurts, and I just want to relax.”

  “Have you not been sleeping?” Quinn asked.

  “It’s a little hard to sleep when you’re getting woken up at all hours to figure out who had the donor first, or who got the house in the divorce,” Emily said, sighing.

  Chevalier grinned, “Welcome to our world.”

  “Yeah… well… I need sleep or I get grouchy.”

  “Understood, we’ll talk to you tomorrow,” Quinn said, and watched Emily walk out.

  “Seriously, how did she get the baby to stop screaming?” Zohn asked Chevalier.

  “She just held him.”

  “We tried that!”

  “I know... but apparently he wanted his Mom.”

  Zohn sighed, “So he’s not completely heku.”

  “Well think about it,” Kyle said. “He’s heku, so his senses are sharp… he was inside of a Winchester for 9 months.”

  Quinn chuckled, “He has a point… he would have caught that scent the moment she got near him.”

  “Alexis held him though, and he didn’t calm down,” Dustin said.

  “Her scent is only about a quarter as strong as her Moms,” Chevalier reminded them. “Either way… it’s so quiet.”

  The Council fell silent and listened to the calm stillness in the palace, something they’d not felt since the baby came back from the hospital.

  ***

  Emily sighed and looked down at the baby sleeping on her chest. She looked over at th
e clock and smiled at the baby, “I slept until after noon.”

  “Yes, you did,” Chevalier chuckled from by the fire.

  Emily looked over at him, “I was tired.”

  “This is the first time in 7 weeks that the palace isn’t on edge from a screaming baby.”

  “He’s so sweet and calm,” Emily said, running her fingers along the baby’s back.

  “You’ll just have to trust me.”

  “I need a shower,” she said, and sat up, still holding the baby.

  “Ok,” Chevalier said nervously. He took the baby and before Emily got into the shower, she could hear Dain screaming as Chevalier tried to calm him down. She grinned and went in for a hot shower.

  Emily stepped out of the shower and frowned. The baby was screaming even louder, and she could hear more voices in the bedroom trying to calm him down. She shook her head, wrapped in a towel, and went out to get him. Chevalier handed him over, not even concerned she was in front of most of the Council in a towel. Dain immediately stopped crying, and she carried him back into the bathroom and shut the door.

  “That’s it, ban her from ever putting him down,” Zohn said, sitting down in a chair.

  Kyle ran in with a bottle and stopped, “Why’d he quit crying?”

  “Em took him,” Chevalier said, and took the bottle.

  “Ahh,” Kyle sighed, and leaned against the wall.

  Emily came out a short time later in jeans and a t-shirt, cradling the baby against her shoulder. She saw the exhausted heku in the room and smiled.

  “Seriously, you big, strong, predatory types can’t handle a baby?” she asked, and took the bottle.

  “Ha-ha,” Chevalier said, and watched them.

  Emily frowned, “I hate bottles.”

  “We didn’t really have a choice.”

  “I know,” she said, and cradled Dain to feed him. She gasped and pulled the bottle away from him. “What is in here?”

  “Em, we told you he’s heku.”

  “Still, damn, did you even try formula?”

  “What’s formula?” Kyle asked.

  Emily sighed, “No wonder he cries… you all feeding him blood.”

  The heku watched as Emily grabbed her purse and headed for the door.

  “Where are you going?” Chevalier asked, frustrated.

  “To buy baby formula,” she said, irritated, and walked out.

  “Damn,” Chevalier whispered, and followed her out. “Em?”

  “Yeah?” she asked, and turned to him.

  “He likes it.”

  Emily looked down at the baby and handed him to Chevalier, “Then you feed him.”

  “Em…” he said, and watched her walk down the stairs and out of the palace.

  Dain immediately began to scream and kick as Chevalier went back into the bedroom. He took the bottle and began to feed the baby, the room growing suddenly quiet.

  “It may be a while before she can feed him,” he told the others.

  “I can see that,” Kyle said, nodding.

  “What’s she doing?” Zohn asked, looking out at the stables.

  Chevalier walked over and looked out the window, “I hate when she does that.”

  Kyle peeked around them, “She won’t let anyone else do it.”

  “What’s she doing?” Quinn asked, still sitting down.

  “Breaking in that 2-year-old horse,” Chevalier said, and sat down. “Course, it’s kind of anger management… she can take it out on us, or the horse.”

  Dain finished his bottle and began to scream as he kicked his tiny legs.

  Chevalier held Dain up so he could look into his eyes, “Do you seriously have to scream? She’s right outside.”

  The baby’s lower lip began to quiver, and he screamed again as tears streamed down his face.

  “Take him out there, maybe if he sees her he’ll be ok?” Kyle asked, wincing slightly as the high-pitched wail filled the palace.

  “I’ll try it,” Chevalier said, and blurred down to the corral, followed by Kyle and Allen. Mark, Silas, and Kralen were already leaning against the fence, watching Emily try to break the paint.

  “I want to learn though,” Mark said. “I like working with the horses.”

  Emily shrugged, “Ok, come on in.”

  Mark grinned and scaled the fence, and then walked up slowly to the stallion. Emily hung onto the bridle from the ground while Mark pet him and glanced at her.

  “Up you go… then hold on,” she said, grinning. “Try not to bruise your ass.”

  Mark grinned and hoisted himself up onto the paint. Emily let go and dove for the fence just as Mark came flying toward her. He landed on her and pinned her to the ground, then scrambled off of her and knelt down just as the others got to her.

  “Are you ok?” Mark asked, touching the back of her head.

  Emily rolled over, laughing, “That was so funny.”

  “That was not funny,” Mark said, helping her to her feet. She was still laughing as she went over and took the reins and rubbed the soft nose of the horse.

  Emily grinned at him, “Up you go.”

  “No, not again,” Mark said, and headed back for the others.

  “Coward”

  He turned slowly and looked at her, “What?”

  “Get on the damn horse,” she said, grinning.

  “You can’t order me around, I’m a Captain.”

  “And I’m an Elder… just get on the horse.”

  “Not my Elder,” he said, and put one foot in the stirrup.

  “Hold on this time,” she said, and got ready to run.

  “I know he’s not crying out here, but I can’t watch this,” Chevalier said, turning away from them.

  Kyle grinned, “I’ll keep him, it’s kind of amusing to watch.”

  “Just call an ambulance if he kills her,” Chevalier said, then handed the baby to Kyle and disappeared inside.

  “Ready… go,” Emily said, and let go of the reins as Mark moved into the saddle. She made it through the fence and turned as the horse bucked, but the heku managed to stay on. After a few seconds, the horse quit bucking and Mark took a deep breath.

  “Ok, now softly kick him,” Emily said quietly.

  Mark gently kicked the horse, and with one quick buck, the paint threw the heku over his head and he landed on the back of his neck and fell silent onto the ground.

  Emily scrambled through the fence and ran to Mark, then knelt down, “Mark?”

  Mark didn’t answer, so she tried to roll him over onto his back, but she couldn’t do it. Silas came in and rolled the Captain onto his back as Emily watched, unable to even breathe. Mark laid, unmoving on the ground and Emily touched his face softly, “Mark?”

  Mark grinned and started laughing, “Now that was funny.”

  Emily slapped him hard on the chest and stood up.

  “Ouch,” he said, and stood up, still laughing.

  “That was not funny.”

  “Sure it was,” Mark said, and turned back to the horse. “One more time.”

  “You’re on your own and I hope he kills you,” Emily said, joining Kyle beside the fence.

  Kyle turned when he heard someone walk up behind them, “Em, take the baby.”

  “Elder?” a soft voice said from behind her.

  Emily took Dain and turned around to face a purple clad heku.

  “Are you seriously kidding me?” she asked, irritated.

  The Ferus looked at Kyle, “I just… have… a message for… the Elder.”

  Emily rolled her eyes, “What is it?”

  “It’s private,” he told her, and glanced at Kyle. Silas moved to stand on the other side of her.

  “They’re deaf… start talking,” Emily said.

  “The… Council said… if… if… you…”

  “Spit it out!”

  The heku sighed, “The Council said that if you bring Vaughn back with you, the punishment won’t be as bad.”

  “Damnit, Em,” Kyle growled when the h
eku turned to ash.

  “Tsk tsk, Kyle, you shouldn’t have ashed him,” Emily said, and headed into the stables with the baby.

  “I’m not telling him,” Silas said, looking down at the pile of ash.

  Kyle knelt down and began to scoop the ashes into a bag, “Fine, then I did it because I’m not telling him either.”

  “Captain?” Silas asked, watching Mark in the corral. He was sitting on the paint, not moving.

  “What do I do now?” he whispered.

  “Kick him softly,” Kyle said, turning to watch.

  “I did… and he didn’t move.”

  “Kick him again?”

  Emily came out on her stallion, with the baby still up against her shoulder, “Open the gate.”

  Silas went over and opened the gate, and Emily led her stallion into the corral. She took the reins from Mark and led both horses out of the corral.

  “He’s scared. He needs another horse to follow,” Emily said as Mark relaxed on the back of the stallion.

  Chapter 28 - Another

  Derrick walked into the council chambers, “He’s here.”

  “Show him in,” Chevalier said.

  A tall, blonde heku came into the room. He wore Equites green robes and bowed to the Council, “I came, as requested.”

  “We got your report, on finding another Winchester,” Chevalier said. “We wanted to talk to you in person.”

  “Yes, Sir,” the heku said.

  “You said she is…” Zohn glanced through the report, “Approximately 5’6” tall, short black hair, and blue eyes?”

  “Yes, Sir”

  “What makes you think she’s a Winchester?” Chevalier asked.

  “Her scent, Sir.”

  “Derrick, call Emily in please,” Zohn said.

  Emily came in a few minutes later with 3-month-old Dain against her shoulder, “What now?”

  “Em, this heku thinks he’s found another Winchester. Will you stand close enough so he can catch your scent?” Chevalier asked.

  “Sure, I love being sniffed,” she said, and moved closer to the heku.

  He looked at her and frowned, “Close, but not the same.”

  “Close?” Kyle asked.